//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven // Story: Champions vs Changelings // by WolfGoddess1990 //------------------------------// When Chaos was done he revealed his new train, "I call it the sky serpent, looks like a dragon but inside is seven doors that each lead to their own space, like fitting seven carts in one train!" He said doing jazz hands. "But there are eight of us..." Chaos tapped on the bubble making Thorax shake slightly, "Like I would leave you alone, that would be dumb." Thorax was fine he just got a little woozy. "Alright everycreature inside." He said the side opened and once everycreature was inside their rooms Chaos went to the engine in the head and he pulled down a microphone, "All right everycreature our location will always be random, our first random location will be..." He pulled a slot lever and a reel started spinning. It finally landed on a location, "Fillydelphia!" The sky serpent moved like a dragon and flew into the sky, it was a dragon as to not draw suspicion from changelings that might be looking for them now. The sky serpent landed in Fillydelphia and got out one at a time, ponies stared at them but more exact at Crystal Scales and Chaos, "I know we might be odd looking but the staring is a bit unnerving." Some ponies ran indoors, "Okay this is getting strange..." They crossed into the next part of Fillydelphia and pretty soon dragons were staring at the ponies of the group. A green dragon with no underbelly was staring at them with his icy blue eyes. He thinks interesting little group as he follows them from the rooftops to find out who they are. When they stop at a restaurant, he goes inside being put on the dragon side, he gives a waiter a message to give to them to meet him in the alley behind the restaurant, he was leaning on a wall with a barrier in case of being attacked, then he finally hears one of them when they clear their throat, "Hello I'm Astral Flare, why are you in this town?" Harmony took a good look at him before responding, his horns were straight back, he had a fire like spikes on his head and neck, was wearing a white gi shirt with a grey vest and had so many scars over his body. "I'm Harmony and these are my friends, and as for why we are here well... it was by random choice." Chaos waved when she said this chuckling. "But I noticed this city is literally divided what happened here?" "Some places got burnt down, so the ponies of the city decided to have all the dragons, who they believe did it, to live in their own half of the city." Astral answers with a bit of anger, he didn't like how xenophobic the ponies were being and it didn't help when Shadow Claw was instigating riots. "So now the ponies have asked me to help with the boarder by adding my ability with shields to keep the riots from reaching them." He stepped forwards slightly showing bags under his eyes, "Unfortunately it's starting to wear me out, so I don't know how much longer I can keep this up before a full fight happens." Harmony looked at him concerned, "How long have you been doing this?" "Well I was asked a week after they divided the city, so I guess a little over a month, I can't even sleep because this barrier needs to stay up until the real culprit is found." Crystal Scales stepped forwards, "Well it sounds this city is lacking manners and respect, I mean to blame all dragons like this? Did they even bother to investigate the buildings?!" She was getting a bit upset at the thought they might haven't even tried to look into it. A black dragon with a silver underbelly and three horns swept back like a slicked manestyle stood in the street, "My fellow dragons I Shade Fang am here for you against those stupid ponies who hate us for burnt buildings, we didn't do it yet they insist to blame us!" Crystal huffed lightly at this display, "Ugh another emo trying to hard, and those yellow eyes aren't doing him justice, Astral who is that dragon and what in Equestria is he doing?!" Astral turned to the group before answering. "His name is Shade Fang and he's the one responsible for the riots." The main seven all sneared at him, Astral pinches the bridge of his muzzle. "I swear that one of these days he is going to land in some serious hot water when he goes too far. It doesn't help that he keeps flirting with Aurora despite his advances." He then falls down to a sitting position before coughing into his claw then they see he coughed up blood, probably due to exhaustion and strain of keeping that barrier up so long. Harmony came up to Astral and hugged him, "Let the soothing waters ease your pain..." Her mane turned completely to look like water before it flowed unto him, when it was over Astral felt like he was fully rested, then her mane went back to normal. She looked a bit drained and exhausted and Chaos grabbed her before she passed out into the ground. "She's alright she just used to much power." Chaos explained as he held her in his arms, "You see she's the alicorn of the elements but she's still a young alicorn so her power levels aren't that huge." Chaos' tail came forwards and Astral finally noticed in his hair was a bubble holding an odd creature it looked like an insect pony, "Will she be okay?" Chaos snapped his tail back making Thorax smack into the bubble wall, "She'll be fine she just needs rest not like you care heart breaker!" "I said I was sorry..." After getting over his shock at Harmony's element power. He looked a little concerned about her wellbeing. "Are you sure that she will be alright? Magic exhaustion is not a funny thing, I might be physically healed, but I still feel my magic weakening." Then he saw Thorax, "What's with the odd insect pony?" "Oh him? Thorax is our prisoner as for Harmony she'll be fine she's still an alicorn." Some stomach rumbles Astral invites them to his place, once there they see smoke rising from one of the windows. "Ah crap, not again." Astral moans before rushing inside, they see a periwinkle dragon with a salmon underbelly, five horns with a semi transparent cyan frill, wearing a cyan vest with an icicle design held together with three fasteners and a red sash. She was standing next to a soup that is on fire. "Aurora why did you have to cook?" She just turns off the burner and turns to him annoyed, "Well you have been coming home all tired and then either cook or order out from that Kirin run restaurant that I decided to make a hearty meal." She then notices the group, "Oh and I see that you brought some guests, good things made a large batch." Astral buried his face in his claw muttering a sorry before Aurora said, "So I made both meat and vegan versions for variety, who would love a bowl?" "You know I would love a bowl but first my friend needs a place to rest first." "Astral can you show me where a bed is? Oh and don't start without us..." Chaos said shoving Astral with his tail, once they were alone he looked st him, "I smelt that soup it's completely uneatable, I will have to change it with my magic so my friends don't get sick." He explained putting Harmony down on the bed, "But when I read her mind she seemed so excited that I didn't want to crush her feelings so here we are. I don't want my friends to get sick but I also don't want to hurt her feelings, so my solution is I change it with my magic she won't know the difference." "Don't worry she knows that she's a bad cook, she actually has medicine for when somecreature gets sick from her food." Astral explained, "Besides how do you think I survived her cooking, I'm just glad she doesn't burn drinks." He then looks at Chaos. "That changeling you have as a prisoner seems a little sad." Chaos rolled his eyes his friends didn't need to get sick in the first place but whatever, "Oh Thorax can be as sad as he wants to be, don't feel pity for his kind, they can suck the love out of you like a leech, he also has the same issue as Shade Fang, goes after Harmony to try to woo her despite knowing she wants nothing to do with him at the moment." Thorax hissed lightly, "Hey we shared a real connection, we went on real dates, had real conversations, our bond was real." "Yeah before she found out you were a changeling and had to watch your queen take over her home which was Ponyville." "That wasn't very kind to say..." Chaos tapped his harmony gem, "Sorry I'm the element of humility not kindness." "That's kinda harsh though..." Astral said sweat dropping. "You can go ahead and eat with your friends, I'll keep an eye on Harmony and Thorax." Chaos grumbles as he leaves, then Astral turned to Thorax, "I'm guessing you left your hive because you didn't agree with their motives and the others that you went to don't trust you?" Thorax looked at him then looked back at Harmony. "To be honest I didn't agree with them before the spying and the invasion happened..." Astral saw his sparkly wings as he moved to be closer to Harmony, "Then I meet her, I was drawn in by her chocolate eyes, they had a warmth I never seen before, but when I learned more about her I wanted more..." He said rubbing the bubble wall near her and Astral saw his black legs had a green tint on the end. "So I lied when I left and despite being their prince they don't care about me they have their princess so they don't need me, I don't even know if changelings can love but I'm willing to try for her."