The Chimera

by Scarheart

Chimera 13: Being Silent

"Thus begins your punishment I spoke to you of," spoke the blind griffin in a fatherly voice. "Karma has a way of coming back in one form or another, the means of which matters not in how it comes to the one to which karma is owed. Think of this as the lesson you must learn for your actions. Truth be told, this is but a test of your leadership, your mettle, and your heart. I know the names well and I share your heavy heart, my student. This burden is yours. I am but a teacher, not a prince of a fallen race."

Silent Wing stared quietly at the sheet of paper before him. Upon it were three names he knew well and thought he trusted. Brothers, each of them. Besides each name was the list of charges against them, drawn up by the ship's quartermaster, Captain Blazing Cruise, who was also responsible for the conduct of all of those not a part of the ship's crew. His golden eyes ran down the list, his heart crushed by immeasurable disappointment and sadness.

Disobeying direct orders. Impersonating a pony. Drinking while on duty. Fighting other members of the crew. Malicious mischief for damaging the ship's galley. Lying to a superior officer. Using racial slurs. Theft. Resisting arrest. Assaulting a superior officer. Attempted murder.

The last two charges sent chills down the prince's spine and it was after only one of the names. "Only," he spat, spitefully, glaring again at the last name on the list.

Every shred of trust he thought he and his changelings had fought and scraped for had been dashed away in an instant, a blink of an eye.

There was a knock at his door. Silent Wing put Applejack's statement down, turning his attention from his desk to not the door, but his window. "Enter," he growled.

He gazed out, noting the ocean was only a few hundred feet below the ship as the loss of the lift augmenter had dropped the ship from four thousand feet. It had been one of those oddball incidents coinciding with the events behind the statement Applejack had written. For the past day the Aurora limped along, having lost most of her speed in the process. The augmenters also aided in giving the airship a slight boost in speed, but nowhere near the three hundred plus miles per hour. That required a special kind of magic taking a full day to charge. As it was, the ship chugged along into the wind at fifteen miles per hour, the damage having been more extensive than at first imagined.

His cabin door opened, squeaking on its hinges. With quill pen and parchment, Silent scribbled out one simple request. "Frakas?" he called out quietly.

"You rang?" his oldest friend replied cheerfully. Nothing seemed to get his lieutenant down.

"Take this request to Captain Cruise," Silent replaced his quill and blew on the paper so the ink might dry faster. He then folded it and passed it on to Frakas, who in turn took hold of it with his magic.

The changeling grinned, trying his best to remain positive for his prince. "Consider it delivered." Something crossed his mind and he paused, shrugging as he asked, "Hey, need anything else while I'm gone? Something to drink? Something to eat? Princess Luna? You're looking tense."

A tired but grateful smile crossed Silent's face and he shook his head, his face flushing at the mention of the Princess of the Moon. "Nothing, thank you. Deliver that message and don't come back unless he gives you a response. It's important."

"I know, I know. I don't plan on letting you down."

"Hey, Frakas?"

"Yeah?" The changeling paused again, his solid sapphire eyes blinking.

Silent breathed out slowly, flickering his eyes to his friend, the only one remaining of two he truly considered ever being a brother. "How are the others taking it? What's your assessment?"

Frakas frowned, a pregnant pause following. "Well," he said finally, "Let's just say they're disappointed they're not going to be getting any more classes on equine etiquette on Equestrian do's and don'ts. With everypony confined to quarters during the investigation and trial there's a sense they've all done something wrong."

Silent nodded and thanked Frakas. The changeling bobbed his head and disappeared, closing the door behind him. The emotions of the ship were swimming through his head like storm waters upon the face of a cliff. There was a lot of anger, a lot of confusion, and especially hate. Blazing Cruise had suggested through grit teeth to the prince confining his changelings to their bunk room and the prince reluctantly agreed. The pure hate and venom flowing from the Pegasus sent shivers down Silent's spine and he shrank visibly from the Captain.

The colt had to cut them off, these emotions. His changeling blood could detect them as easily as the others, even smelling them if the emotions were strong enough. It made him feel nauseous, sending his head reeling. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself, taking control of his senses and blocking them out. It was difficult for any changeling to do so. Most simply learned to ignore it, deal with it.

To go with his lessons on changeling society, it was suggested by Tseng Tzu the changelings be introduced to the ways of Equestrian society, specifically relationships. Marriage and equality appeared to be a foreign concept to the dark colts who thought such things to be almost ridiculous. This was a grand way to spoil the daily boredom ship travel had proven to be. Other than daily duties, there was little else to do. It was also great fun, as the members of the Mane Six were more than happy to offer their help, with the exception of Fluttershy, who was terrified at the idea of public speaking. It was thought they could discuss the Elements of Harmony while they were at it, almost as a bonus (This was later rebuffed by Luna who insisted it remain a state secret).

He looked at an shipboard copy of Equestrian maritime laws, picking it up and flipping through a few pages until he found the one he had bookmarked earlier. Everything that could be done had been done. All he was capable of doing and had been at his disposal was exhausted. The evidence had been overwhelming, the witnesses all saying almost the same story verbatim. The accused had admitted to their guilt.

All three had been under the influence of a banned drug. All three had participated in the same crimes. All three would share the same punishment. But what?

There was a soft knock at his door. So soon? No, it had to be somepony else.

"Enter," he grunted, not really in the mood for visitors.

Rainbow Dash pushed the door open, her eyes seeking him out for a moment from beneath her rainbow colored bangs. "Hey kid, how are you feeling?" she asked, not sure if she should enter or not. The older mare observed for herself Silent Wing looked terrible.

"Hurt. Betrayed. A failure." The colt hung his head. "What did I do wrong to cause them to do this to everypony? I worked so hard to get them to earn the trust we need in order to work together. I wanted them to be your friends, eyes to watch your backs." The words tumbled over themselves as the colt's voice cracked. Silent Wing's composure was wavering, but he held it, sucking in a deep breath and bringing his head up. There was intense and burning anger in his eyes beginning to flare to life.

"It's not your fault," Dash began daring to enter the dragon's den as she could sense the colt's anger.

She knew wounded pride when she saw it. The rainbow mare quietly came up behind the prince and reached a hoof out to his shoulder. He flinched, head spinning to her, eyes wide, a growl rumbling softly from deep within his chest. She thought she was trying to touch a grumpy cat for a moment and flinched.

Silent sighed, relaxed and slumped a little. "Then why did I fail if it was't my fault, Lady Dash?" he asked. The colt had started using the term Lady with all the mares at the suggestion of Luna. He had no idea she had suggested it just to irritate Rainbow. "The assault on Lady Applejack have as much my hooveprints all over it as those who struck her. All she was doing was seeing colts pilfering the pantry. They saw a threat to their mission of stealing manufactured love. Love addiction...of all things. Damn it!"

Rainbow Dash realized at that point she was speaking to a predator. It was in his eyes, the way his fangs flashed in the streaming light angling in through the window. This was her first perspective in seeing the young prince as something other than a cross between a pony and a changeling. Sure, she had heard there was a bit of dragon in him, but at that moment she felt a spine tingling chill like the frozen feet of mice dancing up and down the middle of her back. Silent flickered darkly, his form wavering. Or was that just a trick of the light?

"Lady Dash, you don't understand," he continued. The dangerous aura faded from him like a flashing shadow. "It is my fault because I trained them that way. I wanted my changelings to be aggressive, to be able to think for themselves. I wanted them to be a force to protect those who can't protect themselves. I wanted them to represent the pride of my kingdom. I wanted them to give my mother a sense she could have warriors she could depend upon when she called for them in a time of need."

"You wanted to make heroes," Rainbow Dash smiled, understanding those sort of dreams. She was living her dream of not only becoming a member of the Wonderbolts, but leading them.

Quietly he stared at the chromatic Pegasus and nodded once. "If you please, Lady Dash. I would like to be alone. I need to think on how I am going to punish my friends." He already knew what he wanted to do and despised himself for it. But justice was blind and needed to be meted out accordingly.

He suddenly found himself in a full embrace, which surprised him. The squeak erupted as if on cue. Rainbow Dash did not strike him as the sort of mare who hugged. It was a warm, friendly embrace and he could smell her scent distinctly, like rain clouds and something else he could not identify. Knowing her, she would probably tell him he was also smelling her awesomeness.

"Hey, you're cool in my book, kid," she said, still holding him. "You've got a cool dream. Don't give up on it because something bad happens. If you want something bad enough, you fight for it. Grab hold and don't ever, ever let go. You got that?" Her hug tightened, eliciting another squeak and reddened cheeks.

Just then Frakas entered. The changeling saw Rainbow Dash draped over his prince and he stared for a moment, his lower jaw sliding back and forth, registering surprise. "Um, should I come back later or is an audience allowed to see this?" he asked innocently. A fanged grin spread widely across his mischievous mug.

Both jumped away from each other as far as the cramped quarters would allow it. Things were knocked about and various objects clanked and tinked and banged to the floor, followed by the ominous clatter of a pewter plate formerly containing the remnants of the prince's half eaten lunch.

"Nothing happened!" Rainbow Dash stated to Silent Wing. She turned to Frakas, he eyes still wide, her face very red. "Nothing happened! Nothing was going to happen! It was just a hug. Do you understand a hug? And why were you spying on us? Are you a spy, you...you spy?"

"You are terrible at turning tables," Frakas said with a grin to the mare. "Don't worry. I won't tell Luna. Only because I don't want her eating my prince alive."

He had to squish himself against the wall as she stormed past, her eyes flat and staring straight ahead. Her ears flickered in annoyance in his direction, the tip of her tail slapping Frakas in the face. He maintained his grin, being very polite and even bowing to her. Frakas was quite happy to know the mares, thinking them very nice and pleasant, if a bit weak and soft. Changeling mares were dangerous and cold. Pony mares were...different. The soft part wasn't so bad, he decided, having received a few crushing hugs from Pinkie Pie when she caught him unawares. She caught a lot of changelings unawares, ambushing hugs coming from the strangest of places. The Pink Terror had faded a bit in his mind and was being replaced by the Pink Stalker. All changelings were susceptible to her pouncing hugs as she lived up to her self-given title of moral officer on board the Aurora.

Of course, even though they were approaching middle age, the Mane Six had wonderful flanks to stare at and Frakas, along with his fellow adolescent changeling cadets, did stare liberally when they thought nopony was looking. With Silent Wing being the prince and therefore the official representative of the Changeling Kingdom (adding the Emerald sticker before it felt demeaning to Frakas), the second in command of the changelings on board the airship felt it was his duty to do double booty staring to make up for having somepony behave himself. Helping the prince avoid having to behave like a normal changeling was perfectly fine for his best friend. Frakas lived to serve.

There was even a pool as to which pony was best pony among the five. It changed weekly, sometimes daily, but Applejack usually led the pack (unwittingly) as she mothered all of them. Rarity was best described by the changelings as a kind matriarch, rightfully associating with Frakas and his group as little as possible and only speaking to them when she wanted a favor. It was not so much as a like or dislike issue. Rather it was the comfort issue. Rarity was not at all comfortable around the changelings, save for the prince.

"Well?" Silent broke his lieutenant's thoughts as the door closed after Rainbow Dash.

"You can see them if you wish, boss," reported the changeling as he began picking things up and setting them in their proper places. "Captain Cruise says all you got to do is let him know in person yourself and he'll take you to them. Supervised, of course."

"Of course," Silent grunted, not at all surprised. "Nothing happened and nothing was going to happen," he told his friend, referring to the hug.

"Nothing ever does, my prince," commented Frakas as he considered the pewter plate. "And that is so disappointing. You have no idea how much money is riding on you to finally, you know..."

"Know what?" the prince said in confusion.

Frakas deadpanned. "Sex."

Silent's eyes bugged from their sockets. "Frakas!"

"What? You didn't know? I'm disappointed in you."

The chimera recovered, stammering, "Oh, come on! It's bad enough Mother bugs me about it."

"Well, it gives us something to amuse ourselves when not training."

Silent was curious. "What's the pool up to?" he asked, glad for the distraction. Frakas knew exactly when to interrupt one of the prince's sour moods, though his methods left a lot to be desired. Still, the end result was all that mattered to the changeling. He never minded the repercussions to himself.

"Last I checked," Frakas did a mental calculation, his head bobbing as he moved numbers, added, and came up with his tally. "Eh, I'd say it's sitting around three grand. At least."

"From just those here?"

"No, from the whole company," replied the changeling as he set the plate on the table. "Every payday the boys add a little more to the pot. Bets are always changing as this has become the most anticipated wait since Octavia's last album."

Silent's mood had been lifted, but not by the subject, but by Frakas simply speaking to him about something completely off topic and benign. "Thanks, buddy," he said simply as he grinned weakly at his second.

A hoof was wagged at him. "Anything for a brother, brother."

Later, having left his prince's room Frakas found himself outside of Princess Luna's quarters and knocked nervously, not sure if she was up or would even be in a mood to receive visitors.

"Come in, good Frakas," came a muffled response from the other side.

How does she do that? The cadet opened the door and found himself in a darkened room with only a single narrow shaft of sunlight piercing from between the drawn curtains, effectively splitting the luxury suite in half. The lone shaft fell upon a crescent moon cutie mark of the dark Alicorn who appeared to be dozing as Frakas felt his vision slowly adjust to the dimness of the room. He avoided looking at the sunlight, as it scrambled his night vision.

"Have a seat," she invited, gesturing to a stool near her oval bed. It sat low to the ground, two pairs of silvered slippers lined up neatly along the board. "May I offer you refreshment?" Luna asked politely as the changeling settled on the stool.

"Ah, not thanks, your highness," he replied, a little nervously. "If I may be frank?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"You scare the living piss out of me, Princess Luna."

The Princess of the Moon was caught off guard by the statement, but she laughed merrily, throwing her head back and tossing her mane. "Oh! Silly Frakas, what a thing to say! I have come to hold you as a friend. You have nothing to fear from me. I thank you for the humor," she said through a giggle.

"I had to get that out. You've never spoken to any of us changelings in private before, save for the prince. And we all know why you want time with him," said the changeling with shuffle of his hooves as he leaned forward. His ears were up and on the princess as she returned his gaze with an unwavering one of his own.

"And why do I want time with Prince Silent Wing?" she asked plainly. Her mane was starry, magical, containing within it the night itself. It also was darkening. "Think you I wish to have my way with him, to ravish him, to do as I please with him?"

Without blinking or hesitating, Frakas replied, "Yep."

"Such a thing to say!" she cried, sitting up and staring in mute shock.

"Look, if you're going to strike me down for speaking the plain truth, then at least let me tell you something I think you should know." Frakas might have been terrified in the presence of one of the most powerful magical beings on the face of the planet, but he also had the intestinal fortitude to speak truthfully and without reservation, whatever the repercussions might be. "Let me get this story off my chest and you can beat me, kill me, ravish me," - her eyes narrowed dangerously - "Kidding! Sheesh. It's about Silent Wing and why he's the way he is around mares he likes or might like. You might think he's getting better, but there's a story to it I think you should know. Keep in mind, a lot of it is here say and speculation, but it has to do with the night after his first courtship ended with the murder of his intended."

His stool was suddenly scooting closer to the bed, the Alicorn's horn glowing in the darkness. "Speak your story," she bade, settling down and making herself comfortable.

Frakas nodded, cleared his throat and tried to focus on one of the most terrifying nights ever to strike the noble houses of the Emerald Kingdom. "Her name was Baethesa. She was the youngest daughter of a very minor house and the only filly to be offered to Queen Chrysalis to whom which Silent Wing might become consort to. Long story short, after making the public announcement, that night brought the deaths of not only the Lady Baethesa, but almost the entirety of the house, save the matriarch."

Luna blanched. "That is horrible!" she exclaimed. "Why would they do such a murderous thing?"

"Politics are deadly when jealous houses think another will jump them by the act of a possible union with a more powerful house. It would not have been an issue if Silent Wing had been a part of another house, if he had been but a normal changeling. If he had been a normal changeling raised as a foundling under the house of the Queen, then there would have been no slaughter." Frakas sighed sadly. "You have to understand the nobility love perfection and pursue the perfect changeling as the ideal to represent their houses. Malformed males are killed or abandoned and malformed mares are simply kept hidden and used for breeding purposes."

"Monstrous," hissed Luna, shaking her head. "It is worse than the lessons Silent gave to the crew."

"For good reason," Frakas said with a shrug. "We are barbarians. We do kill each other often. The common folk get along with each other fine, but with the nobility and the constant fighting to determine which house is the strongest, the streets will run with blood almost on a nightly basis. In this case, the murder of Baethesa set something off in Silent Wing."

"Did he know her long?"

"No. They had never met before until their mothers decided to bring them together and discuss the courtship. They had written to each other for the allotted two months and decided the filly and the prince should meet and formalize everything. It was to become official. I was there, invited to be his second and she had her older sister be hers. Every eye in that room that day could tell something sparked between my prince and that girl." Frakas wore a wistful face, sniffled a little, and continued, "They liked each other. Have you any idea how rare that is on the first day of initiating a courtship?"

Luna blushed, thinking of the announcement Chrysalis made at the farewell feast several weeks ago. "I've heard of changeling mares trying to kill the proposed intended. Is it true?"

Frakas nodded. "Sometimes it's arranged just to get rid of a troublesome stallion."

Luna stared. "Get on with your story. As disturbing as I find it, I feel I must know now."

"You will, highness," Frakas said, leaning back and tilting his head down. He narrowed his eyes to regain the focus of his story. "As I was saying, the Lady Baethesa was a very gentle filly, a little older than the prince and liking him right away. All the other letters of inquiry the Queen had received from other houses in attempting to arrange for her prince was flatly rejected. All she needed was the youngest daughter who would not be in line to become a matriarch unless she formed her own house. But, she finally received a reply and Baethesa would become a part of Silent's life. Oh, Queen Chrysalis was elated!

"The other houses disapproved and only because they hated the prince. They thought him a twisted joke. Every year on the day designated as his day of birth determined by the Queen, a single letter is sent to her, signed by the matriarchs of the five most powerful noble houses, demanding Prince Silent Wing to be put to the death for being an affront to changeling purity. Having read the first few in his young life, the Queen stopped reading them and simply discarded the letters, burning them with contempt and anger. By law, houses can make such a request once a year as a favor. By law, the Queen can refuse the request, even if it is a group request. They are forbidden the rest of that year from making a formal request.

"Since they could not have his head, word reached them quickly through their spies and they decided to cut out his heart. That night the Lady Baethesa was killed, as I said before and the only member of the house left alive was the matriarch. All of her children were slain by Infiltrators, changeling mares specifically trained to kill. I think a single one would be a difficult enough challenge for the prince as it stands now, but their loyalty extends to those who have the bits to afford them."

"Professional assassins?" Luna asked, feeling sick listening to the whole story.

The changeling nodded. "The Queen was sent a letter the following morning as she heard of the killings to 'keep her mongrel caged'. She nearly shattered the whole palace with her rage. The whole city could hear her, feel her magic. There were a few servants unlucky enough to be in her path who were ripped apart. However, as no attack was directed against her or her family directly and the three day Passage had not come to pass -"

"Wait, what is this Passage you speak of?" Luna asked, tilting her head to one side.

"If any houses object to a courtship, they have three days with which they can formally reject the request. Unfortunately the weaker of the two houses is usually subject to the wrath of the house or houses who object. Usually it is done by a letter and a personal request from one matriarch to the other. This, however was harsh even by our standards. They wanted to make Queen Chrysalis and all houses in the kingdom know how strongly they were offended by the very existance of the prince."

Frakas felt his throat going dry. A glass of water was floated before him and he took it, smiling in thanks. Draining half the glass, he set it on the floor and continued.

"Now, if such an act is done, the responding house to the objection may do something in equal measure in the form of a retaliation. In this case, the responder could only be Silent Wing as he was the intended consort to the house of his murdered intended. As this was the first time he thought he would have what is defined by changelings as happiness between a mare and a stallion, he was naturally crushed. As a male, he could do nothing to mares or matriarchs, but he could act against other stallions. He chose to go after the primary consorts of each of the five responsible as well as a sixth one, an upstart house trying to gain recognition and prestige by its matriarch allying herself with the five. It was his right to do so, to choose his target. However, none could help him, not the Queen, not his friends, nopony at all. With the gravity of the act done against him, there was only one retaliation possible in the eyes of changeling law.

"The Queen had him followed, of course, knowing him to be no coward and not afraid to take upon things he could not handle. She intended to let him try, so he might save face, but with Captain Myzanum to watch over him and pull him out eventually as she assumed would happen. I remember seeing his face and into his eyes right before he left. I saw nothing but death in them, Princess Luna," Frakas murmured with a shudder, his voice dropping as he recalled the memory with vivid clarity. He would never forget it.

"Nopony knows how he did it. Some say he had the aid of shadowy demons, that a dark mist followed him into each of those houses. No colt his age should have been able to do what he did, but in a span of five hours, he did exactly what he told me what he intended to do, taking their heads and placing them at the gates of the house of his dead Baethesa. He did not know her for barely a day and he grieved for her. He went out there and by some means unknown presented to a fallen house the heads of the favored stallions of six houses."

Tears were beginning to fall from the changeling's face as he remembered seeing his prince's haunted face when he came home that morning. He did not bother to wipe them away. They were tears of pride.

"The Queen was shocked when she learned what had happened. She asked the captain if he had helped the prince. Myzanum denied it, saying he tried to follow the prince, but some force prevented him from following the prince into each mansion. She tried to question the prince what he did, but he could not answer or chose not to answer. He refuses to speak of it. He has blocked it from his mind and does not recall it happening if asked. Some things are not discussed anyway, belonging to the past and best forgotten. But to this day, he fears any mare getting close to him will become killed. I also think he's afraid of what might happen after if it should happen again."

Luna was indeed caught completely unprepared for this tale. She watched Frakas as he picked up his glass with his magic and stared at it.

Finally, Frakas came to the end of his tale. "The next night was the attempt on his life, the graduation party at the palace gardens. I was there. Silent Wing appeared by all accounts to be his normal self, as if his night of slaughter had been done by a different changeling. The Queen reacted in her full fury and killed the assassin. We nearly lost our prince that night, but we didn't. Instead, it became the night he learned to fly, saving his sister in the process from the cliffs and finally convincing his mother the Queen to declare to all the houses any actions against her son would be considered a personal assault upon herself to which she would take it personally. She spent the next few nights hunting down each and every matriarch who did harm to her son and though she could not kill them, beat them mercilessly for hours, making them feel her pain upon their bodies."

He sighed, fidgeting as he let Luna soak in the story, her eyes swirling in disbelief. "It did awaken, then," she said quietly.

"I beg your pardon, princess?" Frakas looked at her curiously.

"It is nothing." She smiled at him and said, "Your story certainly sheds a new light upon him. I thank you for sharing it."

"I feel as though I betrayed him in telling you," the changeling said unhappily.

"You did your prince a great deal of good and you helped me to understand him a bit more. I think I know how I can approach him now. Tell no one of this conversation. If any pony asks, I was curious as to your opinion on how you thought Prince Silent Wing is handling this current incident with his changelings," she instructed gently, offering a helpful smile.

"One more thing, if I might add," Frakas said, rubbing his spiny short mane uncomfortably.

She perked up, inclining her chin. "Yes?"

"I think Master Tseng Tzu knows more about what's going on with Silent with that night in question. He's always seeming to know something about the prince and always seems to steer him in a direction away from his rage, to control it. It's in the way we're taught to channel our energies and try to focus on positive life forces and all that stuff." The changeling got up and mindfully set his glass on the table where a glass pitcher sat, upending it.

"I see."

"I guess I should get going."

Luna smiled at him. "I thank you again, good Frakas."

"I'm not that good, princess."

She told him with a dry chuckle, "You are better than you think."

---

On the day of the trial, the entire ship's compliment was gathered on the observation deck while the sentences would be handed out. The three accused were in chains before Captain Gilda and her stern gaze, looking straight ahead and at the position of attention. None blinked beneath the midday sun. It was swealtering. To one side stood Silent Wing who had asked for and was given permission to pass sentence under the strict guidance of the ship's captain. The ship was at a complete stop, a large and deserted island having been found by the magical map at the prince's questioning.

His idea for sentencing was perhaps even harsher than Gilda would have suggested, who would have simply kept them confined on ship and in the brig for the duration of the voyage, handing them over to the proper authorities for a proper sentencing. Silent Wing had drawn a line in the sand, his proposal sending shocks to those who initially heard it on the night they deliberated at dinner. The prince had eaten nothing last night. He had eaten nothing this morning. He simply had too many knots in his stomach as the decision he had come to was not only harsh, but seemed to fit the crime. Luna found herself approving of it, thinking it a proper idea and even offering a light praise to the prince. Gilda was also impressed with the idea and immediately accepted it.

Captain Gilda cleared her throat, her first mate ready to record in the logbook the proceedings of the sentencing of the three changelings. "His Highness Prince Silent Wing will now deliver the sentence to the accused, having been found guilty of all charges against them according the maritime laws as well as the sky laws."

The nine changelings watched their brothers, standing in line shoulder to shoulder were given a signal from their prince, started by a single loud tap of Frakas' front right hoof to the floor. He stood still while the others side stepped in a timed shuffling movement, in step with a sharp quick hiss after every stomp of their right front hoof to the ground. Once each was evenly spaced apart, they snapped to attention, all heads sharply falling upon the prince as he strode in front of the accused. Executing a perfect right-face, Silent Wing stood tall, his face unreadable.

"Brothers," he began, eyeing each one individually. "Do you accept the charges against you as you admitted to you on the day of your trial?"

"We do," they said as one.

"Do you accept the punishment to which you have been informed of, without reservation?"

"We do."

"Do you understand you must restore your honor and the honor of your race at a time as of yet determined, beginning upon the day we return for you?" He was stern, his voice sharp and even. The command he had over them was impressive. Silent Wing had the attention of the whole ship. Even Captain Gilda was taken aback by his crispness.

Luna smiled sadly, knowing this must be hard on him.

"Then you three are hereby marooned upon this island until such time as we can return and retrieve you from your sentence. Should we not return and fail in our mission, then consider yourselves fortunate as to not share our fate and live out your days in dishonor, unable to regain your lost honor in the field of battle or in the eyes of those whose trust you have lost and would no longer be able to regain." The prince looked at Frakas and nodded.

"Those with no honor receive the backs of their comrades," Frakas called out.

The other eight replied with, "Without honor, we are nothing. Without pride, we are empty shells. Without discipline, we are nothing more than animals."

Tseng Tzu winced at the statement. He was not much impressed with pride, but understood it was ingrained in changeling culture. As the old saying went: when moving mountains, it begins with picking up but a rock.

"Captain Blazing Cruise," Silent Wing called out. "I turn the prisoners over to you."

Six Pegasi assumed positions around the convicted. They turned and were lead off the ship, taking wing as they followed Applejack's husband into the air and towards the island below. As they passed the formation of changelings, one by one they were presented with the flanks as each one executed an about face. Only Silent Wing followed on hoof, walking at a quick march, his head turned away from the convicted and eyeing his changelings in line, making sure none refused the command to shun the dishonored. Once he was at the edge and watched the group head for the island, he snapped to attention and conducted his own about face, Frakas just behind him and following suit. As he passed by his changelings, they fell in step behind him, single file and silent.

Applejack saw a herd of hurt ponies march by her. Each one bowed his head in a public apology, eyes closed and noses nearly touching the ground. She was patched up and had bandages covering her cuts and bruises. Oddly touched by this display and wanting to show she did not blame them, she moved forward towards Silent Wing, cutting him off and simply giving him a hug. She moved down the line of changelings, doing the same and whispering words of encouragement to each one. The Element of Honesty could only be honest with herself, having spent the past few days understanding how badly shaken the changelings were when they discovered three of their own had participated in beating her.

Silent Wing had been among the first to respond to the commotion, the shouts waking up the entire ship as Applejack suddenly found herself from seeing what she saw as colts just trying to get a midnight snack to a vicious assault upon her person. She would later find out - as well as the rest of the ship - it was a withdrawal from a strange drug some changelings took to keep them alert and maintain their senses to a razor's edge. When they ran out, they began to have paranoid withdrawals and had gone to the ship's galley in search of finding something to replace the sensation. They stole half the stores of Love Spheres, intending to concentrate them into what would amount to a massive sugar rush even by Pinkie Pie standards. Applejack happened upon them on one of those nights where the withdrawals were especially bad. She wanted to forgive them and did so as soon as she found out why they were acting the way they had. They could not accept her forgiveness, crying like little foals as the withdrawals had subsided and they had regained their senses.

She wished it did not end this way. This was a punishment almost as bad as death in the eyes of the changelings. Honor was greatly valued by their stallions. They had little else in their culture.

The changelings continued to the other side of the platform, standing facing the opposite direction as the island until the ship's crew were dismissed and every pony returned to his or her duties. They remained still as the ship pulled away from the island, her engines thumping along under the tropical sun.

Those without honor did not deserve a farewell.

All ten changelings mourned the loss of their brothers, for they were as good as dead until they rediscovered their honor. Each one hoped the three would find that spark within them, that sense of self worth trained into them by the words of a kindly old blind griffin who believed in them enough to become their teacher and to some extent, their father.

Tseng Tzu approved of this and sincerely wished the three shunned a happy life. The island was abundant with food and fresh water. Silent Wing fully intended to return for them. They were his brothers and forever would be so. The prince would not give up on them. He could not give up on them.

The Prince of the Changelings wept for them still, but looked forward to the joyful day when he could bring them back.

Luna could not help but feel her heart go out towards the young prince. She would have to do something to make him feel better.

Author's Note:

Eh, made a few changes to this as I'm having a new chapter added to the end of this one.

Silent Wing is a good fighter, probably one of the best in the world, but there's no way he could do what he did in his past without help. I wonder who it could have been? Hmmm.... Luna is thinking one thing...but nah...our favorite chimera does not have magical abilities.

Oh, and one more thing....some changelings are really big on restoring honor...at any cost.

Oh, Merry Christmas!

Comments

[kyubbiman]

I read your chapter and loved it. Your idea of changling culture is very brutal yet totally awesome. It makes me feel sorry for the Male Changlings. Please keep it up; I eagerly await for more chapters

[Razzy]

Poor Cutelings.