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?"