12 Welcome home (Past, Present, and future)
The tiny pegasus colt Anchor steadily crawled across the ceiling, his dark grey coat allowing him to blend into the shadows with relative ease. He was on a mission, a mission he was determined to complete if it was the last thing he did. Not only was it important, it could be the single defining moment in his life.
Slowly, his quarry came into view, back turned and completely unaware of the shadow that had fallen on its back. A little more creeping and all would be complete. A few more feet and nothing would stop him from doing what he was born to do.
All he had to do was drop and...
'SLAM.'
"AAAAAAGGHH, ANCHOR!!!!"
Meek groaned as his twin brother landed on his back.
The two colts were practically identical except Anchor was a pegasus and he was an earth pony, which suited Anchor just fine in his never ending quest to roughhouse. Their cutie marks also differed, Anchor having, well, an anchor, while Meek had a group of numbers adorning his flank. Their special talents were a perfect fit for the life in which these two were born.
They were born and raised in the seashore village of Kelptown, a small but highly profitable establishment along the shore of the South Luna Ocean. As the name implies, the village is known for its kelp, but no ordinary kelp. In this area, the water-bound plant is sought by chefs from everywhere. Its taste puts ordinary kelp to shame, so delicious that it was known to often tempt even ponies who actually hate seaweed salad.
And Anchor and Meek belonged to one of the many kelp harvesting families that made Kelptown their home.
Their earth pony father Astrolabe and pegasus mother Swift Wind owned one of the largest kelp harvesting vessels in the vicinity, the proud parents having broken their two colts into the family business as soon as they were old enough to understand it. And it was with great pride on both their parents when the boys discovered their special talents. Anchor could lift their ship's anchor not only by hoof and with relative ease, he had precision with the heavy instrument the likes of which nopony had seen.
He could land the anchor at the bottom of the coast in the exact spot he wanted, and he could even predict current interference and weight restrictions in the anchors decent; he had even used it to pull up an ancient anchor from the bottom, which Astrolabe's great grandparents had lost and were never able to retrieve.
Meek was at the opposite end of the business. He had a knack for numbers that nopony in the family ever had, easily increasing their profits and sales by at least thirty percent. It was a bit of a disappointment on Astrolabe's part, but in the end it made the family business complete all the same.
But every pro has a con, and in this case, it was the boys' interests in recreational activities.
"Stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself," repeated Anchor, grabbing his younger (by twenty seconds) brother's forelegs and smacking him in the face with them.
"Anchor, stop it," groaned Meek, the little plushies he had been playing with rolling away as he squirmed under his brother.
"How ya gonna make me?" taunted Anchor, not letting up his assault at all.
Meek did nothing but repeat his request for it to stop more, and Anchor eventually grew bored.
"You need to toughen up," he commented, Meek climbing to his hooves to retrieve his dolls. "The sea play's rougher than that... a lot rougher."
"And that relates to me how?" inquired Meek, irritated as he pointed to the numbers decorating his flank. "How many times must you be reminded that my skills aren't based in field work?"
"You should still learn the physical part of our parents' job," replied Anchor.
Meek already knew all about what his family did, and it wasn't like he never went out on the water. But this was a song he had heard from his brother more than once, so it was pointless to argue. Besides, there was something out of place in this situation.
"Where are mom and dad?" asked Meek, looking around the living room for said ponies. They often left him home when they went out to the market for groceries or to sell their own goods. Because he was so good with numbers, he did more for the family with profits and sales than with grunt work, instead they would take his brother out with them. But they never came home separately.
"That's why I am here," replied Anchor, flashing a mean grin. "Mom and dad sent me to get you and take you to the market."
"What!?" gasped Meek in slight panic, having never been fetched for the marketplace before. "Is something wrong? What happened?"
"Oh brother, the best of all things happened," replied Anchor, the enthusiastic tone making Meek nervous. "Princess Celestia herself is in town."
"WHAT?!" Yelled Meek, excitement taking over his voice as well. "The Princess Celestia... ruler of all Equestria, is in Kelptown?"
"You bet your skimpy tail," replied Anchor, the comment making some of Meek's enthusiasm deflate as he tucked his tail, not that it looked any different than his brother's. "In all her regal glory."
"Why is she here?" asked Meek, his overwhelming enthusiasm returning.
"Same as everypony else, our kelp," explained Anchor, also extremely excited. "Apparently our kelp is such a boon to Equestria, Princess Celestia herself has come to thank the whole town for their role in its distribution."
"Oh how wonderful," said Meek, heading to the door, "This I gotta see."
"My thoughts exactly!"
Before Meek had gone two steps outside, two powerful forelegs wrapped around his barrel and the next thing he knew he was airborne. He flashed one annoyed look to his sibling before turning to take in the view. He loved his home of Kelptown; with the long multiple docks, sizable but not overbearing buildings, long stretch of beach, and most importantly the many ships moored here and there, the elegant sails looking like bound clouds secured by rope.
"Penelope took her family's ship out again," he said, noticing the empty spot where their neighbor's ship should have been moored at that time of day.
Anchor looked over his brother's shoulder, confirming he was right and letting out an uncharacteristic sigh of irritation. "That filly, doesn't she know there is such a thing as too ambitious?"
"Like we should talk," said Meek, looking out to sea to see if he could spot the wayward unicorn filly navigating her family's ship solo (as she did often) but saw only the moon rising above the water, the image of the Mare in the Moon reflecting on the churning surface. "Though some boundaries should remain uncrossed."
"Gotta say, as much as I find having a math wiz for a brother disappointing, I am relieved that you didn't turn out like her," commented Anchor casually.
"Thanks, I think."
Town Square came into view a second later and Anchor began to descend towards town hall where a huge gathering of ponies had assembled. The grizzled mayor Telescope stood at a podium before the crowd, and behind him stood the tallest, most elegant mare Anchor and Meek had ever seen. Her opalescent coat, her billowing multicolored mane, her elegant gold jewelry all painted her in a regal light.
If this wasn't Princess Celestia, Anchor was a seagull.
"Ah, there are my boys," said Astrolabe in his masculine voice, his brown coat like several other people in the crowd.
"You two should count yourselves lucky," said Swift Wind, her blue mane draping over the hot pink of her coat. "Last time Princess Celestia visited Kelptown, your great grandpa was half your age."
They all fell silent as said pony approached the podium. "Citizens of Kelptown, I Princess Celestia, wish to extend my thanks to you. First, for the supply of delicious kelp you provide my beautiful kingdom, and second..." Only the ponies in front of the crowd saw the wicked smile. "For being a community so filled with love."
A great pillar of green flames blinded the crowd for a second, and the citizens of Kelptown saw the lanky bug monstrosity for only a second before a flash of light exploded from the podium...
...And the population of Kelptown ceased to exist.
---
It would be weeks before the lack of activity would draw attention, and the royal guard would find Kelptown as a ghost town. Investigation would ensue, but nothing was ever finalized. The people who lived in Kelptown simply vanished.
Eventually the estates would pass to the next of kin or be sold and Kelptown would resume as it had, but the original inhabitants' whereabouts would forever remain a mystery.
---
Until brief memories from who they used to be surfaced in Pharynx and Thorax's minds.
They were fleeting, like dreams that had been halfway forgotten, but they were there nonetheless. Celestia gently set the two on the ground, watching them intensely along with the others as they turned their attention to the floating photo. Their expressions were unreadable, like looking into the face of emptiness itself, if emptiness had a face.
Even Pharynx had all but dropped the colorless expression he wore, same as his brother.
"Mom? Dad?" he moaned, reaching a scythe to the paper as it hovered in Celestia's magic. There was no denying it now; the memories he had been subjected to were too integrally part of him to be a facade of some kind, and that left only one conclusion that had been presented long ago but he was to blind to see.
"Brother?" mumbled Pharynx, turning to said changeling as he lay next to him. "What... what have we become?"
"Something we never should have been," explained Thorax gently, laying a hoof on Pharynx's shoulder." You and me, we were meant to live our lives with our pony family... until Chrysalis entered our lives, and stripped them from us."
Pharynx looked down at his new claws as they sat arched in the dust. "I spent what I thought was my life doting on that... that impersonator, wanting nothing more than to make her dream into reality, but... what she really was, what we all really were to her... what was the point of it all? What was the meaning of me devoting myself to that phony. WHAT IS THE POINT OF MY LIFE?!"
Thorax winced as his brother's voice morphed from low mumbling to out right hysterical. He had wanted his brother to accept the truth, but now a new obstacle had presented itself. If Pharynx didn't believe in his existence anymore, what could he say to him to help him push past this barrier?
"You proved your worth, that's what it means," Pharynx and Thorax looked up as the elegant form of Celestia approached, Twilight and the others keeping a slight distance. "The very fact that you 'were' so devoted to her, even after her death proves the strength of your resolve, Pharynx. Pheromone Signal was a pony with a weak resolve, and that didn't change even after her broken heart transformed her into the abomination that was Chrysalis." She put a hoof on Pharynx's chin and lifted his head so she met his honeycombed eyes with her motherly gaze."And Thorax needs that resolve, all the changelings do. The dawn of a new beginning has begun, Pharynx, and your brother is going to need you."
"How can I accept such responsibility after all I have done?" asked Pharynx, instinctively trying to cringe, but lacking the facial structure to do so, and the weight of what happened between the failed invasion and the arrival of the Equestrians on their land finally registered. "He knew that this was wrong, but I..."
"Had nothing to do with it," said Thorax as he stood, the eye on his chest glaring down at his brother. "All that has happened to us up to this point is on her head as far as I am concerned, even in death. And now that we are free of her and her wretched hunger, it is time the changelings forgot their sick origin and moved forward." He extended a hoof to Pharynx, determination burning in his eyes. "The road ahead is sure to be full of trials, and we will need strength to get us through it."
Pharynx looked up at the offered hoof.
A cascade of emotions was slamming into his psyche in the last few moments alone. Regret for all he had done in Chrysalis' name, nostalgia for the life she had stolen from him, and his real parents who he barely remembered now. But something in Thorax's words was pulling Pharynx's resolve back out.
And redirected it in a new direction.
Slowly, Pharynx placed his claw on Thorax's offered hoof, who smiled...
"OOF."
...Just before his own hoof was thrown into his face. "Quit hitting yourself."
"Hey, not cool," said Rainbow, accelerating forward.
"Wait," said Thorax, lifting a hoof to stop Rainbow. "That's the brother I know."
Celestia and her company watched the whole ordeal with a slight smile. Everything fell into place at last, and after some coaxing, and some time to get used to his new body, Pharynx and the others crawled one by one into the black orb in space. Ready to begin down this road, wherever it may lead.
"Thank you, all of you," said Thorax tearfully.
"Hey, it's what we do," said Rainbow with only slight smugness.
"Spike?" questioned Ocellus, as she and Thorax were the only changelings yet to depart. "Will I ever see you again?"
"Oh, you can count on it," said Spike, much to Ocellus's shock. "My pony pals and I have a sort of thing going on with 'big, blinky, and wiggly' and we have to return to Apocrypha soon ourselves. You can guarantee we will meet again then."
"Really?" said Ocellus excitedly.
“Something tells me we ain't through with each other just yet."
Much to his surprise, Spike felt soft lips on his cheek. Ocellus blushed at him before she dived into the portal, her log dexterous tail the last thing to be seen. He placed a claw to said cheek and blushed himself.
Back with Thorax, he was receiving best of luck wishes from all present.
"Rule your people the way all good leaders should," said Celestia as the tall changeling turned to the portal with a wave.
"Yeah, with lots of cupcakes!" said Pinkie.
The portal closed at that point, the bowl of elixir disappearing with it.
"That's it, then?" asked Applejack.
"Mission accomplished," said Rainbow smugly.
"And we know what that means," said Twilight, throwing a look at Shining Armour and Cadance, while Pinkie Pie hummed 'here comes the bride' beside her.
The couple looked to each other and gave tearful smiles.
"Well if there is going to be a wedding it can't very well be out here," said Luna, throwing a revolted look to the barren landscape.
"Quite right, sister," agreed Celestia, eager to put this nasty stuff behind her.
Though she threw one last look to the fissure, regret for the loss of life pouring over her, both for the ones who starved, and the ones struck down by Twilight's Thu'um all those years ago. She will always carry that burden. And she would do so willingly and she would remind herself of that burden with a visual representation.
With a quick flash of magic, Celestia teleported at least a ton of the ash from the Badlands to Canterlot, an idea forming in the back of her mind.
"Come on, everyone," said Pinkie, bouncing in place. "We have a wedding to throw."
"Darn tootin'."
"Yay."
"I got the Bachelor party."
"And I have fabulous ideas for the gowns now."
"And I need to work on my Sonic Rainboom. Hey, I wonder if I can do a shout at the same time."
Twilight rolled her eyes as she began to trek back to the carriages with the others. Seeing them like this warmed her heart, a little excitement for the wedding made the walk all the less boring, and she even giggled along with the others when they arrived and saw that the pegasus guards had not moved a muscle. She hoped they didn't have to go to the bathroom.
"Huh. Sis, we forgot something," said Luna, pointing up at the sky, where both the sun and moon were present.
"Quiet right," said Celestia, rather embarrassed. "But let me lower the sun first, it's well past the time for dusk now.
---
Deep in the reaches of Apocrypha, the remaining changelings bowed before their new master.
"Keep the Draconian Madstone," was all Hermaeus Mora said, Thorax looking up at the multiple moving tendrils. "It has served you well, and therefore I decree..."
A cluster of ponnequins appeared, all supporting a black robe with the image of the Madstone stitched beneath the collars.
"...That the Draconian Madstone shall be the symbol of the Changeling Order of Hermaeus Mora, the crown jewel of your people... your crest."
Thorax held the pendant before his eyes, grateful that he got to keep it and awed by its new meaning.
---
"Alright, we're off," hollered Rainbow, flying beside the chariots now that Chrysalis' throne was now more. "And no force in the world is going to stop us from throwing the best wedding of the millennium!"
Pinkie leaned off the side of the chariot. "Shh! Don't say things like that Dashie! They'll hear you!" she hissed.---
---
"Well, my dear, that was quite the spectacle," said Fancy Pants as he watched the sun set, leaving the moon alone in the sky.
"It sure was," said his wife, Fleur De Lis, as he held her and they leaned against the concrete railing that guarded the edge of Canterlot.
Raven had done her best to let the kingdom know the princesses might utilize their powers today, and it was a relief that it worked. No panic had been reported here or anywhere else; a crisis finally averted for once. And some residents had taken advantage of the situation.
How often do you see the sun and moon in the sky at the same time?
"I need to head back to the manor, dear," yawned Fancy Pants, settling down on all four hooves and making his way back into the city, now that the spectacular event was over. "The Canterlot elite are throwing a banquet tomorrow. Want me to call you a cab as well?"
"You go ahead, honey," said Fleur, waving her husband off. "I want to look at the stars for a while."
Fancy smiled and kissed his wife goodbye, waving down a taxi that happened to be passing by. But as she turned from waving, Fleur noticed something glistening in the moonlight in a nearby bush. Curious, she lit her horn and dragged the object out into the open.
She gasped.
An obsidian sphere hung suspended in her magic. She was never one for black (that was Inkheart) but this orb had a beauty she couldn't place... or resist. Slowly, Fleur extended a hoof out and ran it along the smooth surface with a captivated smile.
A crimson aura flared around the orb.
Fleur shrieked in surprise and instinctively dropped the orb, gasping as it fell off the ledge. She tried to grab it in her magic again, but it had already fallen beyond her reach. All she could do was watch it fall out of sight until its red glow wasn't visible.
"Such a shame, would have made a lovely bauble for the dining room," said Fleur sadly, looking to her hoof and frowning at the patch of red dust on her leg.
Blowing it away without a thought, Fleur followed her husband's example and headed for home.
---
Little did she know what had happened. Sigil Stones are always connected to Nirn, due to their primary function of opening their infamous gates. While it wasn't possible to do so in Equestria, it had managed to send the little patch of skin Fleur had made contact with to Nirn for a split second. Not enough to send it into the present, but strong enough to send it into the past... the distant past.
To the region of a dormant volcano... surrounded by a fence of magic... shrouded in a red sandstorm.
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*gasp*
Wampior looks worried at the map of Equestria and wispers one sentence...
"Dagoth Ur welcomes you..."
well, it might bother a few ponies to have an Oblivion Crisis during the wedding...Dagon is such a wet blanket...
Worst case scenario, there's a shout that makes you go faster. It feels like that would do something when Rainboom-adjacent.
I'm not up on the lore, so... was that a specific place, or is it the red sandstone dust that's the bad news?
ohhh boy...i begin to smell who's receiving that little patch of skin...
9729415
Red mountain, Ashstorm
9729419
Yeah, in hindsight (and reading what everyone else says), nobody mentions a worst-case scenario unless it happens later (even if this one was only mentioned in the previous story)
*gasp*
Oh no! How did HE find out?!
I'm on the edge of my seat with this chapter.
While Dagoth Ur is, potentially, not as bad as Mehrunes Dagon finding out about the place and throwing a fit, it doesn't mean anything good either - he absolutely won't step out into the open, but will try to subvert Equestria by working behind the scenes. And even if he does get caught out and somehow defeated, the Heart of Lorkhan will make sure that he will return to try again.
With Hermaeus Mora also in the picture and guaranteed not to sit idle while someone else is trying to muscle in on his new playground, things might get very interesting.
...Or I'm reading too much into it and Dagoth Ur won't care about this at all, too preoccupied with his original plans to notice. But then, that Sigil Stone is still there, and it could still bring something from Nirn into Canterlot - maybe even the horrific diseases that affect the area around the Red Mountain.
Oh GOODIE, Mehrunes is here.
Dammit, Rainbow. Also, Morrowind is apparently running alongside this story since Fleur touched the thing. It would be pretty funny if the Dunmer somehow gained a propensity for spontaneous musical numbers.
Let's hope Fleur doesn't come down with corpus disease.
That's good. Long distance relationship is one difficult thing to maintain.
9729415
Whirlwind sprint
I am Pinkie in this scene
9729756
The thought of this has made me laugh.
9730397 Pinkie’s brand of insanity is almost like trying to read an Elder Scroll and surviving. Did I mention how this fic is running alongside Morrowind?
9729419
Will there be a azura on this story you already make changeling not hunger of love anymore
I really wish you make Griffin unifed by daedra prince azura
Hmm...I wonder what consequences making contact with that sigil stone will have. Is Mehrunes Dagon now aware of Equestria's existence? Has Dagoth Ur's curiosity been aroused by this glimpse into the land of ponies? Or is Equestria about to receive an entire race of migrants as Kagrenac dons Wraithguard and taps into the Heart of Lorkhan? I eagerly await the answer.
9730979
or will Sheogorath dance the Shutterflack upon Discord's petrified cranium?
9731673
Honestly, of all the Daedric Princes, I think Sheogorath is the most terrifying. Name any of the Princes and I can tell you what to expect or what will happen. Sheogorath? I wouldn’t know where to start guessing.
Everyone remembers their encounters with him as “Cheese for everyone!” or “Beard? Check. Clothes? Check. Luggage? Where’s me luggage?”, they all seem to forget that he’s The Mad God. This is someone who could be in a fantastic mood and be told even better news, but still swap your insides with your outsides because, “Eh, fuck it. Could be funny”.
9732023
eyup.
sounds about right
SHE'S CONTRACTED CORPRUS!!!!! O.O
Well things are going to get interesting
I'm tempted to make a snide comment regarding competency here.
9732023
Well, there's a reason Sheogorath is the Daedric counterpart to Discord.
I mean, there are differences - Discord can be quite malevolent when he wants to, and he does like his power, where Sheogorath is literally insane, and even he can't predict what he'll do... but the results are quite similar, all things considered.
Except, Sheogorath's results tend to be a lot more messy, so there's that...
The primary issue has always been "they'd do it at the drop of a hat", not that they could do it in and of itself. I mean, Celestia and Luna could single-hoofedly bring about the end of Equus each on their own, right?
Discord has always been played by the Rule of Funny, alongside the Rule of Insane just a tad... Sheogorath, on the other hand... Which is probably why he's so downplayed, in all instances. He alone holds the power to pretty much destroy Nirn all but physically.
Truth be told, I wouldn't mind seeing an adventure (a questline or two, perhaps a DLC?) that'd cater only to Sheogorath's takeover of Nirn. I mean it'd probably be somewhat funny and mildly deranged at first, with all of the 'bad guys' (and the ones you always wanted to serve a knuckle sandwich to... :D) getting their comeuppance... but I get the feeling that it'd turn downright horrifying in a hurry.
And as to how you'd want to motivate a Mad God to do this? Make him search for something there (bonus points if it was never there to begin with, extra bonus points if it never existed in the first place).
9732023
he is strongest of them see has all the other had to join up to turn him into madness to keep his real order self from take over everything,
9729415
9730191
I wonder if Rainbow can use wind sprint to do a sonic rainboom during the wedding. Like she starts by building the mach cone and then uses wind sprint to push past it and the rainboom goes out. Combine that with if she did it while using dragons aspect and the flames spell to propel her like a jet plane. Then you’d have a recipe for people going blind from two hundred and twenty percent of pure awesomeness. Am I right?
10184172
My intended point was the idea of using Whirlwind Sprint when already going at Rainboom speeds to fly even faster. Because physics is something that happens to other ponies.
a Sigil Stone, thats not good but it all depends on the daedric prince it is connected to it.
That ending there, oh no. Not good. Is that one of the things that fell out of Apocrypha when the Mane 6 were messing around? I can't remember how it could have gotten there.
And with the shipping, I just want it done well. The choices for pairings work well enough so long as the work gets put into making them come and evolve naturally. No real point saying this at this point since much of the story is already written, but you asked for comments.
I'm liking the story so far.