The End of the Whole Wide World
In which a predator meets its prey.
This is Thorax.
He's a peculiar creature. He's tall and green, with no coat or fur, just skin. A little weird, if you ask me. Big purple bug eyes, no pupil except for a little white orb or something. His chest is made of dark green and purple material, shimmery and papery, as are his wings. Big orange antlers rest on his head amid antennae.
It is unclear which wretched person came up with the idea of a new design after reformation. Meaning, reforming a Hive without the dictator is perfectly fine--yes, especially fine, without the dictator Chrysalis. But giving these changelings a new look, such as the one mentioned above, is just cruel to their reputation. Yet it isn't in my position to argue. Nonetheless, it looks quite...stupid.
That is Thorax's physical description. His stupid design in no way affects his nice stupidity, though. He has insecurities and is a bit socially awkward, although he has received 'dating advice' from his older brother Pharynx, speaking of which, what kind of family are the changelings? But I mustn't get carried away.
What I must tell you about is the tragedy about to unfold. It is but a great tragedy. And that tragedy is love. See, love was the number-one thing on Thorax's list when he became ruler of the Changelings(although he insists he isn't a 'ruler'). He was oh-so passionate about it, about the newfound love the changelings had learned to share with one another.
But that love was lost with the Great Rebellion. Now, a noble Thorax, a bitter Pharynx, and the changelings are overseeing refugees from the walled-in city of Canterlot, Equestria, Equus. These refugees may come from other places, too: Disease-ravaged Ponyville, villages in the Appleachians which are being evacuated for newer establishments.
Now with a population of ten thousand, the Changeling Hive, Thorax and the Changelings' home, is becoming overcrowded. Which means that something must be done. And that something, according to Pharynx, was not to appeal to the Queen, but kill her.
It was risky. Princess Celestia was inside that evil soul, now a body. But something had to be done. The Queen had done too much for Celestia to be forgiven. And now, as Thorax made his way to the Queen's castle, his each step making his heart beat faster, he thought of the million different ways the plan could not go through and Daybreaker would kill him inste--
Wait. Who the buck is Daybreaker?
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This is Daybreaker.
If you looked inside of her, you would see intensity. Fierceness. And most of all, psychopathy. You would see her pacing her grand throne room one minute, destroying everything in her path the next, and then laughing viciously. And then crying in her bedroom and singing along to sad songs on the radio.
Once, Daybreaker would have been known as Princess Celestia. But Princess Celestia was no more. Princess Celestia, upon awakening from a dream in which Daybreaker, then just a soul, appeared, began to go unhinged. She saw the soul wherever she went. She started having nightmares. She started losing it; well, most ponies thought so--until Daybreaker became a reality.
If only it wasn't. If only Celestia would have kept calm under pressure. But hatred for her sister grew. Her sister was constantly checking on her, annoying her. She felt that her privacy was being invaded. She even became paranoid of what would be next around the corner.
And then, alas, the Great Rebellion came. It's premise was horrifying. I must spare you the details. To make quite a long story short--five months long, to be specific--Princess-no-more Celestia was found, to put it bluntly, chopping her sister into pieces. Now I realize my mistake. I am supremely sorry for giving you a detail, but it had to be, for this story will be very blunt.
The Rebellion that followed lasted, as said before, five months. Celestia was being walked down to the dungeon by the guards. On the way, she felt...anger. Suddenly, rage rushed through her veins, and she started kicking it. She really did. You should have seen it. Fantastic.
And so she stormed back to her throne, took a deep breath and waited. Waited for the angry ponies to come banging down her doors. But no one came.
She waited for five months, paranoid that someone would come, in the middle of the night or when she was least expecting it(which was impossible). There was no one. Finally, on the first day of the sixth month, she got up and left. Renovations on the castle were nearly complete by then, but were halted. Really, no one had heard of Daybreaker yet. She hadn't been seen in public. But now she was, and she came to love it.
Now, a year and a half later, she sat in her throne room again, atop a new gold and bronze throne, Luna's throne, which she had tried to obliterate, reduced to rubble next to the grand one. And here it is, with the calling of a messenger, that our story begins.
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This is Thorax. This is Daybreaker. They are nothing alike, yet they are destined. But for what?
For love. But that's sappy stuff. What even is love? What is that feeling you get, when your heart beats faster and your imagination runs wild? It's feverish. It's unexplainable. It's, as said before, a tragedy. But why?
Why, you ask? Oh, but love is the greatest tragedy at all. You'll see. You'll see...
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"My Queen! The Changeling King is here to see you!"
Stay calm. Deep breaths. Look ahead. What do you say? Hello, I'm Thorax. Um, what else?
These thoughts bustled about in Thorax's head as he waited outside the throne room, flanked on either side by two guards.
"Bring him in." Daybreaker's gravelly voice boomed through the room.
Thorax gulped. He was not ready. Why did Pharynx send him here? Yeah, his big brother had a broken leg, courtesy of Daybreaker herself...which made it even worse. How did he even let Pharynx talk him into this?
Too late. The guards nudged him forward. The doors opened. Stay calm. Deep breaths. Look ahead...
"What a pleasure." Daybreaker debarked her throne and stood waiting at the top of the steps. Her sarcasm, whatever it was, was present.
And then a strange thing happened. Now I do not know what had prompted poor Thorax to say this; I'll say that it just came out. Or maybe he felt a sudden surge of confidence. Or maybe. Or maybe. It went something like this:
Thorax strode up the steps, head held high. He stuck out his hoof.
"What brings you here?" Daybreaker inquired, taking his hoof.
Now here is the strange part. Thorax looked her in the eye. He stayed calm. He took a deep breath. He said:
"I'm Thorax. And, quite frankly, I'm here to kill you."
And oddly, Daybreaker was okay with it.
