Metamorphoses

by Orkus

Chapter 4: A Sudden Realization

Chapter 4: A Sudden Realization

The lunch that Petra was invited to was a very pleasant experience. The conversation she had with everyone there went on for hours, and it was much later when Odyssia took Petra, Twilight Sparkle, and the alicorn's two friends, Fluttershy and Rarity, for a brief tour of the grounds where the stage had been brought, and her disguised hive had set up multiple tents to camp out.

Odyssia's colleague that came with them, as it turned out to be, was Pharsalia from before. Petra and the (incognito) changeling hit it right off when they met again, and it was only amplified further after Petra revealed she was an author; something Pharsalia was currently aspiring to become, once she was a little older, and had more experience. Even after the sun went down, the two, now by themselves, were still talking, only this time it was about themselves, and not books.

"So, how long have you and Thoraxis been together?" Pharsalia asked, as the two continued through the field of tents and busy figures.

"A little over a year now," Petra replied, as she narrowly avoided a passing changeling hiding under the guise of a red-furred pegasus. "Our relationship is very healthy, and we're thinking of taking it a step further... when the time is right, of course."

Pharsalia smiled, before biting her lip as she looked up, noticing the moon was up in the sky, it's silver sheen shining down upon them. Attempting to think of another question to ask, in an effort to fuel the conversation for a little longer at least, she spoke the first one that came to mind.

"Do you... have any pets?"

"Oh, yes! A cryophoenix, named Despereaux," the wyvern said back. "He loves to meet new faces. Would you like to stop by and see him sometime?"

"Eh... no," she politely declined, raising her hoof. "From what I've read, cryophoenix's are made of ice, and to tell you the truth, I don't feel very comfortable around cold things."

"Why?" Petra inquired, curiously. Pharsalia, for a brief moment, looked away, before staring back at her, ready to answer.

"My childhood was... well, I can't remember most of it," she replied, before motioning to her lame back leg. "You've seen my limp by now, right?"

"I may have..." Petra spoke, trying not to sound rude.

"I got it from severe frostbite," Pharsalia said. "It was after I had been separated from my parents in a blizzard, somewhere up north. My family, whoever they were, were once part of the Theatre Metamorphoses before it broke up, and, at the time we got lost, the group members were using magic to locate each other so it could be reformed. I spent enough time in the cold... the cold... for the frostbite to reach its fourth stage on my leg, and it almost destroyed all use of it. As our doctor here said, the trauma from being out there induced some sort of amnesia that made me forget almost everything prior. I would have frozen to death, hadn't I been found by Clopin."

"The swagman-thing?"

"Yes. Like I said before, the Theatre was using magic to locate any members, or their descendants, and he found me, right in the nick of time. He helped raise me following what happened, and I've been here ever since."

"How long ago was this?" Petra asked again, in a sympathetic voice.

"A few years ago," Pharsalia replied, lying to draw off suspicion. "I've been meaning to ask something," she started to say again, attempting to change the subject, "when I met your boyfriend, he was acting a bit... odd. Do you know why?"

"Thoraxis.... he's been acting that way since he lost his daughter, Skia. He lost her the same day he met me," the wyvern began in a somber voice, prompting Pharsalia to give a perturbed look.

"Goodness... she died?" the disguised changeling inquired, in a horrified voice. Petra quickly shook her head.

"No! no, no, no... she was kidnapped by a half-changeling, half-dragon. We later found out the thing was acting on the orders of the changeling queen, Queen Chrysalis herself," she replied. "He did something terrible to her, then threw her out into a blizzard, just minutes before we could get to his lair."

"And... where was this?"

"Several miles from the Crystal Empire."

Pharsalia gave a confused look. "It's a constant blizzard up there, and you said she's not dead. How do you know she's alive?"

"We have a friend who has an extraordinary power in the field of magic, and he's stated that she's alive," the wyvern said, cryptically. "Thoraxis told me he was like an uncle to her since she was hatched from an egg. Both of them have been spending most of their time, free or not, trying to locate her."

A thought started to form in Pharsalia's mind when Petra finished. Looking back up, she could see that the moon was higher in the sky, and told her she was up past her self-scheduled curfew.

"Well, this has been a nice conversation, but I guess this where we say goodbye for now," she said, as the thought slowly began to infect the rest of her mind. "I've got to make sure I'm rested enough to help operate the stage when the show begins. I'll see you at the play tomorrow, Petra."

"Wow... it is getting late, isn't it?" Petra spoke back in a small chuckle, as she realized how dark it was. "I can't wait to see you guys perform. See you later, Pharsalia, and have yourself a good night."

After a friendly wave good-bye, Petra turned and began to walk away, out of the campground, and in the direction of Ponyville. Pharsalia also turned, and began to limp to where her tent had been pitched earlier in the day.

"He's a changeling that lost his daughter in a snowstorm... around the same time I was found, alone, and by myself?" she whispered to herself. "Could it be a coincidence? Huh... I may have to look into this..."

---

Thoraxis walked up to Zecora's hut with a paranoid gleam in his eye. He went to Longinus's house first so he could tell the alicorn his suspicions, but he wasn't home. After waiting for nearly three hours, he didn't return, and so the changeling came to visit the zebra sage instead.

Walking up to the door, he checked to make sure he was presentable, and then knocked on it with his hoof, three times in a row in quick succession. Not a second later, the door opened, revealing Zecora's gray, black-striped shape.

"Hello Thoraxis, my changeling friend," she greeted in her usual, friendly manner. "Is there a trouble you have that I can mend?"

"I'm sorry to bug you at this time, Zecora," Thoraxis replied. "Longinus wasn't home, and you're the only other person I can come to. There's something of imperative importance I need to talk with you about."

"Then by all means, come right in," the zebra spoke, gesturing politely for him to enter. "To leave you without aid would be a sin."

"Thank you," he spoke, trotting inside. Observing his surroundings, Thoraxis saw the spacious room was filled with wooden idols, plants with long-reaching vines and leaves, and jars containing wide assortments of herbs. In the middle lied a cauldron, containing some sort of glowing, green broth, and smelt heavily of lavender when he neared it.

Pulling up a nearby stool, Thoraxis sat down in front of a small, round table, and was soon joined by Zecora. "Does your conundrum lie with the visiting theater?" she inquired, as she, too, took a seat. "I do not know otherwise what would make you sound eager."

"Yes, it does, BIG time," he quickly replied. "I felt something when I met one of the ponies that works with it."

"Thoraxis, the theater did not come to bring misery, that I can assure. They may seem strange, but their intentions are pure."

"Technically, it's not the theater I'm worried about per se, it's the crew," he started. "I sensed something a few hours ago when I encountered their leader. There was just a familiar buzzing going on in the back of my skull, and the last time I felt that, it was when I was back with my hive in the badlands. Zecora, you may think me a little crazy for saying this, but I think that they're all... changelings."

"Hmhmhmhm..." Zecora chuckled behind a closed mouth, her kindly expression not faltering. "You know, to truly know somepony else, you must first ask them about who they are, yourself."

"They'll just lie though!" Thoraxis replied. Zecora simply smiled, before getting up from her seat, turning, and pulling a green, cork-capped, glass bottle with a large, round body, and thin tip off of a nearby shelf, placing it on the table in front of Thoraxis.

"If a changeling incursion is something you think is real, rub this on one of their hides, and the truth will be revealed."

"It looks... like mud," he stated, peering through the glass of the item with one of his monochromatic, teal eyes.

"This is clay that has been enchanted to differentiate from the norm. If it makes contact with a shapeshifter, it will show you its true form," the zebra revealed.

"It is? Oh, now we're talking..." the changeling cackled. "This is perfect!"

"Thoraxis, answers to your questions is what you seek, but you must remember that some things are not as bad as you think," Zecora said again, her voice bearing a hint of caution.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked in reply, as he took the bottle in a hoof.

"I have a feeling that in time you'll see. But for now, I shall simply let things be."

After hearing the other enigmatic comment by Zecora, Thoraxis, knowing his business was concluded, got up, and started to make for the door.

"Sorry to leave on short notice, but I need to get back to Petra. I made her a promise that I would go to bed early tonight, and stay in bed, this time," Thoraxis said, as he readied himself to slip out.

"Then go to her you should do," Zecora responded. "Tomorrow, at the show is where I'll see you."

"Yeah, I guess..." Thoraxis sighed, before he exited the cottage, closing the wooden door behind himself gently.

---

Longinus woke up with a soft gasp. He felt the grass he lied on beneath him, as well as something else. Lifting his head, he looked over, and saw that Carol was still there, only she was still in the peacefulness of sleep. She was nestled up against him, her fins draped over his side, and making cooing murmurs to herself as she dreamed.

He and the kelpie had talked throughout most of the night, and both of themselves must have dozed off sometime in the early morning. Seeing how she was now, Carol most likely crawled up beside him, and passed out as well. It felt nice... warm even, and somewhat intimate. But it was also because of this that he decided what to next.

Making his move, Longinus, ever so slowly, lifted himself from the ground, and away from the kelpie's grasp. When he was in the clear, he looked back and saw Carol was still, thankfully, in dreamland. He watched as her long tail curled up against her midsection in his absence before deciding to tiptoe off.

He didn't wander far. He walked just until Carol was out of sight, and then sat down. Looking up to the pinkish hue left behind by the rising morning sun, his thoughts raced back to the past.

His wife, Aurora, had passed away many hundreds of years ago, in part due to a wasting illness she was suffering from, but also due to his own mistakes. If it wasn't for his actions during that time, she may not have died. He may not have gone insane from losing her. There would have been no Moredread Enmity. He wouldn't have attempted to kill his own daughters, Celestia and Luna. Life could have turned out differently, and most nights he wasn't focusing on finding Skia, he would often fantasize what life could have been like, had he not made such destructive, foolish errors.

But a fantasy was still a fantasy, and mistakes made were still mistakes made. When the image of Carol came to his mind, Longinus's eyes closed for the next few minutes as he felt the cool breeze brush over his face. The kelpie, in the brief time he knew her, was already leaving a profound effect on him. And this effect was one he feared to describe.

"Longinus... is 'at ye?" a tired voice yawned from behind him.

"Au-Carol. Yes, i-it is," he responded, slightly shaken by her sudden presence as he turned to face her. She had put her cape of bells back on, and the multiple objects rattled behind her, while carried in her fin, which appeared to have transformed into a leg and hoof, was her helmet. The rest of her body, whether it too had transformed or not, was concealed by her metal cloak.

"'at was th' best nap I've hud in years, Ah'll teel ye," she chuckled slightly, as she placed her helmet down, and went up to him. "An'... ye wooldnae believe thes, but... Ah hink Ah dreamed."

"Was it a lovely dream?"

"Och aye, it was!" she started. "Ye waur thaur, an' we waur talkin' abit each other some mair, an' 'en ye leaned ower an'..."

"And then I leaned over and did... what?" Longinus inquired curiously, after she stopped. Grinning, almost in a malicious fashion, the kelpie answered.

"Kissed me," she spoke, bursting into a giggling fit as she saw how red the alicorn's cheeks went. Coughing into his hoof, Longinus attempted to change the conversation.

"Ahem... well, I had a nice night with you, Carol, but I'm afraid I must go now. I have other matters in need of attention," he spoke, mustering a serious voice. Carol's face lowered with his words and her brow hung in a dejected way, until an idea popped into her head, and she let loose a smile.

"Ah ken! Ah shoods shaw ye aroond th' theatre sometime!" she suddenly exclaimed. "Och, ye woods loove it, an' Ah bit yoo'd loch tae meit some ay mah friends."

"That sounds very nice, Carol. But to tell you the truth, I..."

He stopped talking when he gazed into the kelpie's eyes. They looked like a pair of puppy's eyes. Like a couple of pretty, wet gemstones. There was no way he could refuse her after getting caught in their alluring trap.

"...I could try to make some time to visit, around noon or so..." he finally replied, albeit slowly, an somewhat reluctantly.

"Noon? Ah guess Ah'll see ye suin, 'en! Cheerio th' noo, Longinus!" she bid farewell in an excited fashion, whilst clapping her hooves together with glee. With a large smile on her face, Carol placed her head-concealing helmet on, and turned around before dashing off, out of sight, into the woods.

This kelpie was indeed a very strange creature, and Longinus knew that fact well by this point. Yet, despite whatever mental illness she possessed that drove her erratic, carefree behavior, there was something about Carol and her infinitely complex mannerisms that the alicorn couldn't help but like.

Like.

Oh no... he thought with worry, placing a hoof to his forehead as the idea hit him like a hailstone in the middle of a sunny day. I'm starting to fall for that kelpie, aren't I?

Comments

[Skye Mist]

You are so falling for that kelpie, Longinus!
...Also, what!? Pharsalia could be Skia?!

[Vitae]

6731274

You can eat the biggest bag of dicks.

[Cursed Quill]

cryophoenix's

cryophoenixes

[Amos Anon]

7635282
Spotted dick?

[erictheblue]

"This is clay that has been enchanted to differentiate from the norm. If it makes contact with a shapeshifter, it will show you its true form," the zebra revealed.

oh, like in this scene: