19 - Queen Draco
“Run!”
None of them needed telling twice as they all turned tail and quickly began to sprint in the opposite direction of the incoming swarm, conveniently leading directly back to the pathway that led through to the forest. The only thing keeping their hooves on the ground and their wings folded was an unwillingness to abandon those among the group unable to fly. By the time they had made it to the path, putrid fiery green spells were impacting around them like an acidic rainfall, only missing because of the remaining distance and the fleeing group’s own situational awareness.
They proceeded up the narrow cutting, and Twilight lit her horn, magically striking out at a cluster of boulders higher up the side of the steep mountainside, causing a large chunk to collapse and rain down, completely blocking off all entrance between the pathway and the hive itself. While it wouldn’t stop the flying changelings, when combined with the pathway’s narrow passage it would at least slow them down.
Indeed the swarm had slowed on reaching the passage, much of it dispersing in favour of a smaller force of changelings moving in to continue the pursuit. Among this smaller force, a Changeling Queen with a piece of regalia strapped to her chest was at their head.
“Queen Draco, six o’clock!” Broad Sword shouted as they ran. “And she’s angry!”
Queen Twilight barely spared a glance back as she led her ponies and changeling forwards, she couldn’t afford to. They couldn’t risk a confrontation, their only hope was to stay ahead of their pursuers and lose them in the forest’s canopy.
An idea that was crushed when they saw the pathway up ahead had been collapsed in already, a dozen of Draco’s changelings crawling all along the surfaces of the piled up boulders. Some stood upright on their hooves, others stood on near vertical surfaces, but all were waiting for the same prey. On seeing their targets, their all homed their gazes towards them and let out a terrifying hiss in unison, standing up in aggressive poses.
The ponies and changelings with Queen Twilight all screeched to a sudden halt, their eyes shifting back and forth between the blockage ahead and the rapidly approaching Changeling Queen behind them.
“We’re boxed in!” Shining Armor shouted. “Twilight, what now?”
“Can we grab the non-fliers and carry them over the blockage?” Spike asked hurriedly.
“We’d be picked off before we made it,” Broad Sword rebuked. “We might need to fight.”
Twilight growled, her alarm increasing with each passing millisecond. She looked frantically around for some method of escape, and something just caught the corner of her eye.
“Up there!” Vladimir shouted, having also spotted it. “What’s that?”
Up the side of the mountain, a gaping hole filled with nought but darkness watched the unfolding events below. It was not a very inviting hole, but it was a gift horse they couldn’t afford to look in the mouth.
“Hang on!” Twilight shouted, her horn glowing a bright lavender as fiery portals consumed herself and all nine of her companions.
Just as they finished sinking into the ground a barrage of magic scorched the entire area they had just been standing, Queen Draco and her changelings barrelling into the ground a moment after. Draco examined the dirt around her hooves with a snarl, her fangs glimmering angrily in the morning’s sunlight. Her glowing red eyes glanced upwards, just catching sight of her prey emerging above them.
The group in question recovered quickly, just in time for a beam of green magic to shoot up from below and narrowly avoid one of Broad Sword’s Solar Guardsponies.
“Inside the cave, now!” Twilight screeched, all but pushing her allies forwards into the dark abyss.
All continued to run, venturing into the darkness with only the faint lavender glow of Twilight’s horn acting as a beacon to keep them on the right path, and not become forever lost within the depths of the mountain. They kept moving through various twists and turns, through branching paths leading further in, all in the effort to completely lose their pursuers, to great success. By the time their adrenalin had died down and they allowed themselves to rest there was no sign of Queen Draco or her changelings.
The problem was, they too had no idea where they were.
“So… we’re lost, aren’t we?” Vladimir asked after taking the time to catch his breath.
“Better than being dead,” Spike muttered in reply. “Where are we?”
Twilight allowed her horn to brighten further, and the group of ten examined their surroundings in details. Cave walls closed them in on all sides, beams of wood holding up the passage with various mining equipment scattered in the floor, heavily decayed through time. Cobwebs clung to the wood and drips of water pattered down from the ceiling onto the floor below.
“A mineshaft,” Twilight commented “Heavily disused, it must have been used by my friend’s hive at some point in time, perhaps during the construction of the hive itself?”
“Not the time for a history lesson, LSBFF,” Shining stated. “We need to find a safe way out of here, I doubt your ‘friend’ will give up so easily.”
“Your right,” Twilight agreed. “But we’ll have to explore, where we entered wasn’t an entrance. The true entrance to this mine must be around somewhere.”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” one of the changelings muttered.
Vladimir rolled his eyes. “An angry hive is after us, we’re lost in an ancient mine filled with who knows what… What could possibly be giving you a bad feeling Mr State the Obvious.”
“A little discipline, please,” Shining Armor scolded. “We’ve been through a lot, but we can’t lost out heads now.”
“Yeah, sorry.”
There were only two passages leading out of the current chamber, one being from where they came and the other leading further into the mountain. Shining cautiously looked into the passageway leading forwards, lighting his own horn and casting a floating ball of light down the hallway. The pink light clearly showed that the passage was empty, stretching a little ways before coming to an interception.
Shining Armor sighed. “I suppose we don’t have much choice but to press on, do we?”
The Changeling Queen shook her head, quickly moving to take the lead one more. Her changelings and her brother stayed close to her side, the others guarding their flank. Their progress was slow and cautious, but steady. The entire mine was eerily silent aside from the occasional spider sitting within its web. There were a few moments, however, when the group were forced to stop their progress as the sound of distant hooves and buzzing wings echoed down the many corridors. Only once all signs of Queen Draco and her hive disappeared did they allow themselves to breathe again.
Eventually, a span of time went by without any more signs of Queen Draco. There was also an increasing amount of abandoned tools and carts around, indicating they were reaching the centre of the mine. If that was indeed the case they were all rather hoping they could find a way out from there. However, as they approached the centre of the mine a great rumbling sound suddenly made itself known.
Vladimir stopped. “What is that?”
All of their ears swivelled, homing in on the sound. It was definitely coming from further down the passageway, and a slight breeze was also noticeable coming from that direction.
“Are we near an exit?” Broad Sword rhetorically asked. “That’s definitely a faint breeze.”
“I don’t see any light up ahead,” Spike pointed out.
“Maybe it’s just out of sight?”
“Let’s try not to get our hopes up too much,” Vladimir said. “Maybe go for a cautiously optimistic approach instead?”
“There is only one way to find out,” Queen Twilight Sparkle stated factually. “We press on, carefully.”
“What do you think we’ve been doing all this time?” Spike deadpanned.
Twilight elected to ignore the dragon’s snide remark, and instead continued on forwards with the others falling into step once more. As they continued down the passage they found an ascending incline, and at the top there was most definitely a light seeping into the passageway. However, the light didn’t look like it came from the sun, and seemed more artificial. It was a blueish purple, glowing rather than shining, and they couldn’t detect even the slightest bit of warmth coming from it as they approached. If anything, it reminding Twilight ever so slightly of the constellations she would see in Princess Luna’s wondrously flowing mane. All question of theirs would, in fact, be answered soon enough.
As they stepped out of the passageway and fully into the light they found themselves in a vast cavern with dozens of passageways leading out of it. Mining equipment was everywhere, left to turn into dust by their presumably long dead owners. The cavern’s floor was only partial, however, and a large tunnel that could fit a dragon the size of Dragon Lord Ember’s father, Former Dragon Lord Torch. The tunnel progressed down further into the mountain, leading to an unknown destination. They didn’t need to ask why such a large structure intersected with the mine due to the presence of something sleeping soundly at the entrance of that large tunnel.
An Ursa Major.
“Oh crap.”
Vladimir shook his head after making that statement, refocused his eyes and then examined the sight again just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. He wasn’t sure the massive glowing beast truly was there. Its body lit up the entire cavern, with what appeared to be constellations dancing around gleefully as the beast slept in peace. Its steady breathing was directed at the corridor which the group had just exited, sending a shallow breeze down the passage past the ponies and changelings.
“So… how do we deal with that?” Spike asked sheepishly. “That’s pretty big. Yeah, no way Trixie ever brought one down.”
“It’s asleep,” Twilight noted. “As long as we’re quiet, it will stay that way.”
“Alright, but where do we go from here?” Shining Armor asked. “There are quite a few passages.”
“That tunnel behind the Ursa Major must lead outside,” Vladimir stated. “Could we follow that?”
“We don’t known how far it is, where it exits or if any more of these creatures may be encountered along the way,” Broad Sword rebuked. “It probably leads out right in the middle of the mountains, not very helpful for us.”
The beast stirred slightly, shifting its head and allowing the breeze to turn away from the group and instead flow down another passageway.
“My Queen,” one of the changelings spoke, pointing at a passageway on the far side of the vast chamber. “That passage has the biggest concentration of equipment surrounding it. Possibly organised so the miners could collect what they needed as they entered.”
“Or they just kept it there for another reason,” one of the Solar Guards stated.
“Possibly,” Twilight said, humming in thought as the beast continued to snore. “But it’s a lead, we can start with that passageway.”
The sound of hooves caught their attention, and the group all turned to look to where the sound was coming from. It was coming from the exact passage the beast’s breath was travelling down and, just as it had with Twilight’s group, it had Queen Draco and her changeling to the central chamber.
“Oh crap,” Vladimir said for a second time.
The changelings spotted them immediately, and one overzealous drone quickly charged his horn and fired.”
“Wait!” Queen Draco bellowed, too late.
The hastily fired spell veered off course and, instead of hitting its intended targets, barrelled straight into the muzzle of the slumbering Ursa Major.
Silence reigned throughout the cavern, both groups freezing and slowly turning their gazes to the giant creature. A creature whose eyelids had suddenly fluttered open.
A single giant eyeball glanced between the two groups, and then the previously sleeping form began to rise up from the ground with a deafening roar. A paw with claws big and sharp enough to slice clean through the town hall in Ponyville rose up and then slammed down directly on top of the drone who had fired the spell, the creature then fully rising to all fours and striking out at Twilight’s group next.
“Scatter!”
All ten of them jumped to the side quick enough just to avoid the vast paw, Queen Draco and her changelings being forced to do the same as a second paw came for them.
“Get to that passageway!” Twilight commanded, making sure the group had begun fleeing before she herself turned to run.
The Ursa Major seemed to become distracted away from Queen Twilight and her allies when Draco used a magical shield to save herself from being flattened, the creature becoming enraged and beating against the magic bubble.
Queen Draco’s drones, however, did notice them fleeing and all took to the air in an effort to catch up. As the changelings passed by the Ursa Major, the creature’s rage filled eyes locked onto them and it turned all its attention to the hapless drones. The Ursa Major opened its great maw wide and lunged forwards, consuming all the changelings before they could react. The beast then turned back to Queen Draco who, during the Ursa Major’s momentary distraction, had taken to the air and begun firing beams of magic at the gargantuan animal.
With both their enemies being held up, Twilight Sparkle and her companions made it to the shaft safely. The Queen glanced back to see Draco skilfully and gracefully avoiding every strike the Ursa Major made, combating it quite effectively. Shining Armor grabbed onto her and pulled her forwards, encouraging her to forget the scene behind them and continue their escape. Twilight complied, joining the others as they scampered down the hallway and the sound of the now distant battle fell away into silence.
The corridor they ran down was long, but held no detours. Thankfully, they could glimpse the tiniest amount of sunlight seeping in from the end, the amount of sunlight increasing rapidly as they progressed.
Then, at long last, they burst out of the mountain and into the embrace of the open outdoors. They found themselves coming to a stop on a rocky plateau quite high up on the mountainside, down below the vast forest could be seen. There was no visible pathway leading up to the mine’s entrance, it having long faded away due to time. The only way down as a steep, but walkable, incline down to the forest. The entrance itself was largely hidden by an outcropping of rocks, it having been long forgotten and only now rediscovered.
“The sun, thank Celestia!” Vladimir half shouted in relief. “I was starting to think I would never see it again.”
“Ursa Majors, changelings…” Shining Armor muttered. “I’m ready to go home and face my wife’s wrath now, I think.”
Twilight nodded in agreement. “Yes. I think we should leave.”
Twilight’s nine companions all walked to the edge of the plateau and looked down the incline past it exhaustedly. Twilight herself stood apart from the rest of the group, looking at the forest for any sign of afflicted changelings that might have been waiting for them.
“We’re going down that?” Vladimir groaned. “Can’t we take a break?”
“We should keep moving a while longer yet,” Broad Sword stated. “We’re not in the clear.”
“How far do we have to go, sir?” one of the guards asked.
“I’d say until we reach the other side of the forest, then Spike can send Princess Celestia a message. Get an extraction sent for us.”
Spike nodded in agreement. “I can do that. Just give the wor-”
A green pulse of magic impacted Queen Twilight’s nine companions and sent them off the edge of the plateau, rolling uncontrollably down the following incline. Twilight shot around, seeing Queen Draco standing by the entrance to the mine with a rage filled expression on her face, her horn glowing a bright green as it prepared another spell.”
“Draco, no!”
Draco launched her spell at Twilight, it impacting harmlessly against Twilight’s suddenly raised shield. However, Draco tailed her attack closely and smacked right into Twilight shield with another spell empowering her body, enough so to break through the shield and tackle the other Changeling Queen.
The two queens both rolled in a heap down the side of the mountain in a different direction to where the others fell, only coming to a stop when they hit a flatter area. Twilight shakily got to her hooves, only to catch a green glow in the corner of her eyes. The Queen just about able to roll out of the way of the magical bolt in time, rising back to her hooves and firing back in retaliation, albeit reluctantly.
Draco countered each and every single one of Twilight’s spells as she charged forwards, the two queens locking horns moments later and battling for dominance. Each tried to push back against the other, only to find themselves at a stalemate. Then, almost simultaneously, the two both broke off the lock and ignited their magic to form two swords made of pure energy; they both struck forwards with their own blades, causing them to lock together just as their horns did a moment earlier, clashing lavender and green magic sparking wildly from their violent contact with one another.
“Draco!” Twilight shouted out pleadingly. “I found the note you left for me, and I know you’re fighting this! Let me help you!”
“I no longer require saving,” Draco spat. “I live to serve, as all queens do.”
“Serve? Serve who!?”
Draco chuckled sadistically. “Can’t you hear her? That presence in your mind, the one who shall return us to our ancient glory.”
“You sound like Crudelis!”
“Crudelis… A servant, even if she never realised it. You foiled those plans, but it mattered little in the end.”
Twilight grunted as her magic began to weaken. “A servant? What are you talking about!? Crudelis only ever served herself!”
“So she believed,” Draco said cryptically. “You shall understand all soon, just SUBMIT!”
The regalia on Draco’s chest glowed and the pressure in Twilight’s mind, a far more severe version of the one she felt at both the Council Hive and in the ancient ruins, began to consume her. Twilight gave a shout of pain and stumbled back, breaking the lock. Draco struck forwards with one of her own blades, Twilight barely being able to block it. A presence was threatening the sanctity of Twilight’s mind, and she drew upon all her mental defences as well as the strength of her hive mind to combat it. She was losing, however, and a red glow flickered momentarily in the corner of Twilight’s eyes before dissipating again.
“Submit!” Draco growled, trading a few more blows with Twilight.
“N-no… Never!” Twilight shouted in defiance.
Twilight parried another strike, proceeding to then disengage her blades and gather the magic in her horn and fire one devastating beam at Draco. The beam impacted the Queen’s chest and sent her flying backwards and onto the ground, the regalia’s glow flickering out from the impact.
“You insolent fool!” Draco raged.
The pressure in Twilight’s mind lessened, but before she was able to fully recover Queen Draco activated a portal and sank into the floor. A second later, she emerged again right next to Twilight, who span around to try and intercept the Changeling Queen. However, her mind was still a little foggy from the mental attack and thus was thoroughly unprepared for Draco delivering a hard buck to her torso.
Twilight hit the floor with a loud thud, becoming still. Her breathing was laboured, the wind having been taken out of her. As she tried to get up, an excruciating shock forced her back to the ground. Looking up, she saw Queen Draco had green coloured electrical energies dancing around her crooked horn, ready to shock the younger Changeling Queen again should she try anything.
“Draco… don’t…” Twilight managed to say. “I’m your friend. As you were friends with my mother. You must remember…”
Twilight swore she saw recognition briefly flash in Draco’s eyes, but her steely expression remained unchanged.
“You may have damaged her influence on the outside world with your attack, but I can still enlighten you personally,” Draco stated.
“WHO IS SHE!?” Twilight bellowed. “Who is it you are forced to serve.”
“I am not forced, I serve willingly and faithfully.”
“Draco, those are not your thoughts! Your hive mind is corrupted, fight it!”
“I… do not wish to fight…” Draco stated, her conviction fading. “I… cannot, Twilight.”
Twilight’s eyes widened, hope returning. “Draco, you’ve already been fighting her. You can continue to do so, I can help you.”
“No, my friend…” Draco said shakily, letting out a scream as she clutched her head in untold amounts of pain. “She is… I can’t…”
“Who is she?”
“The ancient one, come back to claim what she believes hers,” Draco muttered. “Her name is… her name… GAH! Get out of my head!”
“Draco…” Twilight went to stand, only to be shocked back into submission once more.
“Stay down, welp!” Draco shouted in a rage. “You cannot defy our… our… NO!”
The struggling Changeling Queen clutched her head one more, though only for a moment. A resolute and yet resigned expression crossed her features, the energies in Draco’s horn increasing and causing the electrical charge to rise up to a lethal amount. Draco looked down on the daughter of her best friend, and she smiled sadly.
“My friend… I’m sorry.”
The magic in Draco’s horn inverted, and then fired back down the horn and into the Changeling Queen’s skull.
“Draco, NO!”
The magical energies rapidly spread throughout Draco’s own body, locking her limbs in place. She didn’t scream, not that she could have, and neither did she break off the magic despite the obvious pain. She could have stop the flow at any time, but she kept on going as Twilight could only watch helplessly with tears pouring from her distressed lavender eyes. Draco, as time began to slow down for her, regretted subjecting Twilight to the sight; however, she did not regret the action itself. She was doing what she had to, it was the only way to save Twilight Sparkle from her. She owed that much to Queen Chrysalis, her friend since she was a nymph, and one she was greatly looking forwards to seeing again. Then, the magic finally stopped, Draco’s glassy eyes still looking down at her friend. Her legs gave way, and her lifeless body slumped to the floor.
Queen Draco, friend and close ally to both Queen Chrysalis and then Queen Twilight Sparkle, was dead.
Twilight could only stare at the sight, shaking terribly. Her mind was blank, though perhaps that was good as it confirmed the presence had gone. Tears continued to stream down her face, her magic coming into action and closing Draco’s eyes gently. She couldn’t believe it, she was meant to save her friend! She should have done something, anything!
These thoughts played in her head over and over, and she barely registered a call from off to one side. After a few more attempts, the voice caught Twilight attention and she saw her nine companions all alive and overall intact, all of them staring wide eyes at the sight.
“Twilight?” Shining Armor gingerly approached, placing a hoof on the distraught mare’s shoulder, his instincts as a big brother kicking in. “I’m here, you’re going to be alright.”
Twilight took several deep breaths in and out before she was eventually able to speak, albeit in a heavily despondent tone. “A-are you all alright?”
“We’re fine,” Shining reassured her. “A few bumps and bruises from the fall, but nothing serious.”
Twilight nodded, rising up and standing over her friend’s corpse. She took hold of the regalia, and gently pried it from the body, looking hatefully the object. She felt no presence in her mind, the regalia itself being charred from where her magic impacted it.
“What is that?” Shining asked.
“Whoever is behind this, she was using this to extend her influence. But it appears I broke it.”
“No loss there then,” Shining stated. “What are we going to do now?”
“We’ll stick to the plan, head to the edge of the forest and get an extraction. But, now that it’s broken, we’ll take this thing with us. Perhaps it can give us some insight into our foe?”
“Be careful, Twily,” Shining cautioned. “Are you sure it’s broken?”
“If it ticks again, I’ll hit it even harder,” Twilight stated hatefully. “This thing caused my friend’s death, and I will find its owner and I WILL kill them.”
“Twily…” Shining began, but got cut off.
“But before any of that, we must bury her,” Twilight commanded. “I shall not leave her here to rot in the sun.”
That was a sentiment Shining Armor couldn’t deny, and all of them pitched in to help, none of them wishing the surviving Changeling Queen to do it alone.
And so it was that when the job was done, the group departed and headed down the mountains and back into the canopy of the forest. As they left, so too did they leave behind them the final resting place of Queen Draco.
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Sniff.... So sad I hope things get better when they get back to the empire
I hoped it wouldn't happen but at the same time I tought it will. At least she didit on her own to save them for the moment. RIP Draco, shall you see your old friend again in piece.
Draco....
First Scorpion, now Draco... who will be next? Only time will tell...
You seriously love messing with our feels, don't you?
I'd say something, but I've been hit with the loss of One Piece on Toonami.
Just..
So, do we now have a bunch of Changelings wandering around in a state of confusion, now that the Empress' phylactery is broken?
I was expecting this, to be honest. Although I thought it would have happened a bit later. Still, I can't really claim to be surprised. The only remaining question is thus: Who will be the next one?
Well...the ancient powerful artifact that we already established couldn't be destroyed by known means is obviously not destroyed, so I think bringing it (and the empress's wrath) to Canterlot is perhaps not the best idea...too bad Twilight doesn't know that
I wonder what the other queens (those that disappeared) are doing. It appeared as if this influence was using Draco's body as its host but seeing as the magic energy of the old Changeling Empress was used to wrest control of seven hives I wonder if those other Queens are still possessed or if they are free. Either way we shall find out and it shall be a wonderful journey.
Spike immediately had a letter of acceptance in his claws. Director of Royal Equestrian Affairs was the title that awaited him should he accept Draco's proposal.
Seeing as the death was quite recent, there is the chance she could be revived in certain organs aren't horribly messed up.
Next will be Queen Berehynia.
8015335
Yes.
8015377
It's only damaged, besides any changeling already afflicted stays afflicted.
8015539
Indeed. Either way, the blast only damaged it, not destroyed it.
8015679
Still under Immortalis' control, as they are already connected to her hive mind.
8015802
I feel like I'm missing a reference.
8015872
Oh ponyfeathers. Well I guess our heros are going to get swarmed then.
8015320 Amen
8015872
There is a game called "Warframe", in the game weapons can be leveled and then have changes done to them which require leveling again. In the past, the most efficient way to level a weapon was on a mission called Draco. The developers didn't like this so nerfed the mission. Players found a new place to level their weapons at Berehynia.
Did Immortalis transfer her subconscious into the piece of armor before she died.
That took a sad turn. May Queen Draco rest in peace and be reunited with her best friend Chrysalis.
Well there's more death when did this bec game of thrones... More like game of hives but meh anyhow good chapter I just hope winter isn't coming
BAd chapter very bad chapter. Please rewrite. Twilight lost too much.
8016084 I'll do no such thing, thank you very much. She's lost a few people, but she still has many more still breathing, and she'll fight that much harder for them.
She's upset, but don't think for a second she'll be an inconsolable mess.
AAAAAAAND forced deaths........ AGAIN.
8016115 then I'm done, just too much loss. Great story but bad chapter.
8016175 yeah it's getting annoying isn't it?
I think I'm finally done . I had hopes for this story and it was enjoyable but killing Draco was just to
Much this is ruined for me .
8016276 I'm sorry to hear that, this story was always gonna be even darker than the first. Which is why the third, albeit shorter, story will be all slice of life with no darkness.
8016175 This was planned from the start. How could you have not seen it coming?
8015872
Okay. How are the other queens are still under Immortalis' control, if the host body of the armor is dead?
Also, R.I.P. Queen Draco
Her death are inevitable, but it still sucks.
8016381 Cause there are dozens of alternate outcomes that could have hapepned. Like her knocking herself out? Her holdign herself back and asking twilight to stop her and twilight subduing her instead with some kind of sleep spell?
Hope that the obvious was not obvious?
You have a bad concept of what 'dark' is. Dark is the tone. Not the number of known characters you leave bleeding in a puddle.
8016381 there's dark and then there's too dark.
An example. Polaris' Heir to Nightmare. Loved that story but eventually made it way too dark and I quit it.
Same here. we come to really like Draco and she was one of the few ties Twilight had to her mother so killer her off was a mistake.
8016381 8016431 8016434
So far, this story is a little Dark, but not nearly as much as the first.
8016445 Dark in the wrong way.
8016469 Please explain the difference.
8016473 Too much death of known characters in a short time and especailly one of the few remaining ties Twilight has to her Mother.
8016483 Two or three known characters and a dozen other changelings at the most. Compared to losing Longshot, Chrysalis, one entire changeling hive and most of another, and those lost during The Battle for Ponyville.
Look. I freely admit that I have stop reading and downvoted stories because they killed off one of the Mane Six. If you're stopping because of the death of Queen Draco, fine. If you're tired of Twilight having those she is close to dying, okay. Because this story is darker than the previous one? If you can tell me how, I'm all ears.
8016505 Because I feel it's too far.
8016431
I've killed two this story, (serious spoiler:) and that's all I'm killing on the good side.
I know dark isn't how many characters you kill, and I didn't kill them for the sake of killing them or making it 'dark'. I killed them because that's how the story progresses forwards. I've written out every single chapter in note form from beginning to end before I even started, I know where it's all going.
8016505 Oh there are certain characters I will NEVER and have never considered killing off in this series. The Mane 6 is among them, along with pretty much all canon characters.
8016516 You're free to your opinion, just wait until the third story then, which will be slice of life involving Twi's kid from Change's epilogue.
8016567 Won't see. this series is done for me.
8016654 Fair enough.
This was very grim, but since i am a fan of Dark Souls i am very used to these kinds of things and worse. I don't think the story got hurt by Draco sacrificing herself, i actually think this makes her more of a memorable and more badass character since she managed to wrest back control to save Twilight from herself from an ancient and overpowering force that no Queens have resisted in the past before. It reminds me of the paragon option in ME3 where the illusive man breaks the indoctrination and kills himself to save someone else. Sort of like a final act of redemption. Queen Draco will be remembered as a hero, a selfless one at that. For many ages to come, especially if Twi has any say in it. Great chapter!
Still sad she died though. She was a very loved character. Wish we'd seen more of her an Twi togheter.
8016765
Thanks, that's what I was going for. That's also why I had her end it herself rather than force Twi to do it, one it would have been even more grim if Twi killed her, and two it allowed Draco to go out like a hero.
8016838 Rather her not die and even be a vessel for the Empress for the bulk of this and win in the end...at the cost of her hive.
Twilight has lost another friend, yes, but what a BADASS way to go! Sacrificing herself to stop (temporarily) the great evil. For those of you that are dropping this because you think it got to dark, to each his/her/whatever own. But this is the authors story not yours and its his to make as he wants it. I say keep doing what your doing and screw those who don't like it!
8016893 Admiral Q, I'm not trying to rag on you personally, I have a few of your stories on my favorites list and I would give you the same advice if anyone gave you a hard time with one of your stories.
8018611 And if someone stop reading fro ma choice i made in a story that's fine but i would consider what they said.
8015955
1: She is not dead, simply sealed away. And that seal is weakening, with the remaining Queens at Ground Zero of her return.
2: Think of the Regalia as an amplifier and relay. It allows the Empress to extend the reach of her power, rather than being the source of it.
8018752 Annnnd you nailed it.
8016483 and 8016654
Couldn't put it better myself. Twas a fun ride.
That was... unexpected...
I should be used to those twists by now! It's freaking Tom117z! What else could I expect except so many cliche breaks I'm not even sure the story is in English anymore!? And I'm pretty sure that Queen Draco was only a test run too... But let's not forget that now Tom is not only a family wrecking monster! 
He's also a best friend murderer! But even though Tom is the worst kind of person for writing this sadistic story, I also love him for this wonderful plot line and actually good story telling, every chapter has me captivated and wishing the next weeks chapter could come sooner!
Wow, just caught up with the comments, I must say I didn't expect so much hate because of Queen Draco's death. I have a couple of my own opinions to share on the matter as well.
1. This story and the predecessor had and will have their happy and sad moments, as well as a few things that have been left unsaid, like I don't know... wtf is going on in Equestria right now? I believe the last time you had anything of that was when you had changeling rocks murder three guards... But anyway Tom has his reasons for doing what he does, his stories would be a lot more cliche if he did do the things you guys suggested, like the sleep spell or Draco taking control long enough for Twilight and party to run. But reading other stories of Tom shows that he loves to throw a wrench in the machine, which is one reason I love his stories so much, I'm not sure where the story might go, leaving me wanting to read more to make sure things still look awesome.
2. This chapter has nothing on some of the things I've read y'all should try reading The Twilight Struggle by Lapis-Lazuli and Stitch the sequels of that story make dark tags like the one on Tom's story here, quiver, and shake, and hope that someday the nightmares will go away. (No offense Tom, I still think the dark tag here belongs.)
3. An author cannot please everyone! Seriously they can't! No matter how many times they rewrite a chapter one person will find a reason to think it was bad! Which is why rewriting even just that little scene at the end where Draco dies could be more disastrous than pleasing!
4. Authors are humans too, I know many of you are also authors and are probably thinking, of course I know that! But I don't think you understand the level of just how human Tom is! He has to take time out of his week to write this because we've shown interest and he enjoys showing us more of what we seem to like, but he does this for FREE! that's right guys he takes time out of his week to make us happy, and he doesn't even get paid for it!
Ugh, wow that comment wasn't meant to be it's own story... Just wanted to add my two bits before everyone left over something so... petty
8023210 I, uh... wow. You have no idea how much I appreciate you saying that.
8023498 jeez louise, didn't even know that there would be anger over this until that wall of comment addressed it.
Here I was, nursing my heartbreak over Draco's death and about to click to the next chapter!(edit: Just realized I caught up! No more chapters for me today
)
Any who, I'm still enthralled and pouring through this story, and I just want to say keep up the good work. Looking forward to more
Queen Draco’s last act was to save Twilight's life rest in peace Queen Draco.