Brothers part III

>For the next few days, you pocket things you find
>Napkins, cloth, rubber bands, paperclips
>All of it was torn up and braided together
>Soon enough, you have a sizable rope, which you kept a small length of
>Also, you've used some cardboard and an assload of rubber bands to make some other things, which you've hidden in your scraggly mane
>That and paper clips
>It's been coming in handy lately
>Something that was always in therapy sessions was how badly ponies take things like murder
>Much less what you were staging
>Ad to set the stage, you've moped around, refused to do anything, and eaten a minimum
>But fuck it, you're taking your meds
>Without them, head splitting migraines come and basically incapacitate you
>Things will be different, and you'll have an identity crisis, not knowing who you are
>The therapist has told you many times now that the other you was an illusion created by your unwillingness to accept what you've done
>But you are fasting a lot on food
>With only a few days, it hasn't done much
>There aren't as much guards to escort you anymore
>In fact, it's down to one at the moment
>Brother's security has likewise fallen since you've come here, but somepony is always watching him
>But not you
>You feel a little bad that you didn't tell him all the details of what you're doing, but you don't wish to take the risk
>With dinner comes the final piece of your plan
>A butter knife to separate the biscuits you've been given and spread jam
>Food quality has increased a bit since you started, but still clearly rationed out
>And just as you've been asking for, you got ketchup
>You take your time picking away at you food
>Declining offers for it to be taken up, "insisting" that you want to try and finish it
>All while still acting depressed
>They take the bait, and turn in for the night, leaving you with the plate of food
>After your certain that everypony is either asleep or away, you get to work

>First comes the rope
>You take a portion of it just long enough to tie around your midsection, and stuff the rest in your mane
>Next, you take the ketchup, and smear it all over your neck, making sure to let it pool onto the floor near the door
>For good measure, you bite your cheek just enough to draw some blood and spit it on your hoof
>Then you run the top half of the knife through it, letting it soak for a minute, staining it
>Now comes the really tricky part
>You tie the piece of rope into a noose, and connect it to a bar
>Due to your different physique, putting it in just the right spot below your chin lets you breath
>Now, you practice
>Practice playing dead
>Breathing so that one cannot see or hear it unless they get close
>Letting every muscle go limp, not even moving if you fall over
>After what may have been a couple hours, you've perfected it
>Before you set the plan into motion, you go over it in your head, just to check
Let's see....
>You whisper as you do
>You told brother that you had a plan to get out of here and start a new life with him
>And that if you couldn't do it, "I don't know what I'd do with myself"
>And then the act had begun, you collected the necessary things, and here you are
>With a nod, you Write something on the ground with the blood from your cheek
I won't let you take me
ALIVE
>Satisfied, you get into position
>Neck in the "noose," covering the majority of the "blood"
>Once you let yourself go limp, you whisper one last word, quiet enough for nobody but you to hear
The game has just begun...

>Just as you thought, the one morning guard comes in to give you your breakfast
>But when he takes one look at you;
AAAEEEEEEEEEEE!
>'Twas unbefitting of a stallion of his caliber
>Just as planned, you watch him leave through your barely open eyes (so that you could see, but still close them if need be
>He comes back with the therapist, and some more guards
And I find him like this!!!
>The therapist is equally shocked
>She trots over to your body and reads the scrawled message, looking back and forth between you, it, and the knife
>After a few moments of stunned silence, her voice is shaky
G-Get all the guards to s-search the castle
>They salute her and leave the room
>All that is left is you, her, and brother
>He's just started to wake up from the commotion
>You feel terrible for doing this, but you can't turn back now
>You let your eyes close and breathe even slower as she comes closer
>You hear a loud gasp as Brother must have just seen what is before him
>She doesn't come much closer, probably repulsed by the "blood" everywhere
I... I don't know what to say, Smokey...
>She pauses, as though trying to come up with something meaningful to say
>I...I thought the paranoia and identity issues were over, but...
>She lets out a sigh
I... Have much to learn...
>Poor mare
>She took it as her own failure
>Then there's brother...
>When she's out of the room,  you hazard a peek at brother
>He's staring away from you at the wall
>You can hear him quietly crying
>...
>Damn, you feel like shit
>But the plan is coming together
>Nopony is in the room, and not even brother is looking, which makes this step a lot easier
>You silently slip yourself out of the noose, and pull the makeshift suction cups from rubber bands out of your mane
>You place them on your hooves and climb the wall up to the ceiling
>You've already tested them to ensure silence, and they are holding up
>You creep along the top wall until you find a spot where the archways at the top of the hall dip down to accommodate the door
>Situating yourself in just the right way, you are virtually out of sight
>And the waiting game resumes

>Thirteen minutes later, you hear something
Brother...
>It's brother
>You don't think he's turned back around yet
I... I wish I could have-!!!
>He stops short and gasps
>Looks like he turned around
>He was so loud that a couple guards came back in to see what was going on
AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!
>Aaaand now the guards are in panic mode
>The perfect storm
>Of chaos
>You grin, admiring your handiwork
>But soon enough, you spot your opening
>Guards, doctors, and the therapist are rushing in to check on the situation at hand
>Not one of them are looking anywhere else
>You silently slip out the doorway, and find yourself in the long, tall hallways of the castle
>In seconds, you are so high up that one must look hard for you to see you, much less casually notice
>You crawl through the castle, your makeshift suction cups allowing you to silently go over other guardsponies
>At each turn, you remember which way you came from, and make sure to have your shadow on the wall next to you, and not down on the ground
>In record time, you reach the library
>>And just as you remembered, there was a large map of the common castle grounds
>It didn't show the dungeons, or any indication of the royalty's personal quarters
>But you can still tell where they are
>Strategically speaking, there's only a few reasonable spaces where it can be
>So you head upstairs to what you believe to be the royal quarters

>As it happens, your intellect was spot on
>You've made your way to what is easily discernable as Celestia's quarters
>On the way there, you see the princess herself walk out with a large stack of papers
>This day just keeps getting better and better
>You make absolutely sure that the coast is clear, and enter the room
>The first thing you spot is a necklace with a half sun, half moon charm on it
>You quickly locate writing utensils and get to work
Dear Princess Celestia,
     By the time you read this, I will be gone, as will brother. I have left to start a truly new life, and return my newfound brother to his.
Your missing necklace will serve to be a reminder of the sun your treatment has taken away from us both. Perhaps if we meet again, you will be more receptive of others, regardless of species. Treat everybody as you would like to be treated, and remember that no individual is just like any other.
     Sincerely,
Nightshade
>You finish the letter and use a nearby ribbon tho wrap it up
>For now, you put it in your mane, awaiting the proper delivery time
>Exiting the room, you only see one guard going down the hall, but he's hurrying somewhere else
>You get yourself back to the dungeons
>As quietly as you can, you sneak past the two guards looking out
>But not up
>You get inside easily enough
>You get down to brother's cell and start to pick the lock with the paperclips you've been saving
>Hanging by your rope, you start going
>You try to be silent, but you can still here the faint clicks of metal as you search for the right spot
>Every time it made a noise, you can see brother's sleeping form twitch, but not wake him up
>Finally, you get all the spots lined up, and the paper clips bent in just the right way
>Just as you do, you hear hoofsteps coming
>You hastily climb back up your rope and get back on the ceiling
>Not a second too soon
>Celestia herself walks in, with a slightly horrified face
>She asks the guards to be alone
>Taking patient steps while surveying your old cell, she  slowly makes her way to brother's cell
>He is woken up by the sound of her loud hoofsteps, but only stares at his cell wall in response
>Once she is in front of the cell, she speaks
What sort of poison did you force upon that stallion?
>Her tone is full of well restrained anger
And just as I was starting to believe that you weren't like the others...
I think I will finally have you executed...
>Without so much as a flinch, brother stands up, and slowly turns to face her
Do it
>That's all that came out of his mouth, but his face...
>It said thousands of words
>It's full of depression, the kind that you get when someone you love leaves for good
>It shows all the pain form the loneliness in his cell, and the heartache from your "death"
>It hurt just looking at him
>Celestia seemed as wounded as you
>She tries to say something, but fails, and ends up leaving
>Looks like your letter will be well received

>Later that night, the guards have fallen asleep, while brother is still up
>You decend down, and shove your hoof in his mouth as soon as he looks at you
>You motion for him to stay silent
>He nods, and you remove your hoof away
>He just stands there, mouth agape, eyes wide in shock and surprise
>You take your paperclip keys and open the cell door, slowly enough to not make a sound
>Brother steps out, and you close the cell again
>You give him your second set of suction cups and show him ow they work
>Thankfully he learns fast, and the two of you set off
>You lead him back to Celestia's room, much to his growing displeasure
>A peek inside shows that she's silently sobbing, looking up at a tapestry of her and her sister
>Shes also talking to herself
He...He looked just like I did when I banished you... I felt like I had lost everything...
>You show brother a spot far enough away to escape the castle after you do what your about to do
>You get back a ways, and lower yourself on the rope
>You take careful aim
>And throw, taking yourself upwards again in the same motion
Wha...?
>You lurk where you are, watching her face as she undoes the letter
>As her face changes
>From shock to anxiety as she glances at the spot where the necklace used to be
>Then to a sort of understanding, and then a resolved and determined expression
>You smile, and take your exit with brother
>Once outside, brother finally speaks
You... You faked your own death?!?!?!
>You give a weak smile
sorry to hurt you like that... but now you can call me nightshade
>He shakes his head
I just can' believe you did it! Everpony believes that you were taken away by some crazy pony!
>Your grin widens
It was an idea that I had. You ponies don't take well to... death... back home... I...
>As you finish that sentence, the migraines threaten to come back
>You stumble, but brother catches you, and you assure him you're fine
>You just ask him a question
Where is your family, and can we erase all my memories?
>He hesitates before giving you an answer
Yes. We need to take the sewers. Are you sure you want to do it?
>You nod without hesitation
Ok... it's just... you won't be a pony anymore. You will be part changeling
>The headaches start to come back as you try to remember why you don't care
I don't know why, but somehow I don't care about it
>He nods, and you start the trip
>The sewers are dark and dry, and as you keep walking you can see the texture of the wall turn smooth, and green
>As you come in, changelings start showing up
>At first it's just a few of them, but then it's more
>They are all looking at brother with fascination at seeing him again
>And they regard you with a cautious look of curiosity
>You don't blame them much, but you stay close to brother
>Soon you reach a room
>It's a throne room
>You are about to meet mother