Login

Two Changelings, in a World of Foes

by Orcus

Chapter 9: Chapter 8: The Tragedy of King Longinus Eveningstar

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

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 Notes:

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

Next Chapter: Chapter 9: The Changeling with Drakeblood Estimated time remaining: 23 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch