Equestria. Faye Mountains. Changeling Hive. Nightfall.
The Box of 100 Demons has been retrieved. But at the cost of Chrysalis being greatly harmed. She was brought back to the Changeling Hive, placed within the Healing Cocoon. Her subjects feared for her along with her friends who helped her retrieve the Box of 100 Demons successfully. They spoke amongst each other, wondering what had become of their Queen. Ribombee was over at the throne room, looking at Chrysalis' Healing Cocoon, distressed about her Trainer's current status. Chrysalis had something dark latched onto her hooves, giving her black veins around them as well as her face and horn. She looked rather soulless with her eyes half-open, seeping with Dark Magic.
"How is she?" Fluttershy asked as the Changeling Guards left the throne room. All of them wanted to hear about Chrysalis' current condition.
"We don't know actually. We're not sure what the Lich Queen did to her. We can barely feel a heartbeat coming from her." Alas, they weren't sure. This was beyond their knowledge. "It feels like she's hanging in there from whatever's affecting her."
That wasn't the news they wanted to hear. Panic struck their hearts along with distress. From what the guards shared, it sounded like Chrysalis might not recover at all and would meet her demise. This was truly a stressful scenario.
"I know what it is." Suddenly, Sombra would exit Ash's body, being the only one here to know about Chrysalis' condition.
"You do? What is it, Sombra?" Ash asked the King living within him.
"Your Queen is doomed. Rosa Maledicta managed to pull off one of the most dangerous spells a Lich can ever use but it's hard to pull off. It's an incurable disease that very few know about. I'm lucky to know about it since I'm an Umbrum."
"Uncurable..." Ash thought for a moment, remembering something like that. He recalled how a young colt by the name of Lofty Skies had his mother affected by some sort of disease that came from Magehold that no one could solve. While the young pony came to terms with this fact, the mystery of this disease was still present. But now, it seems like Ash was getting an inkling as to what it may be. "I think I've heard about that before."
"You're joking, right?! There's no way to cure it?!" A Changeling screamed out along with many others.
"Not at all. Well...There is one way that I know of." However, Sombra smiled, giving them all a scare for a moment before rekindling something. "But it's not as wonderful as you think it may be. If you are to save your Queen, it must be her that breaks the disease. This spell is only beatable by the one who's affected by it. None of you can do anything about it. This is why it's a disease that is incurable."
Their hopes were lowered once more. A disease that could only be beaten by Chrysalis. But with how she was, it was hard to tell if she could overcome it at all. The Healing Cocoon was practically prolonging things for her.
"What do we do then?" The Changelings were all left stumped by this, rather unsure of what to do next. This unfortunately reminded them of when Ghetsis attacked their previous hive. While not on the same scale, it was just as distressful, filled with despair.
Meanwhile, back with Chrysalis, she could hear the voices of her subjects and how worried they were about her. She wished she could reassure things to them but that was rather difficult with how things were. Ash and many others would enter the Throne Room to check up on Chrysalis for a moment. And when looking at them, Chrysalis mainly eyed down Thorax.
"T-Thorax..." Chrysalis spoke to Thorax specifically. "Come here.
"Yes?" Thorax replied as he was currently holding the Box of 100 Demons.
"I'm afraid I might be out of commission for a while...I'm not sure how long it will be or if it will ever end or not." Chrysalis groaned. "I can hear all of you...And your distress. I won't be able to rule over you as your Queen with how things are. So...there must be someone who can take my place."
"Take your place as Ruler? Who?" Twilight asked as all the Changelings looked at each other. Chrysalis would try and select someone to be the next Changeling Ruler while she was currently within the Healing Cocoon, suffering from this Dark Magic Rosa Maledicta hit her with. However, Chrysalis already had someone in mind.
"Thorax. It has to be you." Chrysalis chose Thorax to be the next Changeling Ruler.
"M-Me?!" He stuttered and pulled back as everyone snapped their heads to focus on him. He was chosen out of all the Changelings here. "I can't be the next Changeling Queen! I'm not even a Queen!"
"You have it in you though. Do you remember what I said to you back then...? If anyone was eligible to take my place, it would be you. The Hive will always need a Ruler to guide them. And now, they need a Changeling King. Please." Chrysalis put all her faith into Thorax, seeing the potential in him out of any other Changeling there.
Thorax gulped as he feared a day like this would come. However, with how things were, he couldn't fear it anymore. Not when his Queen was in such a condition that made it hard for her to rule and guide everyone else. He would then look at all of his fellow Changelings as some of them were rather unsure if he was fit to be the next Ruler of the Hive. But there were others who did have faith in him as it was Thorax who always showed that inner side of the Changelings that was stored away by their old ways.
Pharynx watched from afar, hearing the news about his brother being appointed as the new Changeling King. His reaction to it brought judgemental eyes as he would walk away.
"Alright. I'll do it." Thorax accepted it. It was for the sake of Chrysalis.
"Thank you." Chrysalis sighed as she would continue to rest. But resting wasn't guaranteed to save her. The only way to defeat this disease was unknown and seemingly hard to achieve. All Chrysalis could do was rest and have the cocoon keep her steady.
Thorax was now the new Changeling King. It was his job to rule and guide the Changelings while Chrysalis was out of commission, it would be a difficult task but he would try and make it work.
"You've got this Thorax." Spike had faith in him, however, reassuring his friend that he could get through it.
"I hope so." Thorax wasn't too sure though. He's already taken the offer and there was no going back now. He would have to make the most of it.
"It's best that we leave now," Luna said. "The Sun should rise soon. Now that you have the Box of 100 Demons, keep it safe and make sure none of them exit it."
"Oh. But how are we going to reverse some of those innocent creatures that were turned into demons?" Fluttershy asked. Chrysalis was the only one who had the power to reverse the transformation since she created the box and those demons inside.
"She said that I could try if she couldn't," Twilight added. "But I'm not sure I can do it either. My Rift Magic doesn't go that far after all. I guess we'll have to wait for now..."
Magehold. A few hours back.
Back at Magehold, right after Chrysalis and everyone took back the Box of 100 Demons, Rosa Maledicta was rather pleased with herself. She left a big impact on a Changeling Queen that was sure to bring despair to her subjects. And she was certainly correct, even if she wasn't there. Now there was one thing left to do. Retrieve the Box.
Rosa Maledicta figured that she could simply bring the box back to her. After all, everyone from the Dread League had the power to summon the box to them and Rosa Maledicta was certainly no exception. However, when using her magic, she soon found out that the Box did not return to her.
"What?" Rosa could not feel the box's presence or the demons within anymore. "I can't bring it back with me...Why? Don't tell me that they've cast a spell on it." Far from it. There was no spell cast on the Box of 100 Demons but it was a mystery as to why it would not return to Dread League. "Curse them. They've found a way to keep it for themselves permanently, have they? No matter. Very soon, the Black Crusade will make sure that the box is brought back to us. Chrysalis will perish under the Corroding Curse. That much is true. And I promised them I'd start the Black Crusade soon and that much is also true."
The Lich Queen laughed, looking forward to Chrysalis' demise and the Black Crusade. It was close. She had already sent the Pony of Shadows off to take revenge on Equestria while some vampires were out there searching for Xerneas to snuff it out. Her plans were already in motion right now and the Black Crusade was the final piece of it.
All the while, she sensed Fantina preparing for Magehold's first-ever Pokemon Contest. Rosa Maledicta could care less about it and everything else Fantina does here, believing that it doesn't affect much. After all, soon Fantina would become a skeletal servant to Magehold, just like everyone in this world. And of course, Rosa Maledicta was looking to go above and beyond her world. Other worlds were within her sights, ripe for the taking.
The Black Crusade was near.
Canterlot. Day.
A new day had come. After a turbulent night that ended with something bittersweet, Luna shared everything with her older sister Celestia. "What?! Will she be alright?!" Celestia bellowed at the top of her lungs, learning about Chrysalis' condition.
"Sombra said that only she can overcome it but no one else has managed to pull it off before," Luna explained. "That's all I can say."
"Curse that Lich Queen...!" The news greatly struck Celestia. Chrysalis was once a former enemy of hers but over time, she became a friend. And hearing what become of her did not bode well for the Ruler of Equestria. She grit her teeth as her magic was rising from her body. Her hooves were even shaking out of anger as the Dread League continued to bring Dread continuously. But, Celestia would soon calm herself down. "We really need to get through that field as soon as possible. I'm still hoping to have Galaxy Master help us with that since he might be the only one who can do it."
"Can he though? The Lich Queen may not be at her best, but she still possesses a great ordeal of magic. I experienced it back in the Mindscape. "He's already rather hard to find with how he's moving from place to place, intercepting the Dread League as quickly as he can. We couldn't even get the Lich Queen to turn her attention to him."
"We'll find him. The only way to do that is to look for the Dread League and their next attacks. That's a tall order since they're becoming present but still." Celestia pondered for a moment. "And when we do, we'll take back Yveltal and Fantina. In one piece, might I add? No one else will suffer at Magehold when we get there, despite how many curses there may be."
"If only he was capable of falling asleep." Luna sighed as Galaxy Master was incapable of having dreams. Then, she might have an easier time reaching him. "Hmm...Perhaps..." Luna was hatching something. The Princess of the Night rubbed her hooves, having something mind that could help greatly.
"I can tell you're plotting, Luna. You can do that while I continue to think." Celestia added before sitting on her throne, sighing. "If only Starswirl were still here. He might've figured out something already."
"Starswirl and the other Pillars are currently unavailable to us, sister. He was a great teacher and had powerful allies. But we have to do everything by ourselves now. But it would be amazing if his magic was with us right now. He always had something that we had no knowledge about. Wasn't he the one who discovered Time Travel before us and he began working on that Boundless Cutie Mark you have."
"He did know a lot." Celestia nodded in agreement. "All those books he's left behind share a lot but there are still things we don't know that he does. I'm not sure if he even knew about the Dread Leauge in some way."
"It would be nice to ask him again." Luna pouted. "Oh well. I at least have faith that Chrysalis will overcome this powerful curse and make it through. Do you, sister?"
"Of course I do. Even if Sombra says it's incurable and hard for the victim to overcome, as Queens know a thing or two about overcoming the odds, don't we?"
"W-We're princesses..." Luna corrected her.
"Ah!" Celestia chuckled. "My bad! But I wouldn't mind being a Queen! It's rather overdue at this point honestly. Anyway, it still counts for us princesses and Royalty. I'm positive Chrysalis will overcome this curse. Even if it seems impossible. And I'll be supporting Thorax and his new rule."
All they could do was put their faith in Chrysalis to overcome this and see what Thorax could do now that he was the new Changeling King. Times were changing indeed. After the worlds came together, things have been getting wilder consistently, mainly with the Dread League. And yet, it also felt like the end was coming. Whether it was the end of the world or the end of the Dread League. That has yet to be seen as the journey continues.
Chapter 106 End.