A Forum For Change

Chapters

A Typical Beginning- Chapter 1
Filling The Blanks- Chapter 1(Ending of)
A Wonderful Returning- Chapter 2
Meanwhile...- Chapter 3
Inconvience- Chapter 7

A Typical Beginning- Chapter 1

A Forum For Change

"Do you mean them, the times you say the numbers?"

The question faded from the unicorn's mind as he awoke, strangely not in his bed. Rather the unfortunate fellow is laying on some grass in a vast plains-y area with a few small hills a few near a few far. When he stood up, looked about whilst rubbing his throbbing head with a forehoof just under the pointed horn there, and as he did so he noticed that the world was a little too bright to be normal. As if his eyes were seeing without the haze of polluting gases he was so used to. This was bad. Aside from that he noticed a town in the distance, another oddity to him for every building he ever saw was pushed up next to another one in massive cities, cynically built to run at the maximum of efficiency.

This is bad.

In fact it took him a full minute before he realized the spread out shapes in the distance were buildings, houses probably, in a vaguely village-appearance. Upon realizing this, the unicorn attempts a step forward and promptly falls onto his face. Another oddity to him, having four legs instead of his standard three. This is bad.

After several more falls he figured out the balancing act, and while it was easier with four than with three he was not a fan of all these sudden changes. Bad changes, which made him uneasy and told him he was no where near home. So with a look of concern and bewilderment he set forth towards the distant town, many thoughts running through his head and some out his mouth.

"What is this place? It looks a bit.. cartoony. Am I dreaming..? Didn't I just wake up? I wonder.." He wonders aloud, but softly

But of them all he questioned how he managed to sprout a third leg, and become a whole meter shorter with stubbier, and stockier, legs. He stopped when he neared the town and saw his first pony, she was about his size, also a unicorn, with a purple coat and a long flowing dark blue mane. His initial reaction was to report this strange creature, along with the majority of the scenery, the buildings, the empty space, and this odd oaken thing the bad new creature is laying on. This is what he had been encouraged to do to all unfamiliar items and creatures since he could recall, the creature having sparked his memory of the hardly-used reporting stations. His attempt to find one of said stations was thwarted when he turned to go report and he realized he had no idea where the nearest reporting station was. Or where anything was, for that matter.

The mare hadn't noticed him in the several minutes he stared at her though as he approached her she set the book down, the title written in some form of runes so as to be unreadable, and looked to him "Why are you staring at me?"

"Wh-what?" He asks, both shocked at the speaking oddity and confused as to how such an unassuming creature could speak and know he had been there. The mare seems to look annoyed, apparently having taken offense at the invader's tone

"I asked why you've been staring at me the past few minutes."

The invading creature clears his throat anxiously, shaking his head a little before answering the unicorn "I-I've just... n-never seen a thing like you..."

Her annoyed expression lackens as she asks slowly "Are you, one of those spider creatures that keep coming here? They all seem to come from that..." She trailed off as she sees his confusion growing

"Spider creature..? What's a spider?" He sits down, still anxious and now sounding a little scared "D-do I report it?"

"Report it?" She laughs briefly, unable to hide a smile now "To who'd we do that? Celestia?"

"I-I don't know who th-that is..." His voice is quieter now, shy and nerve-wracked

"Don't worry th- you're gone..." She stares after him with a sigh as he runs off, having suddenly bolted during her sentence to get away from the strange town and creature who was talking all that non-sense "I should bring him to Celestia..." She says, seemingly to herself.

Some time passes, the invader hides away from the town. He watches, staring at ponies as they

go about their daily business, but would never go up and speak to another one of the natives. This is, he did that when he was not searching for a way back home. All he recalled from his movement to this cartoon land is that there was a blinding white light, massive head pain as if a hammer had just been brought down on it, and a strange falling sensation interrupted every few seconds by a WOOSH noise.

But this time passes, then the purple mare he had first met, Dusk Kurl, comes up behind him "Don't be scared." She starts off cautiously "I should take you to Celestia." He spins around, eyes wide in fright, and locks up at the sight of Dusk Kurl. At least for a few seconds at which point he forcibly relaxes himself, albeit slowly. Dusk smiles comfortingly at him "Please, don't be scared. I think I know what happened to you, you just need to come with me to see our leader."

The invader takes a few moments as if to decide, then nods "Take, take me th-there.."

Dusk brings him into town and onto the train platform, asking if he knew what a train was. When he said yes but looked quite uncomfortable at the idea of getting on one Dusk asked "What's wrong with trains?"

"I-i-it's just... People always die on trains. They're never safe, the wheels are always unsturdy, the cars derail constantly, and that's not to mention the crew if they find you.." He shivers at the thought of this supposed crew "and they always give off that choke dust from their smokestacks, purifying the air around them."

"Oh.." She sighs lightly "Our trains aren't like that, they're very safe. Don't worry... and uh, they don't give off choke dust."

He nods but doesn't seem to have changed his mind on the issue. The train in question takes around an hour to show up. Most of the time is spent in silence between the two, with Dusk Kurl only getting up to get their train tickets to Canterlot.

After boarding the train they sit silently, Dusk making sure no ponies disturbed them, all the way to Canterlot. Their walk through the town is uneventful, though they are stopped at the doors of the castle by the guards there.

"What business do you have in Canterlot Castle?" The guard on the right asks commandingly

"I am taking a special visitor to meet with Princess Celestia." Dusk Kurl says

The guard looks at his post-mate then back to Dusk "Very well, proceed."

Dusk and the invader, he never got a name did he? Oh well, move together towards the throne room. The throne room door is open when they arrive, Celestia and Luna sitting on dual thrones next to each other and staring at the doorway the two ponies come through. Dusk bows to them from the doorway.

However the invader simply walks up to the rulers, probably uncomfortably close for the ponies, and cranes his neck back to stare up at them "I am Zagoroth." He says, much to the surprise and sudden suspicion of every pony in the room

"And.. You do not know who we are or what this place is, Mister Zagoroth?" The elder asks

"Nay, I doin't. I would like to go home too, this place is scary and bright.. And it hurts to breathe here..."

The white alicorn nods understandingly "What is the name of your planet?" The suspicion fades quickly from her tone

"Uh... I don't know, i-it never came up before..."

Once again every pony got a look of surprise, with one of Celestia's eyes twitching slightly before she opens her mouth to speak again and is cut off by Zagoroth the Invader who sounds very anxious "Oh, I've upset you haven't I? I-I'm sorry.."

Luna stands up and walks past him to Dusk Kurl, nudging her gently then walking out of the room to signal her leave. The smaller purple unicorn follows the alicorn compliantly.

"No no," Celestia quickly reassures him "Not at all."

Celestia stands as her sister and the citizen leave the throne room and, navigating around the invader, steps away from the seat she had been in the past hour "I just do not know how you might be sent back if I do not even know your name for your planet."

His ears flatten and his expression deepens in sadness with acceptance "I'm sorry.. I don't really know much, that is King Sombra's job, is knowing."

Celestia stiffens at the name and carefully asks, once more suspicious and concerned, however she was a lot more confused than anything else "King Sombra? Can you tell me about him?"

"N-no sorry.. H-he knows a lot, though! B-but that's about it.. He uses the tele a lot, seems a little paranoid to me too."

"Uses the tele? What does he use it for?"

"Oh just.. edicts, required knowledge..." His gaze has turned to the side "Sombra once called

himself the destroyer. I don't know why, we haven't destroyed anything in

decades..." His tone is soft, distant, and pained near the end.

Celestia opens her mouth to ask several more questions F I L E C O R R U P T E D

Filling The Blanks- Chapter 1(Ending of)

Celestia opens her mouth to ask several more questions but stops when the Invader passes out, flopping to the floor quite limply but still breathing.

In the authors note I said something about smog, I joked a bit, sorry.

She picks Zagoroth up and carries him out of the throne room to Luna's bedroom, when arriving there knocks on the door twice as she opens it "Sister, the lost one has fallen unconscious while we were talking. I think he spoke a little too much at once." She floats the dark grey Invader down onto Luna's bed, upon which said alicorn is sitting.

Luna looks down at the invader as her horn begins to glow, the blue magic field covering the pony's lungs. In them were some adaptations that made it not unhealthy to breathe in polluted or smoggy air but it didn't do as well while filtering the fresh, heavy air of the Equestrian landscape or absorbing the necessary air chemicals to expend them in long bursts while on the planet. It takes the sisters, Celestia joined Luna's effort in moments to determine what was wrong, several minutes to note all this and finish checking thoroughly for anything they may have missed.

Once finished with this, the younger one asks "Do we change him..?"

Celestia doesn't answer for short time, instead pacing inside the bed-chamber to think on it.

"I don't think he will, and we can always change it back before he leaves."

The older sister stops, then nods "Yes, that sounds.. well enough. I shall leave you to that, I believe I had a meeting scheduled today.." With that, Celestia walks out of the room.

Luna sighs softly after the door shuts, her sister is always busy and the trips and meetings were almost always the most boring things a pony could do. Briefly wishing for more time with Tia, the moon princess set about healing the invader's lungs, in accordance with equestria's standards.

Celestia, for her part, did copy down what the lungs were like before the transformation for what that is worth before she went to the meeting.

Half an hour passes, just that long, before the invader opens his eyes, now breathing deeply and well. He smiles happily up at Luna, his face lighting up with newfound life in it and a strange glint in his right eye. As Luna was about to say hello he lunges forward and stabs his horn right through her throat, quickly tearing it to the right as the night time princess bled heavily from even the initial wound which only grew larger. Zagoroth stood up as Luna bleeds and begins to dismember her legs, tail, mane, ears, and at the end even destroys her eyes and squashes her muzzle in flat. All the while muttering something about bad differences and how there aren't any reporting stations.

None of the ponies heard him murder Luna and he washed off in the princess's personal bathroom, as well as washing the bed and floor. He also hid Luna's corpse in all it's parts in the bathroom there. When he stepped out of the room, smiling brightly, he was dry and smelling strongly of roses so the guards didn't pay him much attention. Especially after he told them the princess needed to sleep.

Celestia was still gone in the meeting so he wandered around the castle until he found the exit, and he left. He left the castle, left Canterlot. His business was done.

A Wonderful Returning- Chapter 2

Do you want to know what was in his head as he woke? That little voice, the faintly kingly voice, the one that accompanies you in your loneliest times. That voice, it said "Come home through the gryphon lands, win for us."

The Invader, business in Canterlot now finished, walked away and down towards the gryphon lands. However, not knowing where that is, he went to the nearest village and asked the first pony he saw if that mare could lead him to the gryphon lands.

She agreed and walked away, with him following close behind. When they got close to the gryphon territory the invader pushed the mare off a cliff to her death. And with that he walks to the fairly distant settlement and enters it. The gryphons inside watch him semi-suspiciously but are not completely hostile to the pony look alike.

It takes him several hours of wandering before he happens upon a portal that he is attracted to. It ended up being in a small stone house which could comfortably hold about ten ponies.

Naturally, he steps into this portal and winds up in his home world, albeit face-to-floor in King Sombra's throne room. He has been transformed back into his natural, three-legged, chittined body. He also has his hands and arms back, using them to stand upright from the fall through the portal. Though, halfway through this he notices the king and immediately hurries up to him extremely close and brings his head up to look from nearly under the sitting creature of similar shape, but with a black and dark blue body rather than a red one like Zagoroth's.

"You were given a set of numbers four months ago. What were they?" King Sombra asks, staring nearly straight down himself at Zagoroth

"40 dash 9 dash 8... 0072 o-" His voice is quiet and he cuts off with a heavy coughing, his buggy eyes going wide with fear

The king frowns at him "Where have you been citizen?"

His reply is only more coughing, so he goes to the nearest window to open it but the air outside was worse for him than what was in the building. He falls to the floor, more and more weakly coughing until he just chokes up and can't breathe. Soon after he goes faint and dies of the terrible smog, his body going limp and cold quickly. Colder than in life, that is.

In Equestria, the remains of princess Luna are discovered while the invader is stepping into the portal. When the moon was supposed to go up and Luna wasn't doing anything they went looking for her and they found her, every single part. Celestia was enraged, the creature had clearly murdered her sister and she wanted to get revenge on him. However, he was gone by the time she got to the part about wanting to kill him. The portal remained open but the king didn't dare send anyone through, and Celestia wasn't going to send any of her ponies through based on what those lungs had been adapted to.

No good came of this, and the resulting grieving and turmoil in Equestria stopped them from coming to the aid of the gryphon empires in what they really seemed to think was an important war but it always sounded like something easy enough to fight to Celestia, and her ponies didn't need any more death.

A bloody sun rose that dawn in The Gealach, as if to signal a day of mourning and repentance. Not for the king, of course, but for the populace. The king, for his part, will sit in a lounge chair on the roof of his tower and watch the blood sun float across the sky, taking the time to wonder on god and the universe.

And the gryphons?

Meanwhile...- Chapter 3

The restricted files on Zagoroth's computer were found weeks after his death. The king gave a sentence before dismissing the matter entirely, mostly due to him being dead already. I had a metaphor for this, something to do with baby seals.. But I forget

The gryphons were fine, for about a year. However a year is how long it took for Celestia to be assassinated, which has created chaos within Equestria near everywhere. Discord was astonished, and elated. Good for him, but in short the nation was incapacitated.

Oh, and that mare that led Zagoroth to the gryphon lands attached to the equestrian continent, well she had five friends. Very close friends, and they all will forever wonder what happened to her, why she never came back.

So a year has passed. Nothing with the portal has changed or happened, though a month after the invader had left there was this one gryphon went into the portal house and spoke into it. No reply, of course the king sombra wouldn't care to talk to these aliens that lived on such a hostile world to himself. Now for the time relevant part, the gryphons are attacked days before Celestia dies. The Eastern Gryphonite Empire, to be exact. Portals love gryphons, it seems, and a civilization from a similar planet, atmosphere wise that is, began to invade the EGE. In response to this, the monarch of said empire sent requests for help to both the Northern and Western Gryphonite Empires. A full use of the empire against a single enemy was something that hadn't been done for almost a century. However he also sent a request for help to the Crystal Empire and Equestria, mostly asking for magic assistance.

The Invading army as it were, are best described as vaguely human shaped sheep. But tougher, a lot tougher than actual sheep. Because they aren't sheep. The reason their entrance sent up such an alarm with the Eastern Monarch is because it wasn't a random portal in the middle of nowhere, it was a row of portals on top of ground level farmland through which an army of armoured sheep aliens came. They were hostile from the outset, firing on any creature that appeared socially evolved. Which meant gryphons, primarily. Most wildlife in close proximity to the portals ended up dying too.

So the gryphons, their response to this random hostility is to attack it! Specifically from above and behind. As well as the farmers in the immediate area grouping together to attempt to attack, but generally failed. Yes, a wave of gryphons came swooping down within ten minutes from behind and in front of the large group of aliens. What followed was a significant drop in the number of the aliens and then a close-quarters battle for which the gryphons were certainly killing more of them in ratio but were not getting reinforcements. A messenger had also been sent as soon as the hostility had begun and while they would lose the battle at those portals the gryphons were all now alert.

The Crystal Empire does send help. 20 volunteer unicorns left several weeks after Cadence and Shining Armour had received the letter for aid. Equestria does not send help because Equestria is, as established, somewhat of a wreck. Despite not official sending ponies, there are some ponies who upon hearing the news decided to go help and through this dozens of ponies came from Equestria. They were not all unicorns, but a majority were.

What A Wonderful Place.

The Shavriii, the aliens, took over two cities rather quickly, but were then surrounded by Eastern Gryphon forces. One siege was lifted when a third attacking force came from the portals, made through the guards, and came up behind the besieging force. There was a quick battle in which nearly half of the gryphon forces were killed in a few seconds and the rest shot up into the clouds to reassemble or something. The second siege was won due to the gryphons keeping up in the night and surprise attacking then. As soon as the attack began all the citizens in the city came out and helped the main army kill the invaders. Needless to say, very few gryphonite casualties in that encounter.

So the Shavriii gained a stronghold in the world, fortifying it while the north and west generals and admirals traveled to and met with the eastern monarch. Both of the other monarchs were absent entirely, each sending a message with one of their men about that. Naturally, the eastern monarch did not like what he saw as cowardice and, scowling at his counterparts, he decided to join the fighting himself. Albeit as a general, naturally, but that didn't change his general chance of death in the war. The fields of the east are covered in red and orange blood, potentially damaging the soil

What a wonderful place.

And what happens after the Shavriii are eventually pushed away? That's right, they invent respiratory devices and invade The Gealach instead, and then you'd need to fight too and would probably die.

"Now, why did all this happen?" The teacher Gealachian asks

"Because.. Zagoroth disobeyed King Sombra, and that ends badly.." The student says, quiet and timid and very much afraid of what might happen because of himself.

"Mostly, yes. But also he went around a company's security and read their private papers... In fact you can ignore everything about that after the part about the king, I got kind of caught up in the story itself. I might write that down.." The teacher looks thoughtfully into the distance, as the student simply nods in agreement and continues to stare at the teacher

After a quiet minute or so, the teacher clears his throat and moves on "Next lesson is to never touch the train. People die when they touch the train tracks, especially when around the train. Don't board the train and do not attempt to move or touch the train itself either."

The student once more nods, briefly questioning in the back of his mind why the train would kill whoever touched it. But that thought was gone quickly, and he smiled once again once the troubling thought had left. He didn't recall what it was, but he knew it was bad and that it's good that it is gone.

The teacher and student go on for hours, with a few beatings given out for when he asked bad questions.

The society stood the test of time, centuries it went on under its many kings' careful guidance. Each leadership swap changed only a name for the general populace. The rest went under, went broke and killed themselves to put it shortly.

But they would never advance more, they didn't get to the space age ever and as a consequence were eventually bombarded out of existance by a furry creature, who happened to be commanding a large fleet of space warships and was bored one day. Sad day. Or maybe not, if you're a freedom nutjob.

No one was happy with this exchange.

Inconvience- Chapter 7

Delicious. That's all I've to say on Queen Twilight's blood, it was delicious. Seeing the light fade from her eyes as well, almost the best part of the feeding. She ate so lavishly near the end, it is quite funny in my opinion. Perhaps now that I rule in Equestria we can create equal laws, and perhaps even a fair vote for the real ruler. Vampires of course can vote now, why I wouldn't allow that I don't know. But now we're spread into actual civilization, and the normies have to deal with us. I think things will go well.

Six months later she is voted to remain as monarch

The vampires are elated, as they see her as the only one who would really protect their new freedoms. In time this will change and vampires-