The Breaking Point

by Windy The Warrior

Chapter Six

The apartment had white walls, decorated with a framed picture every few feet. Unwashed gray carpet absorbed the light from the window. The furniture was modern as well, but somehow Cherry had managed to make the space decently cozy. There was a balcony on the west wall that hung over a view of Gallopham's highway and commercial district. The whole thing consisted of a sparsely equipped kitchenette and a living room with a fold-up bed, armchair, and round dining area.

Lemon winced as her hoof came in contact with the carpet, making an unexpected squishing sound. "Quite the lifestyle you've built here." She ignored the crunch under her next step.

"Yeah, I know." Her sister muttered. "But hey, it's not all bad! I've got a nice little view of the city over here!" She waved a hoof at the balcony. "Nothing like a face full of smoke to get you up in the morning."

The unicorn laughed despite herself. Cherry always had a joke to lighten the mood.

She sat down across the table from the grounded pegasus. "You've put it off long enough. Tell me about today's session."

Cherry nodded, reluctantly turning in her seat to face Lemon. "Alright. You're sure you want to hear this?" The older girl just gave her a shocked look and nodded vigorously. "Of course you do. Well, it came in a huge chunk today. I still don't know when that thing got in, but..." She trailed off, eyes locked on her steepled hooves.

Lemon's face twisted. "But, what? Spit it out!" There was no way she would go uninformed. Knowledge was hope, as she always said, this time quite literally.

The rosy mare pinched her eyes shut. "You won't believe it. Neither do I, really. It must have changed the memory or something. But from what I can tell, it didn't start the fire. It was in my memory room crying - have I told you before that this guy is a total wuss? Probably. Then there was this flash of light on the ceiling, and I barreled into him and knocked him out of the way. I think it was lightning, but that doesn't make sense. Then I hit my head and passed out."

Lemon found herself studying her sister's behavior. Her speech patterns, her body language, her facial expressions, everything. She felt a pang of guilt about treating her like this, but it was her job now. "Was there anything else? Anything at all?"

Cherry gave her a pained look, rubbing her forehead. "No, of course not."

That was a lie. Lemon shifted out of her seat and towards the kitchen. "I see. Well, if you're done, I'll make lunch. Does that sound okay?"

Cherry's grimace turned into a scowl. "I am not a filly, sister. I can do it just fine."

The sunny unicorn recognized that tone. "Alright. I'll go over our schedule then." She pulled a notebook out of her jacket pocket as she walked over to the armchair. "Tomorrow, we have a tour of the National Museum of Botany, then brunch with Ginger Balm and his medical team..."

"That's your schedule. I'm staying in." Cherry flashed a coy smile. "You can kiss up to those guys all you like, but I'm not coming."

"They are a highly respected group of doctors from Manehattan. THE Manehattan! I don't know what you want out of your career, but I will take this opportunity, and I think it will be good for you to get out of the house."

"Pfft. If they're so famous, why did you only mention Gingy? How'd he get accepted, anyway?"

"He has recently become well-known in the medical world as a brilliant scientist, and he's the reason we get to meet them in the first place. You should be grateful, if not proud to know him."

Cherry reluctantly withheld her next comment about how his status wasn't the only reason they were invited. Luckily, her sister's face was already bright red, if not for the right reason. The rosy pony stifled her grin and walked over to the fridge. "Fine, fine. I'll come, but if they recognize me I'm leaving, got it?"

Her sister offered a pleased smile before dropping the subject. "We have a few free hours after that, and then we'll speak with the ponies in charge of you-know-who." That last comment nearly sent Cherry into a fit of giggles before she realized who it was. Lemon was almost startled by how fast she blanched. "I know it's difficult, but you said it yourself. It didn't want to hurt you, right?"

"I said it didn't start the fire. I didn't say it wasn't dangerous." A faint trace of anger shadowed Cherry's voice.

Lemon frowned, but nodded her agreement. "Alright. Should I write this one off for now? We can always do it later."

"... No. Let's just get it over with." She pulled out a bag of lettuce. "If I put it off now, I'll never get it done." Even as she said it, a chill went down her spine. She distracted herself by shredding the lettuce over a bowl.

The unicorn nodded, putting the schedule back in her pocket. "If you say so. The rest of the day is free, so if you want you can stay home. I'm going out, though."

"What's the occasion?"

"Oh, there isn't one. I'm just going to dinner with Ginger. He wanted to speak with me about something. And before you say anything, we're just friends."

"Sure." Cherry couldn't help but smile a little at her sister, whose face was once again turning red. "Hey, it's no big deal! You're awesome. I'm sure he likes you, too."

"For the millionth time, it's not like that! Tell you what, I'll bet you twenty bits he wants feedback on some theory of his."

The pegasus nodded. "I'll take that bet." She turned back to the fridge, pulling out a crate of tomatoes. "And just so you know, you're a terrible liar."

The first thing one might notice about the Grand Hall was the gold. The ceiling, the railings, even the curtains shone yellow, so much so that many who visited later claimed they had debilitating headaches. Another shock might be the sheer size; it consisted of four twenty-foot levels, each one with a circular gap in the middle. In the center hung an egg-shaped nest, suspended from the ceiling by a long, silklike tether.

It was the sort of place one might call majestic. Still, the only term a local would use for it was "un-changeling".

Much to her subjects' puzzlement, this Hall had been constructed by order of Queen Obsidian herself. She had provided no explanation as to why it would be so... Pony, really. It wasn't even purely a place of royalty; instead, it also had a library inside the Nest. But one did not question the Queen's actions, no matter how odd they might be.

Of course, it had been even more difficult to find a collection of books large enough for her Majesty's tastes. Lyrical Vibrance poked his head out to the main sitting area, hoping that the Queen was still engrossed in her book.

He was wrong. "Who goes there? Come out this instant!" The drone quickly skittered into the light. Obsidian's head jerked to the side. Vibrance vaguely recognized that as a sign of curiosity. Hopefully she would be content to study him.

"Get me a quill and ink." Yes! She returned to the book in front of her before he had even rounded the corner.

Moments later, he returned with the objects balanced on his frail wings. Obsidian nodded, lifting up the book in her magic. "Come here, servant." She deftly picked the quill from his wing before dipping it gently in the ink, which she then levitated, along with the creature underneath.

"You see? I am working on a spell. Luckily for you, this requires a testing subject." She scrawled a note on the paper, messy enough that Vibrance couldn't read it and complicated enough that he didn't want to, either. "Light your horn."

He did so, watching the Queen work. In seconds, she had drawn a figure with a sleek mane and tail, like a pony, but much thinner.

"There. Stand still," A sudden wave of nausea caught him, forcing him to shift his balance. "I said... Well, fine. As long as it worked. Look." A mirror flashed into existence. Instead of a changeling, the mirror depicted a large, tan-colored Earth Pony.

Obsidian's mouth twisted into something close to a smile. "Really now, stay still..." Her horn gave off a warm pulse, and her face twisted again, back to curiosity. "Interesting. Your magic and Hive connection is somewhat intact, but your flight... Remarkable. Let's see..." She trailed off as another wave of nausea hit. This time, the mirror showed a violet-coated Pegasus mare, strikingly similar to the pony in the drawing.

The Queen's expression sent a chill down Vibrance's spine. "Hmm. Flight has been magnified, of course. Your magic is out-of-tune, but still there. Connection has dropped significantly, and continues to deplete. One more, shall we?" He nodded, regretting it immediately. She was probably just bouncing ideas; it would be safest not to respond.

A wave later, he'd been transformed into a scrawny Unicorn stallion. He felt a pang of guilt, although he didn't know why. Obsidian's expression darkened as the analysis spell flowed over him. "I lied. This will be the last, though. Just relax..." At the Queen's word, Vibrance's legs gave up on supporting the changeling. His eyelids threatened to close of their own accord.

The next wave pushed a lump into his throat. Magic or no, he wasn't about to get sick this close to the Queen. He was vaguely aware of her spell washing over him, quietly at first.

Then its power rose into a crescendo, blocking out every other sense. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. His connection was lost entirely now. Her Majesty's incredulous glare turned into that all-too-familiar look of victory.

Vibrance's thoughts came to an abrupt halt with the final wave. Obsidian cringed, reluctantly pulling back her magic from the gelatinous figure. "Well, that's one problem solved." She poked it with one hoof, which sank into its body a few inches. "... Next time, something less gooey." The Queen gave a quick nod, summoning a janitor. She picked up her book and moved to another bench a few feet away from the mess.