Along Came an Egg
Chapter 6: Along Came an Egg...
Lying on the bed in her house, Twilight Sparkle laid, scanning the book she held, open, and suspended in the air in front of her, a purple halo of magic holding it. She steadily read through the book, until she reached the final page.
"Oh... grrr! I can't find anything!" she groaned to herself, closing the book, and tossing it onto the pile of other, thoroughly read volumes and tomes that sat next to her bed, each one she had spent the entire night reading.
"Was that the last one?" Spike asked.
"Yes..." Twilight yawned, stepping down from the bed. "...And still nothing."
"Any idea where else to look?" Spike inquired again, watching as his friend hopped down to the ground level of the treehouse, where he was.
"I have no idea," she spoke, shaking her head. "I bet I just missed something. Maybe I should read through them all again."
Spike growled in annoyance, and ran his clawed hand through his face. Owlowiscious, after rustling some of his feathers, hopped off from his perch, and into the air, before landing by Twilight's desk.
"Hoo," he hooted.
"Huh? What is it, Owlowiscious?" Twilight asked, turning to him.
"Hoo," he hooted again, this time gesturing to the quill and parchment on the desk. "Hoo-hoo."
"I think he want's you to write to Princess Celestia for help," Spike said, pointing to the bird.
"But... I don't need her help! The others and I can handle this," Twilight replied, obstinately. "All I need to find is just one, little thing that I can use to flush the changeling out into the open. It's not something I need the princess to help with."
Spike looked toward Owlowiscious again, and then stood there, a thoughtful expression on his face, before a lightbulb went off in his head, and he snapped his finger with a smile.
"Wait... do you think Princess Celestia has any information on changelings?" he inquired.
"Well, I she might... I mean, she has been around for a while. She probably knows a thing or two on how to deal with them," Twilight spoke, walking up to the desk.
"C'mon, all you have to do is ask her what you want to know, and not why," Spike shrugged again.
"Alright, alright," she finally conceded with a small laugh, levitating the feather quill with her magic. Looking at the paper, she dipped the quill's tip in the ink, and began to write down her message, reciting what she wrote.
"Dear Princess Celestia..."
Princess Celestia walked through the wide, and mostly-empty halls of the castle, a pleasant smile on her face. Peaceful, morning sunlight showed through the tall, stained-glass windows on the right of her, courtesy of the newly-risen sun. Soon, she passed by a butler, dressed in a formal tuxedo that covered his brown coat, cheerfully working on placing some lovely, multi-colored flowers in a pot on the nearby windowsill, and dusting it off. He noticed the shape of Celestia from the corner of his eye, and turned, in respectful attention.
"Oh! Good morning, princess" the servant greeted, warmly.
"Good morning to you, too," she replied, cheerfully.
Before either of them could talk further, a small, green flash appeared next to the Princess's face, followed by a wrapped-up paper scroll materializing just in front of the Princess, wrapped in a red string.
"Oh? Is that from your student?" the servant smiled, watching as the princess caught it in a magical halo. "She hasn't sent you one for quite a while, has she?"
"She hasn't. It must be from her!" Celestia replied, in a happy, and precedent manner, eagerly unsealing it, and unraveling the parchment. She began to quietly read the message, but her eyes stopped scanning the moment she read the greeting line, which was not what she had anticipated it to be.
To, my Little Butterfly... It said.
Her eyes suddenly widened, pupils dilating, and her smile simply disappeared, exchanging itself with an expression resembling sheer surprise, or even terror. She gasped, and began to walk backwards, not taking her eyes off of the writing.
"Um... princess? Princess Celestia, are you all right?" the butler asked, concern building up in his voice, as he watched Celestia's magic cease, dropping the scroll to the floor, where it sprawled out with a rustling noise, her eyes still focusing on it, despite it no longer being open.
"No... no..." she stuttered, terrified, oblivious to the castle's worker that she was now deeply scaring in the process. "It can't be... that's... that's i-impossible..."
Celestia's eyes rolled into the back of her head, leaving the whites of them exposed, and she keeled over on her side, collapsing on the ground after a final gasp. The servant, very afraid of what was going on, immediately ran up to her fallen leader, and knew what had happened.
Princess Celestia had fainted.
"You seem a little off again today, Mask," Chiphoof spoke to Thoraxis, as the latter was feeding some rabbits.
"Sorry... I had another long night," he replied, thinking back to the unholy aberration that was currently living in his house. The one that he was now, basically, forced to live with, seeing as how there were no other abandoned houses to live in.
"Well... that's unfortunate," Chiphoof said again, just before the doorbell rang. Letting out a small cough, and composing himself, he went to the door and opened it, but when he stuck his aged, grey head out, he didn't see anyone.
"Hello? Is somebody there?" the shopkeeper asked, looking around. After seeing no-one, he turned his face to the ground, and saw a colorful basket.
"Well, well. What have we here?" the old stallion asked again, bending over, inspecting some sort of bundle in the object by the doorstep, and the even smaller piece of paper that laid on top of it. Shrugging, he grabbed the handle in his mouth, and took it inside, closing the door behind himself.
"What's that?" Thoraxis inquired, noticing the object from the corner of his eye. "Who sent it?"
"Huh... the letter says that some feller what calls himself "D." sent it," he replied, after putting it down, and reading the note. "I wonder what it is..."
He flipped the fabric covering most of the basket, and saw a rather big, dark, grayish-green, spherical, but somewhat crooked-looking object. Gazing at it in awe, he took it out, and studied the object, which he soon noticed was an egg of some kind, and slightly bigger than his hoof, unlike anything he had ever seen before. The sphere had multiple, tiny bumps going along itself in random order, much like a cucumber, giving it the appearance of something trying to mimic a rock. He finally spoke, "It looks like an egg."
"Whoopie... someone abandoned their pet," Thoraxis said, sarcastically, and half-listening, continuing his work.
"Nah, I don't think so," Chiphoof replied, putting the egg back in the basket, and walking up to his worker. "It doesn't make much sense that someone would up and abandon an egg, of all things, at the door, without asking me to take it in. It hasn't had time to hatch yet, and either way, I haven't seen anyone with one like this before. Trust me, I've seen all kinds of eggs, and this one isn't something I've seen getting sold before..."
"Ugh... let me see it," Thoraxis groaned, deciding to look at the object out of curiosity. He looked down into the basket, and saw the odd shape of the egg. A shape he noticed right off.
"Wait... wait, I know what kind of egg this i-..." he spoke, before stopping, his tired eyes suddenly shooting open, almost to the point of being bloodshot the moment he realized what kind of egg this was. Chiphoof turned his head to the side, looking at his employee.
"You do?" he asked. "What is it?"
"Oh, uh... wait, heh, um... my mistake," Thoraxis hastily replied, in a nervous voice. "I-I guess I don't know what egg it is, b-but I would recommend you put is somewhere really... safe."
"Well, I know that," Chiphoof replied, before looking at him again, strangely. "You seem to have be acting weird around the egg. Is there something wrong?"
"Oh! Heh, nothing's wrong, sir. nothing at all, hehe... heh," Thoraxis chuckled, nervously, swiveling his head away, dumping more food into the rabbit's pen, which he didn't realize was more than what was required.
"Hmm... Well, I'm going to put this thing in an incubation chamber," the elderly pony said again, turning away. As he did, a single thought went through Thoraxis's head, as he watched his boss walk off with what he knew was an extremely precious object.
How could that pony have gotten his filthy hooves on a changeling egg?! the changeling thought with outrage, as he watched Chiphoof carry the delicate sphere away. A sudden feeling of instinct went through his body, and, without thinking, he walked forward in hot pursuit.
"S-sir?" he asked, once he reached Chiphoof. The elderly pony turned once more, put the basket, neatly on the ground, and looked at him.
"Yes?" he replied.
"Er..." Thoraxis stuttered again, looking toward the changeling egg. "That egg... can I possibly... have it?"
"Oh? So you want it now, do you?" Chiphoof smirked, looking down to the egg. "Why would that be, I wonder?"
The changeling stood there, pondering what to say next. The first excuse that came to mind was the one he used.
"L-lonely! I'm very, very... lonely" he stuttered. "That kind of lonely loneliness that only a... "pet..." could fix."
"Are you now?"
"Yes..." he sighed, looking to his disguised hooves.
"Well... I don't see why not..." he laughed.
"Y-you will?" Thoraxis smiled, walking up to the basket. "You mean... I can have it? Really?"
"Just promise me you'll get good sleep tonight, Mask" he replied, pushing it to him, gently. "And remember to take good care of it."
"I... will" he promised.
It wasn't long after, that Thoraxis was able to head home. He held the basket with his teeth, his basic instincts mistrusting any use of magic, and soon came to the old shack. After opening the door, the first thing he spotted was Moredread, who sat in the corner, near the hole that was made just the day before.
"Hello, peasant," the shadowy creature greeted, as he seemingly paid no attention to him, and was instead diligently looking at something in front of himself.
"Um, hello... you," the changeling uneasily replied back, as he transformed into his true, insect-like form in a puff of green flame. When he placed the basket down, he then noticed what the possessed armor was looking down upon, which was a rather large book, and it was open, and levitating off of the ground, through some invisible force.
"Is that... a book?" he asked.
"Why, yes it is," the revenant replied, in a cheery, but still low voice, before lifting one, ghostly foot up, showing off several more books just like it, stacked behind himself. "I'm catching up on some of the land's history in the eons I've been gone for, and I must say, It's quite impressive what has occurred in my absence. Utterly remarkable."
"Where? H-how?"
"Oh, it's quite simple, really..." Moredread chuckled, closing his eyes, as if thinking back to it. "I may have lost all of my destructive powers, but I still have just enough to perform some of the lesser spells, such as teleportation, levitation, and clairvoyance."
"But... where did you get those books?" Thoraxis asked again. "You're going to expose me!"
"From the town's library, of course" Moredread replied. "And don't worry. I used my clairvoyance spells and sorcery to spy on the local populace. Some place that was built inside a tree was the nearest I could find, and once I saw a book I wanted... "poof!" it came to me, with nopony none the wiser."
As he finished his sentence, he couldn't help but notice the bundle in front of Thoraxis.
"What's that you have, peasant?" the ghostly creature asked, once it laid its ghastly eyes upon the egg.
"It's a... changeling egg," he replied. "My boss found it by the doorstep, and... well... I couldn't leave it there. All I want to know now is who in Equestria left it there in the first place."
"I know who did it!" a completely new voice suddenly yelled out, in an unfamiliar tone that filled up the room in a loud echo. Thoraxis's chitinous face went as pale as physically possible as a changeling could make, and he spun around, looking for the source.
"Who said that?!" he shrieked.
"Me!" the voice said again. With a blinding flash, a large creature, possessing the body parts of numerous creatures appeared, floating in the air, between Thoraxis and Moredread. Thoraxis, despite only hearing stories about him, could tell who it was right off, the moment the shape got into full view.
It was Discord, the spirit of disharmony and chaos himself.
"You should see the look on your face!" he laughed out loud, pointing at the smaller, and clearly shocked being in front of himself. "Priceless! Hahahaaaa!"
"I... you... I... what... you... what in Queen Chrysalis is wrong with this town?! What in everything that makes sense are you doing here?!" the changeling screamed, as the glow on his horn disappeared. He backed into a corner, and placed his front hooves over his head, before he started whimpering, the sheer amount of confusion and stress finally getting to him.
"Sorry to "buzz" in in such a short notice, but I've got business with you, Mask. Or, should I call you, "Thoraxis,"" the draconequus said, as his wings briefly morphed into a transparent insectile pair, a dead ringer for Thoraxis's own, and hummed for a few seconds, before morphing back. As he was going on, a fabricated, cartoonish wanted poster of villainous-looking Thoraxis, wearing a cowboy hat, puffed into his griffin claw, and held it up to the changeling, as if comparing the image.
"My dear friend, Fluttershy, told me she was looking for a particularly nasty changeling matching your description, and according to this "completely legal" document I have here, I've got you dead to rights, leg-holes and all."
"You said you used the egg... where did you even get that egg in the first place?!" the changeling shouted again.
"I was... spelunking" he spoke, in what sounded like a blatant lie, as his attire changed to what a mountain climber would wear. "And then... Pow! There it was, sitting on a... Rock. Yes, a rock... Right in front of me. I couldn't just leave it there, so I took it, and then, whaddayaknow, it made the perfect bait in getting you out! Imagine tha-"
"I'm truly sorry to interrupt, my mismatched-looking guest, but who exactly are you?" Moredread's monotonous voice butted in. Discord turned to him, a sarcastic look on his face, before realizing what he was looking at.
"Take a wild guess," he spoke, folding his arms.
"Well then, hmm... give me a minute" Moredread sighed, levitating one of the books he was reading to his face, flipping through many of the pages. While waiting for his answer, Discord turned one of his hands into a file, and began to sharpen his nails.
"You must be... "diphthong," if I'm not mistaken," he finally said, a smile forming on his phantom mouth. "Strange name you have. Is your job around here having something to do with spelling?"
"It's "Discord," actually," the draconequus corrected. "Spirit of chaos, disharmony, and all that. Charmed to meet you, mister...?"
"Moredread," he replied. Moredread Enmity."
"And he said I had a strange name..." Discord whispered into Thoraxis's webbed ear, after teleporting to him. The changeling continued to look at him fearfully, as he flew away, into the open again. After seeing his expression, the draconequus changed his own to a happy one, reminiscent of that of a cherubic child, looking as innocent as physically possible.
"Oh, don't worry," he chuckled, flipping his wrist. "I'm not going to turn you in. I just want to watch what kind of beautiful chaos will unfold from all this."
"Then... why did you give me this egg?" Thoraxis asked, looking at the spherical object in the basket.
"Why, for added flavor, of course!" he chuckled. "Have fun taking care of it, by the way. I know how you changelings can get quite a bit... "attached" to them, if you know what I mean. Uncontrollable parental instincts and all..."
Thoraxis glared at him, before lowering his head, accepting the fact.
"Well, that's all for now, I suppose..." Discord sighed again, a watch suddenly puffing around the wrist on his lion-like arm, telling him the time. "Fluttershy and I are having our regularly scheduled Tuesday tea tomorrow morning. Need to get some rest if I don't want to be late. Ta-ta for now, you three! Oh! And Thoraxis..."
The changeling looked back up at Discord's face, now curled into a much more serious visage.
"...Good luck."
With a final wave, Discord vanished, leaving them there. Thoraxis quietly looked to the egg in front of himself, an unsure thought for the future going on in his mind, and unready look on his face, showing what he felt for it. Moredread, however, as if having already forgotten the encounter, shrugged his shoulders, and went back to reading.
Stats
Page generated in 0.019 seconds
Total duration
912 users online
538,434 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Nothing good could come after this. Just the way I like it.
Given this is pre-Tirek, I wonder if Discord's defection will collide with Thoraxis' and his raising a Changeling infant. Chaooos!
Princess Celestia fainting? I guess Moredread must have been terrifying enough, which makes it even more of a surprise that Discord hasn't (purportedly) heard of him.
Twilight's going to go Lesson Zero again once she sorts her library for the nth time that month and finds one's missing
I-I do I-i n-no I-I I-I I-I NO JUST NO M-MY BRAN M-MY M-MY M-My BRAN
Heh, Discord.
Cya
Raziel-chan
Oh shit discord was actually serious.
Another interesting chapter... nicely done!
oh my.
Discord being serious?
And this egg... most curious.
7441519 discord was serious?
BATTEN DOWN THE LIFEWENCHES
When Discord himself wishes you good luck, things are about to get Hairy...
I can see your halo, halo, halo halo I can see your...