> Apocalypse > by Dream Seeker > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Supernova > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- He woke up shivering as his cryotube defrosted. A few drops of water landed on his face before the tinted green glass that was the cryotube’s door popped open with a hiss of steam. As he climbed out, he put on his gray Commander’s Uniform, covered in various gold medals for his many, many victories and achievements gained while commanding the human fleet. He walked out of the cryotube chamber and blinked in the harsh, bright lights. He proceeded down a few corridors into the bridge. He gazed around the white, spotless room, remembering all the battles he had fought here… All the casualties his ship had sustained through the war against the aliens… It was time. He knew he was about to prevent all future wars against humanity. “Computer?” he asked. “Analyzing voice... analyzing voice... Match found! Welcome back from stasis, Commander Scott. Proceed with Project Apocalypse?” “Yes...” Scott sighed. He never fully approved of Project Apocalypse, but there were good reasons for it. He flashed back to the Space Wars against the alien Pritells. He could see the ship, damaged in many places, dead lying around the flames as the broken panels sparked. He could remember his shocked face as the United Nations of the Milky Way unanimously agreed to accept the proposal to demolish the universe, right in front of him, the same day he was promoted to Head Commander. As his mind flashed forward to real time, he could not believe what he had to do. He never thought that it would come to this. He only wished he could have found a better solution. He truly believed that with more time, everything could have worked out. Humanity just had to come and invent a weapon capable of creating a chain reacting supernova, capable of destroying the entire universe. Except the human worlds had a protective shield, nicknamed the “Bubble”. The ones who suggested the plan had discovered the technology for this shield beforehand. Can’t have humans dying out with the rest of the universe, of course. The proposition would never have been accepted if Berkeley hadn’t have discovered this Quantum Shield. The Bubble shield was expensive, but every single world contributed. The threat to only include donating planets in the shield’s radius certainly helped. Smaller ones were actually quite cheap, however. As the leading Commander, he had one installed in his ship, along with the Apocalypse Weapon, in case he needed them. The real reason was mostly to pacify him after he complained that these materials were not used during the war to save countless lives. He pretended like it worked, because it got them off his back for protesting, and he never really liked the media anyway. They would never have to worry about protesters again, once the Project was complete. It would only take one shot and 42 seconds… He did not believe that any creature should have this power. “Proceed with Project Apocalypse!” he said firmly. “Apocalypse commenced,” responded the computer. “Folding space-time for the jump out.” Scott rested one arm on the cold, spotless window as the Earth’s sun began showing signs of going nova. The windows were, of course, made from materials that blocked most of the light so he didn’t go blind. He was joined by the other Followers of the Apocalypse, the group who supported Project Apocalypse, who watched silently and grieved for all of humanity. However, they did not regret their decision. Just before the ship jumped away, they saw a bright flash, and watched as earth turned into a molten ball and evaporated in the supernova’s heat. Then space warped around his ship, and the stars’ light bent across the viewing panel. This wouldn’t have been made possible, Scott noted, if Humanity hadn’t blocked their territory inside the Bubble. If humanity was to be stopped from destroying the universe, it had to happen right when it did, Scott reminded himself. If he hadn’t destroyed humanity, humanity would have destroyed the universe. Their ships were actually on their way to begin the chain reaction that would end it all, until the supernovas stopped them. The Followers of the Apocalypse went back to their cryotubes. Before Scott froze himself, he told the computer, “Activate Autopilot. If any sentient biological life form gets within a light-year of my ship, wake me from stasis. Actively seek planets with potential sentient life forms, but use Cloaking Tech. Don’t let them see us first.” “Beginning scans now... Plotting most efficient course... Estimated time before sentient biological life form found is one million years.” Scott sighed again as he reflected on his choice again. Maybe if he had more time, he could have devised a solution without having to create a chain reaction of supernovas to wipe out all humans. Maybe humanity could have been saved. But now, all he could do was wait. If he found a sentient species, perhaps he could prevent them from making the same mistake as humanity did. He would remain in stasis for potentially millions of years. But for now, he would sleep. He turned the cryotube on, which froze him. One day, in a little over a million years, the spaceship beeped an alarm and woke the Followers of the Apocalypse from stasis. “Sentient Biological Life Form Detected! Sentient Biological Life Form Detected!” > First Contact > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott woke up from stasis, and hurried over to wear his uniform. As he buttoned his shirt and zipped his pants, he wondered what the new species would be like. Would they be hostile or friendly? Capable of space travel or just forming tribes? He winced slightly as he imagined that. If they were only just forming tribes, he would probably have to wait in stasis again until they were ready to learn about alien races. The other Followers of the Apocalypse were waiting for him to give the word. He might not be Commander of the Milky Way Fleet anymore, but he was still their leader. They followed him silently as he walked to the bridge, each thinking something different, but all hoping that this species was ready. When they arrived, they each took their familiar seats according to their duties. Scott stated calmly, “Computer? Give us a visual of the capital city.” The viewing panel flashed and then showed the alien race’s capital city. It was amazing! The aliens appeared to be quadrupeds. Some of them had wings, some horns, and some had neither. The Capitol seamed to primarily consist of horned quadrupeds. "Lower cloaking!" Scott ordered. "Raise shields! We have no idea what sort of weaponry they have. Prepare landing sequence, and find a location where we can see them coming. Begin decoding their language, and add it to our translators." "Shields raised, sir." "Landing sequence ready, captain. I found a good location." "Gathering examples of speech. Update to our translators should be ready by the time we land, commander." Celestia and Luna watched the fiery meteor that didn't seem to be suffering any actual damage. She quickly wrote a message, "Twilight, your presence is required in Canterlot immediately. You can bring your friends and Spike." Twilight stared carefully at the test tube. "Almost there... Almost there..." she muttered. "Twilight, a letter from the Princess!" yelled Spike. "Wahh!" Twilight said, surprised, as she tilted the beaker too far into the test tube, which dicentigraded in a large puff of smoke. They coughed, and Twilight said, "Spike! I was working!" "But the Princess requires your presence in Canterlot!" "Why?" "It doesn't say." "Is it Tentacle Monsters? Giant insects? Life on the moon returning to destroy Equestria with evil magics? What if I can't stop them!" "Snap out of it! I'm sure it's nothing that bad . Just go and see what the Princesses want. What could possibly go wrong?" A little while later... "Twilight! I'm glad you could come at such a short notice." said Princess Celestia with a smile and a nuzzle. "Of course I could make it! What do you need?" "An unidentified object similar to a meteor has landed below Canterlot. I say "landed" because it didn't burn up in the atmosphere like most meteors, and didn't make an impact crater either. I would like you and your friends to accompany a team of geologists to figure out what the meteor is." "I would love to go! But I'm not sure if my friends will be so excited..." "Pinkie Pie will love to go, as her sister Maud Pie is a great geologist, and will be coming on the expedition. Rainbow Dash will get to hang out with the Wonderbolts, who are along as protection. Rarity can stay at the castle, along with Fluttershy and Applejack. Spike will go with you for quick communication with me." "Great! I'll go tell them." Commander Scott nervously gazed outside the windows at the group of ponies approaching his spacecraft. "Are the translators ready?" he asked. "Applying them to clothing now. They're small enough that they can go unnoticed. They work both ways, so if we gave one to them they could understand any human." "Good. Let's go greet them." Scott and his greeting party opened the door with a hiss of steam. They had already checked the local biology, and found that no diseases were able to harm them from this world, but most of the other biology was compatible, meaning local food was safe to eat. The intelligent species, however, they were not so sure about. The ponies looked stunned to see him and his crew, and one in particular looked like they were bouncing with... Joy? Shock?... An unknown emotion. Scott prepared to greet them, by making a general greeting and seeing which one responded and taking that one as the leader. But before he could begin, the pink bouncy one began talking, "Oooooo! Twilight, you never told us there were aliens in the meteor! Do you think they like parties? Or cupcakes? How about streamers!" "I didn't know there were aliens... I don't think they speak Equestrian. They probably like parties, and-" Commander Scott cut her off, "Excuse me. I can answer her questions. No, we don't speak Equestrian, we use electronic translators. We do like parties, and cupcakes. Who is your leader?" Twilight's jaw dropped in amazement. "You made electronic translators?! How do they work? Oh, sorry, our leaders are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The diarchy rules Equestria from Canterlot, the city above you. Celestia raises the sun and Luna raises the moon." Commander Scott raised an eyebrow at that. "Raise and lower the sun and moon? I though I saw something strange about your solar system." "You were up there? How did you get there? Where do you come from? I have so many questions." "Maybe we can answer them after we arrange for a place to stay. Take me to your leaders." > Meeting the Princesses > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A group of humans walked through the castle with their new Equestrian friends. While Scott had been talking to Twilight earlier, the other ponies had been making friends with the other humans. As Celestia and Luna saw them enter the throne room, they flinched in shock. "It is them..." Celestia whispered. "Be very very careful, sister." Luna whispered back. "Hello, your Majesties." Scott said, bowing. "We are humans, from Earth, and-" "Why did you blow up your galaxy?" Celestia asked calmly. "Well... Uh... How did you even know about that? That was a million years ago!" The ponies watching gasped in shock. "I am very, very old. I witnessed those supernovas myself, and most life on this planet stemmed from microbes delivered from them." "I had no choice. I did what I had to, in order to save the rest of the universe." "You did it? Specifically, you? How did you save the universe?" "I was one of the only humans with the Supernova Device. I created Project Apocalypse because humanity had planned to use the Supernova Device to annihilate the Universe, because we encountered one type of alien who almost destroyed us, and we didn't want any more surprises. I was against the decision, as were the humans who joined me, but we could not stop them." "You single-handedly committed genocide?" "No, there are some humans left, the ones with me. But I did kill the ones who would have destroyed everything." "Without enough people for genetic variation, you have doomed your species, and committed genocide." "We have a device that can artificially create genetic variation. We can survive." "Do you expect me to allow you to walk freely, despite your uncountable number of murders, and owning a weapon capable of destroying the universe?" "I destroyed the weapon, and we came here to warn you. We didn't have to stay in stasis for so long, we could have found a habitable planet without intelligent life, and started a colony there." "I will allow you to remain free, under one condition. You must stay with Twilight Sparkle until further notice. Prove yourself, and you may go free." "I accept your terms. I will teach her what she would like to know about humanity, in exchange for knowledge about... Equestria?" "Yes, this is Equestria. One more thing: you may bring your spacecraft with you, and your crew may stay there, but violence will not be tolerated. Do not injure ponies without good reason. I will decide afterwards if it was in good cause, so make sure your case is a good one. Guards, escort them to Ponyville." As Scott turned to leave, he couldn't help but notice the betrayed looks on the faces of the ponies who had become his friends for such a short time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight couldn't believe it! This alien race of creatures had destroyed a galaxy! Millions of stars, gone! The aliens hadn't even thought to tell her! She fumed for a while, then thought, "If I had destroyed a galaxy, (which of course I wouldn't, except by accident), would I go around telling everypony I met? I guess not..." "Scott, did you really destroy a galaxy?" She asked nervously. "Yes..." He sighed, eyes downcast. "I was planning on telling all of you as soon as I had gained trust... But I guess there is no chance of that now..." Twilight smiled. "I trust you. You told the truth, didn't you?" Scott looked up in surprise. "But I destroyed a galaxy. Aren't you worried I would do the same to yours?" He asked questioningly. "Of course I am! But you said you destroyed the weapon, and I believe you. Also, logically, if you didn't want an alien to destroy the universe, what would you do to said alien?" "Either befriend or destroy it?" "Exactly! Celestia wants to befriend you, or at least give you some reason to not destroy the universe." "Yea... Until she decides to destroy me, or lock me up forever..." "She wouldn't do that!" "I bet she would, to protect her precious little ponies." "Well... Maybe... Let's not let it come to that. Can I ask you some questions about humans, and your technology?" "Sure, as long as I can ask you some questions about your world." By the end of the day, both had a reasonable grip on the other's world, and Scott was about to start explaining higher science when he yawned. "Tired?" Twilight asked. "Yeah..." Scott sighed. "Can we continue tomorrow?" "Of course!" Twilight replied. "But we also need to go introduce you and your friends to the rest of Ponyville!" In the morning, Scott awoke to an empty library. He wandered around a bit, until he noticed a note on the table. Unfortunately, Scott could not read pony writing, so he couldn't tell what was written. Fortunately, Twilight had left a picture of a building that looked like a gingerbread house and what appeared to be a map, so Scott decided Twilight must be telling him to go there. Strangely, there didn't seem to be any ponies around. After collecting his twenty crew members and explaining the situation to them, they walked through town until they reached the gingerbread house. They cautiously opened the door, and- "SURPRISE!!!" Shouted what must have been every pony in Ponyville. "Gah!" Scott responded, well and truly surprised. Then he laughed and smiled. "I haven't been to a surprise party in at least thirty years!" He said. "Actually, make that close to a million years!" Pinkie's smile grew almost as wide as her face, and Twilight walked up to Scott, saying "Now, I can introduce you to Ponyville!" After the party, and the introductions, (including Rainbow Dash claiming that she was "20% cooler" than the spacecraft, Fluttershy quietly inquiring about animals from Earth, Rarity remarking on their fashion sense, and Applejack showing them her apple products), Scott went back to the library and lectured Twilight on advanced science. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Equestria has the alien, and Celestia recognized it as having destroyed a whole galaxy. We can capture it, and learn its secrets. Maybe this information will be enough to get me promoted..." A voice whispered from the darkness, as the Royal Guard suddenly appeared to be lacking one member... > Voices in the Darkness > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chrysalis watched the strange meteor fall from the sky. She could not fathom what it could be, but it didn't seem to be burning up. "Skull Splitter, make sure you are assigned to check out the strange meteor. It looks important." She messaged telepathically. "I will, my Queen." The drone messaged back. In just a few minutes, Skull Splitter had already been assigned to guard the geological expedition, on his way to greet the Elements. Skull Splitter was not a happy changeling. Changelings who were disguised as guard members were often put into danger, for example in either a battle or just hanging around with the guard members that knew changeling disguise removing spells, with little to no real love being received. Sure, gratitude and other positive emotions could be given to a guard, but not as much as other types of infiltration. Singers and supermodels, for example, were great jobs, with all the admiration given from across the entirety of Equestria. Skull Splitter sighed. He knew that he had little chance of being allowed to become a supermodel or a singer. He just simply wasn't very good at having a personality. Guard members, who were supposed to be "professional" and show no personality, were easy to replace. He hoped that if he did a good enough job in this mission, he might be promoted! By this time, he had nearly arrived, and prepared himself. He hoped that Twilight Sparkle wasn't coming, she invented the spell that could reveal him for what he was. "Just my luck!" He grumbled to himself when he saw not only her, but the two others in the Terrible Six were also coming. Now he had to try and remember everyponies' names. He was not good with names. "I'm Rock Reader." "Maud Pie." "Mohs Rock." "Crystal Clear." "Geo Dee." "And you are...?" Twilight asked Skull. "I'm Gleaming Shield." Twilight beamed. "Great! Now that we know everypony's names, let's see that meteor!" They walked to the chariots, and rode the chariots to the strange meteor, Skull having to listen to the ponies go on and on about their theories on the meteor. "I hate ponies!" He grumbled to himself. "They just can't stop talking! Why can't they just wait and- huh?" They had arrived, and he watched in shock and awe as the strange door opened upwards in a puff of steam. A strange bipedal creature walked out, and began talking to Twilight Sparkle. More bipedal creatures walked out, and began talking to the other ponies. Skull refrained from talking with these... freaks. They couldn't be very intelligent... right? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When they got back to the castle, Skull's jaw dropped when he learned that those freaks he thought couldn't possibly be intelligent had managed to destroy multiple stars, breaking character in his shock. It didn't matter much, as all the guards had broken character at this point. In Skull's mind, a plan began to formulate. He didn't have to stay as a guard for much longer. He was bound to be promoted after he told the Queen what he had learned! He made sure to be on the list to stay in Ponyville to guard the strange bipedal beasts called humans. Then, he left his post secretly to talk to the Queen, rehearsing what he was going to say quietly. "Equestria has the alien, and Celestia recognized it as having destroyed a whole galaxy. We can capture it, and learn its secrets. Maybe this information will be enough to get me promoted..." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chrysalis sighed as she waited for more information from Skull. She knew she had probably made a mistake, even though she wouldn't admit it. She couldn't trust these bumbling fools to do anything right! The only way to get information was to get it herself, she thought as she stretched her wings. Maybe she could use it as an excuse to go outside... She was spreading her wings in flight when Skull practically crashed to the floor in front of her. "Your Majesty!" He gasped. "The meteor is full of beasts that can destroy suns!" Chrysalis rolled her eyes. This is why she couldn't trust drones with anything important. "Get back to Canterlot!" She snapped. "Don't argue unless you want a harsher punishment for abandoning your post to spout stupid stories!" "But..." Chrysalis snarled, and Skull gasped in fear and immediately flew as fast as he could to Canterlot. Chrysalis left the hive, broadcasting a message to all of her drones, "I'm going to find out about the meteor. You bumbling fools can't do anything right!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shimmering Sword was nervous. He didn't show it, of course, as a guard he couldn't let anypony know how worried he was. "Twilight Sparkle?" He asked in a monotone. "The Princess should be notified: One guard is missing. Infiltration possible. The duck quacks twice quickly in the night." Twilight looked confused. "What is the last part for?" "It confuses enemies who might intercept messages, the only important part is if it says "day" or "night" because it tells the Princesses what type of enemy is worrying us. Night enemies are subtle and-" He was about to say more, when Chrysalis dropped on him from the sky. He shrieked and fumbled with her body for a while, until he realized that she was unconscious. When he finally stopped shrieking, he asked Twilight, "Do you see what is wrong with her? Why is she knocked out?" "I can't tell for certain." Twilight said, "But it can't be any physical damage. She wasn't even hurt in landing, thanks to you. I think something happened in her mind, but I really can't say. Nopony knows much about changeling biology." "We should get her to Canterlot, in prison. Revise the second part of the message to Celestia: The duck quacks loudly as the night turns to day." "Oh... Kay..." Twilight said uncertainly. "Spike, take a letter..." > Changeling Queen > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shade Stalker stood in the center of a circle of the rest of the Changeling Council. After Chrysalis failed in her plans to fix the Love Famine, and went so far as to risk the rest of the Hive in order to have revenge on those who defeated her, the Council decided to banish her for her mistakes. Shade Stalker was voted as the new Queen by the rest of the council. As the Changeling Council chanted strange words, a pattern of runes began to glow on the ground around Shade. She closed her eyes for a moment, only to open them up again moments later, shining with a bright white light. She began growing, larger and larger, until she became the same size as Chrysalis. Then came the separation of the old Queen from the Hive Mind. The Council and Shade's horns shone with a bright green light as they cast a spell to sever the Queen's connection, knocking her out in the process. When this was over, the group proceeded to the throne room of the Hive, where the Changelings were waiting. "All hail Queen Shade!" shouted one Changeling in the middle of the crowd, and the rest of them repeated him. However, not all of the Changelings were satisfied with this solution. Chrysalis had been a popular Queen, due to her self-confidence and plans that seemed like they would work. As the new Queen was giving a speech about what her rule was going to be like, a group of Changelings loyal to Chrysalis were quietly slipping out the doors, and on to Ponyville, where the Queen was said to have been going last. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chrysalis woke up in a cell in Canterlot, confused and disoriented. She tried to call out to the swarm, but there was a disturbing absence of background noise from the Hive Mind. "They must have blocked the Hive Mind... but how?!" she thought. "That shouldn't be possible, the only time a Changeling can't acess the Hive Mind is when... they're... banished..." her thoughts came to a halt. Then she raged at the world. "How could they do this to me?! After everything I've done for them?! HOW DARE THEY!" she yelled at the walls. The racket woke the guards, who had been sleeping in place right outside the prison. As they woke up, one of them went upstairs to inform the Princesses. "Your Highnesses. The prisoner is awake." he stated calmly and professionally, even as he began to sweat in fear. He had been injured during the Changeling invasion, and still had nightmares about his friends turning out to be those... things. As a Royal Guard, however, duty must come first. He did not complain when assigned to guard the Changeling Queen of his nightmares. "Thank you. We will meet her in an hour." Celestia smiled warmly. An hour later, Celestia, Luna, and a small group of Royal Guard walked to Chrysalis's cell. By this time, Chrysalis was done raging and was weaping. She looked up when she heard the sound of their hooves on the hard stone floor, and spat in rage. "What do you want?! Come here to gloat?!" "Not at all. We wish to discuss a treaty." "Good luck!" Chrysalis snorted. "Not my problem anymore!" "What do you mean?" "What do you think I mean? I've been banished from the Hive!" Celestia and Luna looked confused. "You've been... banished?" Chrysalis sighed. "You really know almost nothing about our politics, do you? Well, when a Queen, Drone or Council Member is declared unfit for duty by a two-thirds majority of the Council, they are banished. The banishing process separates them from the hive mind, meaning any alliance you attempt to form with me will have no purpose. The new Queen is who you want to talk to. They will probably send a convoy to pick me up shortly, so they can punish me further. That would probably be the best diplomatic move for you." Celestia and Luna left shortly after and went to their planning room. "We sense a trap!" Luna declared. "Thou art tricked! That foul scum would never give you genuine advice." "Sister, I don't fully trust her, but the advice seems sensible. Likely she would just rather be punished by her own then by us. She may plan on earning her Queenship back. I will go by her advice." Luna seethed at her sister ignoring her advice. "Mark my words!" she roared. "No good shall come of this!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chrysalis looked slightly frightened as the Royal Guards accompanied her to the throne room. There, she saw a group of Changelings waiting to pick her up. Celestia had agreed to give her over to them. She noticeably gulped, and was escorted out by the Changelings. When the convoy was outside the city, she hissed in pleasure and straitens herself. "Thank you." she hissed. "I knew my loyal subjects would come for me before the new Queen could." "Of course." replied one of the Drones. "We know who our true leader is. The new Queen is that weakling Shade. She was opposed to your plans to overthrow Celestia and Luna." "Ah, yes. We must first establish a base of operations. If we could infiltrate Ponyville, we could both neutralize the Elements and use Twilight as a bargaining chip for Shining Armor and Cadence. We have to go undercover for now, we don't have enough power yet." "Yes, my Queen. We shall do as you say." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott was performing chemistry experiments with Twilight, who was trying to create a potion of liquid magic. However, the proportions of each individual ingredient had to be exactly right for a success. So far, everything was going perfectly, and there was only one ingredient left. "This is the last ingredient, Twilight. Do the honors." said Scott, anxiously. "Just don't mess up." "Of course I won't!" she scoffed. "Nothing can stop me now!" A lightning bolt struck as she laughed evilly, the light shining across her face. Scott shivered, "That's kind of creepy." Twilight carefully began to pour just the right amount of liquid in, when... "BRRRRRUP!" burped Spike as he received a letter. "Hey, Twilight, a letter from the Princess!" "Waaa!" screeched Twilight as she lost her balance, sending too much of the ingredient into the potion. The potion began to glow with a strange and increasing blue light. It began to boil, and was soon frothing over the sides and steaming. Spike, Twilight and Scott backed away in fear. The cauldron began to glow red and melt, as the floor of Twilight's library sizzled. Soon, there was nothing left but a hole in the floor. Scott shuddered, "Maybe we shouldn't try this one again..." "Hmm..." Twilight mused. "A letter from the Princess also disturbed the last batch I tried to make, and the batch before that was messed up by a falling piano that Derpy dropped. I wonder what it is about this potion that keeps stopping me." Scott shrugged. "Maybe magic is where Murphy's Law comes from." Twilight looked confused. "Murphy's Law?" "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. It seems to happen a lot more often around here, and if magic is related to it, then if something could prevent you from making a magic amplifier potion, it would happen, due to the magnification of Murphy's Law." Twilight stared. "Somehow, that made sense." "TWILIGHT!" Spike shouted. "I've been trying to get your attention for ages now!" Twilight blushed. "Oh, yes, sorry Spike. What do you need?" Spike waved the letter from the Princess in front of her. "The letter?" "Oh, yes, read it." "Eh-Ehm..." Dear Twilight Sparkle, I wish to inform you that Chrysalis has been overthrown by the rest of the Changelings, and we have given her to an envoy sent by them to be punished. They arrived yesterday, and if any changelings are spotted around Ponyville, remain civil. We may be looking at an alliance shortly. "WHAT?!" Twilight shrieked. "An alliance with them? After what they did to us? Spike, sent a letter to the Prin-" "Twilight, no!" Scott said. "A war is the last thing you want! No matter how much they have done in the past, it is always better to make peace. The last war our civilization had resulted in the destruction of entire planets. On this scale, it would be cities. Do you want to be responsible for entire cities to be wiped out?" "N-n-no..." Twilight mumbled. "Then let your Princess take care of it. I am confident she can pull your races together. Just tell her you feel sensitive about it, and ask her if you can abstain from taking part in negotiations." "But she'll be so disappointed in me..." Scott shook his head. "She won't. She understands that some ponies will not feel up to negotiating directly, and will respect that. However, it would be for the best if you didn't actively antagonize them." "Ok..." said Twilight, avoiding his eyes. "Spike, take a letter, say-" "Already got it, Twi. Is this ok?" "Sure!" Twilight smiled, reading the letter. "Send it!" Spike sent the letter, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke. > Alliances > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shade flew closer and closer to Canterlot, her group of Changelings close behind. When they arrived, they were surprised to find that nopony was panicking at the sight of them, and indeed some were even pointed at them with excited expressions! They landed at the castle, and approached the Royal Guard who was by the door. "May we enter?" Shade asked. "Of course!" the Guard replied. Shade and his group walked through the castle to the throne room, where Celestia was waiting. "Hello again!" Celestia said cheerily. "Have we met?" asked Shade uncertainly. "I met your envoy." "This is my envoy." Celestia's smile faded. "Then who were the other Changelings, who requested Chrysalis?" Shade's face was a picture of shock. "They must be rebels, who remain loyal to the old Queen until death, even if another Queen is the rightful ruler." Luna frowned deeply. "We told you, sister, Chrysalis would only lead to trouble. Didst thou listen? No, thou sayst we art wrong." Celestia winced. "You're right, I should have listed to you." Shade sighed. "Now, we must capture Chrysalis as soon as possible. I'll call the Swarm." He moved to leave. "Wait!" called Celestia. "If you want, we can send some troops with you? As a token of goodwill?" Shade hesitated a moment before answering, "Ok. We will still have to discuss alliances and trade routes, though. In the mean time, if no Changelings are hurt, no ponies are hurt. When we have Chrysalis, we imprison her and begin negotiations. Deal?" Celestia smiled. "Deal. Guards, send half a dozen squadrons. To defeat the renegade Changelings, they might need so many." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As Ponyville slept, Chrysalis crept out of the cavern that served as her Swarm's temporary Hive. She knew that the Elements were here, in the library. She quickly and stealthily made her way inside, but paused when she saw Scott. She had no idea what he could be, and since she couldn't ask him, she decided to use the quicker method. She touched her horn to Scott's head, and cast a spell. The library seemed to melt away, and was replaced with a memory. She watched Scott's life on fast-forward, until she got to the point where the Supernova Device was explained. She rewound and watched it again. She grinned, and knew what she was going to do. She silently walked upstairs, to where Twilight was. With one spell, she became her. Then, she teleported Twilight to her cavern, accompanied by a mental message for her Swarm. "Put her in a Holding cocoon. We might need her knowledge." She smiled and rested in Twilight's bed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Scott woke up to Twilight cooking, which was odd because last time she tried she burnt her salad. This time, it looked like she got the hang of it. He frowned when he noticed the green glow around her horn. Last time he checked, her magic was purple. He didn't ask, in case is was something embarrassing that she was self-concious about. What else could it be? She announced that she was going out today, which was also surprising because that wasn't on her schedule. Maybe the green glow was an illness that needed immediate attention? That would explain why she didn't bring any checklists. His frown deepened. Something must be terribly wrong. Hopefully her friends would take care of it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When Twilight bust into the door of the boutique, Rarity had just finished her latest dress. She greeted her with a smile and a question of what was needed. Twilight only smiled and offered to work for a couple of hours. Rarity's smile grew. This helpfulness was what she loved Twilight so much for. She gave Twilight some tasks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chrysalis smiled. So far, Rarity had been extremely useful. Just asking for something to do got her more love than she had gotten in an entire Infiltration. When Rarity left the room, she completed the tasks that required magic first, so as to not be discovered. When she was done, Rarity's simple thanks gave her as much love as a whole day with Shining Armor had! She went to the next pony she could think to help: Applejack. This was dangerous, as she could tell when a lie was told. The solution? Don't lie, but never get into a position that would require a lie. Otherwise, it would be easy, as Applejack didn't appreciate magic on her farm. When she got there, she got so much energy from working side by side with her that she could already use her Megaspell! She wouldn't stop there, she wanted more. Next was Pinkie Pie, and that's when things went wrong. All of Twilight's friends were there, including the human. "Something didn't seem right about her today. She cooked successfully this morning." Scott said. With this, the whole table burst into laughter. "No, seriously." He insisted. "Her magic was green." with this claim, and happiness ceased. Scott smiled nervously. "Does that mean anything to you?" "Sugacube, Changelings' magic is green. Ah heard we're allying them, but it seems one a'ems taken Twilight." "Hey, look, theresheis!" shouted Pinkie Pie. "Let's ask her!" she turned to Chrysalis/Twilight. "Are you a Changeling?" She asked, smiling. "No!" Shouted Chrysalis/Twilight. "Of course not!" "She's lyin!" Applejack shouted "Ah can tell!" Commotion broke out as Rarity cast her spell, revealing and stunning Chrysalis. Panicked, all current customers ran away screaming. This started a full fledged panic, and Chrysalis recovered and escaped. The remaining Elements regrouped, and decided on a course of action. "Remember my beautiful gem-finding spell?" asked Rarity with a toss of her mane. "Yes?" "It works on the Elemental Necklaces! If Chrysalis has already been to the library, she's probably taken them to the same place as Twilight!" Scott turned his laser weapon on with an energizing hum. The other ponies looked at him. "What? She's the only one willing to talk complex physics with me at four in the morning. I don't want to pass up saving her!" he claimed with a grin. "Alright, let's go!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chrysalis smirked as her Changelings began systematically trapping everypony. Soon, it would be hers. It ALL would be hers! Suddenly, a light burst from the heavens. Princess Celestia! Beside her, a dark shadow was cast. Shade! Chrysalis's smirk only grew. Soon, they would all bow to her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The cavern where the Elemental Necklaces and Twilight were hidden was surprisingly close to Ponyville. They got Twilight out easily, due to the lack of guards. However, Twilight was in no condition to use the elements, so when they looked outside and saw the battle, Scott decided to hurry back and help as much as he could, while the Elements helped Twilight recover while they walked at a slower pace. When Scott arrived at the battlefield, he knew the ponies would need his help. > Not Alone > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Changeling and Pony blood mingled on the ground, Scott stood above a Changeling corpse with a hole in its chest, courtesy of his laser weapon. He was heavily injured, near the point of passing out, but it was almost over. The battle was winding down, and there were only a few Changelings left, but most of the Ponies that were trapped were being finished off by the remaining ones. Luckily, most were being saved by Royal Guards. Suddenly, Chrysalis called for a negotiation outside Ponyville. With only a dozen renegade Changelings left, it was clear who was going to be surrendering. Right? "Surrender, foals!" shouted Chrysalis. "I have a power you cannot even hope to attain!" "What would that be?" Celestia asked calmly. "Power to destroy the universe!" claimed Chrysalis. "I read the human's mind during the night, and created a spell that can function as the Supernova Device!" Celestia smirked. "I doubt it." "I shall prove it!" Chrysalis roared, livid. Her horn lit brightly, and the sun above began to spark, grow red, and expand. Sweat ran down Chrysalis's cheek, and Celestia's face was a picture of shock for a moment, before she began writhing on the ground. "Our Sun has became tied to my life force." she whimpered as tears ran down her face. Everypony stared at the sky in shock as the sun seemed ready to burst. Suddenly, a shot rang out through the day, and Chrysalis stared down in surprise at the smoking hole in her body. Her magic stopped, and she slumped over, dead. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that." stated Scott as he unsteadily walked closer to her body. Nopony moved. He grinned like a madman, before colapsing in a heap, barely breathing. "He's still alive!" shouted Celestia. "Medic!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Scott heard a steady beeping noise as he woke up. When he opened his eyes, he saw the Elements standing over him, anxious looks on their faces. "Miss me?" he asked with a grin. "Don't do that!" Twilight frowned. "You were in a coma for a week!" "And I have an appetite to match it." Twilight sighed. "You're being released tomorrow." Scott's eyes were wide with shock. "So soon?" "Now that you're concious, we can safely perform healing magic on you. Your lessons on anatomy helped me create healing spells that should help heal you. Theoretically." The last word was mumbled. Scott had a nervous look on his face. It was time for magical healing. "Will... Will I feel anything?" he whimpered, sounding like a foal. "No." Nurse Redheart answered. "You'll be anesthetized." Scott looked uncertain, but before he could ask a question Redheart continued. "Yes, we adapted an anesthetic specifically for humans." Satisfied, Scott closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Twilight was there, ready to take him home. In the next few days, there was a celebration, featuring a special award for Scott for defeating Chrysalis. This was accompanied by a Royal Pardon, for the near-extinciton of Humankind. By this time, his friends at the spacecraft had created a small village, and were opening to trade with both Ponies and Changelings. Scott left the library, and went to live in a house created for him, right next to the spaceship. The Changelings had worked out an alliance with Equestria, resulting in trade licenses and a few citizenships. Many Changelings went on to be famous movie stars and actors, as well as the occasional Changeling in another career. One day, as he watched the sun set, Scott saw something in the sky. It looked like a meteor, but it didn't seem to be burning up... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The spacecraft landed near Scott's, and the Elements and Scott were standing there, waiting for it to open. When it finally opened, Scott's jaw dropped in shock. "Richard..." He whispered. Richard stared with a grin. "I should have known. You're the one who did it, started the Apocalypse. Am I right?" "But... But..." Scott spluttered. "How did you survive?" "I had my Bubble. We were sent to destroy it all. I was going to countermand the order, and go on strike. I never guessed. Your act was quite convincing." "You were going to go on strike?! Why didn't you tell me?!" "I thought you were with them. I couldn't risk it." "Same for me. You never seemed to raise any objections. Same reason as me. Huh." he broke down sobbing. Richard frowned. "I would have done the same in your place. It's fine. Humanity will go on, with a new beginning. I forgive you." The ponies watched in confusion. Without a translator, this "Richard" didn't even seem like an intelligent life form! "And here's the local indigenous population." Scott turned and pointed. Noticing their confused expressions, he realized what was wrong. "Oops." he blushed. "You need a translator." Richard laughed. After introductions went around, and these humans were moved into the growing village jokingly called "Humanville", an official alliance was made between all humans and the ponies. Equestria seemed a little crowded, after two more species were added to it. The next step? A space program. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Twenty years later, a spacecraft was being sent up. This was no ordinary spacecraft, it was a colony ship. Sent to colonize a nearby planet, its population was equal part Pony, Changeling and Human. Earth Ponies could farm, Pegasi could control the weather, and Unicorns could do various other tasks at the colony. Changelings, who could change their biology at will, would be useful in setting up the colony before the ecosystem was regulated. They also made great guards. Humans could invent, and complete tasks with magic-sensitive equipment, and use items that required opposable thumbs. As Scott watched the ship blast off, Twilight by his side, he smiled and saw amazing things in the future. With an alliance this strong, soon the whole universe would be at their fingertips.