Author's Note

Alright guys, this chapter is another short one, but I didn't like the 'cliffhanger' esque ending that was left.

As always please leave a comment and thanks for reading!

Chapter 13: Leisure

It has been a great many years, even before my imprisonment, that I have been shocked into inaction.

I stand and look at the broken form before me, absolutely horrified. The young filly seems to have a black coat and grey mane, however it is almost more red than any other color. It lay curled in the fetal position, sobbing so softly that were the room not dead silent, no one could hear it.

Celestia's magic ignites briefly, a small spell being cast, before going out.

"My personal doctor has been notified, and will be here shortly." She says. A red pool begins to form below the filly, I can feel the magic in the blood call out to me, but I ignore it.

A minute goes by, nobody breathing another word.

Twilight unfreezes, and looks around to her friends, then silently levitates the elements back to Celestia, piling them at her hooves, before slowly approaching the former Maiden.

"When will your doctor get here?" She asks quietly.

"Soon, another minute or two at most." Celestia responds, just as quietly. But her voice gets even quieter as she continues. "I....I believed the elements would mend any existing wounds. I am sorry you girls had to see this." She receives no reply.

Twilight kneels beside the filly, who was still crying ever so quietly. Her horn ignites and a small lavender aura surrounds the filly's head. Her crying stops and her eyes slowly open. Bleary and wet, the filly blinks repeatedly to clear them. Her eyes are crimson. She turns her head to Twilight, who was still leaning over her.

"What are you doing?" She asks, her voice small. It is the same voice she had before, but something is off, what is it? Twilight just looks at the filly, saying nothing. The two simply stare at one another.

"Blocking out the pain. It's a spell I learned when Spike molted for the first time. He was hurting so badly, I found a spell to help him through it."

The filly moved her hooves beneath her, and looked like she was about to stand.

"Don't" A voice said. The filly looked confused, and looked around for a moment. Her matted, bloodied mane swung around and dripped blood, before her eyes landed on mine.

"If you try to stand you will just pass out, you have lost too much blood." More faces looked at me, the rest of the element bearers and Celestia herself. It took a moment to register that the voice that spoke was my own.

Just then, the massive throne-room door creaked open, and an aged, unicorn stallion came galloping towards us. His fur was light blue, his mane a darker hue. He wore a white lab-coat and his cutie mark was a blanket draped over a sea of stars. He toted all sorts of things in his magic. Clipboards, syringes, and a great many cloth towels.

"My apologies, Princess!" He shouted from across the room. His speed belied his years, and he reached us in moments. He immediately set upon the bleeding filly. He first levitated her into the air, then a syringe flew into her foreleg, she only had time to look confused before the medicine took effect, and her body went limp. The doctor then began to rapid fire spells while the cloths ripped themselves into smaller pieces and began to bandage the great many wounds upon the filly.

"I was delayed by a royal maid being most unwilling to part with her towels." He said while working. I watched in silent awe as the filly was changed into a mummy. Alicorn doctors would simply mend any wounds with their immense power. They never had to rely on skill and expertise. I can only imagine what an alicorn doctor this talented could do.

"Twilight?" Celestia asks. Twilight turns to the solar princess. A sad, defeated expression on her face.

"Yes?"

"Would you and the other elements go to the dining hall? We will join you shortly."

Twilight nods and her horn shines, then flashes. Her and the other elements gone from the room. I approach the doctor, being mindful of his tools.

"You are very talented." I praise. He looks to me and nods his head, smiling.

"Thank you." He responds, returning to his craft. I look over to Celestia.

"So you have gone and changed the Maiden into a pony, and not only a pony but a filly. What is your plan for it now?" I ask. She looks at me and grins a mischievous grin.

"Well, as part of your rehabilitation, you are supposed to prove to me you are not a bloodthirsty warmonger. So the moment the good doctor here is done; Shendu, which is her name by the way, will be your responsibility. " I sigh heavily, then nod my head.

"I assumed as much." She looked shocked, even the doctor stopped momentarily to gawk at me.

"What do you mean you 'assumed as much'?" She squawks indignantly. I smirk, albeit in a sad, defeated manner.

"Well, I am no fool Celestia. You want me to prove I am not a bloodthirsty killer. What better way for me to do that, than by not killing a previously mass-murdering monster that is now a defenseless filly? I can put two and two together." She glares at me a moment before her expression cracks and she slightly giggles.

"Am I that transparent?" She asks.

"Kind of, why else would you save a monster?" She frowns at that.

"Now Wrath, I may be taking advantage of a good opportunity but I would have saved Shendu regardless. I believe that with her new body she has the opportunity to live a meaningful life. The spell I used was originally devised by StarSwirl the bearded himself. He used it to turn an adult dragon, that had torched an entire countryside, into a stallion. That stallion not only found harmony in his life, but also founded the treaty we still hold with the dragons across the eastern sea. I honestly believe Shendu can bring good to Equestia, that is why I saved her."

I stare at Celestia, trying to process what she had just told me. She eventually stopped looking my way and opted instead to focus on.....Shendu, who was being lowered to the ground.

"Is she ready doctor?" Celestia asks.

"Yes! The spell is prepared for you Princess." He bows and moves away from the mummified filly, his tools moving with him. The mummified filly has three strips of cloth levitating off her body, an intricate spell placed upon each one. I can not tell what the spell does, but I can tell that it is intensely complex and requires a great deal of magical power.

Celestia trots up to the filly, and the aura around the three cloth strips turns from the white of the Doctor's magic to the Gold of Celestia's. Her horn begins to glow furiously and the entire cloth around the unconscious filly glows a brilliant golden.

After five seconds the glow dies down and the cloth begins to blow away, as if it were ash. What is left is the unconscious filly. Her grey mane now sparkling with life and her black coat sleek and shiny. Her previously ruined wings now appear perfectly preened, and upon further inspection, larger than a pony her size should have.

She now slumbers softly on the ground, a far cry from the ruined filly sobbing and bleeding a few minutes ago.

"It seems your skill improves with every patient." Celestia remarks.

"Thank you Princess!" The good Doctor exclaims. "Now unless you require more, I will return to my office. There is last week's edition of Daring Do sitting on my desk and I am halfway through it." The Doctor looks at Celestia expectantly. He must be absolutely enthralled.

"I require nothing more, you may return to your book, Mythic Haze."

"Thank you Princess!" Mythic exclaims before turning and galloping back toward the door, his remaining tools in tow.

"Between you and me." Celestia starts. "Daring Do has not released a new book in over a year." She giggles behind her hoof. Correction, completely enthralled and senile.

I look from Celestia to the filly, Shendu, and back again.

"So what happens now?" I ask.

"Now we go eat, come, we have kept Twilight and her friends waiting long enough. Besides, did I ever give you a proper tour of the castle?" She turns and begins to trot toward the door, which is just now slamming shut from the Doctor's exit.

"What about her?" I gesture toward Shendu. "We can't just leave her here."

"You are absolutely right." She turns her head to the side and her horn ignites, lifting the filly from the ground and forcing her into my arms. "I guess you will just have to carry her, remember, she is your problem now." I begin to follow after her.

"Don't you mean responsibility?" I ask, jogging slightly to catch up to her. The door opens before us in her golden magic.

She giggles.

"No."

I first noticed the motion.

I am swaying through the air, I can feel it bristling through my mane.

My mane.

right

I am being gently held by something that is very solid and very warm. My old body really didn't mind the cold, but my new one seems to detest it as I find myself unconsciously snuggling deeper and deeper into whatever is holding me, almost against my will. I crack an eye open and see decorative marble walls. As I move I see different illustrious paintings come into and out of view.

I look around and notice Celestia walking to my left, just above eye level. She notices me looking and smiles slightly.

"Wrath, shes awake."

A grunt is the only warning I get before I am quite rudely lifted from my cozy niche, and held beneath my shoulders by the now colossal biped from before. He is holding me directly in front of his face.

He has stopped walking and now stares at me, an intense, fiery look in his eye. This goes on for several minutes.

"Really we must be going Wrath, the dining hall is just around the corner and the girls have been waiting long enough." Celestia says from the side, I look over to her and see her fixing Wrath with a deadpan expression. I look back to Wrath. It looks like he is frozen, how do I unfreeze him?

I tentatively reach out with a hoof and gently bop his nose, then retract my hoof. His eyes follow my hoof the whole time, going cross-eyed when I touched his nose. He snorts and begins to walk again, folding his arms with me in them. I get comfortable and watch as we round the corner.

A long hallway comes into view, doors every few steps on each side with the large throne-room door at the end. Guards are stationed in front of every door with two in front of the throne room door. We go into one of the side doors.

A large table occupies most of the room, with the six ponies from before sitting side-by-side on the left side of it. They had hushed when we came into the room.

"Sorry to keep you waiting girls." Celestia says, as she begins to trot toward one of the two seats at the head of the table. I am carried to the far end and placed in a seat nearest the head of the table. Wrath takes the seat next to me, looking rather comical, being as large as he is in a chair as small as that. The entire time the occupants of the room had been staring at me, having hushed conversation. I realize the pony I had extracted information from is sitting among them, and had been there when I was.....changed.

"Its no problem Princess." The white pony, Rarity, responds.

"After..... that..... we weren't exactly hungry." The rainbow mane pegasus mutters, I recognize her as the scratchy voice from before.

"Well I'm hungry, I wont lie." The orange, hat-wearing pony says.

"Then let us wait no longer!" Celestia declares, her horn shining. Moments later waiters and waitresses of all kinds come from several sets of doors throughout the room. Each balancing a metal plate with a large silver top upon it. Wrath and each pony...myself included, get a plate placed in front of us. The waiters and waitresses lift the tops in unison, and the 'meal' commences.