There was little we could do but walk after Meadowsweet as she made her way into the dungeon; down a flight of stone stairs which were wide enough for prisoners to be brought down under duress and into the reception area where a few more guards were lounging.
A set of double heavy doors were set in our path, with a smaller door off to the right side in front of it. The guards were lazying about on chairs set around a round table opposite the smaller door, taking up most of the left area of the wider passageway.
"What's this, then? More parasites?" one of them quipped on our approach.
"Sure has every look of it, bah," another decided.
"Hey Deadbolt, there's a couple more for your dungeon," the first spoke again, this time in the direction of the door on the right side.
The door opened a moment later and a gruff old unicorn stallion stepped out; his body still showing strength to it even if it was waning from old age.
I caught a glimpse of a metal cylinder on his fading blue flank as he stepped out into the hallway we were in; like a sliding lock found on fences or older doors. His cutiemark definitely did justice to his name.
"Oh, lovely, what brings you girls down here with a pair of... I think those are girls too, if I can judge from their size. It's the shoulders, you see?" Deadbolt suggested, that last sentence aimed at one of the guards.
"No, I don't see. They all look the same to me, fangs and all," the guard grumbled.
Meadowsweet took point. "We captured these two Changelings while in the palace garden. They had made us believe they were princess Twilight Sparkle and her friend Applejack, and wanted us to help them deliver some apple pies to the princesses; we had to leave them in the cart up near the kitchen door."
"Pies, you say?" One of the guards spoke eagerly.
"You're on duty, Mishmash. We'll just have to hope they're still there after our shift," another decided.
"They managed to disguise themselves even with the magic barrier up? Interesting," Deadbolt mused.
Camellia's turn to speak; "They have a potion embedded in the pies. They lost their disguises while we were out in the gardens and wanted to run for the cart the pies are in to eat more of them. We managed to overpower them; Meadowsweet here managed a good kick on that one's leg. Can you believe they spat on it to make a cast around it?"
"Yes, very inventive," Deadbolt hummed. "If there's a potion in those pies you spoke of, then perhaps they need to be taken in for the royal magister to have a look at. Don't you think it wise to secure those pies before somepony else might get it in their head to eat them, not knowing about the extra ingredient?"
I dared to look up at the guards, who gathered themselves up at Deadbolt's clear admonishment.
"Yes, yes, you're right of course," one of them spoke. "If you think you can handle processing these pests by yourself?"
"These lovely mares are holding them in place quite well on their own," Deadbolt pointed out. "There's no need for a couple of good-for-nothing lazy-abouts like yourselves to stand in the way as well. Go figure out what's up with those pies and I'll see about not reporting how much you're just sitting here complaining about not being out on the wall."
"You're no fun, old man," the guard grumbled. "Let's go, guys; dad wants us out of here."
"Your dad," another guard pointed out. "My dad is a train conductor."
"Mine's a baker," the guard identified as Mishmash spoke up while falling in line.
The four of them passed us by on the left, making their way up the same stairs we had just come down from.
Deadbolt disappeared into the side room for a moment, then came out again with a key in his mouth. He used it to unlock the right of the two heavy doors in front of us, then pushed it open and stood to the side against it.
"Into this room, all of you," he ordered.
Meadowsweet happily complied, with Burst and myself being unable to do much else but walk forward as Camellia's magic prompted us to again.
We walked past the heavy set door into a space between it and another such set of doors. There was an opening to the left this time, not the right, but Burst stood in my way and I couldn't see what it was about.
Deadbolt closed and locked the door behind us, then walked up to the area on the left and leafed through a book placed there. "You can let go of them; I have the only key out of this area and beyond the next set of doors is the dungeon."
Camellia did as prompted and I felt my weight settle on my hooves. I had to change my hoof placement as I was a little out of balance, but then stood on my own again.
Deadbolt was using his mouth to turn pages in a big book placed on a table on the left side, the area there not more than a deep enough alcove for a pony to stand in next to the table.
He had placed the key to the doors on the far edge of the table beside the book, making it clear we'd have to go through him in order to secure it.
The stallion got to a relatively empty page and picked up a pencil with his mouth, then scribbled something on the page. "Two Changelings."
"Correct, sir," Meadowsweet agreed.
"I don't fully accept your excuse that there was a potion mixed in with those pies you mentioned, but it was good enough to get my good-for-nothing son out of my mane for a few minutes. How did you get around the anti-transformation magic currently in effect?" Deadbolt decided, staring directly at Oval.
"No, really, it was the pies," Burst countered.
"I have lived for a long enough time that I can smell out a lie like that. Don't take me for a fool," the dungeon master snorted with some measure of irritation to his voice. "You, then. Can you give me a straight answer? I know you lot are as intelligent as us ponies. I'm being respectful by asking you straight, give me the courtesy of a straight answer."
I shivered as I was now being scrutinized by the stallion.
"Honestly?" I started, giving a glance around to the other three. "How about this; I'm from another world and I'm here against my will?"
"You're not the first to have claimed that, but that's not an answer to my question," Deadbolt decided.
"I can't transform in this anti-transformation magic field, is the honest answer," I stated pointedly, looking straight back at him. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Oval groaned at my statement. "Pearl..."
"Burst, look at him. He's half of Celestia's age, his eyes are glazed over as much as my granddad's was on his deathbed, and I don't know if he can use magic anymore since he used his mouth just now to use the key and flip through the book. We four could overpower him and he's instead deciding to sit in a locked room with us and ask questions best left unanswered," I explained. "I'm not liking this one bit, but we can at least be respectful and answer honestly."
"Hah!" Deadbolt laughed. "Okay, I didn't think my eyes showed it that clearly, but yes; I am almost blind. I can still see your shapes, and I could sense the magic while you had it active. You're a powerful one, lass."
"So what did you scribble down just now if you're almost blind?" Burst had to ask.
"I doubt anyone but me can read my ledger nowadays. It's just for show," the dungeon master explained. "I have to get you sorted before my son comes back, but he can't follow us into the dungeon. You know my weakness now, and I know yours; without transformation magic there's no hope for you two to come up out of this dungeon without a proper escort and make it out of the palace grounds. Might as well get to know one another; what's your names? Did I catch Earl? Girl?"
"Pearl," I stated a little louder. "I'm Pearl, and my sister here is Burst."
"Pearl. Nice name," Deadbolt returned. "And your escorts? I do believe I recognize Meadowsweet the gardener? Your flowers do smell lovely even to this tired old stallion's nostrils, miss."
"You're too kind, sir. Yes, it's Meadowsweet. I brought Camellia with me, she's a botanist from the city," Meadowsweet answered with a respectful dip of her head toward the stallion.
"So, now what?" Burst wondered, and I could hear the agitation in her voice. Here we were delivered into yet another pony's care, and uncomfortable questions were being asked of us yet again. All she wanted was to get her ability to transform back so she could go home to her mare. Questions were dangerous.
"Bah, you're being far less respectful of your elders than your companion," the stallion grumbled in clear displeasure. "I might throw you in with the general population of those snarling ones but she can have a private room. Respect gets you a long way in a place like this."
"Oval, calm down," I whispered to her. "Nopony of us wants to be in this situation. We're going to have to make do."
"I'm sorry, I'm trying to keep calm but... Don't you feel the energy from beyond those doors?" Burst suggested, motioning her head in the direction of the dungeon. "No matter how respectful this stallion is telling us to be, our family trapped there are hurting."
"Ah, you can sense them from here? I've been putting the worst of them in the same cell in the back so they won't attack the others," Deadbolt explained. "I don't know how to help them, but they're getting worse every day."
"Of course they're getting worse; they're starving!" Burst exclaimed loudly. "We need to feed or else we're going feral!"
Deadbolt's face hardened at Oval's outcry.
"Oval, calm down, will you?" I bit to my sibling. "It's no use shouting about something we can't change."
"Opal? That's more in line with what I expected a sister to someone named Pearl to be called, yes," Deadbolt decided, but then looked at me again. "Your sibling is wearing out my patience."
"We just need to come at this with cool heads," I spoke, turning to face Oval. "I know you hate the situaton we're in, but I know you can calm down and be respectful."
"Hm, maybe there's hope for your generation yet," Deadbolt spoke from behind me.
"This is all good and well, but I thought you were processing these Changelings?" Meadowsweet wondered. "Aren't you supposed to put them in cells or something?"
"Do you think we have only one type of cell here, miss Meadowsweet? Ah, no; we have as many different cells down here as you have flowers up in your garden. Finding the right cell for the right prisoner is a trick in and of itself. I do believe I know where this Pearl will go. The question is whether she'll share that cell with her sister," the stallion pointed out.
"I can calm down," Burst spoke as calmly as she could muster. "I'll do my best to keep my emotions under control. Please don't split Pearl and me up."
"See, all they need is a little motivation," Deadbolt chuckled darkly. "I've got a lovely double in mind for a set of well-behaved Changelings such as yourself. Don't make me regret it."
"No, sir," Burst sighed.
"Thank you, sir. We'll behave. After all; where can we go?" I pointed out.
"Exactly," Deadbolt agreed.
He picked up the key from the table and walked past us to the heavy doors to put it in the keyhole and give it a turn.
"Privileges are earned through good behaviour, and lost through bad acts, remember that," he stated for clarity.