//------------------------------// // 48- Phobos // Story: Changing Expectations // by KKSlider //------------------------------// “Showtime, Nnnhahahahaha haaa!” Chrysalis cackled. I rolled my eyes before getting a report from the changeling. “From where? How fast? How many are with her?” “From the Northeast, the Everfree Forest. She will be here within ten minutes and a full chariot drawn by pegasi is following her at a distance, My Prince!” “Does she… Have any artifacts? Any unexpected weapons?” “We do not know, My Prince.” ‘From Everfree Forest? Isn’t the Castle of the Twin Sisters in there? What was Celestia doing in those woods? Is… Is it something to do with Nightmare Moon? She was supposed to check those ruins herself, I think... Have they fought? Was Celestia retrieving a powerful weapon from the ruins? Is it something completely unrelated? If she disappeared alone, how did she get a chariot? That would imply she had planned to go there long beforehoof. There’s something more to this, something I’m missing....’ I had no answers, and Chrysalis apparently had the same plan as I did. “Deal with whoever is in that chariot, Prince Phasma. I shall take Princess Celestia on myself!” “With our luck, it’s a powerful weapon she retrieved from a hidden vault somewhere. Or maybe a dangerous monster she has on a tight leash. Will of The Nine, half of you with me,” I commanded before taking flight. The ones loyal to myself volunteered themselves to go with me, leaving the unloyal and some leftover loyal Legionaries behind to fight Princess Celestia with Queen Chrysalis. My team and I flew out to Northwest Lower Canterlot, taking position to intercept the chariot after letting Celestia fly over and past us. We set down on the roof of a factory that was labeled ‘Viscount’s Bedsheets,’ the rectangular brick and mortar building having more than enough room for us all, and our hooves clacked on the clay shingle roof as we landed. The tiles had been painted gold to fit in with the city’s aesthetic, the walls painted white in a similar fashion. I motioned for everyling to take position on the side of the slanted roof facing towards the city so that we would be hidden from view from the incoming ponies up until they were nearly on top of us, well within range. “Let Princess Celestia pass as planned. When the chariot is in range, I want fast moving projectiles to target it, forcing it to land. As soon as you fire your first spell, take off and start chasing after the chariot. That will increase the size of the window of opportunity we have to open fire on these reinforcements. Two of you watch their approach discreetly.” “As you command, My Prince!” The Will of the Nine squad leader said with a brisk salute. “Oest, you’re not leaving my side this time.” “No, I’m not.” And that was that. It was time for more waiting. I recalled reading stories about soldiers’ time in the army, about how so much of it was hurry up and wait. I could now relate to this tense feeling, of rushing to get into position and ready in time, only to sit there in dreaded anticipation before a battle. Seconds ticked by. Minutes dragged on. ‘Nightmare Moon… She should have been here by now. I should have heard something from her. Now Celestia is coming from where she was supposed to arrive and meet up with her loyal forces…’ “Princess approaching,” said one of the two changelings peeking over the roof, acting as a lookout. ‘Ill omens that I have either too much time or not enough to think about. Things are not looking good, not one bit.’ Princess Celestia flew overhead, her white coat and gold armor sticking out in stark contrast against the black starry night sky. I watched the large alicorn grow smaller in size as she flew to Canterlot Castle. Once more, seconds ticked by far too slowly. After a long pause, one of the lookouts broke the silence, “Target approaching. Thirty seconds.” ‘I don’t really have any backup plans for taking on Chrysalis if Nightmare doesn’t show up…’ “Fifteen.” ‘I need to find the First Fang immediately. I need to get ready to put things in motion. Either Nightmare shows up soon, or… or I’ll figure something out.’ “In range!” A large white and gold covered chariot came into view from behind the peak of the arched slanted roof. It was pulled by two pegasi who had blue coats, one teal and one faded blue, blending in far more with the sky than Celestia’s bone white fur. ‘What the hell is going on?’ Against the near-black sky, the white and gold chariot was an easy to see target. “Fire at will!” The changelings unleashed a torrent of electric based spells. Most impacted the chariot, being harmlessly bounced off or absorbed by protective enchantments. Two hit one of the pegasus pulling the chariot to little affect. One hit the brighter pegasus, causing them to go limp in their harness. The chariot started to sag in the air, barely held aloft by the pegasus that was still up. ‘No, not held aloft. It’s falling, and all he can do is slow its descent!’ “Get ready everyone!” We took to their air, Oest on my right, God-Splitter on my left, Will of The Nine legionaries behind me. We followed the gilded cart’s descent, flying to where it would touch down. Despite the faded blue pegasus’s efforts, the chariot came crashing down one of the main streets, tearing up the stone road as it dragged along the ground. The chariot had left trails of overturned cobblestones, upturned dirt, and other debris in its wake. We surrounded the chariot, and I got a good look at the two pegasi who were pulling the cart, as well as the rest of the occupants as they stumbled out, jolted by the crash landing. The smaller pegasus that pulled the chariot was teal in color, with a rainbow mane. The ponies that stumbled out one by one were a purple unicorn, white unicorn, pink earth pony, yellow earth pony, and a yellow pegasus. I failed to take notice of anything more than that, for I was still staring at the second puller. I had thought it was a faded blue pegasus that was strapped in and holding the cart aloft. I was wrong, as it turned out. It was an alicorn, only slightly larger than a pony. She had a teal hair color, black markings on her flanks that surrounded a moon Cutie Mark. No, not a moon Cutie Mark, the moon Cutie mark! ‘What…. What is this?! Did I get catfished?! Did something change Nightmare Moon?!’ “Who are you?!” I shouted as the disorientated ponies regained their senses. The purple unicorn must have regained her senses very quickly, as she threw up a shield around her compatriots. ‘Might as well have a papier-mâché chestplate, little pony.’ The ponies’ eyes were darting between the changelings that surrounded them. “Uh, these fella’s ain’t ponies,” one of them pointed out. “They seem to almost resemble Sinodendron Rego–” “Who are you?!” I demanded once again, less loudly this time. My eyes had never left the alicorn. “I am Rainbow Dash, and I’m here to save the day!” The cyan and rainbow pegasus yelled, before posing mid-air. The white unicorn curtsied, “Lady Rarity, here to help.” “My friends call me Pinky Pie! But you can call me ‘a friend!’” That one’s bouncing was giving me a headache. “Ah’m Applejack…” The orange earth pony seemed to be looking around the group at the quiet, empty street “Fluttershy…” The yellow pegasus mumbled. “I am Twilight Sparkle, protege of Princess Celestia.” The purple unicorn began, “And together, we are the Elements of Harmony!” “I didn’t mean you six, insignificant... Did you say Elements of Harmony?” Now I was looking at the six ponies. They had gathered around this Twilight Sparkle, crouched low as they started to gather around the alicorn that was starting to get their hooves under them. “We know that voice,” the alicorn said, standing up off the ground, looking right at me. “Thou art Prince Phasma in the flesh!” My eyes widened, eyebrows raised, and jaw dropped. ‘No. No… It… It can’t be!’ “You…” “We should reintroduce ourselves. We are Princess Luna, alicorn of the moon. It is a pleasure to see you in pony, Prince Phasma…” “You’re not Nightmare Moon,” I nearly hissed. “What– how– you… What?!” “This is the Prince we’re to rescue?” Rarity asked, looking at Princess Luna. “Rescue?” I repeated. My eyebrows were past raised and were consolidating investors to create a space travel company to aid their ascent all the way to the moon. “That is so, Dame Rarity. Prince Phasma, lay down that weapon and surrender, so that this disaster may be righted. Please, We offer you aid in your troubles. Together, we shall overcome the obstacles that have befallen you.” “Aid me?” I echoed again, mind slowly pulling together the pieces of the puzzle. ‘Nightmare Moon is this Princess Luna again. She was that before being Nightmare, as the story goes, so that means something changed her. Something happened…’ “Yeah! But if you wanna throw hooves before you surrender, that’s cool too!” Rainbow said, now hovering in the air next to the rest of the ponies. “The Deus Ex Machina!” I exclaimed. “Your Elements of Harmony did something to Nightmare Moon, what happened to her?!” Princess Luna answered for the gathered Elements, “We have been freed of the parasite’s control. Please, Prince Phasma, ponies are being hurt as we speak. Help us bring an end to this calamity, and We shall do all that We can for the betterment of your kingdom.” “And we can have so much fun! Two kingdoms means twice the amount of parties! Well technically, one’s a Constitutional Principality,” the pink Element jabbered. I tasted kindness coming from Luna. Sympathy to be specific. A very bland emotion, but one a changeling could sustain themselves on. Only one of the six ponies tasted of fear, the rest seemed focused and only let off hints of anger. The pink one tasted of happiness. Cotton-candy flavored happiness. Somehow. Fluttershy was the one who tasted of fear, yet she refrained from cowering behind her fellow Elements of Harmony. ‘Can these Elements brainwash someone? Utterly change a person’s mind? Do they exert control over them? Is she telling the truth? Does any of this even matter?!’ I closed my mouth and drew in a shaky breath. ‘No. If Nightmare Moon has been defeated, then I have to move on without her. Surrender is not an option; leaving the entirety of my new species to the mercy of those we just invaded is just outright moronic. We’re in this till the end, one way or the other!’ I studied the six ponies and one alicorn. The Elements were all wearing matching necklaces, each with a single gem that resembled their Cutie Mark. ‘If the Elements of Harmony were designed with fighting in mind, those necklaces would just be a distraction, and the real ones would be something stupid like a meta-physical concept. However, these are ponies we’re talking about, which means the big shiny necklaces are the Deus Ex Machina.’ Finally, I considered Princess Luna. I felt no strange urge to tell her only the truth, so whatever strange spell or geas she had on me was well and truly gone. There was nothing between us. I was free to do whatever I wanted. I wanted them gone. “Will of The Nine! Contingency: MacGuffin!” I yelled, throwing God-Splitter at the ponies’ shield. I realized that I should have said that over the Weave far too late. Immediately, Oest interposed himself between me and the gathered ponies as the fifteen changelings we brought with us darted down towards the shield. “Get those necklaces!” The hammer hit the shield and continued on, disintegrating it instantly. A powerful gust of wind pushed it out of the way from the ponies, and a new shield was put up, this one blue. I saw from behind Oest that Princess Luna’s horn was glowing. ‘She recognized the usual practices of enchanting battlefield weapons, and knew she had to redirect it with an outside force? Hmmm. She’s going to give me a run for my money, isn’t she?’ The changelings peeled off from their dive bombs, instead unleashing spell after spell against the shield, as if to test the alicorn’s strength. I was going to tell them not to waste the effort when I saw Luna start to wilt as she kept the spell up. I recalled God-Splitter, and watched. ‘An alicorn, struggling to maintain the shield against a simple barrage?’ I watched as they seemed to huddle together and whisper to each other. I considered simply trying to force my hammer at the shield again, pushing it with all my might against Luna’s redirection attempts. ‘I would say getting into a magic strength contest with an alicorn is an exercise in futility, but considering how much she visibly faltered when holding a simple spell…’ I pulled God-Splitter back for another blow. Then, the ponies separated, started glowing, and floating up into the air. ‘They’re using the weapon!’ I swung God-Splitter as hard as I could towards them, and let off a series of focused-will blasts. The shield was dispelled momentarily so that Luna could use her magic to deflect the hammer, and then was brought back up. However, a single beam got through, hitting the already somewhat winded Rainbow Dash, sending her back and hitting the back of the shield. Immediately, the ponies stopped floating and fell back down to the ground. Then, the shield dissipated, only to be immediately replaced by a pink one casted by Twilight. Luna kept her eyes on God-Splitter, wary of the weapon that could apparently destroy a shield with a single blow. They whispered to each other briefly, the yellow pegasus Fluttershy checking on Rainbow, before turning back towards me. That's when I saw the shield contract ever so slightly, before rapidly expanding outward, becoming more transparent as it did. ‘Again?!’ I pulled God-Splitter back to me and held it close to my chest as I leaned in towards the blast, propping myself up against Oest. Thanks to my now repositioned center of mass, I slid backwards when I was hit by the blast, but neither I nor Oest tumbled down to the ground. ‘How does this unicorn know fighting techniques that the Captain used? She must be a Royal Guard, not in her armor!’ “The purple unicorn, Twilight, is likely an elite Royal Guard. Be wary of her and Princess Luna!” I inaudibly whispered over the Weave. The ponies did not need to brace themselves, nor recover from being knocked over. They took the opportunity to charge right at me and Oest. Oest quickly put up a barrier in front of us. It was just in time to absorb several pink and cyan blasts that Twilight and Rarity let off as the group charged. Oest winced as the shots continued to pound the green barrier he hastily put up. Then, the barrage ended as the blasts started being aimed at the changelings still recovering. Several went down as the stun bolt hit them. The rest either dodged or managed to focus enough to put up protective shields. The Elements and alicorn reached me and Oest and slammed into it, Applejack spinning and giving a powerful kick. The combined blows of all seven ponies made Oest stagger backwards and drop the shield, so I immediately pushed him aside and leapt forward, swinging God-Splitter. ‘Gotta give him a moment to recover!’ Twilight and Rarity both tried grabbing my hammer as I swung it, failing to accomplish anything. The others dodged out of the way, however the hammer was pushed upwards by a wind blast before it could hit any of them. Princess Luna stopped right in front of me, squinting through what I guessed was pain. “Enough of this foolishness! Thou art rushing to thy doom. Friendship is the way forward, Prince Phasma!” “You think I’m an idiot or something?!” I spat, before swinging God-Splitter at her. I expected her to deflect it, and she did not disappoint. Princess Luna focused on pushing the hammer away and was left vulnerable by the three stunning bolts I sent right at her after swinging God-Splitter using telekinesis. Then, I put up a defensive shield, not really wanting to trust the protective enchantments on my peytral to block attacks from potentially all seven opponents at once. Luna saw the bolts last second and her horn started to glow, only for her to grunt in pain before the bolts even hit her. When they did hit her, Princess Luna collapsed onto the ground, gasping. I spun on my back hooves to turn and attack Twilight. I was just in time to see Oest coming up behind her, about to hit her with a stun spell, only to be tackled by Applejack. So I stopped channeling the shield, and instead casted a stun spell at Twilight. She did not react in time to stop it, however, Rarity did and she put up a shield around Twilight to protect her. I swung God-Splitter at Rarity to break her concentration and tried once more to take down the purple mage. The swing worked better than intended; Rarity instinctively attempted to grab the object hurtling towards her using her magic once again, only to fail, leaving her no time to dodge. When the hammer hit her, its relatively low velocity knocked her over but left her with nothing more than a bruise. It did break her connection to the shield around Twilight, just in time for several stun bolts to hit the purple unicorn before she could replace the shield. Likewise, the rest of the ponies besides Applejack got hit by stun spells by the remaining Will of the Nine members who recovered. Two stray bolts hit me, causing a green shield to shimmer into existence briefly around me. Oest and the pony rolled around on the ground, each trying to pin the other one. I ended the brawl by pulling the earth pony off Oest, and hitting her point blank. “Confound it!” She hissed, not quite down. Three more bolts, and I could practically see the stars orbiting her head as she slumped over. “Good job, we got ‘em all!” I jumped and turned midair to see the pink Element right behind me. “Heya Phas! You know it's rude to hurt ponies, right? If you could stop–” Several stun spells and a fireball brought Pinky down, though a headache remained. “What did I say about the fireballs?!” I rubbed my head as I thought. ‘These were the Elements of Harmony? These ponies which lasted half as long as Captain Shining Armor? Only one of them actually had military training, though that stetson-wearing Applejack could sure pack a punch. Kick? Whatever.’ I leaned over and pulled the golden necklace off the pony aptly named Pinky. ‘Don’t need to waste a spell slot on Detect Magic to feel the ripples of mana this thing distorts by simply existing! Yeah, this is a MacGuffin alright.’ I sighed. ‘Four useless sacks of flour, one strong earth pony, and one capable unicorn. That’s what did Nightmare Moon in. It seems I was effectively alone in my struggle against Chrysalis all along, if these foes managed to defeat Nightmare. Perhaps I shouldn’t discount the powers of these Elements… If they managed to use them in time, would I be suffering the same fate?’ Around me, changelings were regathering and helping out the ones who were stunned, as well as binding up the seven stunned ponies. “Gather these Elements of Harmony. Put them...” ‘I’ll need somewhere temporary to hide them, before I can securely lock them up after this is over.’ “Put them inside the base of the statue of Princess Celestia at the front of Canterlot Castle. Reseal the stone up, leave no traces of tampering. Prepare these seven ponies for transit, we will bring them to the castle, too.” I looked up at the mentioned castle, looming over the center of the city. I could see occasional beams both green and gold blow out sections of the walls as the titans dueled. ‘I need to be ready.’ “But before moving these prisoners, fetch the First Fang: Coxa and Lacewing of the Chosen Conquerors, and Tarsus of the Infiltrators. I will have need of my councilors very, very soon.” As the changelings flew off to either hide the Elements or fetch the First Fang, I walked over to Princess Luna and removed the gel bindings on her muzzle. She looked at me, filled with sorrow and anger. “You and I are going to have a nice, long chat while we wait.”