//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Becoming a Monster // by Telgin //------------------------------// Deep beneath the surface, hidden away in the sprawling caverns connected to a great basin of magical might, sat the aged living corpse of a draconequus. She sighed contentedly and crossed her legs before leaning back in her throne. “And that, my children, is my story. Forgive me for taking so long. Over the centuries I'd nearly forgotten just how much there was that could be told.” Around her sat dozens and dozens of ponies of all kinds. Stallions, mares and foals. Among the crevices near the ceiling even a few griffons roosted. Every possible emotion imaginable was visible on at least one of their faces. Some ponies were tearing up. Most of the foals simply stared in awe and wonder. At least one couple were holding each other. “I know this can be a lot to take in. Believe me... I understand.” Silence fell across the morose crowd. The awkwardness lingered for some time before one of the foals near the front, a pegasus colt named Crosswind, spoke up. “What happened next? Did you go back to Blackfeather and help them too?” The draconequus shook her head sadly. “Blackfeather Roost, as I was to later learn was its name, was abandoned soon after my attack. I never did learn why exactly. The damage I did couldn't have been that severe, but I suppose the griffons thought it wasn't worth rebuilding after trade dried up. They took their survivors with them. “As for what happened next, well, look around you.” She waved a skeletal hand over her assembled family. “For days I tried to decide on what to do with Lilac, Rose and Cinny. None had any surviving family, and after what I did the ponies began to pull out of the region. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months and years. In time... I found more and more outcast, abandoned or forgotten ponies and griffons. Even a few zebras. After centuries, we now number in the thousands throughout our lands.” Next to him, a gray unicorn filly named Dusty Tome raised a hoof. “Um, mom? Why did people call you Cantrip back then?” The draconequus nodded slowly, in thought. “Yes... that is a detail I didn't get to. As I said, to me, Cantrip died three hundred ninety eight years ago.” She pointed off down a side passage. “Just through there. After what I did, I no longer wanted to be remembered at all. When it became apparent that I would live on for some time and have children to care for, I took on a new name.” In a skeletal hand she took up a ragged old spell book. “I spent some time trying to think of something appropriate. I found it in Bone Chips' spell book. Entropy. A word he used often in his writings and so fitting. It means several things. Disorder, for one, but it can also mean to decay. Just like I did.” A griffon above her asked, “But, didn't he take his book back?” Entropy grinned. “Oh, he did. Years later I tracked him and his cohorts down. They never hurt anyone else after that.” “Did you find your babies?” a young pony called to her, lost among the crowd. “No...” Entropy dropped the book back into its pile. “I never found out what happened to them. They weren't with the pony necromancers, nor were they in the cave when I awoke.” Silence reigned again before a mare asked, “What about Zeal and Revelry? Did you ever talk to them again?” “I... did. Much later. The rifts between us never healed, although the spell I cast on them did its job. They should have both aged and passed on centuries ago by now, but they still live, last I saw them.” Entropy looked aside. “Zeal goes by the name Mayhem now, and has a lot of the surviving draconequuses from around the world living with him. Together they enslave and kill as many ponies and griffons as they can. He simply doesn't understand... “As for Revelry, well... I don't know for sure what happened to her. She parted ways with Zeal and slowly lost her grip on reality. She now calls herself Anarchy. I haven't seen her in two hundred years, so I don't know where she is now or what she's doing. If she still lives.” A dull yellow stallion sat up. “Is he the reason the other ponies hate us so much?” “Partly... but children, remember that I have never been and never will be accepted by them. They hate you because of me, and because you love me instead of them.” Entropy shifted in her chair, cracking joints. “When I saved you all and changed you to what you are now, they envied you because of it. They know you have something they never can.” “What's that?" Crosswind asked. “It's that unconditional love. They know that no matter what happens, that you'll never turn on each other. You'll never stab each other in the back, or abandon your family. You'll always stand together, through good and bad.” Her tone turned sad again as she added, “For as long as ponies and griffons and everything else have existed, they've never been able to do that. I gave you that gift.” Dusty Tome scooted forward and hugged Entropy's skeletal leg. “We'd never do anything bad like that!” She smiled and stroked the filly's mane. “Yes, yes, I know. And I would never turn on any of you.” Before she could say anything more, a dry and ethereal voice called out to her from the side passage. “Mother? There is an important matter we should discuss soon.” “Excuse me, children. I'll be back in a moment.” She rose and stepped into the tunnel, where she found the skeleton of a pony wearing heavy blackened steel armor waiting on her. Serrated Blade, one of her oldest sons that she had preserved into undeath like herself. The piercing blue glow of phantom flames in his eye sockets flared and turned toward her. “What is it?” He made a small bow at the neck and said, “Pardon the interruption, but something has come up that needs your attention.” He stepped back and beckoned for her to follow. “Yes, go on. What is it?” “I was just told by somepony that we have some 'intruders' in the plains to the south. A couple of days ago, a group of ten ponies with several wagons set up there and have a large camp. From the looks of things, they intend to stay for a while.” Her expression darkened. “Is that so? It's been decades since anyone has been so bold.” She flared her wings and snorted. “Thank you for telling me. I think I'll go have a look myself tonight.” Serrated Blade bowed again and ducked away into the shadows, and Entropy made her way to the surface. Once there, she turned to look off to the south where she pictured the sight of ponies chopping down trees and cutting them into planks. They couldn't have done much in two days, but she knew from experience it didn't take long for them to get a surprising amount put together. Images of an incinerated pony town whose name she either never learned or forgot hundreds of years ago returned to her. No. Not this time. She sneered and flared her wings. History was not going to repeat itself. She would keep her family safe without hurting them. They would not hurt her family... whether by joining them or otherwise. But first, she was going to go take a look at these brazen intruders. They must be very interesting indeed to come so far into known 'discordant pony' territory willingly. With a beat of her wings, she lifted into the air and soared off to the south. She might not even have to lift a finger. It was usually easy enough to scare the occasional visitor away. After all, there were a few benefits to being an undead monster from ages long forgotten...