The Queen Is Gone
600 AD
Manerial Abbey
Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash cautiously entered the abbey. While not as regal or awe-inspiring as the interior of Sugaria Castle, the abbey was quite a spectacle in its own rights. Luscious red carpeting covered the stone floor, leading to the front of the room, flanked on both sides by wooden pews. Rainbow Dash noted that, unlike the furnishings of Equus Inn, these pews had been stained and finished, looking much more refined. A few nuns were resting on the pews, quietly meditating. At the front of the room, another nun was making preparations at an altar, basked in light from an ornate stained-glass mural.
The two ponies walked up to the altar. Twilight Sparkle nervously coughed, and whispered lightly, not wishing to disturb the quiet serenity of the chamber. “Uh... excuse me, Miss? May we have a word with you?”
The nun turned toward the ponies and smiled. “Oh, what delish... delightful guests! Welcome to our humble abbey. May you be blessed with peace and good fortune.” She bowed politely. “How may we help you?”
Rainbow Dash frowned, as the nun smiled at her. While her demeanor and expression were gentle, there was still something off-putting. Something in the look of her eyes... It almost reminded Rainbow Dash of...
“We are looking for Queen Diane,” continued Twilight Sparkle. “Apparently, she went missing earlier and nopony has seen her since. By any chance, have you seen her here at the abbey?”
The nun gently shook her head. “I am truly sorry. As we told the Bolt Knights earlier, Her Highness The Queen has not visited our abbey in quite some time. I am sorry we could not be of more help to you. Please, do not trouble yourselves. You should make yourself comfortable, and rest, in peace.”
Rainbow Dash looked around behind her. The rest of the nuns were looking up at the ponies, disrupted from their meditations. Rainbow Dash felt a growing sense of unease. “H-Hey, Twi? It sounds like that rumor was no good after all. Maybe we should look some place el...” She suddenly stopped as something on the ground glittered and caught her attention. Quizzically, she walked over to it and took a look.
“Dash? What’s up? ...Hmm, what are you looking at?” The unicorn lifted the object using her magic, and took a closer look. “Looks like some kind of coral manepin.”
Rainbow Dash gasped. “The King said that the Queen had a coral manepin! If it’s here...” She suddenly pushed Twilight behind her, drawing her katana. The four nuns had begun encircling the ponies, eyes glowing red. She called out a challenge to them. “We’re onto you, ya creepy nuns! Give us back the Queen!”
The nuns suddenly exploded in a red blinding light. Rainbow Dash had to shake her head clear to regain her vision. When she looked back, at first it seemed that nothing had changed; she still saw four ponies. In horror, she realized that while each of them still had the front half of a pony, their hindquarters had been replaced with the body of a snake. Rearing upright, the naga slithered closer, baring their fangs and screeching.
“SNAKES!” Twilight Sparkle screamed in terror, diving into the corner and covering her head. “SNAAAKES!”
The pegasus dashed between the naga and her friend, flaring her wings wide. She knew that, ever since Twilight Sparkle was a filly, she had been terribly afraid of “icky, creepy, and/or disgusting” animals. And unfortunately, snakes ranked fairly high on that list, meaning that she wouldn’t be of much assistance in this fight. Even though Rainbow Dash wasn’t afraid of snakes, the half-pony half-snake monstrosities before her were still quite unsettling. Nevertheless, there was one of Rainbow Dash, and only four of the naga; this was going to be a snap.
Leaping, she air-dashed straight into the closest naga, gashing it deeply. Caught off-guard from the sudden burst of speed, it fell with a cry. Rainbow Dash’s attack had left Twilight Sparkle unguarded, however. Two of the naga slithered toward her, hooves outstretched. Facing them from a distance, Rainbow Dash fiercely slashed in their direction. A blade of wind emanated from her katana, flying toward the naga. One of them managed to leap back in time, exposing its companion to the full blast of her Wind Slash attack. It let out a terrifying screech, but remained upright.
Rainbow Dash charged the injured naga, blade first, and ran it through. It scratched futilely at the pegasus’s face with its hooves, but soon expired. Seeing another opening, another naga tried to slip behind her, heading for the cowering unicorn. Catching sight of the enemy, Rainbow Dash pushed off the corpse with her front legs, catching the naga squarely in the jaw with a well-timed kick. Landing squarely on the ground, she twisted sharply and ended the creature with an uppercut slash.
Panting, Rainbow Dash turned to her friend, sheathing her blade. “You okay, Twi?” The unicorn looked up, wiping her eyes, and nodded meekly. However, her expression quickly changed to one of silent horror, and she pointed behind Rainbow Dash.
She turned quickly to see a naga in mid-pounce. Another one! Did I miscount?! The naga was nearly on top of her, and her katana was sheathed. She wouldn’t have time to react! She braced herself to take the full impact of the hit. Just as the naga was about to strike, it let out a blood-curdling shriek and collapsed in a heap on the floor in front of her. Confused, she instinctively looked down at the corpse, trying to determine what had happened. As she looked up, she gasped at the new creature before her.
The creature walked on four legs, much like a pony. It even had a unicorn’s horn, which was levitating the broadsword that had slain the naga. The face of the creature, however, strongly appeared to be that of a pony-sized frog. Unlike a pony’s soft-haired body, this creature had green skin, hairless and moist. Instead of hooves, its legs ended in webbed feet. On its torso, it wore a gem-studded golden vest over a white silken blouse, partially obscured by a heavy, dark green cape across its back. After carefully cleaning the broadsword with a rag from its saddlebags, and sheathing the broadsword with its horn, the creature turned to Rainbow Dash and spoke. “My dear, you simply must be more cautious. Stay ever vigilant until the ‘bitter end’, as ‘twere.”
Confused by the juxtaposition of creature’s bizarre appearance, yet fashionable armor and sophisticated speech, Rainbow Dash glanced back at Twilight Sparkle for guidance. However, the unicorn was still cowering in fear in the corner. Rainbow Dash sighed and rolled her eyes. She’s scared of frogs too, isn’t she... Turning back, she cautious replied. “Erm... yeah, thanks... I guess I owe you one, for the save.”
“Think nothing of it,” the creature beamed, eyes contently closed. “I simply did what anypony would have done.” It walked past Rainbow Dash and approached the curled-up Twilight Sparkle, placing a webbed pad on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
Caught by surprise, Twilight Sparkle leapt up onto the tips of her hooves, shivering against the wall. “A f-f-frog! A gross, slimy frog just touched me! Eww eww eww!” She frantically scratched at her own shoulder with a hoof, desperately trying to remove whatever cooties were contaminating her.
It smiled back cheerily at the unicorn, though its eyes told a different story. “Y-yes, I do so apologize for my... dreary appearance. I realize that it can be quite burdensome for some ponies to handle. I shan’t impose on you any further.” Bowing politely, the creature turned and began to walk toward the altar.
Twilight Sparkle recovered from her initial fear reaction and, realizing what she had just said, her face turned beet red. “Wait! Stop, please! I’m so, so, so sorry. That was a horrible thing for me to say! Especially after you had just saved us...” She hesitantly approached the creature, torn between her phobia and her strong desire to make amends for her words. “Pl... Please forgive me. My friend and I are truly in your debt...” she bit her lip nervously.
The creature smiled back. While its smile had remained almost completely unchanged during this encounter, the earnest apology had been well-received, and its high spirits returned. “Thank you, dearie. Though, truly, do not worry yourself over it. You and I are quite alright.”
Twilight Sparkle returned the smile, relieved. However, as she was still uneasy at its appearance, she was at a loss of words. The two stood smiling silently, as an awkward pause filled the room. Rainbow Dash quickly jumped in to fill the void. “So... what are you doing here in the abbey, anyway?”
Its expression turned serious. “It would seem that Her Royal Majesty, Queen Diane, is being held against her will, hidden deep within this lair. As a sworn protector of Her Majesty, it is my solemn duty to rescue her.”
The two friends exchanged a glance. So the Queen was here in the abbey, after all! Concerned, Twilight Sparkle turned back. “But... you were going to go in here... all by yourself?”
It struck a pose with its head held high, radiating confidence and elegance. “But of course! Just because I'm a lady doesn't mean I cannot handle myself in a sticky situation.”
“A... lady?” Twilight Sparkle hadn’t really thought of the creature as a lady, let alone as a fellow pony. Realizing how her question sounded out loud, she blushed fiercely again and stammered. “I mean! Yes! You really don’t seem like a... bad lady... pony... frog-thing...” She turned pleadingly to Rainbow Dash with a look that screamed, Bail me out!
Rainbow Dash raised a hoof upwards, shrugging, with a look that replied, What, you want ME to smooth-talk this out?
Twilight Sparkle sighed and closed her eyes. After a short pause, she turned back to the creature. “Please, Miss, let us join you.”
The pegasus was genuinely surprised. “Twi, are you sure? I mean, with your fear of...”
She nodded solemnly. “We owe her so much already — both for saving us from those snake-ponies, and for forgiving me for my hurtful words. I want to repay her for all of her generosity. If that means putting up with a phobia or two, I’ll just have to put up with her. I mean...” she blushed again, scrunching up her face in frustration.
“Thank you. I humbly accept your offer. This will be much safer with the three of us together. Not to mention, journeying is much more enjoyable with company!”
Rainbow Dash grinned. “Sweet! It’ll be great to have another swordspony with us. You pulled a pretty decent move on that naga, back there.”
She returned the grin, as pegasus and frog sized each other up. “You were demonstrating some impressive blade maneuvers, yourself...” She blinked. “Heavens, I was so caught up that I never introduced myself! My name... Well, I won’t bore you with a long and uninteresting story. For now, it will suffice to refer to me as ‘Frog’.”
“Uh, okay... Frog... If you say so... My name’s Rainbow Dash, and the scaredy-pony over there...”
Suddenly, a deafening noise filled the air. Covering both ears with her hooves, Rainbow Dash looked first to Frog, then to Twili... there was nopony there. Looking frantically around the room, she finally spotted Twilight Sparkle. She had wandered over to a large organ sitting in the corner, and was currently pressing on some of the keys with her horn’s magic, filling the room and their brains with vibrations from the large pipes.
“Oh what the hay... Twi! Knock it off!”
She released the keys, granting a momentary relief. “I think this sheet music is a clue!” she shouted about the ringing of her own ears. Rainbow Dash flicked annoyedly at her own ears, trying to regain her hearing. “I’m trying to play it! Luckily I was reading up on beginner’s musical theory just a few months ago! I think I remember...” She studied the sheet music intently. “Let’s see... E-flat... G-flat... B-flat... D-flat... F-natural!” Locating all of the keys on the organ, she pressed the chord.
The haunting chord filled the chamber again, reverberating off the walls. Over the din, a low rumbling could be heard, followed by a loud thud.
The ponies shook their heads, trying to recover their senses. “My, what a dreary sound,” Frog said. “It doesn’t fit with the gentle beauty of this cathedral at all.”
“After the welcome party those nuns threw for us, I doubt there’s anything ‘gentle’ about this place,” Rainbow Dash tersely added.
Twilight Sparkle gasped. “Girls, look!” On the opposite end of the room, a carved wooden relief had disappeared, leaving a black gaping hole in the wall. “The resonation of the harmonics must have served as the ‘key’ to this entrance. We can go deeper into the abbey now!” She smiled at her two companions. “I wonder what we’ll find inside!”
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600 AD
Manerial Abbey — Interior Halls
“BATS!” Twilight Sparkle answered her own question. “BAAATS!”
The swordsponies were leaping about, slashing in the air, trying to scare off the winged creatures. “We know,” growled Rainbow Dash, teeth clenched to her katana’s hilt.
The bats flittered down the hall, sufficiently spooked by the two flying blades. As their flapping leathery wings grew quieter, Twilight Sparkle shakily rose to her hooves. “Thanks...” she said quietly.
Rainbow Dash gave a sigh of annoyance. “We need to move faster. The Queen could be in real danger!”
“Right... Sorry...”
The companions looked around. They were in yet another dimly lit corridor. Despite the dim lighting and restricted access to this section of the abbey, the beautiful furnishing and decorations from the main chamber were present here too. However, in the dim candlelight, surrounded by monsters and vermin, the appearance of the corridors chilled them with icy, ominous dread.
In the dim lighting, Frog made something out. “There appears to be... hmm... some type of notice written here, it would seem.”
Rainbow Dash approached Frog, who was standing in front of a piece of parchment nailed hastily to one of the walls. “‘No Entry’,” she read. Confused, she looked up and down the hallway, then back at the note. “‘No Entry’ to where? There’s no doors here...”
Somewhat confused, they pressed further on, following the dimly lit hallways. As they walked, Frog tried to lighten the mood with some conversation. “I must say, it’s quite a rare sight to see a pair of adventurers like yourselves. Most of the brave ponies have already enlisted in the Royal Guard or the Bolt Knights or the like, to do battle with Nightmare Moon’s forces. If I may be so bold, what land do the two of you hail from?”
“Us?” Twilight Sparkle nervously replied. “Oh, haha, nowhere special... Born and raised right here in the town of Equus!”
“Uh huh. ‘Cept we’re from the future. 1000 AD to be exact.”
“Rainbow Dash!”
“What? She asked...”
“You can’t just go around telling everypony that! Who knows what kind of ramifications that could have to our time stream!”
“Huh? What’s the big deal? I’ve already told that to lots of ponies, and nothing bad’s happened...”
Twilight Sparkle was mortified. “What? Who?!”
“Like, everypony in Equus Inn? I guess none of them believed me, though...”
“Oh my, the future?” Frog jumped back into the conversation. “That must be a dream come true. My, to think of the fashion and luxury that could be invented over the course of four long centuries...” She gasped in excitement, “Oh, please tell me that emeralds are back in vogue?”
“I... err... I don’t really follow the fashion trends all that closely.” Twilight Sparkle gave Frog a quizzical look. “You don’t seem all that surprised. Isn’t it odd for ponies to be claiming to be time travelers?”
“Well, somewhat, I suppose. After all, you’re the first ponies I’ve met who have claimed to be from the future. But my dear, we live in magical times, and I’ve seen more than my fair share of mysteries and sorcery. It’s not all that unthinkable that somepony could manage to traverse the flow of time. And besides, the two of you seem to be kind, honest ponies. I see no reason that you would be lying to me about something such as this.”
“Wow... that’s so open-minded of you. It’s really impressive, Frog!”
Frog turned to Rainbow Dash. “What about you, darling? You simply must tell me all about the latest trends with hats in the year you’re from! With that gorgeous — ehh, if somewhat messy — mane of yours, I’m sure that you’re always dressing in style!”
“No.”
“Hmm? Hey girls, look.” Twilight Sparkle had stopped a few paces back, next to a small wooden door. Giving it a gentle nudge, it slowly swung inwards with a soft creak. “Check out what’s inside?”
“Might as well...” Tugging her blade out halfway, just in case, Rainbow Dash kicked the door open and walked inside.
“Ah, you have arrived!” Queen Diane smiled warmly. “I am relieved that you made it here safely.”
The three companions gaped. True to their expectations, Queen Diane was a beautiful pink pony in a regal, flowing white dress. Indeed, she bore an uncanny resemblance to Pinkie Pie — at least, the dolled-up 600 AD version, not the spunky free spirit that Rainbow Dash had met at the Millennial Summer Sun Celebration. Unlike Pinkie Pie, though, her poise was soft and elegant. It was clear that they were in the presence of true royalty. And yet, there were no guards, no chains, no cell. The Queen hardly appeared to be a prisoner. Indeed, behind her, a table appeared to be set for afternoon tea.
“My Queen!” Frog hopped forward to Queen Diane, kneeling respectfully before her. “You are in great peril! Come, we must depart at once!”
“Ah, Frog, my faithful protector. I am so happy that you have come to save me,” she giggled softly, “but this is simply a misunderstanding. I am an honored guest, not a prisoner.”
“What?” Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “What do you mean ‘guest’? I thought Nightmare Moon’s goons were trying to kill you!”
“Kill? Dear pegasus, far from it.” From the side of the room, King Sugardia the 21st stepped forward. “Yakra, the master of this abbey, is a kind and peaceful creature. He summoned my wife and myself here in order to meet with Nightmare Moon, that we might negotiate a peace treaty. At last, we will be able to put this dreadful war behind us!”
“Peace treaty?” Twilight Sparkle pulled a book from her saddlebags and began flipping furiously through it.
“W-with Nightmare Moon? My Lord and Lady, with the utmost of respect, Nightmare Moon has been leading the fiends of the world in a crusade to purge the world of all ponykind! How could such a demon be reasoned with?!”
Queen Diane shook her head. “My loyal Frog, you mustn’t be too hasty. Nightmare Moon has been our enemy in the past, but all creatures large and small crave friendship.” She motioned behind her to a large golden statue. “Wonderful Nightmare Moon has agreed to live in harmony with the ponyfolk, ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity!”
Hesitantly, Frog and Rainbow Dash approached the statue. It depicted a towering, armor-clad alicorn. A long glistening mane flowed from her helmet, with a matching tail sweeping wispily around its hooves in a most artistic way. Rainbow Dash was both awe-struck and terrified of the golden alicorn depicted in the statue. “This... this is Nightmare Moon?”
Frog glared coldly at the statue, unblinking. “This is she. A cruel, monstrous deity of hatred. Our kingdom, our very lives will never be safe as long as her black heart still beats. I cannot for the life of me fathom why dearest Queen Diane would believe...”
“Dash!” Twilight Sparkle cried out.
Rainbow Dash collapsed as the full weight of the naga crashed down on her. She let out a cry of pain as its fangs dug deep into her back near the root of her wing. Frog swiftly raised her broadsword with her telekinesis, but before she could assist, the other naga charged her, forcing her to engage. She sparred the creature, moving hardly at all, focusing the brunt of her might into the flurry of telekinetic swings of her blade. Exploiting an opening, she gashed the creature’s neck, felling it.
Rainbow Dash tried weakly to buck the naga off her, but with its weight pinned her close to the ground, and the sharp pain in her back, she couldn’t get the proper leverage. Nevertheless, the creature released its bite and flew off. Looking up, Rainbow Dash saw that Frog’s stretchy, elastic tongue had wrapped around the creature, pulling it off the pegasus and rapidly in Frog’s direction. With a mighty upward thrust, she ran the creature through, and it collapsed beside its partner.
Rainbow Dash winced, applying pressure to her bleeding wound. “Grrr... lemme guess... that King and Queen... they were impostors, weren’t they? Just like the nuns...”
“It would seem so,” Frog approached her companion. “Oh, I feel so foolish that I was deceived by such rudimentary magics. As the Queen’s protector, I ought to be able to see through the parlor tricks of mere pawns...” Leaning down, she began gently licking Rainbow Dash’s wound with her stretchy tongue. Rainbow Dash looked up at her, bewildered, with her mouth agape. “Trust me,” she quickly added, blushing, “nopony finds this more revolting than I, but over the years I have learnt that my... ugh... spit has healing properties that will help with your recovery. Just... just sit still and we’ll get this over with... quickly.” She resumed her rather unusual treatment of the wound.
After she had finished, Rainbow Dash rose to her hooves, tentatively stretching and flapping her wings. “Huh... I guess it is starting to feel a lot better. Thanks, Frog.” She looked around the room for the third pony. Unsurprisingly, Twilight Sparkle was curled in the corner, not moving. “Twi! That Queen was a big ol’ fake. We need to keep looking, c’mon.” There was no reply.
“Twilight? Dearie? Are you hurt? I can try to treat your wounds before we press onward.”
Her reply was soft and monotone. “Go on without me.”
“What?”
Hot tears fell from Twilight Sparkle’s face. Unlike earlier, these were not tears of fear and panic; these tears were borne of hatred of her own weaknesses. “I’ve done nothing but slow you down. Every time we’ve been attacked, I’ve been such a...” she said as she clenched her eyes tightly shut, “...such a coward. I’ve been too scared to help anypony. Even when I saw that snake-pony charging at Rainbow, I wanted to help... to protect her... but I couldn’t... I couldn’t.”
Rainbow Dash felt her stomach knot up with guilt. All this time, she’d been growing frustrated with the unicorn’s hesitation and fear, and had been pushing her harder, without fully empathizing with her fear or frustration. “Twilight... I’m so sorry. I was just...”
Frog looked down upon Twilight Sparkle. “If you didn’t want to help anypony, you could have stayed back at the castle.”
“Frog!” Rainbow Dash was appalled. “Leave Twi alone!”
Twilight Sparkle’s head jerked up. “What? Stayed... behind?” Her eyes glassed over as she mulled the thought over for a second. “No... no! I couldn’t just... Rainbow Dash was...” she shook her head, trying to clear it. “I wanted to help...!”
“To help your friend, yes?” Frog smiled, lying down in front of Twilight Sparkle so that they were eye-to-eye. “And Queen Diane. So you came here, ignoring the dangers that might befall you. And when you got here, you encountered snakes, and bats, and fr... and all manner of creepy critters. But still you pressed onward, because you did not want to abandon your friends. Is that your idea of a coward?” She reached out with a webbed foot and gently held her hoof. “That sounds like a brave little pony to me.”
She sniffed wetly, “B-brave?”
“Yeah! Frog’s right! And you haven’t been useless!” Rainbow Dash stepped forward energetically, cheering her friend on. “We couldn’t have even gotten inside here without you, remember? You were the one who opened up the door by playing an organ, like that one.”
“Y-yeah. I guess I... that one?”
Rainbow Dash was pointing to the near corner. Next to the door stood another organ keyboard, identical in design to the first.
Twilight Sparkle rose excitedly to her hooves. “Another organ! That must be why we haven’t been able to find our way deeper. If I play the same chord here, it should open up another hidden passageway!”
Frog followed behind her. “That sounds like a marvelous idea. Give it a go!”
The roaring, dissonant notes filled the abbey once again. As Twilight Sparkle released the keys, the chord echoed until it faded softly into the bowels of the structure. She excitedly looked around the room, trying to locate a new opening in the wall. Slowly, the smile faded from her face. Bowing her head and staring at the floor, she quietly murmured, “It didn’t work.”
“No way!” Rainbow Dash took to the air. “That plan had to have worked. The new hole must be in a different room!” She immediately raced out of the room and turned down the corridor. There just has to be a new path! Rainbow Dash thought to herself. I know there is! Because... because I believe in Twi!
Her face lit up. “Twi! Come quick!” As her companions raced to catch up, Rainbow Dash excitedly pointed to the wall. She had flown back to the note that was nailed to the wall. Next to the note now stood an open door leading deeper into the abbey. “Another door! You did it!”
Twilight Sparkle looked at the door, then back at her companions. “Frog... Rainbow Dash...” Drying her eyes, she smiled wholeheartedly. “Thank you.”
As they entered the new passageway, they failed to notice that the paper’s wording had completely changed. It now read: Those who have decided a path in their hearts will find a way through.
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600 AD
Manerial Abbey — Inner Sanctum
The party raced down another corridor, running and flying at breakneck speed. They were still progressing deeper into the catacombs, but there was no sign of Queen Diane. In their guts, an overwhelming sense of dread was warning them that they were running out of time.
Rainbow Dash flew ahead of the pack, pausing briefly at each door they found, listening for any sounds of movement inside, before racing to the next. They didn’t have any time to waste with empty rooms or packs of enemies. The abbey was sprawling and full of dead ends. Where could she be?
“Prepare yourself, Queen Diane!”
Rainbow Dash screeched to a halt. Who said that? It sounded like it came from the last room. Turning sharply, she raced back and bucked the door open.
Queen Diane looked at Rainbow Dash from the back of the room, horrified. She was being backed into a corner by somepony dressed in brown robes. The Queen’s appearance looked spot-on compared to the impostor naga from before, but there was no question in Rainbow Dash’s mind; this Queen was the real deal, at long last! “Queen Diane! We’re here to save you!”
The Queen’s captor turned around. Rainbow Dash quickly recognized her. Judging by the feral, rageful glare, it appeared that she also remembered Rainbow Dash. “You!” Chancellor Octavia’s voice was dripping with venom.
Twilight Sparkle and Frog raced into the room, having finally caught up with the pegasus. “My Queen!” Frog bounded across the room, sliding into position between the Queen and the Chancellor, broadsword held at the ready.
Queen Diane’s eyes lit up. “Lady Frog! You came for me!”
“And she brought a team!” Rainbow Dash drew her katana and floating on Chancellor Octavia’s far side.
The Chancellor sneered. “Well, well... the infamous Lady Froggy-Pony. Now this is a treat. I was expecting only to murder Her Royal Highness today, but your slimy corpse will make a fine trophy as well!”
Frog tilted her head back slightly. “Milady! Please retreat to safety, and allow us the pleasure of subduing this traitor!”
She nodded. “Please, all of you, be careful!” She ran toward the opposite end of the room, allowing them enough space for the inevitable battle.
Rainbow Dash gripped her hilt tightly. “I don’t get it! You’re a good pony who works for the King and Queen! How could you betray them? It doesn’t make any sense!”
Chancellor Octavia chuckled darkly. “A pony? Pathetic little foal, you clearly don’t understand what you’re dealing with.” Dark bolts of energy coursed around her body, causing it to glow with a malevolent aura. She slowly lifted into the air, as the evil aura caused her mane to levitate. “Allow me to show you my true form!” The energy overtook her form, before exploding in a burst of darkness. Where the gray pony in brown once stood, there was now a monstrous yellow bulbous creature. She stood upon rows of bony spiked claws. She bared her sharp fangs and grinned wickedly at Rainbow Dash.
“Yakra!” Frog gasped. “Be wary, ponies! This foul creature is in legion with Nightmare Moon, and she will not give in without a fight.”
“Bring it!” Rainbow Dash tensed up her muscles, preparing to dive at the foe.
“You...”
Everypony turned. Twilight Sparkle was still standing at the entrance to the room, having not moved since entering. Her eyes were locked onto Yakra, burning with determination and anger. “You’re the one who foalnapped Queen Diane. You’re the one who’s responsible for Princess Pinkamena being erased. You’re the one who filled this abbey with those terrifying monsters.” She began boldly striding towards Yakra, ignoring her angry hissing and disturbing appearance. “You’re not a snake. You’re not a frog. You’re not a bat.” Her horn ignited with magic as a myriad of tools, devices, and contraptions burst out of her saddlebags and slowly began orbiting around her. She screamed at the creature, “Quod erat demonstrandum, your flank is mine!”
Rainbow Dash cheered on her friend and her sudden burst of confidence. “Yeah! You tell her, girl!”
Yakra cackled gleefully. “Be my guest!” She quickly scurried on her claws, racing toward Twilight Sparkle.
She stared Yakra down, without so much as tensing a muscle. The orbit of tools spun wildly around her, before suddenly coming to a complete stop. A strange emitter now floated between her and her oncoming assailant. It began to produce a high-pitched, fluctuating sound. Without warning, Yakra lost her balance, falling off her claws and sliding to a stop at Twilight Sparkle’s hooves. Yakra snored lightly, having been forced to sleep.
Turning off her Hypno Wave device, she rotated her ring of tools again to select her next instrument. This time, the ring stopped on an oversized metal mallet. Winding it back, she swung a mighty golf swing as hard as her magic allowed, connecting squarely with Yakra’s jaw and sending her flying into the air.
Before she could land, Rainbow Dash rushed the creature, slashing her with a trio of rapid air dashes. The pair slid to the ground together. Infuriated, Yakra charged at the pegasus, connecting with a full-body tackle and sending Rainbow Dash flying into the wall. Rebounding, the monster immediately changed directions and aimed for Twilight Sparkle again. The unicorn was caught off guard by the creature’s erratic movements, and she too was hit. Going for the trifecta, Yakra turned and raced at Frog, but the element of surprise had been lost. Frog flicked her tongue at the far wall and pulled herself, lifting herself out of harm’s way, slashing at Yakra as she flew through the air.
Yakra turned to chase after the escaping Frog, but reared her head sharply, as a trio of darts embedded themselves in her backside. Turning, she saw that Twilight Sparkle had pulled out a dart gun and was firing at her from the far side of the room. “Two can play at that game, pony!” Arching her back, a pair of extrusions grew and shot a wave of spines into the air. They arched across the room before raining down upon Twilight Sparkle, slicing into her.
“Twi!” Rainbow Dash called out. She turned to Frog, who nodded from across the room. Charging in unison, they flew at Yakra together, slashing the creature simultaneously with a devastating X Strike. Weakly, Yakra arched its back again, preparing another round of her needle attack.
Wincing in pain, Twilight Sparkle lifted herself off the ground with one hoof. With another spin in its orbit, a Flamethrower hovered before her. Taking careful aim, she let loose as a trail of flame arced across the room, engulfing Yakra. “KYAAARRGH!” It howled in pain as flames covered its body. The flames were joined with bolts of dark energy, similar to those of its transformation. The energy overtook her form, causing her to glow with a myriad of rainbow colors, before at last disappearing.
Rainbow Dash did a somersault in excitement. “We did it! Yeah! Who’s awesome? We’re awesome!”
“Twilight Sparkle! Are you alright? You took a nasty hit from those needles. Hold still...” Frog immediately began licking the unicorn, treating her wounds.
She winced in pain slightly. “Thanks, Frog. Don’t worry, they only grazed me. I’ll be okay.”
Rainbow Dash looked in amazement as Twilight Sparkle rose to her hooves. She’s totally getting slimed by Frog’s tongue, and she’s not freaking out at all...
“Lady Frog!” Queen Diane trotted up to the ponies. “I am so relieved! Once again, I am eternally indebted to you... and your heroic new friends, as well!”
Frog kneeled before the Queen. “Your words are most generous, my Queen. Come, let us return you to the castle. Your King and your subjects will be most delighted to see your return.”
“Whoa, whoa! Hold your horses!” Rainbow Dash landed in the front of the room, where a large ornate treasure chest stood. “Looks like Yakra was holding onto some sweet loots. Now that she’s not here, I doubt she’ll mind if I just help myself GYAAAH!” She leapt back in fright as a fully-grown pony rolled out of the treasure chest, bound and gagged. Twilight Sparkle raced over to help free the pony from its ropes.
The pony stood, smoothing out her brown robes and brushing her gray mane into place. “You have my thanks, dear ponies. That infernal Yakra had foalnapped me and stashed me in that crude box like a pile of dirty linens.”
Queen Diane trotted forward to them. “Chancellor Octavia! You’re alive!”
Chancellor Octavia gasped and bowed deeply. “Queen Diane! My prayers for your safety have been answered. When Yakra imprisoned me, and I learnt of her plans, I feared for the worst.”
Queen Diane smiled. “Come, everypony. Let us return to Sugardia Castle. We have much to celebrate.”
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You meant "ergo" here. QED means "which is what we intended to demonstrate".
I know this was probably written before the wedding episode, but I was kinda hoping the Yakra was Queen Chrysalis.
Oooh, nice boss battle! And I was wondering when Twilight was going to start kicking flank! Too bad that Hypno Wave never seems to work, though I'm not one for status affects myself.
I'm curious to see how you manage the party getting new equipment. Some of my best memories are find a new sword or armor and just mowing down enemies with my new toys! Good times.
My greatest mistake was to read this chapter without the boss fight music playing
Aww, I was hoping Spike would be Frog... that would have been so awesome!!
Dressing in style? Best Captain?
This is really well-written and exactly as good as I remembered it!
Silver out!
Rarity = Frog
Spike = (Frog's mentor, forgot the name)
Your casting choices never cease to amaze.
That is just so weird and incongruous and twisted that it comes right back around to being perfect.
If rarity is frog.. whose magus gonna be?
Rarity as frog? My brother's favorite character...as my brother's favorite Character...
if that isn't a coincidence, i don't know what is.
I had seriously, seriously hoped that my favorite character would be played by my favorite pony. I am thrilled that this is the case
2066130 team Magus = Luna bad Magus = nightmare moon
Interesting. Rarity playing the role of Frog is an appropriate choice (given their mannerisms and generosity) but sadly the choice is turning me the wrong way. I see Fluttershy as the role of Frog for many reasons; live in nature, courageous for protecting others, outcasts. It seems off that she became Robo but I can also see that as a appropriate choice (my choice would've been Spike for him, since their both servants to a egghead). Rarity would ultimately be Magus due to her strong connection with her sibling (not to mention the cape on her would be FABULOUS
).
If Rarity is Frog then I can't think anyone else could play the magical anti hero role of Mag...
OH GOD it's going to be Trixie.
She slimed me! Also, that life can be taken out of context so easily.
And I found myself playing Chrono Trigger yet again. I blame you. I still don't know if I hate you for that, or if I want to high five you.
3375453
Magus is being referred to as Nightmare Moon. Think who Magus obviously is with that name.
Well that was over surprisingly fast.
“Oh my, the future?” Frog jumped back into the conversation. “That must be a dream come true. My, to think of the fashion and luxury that could be invented over the course of four long centuries...” She gasped in excitement, “Oh, please tell me that emeralds are back in vogue?”
Damn it Rarity.
So Sweetie Bot is going to be Robo.