Chapter 9: A Chance Meeting
So, let me get this straight..." Thoraxis started, in an anxious voice, to Pinkie Pie, who was busy devouring a cookie in her hoof. "You're not going to kill me, you don't mind that I'm a changeling, and I can stay in Ponyville as long as I like, so long as I don't hurt anypony?"
"What? Of course!" the pink mare replied. "Pff... what did you think we were? A bunch of intolerant creatures that would chase you out of town, and hunt you down like a wild animal?"
"Um..." he replied, slowly, scratching the back of his head. Pinkie, after realizing what image she just created in both their minds, gave an innocent smile, before finishing off the last of the charcoal-colored cookie, shoving it into her mouth, and swallowing it whole.
"Well, there's no need to worry about it now," she laughed. "You're welcome here as long as you want!"
"Heh. That's literally the first "good" news I've gotten since I got here..." he mumbled back. "You've got no idea how stressful this entire thing has been for me. So much has happened in a very short span of time... I'm surprised I haven't suffered a nervous breakdown yet."
"Say... why'd you start stealing toys, anyway?" Pinkie asked again, changing the subject. "You never told me that part yet. I bet it's a big reason, but I have no idea what stuff changelings like to do in their spare time. Is it a hobby?"
"It's not a hobby! It's because I, well..." he started again, his tone hesitant, as his field of view anxiously shifted to the wall. "...I came into the unfortunate possession of a changeling egg a few days ago, and I uh... need stuff like that to help it hatch."
Pinkie let out a small gasp, before the sudden, inevitable, irrepressible urge to ask as many questions as possible came into her hyperactive mind. "An egg? Why in Celestia's mane do you have an egg? Where'd you get it? How long have you had it for? Is it gonna hatch? Where's it now?"
As Thoraxis begrudgingly explained to Pinkie Pie how a certain draconequus got him further into the frying pan, on the other side of the room, the Cutie Mark Crusaders sat, diligently listening in to the conversation the whole time.
"Discord gave a changeling egg to him?" Scootaloo whispered, when the words came to her ears. "Well... when you really think about it, that sounds an awful lot like something he would do, huh?"
"My question is where in the hay Discord even got one," Apple Bloom replied, with a chuckle, before the three took a hesitant nibble of the charred "cookies" in their hooves. Just as she finished speaking, each of the fillies' heads swung to their left as a dark shape entered the corner of their eyes.
"So, how does it taste?" Moredread asked, politely, leaning his head in.
"Mmm... good." Sweetie Belle complimented, halfheartedly, as she struggled to swallow what felt like a rock in her mouth. She didn't put in much effort in making it sound sincere, and her friend's facial expressions told the same, but the ghostly character didn't seem to notice, nor care.
"I'm thankful you could try them. I haven't had the pleasure of cooking in centuries," he said.
"Wait, centuries? As in, literal centuries?" Scootaloo spoke, surprised. "Wow. You do look like a ghost, but I didn't that you were that kind of ghost."
"Tis the truth, young one," Moredread answered, his voice trailing off, like an elderly pony preparing to . "Long has it been since my body rotted away and my bones turned to dust, but my spirit still remains, bound to this armor. It is a burden to live forever at times, such as when-"
Before he could speak further about his adventures of being trapped for a millennia-and-a-half in a metal box, his ethereal head suddenly lifted, as if sensing something. He looked to the door, and his glowing eyes began to squint. He let out a hum as thoughts processed in his head, before staring back at the fillies.
"Hmm... I sincerely wish I could tell you more, but I request that you three should go back to your homes now," he started once more. "Firstly, it is late, and I presume you have the need to wake early in the morning. Secondly, I'm expecting company that should be over at any moment, and I do not wish for you to... devour all the pastries I have made before their arrival."
Of course, there was a bout of confusion amongst the Crusaders, as each of the three friends looked to each other, as if expecting one to speak. Finally, Apple Bloom, looking in the direction of Pinkie Pie, who was walking with Thoraxis to the tunnel, spoke, "Uh, Pinkie, he's right. We have school tomorrow, and if Granny Smith, or anypony else finds out how late we stayed up, I don't think things are gonna end well. Do you think you'll be okay here by yourself?"
"Oh, you don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine," she replied, nonchalantly, before bursting out into an excited squeal. "And guess what? The changeling said he's gonna show me his egg! Ooh! I bet it's gonna look sooo cute!"
"Wow. Well, I hope you tell us about it tomorrow," Scootaloo said, as she and the other two started to walk out the door. Moredread watched as they left, and his eyes followed them, before he went to the entrance himself to confirm their departure.
"Bye!" the Cutie Mark Crusaders all said, waving their hooves in the air to him as they took off. As soon as the three had disappeared, Moredread lightly closed the door, without making so much as a noise from the rusty-hinged object. For the next solid minute, he sat there, in front of it, his eyes closed, waiting, patiently for his guests to arrive.
Waiting.
A minute soon passed. Then another, but not a bit of him moved, save for the mist that leaked off of him. He knew what was to come next, and remained still.
Waiting...
His eyes suddenly burst open once more, not a second after he noticed a flash of light coming from the cracks behind the door.
"They're here," he whispered to himself, his voice as quiet, and sharp as a cold wind mercilessly snuffing out a candle in the blackest of nights.
"This is where we were able to locate him," Luna spoke, as they appeared out of thin air, in front of the rickety house of sticks and unstable tiles. "The dark energy he gives off practically acted like a beacon for us to follow."
"Without Pinkie Pie, and therefore, the usage of the Elements of Harmony, be warned," Celestia continued. "He may have lost all of his power, but he's still dangerous. Whatever company he may have in his presence, be prepared to face them."
"We're ready, princesses," Twilight said, confidently. The rest of her friends nodded and spoke eagerly in agreement. With a final look, Celestia walked up to the door, and raised a hoof to push it open. Before she could even attempt to do so, a sudden creaking heralded the door opening on the other side. Celestia and Luna stepped back as what appeared to be, at first, and oozing mist, followed by an armored, masculine shape of an alicorn, wearing an apron covered in cartoon-styled flowers, offsetting what most would see as a fear-inspiring visage. Pure, unadulterated silence came between every pony there, allowing Moredread, completely calm in their presence, to get a good look at them all.
The silence was pierced as every pony heard Rainbow Dash struggle to muffle a snigger with her hooves, as she hovered in the air, behind them all. A glare brought on by Luna quickly brought silence back into the fold, only to be broken once more, as Moredread let out a cough into his steel hoof.
"Ahem... I've been expecting you," he started, his deep voice exuding a most courteous tone. "I have much I wish to say, if you will listen."
"There is no talking with you, Moredread," Celestia replied, her voice low, and brow arching once more. "I don't know how you got out, but we're going to seal you back in your prison, where you belong."
"Oh... that's such a pity. And here I thought you were considerate of others..." he spoke back, wryly. "The history books said you had become a fair, just leader, who is more than willing to hear words, if they represent reason..."
"And what makes you think that we believe that those words will be as you say?" Luna asked. "Are you trying to tell us you're sorry?"
"I have had time to think about what I had done, you two," he said back, in what they each presumed was a sincere voice. "I've had more than enough time to think. One-thousand, five-hundred years, in fact. Alone. In an iron box. In the depths of the earth. "Sorry" is not even the prologue to the beginning of what I wish to say."
"Your prison was not deep enough, it seems," Luna callously replied. Moredread let a small snort escape, before his face returned to its previous, calm composure. He turned his back to them, and began trotting back inside the house.
"You should all come in. I didn't bake this batch of cookies, just so they could get cold," he scoffed. Each of the ponies, the princesses included, gave a shared look of confusion toward each other.
"Cookies?" Spike asked, in a puzzled tone. "I guess that explains the apron."
"Princess Celestia, are you sure he's the one that... ya'know... did all the stuff you talked about?" Rainbow Dash whispered into her ear. "He doesn't seem to be acting very, well... "pure evil.""
"I don't know why he is acting this way, but don't trust him for a minute," she spoke back. The ponies all, slowly, walked inside the small residence, and got a good look at the abode. Twilight could practically hear Rarity hold back the urge to comment on how run-down and dank the place was.
"Moredread, you seem to be acting as though you have... "gone off of the deep end," for lack of a better term," Luna said again, after seeing him turn back to her, a tray filled with levitating in front of himself. "Are you... well?"
He laughed, as if mockingly. "Thousands of years of isolation will do that to one's mind, you know," he spoke, in a perturbingly calm way, as his eyes focused onto her own. "Sometimes it can be for the worse, other times... for the better, I suppose."
"Princess Celestia... I think we should hear what he has to say, before we make any rash decisions," Twilight whispered into her mentor's ear. She let out a small sigh in response, and turned to Luna, who, having heard as well, gave a nod of assent. Celestia looked toward Moredread, her look of displeasure not ceasing.
"If talking is what you want to do, then very well, Moredread," she started. "We will hear what you have to say."
"Well... this is the egg," Thoraxis said, once he and Pinkie Pie reached the bottom of the tunnel. After letting a green flare light up his horn, illuminating their surroundings, he motioned to the where the nest was, which stuck out like a sore hoof in the otherwise empty, dark room. Before Thoraxis could bat an eye, the pink pony flew past him, and stopped only when she was less than a few inches from where the nest was.
"Aww..." she cooed to the seemingly inanimate object, as she stared at it with saucer-sized eyes. "You're da most pwecious widdle changeling in da whole wide world, yes you are!"
"Don't get too close!" Thoraxis piped in, placing a gnarled hoof on her shoulder. "I don't trust you, or anypony around it. The one closest to receiving that honor is the possessed armor upstairs, and even then, it's out of necessity."
"Oh, don't worry..." she replied, with a cheerful smile. "I wont hurt it. That's the last thing I'd want to do!"
"That's reassuring..." he mumbled in return. Pinkie continued to examine it for another minute, great fascination in her eyes, before speaking again.
"Say... how long till he-slash-she hatches, anyway?" she inquired. "I already can't wait to hear the sound of baby changeling feet patter on the ground. Oh! I know! I could throw it a hatching party!"
Thoraxis gave her an odd look, before speaking. "Judging from the size... I'd say a week... or less. Also, I found out it's a she."
"A she? Ooh..." Pinkie said, rubbing her hooves together in anticipation. "I know just what to do! There'll be pink, miniature cupcakes, red-and-blue confetti, giant balloons with pictures of kittens on them, and-"
Before Thoraxis could mouth his concerns, he suddenly heard a rumbling noise coming from the earth pony's direction, and quickly realized that it was her stomach.
"Oops! hehehe..." she chuckled, as she rubbed it, an image of faint embarrassment on her face. "Those cookies that ghost friend of yours made were a little too stiff for my belly, I guess. I know what'll fix the situation!"
She placed a hoof in her mane, before plucking out a small object. Thoraxis saw it was a cupcake with blue-and-white, swirly frosting, and multi-colored sprinkles. How she hid something like that in there, Thoraxis truly didn't want to know. As Pinkie took in a long, refreshing sniff of the food item, and opened her mouth to take a large bite out of it, she suddenly stopped, as both heard a voice, coming from where the tunnel was.
"Hey! That sounds like Princess Celestia!" Pinkie shouted. "What's she doing here?"
"Wait, Princess Celestia?! The Princess Celestia?!" Thoraxis inquired, panic emerging from his tone. "Are you kidding me?! How'd she get here?"
"Beats me. She probably teleported here from Canterlot," she replied, throwing the cupcake into the air, forgetting about it. "I'll bet my flank my friends are with them. I've gotta explain to them you're a good guy! Let's go greet them."
""Greet," yeah, of course... yeah..." Thoraxis said, nervously, just before they both sped out of the burrow, kicking up dirt in their wake. The previously-thrown cupcake landed idly on the ground as they left, its puffy, creamy top splattering as it landed, just a few, scant feet from where the egg lied. The only other things that remained in the abode, was quiet, and the sweet aroma of the pastry, which flew around like an invisible fog, enveloping the egg in its smell.
Then, as if the magical switch was pressed, the egg began to stir, as a crack, ever so small, slowly grew, and etched itself across the shell's surface...
As the two were exiting the burrow, they could easily hear a heated discussion going on, and, as to not disrupt it, slowed down to a tiptoe, and peaked their heads out of the hole. Thoraxis let out a gulp as he saw each figure in his home, noticing Pinkie Pie's friends right off, before shifting his view to what he easily realized was the princesses, Celestia and Luna, each one wearing curled brows of anger that made the translucent blood in his veins cringe in fear.
"I cannot see the reason you so adamantly stated you'd show," Luna said again, once Moredread finished his sentence.
"It's simple," he replied. "I wish to stay here for the remainder of my days, however long that may be, in peace."
"But the enchantments you placed on your armor are made to keep your spirit alive, until, as I heard before, the "day the world ends,"" Luna spoke again. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I do not like a pony with that sort of spell keeping them active."
"With great effort, enchantments can be changed, and I am without power to pose a threat to any being, ever again," he replied, motioning to the hole in his helmet's forehead, where his horn used to be. "I have no means to reclaim it, I do not wish to reclaim it, and never shall attempt to reclaim it."
"I think that the "mental breakdown" thing I talked about earlier is coming back..." Thoraxis muttered to Pinkie, from the hole they still hid in. His voice, despite being a whisper, was heard by Spike, who turned his head to their direction, before letting out a cry of alarm.
"Changeling!" he yelled out, pointing a claw at him, before noticing the other, more familiar shape. "And... Pinkie Pie?"
"Pinkie?!" all of the pink mare's friends shouted in unison, in both surprise, and alarm, as they, too, turned to face them. Rainbow Dash continued with, "What are you doing here? HOW did you get here?"
"Don't worry you guys, I'm alright, and you'll never believe what happened!" she laughed, walking fully out of the tunnel, leaving Thoraxis behind. "As it turns out, the changeling, whose name is Thoraxis, by the way, is the pony stealing the toys, but he isn't evil, and doesn't want to hurt anypony! He's actually pretty nice."
"Changeling," Moredread spoke, prompting Thoraxis to swivel his head to the ghost's direction. "Tell them how I've acted since you released me."
"Well... um... aside from his jitter-inducing appearance, Moredread is not evil," Thoraxis said, directly to Celestia and Luna, after mustering up a bit of courage. "When I first met him, he told me that he was "retiring" from whatever he was before. He's even watched over my egg for me while I've been gone working at the local pet store, and not a scratch has come upon it."
"Even the changeling agrees," the phantom spoke , whose expressions remained stiff. "Celestia... Luna... all I ask is a chance to show you I mean well. A chance to show you I wish to redeem myself for all my past sins."
"Give us one good reason why we should give you that chance!" Celestia thundered. Moredread was more than ready to reply, and just as he was about to defiantly speak his answer, a new sound entered the room.
The sound was coming from the tunnel - that was unmistakable - but what the sound was, was at first unrecognized by anypony in the room, save for Thoraxis, whose eyes shot open at the childlike mewling noise. There, at the tunnel, a small shape appeared, crawling out of it at a snail's pace. A small, insect-like shape, resembling a miniature version of Thoraxis.
A baby changeling.
The creature had pink frosting coated in messy fashion all over her face, along with a big smile, and a curious look in her large eyes. It didn't take Thoraxis and Pinkie Pie a moment to realize where the substance came from. The infant continued to crawl around, becoming more acquainted with her new surroundings, making the same childlike gibberish, when Moredread decided what to next.
"Because..." he started, as he became the first to walk up to the small creature, her greenish-tinted, teal eyes looked up to the phantom, like a loving child to a parent. When he was within a foot of her, she stretched out her front hooves, both riddled with tiny holes, as if in an attempt to hug him, only to plop over on her back, clumsily. Moredread lowered his snout, and nudged the flailing creature gently, until she was back on her stomach. She gave a happy glance back to him, and began to crawl around some more, this time toward the still-awestruck Thoraxis, who could only stand there with his jaw dropped open. As she was doing this, Moredread shifted his view back to the princesses of the night and day, before speaking again.
"...I now have something truly worth being around for."
A silence fell upon the ponies and changeling, and, while Luna's complexion looked collected and tranquil despite the moment, Celestia's had curled into one of a wide-eyed, but completely still visage of fury. Just as Luna began to open her mouth, ready to speak her mind of the situation's sharp turn, Celestia made one of her own, and faced the opposite direction, her tail brushing against her sister's, as she left the house without uttering a single word.
"Sister? Where are you going?" Luna demanded to know. When she showed no sign of stopping, Luna, with a begrudging groan, followed her out. The other ponies, save for Twilight Sparkle, trotted up to the baby changeling to get a better look at the precious infant, while Twilight herself, with a worried look on her face, began to leave as well, joining up with Luna.
"Sister. Celestia!" Luna shouted, when the three had walked a few dozen feet from the house, away from any prying ears. Celestia finally came to a stop, and looked back at her sister and student with a glare.
"We need to lock him away. We both know that we cannot trust him," she said. "He was the single most dire threat Equestria has ever encountered."
Luna shook her head in disagreement. "Sister, he is telling the truth when he said he had no ways to regain his power," she began. "I see no reason to imprison him again. Perhaps his time spent alone for the last few thousand years truly changed his warped mind for the better."
"Why do you believe that, Luna?" Celestia asked. Her younger sister gave a sure look before responding.
"For I, too, was once lost to darkness. I believe forgiveness is the path we should take, not wrath."
"I completely agree, princess," Twilight concurred, nodding her head to Luna. "If we could reform Discord, we can reform Moredread. He just needs the right help."
"What happened to you was different, Luna," Celestia protested. "We were young. It was his dark magic that played your jealousy against you, until it consumed you. None of what Nightmare Moon did was your fault."
"It was as much my fault as it was his," her sister argued. "That jealousy was mine, and mine alone. The seeds left by his magic only grew from my envy."
"Thousands suffered and died under his reign!" Celestia retorted, in a shout.
"And millions more would have perished under mine, if you had not defeated me!" Luna shouted back, as she stomped a hoof into the dirt. "Would you have been so forgiving of me then? If the eternal night I tried to enact stayed eternal, and everything slowly atrophied, until there was nothing left but dust... would you have been so easy to accept the words "I'm sorry" as they leave my lips? Would you, dear sister?"
For the first time in the conversation, Celestia didn't know what to say. She looked to her younger sister, then to her student, before, finally, she sighed, and lowered her head, in a defeated manner.
"If you truly choose this, then tell him... tell them... he can stay," she spoke to them both, through gritted teeth, her voice sounding as light, reluctant, and held-back as a minotaur trying to disguise itself in a crowd of breezies. "But we will watch every single move he makes as of this day. Every. Single. Move."
"I agree to that, sister," Luna replied, taking in an easy breath. "Absolution should not be mistaken for caution. Judging from what you said, do you wish to leave?"
"I cannot bear to be in his presence a minute longer," Celestia admitted, solemnly, as she closed her eyes, the wings on her side unfurling. "After all he did... you may be one to let the past go, and I can see the reason why, but I, still, am not."
With a single, quick, powerful thrust of her wings, the princess of the day ascended into the night sky, leaving their sight after several more, her shape disappearing into the glow of the full moon. Luna sighed, as if she had lifted a tremendous weight from her chest, and looked to Twilight, who still stood beside her.
"Twilight Sparkle," Luna spoke to the princess in question. "Shall we go tell him?"
"I'm right behind you, princess," she replied.