Azure Flame

by Silver Page

A Broken Kingdom

“Ha, ha, ha… how many… is that?” Creepy asked, panting with exhaustion.

“Twenty… I think… maybe thirty…” Azure replied, equally tired, but from exhaustion brought on from over using his magic.

Azure, Creepy, and Slim were inside a ditch that might have once been an irrigation channel, many dismembered and battered corpses littering the ground above and next to them. Above them, the sky was a dull red, as the setting sun’s light bled through the dull grey clouds of the ruined land.

For three hours they’d been on the run, trying to escape the slow but tireless pack of zombies they’d encountered back at their crash site. The undead Pegasi and Griffons had been the most dangerous for a while, still somehow being able to fly despite lacking flesh or feathers on their wings. Azure had torn them from the sky and pulverized them on the hard earth bellow, but the ground bound ones cared little.

Finally being driven to near desperation, the trio had found the ditch they were currently in, and lured the zombies into a killing field, with Creepy and Slim as bait, while Azure Flame had used his spells to pound them flat.
Azure was now regretting never bothering to learn more advanced combat spells, other than the few self-defense ones he knew. Slim had picked up the slack, with him smashing the zombies apart with a large rock, and Creepy running around, distracting the undead monsters.

Slim looked about, his size allowing him to peer over the top without much difficulty.

“We’re in the clear,” he relayed to the others. His voice still shook with a hint of fear, now tinged with fatigue. “We need to find a place to hide for the night.”

Slim began to move the corpses around, ripping off heads and limbs so, in the event they revived, they could do little damage. He then piled the bodies in a ring around them, and beckoned his friends to him.

“Wait, are you expecting us to sleep in the middle of this ditch, surrounded by zombies?” Azure asked incredulously.

“I’m so sorry it’s not a five star hotel with maids, but we don’t have a lot of options,” the Minotaur snapped, and the quadrupedal friends shared a look. Stress, exhaustion, and fear were getting to their large ally, and his temper was beginning to fray.

“Yeah, but wouldn’t sleeping in this place be worse than, I dunno, anywhere else? The Zombies could get the drop on us here. Literally,” Creepy said, pointing out the obvious flaw.

“Well, what are our choices? This terrain is too flat to have caves, and I doubt we’ll find any structures still standing that are worthy using. The forest is too far away and likely filled with more zombies, and need I remind you, this is Tambelon, at night?” Slim, finished setting up ‘camp’, lay down in the middle of the zombie circle.

“There were stories of recon soldiers and scouts using the bodies of the dead as camouflage back in the War of Undeath. Zombies mistook them for their fallen comrades, and didn’t bother them. If there is any grain of truth to those stories, this situation right here will be safe, at least for tonight.”

Azure and Creepy sighed in resignation, and joined their friend in the circle. They were too tired to argue anymore, and resting definitely seemed like a good idea. Curling up next to each other to stay warm, the trio quickly let sleep overtake them.

Azure Flame panted, exhausted. He was surrounded by darkness on all sides, with only a thin, silver path to mark where the ground was. He felt like he’d been running for hours, chased by something he could not see. He’d had no choice but to follow the silvery road, and hope that he’d appear somewhere safe soon.
As he ran, Azure Flame wondered where he was, and why he was running. He couldn’t remember much. All he could recall was…
Azure Flame slowed down, his desperate sprint becoming a quick trot. What was going on? Now that he wasn’t focused on fleeing from… something… he realized his head felt like a brick, covered in cotton. He couldn’t remember anything on how he got here, or where even ‘here’ was.
“What’s going on?” He muttered to himself.
“Why did you stop? Quickly, this way!” A voice, deep and booming, echoed forth from the darkness.
“Wha?! Who’s there?!” Azure shouted, looking around in fear.
“You have to keep moving! If you stop, you’ll die!” The voice was worried, and a hint of desperation hidden in the deep bass.
“No, don’t listen to him. There’s no reason to keep running. Just relax, and let the sleep over take you. Don’t you think you deserve a rest, after all you’ve done?” A second voice appeared from the darkness, low and soft, yet with a strange rasping lilt to it.
“I, I don’t…” Azure murmured. He felt conflicted, and his hooves stopped moving. The voices from the darkness continued to speak, trying to sway him.
“No! Do not give in! To stop is to die! To die is to fail! And to fail is to doom all you hold dear!”
“You’ve done well, so what’s wrong with a well-earned nap? Just lie down, and close your eyes…”
“NO!” The darkness shattered, as flames in all the colors of the rainbow erupted around Azure Flame.
“Make you own destiny, Child of the Heavenly Sisters! Awaken and save your people! Do not listen to the madness of a fallen soul!” The deep voice roared. Azure blinked.
“My people… my ponies… Auntie Celestia, Auntie Luna… Cadence… Rarity!”

Azure’s eyes snapped open, and he looked around in a panic. He saw Slim and Creepy, both trussed up in coarse rope. Looking down, Azure saw he too was wrapped in poor quality rope. Panicking, Azure thrashed about, but found himself unable to move. Oddly enough, the ground felt less like packed earth, and more smooth and cold…
The Unicorn then stopped trying to move and got a good look at his capturers. On the plus side, they weren’t zombies. On the downside, they were Changelings.

Azure Flame was not sure which he would have preferred, honestly.

He was strapped down on the back of a large, burly Changeling, significantly bigger than the few he’d seen at Cadence’s wedding. His friends were each on their own titan bug-pony, and were surrounded on all sides by the smaller Changelings he was more familiar with. Azure quickly tried to cast a spell, but his horn felt numb, and glancing up, he saw a weird, greenish blue sludge covering it.

“Do not struggle, do not resist.” A strange double voice spoke up, and one of his escorts was looking up at him with blank, pupil-less blue eyes.

Azure complied, able to see there was no immediate way out, and he was sure he couldn’t take on even a single one of these creatures without a functioning horn. For a long, boring while, Azure was carried across the blasted landscape, the Changelings eerily silent.

“Oof…” Slim grumbled, and started to stir. He yawned, blinking his eyes open, only to have his muzzle freeze in a slack jawed expression as he saw what was going on, and who was around him.

“Um, Azzy, what’s going on?” He asked, fear in his voice as he looked over at his friend and de facto leader.

“No idea, Slim. Just stay calm. They haven’t hurt us, and I doubt they’d plan on it now unless we give them a reason too,” Azure explained.

“Ugh, my back… last time I sleep on the ground, surrounded by the dead…” Creepy moaned, waking up as well. His tired eyes snapped open as he stared at the area.

“Ok, listen to me, Creepy,” Azure said, sighing internally. After explaining the situation, the Donkey was calmer, but no less worried.

“So, where are you taking us?” Creepy asked after a while.

“Home,” A Changeling said, tonelessly.

“Can I have some water?” Slim asked, smacking his lips.

“Sustenance available when we arrive at home,” the same Changeling replied.

“And when will that be?” He asked, annoyed.

“Now.”

Azure, Slim, and Creepy blinked in confusion, just as a shadow passed over them. Looking over the shoulder of their rides, they gasped, mouths doing an impressive impersonation of fishes’, as they looked up at what was before them.

A massive city loomed ahead, its buildings made of black stone interspersed with green. Spindly, needle like towers dotted the outskirts, and Changelings buzzed about them, and the streets of the city. At the center was a massive castle, exuding a grim, gothic sort of charm. It too was made of black stone and hardened green slime, but had a giant gate made of age weathered black wood.

“The Capitol of Tambelon,” Slim breathed in awe, looking up with a stunned expression.

“Looks rather well kept,” Azure mused, looking about as they were brought within. Indeed, for a supposedly abandoned place, it was oddly lively. Changelings walked and flew to and fro, some carrying materials for repairs, others for some unknown purpose, while others appeared to be…

“Buying food?” Creepy uttered, confusion just piling up. Azure looked, and indeed, there were Changelings walking around an open-air market with tents and stalls, appearing to buy and sell odd looking edibles. Edibles might have been too generous, however. Dark brown, shriveled roots and tubers, large, pallid mushrooms, dry and dusty piles of seeds and grain. All this, as well as poorly made appliances, tools, and knick-knacks were being sold in exchange for what looked to be coins made of hardened green ooze.

There was one other thing that made the whole affair seem off. All of it was carried out in absolute silence. Not a single word was spoken to another Changeling, and only the buzz of wings broke the stillness.

The trio didn’t have time to ponder this oddness, as soon they were brought to the castle. The gates were slowly creaking open, rusted chains clanking as they performed their duty. When they were opened enough, the Changelings entered, bringing their captives into the dark hallways. The courtyard was empty of both life and decoration, only tattered banners bearing faded heraldry hung to the walls.

Through doors, hallways, and more empty rooms, the group finally entered a massive area; a throne room, if the pair of silver and black seats were any indication. Additionally, what appeared to be numerous courtiers stood around, almost identical to the Changelings outside and escorting them, expect for their eyes, which, while still blue, had actual pupils.

The occupants of the thrones made the non-Changelings double take. One was clearly a Zombified Earth Pony, bound with a golden collar and chain to his throne, a large, ornate affair, with roses and flowers engraved in the wood and metal. His rotten flesh oddly well preserved, making him look like a mummy, rather than a fresh, dripping corpse.

The other throne was slightly smaller and less ornate, yet no less beautiful, and oddly complemented the one seated upon it. Azure’s eyes widened with shock and fear, and he trembled in his bindings.

“Well, well, well. When my Scouts reported they’d found some mortals deep in the kingdom, I would have never expected it to be somepony of such distinction.”

Azure Flame gulped with fear as the hissing, double-voice reached him. A dark chuckle echoed through the room, and soon a massive, lithe Changeling rose, stepping down and trotting over to cup Azure’s chin under a hoof.

“Hello, Prince Blueblood. Remember me?” Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings and leader of the Wedding Invasion, asked, smirking down at her captives.

Comments

[SageBrony07]

I was not expecting that. I looks like Blueblood now has to make friends with the queen. Question though. Who is that voice telling blueblood to run? I honestly don't think it was created by his dreams.

[hatorimatsu]

“Hello, Prince Blueblood. Remember me?” Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings and leader of the Wedding Invasion, asked, smirking down at her captives.

ts3.explicit.bing.net/th?id=HN.608028066665335901&pid=1.7
Blueblood good luck
hopefully she still not mad about the whole wedding thing

[Frankie2]

Chrysalis? Really? Is Blueblood even going to live long enough to even SEE that dragon leader? Let alone, see Equestria again.