Six crystal candles

by SaltWriter the leviapony

Ch. 8

Candles 8

Maria laid out over the bed of the cell, rubbing her beak as she stared at the floor. The few hours they had spent in here had lead her to ponder more and more of how to finish the mission, yet not a word was spoken. Inktip tried to pass the time through doodling on the floor, Duelblood only staring at the door.

Duelblood then stepped to it, taking off his gear and throwing them to inktip, who looked at them in confusion. Maria eyes narrowed at the doctor, watching as he took off the blood soaked bandages.

"When I free us, find what you're looking for and flee to the mountains. I doubt I'll be able to control myself once it starts, so be ready." Inktip continued to look in confusion, maria stepping closer to the pegasus as the doctors breathing got more eratic.

The sound of snapping bones began to fill the room as the hooves of the doctor seemed to peel away. Sharp bones came out of them, curling like fingers as a purple flame began to engulf them. Inktip gasped, Maria putting a hand out to stop her from helping.

The flame spread down the fur of his forelegs, leaving scales as it spread up and to his torso. His tail cracked and snapped, dropping the hairs and replacing it with a reptilian one. The wrappings on his head burned away, reveiling the broken end of a horn which sparked against the metal of the cell.

He began gnawing at the bars, tearing them off one by one. Wolf ponies rushed in to try and stop him, their weapons breaking on his scales. Inktip passed out as Duelblood leapt through the bars, his claws ripping through the wolves and painting the area in blood. Maria shouldered the pegasus, looking away as a stream of purple flame melted through the door.

Duelblood ran out the door, roaring to the sky as two small bones grew out of his back. More purple flame coated the bone as they grew into a set of leathery wings. The citizens looked on in fear as the creature took to the sky, firing bolts from its head. Maria ran off to the castle, hoping to avoid the major bloodshed.

Glassclaw stood over the castle walls, watching through a scope to a patch of land nearby. The forces of the sun and moon had finally come together into a neutral area, most likely sizing the other and discussing terms. He stepped back from the lense, letting a second general look into it.

"The bloodshed will probably start soon. Though the hesitation leads me to think something else is ongoing here." The general nodded to his comment, stepping back form the lense and looking up to him.

"It seems that the night mask worn by the moon queen has been removed. Perhaps this is effecting her judgement for war to her once loved sister." Glassclaw nodded at that, turning to look over the units on the ground. As he did so, he noticed smoke coming from a place in the distance.

This made him concerned, and he grabbed the lense he had just used and looked to the spot. Though a few trees stood in front of it, the mountain nearby told him it was related to the moon kingdom. Zooming in closer, he noticed a figure flying around the city, spewing the flames that lead to the smoke he had seen from a distance.

"What have you gotten yourself into Maria?" He placed the scope back into it's place, then adjusted the straps of his armor to allow him to fly. His wings unfolded, but his commander stepped in front of him.

"Sir, we need you here in case of a attack. What do you plan on doing?"

"I have a suspension, and I need to see what is happening to the moon kingdom. You'll keep things neutral with the king till I return." With that, he leapt off the wall and began flying off to the smoke, leaving the general in mild confusion.

Maria burst through the door of the castle, just in time to see a few guards rush past her to fight off Duelblood in the sky. She shouldered inktip on her back and went deeper into the castle, recalling something that had been mentioned about the moon queen.

One of the castles many maids ran in a panic, finding Maria and gasping at the sight. She probably would have fainted if Maria hadn't rushed up to her and spoke.

"Things are crazy out there, we need to get the element of harmony to a safe place. Do you know where she keeps it?" Had the situation been any different she may not have gotten the cooperation of her. The maid nodded, and moved her and inktip through the castle.

She lead them through a passage under the main staircase, leading down a set of narrow corridors till they arrived at a small shrine in a room. The maid stepped through the arch and grabbed the item, a necklace with a diamond on it, and handed it to Maria.

In a swift strike, Maria knocked the maid to the ground and smacked her head against the floor, knocking the girl unconscious. Maria took up the element and made her way back down the room, taking the key of the maid and leaving the door closed on her.

"I'll have to get out of here. The mountains are what I'll have to head too I guess." Maria ran back to the door, nearby avoiding a blast of flames from Duelbloods rampage. She ran off, weaving through panicking mares and stallions on fire to the path leading away from the city.

Within the walls of the mountain, a once gloomy castle glowed with a etherial flame. Pupter walked through the illuminated streets, admiring the craft of each of the buildings.

"To weild this magic again is a blessing. With it, I may reclaim the last of my masks with little effort." Hornet and Marinette followed close to the glowing figure, slowly heading out of the city. Hornet stepped to his side, stopping them in place.

"Does this mean we can get back my swarm from the control of the crystal king?"

"It will, yes. I just need some time to get us all there. Teleporting multiple things is tricky when…" he was cut off as a roar echoed in the caverns under the mountain. Marinette huddled close to hornet, the roar echoing a second time with a scream of someone else.

"It seems we aren't the only ones here to explore the ruins of this place. Come, let us help." Pupter rushed ahead, followed close behind by the other two as footsteps boomed in the cavern.

Author's Note:

Glad to finally complete this story. Hope you all enjoy it as well.