//------------------------------// // 47- Morrígan // Story: Changing Expectations // by KKSlider //------------------------------// Oest, The Will of The Nine, myself, and a bound Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor were flying over Upper Canterlot, closing in on the castle. Smoke was starting to fill the night sky as plumes emerged from Middle and Lower Canterlot, the fires being put out as fast as possible by now at least half of the invasion force. As a result, most of the streets of the city were empty. “A city of ghosts…” The sudden voice gave me a start, and I looked around. Oest, myself, and many members of Will of The Nine carrying Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor were all flying in formation behind me, putting the two captives in the center. ‘Princess Procho again? I’m not even at the hive! How am I hearing her?!’ “What?” Oest asked me, having seen my alarmed expression. “The dead are speaking to me again.” “Has the Ascension Chamber been… purged?” “By now? Absolutely.” “So….” “So I am clueless on why that’s happening.” “My Prince? May we know what you’re talking about?” I craned my neck around, seeing a changeling from the Will giving me a puzzled look. The rest were looking on, too. “I heard a voice over the Weave. Queen Chrysalis had confirmed that it is Princess Procho, who died almost three centuries ago.” “Oh, thank you, My Prince. And this Ascension Chamber?” ‘Son of a bitch, Oest just dropped a name that he shouldn’t have.’ “The uh… Recycling pits. It’s a better name for those who meet such a... violent end.” “Oh, thank you again, My Prince.” ‘He expected me to stonewall him on an answer, like Chrysalis would. At the very least, this changeling isn’t a member of the Lodges at least. If he was, he would have known about both the Chamber and the call phrase.’ The rest of the flight back to Chrysalis was without any more slip ups. We flew through the halls of the Castle, since it was faster and easier to move the two captured ponies. When we finally arrived back at the throne room, I saw that all the windows had been blown out at this point. Chrysalis got up from the half-throne when we entered, her gaze immediately locking on our captives. “Well done, Prince Phasma, well done. You have fulfilled each and every single task set before you.” ‘Except one, your death.’ I saluted, and simply said, “I serve the hive.” As Chrysalis flew down and across the room from the throne, I turned to look at the ponies I had captured. The Princess was looking far from regal. Her pink, yellow, and purple hair were tangled up in knots. Her wide eyes had at first taken in the sights of the room, stared at me, then stared at the approaching Queen, pausing in her fearful scrutiny to look to her side at Shining armor. ‘More love.’ Shining on the other hoof was staring at his Princess, only pausing in his stare to glance at Chrysalis. Like mirror opposites of each other, yet extremely similar on so many levels. ‘And he feels so much love for her.’ “I think I’ll let these two speak for themselves for the discovery I made,” I said while making no move to remove the gel clamping their mouths shut. Queen Chrysalis set down right next to me, sneering at the ponies. “Oh yes, I can taste it too. Quite smitten! Tell me, Prince Phasma, was the fight with the Princess legendary? Worthy of a tale?” “The drones caught her, actually. She must have folded like a house of cards for that to have happened. The fight with the Captain was indeed something to behold, though.” “Have they revealed where Princess Celestia is?” I pointed to Shining, “He says she disappeared shortly after midnight, briefly causing a panic. He claims that it was planned, but I do not know if he was told a lie or not. Her whereabouts are still unknown.” “Hmmm. Then we must continue to bait the trap! You, drones, cocoon these two and hang them up here, right in the throne room. Spread the word to all who will listen, especially when there’s ponies around. We have the Captain and a Princess within our control, right here in the heart of their empire!” Chamberlain Eucharis flew into the room with the quiet sound of buzzing wings. He paused to stare at the Princess, before addressing his ruling monarch. “My Queen! Middle and Upper Canterlot are ours. The city is secure, and the Legions are now all dedicated to preventing its destruction at the hooves of the rampant flames.” “Excellent, this day is going to be perfect!” Queen Chrysalis chuckled to herself as she walked past us, out the room’s opened doors. Eucharis and I shared a look of confusion, before following her out. She was quietly humming a song to herself as we walked down the great hall. Once we got to the main foyer, she took a side door, and meandered down more halls. I was beginning to wonder if she just forgot that we existed and were following her when she threw open a pair of double doors, revealing a large balcony that overlooked Canterlot. The view of the majestic city was marred by the plumes of smoke that rose into the sky, but the beauty that remained stood as testament to Equestria’s lavish designs. She turned to face us, fangs peeking out of her smile. “We are so close! So close! The Promised Day here at last. All that’s left is bringing down their precious Princess Celestia, and cleaning up afterwards.” A changeling brought over a small container from behind us. “Soon, we will feast for the rest of our days.” I could taste the muted sense of love from within the pot. After so long of not having any, I had to focus my thoughts. “A toast, to our imminent victory!” The changeling opened the jar, letting the delicious taste waft out. ‘No. I have to ignore my hunger. I have to stay focused! If there was ever a moment that she would betray me, it would be now!’ “My Queen… celebrating while the Sun Tyrant is still out there? Surely this can wait, till the day is truly ours? To lose our one and only chance at victory because we became vulnerable after celebrating prematurely…” Chrysalis studied me for a moment, and Eucharis kept his silence. “I would advise caution, Queen Chrysalis. We cannot lose this chance. We cannot lose this due to our own hubris.” ‘Wouldn’t even be surprised if that jar is spiked with poison or something. You’re not killing me just yet.’ Chrysalis turned back to the city. “... One last enemy. One last pony. One last hunt. Then, we feast. You’re right, I’ve been remiss: celebrating before the battle has even been won. So often we’ve seen these ponies snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. We must be vigilant, lest we become yet another notch on their Princess’s blade.” ‘Admitting fault? Agreeing with me rather than pushing to eat the offered food? If I didn’t know her better, I would guess that she was genuinely being… kind? The very thought makes me sick to my stomach!’ “With just a bit more patience, we will finally be safe from any threats against us,” I said, not really talking about the ponies. “My Queen, My Prince!” Chamberlain Eucharis changed the topic, “We should immortalize this day, so that all changelings of the hive may see it for themselves. I have an idea how to do that!” Chrysalis and I both looked at him. ‘What is he on about? Can’t he see we’re monologuing over here?’ “What are you on about, Chamberlain Eucharis?” Chrysalis asked. “These ponies have recently created this wonderful thing. While looting the castle for any magical artifacts, some lings have come across this… thing.” He produced a wooden box, with a circle extension on the front fitted with a glass lens. ‘A camera?’ “They call it a camera. Interesting little thing, let me show you what it does! We need to stand together for it to work, you see.” He stood to Chrysalis’s left, while I stood on her right– I already know how to pose for a picture, after all. Then, Eucharis levitated the camera in front of us. “Look at the circular glass for just a moment.” A moment later, a flash blinded us three. I rubbed my eyes, blinking out the white dots. As I did so, I pondered about the absurdity of what was happening. ‘On an alien world, in the middle of a captured city, standing next to a psychotic tyrant, taking a god damn picture. Eucharis, you are really throwing me off here. I need to be planning on how to kill Chrysalis, not acting like a goddamn tourist!’ “By channeling magic into the box, it takes a painting of the world in front of it instantly!” “... Did we not just speak of waiting to celebrate, Chamberlain?” ‘The monster is right! Talk about a failure to read the room!’ “Please My Queen, this is hardly a celebration.” I stopped rubbing my eyes and gave a glare at Eucharis. Then, a square emerged from the camera, and he took it in his magic. “Aha, it came out perfect,” he said, before showing Chrysalis and I. ‘Oh. Suddenly, this all makes sense. One of those parallels between our worlds, like the existence of all these mythological and non-mythological animals or the fact that our languages are structurally exactly the same. Yeah, I can totally see the parallel between those two.’ The picture was me on the left, Chrysalis in the center, and Eucharis on the right. Canterlot was behind us, the city lights– and occasional fire– illuminating the backdrop for us. I recognized the composition of the photo, as on Earth it was a very memorable one. Only, this time, it was Canterlot instead of Paris, night instead of day, a particularly large pillar of smoke instead of the Eiffel Tower, and a black bug-pony emotivore rather than a certain evil dictator leaning against a railing. “Was this… really necessary? And couldn’t you have picked a better time for this?” “Please, Prince Phasma, I’ll get copies of this ‘photo’ and then we can show our kind what The Promised Day looked like, even generations from now!” “Changelings will never forget the glory of this day, Chamberlain, but…” Chrysalis trailed off. “But I see why you would want to immortalize this day forever. It was a clever idea, Eucharis. Make those copies.” ‘Figures, she wants to use them as propaganda to show how awesome and important she is... Since I’m here with her, I might as well weed out some answers from the tyrant.’ “Say, Queen Chrysalis? I heard Princess Procho again…” “Again? We will have to discover how this is possible after we have finished with the War for The Sun.” “I was wondering, could you describe what she was like?” “... She was a royal, as you know. She had a two-notch horn, purple hair and tail, elytra and wings, eyes, and magic. She was strong for a changeling, more so than most royals. Princess Procho wielded a cutlass with extreme precision, favoring the blade’s cutting power over any other possible weapon. Her loss was… devastating to the hive…” Chrysalis trailed off, her mood turned a bit sour. ‘Purple? There wasn’t a purple princess in the Chamber! Chrysalis was telling the truth that she died?! Then how the hell can I hear her?!’ “W–” “My Queen! My Prince!” A changeling interrupted both our trains of thought, panting as she landed before us. She caught her breath, nearly yelling out her message. “Princess Celestia has been spotted returning to the city!” A miracle had finally happened. Princess Celestia had been looking forward to her sister’s return for centuries now. She had prepared so much in the last decade, putting every little thing she could in her favor. She knew ponies would come rushing to get her aid when Nightmare Moon would appear at the Castle of the Twin Sisters, so she had to remove herself from the equation. That turned out to be the perfect plan, as the Elements of Harmony had chosen new bearers. She had watched on, standing to the side invisible, as Nightmare Moon appeared in the castle. She waited patiently for her to return, with Twilight and her five potential friends following. Those five she didn’t even have to arrange to be in Ponyville, they all just naturally arrived there over time. ‘Harmony lays plans of its own.’ Celestia cheered silently as the Bearers activated the elements, finally freeing her sister from the curse she helped create. She then flew out the window, dropped the invisibility spell, and greeted her six little ponies and one slightly less little sister. “Princess Luna… It has been a thousand years since I’ve seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us, we were meant to rule together little sister.” “Sister?” The elements echoed. “Will you accept my friendship?” Luna rushed over to hug Celestia. “We are sorry! We missed you so much, sister!’ “I’ve missed you too.” “But this is not over. We were not alone in this attack on Equestria.” Celestia looked around, “I see no one else, sister.” “Canterlot.” Luna whispered. “We cannot ask for forgiveness, not for throwing away what we had over something so foalish. But We can help fix the rest of the mess we made. Canterlot is still in danger, Celestia.” Celestia, having been inside the castle the entire time, broke from the hug to fly out the window. She rose above the ruins to see Canterlot. Large plumes of smoke were visible in the full moon’s light. ‘Oh no. Have I put the arrival of my sister above the safety of my little ponies? How could this have happened?!’ She flew back down and inside the ruins. The reunion party will have to wait, the battle with the dark forces was not over. First, she addressed her protégé and her five friends. “Now that my dear little sister is back, I would ask you six to watch over her while I fix this. Canterlot needs my help.” “Did ya not see Canterlot at all this mornin?” “I have been patiently waiting inside here, my little pony.” ‘A mistake, one I couldn’t have possibly planned for. That is not a good enough excuse!’ “We will fix this too!” Her sister objected. “We created this disaster, We shall be the one to end it!” “Luna, you are not responsible for Nightmare Moon’s actions. I am, if anything. Furthermore, you are simply too weak at the moment. You will only put yourself in danger.” “But Tia, We did! We… We got an ally… He is expecting us! Without our aid...” ‘I see. Nightmare Moon recruited allies, somehow. It matters not, I shall end this threat to my ponies.’ “This villain will fail. Please, Luna, listen to reason. You are not Nightmare Moon, and are not responsible for her actions. I will end this invasion, just as I have defeated so many threats during your absence. We will talk at great lengths once I return. Oh, I am so happy you’re back!” With that, Princess Celestia spread her wings and launched herself from the shattered window, heading straight for the smoking city on the horizon. She heard Luna call for her, but she pressed on. “No! You will…. Sarding ponyfeathers!” When she heard gasps at her crass language, Princess Luna turned to the Elements of Harmony. “Celestia shouldn’t forgive us, not when she is still in danger due to our evil machinations. Please, Elements, We must beseech thou for thine help. Princess Celestia will not survive the battle if she fights alone, and neither will… We need thou to save not only her, but somepony like us. Somepony who deserves thy kindness far more than us, and desperately needs it just as much.” The Elements of Harmony shared a glance before looking back at the small alicorn. “Ah could never turn down a pony in need!” Honesty said. “There’s so many ponies in trouble up there, we’ll help save them all,” Generosity added. “Woohoo! Let’s go beat up another baddie!” Loyalty cheered, punching the air in front of her. “We’ll throw two parties for saving the day twice!” Laughter squealed. “Okay,” Kindness meekly whispered. “Alright, Princess. Who do we need to save?” Magic asked. “His name is Prince Phasmatodea. Come, we must travel to Canterlot with utmost speed!”