> When They Were Young: The Box Queen and the Dracony > by Mr101 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Everything changed when the Dracony attacked... > --------------------------------------------------------------------------                         The Box Queen and the Dracony         It was a beautiful morning in Canterlot. The streets were busy as ever as the town bustled with ponies going about their daily routines, and the same could be said about all the towns in Equestria. Towns across the Kingdom enjoying the beauty that was King Terra’s sun.         Yet hidden right under the noses of the citizens of Canterlot, was another Kingdom. A Kingdom that nopony save for a select few even knew existed, was also enjoying the King’s Sun as the rays fell upon it through the large glass windows of Canterlot’s Palace.         “Good morning, my loyal subjects of Boxopia!” Luna said proudly.         She looked over with a proud smile at her Kingdom. She was in the living room of the palace surrounded by dozens of cardboard boxes, each one setup to represent buildings. She was standing on several, thick heavy looking tomes that were surrounded by boxes, representing her palace.         On top of her head was a beautiful, midnight blue crown that had a crescent symbol on it that was clearly too big for her head and was only balancing in place thanks to her horn. Adorning her neck was a variety of jeweled necklaces and on her hooves were light blue slippers that, just like her crown, were too big for her.         She smiled down proudly at her little Kingdom, content that everything was as it should be. Luna began to mimic the sounds of a carriage drawing up as she looked down into the ‘courtyard’ of her palace. “Oh, why its Lord Fluffykins! I shall be right down your Lordship!” Luna hummed to herself as she descended the steps of her palace and entered the courtyard to gree Lord Fluffykins, which was a pink rabbit plush with a top hat. She greeted the Lord by curtsying and giggling as she sat on her rump in front of the plush toy.         “Tis marvelous weather we are having, is it not, Lord Fluffykins?”         The plush of course didn’t give a response to her. However, Luna giggled and nodded as she pretended to understand the silent reply.         “I couldn’t agree more myself, my dear friend. Come! The servants have begun making the morning tea.”         Luna picked up the plush rabbit and headed towards the other side of the room to a small table. As she sat down and placed the rabbit on the other side opposite her, she lightly stomped her hoof and a night guard came over with a small tray on his back with two plastic tea cups and a teapot.         “Ah, thank you, Mister Chives!” She giggled         “Not at all, your Highness,” the night guard nodded and carefully placed the tray down.         He returned to the side of the room shaking his head as he contemplated the reason why he volunteered to guard Luna. Luna happily poured out a cup of tea for her and Fluffykins and using her magic, picked it up and took a dainty sip.         “Ah, you’ve really outdone yourself with this tea, Mister Chives. My compliments.”         “Thank you, your Highness,” the night guard sighed.         As she made polite chit chat with Lord Fluffykins, Luna heard the sounds of hoofsteps approaching the play room, stomping loudly. She let out a fake gasp as she looked to Fluffykins in mock horror.         “L-Lord Fluffykins, what was that noise?”         Luna gasped again as a roar soon followed the footsteps. A roar she was very familiar with.         “I’m sorry, Lord Fluffykins but I must return to the palace! A great danger is upon us!” She picked up the rabbit and scrambled back to the palace glaring towards the door. There was a mighty bang as something hit the the door followed by the same roar.         “Guards! To your stations!” She cried out. She pointed her hoof at several plush animals of various breeds and sizes that were wearing makeshift looking armour, similar to that of the night guard, that were standing just inside the makeshift Kingdom. Luna nodded, returning her attention to the doors just as they suddenly burst open, revealing the threat to her beloved kingdom.         The dreaded dracony, Celestia.         Celestia was grinning from ear to ear as she slowly entered the room. She was wearing a rubber dragon mask over her head as well, as two booties that were shaped like a pair of dragon claws. Luna scowled at the foul beast. This beast, with the body of a pony and head of a dragon, had terrorized her peaceful kingdom one to many times with deadly flour bombs. And today she was going to end it.         “Ready the catapults!” she cried.         Once again with a heavy sigh, the night guard slowly made his way over to Luna, carrying a few pillows on his back. He placed them down beside her and sat down, looking forward without changing his emotion.         “Ahem.”         He looked down to see an impatient Luna looking back and waving her hoof at him. With a roll of his eyes, he picked up one of the pillows with his mouth and placed it in her hoof. She giggled and smiled up at him before suddenly returning to her fierce gaze as the dracony approached her.         “I, the powerful dracony, Celestia, have returned!” Celestia cackled as she slowly paced back and forth, “you know fighting me is useless, Queen Luna! Only the surrender of your precious treasure will ensure the survival of your little Kingdom!”         “I will never surrender my Kingdom’s cookies!” Luna shot back.         “Gold, your Highness,” the night guard whispered.         “Oh yeah, thanks!” She giggled before returning to character, “I will never surrender my Kingdom’s gold!”         “So be it!” Celestia roared loudly.         She levitated a flour bomb from the saddlebag by her side and launched it towards Luna. Luna held up the pillow in defense as the projectile collided with it with a loud ‘poomf’. Flour went everywhere, covering the pillow and parts of the box buildings as well as the night guard. He remained unmoved as the flour hit him aside from a single blink.         “FIRE!”          Luna let out a fierce battle cry and launched the pillow towards Celestia, who dodged it with ease. A second flour bomb was levitated into the air before being thrown into one of the box buildings, covering it in the white powder as well as knocking over with a light thud.         “No! Not the library!” Luna wailed.         Celestia laughed in triumph as she waved a hoof in the air.         “Your pathetic buildings are not a match for my superior attacks!”         “We’ll see about that, you foul dracony. Misters Chives, another boulder!”         The night guard quietly picked up another pillow and placed it in Luna’s hoof as she launched it at Celestia. Just like before, Celestia merely ducked out of its way as it sailed over her and crashed into a podium nearby with a vase on it. The podium swayed before falling over and crashing into the ground, the vase smashing in the process.         The night guard cringed as he watched the vase break into pieces. The two siblings remained oblivious to the destruction of it and continued their battle.         “You have such a bad shot, Queen Luna. At this rate, all of your cookies will be mine!”         “Gold, your highness,” the guard said.         “I mean gold! Mwahahahaha!” Celestia laughed.         Celestia was suddenly hit with hit hard with a pillow, squawking in surprise before nearly tripping over herself. She looked over with a scowl to see Luna grinning at her, her horn glowing as several pillows hovered behind her.         “Oh. It. Is. On!” Celestia grinned.         King Terra sat in his study looking over a large scroll. His eyes were scanning it with close attention as he began to bring a small cup of tea to his lips to drink. There was a loud crash coming from above that made him jump, causing him to lose focus and drop the cup onto the floor. He groaned in annoyance and looked up at the ceiling as a second crash occurred.         “What are those two doing up there?” he muttered aloud.         The guard cringed again as pillows and flour bombs were launched throughout the room. He watched as a wooden chair was blasted with a pillow that sent it to the floor with a loud crash, the floor surrounding the boxes was now covered in white flour with small hoofprints in it from where Celestia had been ducking and dodging the barrage of pillows as she had retaliated with her flour bombs. The ‘casualties’ now stood at several box buildings, the vase, chair, a few of Luna’s plush dolls who had been acting as her guards and a portrait on the wall that was now covered in flour. Luna herself was now covered in flour but looked undeterred as she continued to throw pillows at Celestia.         “Keep firing, my brave guards!” she bellowed.         “Your weapons are useless!” Celestia roared back, pretending to breath fire at her. As the two fillies giggled at their antics the guard cringed once more as a window smashed, a pillow flying through it without a care in the world propelled by Luna’s magic.         “Seriously? What in Equestria is going on up there?” Terra grumbled.         He was mopping up a second tea spill that had occurred moments beforehand when another crash from the room above had startled him again. He sighed as he finished before a louder smash made him look up, just in time to see a pillow outside his window soar to the ground.         “Okay, I’d better go check up on those two…”         With a sigh he left the study, not entirely sure what he was going to expect.         “Your recklessness will be your downfall, Queen Luna!” Celestia declared.         “I think not, foul dracony!” Luna shot back.         By now, the two had made makeshift covers out of the ruined box buildings and various flour covered furniture. The guard was now looking a little nervous as he surveyed the room. He was thinking that he should have probably stepped in at some point once the furniture had gotten involved in the pretend battle, but hadn’t had the heart to stop the two fillies enjoyment.         And boy was he regretting it.         Nearly the entire room was now looking like a snowstorm had suddenly occurred within it. Furniture now lay everywhere covered in flour with some of them having pillows lying on them, the few dozen portraits that lined the living room hung from the wall limply from the hits that they had taken from the magically launched pillows.         “Give up now, dracony! You cannot defeat us this time!”         She didn’t get a response. Luna spun round, feeling something brush past her, and saw Celestia dash out from behind her with something in her mouth.         One of Luna’s guard dolls.         “Haha! Now you will see what happens when you do not surrender!”         “NO!”         Luna reached out with her hoof just as Celestia tossed the doll in the air and to the ground in front of her before stomping on it.         “SERGEANT SOCK HOOF, NOOOOOO!” Luna cried as Celestia laughed in triumph.         Luna spun round to the night guard with a look of pure anger in her face. She scooped up all her remaining dolls and shoved them into his hooves.         “Captain Fluffy Neck, if I don’t make it back. You’re the new King. Mister Chives, guard him well!”         “Of course, your Majesty,” the guard sighed.         She suddenly ran out of her cover and charged Celestia, who was distracted by her evil laughing.         “FOR BOXOPIA!” Luna cried before tackling Celestia.         “FOR BOXOPIA!”         King Terra raised an eyebrow in confusion as the cry came from behind the door, he was about to push open the door when he heard Celestia squeal loudly, followed by a thud, followed by the sounds of the two fillies giggling loudly. With a smile he pushed open the door and walked into the room.         “Are you having fun you—”         He stopped mid sentence and his jaw dropped open. He stared at the scene of destruction before him with utter confusion and uncertainty as the two fillies stopped fighting and looked up to their father.         “Hi daddy!” they both giggled. Terra only replied in low, incoherent babbles as he looked to the guard. The guard blinked at him as he realised he was covered in flour and holding Luna’s dolls and smiled sheepishly as a light blush formed on his cheeks.         “What… happened in here?” he asked them.         “We were playing Kingdoms,” Celestia started, “It was my turn to be the dracony.”         “I AM THE BOX QUEEN!” Luna shouted with a delighted squeal.         Terra raised his eyebrow before a grin fell on his face.         “Is that so? You know… I know of only one other dracony…”         Queen Aeterna groaned as she sat up in her bed. She blinked a few times and yawned loudly before rubbing her eyes.         “What was that noise?” she murmured.         She had been sound asleep and was awoken by loud noises coming from one of her daughters. Aeterna made her way out of the bed and over to the door before she heard the sounds of three ponies laughing, whom she recognised as the husband and her two daughters.         Curiously, she opened the door and walked down the hallway towards the living room which was on the same floor as her and Terra’s bedroom. As she came close to the room she could hear the laughter getting louder and louder until she pushed open the door quietly and her eyes went wide at the scene.         Terra was ducking and dodging as pillows were being thrown at him by both Luna and Celestia who were now hiding in what remained of the Box Kingdom. They were both giggling like mad as they used their magic to try and hit their father, who was now wearing the rubber dragon mask, with pillows. The night guard was sitting behind Luna and Celestia, the same blank expression on his face, as he held onto the dolls to ‘protect’ them from the now bigger threat of the dracony called Terra.         Celestia was the first to spot her mother and quickly nudged Luna and they both stopped firing pillows. The guard then noticed the Queen and his eyes went wide.         “Aw, why’d you two stop?” Terra asked.         He noticed they were both struggling to not laugh and saw they were looking behind him, he slowly turned around to see his wife standing in the doorway, a grin on her face.         “Uhm… hello dear,” he chuckled sheepishly.         “Tia, Lulu,” Aeterna began.         “Yes, Mummy?” they both asked.         “Why is your father dressed as a dracony?”          END