>Ponyville seems to be a hotbed of excitement these days. Between the dragons roosting in the mountains, horrid monsters wandering out from the Everfree Forest, ancient ruins discovered deep in the earth, and the ever-presenting of all-out war between the Equestrians and the Gryphons, it seems like everypony looking for fame or fortune is flocking to this town.
>It is an age of knights, adventurers, dark magics, and destined heroes.
>You are none of these things.
>Your name is Pot Luck, and your daughter's been foalnapped!
>To that end, you've infiltrated the palace during a diplomatic gala and have managed to get a private audience with the princess.
Archives: http://anonpone.pineapplecomputing.com/anotherday
Characters: http://pastebin.com/RVB0Hjqp
>"Why in Equestria would anyone frame a changeling?"
"Best case scenario, a misguided desire to keep Equestria safe; at worst, a deliberate attempt to keep an entire race as outcasts and villains," you explain to Celestia. "Ever since Wispy was taken, everything about this situation has smelled rotten. The witness to this event has already gone missing, and an elite of the Royal Guard was seen in the vicinity at the time. And regardless of what you think of changelings, do you really think one would be foolish enough to attack a castle servant and stick around afterwards?"
"I admit that does seem... uncharacteristic for a race that is generally displayed great cunning," Celestia replies. "But what hard evidence do you have that what you say is true?"
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>>27350329
I'm sure you understand that finding hard evidence in a situation like this is difficult, especially if members of the guard itself are involved.
Right now the only thing I have is that the guard patrols near the area the attack took place where altered beforehand, and a possible lead to where the maid was taken.
With a bit of luck my friends will have already found her.
>>27350329
The maid's home was forcefully entered, quartz dust was found, and there was someone who saw a blue-cloaked Royal Guard near her home. Some of my friends are out trying to find her as we speak.if i remember this shit correctly
>>27350329
Do you not trust your own element of harmony Celestia? I've done many good deeds, from befriending a demon to helping a zebra become free. I was the one that wanted this peace between ponies and changelings. I know I may not have much evidence at this point, but you have at least consider my words.
>>27350473
>>27350573
"I...uh, don't exactly have any conclusive evidence yet," you admit with a bit of reluctance. "But my friends are searching for this missing maid right now, and once we find her, we'll be able to prove that she was mistaken when she identified Berry as her attacker."
>"If one of my subjects is missing, I would hope you would do the right thing and report it to the Royal Guards so that they can conduct a proper search and rescue."
"And what if the Royal Guard were involved in making her disappear in the first place? We found traces at her home that suggest Diamond Dogs are involved, so somebody is probably paying them to carry this out. It's not just a random kidnapping."
>"My guard would never commit such treason," Celestia replies, getting a little defensive. "Regal Horn would ensure that--"
"What if Regal Horn is the one making sure the changelings stay as outcasts?"
>"W-what? He wouldn't. He'd never!" Celestia snaps. "Horn has been a loyal servant of the kingdom for decades. He has always put the kingdom's needs above his own."
"And what if he's just doing that now? If you believe for even a second that Horn might be capable of committing such an act, you have to give me a chance to find the maid and the truth!"
>The Princess goes silent for a moment, slowing pacing across. "Okay, presuming I believe you," she begins, using the dagger to point at you given it's the only pointing instrument she has on her, "and I do give you time. What makes you so certain you'll find this maid?"
"I have faith in my friends," you reply with a simple smile.
>"So...now we just wait for this maid?"
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>>27350794
We could talk about other stuff while we wait. Lets introduce her to Julia.
>>27350794
So... while we wait......... I have some pretty good experience with horns.
>>27350794
I guess so...
You know much about the crystal empire Princess?
Because I got a friend here who's a crystal.
>>27350873
>>27351150
"We don't necessarily need to just around and do nothing," you answers.
>With the hard part of the conversation out of the way, you can't help but realize that you're still sitting in the Princess' bedchambers. And her silken nightgown did look rather flattering.
>"Well, nopony is going to interrupt us, so you do get to have an audience that few ever get to enjoy," the Princess muses as she sits down on the bed next to you. "Miss Meadows spoke very highly of you in her report. She said you were a 'most virtuous of ponies, embodying the spirit of harmony that our kingdom was founded upon.'"
>A quick fluster of heat rises to your face.
"Aw shucks, Princess, now you've gone and made me all a-fluster."
>"She's a hard pony to impress. And plenty have tried."
"I must admit, I am a little impressed as well. Few would go to such lengths for their kin, let alone someone who is not."
>The Princess leans in a bit closer, a warm and welcoming smile upon her face. There's a glint in her eyes that seem to suggest something more than just idle curiosity, and that fluster you felt earlier now feels like its going to set your mane on fight at this rate.
>"Hey! Stop hogging the Princess! Some of us want to get a word in, too, ya know!"
>Celestia's expression promptly changes to one of sudden confusion as she glances over to the nearby pillow. "Did that just...talk?"
"Um, yes. There's...uh, lemme just show you."
>You take Julia out from her hiding spot and show her to the Princess.
>"Good evening your Majesty."
>For a moment, Celestia stares at the stone in awe-struck silence. "Is...this is a soulshard, isn't it?"
(cont.)
>>27351194
"A what now?"
>"A soulshard," the Princess repeats, as if that somehow made the answer all the more apparent. "The Crystal Empire was able to manufacture many different forms of crystals that could house magical energies. There were even ones capable of housing a pony's soul. I have...I have not seen one of these in centuries."
>"Well...ta-daaaaa~ So wait, if I'm a pony's soul, how come I don't remember much from before?" Julia asks.
>"From what I can remember, the rituals for such a transfer were extremely complex and intricate. And normally the crystals are the finest crafted. This one appears...broken. This is bizarre - normally a broken crystal would not be able to house a spirit for so long."
>"I must be pretty special then, huh?"
"Well I did find you in the broken remains of Sombra's daughter."
>"His DAUGHTER?" Celestia blurts out, almost causing you to drop Julia. "Y-you mean, this is...could this be Radiant?"
>The Princess continues to stare at the crystal, almost torn between a strange relief and disbelief.
Input words?
Why even prompt? We're on the rails here. Just give us the next bit of story.
>>27351204
Maybe? Seems that way, considering how we found her.
>>27351204
If they don't last long, we'll need to find a replacement very soon. Also, wait your damn turn Julia.
>>27351204
Radiant...who?
We're not exactly on first name bases with ancient villains and their families.
>>27351406Stick her in the other hole
>>27351406
>>27351457
"Did you know her well?"
>Celestia nods slowly, her mood and expression both drooping. "Radiant Dawn and I... we were close. She was very important in the relations between our two kingdoms. When Sombra changed and the war broke out, she led what was left of her empire's army. I told her to retreat with her forces and regroup with mine, but she insisted that she needed to stay. She said she had to keep the Crystal Heart from falling to corruption. I never knew what happened to her."
"For what it's worth, I think she accomplished that. When I found her, I had a vision of her last moments. It seemed like Sombra was looking for something. I guess he never found it."
>"If he had then things in the war might've turned out differently."
>Celestia holds out a hoof, a subtle gesture towards Julia. Once you pass it over, she cradles it in her hooves and holds it against her chest like a mother hugging their baby.
>"I'm so sorry," she whispers. "I should've listened to you sooner."
>"You, uh... said these things don't last long?" Julia speaks up. "I'm not going to wind up with a bigger problem on my metaphorical hooves, am I?"
>"I don't know. 'Long' I suppose is relative. Running constant, a crystal could last maybe, twenty, thirty years. The Empire knew how to make a crystal dormant to preserve it but those secrets were lost when the Empire fell, along with almost everything else involving soulshards."
>Suddenly, there comes a knocking at the chamber door.
>"Your Highness, is everything okay? The guard says he heard shouting."
>"It's fine. Everything is okay," Celestia shouts back. She suddenly looks to you and mouths the words 'It's Horn.' That or something about corn.
>"Might I have a minute of your time then? An urgent matter has come up," Horn inquires.
>The Princess looks to you for a moment, then mouths 'hide' to you.
Where do you try to hide? There's a bed, wardrobes, a work desk, the adjoining bathroom, a balony, and a nearby window.
>>27351563
Bathroom. He'd never ask to use the princesses.
>>27351563
Bathroom sounds good.
>>27351615
What's stopping him from barging in anyway though?
The bathroom is still the better choice, except maybe under the balcony?
Commander Corn is probably going to check the room immediately. We weren't shouting, and Celestia sent the guards away. He's up to something, and I expect him to whisk her away to some secret bunker or something.
>>27351747
>What's stopping him from barging in anyway though?
Why would he barge into the bathroom?
>>27351755
He's the one who 'warned' the princess about potential assassination attempts. He might not have much reason to, but that doesn't mean he won't come up with one.
>>27351777
I'm sure she can tell him no just fine.
>>27351615
>>27351722
>>27351747
>Bathroom! You figure nopony is going to search there, especially when it's Princess' bathroom. Without a word you quickly rush there and find the most convenient hiding place inside it - the bathtub itself. Carefully, you climb inside as to avoid making any noise and flatten yourself against the bottom.
>As you hear a door opening in the other room, you dare not even breath loudly.
>"What is it, Horn? Shouldn't you be at the gala?"
>"I should ask you the same thing - I was told you left your little tea party rather suddenly," Horn remarks. You can hear his hoofsteps entering the bedchamber.
>"Is a Princess not allowed to enjoy herself from time to time?" Celstia replies.
>"Of course not, your Majesty, but with everything that's been happening, I think it's unwise for you to be alone with anyone that's not part of the Court or Guard."
>"Still worried about changelings trying to strike in the middle of the night?" Celestia muses with a quiet chuckle.
>"I assure you, I am far from worried."
>Though still tense, you feel a small sense of calmness. It doesn't seem like Horn is up to anything right now. He's probably a little paranoid about you, and with good reason given that you're hiding at the bottom of a bathtub. With any luck, he'll go about his business and then you'll--
>"AAGH!"
>That was the Princess!
>You immediately poke your head up from your hiding spot. In the other room, you see Celestia pinned against the bed by Horn, a red-stained dagger in his hoof that he's desperately trying to thrust into a defiant alicorn.
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>>27351911
Throw something at him, then use the distraction to bowl him over with our Earth pony strength.
I don't expect any guards to be outside, or not any ones loyal to the princess at least. So we should block the door or something too.
>desperately trying to thrust into a defiant alicorn.
I don't know if its better or worse without the dagger part.
>>27351911
Could Horn be a changeling? A second changeling attack to make even more xenophobia or an actual assassination attempt?
>>27351962
That fits. Horn doesn't seem to be the type to get his hooves dirty so soon. The real Horn will probably come 'just in time' to save the princess.
>>27351911
>>27351962
>difficulty of acquiring changeling peace increased to Pot Must Die mode
>>27351953
>>27352014
I don't see any death flags for Pot...yet.
>>27351953
>>27351962
>>27351997
>Why would Horn be trying to kill Celestia? He might be an asshole who sends your brother just to annoy you, but trying to kill the Princess? That seems so out of place.
"We have to do something," you murmur to Julia.
>"Throw something then. Otherwise who do you think the guards will believe when they arrive and find all of us in the same room?" she replies.
"Right. Um, sorry about this."
>"Why are you apologi---AAAGHHHHHHHHH!"
>With nothing else readily available, you pitch Julia across the room. The screaming crystal gets Horn's attention quickly and just seconds before it smacks him square in the face. He's knocked off the bed, accompanied by a steam of profanities from both he and the projectile.
>You use the opportunity to hop out of the tub and charge the unicorn, using her strength and momentum to crash tackle him straight into the wall. The slam is with such force that Horn erupts in a puff of green smoke, revealing a changeling in his place.
>"Son of a--where the hay did you come from?" the changling grumbles, slumped against the wall in a daze.
>The changeling's voice sounds oddly familiar.
>She glances up to you and her eyes widen.
>"Wha--you again?!" the changeling exclaims.
"Misty?" you repeat.
>Now that you get a chance to listen more carefully, it is the changeling from the abandoned inn; the one you captured with Azura and Airy.
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>>27352120
Working for Horn now?
>>27352120
Why do something like this and make sure that changelings and ponies are never able to be friendly with each other?
>>27352145
>>27352240
>"You know this changeling?" Celestia asks.
>When the Princess gets up from the bed, you notice a red stain across her shoulder from where the dagger found flesh. She limps a little but the wound seems quite superficial.
"We met near Ponyville - she tried to feed us to her friends," you explain. "But her friends are the same ones who are willing to talk and negotiate with you."
>Celestia frowns as she steps closer, glaring at the changeling before using her magic to hoist the would-be assassin off the ground.
>"A changeling wouldn't be able to get this far into the castle without help," Celestia sneers, keeping the changeling pinned against the wall. "Who sent you? Was it Horn?"
>"I have nothing to say to you, pony."
"Come on, Misty, why would you do this? This just ensures nobody will ever trust changelings."
>"And you shouldn't," she sneers. "You should fear us! Tremble at the mere thought of us, glance nervously at every shadow and corner in your house! I would rather die than let you turn me into some kind of... of slave! Or to ever consider you an equal!"
Misty is proving to be rather obstinate. Any strategy?
>>27352318
We really need that confirmation of who sent her, but unless Celestia has something of her own to get it from her, I'm not sure how we can.
Maybe Celestia will have her own idea of how to proceed? She does already believe that Misty can't have made it here without help.
>>27352318
Slavery gets her going? Okay, then, threaten to cut off her horn and wings?
I mean, the threat of extinction didn't get her last time, so how about something more personal?
>>27352417
>You're a cook and a bartender, not an interrogator. It's unlikely anything you could do to is not something that's already had to face in the past. But if she is working for Horn, how did he convince her to go ahead with this? It's pretty clear she's got no love for ponies of any variety.
"Got any ideas?" you whispers to the Princess. "She seems pretty stubborn. But she was arrested and handed over to the Guard. She couldn't have escaped on her own."
>Celestia ponders over her options. In the meantime, though she uses her magic to whisk over a pair of manacles and binds the changeling's hoofs to the bedpost.
"Why do you have manacle in your bedroom?"
>"I'll explain when you're older," the Princess smirks back to you.
>Suddenly, there's pounding at the door again.
>"Princess, we heard screaming!" It's a different voice this time; sounds more like a guard. There's more pounding but the door doesn't seem to budge. No doubt the assassin had locked it behind her.
"Celestia, if we hand Misty over to the guard, whoever is helping her will make her disappear."
>"Then we have to get answers out of her now," Celestia replies, ignoring the continuing pounding at the door. "Are you familiar with the 'good guard, bad guard' routine?"
Good guard or bad guard?
>>27352484
Good guard. Obviously
>>27352484
Good guard.
I'm sure whatever we've read/seen and Pot's good old charisma will be enough, probably
>>27352513
>>27352519
"I should go with good guard - I doubt I could ever be as threatening as you could."
>"I was hoping you might say that," Celestia replies, smirking mischeviously.
>Donning your most reassuring grin, you trot back up to your prisoner.
"Listen Misty, nobody is here to make a slave of anybody. All Berry wants is so for changelings to live peacefully and free. But what you're doing here is ensuring that your kind is only hunted down - and we're getting quite good at it. Most of your hive has already been rounded up. But if we can put aside fear and distrust, those changelings can be free again, and you'll never go hungry again."
>"Feh, free? We'd just be pawns for your princess. And once things go sour, you'll just turn on us, except now we'll have dropped our guard," Misty sneers back. "I'd rather die than be subjected to your...pony love."
>"Need I remind you that can be arranged!" Celestia suddenly interjects, pushing you aside and slamming a hoof against the changeling's chest. "I am the supreme ruler of this land. I could have you horn hung from the castle gates as a reminder. Since you're so fixated on slavery, maybe I should give you what a taste of it is really like - have you toil so long inside a gemstone mine that you can't even remember what the sun looks like. Now who sent you?!"
>"You don't have the guts!" Misty snarls, snapping her fangs at the Princess. "You're just a soft pony princess."
>"Maybe you won't be so chipper once we clip your wings."
>Celestia draws her own dagger out then grabs one of the changeling's wings, pinning it against the ground. It's looking very convincing that Celestia's about to carry out her threat.
Intervene or keep watching?
>>27352687
Does she seem the least bit afraid?
If she isn't Celestia should takejust the tip
Misty still doesn't seem to care for her own safety. How about we start talking more about the rest of her hive that's imprisoned? Or Wispy?
Not threaten them though, that'll just goad her on.
Gonna call it a night. Will likely have to start tomorrow's session a bit later than usual.
bumpity
>>27352687
We gotta get the info, and this changeling is evil. Let Celestia work her charms.
