And so Rose Petal was left alone in her house, which had long served as the base for the Changelings in Ponyville since their defeat in Canterlot. She had hidden them whenever they needed protection and housed them when they needed to tend to their wounds, but for once she was truly alone. She didn't have to listen to Chrysalis in her head, barking orders that she didn't want to do. Now she could head into the Everfree Forest and find Rocket without being worried that she was being followed by her brothers and sisters.
So she left the house and locked the door tight, not that she had many personal items in her house anyway. She headed towards the edge of Ponyville, passing ponies who were now awakening and going on with their day as if nothing strange had happened. Only Twilight, the Elements of Harmony, and Rocket's friends would know that had happened last night and she was sure they would keep their lips sealed. Unless Spike let it slip again.
She smiled and said hi to everypony that she passed, stopping to help some as she went. Though she couldn't help but wonder how Derpy wasn't destroying anything right now. She sighed and stopped as she found herself at the edge of the town already, the trees standing tall over her. The last time she had been here she had been in the presence of Chrysalis and her guards, but now she was alone and she worried that some sort of monster might get to her.
She stepped into the trees and began her search for Rocket, who was likely deep in the forest and far away from Ponyville in general. He had only been gone for an hour and Rose was surprised that Twilight and her friends weren't already searching for him. She was more surprised that his own friends weren't already in the forest tearing the place apart looking for him. At least that meant that she didn't have to worry about noise driving him even deeper into the forest then he already was.
She stepped on a twig and snapped it, quickly freezing as she took a look at what was around her. She didn't want to run into something already and wanted to be sure she knew what her foe was before it even got near her. She didn't see any creatures around her, so she moved onward, being more careful as she pressed on. Not even a minute later she heard a roar that seemed like a possessed creature and a explosion further along the path, so she began to sprint.
When she arrived at the site of the explosion she saw two huge holes in the ground, one freshly made while the other was a few days old. She didn't see any trace of Rocket, so she moved on and searched for any signs of him or his massive power. She had a feeling that the two of them might be fighting for control and were destroying everything in the process.
About an hour later, after so much running around, Rose was tired and very sure that she wasn't going to find Rocket anytime soon. And she couldn't exactly turn around and head home anymore either. She had somehow lost her way and was now lost in the Everfree Forest, using the sounds of whatever she heard to guide her. Rose thought of her Changeling brothers and wondered if they were doing alright with the constant watching over of Chrysalis when she heard a slight humming.
She turned to the north slightly and moved quietly, using her Changeling training in case she came upon a monster or two along the way. She emerged from the trees to find an area with a waterfall ,a huge lake, and a small island in the center of it all. Sitting in the direct center of the small island was none other then Rocket Sky, but his eyes were closed and he seemed like he was meditating. He was humming something as he allowed his magic to freely fill the area around him, which made it a mystery as to why Twilight wasn't already here.
Rose leaned against a tree and relaxed her eyes, watching the stallion be at peace. She smiled and closed her eyes, allowing her tired body to succumb to sleep as the humming filled her ears and relaxed her mind. In a matter of seconds she was knocked out, leaning on the tree as she slept.
When Rose awoke it was to the shinning sun in her eyes, which stung slightly. She got up and stretched her body, silently wishing she could change back so she could stretch her wings as well. The idea stuck in her mind and she looked around, finding that Rocket's eyes were closed like last she checked, so she removed her disguise and stretched her stiff wings. She would have started flying too, but she was afraid that the noise might alert Rocket to her presence and she didn't want that.
She returned to her disguise form and laid on the ground, watching the still body of Rocket for a couple of minutes. She silently cursed herself for not bringing along anything to do once she had found the stallion and settled for hoofing the ground slightly. She noticed that there were a lot of broken twigs and branches scattered around the area, so she smiled and began constructing something to pass the time. It wasn't much, but it provided her with something to do while she waited for the stallion to awaken or even open his eyes for once.
An hour passed as she worked and eventually she had cleaned up the area around where she had been sleeping, making a nice little hut. Along with the hut she had started making a wooden barricade and a spot for a fireplace when she got around to starting fires. Plus she even built in a second rest area for Rocket, considering he might just sleep on the small island the entire time he was here.
She heard some growls and noticed that a group of timberwolves, more mature than the one Tick had, had entered the area and were approaching the lake. They took no notice of her, but instead focused on the stallion and the lake. Rose sighed and got up, quietly moving towards them as they began to make their way across the water towards Rocket. As Rose realized their intended target Rocket's eyes snapped open and the three wolves were crushed in an instant with magic. Rose gulped as she watched the pieces hit the water, not gathering together and reforming the poor wolves.
The pack of timberwolves were dead for sure, that much Rose knew for sure.
Rocket groaned and held his left hoof against the ground, which caused the water in the area to ripple before calming down quickly. Rose noticed that the tip of his hoof had turned a strange pure white color with a red aura gathering around it. But as quickly as the changes had occurred they receded back to wherever they had come from, leaving the stallion normal once again. Rose returned to her little area and watched the stallion, who seemed to be staring at her but not noticing her at all.
The day passed slowly for Rose, but she spent it gathering necessary tools that seemed to be scattered around the immediate area and berries that she could eat when she got hungry. Every once and a while she would stare at the stallion and she would find that he hadn't moved, which worried her to no end. So she built more of her wooden barricade and just relaxed, though she moved her huts closer to the water.
Night rolled around and with it came the undoing of Rose's disguise, though she willingly returned to her natural Changeling form and not the one she took the most often. The reality that she was actually taller then most Changelings still upset her, the larger wings made her an easier target while flying, and the longer horn was completely unnecessary. Even the small crown on her head was unnecessary. She cursed the princess form that she held and cursed Chrysalis for being her mother. She laid her head down on the ground of her makeshift hut and closed her eyes, silently hoping for Rocket to be okay.
Again morning rolled on past her and she continued her building, surprised that the stallion had not moved a single inch from where the center of the island. Rose figured that it could have been his way of dealing with the excess amount of power, but it almost seemed like he should have been able to control everything. She sighed and gathered the pieces of the long dead timberwolves, deciding to add them to her buildings while she worked.
As the day slowly passed Rose found herself fighting off all sorts of creatures that decided that they wanted to fight the stallion. She fought lions, tigers, bears, a swarm of wasps that she repelled with magic, a pack of strangely behaving birds, and a manticore. When she chased off the last of the challengers she returned to her hut area and laid down as she munched on one of the berries she had picked. She smiled and looked around, glad that she had done something useful with her spare time.
One thing was out of place though; Rocket was no longer on the island.
Rose bolted onto her legs and looked around frantically, trying to locate the stallion her mother was after. She finally found him standing at the base of the waterfall, though it looked like he was soaking his head so he could clear his mind. Rose calmed down and returned to laying on the ground, watching both the stars and Rocket in case he moved yet again. Before she knew it she was fast asleep yet again.
Something whacked her on the head and she snapped her eyes open to see that it was still nighttime, though Rocket was standing in front of her. It was actually more like she was being held in the air at his level with his own magic and pinned to the wall of the hut she had made. The only difference Rose could see was that his eyes were a unusual golden color, surrounded by a second pure black color. Oh, and he was smiling like a mad stallion.
"What do we have here?" Rocket sounded possessed by the power, a demon free to walk Equestria. "A Changeling spy for the vile Queen? I would have expected a spy like yourself to hide herself in the trees and watch from the shadows, not camping on the outskirts of your target's chosen location. You are pathetic."
"Your pathetic demon," Rose replied, feeling her throat close up a bit, "Taking over a poor stallion and using his power to cause chaos is pretty low for something like you."
"A demon am I?" the creature asked, laughing as he swung her into the sand and held her there, "Foolish Changeling, I am not a DEMON as you call me. I am the pure undiluted darkness that resides within 'poor' Rocket Sky. I am Dark Sky, a stallion born in darkness with the ability to wield great and terrible power."
"What you are is a thief Dark," Rose countered, spitting sand out of her mouth, "A coward who steals from everypony around him, not just the one whose body you've already stolen. Born in darkness? I say that your just Rocket's power seeking attention and this is the best you could come up with."
She was then thrown across the water to the small island, where she landed hard on her side. She barely had time to register the sudden pain when she felt Dark land on top of her and pin her to the ground.
"A thief am I?" the evil stallion challenged, "No Rose Petal, or whatever your real name is, you and your brothers and sisters are the true thieves. You steal emotions to feed yourselves and gain the power to topple countries, all without concern for those whose lives you've ruined. Go ahead, call me a thief, a coward, an attention seeker, but remember that your race is cursed to be the exact same as me, living in the darkness."
"We don't kill anypony though," Rose countered, "Most Changelings take what they need and leave the rest alone so they don't waste resources. You, on the other hoof, are a murderer. You kill when it suits you. You honestly don't care what happens to Rocket as long as you get his power. If my mother released you Equestria would cease to exist."
"That;s the point my dear," Dark happily said, "I will conquer all of Equestria and end the rule of Celestia completely. The Lunar Princess will be chained on her precious Moon as her sister is locked away in the Sun itself. The Princess of Love will be cast down into eternal hate with no escape in sight for her. The Princess of Magic will suffer as magic tears her bonds to pieces and she falls to the darkest of magic."
"Your a monster," Rose shouted, "Come on Rocket, fight him. You aren't a monster, he is."
"Foolish mare," Dark shouted, holding his head as the magic around him began to break, "I will return and when I do you will be the first one to fall to my power."
Everything that made Dark Sky vanished in an instant and Rocket laid there, breathing hard as if it was a burden on his body by having Dark possess him. He seemed so peaceful while he slept, so Rose activated her magic and lifted him into the air, moving back to her rest area. After crossing the water she laid Rocket down in the second hut before retiring to her own hut. The darkness may have been beaten today, but who knows when it would emerge yet again. Falling asleep proved to be easier tonight and soon Rose dozed off.
Morning arrived like usual and Rose smiled as she stared up at the sky. She was glad that the Princesses had yet to find Rocket, but she was getting worried that his friends hadn't done anything yet. When she thought the stallion would still be asleep when she emerged she found that she was dead wrong.
Rocket sat in the center of her small area, his magic constructing what seemed like a long wooden bridge for when he got tired from his activities. He didn't seem to notice her arrival from the hut, so Rose laid down behind him and watched him work. His skill in magic was to die for and now Rose knew why her mother wanted him so badly. Then she noticed that the water in the lake was rippling, almost like it was responding to the magic emitting from Rocket's horn.
"About time you awoke," the stallion said, surprising Rose as he continued his work, "I didn't know if you were going to be okay after the beating you received from Dark so I let your body do the healing for you. I caught the entire conversation between the two of you and I'm a little hurt Rose. Are you actually a Changeling or are you messing with me?"
"I'm a Changeling Princess to be exact," Rose answered, hanging her head a bit low, "My mother, Queen Chrysalis, has been searching for a way to turn the Hive around after our defeat in Canterlot. My father, the Elder of Wisdom Zircon, and the rest of the Elder Council forbid Chrysalis from going to attack Princess Celestia and she defied them. Now she has been summoned back to the Hive to be questioned by them and she left me here, alone at long last."
"Why haven't you taken over the Hive then?" Rocket asked, facing her as he asked the question.
"I don't want to rule the Hive," Rose replied, lifting her head, "I may be the Princess, but I want nothing to do with the warmongering of my mother. I was always told that I would follow in her footsteps and would be a much crueler Queen then she could ever be, but my father always told me that my destiny lied elsewhere in Equestria."
"If your a Changeling then doesn't that mean your name isn't Rose Petal?" Rocket asked, receiving a nod, "Then what is your true name? A Princess has to have a name."
"I'm called 067 by my mother," Rose answered, sighing softly, "and Rose Petal by my friends. Only my father has called me Viscarias, which is my true name. My mother wont call me by that name because it would mean acknowledging that she has an heir to the throne that she doesn't want to lose."
"That's a pretty name," Rocket said, shocking the Changeling Princess, "Hail Princess Viscarias of the Changeling Hive."
"Oh stop it," Rose said, blushing slightly, "So, what are you doing out here by yourself exactly. It doesn't seem to be just exploring that your after."
"I'm...trying to tame Dark Sky," Rocket slowly replied, shaking his head, "trying to tame the power the rests within me. He is a beast, a monster that destroys whatever he can when I'm in trouble and a fighter who doesn't care what side somepony is on. I need to tame him before he makes me do something I regret and I already regret involving you in all of this madness."
"Oh stop it already," Rose said, "You will fight Dark and you will win. I know that you have the persistence and the determination to end this once and for all. Your magic, be it Dark or yourself, is keeping the Princess from finding your whereabouts until you finish this dance with your inner darkness. You need to confront Dark directly and finish this, for the sake of everypony in Equestria."
"If you honestly think I should get it over with then I might as well show you the truth," Rocket said, putting down the bridge and approached the water, "There is a reason I chose this place as my area to meditate and fight Dark, it has special properties that you likely don't know about.
Come on out Dark Sky. Let us finish this."
At first nothing happened, but then the bubbling of the water increased until Rose was sure that it would explode and drench Rocket. Next thing she knew a pony emerged from the waters, but what was shocking was that the pony was an exact replica of Rocket. The only difference between the two was that the newcomer had a pure white coat, same colored hair, and the same eyes that Dark had.
"So, you dare to summon me into the real world?" the pony asked, sounding exactly like Dark did, "Your arrogance will be your downfall Rocket."
"Quiet Dark," Rocket commanded, his horn already lighting up, "I summoned you to fight, not to talk and annoy me. We will fight and you will die."
"Right back at you Rocket," Dark said, rushing out of the water quickly.
The two magic's clashed and the water split as Rose watched the conflicting energies fight. Rocket seemed confident that he could best his darkness, but then again Dark also seemed confident that he could best his light. They both summoned strange bladed weapons, similar to the Royal Guards spears yet different at the same time, and rushed at each other as the magic faded. The meeting of the two weapons split the ground around them, not like they were paying attention to where they were anyway.
Rose watched as Dark retreated and dodged an attack that made the sand explode on impact, turning around to return the favor and finding his weapon was met by Rocket's. Dark flipped into the air and charged his magic, which soon took the shape of the same dangerous orb at he had used twice so far. Rose recognized it from the tales that her mother told and wondered if Rocket could do something similar to Dark's attack, but when she looked she saw that he wasn't doing anything.
Right as the orb fired Rocket appeared behind his darkness and the spell broke apart in an instant. Sticking out of Dark's body was the bladed weapon of Rocket, which meant he was weaponless if the darkness attacked again. Instead of attacking Dark growled and fell to the ground, slowly turning to what seemed like a black mass. It hit the center of the small island and the ground shook as it faced Rocket, who stared down at it.
Rose was amazed; Rocket had managed to outsmart his darkness and had seemed to pierce its very core. But as she watched them fight she noticed that the barrier that seemed to protect the area faded away into nonexistence. If either one of them fired another high level spell it would alert the Princesses to their location. Unless they had already felt the disturbance and were on their way here right now.
"Come up behind me Rose," Rocket said, some sort of glowing cube appearing before his hooves as he levitated in the air, "I don't want to catch you in this attack."
Rose scrambled into the air and went behind him, watching as he approached the shadowy mass with the strange cube.
"I'm sorry Dark, but this is for the best," Rocket said, holding the cube in front of him, "Time for you to return to where you belong."
The next thing Rose knew the shadowy mass was gone and so was the cube, but Rocket seemed to be fine. They returned to the ground and Rose quickly assumed her disguise as four alicorns landed around them. Rose sighed, it seemed like they had a lot of explaining to do. Then again when wasn't there a lot of explaining when she was dealing with Rocket Sky and the amazing power that he contained.