To Save a King

Chapters

0: War Game
I: Back in Ponyville
II: Dreams and Nightmares
III: Peachy dreams for nightmares
IV: Princesses argue yet again
V: Troubling Discovery
VI: Trouble
VII: King's Message
VIII: The Summit
IX: Copper
X: Conversation with Discord
XI: The Flower
XII: The Last War Game

0: War Game

The sky flashed and the wing blowed as it began to rain on the troops. But these weren't any ordinary troops. No, these were Changeling soldiers, the same Changelings who had invaded Canterlot over two years ago and had nearly brought Equestria down a year before when their old Queen tried to tame the power of one particular unicorn. Their new Queen was married to that same unicorn turned Alicorn and was their King.

Plus he had been invited to join the four other Princesses in what they called a War Game, open combat between Celestia's Solar Guard, Luna's Lunar Guard, Cadence's Crystal Guard, and Twilight's Unicorn Guard. Now there was a fifth faction, King Rocket Sky's Changeling Guard, the same guard that was currently lying in wait for the time to strike. They were somewhere between Canterlot, Ponyville, the Crystal Empire, and the Changeling Empire, somewhere like the Everfree Forest, but at the same time it wasn't like it.

The rules were simple really; it was all out war between the five factions and whichever one was left standing at the end would be declared the victor. The Changelings were only allowed to remain in their true form if they sided with their King and Queen, but if they choose to serve another ruler it was not held against them. Some wanted to experience what it was like following the other rulers around and did so without really worrying. And the other rule was that a faction could ally themselves with another faction, which would end once the other factions were dealt with.

One Changeling, however, decided to fight alongside her brothers and sisters in her alternate form, a white pegasus that resembled Pinkie Pie. Except that her name was Surprise and she enjoyed pulling pranks on ponies, regardless of what type of ponies they happened to be. In her camp there were four other Changelings, one of them was fairly new to the War Game rules and seemed to enjoy the exercise.

"How long do you think we have until they find our location," that particular Changeling asked, his eyes scanning the darkened area around their camp.

"Who knows Sucker Punch," one of the other three replied, hoofing the ground as he looked up at the nervous Changeling, "If they were close to us then they would have crossed Surprise's little surprise she had prepared for them. Though I would like to kick Celestia's flank at this for once, but she's got that stallion who seems to know our movements ahead of time. What was his name?"

"Inner Wisdom?" the fourth offered, itching a spot on her leg that seemed to be bugging her.

"That's right," the third said, "She's got this Wisdom using some sort of Orb and his mind, which is allowing him to best us at every turn. Then there's Cadence, the Princess of the Crystal Empire, whose using a unicorn called Tick Tock to blast our eardrums with his 'music'. And finally we have Luna, using the innocent Peachy Keen to spread nightmares to her enemies while we sleep."

"Yeah, then we got the Magical Princess Twilight blasting us to sleep all the time," the last one yawned, "Which means that we lose no matter what. I wonder why the King and Queen haven't bested the Princesses yet."

"Its a four to one against the King," Surprise said, her ears twitching as she listened for any commands from the Queen, "Usually they knock her out first and tackle our King together, mostly due to the fact their scared of the power that courses through his veins. This time they're hoping to convince our King to surrender, but when he refuses total chaos will break out. Be ready for that time."

"I'm telling you Celestia for the last time," Discord, the God of Chaos, said to the Alicorn mare of the Sun, "He will not bow his knee to you and the rest of the 'Royal Family'. It is within his nature to stand up and fight against you all, despite the fact that the odds are stacked against his faction."

"Oh do be quiet Discord," a voice said as Princess Luna, fully decked out in armor that made her resemble Nightmare Moon, landed beside her golden armored sister, "We already knew that King Rocket Sky would not bow to the combined might of all four factions, even if we aren't even allied against him yet. But what he doesn't know can't harm us."

"Sometimes trickery is a necessary," Celestia sighed, drawing the saber that she had attached to her side, "but at a time were we fight against the Changelings we must be prepared for any trickery of their own."

Attack my Changelings, their Queen sent, take them down.

Surprise smiled as her group got the message and some poor pony walked right into the trap she had set up not even an hour ago. It was an explosive trap that would paralyze whoever had walked into it.

"CHARGE," Surprise shouted, flying forward as she bashed into a member of Cadence's Crystal Guard, "Show no mercy."

It was all out war as Surprise beat down her foe and the full force of the Changelings, all four thousand of them, emerged from the trees and began blasting into the enemy forces. That was her strategy until a red coated pegasus wearing what looked like a monks robe appeared before her with a wooden staff hanging on his back. She knew who it was, it was that Inner Wisdom that the rest of her squad had been talking about earlier.

"You will come peacefully," the stallion said, staring into her eyes, "and the rest of the army shall fall soon after."

"Go buck yourself," Surprise shouted, flexing her wings and exposing her wing blades, "If you think you are so tough then fight me right here."

"Gladly then," Wisdom said, rushing right at her before she had time to even move herself.

Surprise swung her wings and barely missed the stallion as he leapt into the air and then slammed his staff into the back on her head. She stumbled and faced the stallion, flipping over and slamming her back hooves into his chest, hitting his staff instead. He flipped and hit her again, this time forcing her to the ground and forcing her to get back up. As much as she wanted to best the stallion she knew that she was no match for the master tactician that Wisdom was.

"Dubstep Cannon," a voice shouted as a light brown unicorn stallion appeared, holding what looked like an improved version of Pinkie Pie's party cannon, and unleashed a type of music that hurt the ears of his foes. He grinned as Changelings cowered before him and his cannon, but he continued on and kept his cannon ready as he blasted those who opposed Princess Cadence.

"Ah, there's my friend Tick," Wisdom commented, watching his friend go by without noticing him, "Now, where did Peachy run off to this time?"

"Your surrounded mare," a Changeling happily said as ten Changelings surrounded a sherbert coated earth pony wearing what looked like a miniature set of Nightmare Moon's armor, "You might as well surrender if you know what's good for you."

Peachy Keen gave them a small smile and darkness surrounded her, covering her as she vanished into the surrounding area. Before the Changelings could move her darkness swept through their ranks, forcing those it hit to succumb to the nightmares that plagued their minds. Many of them screamed in terror while others knocked themselves out just so they could get away from the thoughts that plagued their minds. Once the immediate area had been cleared the darkness reformed and Peachy stepped out, smiling to herself as she searched for more ponies to terrorize.

"Give up Rocket Sky," Twilight Sparkle, dressed up like a battlemage, said as she landed behind the silver armored stallion who led the Changelings, "Your army is falling to pieces around you. It is only a matter of time before the rest of the Royal Family arrives to finish you and your army off."

"Take out the commander and the faction loses," Rocket recited from the rules he had been told before the first war game, "I'm sorry Twilight, but I won't be standing down today."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Twilight said, a beam of moon energy blowing past her and headed straight for the stallion, who noticed and leapt out of the way.

"He's gotten better," Luna commented, quickly landing for a second, "but not good enough."

Luna flew after the stallion, swinging what looked like one of Wisdom's staff with a curved blade on the end right for the stallion's unprotected wing. Rocket maneuvered out of the way and blasted Luna's side with a spell designed to stun her, but her armor made her immune to such spells. She grinned and began a barrage of spells that would eventually wear down her foe to the point where she could force him to surrender.

Rocket spun around and flew around the sky, letting the rain drops hit his face as he attempted to dodge all the spells that Luna had sent his way. Unfortunately as he attempted to dodge the gigantic barrage of spells several of them hit his armor, exploding on impact and blasting him out of the sky. The collective spells blew his armor to pieces and bruised his body, but as he fell he could tell that Luna was smirking to herself.

He landed hard and Luna appeared above him, holding her weapon against his neck, making it hard for him to move without her cutting into his neck.

"You might as well surrender," Luna said, "because you have lost this round my friend."

"How about you surrender?" Rocket asked, a sword appearing right in front of Luna's exposed neck and a couple more appearing around her, "I'm not going to surrender this time."

"You might as well do that anyway," said a voice as Celestia and Cadence appeared, though he noticed that all the Alicorn's horns were primed to blast him, "You take my sister down and we take you down. Either we do this the easy way or the hard way."

Rocket growled and tossed the weapons into the ground, his annoyance showing. It was always the same, he'd get ganged up on and be forced to lose the game anyway.

"Fine," he said, "You win. The Changelings will withdraw...again."

I: Back in Ponyville

The Ponyville Express, the train that rode the rails between the center of Equestria, Canterlot, and the small town of Ponyville, rolled to a stop in the train station. Ponies who were expecting friends gathered around the station and eagerly awaited the departure of who they were waiting for. Three of those ponies stood out like sore hooves in a crowd, for they were none other than the friends of King Rocket Sky; Peachy Keen, Inner Wisdom, and Tick Tock.

"Its been a year since we've seen them," Peachy was saying, munching on a doughnut while they waited, "Do you think they'll be glad to see us?"

"Peachy, I am certain that they will be overjoyed to see us again," Wisdom answered, drinking one of those Mega Caffeinated Coffees that Pinkie had been drinking at the time they had been following Salad Top around, "His guards, on the other hoof, might not be so pleased to see us again."

"Chill out Wisdom," Tick said, holding a metal guitar that he had used to great effect during the Changeling attack on Ponyville a year ago, "I'm sure that our friends and their guards will be happy to see us, regardless of who won and lost the war game."

"Speaking of the war game I wonder who won." Peachy commented, having never been told which of the factions had actually won the latest war game.

The trains doors opened and ponies began to pour out, but none of them were the ones that they were waiting for. The line suddenly opened and out walked Princess Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Elements of Harmony. Fluttershy smiled at Tick as they passed, but it was clear that something was up since Twilight seemed extremely annoyed about something. If Peachy had to guess it was because she had lost the war game, but she was only guessing since the winner had yet to be revealed to them.

When the train had emptied did six Changelings, five of them dressed up in light battle armor while the sixth dressed almost like a royal guard, step off the train and make a path for the next two to deboard. The first one to step off the train was a Queen sized Changeling that Peachy and her friends immediately recognized due to the innocent looks she gave them. She was none other than Rose Petal, or Queen Viscarias of the Changeling Empire. Though Tick could have sworn that she had gotten fatter since the last time they had seen her. The next one to step off the train was the one that they had been truly waiting for.

An armored Alicorn, whose coat was light blue and his mane and tail were golden, stepped off the train and smiled. As he stepped towards the group the armor began to turn to mist, breaking apart before reforming as aquamarine colored jewelry that resembled Princess Celestia's set. On his flank rested a quill Cutie Mark and his silver eyes shone as he and his wife approached the three ponies. He was none other than King Rocket Sky of the Changeling Empire, the pony they had been waiting for.

"Rocket!" Peachy exclaimed, throwing her hooves around the stallion's neck and hugging him fiercely, "I'm so glad to see you again."

"Likewise Peachy Keen," Rocket happily said, returning the mare's hug before they broke up, "Its great to be back in Ponyville after a year of being gone."

"So, you ever think of having a foal?" Tick suddenly asked as the group began walking away from the station.

"Seriously?" Rocket asked in return, "I'm married, so of course I'm planning on having a foal in the future. Maybe even sooner than you think."

"I for one am glad to be back," Rose commented, hoping to drag the conversation away for a bit, "Live at the Hive has gotten annoying since I became Queen, but at least we can have a break every now and then."

"I've been meaning to ask about life at the Hive," Wisdom commented, "but right now I think we are all interested in hanging out with you guys. So, what's the plan?"

"Well, considering what time it is I was thinking we'd go eat first," Rocket said, making the others notice that it was already six in the afternoon, "and we just happen to have reservations at the Midsummer Retreat for six-thirty.'

"How did you get a reservation there?" Tick asked, "From what I learned from Octavia it is almost impossible to get one at that restaurant."

"Well we got one regardless," Rocket answered, noticing something about each of his friends, "Now, if you don't mind me asking, why are you still wearing your war game armor Peachy?"

None of his friends had changed out of their armor from the war game, which meant that Wisdom was still wearing his monk's robe, Tick still had a strap that his cannon could be carried on, and Peachy was, well, still dressed up like a mini Nightmare Moon.

"I like how I look," Peachy said, flipping her hair back as she looked down at her light silver armor, "I'm not sure about them, but I don't think I'll be changing out of my armor anytime soon. Besides, how will I learn to read dreams if I don't have the armor on?"

Peachy had been learning from Princess Luna for quite some time, mostly to see if a non-unicorn had to potential to read dreams and such like Luna could do. While it wasn't her special talent, which left her flank bare still, she was definitely skilled in the art. She still crusaded, but she took time to learn whatever Luna had to offer her.

Wisdom and Tick, on the other hoof, weren't receiving any special treatment from the Princess they served during the war games. It really didn't bother either of them, but they knew Peachy enjoyed the treatment considering the Lunar Princess was likely lonely still. Still they wondered which faction had won the war game and they wouldn't stop until they knew the answer.

"I know your going to ask eventually, so I'll tell you anyway," Rocket said, "Princess Luna won the latest war game, stealing the winner spot from her sister."

"I wonder how it is that your always losing the war games," Tick commented, "considering that you have such godly powers I would think that you would be able to take all four of the Princesses together."

"If you recall that power is unstable," Rocket countered, "I'd rather not do what I had done to them last year again. I doubt they would forgive me if I did."

He was referring to the fact that the old Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, had bitten him and turned him into a monster bent on erasing the Royal Family from the face of Equestria. He made been seconds away from nearly killing his own friend Peachy when Rose had made the choice to kiss him in his Changeling shape. The curse broken and his ascension into an Alicorn complete he defeated the evil Chrysalis and banished her, but not before she said that she would one day return to exact revenge on him. Now, a year later, Rocket knew that she would not return and would live the rest of her life in exile.

"Oh, we're here," Rose mentioned, breaking Rocket from his memory lapse and bringing him to the now.

They were standing in front of the Midsummer Retreat, the very same restaurant that Chrysalis had been working at under the guise of Salad Top. The Manager was a kind hearted pony and he smiled as the group entered the room.

"Ah, King Rocket Sky and company," he said, penning something down, "right this way."

They were seated at a table with enough room for them and the guards, which was a little awkward since they still had their war game armor on. Some of them blushed and made theirs vanish like their King had done, while the others had simply made them vanish. Of course most Changelings didn't actually need to eat, but the group of guards ordered salads with various toppings anyway. Rose smiled as the rest of the group ordered and they got to talking about how things were going on with each of them.

This is too perfect, the waitress, Salad Top, thought as she noticed the group sitting down,I can take my revenge on the stallion who ruined my life at long last.

As the dishes were prepared and presented to her she was told exactly which dish was to go to which member of the large group. When she was told which was Rocket Sky's she gave them a smile and waited till she was between the kitchen and the rest of the restaurant to slip a red leaf into rocket's dish. She continued to wear her smile as she approached the table and set down the dishes in front of who they belonged to, her eyes never leaving the stallion she hated so much.

As the evening wore on and Salad kept constant tabs on the dish she noticed Rocket finally eat the red leaf that she had planted on his plate. All was going according to plan. Now all she had to do was wait and the final victory would be her's. Of course she had to tend to her other tables before she was fired and lost her job, so she hurried off and got back to work.

II: Dreams and Nightmares

Rocket and his company partied the evening away and slipped into early nighttime, not that they really noticed the time change on them. Tick was more concerned with getting up on the DJ stand with Vinyl and getting the club pumped, which in turn made everypony assembled get pumped up. Wisdom and Peachy made jokes and pulled pranks with the help of Rainbow Dash at their side to do the most hilarious pranks of all. Rocket smiled, it was enough that his friends were having fun and rejoicing that he had returned to their simple town after one long year.

He spent his time hanging with Rose, who was content to watch Peachy and Wisdom make fools of themselves while they danced to Tick's beats. He thought it was more like two skilled dancers trying to see which was the better trick master and best the other one in front of everypony gathered. The wind blowed in from behind him and he noticed that Princess Luna had decided to join the party, much to the displeasure of his guards.

"King Rocket Sky," the Lunar Princess greeted, ignoring the noise around them as she sat down next to them, "Queen Viscarias. I take it you have been having a fun evening after our little war game a few days ago?"

"We have been having a splendid time Princess Luna," Rose responded, though she was slightly annoyed by being called by her real name, "Much better than last year when those dragons tried to take Rocket away by force and he beat the stuffing out of them."

"That was my power at work my dear," Rocket corrected, still ashamed that his power had saved him time and time again, "but at least they got what was coming to them."

"All too true my love," Rose said, kissing him on the cheek before turning back to the Lunar Princess, "To what do we owe your company Luna? I take it this is more then a social visit."

"I have come to party the night away," Luna answered, smiling as she envisioned the chaos she would cause that night, "starting with dancing against your friends to the beat that Tick is playing. If you'll excuse me, I do believe it is time to upstage my student and Tia's adviser at their own game."

And just like that Luna popped onto the dance floor and began busting moves that made Wisdom and Peachy drop their jaws. The two grinned and the next thing Rocket knew it was a three way dance battle between the three. He sighed, some things would never change. He coughed and suddenly realized that he was far more tired then he had lead the others to believe, which was understandable since it was almost midnight already. He and Rose bid whoever would pay attention to them goodbye and left for the small little cottage they had built in the Everfree Forest.

The area they had built the cottage in was the same place that Rocket had battled his darkness, the evil unicorn known as Dark Sky, and had won. The lake was special, it allowed a pony to summon what they were afraid of and at the time Rocket was scared of his darkness. Now he had something even more terrifying than before; the Changeling Monster that he had become thanks to Chrysalis. A monster of uncontrollable power that had one desire, to eradicate the Royal Family and the God of Chaos from the world. If he peered into the lake now, with a new monster to be afraid of, then he would likely doom everypony to destruction.

At least he knew that Rose would not allow him to do that.

They arrived at their little paradise and wandered into the cottage, which had been upgraded into a stable two story building thanks to all the time they had to spend before he had been crowned as a Prince. There was a second cottage, one longer than theirs that contained more than two ponies during the nighttime. It was the cottage of their guards, who would not allow harm to come to them. Rocket coughed again and was beginning to wonder if he was coming down with the cold or something, so he bid his wife goodnight and they turned in together.

-The Dream World-

Rocket found himself staring at the center of a lake, his mind focused on the one event he would rather leave alone and forget about in the years to come. The day when he had become the Changeling monster and was bent on destroying everypony that dared to challenge him, be they friend or foe. The water began to bubble as his mind focused on the monster and he could not tear himself away from it no matter what he tried.

The next thing he knew he was pinned to the ground by the same thing he had been seeing in his dreams and nightmares for the last couple of weeks; the monster version of himself. The black Changeling stood over him, an orb of energy gathering around his horn. A horn that was pointed directly in Rocket's face!

Rocket only needed a second to figure out where in the nightmare he was this time; he was taking the place of Peachy, who had nearly been blasted by the monster. She had been saved thanks to Rose's heroic actions, but as he cast his eyes around he found that me and the monster were alone. So that meant that nopony, save for Princess Luna, would be coming to rescue him. And now that he was staring the monster in the face he realized why Peachy had been terrified at the time and could say that he felt the same way now.

-The Waking World-

Princess Luna, retiring from the dance floor early, sat where she had last seen the Changeling Rulers, drinking some sort of cider that Applejack had brought with her. The farm pony was somewhere in the mess of ponies partying, though she couldn't figure out if the entire town was present or not. She should have been watching ponies dreams at the time, but she wanted a break from all of that so she could teach her fantastic student and take the war game trophy.

But despite the fact that she wanted peace for one night she still couldn't have it, but as she focused on the source of the troubling nightmare she was surprised. It was none other than Rocket Sky. She quickly turned into mist and flew directly into the dream that was troubling the Changeling King. She only hoped that she wasn't too late to help out in anyway.

-The Dream World-

"Do it already you dumb dream monster," Rocket shouted, surprised that the Changeling hadn't blasted him yet, "End the dream and let me return to the waking world."

Suddenly the monster turned its head and was blasted off of Rocket by a beam of Lunar energy, which meant that Luna had come to his rescue. He dragged himself off the ground as the Alicorn landed right next to him, slightly surprised by the fact there were two of him hanging around.

"A nightmare involving Dark?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow, "Seriously? You can't get over that?"

"I've tried to forget about him and failed." Rocket explained, summoning his battle armor as he faced Dark, "Now my nightmare has resurrected him and he could have done me in."

"The only way you'll be rid of him is if you defeat him," Luna explained, fully aware of the situation as the nightmare approached them, "Just best your nightmare and you will be free of it. Works all the time with every other pony that has terrible nightmares."

"Easy for you to say," Rocket shouted, blasting the demon with his own magic, "You don't have to fight a mass powerhouse monster like this."

Luna smiled and kept her mouth shut as Rocket dodged the nightmares slow attacks and continued the barrage of attacks he unleashed. It was as easy as that, Luna thought as she watched, to defeat one's inner demon. And sure enough the nightmare dissipated into nothing as soon as it hit the ground for the last time.

"Told you it was that easy," Luna remarked as the stallion returned to his royal set of jewelry, "Now, if you will excuse me, I must return to the party that you have distracted me from. See you around King Rocket Sky."

-The Waking World-

Rocket awoke slightly and sighed happily, he was glad that the nightmares were over. But he had a feeling that something bigger than his nightmares would be plaguing him in the days to come. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep, glad that Rose was already sound asleep for once.

III: Peachy dreams for nightmares

Peachy was walking through a meadow of flowers, which was odd because there were no such meadows anywhere around Ponyville. The sky was a light blue, as per usual, and there were several clouds filling the sky, which also meant that she had a good amount of Celestia's sun hitting her. She saw trees all around her as well, which was more odd then the meadow and still confused her to no end.

The last thing she remembered was going to bed after hanging out with her friends, but how did she end up here, in a meadow of flowers and trees? This wasn't the same Dream World she had been in previously so she could train under Princess Luna, that world was vastly different. Princess Luna's Dream World was vast and full of nothing, just endless white sand and a blood red moon that was always full. No matter how many times she had entered Luna's Dream World the sight of the blood red moon was enough to frighten her to no end, despite the fact she was a being of terror now.

Peachy never really figured out why Princess Luna's Dream World was so barren, she had figured that since her return she would have had something nice to dream about. Yet her Dream World was lifeless, as if it was resembling the moon she had been imprisoned on for over a thousand years after her attempt to steal her sisters attention. The more Peachy thought about it the more her beautiful world changed to the barren world she had began to dread seeing, only this time she saw something that Luna had described to her in great detail.

Descending from the blood red moon at the speed of one of Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom's was a fully grown alicorn the size of Princess Celestia. A full black bodied alicorn with dark blue armor on her hooves, a similar colored chest plate, and a crown covering her head colored the same. Her ethereal mane and tail were unmistakeable, the alicorn was none other than Nightmare Moon.

Peachy jumped to her right as Nightmare Moon hit the ground where she had been standing, which exploded on impact and threw sand up into the air. She jumped back as dark blue spikes pierced where she had been standing, which indicated that her new enemy was not fooling around. Peachy turned into pure mist and flew over where Nightmare Moon should have been, but instead found it empty save for the hole in the ground. Next thing she knew Nightmare Moon was holding her physical body against the ground with her magic, which made sense due to the fact that Peachy's abilities were the same as Nightmare Moon's.

"So, you are the mare that poor Luna's been training for the past year," Nightmare Moon stated, showing her teeth as she looked over the mare she held, "She's taught you the tricks that made her feared and yet they are imperfect. In your current state you could help her win her little 'War Games', but other than that you would be worthless in a real war."

"Buck off Nightmare Moon," Peachy shouted, feeling the evil mare pry into her own nightmares, "You won't find anything worth using against me."

"Oh but I have," Nightmare Moon grinned, her horn lighting up, "I trust you remember that evil monster that nearly killed you last year? A stallion by the name of Dark Sky if memory serves?"

"You wouldn't dare," Peachy whimpered, "This is Luna's Dream World, you can't do this to her world."

"Since Luna and I are the same pony I can mess with her world," Nightmare Moon triumphantly said, hearing the roar of the evil stallion that Chrysalis had created, "and since Luna isn't here to stand up against me I can summon anypony's worst nightmare into her world. Such as..."

Before the rest of her sentence left her mouth something bashed right into her side and threw her off of Peachy, who was expecting her teacher and was horrified by what she saw. The pony standing above her was the evil changeling version of her alicorn friend, but the pony was more focused on Nightmare Moon. As the vile mare began to stand up the changeling blasted her in the side with one of his energy beams, which Peachy now began to recognize. She still cursed the fact that they were watching Bleach before eating some of Wisdom's cupcakes and ending up in Equestria.

The beam was definitely a hollow's cero.

"So this is the power of Dark Sky," Nightmare Moon said, grinning as she spat some blood out, "I must say, I am impressed."

"Hold thyself villain," said a voice as Princess Luna appeared above her darker self, "I will not have you mucking up my training with my student and summon one of the worst nightmares in the history of Equestria. I banish both you and the vile nightmare back to where you came from."

Luna's horn lit up and the next thing Peachy knew both Nightmare Moon and Dark Sky vanished from the dream world, though the only thing that remained was the hole in the ground. Luna grinned happily and turned towards Peachy, who sighed a sigh of relief.

"He still haunts your mind," Luna observed, watching Peachy look away for a second, "it is only natural considering Nightmare Moon commonly haunts my own dreams. I had to deal with that evil nightmare twice this night, once thanks to my other side and once when it emerged in King Rocket's own dream."

"Is Rocket okay?" Peachy asked, the mention of her friend slightly alarming her.

"Rest assured my student," Luna said, "The Changeling King is safe and you need to get some rest before we even attempt to teach anything."

"What?" Peachy asked, shocked by the news, "But I was supposed to learn the Nightmare Form tonight."

"Not after that my student," Luna proclaimed, "Soon I will teach you the Nightmare Form, but until then I want you to practice with me every night until your dream skills are perfect. I will return you to your dream and the peace it will bring."

Before Peachy could protest she woke up in her bed, in the spare bed of Twilight's library. It had been an upgrade since she had started in Applejack's house and Rocket no longer lived there at all. Tick still lived with the Vinyl and Octavia while Wisdom lived in Pinkie's home. Peachy laid her head on the pillow and held a hoof into the air, staring at the metal armor she refused to take off.

"Buck, I was so close."

Author's Note

Yes, a cliffhanger

IV: Princesses argue yet again

Princess Luna was pacing around the throne room, questioning her judgement on whether or not she should have started teaching Peachy Keen the Final Nightmare Power that night. After the appearance of Nightmare Moon and the summoning of the demonic Rocket Sky she had opted not to bother teaching her at this time. But in all honestly there was something else holding her back from teaching Peachy, something that she would regret if it ever came to pass.

"I should have known you wouldn't be able to stop thinking about that after all," came a familiar voice as her sister stepped out of the shadows, "not after all that has happened."

"I am not teaching her the Final Nightmare Power," Luna bluntly stated, turning her back on her sister as she stared out into the night sky, "I will not run the risk of creating another Nightmare that could terrorize the citizens of Equestria, not after what had happened to Rocket Sky a year ago."

"That wasn't your fault Lulu," Celestia calmly said as she watched her sister stare into the night sky, "It was the actions of Chrysalis that created the monster that is nearly taken care of. A few nights ago you told me that almost every shred of the demon had been eradicated from the dreams of our little ponies, but now you're terrified of fighting it again. What happened in the Dream World this time?"

"Nightmare Moon appeared Tia," Luna replied, blinking away the tears that started to fill her eyes, "She attacked my student and summoned the remainder of the demonic Rocket Sky, which proceeded to attack Nightmare. I should have just left the two alone to fight it out and trained my student somewhere else, but instead I arrived and banished them back to where they came from. I doubt that Peachy Keen is even interested in learning the Final Nightmare Power anymore, not after what she had just witnessed."

"You doubt the will power of your own student?" Celestia asked, surprised that her sister would say such a thing to her.

"Of course I do," Luna snapped, not surprised that Celestia would question her choice, "You know all to well what had happened to me when I attempted it the first time. Right now I don't want the same fate to befall my student, who shouldn't even be training to control the shadows anyway. I don't even know how an earth pony can control such a force."

"Please Luna, the answer is obvious," Celestia replied calmly, not letting her anger rise due to her sister's snapping, "Rocket Sky is a powerful unicorn who had a forced ascension into alicornhood, no thanks to Chrysalis for creating the demon in the process to make it happen. Then comes my adviser, Inner Wisdom, who, despite being a pegasus, acts almost like Pinkie Pie and has a considerable amount of knowledge that makes him see somethings before others do. Their friend Tick Tock, the General of Cadence's army, is a master of soundwaves, yet the reason he can't complete his 'Bass Cannon' is because Cadence won't give him the crystal he needs."

"Why are you telling me this Tia?" Luna asked, turning around to face her sister.

"Because each of those three are potential threats," Celestia answered, "One unicorn to control sound, one earth pony to control nightmares, one pegasus to control wisdom, and one alicorn to control balance. Tick could shatter our armies abilities to hear everything, while Peachy could knock them into their own worst nightmares and Wisdom could beat them without breaking a sweat. And I won't even go near Rocket at this point."

"Okay, so each of them are a threat just waiting to happen." Luna sighed, sometimes it wasn't worth talking to her sister.

"Yes, but that's not the point," Celestia countered, "I trust my adviser, just as Cadence trusts Tick. You need to trust your student and have some faith that she will be able to pull off the 'Final Nightmare Power' as you call it. I still say that the name is ridiculous."

"I shall call the Nightmare Form whatever I please," Luna loudly said, turning to face her sister, "and if I decide to call it the Final Nightmare Power then that is what I will call it. At the moment I shall not teach Peachy the Nightmare Form, but maybe at a later date I will. How is your Adviser doing?"

"He's apparently building some sort of mansion near Ponyville," Celestia answered, looking past her sister, "A temple where peace and harmony are sacred."

"If its not one thing with these ponies it is another thing," Luna groaned, noticing a pike figure approaching from behind Celestia, "and it looks like we have company."

"Cadence!" Celestia exclaimed, turning around to see the Princess of Love walking up to them, "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I would ask you the same thing Auntie," Cadence replied, walking right past Celestia and stopping next to Luna, "I thought you, of all ponies, would be asleep at this time of the night. But from how the two of you were talking to each other it seems that you were discussing the possible threats to Equestria. Spill it you two."

"King Rocket Sky and his friends," Luna admitted easily.

"My General is not a threat," Cadence snapped, "though I would admit that the King himself is a dangerous pony if he were to suddenly turn on us. Wisdom has some...interesting abilities that could damage us, but I also believe that Peachy would be able to control herself and make sure that everypony is safe."

"Told you Luna," Celestia grinned, watching her sister face-hoof, "Peachy Keen can handle the Nightmare Form."

"If it will make you happy I will begin tomorrow night," Luna growled, cursing her sister for staying up too late for once, "I have Night Court to attend to and they don't like to be kept waiting. Later."

Luna vanished and left the two alicorns alone, which was perfect for Celestia to let out a yawn that had been building for the last ten minutes. Cadence let out her own yawn as well. Both of them were tired and needed to hit the hay for the night.

"See you at breakfast Auntie," Cadence said, her horn lighting up slightly.

"You too Cadence," Celestia replied, watching her niece vanish by magic.

Celestia smiled and returned to her own room, quickly laying her royal jewelry on her table before throwing herself onto her bed. She yawned once more and then wandered off into the Dream World, allowing herself some bliss at long last.

V: Troubling Discovery

Rocket yawned, he just couldn't help it. After his experience last night sleep had come easy to him, yet despite the rest he got he still felt tired. Plus the rocking of the train was doing nothing to help him relax and, hopefully, fall asleep before they reached their destination.

Currently he, his wife, and their guards were traveling back to the Hive, by using the train system to help the economy out just a bit. It was his wife's idea to take the train again, instead of using his magic to open a gateway back to the Hive and arrive there in a matter of seconds. He opened his eyes for a second and looked up to see Rose reading a book, which one he failed to determine from his quick glance.

"Checkmate," Surprise exclaimed, sounding a little bit like Princess Luna as she bested Sucker Punch in a chess game, "What do you say to that Sucker Punch?"

"I don't understand how you did that," the poor Changeling muttered, his eyes wandering all over the board in an attempt to turn the victory against Surprise, "You are too good at this game. Where did you learn to place chess so good?"

"I learned from the Elders about strategy," Surprise answered, turning her head towards the door as she spotted another guard resting his head on one of the seats, "and the art of playing chess I learned from our good friend Marco, who usually plays it just to pass the time. Speaking of which, why haven't you starting playing a game of chess with Blackberry or Sunrise?"

"Blackberry lacks the skill to make the game exciting," the Changeling guard answered, leaving his eyes closed as he answered the question, "and Sunrise lacks the patience to properly plan out her strategy. I would speak about Polo and his limited skill of the game, but he has decided to opt out of playing the game until somepony teaches him all the rules."

Polo was, to an extent, the brother of Marco, but he lacked the cool mind that Marco had and tended to respond with a direct attack. Marco was one of the most elite Changeling guards, one so dedicated that he had become a member of the royal guards, a group of Changelings sworn to protect the crown. Polo wanted to be like his brother, but he still had a long way to go before he could officially join their ranks.

"I do not lack patience," a mare retorted, closing her book and glaring at the royal guard, "What happens to me is that you tear a gaping hole in my defenses and leave me with limited moves that result in me losing the game."

"It is called strategy my dear," Marco explained, "Maybe if you and Blackberry learned more about it I would have a tougher time trashing you and you would have a great time knowing that you can finally stand on my level."

"I give up," Sunrise said, picking up her book and picking up where she had left off, leaving Surprise to utter a small laugh before returning to her own board.

Blackberry was just staring out the window, watching the scenery pass them by as the train traveled down the tracks towards the Hive. She was going to miss the lush trees, the bright blue skies, and the soft green grass when she was back in the wastelands where the Hive was located. She was getting as much of the scenery as she could before it was all gone and she had sand to stare at.

"Pinkie Pie throws the best parties doesn't she?" Rose asked, not really asking her guards as she had aimed the question at her husband.

"Indeed she does," Rocket replied, stretching a bit as his eyes opened again, "My friends can be quite the party animals at times, but they mean well and they love to have as much fun as they can. I can see why Pinkie keeps inviting them to all of her big parties and large functions."

"You know what I'm not looking forward to doing when we return to the Hive?" Rose asked, staring at one of the pages in her book. "All the paperwork we missed while we participated in the war game and the meeting with my father that we promised him. He's been...anxious...to hear how well the war games have been treating us and our people, though I doubt that he's going to like hearing that Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight keep trashing us.

Are you feeling okay Rocket?"

Rocket groaned, not because he wasn't feeling well, but because he had a bloody nose all of a sudden and his heart was starting to hurt for some reason. He got out of his seat and collapsed on the ground, breathing hard as his guards and Rose sprung into action quickly.

"Write a letter to the Princesses immediately," Rose commanded, watching Surprise pull out a piece of parchment and a quill, "Tell them that the King has had a heart attack under unknown reasons. Do any of you remember what he ate at dinner last night?"

"Just a normal salad," Polo piped up, then he remembered something strange about it, "but there was a strange red leaf with small spiked edges mixed in with the rest of it."

"We will go with that then," Rose sighed, returning to her husband as she put his head on a pillow, "When the letter is done just send it with the spell that Twilight taught us and we will see what any of them end up saying."

Within seconds the letter was completed, the scroll wrapped up nicely, and was sent on its way towards Princess Celestia, the only pony that Surprise figured knew anything about strange and random heart attacks.

~Canterlot~

Princess Celestia was just minding her own business, by that she was eating a large piece of cake, when a scroll suddenly materialized in front of her. She had been expecting a report from Twilight in Ponyville, but those letters were always encased by green flames due to Spike breathing fire on them and not the vile green color of the Changeling's own magic. Whatever the scroll was about it almost seemed like a poor Changeling wanted to tell her something that they didn't want revealed to their rulers.

As she set her cake down and embraced the scroll with her magic her sister came walking into the royal kitchen, surprising her sister in the process. Luna barely noticed her sister as she raided the royal fridge for one of her caffeine drinks, which she claimed without delay and closed the fridge to find Celestia standing next to a large piece of cake.

"Might I ask why you are still up at this hour Tia?" Luna asked, opening the can she had claimed as she stared at the cake her sister had nearly bitten into.

"As you can see it is a late night snack," Celestia replied, holding up the scroll for her sister to see, "and this scroll came from one of the thousands of Changelings. Didn't go directly to their own rulers, came straight to me and I have yet to open it."

"Well then what does it say?" Luna asked, bouncing over to her sister's side as the scroll was opened.

"Says here that King Rockey Sky has had a random and quite sudden heart attack while returning to the Hive," Celestia answered, her eyes rolling over the piece of parchment, "and there is a mention of a red leaf that he ate last night that was mixed in with his salad. What do you make of this...Luna?"

When Celestia looked up from the letter she found that her sister was already long gone and had left her caffeine drink behind. Whatever the red leaf was it seemed to have an incredible effect on her sister's actions. Celestia shrugged and picked up her cake, trotting happily towards her room as she forgot all about the letter.

~The Train~

There was a blinding flash of light next to Surprise and suddenly Princess Luna, fully decked out in her royal attire, stood right beside her, appearing by magic in an instant.

"I wasn't expecting a Princess to actually appear before us," Rose commented, hoping that it wasn't something too serious, "Do you know what could have caused this Princess Luna?"

"I am afraid I do," Princess Luna replied, taking a deep breath as she considered how best to tell the Changeling Queen the terrible news, "That 'leaf' that your husband ate is no ordinary leaf. It is really an ancient poisonous leaf called Demonshade, a poison so deadly that the amount of time it takes to kill a pony is always random. There's no easy way to say this, so I will be blunt with you.

Your husband is going to die a very painful death."

VI: Trouble

"What do you mean he's going to die?" Rose shouted, standing hoof to hoof with the Lunar Princess and staring her straight in the eye, "He can't die after everything that he's been through."

"The Demonshade is an unpredictable killing poison," Luna answered, staring at the Changeling Queen in return, "and it is supposed to be rare. So rare that Tia and I hunted them down and burned each and every flower, bush, and tree that grew the cursed herb until none remained. The Demonshade is supposed to be extinct, yet here it is causing your husband pain and suffering."

"Can't you cure this?" Rose asked, tears already forming at the thought of losing Rocket after a year of being together, "You're the Princess of the Night, surely you know something that can save his life."

"There is only one cure for something this deadly," Luna slowly replied, looking down as she thought about it, "There is an extremely rare and potent herb known as the Angels Root that Tia and I used whenever we found ourselves tangled up with this particular poison. From what I remember it is supposed to grow on the top of mountains that have done undisturbed and can only be made into an elixir on the mountain where it was grown."

"Surely you have a bottle or two of this elixir somewhere in the Castle?" Rose inquired.

"Unfortunately I am unsure of how much of the elixir we have left," Luna replied, staring out the window now, "but rest assured that I will return to my sister's side and ask her exactly how much we have left of the elixir. With any luck we wont have to hunt down the herd and craft the elixir by hoof. If you'll excuse me."

Before Rose could reply Luna was enveloped by a dark mass and she suddenly vanished from the train carriage, heading back towards Canterlot Castle and her sister. At least that is what Rose assumed she was doing. Rose could only hope that Luna could find a bottle of the elixir and brought it back with her so she could save Rocket from his now grim fate. A fate that not even he deserved.

~Canterlot Castle~

Luna appeared back in the royal kitchen, where she expected to find her sister finishing her midnight snack and instead found only her abandoned caffeine drink. She snatched the drink and proceeded to search the nearby hallways for any signs of her sister or her piece of cake she was so intent on eating. Luna was so focused on searching the hallways for signs of Celestia that she walked right past the Spirit of Chaos, who just happened to be drinking some of his chocolate milk.

"Ah, Princess Luna," Discord said, floating above the Night Princess as she walked, "I haven't talked with you in a long time. What's with the ugly sour look on your face?"

"It is not an 'ugly sour look' as you put it Discord," Luna snapped, her patience already low as it was, "and I am searching for my sister so I can ask her a couple of questions. Just need to find Tia and get this mess straightened out before something bad happens."

"You do realize that she's in bed, sound asleep like most ponies at this time?" Discord playfully asked, "Seriously, it doesn't take being a Spirit of Chaos or an insane pony to figure out that once the moon rises your sister falls asleep like a ton of stones. Or almost like an Alicorn-sized pony turned stone after a hard days work."

"That's not funny Discord," Luna shouted, nearly causing the Spirit to fall off his cloud at her sudden outburst, "Now I must wake my sister and prevent the death of a king before mornings light."

As Luna continued on Discord settled back onto his cloud as he processed the information he had just learned from the mare. Something about the death of a king. As far as Discord cared to know there were only two kings in Equestria at the moment; Sombra, who had been reduced to shadows still, and Rocket, the current leader of the Changelings. Seeing how Sombra couldn't eat anything in his shadowy form Discord guessed it was Rocket who was going to be dying very soon. Dear Faust, he hated it when he made sense.

Luna barged into her sister's room, quite loudly if the guards had a say in it, and the Solar Princess jolted awake in mere seconds. Of course that was because she had assumed that she was under attack or there was an urgent message that needed to be examined while her sister was dealing with the Changeling message. She hadn't considered that her sister would barge into her room and awaken her from her much deserved slumber, but she was still glad she had finished the cake before Luna had returned anyway.

"I do wish you would stop doing this to me," Celestia muttered, stretching her legs as she faced her troubled sister, "So, what's the big deal with the Changelings and them not sending the message to their own rulers?"

"King Rocket has been poisoned," Luna told her, "with the Demonshade."

"Impossible," Celestia exclaimed, a look of horror appearing on her face, "We eradicated all traces of that vile leaf over a thousand years ago. We made sure not even a single bit of it remained least it grew into another dangerous plant or tree."

"We obviously didn't get them all," Luna countered, sighing slightly, "but I must ask you one question; where do we keep the Angels Root Elixir?"

"Yeah...um, about that..." Celestia sighed, knowing the truth wouldn't be good for Luna to hear, "all of the Angels Root elixirs we created are gone. Each and every last one of them have been used."

"Your joking right?" Luna asked, watching her sister shake her head, "How could you have used every single bottle of Angels Root in the last thousand years? Surely you would have found some more of the herb and made the elixir yourself so we'd have a constant supply?"

"Its not that simple Luna," her sister said, "Its not that I couldn't create the elixir, I've done that hundreds of times. It is the fact that I could not locate a single flower carrying herb anywhere in all of Equestria. I find it hard to say it, but I am afraid that King Rocket Sky is going to die and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it."

"I'm not losing the King just because you couldn't find that damned herb," Luna shouted, turning to face the bedroom door, "I hope you plan on informing our fellow Princesses and Rocket's friends, because I think the majority of them are already annoyed with me. Oh, and Tia..."

Celestia looked up towards her sister, her mind already wondering how she was going to break the news to the King's friends, her niece, and her student.

"...I will find whoever did this and I will punish them," the Lunar Princess finished, "Though I have a feeling that this might be Sombra's doing."

With that said the Lunar Princess vanished in a burst of light, leaving her sister to deal with telling the others the terrible news. She was bound for the train carriage and the ponies waiting for her return, though she knew that her arrival would be met with tears and anger.

~North of the Crystal Empire~

A small figure popped out of the snow and shook itself to quickly clean itself, revealing a ordinary Changeling just standing there. The Changeling mare turned her head in the direction of the Crystal Empire and uttered a small hissing sound as she remembered the ones who had defeated her so long ago. Chrysalis, even in her lesser form, was not one to be messed with and decided that one of these days the royal pair responsible for her defeat would pay. And the included the mare who had destroyed her plans from the beginning.

Behind her sat a cave, the same cave she had spent the first month after her defeat at the hooves of King Rocket Sky, the stallion who had married her daughter and had taken over the Hive. Being close to this center of love helped keep her alive for the last year, not to mention that her ally had some unusually dark love for her to feed off of. An ally who had found the last hidden traces of a dangerous leaf that could kill anypony in existence. Plus she was sure that her dark ally had another friend that he hadn't introduced her to yet.

"Narg. Rrrrrrrrrrrrgh...crystals....slaves....rrrrrrgh..." she heard a voice from inside, one she immediately recognized as the language that King Sombra had taken to speaking. It was unbearable to listen to, but she had managed to determine what every little bit of it meant.

"Of course you would bring up that silly notion my dear friend," said a second voice, another Chrysalis recognized as Discord. What was he doing in a cave and not hanging with his friend Fluttershy? "I have told you that even if we succeeded in destroying the Crystal Heart, which I couldn't guarantee to begin with, I not entirely sure what would happen to the Empire itself."

"Rrrrrrrrrgh, rrrrrrgh, rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh," came another line of Sombra's speech.

"I know you want to poison Cadence's drink and kill her in her sleep," Discord acknowledged, "but you don't understand the point I'm trying to make. While destroying and enslaving would generate Chaos for me it would alert the other Princesses of your master plan. Now drink your chocolate milk while we wait for the ex-queenie to arrive."

"...rrrrrgh..."

"I DON'T CARE IF YOU DON'T LIKE CHOCOLATE MILK." came a shout from the inside, "JUST DRINK IT BEFORE I STUFF IT DOWN YOUR THROAT."

Chrysalis was amazed that Discord could still threaten like that, but he was still the stupid Spirit of Chaos he had always been. She walked forward and came to a strange sight; Sombra, with a frown on his face, sipping from a cup as Discord leaned against a wall with his own cup.

"Now who might you be my dear?" the Spirit of Chaos asked, thought he didn't seem interested in knowing either way, "Wait, don't tell me. Your Chrysalis aren't you?"

"Rrrrrgh rrrrrrrrrrrgh rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh."

"Of course I know it was going to be her," Discord answered, turning to the shadowy stallion, "You were expecting her to arrive and I decided it was time for the three of us to meet together at long last. Though I don't care which form she chooses to wear as long as we get this meeting underway so I can cause a small amount of Chaos before returning to Ponyville."

Chrysalis sighed and returned to her natural form, becoming taller than Sombra as she faced the Spirit of Chaos.

"I merely wanted to make sure I wasn't caught in my natural form," she explained, "what with Cadence likely to recognize me after everything I put her through before her wedding."

"Honestly I don't care," Discord commented, "Your little ploy with the Demonshade has worked and now Luna's trying to figure out where she can find so much as a flower of the Angels Root. All in all I do believe you will have killed the King, and by that I don't mean you Sombra."

"Rrrgh."

"Your quite welcome," Discord continued, "So, Chrysalis, you clearly have one ally who is devoted to your cause at the promise of getting his kingdom back."

"So what?" Chrysalis asked.

"Nothing really," the Spirit commented, getting up close to her, "but if you so much as come near Canterlot or Ponyville with your army after this is over I will rain Chaos on all of you. And I promise it won't be chocolate milk."

Chrysalis stood there as Discord vanished, leaving the two former rulers alone in their cave.

"Rrrrrgh rrrrrgh rrrrrrrrrgh?"

"Yeah, I hate his guts too." Chrysalis answered, sighing, "Mind if I stay here for the night? We can talk later."

"...rrrrgh..."

"Thanks Sombra," the tired Changeling said, sitting against the wall of the cave, "Maybe this will end quickly and we can move on."

Sombra was going to reply, but seeing his guest fall asleep told him he had better wait. Maybe he could get some playing cards or something to pass the time. Being a shadowy creature really blew half the time.

VII: King's Message

Twilight Sparkle sat up on her bed, her eyes watching the night sky as she wondered what her fellow Princesses were doing at the moment. Celestia was likely asleep in bed, dreaming of the sweet cakes she seemed to enjoy or something else that Twilight had no interest in learning about. Cadence, on the other hoof, could be busy with the Crystal Courts or could very well be asleep with her husband Shining Armor. King Rocket, on the third side, was returning to the Changeling Hive and was likely trying to relax before he had to deal with all the paperwork he had missed in the few days he had been gone.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Spike receiving a message from Celestia, but seeing how it was nighttime it only confused the alicorn as to why her mentor was sending her a letter at this time.

"Just sum everything up for me Spike," she said, catching the baby dragon off guard, "I'm tired and I will go over it in the morning, but for now a brief summary will do."

"Let's see then," Spike said, his eyes looking over the letter before looking up at Twilight, "It says that King Rocket Sky has been poisoned and that he's dying."

"Give me that," Twilight said, snatching the letter with her magic and reading it over, "Celestia wants us to gather the Elements and Rocket's friends and get on the next train heading for the Hive."

"Hi Twilight," Pinkie shouted, popping out from under the bed and startling both the alicorn and dragon, "What are you reading this time?"

"It's a letter from Princess Celestia," Spike explained, beating Twilight to the punch, "She wants the Elements of Harmony and King Rocket Sky's friends on the next train for the Changeling Hive."

"It'll be easy to gather everypony at the train station," came a second voice as Wisdom appeared behind Spike, "Since there are two of us we will get it done in half the time it takes for one Pinkie to do it."

Before either Twilight or Spike could comment both Wisdom and Pinkie vanished from the library, leaving behind no traces that they were actually there.

"I seriously hate it when they do that," Spike muttered, returning to his bed until Twilight yanked him right out of it again.

"Your coming along too Spike," Twilight said, gently placing her assistant on the floor as she began to pack up a couple of books, "You can sleep on the train if you must, but until then we need to get some things packed. Besides, who knows when the Princesses will send another message our way?"

~The Crystal Empire~

"Ugh...another letter from Aunt Celestia," Cadence groaned, having been forced awake by the sound of a scroll appearing in her bed chambers.

"It can wait until morning my dear," Shining yawned, trying to get his wife back into bed so they could rest, "Usually Celestia sends us boring news and updates that don't involve us. This matter can wait until the morning, that I am sure of."

"No Shining, I had best see what she wants to share with us before going to bed," Cadence replied, shaking her head as she opened the scroll while staring at her husband, "You, of all ponies, should understand that when Celestia sends a letter it is better to see what it says then to ignore it completely until the following day. I know Twilight understands that more than most ponies these days."

"Twily does understand Celestia more than anypony else in Equestria," Shining commented, turning to see his wife with a look of surprise and horror, "...is something wrong?"

"According to Aunt Luna it seems that King Rocket Sky has been poisoned," Cadence explained, tossing the scroll to her husband as she started getting ready for something, "by a deadly poison that shouldn't exist anymore. We are required to get on the next available train for the Changeling Hive."

"Why are we visiting the Hive?" Shining asked, climbing out of bed and throwing some water on his face to wake himself up.

"Did you not read the letter?" Cadence replied, surprised by her husband, "There is going to be a summit in the Hive that will require our presence. We're going to meet the Elder Council of the Changeling Hive at long last."

~Canterlot~

Celestia sighed after the final letter had been sent off, this one designed to go directly to the only member of the Elder Council she trusted, the one known as Zercon. She was requesting that they, meaning the remaining Princesses, gathered in the Hive and had a meeting with the Elder Council. Mostly so they could discover where the last bit of Angels Root, if there was any of it left in all of Equestria, could be located.

While she waited for a reply she got her royal jewelry and made for the clouds, fully intending to rest on them until she heard back from somepony. With any luck Twilight and the Elements, including Rocket's friends, would be on their way without any delay with Cadence and Shining Armor just behind them. All she needed was an answer from the Council and everything would be fine. That was assuming that they didn't blame one of the four Princesses of poisoning their new King and declare war on the rest of Equestria.

Celestia sighed; she would never understand how the Changelings worked fully, not even if she was given a thousand years to study their race. She only hoped that the Council decided to hear them out and help their dying King back onto healthy hooves. That was assuming they would locate a flower bearing the Angels Root somewhere and could turn it into the fabled elixir that would save him.

~The Dream Realm~

Luna walked over the sandy ground she had found herself on when she had entered the dreams of King Rocket Sky, mostly to see how he was doing since they hadn't been able to get anything out of his physical form. Traversing the entire dream realm to search for the King would have been a waste of her time, so she had focused on where he would be and simply teleported there. All she had found was white sand and the noise of what sounded like fire somewhere, but where she was unsure of.

So she continued to wander forward, her eyes looking for anything that could be considered out of the ordinary for the Dream Realm. When she discovered it she was surprised and shocked at the same time. Sitting at a table were two alicorn sized ponies, though one of them had a dark aura around it while the second did not have a aura. When Luna got closer she saw that the one without an aura was really King Rocket, which meant that the second one must have been his evil side; Dark.

Luna began to charge her horn when she noticed something else; neither of the two were attacking each other and were, instead, just staring at the other. The power quickly died off as she approached the two stallions, who barely noticed her presence until she was nearly at the table. Rocket looked up at her and smiled, apparently glad that she was there, while Dark just stared blankly at her, neither annoyed or mad at her arrival.

"King Rocket Sky," Luna said, taking a seat where she was, "and Dark Sky. We, by that I mean your wife and I, were unable to contact you in the physical world, so I decided to come into your dreams and speak with you directly. I take it you remember nothing after having a heart attack on the train heading for the Hive?"

"We remember almost nothing after that," Dark answered, surprising Luna by how weak and tired he sounded, "but we know what had brought this upon us. We caught the name as we drifted briefly into consciousnesses and back out again; Demonshade. A vile leaf that can kill whoever eats it."

"That is correct," Luna replied, shocked that one of them knew about the poison coursing through Rocket's veins, "I have told Celestia what we must do and I am sure she has contacted everypony else with the news. We should be holding a summit in the Changeling Hive with the Elder Council to determine what we can do to save you."

"To find the Angels Root and save a dying life," Rocket spoke up, sounding as if he was far away or extremely old, "Do not worry Princess Luna; Dark and I will hold on as long as we can. If it comes down to it we will have one last glorious war game with you and the rest of the royalty of Equestria. And we will bring all our power to the field and fight will all that courses through our body."

Luna sighed; it seemed as if the King was resigned to the fact that he could die at any moment and was making it clear that he would fight when it was close to his time.

"Okay then," Luna said, staring into the King's eyes, "We will have a war game if things turn sour, but know this; we will save you and your darkness from this grim fate."

"Go," Dark commanded, just as Rocket started coughing, "Unite the Council and find the herb. We will wait as long as possible."

Luna nodded and began to fade, surprised that in their weakened forms the two still had the power to command her to leave their presence. She hoped that they could find the herb and make the elixir. She knew the overall price they would pay for the dark deed that was happening here. Luna would also find who did this and personally slam them into next month for the damage they might have willingly or unwillingly caused.

VIII: The Summit

The Changeling Hive, hidden from the eyes of everypony by being located deep in the Wastelands, was far larger than what Princess Celestia and her fellow princesses were expecting. As they deboarded the trains they caught a glimpse of just how many Changelings there were running around the place as they made way for their rulers and the other royalty. There were literally hundreds, if not thousands, of Changelings waiting in front of them alone and who knew how many more waiting elsewhere in the Hive.

"I wasn't expecting such a welcome," Luna commented, stepping off the King's train as a pair of guards carried the unconscious King away with Rose behind them, "I was expecting them to be furious and just out right attack us. Why are they behaving so...friendly?"

"It is because they know you are not responsible for the King's condition," answered a voice as a King sized Changeling, one wearing a silver robe, appeared before them, "They know that there is somepony responsible for what has happened to their ruler and seeing as you are the cause they feel no need to attack."

"Elder Zircon," Wisdom acknowledged, bowing his head in respect for the oldest member of the Elder Council, "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"The same can be said to all of you," the elder Changeling said, chuckling as he beckoned behind him, "The Council has been reviewing your request, Princess Celestia, and we have come to a decision that has pleased all seven of us."

"And that would be?" Celestia asked, anyways annoyed when ponies decided not to tell her something until she decided to ask them herself.

"We will hold this summit of yours," Zircon replied, turning so he faced the center of the Hive, "but it will be between the members of the Council, yourself, your fellow princesses, our Queen if she can make it, and the close friends of our wounded King."

Celestia smiled; she hadn't expected anything else of who would have been included in the meeting.

"Of course," she said, "it will be as the Council wills it."

Zircon smiled; never had an outsider, excluding the King, taken to acknowledging the Council's wishes as easily as the Goddess of the Sun. It meant that she was willing to show patience and respect for those whose kingdom she was in, which would eventually lead to stronger ties between them and the ponies of Equestria. Though the only reason King Sky had taken to acknowledging their wishes was so he could become familiar with Changeling culture and how the Hive worked.

"Follow me then," Zircon said, trotting forward as the group behind him began to follow.

"How are the other Council members doing?" Wisdom inquired, walking next to Zircon and matching his stride without much difficulty.

"Aleu, Jarrah, and Sorrel have returned from our Manehatten Branch with grand news," Zircon answered, as if telling the stallion wouldn't harm the Hive overall, "as have Spruce and Drunix. They all report that we have established good relations with the nearby towns and villages, so most Changelings can freely wander the city and trade with ponies. Sequoia, on the other hoof, has recovered from a recent battle that had badly wounded her and is in tip top fighting condition again."

"Are they still sour that you guys can't defeat the others in the war games?" Wisdom knew he was pushing it with that question, but he also knew that Zircon would answer anyway.

"The majority of them are a little sore about that fact," Zircon honestly answered, shaking his head just a bit, "but it is to be expected. The King will not use his full power against the combined forces of all four royal Princesses, despite the fact that they go after him first anyway. I do not know why the King acts that way in the war game, but I do believe it has something to do with his inner darkness."

"Dark Sky," Wisdom muttered, remembering the evil stallion as the group walked on in silence.

The group passed dozens upon dozens of Changelings as they made their way through the Hive, each step bringing them closer to the Summit Celestia had insisted that they attend. It wasn't a demand on her part, she just wanted the members of royalty who could make it to be assembled in one area so they could figure out one thing. That was the location of the flower known as the Angels Root, the cure for the poison that coursed through the King's veins.

"We're here," Zircon suddenly said, stopping in front of what looked like a set of huge double doors.

"And where is 'here' exactly?" Cadence asked, having remained quite for some time so she could have caught on as to what the entire meeting was about. So far she had learned nothing from her efforts.

"The meeting hall of the Elder Council," Zircon answered, the doors opening to reveal a large room with rows and rows of seats.

The room, no, chamber was built to house what seemed like dozens of ponies, be they Changeling or otherwise, and yet there was enough room for even a large dragon if one were to visit. As the group entered the chamber they noticed that the remaining six members of the Elder Council were already assembled and were waiting patiently for the groups arrival.

"I see our guests have arrived," Sorrel commented, bowing his head towards the royal Princesses in respect, "We have taken the liberty of arranging everypony in such a way that we will be able to converse freely without too much head turning. We Elders will take the south section, where our Queen will join us if she feels up to it. Celestia and Luna, including their adviser and warrior, will sit in the north section. Cadence, Shining, and her general will take the east section while Twilight and the Elements take the west section."

True to his word everypony was sitting exactly where Sorrel said they would be sitting, leaving the middle of the room open in case somepony barged into the meeting.

"Now, tell us why you wanted us to hold this summit," Aleu said, his voice seemingly void of emotion, "This, gathering if you will, of all the rulers united under the Equestrian banner. Why choose here of all places and why choose us?"

"Because your King is in danger," Luna immediately answered, earning a gasp from Peachy, "Somepony slipped him the long thought to be destroyed Demonshade leaf, a leaf that contains a poison that can kill whoever eats it. He ate it thinking it was part of the salad he had ordered at dinner a few nights ago and now his life hangs in the balance of us discovering the one thing that can save him."

"The legendary Angels Root flower," Sorrel breathed, remembering the tales of the flower that could save those who ate the evil leaf on accident, "The only flower in existence said to counter the affects of the Demonshade if crafted into an elixir and drank by the one who had eaten the leaf."

"Yes," Luna answered, "but there is a problem. With the destruction of the Demonshade came the decrease in the population of the Angels Root and now we have no idea where such a flower grows anymore."

"If it helps us figure out where the flower is we received something from somepony not too long ago," Aleu commented, pulling out a small piece of parchment as she remembered what was written on it, "It says 'To the south you must go, Towards the land where no rain flows, To where an ancient flower grows, And to save a King by weeks end.' We thought it was a vague riddle, a poor one at that, but seeing what has transpired lately we know it was a prediction about the King's condition."

"'Towards the land where no rain flows'," Twilight said, mauling the line over in her head as she thought about it.

"Well, 'To where the ancient flower grows'," Tick spoke up, "is clearly telling us that there still exists a place where the Angels Root grows."

"Yes, and 'To the south you must go', means somewhere south of the Hive," came a voice as Rose entered the chamber, "This riddle is saying that somewhere south of the Hive there exists a place where rain doesn't flow and the flower grows anyway. And 'by weeks end' means we have till the end of the week to create the flower and return to Rocket before he dies."

"But the land where no rain flows could be anywhere," Peachy complained, shaking her head in disbelief, "We have three days until weeks end and no place to start our quest."

"Actually, we have a location," Wisdom said, his mind returning to a thought he had as soon as he had heard the riddle, "We need to start in Manehatten, where my friend Griffin is supposed to have a house ready for him. If anypony can determine what the one line means it will be him. I can only pray that he's still in Manehatten or we'll lose our chance to save Rocket."

IX: Copper

Wisdom stepped of the train and stared at the city that rested before him and his friends, the smoke filling in the air and being broken down by the pegasus workers flying about. This was none other then Manehatten, the city where his friend Griffin was supposed to be living these days. Somewhere in this labyrinth-like city was their only hope to decoding the last bit of the strange riddle and finding where the legendary Angels Root grew.

Besides Wisdom, Tick, and Peachy there stood a member of Rocket's personal Changeling Guard, the shy Changeling known as Sucker Punch. The Changeling had volunteered to join the group so they could communicate with the Queen easily and without much delay. Luckily Sucker Punch knew how to brew the elixir that would save the King's life, mostly due to the fact that each Changeling is taught the same skills as each other. It really wouldn't have mattered which Changeling had come along with them, but since he had already volunteered it had already been decided.

"So, your friend is supposed to be somewhere in this city?" Tick asked, his eyes scanning for anything that could tell him where this 'Griffin' was.

"Affirmative." Wisdom answered, taking a step forward, "He told me he'd have a residence somewhere in the direct center of the city, but knowing Griffin that could just very well be code for something else entirely."

"I hope we find him soon," Peachy muttered, keeping the thought to herself, "otherwise Rocket will suffer for our tardiness."

Sucker Punch said nothing to the group he had volunteered to help, having mostly blended into the crowd by donning the form of a lavender earth pony with a straight down cyan mane and tail style. His cutie mark was supposed to be a boxing glove, which represented his love for beating ponies into the ground when they deserved it.

"We had best get moving then," Tick said, following after his friend.

The group wandered into Manehatten, unaware that there was one pony watching their every movement and observing their lips with ease. In the shadows lurked a pair of eyes, a set of evil globes that allowed Sombra to see what he wanted, as long as there was a shadow near his target. The only thing he needed to do to insure his victory over the dying King was to eliminate his friends and erase any hope of the other royals finding the flower in time.

The group walked in silence, allowing their eyes to wander about the various signs as they searched for anything that could lead them to where Griffin was living. Countless times Peachy left her eyes wandering to the shadows, as if she was sensing something dangerous lurking within them. Or it was the nervousness that she felt around her due to the stares she was receiving; she was still wearing her nightmare armor.

"Kill all of them and feed their ssssoulssss to the darknessssss," a voice hissed, just as several pony sized creatures emerged from the shadows around them. Or more like a dozen or two of them.

"Should have known something like this would have happened," Tick shouted, bashing a shadowy pony in the side with his guitar, only to find that the creature could get up without a single wound on it, "What are these ponies made of?"

"I don't know," Wisdom called, his voice strong as he bashed a foe in the head with his staff and then crushed them into the ground hard, "but it doesn't look like they go down easily."

"No kidding," Peachy shouted, taking to the shadows to surprise her enemies, appearing at random moments to slam them into the ground and then vanish again, "Doesn't look like we'll be able to destroy them without some help. How you holding up Sucker Punch?"

The Changeling in question was busy pounding a shadowy creature in the face several times before slamming it into the ground and tossing it into the air. His foe was then roundhouse kicked into the ground a second time before being tossed into the side of a building. Sucker Punch did all this damage to his foes without so much as using magic against them, but still he and the rest of the group were outnumbered by the shadowy ponies.

"Defense Mechanism Activated," a mechanical voice said, just as beams of light shot past Wisdom and his friends and pierced the shadowy ponies. The light then preceded to form a barrier made of light that covered the entirety of Manehatten, driving Sombra back to his hiding spot with ease.

Wisdom was stunned; nothing he had seen before could have destroyed, vaporized, or even banished the shadowy ponies in such a short amount of time. Of course he wasn't counting the fact that his dying friend could perform a hollow's cero from Bleach perfectly and it was the most dangerous attack in all of Equestria. All the same he was surprised that something could get rid of the shadows in such a short amount of time with almost nothing that could have fired the beams of light.

"Um...what just happened?" Tick asked, caught completely off guard by the fact that his foe was now missing and the other shadows were nowhere to be seen.

"My automatic defenses have taken care of our unfriendly 'visitors'," said a voice, just as a light brown unicorn with a darkish brown mane and tail stepped out of a nearby shop, "I have wired the entire city with automatic defenses that will rid the townsponies of any troublesome visitors, such as those nasty shadows. I could monitor everything that goes in and out of the city, but that would be borderline insanity to truly monitor everything and everypony."

"And just who the buck are you exactly?" Peachy asked, her own shadows gathering at her hooves as she faced the unicorn that had spoken to them.

"Buck? I am amazed that somepony like yourself even knows that word," the unicorn mare continued, "but I am called Copper Sprocket, master of mechanics and owner of Clockwork Engines. I mostly deal in fixing trains and placing the various shield barriers to protect the city."

"Do you have any idea where Griffin's house would be?" Wisdom asked, though he knew it was somewhere in their general area.

"He doesn't own a house I'm afraid," Copper replied, as if she had known the question was going to arise and had prepared for it, "but he did leave me a note. He said "When a group of four comes asking for me, lead them in the direction of Appleloosa, but he didn't specify what he meant by that."

"Oh sweet Celestia," Wisdom said, facehoofing as he realized what the riddle had truly meant, "I've figured out that blasted riddle. 'To the south you must go, Towards the land in where no rain falls, To where an ancient flower grows, And to save a King by weeks end.' South of the Changeling Hive is a desert, one where Twilight and her friends have visited before. Rain never falls in a desert, which leads us directly to the exact location of our target."

"Applelossa," Tick breathed, surprised that the simple riddle had tricked Wisdom for so long.

"Exactly." Wisdom said, turning to go to the train when another thought hit him, "If it takes us a day and a half to reach Appleloosa from Manehatten and three days round trip then we will have failed. It took four and a half hours to get here from the Hive."

"By Luna's Might," Peachy cursed, "How are we supposed to get to Appleloosa and back in under three days? Without Rocket's magic we won't be able to go straight there and back within minutes and I doubt he could pull it off in his state."

"Not a problem," Copper said, "I can easily attach a warpstone to the train your riding in and we can get there within a few hours. Provided you are willing to ride through an open riftgate to the other side."

"What are you talking about?" Tick asked, completely confused by the mare's unfamiliar words.

"I honestly don't care right now," Wisdom said, turning on the mare, "Can you get the tools you need so you can get the job done?"

"Just follow me into my shop and I'll be back out in five minutes." Copper replied, knowing it would take her at least one minute to find the tools and be out of the store. It was nice to have a cushion in case she was wrong about where the tools were.

So the five wandered into Copper's shop, the building named Clockwork Engines like she said it would have been named. The four were surprised to find that so many mechanical pieces laid scattered around, like Copper had never gotten around to cleaning the place up. Gears hung from the ceiling and huge sheets of metal, likely copper or iron, laid on a huge table for Copper to cut through them when she needed to.

Copper looked up at one of her monitor screens and noticed that one of them was going off like crazy, flashing a near black color that required her attention. She zoomed in on the target area and found that her Changeling Locator Program, the CLP, had found a Changeling in Manehatten. She wasn't surprised to find that the Changeling in question was the pony following the three strangest ponies she had ever met.

"You find what your looking for?" Wisdom called, snapping her back into reality as she noticed the tools sitting right next to her.

"You bet your flank I did," Copper replied, grabbing the tools and returning to the group, "Them and so much more than I bargained for."

Before anypony could move Copper was behind the group, holding Sucker Punch by the neck with her front left hoof, but the strange thing was that the limb was made entirely out of some silver metal. That and there were four metal spikes, resembling a fully grown dragons claw, gripping Sucker's neck.

"So, Chrysalis thought she could send one agent in to finish the job?" Copper asked, venom in her voice as the Changeling's eyes filled with confusion, "Of course she would send one agent to take me on, she doesn't know of all the advances I've made since the last time we saw each other. She still thinks I'm helpless and weakened from the last time she visited, but I prepared myself for this."

"Put him down," Peachy commanded, her darkness spreading out in case she had to get rough.

"And why do you travel with a Changeling?" Copper asked the group, "Is it to make me lower my guard so he can finish what his pathetic Queen started?"

"Chrysalis has been dethroned," Wisdom answered, catching the mare off guard, "Last year she attacked Ponyville and tried to create a monster that could win her everything throughout Equestria, but she didn't plan on the monster turning against her."

"You talk as if you were right there," Copper exclaimed, "watching the even unfold before your very eyes."

"The three of us were," Peachy explained, "Our friend became a King by marrying a Princess. After he had been turned into a monster and had been rescued by her of course."

"The one known as King Sky," Copper gasped.

"King of the Changeling Hive," Wisdom replied, "No order was given to finish what Chrysalis had started. I doubt he knows that she had done something to you in the past. Now can you put down our friend?"

"Of...of course..." Copper weakly said, her claws retracting until only a normal none metal limb remained, "I should have payed more attention to the news."

"You can explain what happened later," Wisdom said, shaking his head, "but how long will it take to get the job done?"

"Five minutes tops," Copper exclaimed, already back in the mode with her anger already forgotten.

"Then let's get started."

Wisdom knew things were looking bright; they had found where the riddle wanted to lead them and had located somepony who knew how to get them there. They would be back at the Hive with at least a day to spare, that was considering if they found the Angels Root fast enough and didn't have any other problems along the way. Knowing their luck Wisdom was hoping that nothing happened, but he knew something was just around the bend.

X: Conversation with Discord

Discord blinked into existence, not that he didn't exist anyway. He was always good at appearing in random places to get the best jokes on whichever ponies he wanted to prank, but today was different. Today he had appeared in the Changeling Hive, directly above the bed in which the fallen Changeling King was sleeping in.

The room itself wasn't too much to look at; it was a black walled room with no windows to speak of, a bed with a King, a couch with the sleeping nerve wrecked Queen, and a couple of hospital devices that helped monitor the King's vitals. Oh, and little old Discord, who sat next to the Queen without her even realizing somepony else was in the room besides her and her husband.

Why was he here? Truth be told he was absolutely bored out of his mind and wanted to see how Chrysalis' plan was coming along. By the looks of things it was working well and the King would be dead on the morning of the third day, provided his friends couldn't find the flower and save him. His little riddle had led the small group directly where he wanted them to go, directly to the one mare who could help them find the flower. Now he just had to check on the King and make sure that Chrysalis was going to fail.

He held his eagle claw out and a small spiral of energy gathered above the King's head, forming a gateway that he could use to enter the dream world. Luna would likely know of his tampering of the dream worlds structure to open the gate, so he would have to make this visit brief and get what he needed. He dived head first into the waiting portal and spun around until he ended up someplace he was not expecting.

When he imagined where the King had chosen to spend his dream time he pictured a beach paradise where he could play in the water and drink whatever he wanted. Or spending time in some forgotten ruins, learning a truth that could only be found in his head and nowhere else in Equestria. Discord wasn't expecting to find a vast desert of white sand and nothing else, not even the stallion he had chosen to meet.

"We seem to have an intruder," Dark whispered, though his voice would carry over to Rocket, "By the looks of him it seems to be none other than the Spirit of Chaos himself. I bet he's come to finish the job while you are weakened and leave no trace of his tampering behind."

"I highly doubt it."

Dark was surprised; never had he heard his harmonic half say that he remotely trusted the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Maybe dying was having an effect on his mind that was making him lose his sense of who was his ally and who was a backstabbing loser who deserved to be annihilated.

"Discord has lost that part of himself over a thousand years," the King continued, barely lifting his head as he spoke to his chaotic half, "Please, allow the Spirit of Chaos to make his way to us without delay. I would like to know why he has decided to show himself to me before I make any judgement."

"Whatever." Dark replied, tossing his mane back as his magic disabled the illusion that would have kept Discord away from them, "But if he starts to attack I will merge with you and we will teach him a lesson about attacking ponies while they sleep."

"The thought is nice, but unnecessary." the King chuckled, laying his head back down while he waited, "Discord cannot harm me while I control this part of the dream."

Discord, surprised by the fact that there had been an illusion that he couldn't detect, was stunned by what he saw in front of him; the King sleeping and his eviler half, Dark, just roaming around like he had nothing to do. As he approached the sleeping King he watched what the demon was doing, but as far as he could tell it wasn't even paying attention to the stallion. Just as his eagle claw touched the sleeping pony the demon grabbed his limb, stopping him cold in just an instant.

"Don't you dare touch him." Dark growled, his eyes staring into Discord's own set.

"Me? Touch this dying excuse of an alicorn? Please, I have better things to do than touching a dying pony while he's on his death bed."

Discord was good at making up lies, that was how he had tricked Sombra into trusting him so he could get all the details on Chrysalis' dirty plan. He expected that Applejack would be the one to tell when he was lying, but seeing how she wasn't there he knew he had a shot at fooling the dark pony in front of him. Now if he could convince him to stop gripping his claw and leave him alone he would be set.

"Nice try Discord," Dark growled, sounding like a wild animal ready to pounce on it's prey, "but I know that there is some motive for you being here, talking to us. The Spirit of Chaos doesn't visit the dreams of the dying for fun or pleasure. You usually choose to save these visits for your own personal agenda."

"Stand down Dark."

Discord was surprised; the stallion who had spoken was nothing like the stallion who had defeated Chrysalis in battle over a year ago. Now he seemed aged to the point of death itself and looked like he was going to die in his dreams before his actual body expired. The only thing that Discord could have used to determine that this stallion was indeed the King was the amount of energy that seemed to gather around him. Plus the fact that he had the body of a grown alicorn stallion, huge wings, and a long horn.

Dark was equally surprised, but he did what he was commanded to do and let go of Discord's eagle limb as he backed away instantly. Moments later Dark vanished, almost as if he had never existed in the first place.

"You must forgive him, he can be quite impulsive at times." the King continued, sounding as if he had grown to care for his darker half, "but the matter falls to you. What can I do for the Spirit of Chaos?"

Discord, forgetting the whole speech he was planning on giving the stallion, decided to go with the second and more violent option. He flew forward and grabbed the stallion by the neck, using his magic to summon a stone wall that his eagle limb pinned the stallion up against.

"I want you to live my dear King," Discord snapped, "I want you to beat this poison and live again."

"Don't worry too much about that," the King replied, locking eyes with the God of Chaos, "My friends are resourceful ponies, they will figure out how to acquire the Angels Root Elixir and will bring it back to me. Make no mistake, Discord, when I am at full strength again I will show Chrysalis the full extent of my abilities."

The words seemed to carry no threat, but Discord could feel the cold creeping past his spine as the words sunk in and he nearly faltered. But he held his magic firmly and kept the stallion against the wall, hoping to keep some distance from the nearly insane stallion.

"I know what your planning for me," the King continued, his voice reaching Discord as if the distance didn't matter, "but you might as well get it off your chest before Luna arrives."

"I am going to ruin your life," Discord growled, "When this is all over I will ruin you. Not even all of your fancy powers will help you escape what I have planned for you."

"Say what you will Discord," the King chuckled, his eyes never leaving the creature, "but you have yet to see the full extent of my powers. Where there is light there is also darkness. Where there is good there is also evil. Where there is virtue there is also sin. You have only seen my powers while I've been good, but never will you have seen my powers if darkness coursed through my body.

Pray, Discord, that my darkness doesn't come after you one day. It might be the last thing you ever see."

Before Discord could respond to the remark he was stunned to see that the wall and his magic shattered with little to no effort on the King's part. The stallion touched the ground gently and stared at Discord as he was forcefully ejected from the dream world, immediately returning to the actual world. His arrival was met by a startled Queen Rose, who was surprised that Discord was even in the room without her knowing until now. Though before she could speak he vanished without a trace, leaving her to ponder what had happened.

He could best the Changeling King, that he was sure of.

XI: The Flower

Wisdom had to admit it, traveling through a riftgate, as their new friend Copper called the huge stone gate the train had passed through with ease, was actually fun. On one side they could get to the desert riftgate, about an hour away from Appleloosa, and have plenty of time to discover the exact location of the Angels Root. The downside was that they had to spend three hours passing through some weird space dimension that not even he could figure out.

It officially sucked when the original groups wisest pony couldn't understand something that was being presented to him, or rather him passing through it. The only good thing about the three hours was that they could gather the truth from the mare who had provided them with what she called a warpstone. It looked like an ordinary rock, at least to Tick it did, but insert one into a train and it would interact with whatever riftgate it came into contact with, sending the riders wherever they wanted in Equestria.

"So," Tick said, watching the uncomfortable mare take a seat, "Care to tell us why exactly you have such a hatred for Changelings?"

"Of course," Copper started, taking a deep breath before she began her tale, "It all started a year ago when I met an injured Changeling hiding out behind my workshop at the time, a male soldier by the name of Shape Shift. I remember him now, the bottom of his back left hoof had been completely crushed by a boulder, which had led me to believe he had resorted to using magic to cut his own leg off to survive. When I found him I immediately brought him inside and began treating him so he didn't die from blood loss or starvation.

A day or two later I noticed that his right eye had a dull color to it, so much unlike his turquoise colored left eye that I had to ask him about it. He told me that he had suffered permanent damage to that eye and he was, effectively, blind in his right eye, marking him as an outcast of the Hive. While I watched over him he shared what details of his life that he could, without betraying his honor to his Hive, and eventually he decided just to give in to fate. I couldn't let him do that to himself.

That following night I spent hours toiling away, taking measurements and jotting down notes while I worked on something I had never done before. I knew the length needed to repair the damage of a removed limb and took what was left of his own into consideration while I crafted something nopony had ever seen. When morning broke I outfitted him with the prototype limb and, much to the delight of the both of us, he was walking without a problem. The following day I gave him a relaxing shot to calm his body and replaced his blind eye with a completely functional robotic eye.

You could not imagine his joy when he woke to find that not only had I repaired his broken leg, but also fixed and improved his sight in his eye. He was grateful to me in so many ways that he said he would forever be in my debt, and I was inclined to believe him. After a couple more days he was fit enough to leave my workshop, making him cast a disguise so he wouldn't be recognizable by anypony. As he left I could not help but think that our days, however small, were at an end and that he might visit me when Chrysalis was no longer Queen.

I was wrong in that regard.

About a week after Shape Shift left my workshop I got a visit from seven ponies, six of them being the normal run of the mill Changelings. The seventh, however, was none other than their vile Queen, and you would not believe how angry she was at me. As I backed up I inquired why she was even angry with me, I had saved the life of one of her soldiers just a week ago. She had told me I had turned Shape Shift into a freak, a walking disaster who Chrysalis couldn't trust due to my mechanic parts.

She threw me against a wall and that released a piece of my machinery that crushed my front left hoof, pinning me to the ground so Chrysalis could threaten me even more. She told me that in a year or two, after she had dealt with Celestia and the rest of the alicorns, that she would be coming back for me. She would hunt me down and kill me for what I had done to a poor injured Changeling in need of assistance. I cursed her as she left me there, leaving me to weaken as I lost blood in my own workshop.

When I awoke I was in a hospital bed, my hoof completely removed due to the damage that Chrysalis had caused to my body. That part was completely treated with magic, wrapped up tightly, and sealed so nothing could harm my wound. I was told I was lucky to be alive and that with as much blood as I had lost I should have died right then and there, but they were amazed I had survived. They gave me a walking aid and discharged me immediately, leaving me to my own devices and, more importantly, myself.

I went back to my shop and constructed a second hoof, like I did for Shape Shift, but this time I made one that resembled a fully grown leg. Getting the limb installed was no easy task, as the searing pain of the wires connecting to the bone was painful enough to almost make me tear the limb off. I held on and was able to walk again, but with the added features I built into it I knew Chrysalis would be in trouble next time we saw each other.

For the next year I went about my business, building programs to keep Manehatten safe while I built something that would have ruined even Chrysalis' great magic. I tangoed with the darkness of King Sombra as he attempted to build an army of evil ponies to take the Crystal Kingdom and I emerged victorious every time. My systems grew until the entirety of Manehatten was protected, allowing me the pleasure to build a device to defeat Chrysalis, until you four came along and told me she was dethroned.

That is all there is of my tale. Its up to each of you to determine if you believe me or not."

Immediately after Copper went to check on the warpstone Tick and Peachy began to discuss the story, with Sucker Punch throwing in an idea here and there. That left Wisdom alone with his own thoughts.

I get it now, he thought as he mauled the information around in his head, The events Copper described must have happened before the Canterlot Wedding, when she wanted to fight Celestia and conquer everypony. Copper's entire year of preparation for Chrysalis' return was the entire year of the third season, giving her plenty of time to fight Sombra and devise a plan to get at the evil Ex-Queen.

"Not to burst everypony's bubbles," Copper said, pointing a hoof at the approaching light, "but we have arrived in our destination; the Appleloosa Desert."

And there the desert was, stretched out before them as the train came rolling out of the space dimension with as much ease as it had going in. Now all they had to do was locate the location of the flower, craft the legendary elixir, return to the Hive, and they would have saved their friend.

"If I was an ancient flower where would I be?" Tick asked, though it was mostly to himself while he looked out the windows.

"I would personally grow somewhere where not too many ponies knew about," Peachy said, "Maybe on top of a mountain that almost nopony climbs."

"You would be pretty close to the sky then," Tick laughed.

"That's it," Wisdom said, catching the two off guard, "The flowers name is Angels Root. Angels are in Heaven, or in our case close to the sky. We need to be looking for a mountain that nopony visits and that will be where we find our elusive flower."

"I know where a mountain is in this forsaken desert," Copper spoke up, reminding the four that she was there, "If you would direct your attention to the east of the train you will see a mountain with jagged peaks and what looks like a cloud of smoke circling it."

True enough there was a mountain matching Copper's description in the direction she had specified. Wisdom figured she had been to the desert once or twice before, taking measurements and finding the perfect location for her riftgate to fit into. She must have taken notes on what was all around her in case of emergencies or in case she ever found herself on the other side of Equestria again. And for some strange reason there were a set of tracks leading directly towards their mountain, which they switched onto with ease.

"I knew I would be back here one day," Copper explained, "So what I did was construct a secondary station at the base of the mountain, complete with a turn around section, and left it there. From what I can tell the station is in need of some repairs and the turn around area is in perfect shape to be used again. Once we reach the station you will have roughly two hours to find this ancient flower your bent on finding, craft this legendary potion, and get back. Something tells me that it would be best if we finished this quickly and got as far away from the mountain was we can before we go over two hours."

Hearing that time was still of the essence Wisdom nodded to Sucker Punch and the two of them escaped the train, flying directly towards the tallest peak of the mountain. It was the simplest strategy Wisdom had in his arsenal of strategies, he and Sucker were going to locate the flower and craft the elixir. Tick and Peachy would defend the train from anything, or anypony, that wished to delay them.

"So, what's the plan?" Copper asked, interested as to why the two ponies had left the train.

"We guard the train," Peachy answered, shaking her mane as she looked out at the surrounding area, "I don't know if you realized the truth behind everything, but there is a reason why those monsters came after us back in Manehatten. We figured out that Sombra would be working with Chrysalis to take over the Hive yet again, though the only way she can do that is by removing her only target; King Rocket Sky."

"The Alicorn Prince whose power is unbelievable?" Copper asked, pieces falling into place the more she thought about things.

"Yes," Peachy confirmed, "She needs to remove him from existence, leaving his wife in turmoil so she can step in and claim what she has lost. Then when the Hive is her's again she can help Sombra take over the Crystal Empire and then they can move onto the rest of Equestria. Their plan is simple, kill the one pony who stopped them in the past, not Twilight and her friends, but the one who nearly won Chrysalis everything.

Our friend, the Alicorn Prince as you call him, has been the target ever since he defeated Chrysalis."

"Back to our plan," Copper said, easing the train into the station, "We defend this train until they come back with that Elixir that could save the King?"

"Yes," Peachy answered again, noticing that darkness seemed to gather around the various places around the base of the mountain, "and it seems that Sombra found the location of the Angels Root before us and decided to set a little trap in case we arrived. I count at least a dozen hostiles approaching from the north of our location, maybe half that from the east and west at the moment. It seems that Sombra isn't taking any chances with preventing our success.

And what in Luna's name are you doing?"

Copper had magically grasped a lever and had pulled it down just as Peachy had asked her question, causing the train to shake for a moment. They seemed to rise for a few seconds before something happened to come out of the sides, causing the nightmare to look over the edge.

"Why does the train have cannons?" Peachy asked, her darkness seeping out of her so she could be ready for the shadows.

"They are an old defensive measure," Copper explained, the cannons pointing towards their northern enemies, "I update them every now and then so I can be ready in case this happened. Good thing I was prepared, otherwise a defense with three ponies would be impossible."

"Fire," Peachy shouted, jumping out just as the first round was fired into the waiting shadows, destroying the unfortunate ones that got hit.

~Tip of the Mountain~

"We must hurry," Wisdom said, locating a flower with a pure white petal and an ivory colored stem, "There it is. Do what you need before our enemies arrive."

"Will do," Sucker acknowledged, sitting by the flower as he pulled over a variety of tools, "It should take me a few minutes to complete the Elixir. Just guard me in case Sombra was smart enough to predict your tiny plan."

"Sombra's not that smart," Wisdom said, watching shadows rise out of the cloud ring and come their way, "but Chrysalis is that smart. Smart enough to devise a plan in which she had two fronts. Focus on the elixir while I hurt our unfriendly shadow friends."

His staff appeared in his hold as he bashed the first shadow out of the sky, making it separate into what looked like seven more shadows. They not only had the ability to come out of the shadows, but they also had the ability to conjure more of themselves when they were broken down. Wisdom had to be extremely careful, if he broke them too much he would soon be overrun by shadows and Rocket would be lost.

~The train~

Peachy wasn't having such problems with the shadows, instead of worrying about creating too many of them she focused on guarding their escape route. Tick, on the other hoof, was using his cannon to blast them away left and right, though he had to be careful with what energy his cannon possessed. Copper focused on making sure the cannons worked and tossing any poor shadows that made it to her in front of the cannons, earning them a one way ticket to oblivion.

But as the minutes passed Peachy began to realize that even with them guarding the train and the shadow demons multiplying at rapid speeds that not even they could stand a chance. Sure, Tick and Peachy were considered monsters in their own right, but even with their collected powers they didn't stand a chance. With Wisdom they did or even with a small army, but with nearly a two hundred enemies in the span of five minutes Peachy began to wish that Rocket was there with them. It would have been fitting, having a dying pony fighting for his own life.

Pathetic.

Peachy remembered that voice; it was the familiar voice of the demonic pony known by a name that had given dread to so many ponies in Equestria. It was a pony who Peachy had at first feared, but now that he had returned she was glad that they had a guardian angel, or demon as it were, watching over them. In the coming days she would wonder how he managed to escape or if it was a trick of her eyes, but there was no mistaking what she saw.

Floating above the enemy ranks was the familiar form of their friend, but with his colors darker and his voice sounding like thunder. It was the most dangerous pony in all of existence, a pony whose power was feared and respected by those who had witnessed it. Dark Sky, the hollow of their friend, was here to help defeat their enemy. Not even the vile hollow wanted to die an early death by the hoof of trickery.

"I was wondering if we'd be getting reinforcements," Peachy shouted, kicking a shadow right in the face, "though to be honest I wasn't expecting you to arrive."

"Foolish mare...I mean, my friend Peachy," the demon said, surprising her with his sudden friendliness, "I was told by my harmonic half to assist you three in your quest to save us. If you'll excuse me, I have free reign to destroy those who oppose me. Stay to the other directions besides the north, I will deal with them."

And deal with them he did, jumping into the frying pan and blasting shadows with magic that Peachy could not even begin to recognize. With what she saw she knew that Rocket hadn't fully recovered enough to send him anywhere, he had just left his body to make sure the flower was attained.

~The tip~

Wisdom had reached the same conclusion, but he was still surprised that Dark had found his way to them in such a short amount of time. He was glad to have the hollow around, as he drew in the attention of all the shadows that had been built from their fights and gave them more time to get prepared. But even as his enemies began to be drawn in by the lure of the hollow Wisdom could not help but marvel at the power he still contained.

"We've got the elixir," Sucker whispered, holding up two vials with a silvery liquid in each, "and enough left over to ensure that we can treat a second case. Shall we return to the Hive?"

"Of course we return to the Hive," Wisdom said, slipping the vials into a pouch, "I just hope we can get away before the shadows come after us."

~The train~

Peachy wasn't surprised to find that Wisdom and Sucker returned about ten minutes after they had left the train, but what she had been expecting was the elixir in their hooves. When they didn't say if they had it or not it made her worry that Sombra had destroyed the flower to prevent them from succeeding in case his shadows failed.

"Get this train moving," Wisdom shouted, Copper nodding and hitting the lever, "We have the elixir in hoof. Now let's hope that Dark can keep our friends busy so we can get back to the riftgate."

Peachy was glad, they had what they came for. Now they needed to leave before the shadows figured out they had succeeded in their mission. The train returned to its original form and started forward, heading for the turn around while the shadows faced the demon. While the train moved Peachy and her friends blasted whatever shadows got too close to them, while Sucker made sure that the vials were safe.

It wasn't until the train was heading back to the riftgate that the shadows realized that their prey had succeeded in their mission and were returning to the Hive to save the King. They abandoned the demon and made for the train, getting blasted in the back at random times, but not even that stopped the wave of five hundred demons.

"Calibrating the warpstone for the Hive," Copper said, causing the stone to glow a darkish grey color.

"What does that mean?" Tick asked, keeping his eyes ahead as the riftgate appeared in seconds, "I hope it means what I think it means."

"It means we will be closer to the Hive," Copper explained, "The stone will lock onto our gate and we will appear somewhere near the Hive, but there is a special mechanic spell I have in this stone. I'm tracking where your friend is, so if he moves out of the Hive we will appear closer to his position to administer the elixir. Either way we will reach his location within the next three hours and save his life."

~The Hive~

Rocket snapped awake, his eyes glowing just a bit as he felt his chaotic half return to his body. His friends had the elixir, but what they failed to realize was that time was already nearly out for him. The riftgate allowed them to traverse large distances in a span of three hours, but it cost them a whole day each way. A two way trip would cost them two whole days, leaving them with just a few hours, if not minutes, to deliver the elixir to him.

"Rocket, your awake," Rose sounded surprised when he turned to face her, "How do you feel?"

"Terrible," he answered, shaking his head slightly, "but that is to be expected from the poison in my veins. Where have the other rulers disappeared to?"

"They are currently sleeping in our guest rooms," Rose answered, "Why do it matter?"

"In case my friends fail, which I'm sure they won't, I would like to have one more war game with them," Rocket replied, coughing just a bit, "Tell them its just between the five of use and I'll go all the way. They will catch my meaning."

At least he hoped they understood what he had meant by that.

XII: The Last War Game

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.