Antecedent 3
#3 of Antecedent
Raindrop kept her head lowered and her eyes on the ground as she walked through the castle, ears splayed back in apparent shame. She didn't want anyone to see her eyes. Her demonic eyes.
keeping her gaze on the floor, she meandered throughout the castle and to the female toilets, locking the door after her and hurrying over to the sink, placing her forehooves on the edge of the sink and staring at her reflection. A pair of green eyes stared back at her, and her ears splayed backwards. She was turning into a demon. First had been hurting Shine, and now, she was actually physically changing. Her eyes, and her entire musculature earlier.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, she leaned in until her nose bumped the mirror, leaving a small smudge, and stared into her own demonic eyes.
"Change," she whispered commandingly, staring deeply into her own gaze.
Her eyes remained resolutely green.
"Change," she murmured again, resting her nose against the cool glass, eyes narrowing further.
Again, her eyes remained the same.
"Change!" she hissed, banging her hoof against the glass.
And still, her eyes did not change.
Raindrop began to breath harder, gritting her teeth, her expression turning dangerous.
"Change!" she screeched, her next hoof strike against the mirror causing it to crack across its length, sending a jagged black line through her reflection.
The young pegasus stared into the cracked mirror, banging her hoof weakly against it a few times, feeling a lump rising in her throat. Her voice was broken as she murmured helplessly, "Change...just change back...please..."
Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she took a deep shuddering breath, trying to fight them down, swallowing thickly and composing herself, closing her eyes and calming her breathing. She wasn't a cryer. Crying wasn't something she did. It just wasn't.
Her eyes opened, and stared into her own cracked reflection, and her own green eyes. Her changeling eyes.
Raindrop slumped, meandering over to the cold, tiled corner of the room and sitting down in it, crossing her forehooves and resting her chin on them. She needed to think. Needed to compose herself before she went back out there and faced the world as Raindrop, the untouchable pegasus.
Her breathing stuttered and she took a shuddery inhalation, holding it for several moments. It was a few moments before the tears began to spill down her cheeks from her closed eyes. It wasn't fair. She had been going to get married. And then something she couldn't even control had come in and taken everything away from her. She didn't have a family any more. Shine was gone from her. She couldn't even be near him without magically hurting him. It was something inside her. And the one way she could fix it had been robbed from her by Discord.
It wasn't fair.
And so Raindrop left her head on her hooves, and cried quietly to herself. She didn't sob. She didn't make a noise rather than the increased intensity of her breathing. She wasn't one to make a scene. But the sheer unfairness of it all just stung.
And she was turning into a monster. Soon, she wouldn't even be able to fit in with other ponies. She'd have to find a cloud to live on. A cloud far, far away from any other pony who could see her.
Alone.
Forever. /Untitled-1.jpg
It took Raindrop a good hour to get over her tears. Luckily, no one had come to the door hoping to use the toilet. She wouldn't have opened the door if they had. She wasn't going to let them see her tears, wasn't going to let them see her hurt.
And once she fought down her tears, she rose shakily to her hooves, and then stepped back over to the mirror, resting her nose on the glass and staring into her red-rimmed, puffy eyes. She set her jaw, concentrating and whispering, "Change..."
Four entire hours later, Raindrop emerged from the bathroom, looking exhausted and drained, but now with a pair of vibrant purple eyes. It had taken her a while to get the colour just right, but it was close enough to her previous eyes for them to be passable. She was happy. Proud even. She had fixed her eyes.
There was a bounce in her steps as she made her way up to the stairs leading to Celestia's rooms. By the time she got to the stairs though, she was huffing softly, breathing heavier. Her legs were already shaking like she had tried to run a great distance. It seemed as though her recovery would not be as fast as she liked.
Wrinkling her nose, Raindrop leaped out a window and instead winged her way up to Celestia's tower, entering through an open window and backwinging to a stop.
She was in Celestia's memorial room. Pictures of previous students littered the walls, varying in sizes and greyness of age. The table in the centre of the room now bore the Element of Loyalty on a pedestal, grey and lifeless. Five gems nearby sat next to it, each of them with their own pedestal. They were all different colours, but they were familiar to her. Seeker Stones, if her assumptions were correct.
The door opened, and Raindrop looked up guiltily, as though caught red-hooved. Celestia stood in the doorway, giving her a patronising look.
"Given your previous violent interactions with my guards, do you think it wise to make uninvited entrances through my windows?" she asked calmly, stepping over to the table, pausing in front of it and resting a hoof on the Element of Loyalty.
Raindrop looked chagrined for a moment. "The stairs looked endless when I was at the bottom of them. I doubt the guards would have carried me."
"Indeed. Mind that you inform the guards before you do it again. They were ready to break the door down before I stopped them," Celestia stated, shaking her head.
"My apologies, Princess Celestia," Raindrop said with a gentle incline of her head.
"Do you remember what I told you last time you were here?" Celestia asked, raising a brow.
Raindrop blinked once, thinking. "Uhhh...which thing specifically?"
"I asked you to call me Celestia. The 'princess' is unnecessary." Celestia said with a wave of her hoof.
"But..." Raindrop trailed off for a moment, raising a brow, mystified. "With all due respect, Princess Celestia, you never said that to me."
"I didn't?" Celestia asked thoughtfully, staring into Raindrop's eyes for a long moment, searchingly, before saying suddenly, "Welp, I guess I didn't. Disregard that."
Raindrop stared at the princess, confused. She was acting very strangely.
"Your eyes are pink now, did you know?" Celestia asked, raising a brow.
Raindrop nodded. "I spent a good four hours in the bathroom staring into the mirror trying to figure out how to fix them."
"I am pleased you succeeded," Celestia said, looking up again, staring into her eyes probingly.
The pegasus stared back for a moment, before averting her gaze uncomfortably.
"I know you put on a brave face, Raindrop. But it's okay to let people see you when you're not at your best. You're only a pony after all," Celestia said, examining the Seeker Stones.
Raindrop balked at that, snorting once. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Celestia shook her head slowly. "Take it from someone who's been wearing the same painted face for near two thousand years...let the mask down once in awhile if you can."
The young pegasus regarded the princess for a long moment, her ears splaying backwards. "I...I'll take that under advisement...but you said something about the next step?"
"Ah, yes," Celestia said, lifting a hoof and stroking the Element of Loyalty. "Given your serendipitous convenient one-in-a-million lucky find of the Element of loyalty, we now have one of the Elements in our possession. We also know they've split them up. I was developing these Seeker Stones to try and react to the Elements. I think I've got them fixed now...but they'll only work if the Elements are active."
Raindrop looked at the stones, reaching out and touching a purple one with a hoof. It was glowing and throbbing just faintly. But the orange one beside it was mostly dull, a faint glimmer visible in it.
"As you can see, the Element of Generosity is active. But the Element of Truth is not. You can use one of these stones to find your way to one of the Elements. It's a very...general directional magic. It's not precise. But it'll give you a ballpark area to search."
"So...just pick one and away I go?" Raindrop asked, raising a brow.
"Indeed. Any you'd like to start with. And while you're doing that, I'll experiment some more and see if I can find a spell that will help you find the new bearers."
Raindrop nodded, picking up the Seeker Stone for the Element of Generosity, slipping it under her wing. "I'll be back when I find the Element then, I guess."
Celestia nodded, inclining her head towards the pegasus. "Hurry back."
"And uhm...something I didn't mention. I heard a female voice while I was in the Diamond Dog tunnels...and it...kinda sounded like Spike was there with a girl," she admitted, her ears splaying back slightly.
"Spike was in the tunnels? With a girl?" Celestia asked, confused, before a slow look of dawning realisation came across her face.
"You just figured something out, didn't you?" Raindrop asked accusingly.
"Find the next Element, Raindrop. I have to investigate some things," Celestia stated, waving a hoof.
Raindrop nodded, and sighed faintly. "Very well."
Celestia watched as the pegasus bounded to the window and then launched herself out of it, spreading her wings, before the princess turned to the door, her horn glowing. A pair of guards arrived momentarily.
"Sentinel, follow her," she stated, pointing at the receding speck of the pegasus. Sentinel nodded, and then galloped to the window, leaping out it as well.
"Damascus. Organize the guard. I want you to sweep the entire castle from top to bottom. Send a search party into the gardens, I want to know what happened to Discord. Look for clues on how he escaped. And rouse Luna, I have business to attend to."
Damascus nodded, saluting, before adding a querying, 'Princess?' in referral to the rousing of Princess Luna.
"I have to go to Ponyville," Celestia explained, her eyes narrowing. "I need to visit the gravesite of a pony named Cee."
Raindrop had to collect things from her home. Again.
Given that Sentinel hadn't known to pick up her pack, all of her supplies were sitting out at the entrance to the Diamond Dog tunnels. It was too far for her to fly on a whim, and it was just easier to go back home and get the things she needed.
Digging up an old, frayed pack, she slipped it over her haunches and began to place things into it. The first thing to go inside was the Seeker Stone. It was glowing blue, and the swirling mist in it seemed to be glowing brightest towards the west; the Everfree Forest.
Next up were food items, another blanket, a pillow, and a Cloudsdale Chaser, a magical instrument that was attuned to Cloudsdale. It always pointed towards the pegasus city, and at this distance, could be used for orientation.
Deciding that she had everything she needed, Raindrop stepped out the front door, closing it behind her.
The young pegasus spared a thought for Shine. He hadn't been home either of the times that she had been there. Huffing faintly to herself, she turned around and went back inside, picking up a piece of paper and a hoof-pen, and writing the unicorn a note.
The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon when Raindrop closed the door again, and she sighed faintly. She considered just walking back inside and going to sleep, but the big house Shine and her shared seemed so empty without him there. She wouldn't get any sleep at all in that big bed all alone.
Instead, Raindrop kept to the ground, heading down the main street towards the local inn. She would be able to drink herself stupid to make herself feel a little bit better, and sleep in a bed that wouldn't remind her of Shine.
The inn was as crowded as always when Raindrop pushed through the doors, meandering over to the bar, squeezing between patrons sipping cider from mugs to place her hooves on the counter.
"What'll it be?" asked the large-chested stallion behind the counter.
"A room for one for the night, please," Raindrop said, pushing a hoofful of bits across the counter with her nose
The innkeeper nodded, took the bits, and then returned with a key, sliding it over to her, "Room 15, enjoy your night, ma'am."
Raindrop nodded, taking the key and heading up the stairs in the back of the inn and to the long hallway. Room 15 was right at the end.
The pegasus was pleasantly surprised to find that her room had a large bed and a small couch to laze on. Raindrop had never had cause to stay in an inn before.
Dumping her bag on the bed, and slinging her bitpurse over one of her wings, she left the room and locked the door behind her.
Downstairs, a cloaked figure was also buying a room for the night, face hidden behind his hood. It wasn't uncommon to see ponies dressed up like that in inns. A rich pony slumming it for the night, someone who didn't want to be recognized, or just someone who liked their privacy.
Raindrop didn't even take notice of the figure as she came downstairs, but the hooded pony definitely took notice of her. He paid for his room, and then turned to follow her without so much as a thought towards checking his room first.
Raindrop wandered the dark streets of Ponyville, with no set destination. The nightlife of Ponyville was all around her. Ponies playing with glowsticks or sparklers, couples laying in the warm grass stargazing...After the events of Nightmare Moon, it seemed a collective consciousness had arose in the pony populace for them to appreciate the night more.
The pegasus found herself at a cider stand at the edge of town, buying three bottles and then meandering off to the lakeside to stare out over the water. The full moon shone bright overhead, and cast sufficient light for her to see all around with no problem. And so she sat, gently sipping cider from one of the bottles while staring out over the water, watching small nocturnal animals coming down to drink, breaking the still surface of the water with the ripples of their actions.
It was peaceful, and peaceful was what Raindrop wanted at that moment. After the tenseness of creeping through a Diamond-Dog infested tunnel system and whatever it had been that she had done to herself with her changeling blood, she just wanted to relax. Wanted to relax and forget about all of her troubles.
In reality, she wanted to go back to a time when she could curl up with Shine in front of a nice, warm fire. But those times seemed a lifetime away now. They had one of the Elements of Harmony. They need all six. And their bearers. And by the time they found all of that, she'd already be a full-blood changeling. Or whatever it was that would happen to her.
Raindrop took a hefty swallow of the cider, and then set the bottle aside gently, stepping down to the shoreline and staring into her moon-lit reflection. It was murky and hazy with only moonlight to see by, but she could definitely see her own eyes. They looked normal. Pink.
Focusing for a long moment, she let her eyes change, turning green this time, back to what they looked like before she had 'fixed' them. But inside, she knew that wasn't the case. She hadn't fixed them, per se. She had merely changed them. Pink eyes felt like a lie now, like a mask she put on to blend in with other ponies. A facade. The green eyes were her true eyes. At least, for now.
Shuddering, she focused, and changed her eyes again, back to pink, not wanting to look at her own accusing gaze any more. After a few moments, she scrunched up her nose, and then changed her eyes to blue, and then red. It almost terrified her the ease at which she had picked up the trick to changing her own body. the first time had been hard, but now, it was as easy as pulling off a complex flight maneuver.
Thoughtfully, she stared down into the reflection, and focused on changing her eyes again. But this time, she focused on a cats eyes. Immediately, the entire lakeside became more vivid, more bright. The pegasus blinked, stunned a little by the intensity of the brightness after the gloom of only moonlight, and then cast her gaze around. With a cats eyes, she could see pretty much as far as she wanted; from the lakeside, to the gloomy streets of Ponyville where the lamps didn't shine.
She also saw a Royal Guard in full armour watching her from the shadows.
Panicking slightly, Raindrop turned back to her reflection and changed her eyes hastily back to pink, backpedaling away from the water and trying to act as though she hadn't seen the guard watching her from a distance. A wave of dizziness hit her as she straightened, and she scrabbled at the grass and soft silt on the side of the lake before falling bodily into it with a yelp.
Instantly, she swallowed water, and began to cough. Several long, long moments passed before a pair of strong hooves tugged her up out of the water and onto the bank again.
Raindrop cough again, and retched slightly for a moment, panting in air and then laying her head on her hooves with a groan. It felt like she had a hangover already.
"Alcohol and swimming do not mix," Sentinel stated with a frown.
Raindrop waited several long moments to collect herself before she lifted unsteadily into a sitting position and stared at the stallion. "Really? I hadn't noticed. Are you stalking me?"
Sentinel snorted in response, flicking water and mud off his hooves. "You wish. Celestia ordered me to guard you."
"Well thank you for saving me from the terrifying lake, I am forever in your debt," Raindrop snorted, standing up and taking a total of two steps before she crashed down on her stomach heavily, groaning.
"How much have you had?" Sentinel asked, staring at her for a long moment.
"Not even half a bottle!" Raindrop protested, rubbing a hoof against her temple and then rising to her hooves again, locking her legs together and waiting to see if she got dizzy.
The guard laughed softly, shaking his head. "Can't handle your cider, huh?"
Raindrop bristled, rounding on him, her eyes narrowing. "You really mustn't like the current arrangement of your facial features."
"No, it's not that. I just doubt your ability to affect them in any great way," the guard teased.
The pegasus snorted, and took a swing at him with a hoof.
"Swing and a miss!" Sentinel chimed as he smoothly bobbed his head back out of the way, causing the mare to overbalance and sprawl untidily on her side.
"I hate you," Raindrop stated, staring up at him.
"My heart bleeds for you," Sentinel stated, picking her up roughly and setting her back down on her hooves. "Now, can you kindly move yourself away from the water? It's going to make me look really stupid if you drown on my watch."
"Why are you even following me?" Raindrop asked, huffing as she picked up her bottles of cider and began to walk back towards the inn, not even sparing a glance for the guard.
"I guess she thought you might do something stupid like drown in the lake?" he answered with a thoughtful sound. "She is a remarkable judge of character, you know."
Raindrop snorted derisively at him. "Tell her to find someone less...obnoxious to guard me."
"And you were just starting to grow on me, too," Sentinel simpered.
The mare spared him a look of pure venom as she pressed her way through the front doors of the inn. Sentinel followed silently, watching her ascend the stairs.
The guard moved over to the counter, and pushed across a royal writ with Celestia's seal on the front. The innkeeper handed him a key, and the guard moved after Raindrop.
Sentinel caught her just as she fumbling with the key and keyhole, having trouble lining it up, it seemed.
Raindrop scowled, hitting her hoof against the door once or twice in frustration, and then trying to fit the key back into the hole.
The guard shook his head for a moment, and then stepped over, snatching the key from her and inserting it into the hole neatly. "Jeeze. Maybe you need to lay off the cider."
Raindrops backhand strike with her hoof caught him across the brow before he could duck out of the way, and she harrumphed at him as she pushed the door open, stepping inside. She tried to close the door with a hindleg but ended up overbalancing again and ending up sprawled on the carpet.
"...Are you...okay?" Sentinel asked uncertainly, head tilting slightly to one side.
"Perfectly fine!" came the muffled response from the floor.
Sentinel shook his head again, and then stepped into the room, nudging his nose under the mare to help her to her feet.
"I'm going to hit you again," Raindrop said weakly, as the guard pushed her into the bed, staring at her.
"I'm beginning to assume that is the normal greeting fashion for your family," he said, deadpan, and then leaned closer to her, frowning. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"What do you even care?" she spat, swiping at his nose with a hoof, not really intending to connect.
Sentinel neatly tilted out of the way, before stating, "Celestia told me what you are."
"I'm a dirty, filthy changeling, remember?" Raindrop asked, huffing and rolling over onto her side, turning her back to the guard.
"No, you're not," Sentinel said with a frown, his voice softening a little bit. "Look...I'm sorry for the way I treated you...it was wrong of me. I should have...I don't know. Asked you or something, first?"
"Oh hello there, you seem to be a changeling, are you?" Raindrop asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.
"I'm not sure if you're defending my actions or insulting me," Sentinel stated, mystified.
"Neither am I," Raindrop admitted with a sigh and a shake of her head, rolling back over to face him. "Look. I understand why you did what you did. You thought I was a changeling. I didn't bother to correct you."
"Indeed. And I am apologizing for that. I feel bad about the way I treated you," he stated, his ears splayed backwards, his expression placating.
"Duly noted. I forgive you, I guess. But me and you? We're never going to be friends. Now get out of my room before I beat you senseless," Raindrop said, deadpan, pointing a hoof at the door.
Sentinel chuckled at that, shaking his head. "Sleep well, Miss Raindrop."
"I hope you have horrible nightmares," she responded as she rolled back over, pulling the pillow under her head.
The guard just shook his head as he stepped out of her room, removing the key from the door and throwing it onto the bed before closing her door and heading for his own room.
Raindrop for her part stared at the wall for a long, long time. There was a peculiar buzzing in the back of her mind, like the start of a migraine. It could have been the cider; but something told her it was the changes. She wasn't a lightweight when it came to cider; she had drank Shine under the table on more than one occasion. And the only other thing it could possibly be was fooling with her eyes. So even her own changeling blood exerted a toll on her body when she used it.
Raindrop sighed to herself and pulled the pillow closer, trying to imagine it was Shine's body she was lazing against.
Tomorrow, she had to find the Element of Generosity.
Raindrop gave a faint groan as she rolled over onto her hooves, and then straightened slowly, stretching, her ears splaying against her skull and her entire form quivering. She felt strange. It was as though she had run a marathon, but without any of the associated muscle aches and pains to accompany the sensation. It was still dark, obviously very early morning.
Snorting to herself, Raindrop crawled off the bed, and stumbled over to the floor-to-ceiling mirror set into the wall beside the bed. She lifted a hoof to rest beside it and steady herself as she leaned in to stare into her own reflection in the gloom. A mousy-maned pegasus stared back at her, pink eyes tired, with bags under her eyes. It was impossible to tell that a changeling hid under her eyes. Hid inside her.
But Raindrop was starting to come to terms with it all. She was a changeling. No amount of bitching or feeling sorry for herself was going to change that. She had the ability to change that, and she would stop at nothing for the chance to be rid of her changeling blood. And she was starting to realise certain things about her 'powers'.
She was using love energy.
Changelings used the energy to exist. They used it for sustenance like a pegasus used food. But Raindrop didn't need love energy for sustenance, as food performed that duty for her. So the energy she had taken from Shine, it had been kept in her. And she was using that to change. That was the only explanation that Raindrop could come up with. And she had exhausted that energy, and so now, any kinds of changes she attempted were trying to draw from energy she simply didn't have. And that was making her drunk.
The last bit needed some polish. But the rest of it made sense!
Raindrop sighed and shook her head, moving over to the bed and scooping the key off the covers, inserting it into the door and twisting it. It was certainly easier now than it had been. The previous night it had seemed like there was three different keyholes, all of them rotating around one-another.
The door clicked, and the pegasus pulled it open, taking the key and slipping it into the crook of her folded wing. So long as she didn't need to fly anywhere, she wouldn't lose it.
Not paying attention, she bumped straight into Sentinel, who was standing outside her door. Strangely, he hadn't been facing the door, but rather, facing outward, standing guard.
Raindrop snorted, and then pushed the guard with both of her hooves, sending him tumbling onto his side clumsily, coming up after a moment, shaking his head and trying to rub a hoof against his face past his helmet, making a confused sound.
Raising a brow, Raindrop leaned in close and peered at him, before snorting again and shaking her head. He had been asleep, or dozing, at least.
"If you're going to guard me, you're not allowed to fall asleep," she stated flatly.
"Sorry ma'am," Sentinel replied groggily, saluting in her general direction and then moving to stand by the door again.
Raindrop gave a derisive snort. "You're not even properly awake yet, are you?"
"No ma'am," Sentinel replied instantly, completely truthfully.
Raindrop rolled her eyes, and then lifted a hoof, bringing it crashing down on the top of his helmet, making the entire metal covering vibrate with the force of the blow. The guard stiffened slightly, his eyes widening, wincing at ringing so loud in his ears, and then turning his head to look the female up and down for a moment, wrinkling his nose.
"Ugh, you look even worse in the morning," he stated.
Raindrop scowled, self-consciously rubbing a hoof through her spiked mane. "Shut up. Now go to bed, stupid pony. If you're going to be hounding my steps tomorrow, I'd rather you not slow me down."
Sentinel lifted a hoof, and then pressed it under his helmet, rubbing at his forehead, before looking up at her and stating, "But I must guard you."
"And whoever will protect me tomorrow when you're asleep?" Raindrop asked, stepping closer to him, poking her nose against his own, raising her brows.
"I have not thought that far into the future," Sentinel stated, shaking his head once.
"Don't worry baby, thinking obviously isn't your strong suit," Raindrop said, gently rubbing a hoof against his cheek, and then shoving him sideways into the wall. "Now go get sleep, Sentinel. The adult pegasus is going to go do grown-up things."
Sentinel scowled after Raindrop as she sauntered down the hallway, rubbing a hoof against his temple.
Raindrop poked her tongue at him over her shoulder before descending the stairs and entering the bar room of the inn, pulling herself up onto a chair and looking about. The entire place was deserted; no patrons, no innkeeper. Raindrop assumed that this was one of the inns that didn't have 24 hour service. Many of the inns kept their bars open right through the night. There was a bell on the counter, but she figured that that was for late arrivals seeking a room for the night.
Scowling to herself, Raindrop ascended the stairs to her room. Sentinel was no longer in the hallway, obviously having retired to his room for the night. Raindrop transferred the key from her wing, to a hoof, lifting it to insert it into the door. But something made her pause.
The young pegasus looked slowly down the hallway. At the end of the hallway, a cloaked figure stood, watching her, head lowered, features hidden in the shadows cast by their clothing.
"Can I help you?" Raindrop asked, canting her head a little bit to one side. Her heart was starting to beat faster, and she was trying her best to appear nonplussed.
There was no response from the hooded figure, as it began to advance down the hallway towards her.
Raindrop bit her bottom lip for a moment, and then began to fumble with the key to get it into the slot, trying to watch the hooded figure out of the corner of an eye. The key kept slipped from its mark as she fumbled it, and Raindrop scowled, eyes narrowing. She paused, took a deep, calming breath, inserted the key neatly, and then twisted it.
As she lifted a hoof to push the door open, she looked down the hallway again, blinking once. It was empty. The hooded figure was gone.
Confused, Raindrop stepped into her room, and then poked her head out of the doorway, looking down the hallway, frowning. Maybe the figure had gone into one of the rooms and that was their intent the entire time?
Shaking her head slightly, Raindrop withdrew and closed the door behind her, locking it and withdrawing the key, turning around to sprawl on the bed.
The first strike caught her completely unaware. One moment, she was about to collapse into bed, the next, there was a hoof suddenly filling her vision. It caught her across the cheek and eye, a neat blow that rocked her back on her haunches.
The hooded figure stepped in and delivered another rapid blow from his other hoof, sending the pegasus reeling backwards until she overbalanced and sprawled clumsily on her back, seeing stars, blinking rapidly as she tried to assimilate what was happening.
Her ears were ringing, and the room was spinning just slightly at the corners. She tried to roll over, but a heavy hoof landed on her chest, forcing the air from her lungs. The hooded figure stood over her, leaning in with a dark smile, eyes narrowing.
"Weak pegasus," the figure said with obvious amusement. "I almost forgot how easy it was to crush your kind."
Raindrop wheezed for a moment, lifted her hooves to try and remove the hoof from her chest, but her opponent just pressed down harder, squeezing the air from her lungs. Scrabbling at the hoof on her chest, Raindrop cast her gaze around desperately for something she could use to try and smash her opponent over the head with. The nearest thing she found was the key, but it was too small to do anything but annoy the stronger opponent.
Black spots were starting to form in Raindrop's vision, and there was a burning in her compressed lungs, as she tried vainly to suck in air. And the figure was watching her the entire time, enjoying her suffering. Her gaze cast to the door, closed and locked. It might as well have been a mile away, for all the good it, or anyone outside it could do.
Raindrop's wings fluttered weakly as she began to lose consciousness, and the young pegasus squirmed slightly back and forth in an attempt to get out from underneath the crushing weight compressing her chest. the figures entire weight must have been resting on single hoof, pressing down on her so hard.
The young pegasus gave a breathy snarl of anger, and on instinct, went into offense mode. She had wrestled with other pegasus her entire life. It was part of growing up in such a physical society. And if she was going to die, she was going to make sure it was as hard as possible.
Instead of pushing at the hoof, Raindrop wrapped her own around it to hold it steady, and then twisted slightly, curling and using her wings to push off the ground a little bit, allowing her to bring her hindlegs up, hooking them around her opponents chest and neck. Using the last of her strength, she twisted with her hooves, pushed with her wings, and brought her hindlegs back down to their original position, which overbalanced the pony atop her. With Raindrop holding his hoof, he couldn't put out any limbs to arrest his fall, and slammed down hard on his side.
Raindrop rolled away from her opponent and thudded into the wall clumsily as glorious air flooded her lungs. She immediately began coughing, panting hard and trying to get her breath back, her eyes wide as she took in huge, grateful gasps of air.
The hooded figure rose, and then neatly twisted his hood off completely, revealing a dark-furred body and shiny blue-grey armour covering his form.
Raindrop took a deep, steadying breath, and then turned to face the figure, her eyes narrowing. It was an earth pony. So she wouldn't have to contend with magic, at least, and if she could get enough separation, she could smash her way through one of the windows and fly off while her opponent would be unable to follow.
She didn't have much time for thought though, as her opponent was on her again in a flash, launching across the distance between them with a hard thrust of a hoof.
Raindrop ducked out of the way of the blow rather easily, but wasn't ready for the sudden twist and kick from a hindleg, catching her right in the ribs, sending her limping away for a moment, winded. She leaned against the bed, gasping for air, a hoof holding her side, while her opponent slowly turned, grinning cockily.
The pegasus watched him with narrowed eyes. She wanted to wipe that smug expression off his face, and for the first time, she found herself wishing she could change; wishing that she could increase her strength and mop the floor with her opponent.
The earth pony lunged again, but raindrop was ready for him this time. She ducked under the hoof strike he levelled at her head, and then slammed her own hoof into his hindleg when he tried to catch her with it, managing to get it just above the joint in that one perfect spot.
Her opponent limped backwards, away from her, getting enough distance that he could pause and check his hindleg, attempting to put weight on it and wincing. His eyes narrowed as he glared at her, and he snorted a moment. "Touché."
"You got some nice hits yourself," Raindrop panted, nodding her head towards her opponent in respect. "But I've got a royal guard in the room next door, and he's gonna beat the crap out of you, if he ever wakes up!"
Raindrop called the last words out loudly, to try and catch Sentinel's attention.
"No matter. This'll be over soon," her opponent stated, as he reached a hoof down to his chestplate, and then drew a long, wicked-looking dagger from inside it.
Raindrop's eyes widened, and she backed away a little bit, to put the bed between them. "Uncool man, totally uncool."
The pony just licked his lips, eyes narrowing at her. He stepped up onto the bed calmly, and began to walk across its surface towards her. "Scream if you want, pegasus. I think I'll enjoy that."
Raindrop backed up against the wall, and then began to slide along it, away from the dagger-wielding pony obviously out for her blood.
"U-uhm, Sentinel!" she called loudly as she began to bound towards the locked door. "Now might be the time to do some of that guard stuff!"
The figure on the bed grinned, and then lunged after her, swiping with the dagger and catching Raindrop across the flank, drawing a deep, but superficial wound across her haunch, just forward of her cutie mark.
Raindrop snarled in pain, twisting to face the other pony and limping slightly, grimacing as she felt a trickle of blood beginning to dribble down her leg.
"No screaming?" the pony asked, seeming disappointed.
"I'm gonna make you scream," Raindrop stated, deadpan.
The figure snorted derisively, and then lunged at her again, dagger scything towards Raindrop's face with deadly intent. The pegasus ducked out of the way, weaving away from the blow, and then dropping down onto her chest as her opponent tried to side-swipe her across her face with the blade when his first strike missed.
The dagger came within an inch of Raindrop's face, and she watched with wide eyes as a large portion of her fringe mane just fell to the floor in front of her, neatly cut.
Grinning, the pony took a step towards her, smug in his confidence that the dagger gave him an edge over the pegasus. He gave a half-hearted swipe at her again, forcing her to back up further.
Raindrop's eyes darted left and right, and she picked up a lamp to throw at her opponent. The pony merely ducked his head and let the thin porcelain shatter across his helmet-covered forehead, protecting him from harm.
He gave another swipe, and another at the pegasus, not even really trying to hit her. Raindrop was just starting to cotton on that there was something wrong with her opponents striking pattern when her rump hit the far wall.
A moment later, the other pony was on, bringing the dagger down in a great overhead stab.
Raindrop reared up and quickly made a motion with a hoof, catching her opponents hoof in mid-strike to try and deflect it. She was off-balance though, pressed up against the wall, and instead of deflected it entirely, she merely managed to alter its trajectory. Instead of ending up in her chest, the dagger went left, the tip catching at the edge of her shoulder and driving in.
Raindrop screamed in pain as the dagger found its mark, digging through flesh and muscle until nearly an inch of it was buried in her shoulder.
The other pony grinned, and brought his nose up to her own, eyes staring into hers as he whispered, "Scream for me."
Raindrop did scream as pressure was exerted on the dagger, beginning to sink deeper and deeper into her shoulder, a white-hot lance of pain edging into her form.
The door to the room burst open in a shower of splinters as a heavy form hit it from the other side.
First through was Sentinel, launching himself into the room in full splendour, dressed in his entire set of armour and eyes looking around wildly for a target. Next through was the inkeeper, and then a patron of the inn, a large unicorn, obviously come to help when he heard the screaming.
"Get him off me!" Raindrop screeched, trying to push at her opponent with her hindhooves.
The pony atop her tried to retrieve his dagger, to pull it out of Raindrop's shoulder so he could use it on the intruders who had come to break up his fun little game, but Raindrop stopped him. Blood-streaked hooves pushed at his own hooves, and she rolled to the side to keep him away from the dagger.
In the space of time it took Raindrop's attacker to realise that he couldn't get his dagger back, Sentinel was on him. And the ensuing fight was all one-way traffic.
Sentinel opened with a heavy blow to the back of the ponies neck, right when the armour joined, deforming the thinner armour there and giving the earth pony a blow that he would feel even through the armour. By the time he had finished that blow, he was already swinging himself around the ponies front, and delivering a harsh strike to his chin with a hooked hindleg, smashing his head upwards and sending him reeling backwards, stunned.
This placed Sentinel between Raindrop and her attacker, and he turned to look her over, making sure she wasn't in mortal danger before facing her attacker again.
Sentinel launched himself across the short distance between them, wings flapping once to give him extra speed and, conversely, more impact, his hoof coming down hard on the helmeted head of his opponent. He transformed the strike into another, a simple conversion of momentum. As he brought his hoof down, he turned around entirely, facing away from the earth pony, and then leapt into the air, wings flaring, and then snapping closed, angled just right to send him into a full backwards somersault. It was an impressive technique that a lot of pegasus managed to master in their younger years; but this technique ended with both of Sentinel's hind-hooves smashing down over his opponent's skull.
Before his hindlegs even touched the ground, Sentinel's forehooves planted to the floor, and he arched and then lashed out with both hindhooves with all the strength in his form, catching the other pony in the chest, with enough force to pick him up and send him skidding into the far wall with a heavy thud. In an instant, the innkeeper, and the patron were on the pony, pinning him to the floor and stretching out his hooves so he couldn't move. But it hardly mattered; Sentinel's double-hindhooves smash had knocked him unconscious.
Deeming the threat dealt with, Sentinel rushed to Raindrop's side.
Raindrop was staring at him, open-mouthed, her eyes slightly fogged with pain and a hoof weakly holding the dagger buried in her shoulder.
"You kicked his ass," Raindrop muttered weakly, her tone awed.
"And you got yours handed to you," Sentinel stated flatly, leaning down to inspect the embedded dagger with a look of worry.
"Hurts," Raindrop stated unhelpfully.
Sentinel snorted, and then looked from the dagger, to her. "Are you okay? Can you feel your hoof?"
"No I'm not okay!" Raindrop said indignantly, frowning down at the dagger in her shoulder, and then tossing her mane. "Did you see what he did to my mane? This'll take weeks to grow back!"
"All we need now is for you to hit me and I'll know you're perfectly fine," Sentinel stated sardonically.
A ringing blow caught Sentinel across the cheek, and Raindrop winced slightly as it stretched her hurt shoulder. The pegasus scowled, and then hissed between clenched teeth, "That's for getting here so damned late."
"You!" Sentinel said, pointing over his shoulder at the patron, "Find a pegasus. Knock on doors until you find one. Send them to Canterlot and tell them to bring a detachment of the Royal Guard, fast fliers. And tell them to send down a combat medic!"
"Combat medic?" Raindrop asked, confused, rubbing at her eyes with her good hoof.
"He'll be able to get this dagger out of you," Sentinel explained, frowning at her.
"And here I was just going to leave it in there," Raindrop stated, giving a weary sigh. "This hurts, you know."
"I know, I know," Sentinel said soothingly, gently stroking at her foreleg. "Just a few minutes and we can get this out of you."
"Hit me," Raindrop stated.
"...What?" Sentinel asked, blinking once.
"I don't need to be awake for this, hit me," Raindrop stated, waving a hoof. "Knock me unconscious. Then this thing stops hurting."
"I'm not sure that's wise," the guard replied helplessly.
"Celestia help me, if you don't hit me, I'm going to pull this dagger out and shove it so far up-"
Raindrop was cut off by neat strike from the guards hoof to the back of her neck, right at the base of her skull, sending her into blissful, painless unconsciousness.
Raindrop groaned faintly and lifted her head weakly from the soft pillows it was lying upon, her eyes straining to blink open.
A firm hoof held her down, keeping her from moving, and she looked up woozily for a moment to see the stern face of Sentinel hovering above her, seemingly floating in a haze of grey nothingness. The entire world was foggy and hard to bring into focus.
Raindrop was aware of movement at her side, and twisted slightly to stare nonplussed at a doctor threading the flesh of her shoulder together with a needle and sutures.
"That looks painful," Raindrop said thickly, blinking slowly. "Whoever you're doing that to has to be hurt a lot."
Raindrop stared for another long moment, her eyes widening. "Wait...that's me! You're hurting me!"
She wasn't really in any pain at all, but her mind was stuck in neutral, refusing to work properly.
"Got anything to sedate her?" Sentinel asked, a request rather than a query.
"Sedative," the doctor said calmly, as he magically dropped a small syringe into the guards hoof.
"Relax now, Raindrop," Sentinel said, his voice soothing.
"But...but...he's stitching me up! I'm not clothing!" Raindrop protested helplessly, before the syringe was plunged into her other shoulder. Raindrop struggled a moment, and then went limp, unconscious.
Thirst.
All consuming thirst was the first thing that was on Raindrop's mind as she awoke. Her mouth hung open slightly as she cast her gaze about. She looked to be the hospital, but most importantly, she spied a jug of water sitting on a tray nearby, and dove for it. The first thing she felt was pain and restriction. Bandages crossed over her chest, keeping pressure on her wound. A bandage also wound over her flank, covering the gash that had been given to her there.
And then Raindrop felt the splendiferous sensation of water cooling her parched throat. she gulped greedily at the mouth of the jug of water, almost inhaling the contents, uncaring of the slicks of liquid that spilled from the corners of her muzzle. After several long moment, Raindrop came up for air, gasping in a hard breath and then panting faintly, grinning goofily.
"You look happy," Sentinel stated sleepily, rubbing a hoof against his eyes.
Raindrop became aware that she wasn't alone in the room, and spun around to raise a brow at Sentinel. He was devoid of his armour, though it was sitting on a chair besides him, and he looked tired. There were bags under his eyes, and the faint outlines of bruises were still visible; probably from Raindrop's own hooves.
"You look like I feel," Raindrop stated.
"Hey, I have this thing that prevents me from needing to look pretty at all times of the day," Sentinel replied flatly.
"A...thing?" Raindrop asked, raising a brow.
"Yeah. A penis."
Raindrop snorted once, eyes widening at the bluntness of the guards words, before she gave a helpless giggle, shaking her head. "I don't know whether to laugh or hit you."
"If you're going to hit me, do it with your left hoof. You're not supposed to be using your right hoof for anything," Sentinel said with a dismissive wave of his hoof.
"How long was I out for?" Raindrop asked suddenly.
"A day and a half," Sentinel responded calmly. "You kinda woke up a few times though. You had a bad reaction to the sedative. You got...violent once or twice."
"Violent?" Raindrop asked, ears splaying backwards.
"I managed to subdue you, though, and put you back in bed like a good little filly," Sentinel said with a firm nod and a wry grin.
"I don't remember any of that," Raindrop admitted, frowning and rubbing her head with a hoof. "I didn't...hurt you, did I?"
Sentinel slowly arched a brow upwards, staring at her.
Raindrop blinked once, and then rubbed her temple harder. "Oh sweet Celestia. Did you hit me in the head or something? I'm not acting like myself."
"Indeed. And no, I just wrassled you to the ground. Was quite fun making you eat your peas, too," he said with a snicker.
"Oh shut up," Raindrop said with a wave of her good hoof.
"And you said some interesting stuff when you were delirious," Sentinel added, rubbing a hoof against his chin.
"...What?" raindrop asked, eyes slowly narrowing.
"You were screaming and yelling about...stuff," Sentinel said evasively, grinning, seemingly quite happy to have something over her.
"Ugh. Whatever. How long have you been sitting there for, creep?" Raindrop queried, changing the subject.
Sentinel stretched and yawned faintly for a moment, and then shook his head rapidly to clear it. "I think...twelve hours?"
"Twelve hours?" Raindrop asked, staring at him. "You're insane."
"Eeyup," the guard replied with a faint shrug.
"Go to sleep," Raindrop stated, pointing a hoof towards the door.
Sentinel rolled his eyes, "I just woke up."
"Yeah, from lying in an uncomfortable chair. Go to sleep," she reiterated, pointing more firmly.
"Are you feeling yourself? Or are you actually bothered about my well-being?" Sentinel asked probingly.
Raindrop scowled, her eyes narrowing, "After saving my life, I thought maybe you deserved a day without being beat up or insulted."
"Regretting it?"
"You have no idea."
Sentinel snickered, and then waved a hoof. "Very well. Try not to die while I'm asleep."
"I'll try my very best!" Raindrop said sarcastically, straightening and saluting, before wincing at the strain it put on her shoulder.
The guard rolled his eyes and then slipped down off the bed, moving towards the door.
"Wait!" Raindrop said, rubbing at her forehead with a hoof. "In all the excitement and insults I completely forgot I got stabbed last night. Who was he?"
Sentinel paused, looking back over his shoulder, his ears splaying back a little bit. "I was hoping to break the news to you a little bit...later. After you'd recovered some more."
"...I'm a big mare now, Sentinel. I can take it," Raindrop stated flatly.
"He was a Dark Guard. One of Princess Luna's personal guard," Sentinel said quietly.
Raindrop blinked slowly, her eyes widening as she gave an audible swallow, her throat suddenly dry. "I-It's not...Nightmare Moon?"
"There's no way to know," Sentinel responded with a shake of his head. "Celestia has put the palace on full alert. The guards from the two castles no longer mix or exchange information. Princess Luna denies the accusations that she's helping Discord...but Discord went after Princess Luna before..."
Nodding gently, Raindrop pulled her pillow closer to her chest, her ears splaying backwards. "What does the guard have to say for himself?"
"...He escaped," Sentinel admitted bluntly.
"Escaped?!" Raindrop almost screeched, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "You mean to tell me that you useless royal guards managed to let an unconscious pony escape?! A pony who tried to murder me?! For Celestia's sake! How usel-"
Raindrop wasn't aware that she got hit. All she knew was that there was a sudden strong ringing in her ears and the world was tilted crazily to one side. A strong pain began to make itself known at the side of her face, and she worked her jaw, afraid momentarily that it had been broken.
"-you dare insult the royal guard! Two of those useless guards gave their lives trying to escort that guard to the castle!" Raindrop caught the end of Sentinel's sentence as she looked up at him woozily, her eyelids heavy and her vision doubled for a moment as she stared up at the guard. He was standing over her, a hoof raised threateningly.
Raindrop gave a noncommittal sound, unable to really think coherently beyond the throbbing in her cheek and face.
"If they're so useless then I'll tell the guards outside the door to just leave and let the dark guard wander in here and finish what he started!" Sentinel snarled, turning and spitting at the foot of the bed in utter contempt before turning about and stalking out of the room.
By the time Raindrop managed to get conscious thought back, he was long gone. The pegasus sighed faintly, pulling the pillow close against her chest again, resting her chin on it, her ears splaying backwards. For once, she actually felt guilty about running her mouth. She was always outspoken, but she didn't want to disrespect the guards. Especially if two of them had been killed..
Raindrop laid her head down to sleep; but between her thoughts and the fears of a dark guard assassin lurking somewhere out there, free, she found it very hard to rest.
Raindrop was still tired when she woke up next. Sunlight was streaming through the window, with the quality she associated with morning. There was the shuffle of quiet movement in the hallway outside her door as nurses went back and forth in their daily duties.
Her jaw hurt where Sentinel had hit her, and she lifted a hoof to gently press against it, wincing slightly. Her tongue slipped to the inside of her cheek on that side, nothing the metallic taste of opened flesh there. His blow had split her lip, and probably bruised her cheek as well. The throbbing pain in her cheek was a constant reminder of the blow.
Reflecting back on the previous night, though, Raindrop decided that she had probably deserved it. She would have never said anything if she knew that two of the guards had died. Her mouth run away again.
Raindrop stretched carefully, extending her hooves, testing her reach. Her shoulder twinged as she reached full extension, reminding her of the wound there.
A nurse entered the room as she was stretching, and opened the window to let in the fresh morning air, before turning to the pegasus and gently laying a hoof on her shoulder. "Relax, Raindrop, I'm going to clean your wound and change your bandages."
Raindrop nodded, and then stretched out carefully on her side, lifting her foreleg to allow the nurse easy access to the bandaged portion of her body.
"How long will I be out of action?" Raindrop asked, tone tinged with worry.
"A few days at least," the nurse soothed, gentle hooves beginning to unwrap the bandage. Raindrop sighed faintly in delight as the pressure on her body began to be released, and fresh air hit her clammy flesh.
"The wound isn't very large, but it went deep, and the shape of the blade made it make quite a mess," the nurse added, tutting faintly as she unwrapped the last of the bandages, gently peeling the sticky wound covering underneath away from the flesh. "It's coming along nicely though."
Raindrop twisted her head to peek at the wound, and then wrinkled her nose deeply. "How big of a scar will I have?"
"It'll be visible if you know it's there, but a cursory glance won't notice it," the nurse responded, as she threw the covering in the bin and began applying a new one. "You'll need to put new coverings on this at least once a day, and give it a period of around about a half hour each day to let the wound breath. I'll give you some ointment to apply as well...but other than that, you're free to leave whenever you want to."
"Am I free to fly?" Raindrop asked anxiously, her wings giving a little bit of a quiver. She was concerned about the load-bearing muscles in her chest and shoulders.
"Absolutely not for the first two days," the nurse stated flatly, as she wound the bandage over the pegasi's shoulder, cinching it down firmly and then placing the little clasp over the end of the bandage to keep it in place.
"Two days?" Raindrop asked, wrinkling her nose and then sighing, giving a shake of her head, grumbling, "...Setbacks."
"You aren't the only one searching, you know," the nurse said sympathetically.
"You know about what I'm doing?" the pegasus asked, blinking once.
"Raindrop...everyone knows," the nurse said with a shake of her head. "And the royal guard are off searching for them as well. I think Celestia wanted to keep it on the down-low, but you know how gossip is in Ponyville."
The pegasus sighed faintly and rolled onto her stomach, rubbing her chin between her forelegs in annoyance. "Yeah...you kiss a colt on one side of town and by the time the rumour hits the other side of town, you fucked him."
The nurse blinked once and snickered at Raindrop's blunt words. "Something on your mind? You seem a little...tense."
"...I was stabbed," Raindrop stated flatly.
"Granted," the nurse replied, inclining her head. "But I noticed that guard storming out earlier. Are you two close?"
"About as close as the moon is to the sun," Raindrop replied bitterly, snorting once and resting her head on her forehooves.
The nurse hummed thoughtfully, and then smiled faintly, "I'm willing to bet that Celestia and Luna would have something to say on the subject of how close the sun and moon are."
"Yeah, and look at them now. Even their guards aren't allowed to interact any more," Raindrop pointed out with a shake of her head.
The nurse gave a sigh and a nod, giving a helpless shrug of her shoulder. "You know what I mean, though."
"You're trying to imply that I somehow have feelings for Sentinel?" Raindrop asked with a wry grin. "That's like asking if ice likes a hotplate."
"But what if you're trying to be water?"
Raindrop stared at the nurse for a long, long moment, giving her her best blank stare. "...What is this, the Kung Fu Filly? Yes master, the cobra strikes through swaying grass."
The nurse chuckled faintly and then petted Raindrop gently on the neck. "It's our job to make sure our patients are in the right place mentally."
"I don't need my head read," Raindrop rebuked instantly, brows furrowing.
"But the body doesn't heal properly if the mind is in the wrong place," the nurse pointed out calmly.
"And what possible bearing would my relationship with that idiot guard have on being stabbed in the shoulder?" Raindrop queried flatly.
"Who knows?" the nurse said with a smile, and another shrug, as she began to move around the bed and towards the door. "But it might affect it, if it weighs heavily on your mind or your conscience."
Raindrop scowled as the nurse moved towards the door. The pegasus snorted once, and then turned towards the window, before admitting, "I kind of disrespected the Royal Guard."
The nurse paused at the doorway, looking over her shoulder. "And Sentinel didn't take that so well, huh?"
"You could say that," Raindrop stated, looking out the window still.
"Did you apologize?"
"He kind of hit me and stormed out."
"He hit you?!" the nurse asked, her eyes widening and the narrowing darkly.
"I started it," Raindrop said with a wave of her hoof. "And I deserved it."
"That still doesn't give him license to hit you!" she retorted angrily.
"Hey, I believe in gender equality."
"I do too, but you do not hit mares!" the nurse responded angrily.
"I hit him. Repeatedly," Raindrop said with a shrug. "We're equals. So he gets a few hits in. That's fair, right?"
"Well, when you put it like that, but-"
"Then good. What was your point, again?" Raindrop cut across the nurse, halting her rebuttal.
"I forget what I was going to say. Something nice about you finding him and apologizing for your behavior, but I really don't care seeing as he's a marebeater," the nurse stated, growling.
"Oh calm down," Raindrop said with a dismissive flick of her hoof. "I beat him over the head with the intent to cause bodily harm on several occasions."
"And you have any problem with what he thinks of you?" the nurse asked with a snort.
Raindrop paused a moment, thinking for a moment, and then sighing. "...I kinda wish I didn't."
The nurse rolled her eyes, "Well find him, apologize, and then give him a black eye for me and tell him not to hit mares."
And with that, the nurse turned around and stalked off before Raindrop could say anything else.
Raindrop just shook her head, and then sighed, resting her chin on her forelegs again.
Apologizing. That was definitely not her strong suit. Maybe she could just buy him a cake or something and call it even?
Wrinkling her nose, Raindrop stepped down off the bed gingerly, beginning to walk towards the front desk to get her things and the medicine for her shoulder. She had a Royal Guard to find.
But in all honesty, she would have prefered to be headed back into the Diamond Dog tunnels.