Chapter 15
Ember wished that things had gone faster, but she couldn’t let beggars be choosers. They had their key and all she could hope for was that Twilight and her group got their key as well. They made their way towards the dungeon’s door where Blitz and Aquafire were waiting for them, looking relieved upon seeing them. “Glad to see you weren’t spotted. You got the key?” asked Aquafire.
“Right here,” said Garble, showing them the prize in his claws. “Did Princes Sparklepants make it or did she get squashed?”
“I’m right here, Garble,” replied Twilight, flying towards them with the key in her magical grip. “And considering we’re helping each other you could at least be a bit kinder.”
Garble snorted. “Please, I’m just doing this cause I’m loyal to the Dragon Lord. I could care less about you or Spike.”
“You’re all heart, Garble,” replied Blitz, rolling his eyes. “Now let’s get those keys in before somebody notices us.”
Two of the pegasi took the key from Garble’s claws and placed it in one lock while Princess Twilight used her magic to put her key in the other one. Concentrating, she moved both keys at the same time which resulted in a clicking sound, much to their relief. Gently pushing the huge door for as little noise as possible, they slowly snuck in and closed the door, remembering to take the keys out with them. Leaving them to the side, they flew down the giant staircase that lead underground, where they saw cell block after cell block. Most of them were empty, but a few contained the bones of long dead dragons.
“What cell is he in?” asked Ember as they continued forward.
“Lowest one, of course,” replied Garble taking the lead.
“Good, as soon as Spike is safe, I can take over from there,” replied Ember as she drew out her scepter. After securing her best friend, she would make sure that all those dragons above would beg for mercy before punishing them in ways that would make Tartarus look like a paradise.
They finally reached the bottom where it was unique in that it had no door for some reason. “This is a bit odd,” replied Twilight, looking around. “Why doesn’t this have a door?”
Ember was about to ask the same thing, when he noticed a tiny figure chained to the back that was green and purple. “Spike!” shouted Ember as she rushed forward with worry.
“Ember, wait!” shouted Twilight as she and the others followed.
Upon reach Spike, Ember watched to her horror as the image faded away as if it wasn’t there in the first place. Her instincts went wild as she realized she made a stupid mistake. There was a muffling soon as well, and they turned to the corner to see a sight that made them all turn a bit white.
It was Thorax. Unchanged, not in the coffin, and tied up with a gag on. Twilight used her magic to remove the gag. “Get out! It’s a trap!” Two of dragons guards made for the exit, but a green energy shield instantly prevented that as they were shocked horribly, dark magic coursing through their bodies. The others covered their eyes while being forced to hear their screams of agony until there was a bright flash. When it was over, there were two ash piles with the remains of their armor left in a burned state.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said a voice outside of the cell as it approached from the darkness. “The shield is designed to instantly vaporize anything it touches. Even dragon scales.”
Garble growled. “Father...”
“Lord Redskull,” hissed Ember, bitterly.
The large dragon looked very much like his son, but his backward spines were white while he was missing one eye on the left side of his face. There was also the fact that he was one of the biggest dragons any of them had ever seen, robed in a black cloak and a red skull crossed guarded sword on his side. His title as lord was seen by his Lord Ring, which featured a tiny dragon shaped skull made out of ivory that had a red ruby in its jaws. “Dragon Lord Ember. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to your funeral, but I shall be there for your real one after you’ve been killed.”
“How did you even get here before we did?!” asked Aquafire in shock.
“There are many underground passages all over the dragon lands. I simply used one that my clan knew to get here in time,” replied Lord Redskull. “I wanted to be here when you arrived so I can see your expressions.”
“The only thing you are going to do is bow before me and let us out!” shouted Ember as she lifted her glowing Blood Scepter. “I command you to-”
Ember didn’t get a chance to finish as something above let out a dark green and black energy wave that struck them all down. In an instant, Twilight and her ponies screamed in pain as they fell to the ground looking as if they were drained. Even Thorax looked to be as drained as the rest of them. However, the real surprise was that the Bloodstone Scepter had stopped glowing, much to Ember’s shock. “What?!” She pointed it at the amused Dragon Lord. “I demand that you release us!”
Nothing happened.
“Why isn’t this working?!” shouted Ember as she looked up and saw the giant crystal above. “What is that thing?!”
“It’s... it’s made... of the same... stone... as... herthrone...” spoke Thorax, weakly.
“Who?” asked Ember.
“Oh, a certain queen that both Thorax and Twilight are familiar with,” said a second voice from the darkness. Revealing none other then Silverback who was smirking at the sight of their shocked expressions.
“SIlverback... no...” Ember whispered in disbelief as she fell to her knees. “No... you couldn’t have...”
“Betrayed you? Oh, don’t worry. Silverback wouldn’t do that,” replied Silverback before a green flame erupted from his feet and covered his body. In a split second, a creature what looked to be like a changeling appeared before them, hovering in the air, only she was as all as Princess Celestia, black as night, and had multiple holes around her body while her eyes gave a sinister green glow to them. “But I would!”
“Chrysalis...” growled Twilight, slowly raising herself up. “What are you doing here?”
“And where is Silverback!” shouted Ember, fearing for her uncle figure.
“Silverback is with your father. Sadly, his elimination was necessary to plant Crystalis inside your little ‘group’,” replied Lord Redskull with a shrug much to Ember’s horror. “As for why she is here? Please, you don’t expect me to start a revolution when you have allies with you such as Equestria? Even I know they wouldn’t tolerate a revolt upon your death. So I had to find an enemy of theirs to even the odds. And you know what they say about the enemy of my enemy.” He gave a satisfied nod to Queen Chrysalis. “And she has been quite the manipulator. Getting you trapped here was her handiwork. I heard much about the changeling’s ability to deceive others, but now I see that those stories were not even close to the true power of their tactics.”
“Why thank you, Lord Redskull,” complimented Queen Chrysalis, before glaring at Thorax. “It’s a shame that my kind has become a nation of weaklings thanks to this traitor. Oh, I am so going to enjoy seeing your corpse in a few hours, dear Thorax. Along with yours, Twilight Sparkle. A shame Starlight isn’t here, but I suppose that’s going to change soon enough.”
“I don’t understand. How are you able to stop the scepter? That’s impossible!” shouted Aquafire.
“Oh, please. That kind of crystal above you can stop the powers of Discord. How could it not stop it?” said Crystalis, rolling her eyes before giving a sinister grin. “Of course, I made a few modifications to it.”
Her horn began to glow softly, soon altering the black aura to be replace with a red one, mixing it with the green that spread slowly to the others. They gasped upon feeling as if their air was being dragged out of their lungs. This time, the dragons joined their fellow comrades on the ground, struggling to breath yet feeling as if they were being skinned alive from the inside out. “Like it? It’s modified to slowly drain your life energy. We’ve had a few test subjects. The longest anyone’s lasted is seven hours. That’s only a few hours before you breath your last breaths and fade off into the afterlife. Oh, and the closer you get to it? The faster it works.”
Ember, to her credit despite the pain, struggled up and glared at Lord Redskull. “Where... is... Spike?”
“Still worried about him? Don’t worry, he’s safe for the moment, but in a few hours he’ll be soon most likely targeted for extermination by the Canterlot Guards or maybe even Princess Celestia herself with that honor,” replied Lord Redskull as he held out a tiny potion bottle. “A potion of madness combined with a potion of greed. Any dragon that drinks this, even one as young as Spike, and they’ll be a total killer with no reason or means to stop them. I imagine it will look quite painful to see your friends faces in Ponyville knowing that their best dragon friend is burning their homes and eating their young. What better way to ruin the relationships of Dragons and Ponies by having it done at the claws of the one who helped build it?”
“You... fool... this will mean...war...” replied Twilight, coughing a fit.
“Yes, but with you dead, Ember, the Lords can make a temporary chosen leader for the dragons to fight that war. A war that I intend to win,” replied Lord Redskull, with a smirk. “Then we dragons can finally rise against these ponies and dominate like we were supposed to do so. You would have destroyed our pride as a nation, as a people, but I wasn’t going to let that happen.” He then glared at his son and snarled. “As for you, my so called son, consider this my official disownment of you. You were always a weak, pathetic, and ignorant brat, but I still considered you blood. To side with my enemy over your own family? You’re dead to me. Tyranus will make a better heir then you ever will.”
“Screw... you... old... bastard...” replied Garble as he used his strength to point up his middle claw finger. “I’d... do it... again... just... to... spite... you...”
“Well, enjoy that satisfaction while you lay dying. Now if you excuse us, we have a dragon to unleash,” replied Lord Redskull as he and Queen Chrysalis left.
Ember tried to stay up, but she fell to her stomach and clenched her teeth. With all the anger she could muster, she let out a roar that fell deft underneath in the dungeons that held them.
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Oh I did not see any of that coming! This is very bad! They need to escape, stop this evil alliance and save/stop Spike. I’m going to take a shot in the dark and guess that if Spike is unleashed then Ember will need to stop him by admitting her feeling for him. But first they need to escape!
And the Ponystar is back!!!
I feel like you have written yourself into a corner that can only be escaped with a Deus ex Machina, which isn't the best of writing techniques. I know magic makes it hard to make reasonable threats against the likes of Twilight, but I'm not convinced that this is the best way to set up tension.
Also, the chessmaster villan archetype doesn't typically take power directly, so it's a bit confusing to have an ursuptuous military leader that is also a chessmaster.
Seriously, I did not see that coming! Now I'm anxious for the next chapter!
Seriously, that’s his plan? Yeah one power negater isn’t gonna do squat against the combined magic of equestria. Though I suppose Chrysalis is overstating it’s powers for her own sake.
Cool chapter.
I didn't see that coming. Things are going to get real.
Yes, I know this isn’t the same Red Skull, but tell me it wouldn’t make sense given how fucked up Garble acts. Plus, he DID get thrown through space.
Also, while I saw “Silverback” betraying them from fifty miles away, I DID NOT see the twist about “insert spoilers here.” So.... called it? Kind of?
8880592
He's still a dragon, driven by pride and greed. He's just smarter than the average dragon, and this plan really wasn't all that complicated. Indeed, the level of this all according to keikaku was fairly low. But it still works because literally everyone involved in this lacks more than linear thinking.
Wow. Now it got even darker than before. So much for a cute fairy tale about dragons. And yeah, I didn't see that coming. But now I want to see how will they get out of this.
Well shit just got real
....oh man, didn't see that coming.
Talk about mood whiplash to the extreme.
i never expected to see chrysalis in this, awesome plot twist
Okay, I was expecting that but I was not expecting that!