//------------------------------// // XII: The Last War Game // Story: To Save a King // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// It is raining, what a bucking surprise, Luna sourly thought as she faced the familiar area where the armies did battle,Only this time it will just be the four of us against a fully powered King Rocket Sky. Even from this distance I can feel the energy gathering around him as he prepares to fight us. "You sense it too, don't you Lulu?" Celestia asked, her golden armor attached and a spear resting on her side, "The King is prepping his magic and weapons for the final confrontation with us. I was told that no matter what happened when this was finished he would not be involved with any more war games." "I wonder why," Cadence spoke up, having shielded her poker cards from the rain while they waited for the King to arrive. Poker without paying up was just the way that the four of them held their minds together while they waited for the beginning of the war game. Now it was so they could gather as much magic as possible before their enemy arrived and none of them were looking forward to fighting a fully powered King Sky. "The poison will have damaged him worse then whatever we have thrown at him," Twilight thought about it while playing a random card from her hand, "He might not be able to fight for long periods of time after this, which could be why he has decided to exclude himself after this last game." Energy began to pulse through the air, causing the four to snap to attention and face the west, where Rocket was gathering his magic. The general place of the ruler's battle was the same as the last time, a plateau what was made to repair itself after the game had ended. They knew when Rocket was completely ready he would appear before them, maybe even fully merged with his other half and eager for their demise. To their knowledge Rocket's friends had succeeded in crafting two vials of the legendary elixir that would save his life and were currently on their way back. Yet he was determined to fight them one last time as if he was dying and nothing his friends could do would actually save him. Cadence, dressed in a mare version of the royal Crystal Empire guard armor, took notice of the time and wondered how long it would take for his friends to arrive with the elixir. "Something still doesn't add up though," Twilight continued, her brain literally racing with thoughts, "He knows his friends are on the way and yet we have received no word from them yet. Somehow his friends have figured out whose behind the attempt on his life while we have been staring at empty links left by mysterious allies. I can't make heads or tails of this situation." Something tapped on the ground behind her and she immediately turned around, coming face to face with the stallion who was supposed to be their opponent. The silver armored stallion had somehow bypassed their combined defenses and landed behind them almost without them noticing. The strange thing about the stallion was that he seemed quiet, almost as if talking would cause him to lose more energy then he could bare to lose. "I do hate it when this happens," Cadence muttered to herself, turning to face the stallion as she spoke up, "King Rocket Sky, I do believe our war game is ready to begin. Are you prepared to suffer your final defeat?" "I care not for defeat," Rocket replied, holding his head up as he stared at the four mares, "I wish to test my full power against your own powers. Nothing more, nothing less." Cadence, the most passive of all the alicorn's, was the first one to strike, throwing a spell at the stallion as she spun her crystal lance around to pierce his side. Her tactic worked like a charm, the spell forced the stallion into the air and right into her waiting strike that nearly pierced his armor. While they had been waiting for the stallion to arrive they had devised the perfect plan that would case the stallion to lose this one last battle. Would it make them feel guilty? Most likely, but they were in a war game and feelings would cost them a lot. Twilight flew around to Rocket's back, her horn lighting up as she blasted a small hole in both his armor and his back, which struck her as odd. As the stallion fell both Luna and Celestia sent bolts from their horns, bolts sharpened enough to pierce the strongest armor in existence. Of course the bolts pierced the armor with ease, causing Twilight to consider the situation more carefully as she studied the stallion. He was just standing there, letting the four of them dish our their most powerful spells and dealing with the pain of each attack. Something was definitely off she decided, yet she still could not figure out why she had that feeling. It was a feeling of absolute dread that came with dealing with this one stallion, something she had always felt no matter what he was doing. Suddenly he was behind Celestia, hitting her back with what looked like a stone rock, a big one that Twilight didn't remember him having a minute ago. The Solar Goddess blasted him square in the chest and he hit the rocky floor of the plateau hard. It was almost as if he wasn't even trying and was just allowing them to repay the time when he had bested them due to his other half...his other half. Suddenly everything made sense to Twilight, just as Luna began to drop a huge moon shaped rock on top of the stallion. "Stop," Twilight shouted, just as magic erupted from the stallion and crushed the huge boulder with ease. The train came barreling out of the riftgate at the edge of the forest, allowing the group a full on glimpse of darkness gathering around where the fighting was happening. Peachy knew exactly what was coming and she dreaded it as much as everypony else who knew what was coming. "What's happening?" Copper asked, completely confused as she read the power readings go out of control. "It's Rocket," Peachy explained, sighing as she climbed out of the train, "He's hollowifying." "Excuse me?" Copper exclaimed, unfamiliar with the term. "He's combining with his other half," Wisdom easily explained, just as he, Tick, and Sucker joined Peachy, "This is the full unrestricted power of King Rocket Sky." Rocket stood up straight and the four mares watched as his wounds healed with ease, catching them by surprise yet again. Everything that the stallion did seemed to unbalance the laws of nature, almost as if Discord was secretly helping him out. He grinned and was gone, leaving the four to look around wildly as they searched for the stallion until Cadence was thrown to the ground. Rocket's magic was all around her, which easily led the other three in his direction, until Twilight realized he was toying with them. "I grow irritated with this stallion," Twilight said, spinning around and firing a spell just above Cadence's head, "His tricks are to be admired, but nothing I haven't already seen thanks to Trixie. Show yourself Rocket Sky" "With pleasure," came a voice as she was pushed from behind into the face of the plateau. The rock exploded as Twilight burst out of the ground, firing spell after spell at the stallion who reminded her so much of her annoying rival Trixie. Twilight got lucky and clipped his left wing, briefly knocking him out of the air and allowing Twilight to crash him into the ground harder than he had done to her. Before he could even get up she blasted him even deeper into the rock, making sure he couldn't get out if he tried. How long till this state expires? Rocket spoke in his mind, speaking to his other half. You have three more minutes, his other half replied, then everything will be over. Rocket sighed and his horn lit up as he turned around, the magic forming a familiar orb that the four alicorn's feared with all their heart. Twilight moved just as a beam tore through the ground, nearly missing her as she studied the dust moving around. Rocket flew past her and headed straight for Luna, quickly blasting her in the chest and forcing the two of them to land on the ruined plateau. Celestia was surprised; Rocket had forgotten all about her, Cadence, and Twilight all together and went directly for the Lunar Princess. But she had faith in her sister and knew she would call on aid if she truly needed the help. Cadence and Twilight healed their minor wounds, watching for the moment when they could blow a hole in the stallion's armor. Rocket charged his horn and blasted immediately, not bothering to aim and was glad since Luna cut his attack in half with ease. His power was weakening fast and he coughed for a few moments, allowing his chosen foe to get past his magic and uppercut him in the chin. She knocked him across the plateau and huffed once, breathing while her foe gathered himself and stood up to face her. Rocket weakly stared Luna in the eyes and magic began to gather around his horn, hoping he had enough magic to fully power his strongest attack. The ground shook as his nose began to bleed, but he paid neither much mind as he began to run right for Luna's position. His plan was a point blank cero, the most dangerous position for anypony to be at the receiving end of. Chrysalis, having hidden herself in the tip of a nearby tree to watch the final battle of the dying King, was grinning from ear to ear. Rocket was going to die and the Hive would be her's. Then she and Sombra would take everything from the royal sisters and their fellow alicorns. At least she would witness the fall of the one who had defeated her in the previous year. Luna, while surprised by the stallion's tactics, held her ground and prepared her own defense to defeat the one attack that struck fear into all their hearts. Rocket drew closer, choosing not to fly to convert as much energy as possible into his attack. Luna stared in front of her, watching the stallion in case he played another trick on her and decided to go for the unsuspecting alicorns in the air. And just as he neared Luna threw up her shield...and the stallion passed her and collapsed on the ground, his spell breaking away into nothing. Luna, immediately recognizing the symptoms, dropped her magic and propped up the stallion's head, trying to get his breathing. His vitals were failing quickly and soon they would lose him, so Luna breathed air into him and shocked him to keep his systems alive. She just needed the blasted elixir and he would have a chance. Where was the group with the one thing that would save him? "Princess Luna," came Peachy's voice, the four appearing on the edge of the plateau, "We've got the elixir." Sucker threw the pouch just as Chrysalis crashed into him, quickly binding her former subject to the ground as she searched for the blasted pouch. Before the ex-queen could even go after the pouch with the elixir she felt Cadence's magic pin her to the ground, causing her to thrash about. She was so close to killing the King and yet they had recovered the missing elixir and brought it all the way back to the Hive. Luna drew a single breath when she saw there were two vials of the elixir in the pouch, they had an extra in case another case happened to arrive. She uncorked one of the vials and drained the contents into the mouth of the King, closing the jaw and forcing him to swallow the liquid. She held the body down while it violently shook, causing her to worry that it was already too late to do anything. "You fools," Chrysalis screeched, "It is far too late for the elixir to do him any good. Face it, Rocket Sky is dead and the Hive will be mine again." "Now the situation comes full swing," Celestia said, landing beside her sister, "You take out Rocket and force your daughter off the thrown by grief. Then you assist whichever villain helped you pull this stunt off by whatever you promised them in the beginning. Considering the reports of darkness spreading it seems you tricked Sombra into helping you." "I care not what you do to me Celestia," Chrysalis spat, "Even if you imprison me I will escape. I will uphold my bargain with the fallen king, even if it takes me more than a year to fulfill it." Suddenly Luna was thrown off the stallion and he stood up slowly, his eyes closed and his magic gathering around him as if he were truly alive. Luna was shocked, just a minute ago his vitals were dead, completely dead, and yet he was suddenly alive, standing over her easily. The Alicorn Prince was alive and well, much to the displeasure of the ex-Changeling Queen. "Your supposed to be dead," Chrysalis whimpered, fearing another defeat coming on, "You weren't supposed to survive eating the Demonshade." "This time I will imprison you Chrysalis," Rocket said, snapping his eyes open and staring into the ex-queen's, "Maybe you will learn that trickery and death will not help you gain any friends." Just as Rocket spoke Discord suddenly appeared around them, not really surprising anypony with his arrival, but still making some of them question what took him so long. "As much as I would love to see what punishment awaits Chrysalis I must object," Discord said, his magic working to make everypony extremely sleepy, "You, my dear Rocket Sky, will have your world twisted as you have challenged me. Be happy I am willing to spare you the torment of going to another world and some such. Though I have some parting words for you. Have fun!" With that said the world darkened and nopony remembered anything more.