The Chimera

by Scarheart

Chimera 7: Prophet

As a changeling, Crown Princess Atalanta had a naturally built in resistance to the mind control magic inherent in all changeling queens. As a soon-to-be queen herself, her budding magic was already in the early stages of such a development. As she grew, her own ability to manipulate multiple minds like her mother would grow and even had her own personal touch. Though the hive mentality of changelings had mostly faded, the influence a queen had over her subjects and especially her intended victims was obviously there. One had but to ask Shining Armor and Princess Cadence about their take on the Canterlot incident.

Since the incident at the beach with the poor changeling having her wings torn from her, Atalanta had been screaming in an isolated pocket of her mind, fully awake and aware of what had happened. She was sure Star Journey felt the same way. Used to such acts of cruelty (her mother was by no means a saint), she had never seen joy felt by others reveling in the suffering of their victims. Being linked with the Topaz Queens was not so bad, though they were a bit harsher in dealing out punishment, but the short link with Flamespyre had been a sensational experience of pure unadulterated horror. As a result from the shock and recoil from his mental touch, some of the links she had with the Topaz Queens had been broken.

She had pushed against their influence until she was exhausted, even as she swam with the dragon to whom that same little recess of her mind was terrified of it and wanted to run away from such evil. Atalanta laughed with a monster, sitting on the tip of his snout as he acted as a diving board for her to jump into the rolling waves of the ocean.

The worst part of all was the dragon knew. The gleam in his eye when he stared at her was enough convincing. It was as if he enjoyed watching that little part of her still belonging struggle against the suffocating will of two queens. The dragon had removed his influence from her completely, leaving the little princess to struggle against odds only slightly less impossible now.

Atalanta knew Star Journey was suffering, too. Since he was a mushy pony, he was probably doing mental flips in his head and howling for his mother, Twilight Sparkle. Where was she, anyway? Neither had seen the lavender Alicorn since the day they had arrived.

It was the middle of a starry night. Luna's full glow bathed where she lay in a bed of vipers. She was awake, laying with Star Journey and nestled comfortably between Tappis and Tappaz. Both queens were sleeping soundly, their heads and forehooves entwined with each other. Atalanta was curled up against the neck and chest of Tappis while Star Journey was stretched out between the bellies of the queens and on his back. His mouth was open as he snored softly. One hind leg twitched every now and then as he dreamed.

No, it was a nightmare. His little chunky face was scrunched. Atalanta thought he might be reliving what had happened to the changeling servant.

The little princess had managed to sever the ties to her mind with her own natural ability. It had been a struggle, but she had feigned sleep until she was sure her 'mothers' were asleep. Quietly she shifted to her legs, careful not to jostle the sleeping queen who held her close. The other queen's face was right in front of her, wearing a peaceful smile, almost angelic. Beneath it lay a monster not in the caliber of Flamespyre, but one none the less. Atalanta was careful to conceal her emotions. A sudden change could awaken one or both Topaz Queens and they were especially sensitive to the spectrum of emotions changelings could sense.

Emotions were a part of changeling life, though not in the conventional way say, a pony might understand it. If there was a singular reason why there was by outsiders a reason to point out changelings had a hive mentality, this was it. The nobility were essentially the changelings who could sense and guard against emotions and there were those who could not. The normal changeling could sense emotions, but had no means to protect their own emotions from being detected and used against them. Magic aside, those who controlled their emotions and hid them from others were likely to rise in the aristocratic pecking order.

Thanks to being a daughter of the very powerful and influential Queen Chrysalis, Atalanta was no exception to this rule. One of the delightful games the two did share on a regular basis back home was a game fondly referred to as 'What am I feeling?'. This was Mother's way of developing her daughter's ability to mask her mind as well as her emotions. All she had to do was realize and prepare for when a changeling was sensing for her emotional state. Queen Chrysalis could get away with it because quite frankly there was no changeling in the world who could match her power. Atalanta always thought her mother simply enjoyed it.

Emanating calm from herself, the little princess sat up, blinking as she half expected a topaz eye to open and glare at her angrily. Nothing happened. Slowly she began to flap her wings, using a levitating spell upon herself until she was high enough up to use her own wing power to stay aloft. Biting her lower lip, she released her spell and found neither queen even stirring. Tappis smacked her lips and nuzzled her sister, her horn scraping the other's for a moment. Neither moved after that.

Next she looked at Star Journey. Atalanta debated on taking him with her, but decided he would probably want to come. Brushing a strand of hair from her harlequin eyes, she took in a deep breath, focused on Star Journey, and already imagined the regret her brain cramp was going to be in lifting his body with her levitation spell. What followed was not exactly what she had in mind.

Star Journey was a hefty colt. He had lost some weight since coming to Kahsoon as the Queens made him walk a lot from one end of the palace to the other. Encouraged to exercise, his weight was also carefully monitored. It was slowly coming off, but there was still plenty of extra to him. This also meant more exertion in the levitation spell as magic was also an exercise in mental fortitude. The stronger the mind and better trained, the more it could do. Atalanta had seen her mother lift a manticore with a levitation spell once as a demonstration while making it look easy. It was also known she had beaten Princess Celestia in a magic duel.

Star Journey was no manticore and Atalanta was no Queen Chrysalis.

The little princess concentrated, narrowing her eyes to slits as she grit her fangs. Her horn glowed a soft light green. Stary Journey's body outlined with her magic. Slowly she began to lift him from his chest, imagining magical arms lifting him by his arm pits. His forehooves dangled, one flopping over his chest as he started turning on her, away from Tappaz. The head lolled towards gravity, his horn just narrowly poking into the queen's side.

Ugh, he's heavy.

Still, he came up, slowly like a rag doll from the bottom of a toy chest. Atalanta had her tongue out to one side now as she concentrated. Beads of sweat formed on her brow and neck. She maintained her concentration and soon had him off the bed, hovering with his legs dangling. Star Journey was still snoring. This somehow was viewed as insulting by the princess as she was half tempted to let him drop. All this effort to get him out of there and all he could do was snore like a nincompoop!

Still, I guess it's better than him waking up and squealing like the little piggy he is.

Ata wondered why she was doing this. If she were her mother, she would certainly had left him to these two nutbags. There was something to be said about being mothered by a pair of sociopaths. The Topaz Queens Tappis and Tappaz would have been ruled insane and unfit to rule back home. Here, they could do whatever they wanted to anypony they wanted. As demonstrated, they also had considerable magic at their hooftips. Combined, they might even be a challenge for Queen Chrysalis. At least Atalanta was assured her mother understood the value of life. One simply did not destroy valuable assets inherent to the comfort of the royal family.

Backing up slowly and maintaining the distance between herself and Star, the princess pulled him off the bed. She began to land him coming with her. Both touched down at roughly the same time. Maintaining her spell, the princess began to bodily drag the sleeping Star across the carpeted floor.

He was still snoring.

She managed to drag him into another room and out of view of the bed where their psychotic 'mothers' slept. Their lingering hold over her made her momentarily want to run back and nestle in between them, but Ata stopped herself with a silent growl. No! They were not her Mommas! She needed to make sure Star Journey knew this, too. He had his own mother and she was somewhere in this castle. Somehow she hoped to find Twilight Sparkle and maybe the Alicorn could magic them away to safety, to home.

To Chrysalis.

Her eyes felt wet as she thought of her mother. She wondered if Silent Wing was worried about her. She was confident the two could tear down the walls of this fortress to find her and rescue her.

Nevermind those things! She shook her mane and propped Star up to a sitting position. Gently she shook him awake. His blue eyes fluttered open and found a princess staring at him, her nose inches from his own. Star opened his mouth to say something, but a dark hoof was slapped over his lips.

"Shh!" Ata held her other hoof over her own lips. "Hold still a sec. Look into my eyes."

He did so, not sure what she was doing. Star blinked sleepily, wanting to go back to bed, but also aware he was not currently in bed, nestled up to Mommy - wait, that was not his mother! Why were Ata's eyes glowing like that? What was this magical thingamajig she was doing to him? He realized he was in control of his own mind again. Star started to cry as he immediately remembered the changeling mare.

"No!" Ata hissed quietly. "You idiot. You'll wake them up. Keep your mouth shut. I don't know the silence spell. Can I trust you not to cry or make noise, Star?"

Mutely he nodded through his fresh tears. The hoof was removed from his mouth. "I know the silence spell," he whispered back as if he thought it would be helpful. "Why are you so sweaty? It's not hot."

Ata rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's see if we can find your mother." She went to the door and peered out at the bed. The queens were fast asleep still.

They managed to slink past the bed with the sleeping mares, heading for the door and the hallway outside. They didn't recall any guards stationed outside before and could not imagine any there now. Atalanta took the lead as they paused and peered both ways down the hall. It was as silent as a tomb. The filly and the colt debated for a moment which way to go before Star simply started going to the right. Seeing there was no reason not to follow, Ata was soon on his heels, both children experiencing pounding hearts and fear. After about five minutes or so of walking, they came across four guards roaming the halls at an intersection.

There was an awkward moment as the two parties stared at each other.

"What are you doing here?" demanded the guard in charge of the group. He appeared to be a corperal, or some soldier of that rank.

Atalanta motioned for Star to keep quiet before addressing the guards. "Do you know who I am, commoner?" she demanded in her best spoiled princess voice. "Nopony asks me what my business is."

The guards became unsure. They knew who she was but had never seen her out of sight of their Queens. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"We are bored," she said flatly. "We go where we wish when we are bored. We wish to see the changeling who owes her life to us. We do not know where the prison is and demand to know where she is so we may receive our thanks for our selfless act." It seemed a logical request. Once there, she imagined Twilight Sparkle would be found somewhere in a cell, just waiting to be rescued. Of course, how an Alicorn could be held must mean there would be magical enchantments to overcome. But what kind?

Star Journey stared at her in mute awe. An elbow into his belly and a swift glare reminded him to follow her lead. He caught on quickly and assumed his best arrogance pose. It wasn't hard since he was a brat.

The guards immediately came to attention. Their leader spoke, "We would be honored to escort you to where the prisoner is." The four snapped to, spread out and formed a defensive square around the colt and the filly.

Atalanta thought they were going to be imprisoned themselves. Still, she maintained her facade. "Lead on then, ah. What is your name and rank, soldier?"

"Sergeant Stripewing," answered the Topaz guard with a grin. He looked like any changeling she had ever met, except he had a light brown hue to his carapace. The eyes glowed the same color as the queens, though nowhere near as intensely.

They ended up going into a completely different part of the castle entirely. The path took them over seemingly every inch of ground of the palace and castle proper until they came to an iron gate in some dark and desolate part of the grounds. The moon overhead was the only source of light. A night hawk called out from somewhere up in the castle spires.

There was a single guard who let them in without a word, bearing a key to the lock of the gate. He pulled it open and watched silently as the small party silently filed in. They found themselves going down a flight of stone steps deep into the abyss of the castle's underground.

"This was not originally a prison," said Stripewing as his horn flared into a torch, "it's been modified over the past century to accommodate mostly political prisoners, ponies to feed upon as well as other needs Their Majesties might have."

Atalanta and Star Journey found they did not like the sound of that. The lower they went into the unknown, the more dark and dank the place became. Hoofsteps echoed in the tight corridor as the stairs wound down, spiraling around a massive natural stone support. Then it opened up to a vast cavern, dotted by torches a thousand feet in every direction. The floor was neatly partitioned into small cubicles with twenty feet of space above them. Chains dangled, leading to iron grates at the front of each little cell. The interiors could be seen from above. The sounds of coughing someponies could be heard, weak and tired. There was weeping. Somepony was begging for someone to show mercy and end it. The smell alone felt it could curdle skin off of flesh.

The children wished they had not come.

"Your mom, remember!" Atalanta whispered harshly into the colt's ear.

He flattened them and nodded, swallowing hard.

"This way, please," said Stripewing politely. He seemed uncomfortable upon seeing how pale Ata and Star had become. "Just don't look down. We'll be crossing the platform to the master jailer's office. He'll be able to take you where you need to go."

"Thank you," squeaked Star, keeping his eyes firmly in front of him. He wanted to pinch his nose shut. No he wanted to cut it off. "The smell," he began to complain under his breath.

Ata elbowed him in the gut.

The master jailer turned out to be an enormously fat changeling with a twisted face and an oversized lower jaw. Instead of having fangs protruding downward from his upper lip like most changelings, his jutted up from the lower. He peered at them with an oversized right eye. A leather eye patch covered his left. The creature walked with a pronounced sliding limp. Numerous keys jingled from a belt he wore around his waist.

"Visitors for the serving wench who survived the attention of the Dragonking," the sergeant announced as they went inside the only building built over the cubicles. It was constructed of stone. Wood seemed to be sparse in Kahsoon, the children noticed.

The massive and hideous changeling glared at them, scratching his chin. "They is now, is they? Prophet'll be wantin' ta see them, I figure. Wouldn't be surprised iff'in he's expectin' these two l'il darlins." His grin could probably shatter a looking glass, Star thought.

"They are expected," said Stripewing gruffly. "Best not keep him waiting."

"He's been drinkin'," warned the jailer sourly. "Then again, he's always drinkin'." He snorted and laughed a barking laugh. Ata thought it was not at all pleasant to hear. "All right, all right, I'll take 'em. I don' wanna be the one there when they find out their l'il playmates 'ave wandered down 'ere."

Sergeant Stripewing nodded, then bowed to the children. "Highnesses, mind your manners down here and especially around prophet. He won't harm you, but he might yell a lot. He likes to yell. Just a fair warning."

"Who is this prophet?" Star asked curiously, trying not to look at the ugly jailer. Did he hit every ugly branch in the ugly tree and have it fall on him when he hit the ground just to add insult in injury?

"You'll see," replied the sergeant with a tight grin. He left, taking his patrol with him.

"All right, 'm little darlins'," grumbled the jailer, "the name's Fracture. If he's expectin' the two of you, then I needs to take ya a different way. There's a special place fer him." Fracture began going through the enormous number of keys at his belt.

Star Journey felt another nudge. Atalanta whispered in his ear loudly, "Well, ask him. Now's your chance."

He nodded, not wanting Fracture to look at him. This was for Mother! "S-s-sir? Mr. Fracture, sir?" he stammered with a squeak.

"Louder, dummy. You're a prince. Speak like one," Ata snarled in his ear with her little voice.

Star took in a deep breath and summoned his courage. "Is my mother Twilight Sparkle down here somewhere? She's a purple Alicorn with horn and wings and straight pretty dark purple mane with a stripe in it."

Fracture fixed his one topaz eye on the colt, regarding him as he stopped in mid search for the right key. "Ain't no prisoner fittin' that description down here, boy. I'd know if there was. The black one keeps his interests elsewhere. The further from me, the better." He fished out a key, glared at the two children and muttered, "Follow me."

He limped to a large iron door and unlocked it. The door opened with a pull on an iron ring with his teeth. Star Journey and Atalanta were ushered inside and led down another flight of spiraling stairs after the door was shut behind them. Fracture, the children noticed, had a rather rank odor emanating from him. They had to use their own horns to light the way as the changeling jailer seemed indifferent to using one, relying on his intimate knowledge of the place.

The steps opened into a large cave carved into the stone at the base of the stairs. There was another door, this one a bit more ornate. Fracture opened this one without a key, holding up a hoof first to the children as he peered in. He opened his mouth as if to announce Star Journey and Atalanta when a voice drifted to their ears.

"Send them in, Frac."

The jailer scowled. "Hate it when he does that," he muttered. Fracture glared at the children. "Well. In you go! Git!" He shooed them inside and closed the door when he had them inside behind them.

Much to their relief, he did not follow them.

"Just walk straight ahead and take the third door on your right," yelled the voice. It sounded deep and old and something else.

Atalanta looked at Star Journey and the two shrugged and went deeper into the room. It was as if somepony had made a house out of the cave. There were furnishings and tables and books and all sorts of things one would find in a normal home. However, nothing matched, looking more like a collection of finds having found a permanent spot here and there in this cave dwelling. Lamps and shades from various eras were lit, not all of them burning with oil or lit by magic. Both children could sense magic, but there was none coming from the lights.

They could hear somepony humming an incoherent song and a few hoofsteps. The door described to them was soon before them. Nervously Ata and Star lined up side by side and peered in, leaning forward with their heads guided by the wall to look to their left where the room opened up. It was some sort of hospital room, from the looks of it. Instruments hung neatly on the wall behind wooden cabinets and glass doors. There was a medicine cabinet only partially full sitting in one corner. At the far end of the room was a very large Unicorn with a gray coat and peppered mane and tail looking over a changeling resting on her belly. Her expression was sad, as if having a trauma happen to her recently. The children could see her shoulders were bandaged. Soiled strips of bindings were strewn on the floor, colored with dry and drying blood.

"I'll have you sleep in the spare bed tonight so I can check how you're doing in the morning," said the Unicorn gently to his patient. His voice was slightly slurred. "When I tell you to not do certain things, it's to keep you from breaking open your stitches." He was wearing a faded old lab coat, his horn glowing with a swirling collection of colors as he worked tenderly with his patient. There was pause only when he sipped from a bottle floating near his head.

The changeling began to weep.

"Oh, stop that!" the Unicorn snapped irritably. He turned slightly and noticed Star Journey and Atalanta staring at him and his patient. It was then they noticed he had a long, thick peppered beard streaked with charcoal gray. He was also impossibly huge for any Unicorn, easily twice the size of either Celestia or Chrysalis. Most mesmerizing were his eyes. They were ever shifting chromatic orbs of light and stood out brilliantly to his dull appearance.

The children beheld him in awed rapture.

"Oh, stop that," he said again, but to them this time. "Help me with this young lady, if you please." The changeling saw the two children and cringed. "No, it was not them." The Unicorn told her, tapping her lightly on the head with the bottom of his bottle. "Have a swig. Doctor's orders. You need rest, Rosie."

Rosie, as he called her, did as she was told and drank sparingly from the bottle. She promptly fell asleep. Gently her body lifted from the table as the Unicorn turned, enshrouded in a swirling aura of soft colorful magic.

"What do you want us to do?" Atalanta asked, speaking for Star. He glared at her, but backed away as the giant approached with his sleeping patient floating in front of him.

"Next room over, turn down the bed for me, if you please," he said with a belch. "Turn the light on, if you will. The switch is to the right of the door on the wall. Get moving, kids. I don't have all night."

They did as they were told, Star turning on the lights in the next room as Ata obediently turned down the covers of a battered bed. It looked surprisingly comfortable. The Unicorn entered and soon had his patient sleeping on her stomach, bandaged and clean. Her face was peaceful in her sleep. Quietly he ushered the colt and filly out of the room, turning the light out. There was no door to close, but a curtain was pulled across the entrance from the hallway side.

"You're both a little later than I expected, but I suppose it couldn't be helped since you don't know the area very well," he mumbled, musing more to himself it seemed. "Ah well. My bottle is nearing the end of its journey and I've become more sober since Rosie was brought back to me."

With a mournful eye, he beheld his nearly empty source of contentment. It was followed by a shrug and one final pull.

"And no, I am not a doctor by trade," he said to the children, seeming to notice they were staring up at him. "Nopony else wanted the job and it gets boring down here. Well, nopony competent enough to keep prisoners alive and healthy before they are executed for the stupidest of things. Gods, how I hate this world and its cruelty."

"Who are you?" asked Atalanta, a little afraid after hearing the miniature tirade.

"The name's Prophet," he said. "Used to have another one, but I don't use it anymore. I took this one simply because what I can do and choose not to do drives the Shadowbastard nuts." He laughed at his own joke before noting the children were not laughing with him. "Eh, come on, you two. There's very little time before those two realize you're gone and come looking for you."

Prophet led them into a larger room to the left. It felt like a living room, complete with a burning fireplace with no wood. There were bookshelves along the north and south walls filled to near overflowing. The volumes were ancient, most of them in writing neither Star nor Ata could understand. At the center of the room was a large coffee table surrounded by a mix of chairs. Old paintings hung where there was room on the walls for them. Over the hearth was a massive sickle crossed with a broad sword. Both gleamed with oil from being well kept. Both were like everything else in the room; ancient.

"Sit where you like. I'll fetch refreshments." Prophet did not bother to see if they heard him, but moved with a swiftness belying his age. He had to be old!

The wide-eyed children stared at each other before selecting the battered blue couch to climb up on. They huddled together, a little scared as they wondered how anypony could get so huge in size. Prophet was a monster!

"How old do you think he is?" Star asked Ata.

She shook her little head, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes. "I don't know," Ata said quietly.

For several minutes they stared about the room, drinking in the details while they heard Prophet bustling about in the next room. They noticed an odd looking ship with no sails in a glass case in the far corner of the room. It caught Star's attention. Before he could go over the look at it, Prophet returned carrying a tray with glasses filled with a golden liquid. There were also biscuits and jam and sliced up fruits. There was even a bunch of white grapes. The Unicorn set the tray on the table and floated the juice to the children.

"It's not alcohol, I promise," he said to them when they eyed it suspiciously. "It's a local mix of fruit juices and honey. Very good for the digestive system and quite tasty, I might add."

Tentatively Ata and Star took the glasses and sniffed into them. They looked at each other, then shrugged and took a drink. The sweet tang of the drink tickled their tongues. Star Journey did not hesitate and drained the glass down, gulping loudly. Atalanta stared at him, making a face as she scooted away from his side.

"Thank you for the drinks," she said politely to Prophet.

He had opened a fresh bottle of whatever alcohol he preferred and was taking a quick pull before waving her thanks off. "I rarely get guests down here worth my time," he said with a grin. "I should be thanking you two. I've been waiting a long time to meet you." He sat down on his overstuffed chair, far too big for it but managing to look lazily comfortable. Adjusting his wings, the Unicorn settled down and sighed happily.

Wait. Wings?

Before Atalanta's glass hit the floor, it glowed with Prophet's magic as his smile faded. Both colt and filly stared at their host, rather at the wings on him, black tipped feathers in a state of disarray and near neglect. Star Journey's glass fell to the carpet, but did not break. It was simply too thick.

Prophet was an Alicorn.

"It's rude to stare, children," he chided them gently. Another pull from his bottle and he regarded them with almost what could be described as shame. "Yes, I am what you think I am and no, I am not going to talk about it. You have many questions, but do not let what I am distract you from the purpose to which you are here. Understand?"

Star righted himself from nearly toppling over to the side. "Do you know where my mom is?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I do," came the reply, "Flamespyre holds her in his quarters. If you were to go to the largest temple on the fortress grounds, you will find it. She is underground several stories. No, she is not physically harmed, if you were wondering."

"I want to go to her!" he cried out to Prophet, flailing his hooves.

"I know, son. Be patient. Do not worry about her. She will not be harmed." The Alicorn stroked his beard and added almost as an afterthought, "At least not for now."

"How do you know this?" asked Atalanta curiously. "Do you ever leave this place?"

"I have not seen the light of day in over a thousand years," said Prophet with a shrug. "Why should I want to? I've seen what happens." His voice was mysterious as he observed the children. A hoof was levelled at Atalanta. "You will be a powerful queen one day. What kind of queen remains to be seen." It went to Star Journey. "You will be a great scholar and discover forgotten magics from an era destroyed by magic."

The children fished for snacks, not breaking their gazes from the Alicorn. Atalanta was given back her glass which she held with her magic a bit more firmly now.

"No, I've already seen what might happen. There is no point in going out in the world when one knows the possibilities. It's a curse, really." Prophet pointed to his cutie mark. It was the All Seeing Eye within a pyramid. Six streaks of light projected from its center, each one a color from the prism. "I can see possible futures in my dreams every night."

"You can see the future?" Star Journey blurted. "That's impossible!"

"I wish it was impossible, kid," Prophet said with a grunt. He drank again, taking a rather long pull from his bottle, draining half the contents in one go. "But your new mommies will be at the door in four. Three. Two. One."

The door at the end of the hallway pounded. Prophet's horn glowed briefly and he bellowed, "IT'S OPEN!"

Ata dropped her glass again. It was caught and returned to her.

The Topaz Queens Tappis and Tappaz swept into the room, their eyes wide with fright and anger, wings buzzing in their agitation. Their horns glowed. They were ready to do something unpleasant. Their eyes settled on Prophet, who waved at them with his bottle to come in.

"Come in, come in! Room for plenty in here. We can have a good old bash!" He noted they were not at all pleased at him. "Perhaps 'bash' is not the right word to use at the moment. Ah, well," Prophet sighed and finished the bottle in one go. "Sit down, ladies! Don't stand on ceremony on my account!"

"Why are they here?" the queens demanded in overlapping hisses as they slid over towards Atalanta and Star Journey. They stood behind them protectively, stretching down to nuzzle the children who now recoiled from them. Taken a back by this, they withdrew in confusion, their eyes flaring with renewed rage as they focused on Prophet.

"Oh, calm down, girls," he said, indifferent to their anger. "The changeling filly knows how to counter your mind manipulations. She had a very good teacher in her real mother. You both got lazy with your own magic and did not anticipate as I taught you when you were both fillies. Nor will I allow you to punish either of them for your own inability to know royal changeling children will inherently have certain abilities other changelings do not have. It applies to all the colors of the changelings, girls. Understand?"

The Topaz Queens appeared shamefaced at the lecture.

To Star and Ata, Prophet said, "You two are safe with them. You may not like it, but you will be safest with them than anywhere else in this kingdom. I don't care for their methods," - he glared meaningfully at the queens - "But I understand why they do this. I won't explain it to either of you because I simply don't want to. You'll figure it out on your own." Prophet shifted his attention to the queens fully. "You will be held accountable for your actions. What you do in the following months will determine the strength of the dark storm coming for you. How well you protect these two children will play a hand in how the rest of your days play out."

"Anything else?" asked the queens with surprising calm. Fear, however swirled behind their eyes. "What other bits of wisdom can a forgotten relic bestow when he himself refuses to be a part of the world?"

"The One I cannot see has been moving. His journey has begun."

"Silent Wing?" Tappaz asked scornfully.

Tappis added, "He has no power."

"Nor is he your opponent," chuckled Prophet. His eye wandered and flickered for a moment on Atalanta and the shadow she stood beneath. The smile widened as he regarded the Topaz mares again. "You chose yours already. Now, take your 'children' and leave. I have a patient to check upon. You will assign her as governess to Atalanta and Star Journey when she is well enough to leave."

"Why should we do this?" asked both Queens in their eerie shared speech.

"I demand it be done for both of your sakes. There is still a chance for the two of you. A small one, but one none the less. As your teacher, I ask you to consider my wisdom. You won't be able to have the children around you all the time and you know it." He settled back, looking mournfully at his empty bottle. "After I check on Rosie, I shall go back to drowning myself."

Star Journey and Atalanta stared in mute shock as the Alicorn was not going to fight for them. Instead, he had meekly handed them over to the Topaz Queens. Within moments of the dismissal, they were once again within the thrall of the changeling mares, now happy to be with their mothers. They departed, making cheerful and tired goodbyes as Tappiz and Tappas told them they were tired. Lo and behold, they found sleep hounding them as they were nestled upon comfortable backs and between insectoid wings.

Each one felt within the one part of their minds they could still call their own the sense of betrayal. Alicorns were supposed to be good, noble, and honorable. Images of Celestia, Luna, Cadence and especially Twilight Sparkle in the case of Star Journey permeated their thoughts as to what an Alicorn was supposed to be. These were their last thoughts as sleep claimed them.

Prophet betrayed that sense, watching them blearily through eyes desiring only to find the next bottle to keep the demons at bay. He hated himself as he could see past the magic and felt the betrayal. It was the story of his far-too long life.

"Be patient, little ones," he said before going in search of what he craved. Before he did so, he did check on Rosie. She was still asleep. Glad to have this one lone success for the night, the ancient Alicorn went in search of temporary oblivion.

Author's Note:

How does someone make a drunken alicorn? This is how you do it. Enjoy!

Comments

[tankmanbrony]

Excellent chapter, I love how you have the Ata and Star Journey have another chapter, also I find this prophet character interesting

[kyubbiman]

Is Prophet going to be making anymore appearances?

[Georelic35]

3664641
I hope so, he sounds like the classic "Jesus" gone down type but i personally hope to see more of yet another seemingly godly character either rise up or fall deeper into his own oblivion

[Razzy]

Dat Prophet.

Hmm, I hope the two changeling Queen sisters will be saved.