Chapter 10

Chapter 22 – Behind closed eyes

Twilight holds her eyes to you for a moment as she slowly watches her spell take hold over you, but the expertly executed spell only takes a few seconds for it to fully work.

"Twilight."

The stallion's voice behind the lavender mare turns her head as she looks to StoneGem who now continues to the mare's directed eyes, "Is everything alright? We can get a doctor from the city."

"No." Twilight's formal voice now comes back full force as she straightens her posture, "That won't be necessary and we can't afford to have the city in a panic." The mare brings her trot up towards the throne room that now starts to brighten to the fire bowls that now start to be rekindled.

A slight laugh comes from StoneGem as he shakes his head a little, "I have to say... You are not the little filly clinging to Shining's leg like I remember."

Twilight gives a little giggle to the comment as her trot through the throne room continues, "We all grow up at some point StoneGem."

The entrance hall to the castle starts to come to the two ponies hooves as the dark blue stallion nods his head, "Correct you are Twilight." As his words and StoneGem's horn comes up as Twilight's figure quickly comes wrapped under the stallion's magic.

Her legs are bound as she falls to her side on the hard multi-colored stone floor with a thud, "Ah!"

Twilight's mouth quickly comes wrapped to the magic as Stone Gem trots next to her, "Sorry Twilight nothing personal."

The sound of hooves comes to the room as Twilight's breathing turns to a panic and muffled scream for you.

The sound of hooves gets closer as Twilight turns her eyes to the on coming ponies, however as she looks the figure in front of her over her eyes widen.

"Hello Twilight..." The sweet and calming tone stabs to the lavender mare's confusion as her eyes start to shutter to the tall white mare in front of her.

"...I see my most faithful student followed up on my letter with the haste I expected." Celestia holds her smile as she lowers her head, "Do you believe I would allow such a threat to my rule?"

The muffled screams of the lavender mare only tighten the magical hold around her mouth as the tall white coated mare continues, "You should save your breath for when you see what's happened to Violet and Aerolight-..."

The names quickly shake you from the magically induced sleep as you shake with a cold sweat heavy to your coat.

Your eyes quickly dart around the morning light drenched room as the sound of your heart pounds to your throat.

"Whoa...You okay?"

The boyish voice quickly snaps your eyes as you turn to the light purple dragon sitting in the comfortable chair near the bookshelves.

"Twilight, wheres Celestia what happened?!"

Your loud and slightly panted tone widens Spike's eyes as he stands from his seat and speaks up, "Whoa whoa, slow down-.."

You start to throw the covers from your body as you speak up, "C-celestia where is she!"

"I-I don't on her way, she only got the letter a little while ago..." Spike stutter voice and confusion drenched face slowly start to bring your mind from your dream as you take a deep breath and move your hooves to your face.

It's at this point the pouding to your head starts to come back.

"Twilight told me to make sure you got up ok and-..." Spike voice brings yours up as you cut him off and look around the room, "Where is she?"

"Uh..." Spike looks to the door for a moment as he continues, "...I think she had to go and talk to some ponies, it sounds like what Blue Blood did didn't just stay to the castle's knowledge."

You slowly start to sink your body back to the bed as you take another deep breath.

Spike looks you over as he squints to you, "I know magic does weird things when you're sleeping but what was all that about?"

A faint laugh rolls from you as you speak up, "Spike...When is anything simple." The light chuckle continues as you shake your still throbbing head, note to self don't wake up and scream.

You sit up a little as you sigh.

"Hey, you want a gem to suck on?" Spike quickly moves back to the seat as he pulls a bowl of multicolored stone up, "They always help me feel better."

You blink to the comment as you wave your hoof to it, "I'm good..." You shift your eyes to the bottle of wine near the other side of the room as you think to yourself, does this make me an alcoholic? With the thought in mind you wiggle your hoof towards the bottle as you speak up, "Could you hoof me that with a glass?"

Spike turns to your point as he starts to move towards the bottle, "Uh sure..." He take the bottle in claw with a glass that was next to it as he comes over to you.

You take the bottle in hoof just hoping not to drop it as you ease the glass under it and begin to pour, "Let's see if Blue Blood's little brand is as good as he thought it would be."

You float the bottle to the end table near you as you float up the almost medicine sized pour of dark red wine. You quickly take the drink down as you move the glass next to the bottle, the flavor is sweet and goes down pretty easy but it's the after taste of mint that really hits against your tongue.

"Mmh..." You turn to Spike as you suck your teeth a little, "I should have brushed my teeth first."

As your comment ends the door to the room comes open as the lavender mare comes trotting in with a few pieces of paper floating next to her. It only takes her a split second to lock eyes with you as she speaks up, "How are you feeling?"

You hold your voice back as you just look over the mare, her expression strangely doesn't have a tired look to it and there's no stress to it which gives you a slight reassure you that everything that happened earlier was just a dream. But your eyes only stay to the mare's face for a moment as you drift them to the pink glowing amulet around her neck that drapes down to the regal looking cloak StoneGem gave you yesterday, "I'm fine... How about you?"

Twilight hoovers the papers a little lower as she nods, "Good." She shifts her eyes to her body as she speaks up, "Hope you don't mind me using the cloak, some ponies from the city where asking questions an StoneGem said it might make them feel better if they saw somepony playing the part of a leader."

You nod to the comment as you speak up, "Blue Blood?"

"Blue Blood still won't talk, and his... Friend, has no idea why he would do what he did." Twilight gives a little laugh as she shakes her head, "She didn't even know Blue Blood left the room. But I made sure all the guest are confined to the castle until Blue Blood speak up."

As Twilight's voice comes down you look her over again as you speak up, "No wonder Celestia is afraid of you..."

Your comment blinks Twilight's eyes but before she can question it StoneGem has come up behind her in the door. His sight locks your eyes as he nods between you two, "Sorry to bother you, but Blue Blood is ready to talk."

Twilight turns around to the comment as she speak up, "Good then le-..."

StoneGem holds his hoof out as he stops her, "H-he said he'd only talk to you." StoneGem nods to you as he waits for a reply.

However you just blink to the statement as you speak up, "What?"

"Blue Blood refuses to talk to anypony else but you. He wouldn't say why."

You pause for the moment but you bring yourself up from the bed as you speak up, "Where is he?"

StoneGem holds his hoof to the door as his posture tightens, "He's being held in the castle dungeon per Twilight's request."

You bring your trot up as you nod, "Alright... Show me." A little bit of the dream starts to play back in your mind as you bring yourself to trot next to the armored stallion as you both begin to trot into the now well lit throne room.

But you keep the thoughts at bay as you follow after the stallion's lead. The castle is now bustling with guards that you've never seen before, in fact the nameless ponies that trot past you actually start to bring a question to your mind as to how they could all even stay in the castle.

The sight of most of the ponies is cut off as a white coated and blond maned mare being escorted by a armor dressed pony comes up to you, "You're okay!" It takes you a moment to place the frazzle maned mare but you finally do as you give a simple nod.

The mare returns the nod as she shakes her head, "I-i'm so sorry Bluey did what he did, he just gets so worked up about somethings.-..."

StoneGem brings his voice up as he cuts in, "I'm sorry Felice, we have something to do right now, if you'll excuse us."

You follow the stallion's turn into a tighter hallway that starts to descend a little. It only takes you a moment to reach the bottom floor of the castle as you now see how there could be so many ponies.

The halls that you pass my not be as elegant as above but they definitely still have their own regal feel to them.

Your eyes turn to a large dark wooden door at the end of the next right turn hall.

StoneGem's horn sparks up as his voice rings out, "The dungeon here is a little different than Canterlot’s but it's all pretty much the same."

You nod to the comment as you try to lighten the darker feel of the room you now pass into, "Canterlot’s is a little brighter."

Your comment flicks the stallions ear as he looks to you for a second, but he doesn't bring his voice up as a few iron bar cell doors come into view. The trot comes to it's end as you come to stand in front of the last cell in the room.

A little cough comes up from you as you stop your trot in the musty old underbelly of the castle.

"Alright Blue Blood." StoneGem stands next to you as you both look to the white stallion who stands in the dusty cell's floor. The fancy dinner party clothing he had on no longer is around his now slightly yellowish white coat and the uncombed blond mane almost gives the snobby pony a down to earth look.

But the voice that rings out is nothing like his look as the still uppity tone comes out, "I said alone."

StoneGem gives you a little glance as he starts to trot back towards the door.

As the armored stallion moves from sight and the sound of his hooves leave the area Blue Blood quickly jumps to the iron bars as his tone completely alters, "You have to help me!"

You blink to the rushed voice as you think for something to say, your annoyance to the stallion slightly melts away as you look over his strangely pleading eyes, "Why?"

Blue Blood tries to press his head out of the bars as he turns his eyes down the hall, "I-I know you will believe me. We have been through so much ri-right mud pon-...I mean friend." A smile cracks across his face as he looks you over.

The choice in words doesn't amuse you as you speak up, "I don't like you Blue Blood."

"Yes yes! I know that is why you must believe me!" Blue Blood wiggles his hoof out a little through the slightly rusty bars as he nods, "You know I would never be interested in a throne over seeing these...these filthy ponies, y-you know I would never! Destroy a throne! Or ever harm anypony."

The whiny tone starts to work on you a little but you just squint to the stallion in front of you as you think over the last comment, "Never harm anypony? You tried to keep me from my wedding?"

Blue Blood's eyes widen as he nods, "Yes! Keep you, by burning the ticket. I would never fight!"

You look over the stallion silently as the smile to his face weakens, "Y-you believe me yes? You have to! Look at me!" He takes a hoof back from the bars as he rolls his hoof to his coat, "I-I am a covered in filth! Believe me! Let me go!"

You harden your stare as you speak up, "Why would we let you go?"

Blue Blood's voice falls as he just pants wide eyed to you, "Y-you didn't stop her?" The words halt any response from you as Blue Blood starts to panic trot in his small cell, "YOU stop me but not her!"

"Who-..."

"The mare I was with, the changeling!" Blue Blood slightly bangs his hoof to the cell as he continues, "It's a changeling! The filthy mud pony mare is a changeling! The necklace thing she gave me was not a mood necklace at all." Blue Blood's rant continues as he stares you down, "How can you have gotten so revered and yet not seen the obvious?! That scroll you all keep asking me about is a list of what ponies are changelings!"

You stand there as your mind races, the necklace are changelings... You stare off into space as you play back everypony you've seen with these necklaces for just the last few days. However, your mind is cut from it's run as a slight coughing fit hits you.

The coughing shifts your stance a little as you lean to one side for a moment.

Blue Blood's voice lowers as he speaks up, "The wine... You didn't drink it did you?"

You turn your eyes to him as you clear your closing throat, but you don't say anything as you quickly bring your trot up towards the door at the end of the hall. Your slight gallop is wobbly to say the least but you focus on just what you need to do as you ignore the call behind you.

"What! You cannot leave Prince Blue Blood in this place?!"

You send the door flying open as you turn your head to StoneGem and the other armor dressed mare next to him as you speak up, "The mare, is a changeling." You don't wait for a response as you quickly bring your trot up towards the hall you came into though.

StoneGem blinks to the words as he watches you slightly stumble down the hall, although he's slow to move he starts up as he turns to the pony in front of him, "Find her."

End of chapter 22