Chronicles of Arche

by Spellbounder

Ch.9- A Decaying Bloom

There was more to that night, hidden deep in the recesses of the admiral’s mind. The corpse laid there in front of him, flies already starting to form around his decaying flesh. In a sense, it was truly ironic, a bug eat bug world. Arche saw his reflection in the oozing green blood dripping from the open gashes of the dead changeling. There was a cold dark glare in his eye, which he hadn’t seen in a very long time. Arche looked back at the corpse once again, his mind now beginning to process the endless outcomes ahead of him.

“This was a matter of self-defense, nothing more. I did what I had to do. What am I saying!?! I brought this creature into my basement to torture! The changelings had no right to attack! They had to suffer for their punishment! Yet I didn’t have to resort to such gruesome endeavors. If Celestia finds out, if anypony finds out, it’ll only make things worse! Word will spread, the changelings will return seeking revenge for their fallen. No! Calm yourself, think this more rationally. The changelings are nothing but savages, they’d never seek vengeance for the death of one underling. But the princess…..no, she cannot see this. She will not, I won’t allow it.”

He proceeds to drag the corpse out of the basement with his magic, yet it continues to drip its green blood. In a panic, he drops the corpse, starting to shake, a twitch in his eye. His mind wanders, imagining Celestia before him, stripping him of his rank, forcing him into hospitalization for his maniacal actions. All the hard work he did to protect Equestria now forgotten, unappreciated, all due to this ugly creature decaying in his very basement.

“Bastards deserve to suffer, not me. Not after all I fought for, all I sacrificed for. No, there is a way around this. It simply needs to stay here, shrouded in the darkness, away from the glaring eyes of the rich and judgmental of Canterlot! Yes, that’s it, that’s the answer! I just know it! Call….yes…yes…a call. I need to make a call!”

Through his military career, Arche has acquired many fascinating trinkets used for missions. One such trinket was a crystal used for messaging with other military officials. The crystal could only be accessed by a unicorn, sending a wave of magic into the crystal’s core, linking to their mind, a strange form of mental messaging among other unicorns. However, overuse of the crystal results in major headaches, which is why it was decommissioned by the Royal Guard. Yet Arche kept one for himself as a souvenir, and also in case of emergencies that absolutely required military aide. This was one of those moments. He uses his magic to connect with the crystal, sending a message to his former military technician, Spin Railing. An excellent strategist with a genius level IQ. The modifications he made to armor and weaponry made him a glorious asset to the Royal Guard. Unlike Arche, Spin put his military life behind him and settled a peaceful life of retirement in Cloudsdale. Despite being a Unicorn, not a Pegasus, Spin loved the peace and quiet of the world within the clouds. Wouldn’t take him long to get here, knowing he owns his own private air balloon.

A few hours go by, Arche’s gaze still hasn’t left the corpse in front of him, when he hears a knock on his door upstairs. Arche quickly climbs up the stairs and closes the basement door behind him. He prays to the gods hoping this whole charade will work, before finally opening the front door.

“Mr. Spin, it’s a pleasure.”

“Cut the formalities, Arche, you woke me out of bed. What’s this big emergency that I had to drag my flank all the way to Canterlot to fix?”

Seems nothing much has changed with Spin over the years. He was still a pale yellow, his once blazing red mane was now starting to fade with his age, but still combed back like the old days. He wore a dark grey opened trench coat, his blue pajamas seen underneath. Seems he really did get here in a rush, best not to keep him waiting any longer than he has to.

“The basement…..I think you’d understand if I just show you down there.”

His angry brow was now a look of annoyance and confusion. He’s really in for a major surprise.

“Show me what? What’s in the basement?”

Whatever emotions Spin Railing was feeling, instantly vanished in the thirty seconds he took walking down the stairs into the basement, staring at the corpse right in front of him now. Arche wasn’t kidding when he said it was an emergency, well aware of the poor unicorn’s history with these hideous monstrosities known as Changelings. He explains to Spin what happened, and all he can do is listen, asking only the essential questions, like does anyone else know, and how fresh is the corpse. Ten minutes of this until Arche finally brings up the reason why he contacted Spin in the first place.

“I could lose everything I’ve worked for if this gets out. The princess already sees me as a broken stallion, urging me every time I visit her to retire and forget my past. Then when it finally looks like I can wager the strength to do that…..that monster Chrysalis invaded the wedding, a swarm of her vile offspring began to pounce. I just….snapped…knocked it out, and brought it down here for questioning…”

“And clearly, you had no intention of ever letting this freak go, did you, Arche?”

“I didn’t bring you hear for a lecture, Spin, I require your services one last time.”

“Exactly what do you expect me to do? There’s no way we can hide this thing without alerting some sort of attention, and it’ll just grow more vile and disgusting the longer you leave it here.”

“Precisely why I called you, Spin! I’ve read the papers, you left the life of the Royal Guard, but nothing could rid you of your tinkering. You supplied the Weather Factory in Cloudsdale with a new canister system for storing rainbows.”

“You’re not suggesting…”

“They can hold how many gallons? A hundred? Two hundred?”

“No, out of the question. That’s sick, Arche, I don’t want to get dragged into this any further than you got me.”

Spin was about to make his leave, before Arche grabs hold of him by his shoulders. He could feel Arche’s whole body shaking.

“Please! Just……please, Spin, I…I can’t let this get out. Any pony who sees this will lead back to Celestia, it’s a given fact! The minute she finds out what I did, she’ll find me unfit to cooperate any longer in the Guard, and I’ll be thrown in a psych ward! I can’t let it end now, not yet!”

“What does it matter now? You can still retire, it doesn’t have to go on like this!”

“What happened at that wedding awoken something in me. I can’t explain it, but this just proves that everything we sacrificed for to hold back these monsters was all nearly in vain. Something’s coming, Spin, and I think I’m the only one who can finally rid Equestria of this curse…once and for all.”

There is a silence between these two, both staring into one another’s gaze, then back at the corpse. Spin lets out an agonizing sigh, before looking back at Arche to break the silence.

“Why me? You still have many contacts, why me of all ponies? What makes you think I won’t leave here and tell Celestia myself? Did you ever consider that?”

“Yes..…..I didn’t just call you for your skills alone, Spin. You’re one of the few ponies I know who understands just how horrible these monsters are. You saw what they did to me that day….to my squad….I’ve seen the true horrors Equestria has created, and Celestia promised me that day my sacrifices wouldn’t be in vain……Spin…it’s been over twenty years since that day…..and the Changelings are a greater threat than ever. I saw with my own eye….Celestia on her back….easily defeated by Chrysalis and her power.”

Another silence erupts, Spin confused by those words.

“Impossible, there’s no way Celestia’s power can be overthrown.”

“It happened….things won’t get better, they’ll only get worse. What happened here was just the beginning. But there is still hope, I can see it in my own mind! There is still a way for the Changelings to suffer for what they did, but that can’t happen unless I make it possible. Just help me….help me this one last time…..and we never have to see each other again.”

Spin looks again at the corpse, before slowly making his way back upstairs, a small notepad and pen levitating out of his jacket using his magic.

“I’ll need some supplies, a few trips to Cloudsdale and back shouldn’t raise too much suspicion. The vat I designed was for the whole factory, took me over six months to assemble. Something like this shouldn’t take more than day or less.”

Arche smiles, following his friend behind him.

“Thank you, Spin.”

“Just understand this, Arche. I don’t want any of this linking back to me, or the Weather Factory. Not only could this get me fired, but the whole factory itself may get shutdown, hundreds of ponies losing their jobs in the process, and the weather itself will be at fault. I just want you to realize how far I’m willing to risk for you…..Admiral.”

It was all coming back to him now. Spin kept his promise and delivered, creating this miniature vat installed directly within Arche’s basement. The green liquid was a mixture of the Changeling’s fluids, mixed with a clear substance used to preserve the color used in making rainbows at the Weather Factory. The results were standing right in front of him, in a clear glass tube, hooked with wires to keep it in place, or so it seemed. More memories began flooding back. He remembers telling Spin Railing to install a monitoring system within the vat similar to how the Weather Factory uses it to scan proper layering of colors applied for each rainbow. What was different from that is that now Arche can take notes and study the inner workings of the Changeling corpse for study. Spin really spared no expense for this one favor.

“How could I just….leave this here? What revolting…..unconscionable….insane levels of…..huh?”

He notices a small plastic bottle resting on the desk next to the Changeling vat. Arche picks it up, shocked to see it was the medication his psychiatrist had given him all those forgotten months ago. There was a small label on the back.

“Warning….extensive use could result in head trauma, hallucinogenic thoughts, and memory loss. No….this can’t be possible….”

Arche drops the bottle in shock, realizing the whole thing was nearly empty.

Author's Note:

Apologies for the long hiatus, but the next chapter is here. I intend to keep this story going, stronger than ever. Be sure to share this story with others who just love MLP, or frankly who just loves to read in general. I'm also online frequently, if anyone has questions. I'll try my best to answer without revealing any spoilers. Some I may not answer, depending how it'll affect with the plot of the story. Stay safe out there! ^w^

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

So... How will Arche feel about the changeling's reformation? ...That is going to happen in this story, right?

[Spellbounder]

10139823
I'm really looking forward to incorporate the reformation in this story. I won't say much, but upon finding out about the changeling reformation will affect Arche in a major way.