Chimera 2: Pathos and a Crowing Dragon
He awoke in a white room feeling weak and worn out. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, picking up the details of what was his second hospital room in less than a week. Groaning, he found a soft white blanket had been pulled up to his shoulders as he lay on his back. At least the bed was comfortable. Movement was restricted due to tubes in both of his forelegs. Correction; it was just in one arm. Both were actually held into place by straps. Neither could he move his hind legs. They were restrained as well. The prince frowned, forcing himself to remain calm and fighting the urge to struggle mindlessly at is bonds. There was a reason for this.
Silent Wing wondered what was going on. Turning his head, he turned his head towards a beeping sound his ears were just now trying to tune out. They became his focus as he saw the monitor with his hear rate being shown as well as his blood pressure. Every five minutes or so the pad on his upper right foreleg would inflate with air from an automatic air pump and take his blood pressure. He was wearing a pale hospital gown with floral patterns on them.
Why was he strapped down? Was he a prisoner now? Was Canterlot holding all changelings responsible for what happened? Where was Mother? What happened?
He remembered, his blood suddenly running cold. Flamespyre had taken Twilight Sparkle and that chubby kid of hers. That red eye flickered into his memory, the darkness. The absolute fear the colt felt. There was that storm of pain. Oh, Creator, the pain! Silent swallowed hard, closing his eyes. The memory lingered, reminding him like a cruel joke. The physical pain was gone, but his body still felt dull and throbbed.
He could hear hoofsteps in the hallway outside. No, there was more than one. There were many. The colt could also hear voices. The door was closed, he noticed as he stiffly turned his head to the right. He had the room to himself. There was a small tray on wheels designed to be moved over a bed just to his left and in the corner. On it there was a pitcher of water and a cup. The visual tour continued, though there was not really much else to see. Other than a couple of cheap plush chairs and a small round table between them, the only thing left to see was the large window to his left. There was a tree obscuring half the view. It appeared to be midday. He could hear birds outside. Somepony had thought to open the window a crack. Their songs reached him. A slight and cool breeze could be felt. The room, he noted was meant for at least another patient, but there was a bare spot where a second bed might have been. The walls were painted a pale blue, the floor tile a pleasant shade of green. The ceiling appeared as though it was a cover of bright clouds with bits of sunshine. Something to make the patient feel comfortable by creating a pleasant atmosphere. Silent Wing found it effective, but he was still confined in a bed.
Silent began wondering something could be wrong. Other than the obvious straps, where was his mother? If she was somehow a prisoner, where was his sister? The door opened and a small white Unicorn nurse entered with a tray and clipboard floating just behind her head.
"Ah, you're awake," she said when she noticed. She had a pretty smile, was exhausted, but seemed genuinely pleased to see him looking at her. "Oh, wonderful! This will make the doctor happy." She bustled in with renewed energy as if a wave of relief had washed over her.
"Is there a reason I'm strapped down?" he asked plainly, tugging at them for emphasis.
"Ah, yes, that," she said with a nod, setting her things on the tray. The nurse unbound his right foreleg, then his left. "You thrashed quite a bit while you were unconscious. We had to restrain you as you were a threat to harming yourself. You were having nightmares and thrashed about and even screamed a few times."
Silent Wing flinched and mumbled an apology.
"Oh, think nothing of it, sweetie," She took his pulse, pressing the edge of her hoof to his jugular and staring up at the clock on the wall. Her head bounced in time with the seconds as her mouth formed the numbers on her lips. She picked up the tablet and scribbled on it from a pen she kept clipped with it.
"You had a lot of fractured bones - micro fractures - throughout a lot of your body, specifically around your upper body and shoulder area. We had to keep you immobile while the medicine did its work." She smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore. Weak. Thirsty."
She poured him some water from the pitcher and handed the colt the glass. He drained it quickly, making loud gulping sounds. Some of it trickled over the rim and down his chin, dribbling on his neck and chest. He finished with an exhale and gave the glass back.
"Do you need anything?" she asked him as she moved the table with the water to within his reach.
"Where's my mother?"
She froze, her smile suddenly losing the warmth. "I can have the doctor explain that to you," the nurse said, gathering up her things. "I'm sorry. I'll send for him. Okay?"
"Um, okay." Silent felt a pit in his stomach. The nurse was gone as quickly as she had come. The hell somepony was going to tell him to wait! He already knew something was wrong. Master Tseng Tzu had always told him to trust his instincts.
The prince forgot the part about being patient and letting the answers come to him. Impatience guided him ruthlessly.
He yanked out everything attached to his forearms and legs and unfastened the straps on his hind legs. The first thing to go was that frilly hospital gown. The pattern was too filly for the colt. It took a moment for him to find his hooves as he slid to the ground from his bed. At least his wing felt fine now. Silent should have asked the nurse how long he had been out. A grim smile accompanied an unbidden flashback to the cave, the crystal, seeing his sister for the first - no, second - time. The first time was while seeing Scarheart's memory. There was no way she could be his sister. Silent refused to believe it. As for Flamespyre...
The colt snorted, shaking the memory from his mind. He started for the door. It opened before he could get to it. Applejack stood in the doorway, her green eyes wide when she noticed she was almost nose to nose with the young changeling prince.
"What in tarnation do you think yer doing out of bed, young feller?" she recovered quickly and demanded sternly. Behind her were what appeared to be Rarity and a stallion Silent had never met before. AJ moved in and began pushing the colt back towards his bed with her head, pushing him firmly. She was a very strong mare and had a little big of weight behind her to boost her leverage. "C'mon, back in bed." Being an Earth pony gave her a decided advantage in strength.
"But," Silent protested as his golden eyes went round. Merciful Creator, she's strong! His hooves found no purchase on the floor. He noticed her eyes had a flicker of fear and worry directed at him.
"Don't you 'but' me, sugarcube. The doctor ain't given you permission to get up yet. And don't you sass me, either. Ah've raised three colts, each on just as onery as you." She stopped shoving him and set back, giving Silent an expectant arch of a brow.
"Young stallion," Rarity said as she came up behind her friend. "Please don't strain yourself so. You've only been out for three days and I don't think you should be running around in your condition."
Silent balked. "Three days?"
"Yes. Three. Now be a dear and please return to your bed."
A question returned to his lips. "Where's my mother?"
The two mares seemed to be expecting the question to come, but it was one of those queries one could never fully prepare for. The stallion who had been in the hallway entered. He was a Pegasus with a dull orange coat and a short cropped sapphire mane and tail. His blue eyes were searching Silent Wing.
"I'm Flash Sentry," he introduced himself, trying to deflect the question. "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle's husband." He was in full golden armor bearing the rank of general on his insignia. The expression he wore was almost accusatory, as if Silent had stolen his pet puppy.
"Pleased to meet you," Silent said flatly. "Where's my mom? What happened to her?" His anger was beginning to rise. "Don't hide things from me." He stared at the big stallion fearlessly.
"Easy, sugarcube." Applejack pushed herself between the two.
Rarity whispered into Flash Sentry's ear intently, her voice firm and reproaching. The big stallion snorted, glared at her and stormed outside.
"Ah'll tell ya, Silent, but not until you promise me you won't explode. Ah've heard of your temper. Princess Luna said you've got a short fuse. Everypony don't need you going loco in a hospital, ya'hear?" She had moved right into his face, speaking softly in a motherly voice. A smile tried to add to her words the urge for him to calm down, listen. Behind her eyes was a pleading, as well as a flinty determination all mothers had when it came to disciplining their rowdy sons.
Rarity shared her friend's concern. "While you were out," she explained slowly, as if the words she spoke were still unbelievable. "War started. It started the day that horrid dragon woke up."
"What?" Silent Wing blinked. "War? Equestria is at war? Against whom?"
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. The Unicorn and the Earth pony glanced at each other uneasily.
Flash Sentry had returned during the moment of awkward pause. It was his voice delivering the devastating news. "Grazeland is currently a battlefield. Even as we speak, the Equestrian Army is fighting your changelings, Prince Silent Wing. Equestria is at war with the Changeling Kingdom. That's just for starters." His voice was cold, a battlefield commander doling out nothing but the facts. "An estimated force of two million changelings of various types have taken a third of the Griffon Kingdom after three days of fighting and several other kingdoms have reported similar attacks. Half the known world is a war zone as we speak." There was open hostility in his tone when he finished delivering the news. "So nopony's going to give a damn about an evil queen lying in a coma with a hole in her chest."
Applejack and Rarity had both spun around, eyes wide with shock and jaws hanging open. Flash Sentry pushed past them, ignoring the sputtering Unicorn and the glaring Earth pony. Normally, he was a kindly stallion who took his job perhaps a bit too seriously, married more to it than his wife. Having heard the news his family had been taken easily with only a mixed breed changeling as a witness coupled with the war starting the same day, the stress had gotten to him and he wanted some pony to blame. Silent Wing became the logical choice given the circumstances.
The colt was trying to digest everything, his brows furrowing with uncertainty. The only thing his ears registered was lying in a coma with a hole in her chest...
His voice - when he finally found it - was quiet, low. Silent had already dropped his eyes to the floor while trying to register Flash Sentry's words. "Where is she?"
Flash leaned in like a drill instructor over a recruit. "You're not going anywhere, colt. I've got a lot of questions to ask you and unless I like what I hear, you are not leaving this room any time soon. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
If he had hoped to intimidate a young prince still weak and recovering from his injuries, he was sorely mistaken. Silent Wing lifted his chin, his face an unreadable mask. Every other muscle in his body tensed, building up energy. Too late, Flash Sentry read the attack in the young colt's golden eyes, a pair of burning pools of golden fury. If he had read the report provided to him by his own intelligence in regards to the young prince, read the dossier, or even the report Luna had provided from the Grazeland incident, he very likely would have handled Silent Wing with more respect. As it was, he just saw a weakened halfbreed and underestimated him badly.
He was hit twice before his brain registered something was happening. Flash Sentry understood it was a punch as his head snapped to the right, his body twisting with the momentum, his jaw exploding with pain, and he was suddenly staring at a white Unicorn just starting to react. The pale yellow form of the prince leapt over him, a hoof clipping him insultingly against his helmet with a clang! before skidding out into the hallway.
His nostrils tested the air as started hospital staff ponies stared at this disheveled colt with wild eyes and half flared wings stood in the hall. The two guards posted outside his door stared in shock, then moved automatically to restrain him.
Another mistake. They were soon in a moaning heap at the colt's hooves as he resumed searching for his mother's scent. Silent Wing found it despite the thousands of other smells in the air. Though he was not a pure changeling, he had grown up around his mother and knew her distinct scent. He was galloping past patients, nurses, visitors and doctors. At crowded areas, he simply used the walls and his wings to get around obstacles, living or inert. Cries of dismay, outrage, and shock trailed in his wake as it did not take long to erupt the floor into a chaotic uproar. A door soon presented itself, marking one of several staircases in the hospital. Silent pushed the door open and slipped through, leaving frightened and angry ponies behind him. Cries for the guard were frantically going out. The closing of the door behind him only muffled them.
He only paused at a stairwell, testing the air again. Queen changelings released a pheromone when they were injured or in distress, a sort of distress signal for sensitive noses for those who could sniff it out. His nose told him to go up. He did so.
He was already hearing voices chasing after him, the clattering of hooves as security ponies. The young prince went up the flight of stairs, half leaping and half flying, even though there was no room for them to extend beyond a third of their full span. Prowling like a predator on the hunt, he stopped at each floor, checking his direction.
No, not this floor, either.
Up to the next one, a security mare staring down at him in astonishment. Her surprised look and fear prevented her from getting a hoof to the face, but she was shoved hard and into the corner of the stairwell. She remained frozen in place when the prince growled at her, his golden eyes wide and blazing as he flashed his fangs with a snap of his jaws. Silent ignored her the moment she no longer felt a threat, halfway up to the next floor. Pausing at the door, he again flared his nostrils. Behind him the guard curled up and thanked Celestia for her life through her whimpering sobs.
Here we go.
He threw the door open with a hoof, sliding through with his head up high, looking first to the left, then the right. Which way? Ponies stared at him. The snorting colt pawed at the floor impatiently, wings flapping. Scrambling hooves were thundering towards him. The whole hospital was now in an uproar. There seemed to be a ton of armed guards down the hall to his right.
Exactly the direction his nose told him to go.
Fan-frigging tastic.
The problem with being an armed guard in a hallway about six feet wide and eight feet high is standing shoulder to shoulder limited movement. Being armored encumbered the wearer and spears weren't really designed for close quarters combat. Thirdly, they had to watch where they swung their weapon or leveled their kicks for fear of hitting somepony on the same team.
Silent Wing had no such restrictions. He was also very angry at this point, his mind registering anything armed and in front of him keeping him from his queen's side a threat. The changeling in him wanted to be at her side and defend her at all cost. The part of him who knew and loved her as his mother simply wanted to destroy things as he understood she was hurt and therefore somepony was responsible for it. Swinging blindly at anypony with a weapon seemed to be a good idea at that moment.
He paced back and forth at the entrance to the stairwell, his eyes fully on his intended destination. Thinking he was afraid at the numbers starting to build against him, they advanced with confidence. Calls for him to surrender fell on deaf ears. Snorting wildly, the young prince licked his fangs, his eyes bulging as he committed himself after calculating his angle of attack.
Silent Wing charged, bounding to the left, then bouncing to the right, his head going low as he appeared to go straight for the middle of the three guards in front of him. Two more were behind them and another four were clustered at a pair of swinging doors at the end of the hall. Right at the moment of impact, the colt extended his wings, using them to obscure the vision of the ponies in the way. Jumping to the right at the moment his wings came out, he knocked a spearhead pointed in his general direction. A back hoof found a helmeted head and shoved hard left while a forehoof touched the top of a flank just in front of a tail. The surprised pony dropped his rump, trying to spin after the colt while dealing with untangling himself from his two companions.
The prince was already into the next two guards, jumping in the air to the left this time and simply launching himself off the wall with a flying kick from a hind hoof. It found its mark in the chest of a mare who was trying to immobilize him with her horn. Apparently nopony bothered to find out Silent was immune to magic. Either that or she had forgotten that important tidbit. She fell away, gasping for air as her companion suddenly found himself face-to-face with a snarling and angry prince.
"You can run, now," he whispered in a flat, emotionless voice.
The Earth pony fled, his spear clattering on the floor.
The four ponies between him and his mother were shoulder to shoulder. They all wore the expression of fear. The Unicorn at his hooves struggled to right herself. Silent Wing planted his changeling hoof on her shoulder. "Stay down," he ordered the mare. "Don't push it. I don't want to kill anypony. I just want to get to my mother!" Silent had started to raise his voice, going up and up until he was screaming at the four guards still in the way.
When did the tears start falling?
The Unicorn froze, staring up at him. She was frightened.
They were all frightened. But they gave way nervously. A doctor nervously came forward from the double doors and made his way to Silent Wing. He was an older stallion, with flecks of gray in his yellow mane. His light blue coat was covered with cold sweat beneath his lab coat. "Queen Chrysalis is this way, young prince," he said, adjusting his glasses.
The guard was immediately released. She did as he instructed, remaining where she lay, curling up into a fetal position. Silent had already forgotten her and was following the physician. The four guards who had moved aside were frozen, save for one who had decided to move towards the downed Unicorn. Silent ignored him.
Applejack and Rarity had followed him at a safe distance, finding his penchant for violence shockingly horrific. To them, it was like watching an avalanche happen right in front of them, too horrible to witness, yet they were unable to tear their eyes from it. They found themselves stepping over groaning ponies (all of them armored guards, they noted) while others were simply left with having witnessed something ponies did not see every day at a hospital.
"Well," AJ noted to Rarity nervously, "at least he ain't killed nopony."
She and Rarity had come to check up on the young prince, along with Flash Sentry. The Pegasus more or less placed the duty upon himself to question Silent Wing as to the events leading towards the disappearance of his wife and son. Now he was on the first floor nursing a broken jaw with his pride scattered all over the floor. It was understandable for any husband and father to want to seek answers for the disappearance of his family, but the general had obviously gone about it the wrong way. With Silent Wing, it was apparent pushing the wrong buttons as being a bad idea became a glaring understatement.
"Indeed," replied the fashionista, "there's a certain art to his war, don't you think?"
Both friends looked down the hall Silent Wing had just gone down. They heard him screaming at the guards. They fully understood him, of course. The bearers of the elements of Generosity and Honesty gave each other a look and fearful smiles. They nodded to each other and decided to throw their support to the colt, trotting after him.
"I did not train him to be like this," said an old voice behind them. Rarity and Applejack both jumped. "Truth be told, he's supposed to use his training to protect others, not assault them. I am disappointed."
"Goodness me, when did you get here?" Rarity asked Tseng Tzu when she identified him. "You startled me, Mr. Tzu."
"I just arrived," he replied gruffly, tapping the end of his staff on the floor. The blind griffon started forward, his beak set in a frown. "Stay here, if you please. He must learn the consequences of his actions."
"But," Applejack started, but a single claw rested on the tip of her lips.
"This is important for him, especially during these troubled times, Mrs. Applejack."
Rarity puffed herself up with outrage. "Are you proposing we just wait here?" she huffed.
"Yes. I will take full responsibility for the actions of my student. I made him what he is to this day. Truth be told, this will be a test as much for me as it is for him." The old bird sighed, leaning heavily on his staff. "These are the days I feel my years."
There were two guards outside of the intensive care unit. Both were bat-winged Pegasus. They were from Luna's personal guard. Silent found this a bit odd as he had only heard of them, but never actually seen them. They recognized him immediately as he approached, their dark armor clanking as they drew themselves to attention.
The young colt tensed. These two were trained, unlike the common soldiers who had been out in the halls. More than likely if a fight did break out, it would be a short one with the prince getting the short end of the stick. Without a word, they simply held the door open for him and offered polite bows.
"This way," the doctor said, less nervous when he noticed Silent Wing begin to relax.
Silent did not see Luna watching him from around the corner. Her visage was unreadable, having nodded to her guards to let him through. Hearing his little destructive journey through the hospital had made her quite put out with him. She had also expected it, having had a chance to learn a little of his personality first hand. Thinking before acting was not a strong suit. The colt needed a short leash.
A very short one.
Silent Wing saw a white curtain in front of him, in the corner of the room. There were eight beds in this section of the ward. Only one was occupied. The curtain was drawn before him, the last barrier between him and his mother.
"Take your time," the doctor whispered sympathetically. Changeling or pony, the only thing he could see was a colt on the verge of breaking upon seeing something where he had no idea what to expect. A reassuring hoof patted Silent on the shoulder as the doctor departed quietly.
This final obstacle was proving to be harder to get around than the guards. The psychological barrier before him was fear; what would he see when he moved the curtain aside? What did she look like? He could hear the heart monitor and the oxygen machine pumping. His lower lip quivered as he shakily forced a wobbly body forward. Silent Wing inhaled deeply and set his jaw, forcing his head around the curtain.
He looked upon the bed.
She lay there, sleeping, eyes closed and her mouth slightly agape. Her head was turned slightly to the left. She was set on her back as comfortably as the bed allowed her to be, her front hooves drawn up to her chest. Wires sprouted from her body like parasites. Queen Chrysalis did not look at all like a queen, There was nothing majestic about her condition nor her appearance. She seemed worn, gray, and weak. Here was a shadow of a monarch who had once put fear in the hearts who only had but to hear her name. Here was a mother. Her son gaze upon her now, body quivering and eyes moistening.
Silent moaned, a low, pitiful sound as he came up to her bed side. Reaching out a hoof, he had to touch her face, to brush that irritating strand of hair from her eyes. Was she dreaming? If so, what was the dream? He looked down at her, not sure if he should cry or stand there or hold her hoof or what. The colt leaned forward and kissed her on the tip of her muzzle.
"Momma? I'm here."
An ear twitched. She moved ever so slightly, almost as if she could feel her baby was there with her. Without thinking, the colt deftly jumped carefully up into the bed and lay down on his side next to her. It did not matter if a third of his body dangled precariously over the edge of the bed. It did not matter if it was an uncomfortable position for him. The strongest anypony he had ever known now lay in a pitiful state and he wanted to comfort her they way he had seen her comfort Atalanta when his sister had been sick. He wrapped his forelegs around one of hers and began to cry.
Any eyes who might have been watching did not remain dry for long.
He stayed with her for a long time, not moving, but simply looking at her long after the tears had dried away. He nuzzled her neck and whispered to her, letting her know he was there. Silent didn't know what else to do. She wasn't waking up. Would she wake up?
Ponies saw her as an enemy, a beast, a nightmare. Mothers and fathers told their children to behave or the monster Chrysalis would come from the shadows and gobble up all of their love! To a certain changeling prince, she was the greatest mother in the world. No, she was not perfect, could never be perfect. She had a past filled with questionable intent. Ponies saw her as a monster. Changelings saw her as a monarch who failed her duties in providing love for her subjects. Nobles had eroded her power from beneath her shortly after her greatest failure. For an embattled queen who had never understood love in its entirety, she had done a pretty damn good job considering in the role of mother, so far as a certain colt could attest.
He had a sister who would echo his sentiment.
His head shot up suddenly from where it lay, but carefully as not to jostle Chrysalis.
"Where's Ata?" his voice croaked the question, not being directed. She should be here!
Luna was there when he spoke, almost as if she anticipated the realization. She quietly pushed away the curtain a little further. Her blue eyes were filled with sympathy. There was also resigned resolve behind them. "We need to talk, Silent. It's about your sister."
He slid to the floor after easing himself away from his stricken mother. As he turned to face the Alicorn, he felt her wing drape over his withers and pull him to her. She was assuming the role of a big sister for a change, reversing what Tia would normally do. It was an interesting position, but she felt she could guide the colt better than any pony in Equestria. At least, that's what her sister had informed her recently. Having seen inside his dreams, Luna was in the best position to know what buttons to push with this volatile...chimera. Taking a deep breath and not looking forward to his reaction, she told him what had happened. She left out no detail, speaking plainly.
It all returned to him. The game set before him by his so-called father Flamespyre.
"Listen well, my son. I shall only tell you this once. Gather with you the Elements of Harmony and the Alicorn known as Luna. Go to the place where I first awakened fifteen years ago. From there, you will seek out my lair and find the clue needed to find where I am. Come to me, face me, and you will have a chance to gain a prize. You shall have a chance to win back Twilight Sparkle, her fat son, and either your sister or your mother, whichever is brought to me first."
He repeated it as those words seared themselves into his recollection. Silent Wing felt weak again and nearly stumbled. "He's got Ata!" he exclaimed, another dagger in his heart.
Luna supported him. She could understand why Celestia both enjoyed and hated doing this. It was simply awful watching a soul tear itself apart like this before her eyes. Watching the emotions playing across a tortured colt was one such moment. Silent was playing his actions over the course of this day over and over again. The unnecessary violence, all started by a few simple words spoken harshly. It felt wonderful to see her efforts at being somepony to lean upon was accepted gratefully.
"I hurt ponies," he said, suddenly despising himself as he realized what he had done to get to his mother. "I'm sorry. I surrender to your authority, Princess Luna. Nopony else. I don't trust any other but you."
She was surprised to hear him say that to her. Silent sagged suddenly, his body finally giving out as he had not eaten anything for three days. He started crying again, but this was from guilt.
Luna gave him a few moments then told him, "For your own safety and for the sake of appearances, you will need to be confined into a cell until such a time as to I can discuss this incident with my sister. I will also relay to her what you told me. Do not be surprised if you are questioned later. Understand?"
The pale head with the red mane rose up. Golden eyes locked with her cyan gaze. There was no fight in them, she could see. He didn't want to fight. He had fought enough today and for the wrong reasons. He was tired of fighting that sort of fight. It was getting him nowhere and he was beginning to understand it.
"I understand," he whispered. "But don't leave her alone." Silent looked over at his mother. "Please don't leave her alone. Without me and my sister, she doesn't have anypony who loves her. I know it probably sounds stupid to you, but she needs someone to talk to her, to tell her she's needed. She needs a voice to tell her she's loved."
"I can understand that," said Luna. "I shall see what I can do." Who would want to sit with her? The Princess of the Moon wondered who would wait on the comatose Queen Chrysalis.
Silent Wing still was not finished. He hesitated, wondering if he should - "Don't leave her in the dark," he blurted with sudden urgency. "She's always slept with a light by her bed."
"Consider it done, young prince." Luna was amused by this request. But it was such a simple and unexpected one. "Anything else?" she asked, half expecting him to rattle off a list of demands.
He pondered for a moment before asking, "Can you go into her dreams and make sure she has good ones?"
Luna honestly did not know how to answer.
An army surgeon came to check on him just before his incarceration. Luna left explicit instructions to offer him all the courtesy of a foreign dignitary minimally allowed, again for the sake of appearances. One of the things required was for a doctor the check up on the colt to ensure he was a.) well enough to be discharged from the hospital and b.) healthy enough to handle imprisonment. The Alicorn hoped the colt was not well enough for jail. She was mildly irritated to discover he had recovered remarkably well and just needed a hearty meal. Luna made sure he was fed before allowing her guards to escort him to his new 'quarters'.
He was given a cell with a small window in the garrison. Despite what ponies thought, Canterlot did not have an actual dungeon. Those were the creation of fantasy novels and tales of brave knights and swooning fillies. No, he was given a normal prison cell at the garrison confinement facility within the outer walls of the castle. It was usually used for the soldiers who got a little too rowdy the night before and were placed in here to sleep off their drunken stupor.
The cell had iron bars and was large enough to accommodate four prisoners. There were four bunks, two stacked on each side of the cell itself. There was a toilet in one corner and a wash basin in the other. It was dimly lit. The bunks were uncomfortable and stiff, but at least they didn't have lice. Not intended for comfort, the Equestrian military at least kept it clean. The barred window at the back of the cell was tiny, just large enough for a pony to look through if they stood on their hind legs and peered out.
Silent took this moment to sit in the center of his cell and assume a meditative position, crossing his hind legs over each other and resting his forehooves upon his knees, angled away from each other. It was said a master of meditating could use his life force to lift himself off the ground when his chi was one with his surroundings. Silent had seen Tseng Tzu do it, but had never even come close himself. He did find it a great way to calm his emotions and relax. He sought out what his master had told him was perfect Zen, to search within his own soul and surround himself with calm and purpose.
He received no visitors (at his request) and spent his time in thought. Silent Wing knew his temper was of the unpredictable variety and he wanted to address that. But how? Master Tseng Tzu had once told him in order to master his enemies, he first had to learn how to master himself. It was painfully obvious the colt had a very long road to travel to learn how to control his emotions. Silent Wing needed to understand his own limitations. What were they? Again, this was another road, but perhaps one or the same in the quest to master himself.
He considered this until a guard interrupted his thoughts by banging his night stick against the bars. "Lights out, prince," he barked in a tone that could only be described as hostile.
Silent Wing went to bed. Sleep did not find him and he watched the crawl of the moon past the narrow view of his barred window, his thoughts still a jumbled mess. He didn't even know when he finally fell asleep, but his dreams were stilled, the warm sensation of a wing draping over his body and pulling him close. A lullaby was whispered into Silent's ear, soothing him and telling him to simply rest and be at peace.
The next morning, the most terrible sounding rooster Silent Wing had ever heard crow rousted him from his sleep. It was a very, very loud bird and seemed to be right outside his window. Wondering what in Tartarus kind of rooster would make such a terrible racket, he forced himself to his hooves and went to the window to see the source. It sounded more like a roar than a crow. It also sounded forced, like the silly bird was trying too hard to be as insanely loud as possible.
"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOOO!"
What he saw was something completely different. He blinked, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. That was no chicken out there greeting Celestia's sun.
"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOOO!" That one was different, as if coming from a smaller set of pipes. It was also higher-pitched.
There was a red dragon perched on the parapet flapping his wings and stretching out his neck and belting out his version of a rooster saying 'good morning'. It was apparent the dragon was enjoying this strange thing as well.
"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOOO!"
He then heard the voice of Pinkie Pie yell, "ALL RIGHT! ONE MORE TIME, BUT WITH FEEEELING!" Of course, she had to demonstrate again for her student. He could just make her out now, wearing what appeared to be a chicken costume to get into the spirit of teaching a dragon how to be a rooster. "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOOO! JUST LIKE THAT, SCARHEART! AS LOUD AS YOU CAN DO IT!"
"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOOO!"
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I have always hated Flash Sentry and this just increases those feelings. Fucking asshole.
Excellent Chapter however one question, will Chrysalis recover or will she, die as a impalement through the chest is very hazardous to ones health
3293030 Stay tuned!
3299000 Excellent
There is something that bothered me in this chapter that i would really like to get some response on...
How the hell could Silent Wing see or maybe even determine that those plush chairs in the hospital were cheap?
Does the Emerald kingdom have some kind of Ikea were Silent is a regular customer or something?
That part work Scarheart and Pinkie at the end was hilarious and very welcome, lifting some of the sadness brought by the scene with Chryssie. Said scene made me cry.
I only wish Silent also kicked Flash in the hot department.
Cya
Raziel-chan