Two Changelings, in a World of Foes

Chapters

Prologue: Pursuer's Prey
Chapter 1: Times Change
Chapter 2: A Father and His Daughter
Chapter 3: The Hatching of Plans
Chapter 4: An Invitation to the Crystal Empire
Chapter 5: The Dreaming
Chapter 6: And so it Begins
Chapter 7: Crow's Nest
Chapter 8: The Tragedy of King Longinus Eveningstar
Chapter 9: The Changeling with Drakeblood
Chapter 10: The Pursuit Comes to an End
Epilogue

Prologue: Pursuer's Prey

"I did try to convince them," Potshot, a brown-furred unicorn bandit, spoke, with a hint of bragging in his voice, as his two allies and himself sat, looking over the newly-acquired bag full of food, on the crumbling garrison wall of an old, abandoned fortress, in the middle of the Everfree Forest. "But nooo they just had to try and defend themselves."

"Did you really have to burn their house down?" the earth pony with a dirty blue coat, holding an old battleaxe, asked.

"No, he didn't, Cop-Out," Cutpurse, a gray pegasus wearing a rusty, iron helmet, replied, callously, as he took a bite out an apple. "He's a pyromaniac, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Cop-Out chuckled.

The three let out laughs that rang out through the silent woods, and echoed through the ruined, vine-covered fort. It soon died down, and they resumed eating the stolen food, until Cutpurse, after making a chance look up, made a discovery.

"Hey... what's that?" he asked, his hoof pointing to the orange, setting sky. The other two quickly looked up, and saw what he was talking about. There, in the sky, flying toward them, was a giant bird. When it was a few more wingbeats closer, they saw what it really was.

"Is that... a giant crow?" Cop-Out spoke, scratching his head. "And what's that in its talons?"

The shape was vague. It looked large, but was clearly in the clutches of the bird, and had a metallic appearance, as seen by the way it reflected the sun's rays. It drooped a bit below the bird's grasp, but was held tightly on. When the creature had flown a bit closer, an awful, and mean-spirited idea came into Potshot's mind.

"Remember when I told you guys about the time I once blew a pegasus out of the sky, from over two-hundred yards away, using only my fireball spell?" Potshot asked, an evil grin stretching across his face.

"Umm... yeah. Why?" Cop-Out asked. His question was answered, as Potshot's horn suddenly lit up, and a ball of fire burst out of it, the attack headed straight for the oversized bird, at lightning speed. The bird let out a scream as the flame hit against its left wing, and black feathers scattered into the evening sky. It dropped the shape it was holding, and began to spiral out of the air, its smoking trajectory being the Everfree Forest, but a patch almost a mile away. They listened to the sound of the crash, and trees uprooting, even though it was out of sight's range.

"Pretty good, huh?" the brown-furred stallion said, his tone full of boisterous pride, as if he had just defeated a dragon. Cutpurse rolled his eyes, while Cop-Out, as if ignoring them both, had his gaze fixed upward.

"What is that thing?" he inquired to Cutpurse, pointing to the falling object. After taking the time to look at it, he rubbed his chin before responding.

"You know, the funny thing is, the closer it gets, the more it looks like a giant sword..." the gray-coated stallion said, his eyes squinted as they strained to see the rapidly-approaching thing. They soon stretched to the size of dinner plates, when he realized just where it was going.

"Incoming!" Potshot shouted, as he fled behind a nearby broken shaft of the fortress's wall. The others did the same, each shouting in fear, as they ducked behind or beneath cover. The silence that followed the sound of the sword slicing into the ground told them it was safe to come out, and they did so, cautiously poking their heads out to get a good look at what it was.

No sooner had the bandits looked at the object, which really was a sword, its blade being twice the width of themselves, and the length being impractically long, along with the intricate, circular symbols that adorned it, another, enormous shape impacted against the ground behind it, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris, causing the ponies to flinch behind their makeshift barriers once more. When they decided to see what it was, they saw an enormous figure, in a kneeling position, most likely from the recoil the landing made.

The shape was most definitely not a pony. It was humanoid, and covered from head to toe in metal, knight-themed armor, not exposing an inch of flesh, while a woven satchel full of random weapons laid strapped onto its back. On its protruding chest armor was a visage of multiple, screaming faces, and clutched in its left hand, was a large, semi-circular shield with two indents on its dual sides, its span more than enough to cover the giant's body, should it be put to use. As it began to stand up fully, it raised its helmeted head to look at the three unsavory individuals in front of itself, the visor suddenly emitting a single, brief red glow from the inside, like some unholy eye, as what appeared to be dark energies surrounded its bulky frame. For the next minute, the being silently observed the bandits, each staring back with quivering faces, before placing its free hand on the handle of the half-buried sword it stood in front of, and pulling.

The ponies could only gape in awe and pure fear, as they watched the giant wrench the greatsword from the ground, spending as much effort in doing so as a foal pulling a stick out of mud, scattering several rocks as it was hoisted from the stonework with a crack. With what must have been positively absurd strength, it raised the weapon overhead, before easily letting it come to a rest by its side, and then, as if it had no amount of surprises, slowly ascended into the air, leaving the floor behind, until it was levitating just over a foot off of the ground.

Cop-Out shrieked as the being suddenly rushed forward through the air with a supernatural speed, and swung its sword from overhead, which proceeded to slam into the wall behind the pony as he just narrowly dodged it, cutting through the rock and stone like a hot knife through butter. Unhindered by the miss, and with a low, guttural, animalistic hiss, never heard before by the trio, the relentless Pursuer yanked the sword from the ruins, and appeared to be readying for another charge, until it was, all of a sudden, engulfed in a surprise fireball.

Potshot had sent the ball of flame, as indicated by the small stream of smoke that left his horn, and the grin on his snout. "Guy's toast now," he snickered. "No metal can withstand my strongest attack!"

His smile then disappeared as quickly as the smoke left from his attack faded, revealing the condition of the creature. It was completely unaffected by the attack. Not one bit of the being had been burnt by the flame. Terror, once more, overtook the ponies.

"I-I'm getting out of here!" Cutpurse yelled, as his wings extended, his body turning about. Just as he took off into the sky, Cop-Out, throwing his weapon away, lunged at his ally, and clamped his hooves around the pegasus's back leg, hitching a ride, all while whimpering profusely, as the two flew off.

"No! Wait! C-come back!" Potshot shouted, looking up to them with pleading eyes. "You can't leave me here like this!"

His allies were too far off on the horizon to hear his words. With a shaky face, he turned to look at the unstoppable force that was now heading his way.

"N-no, wait, please!" the unicorn begged, pitifully, tripping over a stray bit of rubble in the process, as he struggled to make distance between himself, and the armored creature, which now floated toward him, slowly and silently, in a most ominous manner. The sword it held started to glow a bright blue color, black energy oozing off of it in a mist, as it was raised over his head for another, final attack. Potshot could find no more ground, as he reached one of the old fortresses's walls, cornered like a rat.

"W-ait, n-N-NO!!" were Potshot's last words, before the blade was mercilessly brought down.

Chapter 1: Times Change

The sound of liquid trickling down onto a group of plants below was heard throughout the garden, as Moredread Enmity watered the plants below him with the watering can he held in the air with his spectral mouth. The equine eidolon, his smoky form covered in dark, steel armor, hummed a happy tune relating to the wrapping up of winter, as he himself wrapped up the last patch of daffodils and black-eyed Susans in the yard.

His bright green, red-irised eyes, a purple, misty haze trailing off of them, looked back to the house when he finished. The house, once nothing more than an old shack practically built of twigs and dirt, had been renovated into the proper, livable abode it was now, thanks in part to the friendly, generous denizens of Ponyville. Its now-whole walls were painted a vivid, attractive crimson color, and the roof was much more stable then it was before, while multiple windows lined its sides.

After placing the water can onto the grassy ground, Moredread began to head inside, going through the front door, and passing into the kitchen, the smell of smoke and something cooking coming from within it. The aroma came from a kettle that hung over the fireplace, the flames below lapping at its metal hide, its liquid contents bubbling into a small froth at its brim.

After checking the clock that sat on the wall, and seeing that the hands were in the right place, Moredread quickly used his magic to pull it from the fire, and nabbed a wooden bowl out of a cupboard nearby as well, placing them both on the oak table. Still humming the song, Moredread poured the kettle's steaming, orange contents into the bowl until it was full enough to his liking.

He blew the steam off of its top, and lifted it once more. Taking great care not to spill it, he began to march down the hall, letting the bowl levitate behind him all the way to a door he eventually stopped at, the words "Skia's Room" titled on it, written neatly in all-black ink. Turning the knob, and opening it up quietly, he peered inside at the room's dark interior.

The first thing that any pony would recognize, was that the room was cluttered with books. The Ingenious Gentlecolt Donkey Oaty of La Mancha, Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet, and The History of Canterlot were to just name three of the hundred that littered the floor like autumn leaves, their individual colors matching such a scene.

There, on a bed in the corner of the room, sat a young, female changeling nymph, a book, titled The Advanced Study of Magics in her hooves, and her nose planted in it. Moredread couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at how much she acted like her idol, the princess Twilight Sparkle, his noise unintentionally catching her attention. The changeling's bright, green-tinted eyes showed through the darkness of her room, as she placed the book down, and after letting out a sniffling noise, she spoke.

"Hi Uncle Moredread..." she greeted, her voice low and nasally, due to her runny nose.

"Good morning Skia. I see you're awake. How are you feeling?" he asked, as he approached her, using his magic to pick up the medical thermometer on the nearby desk, and letting it float up to her.

"A lot better," she spoke back, as she caught the small glass object in her mouth. "I think I can go outside now."

After letting it sit in her mouth for a little bit, Moredread used his magic to gently pull it out, and took a peek at what it said. His eyebrow arched when he saw the results.

"You're still running a temperature," he said to her, when he finished examining the thermometer, before cutting another look at her. "Oh, ho, ho, I don't think so."

"But... but I feel better!" she protested. "It's just this stuffy nose. The rest of me feels good now, honest!"

"The thermometer says otherwise," Moredread said back. "You're staying in bed, young lady."

"Hmph," the young changeling huffed grumpily, folding her two front legs together, in a gesture of frustration, reflecting the curled expression her face showed. "That's not fair."

"Well, that's what you get for playing in the rain for a solid five hours without a jacket," he shrugged. "I did tell you to put one on, and now look; you caught the flu, and missed Cranky and Matilda's wedding."

"No... please don't remind about that..." Skia moaned, clamping her hooves over her webbed ears, and throwing her face into her pillow, in an effort to blot out his voice. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to go see it! Ugh..."

"I won't go on. I know how much you wanted to go to it," Moredread spoke in an understanding tone, as he walked up to her, the bowl he brought in with him levitating up to Skia's bedside. She lifted her head up, and looked at the object.

"Drink this," Moredread said again. "It's a potion I bought from Zecora. She told me that it will ease the symptoms some more, and that you should be fully cured by tonight."

"Oh. Okay... thanks," she replied, as she grasped the bowl in her hooves, and lifted it in a way so she could see the contents inside. After letting a deep breath escape her mouth, she brought the bowl up to it, and slowly downed its contents, until it was empty.

"Ick... that stuff tastes like... lemons and dirty water!" she sputtered, her face bearing a sour expression, when she finished. Moredread calmly took the bowl back, and levitated it behind himself, while he got ready to explain the final step that Zecora previously told him.

"You must go back to sleep for the potion to take an effect," the ghostly alicorn spoke, his magic pulling the quilt covers up to Skia's chest. She pulled them over herself, before giving an innocent look back at him. Moredread knew what question was going to come next.

"Is it okay if I... read a little longer?" she begged. "Just five more minutes? Pleeeaaase?"

Though the phantom wore a stern look, and the answer seemed obvious, he conceded with a sigh. "Just five more minutes. Not a second longer," he agreed, in a lighthearted voice, as he leaned forward and kissed the changeling on her warm forehead, just above her small horn.

"Thank you, Uncle Moredread. I love you," she said, with a weak smile of victory, before letting out a yawn. Moredread turned, and trotted, silently out of the room.

"I love you too. Sleep well, my little Skia," he whispered one last time, in a before closing the door.

"...I now pronounce you Jack and Jenny!" Mayor Mare said, both to the crowd, and to Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda, the latter two stood in front of her, dressed in as fine wedding attire as Ponyville could offer. After another moment staring into each other's eyes, the newly-married couple leaned in and kissed each other on the lips. The crowd of nearly a hundred ponies watching and listening, the princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence among them, let out shouts of joy and delight, and clapped their hooves together at the scene, filling the building with their applause.

No sooner had their boisterous noise started, the room seemed to light up like a rainbow, as the flower-like figures near where the two donkeys and mayor stood, appeared to erupt into an explosion of color, similar to a fireworks display, but smaller. Every pony in the room was stricken into deafening silence by the amazing sight.

"Ah, hahaha! Of course!" a random, brown-furred earth pony in the crowd suddenly yelled out, in a triumphant tone. "They need love to ignite! How could I have missed it?!"

As the objects continued to go off, near the back of the room, sitting by himself in a chair, Thoraxis the changeling couldn't help but let out a large, toothy smile of pure glee at what he saw. Matilda, his best friend in the town, had finally gotten married! He also agreed with the single pony's sentiment; the amount of love in the room was more than enough to set something off. He glanced over his shoulder once more, and spotted the few pony foals that sat a few chairs down, each huddled together, and staring back at him with wary eyes. Skia's classmates.

Thoraxis's smile slowly turned back into the neutral expression it once was, and he turned his gaze forward again, as he thought back to his precious foster daughter. It had been just over a year since he decided to stay in Ponyville, and raise Skia with the apparition that he now, almost, called friend. Skia had grown extremely fast, already being of more than the mind and build of your typical foal that goes to the schoolhouse, courtesy of how quickly changelings matured. In another year, she would be fully grown.

The sight of the bride and groom walking down the aisle snapped Thoraxis out of his thoughts. Acting on his feet, he left his chair, and ran up to the gathering mob of ponies that started to gather around them. Listening in, he could hear them cheering the two on. When Matilda was just a leg's length away, he shouted her name.

"Hey! Matilda!"

The donkey immediately looked in his direction, her blue eyes soon meeting his compound, teal ones. After saying something to Cranky that Thoraxis could not hear over the crowd's thunderous volume, he gave a nod, and Matilda proceeded to trot up to the lone changeling.

"Congratulations on getting married!" Thoraxis said again, with a wide grin, when he was sure she was within earshot. "Words alone can't express how happy I am for you!"

"Thank you so very much for showing up, Thoraxis. You're such a dear," the donkey spoke in her usual gentle voice, causing Thoraxis to blush slightly, mostly out of embarrassment at all the eyes that were probably watching him. Matilda continued, her head turning about, as if looking for somepony.

"If you don't mind me asking, where's your daughter at?" she asked in a curious tone.

"Oh, uh... Skia came down with a fever last night..." he started, slowly. "She's in bed at home, resting."

"What? Aww..." Matilda replied, with a dejected frown. "She wouldn't stop telling me how much she wanted to come see this. Who's watching her?"

"My... roommate," he said back. "She's in good hooves, don't worry. Before she fell asleep, she made me promise to come here and see the wedding."

"I see you kept that promise to her," she spoke. "I've noticed that you seem to do everything she asks without hesitation."

"That roommate of mine says that I spoil her," he chuckled. "That might explain it."

Matilda laughed softly from behind closed lips, before making a quick look at Cranky, who stood, as patient as he could be, behind her. She coughed into her hoof before talking again, a sense of urgency in her voice.

"Well... I hope Skia gets better. Thank you again for showing up, Thoraxis. It means more than you know."

"Oh, it was my pleasure entirely," Thoraxis quickly replied. After giving another smile, the donkey rejoined her husband, leaving the changeling in the crowd of onlookers, still shouting congratulatory words to the couple. Before he spoke his next words, to himself this time, Thoraxis began to ponder what exactly they meant, and why they rang truth.

"It was my... pleasure."

Author's Note

Proof that two men can raise a kid successfully.

Chapter 2: A Father and His Daughter

Petra awoke, mid-snore, with a gasp. Her scaly, white head slowly rose up from the wooden desk it lied on, and her pink-and-red eyes, dark bags from lack of sleep lying under them, looked around, groggily, at the dark cave that made up her surroundings. What lied before her, where her head had been resting, was a book, and it was open on a partially-blank page, its words scribbled in black ink.

"Oh no... not again..." she yawned to herself, as she rubbed her sore face with the palm of one of her claws. "I fell asleep again... another night of writing... lost."

She slowly pushed the wooden chair she sat in back, its four legs screeching as they grated across the cold stone ground, and stood up, unleashing another yawn, and stretching her limbs out, as well as the three fingers that rested on the hands of both of them in the process. Before walking off, she took a moment to stare down at the incomplete book.

Her story, "War in the Dragon Kingdoms," as she titled it, was a romance novel, filled with action and adventure, made for all audiences... or at least it would be, if she could finish the darn thing. Sure, she managed to write a page or two every other day, but the dreaded curse known as writer's block was clouding her mind in a dense, unrelenting fog, and it didn't want to leave. For nearly a week it had been like this, and now, it went from frustrating, to angering. Enough so, that her long tail, and the scorpion-like stinger that rested at the end of it, wagged back-and-forth in sheer, unadulterated vexation just thinking about it.

After reminiscing on the week, Petra chattered her fangs together, as she usually did when thinking of what to do next, and when her mind was set, the wyvern turned, and began to walk toward the coat rack that she had kept at the end of the room. On top of the black pole, a sleeping cryophoenix was perched, its body bearing the appearance of blue, crystalline ice; the polar opposite of its distantly-related, fire-based cousin. Just below, her black, oversized slouchy newsboy-themed hat hung on a hook. Upon hearing his master's footsteps approaching, the bird's beady, yellow eyes snapped open, and like his master had done before it, yawned upon awakening.

"Good morning, Despereaux, Did you have pleasant dreams last night?" she greeted to the bird. He looked back at her, and a cooing noise that reeked of happiness escaped its beak. Petra hid a chuckle behind a closed mouth when she heard it, and ran a hand down her pet's smooth, ice-feathered back.

"Well, Despereaux. How do you suppose I finish this chapter up?" she sighed to the bird. The cryophoenix merely shrugged, his glass-like wings extending slightly, gaining a small smirk from the wyvern. After grabbing her hat off of the rack, and putting it over her head, gently enough not to accidentally poke a hole in it with the long dorsal spikes that lined it, she walked up to a nearby drawer, and picked up a pair of glasses from the top of them, unfolding them with a snap.

She sighed again, as she placed her glasses over her snout, her eyes adjusting to the small lenses. "I guess I won't find any inspiration here. How does a trip to the library in the Crystal Empire sound?" A squawk of delight was the reply from the cryophoenix. His wings opened up and he took flight, continuing the the shrill noise, which quickly would have become annoying, had someone with a short temper been in the room.

Alright, alright! Hehehe..." Petra laughed, his enthusiasm becoming infectious. She walked to the small wooden door that made the entrance to her house, and opened it with a click from the knob, and a squeak from the metal hinges. Peering outside, she heard a howl of wind, and saw a light snow was falling across the frozen, snow-covered land. As per the usual.

Despereaux glided silently over, and perched himself on Petra's scaly shoulder. She looked at him with a cheery face, and pet his head gently. He flapped off again after but a moment's hesitation, into the sky. For the next minute, Petra observed her pet, as he joyfully performed aerial stunts, before she herself stretched her arms out.

Four, extremely long and thin finger-like projections, previously hidden, unfolded from her arms, transforming them into a pair of wings. Each finger was connected by long, thin, membranous skin, like that of a bat's wings, but much, much larger. After kicking the door close with her foot, and a single, quick thrust of the two limbs, Petra ascended to the sky like a bolt of white lightning, joining her pet in the frigid air where the gray clouds roamed.

"Wanna race?" she asked, her tone playful, but competitive. The serious leer he returned told her it was on.

"Ready... ONETWOTHREE, GO!" she yelled, leaving the unprepared bird in the dust, after a sudden burst forward. With an angered squawk over the unfairness of her head start, Despereaux zoomed after his master, determined to not let her win.

"Where could she be..." Thoraxis said to himself, a mischievous grin on his face, as the changeling stalked around the market square. He looked at each pony with suspicious eyes, as if monitoring them, and waiting for them to make a mistake. He continued to walk around the town, leaving no pony unchecked, no hay cart unexamined, and no stone unturned. As he went about, the changeling soon found himself crossing paths with the smaller shape of Apple Bloom, as she was passing by from around the corner.

"Oh. Hello, Mr. Thoraxis," the filly greeted, warmly. "You look like you're looking for somepony. Are you?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," he replied, stopping in his tracks to talk back, politely. "It's Skia. We're practicing her skills in disguising herself as other ponies, and right now I'm trying to find her."

"Oooh. That sounds like a unique take on hide-and-seek," she replied, showing curiosity in his words. "Am I allowed to help?"

"Yes, of course," the changeling said, his eyes shifting around, still searching while he spoke. "Have you seen any ponies exhibiting any... um... strange behavior?"

"Hmmm..." Apple Bloom hummed, placing a hoof to her chin, as she thought back. "If I recall correctly, I think that Pipsqueak was acting a little weird earlier. Do you think she changed herself to look like him?"

"Perhaps she did," he responded. "Where did you see him last?"

"Last I checked, he was hanging out near the playground at school with some friends," she said, pointing in the proper direction.

"Thank you," Thoraxis said, as he turned to leave. Before Apple Bloom could do the same, Thoraxis suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, in a most ominous manner.

"Oh, Apple Bloom..." he suddenly said, turning around again, with a calm, collected look that gave the filly chills. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Uh... sure," she replied. "What do you need?"

"It's just a question, nothing too serious," he spoke, as he trotted closer to her. "I'd just like to know why you aren't speaking with that country accent I usually hear you talk with." The moment these words were uttered, Apple Bloom's innocent smile vanished, only for a large one to appear on Thoraxis's face.

"Aha!" he shouted, pointing at her accusingly. "I found you!"

Just as he bent his body over and moved to pounce, "Apple Bloom" jumped into the air, a grin reappearing on her face, as she was enveloped in green flame. A moment later, the flames departed, revealing a young changeling. Giggling in her real voice, Skia's transparent wings began to flutter, and she flew higher into the air. As she escaped his grasp, she spoke.

"You didn't win yet, Daddy! You still have to catch me!"

With those words, she quickly flew off, dodging busy ponies, buildings, and anything else you'd find in the bustling streets of Ponyville square, her father hot on her heels.

Five days had passed since Cranky and Matilda's wedding. Sure enough, the medicine that Skia had been given did the trick, and she was back to her old, healthy, book-loving self, as seen by how she was doing now. As she finished rounding Sugarcube Corner, Thoraxis was just approaching it, and by the time he got around it himself, his quarry had disappeared. Skia was gone again.

"Hmmm..." he hummed, as he landed on the ground, and scanned the surrounding area. The first movement he got piqued his interest, though it was not what he was looking for.

Sitting on a bench nearby, was a stallion and a mare. Both were a couple, as seen by how each was clutching the other in a loving embrace, and upon listening closer, they were apparently speaking as well.

"I love you, fuzzy-muffin!" the purple-furred mare said, her voice extremely light, and overt as a candle in a dark room.

"Not as much as I love you, snoogy-woogy!" the blue-furred stallion said back, his choice of words most likely seen as positively cringe-worthy by most who were within earshot. With a small chuckle coming between themselves, the two began to nudge their muzzles together, affectionately.

For the next few seconds, Thoraxis just stood there, and stared at the couple with a blank expression of interest, his eyes glued to them. He didn't notice his daughter walking up behind him, and by the time he did, she had already noticed the peculiar situation her father was in, and spoke.

"Um, Daddy? Are you okay?" Skia asked, poking his shoulder to make sure she had his attention.

"I'm fine. It's... it's nothing," he quickly replied, turning his attention to her, as if snapping out of a trance.

"That sure didn't look like nothing," she stated, her greenish, monochromatic eyes now bearing a curious look aimed toward her parent.

"You know what doesn't look like nothing?" he inquired to her, his impish smile returning, along with a devious expression, changing the subject. He opened his forelegs up, as if readying himself to grab her, before shouting his next words.

"A hug! C'mere you!"

Squealing in delight, Skia jumped back, narrowly avoiding his hug, turned around, and took flight once more. As she zipped away, Thoraxis attempted to give chase, hastily tried to gain on her.

"When I catch you Skia, I'm going to give you the biggest hug of your entire life! AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT! Muahahaha!" Thoraxis cackled, his speech as hammy as one would expect from a comic book villain. With the little space the town provided, the two soon found themselves outside of it, flying along the edge of the Everfree Forest, where an idea entered Skia's head.

He'll never find me in there she thought to herself, as she rushed into the treeline without a second thought.

"Skia, wait! Don't go in there! Come back!" Thoraxis yelled. However, as he soon realized, she was too far in to hear him. After trying to force his way into the dense woods failed, he quickly flew above the treetops, and cupped his hooves together in front of his mouth.

"Skia!" he shouted, at the top of his lungs. "Come back!"

With no response, and panic already gripping him, Thoraxis quickly raced through the open air above the forest, and tried to locate his daughter, scared thoughts racing through his head as fast he was flying.

Skia's small, nimble form dashed through the thick foliage of the Everfree Forest, around the dark trees that littered the landscape, darting past multiple thorny briar patches, and dodging large puddles that lied on the ground. It was several minutes of nonstop running and flying later that she finally stopped, and began panting, sure of herself that she had escaped her father's grasp.

"Well, I bet he's given up by now," she said to herself, once she caught her breath, and got ready to jump into the air. "I better go see him before he blows a fuse trying to find me..."

A strange sound stopped her from lifting off. A booming "caw" noise, like that of a crow, only deeper, and more guttural. Skia instantly turned her head about, searching for where the sound came from, until realizing that it was in the dense underbrush from behind her.

Pushing the bushes aside, the young changeling gazed at the clearing in front of herself, until she spied a strange... creature. It had the visage of a bird, specifically a common crow or raven; black feathers covered its body, a pair of wings stretched out from its sides, a long, dark beak poked forward from just below its eyes, and a pair of yellow talons rested under its large shape. What Skia took the greatest notice of, though, was what appeared to be horrendous burns that riddled its left wing, leaving only bare, damaged, and scarred skin where feathers once rested.

The creature croaked and called pitifully as it inched forward. It finally stopped a few moments later, and dropped its weary-looking head to the ground. The look that showed in the bird's eyes told Skia that it was in agonizing pain, and Skia, unable to keep herself away from the unknown being's plight, slowly tiptoed forward through the dense bush, still hidden from sight. She only left the cover after the bird's eyes closed for more than a minute, and was soon out in the open.

"Hello," she started, in a soft, quiet voice. The crow's eyes instantly reopened, and its head practically jumped off of the ground in alarm. When it spotted who spoke, its face curled into one of anger, while the feathers on the back of its neck stood up on end, in an intimidating display. Despite this, Skia, ever so slowly, began walking toward it.

When she was within ten feet of it, the still-stationary crow unleashed a loud, threatening hiss at her, causing the young changeling to freeze in her tracks. After letting out a nervous breath, and with somewhat shaky hooves, she continued forward once more, ignoring her fear.

"Don't worry, I'm friendly," she whispered again, her voice as gentle as she could muster. After coming within leg's distance, the massive crow stopped its vociferating, and instead simply looked at the changeling in front of itself with a silent, cautious, wide-eyed glare, as if judging her. With unparalleled bravery (or possibly naive stupidity), Skia stuck her hoof forward, to let the creature sniff it.

She winced her head away, expecting her gamble to end with a savage bite for her troubles, or at the very least, another roar, but Skia opened her eyes when she felts a soft, feathery feeling rub against her chitinous skin. A smile of pure delight formed on her face, as she witnessed, with both relief and fascination, the crow lowering its head, and allowing her steady forefoot to touch it on its brow.

"See? I'm nice. I won't hurt you," Skia continued on, in a light, kind voice, as she petted it. "You poor thing. That burn on your wing looks like it hurts a lot. How'd you get it?" The crow only looked back up, and let a rumbling moan leave its throat, before gesturing to the mentioned wing, bringing it as close to to Skia as it could manage.

Now able to actually see the full extent of the damage done, Skia could easily discern what had happened. The entire elbow, as well as the fore of the limb was singed badly. The burns were not terrible enough to be third-degree however, as she read about in a medical book before. They more closely matched second-degree burns, complete with the multiple blisters and moist texture. Either way, the feathers were burned off, leaving the creature flightless, and in pain.

As she finished examining it, a new, familiar voice was heard, coming from overhead.

"Skia! Where are you?"

"Hey," she whispered to the bird. "That sounds a lot like my dad."

"Skia!" he shouted, his voice desperate and full of worry. "Skia! Please come out! You win, okay? Please come out, before something happens to you! Pleeeaaase?! I'm begging you!"

"That's my dad alright," she said with a small smile. Her face became sullen once more when she turned back to the crow. "Listen, I have to go now. If you stay here, I promise you I'll be back tomorrow, since I don't have school, and I'll try to bring some food and medicine for your burn with me. I won't tell anypony about you, I swear."

The crow nodded its head, as if in understanding, and then lowered it to the green grass, as it did before Skia began talking to it, closing its eyes afterword. Now, almost sure that the creature would be alright, Skia's wings began to buzz, and she flew through the canopy of the trees, spotting Thoraxis, his back turned to her, scanning the trees some distance away.

"Hi Dad!" Skia yelled. He spun around to her at an almost impossibly fast speed the second he heard her voice.

"Skia! Oh, thank goodness!" Thoraxis exclaimed, as he flew towards her, and grabbed her in a tighter-than-usual hug, in midair. "What in the world were you thinking?! The Everfree Forest is full of monsters! One could have eaten you!"

"Don't worry Daddy, I'm fine," she chuckled. "And I... didn't see any monsters."

"Well, good! I'm just... I'm just glad you're safe," he said, much softer this time, his eyes closing in relief.

"Um... quick question..." he heard his daughter begin again, causing his eyes to open. "Since you clearly said I won, does this mean that we can stop by Twilight's castle and pick up a new book before we go home?"

Thoraxis looked at her strangely. Skia's wide smile was completely innocent, if not somewhat cherubic. It wasn't long before he relented.

"...Yes," he finally spoke, getting a happy cheer from Skia.

Chapter 3: The Hatching of Plans

A lone changeling flew as hard as his wings could carry him, through the cold land of the north. Snow was everywhere, as far as the eye could see, and just seeing the endless landscape, and the mist that left his teeth-chattering mouth every time he breathed, just made him feel that much more miserable. Despite the clear, starry sky, which had finally cleared up from the cloudy scene it was an hour ago, it was absolutely freezing.

"Of all the l-luck... I w-w-was the one t-to g-get the short end of the st-stick..." he grumbled to himself in a rather high-pitched tone, as he had been doing for the last hour to entertain himself from the sheer boredom the flight. When he was done mumbling, the changeling looked to the note that was strapped around his right foreleg, making sure it was still there and intact.

His misery was lifted, but only slightly, when he spotted a green glow coming from a cave below him. It was bright enough to see from in the dark, but was very dull. Like a moth to a candle, the changeling flew down to it, landing on the snow just outside of it with a plopping noise. After shaking the powdery substance off of his hole-covered hooves, he entered, but very slowly, and cautiously. When he looked in, the cavern, despite its glow, appeared as if it stretched on forever.

"H-hello?" he greeted, an echo going out through the cave. As if a magic switch had been turned, the faint green light at the end of the long tunnel that made up the inside of the abode faded, leaving only the moonlight to illuminate the entrance.

"Who... enters?" a booming, deep, guttural voice spoke from deep inside the cave. The magnitude of the sound echoed throughout the entrance, and the icicles that lined the ceiling above rattled together like chimes from its force, causing a few to break and fall, harmlessly, on the shaking changeling's carapace below.

"W-W-W-Weavel the messenger!" the changeling replied, in more of a yelp than a voice. "I b-b-bring news from the hive! An important message! F-f-for Vile Faux the halfdrake!"

"A message... for me? And it's from the hive, eh?" the voice replied, which Weevil noticed was, ever so slowly, becoming less booming, deep, and guttural, until it was at a more-or-less normal tone. That wasn't saying much though, for the presence was as threatening as ever, and to make matters worse for Weevil, it was clearly coming closer.

"Whatsit for?" the voice asked again, as a silhouette emerged from the darkness. Weevil gulped nervously, as he saw who it was. The figure, Vile Faux, was abnormally skinny for a changeling, and tall to boot, but not as tall as Queen Chysalis. He had a long, jagged horn that emerged from his forehead, and the webbed mane that stretched from his neck to his tail, short as it was in height, was tall enough to droop to the side slightly. His eyes lack the monochromatic feature that most drones, workers, and soldiers possessed, and were instead white, with icy blue irises, and black, reptilian, slit pupils.

"I asked you a question, messenger," Vile repeated, impatiently, snapping the changeling out of his sightseeing. With great haste, Weevil pulled the paper he had been carrying off of his leg, and used magic to levitate it to Vile, shuddering all the while.

"I-i-it's f-from the q-q-q-queen..." he stuttered. Whether it was from just being cold, or fear, Vile couldn't tell. Without a second word, he snatched the floating note from the air and tore the ragged seal off of it with his mouth, before unraveling the dirty, wet paper. His eyes moved to-and-fro as he read the parchment, stopping only when he reached the bottom. When he was finished, a wicked smile of pure malice stretched across his face, until he was grinning from ear-to-ear.

"A traitor? Two traitors?" he inquired to the messenger in an overly-excited tone, his head snapping rapidly from the paper, to his guest, causing the frozen changeling to flinch. "In need of being "taking care of?""

"Y-yes," he replied. "Th-they're in the town known as P-P-Ponyville. We g-got info on them wh-when w-word got out that two "f-f-f-friendly" changelings were living there."

""Friendly," eh?" Vile repeated. His menacing grin was swiftly replaced by a psychotic smirk, his narrow eyes widening until they were practically white-and-blue saucers. "Oh, boy! I cannot wait to play with their adorable little minds!" he then shouted, his hooves crushing the paper that they held in anticipation. As he fantasized what he was already planning on doing to his newest victims, Vile appeared to forget that his guest was even there for a few, brief moments, turning back to him when he finally remembered.

"Go! Get out of here..." he growled to Weevil, his expression going from childish, to serious, and without emotion. "I have much planning to do, and little time to do it. Leave, before I bleach your pathetic brain, and throw what's left of you in the snow, to get lost and freeze."

Ready to make good on his word, a sickly, green glow began to form on the tip of Vile Faux's jagged horn. "I... I-I..." Weevil whimpered, before turning about, and quickly leaving the cave as fast as his small wings could carry him, not needing to be told twice. When he was fully gone, the glow on Vile's horn faded, and he went back to smiling his twisted smile.

"So... my newest playthings are some "Thoraxis, and his daughter, Skia, whom is most precious to him?"" he cackled to himself, reading straight from the now-crumpled paper. "Yes... yes, I know what to do! Oh, the suffering "Thoraxis" shall endure... knowing that what is most precious to him will be... gone!"

More laughter echoed throughout the cavern, before dying down.

"But how will I get them both to my lair, without ? Perturbations..." he mumbled. "It's all the way out here in a frozen wasteland, a great many miles from Ponyville." For the next minute, he sat there. Many thoughts, all evil, all as wretched and depraved as he, swam through his head. The only noise to grace his ears was the sound of the wind, howling outside. At last, he thought of what to do, and jumped to his hooves.

"Oh, but such a plan sounds so foul... so heartless and cruel... only one with no soul would wish to do it..." he said sorrowfully, before smiling, and chuckling once more. "It's brilliant! I must set out immediately!"

Vile stalked to the front of his cave, until he was just outside the entrance, and looked up at the stars that littered the blackness. His eyes were wide, his blood was pumping, and an aura as unpleasant as his first name started to radiate off of him.

"Oh, Skiaaaa!" he shouted to the sky at the top of his lungs, the look on his crazed face begging the stars to answer back. "You're about to receive a visitor!"

After placing the third, and last book into her green-colored backpack, Skia hefted it over the wing casings on her back. She had been up most of last night planning on what to do with the mysterious bird she found in the woods the day before, and like a trap, it was now set. With a jolly grin of pure optimism on her face, the young changeling left her room, and skipped toward the kitchen.

Thoraxis was gone; working at the pet store for most of the day, as he did most days of the week. Moredread, however, was there by the sink, cleaning dishes with a combination of soap, water, and his magic. He looked over his shoulder when he heard the sound of footsteps, and smiled warmly when he spotted Skia. "Your lunch is in the box on the table," he spoke, his spectral tail motioning to the red, metal, cuboid box with a dynamic picture of Daring Do on its front, which he had made for her after she spun a little white lie about "going to a friend's house." Nearby it was a bowl, filled with remnants of the medicine from a few days previously.

"You're the best, Uncle Moredread," she thanked, as she picked lunchbox up in a hoof, and put it into her pack. She buttoned it shut, and started for the door, when she suddenly stopped before she could reach it. "Hey... Uncle Moredread..." she began, as she re-approached the table, and peered at the bowl in the center of it. "How exactly does this medicine work?"

"Why would you like to know?" he inquired back, as he used a rag to dry the soapy water off of a glass mug, and put it on the drying rack.

"I'd just like to know what other uses it has," Skia shrugged. "Ya'know, the science around it, and stuff. It's something I've been meaning to ask since a few days ago."

"What an odd question..." he said. "But one that I can answer. The medicine was a curing tonic that Zecora created using a wide assortment of herbs. She told me that it was made for those afflicted by disease, burns, minor bone injuries, and several other ailments of that sort."

"Burns, you say?" Skia inquired, eyeing the bowl with a much more interested glare, a hoof placed thoughtfully on her chin. "Well, well, well... how does it work?"

""How does it work?" You just drink it, and then the healing process begins..." he started, nonchalantly. While he went on explaining the intricate details, he was completely unaware of Skia as she telekinetically pulled a glass jar and cover out of the nearby cupboard, less than a foot away. With Moredread's back turned to her, and while listening diligently, Skia scooped a large portion of the potion from the bowl into the jar, and screwed the lid over it, before tossing it into her backpack, just mere moments before he finished the last dish in the sink, and turned to her again.

"...and within a day or two, the sickness or injuries should be fully cured," he finished, oblivious to what had occurred. "But I think that's enough talking for one morning. You should have left for your friend's house fifteen minutes ago! Off you go, dear."

Skia ran up to him, and gave him a quick hug on the leg, before dashing off to the door. Just as she reached it, she stopped, and turned around again. There was another question she had been meaning to ask, only this time, she meant it.

"Before I leave, there's something else I want to tell you," she said. "It's about Dad."

"Thoraxis? What about him?" the shade asked, returning his full attention to her.

"He was looking at a couple yesterday in a very strange way," she started. "It was weird. Really weird. Like, it was as if he was observing them. I think something was going on in his head..."

"How peculiar," Moredread responded.

"I know he's told me that changelings can't really feel love, and this may sound a little strange, but... he loves me, doesn't he?" Skia went on, albeit slowly.

The ghostly alicorn's helmeted, hornless head bobbed up and down, laughing silently. "It's not just parental instinct that guides him," he replied reassuringly, his eyes, ever so briefly flickering from their supernatural green, red-irised color, to a stranger, "normal-looking" cyan hue with white sclera, before changing back. "He does indeed love you, as I do. It's as thick as blood can get. Perhaps he stared at the couple because he senses something is missing from his life..."

"Then... why does he keep telling me that we still can't?" she asked again. Before he could answer, Moredread, with a pained grunt, suddenly clutched at his chest armor with a phantom hoof, and dropped to the floor, as if one of his front legs had given way. Skia, with a gasp, instantly ran up to him, and helped his larger form back up before he could fall completely to the ground, pushing his shoulder armor with great effort.

"Uncle Mordread? It's happening again..." Skia groaned, when he was back on his hooves. "That's the third time this month you've fallen like that. I know you're an intangible ghost, but you're starting to act like you have a heart problem."

"Heh..." he chuckled weakly, before strength came back into his tone. "It's something to do with my heart, that much is true..." He stretched his large wings out, before letting them fold up by his side, and gave a look of confidence to the young changeling, telling her he was fine.

"But let's not focus on me," he spoke again. "You said you want to see if changelings can feel love, yes? Well, it so happens that I'd like to know, too."

The way he phrased his last sentence piqued Skia's interest. "What did you have in mind?" she whispered, in a blatantly secretive way, as if Thoraxis was in the room with them. "A test to see if he's right?"

"A spell that finds the closest living creature that his soul has the most in common with... and then asks them to go on a date with him," he spoke, in a somewhat proud manner. "A blind date, to be precise."

"Wait... really?" Skia inquired again, in disbelief. "They actually make spells like that? That sounds overly complicated, yet strangely specific."

"It's a combination of spells and writing, really," he started again. "I just write down a note asking the pony if they want to have dinner at a set location, send it to them, and then give one to Thoraxis asking the same thing."

"Hah! That's brilliant!" Skia shouted, jumping up-and-down, clapping her front hooves in glee, until she stopped, and a serious expression curled over her face. "But how would we be able to do that? I don't know the spell, and you don't have much magical power."

"I may not have my power, but I have my concentration," he answered back. "Concentration, no matter how magically frail you are, can accomplish a great many things, at the cost of some stamina."

"Oh. Well that answers my question," the changeling nymph replied, her expression soon turning to one of excitement. "I can't wait to see the look on Dad's face when he sees the letter!"

"I shall see you tonight, Skia. Have fun with your friends," Moredread , as he watched the young changeling walk to the entrance of their home. With a final wave, she finally exited out the door, and the sound of it closing behind her heralded the fact that Moredread was now alone, and, more importantly, peace and quiet once again reigned.

A few minutes after Skia had left the household, Moredread took a piece of paper, a ballpoint pen, and a red envelope out of their respective drawers, and trotted to the table with them, each levitating a few feet from his head. After putting the paper on the wooden construct, and with a snap from the button at the pen's base, its tip came out of its shell, ready for use.

"Let's see... how should I begin?" he pondered to himself. When he thought of what to write on the invitation, he put the pen on the paper, and began to delicately draw words with skill and patience to match an artist, attempting to make every sentence as perfect as physically possible.

"Ah, yes. "To whomever this letter reaches...""

Chapter 4: An Invitation to the Crystal Empire

The scaly, white form of Petra, and the blue, icy shape of Despereaux descended from the cloudless, blue sky, the former landing gracefully on the rocky, snow-covered ground below, in front of the entrance of the cave they both called home. Clutched in the wyvern's still-usable left claw was a book she had rented from the library in the Crystal Empire, the amount of pages it possessed giving it a very thick appearance.

The cryophoenix hovered in the air nearby as Petra started to crease her wings, until the bat-like projections were once more tucked underneath her arms, and out of sight. She went to the door when her wings were once more just plain arms, pulling on the metal handle, and opening it up, before both entered the dark inside, out of the cold. Despite the wyvern's natural immunity to frigid temperatures, she couldn't help but let out a comforted purr at how warm the inside of her home felt, compared to the outside.

The wyvern and her cryophoenix had decided to stay the night at the Crystal Empire, Petra having spent almost the entire time reading her favorite tales, taking notes, and writing rough drafts to help with her own story, until she felt she was back on track. What she kept, she stored between the pages of the book she borrowed.

"Time to get back to the grindstone," Petra spoke, as she closed the door behind her, and took her hat off. Despereaux snatched it when she tossed it into the air, and swiftly brought it to the hat rack nearby, landing on the top of it after placing the black piece of headwear on a hook. The wyvern took a step forward, but a crunch of paper coming from underneath her heel caused her to stop. Removing her foot and looking down, Petra spotted a red envelope lying on the stone ground.

"Hmm? What's this?" the wyvern spoke, as she bent over, and scooped the envelope in her hand, while placing the book she carried on a nearby drawer. Using a claw as a letter-opener, Petra slit the top of it open, and let the white, folded-up paper inside slip into her other, outstretched hand. She quickly unfolded it, and, after fixating her glasses, began to peruse its written contents, while Despereaux glided to the nearby hat rack.

Despite having an uninterested attitude toward what his master was reading, Despereaux's eyes lit up in a mixture of surprise and puzzlement as he saw a patch of red start to form on Petra's cheeks, which he soon realized was a blush. Then the bird noticed, ever so small it was, that a smile was forming on her lips. Now fully intrigued, he flew over, and perched on her shoulder, taking a good long gaze at what exactly she was looking at.

To whomever this letter reaches, I bring the most sincere of greetings, it began, in fine cursive. I may not know you, and you may not know me, but I bear an invitation I hope you'll consider. It is nothing of major recourse, but I would like to ask you to out to dinner, my honor. If you choose to accept my invitation, and by doing do you'd have my absolute greatest of thanks, then meet me at the Crystal Empire's finest restaurant, tomorrow evening, at six.

Despereaux's view went to the bottom of the paper, which ended with the enigmatic words Yours truly, one who seeks romance in their incomplete life. When he had finished reading, he simply stood there, and stared at Petra with taunting gleam in his expression, until she finally turned her head, and looked at him.

"What are you looking at?" she asked her pet, her tone shifting to a grumpy one. Despereaux only returned with a large, obnoxious grin on his beak, and slanted eyes, as if keeping in a delicious punchline to the most witty joke in the history of comedy for himself. Petra used the claw holding the invitation to shoo the smart-alecking bird off of her shoulder, before looking back at it, and sighing.

"Seeks romance... the Crystal Empire's finest restaurant..." Petra repeated to herself, as if in reverie, as she walked to the other side of the cave, the book she had brought with her long forgotten. "Nobody's ever written something like this to me before..."

Despereaux's head tilted to the side, once again perplexed by the behavior his master was showing. After letting out a questioning chirp, Petra, removing the glasses from her face and putting them on the drawer, looked back to her pet, gleefully.

"Sorry. This is... this is the first time in my entire life somebody's ever asked me out on a... date!" she said, her voice once more brimming with excitement, the emotion expressed by how rapidly her stinger-tipped tail thrashed about behind her, threatening to hit a stray piece of furniture. "How am I supposed to act? Who do you think even sent it? Another wyvern? A dragon? It might have even been a pony for all I know, but how would I find out?"

The cryophoenix merely shrugged. Petra, now much calmer, exhaled again as she walked to her desk, where she turned and sat on the wooden chair. She peered down at the unfinished book that lied on it, some dust having collected on its pages since the night she and Despereaux left the house. For the next moment, she simply stared at it, completely lost in thought.

She was brought out of daydreaming as she felt something poking her arm, and looked to see Despereaux doing the deed with the elbow of his wing. When he had her attention, he smiled again, but instead of being smug, it was one of assurance.

"Do you really think I should go?" she asked her trusty companion.

Despereaux closed his eyes and nodded, confidently. Petra couldn't help but smirk at his approval.

"Alright then," she agreed slowly, placing the note down onto the page of her book, her mind made up. "It said tomorrow night, at the Crystal Empire's finest restaurant, right? I'd better get ready for it, then!"

Without a second thought, and for the first time since starting it, Petra flipped the cover of her book over, closing it.

"...And then, with the Chime of Happiness returned to its rightful place, peace and harmony returned to the kingdom," Skia spoke, in a gentle tone, to the giant crow she lied against. Its head was lowered, and eyes partially closed, as the changeling finished the tale from the book she held to her face. "And every pony lived happily ever after. The end," she finished, closing the book with a silent clap.

She had been there all day, reading to the helpless bird, and the feathered creature appeared to be enjoying the company. After she let the starving thing wolf down her lunch of two love-filled cupcakes, an apple, and the bread from her hay sandwich, she gave it the medicine she had taken with her, which it promptly, and quickly drank, apparently ignoring the foul taste it possessed. Just an hour after it ingested the stuff, its moaning and squawking ceased, which told Skia that it was working.

"Gee... that's my last book," Skia said, in a melancholy voice. She looked to the sky that showed through the canopy above, and saw it had taken an orange hue, indicating sundown. "And it's getting late too. I think I have to go, before my dad gets home."

The crow lifted its head, an understanding look in its brown eyes, before letting it drop again, falling asleep almost instantly. Getting up at a slow enough speed to not disturb the resting bird, she put her book and empty lunchbox into her backpack, and silently zipped it up, before placing it over her back.

"Goodbye," she whispered, petting its beak, gently. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Turning about, Skia slowly flew above the trees, until she was above the treetops, and from there she sped home, her transparent wings beating as hard as they could, a buzzing whir generating from it.

It wasn't more than a few minutes later that Skia returned home, exhausted from the flight, just as darkness was falling. After taking in a deep breath, she walked up to the door, and opened it, the hinges squeaking like a host of demonic mice. When she peered in, she spotted Moredread on the other side of the room, where the kitchen and living area connected, sipping a spot of tea from a glass cup that hovered in the air near his mouth. His eyes were pointed in her direction with an expectant glare, as if he knew she was entering the house. Skia had stopped asking the question of how ghosts could eat or drink a long time ago.

"Hi, Uncle!" the changeling greeted heartily, opening the door all the way, as she barged inside.

"Good evening, Skia," Moredread welcomed in return, watching as she tossed her pack walked up to him. "I trust your day reading to the crow-monster was pleasant?"

"The best." she replied. Her happy grin suddenly turned into a gape of pure horror when she properly registered his words. With a nervous gulp, she spoke, "How did... how do you know about that?"

"I know where you are and what you're up to, as long as I'm in your memory," he chuckled. "It's a tracking spell I enchanted upon you when you were but a hatchling, so I know you'll always be safe. And do not worry, I won't tell your father. You're doing a pretty good job with the bird, as far as I see."

"Oh... oh, thank Celestia..." she sighed in relief. No sooner had she done so, the question that she had been dying to ask since she left came to mind.

"If you don't mind me asking... did you make that note for Dad yet?"

"Of course," Moredread spoke, putting his armored hoof onto a previously-unnoticed, red letter that lied on the table. "I wrote two while you were gone. The other has already been sent."

As Skia opened her mouth to speak again, the sound of a door opening and closing caused her to instead turn around. Entering the house was the weary shape of Thoraxis, his horned head lowered, and eyes closed.

"Woo. Today was a long day at the pet store," Thoraxis whispered to himself, before raising his head, and opening his eyes. The first thing he saw was Skia.

"Oh," he started, his tired face turning warm and happy. "Hello, sweetie. How was my favorite little nymph's day today?"

"It's was good, Dad," she responded, walking up to him and wrapping a hoof around his neck in a nice, long hug. "I had a lot of fun playing with Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle."

"That's good to know," he said, fully believing the fib without a second thought.

"Thoraxis," Moredread spoke up. The changeling turned to him, an inquiring look in his eyes, as the alicorn continued. "A note came in the mail today. I think it's for you."

"A note?" he asked, in disbelief. "For... me? Who's it from?"

"It doesn't say, but is is, indeed, for you," Moredread said again, using his spectral hoof to push the envelope across the table, in his direction. Rolling his monochromatic eyes as much as he could, Thoraxis used his magic to lift the note, and let it float to his own hoof, where he examined it. After checking to see of there was any indication of who sent it, to which he found none, he cut the top open, and read the paper inside, saying the words he skimmed aloud.

""To whomever this letter reaches... Invitation... meet me at the Crystal Empire's finest restauran-" wait, what?" he said, obviously confused. After another, much more careful read-through of it, his surprised face went neutral, as his head turned to Moredread and Skia at a snail's pace.

"I think," he softly started, "that one of you two are to blame for this." The snickering he heard come from Skia told him his hunch was correct, and his face curled into one of sheer, unbridled fury.

"Why?" he asked, in more of a shout, then a questioning tone, stamping a hoof to the floor. "Why would you do this to me? Why? Why? WHY?"

"Oh, Dad. Please don't get so dramatic." Skia tried to reason. "It's just one date. Uncle Mordread and I want to see if you're right or not when you told us that changelings can't feel love, and I guess you could call this our little test."

"And I was right when I said that! Changelings can't feel love! It's impossible! I've told you that a hundred times!" Thoraxis responded, angrily. "All I'd accomplish by going is embarrassment, and it would be a waste of time!"

"It would be rude to not go," Moredread went on. "Tell me, Thoraxis. You're a goodhearted individual, correct? Does your conscience agree with you that you should leave that poor pony, who probably put off so much to meet you, stood up on a date?"

"But... but you're sending me to the Crystal Empire. The Crystal Empire!" the changeling argued back. "The restaurants there are some of the most expensive ones in Equestria! That doesn't sound worth it, in my opinion."

"No need to fret. I'm paying for it," Moredread said, calmly.

Thoraxis scoffed. "And how would you be doing that, exactly? You don't have a job, much less money."

"I have associates in high places."

""High places," eh? Who would you even know that lives in the Crystal Empire? You never leave the house!"

"Uh, Dad?" Skia interrupted. Thoraxis instantly turned his view to her, and the snarl on his face vanished, for the most part. "What is it, dear?" he asked, in a held-back, strained voice. Whatever hostile expression he still held slowly went away, as his daughter's own expression turned to a wide-eyed, innocent one of pure begging.

"It's just one date, for one night, Dad," she pleaded. "Please can you go? You don't even know if you'll enjoy it." Thoraxis opened his mouth, ready to go on with excuses about why he didn't want to do it, until Skia beat him to it, with another question.

"You love me... don't you, Dad?" she spoke again. This sentence appeared to be the one that won the argument, for Thoraxis was stricken into silence upon hearing it. Moredread couldn't help but smile as he saw Thoraxis lower his head dejectedly, defeated.

"Alright, fine! Fine!" he shouted, as he brought his head back up again, glaring at them both with his blue eyes. "You know what? You win! I'll go on this stinking date! And when I get back, you..." he rasped, gesturing to both the ghostly alicorn, and his daughter, "...no, both of you... are going make this up for me, big time!"

"That's something I can cope with," Skia said, greatly pleased with her victory. Thoraxis laughed a partially sarcastic, partially evil laugh, at how confident she sounded.

"Trust me. I'm going to make both of you regret making me do this." Thoraxis grumbled. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he said once more, straightening himself out, as if trying to keep some form of dignity he possessed intact. "I have a crummy date to prepare for."

And with those final words, Thoraxis turned his tail to the two, and walked to his room, muttering to himself in a discernible whisper all the while, as Skia and Moredread looked to each other, large grins of excitement and joy on either's face.

Chapter 5: The Dreaming

Princess Luna was asleep. She had raised the moon, checked the dreams of any pony that may have needed her help in facing the fears they may have had, and entered her own, her imagination wandering far and wide.

She dreamed of resting in the Canterlot Gardens, on a the world's most comfortable bed of mushrooms, the star-riddled night sky shining overhead. Stretched across it, waving about like some green, magical, spectral wave, was the breathtaking sight of an aurora borealis. Luna gasped in awe as the green waves in the sky gave a beautiful show, in a way most likely impossible to see from any aurora in reality.

It had been a short while since defeating the nightmare-inducing tantibus she herself had created originally to punish herself for her past deeds as Nightmare Moon. With he help of the ponies of Ponyville, she was finally convinced to forgive herself for her past actions. Without the product of her guilt to force her to witness, or relive her worse fears night after night, Luna could now do as every other pony did, and relax, letting her mind drift away. The night her current dream had made was peaceful, and quiet; the very stuff she craved after a long night of doing her duty, but a look of care suddenly came upon the Princess of the Night's face.

Something felt off. Very off. Getting up from her bed of imaginary mushrooms, Luna decided to take a walk down the path of the garden, exotic, and brilliantly blue moonflowers growing on every bush.

Then she heard it. It was clearly a deep, male voice, and it was singing a song she was unfamiliar with, but slowly. Ominously...

"Mr. Sandman... bring me a dream... make him the cutest that I've ever seen..."

Luna looked around, but saw no trace of where the noise could be coming from. She trotted forward, deeper into the dark garden, now clear that she was not the only presence there.

"Give him two lips, like roses and clover..." The voice was gradually getting closer, and much more familiar. "Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over... Sandman, I'm so alone... I've got nopony to call my own... Please turn on your magic beam..."

She rounded another bend, and as she predicted, the princess saw who she figured it was.

Moredread Enmity.

He appeared as he always did; a black, mist-like creature clad in that armor. His demented eyes appeared to be busy staring at a statue of a unicorn guard that stood, diligently, over a fountain, a spectral, armored hoof on his chin, as he finished the final line of the tune he was singing.

"Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream."

Luna just looked at him, a nothing short of a grimace on her face. The ghostly alicorn didn't seem to mind. He remained observing the marble construct with a hint of fascination in the stance he conveyed.

"Hello, my little moth," he greeted, in an unnervingly warm voice, as he finally turned to her.

"How did you get in my dream, Moredread?" Luna asked, clearly aggravated by his presence. "I know you are not a figment of my imagination."

"You weren't the first one to have inherited the job of protecting the dream world," he mused. "I still know my way around it."

He left the statue, and approached the princess. Ready for anything, Luna kept her guard up, though her appearance looked normal. It dropped slightly with what he spoke next.

"I have come to ask if you could help me with something," he spoke, politely. "And it is nothing serious, of that I assure you."

"You are expecting my help? Is this an attempt at being humorous?"

"It is not help for me, per se, but for somepony else," he chuckled, in a way that made Luna raise a brow. "It is for... well, Thoraxis. I set him up on a blind date, without his consent, to the most expensive restaurant in the Crystal Empire. I was wondering if you could assist me in the matter."

"You set Thoraxis... up on a blind date... to an expensive restaurant in the Crystal Empire?" the princess repeated, trying to make whatever little sense there was to be had in the words. "And you want me to help with that?"

"Yes," he replied. "I'm aware of another princess that rules it, Cadence, I believe her name is, and what I've come asking for you to do, my little moth, is to see if you can get her to make whatever happens seem as pleasant for the changeling and his date as possible."

"That's truly what you need help with, Moredread? I thought it was going to be something selfish..."

"Thoraxis is a good friend of mine. I did this to him, and I want it to go as smoothly, and in his favor as I can make it. For lack of a better term, I'm begging you to do this for me, Luna. You're the only one who I know I can rely on for this."

"Well... I've been monitoring your activity in Ponyville, and you have been most well-behaved," she said. "As long as it is only as you say it will be, then I guess I could see what I can do."

Moredread bowed his head, thankfully. "I appreciate your help, Luna," he said, sincerely. The ghostly alicorn then looked up to the sky, as the greenish glow of the aurora caught his eye.

"You're dreaming of an aurora, I see," he spoke, his voice becoming softer and less gravely, as, like the day before, the dark magic-infused color left his eyes, leaving them normal-looking for another, brief moment. "They're quite... beautiful... aren't they?"

"Yes, I suppose they are," Luna agreed. Judging from how his gaze didn't heed, she quickly realized that Moredread was, apparently, not listening. She noticed the smoky mist that made up his body looked as though it was fading slightly, as if losing its "power," but soon regained its darker complexion, albeit slowly.

"I will... I will see you at the Crystal Empire," Moredread spoke at last, his tone shaken. He turned around, and started to walk away, armored hooves clinking on the imaginary, concrete ground.

"Wait, Moredread!" Luna called out, quickly trotting up to him. Moredread stopped, and turned to her as she came by his side.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Yes," Luna replied, in a concerned manner. "Your power may have remained the same since we last met, but I also sense that you are... weaker. What has happened to you? What have you done to yourself?"

"The ancient, unholy seals I've placed upon my armor... the enchantments that have allowed me to live for so long after any other creature should have long perished... I erased the last of them a week ago." he revealed, calmly. "My physical form, if you could even call it that, is... dying. A few more days from now, perhaps even less than that, I'll be nothing more than a pile of armor. Heh."

Luna's expression changed to one of shock, moreso because of how easy he seemed to be from explaining it. "You're dying?!"

"That's what I said, and that's the truth," he replied, in a normal, still-cheery tone, that was slowly dropping to a more melancholic one. "I haven't told Skia or Thoraxis yet, but... well, I want to keep it a secret from them."

"In the last year, I've noticed that Skia's fondness for you has grown as much as her love for her father. How will she take this when it happens?"

"Skia..." Moredread said, his head lowering, slowly. "She won't take it very well, will she? Hmm..."

He walked several feet from the princess. Just when it appeared as though he was going to be silent, a subject-changing question came into his head.

"Luna, have you by chance heard of the tale known as "The Tragedy of King Longinus Eveningstar?" I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't; it came to be before your sister or yourself were born."

"I have... not. What is it about?"

"It's about an alicorn king. One who was groomed to be pure-hearted, wise, and just, ruling the kingdom in peace and harmony for many seasons... but one day his curiosity and lust for knowing more for the advancement of ponykind got the better of him. When that lust reaped its price, a price he could not bear to lose, he started to make all the wrong choices, until, eventually, both he and the kingdom spiraled off into chaos and madness."

Luna gave an interested glare, obviously intrigued by this enigmatic new turn in the conversation. "Was this based off of a true event? It's hard to tell, considering you destroyed most books and records detailing alicorn history under your reign."

As Luna finished her sentence, she realized Moredread was slowly starting to vanish; a sign of him exiting her dream.

"Well... let's just say I was there when it happened," he chuckled, lightly, before disappearing from Luna's dream entirely, leaving the princess alone in her mind once more, with more questions to her inquiry than answers.

Chapter 6: And so it Begins

Thoraxis trotted across Ponyville, the morning sun shining overhead, giving a bluish-orange glow over the horizon. Skipping jovially beside him was Skia, who was also humming a happy tune as she followed her father to the large, crystalline, tree-like castle they were approaching. It was a miracle in on itself that Twilight had agreed to babysit Skia. When Skia had gotten the news, she practically flipped with pure joy in knowing that she would get to spend time with her idol.

When they were within twenty feet of the castle's entrance, one of the doors opened, revealing two purple shapes of the Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her loyal dragon Spike.

"Hi, Thoraxis! Hi, Skia!" Spike shouted, as he waved a claw to the two approaching changelings. Skia waved back, before she and her father both stopped, and started to say their goodbyes to each other.

"I'll see you soon, Skia," Thoraxis said, giving her a small hug. She hugged back, before giving a confident look to him.

"I bet you'll do great, Dad."

"Yeah, well, hrmph," he mumbled back, unenthusiastically.

Skia laughed. "Don't worry, Dad. You've got Moredread there to help you out, in case something bad happens, remember?"

""Help" is a... strong word, when it comes to what he'll probably do," Thoraxis replied with a sigh. Their hug broke off, and both looked into each other's wide eyes, Skia smiling to her father, reassuringly.

"I'll see you later," she said. "I hope you have fun on your date."

"I'll see you soon too, dear. I... love... you." he spoke. Well, more like "choked" as he tried to pronounce the L-word. The young nymph took noticed, and hid another laugh, but just barely. With a final look, Thoraxis turned, and took to the air, flying away in the direction of the train station, no doubt where Moredread was waiting for him.

Skia turned when he was far enough away, and trotted up to Twilight and Spike with a large grin on her face, aimed at them. But mostly towards Twilight.

"So... Twilight. Do you need help with anything? My dad told me to see if you have any chores that need being done," she asked. The only bit that sounded off in her speech was what sounded like extreme eagerness.

Twilight's face changed to a thoughtful expression, before she had an idea of what to say. "Well, Spike and I are a little behind on our housecleaning chores. Do you think you want to help us finish reorganizing my bookshelf?" Skia's jaw dropped like an anchor the moment the princess said those words.

"Would I!" she squealed with the utmost of happiness.

The train ride was long, and probably boring, but Thoraxis wasn't focused on his surroundings. It was towards what he expected was to come. What was now well ahead of himself. The future. The future that was him, the pony he was meeting, the inevitable embarrassment he was about to endure, and-

"You're not worried about your date, are you?" Moredread's voice inquired, as he tapped Thorax's chitinous arm with a shoulderplate. Snapped out of his paranoid thoughts by the cold metal, he looked around, until his eyes landed on the shade sitting next to him.

"No, I'm not worried," he spoke. "I'm still a little angry, and maybe a little nervous, but not worried."

"Satisfy my curiosity," Moredread said again. "What do you even see being wrong with this situation?" Thoraxis let out a sarcastic laugh as he began.

"Well, first off, I'm a changeling. As you know, changelings aren't very common -or liked- in most pony societies."

"Ponyville doesn't seem to mind having two..." Moredread mouthed silently, also looking at the multiple, unfazed passengers they sat near, as the changeling continued.

"...Second, whoever I'm meeting is going to be a pony. As I said before, I'm a changeling. They're a pony. Changeling, pony. Changeling. Pony... yeah, I don't think they mix like that."

"Love is both genderless, and species-less," Moredread said back. "It's not the physical appearance of one that matters, it's what's inside that makes one's character. And, judging from what I know of you, you are quite a pleasant individual."

"Pleasantness doesn't matter when it comes to what you two set up for me. Because, as I've said to you for what is basically the millionth time now, changelings-"

"-Can't feel love?" Moredread finished, with a smug atmosphere coated in his words. "Even if you don't admit it, we both know Skia loves us, and she's a changeling, just like you. What does that tell you, I wonder?"

"There's a difference between affection and love, Moredread," Thoraxis argued, as he turned his view to outside the train's window, and the white, snowy tundra they were rapidly passing by.

"About as much of a difference as water and rain," he replied, sarcastically. Thoraxis shot Moredread a frustrated look, before going back to looking out the window.

"Have you ever been in, or felt love?" the changeling suddenly asked, after a few minutes of silence.

"Of course," Moredread replied. "I once had a family. A wife. Children. I adored them all with as much love as my heart could give."

Thoraxis looked at him strangely as he let out a sigh. "But no-one... no matter how much you love them, will last forever. Trust in these words of wisdom; if you find someone worth living for, then cherish them for as long as you possibly can. Cherish them."

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." Thoraxis groaned, closing his eyes.

Moredread shrugged. "Believe what you wish to believe. Just know we're here."

"Wait, what?" Thoraxis asked, in a panicked tone, opening his eyes mere moments before a shrill grating noise went out indicating that the train was stopping. He looked out of the window again, but this time, instead of a snowy landscape, he spotted many crystalline buildings, both large and small.

"A "little" nervous, eh?" Moredread chuckled, as he got up from his seat. "Come along, little changeling. Your date won't be in the train."

Muttering to himself, Thoraxis slowly left his seat, and headed toward the exit of the train, Moredread trailing behind him.

As all the ponies getting off of the train scattered, Thoraxis saw a pink alicorn in a clear, uncrowded spot, just several feet in front of the train's exit, a pair of well-trimmed, earth pony guards dressed in silver, gleaming armor flanking her. He quickly recognized, fearfully, that it was Princess Mi Amore Cadenza -better known as "Cadence"- and his thoughts raced back to the wedding in Canterlot, many seasons ago. The one his hive and himself invaded.

Before he knew it, the busy crowd of ponies behind him pushed Thoraxis forward from the train, until he found himself stumbling just in front of the princess, an unsure, if not downright terrified look on his face. He quickly bowed to her, humbly, and spoke accordingly.

"Um... my most sincere greetings, princess..." he said in a shaky voice.

"And greetings to you, too," she welcomed, warmly.

"Er... I... I just wanted to ask for forgiveness for what... happened.... at your wedding..." Thoraxis spoke again, very softly, as he continued to avert his gaze from the princess. "I just want to say that... I'm changed now, and... I'm sorry for anything bad my swarm or I may have... well, done to you." Cadence gave a forgiving look as she placed a hoof on Thoraxis's shoulder.

"Thank you for the apology," she spoke back. "And don't worry, I know who you are, and that your intentions are good. My sister-in-law writes to me about everything that happens in Ponyville. That, and I received a message from Princess Luna detailing your arrival."

"You- really?" Thoraxis asked, perplexed. I guess Luna's the pony who Moredread asked for help, he thought. After saying another "Thank you," and to avoid making the scary situation seem awkward, Thoraxis quickly trotted away, into the empire's streets.

As the changeling rushed off, Moredread emerged from the train, the last being to do so, and calmly walked up to Cadence.

"You must be Moredread Enmity," she greeted, with a hint of caution in her tone, her guard's expressions bearing a similar appearance. "I don't believe we've ever met before."

"We have not," he responded, as he bowed his head courteously. "Thank you for receiving my friend and I to your lovely kingdom."

"Don't mention it," she replied.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you set this up?" the shade inquired as he lifted his head, eager to know.

"Simple," Cadence started, as the two began to walk. "After Luna told me of what you wanted, all I did was convince the manager of the best restaurant, the Red Diamond Delight, to give it a "date night." Only unmarried couples are allowed to dine there for one night."

"Most clever," Moredread complimented. "You have my eternal gratitude for taking the time to do this, you know."

"Are you kidding? Getting this kind of chance, to see if a changeling can try and feel or show any sort of love towards somepony else, is a task I've only dreamed about performing!" she spoke, excitedly.

"I am rather enjoying this conversation we're having milady, but if you'll excuse me," Moredread started, "I must find out where that changeling went. I cannot simply let him get lost before the main event starts."

"I understand," Cadence replied. "I hope to see you soon, Moredread."

"As do I, princess," he responded in kind. With nothing left to talk about, Moredread, with a final nod, turned away from the princess and her guards, and began to walk in the direction he last saw Thoraxis entering.

Skia pushed another fern back as she neared the spot where she last saw the crow. As with Thoraxis, Twilight Sparkle had fallen for her fib of "going out to play with friends for the day." Skia said she'd be back by dark, and that's how she planned to keep it.

Just as she pushed herself through another bush, and finally entered the clearing, the large smile on her face disappeared. She saw the crow alright, but there was another creature as well.

The monster, which stood in a kneeling position to the crow, looked like a giant suit of silver armor, but in a shape that Skia had never seen before. Slung around its back was a large satchel full of pony-sized weapons, ranging from swords and spears, to axes and halberds. In one hand was a giant sword, stuck blade-first in the ground, and in the other was a shield of incredible girth. It was as motionless as a statue.

Skia looked with worried eyes as the being remained unmoving. As she got into a more comfortable position, Skia accidentally stepped on a stick, unleashing a cracking noise that rang out through the quiet forest like an echo, much to her horror. Cursing herself for her mistake, she looked back at the giant, hoping it didn't hear her.

The creature had indeed heard her. As if coming to life, and standing up straight, it instantly turned around, revealing the front of its helmeted face, prompting Skia to duck down before it saw her too. Through the foliage, she witnessed a red glow appear in the visor of the aberration's helmet, which seemed to scan its surroundings, the manner it did so chilling the young changeling to the bone. With minimal effort, it pulled its sword out of the ground, and began to move, footstep by footstep, to Skia's location, its shield raised in a cautious display.

Holding in her breath, Skia watched as the giant got closer, nervousness overtaking her. Just when it seemed it would find her, a caw from the crow went out, causing the giant to hesitate. Turning about, forgetting about her completely, it walked back to the crow, and kneeled to it once more, much to Skia's confusion.

The crow spoke something in a whisper to the being. When it was done, and without so much as an argument to whatever the bird had spoken, The being planted its enormous sword back into the ground, and dropped its shield, the latter of which clattered noisily as the chunk of round metal landed on the ground. Then, it was simply gone. Like a cloud of mist, it dissipated, vanishing from sight, leaving the crow, the sword, and the shield behind. The crow looked to where Skia was, as if expecting her to appear from the grass at any moment.

Skia continued to hide for the next five minutes behind her cover before deciding it was safe to emerge. With speed to rival a Wonderbolt in action, she dashed quietly to the crow.

"Hey, Mr. Crow. Are you okay? Did that... that... thing do anything to you?" she whispered to it, as she pet its beak, gently. The crow only stared at her, its brown eyes looking at the changeling with a friendly gaze.

"He didn't seem to want to hurt you. Was that your master, or something?"

The crow only looked back at her, head tilted, unresponsive to her question.

"Your wing's all healed up," Skia said again, as she observed the now feather-laden, healthy, undamaged limb, not noticing the eerie shadow that was suddenly being cast from behind herself. "Since you don't need me anymore, I think I should just... leave, before that creature comes ba-"

Skia froze in terror as a deep, distorted breathing noise started behind her. Her eyes shot open, and her heart beat furiously. Trembling with the likes of a building under the effects of both an earthquake and a hurricane, Skia slowly turned around, and gazed upward at the wide, armored shape looking down upon her with the likes of a preening, predatory hawk.

The first thing Skia noticed was that the being was absolutely gigantic up close. Though the late morning sun that showed behind it only illuminated its silhouette, the bright, red glow behind its visor reflected off of its frontal armor, as it stared down upon the changeling nymph. It's wretched sighing and wheezing continued as Skia started to back up in a panicked manner, away from both the crow and the being, until she was against a black-barked tree, cornered. Without so much as a footstep, the giant simply "floated" towards her, stopping when it was levitating within two feet of Skia.

Desperate, Skia looked to the crow with pleading eyes, but the bird simply remained stationary, wearing what appeared to be a calming expression. The look it bore was practically irradiating the words don't worry, just stay calm, but even if that was its intention, it wasn't working. Skia looked back at the armored creature, the supernatural glow in its visor now gone. Without warning, it suddenly, albeit slowly stretched its arm out, toward the terrified nymph, its intent clear that it was about to grab her.

Unable to escape, Skia could only scream in fear.

Chapter 7: Crow's Nest

Thoraxis was sitting at a table, in the middle of the restaurant, by himself. A silky, white, neat fabric was draped over the table, giving it a higher-class look. In the changeling's haste to make everything go as planned, he had arrived at the location three hours early.

He was about to close his eyes, and take a small nap in his chair, when a sudden, mechanical noise filled his ears, snapping him awake.

Ka-shunk. Ka-shunk. Ka-shunk.

Thoraxis turned his head to where the sound was coming from. It was clearly mechanical, not unlike the machinery you would here at a factory, but it also had the rhythm pertaining to hoofsteps.

Ka-shunk. Ka-shunk. Ka-shunk. The noise continued, getting closer. It stopped the moment Thoraxis realized it was coming from behind himself. He turned around, and saw, to both his confusion and astonishment...

A robot. A robotic pegasus, to be specific. It was steel-colored, and the chrome tint ran along its entire body, save for a couple of spots that had red lines painted on them, including one spot with writing in big letters, saying "PEG-E," and another with the number "42". One eye socket was covered by what resembled speaker grill mesh, while the other being completely bare, exposed the three, optical camera "eyes" underneath. Small, crooked antennas poked up from the ear-like projections on its head, and engines, made for flying, rested on permanently outstretched wings on either of its sides.

"Greetings, changeling," the synthetic creature spoke to Thoraxis, its voice highly computerized and deep, but understandable, and clearly male. Thoraxis remained in silence, a surprised, and confused expression painted on his face. He was so captivated by the machine, that he didn't notice the feathered shape that was approaching the same table as the robot. When he finally took is monochromatic, blue eyes off of it, he looked to the new figure, and saw a female, griffon-like creature. Her head and chest feathers were pure white with a fading, black trim on the tip of some of them, while her body feathers were a dull brown. The feathers that outlined the area around her eyes were black, matching the color of her beak and talons, and her left hind leg, Thoraxis saw with a churning in his stomach, was a mechanical prosthetic, made of similar technology to what the robot was composed of. The lack of wings she possessed instantly told him that she was a demigriffon.

Demigriffons, a subspecies of normal griffons, looked like them in every way, but lacked the wings of their cousins, and were typically just a little bit smaller as well. Thoraxis had never seen one before, but he recognized what she was right off. The look she gave Thoraxis, as she pulled out a chair from the table and sat down with the robot, conveyed the same message that she knew what he was as well.

"A changeling? Here? Vell, zat's weird..." Thoraxis heard her whisper, her speech bearing a very noticeably thick accent that he wasn't familiar with. Both of them quickly took their attention off of him, most likely to avoid making a rude scene, and looked at the menus in front of themselves, as a waiter walked up.

"Welcome to the Red Diamond Delight. Would you two like to order?" the brown-furred unicorn asked, his magic holding a pen and paper in front of himself.

"So, my little praline. Vat vould you like?" the demigriffon asked the robot in a flirty tone, her golden-irised eyes focused upon him.

"My dear Genevieve, you know I lack a digestive tract to properly consume organic energy manually," the robot replied, as casually as its semi-monotonous voice could make. The demigriffon, whom Thoraxis now knew as "Genevieve," let out a small laugh.

"Let's see if zey hafe any oil for zose rusted joints of yours, zen?"

"That sound's most agreeable."

Now content with their decision, the two looked to the waiter, who stood patiently with his paper.

"Ve'll just hafe a large glass of cranberry juice, and a small bottle of oil, if you hafe one," the demigriffon asked, a smile on her black beak. The waiter, wearing a disconcerted expression for such an odd request, quickly scribbled it down on his paper, and trotted away. He returned not even a minute later with the requested beverages, and placed them on the table. Genevieve took a small sip from the glass goblet, while the robotic pegasus began to pour some of the black liquid from the oilcan onto the rusted servos along the wrists of his metallic hooves.

"Is that... a robot?" Thoraxis asked, the words spilling out of his mouth before he could contain them, drawing both of their attentions to himself.

"Vell, yeah, of courze he's a robot," the demigriffon said back, sarcastically. "But he haz an artifizial intelligenze vissin zat metal cranium of hiz. Zat means he sinks no differently zan you or I."

"That is correct," the robot agreed. "My designation is Epyillon Fourty-Two. I was programmed to simulate, and adopt the customs, personalities, behaviors, and emotions of ponies into my system."

"Where did you even find something like that? He looks very... shoddy. For lack of a better term of course," Thoraxis asked, taking an interest in the conversation the two were providing.

"I found him zefferal dozen miles norse from here, on a zientific expedizion I accompanied. It vas about a year ago, if I am recalling it correctly," Genevieve spoke back, before motioning to her mechanical left leg. "It's vere I lost zis... but I found zomeone completely vorse it."

"Thirteen, point seventy-one months ago," the android continued. "Many of my vital functions had been rendered into a state of disrepair, including several portions of my thought processor substantial enough to cause permanent damage, but I was repaired to a fully functioning state by this brave, intelligent, wonderful eagle you see here."

"Oh, shtop it, you..." Genevieve chuckled back, teasingly, as she took another sip from her goblet.

"After the experiences we shared together, we both eventually discovered that we had a mutual attraction towards each other, and have been attempting, with much success, to form a relationship," Epyllion finished.

"A robot... and a demigriffon... having feelings for each other?" Thoraxis inquired. "Doesn't that seem a little... weird?"

"Lofe itself is veird," Genevieve spoke. "It's somesing zat many can live visout, but it's also somesing zat has the capazity to change your life forever if you find it."

"It is impossible to predict who is the one you will wish to spend your life with," Epyllion agreed, nodding to Thoraxis, his neck making a whirring noise as it did so. "But when you find that person, whosoever, or whatsoever they may be, you'll know it."

Thoraxis rubbed his chin with his hoof, many new thoughts placed into his head by what these two were saying. "If you don't mind me asking," he started, "what's the story behind you two? How exactly did you two first meet up?"

"Vell, hehehe, zat's a very long shtory..." Genevieve giggled, as she began her tale.

Skia's screaming had finally stopped fifteen minutes into the flight. She was caught in a powerful grip by the armored creature's arm, which held her against its own, cold body, just tight enough not to squeeze her uncomfortably. The other arm was held onto the base of its shield, which in turn was being carried through the sky in one talon by the crow. The unfathomably large sword was being carried in the other talon.

They passed over what few clouds were to be seen in the top of the sky, and through the dry air, Skia spotted the top of a large mountain in the distance. As they approached it, she could see what looked like a flat platform of natural stone overlooking the cliffside, a large nest made of all manner of twigs and branches sitting on one corner of it.

The crow let go of the shield it held, and the armored creature and Skia soared to the ground below, where the creature landed, with a thunderous crash of metal against rock. As it stood up, it opened its arm up, allowing Skia to drop to the ground.

"It's about time!" Skia shouted, angrily, turning back to face the now-motionless creature, the cold mountain air brushing off of her back. "Whatever you plan to do with me, know that my dad and uncle will come looking for me! If you harm even a piece of my exoskeleton, they'll... they'll..."

She stopped talking to the creature as the shape of the crow appeared in her point-of-view, landing neatly on the nearby nest, and tossing the sword it carried to the side. Forgetting about the armored creature almost instantaneously, she stormed up to the oversized bird, ready to give it a piece of her mind.

"And you! You..." she started again, in a growl. "I stopped your pain and healed your wing! I was going to just let you fly away when you got all healed up, but you betrayed me! How could you?"

Her scowl slowly disappeared as the crow began laughing at what she said, but in a lighthearted tone. The crow... had a voice. A female voice. Skia could hear the pitch of it in its laughter, clear as day.

"Don't worry, little one," it spoke, startling Skia, slightly with just how much like a pony is sounded. "I did not bring you here to have the Pursuer, or anyone else harm you."

"Wha-? You can talk? You're a girl? Pursuer? What?!" she stuttered.

"I can explain all, little one," the crow said, as her complexion returned.

"Who are you?" Skia asked.

"We serve the goddess of sinners and justice, Velka," the crow started to reply. "The large being you see before you... he is a Pursuer. They are powerful warriors who once were men, but performed terrible deeds. To atone for these crimes, they submitted themselves to Velka's will, and she in turn twisted them into her weapons of vengeance. Now, the only drive in their existence is to wander hither and thither, so they might pursue and hunt down those who have sinned greatly, smiting them with their cursed swords."

"What's a man?" Skia asked, now much calmer, and less hotheaded. The crow chuckled.

"We come from another realm, little one. Another dimension entirely," she said back, when her laughter had ceased. "It is vastly, vastly different from the one you live in, full of twisted abodes and dark souls; very unlike the mostly joyful land of here. Velka will occasionally use her power to send her Pursuers, such as this one here, to other, alternate realms for but only the span of six months, so they may hunt the evil that lurks in it. This realm was the one chosen, but we will be leaving it soon, never to return."

"Did you bring me here for something important, then?" the changeling asked.

"Yes... but the reason I brought you here was not to say goodbye. It was to deliver to you a warning."

"A warning?

"Yes. You saved my wing, and Velka has noticed your selflessness. As a reward, she has sent me a vision of one possible future for you. It is approaching closer than you think, but it is... not pleasant, though."

"My... future? What... what did you see?" Skia inquired, anxiety racking her voice.

"I saw you... but you had lost everything you knew and loved; all taken from you forever by a vile stranger. I saw you wandering alone, hopelessness in your eyes, through a blizzard-covered wasteland, stalked by windigos, and freezing to death... and that is all I saw. Very unpleasant and grim indeed."

Skia gasped in horror. The crow, seeing her reaction, nodded in confirmation.

"There is one more thing Velka has allowed me to give you for your service," she continued. She turned her feathered head and looked to the Pursuer, who had stealthily approached the two, one hand closed into a ball with a thin chain hanging loosely from the side, obviously concealing something, possibly jewelry of some sort. The Pursuer knelt over and opened its hand, presenting a flat, silver-colored necklace in the shape of a crow, to the young changeling. She slowly took it into her hooves, and examined it.

"This is the seal of Velka," the crow spoke again, when Skia had placed it around her neck. "If you find yourself cornered by this "vile stranger," break the seal. It will summon a Pursuer to aid you, and will hopefully stop this foul fate from occurring."

"I... thank you," Skia said in a whisper, with a small smile.

"Would you wish for me to take you home now, little one? It would seem a lot has happened for you in such a short time," the crow then asked, looking to the blue sky. "Sundown will be approaching soon."

Skia nodded, still a little uneasy. "I think that would be the best. Yes, please."

Thoraxis was by himself again, still waiting at the table. The only difference from before, though, was that he was smiling. As a matter of fact, his entire atmosphere appeared positive.

Not long before, the odd, but clearly very happy couple finished their tale, completed their business, and left the restaurant, but not before saying their kindly good-byes to Thoraxis. The conversation was very good-spirited, and the things they said really raised Thoraxis's moral for what was to come.

You know what? Yeah. Yeah! I'm going to try and make this work! he thought to himself with a newfound self-confidence; something he hadn't had for quite some time. If a demigriffon and a robot could do something like that and be so happy together, then whose to say a changeling can't have a relationship like that with a pony? Wow. I've been thinking so negatively about this whole thing that I've missed what positive things I could really get from it!

He quickly looked up to the clock nearby, and smiled. It was six. His date would be arriving at any minute now! He tapped his hole-filled hooves giddily against the table. His eyes were glued to the entrance of the establishment, just waiting for whoever would show their face first. Then, from across the room, Thoraxis heard the sound of somepony knocking on the door of the place, which a waiter quickly trotted up to and opened.

"Hello? I'm looking for table fifteen," the feminine voice spoke, politely, from the other side of it. The waiter nodded and pointed in Thoraxis's direction. A white, reptilian, upright shape then emerged from behind the corner, a large hat over her head, a pair of glasses over her nose, and a purse slung around her shoulder. Though his expression appeared calm, Thoraxis's eyes widened in realization of what he was seeing, as the stinger-tipped tail that swung back-and-forth behind her, two important, terrible, and vastly overlooked truths now revealed to him.

One: His date wasn't a pony.

Two: His date was a wyvern.

Oh... no... Thoraxis thought in a panic, his confidence now gone. Disappeared. Flushed down the sink of no return.

From her point of view, Petra had to admit, she was extremely surprised by what she saw when she got to the table. A changeling? she inquired to herself. Well... I must admit, I didn't see this coming.

Thoraxis was equally surprised, and greatly calmed down, as he saw the wyvern up close. She wasn't anymore than just under twice his height! All those tales he had heard of terrifying, titanic, toxic, winged serpents with deadly stingers, acidic spit, plague for breath, and venomous teeth seemed to pale in comparison to what kind of creature he was seeing.

As the two continued to examine each other, Petra pulled out a chair, and sat in it, her frame just barely fitting, but fitting nonetheless, into the piece of furniture.

"Uh, hi!" she greeted, as she stretched her three-claw hand out in a friendly manner. Thoraxis, hesitant for but a second, reached his own hoof out, letting her grasp it, and they both shook briefly, before retracting their appendages. "It's very nice to meet you, mister...?"

"M-my name's... Thoraxis..." Thoraxis said, nervously.

"Well, it's... very nice to meet you, Thoraxis," Petra responded, jovially. "I'm Petra. Petra Whitescales."

"That's a nice name," he complimented.

"Thanks," she replied, as she pulled her glasses off, and placed them into her purse, revealing her red eyes to the changeling. "Yours sounds nice too." The two were silent for an entire minute before Petra spoke up once more.

"Thank you for the invitation, by the way," she thanked again, as she took her oversized hat off, and let it drop by her side. "I still can't believe you decided to ask me, out of anyone, out on a date. Nobody's ever done something like that to me before, so... this is my first. Sorry if I seem a little... off on it, for lack of a better word."

"Don't worry, it's my first date too, but I... kinda didn't send the invitation," he responded, awkwardly.

"Wait... you mean you didn't ask me out?"

"No, my daughter and my "roommate" set us both up."

"Oh? You have a daughter? What's her name?" Petra asked curiously, after letting out a small chuckle.

"Skia," he replied. "She's adopted, but she's also a changeling. She means everything to me."

"Aww... that's so sweet," Petra swooned. "The closest thing I have to family is my pet cryophoenix, Desperaux."

"Wait, you don't have any parents? Any siblings?" Thoraxis inquired.

"Well... heh... my surname name wasn't always "Whitescales,"" she said, in a lower, perhaps even glummer tone. And at that point, the changeling and the wyvern entered a deep conversation.

Though the crow's grasp was strong enough to hold Skia safely, and comfortably, the young changeling clung to it as hard as she could, just in case something happened. They passed through the clouds, and descended from the sky to above the trees of the Everfree Forest, and from there, Skia could see the shape of buildings in the distance.

The crow descended from the air, and landed on one talon, outside of the town's limits, and on the border of the treeline. Skia hopped out of the talon that held her, and stared into the crow's eyes, knowing that this would be the last time she would see the bird.

"Remember Skia, there is always time to stop the hands of fate from turning," the crow spoke, as she motioned to seal that was Skia's necklace. "Use that tool well."

"I can't thank you enough for what you're doing for me," Skia responded, as she bid farewell to the crow.

"And I cannot thank you enough for the aid you provided me," the crow replied. "May you have a happy life, young changeling. Goodbye, and good luck be your way."

With a quick flap of her wings, the crow lifted into the air, and took off, letting out a loud call as it retreated into the distance. Looking at the seal around her neck a final time, Skia turned, and began to walk to Ponyville, and then to Twilight's castle.

Skia soon reached her destination, and knocked on the large doors that made up the entrance. They quickly opened, and revealed the small shape of Spike. "Hey there, Skia," he said with a smile, as he let the young changeling in, closing the door behind her. "Twilight's out with her friends right now, so I'm the only one here. How fun was your day?"

"It. Was. Weird." she said back, with a small chuckle. "And that's all I think I should say about it."

"I bet I've seen weirder!" the purple dragon boasted. He started to follow Skia deeper into the castle, when they both heard a sudden knocking coming from the door they were just at.

"Huh. Who could be knocking now, I wonder?" Spike inquired to himself, as he ran up to the door, and pulled its handle. As it creaked open, a familiar shape stepped in. It was Thoraxis.

"Hello. I'm here for Skia," Thoraxis said, his voice dull and bleak, and eyes wide.

"Oh. Hey there, Mr. Thoraxis. She's right here," Spike said, as he turned and looked at the changeling in question.

"Dad? What in the hay are you doing here? You weren't supposed to come back until tomorrow. It's not even night yet!" Skia spoke, in a confused voice, as she approached her father.

"Things... changed," he replied. "Instead, I came back today."

"Um... I'll tell Twilight that your dad picked you up when she gets back," Spike said to Skia. "I guess this means I'll see you later."

"Bye, Spike," she said back. Almost begrudgingly, she followed her father out of Twilight's castle, and as the two headed home, she could hear the sound of the door closing behind them. The walk through town was eerily quiet, very unlike her father, who usually loved to have small conversations with his daughter detailing most parts of their days. The date must have gone worse than she thought. And speaking of which...

"How'd your date go?" Skia inquired, with a heavy heart.

"...Poorly, I guess," Thoraxis replied, every part about him still queerly neutral and inexpressive. Skia let out a sigh of disappointment at his answer.

"I'm sorry I put you through that, Dad. I thought for sure it would work out..." she spoke, sorrowfully, as they entered the empty road that lead to their house. "Is Moredread waiting at home for us?"

"Moredread?" Thoraxis asked, a twisted, wretched smile suddenly etching itself onto his lips, as he looked down to the nymph, his horn suddenly beginning to glow a sickly, green color. As Skia's eyes met it, she suddenly found herself unable to turn away, or even move anymore, as if mesmerized. The last thing Skia heard before darkness overtook her, was how much different the voice now sounded, no longer resembling what it just was, or anything she was familiar with, cackling with pure malevolence.

"Who's Moredread?"

Chapter 8: The Tragedy of King Longinus Eveningstar

"Wyverns are... a very xenophobic group of creatures," Petra began. "They care so much about keeping themselves "pure," that they'll even call their neighbors, or even relatives inferior to themselves. It wasn't uncommon for fights between families to happen because one wyvern declared that his scales were greener than the other's, or some other nonsense like that."

"Your scales are a lovely white color. I don't see why- wait a second..." Thoraxis tried to say, before he practically found the answer to his own question.

"Yes, I am albino. The implications you may think are true," she replied, as she placed the cup of tea down. "It was nearly ninety years ago that I was born with a brood of over two-hundred brothers and sisters, but because of my white scales, I was treated terribly. I'm actually surprised they didn't toss me from the nest outright."

"How bad was it?" Thoraxis asked, a small hint of concern in his voice.

"Instead of having every wyrmling pitch in to do their chores, they forced them all upon me," she started, in a very casual tone. "I was bullied by my siblings, I was shunned by my peers, and the only companion I ever had was a ragged old book full of fairy tales that nobody else wanted."

"I've never seen a wyvern before, but I've heard they're so big and terrifying, yet you're not that large," Thoraxis said, in an effort to change the subject. "Are all wyverns your size?"

"No. Wyverns are as affected by greed as dragons. They need to be exposed to it before they leave adolescence in order to reach their proper size in adulthood, so they may defend their own territory and treasure hoards from others. Because I was never given anything, I never truly felt greed, and so I never... well, grew to my adult size."

"How did you escape that awful life?"

"The moment I was old enough to set out on my own, I did so. I ended up finding work in the land of Equestria, and never looked back," she answered, her tone proud. "But let's talk more about you now. What's your life story, Thoraxis?"

"In the beginning, there really isn't much to tell..." he chuckled, as much as he could muster, anyway. "I was born two-hundred-and-eleven years ago, to parents that I never got the chance to know, and was placed in the worker caste the moment I was old enough to lift a pickaxe. I spent most of my life trying to earn enough to reach the soldier caste, and I did so just shy of fifteen years ago, but didn't go any farther from there."

"Why?" Petra inquired.

"Well... our queen, Chrysalis, commanded us to invade Canterlot a short while ago. Have you heard of it?"

"The invasion that happened as a royal wedding was taking place?" she said. "Who hasn't heard of it! And you were part of it?"

"Yes, but we were defeated in a very short time. When we were repelled, I found myself stranded in Ponyville..." he spoke, slightly embarrassed. "To make a long, and very complicated story short, I found a house, dug up a ghost that now lives with me, Discord, and yes, it's that Discord mind you, poofed in and randomly gave me an egg, I got a job at a pet store, and became friends with the ponies after letting my identity get out."

"You're right... that does sound a tad bit complicated," Petra smiled. "And I heard you mention that egg. I take it that it turned into your daughter?"

"Uh-huh," he confirmed. "I still live in Ponyville, and I've decided to raise her there, and to tell you the truth... I don't think we'll ever want to leave."

"What's Skia like?" Petra inquired. Thoraxis took but a moment to give the answer.

"She's kind and generous, for starters. Moredread, the ghost I mentioned from earlier, thinks she is wise beyond her years, but Skia's most defining factor, in my opinion, is her love of books."

"Oh, she has a love of books, does she?" Petra asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I swear, if changelings had cutie marks, hers would most definitely be a book. Or a scroll, or something..." he chuckled back.

"I happen to be an author," the wyvern proclaimed, placing a three-clawed hand on her scaly chest. Thoraxis gave a look of disbelief.

"You are? Wow. You and Skia would hit it off if you ever met."

"And I remember hearing you say that she was one of the two that masterminded this, correct? Petra said again. "What on earth for?"

"She just wants to prove me wrong that changelings can feel and express love, instead of just feed off of it," he answered. "I attempted to get out of it, but by the time I realized what she was doing, it was too late."

"Maybe you can feel it, but just haven't tried," the wyvern responded. "Have you tried before?"

"Well, no..." Thoraxis replied, slowly. As he said this, a glint of interest appeared in Petra's eyes.

"There's always a first for everything, you know," she smiled, as she leaned her head loser to his.

The first thing Skia noticed as she regained consciousness, was that she felt extremely cold. Her eyes shot open, and she sat up, shivering incessantly. Looking around, she saw she was in the far end of what appeared to be a cave, a picket-tied chain cuffed to one of her front hooves, and the sound of a roaring snowstorm going on outside. Quick to get on her feet, she pawed at her neck, but realized, to her horror, that her necklace was missing.

"M-m-my necklace... where's my necklace?" she said, as she shuddered, looking around on the icy ground.

"Looking for something, "deary?"" a voice spoke up, echoing in her direction. Skia looked into the darkest part of the cave, and saw a shape emerge from it. When it was visible, she saw what she recognized as a changeling. A very strange-looking changeling.

"Who are you? Where's my necklace?" she demanded to know.

"I've got your stupid little trinket right here," the creature said, jingling something in his hooves. The seal. "And I'm not going to give it back!"

The childish tone he used utterly confused Skia. "Who are you?" she asked again, this time much more angrily.

"My name is Vile Faux," he replied. "To give you the run of the mill, and to avoid having to get to the boringness of telling you my entire backstory, I am part changeling, and part dragon. I'm also completely insane! Isn't that a hoot."

His loony complexion vanished as briefly as it appeared, exchanging itself with an emotionless glare.

"I also have a gift I'm going to show you, in a little while," he spoke again, his voice colder than the ice that made up the cave. "You see, I was born with a natural talent in the field of memory-erasing spells. I practiced up on it for my entire life, until I became so powerful, that I could make you forget anything... and everything, forever."

Skia gasped in fear, already seeing what Vile was getting at, as he went on.

"That's also how I got kicked out of the hive, you know. The queen didn't trust an abomination like me with that kind of power, and that's how I ended up here. And since you're here with me, with no way of escaping I think I'll let you in on a little secret..."

He walked up to Skia, and put his mouth to the frozen, terrified nymph's ear. "Don't feel scared. I, uh, am just going to make you forget everything, including this little encounter. Then I'm going to let your little father-guy come, and when he sees that you don't recognize him, I'll laugh. And then I'll destroy him."

His words chilled Skia's bones, and the thought of what he described kept her shivering, even after he had walked back to the other end of the cave.

"By the way, what's so special about this old thing anyway?" Vile suddenly asked, as he lifted the seal to his eyes. Despite her fear, this gave Skia an idea.

"Wh-whatever you do, p-p-please don't break it!" she shouted, feigning a pleading tone. "It's the only way my f-family can find me!" She clasped her hooves to her mouth, as if she had given away a secret. Judging from what she saw, her little act was working.

"It is?" Vile asked. "Well then, don't you worry your little head none, I'll keep this in safe place!"

With a quick snap, and a sarcastic "Whoops," Vile broke the pendant in two with his hooves, tossing both halves to the ground. Unbeknownst to him, but witnessed by Skia, a small, ethereal wisp seemed to rise from the two remains, before disappearing as briefly as it appeared.

"Now he'll only find you when I want him to find you! Thanks for telling me about it, you little fool!" he cackled evilly, moments before he felt a dark wind blow down his neck causing his laughter to die down.

"Ahaha... heh... heheh... uh... I feel I have made a terrible mistake," Vile spoke, his smile vanishing into thin air, as a large, armored shape behind him raised its humongous, glowing, blue sword...

"I think it's working," Cadence said excitedly, to Moredread. The two had been observing Thoraxis and Petra's conversation from a magical sphere the princess had created for the last hour, and things appeared to be going according to plan. Moredread smiled, before turning around.

"I hope they make it work," he said, as he started to walk off.

"Where are you going?" Cadence asked, noticing his movement.

"I have... something I need to do," he replied enigmatically, as he left without stopping. Cadence shrugged, and continued to watch what unfolded between the wyvern and the changeling.

Moredread slowly made his way to the area where the Crystal Heart resided, a bland expression on his face. when he reached the spot, he saw it was protected by several guards, each giving a wary glance to the phantom that approached. He simply walked past them, noting how they monitored him, but without worry.

When he finally reached the spinning heart-shaped gem, he simply stood there, staring at the familiar object. Several minutes passed, but he was patient. His head finally turned as he heard the sound of hooves approaching.

"Thank you for coming, Luna," he spoke, in an expectant tone, looking over his shoulder to the alicorn princess in question.

"I figured I should grant you this request, considering you won't be around for much longer, or so you say," she responded. "What is it you wished to talk to me about?"

"I want to tell you of the tale I told you about last night."

"The "Tragedy of King Longinus Eveningstar?"" she inquired. Moredread nodded back.

"I wish to tell you, but without these, eh..." he motioned to all the ponies that surrounded them. ""Prying ears.""

With a roll of her eyes, Luna flew a few feet off of the ground, and spoke.

"Citizens of the Crystal Empire, leave us," Luna commanded to all the surrounding crystal ponies, in her regal Canterlot voice. Obediently, all of them, including the guards, bowed to the Princess of the Night, and quickly left the premises. Soon, the only two left were Luna and Moredread.

"They are gone," the princess spoke, as she descended to the ground, her normal voice returning. "Shall you tell me now?" Moredread let out a small huff, apparently a feint at a chuckle, and then started his story without need for another reminder.

"Long before Equestria was founded, there was a kingdom, where alicorns were as common of a sight as any pony you would meet today. Their king, Longinus Eveningstar was a noble alicorn. He had a beautiful, kind, loving wife named Aurora, whom he adored more than anything else in the world, and together, the king and queen raised the moon and sun, respectively, and it stayed that way for many, peaceful years. The king had a habit, though. He used his magic to spy into other dimensions, realms, and universes. By doing so, he learned a great many things that helped out ponykind, such as cures for diseases, new spells, and a faster advancement in technology."

"Then, one day, his wife became pregnant with their second child, and fell deathly ill from an unknown, wasting illness. Unable to cope with the thought of losing her, Longinus spent every waking moment trying to find a cure, forgetting sleep in his haste to save her. Tragically, the books he kept told nothing. Desperate, he peered into the other realms, but saw nothing, until he went to one, peculiar dimension he had never set hoof before, devoid entirely of light. Inside it dwelled an entity."

"The entity told Longinus that it knew all the answers to the questions that he seeked, and bargained with him that it would tell him if he would release it from its world. Without a second thought, he foolishly agreed, and let the being come to his kingdom."

"The entity's name was Darkness. And it did, indeed, have the answer, or so it called it. It was the final answer to all things: Death."

"The Darkness ran rampant throughout the kingdom. Every pony, be it earth, unicorn, pegasus, or even alicorn, fell with a single swipe of its claw. Shadow began to spread, and all that it touched died agonizing deaths. Longinus, determined to correct his mistake at all costs, flew in and engaged the creature in single combat. The two fought for a day and a night, but neither could do lasting damage upon one another. Longinus blocked every attack that came at him, and the Darkness absorbed any magic that touched it like an endless void. Slowly, the Darkness began to overcome the king..."

"Then Aurora appeared. Not even an hour before, she had given birth to their second daughter, and already, though weary beyond mortal comprehension, she had joined her husband to engage the Darkness. It seemed in vain, though, for anything that came its way, the Darkness devoured greedily, unharmed. This gave the queen an idea.

Using every last once of her remaining strength, instead of giving, she absorbed the Darkness's power and soul, sucking every last drop it had inside its foul body, and sealed it all within the amulet she kept around her neck, destroying the creature where it stood at long last. But then, before Longinus could react, the she passed away in her husband's hooves."

"And it was at that moment when King Longinus Eveningstar fell."

"That is how the tragedy happened?" Luna inquired, interrupting the tale.

"Yes, but there's more," Moredread continued.

"The only thing of his wife to survive was the amulet. In a vain effort to rid himself of his despair, he began to wear the cursed object around his neck, as a memento to her, but unaware of what lurked inside it. The Darkness that still lived inside the amulet slowly drove the king insane, manipulating his dreams into visions, each one to show images of his deceased wife and telling him, in Aurora's voice, that the only way for himself and every creature to be happy was to end up like her. To die.

"And so he started what would result in the tyrannical subjugation of ponykind, and an attempt to exterminate all life. To allow himself to complete his task, he cursed his armor to allow, or perhaps even force him to live until he was the last creature left on the planet."

"And from these deeds... his guilt and self-hatred over performing them was so terrible, that his own heart abandoned him. It left his body one night, where it crystallized into..."

Moredread motioned to the Crystal Heart with his hoof.

"...this. And with his only remaining bulwark against the Darkness being lost forever, it possessed him, and proceeded to commence even more unspeakable acts, one of which resulted in the destruction of every remaining alicorn, leaving only himself, and the only two creatures not to witness his atrocities as the last remaining ones."

"...And those only creatures to not witness these atrocities were his still-living daughters. The two were oblivious to what went on around them, for Longinus, or whatever small, minuscule shred remained in the shell that was formerly him, still loved them unconditionally. He taught them everything he knew, but kept them away from the truth, and for the rest of their childhood, it worked."

"All hope the world could possibly have had seemed to disappear, and the Darkness's plan was about to come to its final stage, until the two daughters finally broke through their father's illusion, saw what he truly was, and rejected him for it. They ran away before he could destroy them, and came back with a defense unknown to all ponies, and something the Darkness could not defend itself against: The E-"

"Elements of Harmony? Luna finished, placing the final piece of puzzle together as he said those last words. "You... you're King Longinus Eveningstar, aren't you?" Moredread's only response was to lower his head, slightly. Luna's brow arched angrily and she approached him, her next words magnified to a thunderous boom.

"Answer me, Moredread!"

"I am Moredread Enmity," he finally replied, lifting his head. "I am the heartless monster that tried to end all life on this planet, and was stopped by the courageous princesses, Celestia and Luna. I am the cruel creature that was imprisoned for over one-thousand, five-hundred years for his unforgivable crimes. I am the twisted one that tried to murder his own offspring when they could no longer be confined, or controlled. Longinus is long dead, that much is true, but Moredread Enmity is still alive..."

He walked closer to the Crystal Heart, and spied his reflection in it.

"...But thankfully not for much longer."

"You had never told me this before. All these years I came to believe you had been nothing more than an insane monster attempting to trick Celestia and I into believing that you were our father. Yet, now here you are telling me that you truly are?"

"And would you have taken it well if I had said I was before?" he replied. As he spoke those words, Luna noticed his voice sounded progressively weaker. She looked at his body, and noticed the mist that made it up was slowly growing fainter. When her eyes refocused on his own, she saw they were at their original, mortal, cyan tint again. That could only mean one thing...

"I know. It's finally happening, isn't it?" he calmly said before she could bring up the question, as his fading form turned from her, and looked at the Crystal Heart. "You shouldn't feel sadness over my fate. I know it's everything I deserve. Everything this entire world deserves."

"Why do you act as if you do not believe that there is good in yourself?" Luna asked. "I have seen how you've raised Skia. You've brought her up with love and compassion, yet you say you have no heart."

"I do not truly know if the affection I felt for Skia was an act on my own will, or a lie I came to believe," he sighed, as his passing appeared to enter its final stage, most of his gaseous body now gone. "Because I... because he... no longer has this."

Moredread's ghostly hoof went forward, and touched the Crystal Heart, as if determined to make it his last action before he finally passed into nothingness.

The moment it made contact, the Crystal Heart seemed to "shut off," as a sudden, blue "spark" shot out of it, and ran up Moredread's leg, to which Mordread gave a fearful look of surprise.

"What devilry is this?" Moredread inquired, pulling his hoof away, as the spark slowly crept to his chest. The moment it touched it, it disappeared inside of him, causing Moredread to let out a bloodcurdling scream, and fall onto his back. Without a second thought, Luna ran up to his side, fearing the worst.

"Moredread?" she asked, in a yell. Without warning, his eyes suddenly turned a blank white, and beams of light shot out from both them and his mouth, while an invisible force pushed Luna gently away. All she could do was watch helplessly as his body began to levitate into the air, its mass somehow refilling, while his restored limbs twisted and contorted in ways not physically possible, as the princess saw the unbelievable take place.

A stream of black mist silently crept out of Moredread's now-physical mouth like some form of ectoplasm, until the last of it had exited it, and had formed a small cloud above him. The mist, which Luna sensed was radiating a negative energy, suddenly appeared to come to life, as a pair of demonic, green eyes opened on it. They blinked, and began to look towards Moredread's body, which had drifted back to the smooth ground, with a visage of disbelief.

"My host... what has happened to my host?!" it cried out, its demented voice, if it could even be called a voice, sounding strained and deprived. When it realized it couldn't do anything, it turned to Luna, a shocked expression on her face, and hovered up to her.

"What have you done?!" it screamed at the alicorn, as it tried, fruitlessly, to claw at her hooves, a pleading, but hate-filled look in its eyes. "What... have... you... DONE?!"

It flew back from Luna, and into the air just above her. It looked around, desperate to seek something it could use, but saw nothing. Then, with a final, choked whisper, the mist's expression mollified, and it slowly dissipated, leaving only the stale air behind. The Crystal Heart then lit back up again, and resumed its spinning, signalling to Luna that the event was finished.

Luna, once she collected herself over what she just saw, looked down at Moredread, who lied, motionless, on the ground. He was... whole again. His blackish, furred body and dark, sapphire mane no longer made of a mist, was indeed physical and whole. Even his horn had returned, but he was completely motionless. Whether he was alive or not, Luna set to find out.

"F-... father?" Luna whispered, cautiously, as she peered over his body. She practically jumped back as their mortal color suddenly returned to them, and Moredread's head shot up, letting out a long-drawn gasp for air. With trembling hooves, he looked at his surroundings, before placing a hoof on his now-living chest, feeling for something.

"My... heart..." he slowly spoke, in a barely-decipherable voice. "It has... it has returned."

Before doing anything else, he rapidly set to tearing his armor off of his body, grabbing and throwing each accursed piece away in a manner akin to a terrified child pulling leeches off of their hide. The final piece he removed, his helmet, was sent flying, where it clanked against the ground several feet away. Luna could not believe what she was seeing, and her mouth hung open in a gape, reflecting how she felt. When the alicorn before her turned his head in her direction, it was reading the same expression.

"L-Luna..." Longinus spoke, tears of pure, heart-wrenching joy streaming freely down his eyes like rain. "M-my... my daughter!"

Before she knew it, or could make sense of the situation, Luna found herself at the end of one of the biggest hugs she had ever received. Placing her hooves around the elderly alicorn in reply, she welcomed it fully.

The embrace was cut short, as Longinus suddenly let out a gasp. "Skia..." he whispered, placing a hoof to his head.

"What?" Luna asked, worriedly.

"Skia!" he shouted, jumping to his hooves. "Skia's in danger!"

Author's Note

Not gonna lie, I don't think I'm good with emotional scenes. I hope you all don't think this felt rushed.

Chapter 9: The Changeling with Drakeblood

Both Thoraxis and Petra laughed at each other as their stories of their most recent history concluded.

"You're the first person I've ever told my life story to. The first person that's ever taken the time to listen. It feels so... good, to actually share my secrets with somebody like you," Petra spoke to the changeling, deeply enjoying the conversation as much as he was.

"Your the first that's actually paid attention to my own life story, for whatever little there is to tell..." Thoraxis chuckled, nervously. Petra smiled.

"I've never really associated myself with very many of the residents of Equestria," she began again, as she swirled the tea inside of her cup around. "But you are, by far, one of the nicest and sweetest I've met."

"I'm surprised you haven't found a special somepony-er... somedragon," Thoraxis said bashfully, as he tried to find the right words to say. "Considering how pleasant, and understanding, and wonderful, and pretty you a-"

Petra's eyes widened in surprise as she saw the changeling clasp his mouth shut with his hooves and blush a little bit, the reason why as clear as day. Petra's own cheeks reddened slightly from just hearing the words he said, before returning to what they were like before. Without a word, the two focused on the mostly-untouched food that lied on their plates, and went to silently eating it for the next few minutes.

"That was a kind thing to say. Thank you" Petra finally spoke, looking up. Thoraxis smiled slightly, her comment giving him a dose of much-needed confidence.

"You truly are a nice person, Petra," he spoke, causing the wyvern to smirk. "I'm actually kinda glad we got hooked up tonight."

"Me too," she replied, in a lighter-toned voice.

"You know what's a little... weird?" Thoraxis began again, as his holed hoof tapped nervously on the table. "I was talking to another couple before you arrived here, and they told me that if I find the right person; the person that I'll want to spend the rest of my life with, pony or not, I'll know it right off."

"Really? Petra whispered tenderly, as she began to slowly lean her head in. "The funny thing is... I kind of believe in that sort of thing myself..."

Thoraxis suddenly found his own head wander closer to hers, as if on its own accord. He didn't attempt to fight the alien "warmth" he was suddenly feeling in his stomach, and actually started to welcome it. Petra's eyes closed, and her mouth opened slightly.

Thoraxis's heart was pounding worse than he had ever felt before, but he choked down his fear, and closed his own eyes. He could feel the wyvern's warm breath as their lips drew closer, and closer...

"Thoraxis!"

Both of their eyes opened immediately as the changeling's name was heard being called out. Thoraxis's head spun around, until it saw a dark, winged shape running up to him.

"Moredread? What's going on?" Thoraxis asked immediately. "And... why do you look alive?"

"There's no time for that!" Longinus shouted back. "It's Skia!"

The blood in Thoraxis's veins froze as he heard the alicorn say his daughter's name, and the tone he used only worsened it. Slowly, his face began to curl into one of horror.

"Wh-where is she? Where is she?!"

"I sense she's been foalnapped! She's somewhere... somewhere just north of here!"

"Wha- how do you know that?!"

"Let's just say it's a spell I know! You must follow me, now!" he barked, before fleeing out of the entrance he had just entered. Thoraxis, completely shaken, could only look to Petra with wide eyes.

"I am so sorry Petra, but I... I-I... I..." he stuttered in a muddled manner to his date, before giving up halfway through his sentence, and rushing to the door. The wyvern gave a worried glance as she watched him leave.

Forgetting about her personal items, and everything else entirely, she left her chair and quickly ran after Thoraxis.

The Pursuer's sword slammed against the ice wall, sending the ceiling of icicles to the ground, each glass-like stalactite shattering harmlessly on impact. Vile had narrowly avoided the attack, but the creature he was fighting -whatever it was- was faster than it looked. His horn lit up in a bright green display, and with a roar, he shot a bolt of energy toward the armored being, as it raised its shield in defense, deflecting it like a rubber ball to a brick wall.

Nearby, Skia was busy with her own agenda. Using a solid, green, continuous beam of magic, she slowly burned the cuffs and chains that held her in place, until they had begun to melt into a puddle of liquid metal. When the deed was finally done, she shed what was left of the shackles, now free. Before she could celebrate, she found herself at the end of a sudden tackle from Vile.

"You're not going anywhere..." Vile Faux growled into her ear, as he curled one of his forelegs around her, using her as a makeshift shield. His face looked surprised as he saw the Pursuer stop its advance the second he grabbed Skia.

"You came to save this little blighter, didn't you?" he shouted to the creature. "Didn't you?!"

Its only reply was several deep, distorted breaths.

"Put down your weapons, or I'll... I'll hurt her! Badly!" he shouted again, as he strained to hold down the squirming nymph. A smile lit up on his face as he watched the Pursuer slowly drop its sword to the frozen ground, followed by its shield, both landing with a loud clatter.

"There... that's better..." he chuckled, as he got a better grip on Skia. "Now... raise those arms of yours into the air! I'm just going to... leave now..."

The Pursuer did as it was told, raising its two appendages above itself... before he placed them on his chest armor. Confused as to what it was doing, Vile and Skia only watched as its visor lit up in a red glow, and a black mist started to envelope its bulky shape. With a quaking roar that sounded more like a tortured scream, the Pursuer's chest heaved into the air, and its body spasmed as several black orbs were expelled out of its very body, where they promptly flew forward, homing in on Vile, smoky darkness trailing behind each one.

Just as the wailing orbs began to draw near, Skia thought fast, and bit her captor's hoof as hard as her teeth could manage. With a pained grunt, Vile was forced to let her go, and was immediately buffeted by the storm of unrelenting dark magic, sending him flying several feet back. Instantly, and without pause for mortal breath, the Pursuer set to picking up its shield and sword once more and sped forth, its velocity brushing up a cloud of powdery snow as it flew past Skia. With a tremendous, sweeping blow from the sword, Vile was sent, crying out in pain, to the far end of the tunnel, where he was smashed into the wall. Pieces of the ceiling above the foul changeling, shaken loose by the impact, collapsed, and rained down upon his body, covering him until all went still.

Silence was the only sound to radiate throughout the cavern. Satisfied with what had been done, the Pursuer turned to Skia, and slowly floated up to her. The nymph had a smile of thankfulness on her face, and she watched with some fascination, as the Pursuer knelt over and stretched its hand to her, indicating to her to grab it.

As Skia reached out to touch the hand, she witnessed a bright, green flash of flame from where Vile Faux's body rested, followed by an earth-shaking, bestial roar.

"Behind you!" Skia screamed. The Pursuer only had time to lift is head, before a long, jagged horn suddenly erupted from its chest, the object having penetrated his armor completely. It let loose an ethereal groan as it was violently hoisted into the air by the enormous, dragon-esque figure behind itself, dropping both of its weapons in the process. Like a pitiful ragdoll, the Pursuer was thrown away when it went limp, where it smashed into the nearby wall, revealing what terror was there.

Vile had transformed into some sort of enormous, dragon-like creature, but with a disgusting, warped visage of a changeling added to it. He was laughing madly as he looked at what he did to the Pursuer, but fell into a state of quiet when he looked back at Skia and her fearful expression.

"No... how did you...?" Skia tried to say, panic gripping her. With a cocky expression on his bulging, reptilian eyes, Vile merely shrugged his massive, chitinous shoulders.

"I did say I was half-dragon, you know..." he hissed, before descending into another mad, but silent chuckle. Skia stumbled as she started to walk backwards, away from the creature, but just as she finally turned to flee, she let out a yelp of terror as she was swept up in the draconid's claw. Relentlessly and defiantly, she tried to defend herself, pounding at Vile's claw with her hooves, biting it, and she even managed to shoot a bolt of green magic at him, but nothing worked.

"Shh... shshshshshhhhh...." he hushed, as he brought Skia closer to his face. "Don't fight. Don't struggle. It'll all be over soon..."

Skia refused to give in, but she stopped as she noticed a bright, green light suddenly come on over Vile Faux's horn, and knowing what it probably meant, she tried to avert her eyes.

"Just look into the pretty light, little girl," Vile whispered, menacingly. "Just look at it, and there will be no more fear. No more pain. No more tears. No more..."

Skia could avert her gaze no longer, as the blinding light began to shine through her closed eyelids.

"Memories..."

A wicked snowstorm had kicked up outside of the Crystal Empire, as Thoraxis could see when Longinus, Luna, and himself had reached its outskirts. The magical, invisible forcefield that kept unwanted weather out worked well. But from where he stood, Thoraxis knew he wouldn't be able to survive in such weather with his dainty, fragile little wings.

"I sense Skia is somewhere northward. We must hurry," Longinus spoke. "I'll lead the way."

"What about me? Changelings can't fly in this kind of weather!" Thoraxis shouted at the two, garnering their attention. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You'll have to stay here, then. Luna and I can handle whoever took Skia," Longinus replied. "We'll bring her back, Thoraxis."

"No flipping way!" Thoraxis objected, stamping his hoof to the ground. "That's MY daughter out there! MINE! I'm not going to just stand here picking flies off of my flank, and hope for the best!"

"We can handle this. Please, just trust us, changeling," Princess Luna spoke. "We'll return with your daughter shortly, I promise you."

Before Thoraxis could argue further, the two alicorns took off to the night air, headed straight into the storm, disappearing behind the cloud of rapidly falling snow and ice.

"No! Get back here!" the changeling screamed at the two fading shapes, despite knowing they couldn't hear him. Growling angrily, Thoraxis slammed his hoof into the crystal ground again, and lowered his head.

"I can help," a voice spoke up. Thoraxis lifted his sullen head and turned around, spotting the white form of Petra from a few feet away, her webbed wings unfolding from their hidden place under each arm.

"Hop on my back," the wyvern said again as she stretched her wings out, her tone serious and to the point. "I can fly faster than them."

"But... but that blizzard..." Thoraxis stammered. "Even those two are having a hard time flying in it. We'll never catch up..."

"This kind of weather is less than a fly in the park for any wyvern, and I'm no exception," she said. "Do you want to save your daughter or not?" Less than a second after she had said that, Thoraxis had already bolted forward, and jumped onto her scaly shoulders.

"Hold on tightly," she said. Thoraxis did as Petra commanded, and wrapped his hooves around her neck. After checking that he was set, and with a powerful kick from her legs, Petra jumped into the air, and took off in the two alicorn's direction.

We're coming, Skia Thoraxis thought, as he braced himself against the painfully frigid winds. Just hang in there, we're coming...

Author's Note

Next chapter synopsis: The Pursuit comes to an end.

Chapter 10: The Pursuit Comes to an End

Chapter 10: The Pursuit Comes to and End

Through the blistering snowstorm, the practically frozen Thoraxis could just barely see the shapes of Longinus and Luna ahead of them from where he was riding on Petra (or holding onto for dear life). They had begun to descend from the sky, and the albino wyvern followed them, where they landed on the ground, in front of what the changeling could see was a cave. Thoraxis quickly hopped off of Petra, and ran up to the two alicorns, and instantly noticed that Longinus was wearing a grim expression of deep worry.

"I... I don't sense her anymore," Longinus spoke fearfully, the words filling Thoraxis with dread. "I haven't been able to sense her for nearly ten minutes. This is the last place I felt Skia... Oh dear..."

"She has to be in the cave," Petra replied. "We must hurry!"

All of them ran to the cavern, each fearing the absolute worst. As they approached it though, they each witnessed a bright, green glow coming from the entrance. An enormous, dark shape, that looked like a perverse, bug-eyed, wingless mixture of both changeling and dragon suddenly burst out, breaking parts of the cave's roof in its haste to emerge, causing all of the would-rescuers to stop in their tracks.

"What in the name of the moon is that?" cried Luna, saying the question they were all dying to ask. Thoraxis bolted up to it without thought, a rage-filled glare on his face.

"Where's Skia? Where's my daughter?!" he shouted, unafraid of the looming creature.

"She's alright, but your precious little girl comes later, Thoraxis. Now? Now you face me, Vile Faux..." Vile bellowed in a deep, echoing voice, rearing to his full, enormous height, claws outstretched, as his own body became briefly enveloped by a demonic wisp of balefire.

"...And all the powers of Hell!"

Opening his mouth, a stream of green, smoldering liquid fire was spat forth from the dragon-changeling's wretched mouth, headed in Thoraxis's direction. Grabbing him in her claws before he could react, Petra jumped out of the way with the changeling, the hissing sound of melting snow and ice coming from behind them as the fiery breath hit it. While this went on, Longinus and Luna flew forward, beams of offensive magic sent forth from their horns.

Responding in kind to the alicorn's attack, and laughing insanely, Vile sent a pillar of his own magic headed their way, his horn lighting up like a candle as his power was discharged. The two spells hit, and a blinding explosion went out, throwing Luna and Longinus back a far distance, while Vile's superior weight and stability kept him grounded.

"Alicorn or not, I'll crush you all the same!" Vile laughed, not noticing the white shape stealthily approaching him from behind.

Petra, targeting Vile's left arm, slowly crept further, until she was with several feet of him. Meanwhile, Thoraxis had lunged forward, and sent a small blast of balefire at his enemy, the attack accomplishing absolutely nothing as it bounced harmlessly off of his hide. Vile laughed at his pitiful effort, and merely lowered his right hand, flicking the stubborn changeling away with a finger with as much effort as shooing away an insect.

"You're so... WEAK!" he shouted at the changeling, just before Petra pounced on him.

Petra's long, crooked fangs, each one dripping with a virulent poison, distended from her mouth, and she clamped down on Vile's arm, piercing his chitinous skin. Noticing the attack right off, Vile looked away from Thoraxis, and instead focused on the wyvern, sending his other arm over to swat her away like a gnat. Petra responded by raising her stinger tail forward at a lightning speed, and letting the dragon-changeling impale his own hand on its envenomed tip, causing him to retract it in pain. When she had sensed that enough of her venom was in Vile's bloodstream to do its job, Petra flew off, leaving Vile with his now-limp limb.

"My venom should keep him from using that arm for a few days..." she whispered to Thoraxis and Luna, the only two within earshot of her words after she landed near them.

"Wyverns..." Vile muttered, as he rubbed his numb, unmoving arm. "So full of surprises..."

He was suddenly sent forward as a bolt of magical lightning struck the back of his head. Angrily spinning around, he spotted Longinus charging for another shot. His mouth opened, and another stream of scalding liquid fire flew out, forcing the former king to dodge it instead of attack.

Behind Vile, Luna had already telekinetically lifted a large, house-sized chunk of dirt, rock, and ice from the ground, and hurled it against his back, shattering the object to pieces, and forcing him to stumble back several meters. Vile looked at the princess and her companions with a frustrated expression. He lifted his only usable claw as high as he could, preparing for another attack.

"Will you pests just... STOP?!" the dragon-changeling roared, finishing his sentence as his claw slammed into the ground with all his might packed into it, sending out a powerful shockwave that pushed up ice, snow, and whatever happened to be on the ground at the time.

The feeling of the ground trembling shook the Pursuer back into whatever it knew about consciousness. Its visor glowed red as it sat up, and an arm went to the hole that lied in the front of its chest armor.

A dark mist seemed to bleed out of both ends of the wound. Unhindered, the Pursuer stood up, but suddenly stumbled forward, weakened by the loss of its power. It let out a strained gasp, but instead of giving up, it resumed its task, and reached the few feet it tried to walk to at last. After hearing the commotion going on just outside the cave, the Pursuer looked around, and spotted its sword and shield lying nearby.

Without a second to lose, the Pursuer went up to collect its personal items, formulating a plan for how to deal with such a creature in its semi-autonomous mind.

The sheer, unbridled strength that Vile Faux had used in his last attack sent Luna flying, where she slammed into the ice shelf that rested next to the cave. Unhurt, she instantly got back up, and was about to reenter the fray, but halted herself as she sensed something bearing a dark presence nearby.

Turning her head, she nearly jumped back in startled surprise, as she witnessed the tall, intimidating figure of the Pursuer exit the cave right next to where she stood. With its sword slung behind its back, the massive shield it possessed was currently being held in both of its hands. The Pursuer turned its head and looked down when it itself had noticed Luna, and knowing she was fighting the same thing he was fighting, gave a small nod of understanding, before looking back at the target creature in question.

The Pursuer floated forward and, while holding tightly onto its shield, began to spin, until its shiny, blurred shape had built enough speed to fling the shield at Vile's head, all with a supernatural accuracy.

Like an overgrown frisbee, the shield whistled through the air at an unmatched speed. Vile turned his head just in time to see the thick slab of metal speed towards his face, where it impacted with an unpleasantly loud, gag-inducing crunch on the dragon-changeling's nose. A scream of pain sounded from the villain, and he forgot about everything else, grabbing at his broken snout, and continuing with his howls of agony.

Finally with a clear advantage, Longinus, Luna, Petra, and Thoraxis charged forward, each one using every attack they had at their disposal to take down their adversary. Luna sent a blast of pure moonlight at his damaged face, knocking him off-balance. Petra raced forward, and spat forth a jet of clear acid, which sizzled against the chitinous skin of his leg, causing him to stumble. Thoraxis and Longinus pressed their attack on the same area, attacking it with balefire and lightning, respectively. Proving too much to handle, the colossus fell to the ground, where he landed on his back, with the sound of ice crunching under his extreme weight.

As Vile was just beginning to regain his senses, he saw a large, blurry shape rush up to his head, and rose to alarm as he felt something grab his horn.

The Pursuer pulled and twisted on the horn with all of its unholy, vengeance-induced might. Vile roared, and shot his claw upward at the Pursuer, only for it to be deflected by a backhand. After two resounding, metal-gauntleted punches to the face brought the dragon-changeling back into numbed submission, the armored creature swiftly planted its foot on Vile's broken snout. Ignoring the pained moans it brought, the Pursuer used its newfound, living leverage to continue its assault on the twisted, pointed projection, while the ponies, changeling, and wyvern could only watch. With a lurching bellow, and a sudden snap, the horn was finally, and brutally ripped completely off Vile Faux's now-screaming head, leaving a broken stump. After making an uninterested glance at the object in its hand, the Pursuer threw it aside like a spent toy, and took its foot off of Vile.

The second the dragon-changeling's horn was removed from his head, he slowly began to shrink and morph back into his real shape, his power gone. Before Vile could do something, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by the Pursuer, and found himself being chucked forward, where he landed face-first into the snow. When he looked up, a dazed, half-conscious expression in his eyes, he saw the grimacing visage of Thoraxis looking down upon him.

"Where... is... my... daughter?" he growled. Vile responded with what sounded like a low gurgle. It didn't take too long for Thoraxis to realize the evil thing was laughing, as the horrible, guttural noise grew louder.

"She decided t-to go for a walk!" he laughed out loud. "But in this kind of weather? I'd try to find her, and quick if I were you."

"We need to search the surrounding land!" Longinus spoke up, to his companions. "Look for footprints, signs of life, anything!"

"I'll search north," Luna said. "Longinus, you search west, Thoraxis, you search east, and wyvern, you search south."

Both Longinus and herself took off in their directions. Petra and Thoraxis were about to as well, but stopped as Vile began talking again.

"And I... guess I forgot to mention something..." he said. "I'm sorry to say that even if you do find her alive, storm or not, I'm afraid she won't recognize you..."

Thoraxis looked at him, confused. "What? What do you mean by that?"

"I guess you could say I specialize in... taking away memories..." he said, weakly, but clearly mockingly, a smug grin of victory on his face. "And hers, I took as easily as everpony else I've done it to. Your "daughter" won't even know who you are anymore, or ever again! Oh goodness, you wouldn't BELIEVE how she acted after she forgot everything."

"Sh... shut up!" Thoraxis boomed, visibly shaken by his words.

""Oh father, why couldn't you save me in time?"" Vile responded instead, imitating Skia's voice to the letter. ""I don't even know my own name anymore because of you! Oh, somepony help me...""

"I said shut up!" Thoraxis screamed, lifting his hoof in preparation to hit the insolent fiend, but refraining as Petra suddenly grabbed his leg, stopping him. He shot her an angry glare, which became slightly more relaxed when he looked into her red eyes.

"We need to find Skia. That's our number one priority, Thoraxis," the wyvern spoke in a calm voice, as her grip loosened. Thoraxis, tears falling from his face, slowly nodded back, and lowered his hoof. The two quickly left in their respective directions as Vile continued his taunts, which were quickly descending into mad ravings.

"I TOOK HER MEMORIES! I TOOK HER MEMORIES! HAHA! AND SHE'LL NEVER GET THEM BA-"

Vile was finally silenced as the Pursuer shot its hand down, and clasped it around his face. He tried to break out of it, but was too weak to do anything, and merely battered his hoof against his armored foe, uselessly. Turning about, the Pursuer, dragging the hornless dragon-changeling behind itself, began to walk up to its shield, picking it up with his other, remaining hand. With its prey now in its possession, and mission completed, the Pursuer, and Vile, both slowly vanished into thin air.

The last thing Thoraxis heard as he rushed off into the storm, forgetting about any of his own personal safety, was the sound of Vile's hideous, chittering laughter still ringing in his head.

Author's Note

Though this chapter may seem a little sad, I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!

Epilogue

"Who am I? Wh-where am I? Wh-who a-am I?" the young changeling nymph, who formerly knew herself as Skia, continued to repeat to herself. Her entire body had gone numb from the cold a while ago, and her rear left leg had become almost completely coated in frostbite, rendering it unusable, forcing her to drag it along. Still, she continued to trudge forward, through the blizzard.

"Wh-where am I? Wh-who a-am I?"

She was not alone as she wandered through the wasteland of ice and emptiness. Circling above like a foul buzzard, was the phantom, equine shape of a windigo. It brayed in an ethereal voice as it flew around its prey, waiting for her to finally freeze solid. Though windigos were creatures that fed on hatred, the feelings of despair and hopelessness were a closely beloved second to them, and what this changeling was showing matched what it greedily sought.

"Where a-am I?" Wh-who a-"

Her maddening mantra of despondency was finally stopped as she suddenly sank to the ground, unable to go on any further in her damaged condition. The windigo calmly moved in for the kill, dropping to the ground, and floated up to the young creature at a snail's pace, as if savoring the changeling's torment. She sobbed aloud, the biting pain finally getting to her, and no hope to comfort her. Even with what unfathomably little she remembered, she knew death could be the only possible thing imminent, and closed her eyes, just waiting for it to come and end her misery... that is, until a peculiar sound went out.

"Stay away from her, you rotten specter!"

This new voice sounded like that of an elderly person. The nymph opened her eyes, and turned her head around as she heard the sound of a clutter, and witnessed a tall, abnormally skinny, upright shape clad in a thick coat of some sort, swing what appeared to be a lantern in one of its gloved hands, bashing the transparent creature with it.

The windigo let out a sharp whinny of both surprise and pain as it was struck by the lantern again.

"I said get back! Back! Now!" the figure shouted once more, furiously. Thoroughly convinced now, the windigo turned tail and, wailing like a banshee, flew off, back into the depths of the storm from whence it came. Knowing it would not return, the scarecrow-like entity quickly turned to Skia, revealing it had a sack-like head with a cut-open area representing its mouth, and a pair of supernaturally golden eyes showing through a pair of holes.

"Ah... I've found you at last, my dear..." the figure spoke down to Skia, its voice sounding very relieved. "...And it appears I got here just in the nick of time. Thank everything good in this world they decided to send me when they did..."

"Wh-who are you? D-do you know who I am?" the changeling asked through chittering teeth, her hope restored. The figure responded by pulling its thick-looking, wool jacket off of its own body, kneeling over, and placing it over and around the nymph like a blanket.

"Oh, you poor lass... I know who you are, yes," he replied, his golden eyes completely focused on her, as he wrapped one of his stick-like arms around her like a bundle, before lifting the weak creature up in it. "Come, let old Clopin take you home. We'll get that there frostbite on yer leg looked at."

The nymph closed her green eyes as the warmth from the jacket eased her from the frigid pain. The scarecrow-esque being, whom she now knew as "Clopin," raised his lantern to his mouth, and blew on its candle. Instead of going out, the yellow flame burning inside of the metal object began to turn white, slowly getting brighter until it was enveloping both in its glow.

"Skia! Where are you? You can come out!" Thoraxis's voice went out through the storm. He was cold beyond belief, but he had something more important to consider, as seen by the small, hoof-like tracks that he was following.

It was a sheer miracle in on itself that he found the tracks in the snow. He had already shot up a firework-like spell into the sky to alert the others about what he found not a minute before, and he was sure he was on the right path. He ran through the snow, continuing to call out his daughter's name.

"Skia! Listen to my voice! It's your dad!"

He suddenly witnessed a glow coming from just ahead, disappearing as briefly as it appeared. The blizzard made it too thick to see it fully, but it was impossible to miss. With a smile, Thoraxis ran forward, up to it, sure that it was his daughter.

"Skia! It's me, Dad!" he shouted, tears of joy falling from his face. He followed the tracks that lead up to where he witnessed the anomaly, but halted as he reached it. He looked around, confused, before looking downward.

The tracks had stopped. As if Skia had walked a little further and then vanished into thin air, the trail ended abruptly.

"No... no..." Thoraxis said, looking around desperately for something, anything he could identify as a clue. "No... no, no, no, no! Skia! Skia... where are you?! Skia?! SKIA?!"

When his final scream was met with only the howling wind for a response, Thoraxis, unable to contain his emotions any longer, fell to his knees. He didn't seem to notice, nor care about the large, white, scaly shape that suddenly landed next to him with a loud clutter, and a spray of snow.

"Thoraxis, what did you find?" Petra asked, as she folded her wings away. Thoraxis didn't respond. She quickly ran in front of him, and saw he was just sitting there with a look of pure, dazed shock glued onto his face, his teal eyes widened and focused forward, a frozen trail of tears running down his cheeks.

"T-tracks e-ended... t-t-tracks e-ended..." he spoke quietly, seemingly to himself, before motioning to where the trail of hoofprints stopped in the snow, each ovular-shaped indent in the ground quickly getting refilled by the powder and ice that fell from the sky.

"Oh no..." Petra gasped, covering her mouth in disbelief over what he was saying. She walked up to him in a vain effort to comfort his despair.

"I s-s-saw a flash, and th-then..." he openly wept, as he fell into her arms. "Th-the t-t-tracks... e-ended..."

Petra bent over and embraced Thoraxis, sharing in his indescribable pain. Out of everything he said, one thing was perfectly, and vividly clear to her.

Skia was gone.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note

Cliffhangers stink, I know. At least the sequel is on its way...