//------------------------------//
// Chapter Nine 
// Story: Champions vs Changelings 
// by WolfGoddess1990 
//------------------------------//

'We're following that lead, could you tell me her name? It may help with the interrogation.' Astral said with suppressed anger at Shade due to his grin which made Aurora uncomfortable. 'Her name is Aquamarine, she's a water dragon but honestly I think we don't need her, we are looking for a dragon because ponies can't go inside an active volcano, which is where you find fire slugs, dark colored and goes to the hot spring often enough that they know the schedule of the workers.' Astral felt Harmony smile, 'And guess what the old girl gives out when you visit often? A tap on your body that makes a symbol that lights up in steam from hot water.'

'Good thing that Shade is making tea, does the creature need to be in the steam or does it work like one of those secret message things that kids like?' 'Unsure but I guess you'll find out soon enough.' Harmony said and when Shade poured the tea the steam made the top of his hand glow with a symbol."The symbol was of a water drop with dragon wings. When Astral saw this, he tackled him while gripping the front of his shirt. "Why did you bring those fire slugs!?" Shade just started laughing which caused the group to become nervous. "I guess my plan is working. I brought those in with the intent to burn those poies homes to stir up both sides to get them to leave."

"Tonight is when the riots will force those weak ponies to leave. Us dragons are better than them." Astral then punched Shade in the face, knocking him out. "Chaos, gather the others and have Thorax find the most concentration of negative emotions. Aurora and I will stay here with this scumbag. I am counting on you and the others to get things under control." Chaos nodded, they all left and he snapped his fingers Harmony and her group was brought to them Thorax used his powers and pointed they all rushed to see a riot going on."Get out of our city beasts!" "Leave you lying ponies!" Crystal shouted, "Enough both of you!" 

She stood in the middle, "Do you all hear yourselves?!" "What are you? Your not obviously a pony or dragon." "I'm a natural born kirin, my parents are both a pony and a dragon, besides your all fighting for the wrong reasons." She held up a fire slug. "This creature is a fire slug, they have extreme temperatures that can burn down buildings, and we found the culprit who brought them here." Chaos snapped his fingers and Shade with Astral and Aurora appeared, "Shade is the one who was doing this, and somewhere along the way you all forgot manners and respect, look upon the group opposite of you, instead of thinking they or them, think us, please you can have peace again."

The groups looked at each other finally some children came forwards and hugged, "Mommy I want my friends back." A pony girl said. "Dad these are my friends." A dragon boy said, the adults finally stepped forwards and hugged talking to each other, "I'm sorry we shouldn't have blamed you." "It's alright we would think the same if the roles were reversed." Crystal glowed, Harmony touched her and a bright flash of light caught every creatures eye, finally a gold necklace with a purple gemstone in the shape of her cutie mark was on her neck. "Crystal you got an element, the element of Courtesy!""Huh. I guess that the time has come for new guardians." Astral said. 

Before anyone could say anything more, a loud buzzing began to grow louder and louder, causing the young group to become fearful."It's the changelings they are here!" "Only a few we are leaving." Chaos snapped and they all vanished the dragons stood in front of the ponies as the changelings hissed at them, Bellatrix looked at Shade, "It seems your plan has failed, it was weak at best but come with us It's not like you can stay here after that group made you out." The changelings sniffed about hissing. "Chaos... he teleported their group too far we lost them... for now." Astral and Aurora found themselves on a train with the group.

Harmony looked at her friends, "Okay clearly they felt something because to reveal themselves like that was foolish of them, they are meant to be spies..." Thorax sighed, "In theory we can feel influexs, like a sudden burst of energy." "Great gathering the other elements just got harder... where are we anyway?" Chaos chuckled, "The only place they can't get to, the zone, was made by my kind a long time ago to practice our powers." Harmony sighed, "Astral, Aurora it won't be safe if you come with us, changelings enjoy using loved ones to hurt others." The two dragons blushed at that statement as they looked at each other then at Harmony with an annoyed glare. 

"Did you really have to say that?" They both said. Astral then got himself under control. "Those changelings know that we are allies, so it would be better if we came with you since they might use us against you." Harmony looked confused as did Thorax, "She isn't wrong about your feelings, besides you can stay here in the zone where it's safe, besides think of what would happen if you did get caught." Thorax sighed he didn't want to say this but... "Image if you will your living your life, everything seems perfect, almost too perfect but you don't question it, you see the one you love everything goes normal you, two go out for a romantic dinner..." 

Thorax got closer to them both, "You lean into to kiss each other, everything is perfect... then you go to bed, then tomorrow things go perfect again..." He spread his wings, "You want to question it deep down but you don't because your happy, in love and your stuck that way forever, stuck in an endless loop of perfect days designed to make you happy and in love because to the changelings outside your pod all you are to them is food." He shifted into his mother and snarled at them, "Do you really want me to have you?" He said in her voice. "I have an idea." Astral says before his horns glow and everyone else glows as well and feel a little tingly. 

"In case you are wondering what happened, I placed a charm on all of us that will give us a way to detect each other. If you feel like you have goosebumps but don't, that's to show that we aren't changelings."Thorax shifted back to normal, "Well at the very least we should get some rest I can tell just by being near you that your about to pass out from magical exhaustion.""Yeah. That did take a lot out of me." Astral said before falling face first. Aurora caught him before he could hit the floor. "Is there a guest room? He's going to be out for a while." Chaos snapped his fingers, "Just made one look for a dragon symbol.""Thanks. If you need either of us, We'll be in that room." 

She then takes Astral to the room."Thorax what happens to prisoners of the hive if they try to break the illusion in the pod?" "No love means no food for changelings, we first try harder, but if the captive is to mentally strong... well the hive has no need for them, they don't release them, they dispose them..." "Our mission is to gather the elements, Thorax I want you and Chaos to go through all you know about how a changeling can hide itself, if they have already spread out seeing them could help." Thorax nodded. "We only have two elements out of seven and who knows how long our parents will live..." They all looked at each other.

Caramel looked at Harmony, "And what about Violent Gaia?" "What about her?" "If your letting in those two shouldn't you warn them about..." "The tantabus was purified back in our parents days remember?" "But what if they were just the puppets?" Harmony sighed as her wings twitched, Thorax looked very confused, "I'm sorry who is Violent Gaia?" Chaos looked towards the dragon door, "Snooping on conversation is not very lady like Aurora."Aurora then opened the door before closing it behind her. "Well, I'm not exactly a lady. I'm going to guess that Violent Gaia is Harmony's aunt?""Not exactly... you heard of Daybreaker correct?" 

"It happened a couple of years ago so..." Chaos said snapping his fingers showing an old newspaper showing the front page, 'The Guardians of Harmony defeated Daybreaker!' "Well you probably don't know is that Daybreaker was actually Queen Celestia only corrupted, the same for her husband Lucian who was Sombra and her son Chronos who was Dark Eternity." "You are probably still confused so I’m just going to simplify it, in alicorns or alicorn mates the tantabus can corrupt them and turn them into somepony they aren't." "Selena can become Nightmare Moon." "Stygian can become the pony of shadows." "Twilight Sparkle can become Midnight Shadow." "So following the same logic Peaceful Climate..."

"Okay I get the picture. So Peaceful Climate can become Violet Gaia." She nodded, "And I'm the Alicorn of the elements I can only use the elements I have right now in my mane but when I'm an adult I can do more. Now Violent Gaia can take my powers to the max and basically turn the whole world into her play thing, which makes me as a villain a very dangerous thing." "And she's already been broken twice, her parents have been captured and her heart broken, it won't take that much to break her again and if that happens well..." "You can say goodbye to me as you now it and goodbye to using the new elements because I'm the only one who can use the crown of harmony in it's new state."