//------------------------------// // 6th: Rollercoaster // Story: The Rule of King Cocoon of the Changelings // by Hooves Like Jagger //------------------------------// The Rule of King Cocoon of the Changelings The key to success in any situation is to get rid of any preconceived notions. You must walk into a situation knowing that you don’t know anything for sure about it. Just know your objective and your limits, and you can turn the outcome in your favor. Trust your own objective judgments and form your own subjective opinions and feelings. This is the first key to success. Before I climbed out of the marehole, I turned back into Duncan Doughnuts. I could have assumed there would or would not have been ponies when I emerged, but I opted to simply transform so I wouldn’t have to worry about it either way. When I walked out into the panic-stricken streets in the growing dawn, I made sure to assess exactly why all the ponies were in such a state. I could have assumed it was Charon, but I didn’t. The exact origin of their distress wasn’t immediately evident, but they kept looking towards the sky. It wasn’t long before I saw the streak of red that was zipping about the sky. Even from on the ground, I could tell it was Charon. I took to my hooves and went after him, which was easier said than done since he’s faster than me and has the ability to fly. You might ask, why be so thorough? The answer is simple: I’m done screwing up. This time I’m going to be careful and calculated. This time I’m not going to make any mistakes. This time, when all gets said and done, everything will be perfect. I’ve done nothing but trip over my own ignorance since I arrived in Equestria, so it’s well past time that I got my act together. Charon far more mobile than I am. I follow his contrail in one direction, but he gets away and changes directions. At this rate, I’m going to run myself ragged before I encounter him. Not only is Charon moving quickly, but whatever kind of magic he has allows him to fly while his body is stone. The result is a high-velocity and durable projectile that causes quite a bit of damage when he touches down, evident by the pillars of debris that rises up whenever he dips under the skyline. He isn’t spending much time on the ground, which makes catching him near impossible. I just need one shot at him with my magic, but getting that shot will require speed. I duck into an alleyway. I make sure it’s empty before plotting my next course of action. If I called out the swarm, they might be able to help slow Charon down, but I don’t want to waste time going to get them for a plan that just “might” help. I needed something sure-fire. I needed something with the mobility to chase Charon and the speed to catch him. Only one pony springs to mind. Turning into Rainbow Dash poses a whole slew of problems though. First off, I don’t know how to fly. I said it once and I’ll say it again: having wings isn’t equal to being able to fly. On the same premise, being Rainbow Dash isn’t the same as being Rainbow Dash. Secondly, pegasi can’t do magic. Even if I did manage to catch Charon, I’d have to transform into something else to seal the deal. I needed a different plan. Judging by the sounds of panic and the increased frequency with which I’m hearing crashes, I need a different plan fast. The first thing that springs to mind is to go alicorn and chase him down, but the alicorns I know of would attract far too much attention. I don’t want ponies thinking changelings had anything to do with Charon. Turning into a princess is a big no-no if one wants to avoid detection. I decide to throw chasing and catching Charon out the window. Luring him to me seems to be the next best option. Even if he isn’t staying on the ground, he is still going to the ground. If I can predict where he’s going to crash land, I could catch him before he flies off. It’s a sketchy plan, but it’s the only one that’s viable right now. I wander back into the streets and search for Charon. He’s still dive-bombing the city streets. Keeping one eye on him, I try and find a point at which he’s touched down. It doesn’t take too long before I turn a corner and find a sizable hole in the middle of the road. I look around for some sign of why Charon would attack this point in particular, but it just looks like a normal hole to me. Before I can conjecture he had destroyed his target, a rather calm pony approached me. “Good day, your majesty,” the crimson stallion greeted me. “It’s me, Stagger Fang. I came to report on my findings.” There was another explosion in the distance, but Stagger Fang didn’t flinch. Something tells me the changelings aren’t very invested in the well-being of the city. “Sorry, but you’re a bit late. I already know who it was,” I explained to him. “Very well, your majesty. I’ll just head back n-” “Hold it!” I stopped him. Stagger Fang stood rigid at attention. “We’ve got a bit of a Sphinx problem. Any ideas on how to stop it?” “Of course, your majesty.” I eagerly awaited any suggestions on how to bring down this menace once and for all. “We wait.” … “Why would we do that?!” I felt bad about yelling at the guy, but he honestly suggested the very last thing I wanted to do I glared at the now visibly shivering Stagger Fang as I hoped he had some darn good justification for his suggestion. “Well, your majesty, the barrier isn’t receiving any power right now, once it kicks back in the Sphinx will be forced back inside it.” This barrier I keep hearing about was getting cooler and cooler. “So we just need Lou to wake back up?” Stagger Fang gave me a funny look. “Lou is the nickname of the pony who put up the barrier.” Stagger Fang quickly nodded. “Okay… so, just to be sure, is there any way the Sphinx could prevent getting sucked back in?” “Yes, your majesty.” Stagger Fang confirmed. He didn’t say anything further, so the two of us stood motionless in silence as chaos unfolded all around us. “Well… what is it?” I went ahead and asked. I was starting not to like Stagger Fang. “The Sphinx would have to destroy the barrier.” “And he could do this by…” “Destroying the focal point, your majesty.” I started connecting dots in my head. Charon is a hungry Sphinx, but he’s not eating ponies. He is instead crashing into the city streets over and over. I just discovered he has until Lou comes around to destroy the “focal point” of the barrier that holds him in the sewer so he doesn’t have to get trapped again. He must be trying to destroy the focal point so he can be free forever and eat ponies to his heart’s content! Only one question remained. “Where is the focal point? Take me to it!” I honestly have no idea what a focal point is when talking about magic and barriers and whatnot, but that’s not important. What is important is preventing Charon from destroying it. “This way your majesty.” Stagger Fang trotted off, a little slower than the urgency of the situation merited. As we leisurely made our way through the policeponies and panicking citizens of Manehattan alike, I kept an eye out for Charon. I could see pegasi darting around the sky, attempting what I had thought about doing. Not to my surprise, they weren’t seeing any success. I was sure in my current plan. If I stood over his target, he’d have to come to where I’m at eventually. All I need is one clear shot to take him down. If he doesn’t attempt to come after me, Lou will come back around and re-establish her barrier, effectively trapping Charon in the sewers again. It would be much, much easier to find and defeat him down there. Plus, I could do so in my own body. My mind drifted to the barrier Charon was subjected to. It was like the opposite of the changeling barrier that was over Canterlot. When up, changelings couldn’t get through, but when it was down changelings could do as they pleased. When the barrier turned back on, it was bye-bye changelings. That barrier kept stuff out, this one keeps stuff in. The magic in this world is extremely fascinating. “Here we are, your majesty.” I looked around. Lou is quite the trouble-maker, isn’t she? She put the focal point for the barrier right out in front of the Mayor’s Mansion! There were more ponies around here than I would like, but I have to put my plan into action quickly. “Thank you. Report back to base immediately.” Stagger Fang bowed and trotted off, faster than he had when he brought me to the focal point. His priorities are so transparent. Now came the waiting game. Either Charon was going to attack or he wasn’t going to attack. I had to be ready for his attack, especially since there are so many fireponies and paramedics in this area. For a moment, I reach out with my magic and feel the ground. There was definitely something here. Was it a focal point? I’d just have to trust Stagger Fang. A sudden crash jarred me from my own little world. The ponies around me began shouting and fleeing. Standing before me, as smug as ever, was Charon. He’d landed a few yards away, and this time he’d obviously come down to see me. As he began plodding up to me, I got ready to strike. “I see and hear everything that happens in this city, so don’t think I didn’t notice you consorting with your servant. Well, I’ve got to thank you for sniffing out the focal point. Now, step aside,” Charon commanded. “You don’t get to boss me around, monster. I’m going to put you down.” “Is that a threat?” Charon laughed, picking up his pace. “I’m just filling you in on what’s going to happen.” Charon jumped, bleating fiercely as he flew up, looped around, and then dived down towards me. I reach out with the Mind Poison while he’s off the ground. With no way to dodge, Charon folds a wing and stops the incoming spell. I expect it to latch on, but the spell dissipates the moment it hits the solid surface. Without a successful attack, I was left with an angry Sphinx coming at me. I formulated and switched to Plan B: blast him. I gathered what I could in the brief slice of time I had and fired it at Charon. He swatted the attack with his front paw, but it was a mistake on his part. He bleated in pain as a jolt of green energy shot through his body. His wings twitched and flared out, causing him to nosedive into the street before he reached me. A few ponies who were in hiding around the scene poked their heads out and cheered. I wished I could tell them it was over, but I know Charon better than that. After picking himself up, Charon jumped back a few feet. He’d managed to close a lot of distance, but that just gives me a clearer shot. “That… you’ve gotten a bit better,” he chuckled. I could be wrong, but he sounded concerned for a moment. I don’t give him any more time to rest. I reach out with my spell again, but Charon bats it away with his paw. At this point, I think it’s safe to assume I need to hit his head directly. “Alright, I was going to eat you, but now I’ll settle for just squashing you!” Charon took to the air again, flying up and away from where I stood. Once he became just a speck in the brightening sky, there was a flash of red. Based on previous experiences today, I know what’s coming next. I charge up a projectile in my horn. I’ve probably got one shot at this, so I can’t leave anything to chance. The green light growing on my forehead lights up the faces of all the ponies brave enough to peek out to see what’s going on. Many of them duck back into cover, anticipating what’s coming next. I take aim at the dive-bombing Charon, knowing for certain his target is the focal point I’m standing on top of. With my horn pointed right at Charon and Charon careening through the air at me, I wait. I wait until he’s just close enough to me and the ground before firing off a radiant bolt of green directly at him. I couldn’t have been more pleased to see my attack headed on a crash-course with Charon. Charon banked up, allowing the bolt to pass harmlessly under him, but that’s what I’d hoped he’d try. Without enough time to correct his flight path, Charon slams right into the ground behind me, causing an eruption of concrete and dirt. I hit the deck, protecting my head from debris with my hooves. The cacophony dies down and I get back onto all four hooves so I can inspect the crater. … Well, it’s a pretty nice crater. Good diameter, nice depth, and its shape is a near perfect circle. It would be completely satisfactory for me, except there is no Sphinx inside it. The other ponies are also looking around, trying to locate the missing monster. I looked in the sky, but there was no sign of him there either. If he wasn’t here on the streets or up in the sky, that means he must have… “Shrimp tacos!” I jumped backwards as just as quick as these hooves would allow. It was just in the nick of time too. Charon burst up through the ground, creating a Sphinx sized hole where I’d just been standing. As he flew upwards into the sky, a crackling ball of energy formed in the hole he’d just made. It was visible only for a second before it threw a few stray bolts of silvery energy off and then exploded. I assumed the worst about what the display meant. “Checkmate!” Charon landed with a thud right behind me. I scuttled backwards away from him before he could open me up with a swipe from his claws. “That’s the last I’ll see of that wretched barrier! I feel like celebrating! How about doughnuts filled with bugs?!” No more barrier? A snappy one-liner? Did I screw up again? “Uh… can a dude get some help here?” I look around at the ponies who’d been watching the whole time, but none of them budged. A lot of them just turned tail and ran. You know you’re in trouble when you ask peace-preaching, pastel-painted ponies for help. “It was a valiant effort, but I’m afraid it’s over.” Charon bleated and lunged straight at me, both paws extended and wings flared. I grimace as his massive forelegs wrap around me. He rears up on his hind legs and begins squeezing the life out of me. “Yeeeer, *cough* ntvry… smmm!” “What was that?” Charon sneers at me, loosening his grip for a moment so I can get a single breath in to speak my final words. “You’re not very smart!” I touch my horn to his forehead as he looks down at me, creating a direct line from his brain to mine. The spell doesn’t miss this time because there is no way it could miss. His mind is not near as complex as a pony’s. It’s intelligent no doubt, but it is driven by instinct. It’s only love is the love that drives it to obey it’s simple desires. By binding it, I become the sole provider of those instincts. Charon is my puppet. “Alright, let’s make this look convincing,” I whisper to him as his vice grip descends to a hug. I build up small amount of energy in my horn and let it burst with a flash. There is no force behind it, but Charon fakes a dramatic fall backwards and drops me onto my hooves. Charon gets back onto his paws and comes at me again, but this time I bound and greet him. He swipes at me with a paw, but I avoid it with a beautiful flourish just before bucking him on his snout. He bleats in protest and swings at me with his claws a few more times. The whole fight is choreographed by yours truly, so I avoid all the attack easily while giving the Sphinx his licks. “Big finish,” I whisper to myself, but Charon understands it too. I zap him with a perfectly harmless bolt of energy, but Charon rears up and turns to stone. The ponies who are watching cheer widely as I charge up the final blow in my horn. This shot has to legitimately finish him off, so I spare no expense in charging it up. Compared to my hands, the horn feels like a very rigid spell weaving device, so the shot I produce is a clean, straight bolt of green. The attack nails the statue of Charon right on the head, sending a shower of rock in every direction. When the dust clears, a headless statue stands before me. As if to dispel any doubt that Charon is done and gone, the rest of the statue crumbles to pieces before my eyes. I waited for something else to happen. I waited for Charon to reappear or some other monster to pop out and attack, but neither of those things happened. What did happen, though, was pretty sweet. All the ponies who had been in hiding came out and swarmed me. They cheered, applauded, and lifted me into the air. I felt their admiration start to feed me. Each pony was feeding me a mere trickle of energy, but as more and more ponies joined in the celebration all those trickles added up. I was feasting, and I was doing it without harming a single pony. The ponies set me down on the stairs to the Mayor’s Mansion. They began to shake my hoof and hug me, all without asking me. I didn’t care though. I was psyched to have my first true victory. Just when I thought things couldn’t get better, Mayor Marine appeared. “Mr. Doughnuts! Ponies have been telling me you vanquished a Sphinx?” Mayor asked me, taking my hoof and shaking it vigorously. “Just trying to help out.” This is way too crazy for my first few days here. I’m glad the whirlwind of events has ended with me on top though. “You’ve done more than help out! Ponies reported they saw it come out of the sewers, so it’s appearance explains the trouble we’ve been having these days! We can finally get down there and make repairs thanks to you! I say Mr. Doughnuts, you’ve got a knack for fighting off the nasty beasties!” I can barely hear Mayor Marine over the cheering crowd. If they keep indulging me like this, I’m going to get fat. Can changelings get fat? I hope not! If I can stay here like this in Manehattan, I’d never go hungry again. This is just what I needed. This is just- “Stop right there!” an all too familiar voice screams from the crowd. The ponies part, revealing a very peeved Lou. I’d forgotten about her, but it’s a good thing she showed up. “Mayor Marine!” I point a hoof at Lou. “Arrest that mare! She was the one keeping the Sphinx down in the sewers!” The crowd collectively gasped and began murmuring with one another. “That is a serious allegation, Mr. Doughnuts!” Mayor Marine turned to Lou. “Miss Louise, is it true?” “Mayor Marine,” Lou calmly said. “You can’t trust anything Duncan Doughnuts says… because Duncan Doughnuts is actually Cocoon, King of the Changelings!” There was no collective gasp from the crowd. There were a few isolated snickers, but everypony else said nothing. “T-that is an even more serious allegation, Miss Louise! Serious, but also completely unfounded and ridiculous! Why would a changeling fight off a Sphinx like that?” Mayor Marine posed a good question. The answer was “because he’s a cool dude who does stuff like that because he’s cool”, but for now it was better to let on that no such changeling and Sphinx confrontation actually happened. “Ask him yourself!” Lou shouted. A tendril of silvery energy spiraled forth from her horn. Before I could react, the energy engulfed me. I feared the worst, but as the spell settled in I didn’t feel any pain. In fact, the spell actually felt kind of good. I felt like I was being massaged and unfolded from a sight space. The spell felt so natural, my body and mind just went along with it until the spell reached its conclusion. Ponies in the crowd began to cry in terror. I only had to look down at my hand to know what Lou’s spell had done. The jig was up and I’d been unmasked. “Behold! This is the true face of your hero!” Lou proclaimed, stepping towards the stairs. I glared down at her. I know this is my own fault for revealing myself in the sewer, but I can still turn this around. “So what? I am Cocoon and I am King of the Changelings! What of it?” I asked the crowd. My heart sinks as I feel the streams of love cut off until total extinction. They don’t trust me any longer. They don’t admire me at all. They don’t love me anymore. “Stand down!” I turn and look at the guard ponies who had replaced Mayor Marine at my side. “You’ve got to listen to me! I’m not here to-“ “He’s a monster!” somepony shouts from the crowd. I turn and face the crowd. “No! I need your help!” “Get out of our city!” “I just wanted to-“ “He’s going to eat us!” “No, I only-” “Kill it!” “Please, I-“ “Down with King Cocoon!” Lou shouted. “Down with King Cocoon!” “Down with King Cocoon!” somepony else joins in on the chant. “Down with King Cocoon!” another pony shouts. “Down with King Cocoon!” More and more ponies start joining in. “Down with King Cocoon!” the entire crowd demands. “Down with King Cocoon!” an entire city curses me. The crowd is closing in on me and the guard ponies have begun advancing on me as well. In the air above me, pegasi are also circling down towards me. All the while, my ears are filled with their chant. “Down with King Cocoon! Down with King Cocoon! Down with King Cocoon!” “Enough!” I scream. My magic creates an involuntary shockwave, pushing ponies who are too close backwards. All at once their rage disappears. Fear sets into their faces as I make the final transition into monster in their minds. They’ve formed a wide circle around me, but now they don’t dare make it any smaller. It’s just like when I fought that Sphinx. Too bad I can’t be the hero this time. Instead, Lou steps into the improvised arena. “This ends today, Cocoon.” Lou is the last pony I thought would step up to fight. “Tell them about the Sphinx, Lou. Tell them the truth,” I urge her. “Fine,” she grunts. “Truth is you put that Sphinx down there so you could pretend to be a hero. It was your mind slave all along.” Some ponies in the crowd muster up the courage to boo and hiss at me. I should have known Lou had the gall to add on to her lie. “You don’t want to do this Lou. You know what happened the last two times,” I warn her. “Those were flukes. This time is real.” Lou’s horn flashes as it starts building up energy. She point her horn at me, getting ready to unleash everything she can muster. I don’t know why she’s banking on one huge attack, I can avoid it by simply… There are ponies to my left and ponies to my right. There are ponies up above and ponies all around me. The only break in the crowd is directly behind me where the doors to the Mayor’s Mansion are. Lou has me cornered and she knows it. She knows I won’t endanger the innocent citizens of Manehattan. I know she doesn’t care who gets hurt in the crossfire, as long as she wins. My principles won’t allow me to let her win. For a while now, I’ve been using magic the way I believe magic should be used. I need to get rid of all notions I have about magic. I need to forget them and remember the basics. The intensity of the events around me slip away as I recall the most basic of basics I’ve been taught. Breath in through the nose and down into the gut. Fill slowly from the bottom to the top. Release the breath gently from bottom to top. Repeat this process. Breathing is the first thing to learn when learning anything, so it makes sense to me to go back to it for magic. Magic is like a muscle; it has reflexes and can be worn out. I need to stop treating it so distantly and accept it. Thanks to the crowd’s former support, I have more energy than I’ve ever had. I am going to stop Lou’s attack plain and simple I take a breath in as Lou releases a massive, crackling, silver bullet right at me. As I take my breath out, I reach out my hands and let magic flow out of them as naturally as releasing a breath. When the magic collides with my hands, there is already a barrier of green energy protecting me. I feel the massive impact against the barrier. It’s the same feeling as stopping a swinging sandbag with your hands. I slid backwards a bit, evidence that the protective barrier I’ve erected is an extension of my body. Lou’s attack comes to a close. The crowd looks like it’s having trouble believing what it just saw. The look on Lou’s face is priceless. I don’t have time to appreciate it. I must strike while the iron is hot and make hot the iron by striking. I take a breath in and release it as I jump as high as I can manage. Taking a breath in, I raise my hands towards heaven. In response, my magic collects in a neat sphere in my hands. No crackling energy, just a soft radiance sitting in my hands. I breath out and turn my hands quickly towards the earth. The sphere I’d crafted sails back towards the ground, right into the center of the clearing the ponies made for me and Lou. Lou tries to escape, but the tightly bound circle refuses to make way. The impact of my attack results in an explosion and a bright flash. As a glide lazily over the scene, I watch my very under-dramatic attack finish up. There is no crater, only a dense singe mark where the attack hit. Lou appears badly burned, but her cries of agony are evidence to her survival. The ponies on the ground and in the air watch me, but none dare make a move. When I land down in the street, panic returns. Ponies run every which way to escape from me, as authorities try to calm them as an excuse to avoid confronting me. I don’t really care for this scene. It’s so chaotic, nopony notices a rather calm pony walk right up to me. “Your majesty, there is a scout from the Hive here to see you.” “Lead the way.” The changelings are not at all invested in the well-being of this city.