//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Changes // Story: Honouring the vow // by Denchik //------------------------------// -Equestria, Canterlot- The five mares and the baby dragon were still being held captive in one huge dungeon cell, with the only two sources of light being a small open window that had a dim sunray coming out of it and the glowing magical orb that has been showcasing the same mountainous scenery for the past half an hour or so. Most of the room's inhabitants didn't quite pay any attention to the picture, considering the fact that they've been hanging their head low and staring at the cold, hard floor. When suddenly, the doors to said cell opened. The ponies and Spike began looking at these creatures that have entered the room, their expressions still being rather motionless. They were, however, now aware of what their new overseers looked like. These police ponies began walking up to the Mane 5 and the baby dragon, slowly undoing their chains. "By orders of emperor Discord we are here to move each and every one of you to separate cells. We can do this the hard way, or the easy way..." smiled the police pony, his glowing orange eyes illuminating his sunglasses. The captives' eyes went wide from the shock that appeared when they heard about their former friend deciding to become an emperor. Nonetheless, the imprisoned beings gave the stallions bitter looks but decided to go with the group of chaosponies rather than resist them in vain. After a couple of moments, the inhabitants of the cell were free and left the guarded area, being guided by the immortal ponies. After walking down the treacherous corridor, the group of ponies and Spike made it to a different sector of the dungeon that had a smaller room for each and every prisoner. The mares were at first gently forced into their new living quarters, with most of them complying. However, the cerulean pegasus spread her wings open and took off, flying down the corridor as fast as she could, showcasing her amazing speed. Rainbow Dash was smirking but suddenly, the mare felt herself stop in mid-air. She began looking around and noticed a purple aura surrounding her, making the tricky pegasus gulp. "Uh oh..." whispered the mare, knowing what's coming next. The unicorn policepony threw Rainbow Dash against the floor, earning a groan from the cerulean pegasus and an imprint on the floor. Unfortunately for the element of loyalty, the magic-wielding chaos pony created a strap on her wings that did not allow Rainbow Dash to use her appendages anymore. Two stallions walked up to the mare and wrapped their hooves around her front legs and began dragging the mare back to her cell. She tried to thrash and flair her hooves but was unable due to the fact that the unicorn never stopped casting her spell. "Let go of me! And take this thing off!" demanded the element of loyalty, earning absolutely no response from the stoic policeponies. The duo eventually made it to her cell and dropped the pony there, closing Rainbow Dash behind bars. The cerulean pegasus glared at the two stallions and the pale brown unicorn, angry that they have trapped her friends and her in this place. She was also bitter about the contraption that they put on her wings, considering that the mare may never fly again. "This is so uncool..." "Sugarcube... What did yah even want ta accomplish?" "Well, I just wanted to get somepony to help us break out and save Equestria..." admitted the rainbow-maned mare, replying to her friend's question. When suddenly, one of the draconequus' creations began to lead the baby dragon out of the dungeon, much to the confusion of the Mane 5. "Where are yah taking Spike?!" "To a boarding school Also, Emperor Discord has subdued Ponyville and the Crystal Empire, taking its inhabitants into slavery. Nopony will help you escape." responded the policepony, earning gasps from Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack. "But, what about..." "Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shall also be taken to the same boarding school." sternly replied the stallion, telling the Rarity and, by extension, the mares what has happened to their siblings. The ponies calmed down ever so slightly after finding out their loved ones' fate. Though, Applejack and Fluttershy still had a very terrible feeling in their gut "Are my animals going to be okay?" inquired the timid pegasus, looking hopefully at thechaospony with tearful eyes. "I have no idea. Your little cottage, like most of the buildings in Equestria, shall be torn down and in its place something else shall be built. The animals most likely be sent to the Everfree forest." truthfully answered the neutral pony, his gaze being fixated on a brick wall. Suddenly, Fluttershy jumped towards the metal bars and grabbed them, breaking into tears. Her friends also felt destroyed by the fact that their homes would be taken down "Please don't! They can't take care of themselves!" begged the timid mare, hoping that Discord would be kind enough not to destroy her home. As expected, the mare did not receive any reaction from the police pony, causing Fluttershy to remove her hooves from the bars and go to a different spot of her cell room, specifically the piece of wood that was placed in a horizontal position against the wall. It was supported by two rusty metal chains that looked like they could break at any moment. The pale yellow pegasus decided to lay on said piece of wood and weep there, burying her face in her hooves... -Canterlot, the Crystal Empire- The spirit of chaos continued standing in the same spot, looking at the shattered Crystal Heart with his yellow eyes. He furrowed his white, bushy eyebrows, feeling rather confused as to why his friend decided to break this artifact rather than to abuse its powers. Discord decided to confront Lord Tirek about it, teleporting to the flying centaur, appearing not too far away from his side. The new emperor noticed the co-ruler appear but decided not to pay any attention to him, thinking that he wouldn't have to explain his actions. "Why did you break the Crystal Heart?" patiently inquired the draconequus, making the evil centaur roll his eyes and lock them with Discord's yellow and red orbs. "Well, for starters, dear friend, I got rather impatient." admitted Lord Tirek, earning a rather surprised look from Discord. The spirit of chaos was baffled after finding out the evil centaur's reasoning behind destroying the object. The draconequus sped up and was now flying in front of Lord Tirek, making his friend move his head forward so that the centaur could continue staring at him. "Just because you were impatient?" asked the spirit of chaos once again, uttering the final word in total disbelief. The magic absorbing villain nodded and grinned, continuing his trajectory. "Yes. The other reason would be that these ponies could have used that Crystal Heart of yours against us, possibly defeating you and me." replied the villain, thinking of an excuse right on the spot. Discord's expression became ever so slightly less intense, considering that the spirit of chaos now understood as to why his colleague smashed the artifact. The draconequus was still rather annoyed at his friend but, this time, he decided to drop it. "If you say so... I'm going to go after Cloudsdale now. Bubye!" announced the spirit of chaos, waving his cockatrice claw at his friend. The magic absorbing villain nodded and noticed his friend completely disappear out of his sight. The evil centaur made it to Canterlot and entered the royal palace, picking up his quill and piece of paper once more. "Let's see here, where was I... Ah yes..." grinned Lord Tirek, reading through the constitution. First and foremost, the evil centaur made it so that slavery would be legal. The villain thought for a moment and wrote down that each and every serf belonged to him and Discord, with the chaosponies looking after the slaves. After which, the evil centaur crossed out the paragraph about being able to start a family and marry any being, no matter their race, religion origin or status. "Mares and stallions, without the limitation of race, origin, religion and status can only marry and start a family if the government would allow both parties to perform such an event. Perfect..." smirked Lord Tirek, satisfied with his idea. Now, the bloodline of the Mane 6 would die out, making it less possible for somepony to overthrow him and his 'buddy'. The emperor began to skim through the constitution, looking for other things that he could change. "Time to bring back the death penalty." smirked the evil centaur, changing up the laws of Equestria once again. Lord Tirek looked through another set of rules that he began to change so that it could benefit him and Discord. Now that the evil centaur thought about it, he would have to talk about the new constitution with his 'buddy'. Lord Tirek had to pretend to be the draconequus's friend, after all. For now, the new emperor put down the piece of paper and decided to go and get himself something to eat. He entered the royal kitchen and saw the police ponies detaining a couple of chefs. "Stop!" roared the evil centaur, making the chaosponies focus their attention on him. Discord's creations gently let go of the scared and bruised mortals, allowing them to stand freely without any force holding them down. They noticed the towering creature and gulped, taking a couple of steps back from Lord Tirek. The new emperor held back a small smirk and eyed the ponies intently, making the poor mortals feel even more uneasy. "Make me a royal feast that includes meat, preferably cow. That will be all." ordered the evil centaur, staring down the small group of chefs. They quickly nodded and began to do their job while simultaneously being afraid for their lives. The emperor turned away and began making his way towards the throne room with the intent of redecorating it. After opening the door with his magic, Lord Tirek began surveying the area. Using his powers, the evil centaur created two chairs out of the one that stood proudly upon the throne. The bigger stone chair that had high handles and a covered lower front area that was situated between the legs belonged to the magic absorbing villain, while the similar, yet smaller one belonged to the draconequus. The evil centaur also split the red carpet, with its center breaking off into two ways that lead to the two chairs of royalty. Lord Tirek smirked and began to warp the windows, changing their appearance completely. Every window now had the centaur and the spirit of chaos depicted on them rather than the princesses. Both of them were either shown ruling Equestria, destroying their enemies or just posing for the picture. The magic absorbing villain then used his powers to change the colour of the floor, walls and ceiling. Each and every surface now had a spruce blue appearance, similar to the one that Tirek's castle had a thousand years ago. The new emperor grinned and materialized curtains that hung behind the two chairs. The fabric had a similar colour like the surface of the room, with the only difference it being darker. The evil centaur walked up to his throne and sat on it, feeling overjoyed at his victory. "Perfect..." whispered the villain, happy with how things are going so far.Now, he just has to redecorate the entire castle and change the constitution with his 'friend'. After which, the evil centaur will conquer all of Equis for himself and gather even more magic! These thoughts brought a smile to the emperor's face. However, he quickly left his comfortable throne and left the room, changing the royal castle's interior and exterior slowly but surely... -Astria- Charco, the vice-ruler of Astria woke up in his comfortable bed a couple of moments ago.He was quite excited to start off the second week of his first term as an elected vice-leader. The zubrik got up and began to make his way towards the kitchen with the intent of having the energy pill for breakfast. The vice-ruler got one out of the cupboard and consumed it, feeling his hunger and fatigue dissipating. After having his breakfast, Charco began making his way towards the shower. After entering his bathroom, the vice-ruler took off his underwear and entered the cabin, where he pressed one button. The shower drain let out a gas that destroyed all of the bacteria, removed the odor from his body, replacing it with something synthetic. The zubrik took a whiff of his healthy skin and smiled, realizing that it now smelled like strawberries. Charco left the shower and began to get dressed, putting on a shirt, a red tie, a black suit, black pants and two shoes. He returned to his bedroom to check his phone to see if it has any new messages or notifications. A reminder appeared that today would be the day of his first major meeting with a race of aliens that are known as the Dulmiks. The conference's main topic is to discuss trade and overall relations between the two countries. The zubrik was looking forward to his very first major conference. He was also excited to spend time with the current leader of Astria, Alexander. Being slightly nervous about the whole thing isn't the best course of action, but the vice-ruler couldn't help it. Charcho also noticed a message from the pony, which greatly surprised the vice-ruler. He opened it and began to read it carefully. After viewing the text, the zubrik decided to re-read it if he understood everything correctly. He realized that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him and began to lightly panic, feeling rather unnerved by this whole situation. The very first conference that he would attend was going to be rather... interesting. "Alex, why..." huffed the vice-ruler, slightly annoyed at the fact that the red alicorn left at such a crucial time. The zubrik partially collected himself and decided to find out more information on Alexander's mission. He decided to call the 1000-year-old pony, hoping that he would answer him... -A couple of hundred light years away from Astria- The 1000-year-old alicorn was playing chess against a high-level A.I on one of the control panel screens. He was in a rather difficult situation, considering that Alexander and the computer so far had an equal amount of pieces on the board. Suddenly, the crimson pony received a notification of his partner calling him. The ruler of Astria gently tapped the screen with his hoof, accepting the incoming call. "Hi!" exclaimed Alexander, greeting the zubrik in a rather cheerful manner. Judging by Charco's expression, Alex assumed that he wasn't too happy about the sudden departure. "Alex, what kind of mission are you going on?" calmly inquired the short alien in a serious tone "Weeelll... I just wanna save this planet and beat up a bad guy that I've already fought once and lost against." truthfully answered the red alicorn, making Charco raise his eyebrow. The vice-ruler began to go through a mental list of opponents that have defeated Alexander. He then gulped after realizing which villain the pony was referring to. "You don't possibly mean..." "Oh no! Not him! I'm actually talking about the one that sent me to Astria in the first place one thousand years ago." responded the red alicorn, feeling the nervousness in the zubrik's voice. Charco sighed in relief after Alexander gave him a reassuring answer. Then, something clicked in the green alien's mind. "You're not going to Equestria, are you?" inquired the vice-ruler, earning a nod and a grin from the immortal alicorn. To that, a small smile appeared on the zubrik's face, knowing that Alexander was going to finally see his homeland after a thousand years. "That's great... but what about the meeting? You know... the one that we have been planning with the Dulmiks?..." inquired Charcho, making the pony lean back on the chair and tap his chin with his hoof, trying to remember the important conference... Eventually, Alexander remembered it and opened his mouth slightly, realizing that he has completely forgotten about it. "Oh... that one... Well, good luck with it?..." awkwardly replied the ruler, rubbing the back of his head with his hoof and giving him a sheepish grin. The vice-ruler's eyes went wide and he began to panic, rubbing his eyelids with his hand-like appendages. "What do you mean good luck?! What if I make a fool of myself and our country? What if..." ranted Charco, thinking of every possible thing that could go wrong with him leading the meeting. The red alicorn patiently waited for the zubrik to finish his tantrum, thinking of how to calm him down... "Deep breaths Charco, take deep breaths..." suggested Alexander, not really wanting to see his partner in such a state. The green alien took up the ruler's advice and began to do as he was advised to, calming down ever so slightly as a result of this action. The 1000-year-old pony gave Charco a small smile, being somewhat glad that his plan is working so far. "Thank you..." calmly said the zubrik, giving Alexander a small smile of his own. "You know... You weren't the only one who turned into a nervous wreck before delivering a speech..." commented the immortal stallion, making the vice-ruler confused and a bit surprised. The red alicorn couldn't possibly mean himself, can he?... "Are you talking about yourself by any chance?" curiously inquired Charco, staring at Alexander with a suspicious expression. "Yeah, it was me when I was first elected... Do you want to hear how it all went?" responded the immortal pony, looking at his partner intently. The zubrik thought about it for a moment and nodded, curious to find out more about the alicorn and, if possible, to figure out how to suppress the anxiety. "Well, you see..." Flashback -Astria, 980 years ago- "Come on! You need to give the victory speech!" deadpanned one of the zubriks, trying to pull the crimson pony from his place. Alexander, however, did not want to move at all, outright refusing to even budge! "I've never done this before! I didn't even want to become the ruler!" argued back the red alicorn, hiding the fact that he was too nervous to give the monologue. The zubrik that tried to pull the pony out of one place stopped and sighed, taking a few steps back. The older green alien furrowed his eyebrows and lightly huffed, looking at the stallion with disappointment. "Listen, R-Alexander, the zubriks just want to hear their savior, the former resistance leader to give a speech after winning the election and liberating us from the emperor." reasoned Fossur, trying to talk the new ruler into giving the speech. Alexander, however, still did no want to go out to the podium that was a few rooms away from him. "I can't! What if I embarrass myself? Then the zubriks that have chose to elect me will realize that they chose an idiot and..." began the young alicorn, only to get cut off by the older green alien who, at the time, was slowly losing his patience. "Alex, each and every future important decision in your life is going to be scary and nerve-wracking. If you don't learn to cope with it now then the future is going to be rather grim and difficult for you..." explained the elder, trying to reach out to the afraid stallion. The words rang in the alicorn's head, making him consider Fossur's advice. A smile began to form on the older zubrik's face after he noticed that Alexander began to think about what he said. "As a leader, you need to set an example for each and every one of us what we should strive for. You wouldn't want your people striving for cowardliness and selfishness now, would you?" asked the green alien, making the crimson alicorn realize his horrid mistake. The immortal pony shook his head, realizing how much of a wuss he was being. "Thank you, Fossur... I really needed that." said a smiling Alexander, complimenting the elder. Fossur smiled and nodded, giving the now confident alicorn a thumbs up. The pony nodded back and began making his way towards the exit, giving the older zubrik one last glance before going past the door. The group of green aliens looked at Fossur with admiration. He was leaving the room himself to join the crowd, with the other aliens following him... Flashback end "And that's about it..." finished the ruler of Astria, his gaze focused on Charco. The vice-ruler was listening intently to Alexander, trying to make some mental notes on how to be a more confident and overall better leader. "That's quite the story..." admitted the younger being, earning a nod from the alicorn. "Indeed... Fossur was a very, very wise zubrik. I find it very sad how most leaders don't really care about their people and abuse their power..." sighed the pony, remembering the countless planets he has been on. Before Charco could attempt to comfort Alexander, the stallion hid and suppressed his sadness. "Everything is gonna be alright Charco, I believe in your abilities. I mean, you were elected as a vice-ruler after all, which means that you are fit for the position!" beamed the red alicorn, trying to unexpectedly pump up the short creature. Charco understood that the ruler wanted to switch the topic, to which the zubrik played along. He smiled widely, accepting Alexander's compliment and being rather flattered that he had thought so highly of him. "I'm glad that you think so... Are you busy right now?" "Well, I wasn't exactly doing anything important. Why?" "I wanted to talk with you until the meeting happens..." Admitted the zubrik, earning a nod and a chuckle from the ruler of Astria. "Of course! I will be here for you until the whole conference thing happens so that I could keep you prepped up!" responded the red alicorn, accepting the green alien's proposal. After hearing the pony's response, Charco grinned...