Chapter 11: The Changeling War Part 2
Rage and Ash enter the mines slowly looking around carefully for anything out of the ordinary. "Rage how long will I be like this?" Ash asks his friend
"Well once I get a Chaos Emerald back I can change us back to our normal forms." Rage says as they continue on down the path. Soon they come to see the Chaos emerald on the ground in a clearing.
"There!" Ash says pointing at the emerald and runs for it with Rage as they grab it.
"This feels too easy..." Rage says "Why would the Emeralds be scattered in the first place though?"
"Who cares?" Ash says "Now can we please get to changing me back?" he asks. Rage nods and focuses as the two morph back into their normal hedgehog forms. Soon a group of Changeling's come out of one of the tunnelss
[Music: The Ing Attack~ Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Used as the theme for the Changelings)]
"We will be taking that from you Hedgehogs!" one laughs
"Over our dead bodies!" Rage yells summoning his weapon
"Have it you way." it chuckles as they change into different forms leap for Rage and Ash who quickly destroy all the changelings and all that was left was Twilight who was torn and beaten. Rage nearly sliced her too until she yelled
"Real me! Real me!" Twilight pants
"Really?" Rage asks not buying it, he had already fallen for that once before.
"Rage Chaotic please believe me!" she says
"It's her." Rage says "Only the REAL Twilight knows my full name." Rage helps her up and she hands him the blue Chaos Emerald.
"here." she says "When Queen Chrysalis took over we tried to stop her with the Elements and then when we couldn't do it we wanted to use the Chaos Emeralds but we didn't want to without your okay. So Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinky, Applejack, Cadence and I each took one and went into hiding until you returned. We wanted to keep them safe from the Changelings." she explains
"Thank you Twilight but you guys don't need my permission to use the Emeralds they are in the Palace of Friendship so we all can use them." Rage says "But it was a good idea to separate and take one with each of you. Now do you know where anypony else is?"
"Well I want to say Fluttershy is in the Whitetail Woods somewhere. Rainbow Dash in up in Cloudsdale. Cadence is safe in the Crystal Empire, and Rarity and Applejack are hiding out with Pinky and Cheese Sandwich in Appleoosa. They each have a Chaos Emerald." Twilight explains "But I fear Chrysalis knows of this and is trying to get them so she can use their powers."
"I wouldn't put it past her..." Rage sighs "She would do anything to get absolute power over this place. No doubt she will use them to kill any of the ponies and mobians who rebel against her."
The group walks out of the mines and out into a field outside debating where to go next. Soon Christain walks up to the group from a doorway of dark energy. "Hay Rage glad you finally decided to show up. I am not having any luck finding the others Twilight."
"You looked where I told you?" Twilight asks
"Yeah besides Cadence I haven't seen the rest." the gray hedgehog replies
"Well Ash and I are about to start our own search why don't you keep looking Christain?" Rage says. Christain thinks a moment and he nods in agreement as he heads off on his own.
"What are you gonna do Twilight?" Rage asks
"I am coming with you guys." Twilight replies "I can't stand by while my friends are in danger!"
"Very well let's move!" Rage says leading the group on
(With Christain)
Christain was holding a sword with a blade of pure white shining brightly and a light purple hilt. It was a blade given to him by Dex, Rage's mentor. This was a special blade made custom for Christain, Christain was the only one who could wield the sword. It was called Shadowbreaker, A weapon made to be ultra effective against creatures and beings of Darkness. He had just defeated another group of Changelings "How can they be more persistent then Dark Spawns? They just don't ever give up!" he growls continuing on the path. Soon he was met by a hedgehog in a black coat that made him think of the way Rage described the Organization XIII Coats that Xemnas wore during the Smash Bros Tournament a while back. Christain knew who it was... It was the darkness that once consumed him... it had a name... Nix.
"Nix?!" Christain yells "This can't be!"
"Christain the Dark." Nix says "What a pleasant surprise..."
"I'm not called that anymore It's Christain the Hedgehog!" Christain yells gripping his blade ready for anything
"Why? I must ask... Why did you give up the Darkness?" Nix asks "It was your nature!"
"Nix you know as well as I do that I had no choice in the matter! I was barely an infant when my father did that to me! I know if I had a choice... I would have never taken the Darkness! Rage and his friends have have been so kind to me since I was forced out of my dark ways... Even though I had the chance to take it back I chose not to." Christain sighs
"And why would that be?" Nix asks
"Because... Rage showed me that when you have friends there is nothing you cannot overcome... Rage and his friends treated me as if we were never bitter enemies and that is something I wish to keep!" Christain insists "Now why are you here?"
"I am here to return you to Darkness..." Nix says "But it is obvious you will not accept it..."
"You're damn right I won't!" Christain yells looking at the Sword he had been blessed with "Dex made me this sword... and when I look at it you know what I think of? I think about all the people who were innocent that I killed when I had the powers of Darkness... There is no way I will go back to it... I choose my path and that path is the path to light!" Christain yells getting in a battle stance knowing Nix was going to fight him over it. "I won't give myself back!"
{Music Start Dark Impetus Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep}
"Very well..." Nix says shrouding the area in darkness forcing Christain to look away. When he could look back he saw Nix and a weird hedgehog creature coming from where his shadow would have been cast. "If that is your wish... I will deliver you to the Darkness!" Nix yells as the shadow behind him forms a spear out of darkness and Nix charges for Christain.
"I'd like to see you try!" Christain yells leaping causing their blades to clash and both get thrown back.
"Submit!" Nix yells as the shadow attempts to claw at Christain with claws of dark energy
"I told you no!" Christain yells countering with a blast of light energy "I am not going to go back!" he yells slicing at the shadow causing it to disappear. "And you were part of my heart! My heart is part of the light now and so should you!"
"ha ha ha! Is that what Rage told you?!" Nix laughs "I am the darkness that was in your heart but now I am my own being... but I am still only ½ as strong as I could be..."
"And you are going to remain that way!" Christain yells as he releases one of his special moves "Take this! Dawn Breaker!" he yells as he leaps in the air and strikes the ground with an explosion of light energy. The attack forces Nix back against the wall of darkness weakened by the light energy, Christain walks up to him a points the end of his blade at Nix.
"You think that this is over don't you? Well it's not! Every time you kill me I will return again and again until I link with a new body! But I will not stop targeting you! I will take you back!" Nix yells
"Dream on! If that is what will be done then I will fight back good bye Nix!" Christain says slicing the dark being across the chest causing him to vanish in a cloud of darkness as the field returns to the way it was. "I am good now... and I will fight to protect that stance no matter what the cost may be. If I die it will be protecting the worlds not trying to force them to darkness. I will die as I am now... I will not die corrupted by the Darkness" Christain says before he moves on.
{Music End}
(With Rage, Ash and Twilight)
The three were walking a path in the Whitetail Woods looking for Fluttershy with high hopes. Rage had his eyes closed and his hand glowing with energy searching for Fluttershy's presence or the energy from the Chaos Emerald. Soon Rage stops and his eyes shoot open.
"What's wrong Rage?" Ash asks
"I feel a great dark force nearby..." Rage says as all around them creatures spawn from orbs of black energy.
{Music Start: Deep Drive Kingdom Hearts II}
"Dark Spawns!" Rage says as his sword appears in his hand "here?"
"What are Dark Spawns?!" Twilight asks
"You ever heard of Heartless?" Rage asks and they shake their head "Well a friend of mine says that they are what things turn into when they lose their heart." Rage says as one tries to attack but Twilight protects them with magic
"What does that have to do with these?" she asks
"Well when a heartless is killed it stands to reason the life energy has to go somewhere and this is where is ends up! It then it is just recycled over and over!" Rage says killing once with a Icy Chaos Strike. "We need to get through them!" he yells as they begin fighting them off "Otherwise I can't detect Fluttershy's presence or the Chaos Emerald!"
"Then we have to fight our way through!" Ash says kicking one and it disappears. Ash then summons a blue energy and forms a large laser "Aura Oblivion!" he yells as the laser shoots through a line of Dark Spawns "there is way to many!"
"Keep fighting!" Rage yells as he gets tackled by a group from behind "arg!"
"Rage!" Twilight yells as she looks for a second the enemies fly off of Rage in a gust of wind
"I am fine!" he yells using a Thundaga skill to send a Area Of Effect based field striking the Dark Spawns inside it.
"What do we do? Ash is right there is too many!" Twilight yells blasting one with a magic beam "And all this magic use is giving me a headache!"
"Ash get close to Twilight!" Rage says killing another group by throwing his sword and it slices through them before reappearing in his hand.
"Why?" Ash asks back blocking an attack
"Just do it!" Rage yells killing another with a Chaos Lance. Ash leaps over to Twilight and they soon become surrounded
"Twilight put you and Ash in a protective field! I'm going to use a Chaos Blast!" Rage says kicking a Dark Spawn that was trying to get at his feet
"Okay!" Twilight says as she puts a barrier up "give it all you got Rage!" she confirms letting him know they were protected
"Alright..." Rage grunts as he glows with a red energy "Say good night!" Rage grunts as he finishes charging the energy "CHAOS BLAST!" he yells releasing the energy.
"Whoa..." Twilight gasps as the bright red energy dome flies over them and kills all of the Dark Spawns. Once the field was completely gone Twilight put the energy dome down and they went over to Rage who was panting a bit. "Nice going Rage!" Twilight compliments
{Music end}
"thanks... I- I found Fluttershy..." he pants "she is up in a cave to the north a little ways... the Chaos Emerald is with her as well."
"Then Let's go!" Twilight says and they all walk for the cave,
(Meanwhile with Christain)
Christain was standing on a ridge overlooking Appleoosa with his eyes closed like he was focusing. "I found them..." he sighs as he opens his eyes. He nods his head before leaping off the ridge and running of the side of the large hill it was on past Appleoosa and in the direction of a red flow in the distance.
As he got closer he could see Applejack, Rainbow, Cheese Sandwich, and Applebloom tied down along side a herd of buffalo surrounded by Dark Spawns. "Dark Spawns?" Christain asks himself "But how are they here?!"
Applejack was looking at the dark spawns "What in the hay are these things?!" she asks bucking one
"I have no idea" a small buffalo says "Chief Thunderhooves?"
"I have no idea Little Stronghorn... they are a mystery even to me!" he snorts
"Well we can't take all of em!" Applejack yells
"Applejack is right" Cheese Sandwich says
"Sis I'm scared..." Applebloom says
"Don't worry Applebloom I got ya." Applejack says as Christain jumps between them and the Dark Spawns
"Dusk Blast!" he yells making a blast of energy destroying the Dark Spawns
"Christain!" Rainbow sighs
"Boy are glad to see you." Applejack says
"You know this creature?" Little Stronghorn asks
"Yeah he's a friend of our friend Burning Rage." Applebloom says
"Thank you for saving us Christain." Cheif Thunderhhoves says
"No problem guys but what are the Dark Spawns doing out here at all?" Christain asks
"I bet they were after the Chaos Emeralds Applejack and I were given by Twilight to keep an eye until Rage got back!" Rainbow Dash says
"But that still doesn't explain how they are here in the first place..." Christain says
"What do ya mean?" Cheese asks "They just come out of nowhere like its natural!"
"For them it is... but not here... not in this world" Christain says
"Now what in blazes is that supposed to mean?" Applejack asks
"Equestria is a world where there is no remaining natural darkness since Nightmare Moon was turned back into Luna. That means there can't be Dark Spawns unless summoned or one with the power to control them is here." Christain explains
"you need to get to safety there is no doubt the Changelings will be on their way any minute." Christain says to the chief "I will take these guys back to safety in Appleloosa. And Rainbow, Applejack and Applebloom I will take you guys to meet up with Rage and the others."
"Good luck ponies." Chief Thunderhooves says
"You guys too." Christain says as they warp to safety and the buffalo stampede off to their home.
(With Rage, Twilight, and Ash)
The three had entered the cave that Fluttershy was in and they found Spike within and even deeper they knew was Fluttershy. Twilight had the place lit with a spell but soon an orange glow was seen and they galloped for it. When they arrive the found Fluttershy squished against the wall in fear but when she sees them she calms down. "Fluttershy you're okay!" Twilight sighs hugging her
"I am glad to see you guys... when I heard the hooves I was scared it was the Changelings but this is much better." she says as she sees Rage. "Oh Rage!" she says pulling the yellow Chaos Emerald from a bag "Here I kept it safe like Twilight asked us to." she hands it to Rage who smiles warmly
"Thank you Fluttershy." Rage says as he kindly takes it and puts it with the other 3. As he does so Spike coughs a letter up and Twilight reads it.
"It's from Christain... he found Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Applebloom. Rainbow and Applejack had both the Chaos Emeralds they were given and he is awaiting to know what we do next." Twilight says highlighting the important things in the letter.
"Well I think I feel Pinky and Rarity are in Ponyville so tell Christain to meet us there." Rage says, Twilight nods and she writes a reply quickly and hands it to Spike who sends it off.
(With Christain, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Applebloom)
The four were sitting in a small building in Appleloosa watching the sun peak over the horizon waiting for the reply when it comes out o nowhere and Christain reads it. "They want to meet us up in Ponyville." he says
"But that's miles away!" Applejack says "And the train ain't goin!"
"Well we can walk." Christain says "Do not worry I will protect you guys."
"We we best be movin then... If we want to make it home by sundown." Applejack says as they get up and walk out.
To be continued