Revenge of Fury

Chapter 3

A Royal Audience

Twilight and the others entered the Throne Room. The train ride had been short and uneventful. Everypony had one question on their minds - what did Celestia want that required all of them? A few had guesses, but nopony was fully sure.

Celestia stood staring out the window. She turned to Twilight and smiled. "Twilight. I'm glad to see you got my letter,"

Twilight nodded. "I got everypony and we all came as fast as we could," she said.

Celestia's face slightly darkened. "Where is your changeling friend? Reaper, correct?"

Willus nodded. "Yes, your highness. Reaper left a few days ago, we don't know where. He said he had personal matters to attend to,"

Celestia nodded. "A shame. His counsel would have been invaluable now," she said.

"But, your highness, we still don't know why you brought us here!" Rarity said.

Celestia nodded. "I suppose it is time I told you," she said. She began pacing.

"Ever since the Canterlot Invasion, as you are aware, we have been on high alert. The changelings could attack at any time. To be honest, the only reason your friend Reaper wasn't immediately detained and interrogated was because I trusted your judgement," she said. The ponies present felt a little uncomfortable.

"Nevertheless, we haven't been 100% effective. As you know, we captured a changeling spy a while back. Perhaps a month or two ago. They died later, unfortunately, but we now know where the hive is located. That is where you come in,"

"Princess, what is it you need us to do?" Shamrock asked.

Celestia sighed. "War with the changelings is closer to us than it ever has been. I can't afford that. War is a terrible, unnatural thing. Equestria hasn't had a war since before Luna became Nightmare Moon. I have done everything in my power to ensure that war never happens again - at the very least, not with Equestria. Twilight, there are no winners in war. The only victor is Death. However, the Queen has decided that war is the only option. I don't know what she wants, or why she's doing this, but I do not want to be forced into a war. Although it's true that no formal declaration has been made, the signs are obvious. Some of my more zealous advisors believe that we are already at war. I don't believe them, but I do believe that this war is coming. I have no intentions to start it, but if need be, I will end it. So, I shall give Queen Chrysalis a chance. I am sending you to the Changeling Hive. I want you to convince her against this act. With any luck, you can prevent this war before it begins," she finished.

Twilight nodded. "You can count on us, Princess," she said.

Celestia smiled. "I knew I could, Twilight," she said. She suddenly took notice of Lightning Hawk. "Ah! You must be Lightning. Twilight has told me a lot about you," she said, winking.

Twilight blushed deeply, as did Lightning, causing Celestia to chuckle.

Shamrock gave Lightning a friendly punch. Lightning looked legitimately frightened. Shamrock shrugged, and continued the conversation. "Your highness, where exactly is the Changeling Hive?" he asked.

Celestia stopped chuckling, once again taking her serious tone.

"The hive is close to one of our outlying towns. You may have heard of Appleloosa?"

Applejack gasped. "Appleloosa? But that's where cousin Braeburn lives!"

Celestia nodded. "I am sure your family will prove instrumental in this endeavor, Applejack. Now, go. The train is ready for you," she said.

Twilight nodded. "Understood, Princess," she said. And the group ran out the doors. Celestia sighed, and wondered what would happen next.

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"Your highness, I implore you!" the changeling said.

Chrysalis sat and sighed. "Ganglion, I have already made my decision. As much as it pains me, it's too dangerous to send you into the pony lands for medical supplies,"

Ganglion groaned. "My Queen, our race is dying left and right. You know just as well as I do that this hunger is going to drive us into extinction if we don't do anything about it!"

"Enough! Ganglion, I respect your opinion, but you are a doctor, not a strategist,"

Ganglion nodded, bowing. His carapace and eyes were crimson red, and his expression was cold and unfeeling. "Of course, your highness," he said. He turned to leave.

Chrysalis sighed. "We haven't had a real strategist since he was exiled," she mumbled to herself.

Ganglion walked out of the throne room, returning to his clinic. At the same time, two guards were bringing Reaper in.

The two guards roughly threw him to the ground. He got up, coughing, and smiled cruelly at Chrysalis.

"Hello, Chryssie. It's been a long, long time," he said.

Queen Chrysalis showed no emotion, and said nothing. She looked him over, sitting in her throne. Reaper smirked. "What? Too stunned by my presence to even say hello?"

Chrysalis got up, and walked in front of him. She looked him up and down. "Reaper..." she said.

Reaper said nothing, but continued upholding his arrogant attitude.

"Reaper, what happened?" she asked, expressing genuine concern.

"Well, after you left me to die, I lived. Or did you want a more complex answer? And when do I get my hat back?"

Chrysalis was sad and confused. "Reaper, why did you do it? Why did you try and take over?"

"You were doing a poor job, and I see you continue to live up to those expectations,"

Chrysalis said nothing, averting her eyes for a moment.

"Oh yes, I noticed. Did you think I wouldn't sense the despair in the air? The feeling of hopelessness? No, I can. And I know exactly why that is," Reaper continued.

Chrysalis spoke again. "I've tried, Reaper. But why? Why are you here now? What made you return?"

"It's simple, you denied me my right, and I've come to take it back!"

"Reaper, I wanted none of this!"

"Oh, I'm sure you say that now! Now that war and death are at your door!"

Chrysalis sighed. "Reaper, I'm not going to lie to you. You know that starvation is killing us. All of us,"

"Not me,"

Chrysalis shot him an angry glare, but kept her composure. "Reaper, please. I don't even care about what happened anymore. Our military is in shambles, just like the rest of our empire. We have no hope of winning this war. Reaper, we - I need you back!"

Reaper scoffed. "Of course not, Chryssie. You dug yourself into this grave, you should have guessed this would happen. I warned you, but NO! You HAD to listen to someling else, didn't you? And look where you are now! No, Chrysalis, the time for listening to me has long passed,"

"Reaper, I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry. I honestly believed we could win. I didn't choose this!"

Reaper laughed once. "You chose this Chryssie, when you defied me! All of this is your doing!"

Chrysalis sighed. Silence filled the throne room for a moment. "So, what are you going to do then?"

"Simple. I'm going to kill you. And then I will take back what should be mine,"

Chrysalis nodded. "I'm sorry it has to be this way, Reaper. I really am," she said.

Suddenly, a guard rushed in. "Your highness! This...this...thing! It's broken in! It's rampaging through the hive! It's coming here!" he shouted.

"How close is it?" Chrysalis asked.

There was a deafening boom. A large chunk of wall next to the guard exploded. The guard was flung across the room and instantly knocked out. Smoke filled the area. A large, light blue light glowed through the dust. Two piercing light blue lights were above it. Chrysalis felt her body tighten with fear. Reaper smiled.

The smoke cleared, revealing Sputnik in combat mode. He was suspended by his spidery legs, and one of his cannons was drawn. In one claw, he held Reaper's things. With the other, he waved.

"Hi boss!"

All of Chrysalis' fear instantly disappeared. "What is that thing?"

Reaper ignored her. "Ah, Sputnik. Your timing is impeccable as always," he said.

Sputnik nodded happily.

"Well, Chryssie, it's been fun, but I'm afraid it's time for me to make my leave," he said. Sputnik gave him his hat, which he proudly returned to its rightful position.

Vertigo, Ajax, Silicon, and a few other changelings came running in. "Stop him!" Silicon shouted.

Reaper smirked, looking Vertigo dead in the eyes for a moment. "Sputnik, would you be so kind as to make an exit?"

"On it, boss!" he chimed. Sputnik's cannon hummed, and with a large blast, there was a new hole in the wall of the throne room. Sputnik's legs and cannon retracted, and he returned to his normal size. Outside was a steep drop, straight into the scrubby badlands that surrounded the hive. The sun was setting outside. Reaper grabbed him, before hovering outside the hole.

"Time to go. But believe me, we'll be seeing each other again. Very soon," he said mockingly.

And then he flew away.

Silicon raged. "My queen, may I lead a search party to find him?" he asked.

Chrysalis nodded, deep in thought. Silicon snorted, and turned to the nearest changeling. He had a yellow carapace and eyes. "Copperhead, you know  what I'm thinking, right?" he asked.

Copperhead grinned at the silver-plated changeling. "When don't I?"

The two generals ran off, and went to gather their soldiers.  As they exited, they bumped into Princess Phasmi. Silicon bumped into her, to be exact. "What's going on? What's happening?" she asked.

"Reaper's escaped. We're going after him," Copperhead said.

Phasmi shot Silicon a look. The silver-backed changeling sighed, before turning to his partner. "Copperhead, go on ahead. I'll catch up," he said. Copperhead nodded, and left.

The two looked at each other. "Silicon, let me go with you," Phasmi said.

Silicon shook his head. "No, no, that can't happen. You're royalty, and it's too dangerous,"

"Silicon, I need to do this. You know just as well as I do that Reaper's not going to stop until he gets what he wants,"

"So? Do you think you can just walk up to him and persuade him against it?"

Phasmi sighed. "No, it's just..." she paused. "I want - I have to believe that at least a little of the colt I fell in love with is still there," she said.

Silicon stared her straight in the eyes. He sighed. "Fine," he said. Phasmi smiled, and hugged him.

"Thank you," she said.

Meanwhile, Vertigo looked at Ajax pleadingly. Her brother thought a moment, then sighed. "Your highness, may I lead a different search party?"

"Why separate?"

"High General Silicon and I operate differently. It's better this way, believe me,"

"Mmhmm," she said absently. That was enough of a yes for them. Ajax and Vertigo left the room.

They traveled towards the barracks, at least the ones that were under Ajax's control. "Vertigo, why are you so set on following this guy?" Ajax asked.

Vertigo sighed. "Brother, you know how hard it's been. We've both been hungry. Really hungry. Reaper says he can feed us. He even fed me a bit. I wouldn't believe him, if he didn't show that he was capable of living up to his promises. You saw him. Couldn't you sense the huge amount of emotions he had? Or how healthy he was?"

Ajax indeed had detected these signs. Was Vertigo right? He sighed. His sister was no idiot. She could've made a great general herself, with the proper training. She could judge things well for herself, and he trusted her judgment.

"Fine," he said, as they entered the barracks.

All of the soldiers inside turned to them. "General!" One of them shouted, and they all stood at attention.

"At ease," Ajax said, looking at them. He looked them all over. "Is someling missing?" he asked.

One of the soldiers nodded. "Yes sir, Phobia. She died a few hours ago. Hunger, as usual," the soldier said.

That was the last straw. The decision was made.

"Alright, listen up! What I'm about to say may sound crazy. As some of you may or may not know, the ex-high general Reaper recently returned. He was captured, but has already escaped. However, he offered us a chance. Reaper has discovered how to gather emotions consistently, and has offered to feed us. There is only one condition. We must help him in his mission of retribution, and help him accomplish his goals. I don't know about all of you, but I don't want to go hungry anymore. So, I'm going to help him. If you want to help me help him, that's up to you. It's been an honor leading all of you, but now, the decision is yours," he said.

There was a long pause as the soldiers absorbed the information. Finally, one spoke up. "Sir, we will never abandon you. You are the greatest leader we could ask for, and our loyalty is undying. Of course we will assist you," he said. The soldiers began to cheer. Vertigo smiled.

Ajax smiled too. "Good. Now let's go. It's a long walk to Tyrant's Gorge," he said.

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Ganglion entered his clinic. As usual, he had many patients. A volunteer came up to him, a kind mare by the name of Phobos. She had lost her brother, Deimos, a few weeks ago. "Doctor! I'm so glad you're back, we have so many patients that need seeing!" she said.

Ganglion sighed. "Can't Ampulus handle it?" he asked.

Phobos flinched, averting her eyes. "Doctor Ganglion, I'm afraid Doctor Ampulus died a few moments ago," she said sadly.

Ganglion's expression was flat. He showed no reaction. "So, that makes me the last changeling doctor, doesn't it?"

Phobos nodded.

Ganglion sighed, annoyed. "Then we better get to work. There's a lot to do, and not enough time," he said, before entering the emergency room - a room of decay, death, and sorrow.

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Chrysalis was left alone, and she sighed.

The past few weeks had been stressful. Hunger had proven to be the greatest threat the changelings had ever faced. Chrysalis herself hadn't dealt with it too much, but that was only because she was royalty. Although she herself didn't believe it, her subjects considered her above them, like a goddess. They made sure she was fed.

But at what cost?

The death toll was higher than ever. Most of it was due to hunger, some to suicide. Some changelings just couldn't handle the card that fate had dealt them. Chrysalis sighed. She levitated over a picture frame. In the frame was a picture of herself, Phasmi, and Reaper. All were smiling. She sighed sadly as she remembered the old days. The good days.

She sighed, and began to sing sadly. (link)

Chrysalis: I dreamed a dream in time gone by,

When hope was high and life worth living.

I dreamed that love would never die,

I dreamed that fate would be forgiving.

Then I was young and unafraid.

Then dreams were made and used and wasted.

There was no ransom to be paid.

No song unsung, no wine untasted.

But, now hunger's come at last,

With a voice as soft as thunder,

As it tears our hope apart,

As it turns our dreams to shame.

He spent a summer at my side,

He filled my dear with endless wonder.

He took my daughter in his stride,

But he was gone when autumn came.

But still I dream he'll come to me,

That he will live the years beside her.

But there are dreams that cannot be,

And there are storms we cannot weather.

I had a dream my life would be

So different from this hell I'm living,

So different now from what it seemed!

Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

Chrysalis stopped singing, staring out the hole left by Sputnik. She watched the sun set with tears streaming down her eyes.