Chapter forty

The Canterlot cells are housed in the lower portion of the castle as one might expect. Lower than most ponies would even hope to venture, they were once there to give a final strong point in case of attack and to act as a storage of sorts when needed. Though for now they have never really needed to be used as a dungeon, considering that there are jails in Canterlot that can hold such ponies or offenders. The only time one would be thrown in the cell of the castle itself is when it’s seen that they hold a significant importance over another prisoner that maybe crucial to something that is going on at the time and royalty themselves should be involved in their interrogation and imprisonment.

The changeling in question finds himself at the moment has been tossed in the cell by himself, seeing as there really isn’t any other pony that would be a threat to them. No one else to keep him company or aid in his escape. The bindings have been removed while he was put in and is left to roam the cell freely. Although it is a rather small cell at that.

The only one watching him is a pair of royal guards that probably drew the short straw and got sent down here to keep guard. Though what would he do even if he got out? There is a hoof full of ways down here. All of which are being watched by ponies, and even with his abilities of a changeling, how would he explain himself as a guard being down here when there is no pony to guard other than himself?

Twiddling his hooves, it is apparent that for now he’ll be down here for a while by now before anything can happen. And after seeing the devastation that his brood caused in Canterlot Castle, they have much to pick up before they can get to him… at least he would have thought if the still air hadn’t been disturbed by the sound of a door swinging open. The two guards standing there snap to attention as they see the prince of chaos and the princess of the night greet their presence at the moment.

“Good afternoon, your majesties,” they salute in unison, “how can we assist you?”

“The prisoner…” Discord holds an eagle claw pointed out to the one of his interest, “has he said anything sense being down here?”

“Not a peep sir, other than an insult or two about my sister” the guard tacks on at the end.

Luna looks at the changeling sitting there, only glancing over for a second before returning his gaze to the wall across him and not paying any attention to the regal pair in his presence. “Guards…” she gets their attention, “I want you two, to take a walk.”

“Princess?”

“You two have been down here for quite some time, no?”

“Well sorta,” one answers her, “Princess Twilight sent us down here to bring him and watch over the prisoner. Also to make sure no pony tries to kill him as well”

“Hmm… I see,” the lunar princess ponders, “I’m sure you must be famished from this boring task, much is to be done upstairs now though. Why don’t you two go up there and help out for a bit? Then get something to eat before returning… don’t rush, there is no need.”

“But princess what about the-” the guard gets cut off by a rather infuriated glare from the princess herself, finally having it click at what the intentions of the two are at the moment. “Oh, I see…” he and his cohort bow in response, “We’ll just ah… be on our way then, perhaps get some coffee to stay awake when we return?”

Dissy puts a pair of claws on the cells bars, eyeing his target, “that sounds like a splendid idea…” he hears the steady trot of the two leaving them as he and his sister in law are now in the company of one they are each ready to put down. “You there…” he calls to the critter, “speak up.”

Still getting no reply out of him.

Discord opens the cell and steps in on his own while Luna decides to let him handle this as she sits idly by. Stopping in front of the changeling, the prince pauses and looks down at him while he remains motionless. “Still not talking, ay?”

“Not to you, you worthless Prince…” he scorns the anointed royal.

“Well I’ll be, he can speak after all…” Discord takes a knee so as to get on a better level with the creature, “I know you are probably sworn to secrecy by your queen and willing to die before giving up information. After all I know some of your friends have committed suicide over talking to us… but I’m going to chat now, and you can answer these questions, as they don’t pertain to anything with your queen…for now,” he watches as this catches the changeling’s ear as he sits across from him, “do you know why I’m here?”

It takes a few seconds, but eventually the soldier speaks up, “to learn more…”

“That’s right…” Discord starts to nod, “now why would I want to do that?”

“Because you are my enemy… and it’s what you would do,” he answers less hesitantly.

“Correct, do you know what the Queen had done while she was here?”

“Attacked your ponies, and even the princess of the sun herself.”

“See?” Discord leans in closer a bit, “you can tell me more than you may have thought you would…” he watches the changeling bite his tongue a bit before continuing, “But do you know what she also did?” the prince looks carefully at the expression of one that doesn’t have a clue what is going on or where this is headed, “you see, in their fight. Princess Celestia, my own wife, and your Queen… went through the castle left and right with one another. Locked in combat, they eventually made their way up to the bed room that myself and my wife would share, but they weren’t alone there. Oh no there was another, two actually, that watched the fight.”

Discord pauses for a moment to catch his breath and hold back a tear so as not to show any weakness to his prisoner, “My daughter, Rosebud. And of course my son, Havoc… they witnessed the fighting between Celestia and Chrysalis, as they were playing before and got caught in the middle. Though in the fight your queen managed to cut a leg off of my lovely wife, and in her bleeding state found my son, and in front of his very own mother…killed him,” the changeling takes a gulp, knowing where this is probably going for him.

Discord places both of his claws on the ground in front of himself, bringing his almost dragon like head mere inches from the enemy’s, “you should be able to imagine what I want to do to your precious queen. But I can’t do that because I don’t know where she is… as a prince I should try to find a diplomatic solution to most matters like this one, but as a father… I should remove your very spinal column with my claws and strangle you with it.”

“Threats… won’t get you anywhere,” he tries to act tough before the opposition, mustering what little courage he has left.

“Hehe…” Dissy chuckles like a serial killer seeing his next victim as the smile on his face grows and stretches from ear to ear, “your right on that… threats won’t,” he brings his lion paw up and wraps it around the changeling’s skull. Elongating his individual claws till they fully encompass the bone and in one move, Dissy spikes the creature against the ground like a football. The skull spits open from the impact and the changeling is left in a daze as his life starts to trickle away from him with every ounce of blood that flows passed his vision. However, with the sound of a snapped finger from the prince in the back of his failing senses, the wound is patched up and all the bits and pieces go back together like humpty dumpty.

Though the throbbing head pain still remains.

‘How…is this… possible?’ the changeling gurgles in his head, watching the prince’s grin grow. Soon getting a goat hoof to the chest as he feels his very sternum break from the impact and cave in to his chest, puncturing organs and giving him internal bleeding. Though after a few agonizing minutes of him rolling around on the ground in pain, another snap comes from the prince, and all the injuries are gone while the pain stays back.

“You see there…” the chaos creature starts off, “I can break you over and over again, and put you right back together. Bringing you back from the brink of death, if you were to pass it and actually die, then there is nothing I could do. Luckily for you, sorta, I know the limits, and can make you feel everything… while keeping you alive,” he brings his talons up in to the creature’s rib cage. Feeling the different organs running between his fingers as they start to scratch and bleed while he plays with them. Plunging his other appendage in to the chest cavity, Discord pulls out a length of intestine as the changeling lays there unable to move in sheer agony while the prince goes to work on him.

Producing the likes of a carnival creation from the gut, as he presents it to its owner, “Look! It’s a poodle!” Discord hold the intestine tied ‘balloon’ dog in front of the creature, before his eyes start to roll in to the back of his head and a long breath escapes him. Quickly being healed by the master of chaos’s own powerful magic to keep him alive. The prince lets him catch his breath as the prisoner feels his stomach at the aching that he is going through, to the point of throwing up several pints of blood and stomach acids as the prince leans further down to him.

“There will be no escape, no relief, and no welcoming of death to bring about your end…” Discord allows his serpent tongue to tickle the edge of his ear, “I will crush you, stab you, beat you… and burn you,” he snaps his fingers together.

The changeling bursts in to flames in an instant, leaving the sound of petrified blood curdling screams piercing the air around them, as even Luna turns her head and uses her wings to cover her ears so she can’t hear the screeches from the creature that would turn the stomach of any other in their presence.

‘How can I let him do this?’ she even starts to wonder, feeling near pity for the changeling inside, ‘I know what his kind did to my nephew and my sister, but is this even right?’ the princess still doesn’t say anything, and only stays in the room to at least be able to say to Twilight later that she kept an eye on Discord.

Though in truth there would be nothing she could do, if her brother in law wanted the creature dead, that’s just what was going to happen. The scent of scorched meat starts to fill her nose as it sends chills down her very spine. The smell is nothing new to her, after all her own lunar guards (and on occasion herself) have frequented flesh in the past as a meal due to their nature. But to come from a creature that is under attack from a family member, that’s enough to leave one tear running down her cheek.

Rolling about on the stone floor. The seared flesh peels off on to the ground and leaves large patches of bone and muscle exposed to the burn as the heat does the same treatment to the new tissue. Burning all the way down to his core. But before it can all be over, before he can get death to release him from this torment.

A snap issues him a new life, as his wounds are gone and he is left with the image of himself burning in Tartarus for what his kind has done. The changeling looks up from his position and sees the murderous glare of the prince inches from his face as he scurries back in to the corner in the fetal position. Discord gets on all four of his limbs, dislocating his jaw as saliva drools out over his lips in the prince's slow prowl towards his prey, thirsting for the kill.

“Wait!” the changeling yells out before Discord pulls him back in to the center of the cell. Hooves scratching against the ground as the prince lifts him up by his fore legs and holds him wide as if crucified. “Please! No more, no more!” he pleads with the chaotic god. As the pulling on his limbs starts to intensify and the connective tissue stretches under the tug of the prince to the point of tearing.

“What? Now you want to talk?” Discord teases, the insanity in his eyes flowing freely from his glare and seeps in to his voice, “How many ponies did you kill? How many times did one of them beg for you to leave them be? Huh!?”

The prince feels the cracking of bone under his claws as the only thing holding the limbs on now is the flesh itself on the surface, as a yelp comes out from the changeling from his joints popping out, while a nonstop cry of sheer terror is brought out. Even the skin starts to rip as more pressure is put on him, and it tears along the surface like dried out skin cracking. Green blood starting to splatter across Discord’s own coat and face from the victim of his wrath. Almost drenching him in a new shade of misery. As far as the father is concerned, it’s just bad luck that he was the one to survive the fight at the cave where the tree is held. Only to end up in the clutches of a father who has had more taken from him in one day, than he had in his entire life.

“I can put you back together…” Discord whispers in his ear, the changeling barely able to hear it over his own screams, “and make you feel the same pain that each of your victims did in the past.”

“Please! Discord! Prince! Stop!!!” he screams out like his very soul is being ripped from existence, “I’ll talk, I bucking sing if you want me to! Just stop I beg of you!”

In an instant the creature is dropped and before he can hit the ground. The bones are repaired and even the skin itself is put back together. Though the pain still remains there for the prince to see on the changeling’s own face, as a steady stream of tears start to fall down like a foal that just got told that his parents were dead. Princess Luna stands there at the door while Discord slowly makes his way to the exit. He has had his fill of blood… for now that is. In the corner of his eye, he catches the fresh tear that fell from his sister in law as he steps out.

“Don’t cry for him Luna” Dissy reminds her of who he is “after all, a creature like that doesn’t deserves mercy.”

“That much I know…I may have been the pony of many night mares at one point,” she hastily wipes away the tear from her eye as she passes by him, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a heart for those in pain. Even if they themselves, have caused me pain.” The princess has to play nurse for the moment as she checks over the changeling, everything on him seems to hurt as he barely is able to cling on, and is on the cliff dive ready to go in to shock. Holding her lit horn on his, the princess alleviates enough of the pain so that he may be able to speak. Soon finding herself holding the changeling in her grasp like a mother her child, all the while him clinging to her with his own hooves, “you don’t want me to bring him in here again, now do you?”

She sees the face of sheer terror in his eyes as he glances over to the prince as he starts to walk out now, “no! Your majesty!”

“Good… now… tell me everything,” she demands from the enemy soldier who she still holds his life in her hooves.

Discord opens the door from the cell block as he passes by the two guards that were originally down there. They never really left the area, just walked out of the room, so they could go back to their post when the royals had finished up down there. Not even being acknowledged by the father figure as he walks past them.

Fresh green blood runs down the prince’s coat as one of the guards picks up the pace after catching the sight out of the corner of his eye, while Discord continues on his way. Knowing that Luna will get the information that they need does ease him a bit, seeing as if she doesn’t, then he’ll just have to go in there for another round with the changeling… this time though, he may not be so lucky in the end, and have the limbs still attached.

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The lavender mare continues to dart along the many halls of the castle. Already having checked the other med rooms that dot the castle, they now are stocked with that of injured guards left and right, but none of them are her guard. Now going through the corridors every which way possible, she finds herself pushing her legs and wings faster and faster. Not even having a clue where her friends went after they left Celestia’s side. For all she knows, they are also right on her tail to find out where she is going.

Though for the moment she doesn’t take the time to look behind her, “Flash! Where are you?” she stops in a group, pulling a colt aside before he even knows what is going on, “You, have you seen a royal guard? Higher ranking, bright orange coat, blue mane and tail?”

“Ahh, umm,” he responds standing there dumbfounded.

“Well???” she starts to pester him more and more.

“I believe I might have seen somepony like that…” he holds a hoof to his chin.

“Really!” she beams, “where did you see him?”

The pony points a hoof to the door leading out next to them as she quickly thanks him for his help and blows past the others. Not even catching her other friends standing there at the intersection next to the door as they get their manes in a bundle by the flying princess. Twilight goes through the door and tumbles across the ground in a barrel roll head over hooves. Landing on her rump as she shakes off the impact, looking up to see the pony she had been looking for.

Flash Sentry sits there in the middle of a room surrounded by the bodies of both changelings and guards as they are left askew thrown about the area. Head to hoof covered in either scratches, cuts, bruises, or red and green blood. If it wasn’t for the cutie mark on his flank, Twilight would have guessed he was an entirely different pony.

Nurse Sterile and a doctor next to her, put a few patches on the royal Pegasus guard as he sits there compliant with them and allows himself to be treated. Not even bothering to raise his head at the sound of another coming in to the room, after all, that has been going on all day as bodies are carted off to be placed where ever is seen fit.

“Flash!” Twi gasps, getting his attention just in time as he is almost thrown off his own balance when the mare wraps her hooves around him tightly, “I thought you might have been… you could be… morgue trip…” she says between whimpers and breaths, as he puts both his fore hooves around the mare and the doctors back off for a sec to let them have a moment.

“It’s going to take a lot more than just a few changelings to do me in here…” he smiles, almost a tear making its way down his face as the they pull back from one another to give a tender, blissful kiss on the lips while remaining oblivious to the death around them. The gang makes their way in to the room in time to see this unfold between them. Even though they’ve been away from one another for only a few days, the warmth from that simple show of affection radiates between them as they remain in the embrace.

“Though…ribs…” he gasp after the kiss is broke off, “you’re squeezing me too tight.”

“Oh! Sorry about that,” she jumps off of him just a short distance in time for her friends to come around to their side now. Twilight starts to look over her Coltfriend, as he seems to have more injuries now than before. And certainly all of this blood on him, couldn’t be all his, “What happened to you, Flash?”

“Well, I ahh…” he stalls, scratching the back of his head trying to hold off her reaction.

Thankfully nurse Sterile picks up for him at the moment to help save his rump, “Flash here, formally apologized to me about his behavior earlier… and gave a helping hoof in defending Canterlot, and myself.”

Twi snaps back to him after hearing the last line, “you fought? I thought you were injured?”

“Well he is, your majesty” the fellow doctor next to them explains, “but thanks to a generous donation of both painkillers and Epinephrine, by the nurse in combat, he came out alive. And so did Ms. Sterile here.”

The princess looks back to the nurse as she starts to quiver, wondering if Twilight will have her head because she pumped her coltfriend full of drugs. “Well it seemed like a good idea at the time…” Sterile shakes under the eyes of the lavender mare, “I mean otherwise-” she gets cut off after feeling a pair of hooves wrap around her, relieved that it’s the princess, and she isn’t trying to strangle her.

“Thank you, Nurse Sterile, I’m sure if it wasn’t for that, Flash or yourself, may have not made it.”

“It’s quite alright, princess Twilight,” she returns the hug, letting the princess go afterwards, “I’m just doing my job here.”

Fluttershy looks down at the ground and sees half a dozen empty vials of medication there around, picking one up she reads it after squinting her eyes to look at the tiny label, “Oh my… this was a full bottle of morphine,” she gasps looking back to the rest of the bottles that litter the area around them, “I would give this to a bear if he had broken a leg when I treated him. How much of this did you give Flash?”

“Enough…” Flash answers before Sterile can stop him as he chuckles. Finally making Twilight realize his current state as she peals back his eye lids to get a better look. The pupils of the guard are fully dilated, and it’s a wonder that he is even up right at the moment.

“Flash, are you high!” Twilight tries to hold back from slapping him just out of surprise that a royal guard would allow themselves to be brought to this level. Though in truth, she knows that the pain killers are probably the only reason he is still alive after having ribs broken and getting various gash marks across his body from combat.

“Just a little… I am coming off of the effects,” he admits to her, “besides having a full squad of enemy soldiers to deal with, one probably doesn’t want to feel much at that time…”

Twilight looks around at the still numerous corpses that are surrounding them, “just a squad…” she narrows her eyes at him, calling the bluff.

“Okay… maybe three squads,” Flash bites the back of his tongue after his ears catch the grinding of teeth from a mare just a few inches from him, “but if I told you that you’d probably get mad.”

“Please, tell me you didn’t take them on by yourself?” she cringes, almost facehoofing herself when she already knows the answer.

“Well… towards the end at least,” he points to the various lifeless forms of the royal guards as they lie about, “I couldn’t do anything if they fell I was still here… not like I could have up and left.”

All the princess can do is shake her head at him, trying to hide the slight smile on her face as she does. Twi can’t be mad at him, after all he told her the truth. More or less that is. Even the rainbow mare near her starts to look about at all the bodies. “No way… you did all this?” RD gulps as the prism maned mare admires, or more so envies the work of the guard.

“Well more or less, Ms. Dash…” he shrugs after the comment.

“Note to self, when this is all said and done with…” Dash makes a mental note out loud, “try to get out and meet a few of the guards for a coltfriend,” the comment only gets a few of them to giggle, Flash among them, and even a few more to ponder the thought themselves.

“Oh don’t encourage him Rainbow,” Twilight cuts her off before she can say any more, “as for you Flash… you will explain more later on what happened here,” She puts on a simple care free smile before making eye contact with her guard, instead of rubbing her temples from her friend’s comment, “I’m not mad at you, just want to find out what happened, that’s all.”

“Yes, dear,” Flash lower his head a bit.

Not catching her smirk as Twilight sees some of the pain in his face. ‘Can’t help it if he’s good at his job,’ she agrees with herself after noting the body count, before she leans down and lightly kisses him on his fore head before Sentry even has time to react and return the favor. Instead he allows the sweet gesture, and only permits a wholehearted smile as he takes her hoof in his own.

Luna though walks through the door and now greets them with her presence. Though to Twilight’s surprise, the eldest princess in the room isn’t one that has a warm expression on her face at the moment. Walking among the ponies she snaps out of her trance for a bit, “Well at least you two have… reunited?” Luna raises an eye brow at seeing both Twilight and Flash hoof in hoof with one another. Considering that she isn’t one that knows of their current relation, “Well clearly I’ve missed something… anyways, I just got done with the changeling that you brought back here.”

“Is he still alive?” Twilight asks the obvious question.

“Somehow…” Luna says calmly, recalling the images of Discord almost pulling apart the creature and even setting him on fire, “though after Dissy had his fill, he started to talk…”

“So did ya find anythin’ out?” Applejack ask, having seen the stern nature of the changeling when they first brought him back.

“Oh I did…” Luna looks at the few bodies still being carried out, “for now though, let’s see what we can do about the after effects of the attack. There is still much to do right now, and to be honest we can use all the help we can get.”

“She’s right you know…” Rarity says, almost dragging her dragon with her, “we’ll help any way we can.”

“Splendid girls…” Luna starts to beam finally at them as the others soon follow the unicorns roll. Though the lunar princess looks back at the guard still there as the medical staff work on him, “as for you though. How are you feeling, Mr. Sentry?”

“Well enough to lend a helping hoof…” he gets up from his seat, much to the dismay of his marefriend who watches him wobble a bit at first.

“Are you sure now?” both Twi and Luna ask him in unison.

“Well it’s better than sitting about doing nothing, your majesties…are we done here though?” Sentry asks the two medical staff next to him still.

“Almost, just give me one last patch…” Sterile answers the guard as both she and the doctor follow him out and apply the final bandage to him. It’s not a permanent fix, or one that is even noteworthy by medical standers. But for the business of lending a hoof with a rather gruesome clean-up operation, it will do nicely.