The ever-changing notes of music filled the ballroom, a sense of happiness permeating the air. Sweethearts danced with their crushes as off-duty royal guards joked and laughed with their comrades, sipping punch and snacking on… well, snacks. It had been a long time since such an informal party had been thrown in Canterlot Castle; stuffy balls were the norm there, orchestrated as political maneuvers by ambitious nobles. Such an enjoyable party was, as most anypony present would agree, a welcome break from the daily stress and strife of Canterlot life.
Standing in the corner of the ballroom, a cloaked figure nodded, a smile crossing its face underneath its hood. While it wasn’t just anypony, it had to admit that this party was a stroke of luck. If it hadn’t been for Pinkie Pie- the Element of Laughter- this party wouldn’t have been thrown. Princess Celestia wouldn’t be as approachable as she was now, chatting with her student Twilight Sparkle. The other element bearers wouldn’t have been situated around the room, accountable for.
It hadn’t been easy getting into the party unseen, but the figure was fully aware that doing it on a normal day would have been nigh-impossible. But now? The amount of ponies guarding the Princesses was at an all-time low- a few guards at the entrances, but that wasn’t a problem for those with the proper resources.
Oh, sure, precautions had still been taken- anti-Changeling spells, for one. The Queen’s scouts had come back with affirmations that magic was in place to stop the most deadly of spells from being cast, as well as to alert the Princesses if anything magically powerful entered the ballroom. They wouldn’t want a repeat of Tirek, after all- even in his weakened state, he had been powerful enough to trip a spell like the ones that had now been set around the perimeter, and no cloak would fool them again.
But when one wasn’t magical in nature, it became apparent that you could get almost anywhere without alerting… certain authorities. Everypony expected and prepared for magic, after all. What if a unicorn turned themselves invisible? What if they teleported in?
No one ever seemed to think about the tricks someone who was less magical might use to infiltrate an important event. The potions in the satchel strapped to the figure’s waist were no less dangerous or useful than a unicorn spell, but they were nigh-undetectable.
After all… what threat could a non-unicorn pose?
The figure turned its head, recognizing the feeling of being watched. A pony was studying it suspiciously- an orange one with a peculiar hat, if it remembered correctly. Its hands twitched, and it took a deep breath, looking away.
Calm. Calm.
The urge to walk over and… introduce her to a certain brew… was greater than he’d expected. She had been there during the Invasion of Canterlot- and she had been one of the deadliest ones, besides the rainbow Pegasus. Wings broken, ribs shattered… It had been a miracle no one had been killed by her. Hell, Scuttle had looked like she’d crawled out of Tartarus when the Queen had found her.
Its hands twitched again.
The bastard had nearly killed Scuttle. It desperately wanted to return the damn favor. It wouldn’t be hard- the figure knew it was outmatched, but the element of surprise was a powerful ally. One throw was all it would take if it was on target- there was no doubt that her friends would strike her attacker down, but the figure briefly wondered whether it would be worth it.
No. Focus on the mission.
The figure cast its eyes around the room for her again, and a chill ran down its spine. She was speaking to the purple one, along with the tyrant- and her darker sister had somehow managed to appear as if by magic. Celestia glanced towards him, and the figure looked down once more. It made it look like a depressed hatchling, it supposed, but it was better than looking any more suspicious than it already did.
The figure looked up once more. All four mares were starting towards him- Celestia with a serene look on her face that could only be a façade, Twilight with curiosity, and the other two with suspicion on their faces. Suddenly, he felt a lot less confident- did they know what he was here to do? No- they would have sent in the guard. Would Celestia really lower herself to deal with an intruder herself?
With the white Alicorn in the lead, the ponies trotted towards him, and the figure had to resist the urge to bolt. The fear was irrational and almost overwhelming- it was no doubt a survival instinct. The orange one- Applejack, if he was correct- was dangerous, but the three Alicorns were more than deadly. They could swat him like an ant if he gave them a reason.
The figure breathed. In and out. It wasn’t suicidal- it did not want to die. But loyalty ran deeper then self-preservation.
“Welcome to Canterlot,” Celestia’s voice rang out, soft and gentle. The figure looked up, and gazed into her magenta eyes, trying to hide its hatred. “I do hope you are enjoying the party.” The hooded creature nodded, making sure to keep itself covered. There would be a time to reveal itself. That time was not now.
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Have we seen thou before?” The figure shook its head. The Princess of the Night looked annoyed, and stomped a hoof. “Is there a reason thou are not deigning to speak to us?” Twilight looked at her with wide eyes, and Celestia appeared to disapprove- although what really was going on beneath that mask was anylings guess.
Clearing its throat, the figure nodded once more. “I find it… hard to speak your language,” it rasped in Equestrian. “My… throat and mouth are not designed to…” The figure paused for a moment, appearing to search for the correct word. “… articulate in your native tongue,” it finished. Luna looked slightly abashed, but no less suspicious of its intentions.
Twilight spoke up, her voice barely hiding her excitement- no doubt, the figure r faux pas ealized, because she was on the path to realizing that it was a species alien to her. “Excuse me, I don’t mean to pry, but… are you a Stallion or a Mare? I would guess the former, considering how deep your voice is, but…”
Celestia gave her student a quick cautioning look, but the figure shook its head. “I… do not take offense,” it rasped. “I am… male. A stallion, as… you would say.” His speech was slow, but not quite broken. “I have come to… deliver a message from my people.” He had to admit- Changeling was a lot easier for him then Equestrian. Even with all the clicks and hisses, it was simpler and more to the point.
“Ah message? From who?” Applejack snorted. “Ah don’t mean to be rude,” she continued, sounding as if though she every intention to, “but ah don’t think we’ve seen ya’ll around before. What’s up with your hood?” The mare looked like she was ready to continue, but Celestia stomped a hoof softly, giving her a soft shake of her head.
“I apologize for my associate’s rudeness,” she began, but the figure shook his head once more, surprising her. And then it did something chilling… it laughed.
At least, she thought it was a laugh.
“She has… every right to be suspicious, as does your sister, Celestia,” he continued, ignoring Luna bristling at his obvious exclusion of an honorific. “I am… strange to you. I have… shown up out of the blue. It is, no doubt…” He paused. “… alarming. My people would… react much the same.”
Twilight gasped. “Your people? You mean there are more of you!?” She squealed, staring at him in glee. “You stand like a minotaur, but you’re not thick enough, and you wouldn’t be able to wear a hood that small because of your horns. Are you a subspecies?” Celestia once again looked calm and composed, although the figure got the distinct feeling that she was more worried about him attacking her student then any possible social blunder.
“I am… not a minotaur, yes,” he confirmed. “I am… a human.” Just as he’d expected, none of the four mares in front of him recognized that word. “We are… few and far between. Most of us… die young. It was only due to the timely… intervention of my Majesty and sovereign ruler, Queen Chrysalis that I survived.”
Twilight’s look of scientific glee turned to one of distinct horror in a split second. Applejack’s face turned to one of rage, and Luna looked almost as angry as she was. Celestia let her polite mask slip for a moment into one of shock, but she regained her royal composure almost as quickly. “And you said you bear a message… from her, I assume?”
“Now wait just a moment,” Applejack interrupted angrily. “Ah’m not seeing a darned reason why we shouldn’t lock you up here and now. Your Queen all but declared open war when she invaded Canterlot.” Luna looked like she agreed, and Twilight appeared conflicted. Once again, it was almost impossible to tell what Celestia thought of the situation.
“Politeness,” the figure said simply, his own composure slipping a bit. “And I would thank you… not to speak as though you had ultimate authority… in this ball,” he snapped, as quickly as his speaking skills would allow.
“I have been nothing… but polite. You have done extreme harm to my people,” he snarled, “and while… you might see it as justified, the wounds you have inflicted upon my friends have not quite… healed. So if you could let me and your rulers… speak, without forcing yourself into a conversation in which you… have little to no real right to direct… that would make this process much less painful for me… and my throat,” he spat, rubbing his throat.
Applejack looked surprised at the figure’s sudden outburst, and Luna looked positively outraged. “How dare thou speak to the Element of Honesty like that?” She nearly shouted. “Apologize, before I make thou regret thy-“
“Luna,” Celestia said, her voice hard as tempered steel. “Stop. He is here to deliver a message, and I shall not have a messenger treated like this. He is not guilty of the sins of his people, as I distinctly don’t remember a human attacking anypony during the invasion,” she pointed out, “and although I might find his verbal retort… distasteful… I would ask that you, Applejack,” she said with a pointed look at the orange pony, “not jeopardize the situation any further. I understand both of your points of view- but there are better ways of handling it.”
The alicorn turned her gaze back to the human. “Now,” she said sternly. “Please inform me what your Queen wishes me to know.”
The human nodded. “As you wish,” he rasped. He thrust a hand into his robes, and withdrew a flask full of green, sickly liquid. “Although it is less a message... and much more... a delivery!” He hurled the flask into Celestia’s face as hard as possible, before diving to the side as the flask shattered. There was a nanosecond of silence as the liquid came into contact with the air, and then-
BOOM!
The figure pushed himself to his feet, lowering his hood and wiping his eyes as the smoke cleared from the air. The noise from the blast had been almost deafening- but it was worth it. He had hopefully killed or at least severely wounded the Sun Tyrant, and hopefully the others. Considering they were in such close proximity to Celestia, the blast should have…
Should have…
He stared at the group of mares inside the blue, cracked magic bubble, two of which were shocked, and two of which looked furious. What in the world…?
“How?” The figure snarled. “That blast was strong enough to kill a full-grown manticore! Do you…” He coughed, partly from the still clearing smoke, partly from the strain of speaking Equestrian… “…know how long it took me to brew that?”
And then the reality of his situation set in.
He had just tried to assassinate Celestia. Queen Chrysalis had told him to flee if the plan hadn't worked out, that running and trying again was better then dying. Celestia dropped the bubble, gasping from the strain, and the cloaked figure stumbled backwards. The other ponies were saying things, things that he couldn't make out over the ringing in his ears.
They were going to kill him, he realized. They wouldn't do it quickly, either.
Drawing a knife, he took another step back. “Stay back, or I’ll hurl another Balefire vile,” he snarled. “And I doubt your tyrant will be able to save you again.” Of course, that was a complete and utter lie. Making one such explosive potion had been time consuming and dangerous. He hadn't had time to make another one.
Twilight stepped forwards. “Drop the knife,” she commanded, all traces of levity gone from her voice. “Drop the knife and no one needs to get-“
As the purple mare spoke, the human vehemently interrupted her. “Fat chance,” he hissed. “I’d rather die before I submit to you monsters. I’m not going to be turned to stone like Discord!”
At that point, Luna abandoned diplomacy altogether. Eyes blazing with fury, the Princess of the Night hurled a purple bolt of energy at the would-be asasssin’s head. The human dropped to the ground just in time to avoid becoming a charred crisp, but the blast seared off some of the human’s black hair.
The Princess of the Night looked like she was going to try again, but the weakened Celestia stomped a hoof. “No,” she ordered, taking a breath. “Take him alive. We will not stoop to her level… even if he did try to murder us. Do you even know how much collateral damage that would have caused?” She snapped, turning to him. "It is one thing to be angry at me. But you will not harm my subjects."
The human laughed. “Of course! It wouldn’t have been… very much at all,” he pointed out. “The blast was powerful enough to kill all of you… no more, no less. We dislike your ponies,” he spat, “but we aren’t torturers or terrorists. Like some of you." Luna snarled at that.
“Shut thy mouth, creature! Stand down and let us capture you.” Luna took a menacing step forwards, which the human matched with one back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Twilight and the rest of the Bearers making sure that no one else had been hurt. As if he would be so imprecise.
Glancing around, the human took in his surroundings. The civilian ponies were fleeing, and the off-duty guards still present were starting to surround him. Escape seemed impossible.
Once again, he was faced with the fact that he was going to die here. Maybe not now, if what Celestia had said could be trusted, but certainly later. And if not... well, his Queen had already told him all about what they'd done to Discord.
“Give me liberty,” he snarled. “or give me death!” As the human turned the knife towards himself, Celestia's eyes widened, and she shouted something.
“Don’t!”
The human gave them a smile. “For the Queen.”
The last thing he heard before the searing pain of having a knife through his chest overtook his mind was an agonized cry from Twilight as he fell to the ground. The knife was wrenched from his grasp, but it was too late. As he faded, the only thing that filled his mind was the bitter satisfaction of denying them agency over his death.
Author's Note
First chapter, up!
So, because this features a human, I was debating on whether or not to have him speak perfect Equestrian, broken/halted Equestrian, or not actually being able to speak it at all. Eventually I decided on the second, since I felt like it would make things a tad more realistic.
Rated for Gore in later chapters- it isn't insanely graphic, but blood and descriptions of injuries are still going to be there.
