//------------------------------// // XVI: Changing Fate // Story: The After Party // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// Rocket yawned and shook his head as he got out of bed. He looked outside and stared at the position of the sun, seeing that it was just after seven in the morning. Ponies were out and about while he just woke up to face the day. The Princesses were out and about doing their duties, so he figured he might as well get going. Besides, he had plans with Rose today. He looked at his hooves and noticed that he was still wearing the blasted chains that he had woken to find not a few days ago. The same blasted chains that were supposed to keep Dark Sky imprisoned in the secret prison of Canterlot. The same chains that allowed him to be himself and not worry about Dark reappearing. The same chains that Princess Celestia had forbid him to remove, claiming that it required too much magical energy to shatter the magical infused iron. She was scared that Dark would return and beat her into submission. Rocket sighed and watched Twilight walk past him, going up the stairs to her room before closing the door behind her. Ever since Dark had made himself known none of the Royal Alicorns would so much as look him in the eye when he talked to them. Well, Luna actually did several times just to annoy her sister and silently say that she was supporting him. He wasn't sure if Cadence supported him or was against him, but he knew Celestia wasn't supporting him. And Twilight...he honestly didn't know where she stood in all of this. He closed the door of the library behind him and walked out into Ponyville, his eyes looking around for his friends. From what he already knew Tick was likely practicing with Octavia and Vinyl while Wisdom was hanging with Pinkie Pie doing who knew what. Peachy was with the Crusaders, trying to figure out what her Cutie Mark was. Rose, however, had cleared her calender so they could spend some time together and get to know each other better. "Are you sure your friend minds that we're spying on him?" Pinkie asked Wisdom, despite the fact that they were both dressed in spy suits and were sitting on top of a building that Rocket had passed, "I'm all for spying on Chrysalis, but where's the fun in spying on Rocket?" "Something is going to happen, I just know it," Wisdom said, finishing off one of the special drinks Pinkie had ordered, "So if we follow Rocket we should be able to stop whatever it is in time." Pinkie smiled. "Its our Pinkie Sense," she commented, looking through her binoculars, "Not even I completely understand it sometimes." "Here comes our friend Salad Top," Wisdom warned, spotting the mare just down the same street that Rocket was on, "and it seems that she's got company this time." Flanking the mare were thirteen other ponies, five of them being unicorns while another five were pegasus. The remainder were earth ponies, but none of them looked happy at all. Salad Top looked like she was in command and had somehow brainwashed the poor ponies to do her bidding. "You ready for this Pinkie?" Wisdom asked, looking back to see the mare holding what looked like a missile launcher. "Of course I'm ready silly," she answered, "If anything happens I'm ready to go to town on them." "Hey Rocket, what's up?" Rose asked, walking beside the stallion as they continued down the street, unaware of the advancing ponies. "Nothing much," Rocket answered, smiling at the mare as they walked, "Just staring at the chains and wondering if any of the other Princesses will accept me now that Dark has been vanquished. I know Princess Luna does, but it will take a lot more to convince the other three that I'm not the monster. But other than that I just got up. What about you?" "Not much for me either," Rose admitted, shaking her head, "By now my mother and her guard should have returned to Ponyville and they should have resumed trying to capture you. If they have returned then I wonder why I haven't been notified by any of the guards so i could have prepared my house. But knowing my mother she doesn't want me to know so she can catch me unaware and off guard. Only this time she'll find that I finally made a friend that accepts me for who I truly am and not who I'm pretending to be." "Hey, you accepted me and my dark side," Rocket countered, "it only makes it fair that I do the same. Besides, you aren't one of the Changelings that chased me into the Everfree forest and you don't want me enslaved." "I know," Rose sighed, "It just feels like my mother is planning something big and I have nothing on it." "Tell me about this Elder Council," Rocket said, changing the subject on her, "You mentioned that your father was one of the members, but not much else." "Essentially they keep the Hive together when there's no official ruler," Rose explained, taking a seat at a coffee shop so they didn't bump into anypony while they walked and waited until Rocket followed suit, "There are six other members of the Council that work with my father Zircon. Some Changelings call them the Seven Masters, as each of them are the best of whichever field they worked in before they became Elders. My father is the Elder of Wisdom and he knows things that others do not even comprehend. Kind of like Pinkie Pie. Basically when a Queen or King wants to invade another place, such as Canterlot, for love and such, they have to ask the Council for permission. If the Council says that they're allowed to do so then the entire Hive marches out to go to war with the Ruler and the Council at the head of the army. But if the Council refuses to allow it then the rest of the Hive should, as a rule, stay behind and not invade the desired location. My mother broke that rule when the Council told her that she couldn't invade Canterlot and would lose to the very thing she went to obtain. She defied the Council, gathered a small army, and marched on the city and nearly had it during the wedding. That was cut short by the love between Shining Armor and Princess Cadence that flung them out of Canterlot. If I had been of age after the failed invasion the Council would have insisted that I take over and would have tossed my mother off of the throne. I fear that my mother might have defied the Council again and might have marshaled the whole of the Changeling Hive to take you alive. She has seen your power, has felt the darkness in your heart, and she wants it so she can topple Princess Celestia. What she doesn't know is that the Council will travel to Canterlot and explain the situation to the Solar Princess, who will bring her army to you to make sure you aren't taken. I'm afraid that no matter what the Council decides war is coming to Ponyville." "My Queen," one of the guards said, "Your daughter, 067, is revealing everything about the Hive to the stallion. What will you have us do?" Chrysalis was pissed, but never had she done something so drastic before in her entire life. Her disguise literally fell apart and she returned to her true form before she gave the order. "Issue the charge," she ordered, "and chase that stallion into the forest. We'll deal with him there." "Yes my Queen," the Changeling said before blowing into a horn. The ponies around them were shocked by the appearance of the Changeling Queen, for real this time, but they thought it was foolish to blow a horn when it would likely attract the Elements of Harmony. "We will send them to their doom with the beauty of our new firework technique," Pinkie said, smiling as she aimed at Chrysalis, "Flame Cakes." "I think you meant Fu," Wisdom corrected. "Oh, well then. Flame Fu," Pinkie corrected herself and pressed what looked like a trigger. A cluster of fireworks shot out of the launcher and barreled right into Chrysalis before exploding into a fury of lights. Citizens ran as the Changelings zoned in on their location, but upon arrival they found nothing on the roof top. One of them hit the roof as Wisdom appeared above him, a wooden staff in hoof that he used to beat another into submission. He spun it around and hit another in the shin behind smacking the staff on his head, crashing the Changeling into the shop below. "What's going on?" Rocket asked as the two noticed the fighting going on. "Its my mother," Rose answered, "She's returned and she's brought the army with her. That horn was to bring them all in, not a warning call that alerted the Elements of Harmony. See that black cloud approaching? Its them." Sure enough a huge black cloud appeared overhead, swarming with a vast quantity of Changelings just waiting to capture Rocket. Changelings descended on the town, breaking into houses and scaring the citizens as they searched for him. Then a lavender form took to the skies and began blasting the cloud, Changelings falling to the ground as they were hit in rapid succession. Princess Twilight Sparkle had arrived. "Its you there after isn't it?" a voice asked from behind Rocket, making him turn around to see Applejack standing there, "They're here for the beast aren't they?" "Yeah, they are," Rocket admitted, "but that doesn't mean I wont stand and fight them." The farm mare flipped around and brought her left back hoof into the face of a Changeling that was trying to surprise her, but failed. "I'm getting my sister and her friends to safety first," the farmer stated, "Have either of you seen them?" "I think they're with Peachy at the Boutique," Rose said, "If they aren't then I have no...idea?" What rolled past them was a huge wagon with a wooden cover and long tubes that fired fireworks. The top opened and Applebloom popped her head head while she waved at the three of them. Then she got back in and closed the top as the wagon rolled off, firing at the Changelings on the ground. "I guess that answers that question," Rocket said, "but it raises more and i think Pinkie was somehow involved with this." "Open fire on their flanks," came a voice inside the wagon that sounded like Peachy. "Or not..." Rocket sighed, spotting Tick with the other musicians, "Now what?" Tick picked up a metal guitar and slammed it into a Changelings head, knocking the poor thing out in an instant without shattering the instrument. Vinyl carried what looked like a speaker, but it spread out and became her infamous bass cannon, which she used on the Changelings in the air. Octavia, however, preceded to beat several Changelings down with just her bare hooves, punching her foes into submission. The rest of the Elements of Harmony fought on the ground, mostly punching their foes while Fluttershy cowered and tripped them. Course Pinkie brought out a cannon and blasted her foes with party supplies, but it didn't seem to bother anypony at all. Rarity hit foes with diamonds while Rainbow hit them before they could even get to the ground. Rocket was going to say something until he heard the sound of a very different horn and noticed another cloud approaching. Soldiers from the Solar Guard, the Lunar Guard, and the Crystal Empire crashed into the Changeling army and the fighting turned harsh. Luna smashed opponents under her hooves while her sister merely blasted them out of the sky and Cadence roped her with magic. Shining bucked his foes and defended himself while he looked for Chrysalis. Rocket could have sworn that Discord was here as well, raining lightning on the Changelings, but he wasn't sure. "Sad isn't it?" a voice behind them asked, causing Rocket to turn around to find Applejack gooed to the ground. "Chrysalis," Rocket said, taking a step back. "I brought an army and yet they decide to fight anyway," the Queen continued, "They know that I will succeed and take the key to destroying them all. The Council was wrong, I will be victorious and Celestia will fall." "You can't do this," Rose shouted, receiving a smack to the face that knocked her to the ground. "She's your daughter, how can you do this to her?" Rocket asked, almost yelling at Chrysalis. "I don't care if she's my daughter," the Queen spat, "I AM THE QUEEN. I can go anything to any of the Changelings under my rule. I am better then any of them and I will not be overthrown by a daughter who doesn't want the throne. I will waste no words on you, Rocket Sky, as you will soon be joining me in conquering everypony that opposes me." "Go buck yourself Chrysalis," Rocket countered, "I won't be turning against Celestia and the Royal Family." "Oh you will," Chrysalis said, baring her fangs as she pinned him against a wall, "You'll turn against them all." She bit into his neck and drew blood, but that was natural when a Changeling did this. Rocket screamed and threw the Queen off of him with his magic, which resulted in him hitting the ground hard. His hooves hurt and he could have sworn that he could feel holes growing in them. His vision was blurred and he couldn't tell if he was staring at Chrysalis or another Changeling. His magic overtook him and ascended into the sky as he eventually faded out. Celestia noticed the pillar of blue energy nearby and realized that the worst had come to pass; Chrysalis had obtained the power of Rocket Sky. The way she saw it they were all royally bucked unless the stallion could control himself and defeat the Changeling Queen. Though it didn't look like they were going to win anytime soon.