18th: Ardently
The Rule of King Cocoon of the Changelings
“This still doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“Yeah… explain the part where you learned how to do magic again.”
There exists within me a desire to go back to being Lou and Summitplunge’s prisoner. Those were simpler times. I didn’t have to recap all my adventures since I arrived in Equestria. I didn’t have to explain how I come from a world apart from this one. I didn’t have to explain how my memory is all messed up. No, all I had to do was sit around and stare at rocks.
The larger part of me is extremely happy that I am alive and safe. Lou and Summitplunge aren’t trying to kill me, Dnaglefreed is Nonspecific Deity knows where, and my previous captors are even feeding me ever so slightly with a trickle of trust. Things turned out okay.
“I didn’t ‘learn’ magic, I knew how to do it previously. I don’t know when I learned it or even why I can do it,” I explain for the seventh time tonight. “The memories of my magic come and go.” A breeze comes along and chills me a bit, even in front of the fire. My clothes and cloak got absolutely soaked, so I hung them all up to dry on a tree away from the riverbank. I’m glad my duds came with some long underwear, so I at least don’t have to be completely naked.
“What was that spell you used that almost blinded us?” Lou asks. All I can do is shrug. “You’re just doing whatever the voices in your head tell you?”
“When you put it that way…”
“I call it how I see it.” Lou levitates another berry into her mouth and chews on it thoughtfully. Being dropped in the river destroyed her bandages, so she’s having to improvise with torn pieces of her cape. She didn’t let either me or Summitplunge see her while she changed out of the damp wrappings, but even now she isn’t as wrapped up as she once was.
The damage I did to her still throws me. Her newly exposed chest is covered in an astounding amount of scarring and without her cloak I can see that the hair on her tail is still growing back. The area surrounding her tail has new wrappings around it, so I’m left to speculate what the full extent of the damage might be based on the scars peeking out from under the wrappings. As for her face, she’s still opted to cover her right eye with a makeshift bandage. Even with her mane down like when I first saw her, the scars make her look entirely different. They’re off-putting at first, but I think I’m used to them by now. I’m not brave enough to ask if she’s used to them.
“Rgh… this is all way too much to process for one night,” Summitplunge grumbles. After having to swim with his armor on, he has opted to discard it. He says that even if Dnaglefreed showed up again, he might as well be wearing a bathrobe. “Humans, changelings doing magic, and Discord. This is way too heavy for me.” Summitplunge gets up from the campfire and heads towards the trees, away from the riverbank.
“Going somewhere?” Lou asks, putting another berry in her mouth.
“I’m gonna go fertilize the forest.”
“Ew.” I still can’t get over the fact that ponies just do their business wherever they feel it’s “needed.”
“Don’t get lost!” Lou calls after him. He doesn’t turn around, but he waves a hoof back at her to indicate that he has no intention of wandering too far. Once he’s gone, it gets kind of quiet. Ever since we set up our makeshift camp, we’ve been talking nonstop. Well, I’ve been talking and they’ve been asking questions and making pointed remarks. “Hey.”
“Huh?” I realize Lou is trying to talk to me. She averts her gaze when I look over at her, which makes me suspicious. I smell something a little fishy.
“Thanks for… editing your story.”
I purposefully left out the fact that Lou and the Sphinx were in cahoots, out of consideration for Lou. I also left out the part where we kiss, out of consideration for myself. It’s my story, so I can take any artistic liberties I want.
“Don’t thank me quite yet,” I tell her. This makes her turn and raise an eyebrow at me. “I kinda told Summitplunge you have a thing for him.” Lou’s eye gets real big, but she also gets real quiet and real still. She stays like that for an unsettling amount of time.
“You… he… I… eh-I…”
“Try breathing.” Lou takes my suggestion, calming herself down before attempting to form a rational sentence.
“Oh… h-how did he take that news?” Lou forces herself to smile a big, toothy grin. I should probably proceed with caution.
“It was before the dragon attacked, so he thought I was pulling his leg,” I explain, but her fake facial expression doesn’t budge an inch. I’m afraid she forgot to breathe again. “He didn’t really have time to react because the dragon attacked and all.”
“O-oh… I see,” Lou says, her expression not matching her tone of voice. The berries she’d been shoveling in not two minutes ago go untouched while the pair of us sit in awkward silence.
“You know,” I start, and I almost don’t go on. I can’t believe I’m about to suggest this. “I could transform into you while you hide. If he has any feelings for you, even ones he’s repressing a little, I’d be able to sense them.” Lou’s ears perk up and her smile fades. She opens her mouth to speak, but then stops. Her gaze keeps flying every direction, which is probably indicative of the fact that her thoughts are all over the place.
“No… no, you don’t… I mean, you shouldn’t do that,” Lou says, with a giggle tacked on the end that comes right out of the blue. “I’d hate to see what would happen if you two had to kiss each other.”
“Ah, eeeeew! Don’t even joke like that!” Kissing Lou was one thing, but smooching on Summitplunge would be a whole different ballgame. “No amount of bathing would make me pure again. I’d rather kiss a minotaur after he’s eaten a clove of garlic.” Lou finds this particularly funny, and breaks into a fit of genuine laughter. I’m hurt that the thought of me and Summitplunge doing something that would probably ruin both our lives brings her joy, but at least she has stopped being all paranoid.
“What’s so funny?” Summitplunge reappears at the camp, prompting Lou to go ahead and stiffen back up. When the stallion sits down, she gets up. We wait for her to say something or leave, but she kind of just stands there for a few tense seconds. “Hey, are y-”
“I’ll be right back!” Lou shouts before darting towards the treeline. Summitplunge turns and gives me a funny look.
“… When nature calls?” The woods are a big place, but I’m not sure if it’s good manners to wait until the forest is unoccupied to go do your thing. Summitplunge seems to accept the notion that Lou has gone to use the little filly’s tree.
Once again, I’m alone with Summitplunge. The situation feels eerily similar to the one I was just in. Before it even happened, I predicted what Summitplunge was going to ask me.
“… Hey… is what you said about Lou back there… true?”
I should have put money on that.
“What I mean is… is she interested in me?” he asks. “In a romantic sense I mean… does she-”
“Yeah, she is.” What is it about these two and their little crushes on one another that turns them into irreconcilable piles of pudding? “What’s your opinion on her?”
“My opinion of Miss Louise?” he says, clearing his throat and composing himself. He successfully hides his pitiful side and acts like he’s not visibly sweating bullets. “She’s a fine mare. She works hard, she’s intelligent, and I find her easy to get along with her. I have a… high opinion of her.” I feel like I should give him some kind of award for totally avoiding the real question.
“Are you attracted to her?” I ask more directly. He loses his composure for a second, but manages to keep a straight face. I swear, these two try way too hard to be serious all the time.
“She… has her appeals,” he says, still refusing to give a real, committed answer.
“Do her appeals appeal to you?” I feel like I’m trying to get a little kid to admit to stealing cookies. I know he knows I know what’s really going on, but he just doesn’t want to say it. He doesn’t even answer me this time, but he chooses to just stay shut up. I may have to prod a little harder. “Would it be in bad taste to say you’re after her hot body?”
Ah yes, only I can make the ponies blush, but I think the tasteless joke went over his head. His eyes drift upwards, and I can almost see what’s he’s fantasizing about. I guess he doesn’t need to say anything, at least not to me. I don’t think there’s a girl out there who wants the guy they’re interested in to be all ambiguous and uncertain about their thoughts on them. Women want men, and men make decisions about stuff. Decisions are sexy.
“Well, it’s your love life,” I tell him, but I don’t think he heard me. He’s off in his own little world now. Considering how close we all came to dying back there, I’m surprised both Lou and Summitplunge are able to distract themselves. On the other hand, maybe coming close to death puts things in perspective; it reminds you of what’s really important.
Nothing has changed for me. As beautiful as it is out here in the woods under the hundreds upon hundreds of stars, I still miss my home. No matter what happens, I’ve got to get back.
After an entire night of keeping an eye on our fire and the possible, fire-breathing pursuer we might have, Celestia finally decides to put the darn sun into the sky. Summitplunge and Lou slept quite soundly after all of the excitement we had yesterday, but that isn’t an option for me. I should be used to staying up and doing pretty much nothing all through the night, but it’s so darn boring. Can I really be blamed if I had just a little fun?
It wasn’t easy to do, but the payoff should be more than worth it. Inch by inch through tiny bouts of levitation and light tickling with blades of grass, I was able to coax the sleeping Lou over towards where Summitplunge was sleeping. Once she was within hoof’s reach of him, nature took over. Lou rolled over and one of her forelegs landed on Summitplunge’s back. Things just got better from there.
Summitplunge eventually turned over himself and put a hoof around Lou. Slowly, yet surely the two got closer and closer until they were full on cuddling in their sleep. I gotta say, with them being ponies and all, it’s pretty adorable. It’s a shame that adorable isn’t what I was going for. No, I know exactly what’s going to happen.
The sun rises over the top of the trees, casting the first shafts of light over our camp. The leaves rustling in the wind bid the sunbeams to dance over the sleeping ponies’ faces. Their light, morning sleep is broken with the intrusion of illumination. They groan and cuddle closer to one another, in resistance to the consciousness washing over them. Lou buries her muzzle into Summitplunge’s chest, trying to shut out the light with her living pillow.
Her eye flutters open. I suppress my laughter from where I am watching as the look of slumbering content morphs into confused panic. Lou freezes, likening to a stone. She probably isn’t sure whether or not she is still dreaming or if the situation she now finds herself in is the real deal.
While she’s sorting everything out, Summitplunge opens his eyes. He doesn’t see what is going on before he feels it, and his hooves shuffled around a bit to figure out exactly what he’s clinging on to so tightly. When he does look down, he reaction is a perfect parallel to Lou’s. His eyes get wide and he stops moving altogether. I grit my teeth and wait for the next part.
“G-good morning?” Summitplunge says, clearing his throat immediately afterwards. “I trust you slept well?”
“Yes... just fine,” Lou responds as if nothing in the world were wrong. In a way, everything is just fine. There couldn’t possibly be anything better than awakening in the hooves of the one she loves. I’ll be that’s what she’s trying to tell herself, but the situation is still deliciously awkward. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes.”
There appears to be nothing left to say. The two of them go ahead and slowly release one another, rolling onto their backs and just staring up at the brightening sky.
“Body heat.”
“Huh?” Lou looks over at Summitplunge, who clears his throat and clarifies.
“It was probably cold last night, so we instinctively used each other for body heat,” he says in an attempt to justify what had happened. “That’s all that was.”
“Of course!” Lou says, getting up with a start. “That’s all it was. We just needed to survive.”
“Yes, survival,” Summitplunge parrots, standing up himself. The two look at each other and nod with stern expressions, but they avoid making eye contact all the while. I think it’s time for me to save them from themselves.
“Good morning sleepyheads.”
Lou and Summitplunge quickly turn to me. The looks on their faces tell me that they realize I’ve probably been watching them from my seat just across the fire pit. They open their mouths to speak, but I silence them by raising my hand.
“Right, right… body heat.” It takes everything I have to keep from bursting into laughter. “You two better eat some breakfast. It’s a long way out of the forest.”
The Everfree Forest… even when the sun is up it doesn’t feel quite right. Considering that most everywhere else the weather, plants, and animals are sustained with the help of ponies, this place should feel the most natural to me. The trees grow of their own volition. The clouds drift by on the whim of the breeze. The animals eat one another. This is nature au naturale.
There is a miasma about the Everfree. I feel it and I can tell Summitplunge and Lou feel it just by looking at them. This forest is steeped in something black and dark, and we might be wading up to our necks in it. It scares me, but there is something else about it that bugs me. There is something about this air, infused with inconsolable panic and berserk fantasies, that feels familiar. With each footstep and with each step behind me, I feel like I’m walking backwards into my memories. I don’t remember anything, but I have this nagging feeling that I should.
“How far did you say we’d have to hike?” Summitplunge asks. “Feels like a bit like we’ve been wandering in circles.” I share his sentiments, but I don’t really know how long we’ve been out here. The Everfree is dark as night even in the daytime, so it’s impossible to know what time it is. The only thing keeping me certain that we must be making progress is the river. We’re following it out of this forest, but it seems to be taking its sweet time. This is the safest option we have.
“Looked like half a day’s hike, maybe. I’m not a very good judge of distance,” I tell them. I want to say something else to lighten the mood, but the ambiance of the forest keeps me shut up. The canopy of trees makes it like night on the forest floor and every branch and knothole looks like the appendage or orifice of some hideous creature. I concentrate on breathing, but it does nothing to soothe my nerves. This air is tainted, I just know it.
“What happens when we get out?” Lou asks, her voice barely rising above the sound of us walking. I feel a chill run up my spine. She isn’t insinuating what I think she’s insinuating… is she?
“We’ll all just go home.” I’m not exactly where “home” is for me, but my statement if more of an offering to Lou and Summitplunge. We’re going to part ways, and that’s that. I’m not going to Canterlot as their prisoner.
“Right,” Lou replies after a beat.
Maybe it’s the forest that has me on edge, but I can’t shake the notion that Summitplunge and Lou might have different ideas about how this all will end. I’m still their enemy and their prize. For all I know, they’ll turn on me once we’re out of the Everfree. To be honest, I don’t know if I have the energy to fend them off. The spell I botched earlier cost me an incredible amount of energy and to top it off I had to spend what little energy I had left rescuing Lou and Summitplunge and then fixing up some of my wounds. Even with the morsels Lou and Summitplunge are letting me have, I’ve got just enough energy to make a daring escape if it comes to that. Goodness knows how I’ll fare if we run into trouble before escaping this forsaken place.
“I could fly above the canopy and check where we are,” I offer. I’m currently the only one here capable of any sort of flight. Summitplunge’s wing is still all screwed up and Lou… hasn’t been able to fly from the get go. I can’t fly-fly, but getting high enough to judge our distance is something I can manage.
“We’re safer if you stay on the ground,” Lou says. “I don’t want to run the risk of you getting spotted by something like Dnaglefreed or just Dnaglefreed himself.”
“I think if Dnaglefreed was after us, we would have run into him by now,” Summitplunge says. “I’m surprised he’s not, seeing as he was so bent on seeing us dead for trespassing.” Summitplunge brings up a point that had been bugging me. All signs point to us being in the clear in regards to Dnaglefreed; however, I have a feeling in my gut that we should still be wary.
It would be one thing if there was smoke following us around every turn or we could hear him coming after us, bellowing his wrath to the heavens. If a huge dragon was following us, we would know. I mean, it’s a huge fire breathing lizard! You can’t miss one, you just can’t.
Dragons are supposed to be the perfect predator. Perhaps being on edge isn’t a bad thing.
“Not counting his attack on the airship, that’s the first time I’ve been so close to a dragon,” Lou says. “I’m not counting that dragon in Ponyville.”
“Spike?” Both of my companions get quite again. I realize this is because there is no preface for why I would know anything about the residents of Ponyville. “I know Ponyville well, so sue me.”
“Considering Ponyville houses the Elements of Harmony, our greatest hope in the face of unstoppable evil, it is a little concerning,” Summitplunge says. “Exactly how much do you know?”
I pause for a moment and think.
“Twilight is the Element of Magic and works at Golden Oaks Library. She lives with Spike the Dragon and Owlowiscious the owl. Her brother is Prince Shining Armor who is married to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Applejack is the Element of Harmony who lives and works on Sweet Apple Acres with her sister Applebloom, brother Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith. Fluttershy is the Element of Kindess and she lives alone with her animal friends at the edge of the Everfree. Rarity is the Element of Generosity who runs Carousel Boutique. Her little sist-”
“Okay, okay, we get the point.” Lou looked somewhere between puzzled and appalled that I knew so much about the Elements. To be honest, I’m no less confused. There is no context for my knowledge. “Are you some kind of stalker?”
“I don’t have the kind of time and resources to keep tabs on the daily lives of the Elements of Harmony,” I tell them, but something still isn’t right. I do have details from their daily lives. I have little snippets, episodes if you will, of events they’ve gone through and challenges they’ve undertaken. Aside from the occasional snuffing out of some baddie, I don’t see why I would need or want to know any of this. “Speaking of Ponyville and all that, is that town I scoped out Ponyville?”
“Not likely, seeing as Ponyville is in the north,” Summitplunge explained. “We’re going west, which means we’re heading towards Iron Flats, a little rock farming community right on the edge of the forest.”
“Should we be heading to Ponyville?” I ask. Summitplunge shakes his head and looks up at the canopy.
“There isn’t a military outpost in Ponyville, but there is one real close to Flats. It doesn’t matter really; all towns mean help.”
The conversation dropped after that, and in the ensuing silence me and Summitplunge noticed the same thing: there was a set of hoofsteps missing. Fearing the worst, we turned back around to see Lou just standing in the path a few yards behind us. She looked transfixed, almost in a daze. I wanted to call after her, but she spoke up first.
“We have to go back!”
“… We do?” Backtracking after coming so far is the last thing on my mind. With the condition Lou and Summitplunge are in, we shouldn’t be considering it. Heck, there isn’t a reason to go back; however, Lou has to be on about something. “What for?”
“Dnaglefreed shouldn’t have let us go,” she says. I don’t interrupt, giving her the benefit of the doubt that her plan does not involve becoming a stain on the bottom of a dragon’s claw. “Think about it: if that spell screwed up our vision like that while we were turned away with our eyes closed and covered, what do you think it did to Dnaglefreed?” The answer doesn’t take much thought.
“So he’s blind for good then?” Summitplunge asks, confirming what we’re all thinking. “That would explain why he isn’t hot on our tails.”
“But he had to have gone somewhere,” Lou says. “Cocoon, go above the trees and look around for any smoke. He’s out there causing a ruckus; he has to be.”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious too. With one bound, I elevate myself about the treeline and into the sky. With a quick glance to the slowly setting sun, I confirm we are indeed heading west towards a little town that looks much bigger than it did this morning. Before me, there isn’t a hint of smoke or even inclement weather. I buzz my wings to spin myself around. The south looks peaceful. The east appears serene.
There is a black cloud in the north. My landing is less than graceful, both due a bit of shock and my quickly emptying belly.
“He’s headed north, towards Ponyville,” I tell them, revealing the source of my anxiety.
“No!” Lou shouts. “I knew this was too good to be true!” She turns where she is on the path and starts heading backwards.
“Louise, wait!” Summitplunge runs after her the best he can, catching up to her when his shouting finally brings her to a stop. “It’ll probably take us over a day to get to Ponyville this way, even if we run the entire time. We’re not in any shape for running or walking that far.”
“So what do we do? Stand by idly while Ponyville gets turned into a smoking crater?” Lou asks.
“I’m afraid the situation is out of our hands,” I answer after catching up to the two. They give me an odd look for a moment. “Hooves in your case.”
“We have to stop him before he makes his way to Ponyville!” Lou says, still insistent that we must act. “There must be something we can do!” Lou stares at the ground before her, obviously trying to come up with some sort of crack plan to create a miracle.
“Even if we could catch up to Dnaglefreed, we’re in no shape to fight him,” Summitplunge says, trying to snap Lou out of her panic. “I know the Elements of Harmony will be in Ponyville, but still… I don’t know if they’ll be prepared for a sudden attack like that. I wish we could help, but I just don’t see how!”
“He’s after us, isn’t he?” Lou says, leading into a proposal I just knew was coming. “If we can get close enough to catch his attention, we can lead him away from Ponyville!”
“And if he catches and kills us?” Summitplunge asks. “He still might wander into Ponyville and wreak havoc.”
“It’s the only chance we have!” Lou starts charging magic into her horn, a grimace of pain forming on her face. Whatever she is trying to do is too much strain too soon, but she isn’t letting up. “I’m going to teleport us closer!”
Summitplunge and I are left to exchange worried glances. Letting her proceed is agreeing to embark on a suicide mission that has a low probability of even being effective, but it’s the high road option. Call me crazy, but protecting peaceful little Ponyville from our blunder is important. Summitplunge’s expression tells me just how important.
“… Don’t overdo it,” Summitplunge warns, his voice very even. Lou cracks a smile under her furrowed brow and crackling horn.
“It’s a suicide mission anyway,” she says with such calm it frightens me. Her gaze switches up to me. “You’re coming too.”
Is saving Ponyville more important than going home? The selfish answer is “no,” but seeing the moral choice in this situation is just simple math.
“I guess this is partially my fault, so it can’t be helped.” My hesitance shows in my voice. “I’m not going down without at least trying to kill that thing.”
“That’s the spirit.” Lou’s horn sparks and crackles with hot energy. She’s scraping the very bottom of her reserves to dredge out this spell. Summitplunge and I get closer and prepare to jump into Dnaglefreed’s waiting claws. I close my eyes and brace myself when I feel the spell start to envelop my body. The sensation of teleportation sinks in as I feel my body flood with alien energy, forcing it to fly across space. The jump does not land so much as it falls, throwing us onto the hard ground when we exit.
I scramble upright and take stock of our position. The Everfree in its entirety lies before us, and a black cloud of smoke hangs over our heads. We’ve been much farther displaced than I anticipated, and one look over to where Lou is confirms the distance took its toll. Summitplunge got to his hooves and ran to her first.
“Louise! Louise! Hey!” he calls to her, propping her head up with a hoof and shaking her shoulder with the other. Her eyes are open and her chest is heaving with massive breaths, but her expression is twisted and pained.
“I panicked… that was… much farther…”
“You’re in no shape to move,” Summitplunge says, doing his best to check her for any other signs of damage. No doubt her main problem is that she is magically drained, like me when I’m starved for food. Speaking of that, I don’t have much left in my stomach. As if to punctuate the urgency of the situation, a booming voice roars from the edge of the forest.
“Where are you? Where are the tormentors of Dnaglefreed?! You will pay with your lives for robbing the sight of Dnaglefreed!”
“We have company!” My warning is accented by Dnaglefreed’s head popping up from the forest. He looks far move peeved than we left him, and he has hot fire seeping from inbetween his snarling lips. He stops suddenly and takes a break from spouting smoke from his nostrils. He sniffs the air, taking more smoke than air into his lungs. Slowly, his head turns down to where we are on the ground and his snarl turns into a sinister smile.
“Dnaglefreed has found you! The stench of unicorn magic and changeling hangs heavy here! Make yourselves known so the wrath of Dnaglefreed may fall upon you!” the dragon demands.
I take a glance backwards. Behind us is a sight so nostalgic it throws me. Ponyville is close, only a mile or two away from our current position. The risk of him blindly wandering into the little town is far too great and even fighting the dragon here would pose a fire danger.
“Do not keep silent! Speak!” the dragon roars, spitting fire into the trees before him. Before we can say anything, his anger hits its boiling point. “Do not think you can play Dnaglefreed for a fool! If you insist on hiding in this forest, Dnaglefreed will burn it to ashes!”
Dnaglefreed points his open mouth skyward and throws fire into the air with all the intensity of an erupting volcano. The waning sunlight gives way to intense firelight, bathing the forest in dancing flames and rising smoke. The flames rise before us and start spreading around us, leaving only one avenue of escape.
“Run for it!”
When Summitplunge gallops past me with Lou on his back I don’t register his command for a second or two. Somewhere, in all this fire, I saw Quarterholm burning again. I thought, perhaps, now Ponyville will burn for my sins. As I run, the hellfire growing on either side, my gut twists with pangs of guilt and denial.
Dnaglefreed’s blind stumbling doesn’t keep pace with us this time. We’re outrunning him, leaving him in the dust and smoke. Of course, we aren’t running towards escape, but a greater tragedy. The scenery flies by and we leave the growing fire behind us. Running side by side with Summitplunge, our frenzied and shallow breathing gets more and more painful to listen to with each step. With our groundspeed, we less than a mile from the town proper within a few minutes. I can clearly see ponies lined up on the town’s edge trying to get a look at the commotion arising from the Everfree. Against the flames and smoke, I doubt they can see us or Dnaglefreed yet.
Summitplunge catches his hoof on the ground and takes a spill, dumping Lou onto the hard ground as well. I skid to a halt and I try to get them back on their hooves. Summitplunge, who wasn’t in any shape for distance running to begin with, is at the end of his rope. Lou’s condition hasn’t improved anymore. They have to lean against each other for support, and running any further is hopeless.
“Dang… we didn’t exactly do much to help, did we?” Summitplunge chuckles between wheezes. “I always hoped I’d go down fighting a little harder…”
Lou opens her own mouth to speak, but the only thing that comes out is a tired, strangled sob. She’s got tears streaming out of her one good eye, reflecting the light from the fire growing closer. She coughs and tries again, but her voice doesn’t rise above a whisper. Summitplunge wraps a reassuring hoof around her. She sniffles and the two make eyes contact. They hold it, sharing a knowing moment.
“I should have told you I love you,” he says. Lou manages a sincere smile.
“We still have a little time left.” I watch as their eyes grow misty as their noses meet. My heart sinks knowing that this too I have destroyed. “I wished I could be with you until I died, so I guess my wish is coming true.”
“You deserved more,” Summitplunge tells her. I turn away to give them their privacy. I fix my gaze on the oncoming wall of fire. There is still no sign of Dnaglefreed among the smoke and advancing flames, but I can hear him roaring in anger. Behind me I can hear the concerned citizens of Ponyville growing closer as well. Death is on all fronts. A dragon rises before me, a population that fears me approaches my back, and famine grows in my own stomach. As unsatisfying as this is, I don’t see how I’m getting out of this ali-
“That’s it!” Lou shouts, startling me so much I topple over onto my back. I thought we were all quietly reflecting, why is she shouting? “We can still stop Dnaglefreed!” Lou is standing over me, smiling with fiery determination. Summitplunge is too, but he looks just as confused as I am. Lou looks so certain that I am compelled to believe her.
“Seriously?”
“Do you have enough energy to transform?” she asks. I nod my head, even if transforming would probably result in total starvation in a matter of seconds. “Then turn into Summitplunge.”
I don’t argue, I just get to my feet and shift. I’m so hungry it physically hurts to drain my energy and contort my body. When I finish changing I feel my consciousness fading. All my focus shifts to the last drops of energy slipping away.
Lou kisses me.
The weirdness of being kissed by a pony is severely mitigated by the flash flood of energy introduce into the desert of my body. I blow past famine and hunger as if I’d never known them. The energy is so great my flimsy formshift comes undone the moment Lou’s lips leave mine. I am left sitting on my butt with an overly full tank of energy. There was significantly more love in that kiss than the first one.
“Now it’s your turn,” Lou says, turning to Summitplunge. My head is still spinning from the experience so it doesn’t register with me what she could be talking about. The look on Summitplunge’s face, however, tells all.
“You want me to kiss him?” he asks. We share a quick glance, which tells me we have mutual feelings about this. Much to my relief, Lou shakes her head no. Before Summitplunge can riddle it out, Lou locks their lips together. His shock melts into happiness as the two share a passionate embrace. I cover my eyes when it starts looking particularly intense and wait for them to finish.
“But seriously, you also need to kiss him.” Lou’s voice prompts me to put my hand down. Summitplunge doesn’t look quite as conflicted as he did before, and he gives me a look that tells me he’s ready to go through with it.
“Where are you ponies? Where are you changeling? Dnaglefreed has your scent! Your lives belong to Dnaglefreed!”
Well, I would rather kiss Summitplunge than die. I shift myself into Lou and brace myself. He hesitates, giving me a rather wide-eyed look. Lou looks pretty shocked too, but it isn’t clear to me why. Whatever gave Summitplunge pause doesn’t keep him from pressing his lips to mine. I want to hurl just about as bad as I ever have, but the transfer of energy is no less fantastic. I’m already above and beyond any level of energy I’ve ever known, but when we part at long last I feel like I have enough energy to tear Dnaglefreed apart with my bare hands.
Summitplunge immediately turns back to Lou and jumps on her, locking the pair into another lustful embrace. I promptly turn my back and return into my normal form. Looking into the flames and smoke, I can see Dnaglefreed’s silhouette making its approach.
“Time to finish this.”
I start weaving the spell into my hands once more. The energy gathers, condenses, and smashes together much faster and far more violently than before. I am able to control it though with spell crafting instincts so far ingrained into my being that no memory hex could bid me to forget them. When it comes time for the final phase, I am left with a writhing and living mass of swirling, green energy in my hands. The final instructions ring clearly in my mind as I recite them aloud.
“Yes, it is life. With life, there is something important we must do as we introduce it into this world. Gather it close like a newborn and give to this new life a name, one that will clearly give it purpose. Endow it with a name in which it will find its path into the heavens! This is the greatest and most sacred of magic: Arcane Star Birth!”
Dnaglefreed erupts with his body awash in flames from the smoke. He bears down on my position like an enraged bull. Fire leaks from his throat as he screams his rage into the heavens. A cry rises from the crowd that has gathered in the surrounding area at the sight of the raging beast.
I notice these things only on the very edges of my senses. The rest of my is consumed by what I have created. Instead of becoming erratic, the star lives on when I take my hands from it. There is only one step remaining to put its wheels in motion. I am remiss to see it go; I can feel its unconditional love for me as I bathe in its light. I must send it to where it belongs, so I call it by the name that will send it home.
“Draco!”
It streaks towards Dnaglefreed’s head like a bullet shot from a gun. The light emanating from its body is so intense the exact moment it impacts him is obscured. The impact itself is brilliant and overpowering. The ground shakes and a wind so intense is whipped up that the surrounding fire dies in the expanding vacuum. The smoke parts in the sky as the star continues up and away into the heavens while the smoke on the ground starts thinning around the site of impact.
Dnaglefreed is still mostly intact, but his head and most of his neck appear to be completely gone. What remains falls limply to the ground with a thud that rings through the silence. Still brimming with energy, I observe my handiwork in the growing starlight. The fire still rages deeper in the forest, lighting smoke that still hangs against the sky, but through one pocket of smoke I spot something interesting: a green star hanging in the sky. Against the silver and smattering of gold stars hanging in the heavens, it stands out.
“…ngs there still because I put it there. That’s permanence. That’s leaving a mark. Now I know there is a solution to the problem I wa…”
For once, all the static and worry fades away. I feel very calm and reassured. Suddenly my concerns feel almost silly and I can let myself smile. It’s only for a moment, but it’s a moment that sticks with me more than the guilt, the pain, and the panic. It wasn’t just hope, it was concrete certainty that everything will work out just fine.
Of course, in this moment of certainty I realize something isn’t quite right. I turn around and clearly see the crowd that can clearly see me. The citizens of Ponyville are quietly taking stock of what has just taken place. I guess an ex-king of the changelings blowing off a dragon’s head with a star isn’t an everyday occurrence. Heck, it actually sounds like the sort of thing you’d have to pay to see.
Lou and Summitplunge are nearby too, but they don’t look certain about how to proceed themselves. To be honest, I’m not sure where we go from here either. I don’t know if I’m about to be arrested, attacked, or set free.
While I’m ruminating, a pony in the crowd catches my eye. I can’t say I’ve ever seen the stallion before, but that isn’t why the unicorn stands out from the crowd. No, it’s just the way he’s looking at me. Most of the crowd is animated in their confusion, excitement, or fear, but not this pony. This pony is stiff and unmoving. Only his deep, labored breaths given any sign that he is alive. The frightened mask on his face doesn’t fade or look away from me for a second.
I don’t know why, but he is giving me a different vibe from the rest of the crowd.
He notices me looking at him. The stallion shrinks and slinks into the crowd with his head down, but I can see him going. I want to know where he thinks he’s running off to all of a sudden. He’s up to something, I just know it.
“Cocoon.”
There are more pertinent matters at hand. I look down at Lou and Summitplunge, who still look conflicted; however, they are wearing forced smiles.
“We aren’t in any shape to pursue if you run.”
“I’m touched.” I force out a chuckle, for their sakes. We both know what needs to happen to make a clean escape. The crowd is getting over its confusion, and it sounds angry. “I wish I could convince them like I convinced you…”
“It just doesn’t work that way,” Lou says, casting her eyes to the ground. “We might be letting you go, but you’re still an enemy to the monarchy. You attacked our citizens and killed our soldiers, and it takes a lot to forgive somepony for those kinds of things. It doesn’t matter if you’re a changeling or a pony…”
“… Yeah, you’ve got a point.” I take a step back from them.
“We forget virtue in our enemy and sin in our saviors,” Lou says, taking her own step backwards. Summitplunge joins her. I raise my claws at them as they take an offensive stance. Lou looks over at Summitplunge for a moment. “Would you forgive me if I did something terrible?”
“I can’t give it to you if you don’t ask for it,” he replies. She smiles and turns back to me. We all take another step back. Lou raises her voice for all to hear. “You’ll do anything to get want you want, Cocoon! You strike down foe and push aside friend if they stand in your path!”
“Your no better than me, pony!” I shout back. “Do you think you’re shielding the people with your lies? Do you dare step out into the light of the truth? It takes astounding character to reveal our greatest sins!”
“You are King Cocoon the Liar!”
“And you can’t hide your ugliness!” I extend my hand and set loose a bright flash. Lou advances into it, piercing through the weak magic with her horn. I hurl another ball of light, but she advances again. Summitplunge breaks from her side and dashes up to me. He spins around while I cross my arms before my body. He bucks my guard hard, hard enough for it to hurt a little. As I feign tumbling backwards, he gives me a little smirk. I guess a little payback was in order. I get back on my feet, the crowd behind my good rivals going nuts for their saviors.
“I won’t forget this!” I shout at them.
“They are my children. If their father calls for them, they will speed him to their side.”
I extend a hand to the starlit heavens. With a green flash like the light of a lighthouse, I cry out with a name half-eaten and buried in the swamp of my memories. I feel an energy reaching out for me, grasping my hand like a dear old friend. It fills me with its warmth and whisks me away from this place. My vision turns white for a moment, but when it comes back I am drifting among the stars.
I feel that release of my worries wash over me again, but this too is so tragically ephemeral. The stars, like all my buried memories, fade into static and I feel myself returning to the ground below.
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Omc!!! Four chapters??? And all over 5k as well? Yesssss!!!
Holy shit, awesome release! Can I assume you got tired of waiting for your editor/proofreader, by the decent number of small typos?
So what name did he call? Why did Discord "need" to remove his memories of the show in order to give him access to what I'm assuming are Starswirl's memories... unless it's even more complicated than that.
Tap X as fast as you can, Cocoon!
It's really good to see this story alive and well, nice to see you going everywhere with the plot, and finally, good luck in your future endevors.
2354284
I would deduce that the memories come from the stallion he ATE, who maybe saw in his life the explanations of said magic, but I could be wrong.
About discord I'm sure that it would had to do with the fact that what he planned to do would've bucked his plans badly, but yet again I could be wrong.
So... here's a random theory, this is another world tightly controlled by Bronies (Virtual Reality perhaps?) . The Bronies know a great deal of magic due to this status, maybe more. Discord is allowed to think that he 'brings' humans to Equestria himself, and that he can view the human world as he pleases, however, he is only allowed to see what the overlords allow him to. Cocoon was one of those overlord Bronies. Either he got bored or something, he attempted to erase his knowledge and throw himself down to live the life that he is always allowing others to live but never himself. Due to his extensive knowledge of magic and elements in Equestria he can do some of the most ancient and powerful magic known to pony kind. My point is, Cocoon was just a bored man with a lot of power who wanted to have some fun.
Something tells me Cocoon is a lot more than just a lost human...
Well Jagger, I can say that I'm overjoyed that you've returned to us. The story of King Cocoon was one that was left tragically unfinished, but you've returned once again to regale us with your works.
Kudos, and good luck.
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С возвращением, товарищ Копыта как Джаггер! Это хорошо, чтобы быть в гостях, но дома лучше!*
*Welcome back, Comrade Hooves Like Jagger! It's good to be away, but home is best!
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Splendid! Just as good as before, and even better- 4 at once! Let fireworks be launched in celebration!
MORE MORE this has got to be the most fucking original and deep plotted story in my opinion :D
Well that was a tonal shift.
I really did not expect this: he no longer feels like a villain.
Huh.
How did you pull that off?
HOLY SHIT IT'S BACK.
LE GASP!
Oh! New theory!
Yes humans and their world exists and yes Discord has been secretly smuggling in some jacked up humans to muck about. Cocoon however, while lost, is NOT a human. He's in fact the greatest and most powerful pony to have ever exist. Starswirl the Bearded. Over a thousand years ago when he lived, he did something or some powerful magic that enraged Discord and made him his eternal enemy. Starwirl died of old age before he could complete his goals or before Discord could have his revenge. Discord judges that now the time is perfect. He brought Starswirl back to life, warped him into the changeling king, gave him false memories of being a human and mind raped the rest of his memories.
Discord is NOT satisfied with a merely dead Starswirl. Oh no! Discord wanted to kill Starswirl himself; but he had to bring him back to life to do that. However he hates Starswirl so monumentally that he doesn't want to merely kill him again. He wants to completely destroy him. His memories, his good name, all that he was, all his noble altruism, his might and magic: warp, twist, corrupt, torture then finally destroy. Starswirl is a changeling because if he came back as a pony, Discord's plan would backfire as everyone would rally to Starswirl, so he changed him into a changeling so that everyone would turn against him too. No friends, family, allies, power, memories, love.... all to nothing. A truly evil EVIL Discord!
I'm betting my money on this plot! Against all odds that the author does finish this story to the very end, we'll find out how close or off I am.
P.S.
When he mentions that Lou reminds him of someone, I betcha it was Clover the Clever, his prized pupil. And this star magic? Oh yeah definitely Starswirl the Bearded. You can bet though, that Luna's gunna have a conniption fit over this new addition to HER night sky...
Need...Update...Soon
Moar Jesus Christ moar!!!! I love this story..........I'll wait for you.
Those last two paragraphs really confused me...
When he does look down, he reaction is a perfect parallel to Lou’s.
Correction:When he does look down, his reaction is a perfect parallel to Lou’s.
Applejack is the Element of Harmony who lives and works on Sweet Apple Acres with her sister Applebloom, brother Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith.
Correction:Applejack is the Element of Honesty who lives and works on Sweet Apple Acres with her sister Applebloom, brother Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith.
She sniffles and the two make eyes contact.
Correction:She sniffles and the two make eye contact.
The rest of my is consumed by what I have created.
The rest of my what?