Did I Miss Anything?
Pandinus was breathing heavily after her fight. It had taken nearly four hours, a lot of help from the locals who had to keep their distance, and Cimmerian's aid once they'd knocked the armor off of the monster, but it was finally contained. They just didn't know how to destroy it; no matter how much or how hard they hit it, it wouldn't stop moving. Cimmerian was wracking his brain even now, writing down odd rhymes and old stories of monsters, trying to find one that might work.
"Stake was vampire, so was garlic. Exorcism? maybe. Silver...werewolves. Salt was ghosts, spirits so maybe. Pure salt, nothing less. Trolls were fire, unless it was one of those stone trolls. Then it was sunlight..."
"Is there any sense to this or are you just guessing?" Din growled, smearing resin over a crack in her shell.
"It's a fucking wendigo, most stories I read just say they can't be killed and yuou should run away. I know I've read something about killing one, but I can't remember. We're talking a single mention, years ago. I can't just pull memories from that far back like changelings can. So i'm trying to remember all the monster-slaying stories in hopes that I can find that one bit I need."
"T-the fires of friendship can melt any ice according to the Equestrians," a thestral mare offered. "Perhaps if you were to-"
"Right, let's just hug the undead monster and hope it doesn't rip out our throats." Din said, pushing the thestral towards the door. "Maybe the alicorn? It was Twilight's brother at one point. Perhaps it would recognize her and-"
"-eat her," he finished abruptly. "Wendigos were famous for always possessing someone and eating their family. It was a way to explain psychotic breaks and cannibalism. A lone family in the woods dies suddenly during a harsh winter when food was becoming scarce and one of them was found to have eaten the others before wandering off into the snow. I don't think it would work. You can give it a shot but all it's likely to do is break her heart and set it off again."
The queen grunted, though whether it was in understanding or irritation he couldn't be certain.
"Fire, fire...it has to be something about heat. A being of pure cold like a wendigo should...was that it?"
"Out with it. If nothing else, we can try it out. At this point the worst we'll receive is a few bites. And with the number of teeth I knocked out, it's becoming less of an issue each time."
He nodded.
"Boiling...something. Fat or lard? Forcing something boiling down its throat. Not water, though. The story made fun of using water because it freezes too fast. You want something it will try to consume, use its hunger against it. Lard would probably work but we'd need to have some griffons drop it off. I don't think ponies keep that stuff."
"Thestrals might. They're a bit more aggressive than ponies and a few have carnivorous tendencies. I'll ask."
The stallion nodded absentmindedly. It had been a brutal fight but eventually they'd managed to drop the damned monster into a large hole in the ground. It was currently roaring and screaming at the bottom of a twenty-some foot drop, unable to climb the walls of its new abode. A strong and sturdy sound-wall spell kept the beast from scaring everyone out of any sleep at all, but if you looked closely you could see pebbles shaking around the pit.
'It must have been dumb luck. If Celestia, Luna and Pulmonus, three of the oldest creatures on the planet, have never heard of wendigos it was dumb luck that the Nightmare managed to make one. You don't go around making a wendigo purposefully. It usually takes a special kind of torment, a special set of circumstances.'
He sighed. After the fight was over the city was mostly under their control. The remaining Nightmare forces were so scattered and prone to attacking each other than they didn't really last that long. There were still a few held up in small sections of the town and a few more in hiding, but as it stood...
'Cities still a loss. Need to get someone out here to purify the water. Otherwise it's not livable.'
That had hit a few of the remaining bats. Their city was salvageable, but until water was made readily available again, the nearest source was a spring that was nearly five miles away. Not bad for a flying species, but it was still too far to fly with large jugs of water when the shipyard was also in tatters. Magic could lighten the load, but the town's enchanter had moved to the Temple.
"Which means we may need Twilight anyway. She could probably enchant that kind of thing easily."
But would it be enough? He'd already sent several groups of thestrals to nearby towns. That was likely going to be straining supplies until Celestia and Luna managed to get their distribution routes up and running again. Add to this the fact that a good deal of food and medicine was now destroyed or ruined by the fighting and he'd have to be careful. Equestria could face the first famine it had seen since its inception.
"Right. I think they were already bringing the farms back up and when you mix the dead or missing with the reduced supplies, it may not be as bad."
He rolled his eyes. That was a horrible way to look at it and he knew it. It didn't change the facts though. Hundreds of ponies were still missing, others were likely still slaves to the minotaurs. Some were mad, desperately avoiding any and all contact out of fear. Still others were just...broken. Heart dealt with those on a daily basis. If not for her controlling them and using them for farming or other tasks, they likely would have just passed away from despair.
It was bad, but things were starting to turn around for the average being. For ponies, Celestia and Luna were back and starting to regain their old strength. With the spare energy came the ability to defend themselves and their country. Cairn would find any further attempts to conquer the country of Equestria turned back by protective alicorn mares who wouldn't let anything else happen to their country.
Griffons were looking to a long spring and summer spent repairing their homes as they moved back in. Herrick had muttered something about retiring once or twice as well, so he was done after this entire fiasco. The dragons...
'What became of them?' he wondered. He'd only seen two dragons so far and neither were working with other dragons. They were supposed to have some sort of country near Equestria but he'd not seen anything that even implied such a thing.
'Maybe stop by, bring that...didn't they lose some sort of gem to the Nightmare? Bring that back to them once we find it. It's either in Canterlot or...I really hope Cairn didn't take it.'
Writing a small additional list of things he needed to check on, he made his way out the door. He needed to see if Din had an idea of getting Twilight over here yet aside from laying a few eggs to make a batch of drones.
<-(0)->
In spite of their crunch for time, there hadn't been a good way. Pandinus did end up creating another batch of true drones in Silver City, this time in a basement she'd already claimed as her own mini-hive. Twilight's new form was given alterations to allow more magic capacity as well as a bit more love to mature it faster, meaning the drone was prepared in only a few days. Twilight herself was easy enough to bring over, the distance only a minor inconvenience to the queens and easily managed with a few drones acting as relays by moving between Heart and Pandinus.
Twilight was also quick to make a few personal changes to the drone even as she began moving about in it, elongating limbs, adding a bit of spiral to the horn which apparently made casting her old spells easier, and even increasing her magic capacity well beyond what a true drone should have been capable of. When Pandinus asked her where she'd learned, she simple said her new teacher was drilling her with new lessons every day.
The first issue he'd put towards the mare was water. Twilight had immediately dismissed the light-weight enchantments though.
"There's water right above us that's untouched. All you really need to do is bring in ice and snow and melt it in a controlled environment. There's enough water there to keep everypony healthy for a long while. And once the spring thaw starts, fresh water will be flowing into the cave again."
"Right, ice," he mumbled, staring at a wall. "I can't believe I forgot about that."
"Sometimes we get so settled on a solution we don't see an easier path," she said, smiling. "I'm guilty of that myself. Food should be simpler as well. With Equestria returning to production, we're going to be running supply lines back and forth. Thestrals were a main trade partner when we needed silver and gold, since they live underground. The diamond dogs do as well, but they tend to be hostile. We'll likely be trading food for metals to repair a lot of our magi-tech in order to get the weather factories and power facilities going again."
"I'll put you in touch with some of the thestrals then. I'm sure they'd be happy to hear there's a good deal waiting for them. It is a good deal, isn't it?"
"W-what? You don't think we'd short ponies who are desperate for food, do you?"
"It's happened in the past. Maybe not here, maybe not by your race, but it's a possibility," Cimmerian said. "As for the second issue?"
"The, the monster," Twilight said, flinching slightly. "It doesn't recognize me, as you said. In fact it only seemed to become more enraged when I tried to speak to it."
"It's not him, Twilight," Cimmerian said softly. "As far as I can tell he's been dead a while. The body wasn't allowed to rest, though. Because of that, something else found it. Maybe its been there for a while, maybe it just found it, but in the end it is there because there wasn't any other occupant."
"Which I'm not sure makes me feel better or worse," she muttered. "It means...it means that another pony died because of my failure. Another pony I should have been keeping safe."
"But we already know why that is," Cimmerian countered. "We know what the Nightmares are now. We know what they want, even if we don't know how they're arriving. The only thing we're missing is their true forms and where they actually come from. If we can find it, we might be able to learn more."
"That's going to be difficult," Din said, walking over with a few thestrals following. "They said they saw a large group of Nightmare supporters leaving the city, changing direction a little every now and again. She's gone."
"The worlds not as big as we make it out to be," Cimmerian dismissed. "Add in magical transportation and it gets even smaller. So she got away. I'm more concerned with what I was hearing from the prisoners."
"She was having the body she was riding in cared for?" Din guessed.
"The nightmare had no qualms about riding it till it broke. Either it can't swap easily from one shell to another, which would make sense because otherwise it would just drop the body and disappear, or...or something. I don't know. Either way, you don't change your tune just because something is stolen from you. She was having her body cared for properly, having infections treated, eating, drinking. I still want that thing found, but that's a secondary priority right now, especially considering her power is broken. Do we have an answer on the treasures?"
"Heart said the minotaurs took a few pony treasures as well as their own but didnt stay long enough for the others. A small drone group is flying the Dragon Mother's Eye out to the dragon lands and a few of the griffon artifacts were returned. This includes several powerful weapons."
Din grumbled at that idea.
"I don't know if i like the idea of just giving those back, but the griffons have been close allies for most of this. To do anything less would be an insult. As for the dragons, I understand where you're coming from but again, I do not like the idea of giving them their treasures back with nothing said. No agreements."
"We dont know the first thing about dragon politics," Cimmerian said. "In all honesty it could go either way. The dragons being insulted if we didnt return it or them feeling that the return of the gem is a sign of weakness. This hasn't happened before and I'm not leaving these artifacts in a recovering Canterlot where anyone who wants them back could end up wrecking the place looking for their old stuff while we're watching the border."
The queen's shoulders sagged, her irritation not abating.
"I suppose," she allowed.
"This is going to suck, there's no way around it," Cimmerian continued. "I want people to get back to their old ways as quickly as possible though. The faster the farmers are producing again, the faster the factories are churning out products, the faster everyone settles in and calms down, the sooner we get to go home. I know this is a vacation of sorts for you, Din, but i don't know how i feel about leaving Zelus with the kids. If it was in a normal sense, fine. I'd trust her to babysit. I'd trust her to egg-sit. But she's literally carrying our kids right now. That just seems...too personal to me."
Din blinked, looking at him strangely before her eyes lit in understanding.
"Oh, I didnt think about it like that. I suppose that would be confusing."
"Huh?" Twilight asked, "What's wrong with the queens changing out? It sounds like somethign herd-mothers would love to be able to do. From what I remember, pegasus mares would pluck their own feathers for such a chance."
"Humans don't do herds," Din replied, looking to him with a combination of regret and resignation. "It makes him uncomfortable. We've been talking about this sort of thing and for now we're just...we're talking. I suppose that this sort of thing would be weird to even ponies if they werent familiar with changelings."
"Oh, of course it would be," Twilight said almost immediately. "The idea of self is very engrained in the pony psych. While unicorns have learned how to, through potion or spell, alter our physical forms, most of these changes are not enduring. As such, even I initially found the idea of having a disposable or easily modified form to be unsettling. This is even after not truly having a form of my own for years. There were actually several studies on the subject with issues ranging from spiritual damage to morphic disonance experienced when a pony...actually Cimmerian likely experienced a bit of morphic disonance himself."
"When I went from human to pony?" he asked.
"Yes. I'm certain it played havoc with your senses. After all, humans, at least what I experienced or have read, are very dependant on sight and touch. Ponies are still very physical, but we also rely heavily on smell and hearing. Everything must have smelled extremely strong to you, and things were likely very loud."
Cimmerian nodded before blinking, looking to the little drone who was merrily babbling about the differences between the species.
"Wait, how do you mean experienced?"
Twilight stopped, looking at him in confusion before turning green in a changeling equivalent of a blush.
"There, oh wow. There's a mirror that allows for travel between this world and another....and I completely forgot about it. Oh that's so not good."
"Did you forget about it before or after the Nightmare possesed you?" Din asked.
"After...no, before? I don't remember. In fact I really dont remember feeling the takeover. It was just, one day I wanted to go get something to eat and my body didnt respond. It was after a long study session too. I was exhausted and was finaly ready to call it a night-or morning- when I realized something was wrong."
"We'll talk about the Nightmare in depth later, Twilight. The humans?"
"There was an old mirror created by Starswirl. It led to another world, one that was inhabited by bipeds who were called humans. It was a very strange experience, as when you entered the mirror it caused you to take the form of the local species. I spent several days in human form."
"I seem to recall hearing about a mirror several times, but I don't remember hearing about humans being involved," Cimmerian said. "Is there anything to worry about on that side?"
"I...don't think so. I'm not sure what happened, but...maybe..." Twilight mumbled, burying her head in her hooves.
Pandinus approached, lifting the drones head and meeting the other mare's eyes. Both stiffened as they communicated faster than any words could manage, then both relaxed.
"T-thank you, Pandinus. Right, I had a journal that was linked to another that was in the possession of a mare...uh, woman on the other side. I'll need to find it before I go looking for the mirror. Time doesn't work the same way between the worlds, but at the same time it's been a few years at least."
"Time dilation?"
"It's more like a tidal shift. The time speeds back up as the portal opens and we end up on the same time-progression, but afterwards the time seems to slow down again. I've also theorized that the portal isn't the cause but is reacting to the ebb and flow of time, only opening when the time-flow was safe to cross."
"Or it could be that the distance between the two worlds is changing as their position in the bigger picture shifts."
Cimmerian blinked, looking above the drone-rider to the mismatched creature that was suddenly there.
"You've probably been punched a few times for doing that, haven't you?"
"Once or twice." Discord replied nonchalantly. "I find it to be worth it though. Sometimes the reactions are just priceless."
"Except for the price of the injuries you incur," Pandinus added with a grin.
"Bah, it's not like most beings can actually hurt me. Most of the time I let it show as an injury for their benefit."
"You've had some experience, Discord, do you know anything about Wendigoes?" the alicorn asked.
"You find your enemies and drop it on them," he chuckled, slithering through the air and beginning to poke his nose into every container and shelf. He opened a cabinet and cocked his head in confusion before pulling out a small buffalo figuring and tossing it over a shoulder.
"That's nice, but that still leaves a monster running around, one that's going to find the nearest population and try to kill everyone there," Cimmerian said. "I want the Nightmare to be caught, but she's...changing. I don't know the kind of threat she is at the moment. The Wendigo is an active threat. Or at least it's a more immediate threat. So is Cairn, though that's fallen after Canterlot. At this point I think Tia and Luna have that covered."
"And if they don't Heart is backing them up."
Cimmerian looked back towards the door and the city, his wings slumping with fatigue.
"I...I think we're about done. Is there any other major threats? The griffons, the thestrals, the ponies, the minotaurs, changelings, dragons..."
"Oh, there was that yeti thing," Twilight added.
Cimmerian blinked.
"Yeti thing."
"Some army that was building up. We sort of crushed him with hundreds of changelings. I think the Nightmare put his stick in the vault."
"Right, so no threat?"
At the mare's negative response, he turned back to the mismatched creature.
"What do you think, Discord?"
"Me?" the draconequus asked, looking back in surprise. "You're asking me about this?"
"You've been out of the loop, but you still know the general layout. I also daresay you know more about the threats of this world than even Twilight. Is there something in Equestria and the surrounding areas we're missing?"
Discord floated into a seated position, tapping a chin in thought.
"You know, I don't think anyone's ever asked me."
He looked over the others with a smile that carried more weight then Cimmerian had seen before.
"There are a few threats out there that not even Tia knows about. Terrisus, a pegasus wind-mancer that was banished before they arrived here. Rock-Jaw, something like an alicorn-level diamond dog. He went to sleep centuries ago deep underground, don't think he's moved in a long time. I don't even remember his general attitude. Grogar is in a separate dimension, disconnected from Equestria, where he runs his own eternal world where he doesn't have to deal with the living..."
"No, nothing that I can think of off the top of my head."
Looking to the shocked look that was plastered over Twilight's face Cimmerian nodded.
"If there's nothing else, I'm going to go speak to Pulmonus and Celestia before getting ready to head back."
"You're leaving?" Twilight asked.
The changeling queen rubbed a hoof on Twilight's head.
"This isn't our land, Twilight. We're here protecting our lands by supporting Celestia and Luna. We've removed the biggest threats, we've chased the Nightmare out of the country, Cairn is focusing elsewhere... why would we stay, aside from nervousness about the minotaurs? I want to make certain my...family is well off. That it is well-cared for. I can't do that from the other side of the world. Would Celestia let us stay? Most likely. But we have other things to deal with. We won't just abandon everything we've worked on and we will be working on tracking down the Nightmare, but we aren't needed for this bit."
"Crystal Empire," Cimmerian said, stomping a hoof. "I'll talk to Tia about getting over there. So one last stop."
"I'd be cautious of bringing queenie here," Discord idly commented, floating closer and tapping a talon against the changeling queen's nose.
"I'd have to agree. The last time I thought about the Crystal Empire, they were under siege from my changelings," Twilight added, scuffing a hoof on the floor. "I...don't really remember what happened to it afterwards."
Pandinus was about to object when Cimmerian shook his head.
"The Nightmare's modus operandi has been to leave a queen or two in every conquered city. I want an allied queen with us for when we find her."
"No doubts as to if we find one more queen?"
"She was petty," Cimmerian explained. "Everything she's done to this point only reinforces this point. I really doubt she would miss the chance to leave a changeling queen in Cadance's kingdom."
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IT LIVES!
does a happy dance and starts reading.
Oh shit, an update. Nice!
YAY! And the updates were had by all!
I'm in bed, just about to put my phone down. Guess I'm not sleeping yet.
Just barely managed to sneak it in before the one year aniversery of no updates, lol.
god-damn. I make a post and six comments instantly, lol
Thanks for the update!!
Wheeeee.. Murphy throwing bones.
If Shining Armor is a Wendigo and Cadence is a Changeling Queen, does that mean that their mariage is now on ice?
Did Ember get the Dragon Staff first, but she was lost when it was taken, or did Torch manage to be overcome, possibly by abusing Embers safety against him, which would still allow Ember to take up the Staff again, but with a real bad revenge state that could keep a whole swarm of Wendigos fed?
If Cairn was fed into a Stellar core, would he corrupt it?
Reyrey lives! HE LIVES! ...now, Reykan...drop your pants. Your update has made me... happy.
It's a Christmas miracle! Had to reread a few chapters to refresh myself, but I'm glad this is being picked up again.
Yay! POST POST POST POST POST POST POST POST! YIPPEE! ºU°
WOOHOO!!! I'm happy to see this updating! It's been far too long. I do hope we can expect a few more chapters in the relatively near future?
Hmm.... So the Wendigo is trapped in a pit it cannot currently escape, but that's hardly a permanent solution. This might be overkill, but couldn't they just dump a crapton of molten metal on it, such as lead? Either burn it to cinders or trap it in place? And if it happens to jump out somehow like a certain Xenomorph... just douse it with the nearby poisoned water. Should explode nicely.
Course the Lore for Wendigos makes them damn hard to kill. You need to pierce their hard with a silver blade, then dismember them with a silvered axe. Salt the body, and burn it. Failure at any one step and they can simply resurrect/regenerate and come back for more.
Also Cimmerian: Get over your difficulty of having more than one spouse! Pandinius and Zelus both want you, and their linked minds are blending them somewhat anyhow! Don't be cruel to them, love them both you stubborn pain in the ass.
Woah nice to see this return
Awesome. I've been waiting what feels like forever for this story to update. I also really liked the bit with Discord. It's a shame he doesn't get more screen time. As an aside note, will you ever return to Convoluted Life as a Changeling Monarch?
It LIVES, PRAISE FAUST.
OH MY GOD IT'S BACK!!! FAVORITE STORY IS BACK!!! YES! I'M SO HAPPY!
Oh god I might actually be crying.
Thank-you ever so much for taking up the pen once more...
Holy damn, I was just in the process of re-reading this.
You know your fic is good when it can hardly go an hour before ending up on the featured list.
It's alive! It's alliiiiive!
Oh hey, an update. Yay! So, how do you like Fortuna?
It's alive. Quick we need someone to have a Frankenstein it's alive clip posted here
Well.. this was a pleasant surprise.
Oh, I wish I had a Cimmy fic for Christmas, Only a Cimmy fic would do.
Lovely to see this back again.
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camo.derpicdn.net/6eb012f6aad0171e82068db0107f5548dcd360fc?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmemecrunch.com%2Fmeme%2F7I01E%2Fwell-its-about-damn-time%2Fimage.jpg
I am happy!!! Hooray this story is still going
IT LIVES!!!
I bet its Chrysalis
That made me smile so much.
Update!!!!!!! Time to start the reread me thinks,
Nice, I can't believe I caught an update for something that updates so infrequently. Literally started reading this 2 weeks ago. I love where this fic is going.
Still, doesn't look like Twi's getting her body back. Not sure if she'd want to, since she has a great opportunity to study changeling magic. And the nightmare is converting to a 'normal' pony? Interesting how that will turn out, and what her followers will think.
I'm sort of frustrated knowing that it will take months if not years of waiting for updates till Pandinus' drones hatch... err... are born. rather.
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Storm King reduced to 'a Yeti thing' comment?
I was digging on the casual mention of other mega villains.
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I gotchu fam.
IT LIVES!!! You have no idea how happy this makes me.
it has been too long...
Poor Twilight. Better find that mirror though. I can see someone doing some shopping at sams and costco.
Yay, you're back
I can see Cim taking some gold to humanquestria and getting a ton of shiny toys back. Shiny electronic toys
Interesting, so the story nears it's conclusion. Equestria is restored, the main enemy runs and there are no major threats under way. The next great challenge? Parenthood!
$10 its gona be chrysalis in the chrystal empire, i mean its what i would have done.
The Cinnamon One returns! What a glorious day!
waitaminute-
who was the windigo? i thought it was shiny, but i forgot since the last update.
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Sober, wat r u doin'. Sober, stahp
9311383
uh, I think you're confusing authors. my other big one was Twisted Fate.
9311430
enjoyable, but as expected there were bugs and glitches galore. And the moas, while great, started out as costing 500k credits to construct each part.
9311383
I figured if anyone knew about that sort of thing, its Discord, right? He may be kind of iffy on who's side he's on, but Cim knows the guy is older than most countries, so if anyone knew about enemies that were around it would be him. I'm surprised I don't see it more often, actually.
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Oh, yeah......you're right. My bad. I was thinking of LordBrony for some reason. I think it's because of how similar your biggest stories are to his that I got that them mixed up.
IT LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVES!
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Shh, shh... it's okay Rey... just let it happen. I will snuggle you until you die of internal bleeding.
Hey~, update after so long. Good to see it's still going, especially since it feels like we are in the third act. I always hated it when people stopped stories near the end. Keep up the great writing Reykan!
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Shining Armor
YAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!! IT LIIIIIIVES!!!! I'm beyond happy!!
Thought: it's not just any old changeling queen, is it? It's Chrysalis in the Crystal Empire.
Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely thrilled for the continuation of this story but it is not as magical as I remember it to be. That magic can only be there for so long until the book loses some of its value when reading it again after multiple years pass. Especially when in those years I have taken quite a few English courses in university. Still, it is nice to see an old and well regarded story come to life and I hope to see much more than this tiny chapter in the coming future.