"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Archy screamed, reeling back on his hind legs, putting as much distance between him and his father as he could. The rough, beaten stallion's face fell into dismay.
"Ar-Archimedes, it's me! It's your daddy!" Archy couldn't believe his eyes, this blue stallion, his darker mane long and clumped with dirt, his golden eyes, everything was how Archy remembered, and they made his blood boil! "I-it is you, isn't it? Archimedes?" The other prisoner asked, concern that this stallion's reaction meant he wasn't the long lost son he had left years ago.
"Get away..." Acrhy said, pushing himself against the furthest wall from the Noteworthy. Said stallion approached slowly, he came ever closer to the younger pony. Suddenly he was halted by a loud clink. He looked back and saw the chains tethering him to the wall on the other side of the cell. When he turned back, he looked through heartbroken eyes.
"It is you..." He whispered. Archy remained silent. "I took you back to bed after your nightmares enough to know that fear... why are you afraid Archimedes?"
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Archy screamed, leaning forward to push the force of his scream as powerfully as he could. Noteworthy was struck dumb by the yell, it was clearly one of pure hatred.
The dark unicorn panted heavy, still glued to the opposite wall as he stared directly into those golden eyes. "My... my name, stop calling me by it! You... you don't have the right!" Noteworthy seemed to deflate, his legs almost buckled under the weight of the barbed comment.
"I-I'm... sorry. I was just... happy... to see you again..." He mumbled slowly, trying not to anger the youth again.
"Happy?!" Archy exploded, pealing himself from the wall. He slowly began to circle around the solitary stallion in the centre of the room. "You're HAPPY that I'm stuck in a jail cell? Some father you are! You're supposed to hope I'd never end up in a place like this! Hope that I never leave the safety of my home, you're supposed to hope I make friends, meet a mare, you're supposed to hope I have a good life! NOT ONE WASTED IN A CAGE!" Noteworthy buckled to his knees, unable to stand the lashing of his son's words. Still Archy went on, uncaring for the impact his words were having. He wanted the stallion to hurt, to pay for the years he wasn't there! He'd dreamed of this moment for what seemed like his entire life!
"Then again, you wouldn't know if I had anything like that in my life! You weren't there!" Noteworthy shuddered as though somepony had hit him in the back with boulder! "You weren't there for me!" The unicorn continued, unable to quench the flow of undiluted rage that sprung forth from his lips. Years of hurt, abandonment, disappointment, all escaped in one massive explosion! "You weren't there to help me learn my first complicated spells, my first trip to Canterlot! You weren't there to help me with figuring out feelings towards mares, you weren't there when they attacked-" He choked up, his anger blocking his throat, angry stinging tears seeped from beneath his clenched eyelids. He took a breath, it came out shaky, and he finished in a calm voice that dripped with far more venom than any of his shouting. "You weren't there when they attacked home, when they took mum, and broke my leg!"
Noteworthy looked up in horror.
"T-Twilight... your mother's been taken?!"
.....
"Come on ponies! If you want to get to the mountains in time, you're going to have to pick up the pace!" Ordered Dying Armour as he lead the group of tired ponies by an enormous lead. He glanced back in time to see the only unicorn left crumble with exhaustion.
"Ruby!" Seed cried, he rushed to her, but knew he wouldn't reach her before she hit the floor.
"Woah there girl!" Thor shouted, zipping forward with difficulty and catching the mare just in time. Seed halted, staring surprised by Thor's fast movement, had he been watching Ruby? Seed himself hadn't even noticed how tired she must have been.
Yet Thor had noticed.
"Urrgghhh, you're all pathetic!" Dying Armour shouted angrily, soon arriving on the seen with a buzz of his wings.
"We've been walking for hours!" Thor protested angrily, still supporting the fainted unicorn. Nightfall had long since come, yet the group hadn't been allowed to stop. 'Too dangerous' the changeling had said! Angelica came over along with Sweetness, the two mares helped their unconscious friend off of the back of the pegasus, and laid her gently on the dry desert floor that had become common to them in recent hours. They were now officially in the outlands! Using one of their now empty supply bags, Sweetness made a makeshift blanket to cover the purple an platinum mare.
"Who cares!" The changeling stallion retorted. Thor glared at him, opening his mouth to hurl his most abusive insult at the creature.
"We're making camp for the night!" Angelica shouted, still beside her tired friend. Thor calmed slightly at the sound of her voice and turned away from his unwelcome ally.
"How dare you order me PONY!" Dying Armour shouted, taking an affronted step to the pegasus.
"Scream and argue all you want." The yellow mare said dryly, locking gazes with his pale green eyes. "We're stopping, Ruby is exhausted, and it would take more effort to move her with us, and time, than if we simply camped for the night."
Dying Armour scoffed at the comment, turning away angrily.
"Not if you left her behind." Seed was there in an instant, blocking Dying's way.
"I don' like you," He began. "An' if you dare say some'n like that about Ruby again. I'll rethink tha' whole 'Provin' I'm no better than you' thing."
"Oh really?" Dying Armour smirked, squaring up to Apple Seed, ready for a fight to vent his frustration like back at home! It had been too long since he'd sparred!
"ENOUGH!" The two stallions turned their heads and saw Sweetness, she was still stooped over Ruby but she was staring straight at the two, annoyance obvious in her eyes. "You guys are being stupid, why do you keep fighting when we're on the same side!" Dying Armour cursed and tore away from the group, taking to the sky with a buzz of his wings.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" Thor ordered, Armour turned in annoyance.
"To go get wood for a fire, ok? I don't think you're up for flying today after everything!" He was right, almost in response Thor's wings twinged in pain and he flinched. When he recovered, Dying Armour had a superior look plastered across his face. "Stay." He said simply, treating the group like a pack of dogs as he turned away and zipped off.
"Urghh!" Thor sighed turning back to the girls, closely followed by Seed. "I hate that guy!" He whined as he sat down beside the sleeping mare.
"You 'n' me both buddy..." Seed agreed glancing back, sure enough Dying Armour was far off already, heading over the barren landscape scanning for the simplest piece of wood. Turning back, he sighed, exhausted after the events of the day. "But what choice we got? Huh?" The others grew morose clearly feeling the same as he. "He knows where our parents are, and if..." He glanced at Sweetness who was focusing on rolling a stone across the dusty floor sadly. "...What he says, is true, Archy's probably with 'em too."
"Yeah, and that's what I don't like!" Thor grunted, he looked around the arid desert, musing on his thoughts. "I wish he was here, did you see how he fought off those changelings!"
"Yeah!" Sweetness piped up, suddenly bouncing with excitement at the memory of the day's fight. "He was like 'BOOM POW ZAP' and they were all like 'OWWWW YOU GOT ME!' 'AND THEN HE FLEEEEEWWW THROUGH THE AIR AND SAVED YOU GUYS AND WAS LIKE WOWEE ZOWEE!' And then..." She trailed off as she remembered how the skirmish had concluded, returning to her sombre and miserable mood.
"Yeah..." Angelica said aggrievedly, "They took him!" She her face scrunched up in shame as tears rolled of her face and were consumed by the parched earth below. "The best chance we had at fighting the Changelings -and they knew it- and I let them take him away." Seed came over to his cousin and placed a consoling hoof on her shoulder.
"Hey Angy... it's ok... it's not like it was your fault or nothin'!" Angy pulled her shoulder away angrily.
"I'm the leader! I'm...I'm supposed to protect everypony! Get them back safely! Make sure... make sure..." The thought seemed to choke her! She breathed in and as her voice cracked she cried bitterly, "Make sure they don't di-e!" Seed shushed the crying pegasus and hugged her close to his chest. Suddenly she turned, pressing her hooves against his chest as her usually strong persona broke away and left her crying for their lost friend.
Seed felt something brush his face, he turned to find Dying Armour behind him. In the midst of all their misery, he'd come back with a meagre supply of wood and was now stood beside the two cousins holding something out to Angelica, not even acknowledging Seed's existence. Amidst her tears, Angelica looked out to the world and saw what he held. The little doll she had found in Canterlot. In amazement the changeling knew what it meant to her, she reached out and took it gratefully, looking up at the cold emotionless dark green face above. She hugged it close as she herself was hugged by Seed. Through her sobs she asked. "H-how did you know about... about this..." The creature stood there, still no emotion on his face.
"I saw what it could do for you in Canterlot." He turned and without hesitation made the group of ponies jump as he fired a spell at the wood which irrupted into dark green embers. The warmth was both instantaneous, and appreciated by all. "Get some sleep." The changeling demanded of them all. "I'll keep watch until one of you wakes." And with that he sat away from the group. Staring out over the dark desert towards what -until recently- had been his mountain home.
Without argue, the ponies looked to each other, and decided to take the advice given to them, and all lay down near the fire for warmth and fell asleep.
All except for one.
Thor.
Soon all that could be heard in the deadly silence of the desert was the faint crackle of the fire. Dying Armour still sat resolute, staring hard into the distance. His thoughts on the past... Then somepony spoke up from behind him pulling him from the realm of his mind.
"I've got to talk to you." Dying Armour turned to see a burgundy pegasus approaching him from within the gloom of the night. The changeling sighed irritably and turned back to the mountain without a word. Thor came up beside him and sat, staring off in the same direction as he. After a moment of silence he asked. "Are you listening to me?" Dying armour sighed again and said in a bored tone.
"Yes... unfortunately... what do you want?" Thor waited a moment, obviously trying to word it just right.
"Y-You said you'd seen how the doll helped Angy, in Canterlot. When were you there? How long have you been following us?" Dying Armour chuckled, glancing back to the group by the fire. He spotted the so called 'leader' of the group sleeping close to her platinum unicorn friend.
"You're quite fond of her aren't you?" The changeling smirked as he looked back to the darkness of the night. Thor seemed disgruntled by the question, bristling slightly he responded curtly.
"That's not an answer!" Finally Armour looked straight to Thor, his pale green eyes seemed to penetrate the suspicious pegasus, and the look sent shivers all up the pony's spine.
"No, it isn't." Dying armour agreed coldly. There was another deadly silence, then... "I told you, you can cover plenty of ground when you don't stop for rest." Thor almost spoke up against the incident earlier that night, but bit back as the changeling continued. "I left the mountain after Discord set my brothers and sisters against me..." Dying armour's eyes began to lose focus as he was lost in his memories, Thor stared at them, unable to look away at their pale green as they gleamed through the dark. "My mother hadn't been there, so I came to the only place I knew she had been recently... Canterlot's throne room." Thor noticed movement just below his gaze, he glanced down and saw the changeling's hoof was shaking, was it out of anger? Or misery?
"If...if I'd have gotten there... just a little sooner!" Dying Armour choked. His entire cold persona was beginning to crumble away, showing both a great love and grief for the departed queen. Still he continued...
.........................................................
“Oh come now Shining Armour, can’t you allow a dying girl her last wish?”
“And that is?”
“To talk. To make a request.”
The Chrysalis coughed horribly, from her mouth exploded several wisps of the paper like substance that was her crumbling form. Shining Armour waited patiently, though he disliked all that the creature stood for, him more understandably than anypony. He understood the respect he should pay to a dying being. After the fit passed, Chrysalis looked up. She opened her mouth, and called out. "Dying Armour? Come down." From the rafters high above them, something fell, landing slightly roughly on the tiled floor.
Dying Armour looked up, the wounds from his fellow changelings still weeping blood. The stallion changeling looked up through teary eyes. "M-mother..." He choked. Shining Armour backed away.
"You!" He cried angrily, almost attacking his known enemy on principle. This was clearly a trap! Dying Armour ignored his father and stared on at his dying mother, his heart crumbling at the same rate as she did.
"My child..." Chrysalis cooed gently stretching out her neck towards him. Dying Armour came closer to let her stroke his face with her head affectionately. As their heads touched Chrysalis closed her eyes. "Y-you... were always my favourite..." Dying Armour's eyes scrunched at the words, unable to stop the tears from flowing down his face.
"M-mother!" was all he could say! Finally they pulled away, and the queen addressed the captain ahead of her.
"Dying Armour wasn't born like a normal changeling..." She explained to Shining Armour as Dying Armour straightened up and glanced over with a hateful glare to the white stallion. "I... gave birth to him... not from a cluster of eggs like the others." Chrysalis continued. Shining Armour felt sick at the thought that he had helped for such a thing to happen, but he didn't look away, ensuring he respected the last wish of the dying queen, to listen. "...You know why that is." She said quietly. Shining Armour nodded, not wishing to revisit the memories of before his wedding with the one he thought was his future wife.
"He is your son..." The changeling queen said slowly, Shining Armour's eyes closed with defeat, he shuddered, then reopened them, composing himself as best he could.
"I didn't ask for this either!" Dying Armour shouted suddenly at the obviously disgusted stallion. "You think I wanted to be different from my brothers and sisters?! You think I wanted a pony to be my father?! I WISH YOU-"
"Armour!" Chrysalis barked, causing her to cough up more of her wilting insides. The dark creature calmed immediately and stooped to his mother's side. She waved him away quickly, making him back off with new tears in his eyes. When she finally recovered, she picked up where she left off.
"He is your son... and... my request is this..." She looked from one stallion to the other, though Dying Armour tried not to, he looked so much like his father. Even beneath the cuts and scars across his surface, his features were so similar. She sighed, then finally asked her final request. "Watch over him. Shining Armour, he is your son, and I want you to help him! Let him take his rightful place as the next monarch of my children!"
"How?" Shining Armour asked simply. "How do I do that?"
"By killing that monster Discord!" Dying Armour barked curtly. "Or give me a chance to get at his throat! Then I'll do the rest!" Shining Armour looked from his bastard son, to the mother who lay a few feet away. She nodded, agreeing with her son.
"Find them." Chrysalis said simply. "Find the survivors, here and in Ponyville. Find them and go to the outlands. And fight!" Shining Armour began to ask a question but the speech died in his throat as suddenly, Chrysalis began to convulse. The rate of decay skyrocketed, irradiating the tip of her horn in seconds.
"Mother!" Dying Armour cried, rushing to her. He knew by the time she had begun to wilt, there was no bringing her back, no amount of love could rejuvenate the parent who lay dying before him. This didn't stop him however, he tried to give her every drop of affection he had for her! He loved more than anything, she was all he had! He needed her! To stay! To love!
Tears burst forth as he saw it didn't work, Chrysalis's torso was almost gone already, the seconds were flying by, with them taking his mother from him! The tears flooded out faster when his pale green eyes met her darker ones for one instant. Her mouth opened, about to speak.
"I lo-" Her mouth flaked away, and a second later, all that remained was the white wisps which scattered across the floor.
"Nooooo!" Dying Armour screeched. He dropped down to the ground, swiping at the white wisps. Trying to pull them into him. "Mother!" The wind took most of them suddenly, rushing them out the window. Armour swung at the trying to catch them, when he failed he tried to drag the remaining ones to him, but the simply wafted into the air as his hooves swung over them, dancing, almost mocking him. "Noooohohohoooooo" Dying Armour broke down into tears, he was alone. His face hit the floor, speckling the tiled floor with tears. His body heaved as the grief flowed out of him. She was gone!
A warm hoof rested on his shoulder, the tears ceased instantly. In one single movement, Dying Armour swung his sharpened horn around, aiming to strike the father that was clearly trying to trick him! The horn came into contact hard with Shining Armour's foreleg. He had blocked it. Dying Armour glared up at the pony, hating him for besting him in this moment of grief, adding insult to injury! In one swift movement, Shining Armour rushed in. Dying Armour expected a deathly blow, he glared back, not closing his eyes. Wanting the only thing he saw was the father he hated, determined to haunt the stallion if he could!
The white forelegs wrapped around his neck and pulled him close.
Then stopped.
Dying Armour stared over the empty hall, his eyes wide in surprise as he father embraced him.
"I'm sorry..." The white stallion whispered. The lie filled Dying Armour with fury!
"No you're not!" Dying Armour cried out, livid at his father. He struggled, but his muscles were weak with grief.
"I am!" Shining Armour countered, his voice slightly breaking as he pulled the stallion closer. "I am! I'm sorry!" Dying Armour stopped struggling. Amazed at the unexpected display of affection.
.........................................................
"He went off to find any survivors like my mother asked, and I came with him until we reached the entrance hall. Before he entered, he promised he'd respect my mother's wishes, but for me to follow you all. To be a 'guardian angel' for you all."
Dying Armour brought his story to a close. Leaving Thor staring in awe.
"Y-you... you were with us this whole way?" Dying Armour nodded, his shaking finally coming under control. Thor stared for a moment, then began almost fearfully. "B-but you said... you said the changelings that attacked us today... you said they were after you!" The changeling nodded once more.
"They were."
"Then why didn't we run into them sooner? If you could get to Canterlot so fast, then how come we did get hit by them as we left?"
"They weren't chasing me, if that's what you mean." Dying Armour explained, still looking coldly into the distance. "They were trying to ward me away. Needless to say Discord probably sensed me coming..." He left the explanation open, knowing the conclusion was obvious.
Thor stared for another moment, then slowly began to relax.
"You're... really here to help us huh?" The changeling didn't say anything for a moment. Then his head turned slowly. His eyes fixed, resolute, full of loathing for one single creature.
"As long as it can get me to Discord, to avenge my mother... I'll follow you all to the end of the world and back!"