Well it's certainly been a while hasn't it?

A lot's happened to me, a lot that I can't really see the lot of you wanting to know about, so I'll keep it short. I finished my apprenticeship in Childcare and have now moved away from my mother's to my fathers. It's a weird feeling, but I'm getting used to it.

So now here I am, finally finishing up this story. I can only hope you are satisfied with it, for I am writing this note before I write anything else, so I honestly don't know.

In any case, enjoy my final story friends.

Begin!

The Seventh Day

Part Three

13.03 PM – Canterlot Castle (Dining Area)

Fear.

That was the only word, the only emotion I can think to use, to describe what it was I felt as a fork wrapped in a golden aura slowly made its way towards me, carrying with it a part of the exact same meal that doomed me.

FLASH!

I remember the sensation of falling.

FLASH!

I remember the feeling of helplessness as I my limbs stopped responding to my will.

FLASH!

I remember the pain of betrayal as Celestia told me what she had done, a sad smile on her face as she explained it all.

"Honey?"

FLASH!

I remember the rage that overtook me as she fooled her very own guard with ease.

"Tobias, Tobias are you okay?"

FLASH!

I remember the despair that filled me as I fully came to realize how trapped I was.

"Tia, what's wrong with him? TOBIAS!"

FLASH!

I remember wanting to die.

…I blinked and the world swam into focus. The fork that once approached me was upon the plate it came with, golden aura gone.

"Tobias?"

I looked up away from the fork and blinked in confusion, befuddled as to why Celestia, Luna and Chrysalis were staring at me with great concern.

"Uh, yeah?" I said, the words difficult to say through the tightness of my throat.

The three of them looked at each other once, a silent agreement seeming to pass through their gaze before Chrysalis looked back at me and said it for them.

"You froze up, Toby," she said, a worried gleam shining within her eyes. "You just…stared at your fork and wouldn't listen to us."

"I…" I didn't know what to say to that, I didn't even realize that I'd froze. "I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you it's just…the last time I ate this meal it didn't end too well."

Understanding shone through the duo in front of me before I looked elsewhere. I didn't want their pity, I wanted to…to leave, to run, to hide, to get away from-

"Sweetie," a voice all too familiar became known all too quickly as but a light touch of air tickled my right ear. "Are you okay, if this is too much too quickly then I can take you back to our room?"

It was all whispered, but as I'd come to realize Alicorns had a pretty top notch set of ears. So when Luna's perked up and twitched, I knew straight away that whatever her reaction was, Celestia was planning on it being in her favour.

"You don't have to have lunch just to please us, Toby," Luna said softly. "Chrysalis and I are more than pleased to have just seen you."

But I'm not having lunch because I want to please you. I'm having it here because I need to speak with someone other than the one who poisoned me!

Of course I couldn't ever say that. Luna wouldn't believe me and even if Chrysalis did, she would likely attack Celestia and end up becoming the first executed in over four centuries.

"No, I'm fine now," I replied, shaking my head and smiling as best I could. "It was just a momentary relapse, I'm over it."

I was lying of course, staring down at my meal I wanting nothing more than to throw it away from me, or better yet smash it over Celestia's head and run for it. Though with my current frailty I doubt I would have made it very far, and certainly not before Luna or one of the guard had stopped me.

No, for the moment I had to play it cool. I had to be exactly as I was before the week had begun.

I had to be Tobias Greenfield, lover of Princess Celestia, friend to Princess Luna and Princess Chrysalis. I had to be perfect with this act, for if not then…I doubt I'd ever make it out of the palace, let alone Canterlot at all.

To be honest, I wouldn't put it past Celly to break my legs in the name of protecting me, of loving me.

But then again…Chrysalis seemed to know something, she'd said as much before. I just had to figure out how to talk with her without anyone either watching or listening in, but how?

How was I to shake my lover when she was all but trying to smother me with her affection?

And as if she knew what I was thinking…

"Don't worry honey," Celestia crooned, her voice liquid silk. "We'll go back to our room after lunch and have a lie down. I'll wrap you up in my wings and keep you safe." The last part was whispered so quietly that even I could barely hear it…yet as the last word was softly spoken I felt a part of me relax…and become elated, a smile threatening to overcome my face as I-

NO! Don't listen to her, if you let her make you feel like this then you will NEVER ESCAPE! FIGHT BACK FOOL, RESIST HER!

I blinked and looked around, stopping only as I looked into Celestia's eyes. The sheer love and care, the adoration and protectiveness was clearly there, the feelings behind them all but washing over me the longer I looked. I quickly turned away, unable to stop the warm feeling as my cheeks became flush.

A quiet laugh was all the conformation I needed to know my efforts were futile.

14.29 PM (Celestia's Chambers)

I'd stayed as long as I could, as long as I believed I would be able to manage before Celestia became suspicious…or I simply broke down and wept. But eventually the time came where conversation became muted and Celestia nuzzled my neck, telling me and in turn the other two that I'd had enough excitement for the day, that she didn't want me to lose rest and become weaker…

That it was time to return to our room, my prison, where the walls seemed to close in on me every waking moment.

Luna was practically helping her sister steer me towards the door as she quickly believed Celestia's worries, and Chrysalis…Chrysalis got up, moved towards me and kissed my cheek as she wished me a good rest and a good day.

The longing in her eyes before I was turned around was palpable…

Celestia really was right about her…she truly does care for me, maybe even as much as…

But in the end it didn't matter what she felt, Celestia would likely kill her if she ever suspected that she'd make a move on me. I knew as much from the jealousy; the overwhelming need to protect me I'd felt in her memories.

And so it was that I ended up, once more, lying in Celestia's bed. The white mare was returning my wheelchair to wherever she got it from. I could have pretended not to know why, but it was all too obvious that she simply didn't want me to leave without her guidance.

Testing my strength, I pushed myself up into a sitting position and grimaced as my arms shook.

Evidently I'm not anywhere near recovered, so Celestia wasn't lying about that one. Maybe it is going to take a couple of weeks to regain my full mobility…but I don't have a couple of weeks.

And really, I didn't. For I knew that if I continued to stay there under Celestia's loving care, then eventually I…I wouldn't want to leave.

No, if I stay any longer then I won't want to go. I have to leave…and I have to leave tonight!

Even as the thought crossed my mind, I could feel a large part of me screaming its refusal to comply. I shook my head, ignoring the pleas until they withered away inside me.

Still, I felt disgusting, I felt horrible. I felt…like if I stayed then it'd still be okay, I'd be okay. Because Celestia would never stop loving me, she would never stop caring for me, protecting me, holding me…I felt so pathetic.

But a part of me didn't care.

The sound of the door opening caused me to look up and smile unwillingly as my lover walked through it, her famous smile aimed solely, lovingly at me as she trotted over.

"You should be lying down sweetie," she scolded softly, crawling on the bed over to me and gently biting my top, pulling me with down into a comfortable laying position with an unbelievable amount of ease. "There we go baby. I wouldn't want you to hurt your back, your muscles still have a lot of recovering to go before sitting like that is okay again."

"Sorry," the words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. I wasn't sorry, and yet…a part of me felt bad for having caused her to worry. "I just wanted to…try it."

Celestia smiled at me warmly, before nuzzling my neck and breathing in my scent. "I know baby, but please don't try anything like that without me here first. You're still unwell and I'm worried, that's all."

"I won't do it again without you here, I promise." Once more the words just seemed to leave without my say so…and once more a part of me didn't care that I cared.

Celestia kissed my neck and closed her eyes, the complete and utter enjoyment of having me close clear for me to see. "Good, I'd hate to have to…persuade you."

It took all I had not to freeze up, or scream…or cry. I knew she meant it in a completely different way to what I thought, but at that moment all I could see was the image of Celestia forcing poison down my throat, a sad smile on her face as she explained that it was for my own good, that I shouldn't have disobeyed her.

Her hoof stroking my right thigh dispelled the image, but the mood of it remained.

"Sorry Celly, I'm…I'm a bit tired," I mumbled quietly, a feeling of relief flowing through me her hoof stopped moving.

"It's okay," she crooned gently. "We can just sleep…I love holding you with my wings."

Indeed, as she said it, her wings snaked under and over me, deftly removing my top and flinging it away before they wrapped around my bare body. I couldn't repress the happy sigh, nor could I resist moving my head and placing it under her muzzle. Her own blissful sigh was enough for me to guess just how much she loved this too.

"Just sleep against me, Toby," she whispered, her voice low and warm. "In my hold you'll always be safe, I promise. And when you recover, I will gift you with all my love can give."

Sleep rapidly began to claim me…the world was growing dark as love and warmth washed over me.

"I will give you…"

I fell…into sleep.

"Eternity."

19.47 PM (Celestia's Chambers)

"Tobias, psst, Tobias!"

I opened my eyes and blinked blearily, the world slowly coming into focus as I turned around and noticed a pair of green eyes staring down at me. It was only as I felt Celestia still breathing that the gravity of the situation became apparent.

"Chrysalis?" I whispered, somewhat harshly I admit but in all honesty I was expecting Celestia to wake up and gut her. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting you somewhere safe, hold on a sec." Her horn lit up and enveloped my frail form, lifting it from under Celestia and into…a wheelchair? "There we go, now be quiet for a bit. I've knocked out everyone here with an overpowered sleeping spell, but I don't want to take the chance that I missed someone."

I…was pretty unresponsive as she quietly wheeled me out of Celestia's chambers. I remained so even as we passed a good few snoozing guards, because…well, to be completely honest I was struggling with whether to yell in protest or yell in confusion.

After leaving the day wing and wheeling through the night wing, we eventually made it into a recently built part of the palace, namely Chrysalis'. The door opened with but a flash of her magic and I was quickly wheeled inside.

"Right, the door has a silencing ward on it so we should be fine to speak normally," she said, before turning to face me and smiling at my apparent expression. "You seem confused, Tobias."

"Confused, yeah that's a word for it. Why did you sneak me away from Cel for?"

Her eyes flashed with anger at my lovers shortened name. "Why I should think it was obvious, Toby. Because she POISONED YOU!"

"What?" I whispered, shocked. She couldn't have known, how could she know, how? "I…I don't know what you're- "

"Don't," she growled, closing the gap between us as she stared into my eyes. "Don't you dare lie to me again, not now, not while we're alone."

I had no idea what to say to that, the fact that she knew I was lying before when she questioned me shouldn't have surprised me really, but it did.

"I'm the Queen of the Changeling race, Tobias," she spat angrily. "Celestia can block your emotions all she likes, but I've been lying to others since before you were even an idea. So do NOT think that you can lie to me about this."

The passion in her duel voice was unmistakable. And even though I was shocked at what she knew, at how easily she had known that I was lying, I couldn't help but smile a small smile because of it…because of how much she cared about me.

"How did you know?" I asked, curiosity overriding my sense of shock with ease.

Chrysalis looked at me and smiled, pleased that I didn't continue to try and defend Celestia.

"Celestia may believe herself to be a master manipulator, but the fact of the matter is that I'm simply better at it, and certainly better at noticing emotions that shouldn't be there."

"She's blocked off her emotions," I pointed out, which in turn Chrysalis smirked at.

"True, but I don't need to feel emotions to know what someone is feeling. All I needed to do was look at her face. The eyes, the twitching of her muzzle, the flaring of a nostril, the flicker of an ear. All of these can tell a story, and though she may believe her mask to be impervious, for someone as well versed in the arts of manipulation as myself, reading that overconfident fool was child's play."

"So how did you know?" I asked once more, a sense of nervousness washing over me as I began to wonder what would happen if Celestia woke up…or worse, if she already was and was listening right then and there.

"It was the end of the day when you were brought here," she explained, sitting down on her rump and putting a hoof on my leg in…sympathy I believe. "The moment I'd heard what had happened to you, I ran over to Celestia's chambers and tried to get in, but it was locked and nothing I did would open it. So I was left with the only solution of finding her and getting some answers.

"I found her explaining the situation to Luna, and of course the naive fool was lapping up every single damned word that came out of her sister's muzzle. But when I asked her to explain it to me…well, barely anything that she told me made a lick of sense. She explained that she'd gone to visit you and broke into your house after she heard the sound of you choking, but the thing is that she COULDN'T have heard you because when Luna and I purchased that house I made sure that it was suitably protected with various different wards, including wards intended purely for comfort…like a soundproof ward."

A soundproof ward? I didn't even know the house had one.

"So," she continued, a grimace on her face as she remembered what came next. "The fact that Celestia heard you chocking was the first sign that something was up, because there's no way she should have been able too, even with her admittedly brilliant sense of hearing.

"The next thing that made me doubt her was when she appeared later on wearing clothing that no Princess should ever wear outside of her chambers, because any intelligent Princess would know that Ponies would do nothing but chat about it endlessly for weeks, if not months. And they did, the fact that her lover was poisoned became second to the fact that Princess Celestia, the practical mother of Equestria was skipping around the palace in lingerie with naught but the excuse of 'I must have forgotten, silly me'."

So that's why she wore it out of her chambers. With Equestria focusing on her instead of my being poisoned, eventually Ponies simply…forgot about me.

"I must admit that Celestia is pretty adept at controlling the way her subjects think, but I guess she forgot that I am not one of them. So the entire scheme was fairly obvious to me, even if it escaped everyone else's mind…even her own sister."

"So that was it?" I asked. "That was how you knew?"

She shook her head. "Not at that point no. It was only this afternoon that I put the pieces together."

Realization struck like lightning as I too put the pieces together. "When you questioned me earlier, I thought I saw something."

"You saw me as I realized the truth of it all," she admitted, her ears pinned back in some emotion I knew not. Shame perhaps. "When I asked you if you knew, the first thing anyone would have done would be to look to a loved one for support, to lean back and touch them, to know that they were safe. But you only looked at me, and not for support from a friend…but in fear. And when you lied it became all too apparent that you were doing so. Your body tensed up and your eyes were twitching, as if they were trying their best not to look up…to look up behind you at Celestia."

"You said when you found out who it was, you would kill them," I said uneasily, not really liking the way her muzzle twitched into a brief snarl.

"I needed to get a read on her reaction as well," Chrysalis spat, angry though not at me. "Celestia has a lot she doesn't know about my kind. Our eyes can see a great deal more than any type of Pony, and when I declared what I would do to the poisoner…she looked away and sneered, as if my words were nothing to her, when she should have at the very least scolded me for resorting to violence."

"And that's when you knew?"

"Yes," she nodded, the snarl replaced by a tender look. "I don't know why she poisoned you though. Care to explain that for me?"

Guess it's my turn.

"Because she loves me."

Chrysalis blinked at me once, twice…before responding to my answer.

"She poisoned you because she loves you?" she echoed. "Do you want to run that one by me again?"

"I mean it, Chrysalis!" I snapped, in no mood whatsoever to say anymore then I had to. I had no desire to tell her all that Celestia did to me…that was my shame to bear. "She poisoned me because she believes, truly believes that taking care of me when I cannot do so myself will somehow make me love her again."

"That's insane," Chrysalis whispered, horrified at my lovers twisted logic. "Does she actually believe that it'll work?"

…I remained silent, my eyes closing as hers widened in greater horror.

"You…don't actually love her again," she whispered. "Because if you do then…I don't have a fucking clue what to say to that other than what the FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"Shut up!" I screamed, startling her before she could continue. "You don't know what she's done to me! You don't have a fucking clue so don't fucking stand there and lecture me while I'm sitting here frail and broken. You don't have a FUCKING CLUE!"

Tears began to stream down my face as I screamed the truth of it all. I was broken, inside and out. I wanted to escape and leave Celestia behind but I couldn't even begin to think of a day without her love and warmth.

"Y-You don't k-know what she's done to me," I sobbed. "She didn't just poison me, she broke me. I'm broken, Chrysalis. I can't fight her anymore, she's too much…I don't have any strength left to do it."

I could barely feel it as she wrapped her hooves around me and buried my head in her barrel, tears clouded my vision and left my skin numb as they trickled down my face.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you," she said softly, her duel tone emphasising this with ease. "You are right; I have no idea what she's done to you. But what I DO know is that you need to leave this place, and you DO have the strength to do it."

"I…I can't," I whispered. "There's barely a spark of fight left in me. The rest of me…it wants to stay with her, it can't imagine waking up without her beside me…I can't imagine it, I can't."

She moved back and gently grasped my head, forcing me to look at her eyes as she spoke.

"You can do this," she declared, a true strength in her words. "We can, together. I can help you escape the city, escape the country."

"No, no, no. If you help me escape then she'll know, your children will suffer because of it."

Her eyes softened at my refusal. "Then as soon as I've gotten you on that train, I'll return here to keep up appearances. Celestia will never know I aided you."

I looked up at her, my eyes watering as but a spark of hope began to ignite. "She'll figure it out eventually."

"Then I'll simply plan for an alternative until then," she countered, smiling as if she'd sensed her victory. "In the meantime, we have to get you out of the country and I know exactly how to do it."

I watched in fascination as the Changeling Queen moved away and turned around, her horn alight for but a few seconds before a crisp snapping sound filled the room, followed quickly by a hiss of pain as a few long, thick strands of her hair were pulled out of her scalp and out of sight.

Before I knew it, the mare turned around and presented me with what appeared to be some sort of necklace. The necklace carried a small round shape, green in colour and somewhat reflective. It was only as I looked at it a few seconds longer than I realized what it was I was looking at.

As if she could read me like a book, she smiled and explained. "A piece of any Changeling carries certain magical properties that can be manipulated if one knows how to do it. This is a piece of my plating, filled with a manipulative form of magic, manipulative enough to keep attention away from you whenever you wish it."

Carefully, as if afraid to hurt me, she wrapped the necklace around my neck and fused the thick strands of hair into one. "There, as long as you wear this you will never be given more than the barest of glances. You could even…steal aboard a train out of the country and arrive without anyone noticing."

I grasped the necklace gently and looked at Chrysalis with…with hope, true hope.

Could I really escape now?

And as if she knew what I was thinking…

"Come, put this on and let us get you to the train station," she said, passing me the top Celestia had flung away earlier, as well as a pair of socks and my old trainers.

"You went to my house?"

"Of course. It's likely that I'll never see you again so…I wanted to make sure you'd be as comfortable as possible."

Something burned behind my eyes, but I blinked it away and put the various bits of clothing on.

"I'm ready, let's go."

Chrysalis wheeled me out of her chambers and through the palace, passing many a guard on our way. Yet as we passed, none did more than glance at her. It was as if they couldn't see me at all. Eventually we found ourselves out of the palace and on the way down towards the train station, the smell of smoke becoming ever more pungent the nearer we got.

This is it, I'm really going to make it out of here. Celestia's asleep, and I'm out of the palace…out of her grasp.

Yet as that thought passed me by, another one forced its way to the forefront of my mind.

Wait a moment and think about this Tobias! We're leaving Celestia, CELESTIA! Our lover, our soulmate, the only one who truly loves and cares for us. If we catch this train now, then we'll likely never see her again. Imagine it, waking up without her, without her love and warmth, without her wings surrounding us, without her kiss and touch. Before we catch this train, think! Do we truly want to do this…when we could simply refuse and ask Chrysalis to take us back to her?

Despair began to consume me as that question burned at my emotions. It hurt to even think about leaving her. The fact that I was in the middle of doing it almost made me choke back a sob.

And yet…

Yes, I want her. I want to go back and hold her, let her hold me and love me forever. But if I do it then I'll be trapped, unable to ever leave her again. I'll be stuck in her madness and no amount of love can make me truly forget what that madness has done to me…so escaping…this is for me, my choice. The first of many I'll make without her guidance. And something to make all this suffering worth something in the end…so listen to me, because I'm leaving her for good this time. You hear that, WE'RE THROUGH CELESTIA, SO LEAVE ME ALONE!

I didn't know if she could hear my thoughts, I never could. But I have to admit I kind of hoped that she did in that moment…for just that moment alone.

The Ex Queen was looking at the station timetable for some place I had never even heard of when the bells started ringing from the palace. I'd only ever heard them once and that was when there was some sort of criminal roaming around inside it, which in the present moment didn't take long to pin to my not being in there.

Chrysalis quickly came back over to me and wheeled me towards the train furthest down the station, not stopping her pace until I was physically inside it.

"This is bad isn't it?" I asked, the question pretty much rhetorical.

"Very," she agreed. "Celestia wasn't supposed to wake up so quickly, and she certainly wasn't supposed to ring the damn alarm. The whole city is going to be blocked off the moment she declares what the emergency is."

"Then this train better get moving already," I muttered, my breathing becoming steadily more panicked as the alarm grew in volume. But then without more than a breath after I'd finished speaking did the train whistle, signalling that it was about to depart.

Chrysalis bit her lip as she looked at me, her eyes startlingly shiny with emotion. And before I could say anything, do anything…she moved closer and kissed me full on the mouth.

"Chrissy…what was," words were beyond me, I simply couldn't think of anything to say.

"In another life we could have been beautiful," she said, her duel tone thick with emotion. "Goodbye Tobias, don't forget me." She moved back out of the train just before the door shut, her bright green eyes looking at me fondly…before they blinked and disappeared entirely.

The train began to move, slowly at first but quickly picking up speed as it made its way through Canterlot. The alarm sounding throughout the city was still quite noticeable but as the train continued its journey, the sound gradually began to quiet down.

I didn't know where the train was taking me, only that it was out of Equestria and rather far away. Hopefully far enough that she could never find me, or even better be unable to cross the border of that country to do so.

A few hours later, the conductor announced that we were leaving Dodge Junction, the last stop in Equestria. And as the train moved and the desert gradually changed to show the sea and open sky did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

I was free.

09.48 AM Taurostaur (Nine Months Later)

Nine months…nine long months since I'd fled the country and my crazy ex marefriend. I wish I could say that a lot had happened to me since then, that she'd found me, tracked me down and we'd had an epic battle of wills until one of us gave out.

The truth however is that she simply never managed to figure out where I was. Oh not for lack of trying mind you, the Equestrian paper was delivered even here and it had long been my face somewhere on the front page.

TOBIAS GREENFIELD STILL MISSING!

REWARD FOR LOCATION INCREASED TO TWO MILLION BITS

It has been almost nine months since the partner of our beloved Princess Celestia vanished without a trace.

Could it be that the Human has gone back to his own world, or that perhaps he has been stolen?!

Find out inside where an anonymous tip has disclosed where they believe the young male to be!

So yeah, it wasn't particularly fun knowing that most of the world was looking for you. Still, if there was ever a place to hide then Taurostaur was it. No one cared who you were here, and with Chrysalis's necklace nobody gave me more than a second glance. Of course I'd had to take it off every now and then to get work and food and whatnot, but the moment I put it back on it was like they forgot who I was.

It made picking up my pay difficult sometimes.

There had been nothing on Chrysalis or her children in the paper, so I took that to mean that she had yet to be found out. It was only a matter of time mind you, Chrysalis is good but Celestia plays the long game and is incredibly patient. Her mind revealed as much to me when I was trapped inside it.

I worry about the Changeling a lot, but if I'm to have any sort of life then I needed to put all my focus into having a full one. And so far I have, it's not so different from before I came to Equestria in that I support myself independently. I pay my bills, buy my own food and clothing, that sort of shit.

It isn't perfect by any means, but it's still a life I can enjoy. A good life, a full life, one without pity or sympathy. I won't deny that the week I was poisoned was horrible, traumatic even. It gave me a unique perspective on those who have no freedom, who's choices are made for them and are punished for defiance.

But still, it's over now. So if you feel sorry for me, don't.

Be happy for me, and all who are free.

And done, my final story is complete. I thought about adding in an alternative epilogue with Celestia catching him in the end, but I'm not completely set on it. Maybe another time.

Thank you for sticking with me for this long, love you.

Stay snuggly