//------------------------------// // 15: The Queen And The Draconequus // Story: My Little Pony: The Seal of Death // by Azrael the alicorn //------------------------------// The arrival of the golem turtle didn’t go unnoticed by the citizens of the Crystal Empire—after all it was hard not notice a titan-sized beast. Luckily, before panic could spread, the Mane Six and Azrael flew ahead, showing that the creature didn’t mean any harm and explained who she was. The reunion between Twilight and her brother and Cadence improved everyone’s morale and the new imposing ally ensured people to have a chance of victory against the dark tyrant. “Speaking about allies, what can you tell me about our situation?” asked Twilight her brother. “We have sent messengers all around Equestria asking for help and have been answered positively. Most of the populations from Manehattan, Fillidelphia, and Appleloosa will arrive here in one day,” answered the captain of the guards, smiling. “That’s a good news! But where’s Luna?” asked Applejack. “She has left to the Griffin Kingdom to ask for their help. I don’t know when she will come back,” answered Cadence. “I hope she will manage to convince them to help us,” said Pinkie Pie. “Have faith in her, she’s intelligent and wise. I’m sure that she will get their aid,” said Azrael. “Indeed,” Cadence added. She faced Azrael with curious eyes. “So, you are the angel of death. Princess Luna speak well of you.” The tone of voice and the way she watched him made it seem like she was actually studying him. A detail that didn’t go ignored by Azrael or Twilight. “She’s too kind,” answered Azrael, trying to sound as neutral as he could. Cadence seemed satisfied with his response. “Alright then.” Suddenly her expression turned more serious. “Can you tell me how Celestia died?” The group gathered in the throne room to have some privacy. Once there they told of how Celestia sacrificed herself to make sure that the Soul Eater, an eldritch abomination, couldn’t get out from the trap. While narrating that Twilight eyes started to tear up, but Cadence, Shining, and her friends gave her a comforting hug, “She died as a true good leader would do, sacrificing herself for her people,” she concluded. “And we will not let her sacrifice being in vain. I promise you that,” said Cadence. “We should celebrate her memory,” Shining Armor suggested. “Once all of our allies get here, we can salute her with all the honors.” The rest of the group nodded in agreement. “I will organize it,” said Pinkie Pie, taking by surprise all her friends. “You, Pinkie?” exclaimed Rarity. “What?” she asked, confused. “It’s just… well, you know, this is not your usual kind of party,” said Rainbow Dash. “I know that. But it’s still a party; and I’m an expert at all kinds of parties!” She beamed at that, but her happy mood fell quickly. “There are probably not going to be balloons and cakes, but I can still do it.” She said the last statement with a serious tone, but her smile was still evident. “And I will help you make sure you have all that you need,” added Cadence. That said, the groups separated and once again Twilight and Azrael remained alone. She couldn’t help but notice how confused the angel of death was. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Have you noticed how Princess Cadence was looking at me after what I’ve said about Princess Luna?” “Oh that.” Twilight released a sigh which was between the annoyed and the amused. “It’s typical of her. You don’t have to worry.” “What do you mean?” he asked, puzzled. “She has a passion for shipping.” “What does what I’ve said have to do with ships and sea?” His confusion grew when Twilight exploded in a genuine laugh. “Not that,” she said, trying to control her snickering. “It’s about pairs of ponies which falls in love.” To that, Azrael’s expression went worried and bit irritated. Why was everypony seeing him and Luna as a pair? Sure, he loved the night and the stars, but that doesn’t mean he was in love for Luna… right? Twilight noticed the concern in his face, “You don’t have to take her sign too seriously. She fantasies a lot of times on the most weird pairs, like Celestia and Discord or Rainbow Dash and Soarin. I remember when, right after my transformation in alicorn, she came to me with a story that she has written for me in which I go on an adventure in a parallel dimension.” “And how was it?” he asked. The look which Twilight gave him was clear enough. “It was that bad?” “It was horrible. The story didn’t make any sense, the villain was one dimensional and less threatening than a Breezie , the supporting characters were dumb and sounded stereotypical and then there was HIM.” Twilight shuddered. “The single most boring Gary Stu I’ve ever read. He had no personality except being nice, playing guitar and nothing more. And the way she made it look like a copy of my brother, heck, even his name was quite similar to Shining Armor.” “Awkward,” commented Azrael, lacking any other good words. “You said it,” stated Twilight, “Now, can we please change the subject?” “You’re right,” agreed the angel of death. He and Twilight then noticed Fluttershy watching out of a window, looking worried. “Is something wrong, Fluttershy?” asked Twilight Sparkle to her pegasus friend. “I was wondering how Discord was doing. Trapped in a cage. Surrounded by changelings…” She cringed. “He must be quivering in fear!” *** Discord laughed at his pranks on the changelings who were supposed to keep an eye on him. It would have take much more than a cage or being in a dark dungeon to stop him using his powers to have fun. Once Chrysalis entered it was hard to understand if that ruined his mood or improved it. “Hi, Chrysalis, do you want to join the little game we’re playing? It’s called ‘Try to pull off your head from a vial!’” asked Discord, pointing at the changelings who were trying to remove the little bottle from the head of one of them. “It’s quite funny!” Chrysalis grunted and used the magic of the amulet to help her minions. “Oh, you party-pooper. How can I pass the time in this cage without having some fun?” questioned the spirit of disharmony. The queen ignored his question and said to her loyal servants, “Leave us alone.” The minions obeyed and left them. “If you want to have fun why don’t you just talk to yourself? I’m sure you made it a habit when you were turned to stone by the elements of harmony,” retorted Chrysalis. “Oh, nice one, Chrysy,” commented the Draconequus, mocking the queen with that silly name. “How long have you been up to come with that joke? Or there is some little changelings who wrote it down for you?” “Ha ha, very funny. Now would you stop joking?” “Wasn’t that the reason why you came here?” “No” she said. “Actually I don’t even know why I’ve come here in the first place.” There was uncertainty in her voice. “Oh, I think you do know, Chrysy. It’s about your dark ally, Sombra.” “What made it so evident?” “The light in your cute eyes,” answered Discord. The queen of the changelings ignored the sarcastic (or maybe sincere?) tone of the draconequus. “I can’t deny that Sombra’s attitude towards me is not one of the best. A few minutes ago he menaced to kill me just for a small derisive comment of mine.” “He sure has no sense of humor. Though, I admit he improved his speech compared when he was all about crystals,” commented Discord. “Would you mind telling me why and how you’re helping him in the first place?” “It’s not a complicated story. One day he appeared in front of my lair and asked me to help him to get the seal of Death, promising power and vengeance. He knew many things, but refused to tell me how he got them.” “And you didn’t force him to talk?” “How could I do that? Since the failed invasion of Canterlot, my people and I have had to work very hard to get enough love to not die of hunger.” Her tone suddenly turned sharp. “And that was the main reason I accepted his offer. Because he offered me the chance to get my revenge on those wretched ponies.” “You quite hold a grudge to them, don’t you?” “You don’t understand what my species has gone through because of them.” “I may not know who or what exactly is behind this whole situation, but I do know about you and you kin, Chrysy” stated the spirit of chaos, “You existed since the earth ponies were. Your looks, powers and way of feeding made you feared and despised by them. And because of that you made your kin hide and try to keep the attention low for a long time, until finally people thought that you were just a myth. Once that happened you have started sending agents in all of Equestria to gather up information and try to find a way to take power. Then you found out about the wedding of Cadence and Shining Armor. What better chance to take the place of the bride, who was also the princess of Crystal Empire, and then gaining both food and control? Sadly things didn’t go as planned.” “That darned unicorn managed to ruin everything,” groaned Chrysalis. “From that day Celestia has done everything she had in her power to make sure we never will try this trick again to take control, teaching spells to all unicorns which would reveal our true looks. You don’t know how hard it has become to feed off love lately and how my people has suffered because of it.” “I can imagine it,” agreed Discord. “Then you can understand why I accepted his help, why I wanted revenge so much. Yes, I have left my emotions in control, but you can’t blame me for that.” “Nah, can’t blame you for that. If I were in your place I would have done the same… even though that maybe at the first chance I would have betrayed him.” “And that is something that I should do. I don’t want to be his servant nor I want him to boss me around.” “There is more than that, Chrysalis,” Discord said. The queen of the changelings noticed how serious his tone was, a sign that he was not joking. “Sombra is a threat to everyone while he wears that amulet. He may be a powerful unicorn with almost near immortality but he is not good enough to wear the Seal. A power of an abstract in the ends of someone with little imagination such as him?” He snorted. “It’s not only a waste of power, but it’s dangerous. With a random though he could wipe away a galaxy, focusing on something or someone nullifying it. There are things that even I am careful to not break or else even my existence would be at stake. He must be stopped.” “Fine, but what can I do to stop him? Even with the Amulet of the Alicorn I’m no way near his power.” “Not you, Chrysy, but us,” he corrected her, “You’re not the only one who wants to take him down.” “And I should join the same ponies who are responsible for the situation I’m in? That’s madness!” “NO THIS IS EQUESTRIA!” shouted the suddenly helmet wearing draconequus spitting accidentally on the queen. “Oops, sorry, it’s something that I’ve always wanted to say,” he joked while Chrysalis cleaned herself up with an annoying and disgusted expression. “Jokes aside, you don’t have to be make friends with them to help them.” Chrysalis groaned in frustration as she pondered on the words of the Draconequus. She didn’t liked the idea of helping the very same ponies who had made her kin suffer, but she couldn’t deny that it was the only way to defeat Sombra. And may she be damned if her emotion would once again led her to a bad choice. “Fine,” she said, swallowing her pride, “I will help them.” “Good,” beamed Discord, “Now that you have chosen your side I need to tell you something I have noticed. The Amulet of the Alicorn—” “I will not give it to you.” “Calm down Chrysy, I don’t want that toy of yours. No, what I wanted to say is that I can sense a spell on it. With all probability, done by Sombra. Nothing too serious; just a spell made to ensure you loyalty in case you would have changed your mind.” “And let me guess: you can fix that problem.” “I will try.” Chrysalis removed the amulet and then glared at the spirit of chaos. “How can I be sure that it’s you who want to cast a spell on it?” “Oh, where would be the fun of exchanging insult with you then?” The queen of changelings reflected on the possible choices just to find out that she didn’t had any. She cursed Sombra, she cursed the ponies, she cursed Discord, and she cursed herself—but, in the end, she gave the amulet to the draconequus, hoping for the best.