Celestia's eyes were crusted with sleep and illness when they finally opened, twenty minutes late to raise the sun. A wave of nausea forced her back into the pillow, her head spinning and pounding as she tried to sit up. Blearily, she gazed out the window, and watched as the sun began to slowly rise, changing the sky to a vibrant orange.
The queen groaned and rubbed her temple for multiple reasons. Luna obviously was fed up with waiting for her and just took the job on herself. As she started to rise, she was stunned by who emerged through the bedchambers, his talon still glowing with magic and the sun still rising.
"What in Equestria? Aren't you usually back in Disarray at this time?"
"Well normally," Discord answered as he settled on the bed beside his wife. "I thought I'd stay and have a family breakfast~" His tone was light and playful as it always was, but Celestia could see his white brows furrow in worry and the frown on his face. "Are you alright? I can't remember the last time the pristine, punctual queen was ever late to raise the sun."
"I just don't feel well today." She blinked her tired eyes as he nudged a teasing finger against her snout.
"Yes, today... so what about the past week then?" He wasn't letting up. Although he still seemed calm and was moderately smiling, she could tell he wasn't joking around. Glaring, she tried to turn her head away from him—only to find that it was firmly in his paw.
"I don't know, Discord!" she snapped, finally managing to jerk her head away. That was a bad idea. Her body wavered, and before she knew it, her esophagus tightened. She heard Discord gasp and a bucket was at her side just in time as she violently retched in it. Finally pulling back with a few heaving pants, she stared into the wide, concerned eyes of her husband. He didn't say anything for a few moments, but then his eyes narrowed.
"You are going to the infirmary." His tone was a no-nonsense, non-debatable, strict growl. "NOW."
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"Golly sis, when can Ah take a small break?" Applebloom whined. She rammed her aching head against another barrel and began pushing it through the marsh in a tedious journey to reach the barn. "Ah'm getting kinda tired, and Ah think Granny made us some hot cider!"
"Now, Applebloom!" Applejack was panting herself, feeling the sticky perspiration on her face as she continued tiredly bucking the apple trees. "The...celebration for...Discord and Celestia...is gonna be here in just...a few more days! We need to buck these here apples and get 'em made into dishes to serve... to the guests, and especially the royals!"
"By royals ya mean Discord especially, right?"
"Exactly! Do ya realize how much that...chaotic vacuum eats? Keep working, Applebloom!"
The filly scowled, but begrudgingly started to fill another barrel. "Ah really don't see the point since he'll just turn the food into a flock of pigeons anyway..." Pushing the final few barrels up against the side of the barn, Applebloom let herself flop uselessly into the wet grass. Really, Applejack forgot just how little she was sometimes. As much as she loved helping her big sister out on the farm, she could only do so much at a time.
She can keep working, but if Ah don't go get a drink, Ah'm gonna die out here in the hot sun... With a loud yawn, the exhausted filly made her way into the swinging doors to the barn, where the steaming cider was waiting its arrival.
Applejack, of course, stubborn as she was, refused to take a break. She didn't bother calling her sister back once she retreated into the barn. It wasn't a crime to let the kid take a few seconds break after all.
Perhaps Ah should take a breather as well. Applejack was obviously accustomed to the typical exhaustion and sweats that came with taking care of a farm, so to be wheezing like this and feeling slightly dizzy wasn't unusual for her. The more the mare walked, the more the unsettling ill feeling began to take over.
Consarnit, I really overdid it this time. Ah shoulda taken more breaks like Big Macintosh suggested; it's taking a toll on me. Applejack's eyelids fluttered, if only to try and bat away enough of the ailment to be able to work. Her vision was suddenly blurred, and as she walked unsteadily to another apple tree, she could feel her breath begin to quicken.
What the hay is happening ta me? Applejack watched as the vibrant sun seemed to dim before her very eyes. As she gazed above, the trees seemed to be whirling in a distortion of colors. Her green eyes focused on two dangling apples, looking like shiny red orbs in her sight.
How...pretty.... Then she collapsed.
Applebloom hadn't been there to see her older sister slam into the ground, nor did she see how the country mare's body shook, but she did see the golden lump that was her sister lying under the tree as she came back outside. Not understanding the situation, the naive little filly grinned.
"Applejack, ya silly-filly! Ah told y'all'd be plum tuckered out, and looks like your energy level just hit zero!" With a giggle, she gently nudged her sister's hoof. The sick mare was completely unresponsive. A twist of fear hit the filly's heart and she took a closer look at her sister. Applejack's breathing had become erratic, gasping pants, and sweat drenched her pale face. Her body heaved and trembled, and that's when Applebloom lost it.
"APPLEJACK!!" the filly screamed, practically slamming her sister against the ground repetitively as she fiercely shook her. "SIS!!" When the mare remained unresponsive, Applebloom felt her panic begin to rise. "Applejack! Speak ta me! APPLEJACK!"
The filly began breathing heavily and started hyperventilating, whimpering out a few feeble pleas for her sister to wake up, only to receive agonizing silence as a response. "Oh—oh! Somepony help me! There's something wrong with mah sister! SOMEPONY! BIG MAC! GRANNY SMITH! HELP!"
Her screams, although unheard by the motionless, southern mare on the ground, reached the ears of five panicked ponies, who promptly galloped over to the distraught filly. Appleblom had almost forgotten that the rest of the group was coming over to help.
"Applebloom, what in Celestia's name is the matter?" Twilight exclaimed, rushing up beside the trembling little foal. "Are you alright?" It was then that Twilight saw the lump-of-a-sick-pony there at her hooves and gasped. "What happened to Applejack?!" She wedged a hoof underneath the still mare's chin, but the pony stayed silent.
Alarm bells screaming inside her head, Twilight began issuing orders. "Big Macintosh!" Twilight shouted as he and Granny Smith (at least as fast as a granny could go) came tearing out towards them. "Get her—in your wagon or something! We need to get her to the hospital immediately! Spike, write a letter to the princess, and everypony stop crowding her!"
"O-oh no!" Fluttershy cried, an ominous feeling tightening in her gut, "Will she be okay?"
"Yo, AJ!" Rainbow exclaimed, her voice warbling in fear as she tried to shake her as well. "Applejack, are you okay??"
Instantly, Big Macintosh was at his little sister's side and wriggled his way underneath her, lifting the limp pony onto his back and rolling her into a sales wagon. The ponies watched, half stunned as he carelessly bucked out three barrels of apples and caused them to smash as they hit the ground. Compared to his little sister, apples meant nothing.
"Oh please! What's wrong with her?!" Applebloom sobbed desperately, tears and sweat drenching her face. "What happened to her? Where are ya takin' her??"
"Does she need some water?" Pinkie asked, yanking a hose towards the group. "Will that wake her up?" A geyser of water gushed out of the hose opening and splashed into the southern pony' face. The water dripped off her scalding face, but she made no movement other than the harsh shaking.
Sending a parchment of paper into crackling, green flames, Spike put his inkwell and quill into Twilight's saddle bag and brushed away a few apples in the way of their path. "I sent her a letter asking to meet us at the hospital right away!"
"Thank you, Spike—let's move out!" Spike began nudging the wagon into a slow pace, but was abruptly knocked aside and into the mud as Big Mac wriggled on the saddle and began galloping out of the farm, knocking several more barrels as he ran.
"Wait, wait!" Applebloom cried, frantically trying to keep up with the herd, "I wanna come too! She's mah sister! Where are ya taking her?!" She was forced to back up a step as Granny gently took a hold of her scruff and Twilight leaned in to look at her.
"She-she'll be fine, sweetie," Twilight barely whispered, feeling the threat of tears she tried to fight for the sake of the child. "I bet she just has a cold. It's probably nothing serious." Unable to take those wide, searching eyes, Twilight turned on her hoof and caught back up with the girls.
"Twilight, what in Equestria do you think lying to the poor dear will accomplish?" Rarity asked.
"I'm not the Element of Honesty," Twilight said softly, "And I can't bear to tell her the truth."
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Celestia's stomach rolled with the uncomfortable feeling of indigestion as the eggs and lettuce fought inside of her stomach and slowly wriggled back up her esophagus. She didn't want to eat a thing, but Discord had made her. She had barely finished breakfast before the draconequus was nudging her down the hall and towards the hospital wing.
"I think I'm going to throw up," she gurgled.
"Bathroom is just in the left corridor, love~ Shall I carry you?"
"No, I just--" She paused in her wobbling steps at an ever familiar emerald flame creating a portal above her and dropping a small parchment at her hooves. With a weary sigh, the alicorn levitated the scroll with magic and unrolled it. Scanning the paper with an impatient look, a look of horror soon crossed her face and she dropped the scroll. "Applejack is sick."
Discord gave a casual shrug. "It's near fall, Tia—the time ponies get the sniffles." He blinked as his wife shook her head.
"I mean she's very sick. Seriously ill from the sound of it. ....Her symptoms sound reminiscient to what I've been going through." They both fell silent at that, the anxiety constricting the air around them. "Twilight wants me to come right away." Her horn began to glow, and she let out an indignant gasp as Discord closed a paw around it and snuffed out the magic.
"You're going nowhere," Discord said sternly. "Nowhere at least except for the hospital. Get your flanks down to the infirmary. I'll go see the girls."
The queen was much too tired to protest and only gave a tired nod, giving Discord a parting nuzzle and beginning to trudge her way to the infirmary.
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"She looks smaller than usual in that cot," Twilight whispered, eyeing her friend with tears brimming in her eyes. The usually vibrant, sun kissed mare looked as if she hadn't even seen the sun in a few years. Her skin had paled from a glorious golden to sickly orange, and her face seemed slightly sunken. She looked as if she was in the highest stage of a terminal illness.
"Maybe she looks so small because the cot seems so big," Pinkie Pie suggested, nudging the cotton mattress with her snout. "I don't even think a party can fix this... Not even my most delicious cupcakes."
Every girl was crying; Rainbow Dash was trying to hold up a tough facade, but was failing miserably, evident by the wet glisten in her eyes. "I can hardly believe Applejack is in this condition."
"How have we not noticed that she's been getting ill?" Rarity asked.
"But I was just at Applejack's yesterday morning!" Fluttershy exclaimed with a blubbering sniffle as a few large tears dripped down her snout. "And she was fine! She was corralling cows into their pens, a-and bucking t-trees, a-and..." It seemed her emotions had taken over her and she gave a sob, burying her face into her hooves. A talon began gently carding its fingers through her mane as a paw cupped her head slightly. Jolting up, Fluttershy stared in shock at the draconequus's concerned face.
"Discord," the pegasus sobbed, both in relief and misery. None of the girls had even noticed he had shown up. "D-Dis..."
"Yeah, that's my name." Perhaps it was supposed to be said as a joke, but there wasn't the slightest teasing lilt to his voice. His voice was more somber than they could remember. "Sorry I'm not Celestia—I know you wanted her."
"We don't mind who's here," Twilight said painfully. "We just need someone we trust."
Never thought I'd be on that list. "Come now, Twilight, things can't be that bad!" Discord exclaimed, slightly petting her mane. "I know Applejack is pretty under the weather, but little sicknesses come and go all the time."
Watery, violet eyes glared at him, and Rainbow Dash hastily tore off the blankets from the mare's bed. "Does this look like a little sickness to you??" The draconequus gawked at the earth pony's deteriorating condition, and at the IVs protruding from her skin. Lastly he stared up at the steadily beeping heart monitor in shock and utter silence.
"The monitor was going crazy at first when we brought her in," Twilight said, "And only recently has it stabilized."
"So she was dying?" Discord asked, shock clear in his voice. "When did she even get sick? A few days ago?"
"An hour ago." The tension could almost be cut with a knife, draping the room in heavy black clouds.
Discord gazed down at Applejack's still form and carefully scooped her up in his hands. Ponies were always tiny and could easily fit, but she seemed to have shrunk and fit pretty well. She seemed so little all of a sudden. Discord gasped quietly as she shifted, and her dim emerald eyes flicked open. Her white face scrunched up in confusion at seeing the mismatched eyes rather close to her own.
"What....huh? Discord?"
A wide grin spread across the spirit's face (it was meant to look relieved, but being it was discord it only came out in one of his usual smirks). "The one and only~! You gave us quite a fright, you know."
Dazed and confused and trying to focus on the draconequus, Applejack's eyes drifted over to her arm. She cried out when she saw the tubes protruding from it, attached to a large, colorless sack of fluid. "Wh-what in tarnation!"
"Oh, that?" Discord asked casually, "That's merely a bag of cream soda. You see, the doctors had seemed to notice your alarming cream soda deficiency—probably because of your love for healthy food—so he decided to--" Discord was cut off as Twilight angrily shoved him aside, causing him to trip and flip backwards over a cot next to her.
"How are you feeling, Applejack?" Twilight asked softly, disregarding the serious health risks as she nuzzled her critically ill friend. "We've been so worried."
"Ah....Ah feel just...fine!" Applejack wheezed out in her usual, stubborn way. "Git me...outta here so I can get back to mah farm!"
Relocating his spine, Discord rolled his eyes in exasperation and relief. "Oh yeah, she'll be just fine."
"I'm not so sure about that." The ponies jumped in alarm as the curtains surrounding Applejack's cot were abruptly pulled back and a grim faced doctor walked in.
"What do you mean?" Discord growled, ready to slam a pie-disguised anvil into his face. The girls were already freaked out enough! "What does she have?"
The doctor remained as somber as ever and his ears folded back in distress. "I don't know. I don't know the name, but I know what she has. She is not the first one to show symptoms of this alarmingly progressive illness. It's as if a wave of sickness has hit Equestria. All over the land these symptoms seem to be popping up."
"An epidemic?" Twilight gasped.
"A plague?" Discord added.
"Correct," the doctor confirmed. "It popped up in Equestria three days ago and since it has more fatalities have been reported. Like any epidemic, many patients recover...and many don't. There have been two reported deaths in Ponyville so far, and about thirty cases of the illness. The numbers are just continuing to rise."
Discord felt his body grow ice cold. To him, time seemed to have stopped. His voice sounded miles away from him, the only thing in his mind being his sick wife at home. "What are the symptoms?"
"Fatigue, shakes, dizziness; the victim becomes disoriented and stumbles a lot. The heart can go really erratic if it's a bad case."
"But I've been in town a lot!" Twilight exclaimed, "I've been supervising preparations for the royals' visits! How come I haven't seen any sick ponies?" She couldn't remember anything distinguishing; a few odd coughs, a sneeze here and there, but that was it!
"That's the thing though: the sickness comes just like that! There are no warning signs, no coughs beforehoof! Most of the victims just drop to the ground!" the doctor cried.
Discord blinked and tried to process this information. He stared at the doctor in confusion and tilted his head questionably. "Wait, it comes in a snap? There's no warning?" He shook his head, a troubled look on his face as he tried to figure things out. "But my wife has been sick for a couple of weeks now! So...what's wrong with her?"
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Why her father had decided to make these hallways so long she would never know. Why did a palace even need such ridiculously long hallways and so many corridors? She'd be happy with a tiny little house, really. At least right now she would be. Walking down all these hallways was excruciating.
Damn you, Father, she cursed in her head. As a hesitant afterthought she added, may you rest in peace. Continuing the strenuous trek (and almost throwing up several times), Celestia finally decided she had no choice but to rest against a nearby doorway. It was only five more doors to the infirmary, but she couldn't do it.
Across the hallway, a mare spotted her. Celestia could see her eyes narrow, and then they widened in horror. "Oh no, doctor!!" she shouted, "the queen has it!"
"I have wh—AUGH!" Celestia yelped as something suddenly slammed into her rear, and she suddenly fell back onto a fluffy cot. "What in Equestria?" She looked around, wincing as the swinging doors slammed open and she was suddenly in a large trauma room. "I really don't think this is necessary!"
Doctors probed at her and jabbed all over, and spoke in hushed tones as Celestia fought to get a word in edgewise. "I don't understand it. She seems sick, but she isn't exhibiting any of the symptoms the other-"
"Hey!" Celestia shouted, "What in Equestria is going on here?" The doctors snapped back with their tools and all exchanged troubled looks. One doctor sighed and turned to her.
"Your majesty, the infirmary has been packed the past few days. There is a sickness spreading across Ponyville, all of Equestria, and now it's attacking the castle as well."
"A sickness?" Celestia asked blankly, "A widespread sickness? I-I haven't seen anypony sick!" Of course, her eyes had been peeled for any threat the past two weeks, but she suspected the threat would be another invasion from a foreign land. Never could she have guessed the threat was an epidemic. "Why in Equestria's name haven't I been alerted about this until now?"
"Ponyville sent up a mail stallion yesterday, but he fell ill and died from the sickness within a few hours."
The queen looked around the trauma room and stared around at the many heaving, white bodies in the hospital cots hooked up to IVs, and there was a single, differently ailed patient with a head injury in the back of the room. "Why is he in with the sick? He'll catch the illness as well!"
The doctor hesitated, not sure if he should relay this information or not. Deciding it wasn't right to keep anything from their queen, he spoke. "That's the thing, your majesty. Cells from the victims have been taken to the lab, but we've determined that it isn't contagious. Not by air, not by physical contact, not even by fluid contact."
Celestia just stared. "That..." She shook her head. "That's impossible! If this is a wide spread illness it must be contagious! How in Equestria's name could this be hitting so many ponies if it isn't contagious?"
"We don't know," a nurse whispered. "It isn't even infecting the air. It's just...popping up."
Troubled, Celestia shook her head. "Is this...what I have then?" Her body wavered and she pressed her hoof against her mouth to keep the vomit back. She yelped as a needle was abruptly stabbed into her hoof and the vial filled with blood.
"I don't know yet," the doctor said, walking away with the vials. "But I'm going to try to figure it out."
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After sipping a few small cups of apple juice brought from her own farm, Applejack was starting to feel much like her own self. A little more lively; she was even sitting up against her pillow.
"Is there anything else you need, darling?" Rarity asked softly. "I could get you another drink, or get Discord to make a sandwich for you." From behind her, Discord scoffed.
"Get me to make her a sandwich? You know, prissy, I may have offered myself, but I don't exactly appreciate being demanded to make..." His voice trailed off as the fashionista shot him daggers and with an insufferable eye roll he snapped his fingers and created a delicious, fresh sandwich.
"Naw, now that's mighty kind of ya," Applejack began, pulling back, revolted at the sight of food. "Ah'm not hun...." Abruptly, she swiped the sandwich from his outstretched paw and practically wolfed it down in one bite.
"Geez...little monster," Discord muttered, staring at her with cautious eyes and rubbing his hands that nearly got bitten right off.
"You can call her a monster if you wish, your majesty, but what she just did is what none of the other patients has managed to do yet: she's eaten." Pressing a stethoscope against the mare's chest and taking her pulse, he turned to the group. "None of the patients yet have eaten a morsel of food. We've needed to feed them all through IV, and so what Applejack has done..." He smiled, "...It shows us all that she's on her way to recovery."
Excitedly, the ponies wrapped their hooves around their friend and nuzzled her affectionately. Discord stayed at the back wall, but he was grinning. But the smiles could only last so long.
"But what about the others?" Twilight asked softly, "What will happen to them? Will they recover, doctor?"
Grim faced once again, the doctor glanced mournfully towards the direction of the hall and sighed. "I don't know, Twilight Sparkle, I wish I did. Sadly, that's something I can't predict—no matter how many years I've been a physician."
"But what about Celestia?!" Discord demanded, "What about my wife?! She likely has the illness as well, so what's going to happen to her?"
"From what you told me, your majesty, being she's been sick this long it is highly unlikely the illness is what she has. However, that will be for the palace doctor to decide."
"But...the castle!" Discord exclaimed, "My sister, the workers...what will happen to them? How do we prevent this?"
The doctor released a shuddering, harsh breath and shut his eyes. "We can't."
"Then how do we cure the sick!?"
A heavier wave of mourn hitting him, the doctor lowered his head. "...We can't." He gave a gargled yelp as Discord abruptly grabbed him by the throat, forcing the doctor's terrified, amber eyes to meet seething vermillion.
"You're useless!" Discord snarled, his grip precariously seeming to tighten. "Everyone of you are useless!" The panicked, protesting ponies pushed their heads against his legs and begged him to stop, and after several moments, he released the doctor's neck.
Panting and staggering up, the doctor looked at Discord with sympathy in his eyes. "Until...until we find the source of this epidemic...until we find how it began, there is n...nothing we can do." He looked right up at the troubled group. "Some will live...and some will die. It's just the way it's going to be." Silently, he took his clipboard and left.
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Celestia had fallen asleep the moment the doctor left. Her head was still brimming with questions, and her brain kept shutting down on her even when she felt too anxious to sleep. With her weakened physical condition she didn't have much choice but to conk out.
The feeling of something moist being pressed to her lips is what woke her up, and she jolted slightly, staring groggily at something clear and wet looking in front of her face. It took her a few moments and a few tentative sips to realize the nurse was pressing a glass to her lips.
"How long was I asleep for?"
"A few hours," the nurse breezily responded, her horn glowing orange as it fluffed the monarch's pillows. Her voice seemed a little too cheery for Celestia's liking. "Your test results have come back and the doctor will be in shortly to discuss them with you." Before the queen could press her further, the nurse exited the room.
Almost immediately after, the doctor trotted in. His face was blank, the clipboard with her perhaps life-altering results at his side. "Good morning, your majesty. Are you feeling a little better? The nurse put some medicine in your IV for the nausea you've been having."
"Yes, I am noticing I don't feel as dizzy anymore—now what are my results?" Celestia rushed. "Do they show anything?"
"Oh..." the doctor breathed, "they do indeed."
As the doctor began talking, Celestia levitated the cup to her mouth, intent on taking another sip. Her glass smashed and scattered across the floor as he announced what was wrong with her.
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Chrysalis made her way through one of the caverns. It was pitch black, and hard to navigate through. No matter where she stepped she seemed to always stumble over something; rocks, stalagmites, and....furry things. Shaking the pebbles out of her hooves, the queen trekked on with her babies close behind.
They finally reached the clear, out in the middle of the room. Decorating a bunch of cubicles in the wall were two dozen, small jelly capsules. The capsules wiggled and wormed as the inhabitants inside tossed around anxiously, causing the entire egg to jiggle.
Smiling, Chrysalis sat in between the eggs and watched with pride as her babies wiggled inside of them. She ran a gentle hoof over the mushy substance and smiled as she saw a frail, tiny hoof touch against her hoof from inside the egg.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Maelstrom echoed, causing the startled Chrysalis to stare up at where he was hanging on the ceiling. "Who would have thought ponies come from eggs?"
"Ponies don't come from eggs," Chrysalis sniffed haughtily. "Baby changelings are the only ones privlleged enough to be born from eggs." Her ears went back at the small amount in their cubicle. "There are so little. I usually lay much more than this, but I have too little strength and magic."
"Oh, it'll come with time, my dear," Maelstrom smirked. "Why, we can't repopulate an entire species in only one day! Besides..." He slithered closer to her, a grizzly paw hanging around her neck. "There's a few matters I want to discuss with you, and I think the poor wittle babies need their nappy-bye time."
Giving her children a final glance, the changeling queen reluctantly fell into step beside him as he walked further into the cave. "What do you want, Maelstrom?" she growled.
"Why, I figured it would be obvious..." Even in the darkness, Chrysalis could see his fangs glinting demonically in the dark as he grinned. "I want your part of the deal, of course! Everyday the seal continues to weaken, and the spell that bound me here is slowly beginning to break. I've already sent Equestria a little warning of my own, but-"
"What kind of warning?" Chrysalis snapped. If he had done something to her land she would...
With another malicious smile, the entity held up a pointed claw and a swirl of black fog emanated from his finger tips. The fog soon contorted and formed an image, showing ponies all over Equestria in hospital beds, heart monitors flat lining, and collapsing sporadically all across the land. With a vicious sneer, he crushed the image and looked at Chrysalis.
"You've sent an epidemic? What is that supposed to do?"
Maelstrom laughed and slipped a fond arm around her back. "Oh, I've sent much worse than that, dear Chrysalis." He looked at her, his blood red, wet looking eyes boring into her own. "I've sent a plague. The epidemic is only the first part of my plan. "Next comes drought, then comes famine, and then—oh, maybe some fun natural disasters~!" he sang happily. "On all the realms~!"
"And mine?" Chrysalis snarled, her horn lowered and illuminated.
"Don't be ridiculous, you know you are spared!" He summoned another image, this one seeming to be of Disarray. He watched gleefully as the swirly eyed, moaning ponies stumbled about and collapsed, as their frantic king shouted orders for a doctor.
An arm draped over her again, the mare suddenly found herself being led back to the cave, and to her babies. "Now, what I need you to do is get to the palace. Don't worry your pretty, black head off—I can easily teleport you there."
"If you can teleport me out than how come you can't get yourself out?"
"The seal," Maelstrom growled, "It prevents me from leaving...for now. I need you to lure the royals, and those little fillies my way."
"You mean...the king and queen, the princess, and Twilight and her friends."
"Exactly, but I believe the Queen will be staying home. She's a little...pre-occupied with her own condition at the moment. Once you relay to them that the plague is a result of a curse from Tartarus, it won't take them very long to figure out they need to go there with the Elements. You'll lead them to Tartarus."
"What?!" Chrysalis demanded incredulously, "I'll be walking for ten days! Tartarus is on the edge of Equestria, and my changelings will starve! There is not enough food to sustain us."
"And that," Maelstrom began, hovering just above a few infant changelings sleeping away in the corner, "Is precisely what I'm here for."
Chrysalis stared up in horror as the demon's entire form was engulfed in a black fog. With a sudden surge of power, pure black beams shot into every one of the eggs, and zapped the adult and baby changelings. Their bodies twitched and they winced for a few moments, collapsing with an exhale as the spell finished.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEM?!" Chrysalis screamed in rage. Her horn sparked with a dangerous amount of energy and she charged right for Maelstrom. Hovering there in the air, he effortlessly held her away from him with a finger.
"Temper, temper, calm down!" Maelstrom chuckled. "The spell I just performed will help your babies. You see..." He slithered back over to her, "This spell is designed to lessen the amount of food a mortal needs to eat; be it food for their body, or their soul. This way you will all only need the slightest drop of ones' emotions to sustain you, and even keep your power relatively strong. You'll even be able to feed on your travel companions without damaging them. There is no way you will die of starvation."
Her anger soothing gradually, Chrysalis gave a small nod. "I see... So, when do I set off with my changelings?"
"Tomorrow."
The queen hesitated, and glanced back at the squirming little egg capsules. "What about the newborns?"
"Oh, don't worry about them—I'm excellent with children," Maelstrom smirked, "I'm the father of all the beings in this realm, children and full-fledged demons alike. I'd never hurt your children."
Looking doubtful for a few moments, Chrysalis at last gave another stiff nod. "Very well, but what in Tartarus's name makes you think the ponies will trust me to lead them to you?"
"Oh, I don't think they'll have much choice," Maelstrom laughed. "Once they know what I'm doing and that they need to get here, they'll have no choice but to turn to you for help. I have one small request though: as infuriating as I know they'll probably be, especially that kid draconequus, try not to kill any of them. I'd like them alive when they get here, especially Discord."
Chrysalis huffed, her ears pinning back in annoyance. Injuring them might be the only way she'd maintain some sanity. "Fine."
"Very well then. Go and prepare your changelings for the journey, and I advise not to bring too many of them. That spell is good for a few of them, but if an entire colony of fifty try to feed off the ponies then they will surely die."
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Celestia sat back against her cushion in bed as several servants crowded around her to try and make her as comfortable as they could.
"Would you like some tea, dear?" Rain Drizzle asked softly. It took a few tries for the queen to realize she was talking to her.
"O...oh yes, sure. Thank you, dear Rain."
"Some water, your majesty?" another servant asked. As the queen gave a faint nod they poured a cold glass of water and set it next to her tray. Another servant trotted near her side and gently threw a clean quilt on her, which Celestia eagerly snuggled into.
"You're all very kind and I appreciate the help," the queen told her workers, "But my husband will be back any minute, and he already knows something is up. Seeing you all crowding my bed might really freak him out."
The servants exchanged looks and nodded, respectfully leaving their queen with her own jumbled thoughts as she waited for her husband.
Barely five minutes later, those familiar, tired and aching mismatched feet appeared through the door as Discord dragged himself through the bedroom. The moment he lay his eyes on his sick wife, he was alert in an instant and bolted to her side.
"Celestia! How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, giving her cheek a small nuzzle with his snout.
"A little better thanks to some medicine," Celestia told him, and quickly asked, "Why do you look so tired? Hard day in Disarray?"
"You have no idea," Discord murmured. "I assume you heard of the epidemic when you were at the infirmary? It's hit Disarray as well."
"I did hear. Something must be done about that. How was Applejack?"
"Very sick; it's hard to believe that weak little thing lying in the cot was even her. She's eating though, and the doctor says that's a very good sign. I know she'll come around." The Discord smirk came back to his face. "This is the mare that survived her chickens being turned to monkeys, and her apples being turned to beach balls after all. It's also the mare that rendered me scared to go near her farm and made me always cover my backside with pillows when I did!"
Celestia laughed lightly and gave his tummy a teasing poke. "Maybe if you'd just behave you wouldn't have to worry about wearing pillows on your butt."
"How boring!" The two giggled again, but then the atmosphere once again went serious as Discord cleared his throat. "What did the doctor say?"
The queen bit her lip. She was hoping he wouldn't ask that yet, because she just had no idea how to tell him. Staring into his worried eyes, she pondered on what to do. He was always fond of riddles after all.
"...I...I think we should—um—have a new room created...next to ours! For guests maybe?"
Discord just stared at her. "Tia, we have twenty two guest rooms on this story alone. I sincerely doubt we need another—especially this close to our bedroom! We go at it like pigs and frankly no one needs to hear that."
There was a soft thud as Celestia's head flopped back into the pillow. With a groan, she pulled herself back up.. "No, hunny. I think...we really should make a new room. However...should it be pink, or should it be blue?" I'm terrible at riddles...
"....I don't know," Discord said blankly, as confused as ever. "You want to make it so bad, so the color of the walls should be up to you."
"You don't have to worry about this sickness I have," she told him, "It'll be gone in..a few months. Um...maybe a little more than a few. But—uh—there will always be a reminder of my sickness." As he continued to stare blankly at her, she looked at him with a deadpan expression. Oh, for the love of Equestria, this is getting me nowhere.
"I'm pregnant."
And with that, all the tension in the room balled itself up and crashed over the couple in waves of pure, unadulterated shock. Mostly on Discord.
Slowly, the draconequus's neck slid down to her level, his face slack in surprise. He couldn't find a functioning piece of brain in his skull to save his life. "Y... Y-You... Y-You're..." he rasped out, shakily gesturing to her stomach.
Celestia nodded.
The spirit followed her with a nod of his own, a strange grin creeping across his face. "Oh... Okay!" he murmured groggily, stumbling back a few steps as the world shifted around him. Oh, it was spinning now! He gave a little twitch, skin suddenly blanching in several different shades. His eyes fluttered, a strange, speechless gurgle riddling up in his chest, mismatched scarlet eyes rolling back in his head. "If you don't mind me, 'm just gonna...."
The alicorn stared, managing to lift herself up slightly from her pillow. "Dis... Discord?"
And with the faint words of his loving, feeble, pregnant wife ringing in his ears, Discord fainted, flopping on the floor in an unconscious heap.
xxxxxxxx
( "BUT WE USED A MILKY WAY WRAPPER! HOW CAN YOU BE PREGNANT?!"
"IT HAD HOLES IN IT, DISCORD. IT HAD HOLES. I TOLD YOU CANDY WRAPPERS ARE NOT DURABLE PROTECTION!"
WHEW! So sorry it took so long to get this done, but I've been sapped of artistic inspiration, have been busy, and I have "The Binding Of Isaac" and "Costume Quest" to distract me. :lol:
AND NO THE MAILPONY THAT DIED IS NOT DERPY. Even though I dislike Derpy...
Anyway, hope you enjoy~)