Carpe Diem

by Helrael

4 - Her Return

Carpe Diem

Chapter 4 - Her Return

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Princess Luna's private cloud cottage hung upon the sky above Canterlot peacefully, the only signs of life surrounding it the numerous guards patrolling the currently vacant recluse of the lunar princess. The peace was broken, however, when the guards stationed outside the entrance jumped to attention at the sight of an indigo cloud streaking through the air. The cloud bypassed the first row of armored pegasi in the blink of an eye before coming to a sudden halt. There, it swirled in place for a moment, reshaping itself into the form of an equine before it condensed and Luna materialized. The weapons that had been pointed at the cloud were lowered immediately, and the ten pegasi that had surrounded her saluted.

The sudden shift in gravity caused by her transformation made Luna stumble as she took her first step forwards, and the ponies around her tensed, half a dozen hooves reaching out to help her before being batted away by her words. "Leave me be!" she snapped, righting herself and adopting a more dignified stance. She took a deep breath to keep herself from panting in front of her subjects. "I shall retire for the next hour. I am to be awakened and notified immediately of any suspicious activity in the meantime."

She took another step, but paused when a pegasus behind her cleared his throat. "Princess, there is, actually, already a matter that requires your attention."

"An urgent one?" Luna pressed, turning away from the tempting prospect of a plush bed of the finest cumulus to face the speaker.

"One of the captured changelings has agreed to talk. But... uh, only to you, Princess."

Luna's eyes widened, then narrowed in suspicion. "Why me?"

"I don't know," he confessed with a shrug. "But I heard it caused something of an uproar in the dungeons. The warden thought you'd want to interrogate... err, him, I think, right away."

"That much is right," Luna sighed, turning fully away from the cottage. "Has my sister been informed?"

"Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle have... gone missing. Again."

Luna brought a hoof to her head and rubbed her temple with a great sigh of exasperation. "If you see her, inform my sister that I shall have the palace labyrinth put to the torch if she continues to repeat this performance."

"Princess?"

"Lock the doors," Luna ordered of the guards without looking at them, walking to the precipice of the cloud upon which the cottage stood. "You are all dismissed. I shall not require the royal cloud cottage today."

She spread her wings, but, thinking better of it, instead vanished in a flash and reappeared in the upper recesses of the palace dungeon. Her legs nearly buckled from the exertion, but she managed to right herself and take a deep, steadying breath before anypony noticed. The only pony around, however, turned out to be a lone prison guard on patrol, who jumped in fright at the newly materialized princess only three feet beside her.

"P-Princess Luna!" the earth pony exclaimed nervously, putting a hoof against her chest to calm her heart. "You're here for the, uh, prisoner, right?"

"I am," Luna affirmed coolly. "Take me to it."

The prison guard nodded her head and motioned down the corridor Luna had emerged in and started walking. Luna followed suit, eyeing her surroundings with disdain. A thousand years ago, the floors and walls of the dungeon had been of cobblestone, and the air had been musty and humid. It had been an uncomfortable place, fit for the uncomfortable ponies incarcerated there.

Now, the corridors were hardly any different from those aboveground; the walls were of decorated marble and the floor was so clean it was sparkling. Electrical lamps in the ceiling provided more than enough lighting for the bright, colorful dungeon, banishing the shadows that had once lingered in this, the darkest corner of the palace. The only thing missing, Luna observed wryly, was a red carpet running through the center of the maze of hallways that constituted the dungeon.

The two ponies walked in silence for only half a minute, passing no cells, before they reached the interrogation chamber to which the changeling had been relocated. Standing at the door to the chamber were an additional two guards, one a pegasus, the other a unicorn. The latter's horn glowed as Luna and the earth pony approached, and Luna felt a detection spell sweeping over each of them in turn.

"Welcome, Princess," the unicorn greeted her, bowing his head briefly. "The changeling is waiting for you inside. He made it clear he would only speak to you in private, but if you wish‒"

"I shall interrogate it alone," Luna answered before the question could be asked. "The three of you shall remain outside and under no circumstances are you to let me leave without recasting the detection spell."

"Of course," the unicorn of the group assured her and opened the door.

Luna stepped into the small chamber, which held only a desk and two wooden chairs. On the chair facing her and the now closed door sat... Luna, an expression of boredom melting away immediately upon seeing the princess.

"Doff thy disguise, parasite," Luna growled at the changeling, seating herself across from the prisoner.

The faux-Luna put a hoof to its chin thoughtfully. "'Tis slightly... inaccurate, is it not?" The changeling flashed green briefly, but the disguise remained.

Luna cocked an eyebrow, before noticing the subtle bags under her replica's eyes, the slightly paler nuance of her fur, and the lacking luster in her starry mane. "Most amusing," she commented dryly. "Did you call me down here to mock me?"

"Terribly sorry, Princess Luna," the changeling apologized, this time sporting a distinct Trottingham accent as it shifted once more, taking the form of probably the only foal Luna would be able to name. The parasite was taunting her, she knew. It was displaying just how much it knew of her life, for how long they had been watching her, and it was sampling her feelings as it did so. It was trying to turn the tables on her. "I couldn't ever dream of mocking you; you're my favorite princess!"

"Cease thy games!" Luna snapped, forcefully stripping her adversary of its false visage using her magic. In place of Pipsqueak, a wounded changeling now sat before her, attempting a disarming smile although half its face had swollen from some heavy blow. Luna frowned at the sight. "What happened?"

"This?" The changeling put a hoof to its swollen cheek gingerly. Its voice now sounded like a strange whisper, a layered hissing noise not unlike the buzz of an insect. "Your guards are a bit slow..." He nodded toward the door, indicating that the pegasus and unicorn outside had been the ones to rescue it. "Ironically, we changelings don't take kindly t'turncloaks. I found out my cellmate remains loyal to our queen."

"Then you'd best talk," Luna warned the creature. "Or you will be returned to your cell in cuffs."

The changeling gave a short laugh, one that sounded more forced and pained than merry. "Oh, you are a feisty one! Much more fun than Celestia is! I hear she'ssssick."

"No doubt you know exactly what's wrong," Luna observed, giving the changeling an inquisitive look. "How many changelings are in the castle?"

"Besides the ones in the dungeons?" It tapped a chitinous hoof against its chin. "I'm afraid I don't know. More than you'd like... I wager. Many more."

"How?"

"Your guards are a bit slow," the changeling repeated with a satisfied smirk.

"Are you here to tell me off your operations, or is it simply your wish to threaten me?" Luna pressed, growing impatient with the impudent prisoner.

"I can hardly do one without the other," the changeling defended itself, still smiling cockily. It hesitated for a moment. "Celestia is right." Again, Luna raised an eyebrow. "You haven't won," it elaborated. "Queen Chrysalis lives."

"Chrysalis? Your queen?"

Although they were solid blue, Luna sensed the changeling rolling its eyes derisively. "Gee, Princess, maybe. Yes, our queen."

"We will not take your insults, parasite!" Luna warned the prisoner, leaning across the desk and staring down at the changeling menacingly. "We will not extend to you the same mercy Our sister hath!"

"Too bad she's the one in charge," it replied, unfazed by Luna's threat. "How d‒" The changeling's next insult was cut off by a strangled hiss, and the creature instinctively brought its hooves to its throat, where a blue aura had formed, hoisting it off its chair. The changeling was brought against the wall behind it and hung there, struggling for air while Luna went around the table and approached the prisoner, glaring daggers at it as she did so.

"Where is Chrysalis?" she hissed dangerously. "What is she planning? Why art thou here!?" She released her magical hold on the changeling before it sustained any injuries and let it drop to the floor. "Answer these questions, and We will allow thee to leave this chamber!"

"I'm so scared!" the changeling spat, wheezing from Luna's stranglehold. "I am a changeling spy, Your Majesty! Deception is what I do!" It wiped a strand of spittle from the corner of its mouth before sneering at Luna. "I call your bluff."

"Answer me," Luna told the changeling through clenched teeth, willing herself not to strike the creature.

The prisoner chuckled in response. "Or what?"

Luna's eyes narrowed, but she turned away from the changeling. "I was told you had agreed to talk."

"We are talking."

"I was under the impression that you would share with me something of interest," Luna clarified. "Not trade petty insults!"

"I might know of a few things that might interest you," the changeling chuckled. "But what do I get in exchange?"

"A new prison cell," Luna answered. "One you will not have to share with any loyalists."

"Doesn't sound too interesting," the changeling told her, and Luna turned her head to give the creature a hard stare.

"Your continued existence! Does that interest you!?"

A smile formed on the prisoner's lips before it guffawed out loud. "Oh yes! You'll kill me! That's right!" It tutted condescendingly and shook its head. "What would Celestia say?" The changeling's cackle quickly devolved into a dry wheezing sound as the sparkling blue collar formed about its neck again, this time smashing it into the ceiling with a thud.

"Celestia will not notice a missing changeling," Luna assured the prisoner. She narrowly dodged a green glob of spit aimed at her, and her dull mane flared to life along with her temper. The changeling was sent hurtling through the wooden table, which splintered from the impact, and the prisoner bounced off the floor before smashing against the opposite wall. "Three questions We ask!" Luna bellowed, striding through what remained of the table, her eyes glowing ominously. "Three answers thou will give Us!"

The changeling was taking shallow, ragged breaths now, its eyes showing the first signs of fear, but still it refused to speak. It was promptly hurled against the wall to its left, then its right, before being brought back face to face with Luna. The grip about its neck tightened, and finally the changeling caved.

"The badlands!" it managed to choke out, tears forming in its eyes. The magical hold on its neck vanished, and it fell to the floor, gasping for air. "She's in the badlands... She's... she... She survived the attack... Everyone did. She's famous... rallying the hives... for a... a counter-invasion... We tested you. We know your weaknesses, your strengths..."

"When!?" Luna pressed urgently, bringing her face level with the downed changeling.

"I don't..." the changeling replied feebly before slumping over, unconscious.

With an annoyed huff, Luna rose to her full height once more and exited the interrogation chamber, leaving behind the broken parasite. Opening the door, she was met with three ponies staring at her in shock. At least the prison guards had had the sense not to interrupt her.

"The changeling was more than willing to share its secrets," Luna told the trio of ponies, eyeing them seriously. "Its injuries were caused by its cellmates, and you will tell it as much once it awakens."

The guards nodded in unison. "There were two other guards there when we pulled the changeling out of its cell," the pegasus revealed. "What do I tell them?"

"The truth," Luna relented after a brief moment of hesitation. "See to it that the changeling is given its own cell. I want two of you guarding it. I am to be notified immediately when it is awake."

The guards saluted, and Luna turned to leave, only to stop immediately in her tracks. She gave the unicorn a hard stare, and he caught her meaning after a few tense seconds, apologizing as he cast a detection spell on her.

With a satisfied nod, she left the trio of ponies and started down the corridors of the dungeon alone, passing the occasional guard on her way out. She felt strangely invigorated after her face-off with the changeling, which was more than a little disconcerting, Luna noted with a frown. Her strides had lengthened considerably from the shuffling of hooves with which she had followed the earth pony prison guard, and the vibrance born by her anger with the parasite remained in her mane yet. As much as she hated admitting it, mishandling the changeling had felt good. She had felt so very powerless for these three weeks, tethered to the hundreds of duties she faced as the temporary monarch of Equestria and Captain of the Royal Guard.

But she had been in control just now. The parasite had changed its mind, had tried to withhold the answers Luna sought, but she had wrung them out all the same. The changeling, so cocky and sure of itself, had bowed its head to her in the end. Luna had won, and although it was a small victory, it had been infinitely more substantial than investigating city block after city block in a fruitless search for enemies.

She gave an annoyed shake of the head, dispelling the treacherous thoughts. No good could come of dwelling on things like that. She wandered aimlessly through the castle for several minutes, trying to take her mind off the satisfaction she had gained from pummeling the changeling.

Instead, she thought of what it had told her. The parasite could have lied, of course. It seemed unlikely, but still possible. Its cellmate had tried to kill it, but it could just as easily have been an elaborate act; either they genuinely did not want the changeling to tell her the truth, or they were extremely dedicated to make her believe a lie, to the point of bludgeoning one of their own.

The interrogation itself had no doubt left the changeling fearing for its life. Luna herself was unsure of whether she would have allowed it to live had it not spoken then and there. Would it lie to her if its own life were at stake? It could have. Deceit was its trade, after all. She would need to question it more thoroughly. She would need statements from the other prisoners as well. If it was true the changeling queen, this Chrysalis, was planning another invasion, Luna would need to be a lot more aggressive in her approach.

By now, she had reached the main entrance hall of the palace, and she stopped a nearby patrolling pegasus guard. "Has my sister been found? I require her counsel in an urgent matter."

"She's still missing. I think we stopped looking for her half an hour ago," he admitted.

"You are leaving your princess unsupervised in our time of war?" Luna raised an eyebrow critically, and the guard swallowed nervously.

"She's with Twilight Sparkle!" he objected weakly. "Phalanx is in the courtyard; he's the one that called the search off!"

"The courtyard?" Luna inquired, setting off down the stairs toward the main entrance, forcing the smaller pony into a quick trot to keep up.

"He's preparing the troops for today's sweep," the pegasus explained.

Luna sighed as she passed through the enormous doorway leading out into the palace courtyard. "Is it time for that already..?"