The Crown of Demons

by KillerRobotQuote

Chapter V - Balcony

"Misery!"

The witch opened her eyes and saw a massive box with a face running toward her. She let out a yawn. “What is it, Balrog?” She then noticed that the island was basked in the glow of the early-morning sun. “Oh, has our master returned?”

Balrog shifted uneasily as his eyes darted around. “No, he hasn’t,” he said, shaking his whole body side to side. “I’m worried.”

A sinking feeling made its way to Misery’s gut as she bit back a curse.

“More important than that, though,” Balrog continued. “I just saw a group of ponies flying our way.”

Misery’s eyes shot open. “How many were there?”

Balrog looked contemplative as he racked his brain. “I believe I saw… eight of them.”

“That many?” Misery asked. Balrog nodded. “That’s surprising. Last time, she was alone.” Misery shook her head, clearing her mind of any distracting thoughts. “Was there a white one among them?”

Balrog thought for a moment. “Actually, I think two of them were white.”

“Two?”

“Yes, but one of them was much bigger than the other. And that one also seemed to be leading the pack.”

“Ah…” Misery sighed, a knowing grin crossing her face. Now it all made sense. She was bringing reinforcements. “How long until they land?” Misery asked.

“Probably another ten minutes,” Balrog answered. “They just left the castle.”

“Just now?” Misery gasped. “You can see that far?” Balrog merely shrugged, making Misery chuckle. “Wow. The brain of a dog, but the eyes of a hawk. Good job, Balrog.”

Balrog gave her a playful smirk before getting serious once again. “So… is it…?”

“Yes,” Misery nodded. She then began levitating as she usually did. “We have plenty of time to prepare for their arrival. In the meantime, the Doctor should be returning soon. There’s nothing to worry about.” Misery let out a reluctant sigh. “Get into position, Balrog. We’re going to have a reunion with an old acquaintance of mine.”

---

Twilight Sparkle looked over to Princess Celestia, who was leading the group. Her mentor had been oddly quiet for the past hour. Once everyone had been awakened, the sun princess gave a curt speech. Princess Cadance had experienced trouble with the train on the way and would not be able to arrive on time. However, Celestia was insistent on launching the attack this morning, arguing that striking when they weren’t expecting it was more critical than their numbers, so they would just have to take their chances without her.

Twilight glanced at her friends. Since Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack couldn’t fly, Celestia had ordered two carriages that she and her sister would pull themselves. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash flew immediately behind them.

As they approached the island, Twilight couldn’t repress the growing feeling that something wasn’t right. As intimidating as the island and the stories that Celestia had shared may have been, it wasn’t just fear that was bothering Twilight. Celestia seemed unusually tense, despite having faced threats before. As such, she had been eager to strike quickly. But was that really the wisest decision? She hadn’t even thought to do some reconnaissance to gather any information. Celestia was clinging to an 800-year-old memory. Who’s to say that everything is the same now as it was then? A glance at her friends’ faces confirmed that they too were uneasy about the whole situation.

As the island came close enough into view to make out the details on the surface, the group slowed as they descended. Celestia was the first to touch down onto the island. The rest followed shortly behind her, the royal princesses unhitching themselves from the carriages and Twilight’s friends jumping out.

Stray clouds passed over the island’s surface, creating a light fog. Stone tiles formed pathways across the island, all leading to the spire. Bits of grass grew between the tiles as though the place hadn’t been maintained in many years. In the distance was a large, bulky, bizarre contraption resting on a clear, level surface. It was made of grey metal and had two sets of horizontal blades on top and doors on the sides. On the far end of the island was a series of platforms supported by stone pillars that surrounded a mound, presumably a cave entrance.

Silence fell across the island. Aside from the gentle breeze and an occasional pebble breaking loose from the spire, there was no noise or movement.

“Where is he?” Celestia hissed. “He should be here.”

“Princess?” Twilight asked meekly.

“I would have expected him to have sensed us coming. Maybe he can't? That would make sense. But there's nobody watching the island? I'd think there'd be at least a single guard who'd alert him of our presence. Why wouldn’t he come to face us? Could he not be here? That seems hard to believe. I know what I’d be happy to do to him, that arrogant bast-”

“Princess Celestia!”

The regal figure jolted in Twilight’s direction. Behind the young princess stood all of the Elements of Harmony, as well as Celestia's own sister. Every one of them was staring at Celestia in awe—and slight fear.

“Sister,” Luna spoke. “We have never seen you act this… frantically before. This Halda person has you terribly wound up. Are you quite sure you are alright?”

Celestia looked around at the group, each one with concern written on their faces. Celestia let out a slow sigh, lowering her head. “No, I suppose I’m not alright. When Halda tricked me all those years ago, I was heartbroken. I had hoped we could benefit from each other, and he had gained my trust. I suppose being betrayed like that was more crushing to me emotionally than anything else.” She then lifted her head to look at each of them in the eye. “I think that’s why I’m so desperate to stop him again. Part of it is personal vengeance. I don’t want to be reminded of the time I was toyed with so callously.”

An uncomfortable silence fell across the group once again. Then Luna spoke up.

“Sister, anger and vengeance are the paths to darkness. We know that better than anyone. If this has you that worked up, then maybe it would be best if you sit this one out.” Luna stepped forward and embraced her sister. “You know how capable Twilight and her friends are. If it’s too painful for you, then we can always take care of this for you.”

“Princess Luna’s right, yer highness,” Applejack interjected. “We’ve handled Equestria’s worst. We can do this again.”

“Besides,” Rarity said. “We always have you looking out for us. Because of it, even though dear Twilight was raised as your student, I believe I can speak for all of us when I say that we’ve always viewed you as a sort of mentor of ours, too.”

The rest of the girls nodded in agreement.

“So while you’ve supported all of us all this time,” Twilight finished. “We’d like to return the favor. It’s not just me. All six of us want to help you out and assure you that you can rely on us.” Twilight gave her childhood mentor a warm smile. “Why don’t you let us take care of Halda? We might need your help since you’re the only one who’s met him, but you can count on us!”

Princess Celestia looked around to all of the warm, smiling faces staring back at her. She could feel herself begin to tear up at the sight.

“Oh, girls-”

“YAWN. This is getting too sappy for my taste. I thought you were better than this, Tia.”

The whole group of ponies looked frantically around for the source of the voice. At last, Fluttershy noticed a small figure flying several meters above their heads.

"U-u-u-up there," she whispered in fear. The group turned in the direction she was pointing. Any calm, rational thinking that Twilight’s friends and Luna had managed to work into Celestia immediately vanished. The princess’ eyes burned with hatred.

“Misery,” she spat.

“Hee-hee-hee. Aww, you remembered me. I’m touched.”

“This… is Misery?” Twilight inquired. “She’s so strange-looking.”

“Celestia’s reaction was more or less the same,” the witch remarked with a chuckle. She then turned her attention back to Celestia. “I see you’ve told them all about me. Pray, what have you mentioned? I do hope you spoke of all the good times we had together.”

“There was nothing of the sort,” Celestia retorted. “They know of your trickery, as well as Halda's. Speaking of whom, I want to speak to him.”

“That old fart?” Misery laughed. “Sorry to disappoint you, but he’s dead. Been gone for quite a while. Good riddance, too. How long has it been since he was around? About… oh… eight hundred years?”

Celestia couldn’t mask her shock. Neither could the rest of the ponies there.

“He’s dead?”

“Of course he is! That’s what happens when you kill someone. And you did a spectacular job at that, if I may add. He’s on display in the Statue Chamber if you ever want to see him.”

Celestia stared at the ground, dumbfounded. “But… he… I… how can that be?”

Misery rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, but what part of being turned to stone don’t you seem to understand? That would kill anyone.”

Celestia furiously shook her head. “But that’s impossible!” she shouted at the witch. “Petrification has never killed anyone before! There’s no reason it would kill him.”

Misery gave an uninterested shrug. “What can I say? Possible or not, that’s what happened.”

“Unless…” Celestia’s eyes went wide with realization. “Unless he’s not immortal.”

Misery broke out into laughter. “That bastard? Immortal? Wherever did you get that ridiculous notion? No amount of magic can make my master undying.” This was too much for the princess to process. She brought her hoof to her forehead while her eyes glazed over with a thousand-yard stare.

Twilight, noticing her mentor’s obvious distress, stepped forward. “W-well then… Misery… if Halda is no longer here, then what are you doing here? ”

Misery gave the young princess a pitiful look. “My reasons for being here are of no concern to you, girlie. Leave the talking to the adults, why don't you? Frankly, I should be asking what you’re all doing here at my home.”

Twilight’s eye twitched and her lip curled in anger at the witch’s condescending tone. Before she could give a snarky response, however, Celestia held out a hoof to stop Twilight from lashing out. The sun princess had managed to calm herself down, as evidenced by her flat, expressionless face.

Misery rolled her eyes. “Right, right. To ‘talk.’ We all know what that means.” Misery repositioned herself midair so that it was like she was lying on her belly, her head resting on the staff. “But I have a better idea. How about this: for your sake, as well as those you brought with you, you all withdraw, and there won’t have to be any bloodshed.”

Celestia scoffed. “My sister and the Elements are more than capable of holding their own. And I know that you’re not here with peaceful intentions. So here’s my offer: surrender and return this island and yourself to your world immediately, or we will have to force you to comply.”

Misery looked at her distastefully. “Hmph. I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything else from you. Well, I’m sorry to say, but that simply won’t do.”

“Do you intend to stop me?” Celestia warned. “Because if you do, I won’t hesitate to-”

“Sister!”

Twilight watched in horror as Luna tackled Celestia out of the way of a falling mass. For an instant, it seemed as though the danger had been successfully averted. But before the dust from the heavy impact of the falling object had settled, an ear-piercing shriek sounded across the entire island.

“Luna!”

Once the dust settled down, Twilight was paralyzed by what she saw. Where Princess Celestia had been standing moments ago was now a sizable crater in the stone ground. At its center was the most bizarre creature Twilight had ever seen. It was tall, as tall as Princess Celestia, in fact, but it looked entirely like a box with vertical brown stripes on its face. It’s eyes were the size of dinner plates. And beneath its foot…

...Princess Luna’s hind legs were pinned underneath its massive, bulky body. A red pool was starting to seep out from under the creature’s foot.

Before Twilight or any of her friends could scream in horror at what they’d just witnessed, two plates opened up on the sides of the creature’s body. Within the panels, rows of cylinders with pointed tops jutted out, pointing directly at them. In an instant, they were streaking through the air.

“R-run!”

The ground at Twilight’s hooves exploded. The sudden acceleration sent her airborne, and she became wildly disoriented. With a grunt, she hit the ground on her left side, fighting back the pain of the bruises. Twilight quickly got to her hooves and scanned the area.

“Rarity! Fluttershy! Applejack!” Her friends were strewn about the field, lying in uncomfortable positions. She could tell they were still alive, as they had few physical injuries and their barrels were rising and falling as they breathed, but they weren’t moving at all. They were just knocked out by the blast.

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash cried. She was flying close to the ground. A lock of her trademark hair was singed, but she was otherwise okay. “What was that thing?! Are Rares, Fluttershy and AJ okay?”

Twilight turned back toward the crater. Celestia was locked in combat with the creature, the two trading magic blasts. Despite its lumbering size, the boxy creature moved with shocking agility and grace. Whenever the princess would fire a golden ray at the creature, it would counter with a volley of smaller white magic orbs launched from its mouth. Celestia was clever enough to be luring the behemoth away from Luna’s broken body, which wasn’t moving.

Twilight turned back to Rainbow. “Is Pinkie okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Good. I need you two to get our friends to a safe spot away from the fighting,” she ordered. “The elements are useless without all of us, and those three are in no shape to help. Just get them to safety for now. I’m going to help Luna.”

“You got it.” Rainbow turned toward the pink pony a short distance away, her colors noticeably dimmer and her mane straight and slightly singed. “Pinkie! Help me move these three to that cave over there!” she cried, pointing to the stone pillars and rocky mound in the distance.

Twilight turned her attention back to the incapacitated princess. Teleporting by her side, Twilight took a quick look at her hind legs.

It wasn’t pretty. The limbs were crushed and slightly embedded in the stone. Whatever that box creature was, it must weigh at least a ton. There were several deep cuts along the legs, like the skin burst from the pressure, all of which were bleeding badly. The bones were fractured, and one was poking through her skin on her left leg.

It was all Twilight could do not to retch. “Just hold still, Princess. This is going to hurt, but we need to get you out of there.” The princess did not respond. She had already passed out.

Twilight enveloped Luna’s legs in the magenta aura and pried them out of the stone, careful to avoid bending the legs any more than they already were. Despite the immense pain the princess should have surely been feeling, she did not stir. Twilight lay Luna on the nearby grass and applied a very light healing spell, just enough to stop the bleeding. If there were any hope to save her legs, they would need to be set in place before they could be allowed to heal fully.

Knowing that they were still in danger, Twilight took a defensive stance as she glared around at her surroundings. Celestia was weaving across the island’s surface while the monster pursued her by leaping several stories into the air and coming down with tons of force. The crashes and booms of craters being formed echoed across the island. However, as Twilight scanned the battlefield, Misery was nowhere to be seen.

“AIIEEE!”

The sound of Pinkie screaming in the distance suddenly alerted Twilight. To her horror, the witch Misery was floating right next to her friends. The witch raised her staff, which glowed briefly in a dull white light.

“NO!” Twilight cried, teleporting between the witch and her friends. But she was a moment too late. When she looked at her friends, all five of them were encased in strange bubbles. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie started pounding on the bubbles to try and break them, but to no avail. The other three simply rested within the bubbles, still unconscious.

“Girls!” Twilight dived toward her friends to try and grab them, but before she could get close enough, the bubbles sank into the ground—taking her friends with them.

Twilight stood there stunned. In one fell swoop, her best friends had been taken from her. And she was powerless to help them.

Tears stinging her eyes, she glared at Misery, who was staring back at her with a sad expression. Her horn growing hot from charging, Twilight unleashed a massive beam of magic at the witch. However, when it was inches from reaching her, Misery teleported away, completely unharmed.

Twilight followed. The witch hadn't moved too far away, bringing the fight to where Celestia was dodging another of the monster’s attacks. Misery raised her staff, which momentarily glowed black. Celestia noticed this out of the corner of her eye and immediately erected a golden shield around herself. Twilight took that as a cue to do the same, forming a magenta shield. The moment she did, the tip of Misery’s staff exploded with lightning, which struck at the two princesses, but was harmlessly deflected by the shields.

Celestia decided that she’d had enough of the toaster creature chasing her, so she encased it in her golden aura and threw him across the island, surely uninjured, but with plenty of space between the two. Now with breathing room, Celestia’s horn sparked with power. The very ground around her cracked until massive boulders the size of houses were excavated from the island. Behind her, she was levitating enough rocks to completely destroy a small village with one volley.

“Not a good idea,” Misery warned her. Celestia’s eyes flashed pure gold and the barrage shot toward the witch at blinding speeds.

“Hmph.” Misery raised her staff and teleported away, avoiding several of the chunks of earth. When she reappeared behind the two princesses, eight black rings the size of beach balls were orbiting her body. Twilight shot a volley of magical beams at Misery, but when the beams connected with the rings, they immediately dissipated.

Celestia turned and fired her remaining stock of boulders at Misery. With a smirk, Misery raised her staff and prepared to teleport once again.

But she couldn’t. In a split second, Misery’s expression changed from one of no emotion to sheer panic. Twilight could make out a very faint blue outline on Misery’s body. With a start, she turned toward Princess Luna. The fallen princess’ horn was glowing, and she had a smirk of triumph on her face, giving Misery the most hate-filled glare that Twilight had ever seen.

“No…!” Misery gasped, her voice shaking with fear. Try as she might, she could not break free of Luna’s hold on her.

That’s when the boulder hit. The black rings protecting Misery succeeded in shattering the boulder into much smaller ones, but they could not stop the massive rocks’ momentum. Hundreds of rocks slammed into Misery, and the entire front of her body erupted in pain.

As she flew back from the collision, she caught a flash of violet in the corner of her eye. However, before Misery could even begin to get her bearings, Twilight flew in to deliver a heavy kick into her back.

Misery flew at an angle now, barely conscious, and gasping in pain. But just a second before she could crash into the ground, she felt herself get caught in another magical hold. The aura around her this time was magenta. She strained to raise her head to look into the eyes of her captor. The moment the saw those purple eyes, her blood ran cold.

Twilight Sparkle brought Misery high into the sky—so high that she was actually above the spire, the tallest point on the island. Then, with everything she had, Twilight threw the witch down as hard as she could. The air seemed to whistle as Misery hurtled toward the island’s surface. The sudden acceleration was so intense, Misery blacked out.

“Misery!”

Twilight turned in shock to see that the box creature from before had returned. However, to her surprise, it was not aiming to attack her. Instead, it was running toward Misery, who at this point was totally helpless. Just a few meters above the ground, the creature leaped and intercepted Misery, catching her in midair and allowing himself to absorb the brunt of the impact. When he came back down, the massive creature tumbled along the ground, his graceful movement from before all but absent. The creature laid Misery gently on the ground, then turned to Twilight and Celestia with a glare in his eyes.

“Don’t you touch her!”

It then leaped into the air, opened it’s huge maw, and shot a barrage of magic spheres at the two. Twilight and Celestia evaded the magic blasts until the monster was nearly on top of them, then teleported away. Once he landed, the creature turned and located the two a few meters away, then proceeded to unleash a bombardment of both magic blasts and missiles toward the two.

Instead of evading, Celestia erected a golden domed shield, protecting both herself and her student. Missiles and magic blasts collided with the shield, exploding harmlessly, the shield unwavering. A look of terror crossed the creature’s face. Desperately, he launched another round of missiles at the two. Not one of them connected. All six missiles were caught in a magenta glow and hovered in place briefly. Then, Twilight rotated them until they were pointing back at the one who launched them. When she released her magical hold on the projectiles, they shot toward the monster in a flash.

He was unable to evade most of his own rockets. He felt his body get peppered with explosions, the force lifting him into the air and falling back down with a heavy thud. He groaned as he struggled to lean up and face his attackers.

Twilight and Celestia simultaneously rocketed into the sky, their whole bodies glowing with their respective magic energies. Their eyes had become solid purple and gold. Then they charged straight down toward the injured monster, their horns almost blindingly bright. Balrog closed his eyes as he accepted his death.

But that never came to be. Not a moment too soon, an arc of red magic shot through the sky and cut the two alicorns off from their path. They landed, unscathed, and looked in the direction from which the magic had come. Twilight was at a loss for words when the saw the figure standing there. And when she looked at her mentor, she realized that she too was stunned.

Standing at the edge of the island was a tall, thin creature. It wore a strange white coat and glasses. And atop its head was a blue and red crown of sorts that radiated malice. It looked at the princesses. Then it looked at Balrog. Its gaze then shifted to Misery. Then, his voice calm and unwavering, the Doctor looked at Twilight and Celestia and said, “Would you mind explaining to me what’s going on here?”