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Party3,407 words
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Party

Mute was a Lord. A proper Lord had suits, nice jackets, mansions, large plots of land, servants, and pompous carriages that bore its Lord's family crest. Mute had none of these things. Mute had a patched shirt, a sack of bits, and a pebble. A very talkative pebble.

"Hurry, Mute! I must look presentable for our subjects! How am I to indulge in gossip and passive-aggressive conversation without a hat!"

Mute hurried to the walk-in closet and searched among the rows upon rows on miniature suits, jackets, and hats for something suitable for Zarathon to wear. The pebble in question was placed on a cushioned pedestal in the middle of the room. Mute ran around and looked through the rows upon rows of miniature clothes before he decided on a small top hat and hurriedly placed it on the pebble. He then wrapped a small white and black suit around Zarathon before he finally placed the pebble in a miniature open-air carriage. He attached said carriage to a white rat with a collar around its neck. The collar was filled with runes and the rat's eyes glowed a bright orange. It stood deathly still as if it was frozen in fear, but it showed no stress or anxiety. It just stood motionless on the pedestal.

"Haha! Yes! Look upon my style and flair! The leather band on my hat is real!—"

Mute distinctly remembered that they had procured that fake leather from a reputable store, as real leather was outlawed.

"—The silk from which the insides of the suit is made costs a thousand bits per ten centimeters!—"

Mute did remember that it did cost that much. And that Zarathon had demanded they procure over a meter of the stuff. The bag of bits had gotten considerably lighter afterward...

"—And the carriage was designed by Canterlot's greatest craftsman! Oh, such a master of vehicles and homes alike!"

A designer of toy carriages and dollhouses. The craftsman had been a toy-maker, not that Zarathon had listened to said toy-maker when he tried to explain that fact. Mute had just let his friend believe whatever he wanted to believe. After all, Zarathon was the great lord of cinder, he deserved the best clothes and vehicles for his esteemed service to the ponies of Ponyville and Equestria at large. Furthermore, Mute couldn't tell him. And his grunts and strained hisses (if it was even recognizable as a hiss at this point) often scared the ponies, so it was better to keep quiet and let Zarathon handle all the affairs of the... kingdom? Duchy? Dukedom? It was still unclear, but Mute still smiled with pride at the thought that he was a part of it.

"Mute! Stop daydreaming and put on something nice! We can not be late to such an important event!" Zarathon yelled from his rat-driven carriage.

Mute gestured around at the miniature clothes with a quirked brow. Zarathon did not respond so Mute picked up a small hat and placed it onto his horn. It was way too small and had spikes all over it. He needed something larger, and they had not procured anything in his size during their shopping trip.

"Hum... Yes, that hat is too old, an archaic style too! No, you need something modern and sleek! Grab the beret and shirt from the left corner!"

Mute hurried over to the said corner and found among the clothes a small beige beret and a white shirt with its sleeves folded. The clothes fit in his hoof and he turned around to Zarathon with a confused expression. The beret and shirt would fit him no better than the archaic hat. Though he watched as Zarathon glowed, as the ethereal fire that streamed from his body grew brighter, and suddenly a great heat washed over the room alongside orange particles of magic. Mute coughed and blinked his eyes as his vision slowly returned and he noticed that the items in his hoof had grown in considerable weight. He looked down at a full-sized beret and white shirt with his eyes wide before his stare continued to Zarathon.

"There we go! The spell is more simple than you think. It has the occasional side effect of making the target too big, but such is no problem for a master wizard such as myself! I grant you these better clothes! Now put them on and get me out of the place! Henry the third here can not drag me the entire way himself! There are wild beasts in this wood!" Zarathon said.

Mute smiled and pulled off his old shirt before he pulled on the white one. He balanced on his hind legs and fiddled with the buttons with his front hooves. He grunted as his spine disagreed with the position, but he had little choice. Eventually, Mute let out a frustrated growl and went back down to all fours once more. The changeling looked down at the buttons and frowned. His eyes traveled up to his forehead and he sighed deeply.

"Try, maybe it is better today?" Zarathon said with a hopeful tone.

Mute nodded slowly, unsure if the pebble's words were true and he closed his eyes. He concentrated on his body, on the energy that flowed through it. He imagined that he grabbed that energy and pushed it through his horn. It was like second nature, a breath or a blink. Zarathon could see how the cracks in Mute's horn began to fizzle and spark with green magical energy as the organ was emblazed in arcane power. The cracks glowed ever brighter until Mute gave out a pained cry and fell to the floor. Zarathon watched helplessly from the pedestal as his friend wheezed in pain on the ground and squeezed his horn with both hooves. Mute looked so dejected. The changeling stood up and shook his head.

There had been no improvement.

If the pebble had a face it would have been filled with sympathy, at least Mute assumed it had to be as that was the tone of voice Zarathon used after he'd seen the display. "Well, maybe tomorrow."

Mute nodded slowly and walked over to pick up Zarathon and Henry the third. He placed them on his back and then left the upper left wing of the grand palace. He made his way down the stairs into a living room with a fireplace as well as a shrine. The changeling eyed the shrine for a long moment. It was shaped like a small house on four wooden legs. The inside of the shrine contained the silver necklace that he procured with Zarathon and Incense candles burned on metal plates. He walked up to it and blew out the candles before he bowed his head to the silver spider.

Zarathon seemed interested in the display. "Does this shrine help you hear the great seamstress?"

Mute shook his head in shame. He could not hear anyone anymore.

"Then why would you build a shrine? Would it not suffice to keep the necklace on you?"

Mute picked up a charcoal pen that laid by the shrine with a hoof and crudely wrote a sentence on a piece of paper.

Shrines are for the dead. Not the seamstress. Grand Palace for the seamstress. Shrine for the dead.

"Ah, I see. Condolences for your loss. I would build shrines for my own dead, but I hardly think they care for my carpentry. After all, as a lord of cinder my continued advancement of the realm would be a far more important matter for the dead than my grief. Not that I am terribly sad. A proper lord can reign in such fickle emotions before they hinder his ability to rule. I suggest you do the same, young Mute. We can not dwell on things we can not change," Zarathon said solemnly.

Mute just scoffed in amusement at the idea that Zarathon was above 'fickle' emotions. The pebble had a real temperament when the occasion called for it. But he did nod in agreement at Zarathon's words and walked to the main hall. He passed the trunk of the old oak and ventured outside into the clearing. He locked the door with a large iron key which he placed into his pocket and he began to walk towards Ponyville.

The changeling and pebble never noticed the black oily creature that slithered through the grass behind them. It appeared from the shadow of the building and stayed in said shadow until Mute and Zarathon had left the clearing. Only when it had created some distance between itself and the two lords did it follow.

The sun bathed the Everfree and its surrounding regions with warm rays of light, which Mute could only appreciate with a content smile. The warmth ran through his chitin and he flexed his elytra to soak up as much sun as possible. As he revealed his back a pair of tattered and destroyed wings peaked up, yet they did not move. They waved in the wind like paper. Mute soon closed his elytra as they passed by Zecora's hut. He looked around for the zebra mare, but she was nowhere in sight. Perhaps she had already gone to the party or perhaps she would spend her time gathering herbs instead. Either way Mute pushed on through the thicket until he heard a great roar from his left. The changeling froze at the sound. His ears twitched and his eyes widened. Henry the third stood completely still on the changeling's back, no reaction at all to the sound.

"That was a bear. Likely the same one that visits the yellow pegasus. Push on, we do not have time to fraternize with the local wildlife!"

Mute shook his head and continued the journey until he pushed through the bush and stood on the dirt path next to Fluttershy's house. He looked towards the structure and noticed its owner. She stared down a bear that had a bucket of food in its arms. Mute tilted his head as the bear slowly put down the bucket and many other animals rushed the metal container and dragged it away.

"Now that was not very nice, Harry! I want you to apologize to the others for doing something so naughty," Fluttershy said.

The bear hung its head low and hurried after the other animals. Mute watched it runoff and then slowly approached the yellow pegasus from behind. Her ears flickered as she noticed the sound of his hoof steps and she turned around to see who approached her home. She came face to face with Mute. Fluttershy let out a loud 'eep' and bounced into the air, not unlike a startled cat. She unfolded her wings and hovered in the air for a second. Mute stared at her and then moved his left shoulder to prompt Zarathon to speak.

"My dear subject! There is no need for such trepidation and fear! Mute here is an honorable stallion! Well... He isn't a stallion, he is a changeling warrior. That is not to say he isn't male! He is a prime example of the male sex! Many a suitor have lined up for this fine specimen of a warrior! May I say, even I am sometimes tempted to—"

Mute just covered his face with a foreleg and gave off an embarrassed huff.

Even if Zarathon's presentation of 'the prime example of the male sex' was incoherent after just a few sentences it did seem to calm down the yellow pegasus. She looked more confused than scared as the pebble continued to ramble on. Mute removed his foreleg and gave her an awkward smile, which did seem to make her calm down a little bit more. She landed and eyed the changeling and pebble before her eyes landed on the white rat. She gasped and hurried to Mute's side where she looked over the animal.

"What did you do to the poor thing!? What is this around his neck!?" she said.

"Huh? It is a mere control collar. It allows me to give commands to Henry here. It is a good tool as a rat is normally very skittish and would run away from most things. But by removing his free will I have a loyal steed that will not flee from danger or a common pony! It is a marvelous device is it not? Cost me many bits to get the proper parts and runesmith willing to engrave it," Zarathon said with pride.

The yellow pegasus stared at the pebble in horror. "That is aweful!"

"...Back in the day, we put them on oxen and no one would bat an eye. Now you put it on a rat and everyone loses their damn minds! Even the runesmith was uncertain about it! I keep telling you Mute, the liberal arts mages are corrupting the youth!"

Mute agreed that the liberal arts mages could be blamed for many things. The atrocious art display in the Canterlot royal art museum would forever be seared into his mind. Who thought a soup can, an unwashed soup can, was art? And it had sold for a million bits as well... But despite Mute's many grievances with the liberal arts mages, he was pretty certain they were not involved in the public distaste of robbing sentient and sapient creatures of their free will. Mute was relatively certain that had been frowned upon as well 'back in the day'. Or at least he hoped it had been frowned upon.

"Sir pebble I want you to immediately release this rat! This is cruel!" the pegasus said and stomped her hoof onto the ground.

"Henry here gets to sleep inside, is fed every day, and is released from the spell's effects when I do not need him to drag my carriage. I can assure you, subject, that he is perfectly fine. He has a better life than most rats as my steed and the price he has to pay is not damaging to his psyche in the slightest. At least I don't think it damages the mind. However, I can assure you of the many benefits a rat serving the lords of cinder will receive over its short life, such as rare cheese from the east and safety from cats. We do not allow cats in the grand palace, they will push me of tables and try to eat Mute."¨

Mute shuddered at the word 'cat'. He still remembered the furry fiend they'd met outside the runesmith. That battle had been one for the ages.

Fluttershy did not look entirely convinced of Zarathon's words, but Mute gave her a nod as if to say 'he speaks the truth'.

"Okay... If he is well taken care of I suppose... But I don't like it!" she said.

Zarathon glowed a bit brighter and Henry's collar responded with the same glow. Henry pulled the toy carriage back and forth so it looked like the pebble nodded. "That is fine by me, dear subject. It is important for a Lord to speak on these matters with his people, whether or not they agree with him is irrelevant. Now, shall you attend the glorious feast to Mute and my greatness? We are being welcomed as the rightful lords of this region! Your leader must be very wise."

"Leader? I... I am a bit confused," the pegasus mumbled.

"Confused? About what? This party was organized to welcome our vassalization of Ponyville, was it not? I am your Lord, Zarathon of the western mountains, and I expect all my subjects to attend such a feast."

"Um... Mr. Zarathon I don't think Pinkie's party was meant to do that..." she responded.

"Well, then I will make it so that it does so! Am I not a Lord? Tell me your name subject! I must know all who reside in my domain!" the pebble said.

The pegasus shied away from the loud question and covered half her face with her mane. "It is... _{Fluttershy...}"

Mute blinked and flicked his ears. He had sensitive ears, but not even they managed to pick up what the pegasus had said.

"Ah, Fluttershy then? It is a pleasure to make your acquittance! Now my compatriot and I must be off! This party welcoming our lordship of Ponyville must be attended and I must partake in gossip with the local nobility! I shall see you at the party! Now, go Mute! We can not be late!"

The changeling had adopted his usual lazy stare and daydreamed about sleep when Zarathon suddenly shouted. Mute saluted and hurriedly ran down the dirt path towards Ponyville.

Fluttershy gave them a curious look as they ran off and she then walked back towards her cottage. She let out an 'eep' as she felt something brush against her leg and she looked down to see a black tentacle around her limb She barely had time to scream as something dragged her into the bushes.

Mute and Zarathon were long gone and did not witness the horrifying scene. They crossed the bridge into the town and were met by stares from the ponies that walked the dirt roads. A few pointed to Mute's clothes while the rest just watched in alarm as the changeling barreled past them at speeds not legal in most of the Equestrian counties. But Mute's speed did get them to Sugarcube Corner and they were not late.

No, they were in perfect time to announce their arrival, which meant they were exactly fifteen minutes early. Mute picked up Zarathon's carriage and held it high up high in front of the pastry-covered bakery. Surely this would draw their subjects' attention.

"Pleb— I mean subjects of Ponyville! Your Lord has arrived! I am Zarathon of the western mountains, conquer of beastland, tamer of the Zanerian queen! I have fought countless wars and sat upon a dozen thrones! I have been a king, an emperor, and for a time a local deity for sapient rabbits! I have come to accept your offer of vassalization!" Zarathon shouted.

The ponies that were gathered blinked at the changeling and then looked to the pebble on his hoof. One filly pointed to Zarathon and whispered excitedly to her mother. The mare in question just frowned at the changeling and shook her head. The others that were gathered looked at each other in confusion. Mute sighed and rubbed his forehead. The ponies were not going to accept their new overlord at this rate. How could they be made to understand that Zarathon was their new master?

It was then a pink earth pony peered out from the bakery with an excited gasp. Mute turned around to be met face to face with a creature that he could only describe as pure happiness. He literally could not feel anything but excitement from her. It made his arteries feel clogged.

"OhmygoshIamsohappyyouareherewelcometoPonyville!IamPinkiePieandpleasecomeinsidesowecanstarttheparty!" she said with wide eyes and a grin.

Mute opened his mouth and let out a confused grunt. She had spoken so fast he had not been able to discern what had been said. He lowered Zarathon to be at eye level with the earth pony and hoped his friend could translate.

"I accept your joyful welcome with open hooves, young Pinkie Pie! I am Zarathon and this is my friend and fellow Lord of cinder: Mute! I hope that this feast shall bring all our subjects together, so that all may bask in the glory of the lords of cinder! Yes, if I dare say so myself this feast shall heighten the prestige of all that attends it!"

Ah, so it had been welcome! Mute smiled at the earth pony and nodded enthusiastically. He gave her a friendly grunt and then peered in through the door behind her. Some ponies were already gathered, a stage was set up with some sort of magi-tech equipment, and there were all manners of sweets and drinks dotted about the place. There was no music, but Mute watched as a blue-maned unicorn mare walked up to the magi-tech equipment and fiddled around with some black discs. Her purple glasses looked... modern.

Yes, modern was the right word. Manners were important.

"Well then don't stand out here and wait around! Come inside so we can this party started!" Pinkie said and hurried into the building.

Mute looked to Zarathon and smiled. It seemed this day would at the very least be interesting.

Author's Note:

There we go! I decided to split this one into two parts due to its length. I had no idea it would become this long when I sat down to write this story but that is just what happens! I hope you enjoyed part one.

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