A Few Hours After the Paramount War’s Conclusion
Celestia slowly opened her eyes, raising a hoof to shield them from the sunlight that trailed through a small rounded window. She gasped and sat up, catching her breath when her head exploded, sending her tumbling down onto the bed she’d awoken on. She remained still for a moment, steading her breathing while the ache at the base of her horn faded away. Her attention went down to the queasy feeling in her stomach. Placing a hoof over it, she brushed against bandages rather than fur and snorted, realizing the nauseous sensation was a rare but familiar one.
“Apologies for the slipshod first aid.”
Twisting over to the voice’s direction, Celestia lit up her horn, basking the dim cabin in a pale golden glow. The ache in her head returned and grew until she was forced to shut off her spell. Huffing, she glared in her caretaker’s direction, his red hair still illuminated with candlelight.
“Shanks,” Celestia grumbled. “I should have recognized your men.”
“Ah, don’t be so hard on yourself,” he chuckled. “It sounds like you’ve been quite busy lately.”
“Where are we?”
“My ship, a few leagues away from the tub current.”
Celestia slowly rose up, sheets falling off her. “What game are you playing? Am I your captive now?”
Shanks slapped his right knee and gave a hearty laugh. “Is that what the World Government thinks I’m up to now?”
Shanks stopped laughing and a silence pervaded the room. The creak of the ship echoed through his and Celestia’s ears. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth again.
“You know more about this war than anyone, and I want discuss what’s going to happen now… and thank you for saving Luffy.”
Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “The last anyone saw of Straw Hat was my attack swallowing hi—”
A scabbard bumped against the floor. Shank’s gripped his sword’s hilt and pulled it out just enough for light to glimmer off the steal. Sliding it back into its sheath, he stared at Celestia, no hint of a smile remaining.
“You wouldn’t be here if you’d really done that.” Setting his sword down, he grinned. “But it sounds like you really saved his skin. Still rushing into danger without thinking… he must’ve formed a good crew to get this far at least.”
Shanks turned to look out the tiny window, his eyes glazed over and distant.
“What do you want?” Celestia asked, snapping him back.
“Well, I get the feeling you already had a plan in mind, so you’re free to do whatever you want once you can move again. However…”
Standing up, Shanks made his way over to the door, cracked it open, and poked his head out. With his lone arm, he gestured for someone else to come in and then fully opened the door. With red eyes and a slight slump to his back, Marco walked into the room. Shanks slid back in as well and twisted the lock, sealing the cabin off from the outside world.
“I want a pact made before any of us speaks.” Shanks glanced over at Celestia. “What we say here will not leave this room. Marco, you understand that?”
“Yes,” Marco murmured. He lifted his head up and stared at Celestia with listless eyes. “Ace, did you kill him?”
“No,” Celestia said after a moment.
Marco’s legs gave out and he went to his knees. Tears streamed down his face and stained the wood at his feet. Sobbing, he raised up a hand and pushed back his hair. Celestia and Shanks waited in silence until he could speak again.
“Is he still alive?” he managed to choke out.
“I can’t say,” Celestia replied. “All I did was ensure his escape from Marineford. He’d already been horribly injured by the time I got him out.”
“He’s in good hands…” Shanks paused. “Er, hooves.”
Celestia’s eyes widened. She raced out of bed and pinned shanks to the wall, even as the room spun around her.
“What have you done?” she growled.
“Well, I did ask your sister, so it was her own ch—”
“You brought Luna into this?” Celestia yelled, pushing down harder on Shanks. “Do you know what she’s gone through? What you dragged her into?”
Marco rose off the ground and clasped Celestia’s hooves, managing to wrest her off Shanks. He flung her back onto the bed while Shanks slid to the ground, gasping for air. All three of them caught their breaths with Celestia glaring at the two pirates.
“That’s not even getting into how you got to her in the first place,” Celestia huffed.
“Don’t worry,” Shanks rasped, “I’ve already ticked off the captain by going there. He made us all swear to never reveal anything about it.”
“Captain?” Celestia blinked. She knitted her eyebrows and frowned. “Darn, is there anything Roger didn’t lay his hands on?”
“They do say he obtained everything the world had to offer,” Shanks chuckled.
Shaking her head, Celestia sighed. “If Luna is with them, then I’m certain they will live.”
A smile came to Marco’s face, along with a few more tears. It receded when he saw Celestia staring at him, lips draw into a tight line. Wiping his eyes, he looked back at her, a chill raising the hairs on his neck.
“Maybe it would have been better if you’d thought I’d killed Fire Fist.” Celestia took a deep breath. “Because that’s what you’re going to tell the rest of your crew.”
“What?” Marco gasped.
“Or tell them it was Kizaru. You seemed to think it was him anyway.” Celestia raised off the bed and trotted over to Marco. “Either way, this is the end of Portgaz D. Ace.”
Marco slammed a foot to the ground, fists shaking at his sides. “A goodbye… can’t we say that?”
“No,” Celestia replied, her voice like ice. “Today was the day Ace died. His time in this world is done. Mourn him if you wish, but do not seek him.”
Marco banged a fist against a wall, leaving a hole in it. He spun away from Celestia and looked off into the dark corners of the room.
“We…” He paused, voice cracking. “We had his things ready. The other men will think it strange if we don’t decorate his grave, but can you at least give him one thing?”
“Only one, and nothing more,” Celestia sighed.
“Thank you,” Marco whispered. He turned around and shambled over to the door, stopping to look at Shanks. “Sorry, Red Hair, I can’t stay anymore. I… I need to tell the men.”
Shanks silently unlocked the door and held it open. Marco shuffled out, sunlight falling on the wet stains he left on the ground. Watching him go, Celestia saw that all the remaining Whitebeard Pirates were crowded around the ship’s deck. In the middle of them was a massive black shroud spread over a figure that took up a good part of the floor.
As the door closed, Celestia saw Marco’s lips move. The other pirates all stared at him, pupils shrinking into tiny dots. Some gnashed their teeth, others raised weapons, and a few even came to blows with each other. Most of them fell to their knees and wept.
~~~
On An Island A Day After The War
The glowing end of a cigar ground against the black ink of a newspaper. The embers smoked before catching fire, incinerating the headline: Whitebeard Dead! Flames spreading, Crocodile dropped the special report, letting it burn a bit before stomping into into ash. Reaching into his jacket, he produced a fresh cigar and stuck it in his mouth. He clicked open a lighter, flicking it a few times, trying to get it to spark. The flame failed to catch before a green tendril touched the tip of the cigar, lighting it with an emerald glow.
Crocodile stared down at the cigar and then glared to his left. Chrysalis frowned at his cold gaze. Sighing, she fell back and rested her bandaged head against a stone wall.
“I take it you didn’t like the news?” she mused. “Having our faces shown across the world will be an issue.”
“Then you’ll be happy to know that neither of us was mentioned.” Crocodile sucked in some smoke and blew it in Chrysalis’s direction, clouding her vision.
Clearing the air with a hoof, she raised an eyebrow. “My hive feasts on them and they don’t even feel the need to warn their citizens of us? No wonder this town was so unprepared. Celestia is less foolish than this ‘World Government’ of yours.”
“Shouldn’t you be getting back to your little revenge plot?” Crocodile growled.
A changeling drone buzzed down and bowed to Chrysalis, hacking up a tiny pink sphere. Giving it a nod, she floated it up to her mouth and chomped down on it. In an instant, it shriveled up and disappeared. A small grin spread across her lip, revealing a full set of fangs.
“It’s been dealt with,” she said, giving her neck a crack. “Besides, your offer sounds so much more appealing.”
She sat up and strutted over to Crocodile. Batting her eyes at him, she leaned close as her magic swirled around her, consuming her form and replacing it with her human disguise. He scowled at her and raised his hook, raking the tip across her cheek.
“The last woman to work for me at least only wore the ridiculous outfits,” he growled, pressing his hook in and drawing blood. Chrysalis yelped, but Crocodile just pulled her close so they were eye to eye. “She ended up stabbed through the chest and left to die.”
A shudder ran through Chrysalis, followed by a mischievous grin. Her tongue went out and lapped up some of the blood as she backed away. “Not a speck of love in you for anything but power.”
Crossing her arms, she looked out down the street, he grin spreading. Smoke rose up from numerous homes, a few having already collapsed into cinders. The only places not touched by the inferno were covered in a sticky turquoise substance. A few hands and feet stuck out of the grotesque entrapments, while pale unconscious heads dotted them. Changelings buzzed through the remains of the town, drones sometimes stopping at a villager with a healthier complexion and sinking their fangs into them, turning them white like the rest.
Basking in the hellish glow, Chrysalis danced through the destruction. Crocodile continued smoking on his cigar, eyes on the shore and the sea beyond. He glanced over to Mr. 1 leaning on a partially crumbled wall and looking the same direction, neither paying attention as Chrysalis reveled in her conquest.
~~~
Celestia sat on her throne, the only sound in the room the steady inhale and exhale of her own breath. Her gaze remained locked on the item floating in front of her. A click from the door at the other end of the Royal Hall jolted her away from it. In a flash, the item vanished and she slipped back into her throne, correcting her posture.
A guard rushed to the head of the room, armor echoing against the walls and stained glass. He stopped at the stairs leading up to Celestia and Luna’s thrones, throwing himself into a bow.
“Your highness,” he said, catching his breath, “a Code Black has gone out. Citizens have already been told to stay inside, but the Unicorn Regiment is having difficulty initiating a barrier spell.”
Chrysalis can’t have already recovered. Rising off her throne, Celestia trotted down the stepped, bidding the guard to rise. “What’s the cause?”
“Approximately fifteen minutes ago, a pegasi patrol intercepted a drone. They tried to capture it unharmed, but…” The guard paused for a moment. “It apparently ‘cracked like glass’ is how the patrol put it. We’ve got first aid being supplied to it right now.”
“Then let’s not waste anymore time,” Celestia replied, opening the doors with her magic “Where are we keeping it?”
The guard sped in front of Celestia and led her down the halls. “Interrogation Room C, with two unicorns supplying barriers and two other guards with the medic for security.”
Twisting through the halls, they eventually descended below ground, passing a pair a guards. Torchlight illuminated the dark path, shadows dancing off cell walls. Eventually, they came to a stop at a part of the dungeons that was brighter than the rest, lit with the glow of magic. Guards stood at the sides of a large window, enchanted so that Celestia could look in but the occupants inside couldn’t see outside.
The changeling rested atop an iron table, its hooves cuffed to the sides and a restraining bolt capped onto its horn. Its chest rose and fell in tiny intervals, highlighting the thin membrane stretched over its exoskeleton. A unicorn guard loomed over it, horn aglow as an aura swept over parts of the changeling, concentrating on a swath of its back where the chitin was cracked and dripping ichor onto the table.
With a nod to the guards, Celestia entered the room. The changeling looked over to her and it let out a weak buzzing noise. Suddenly, its eyes grew bright and shifted from blue to green. In place of buzzing, Chrysalis’s voice came out of its mouth.
“Celestia, a shame you’re still breathing,” she said. “But I suppose having you dead would hinder our deal a bit. This drone will provide you with directions to the hive, do with them what you will.”
Celestia opened her mouth to ask a question, but the changeling’s eyes flicked back to blue and its head flopped against the table. All the guards present looked up at her, waiting for her to speak. With a sigh, a pink aura rose up around her body and drifted over to the changeling. Its breaths became less erratic and its body appeared to loosen up.
“When it wakes up again, remove the bolt and contact me.” She spun around and marched over to the door, pausing to turn around. “You can lift the Code Black as well. I’ll need the Court ready for an emergency session.”
~~~
Luna sat with her back against a wall, eyes glued to the bed in the middle of the room. A light-brown pony hovered over the bed, glowing horn tilting his spotted hat back. A variety of instruments floated around him, occasionally jerking either closer or farther away from him. His attention was rooted on Luffy, mainly the stained bandages on his chest and the breathing apparatus around his mouth. In addition, a variety of needles jutted out of his legs, connecting to multiple iv bags.
Taking a breath, the pony backed away, slamming the tools into a nearby tray filled with disinfectant. Rubbing an eye, he trotted over to Luna. She looked up to him with a frown.
“Straw Hat, how is he?” she asked.
“He’s healing,” the pony replied, “but slowly. The treatments he received up until this point were just to keep him going, not truly heal him. From the sound of things, he was already spent before he even got to the war.”
“And his dreams are an unsorted mess,” Luna sighed, pushing herself off the ground. “I just wish we could use some of the higher level healing spells on him.”
With another sigh, she lit up her horn, opening up the room’s door. The pony at Luffy’s side trotted through, followed by Luna. Before leaving, she gave one last glance back at the bed and then gently shut the door. Turning around, she caught up with the other pony, sending out a spell to catch him when he tripped over his hooves.
“You take to magic well, but it seems trotting is still a problem.”
“It won’t matter,” the pony replied, “I’ll be gone as soon as Straw Hat and Fire Fist are up.”
He put a hoof forward, but was unable to move. Glancing back, he saw that his torso was still wrapped in Luna’s spell.
“Sir Law, you still haven’t answered my question of why you did this.” Luna pulled him a little closer. “You’re a rival to Straw Hat. Wouldn’t it have been easier to stay away from the war?”
“Maybe,” Law said with a devious grin. “Although, I could ask why a diarch of a kingdom no one should know about is so concerned with pirate.”
Before Luna could shoot back an answer, a blur of pink confetti exploded around them. Pinkie bounded out of the storm of paper, fake wings strapped to her back and a bow attached to a foreleg.
“That’s because Luna has a special so—”
Pinkie found herself silenced by a bisecting cut running down her middle. Going cross eyed, the two halves of her fell to the floor. Both sides frowned for a moment before grinning.
“Oooh, Mr. Dr. Law, are we gonna play the puzzle game again?” the two halves of her mouth asked in unison. “Bet I can get a record this time!”
“I…” Law shuddered and spun around. “I’m going for a walk.”
Pinkie jumped onto his shoulder, already unsplit save for the tip of her nose. With a wiggle of her face, her muzzle welded back together, making her smile wider. “Oooh, so we’re playing hide and seek then?”
“Room!” Law yelled.
Law vanished and Pinkie fell to the ground. Giggling, she jumped back up and looked over at Luna. “Aw, I think he’s shy.”
~~~
“Gah!” Blackbeard screamed.
Tirek’s beast sank its fangs into his arm, blood spilling onto the ground. It sizzled and turned to smoke instantly, mixing in with the roaring infernos that raged across the entire island. Blackbeard slammed a fist into the beast’s head, unclenching its jaw and dropping it the ground. Shaking his arm, he glared over at Tirek.
“Keep your damn pet on a leash or find a new one!”
“Oh, I intend to.” Tirek’s hand glowed and his beast floated over him. Stroking its head, it gave a small hiss, coughing up a puff of smoke. “You did say you wanted a place to test your powers out without the World Government noticing, right?”
“Zehahaha! Where did you have in mind?”
“Home.” A fanged grin spread across Tirek’s face. “I need to say hello to my old man.”