Amie barely saw what happened next. Terrified ponies, an ambulance wagon, and dozens of guards swarming in from all sides. Rick's bloody form vanished behind a wall of armor, while others shoved her into a metal car.
Beth's presence was almost as thoroughly removed from her view as the workers she usually used, so withdrawn that she felt nothing from her anymore. She saw the spear, felt the magic just as Amie had—and now faded into despair. But while she could retreat, the queen farcasting into her body had no such recourse.
Amie tried, and not just out of fear or pain. The bugs of Agate needed warning—Ivy had betrayed them! It wouldn't be long before someone discovered the connection to the Rent-a-Friend, and soldiers appeared to search the place. If only Amie could reach the worker she kept there for that reason, she could warn them to flee. The manacles around her hooves prevented that. She would have to trust to Marcus to keep the hunters safe, if it came to that.
Time meant little in the armored car. Ponies stared, soldiers marched, and castle walls rose up around her. Eventually they reached a ramp, and descended underground. Then they stopped, and more soldiers escorted her through stone tunnels and shadowy spaces.
"Not like them," one guard observed, prodding at her with the butt of a spear. "They fought like animals last time. She's not clawing her legs off to attack us."
Amie looked up, then met the soldier's eyes. An orange pegasus, with streaks of blue mane emerging from his helmet. "Tell Princess Luna that Amie Blythe is here. Please."
"Amie," he repeated, backing away. "What kind of name is that?"
"Back to your post, soldier." That was the same officer. Amie wasn't sure if he was the one who stabbed Rick, it was impossible to tell what was happening through the chaos. Could she even blame the ponies for reacting so violently? The bug had attacked them, not the other way around.
I promised to get you all home. I said I would protect you, and I failed. Worst of all, Amie couldn't whisper to herself that this wasn't her fault, couldn't claim that powers beyond her control had struck while she wasn't there to protect them. These bugs were only here because they followed her orders. Rick would never see his family again now. If events continued as grimly as they were, Beth might not either.
She had no energy left to fight. Amie watched the passages they took, memorizing every turn and twist. She could do that much, carefully tracking the path in case she had a chance to escape. There was something about being underground that made space very easy to remember.
Eventually they came to a large, open room, with a vaulted ceiling and a heavy metal door. A ring of carved runes encircled the center, which contained all she might expect from a cell. The stone floor had been carved into a cot, along with a simple open privy and a faucet steadily dripping water into a trough. Yet there were no walls or doors around it, just the marks.
"Inside," the officer ordered, pointing. "If you continue to cooperate, the magister may choose to remove your restraints. I... can't believe I'm giving you instructions. A changeling. We actually took one prisoner."
Amie advanced into the indicated spot, then turned to face him. As she expected, the soldier didn't follow her in. That meant he wasn't close enough to smack her again. "I don't belong to the tribe that invaded your city. We don't want to fight Equestria, we just want to go home."
He laughed, removing his helmet and holding it in a gentle magical glow. "Don't want to fight? What do you call what just happened?"
She could make no argument, of course. Rick's attack had spoiled the peaceful surrender strategy she employed. But at least Beth was still alive. If they removed her restraints, Amie could start working on a rescue plan. Somehow. "He loved her. At his age, I—I should've realized. This is all my fault."
She had realized that the two cared for each other, of course. But puppy love and heroic self-sacrifice were far, far apart.
"We can agree on one thing." He touched one hoof against the wall, and the ground began to glow, burning a steady purple. "This barrier is not kind to the guilty we hold here. Stay away from the walls, and it won't hurt you. The magister is already on his way."
He turned, marching back out the way he'd come. In the halls beyond, cheering and celebration shook the castle. Amie needed no magic to sense their triumph. These ponies thought they were heroes—thought they'd just stopped an invasion before it began. Rick probably thought he was a hero too.
Amie had no guidepost to judge the passage of time. She squirmed against her restraints, trying to wiggle a hoof free. They squeezed firmly, just as the straps along her back. In her solitude, she did take some time to inspect the other contents of the room, arranged along the walls.
Many shelves and boxes stacked there, carrying various arcane implements. Whether those metal tools were instruments of torture, or magical sensors, she couldn't know.
The cell itself was plenty big enough to walk around in. The space was warm, and the water tasted clean. But under all the smells of damp stone and mildew, the lingering metallic tang of blood never quite faded.
Finally, the heavy iron door opened again. A unicorn strode in, dressed very differently from the armored soldiers. He wore a simple black robe, with white and gold stitching decorating its length. His mane was cut short, and a black patch covered one eye.
He slammed the door shut behind him, then lowered a bar into place there, locking it securely. His horn flashed once, faint purple the same shade as the glowing diagrams surrounding her. When the light faded, so did all the sound of pony voices from outside. She heard no more marching hooves, no more cheers, or celebratory conversations.
There was only this one pony, approaching slowly. He stopped just past the barrier, lighting his horn to a steady glow. "I would welcome you to Canterlot, but I think we both know it could've been under better circumstances. I find myself disappointed in the cleverness of your scheme."
"Because it wasn't a scheme." Amie looked up, meeting the pony's single green eye. "I came to see a pony I thought was my friend. She had some magical research for me. I was going to write down what she learned and leave, that's all."
The magister settled onto his haunches, expression flat and unreadable. But now that Amie needed her emotional senses most, enchantment took them from her.
"I believe you. What I do not believe is how your tribe could be so monumentally, unimaginably stupid. Centuries since the Orange bugs arrived on this planet—I would expect the Homeworld to advance at least a little in all that time. Yet here you sit in chains, captured by the scheme of a child."
The defense Amie had been preparing choked back in her throat, fading to incoherent muttering. It wasn't that the unicorn had switched languages, it was all perfectly clear. She'd never known a pony to use those words, let alone understand any of what he implied.
"You're... Kaya sent you to rescue me?" Amie guessed. "But you were already here..."
The “unicorn” broke into cruel, bitter laughter. He backed away from the cage. "I don't belong to her tribe, prisoner. If you think those who sent me would reward your failure with assistance, you're sorely mistaken."
He stood, advancing on her. He stepped over the glowing diagram, which lit up as he moved, without other visible effect. He loomed over her, as any adult pony would over a young bug. "Welcome to Equus. If your queen can see this, I hope she learns this lesson, and learns it quickly. There is no mercy here—no kindness, no compassion. When we were brought here, the transition stripped us of some invisible, essential element universal to all men.
"The barbarians who infest this planet possess it, yet we do not. Two paths exist before us, both chosen in equal measure. Those bugs without ambition—Kaya, and her brood, choose to remain in secrecy, surrounded by rich harvests of glamour. If you wished to follow that path, you are doing it wrong. Your nest is known to them, their army marshals to exterminate you."
He held down on her wings with magical force, pressing her into a sitting position before him. Then he shoved, turning her to one side, inspecting the colored fin down her back. "The other path—the wiser path—is dominion. The Empress empowered her legions to do this thing, and establish their sovereignty. Retain control with your citizen army, and harvest the necessary joy from the population. Barbarians are so easy to entertain, with a little bread and a performance."
Amie shifted her manacles, fighting against the metal there. It did little good—but then something slipped, and the straps around her wings tumbled away. They opened involuntarily, buzzing with energy. "I ask though I already know. You are green, not blue. Chrysalis did not send you in another foolish attempt at conquest. A sad thing—our most ancient cousins, twisted by madness. Nothing of civilization remains in them. But I do see some of it in you, just as I have in the photographs of your war camp. The Homeworld does move."
If he's a changeling, he can feel my emotions. The magister lacked her physical restraints, or the magical handicap they imposed. Amie would need to keep calm, as logical as the strictest Vulcan. Her brother could handle the roleplaying—she wasn't sure she could.
"The invader didn't send me. I came from the United States—Camp Stella Lacus."
The unicorn stiffened, circling around to face her again. "Intellegis?"
She nodded once, though it wasn't quite true. "Si?"
"Cīvis Rōmānus?"
That wasn't Spanish. Amie did recognize it, but never by quite that pronunciation. Now if only she had paid more attention in Latin during senior year. Rick would know. Too bad they stabbed him. "Ita!"
The unicorn backed away, passing as easily over the barrier as he entered. Gone was the satisfaction from his face, or even the curiosity. "Mē paenitet." He turned away, pacing rapidly to a shelf covered in heavy bottles. He levitated several up into the air, accelerating with every step.
"Don't belong here," he finally said, stopping beside the barrier. "The Equestrians will interrogate you. Communicate my regrets to your queen, if you can."
"You left my manacles on," Amie said, shuffling over to the barrier. "They suppress my magic, I'm sure you know. I can't communicate anything."
"Vērō." Something clicked, and they fell away from her forelegs. Her back legs remained trapped, dragging the other chains along behind them. He levitated both heavy bottles across the barrier, and turned them over, pouring them out onto the stone.
Amie recoiled reflexively, shielding her face with one wing. None touched her, but the smell did. Harsh, chemical. Oil. Judging by the shelves, there were gallons of it stored here.
"Now, listen. Diutissime exspectavimus. Ignosce mortem civis tui. Nesciebamus te esse Romanum. Si bello superstes, nuncium mittemus."
The queen of green bugs got the message—but that didn't mean Amie understood it. A word or two stuck out, something about death, and “Roman.” But past that, fear and ignorance obscured any meaning she might have otherwise extracted.
"The only mercy I can give is protecting you from interrogation. The princess would extract all that you know, she cannot be resisted." He yanked with magic, and several more jugs of liquid floated off the shelf. He tossed a few into the circle, while just dropping others all around it, shattering them and filling the room with oil.
"You can't!" Amie hopped up onto the stone bench, trailing chain behind her. "The queen has a plan to deal with the princess! Don't do this!"
The unicorn hardly seemed like he was listening anymore. His feelings came muted and pale, like every other bug she knew. There was enough to sense his determination, his certainty. He removed a candle from a drawer, then ignited it with a little flash of magic. He sliced away at the bottom with a dagger, so only a tiny fraction of wick remained. He set it down beside a large puddle of oil.
"I haven't forgotten about the other captive. I will ensure the surgeons do not save him." His horn flashed, one last burst of searing purple—leaving Amie alone with the candle, and a room filled with oil.
oh great, they're being "helped"
Jesus Christ, things just keep getting worse.
I mean, this chapter isn’t all bad. It seems Equestrians were probably able to save Rick and Amie herself wasn’t actually in any real danger since plot armor. Of course the Roman changeling could have his way and Rick and Beth could both die, but we’ll cross that bridge when we actually get there.
Copium aside, this cliffhanger is IMO as harsh as the one in the last chapter. At this rate we probably are not going to get any respite before the epilogue.
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You best start working on a plan to help them. Bug to Bug. And it better not be a booze party!
Dude, what the f?!
of course.
Seriously Luna, get your shit together
That changeling is focused on secrecy above all else which isn't helpfull at all. Amie should try to stop him and if that measn revealing him that's an acceptable price. He should have learned how to listen better to others.
Quick! Blow out the candle!
So the infiltration runs deep. How many in the darker regions are even pony?
Is Amie pretending to be unable to simulcast to Rick, or are the restraints really capable of entrapment so specialized?
Starscribe, you absolutely lied about last chapter being the biggest cliffhanger. Goddammit, now we have to worry about both Rick AND Beth potentially dying, and we won't even be able to blame the ponies for it if it happens. Damn Romans.
And here I was thinking that Chrysalis and her ilk were Roman descendants who lost their way and went crazy. This Roman guy does reveal some information about them. Chrysalis and her brood are the second oldest hive after the Romans. They are considered by said Romans to have once been civilized before going collectively mad.
The ancient Romans had a massive superiority complex and would likely only consider the Persians or the Chinese "civilized". And they probably wouldn't ever be on friendly terms with Persians, so I'd guess their "cousins" that became Chrysalis are her ilk are, in fact, from China.
Yikes, that's a bad way to go - he left her with magic though. He doesn't realize how well-fed she is. Maybe she can get out?
Still, now she has had her magic freed, there is an obvious way she can survive this. Shapeshift into a dragon, and she should be flame resistant. Or maybe she could use levitation to keep the oil away from her? It'll presumably damage the runes containing her, allowing her to escape. Though it will set the guard on her, no doubt...
I didn't expect the magister to be a particularly well-adjusted individual, but I sure didn't expect him to be a changeling infiltrator.
You could very well make an argument in defense of Rick. If he "attacked" at all, it's because they took his girlfriend prisoner simply for being present. He didn't even hurt anyone, and they responded immediately with lethal force.
It's pathetic how impressed this one soldier is at how they managed to take a prisoner, because it sure doesn't look like they even trying. They had plenty of chances to take prisoners among the changelings that went missing from camp early on. I suppose that line is confirmation that those lost campers are dead.
So now Amie's met her first warmongering changeling. This is the kind of 'ling she's taking a side against. If she could help the ponies catch him (ideally under disguise), it could help prove her intent.
All of this gets me wondering where Chrysalis's hive came from. Imperial japan, maybe?
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From what I've seen, I don't think these restraints are specialized in any way, they just manage to suppress any and all changeling magic. To make something that can block specific abilities would require a deep understanding of changelings and their abilities, which the ponies clearly don't have.
Honestly, even the idea that they could make these restraints in the first place if they've never managed to take a changeling prisoner before is very dubious.
Guess we shouldn't expect the Romans to help. Centuries of hiding in the dark and scheming must've done wonders to their views, moralities, and ethics. The zealots, Path, perhaps even the princesses are puppets. At first I thought this level of infiltration would be reserved for a more ruthless Amie in a more desperate situation. Turns out it already happened.
I wonder how much effort the Romans put in fostering and sending "barbarians" to slay their fellow man in order to keep their dominion? This war is apparently a very human one with unwitting puppets. Amie can't fight it conventionally but she can win it in other ways. I doubt she appreciates that this is basically a test but winning this war will gain much respect from all changeling kind.
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Chrysalis seems more Warmonger with her direct force. The Romans seem more illuminati conspiracy infiltration. That being said, they've likely put some effort in instigating wars against their cousins.
Quite interested in knowing Chrysalis's origins. They are the oldest and there are a number of civilizations that preceded the Romans.
that nutjob and this situation reminds me of the DiLi from avatar. "there are no changelings in canterlot"
Romans calling others barbarians yet slaughthering or enslaving civilians in mass themselves.
Oh, so we are getting a scene like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHYL-uiLJ14&ab_channel=GameofThrones
This is intense!
I fear like this story is falling in the same mistake as Child of the Invasion: having too many parties involved makes difficult to bring a satisfying resolution which ties them all.
Romans, huh, notorious for scheming and backstabbing. Seems like they brought those here as well. I wonder if the British were brought here as well. The Perfidious Albion never disappoints. Those two would click like peas in a pod.
I hope Luna goes there and stopped them from killing Rick. An "infiltration" smack dab in downtown Canterlot would have been directly placed under the princesses concern.
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Yep and the Romans fell because they bit of more than they could chew. They had more territory than they could keep track of and their leaders for a long time were more interested in being the one on top than anything else. For a while they got together only to lose it again when retirement came. Amie and Luna have pull off making peace or war certainly will happen.
So Amie's bugs are green and from the US, Kaya's tribe is orange and from the Pacific Islands, and these Purple magic changelings are Romans. I have to wonder if Chrysalis's brood came from France.
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Don't know if I'm spelling it right but, possibly bizzantine?
Two things.
FIrst, WHERE THE HELL IS LUNA?!?
Second, at this point we're so far beyond the scope of story suggested by the summary that the author needs to go back a-ways and have a cutoff point for a 'book 1', and make the rest of what is written so far part of a 'book 2'
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Purple was the color of both the roman and byzantine emperor.
I don't really know if the color really plays a role but If we go way back Lapis Lazuli was a favored stone in ancient egypt and that would mean that the blue changelings came to equestria up to 5000 years ago.
Also the roman said
So it could be true.
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If this is ancient rome, those moralities and ethics were already broken. Slavery being commonplace, the arena (blood sports), mass extermination of christians (or mass extermination of most other religions once christianity took power)... They're like the opposite of Amie.
Huh, I missed that Chryssie was the oldest. Yeah, egypt does sound more fitting... IDK.
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Starscribe does that a lot. Hell, with Message in a Bottle, book 2 was originally supposed to be an "epilogue". It ballooned into a 600 page novel, on top of the thousand-or-so pages comprising book 1. This story is actually pretty short by comparison.
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Luna might be dream walking... It seems this plan for capturing rogue Changelings wasn't implemented by either Princess, and they might not have been informed beforehand. Luna being the Princess of the Night and likely protecting the dreams of the sleeping, won't be easy to reach with news of the pair of Changelings that quickly. Celestia might be woken up to deal with it, though.
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The Dai Li, this Roman changeling, and Path can all f off to Lake Laogai with pleasure.
well crap Luna needs to get her plot in gear fast.
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Ultimately, it was par for the course normal back in their time. If Amie can't get along with ancient Rome, it must be harder now. Things becoming more warped in the centuries in Equestria, I can't imagine Amie forming any real diplomatic relationship with this Empire. There's already enough stress with the differences with Kaya's culture.
The magister thinks they are Roman. The United States didn't mean anything to him.
I really hope that guard relayed that message to Princess Luna. Can the Stella Lacus group PLEASE catch a break on this? It would suck if they all died after all of this.
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Oops, can't believe I forgot India. The blue changelings could also be Indian, not just Chinese. Those are my two top guesses, though I still expect China, narratively speaking.
Well I guess it's fortunate that hive came from where it did. That would've been even more disastrous if his native language didn't happen to be a lingua franca of scholars for longer than the empire it came from.
Of course coming from Rome goes a long way toward explaining why everyone's been kill on sight probably even before Chrysalis. That may have been the one empire so profoundly up its own ass as to leave the entire world sniffing farts for thousands of years after it died.
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Well, these guys arrived in Equestria long before the U.S.A. even existed, so of course it would mean nothing to them.
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Yeah, when he said "most ancient cousins", I thought he meant most ancient besides the Romans themselves, but he clearly meant older than even the Romans. So, still could be China or India, but more likely to be Egyptian or Babylonian I think. Maybe even Mycenaean or something. Really, it could be anything, but after Romans and native Americans, I think the civilization the blues came from is more likely to be one of the more well known ones here in America. Anything more ancient than Rome and more obscure than Mycenae is not likely to be it.
Also, I did go back to Chapter 47 to see Kaya's description of the various "tribes". I did think it was possible there could be another color of changelings so good at hiding as to evade the notice of other changelings, but no. The purple color mentioned three times in this chapter and the violet color mentioned by Kaya, along with this Roman talking about feeding on "joy" and Kaya also claiming the same thing, indicates that the violet changelings Kaya referenced are in fact the same Romans that we discover in this chapter. She did say they live across the sea, but its clear they have not left Equestria alone in the slightest.
Now I want to see if I can figure out who the red changelings are. If they're younger than the Romans, but older than Kaya's changelings, maybe they're from Arabia? Just a thought. Still could be anything, though. Actually, I would've expected Arabians to be green changelings, not Americans. So maybe Persians then?
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It would be really funny if Chrysalis really came from ancient China. Considering the supposed madness and cruelty of Chrysalis, Shang Dynasty (who loved their human sacrifices) seems like a reasonable guess, though I don’t think Romans knew much about ancient China’s dynasties.
And of course THIS is going to be pinned on Amie as well. The racist guards will claim it is an escape attempt and beat her or something. That Changeling was right about one thing, the Ponies ARE barbarians in general.
The other thing that worries me is that Amie said she could smell blood. Did they take her to an actual torture chamber? I would not be surprised.
Is this a Legio IX Hispana reference?
I'm going to admit, I don't really understand the strategy that he was attempting to explain here. Were we meant to? Did Amie understand it?
HAH, she is about to become a Roman candle.
Hell of a way to die.
11659247
The oil is flammable I think, and with the candle...
I think you get the point.
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Think of it like the illuminati. Infiltrate the top positions of government, make a few speeches, maybe even run it well a bit, and you basically control the country.
11658963
The Byzantines were a continuation of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. They said Chrysalis runs a hive descended from a older group. A bit hard to pin down since the Romans themselves are relatively new and there were plenty of civilizations thousands of years older.
11659492
I'm pretty sure he was implying that his tribe of changelings are effectively running Equestria from behind the scenes. A shadow government, basically. Would explain why he has a Magister position.
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"Bread and performance"
It's what the emperors did to combat dissent they gave free bread to the people and performance means mostly fights between gladiators and
animals in the arena.
Oh for the love of- This is beginning to look like a job for the Shovel Of Wisdom.
Do you have bad Intel on the changelings? No problem! Just apply The Shovel Of Wisdom vigorously to the face: Wham! You have now acquired Wisdom! Still doing dumb $hi+ to attack the innocent? Wham! The Shovel Of Wisdom compels you! Fixes all stupidity related problems!
Shovel Of Wisdom, apply directly to the forehead!
Shovel Of Wisdom, apply directly to the forehead!
Shovel Of Wisdom, apply directly to the forehead!
Given that phrasing, I wonder if she could have just walked through it.
Okay, even I'm starting to get frustrated by the myriad ways in which things go as wrong as possible after the big climactic test of character. (Granted, it's not as climactic as I thought at the time given that typo in last month's schedule, but still, all the build-up and grand display feel kind of meaningless when nothing in the waking world changed.) And now the changelings called Romanes, they go to
the houseruin things further because this one can't be bothered to actually listen to anything past his own assumptions. Which, to be fair, is par for the course for changelings in this world. (And Amie's not in the best place emotionally to try to explain things to him.)I'll be honest, this particular cliffhanger has few teeth. If Amie actually does have to abandon Beth to a burning fate, I'd be genuinely surprised. Still enjoying this story, don't get me wrong, but this feels a bit much.
11658901
No nation becomes an empire without being massive assholes to others, one way or another.
Signed: a Spaniard.
We're reaching the point in the Starscribe story where I want to stop reading.
No, no, no- Luna, get your flank in here!