After the events of "Broken Spirit", things couldn't be better as everything is once again in perfect harmony, and Equestria has gained a new guardian. When things first begin to affect the land, nopony pays much attention until utter destruction begins to take hold, particularly on Equestria and the realm of Disarray. The rulers of the lands find themselves powerless and desperately seeking the source of the madness, unaware of the darkness they will find in the truth.
Now Discord, the princesses, and the six must team up with an old foe to find answers, and fast. As secrets are revealed, the realms suddenly find themselves launched in a war against the threat, and in the midst of the journey, Discord finds himself becoming more acquainted with his background than he'd like to be, as questions are answered. Is he really the product of demons? And what was his life before he ended up in the care of Aegeus and Astraia?
The sky was nothing but black clouds, immersing these inhabitants in a murky, black shadow. The blackness was tinged on the outlines with a scarlet hue, where the crimson sun was hidden, casting down fiery beams below.
The rocks he was lying on were coated in flames. Everything was. Some of it was meant to be true fire and burned when touched, but some of it was meant to simply be a decoration of sorts; a benign, eerie, orange glow, just the way he liked it.
He ran a claw down the volcanic rock he was sitting on, and watched as the flames licked up his arm, coating his hands all the more brilliantly. He smirked and flicked his wrist, dispelling the flames entirely. They floated back up into the reddened sky, and back to the hot sun.
Mismatched eyes spotted a small, weak form making his way through the black forest. The entity grinned to himself, and was able to taste the stallion's fear and revel in his helplessness. With the snap of his fingers he disappeared in a black cloud of smoke, and reappeared above the stallion. He grinned when he felt the life radiating from the helpless creature.
Still a mortal. They didn't get many of them. More often than not, the soiled souls came to the realm once they passed on, but in a world like Equestria, so full of love and happiness, the banished evil was a rarity, and one he loved to prey on.
"Why look here, a newcomer," he grinned. "I'm surprised my old friend Cerberus didn't gobble you at the gates. You do seem a little too tiny for his taste though."
Usually a cold, emotionless shell, the stallion was on his knees, weeping pathetically. Maelstrom loved when they were at their knees, begging for mercy. It usually took a lot of work to get them to that point, so to see them submit to him this early on was a treat. "Please, sir—your evilness," the stallion blubbered and sobbed, "I don't belong here! It's all a-"
"Mistake?" Maelstrom finished for him with a sardonic laugh. "Yes, we hear that a lot. Just in case I have been mistaken, however, let's take a look at your records." With the flick of his wrist a glowing scroll had been produced, and Maelstrom pretended to read it over and hum to himself.
"Let's see here... A wandering thief, a notorious burglar who often practiced black magic on others, first imprisoned by Celestia and then banished once he tried to kill a guard." He grinned and happily rolled up the paper. "Nope, I do believe you fit the bill quite nicely!"
The entity spread his arm out in a welcoming manner, eagerly draping his arm around the trembling stallion's shoulder and leading him in through the black trees. "Oh, there's no reason to feel nervous! You know, the media really has blown this place out of proportion. Haven't you read our brochure? Our twenty four-hour-day spas are to die for!"
"R-really?" the shivering stallion asked, and he grinned and patted his back soothingly.
"Why certainly! I could give you a tour, but first you should get acquainted with a few of our members and experience the first tour attraction on the way there!" As the frightened pony protested, Maelstrom eagerly whacked him in through the thickets with his tail, and listened to the screams of terror as the stallion was pursued by a herd of cackling silhouettes.
"Don't forget to tip!" Maelstrom called back out, above the cries as he made his way back to the gates of Tartarus. "I swear, Cerberus, the living are so weak now-a-day," he sighed as he sat against the large beast and scratched him under the chin. "Toys from the mortal world aren't as durable as they used to be. It's sad, really." He scratched Cerberus's belly as he flopped in front of him.
The three headed canine lowered his head to nuzzle his master's face, who returned it tenderly. "You running out of toys, big boy?" he asked Cerberus sadly, noticing there was only a couple of mortals left in his giant doghouse. "Don't worry, buddy. Soon enough we'll have more friends to play with."
Maelstrom hovered up to sit on the very top of the gate, feeling the scalding metal under his claws and gazing out with an almost thoughtful look. Soon one day I'll rain supreme...this waiting time is over. With a murky, black mist, and a snap of his fingers a large hourglass had appeared in front of him. It drained ever so slowly, the spits of crimson sand landing with a soft tink against the glass.
"How long do you think it will be, Cerberus?" he asked, twiddling his fingers nonchalantly and tapping the hour glass with the tip of a nail. "Every day the seal grows weaker, but it isn't weak enough."
Tartarus was a pass between the world of the living and the world of the suffering souls. It wasn't as if you could simply buy a season pass to Equestria for a while. If it was that easy, the land of love and happiness would be quite different today.
Maelstrom slid down the rusted gates and landed hard against the reddened soil. He sauntered his way towards one of the caves. Smoke leaped from the fire pit in the very center, and tendrils of different colored smoke did as well.
The black mass crouched there in front of the pit of flames, his back to the taller shadow. A mantra of words slipped out of his mouth, and at the breath against the back of his neck he froze and turned. The creature stood above him, and his fangs glinted in the dark.
"What progress are we making, Nefarious? Have you found an easier way to break the seal between the worlds?"
The hybrid turned away and worriedly began tossing a few things into the fire pit. "My Lord, I can only do so much at a--" His air was abruptly siphoned off, purged from his body as the entity wrapped his hands around his neck and lifted him to eye level. He fought and struggled, frantically trying to pull away Maelstrom's hands. Finally he managed to wiggle himself out enough to desperately wheeze out a defense.
"It's....true, my...Lord! The seal between worlds has only....been...hastened by the new guardian...! Equestria now has a new guardian...and a new....protection! Our influence....can only go so far with the strength the seal is...at now!"
Maelstrom sneered and pressed his face against the hybrid. His blood red eyes pierced through his helpless victim, casually, slowly squeezing the life out of him.
"There....is not much more I can do....to....speed the process......up...." By now his servant's voice was beginning to slur to nothing as unconsciousness began to slowly drag him under. His eyes started to roll back in his head, and right when he felt the respite of darkness Maelstrom released him.
"I believe you," he said tonelessly. Nefarious managed a relieved smile through his gasps as he clutched his throat and slithered to his feet. "But that doesn't mean it will save you." Nefarious only had time to open his mouth in a soundless scream as he was dispersed in a cloud of crackling, black smoke.
Maelstrom continued walking deeper into the caves, letting the remnants of the smoke drift around him as he reached the very back of the tavern.
Deep within the recesses of blackness, his form slunk towards a small bundle of infants curled up together in a bed of pebbles and sand. They blinked up sleepily as they sighted his face, their tiny, milky fangs glinting in the sliver of the crimson sun spilling through the crevices of the rock.
He gazed down at the tiny younglings and ran a light, fond claw over their faces, his expression soft, and his fangs glinting. Continuing to caress the purring, baby entities, he began to softly sing.
Sleep now little children Sleep and dream of pleasant things While the river of blood begins to flow"
The infants watched the strange form slink around them, his tone a lethal, calm serenade as he hummed along with his lyrics. His scaly, razor tail dipped gently under the babies' chins, and the tiny abominations shut their eyes and let themselves fall asleep against the surface. He slid his tail out once their eyes remained closed.
"The king of darkness continues his work The fires begin to rage Screams of mortals mark the dawning age"
The infants were snoring soundly, and he latched his fangs into a large boulder, jarring it into place where the red stream of light was coming in. The children needed their sleep. He crawled to the top of the ceiling, just over the babies, and looked down at them.
"The darkness that surrounds you It's here as a reminder It blankets you in the comfort of knowing what's to be"
He slunk through an opening in the ceiling, and slithered up a jagged rock sticking out of the top of the opening. His serpentine form coiled itself around it. His poisonous voice carried through the entire realm with the helpful echo of the mountains.
"Soon the king will rise He'll greet these mortals His poison strikes fear into their eyes"
He returned back to the star, slithering his gangly body through the air, his mismatched feet landing with a heavy thud in the red dirt. His angel wing and his large, jagged black wing folded into his body.
"The tortured cries ring through the dark They make their mark on my cruel heart Soon this world will be torn asunder Mark these words and hear the thunder Feel the fear and hear the screaming This is what I'm always dreaming The reddened sun it casts its rays Theses are the world's final days There is nothing that will stop us now There is no way there is no how So enjoy these days for you will learn
...
These worlds, these realms are doomed to burn..."
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"The bride and groom will now exchange their vows."
The ceremony seemed to have droned on forever to Discord. Wedding ceremonies were never really his thing, although he could definitely do wedding receptions. Ponies to play with, decorations to transform to his liking, and a new bride to spin on the dance floor—fun stuff. Really, his intolerance for gooey sentimental crud really kicked in when Celestia insisted on reciting her favorite poem from filly-hood. Gag, gag, gag, gag, gag.
The angelic voice of his soon-to-be-wife snapped him out of his thoughts and a little out of his own disgust as she spoke.
"Discord..." Celestia hovered a small piece of paper in a pastel hue in front of her, glancing and smiling up at him now and then as she read. "For as long as I can recall, you have been my family. You were my best friend, but it always felt as if you were more." She giggled a little. "I hear many stories of ponies hating the idea of betrothal because they have no say in it, but you and I were always meant to be, even before we were betrothed."
This was a little easier for his petty brain to take. At least the words were coming from his beloved herself and not from some old poem, or worse, Luna's mouth. Luna could never say anything heartfelt without his innards twisting up in disgust. It just wasn't her sassy, tomboyish self.
"We've had our..." Celestia quieted for a moment, a pained warble in her voice, "trials and tribulations in the past, but they've only made us stronger. I think it's what made us realize that we just couldn't be without each other, even when we were sure that we could. I know that it's hard for me to convince you I do want you after all these years and everything we've been through, but if you let me, I'll spend the rest of my life reminding you how much I do want to be with you."
Discord's eyes held a gentle shine to them, and he just tenderly held the mare's hooves for a few moments. She smiled as he playfully swung them slightly, and seemed to be looking at him expectantly. That's when his best mare nudged him in the side.
"Discord," Fluttershy whispered urgently, "your vows!" Come to think of it, she couldn't remember him giving her any paper, and it didn't look as if any of the bridesmaids (the girls) had a slip of paper either. They were all exchanging looks of confusion.
Discord tapped his fingers together and looked around at the literally thousands of expecting faces (dear Chaos, who's idea was it to invite the entire kingdom anyway?), and back to his getting-increasingly-angrier bride and sister-minister. "Oh, those..." That's right, on the day of the pop rocket tournament with the attic spiders he was told to write some blucky marriage stuff. The paper he had been given was of course turned into a paper airplane.
"Discord," Luna growled, looking just about ready to grill him up and fry him in butter.
"Alright, alright!" He held up his hands, trying to produce some on-the-spot goopy, but very true crap. Oh, Celestia looked ready to murder him. Perhaps some jokes would help. He cleared his throat.
"Chaos is what makes me happy," Discord said. "It always had been and it probably always will be, but although chaos may be what makes my clock tick, you are what makes my heart beat." This was cheesier than his favorite cheddar block in the fridge, but she was smiling at him now so he must be doing something right. "I know that now, after eons that there are more things that can make me happy, and you're one of them. And so I promise to make you happy as well, and make up for all the pain I caused you." None of this was a lie, perhaps that was the biggest gag factor.
"Celestia, do you accept Discord as your lawfully wedded stallion til death do you part?"
"I do," Celestia said softly.
"And Discord, do you accept Celestia as your lawfully wedded mare til death do you part?"
"Hm, perhaps," Discord said wryly, "I'll have to think about—NNGH!" He bit back a cry of pain and a string of curses as Fluttershy subtly bit his hanging talon, and rubbed it on his side as he huffed. "Yes, I do!"
Luna was grinning from ear to ear and giving her brother a proud smile. "May I have the rings?" she asked. There was no response, and she repeated it—only to once again receive no answer.
"Spike!" Discord hissed, glowering fiercely at the baby dragon that was trying to amuse himself by spinning the rings on one of the steps. Spike hurried out an apology and bolted over to Luna with the rings. She hovered them both; one over Discord's paw, and one over Celestia's horn.
Lune cleared her throat and spoke louder, placing the rings delicately on both horn and finger. "Discord and Celestia have made their declarations and I am proud to now announce them as husband and wife!" She grinned, eyes sparkling. "And it gives me a greater joy to now announce to you your new King and Queen of Equestria!"
The screams and cheers were absolutely deafening, causing both alicorn and draconequus to subtly wince and grin as everypony jumped up and down and stomped their hooves in joy. In a room of thousands of ponies, it sounded like a stampede of impending doom.
"You may now kiss the bride!" Luna said joyfully. Both young newlyweds happily embraced one another and pressed their lips together as more screams erupted and confetti absolutely exploded, filling the room with a blizzard and blanketing the grounds in rainbow.
"Between you and me," Discord cheekily told his new wife settled in his arms, "I forgot to add to my declarations that I vow to prank you every day and awaken you with a loving bucket of ice water to the face, and drench your toothbrush in vinegar~"
"And I vow to beat you over the head with a rusty, moldy, old rolling pin the size of the moon if you do," Celestia responded sweetly, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
Ah love...there was just nothing like it.
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By Chaos, Discord had spent eons being hated by the pony folk, and now he was the center of attention, for the first time, in a good way, the entire day. Well, to be fair, most eyes were on Celestia, but a water balloon on a guest here and there reminded them she wasn't the only one here today.
Now the newlyweds were walking down the hall, with every head bowed to the ground in a respectful kowtow. Discord grinned gleefully and muttered to his wife and sister as they walked, "So this is what royalty is going to be about, huh?" he smirked. "I like it."
The sisters exchanged a look that made Discord's smile fade, and they hesitated. "We'll talk about your role later, Discord," Celestia told him.
"My role?" the spirit blinked. "Isn't my role going to be, well, being a King?" He received no response and found himself pushed through swinging doors to the garden, where a large silver canon greeted the baffled eyes of all. Especially when they all saw a certain pink pony behind the canon, and a certain blue pegasus inside of it.
Pinkie Pie lit the fuse of the canon and cartwheeled backwards, just as it exploded with a thundering boom and sent particles of rainbow glitter shooting up into the air, as well as Rainbow Dash. Everypony watched in amazement as she preformed a heart shaped Sonic Rainboom, just as the fireworks began going off inside of it.
Discord's attention was pulled away from the sky to look over at the saffron pegasus galloping towards him. "Incoming Flutterrocket in three...two..." He caught her, holding her hooves playfully away from him as she tried to hug him.
"Oh Discord, you did it!" Fluttershy exclaimed happily. "I'm so proud of you!" She managed to wrestle his arms away and hug him. "I love you."
The draconequus smirked and pushed her away by the snout with the tip of his finger. "Yes, yes, I'm afraid my 'I love you' was used up today already when little Tia forced me to say it to her at the altar."
"She forced you?" Fluttershy asked teasingly, and he smirked and flicked her nose.
"Hey, kissing is a better persuasion tactic than you might think!"
"Persuasion," Twilight giggled quietly. "Forgive me for being doubtful that you needed any convincing." She yelped as Discord wrapped his tail around her own, dangling her upside down in front of his mirthful eyes.
"Oh, is that so?" Discord smirked, continuing to dangle the hapless unicorn. Only now did she realize she was inches away from a large, ice cold punch bowl. She clung to his tail like her life depended on it and Discord laughed.
"Oh, Uncle Discord, stop teasing her!" Cadence huffed, taking the mare into her own hooves and setting her on the ground. He seemed to look thoughtful about that and gave a shrug, slithering over beside her instead.
"Oh, very well—a Twilight would taste quite bitter in the punch anyway. I never did like the flavor of book worm." He sniggered at the indignant "hey!" he received from Twilight. "So how are you enjoying the party, dear? Are you jealous my spectacular wedding is washing yours out~?"
Cadence smirked up the impish spirit, one eyebrow slightly lowered. "As if, Uncle," she chuckled, "Although I must say I am deeply impressed with Rainbow's improved Sonic Rainboom." She let out a sigh of contentment. "I'm just happy to be here." She threw her hooves around his waist, causing him to flinch. "I know you'll both be very happy together."
"Provided we don't drive each other to killing one another with typical pet peeves," Discord snickered back, finally deciding to awkwardly pat Cadence's poofy mane. "Like how I'm annoyed at how boring and normal she likes things."
"And she's annoyed with how chaotic you like things," Cadence added with a laugh. "Oh yeah, you're meant to be alright."
After the cheering and clapping had stopped, Pinkie bounced to Discord. "Hope you enjoy the reception, your Majesty!" she giggled with a curtsy, "'cause it's everything you asked for, from the super-de-duper strawberry taffy cake to the gummy bear cookies!"
Discord and Celestia turned to look at the entrees and decor, noting they all had a Discord flair to them, from the marshmallow and syrup brownies to the cotton candy flower arrangement in the center of the table.
"What have I gotten myself into?" Celestia grinned, shaking her head.
"You should have figured that out before you married me~!" Discord chirped.
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The final spurt of fireworks graced the sky with speckles of light, and everything had finally fallen silent. The guests were all gone now, and other than the last, crackling boom there was no longer anymore activity. Discord gazed at his new bride and they both grinned at each other, getting ready to start their first night as husband and wife.
"It's just the two of us now," Celestia said, flipping her veil out of her eyes as the wind made it dangle into her face. "The two of us and nopony else."
"So it seems," Discord mused. He blinked and stared as Celestia kept looking at him expectantly. "What? Do I have something on my face? It's the gummy bear cookie Rainbow Dash threw at me, isn't it?"
"Do you remember anything about your tutoring?" Celestia huffed. "Perhaps about how a husband should treat his new bride and what fashion he should carry her into their house for the first time in unity?"
The spirit twirled his goatee thoughtfully, a smirk playing at his lips. "Oh, you mean this?" Without warning he hoisted the shrieking Celestia upside down over his shoulder. The mare yelled at him and pounded his back through her laughter, trying to get down as Discord sped off to their room.
"You big oaf!" Celestia laughed. "This isn't what I meant! Put me—YAUGH!" Her husband cheerfully hurled her face first into the soft, cottony bed. Several what-looked-to-be tiny shredded pieces of weeds bounced with her. "Weeds?" she blinked.
"Rose petals are cliché," was Discord's simple explanation, and with the snap of his fingers music began to play. Romantic music? Oh please, it was Discord! The alicorn rolled her eyes as a Mexican tune began to play. What was with him and his fascination for Mexican things?
"So our first night together as husband and wife is going to be in a bed of weeds, with a Mexican song playing in the background?" Celestia sighed, unable to keep from grinning. She expected no different.
"Why of course!" The spirit grabbed a long, rather droopy weed and held it between his teeth, shifting towards her a little. "What could possibly be any more romantic~?"
I could think of a few things. The new queen said nothing and only wrapped her arms around the new king, drawing him towards her, where Discord dropped his silly Mexican role and eagerly curled up beside her, tail flicking away the weeds from the both of them as he affectionately coiled around the mare.
"I love you," Celestia murmured quietly, her snout gently touching underneath his neck.
"Yes, and I've grown rather fond of you~" Discord responded—only to yelp and rub his arm as the exasperated mare slapped him. He lay beside her and stared right into her eyes. The day they had both longed for eons had finally come upon them, and from this day on they were finally together and moving on with their life. Their life. There was no way life could be anymore wonderful.
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"The king of darkness continues his work The fires begin to rage Screams of mortals mark the dawning age..."
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(It's incredibly difficult writing the world of Tartarus (hell) and trying to make it as not downright evil but still spooky and hell-discerable as possible. But yeah, this chapter gives ya a good idea of what a few chapters will be like, and especially what this villain will be like.
Yes, Celestia and Discord are married. :D Isn't it wonderful? I got giddy writing up their wedding~ I know this prologue is horribly short, but prologues aren't meant to be very long.)
Fire. It's all that seemed to illuminate the land. It was everywhere he looked. Watery, mismatched eyes gazed with a strangely curious and mesmerized look, as if captivated by the flames.
He couldn't really see much in the haze of smoke, and the typical dream impairments (such as being half blind), but he could see enough to know his body was moving. He could also tell that behind the choking smoke, it was really daylight despite the darkness. Birds chirped as the fire continued to rage.
He didn't see his own feet and knew they weren't the ones moving. As he gazed down with wide eyes he saw a tiny, kitten paw; his own, golden and furry. He had an eagle chick's talon and knew immediately that he was a child again. Wide, infant eyes stared down at a much larger paw. It was matted with dirt and dried flecks of blood, but Discord could still tell it was white with gorgeous patterns. A snow leopard's paw.
He stared up and realized that some creature had him by the scruff of the neck and they were running faster and faster, trying to avoid the flames. Discord watched as indistinguishable body shapes began to fall from the sky, followed by equine silhouettes.
There was a sudden blast—he had no idea where it had come from. He could hear his own squeals and the next thing he knew he was in the sticky mud. His vision was going again, just as the creature picked him up once more.
Everything was fuzzy now, and all Discord could see was a large, indistinguishable mass. He couldn't tell what color it was, or what it was for that matter. He felt himself suddenly be pushed in through what felt like leaves. At last his vision settled—just enough to focus on a pair of hauntingly ice blue, alluring eyes.
He could see his own paw reaching out to touch the creature's face, but he felt something else take a hold of his scruff and begin to pull him away, from the creature. Even as he was being dragged further away, he could still see the lips part for a final time.
“Live...”
Then a crackling, white hot explosion shook the earth.
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The draconequus awoke with a loud, shaking gasp and bolted up in the bed, shuddering as the explosion dwindled in his mind a few moments longer, before everything faded off into the silence of the night – save for his panting and his frightened just-got-startled-awake wife beside him breathing heavily.
“Darling, what is it?” Celestia rubbed her eyes and gazed up at him with bleary concern. “Did you have another nightmare?” He didn't need to say anything for that to be confirmed. His frozen, unblinking eyes said everything.
Snapped out of his thoughts and the visions of explosions and fire, Discord stared up as Celestia gently, comfortingly pressed him against the bed and nuzzled up under his chin. She felt a pang in her heart when she felt his body tremble under her, and realized he was drenched in sweat. “More of those nightmares again? What did you dream about this time?”
The spirit continued to stare blankly at the ceiling for a few moments and slowly draped a paw over Celestia's back. “I...” He moistened his dry lips and slowly shook his head. “I...have no idea.”
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There were very little resources in this land. Sure, there were berry bushes scattered here and there, and a few springs to hydrate. To be truthful, anypony could easily survive in this forest since it had the necessities they needed to survive. Keyword though: pony.
“My Queen, we lost another.”
Chrysalis mournfully turned around and gazed down at the fallen changeling. It was a young one, which only caused her normally icy, impenetrable heart to throb all the more. “How many are left?” she asked the soldier.
“As of now, there are only thirty two of us left, my Queen.”
Thirty two... How a colony of a hundred thousand plummeted to a mere two digit number was beyond her. There hadn't been much left after that blast. Only a couple hundred in fact. The colony didn't have time to repair itself. Whenever Chrysalis thought she had found a place to settle and breed again, they'd need to leave to avoid being spotted. They were always on the move and the hive had no time to regenerate.
“Let's keep moving.” Moving was all they could do. That and pray to the Equestrian gods they'd find somewhere new to set up.
Baby changelings yelped and hopped around at her hooves, buzzing about like a group of happy cicadas. Numerous times Chrysalis needed to stop to nudge them back onto course as they wandered off like all younglings were prone to do. The seven infants were the last of the babies there were.
Chrysalis ignored the twinges of pains in her limbs from the lack of nutrition, and forced herself on through the hungry haze. She needed to stay strong for the sake of her colony after all.
Continuing up the forest path, she could see a strange, lumpy mass on its side, in a small puddle of blood. Getting closer to the creature she immediately noted it was a stallion. He had been hacked at something fierce judging by the gashes on him. It was probably some forest pony that wandered too far out and got attacked by a monster. This forest was one of the most dangerous ones that existed in Equestria, from what she had heard.
She turned the dying stallion towards her. He dimly looked up at her and attempted to reach out a hoof, emerald eyes owlish and pleading. “Help me” formed on his cracked, blood dribbling lips. Chrysalis only gave a cruel smirk and walked over him.
“Feed, my children,” she told the malnourished colony. “There is enough life in it to sustain you all for a little while longer.” Hopefully at least until she could formulate a plan to keep her species from becoming extinct completely.
A few of the changelings approached the half dead creature, but they only shrunk back and laid weakly against a tree trunk. Only five changelings settled by the stallion to feast. It wasn't too much of a surprise. Most of her hive had fallen ill from malnutrition and couldn't force themselves to eat or even drag themselves over to the body.
Ears falling flat against her head, resisting the meal, Chrysalis's weak legs forced her to curl up in the shade of a tree. A few of the babies trotted up to her and buzzed questionably. Glaring, Chrysalis only gave their little behinds a hard thump towards the meal, and they yelped and quickly scurried away from her. Now alone, she lay her head in the grass.
What a sight. I certainly never expected to see the mighty Queen Bee at the bottom of the food chain in such a short time. Such a shame.
Instantly, the queen's head jerked up in shock as she searched for the source of the voice, almost suspecting it to be one of her soldiers (who would certainly get a beating). There was no one talking. Most of the changelings were eating, sleeping...or dying. Paranoid, she lay down again.
You aren't in the best part of the forest, you know. A civilization isn't far from here—a native pony tribe to be exact. They could find you easily.
“Who are you?” Chrysalis snarled, standing and whirling in different directions to search. “Answer me!”
Who I am is not important. What I can do for you and what I need you to do for me is.
A furious sneer twisted over her lips, and she felt her insides boil with hatred. “What in Tartarus's name made you think I would help you?”
Oh believe me, I didn't think you would help me, but perhaps when you learn what I have to offer you just might change your mind.
“I don't take offers from ponies.”
You're in luck then! You see, I'm not a pony.
A flicker of surprise crossed her face, but it quickly went away when she realized there was no possible way a simple pony—unicorn or not, could use this type of magic. It had to be some kind of god, or at least not a mortal being.
I can help you, provided you help me. You don't want your entire race to become extinct, now, do you?
Slowly, Chrysalis's eyes roved over to her colony. They seemed to have shriveled up like prunes, and looked even thinner now than they did an hour ago, despite the meager portion of food they had just eaten. They weren't going to last very long and she knew it. All thirty two of them had a day at best, and it was very unlikely they'd find food until then. They were far too weak to attack the native tribes.
It's your choice, Chrysalis. Either you take a chance and heed my word, or you wait for Celestia and Discord to come after you with a giant can of bug spray. It's only a matter of time.
The queen was silent for a few moments, but after a long pause, she growled, “Where are you?”
Why, not even a half hour away from here. It's just past the Decaying Mountains. You know, right by the volcanoes and steam, and past the large gates and three headed dog...
“Tartarus...”
Bingo. See you in a bit!
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Fluttershy couldn't wait for the train to stop, and in fact found herself bouncing excitedly as she looked out the window. It was something more akin for Pinkie Pie to do. The moment the car screeched to a halt, the pegasus flew out the window.
Bolting through the sky at a speed she wasn't usually capable of unless it was to dive down and save one of her animals, she landed gracefully at the palace doors. Exuberantly, she galloped down the corridors, whizzing past the guards and reaching the throne room in record time.
“Is there anything else you need, your majesty?” a servant asked Celestia as she prepared to depart the throne room with a duster in her mouth.
The queen gave her loyal worker a gentle smile and shook her head. “No, that's quite alright, Dusty. You did a wonderful job cleaning up the throne--” her response tapered off into a large yawn, and she flushed in embarrassment. Dusty, however, only looked concerned.
“Haven't been getting much sleep lately, your majesty?”
Celestia shook her head. “Quite the opposite, actually. I've been sleeping just fine...” She cursed herself again as she yawned, and sunk back against the throne. Dusty kept a concerned eye on the regal alicorn, and began trotting from the room.
“I'm going to make you a cup of warm tea anyway. You do look rather pale, dear.”
Just then a large, gust of wind and dust blew into the throne room as the doors were darn well burst open by a certain pegasus now standing in the middle of the floor and grinning excitedly.
“...Right after I dust this room again,” the mare griped, flashing the oblivious pegasus a glare as she picked up the dusting equipment for a second time.
Celestia blinked in surprise and stared as the normally quiet pegasus stood up on her hind legs and rested her forelegs on the arms of the throne. “Fluttershy, dear! What has you so excited?”
“Hello, your highness.” The pegasus briefly remembered her manners and bowed. That was short lived as she instantly perked up once more, her tail wagging like a puppy. “Is he here?”
Celestia gave a silent nod of understanding. In the past couple weeks both she and Discord had been so busy that they hadn't had time for any visits. Fluttershy hadn't seen Discord since the wedding fifteen days ago. Since his escape from prison for a third time this was the longest the two had been separated.
“Come with me.” She walked down the hall with the curious pony trailing at her side. Fluttershy gazed around the large room in wonderment. It was different than any other room she had seen in the palace. Old oil paintings were scattered over the walls, and at the very back of the room was a twenty foot long, burgundy curtain that spilled onto the floor.
“He's in there.” Fluttershy stared at where Celestia's hoof was pointing: directly behind the curtain. Was he hiding behind the curtain? Well, he did love hide and seek...
Fluttershy gasped as Celestia whisked back the curtain, revealing a multicolored vortex spinning counter-clockwise. It was almost hypnotizing the way it looked. “He's in...there? What is that thing?”
“A portal,” Celestia answered. “It's a portal leading to Disarray, the realm of chaos. It's where Discord spends most of his time now.” She smiles. “He rules it, as he co-rules Equestria.” She gave the pony an encouraging push. “Believe me, it's completely safe—just a little wacky.” She grinned. “What else do you expect from a world ruled entirely by Discord?”
Fluttershy was about to respond, but only found herself abruptly shoved through the large vortex. She squeaked in fear and shut her eyes tightly from the brief flash of blinding colors. Cowering against the ground, the pegasus timidly opened her eyes, and gaped in bewilderment.
The realm was topsy-turvy land times a hundred. The luscious grass was a sky blue tone, and the bubblegum sky was decorated with purple clouds. Rows of cookie brick houses were turned on their sides and not one of them looked normal. Popping out of the flowerbeds lining the sides of the house were large lollipop flowers, and even a few candy apple sticks.
“Oh my,” Fluttershy said quietly. She trotted timidly through the strange land and carefully studied the inhabitants. For ponies living in a land of utter madness, they looked very content. The pegasus timidly trotted up a rising chessboard patterned hill, staring at a few very large and towering chess pieces as she timidly made her way around them.
It was then the pawns snapped into action, accompanied by a bishop and knight as they charged towards vulnerable Fluttershy. The pony gave a shrill squeak of horror as they hopped towards her, their bodies impacting the earth with a solid boom as they cornered her.
"Halt! Who dares to intrude the distorted realm?!" The pawns each formed a circle on the terrified girl, closing in on her and pressing her against the cold base of a bishop behind her.
"Look at her appearance; no spots, no swirls, nothing! She's a mortal pegasus from the world of order! What should we do with her?"
"Stop!"
A sharp, slicing command silenced the game pieces, making them whirl around to face their seething master. There stood the king of chaos, his burgundy robe flaring up behind him as a powerful and ethereal golden glow encased his body, threatening to transform those insufferable pawns into pebbles and the bishops and knights into ice cubes for the soda his butler pony held on a tray.
"What the hay is the matter with you? Get away from her!" The game pieces exchanged looks and reluctantly stepped away from the cowering pegasus's side.
Fluttershy currently had the ridiculously ludicrous appearance of a dead fly as she lay on her back, legs straight up in the air and twitching every now and then. She slowly rolled over onto her side and peered up at her savior, eyes alighting with a joyous sparkle when she saw who it was.
"Discord!" She charged and tackled the prepared draconequus, tightly nuzzling his face. It was so wonderful to finally see him after three weeks! "Oh thank goodness! I've missed you so much!"
"Likewise." The spirit returned the embrace—before promptly shoving the butler's tray of custard and pies at her, howling with laughter as she released him to furiously scrub the muck off her saffron body. "Ohohoho, that just does not get old!"
The pegasus exhaled sharply as she tried to wipe off the rest of the gooey glop dripping off her, to no avail. "What...is this place?"
Discord blinked down at her, mouth agape in horror by her words. "Ah...that's right, you've never been here before, have you, dear?" He cleared his throat, rising into the air and spreading his arms out to gesture to the madness at hand. "Welcome to the realm of Disarray, my dear! Where the ponies meow and moo, the houses dance the tango, and the weather is as unpredictable as a box of chocolates~!"
"So I see," the pegasus said uncertainly, watching as its inhabitants – the many ponies with swirls instead of eyes – went about their lives under storm clouds of chocolate milk and soda, seeming almost oblivious to the way their houses seemed to dance in tune to a never ending beat echoing across the vast land. "Isn't this the kind of thing that got you imprisoned in Equestria?"
"Ah, yes!" The spirit swooped towards her, wagging a finger in front of her face with a playful grin. "That's because I unleashed chaos on the realm of order. Here in the realm of disorder it's just the way things go! To the living creatures here nothing is even slightly amiss as this is the world they live in and the world they know. Now, it's if I took them to a world where grass is green and clouds rain water that they'd be terrified."
Fluttershy's eyes slowly roved over the land of chaos, watching as ponies indeed went about their daily routines as if the beverages being poured on them, their houses with legs, and their gardens of lollipops were completely normal. She glanced back at the spirit, blinking when she saw he had a small pony cradled in the crook of his arm like a baby. She was an interesting little thing, with a swirly lavender and white mane, and a spinning propeller cap on her head. Her eyes were simply purple swirls that stared up goofily at the Pegasus, before lazily rolling up to look at her creator.
"Allow me to introduce my most precious creation," Discord said with an inkling of affection as he gently tugged on the pony's ear. "This is Screwball, and I've had her since my take over eons ago. Isn't she adorable~?"
Fluttershy smiled fondly and fluttered up to the pony, petting her poofy mane. An interesting and whacky looking thing she was. "It's nice to meet you, Screwball."
The pony turned to her, smiled, and promptly blew a wet raspberry right into the disgusted Fluttershy's face. Discord burst into laughter, giving his little creation a fond pet and watching as Fluttershy tried to wipe off the droplets of spit.
"Apologies, Fluttershy. She can't speak English and communicates through sound effects." He leaned down and blew a raspberry back into the pony's face. She blinked up and smiled at him, responding with one of her own. Pretty soon the two were engaged in their own conversation.
“I don't understand it though,” Fluttershy said as she fell into step beside Discord on the peanut brittle pathway. “If there was always a realm of chaos than why weren't you just exiled here instead of being imprisoned? It seems to be like this is the kind of home you've always wanted.”
“We both know that being imprisoned was not what Celestia and Luna aimed to do to me.” He fell silent after that, his tone shifting slightly. Fluttershy dropped the subject. She knew talking about his past, about his time in stone, in utter loneliness was very painful for him to deal with, and something he wished to keep in the past.
“Is this where you've been the past two weeks? I haven't seen you at all. You never invited me down...”
A somewhat somber look crossed Discord's grinning face and Fluttershy cringed. What had she said now? “Apologies dear, but I had some business to take care of. Disarray had been without government for nearly a thousand years, and the entire land had fallen into utter destruction, and carnage. Ponies were killing each other and destroying houses and land. The realm was at war with each other because they had no way to solve their issues and didn't understand why no one was helping them.”
He gestured a paw towards a distant hill. Fluttershy could easily see the granite stones popping up from the blue grass and squeaked out a sob. Discord absently smoothed his talon through her rosette mane.“It was a grim sight when I finally got back here. I had a lot to clean up—buildings and bodies alike. Disarray is a thin line between Equestia and Tartarus. It can be a happy, chaotic realm but without proper guidance it could be a realm of suffering and true evil. Inhabitants of Disarray border between normal minded ponies and savages.”
It was safe to tell he had effectively freaked out the poor pegasus, who had seemed to have gone as stiff as a wooden plank, especially as a pony trotted over to sniff her tail curiously. Discord only laughed.
“S...so what about Screwball then? Do the same rules apply to her?”
“No, not at all.” Discord fondly turned his little abomination upside down in his arms and played with her hooves. “Screwball isn't from Disarray. She's created by moi, and therefore is rather insane and adorably kooky, but I don't think she can succumb to the same evil Disarray ponies can.”
Just then Screwball let off a loud chirping noise, prompting Discord to glance down questionably at her, until he nodded and grinned in understanding. “Ah yes, I almost forgot about that. Fluttershy, I want to introduce you to the kazoobies.”
“The...the what?” She squeaked as Discord grabbed her and tucked her under an arm as he flew towards what resembled some kind of forest. A forest of...mint. The familiar, zingy scent was undeniable and very much welcomed. Everything in this land smelled like some kind of food.
“Oh, kazoobies~!” Discord called up a mint stalk. “Come down here a moment! There's somepony I want to introduce you to!” Other than typical forest ambiance there wasn't a sound that greeted him back. “Screwy, call them.”
The pinkish pony scrunched up her face in concentration and her chest swelled. Fluttershy hopped back as a loud, kazoo sound rang from her throat, and echoed up into the trees. Within moments a flock of distorted looking birds circled around their heads excitedly. Fluttershy stared at the bizarre appearances of the multicolored, fluffy birds. She squinted hard when she realized the shapes of their beaks seemed familiar. Oh dear Equestria, they were kazoos. Their beaks were kazoos!
“My word!” Fluttershy giggled, smoothing a hoof over a kazoobie's beak and giggling as it vibrated with the wacky, musical sound and nuzzled her face. “Are these your creations?”
“Yep!” Discord chuckled, giving a kazoobie a fond pet on it's spiky, mohawk head. “I did indeed. A good portion of this world is created by me, and some creatures and lands were created before I took the reins.” He reached up onto a branch and picked up a giant yellow, kidney bean shaped fruit. “Try feeding them bananzabanoonzabononza berries~! It's their favorite!”
Blinking a little, Fluttershy timidly held out a berry to one of the kazoobies. She squealed as the litter monster latched itself to the berry and pecked it clean within three seconds flat.
“So taking care of and restoring Disarray is where you've been all this time,” Fluttershy said understandingly. “But what's kept Celestia and Luna so busy as well? I...well, I haven't seen them since the wedding, and when Twilight goes to write to one of them it takes them hours, if not an entire day to get back to her.”
“Oh, I didn't say I was the only one that's been preoccupied with things the past few weeks,” Discord pointed out. An unsettled look came to his face as he spoke. “Celestia and Luna have been keeping vigilant, because apparently they're having 'bad feelings'.”
Fluttershy felt her heart begin to pound and she stared at him. “What kind of bad feelings? Er...tummy-sick bad feelings, or Chrysalis-invading bad feelings that they had a while ago?”
“Heh. Chrysalis-invading bad feelings.” Discord lounged on one of the mint trees, griping as a kazoobie pecked at his crown. “Beat it, bird breath! Uh, anyway, yeah... I'd like to say Tia is just paranoid, but the last time she had a feeling like this we were invaded by the queen of black swiss cheese.”
“Oh dear,” the pegasus said softly. “So if Canterlot is being threatened again how come security hasn't increased?”
“Well, it isn't entirely certain yet. Celestia and Luna are keeping watch, but until they know what's going on there isn't much they can do.” Noticing the worried look on the pegasus's face, Discord abruptly, light heartedly swooped her up under an arm. “Come on, I'll show you more of Disarray!”
Sitting in a puddle of soda-rain, Screwball looked excitedly up at Discord and made questioning bubble sounds.
“Oh yes, yes of course we'll show her the hot sugar bubble springs!”
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Chrysalis grit her teeth and tried to ignore the babies nibbling on her mane and tearing at it as if it were a piece of blue taffy. She glanced back at her colony and a rare, mournful look came to her face when she realized that at this point her children couldn't even move. They were like shriveled, black prunes, cracked and looking like they had aged about a hundred years in just a few hours.
A rare pang stabbed at her. Feeling genuine sadness was such a rare occurrence that she often needed to do a double take to remember what it felt like. Of course, being that she slipped into so many ponies' skin all the time, she needed to do some acting and could put on a believable show of tears. It was rare she felt the sadness herself. Watching her colony slowly die and being able to do nothing left her feeling as weak as a foal. Her black ears pinned back, but she hardened her heart to the bodies collapsing and continued the trek onward.
The skies seemed to have blackened the closer they got to the opening of the crater. Lava bubbled around the sizzling pathway and Chrysalis latched her mouth around the infants' necks to keep them from going off to explore the lava.
Chrysalis stopped dead at the towering gates to the realm. Despite her will to always remain calm and cold, she felt her insides melting into a puddle of goo as she stared up in horror at Cerberus. The changeling queen prepared for a battle she knew she'd lose in her condition, but the three headed beast only calmly stepped aside and allowed her to enter.
A blast of smouldering wind beyond the heat in any part of the Equestrian deserts roared into her face as she entered. The black and red sky and crackling flames seemed reminiscent to the kind of atmosphere she usually enjoyed. Holding the babies in her mouth and over her back, Chrysalis calmly trotted in.
For the most terrible realm to ever exist, they really blow this place out of proportion. Equestria is so much worse. The queen's walk was instantly halted by a pair of mismatched feet, and she stared up at the towering demon in shock. When was the last time she had seen a-
“Welcome...” Maelstrom's mouth turned up in a wicked grin as he eagerly eyed his large group of guests and flicked his long, pointed tongue out of his mouth. “My, you all certainly look exhausted,” he commented, feigning concern as he examined the dying changeling army and hid his pleasure in a purposeful gasp. “How long has it been since you've all eaten?”
“A true meal? A while.” Chrysalis wanted to snarl at the entity as she did with anyone she met, but she needed to sound as polite as possible if this monster was really going to feed them. “Where is the food? You said you would look after us.”
“That I did,” Maelstrom agreed. He gestured to the realm, where there were large handfuls of squirming uncomfortable ponies, each having fallen into some sort of trap. A few mares were wriggling in a literal spider's webs while the furry, arachnids eyed them hungrily. Another group of ponies flailed helplessly in a sea of red tar and feebly cried out for help or some kind of mercy. Chrysalis grinned wildly, her wings flapping eagerly. Helpless ponies were everywhere.
A few of the more-alive changelings had wandered their way to the tar pit and had begun to feast. Chrysalis could already see the life returning to them and watched as their shriveled bodies gradually began to take a better, more distinguishable shape. She turned her own attention to where a mule was uselessly flailing in a large thorn bush. Realization she would finally eat after so long spurring her on, Chrysalis eagerly tore the screeching mortal from the bush's grasp.
The mule protested and whined weakly as she pinned him with a hoof, but it was silenced by the weak stream of green magic, his eyes taking on a glow in the dark tint as the life was sucked from them. There was no time for a gradual, slow draining process; Chrysalis needed to suck him up like a vacuum. She eagerly devoured the mortal's fear and helplessness, and fed on his lost hope as his life quickly drained away to nothing. Instantly, Chrysalis felt even more alert. She didn't even mind Maelstrom was circling her.
Crimson eyes sharp and vigilant like a cat, Maelstrom kept his stare on her and grinned. “All that power...I bet it feel so good after all this time, and the many times it's been denied to you. You always did want to make your hive the most powerful species in all the realms.”
As much as she loved the idea, as much as it filled her dark dreams at night, all Chrysalis cared about right now was feeding her subjects. The infants surrounded her and took what was left of the mule's life force. Within only a few moments, they were as bouncy as ever. Chyrsalis watched with a dark joy as her colony regained its strength and began to actively chase its prey rather than feebly crawl after it.
“Tell me Chrysalis, do you still want to make your race reign supreme?”
“Right now I just want to settle somewhere and rebuild the colony. We have no hope for gaining any kind of power with the number of changelings that are left.”
“Well...” a twisted smile snaked over Maelstrom's lips and he held out his arms to the realm in a welcoming manner. “What's mine is yours...”
Chrysalis emitted a quiet snarl and lowered her spiraled horn in warning. “What do you want?”
“Why...the same thing you want, dear. I want power, I want to show this world just what I can really do.”
“I mean what do you want in exchange for your hospitality?”
“I want your help,” Maelstrom said simply, now dropping down to the ground in a nonchalant walk. “I can't do this all on my own, you know. The curse that sealed me here thousands of years ago has only weakened enough for me to remind the realms that I exist, but I can't leave Tartarus yet. You can.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Chrysalis hissed angrily, “My colony is nearly extinct and I have almost no magic right now! I can't-” She was cut off as Maelstrom pressed a claw to her lips and smirked at her.
“Shhh... Now, I never said it had to be right now. I have a lot to do before your role comes into play anyway. It will all be revealed eventually, dear. Don't fret~ For now, you do need to worry about repopulating your species. There's a cave just by the black forest that you can use as your breeding grounds, and to create a new hive. Why, the Black Forest is where many unsuspecting mortals tend to wander.” He smirked. “Perfect feeding spot.”
The changeling's snake-like eyes roved over to the distant black trees and shrubbery and she smiled at the sight of ponies stuck in vines and bushes. “I will move the hive into the cave and start the process of rebuilding my colony.”
“Try not to worry, dear,” Maelstrom said smoothly, turning to grin back at the queen. “Your colony won't starve under my supervision. I can't have that if you're going to assist me now, can I?”
Chrysalis snorted and threw back her seaweed colored mane. “If it comes down to it I'll gladly take the lives of that pristine princess and her multi colored meat rug if that's what it takes to keep my colony safe.” She smirked. “And exact some revenge.”
Maelstrom watched as the ebony mare began to retreat to her new chambers. He crossed his arms and chuckled. “Really, Chrysalis after all you've been through with them you're that eager to destroy them?”
The queen stopped dead in her tracks. Slowly, she turned to the demon. “Those days don't matter to me anymore. I'm sure they don't matter to them either.” She paused. “How do you even know about what happened?”
The entity sneered and laughed heartily, as if she had asked the most ridiculous question. “I've shadowed Discord all of his life, and therefore subsequently, Celestia as well. I saw it all. I guess you really are a force to be reckoned with if you're brave enough to try and take down the king and queen.
Her eyes darkened. “I'll drain everyone in Equestria if that's what will keep my changelings healthy.”
Maelstrom smirked. “Devoted mother. Go and get settled.” His claw glowed a deadly, black hue. “I have work to do...”
Chrysalis walked on with the newly energized colony, and made her way into a distant black cave near the forest. The surroundings reminded her of home, in her black wastelands, the warm hives, and the scent of sulfur in the air. She settled in the reddened soil and laid down to rest. Chirping, squeaking bundles of baby changelings eagerly scurried up to their mother and nestled in at her side.
Chrysalis dipped her head to give them each a slight nuzzle, and the infants swiveled in bliss and rolled over on her hooves so she could rub their bellies. The queen gazed out the mouth of the cave and her motherly expression melted into a feral grin. So this isn't exactly what her original plan was, and it felt degrading that she needed to rely on other's resources, but it could be worse.
“And eventually, it will all be worth it,” she whispered.
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Celestia couldn't remember the last time lowering the sun was so exhausting. As the pale orange washed over her body and her horn sparked and sputtered to try and keep from dropping her hold on it completely, she had nearly collapsed by the time she had finished setting the sun. Luckily, her energy level kindly hovered at one percent at least until she fell onto her mattress. Then it dropped to a complete zero.
Everything was calm now, and Celestia had done her job for the day. Luna was taking the next shift and she could relax—perhaps enough to rid herself of this terrible exhaustion and dizziness. A good night's sleep was all she needed.
“Ding-dong.”
Exhausted, Celestia shut her eyes, but found she had no way of fighting the grin that curled over her lips as she pretended to ignore him.
“Ding-dong.”
“......”
“Dong-ding!”
“Listen, you dummy,” Celestia laughed, “if you want in so bad then come in, otherwise get out if you're just going to be making sound effects all night!”
A playful snort, and slowly mismatched feet slid in through the doorway, followed by his fluttering, mahogany cape. “Rude! Is that all you can say to your hubbie when we've been apart for a full eleven hours?”
“It is when all you want to do is annoy your frankly exhausted wife.” She uttered a squeal as his warm arms scooped her up. There was that typical, insufferable amusement on his face, but Celestia could see it had a slightly concerned look to it. She puffed her cheeks out like a filly and glared at him.
“Still having that tired feeling, darling? How long has that been going on now?”
“Oh, not that long,” Celestia said quickly, trying to disguise the annoyance in her voice. She hated it when others pressed her on how she was feeling. “It's from trying to provide more eyes than usual to Canterlot. I told you about the bad feeling we had...”
“More eyes? Oh silly Tia, you only have one telescope, and you each only have two eyes.”
“Have you had any of these ominous feelings, Discord?”
The draconequus scowled when he realized she wasn't going to indulge on his jokes and, as always, wanted to take things seriously. So he shrugged and fell on the bed beside her. “Not really, dearest. You see, bad feelings to me have always been good, because what others found bad I usually found good. You see~?” Well he could tell from her blinking, blank expression that he had lost her. “Er, honestly Celestia I haven't been in Equestria enough these past couple weeks to feel any...bad feelings. I think you're stressing yourself too much and that might be why you're feeling so sick.” He pressed a loving nuzzle against her face and laid her down. “Why don't we just get to sleep?”
“I suppose so,” Celestia reluctantly agreed. Discord could tell by the way her beautiful violet flecks were moving about that she was still very unsettled. “But I still feel...uncomfortable, like something is going to-” She was cut off as Discord suddenly, abruptly shoved his finger against her lips and looked completely alert.
“You know what, you're right,” Discord said, in a sharp tone, his ears up and listening intently. “I feel it, Tia. I feel that bad feeling you feel now.”
Celestia had sat up so sharply that Discord desperately bit down his laughter, trying to keep his composure and remain serious. “Do you know what the bad feeling means?”
“I think it means....RASPBERRY ATTACK!” the draconequus roared, claws playfully sheathed for effect as he leaped at the startled mare and pinned her, pushing his face against her vulnerable, white belly.
“Discord—stop it! I'm serious! Watch the snaggle tooth—yeow! Wahahahaha! You're so going on the couch tonight!”
The two continued to play and grapple like they were kids again, laughing and nibbling on each other's manes and tails well until the moon reached the peak of the sky. Celestia forgot all about the sinking feeling in her stomach, and was completely oblivious to the black, choking mist that sinisterly seeped out of the cracks of Tartarus and swept over the land.
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(It baffles me how they have character categories for dumb characters like Snips and Snails, and none for Screwball. I know she only showed up for five seconds, but so did Fleur De Lis! Screwball is a very important, supporting character in this fic and she needs a categoryyy! >< Anyway, Chrysalis is so much fun to write, ohmahgawd, and the changelings are just so darling~ Thank you all for waiting patiently and I hope you enjoy it. ^^ A big thanks to my editor Dave who went through this beforehand. LOVE YA, DAVE!)
Celestia's eyes were crusted with sleep and illness when they finally opened, twenty minutes late to raise the sun. A wave of nausea forced her back into the pillow, her head spinning and pounding as she tried to sit up. Blearily, she gazed out the window, and watched as the sun began to slowly rise, changing the sky to a vibrant orange.
The queen groaned and rubbed her temple for multiple reasons. Luna obviously was fed up with waiting for her and just took the job on herself. As she started to rise, she was stunned by who emerged through the bedchambers, his talon still glowing with magic and the sun still rising.
"What in Equestria? Aren't you usually back in Disarray at this time?"
"Well normally," Discord answered as he settled on the bed beside his wife. "I thought I'd stay and have a family breakfast~" His tone was light and playful as it always was, but Celestia could see his white brows furrow in worry and the frown on his face. "Are you alright? I can't remember the last time the pristine, punctual queen was ever late to raise the sun."
"I just don't feel well today." She blinked her tired eyes as he nudged a teasing finger against her snout.
"Yes, today... so what about the past week then?" He wasn't letting up. Although he still seemed calm and was moderately smiling, she could tell he wasn't joking around. Glaring, she tried to turn her head away from him—only to find that it was firmly in his paw.
"I don't know, Discord!" she snapped, finally managing to jerk her head away. That was a bad idea. Her body wavered, and before she knew it, her esophagus tightened. She heard Discord gasp and a bucket was at her side just in time as she violently retched in it. Finally pulling back with a few heaving pants, she stared into the wide, concerned eyes of her husband. He didn't say anything for a few moments, but then his eyes narrowed.
"You are going to the infirmary." His tone was a no-nonsense, non-debatable, strict growl. "NOW."
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"Golly sis, when can Ah take a small break?" Applebloom whined. She rammed her aching head against another barrel and began pushing it through the marsh in a tedious journey to reach the barn. "Ah'm getting kinda tired, and Ah think Granny made us some hot cider!"
"Now, Applebloom!" Applejack was panting herself, feeling the sticky perspiration on her face as she continued tiredly bucking the apple trees. "The...celebration for...Discord and Celestia...is gonna be here in just...a few more days! We need to buck these here apples and get 'em made into dishes to serve... to the guests, and especially the royals!"
"By royals ya mean Discord especially, right?"
"Exactly! Do ya realize how much that...chaotic vacuum eats? Keep working, Applebloom!"
The filly scowled, but begrudgingly started to fill another barrel. "Ah really don't see the point since he'll just turn the food into a flock of pigeons anyway..." Pushing the final few barrels up against the side of the barn, Applebloom let herself flop uselessly into the wet grass. Really, Applejack forgot just how little she was sometimes. As much as she loved helping her big sister out on the farm, she could only do so much at a time.
She can keep working, but if Ah don't go get a drink, Ah'm gonna die out here in the hot sun... With a loud yawn, the exhausted filly made her way into the swinging doors to the barn, where the steaming cider was waiting its arrival.
Applejack, of course, stubborn as she was, refused to take a break. She didn't bother calling her sister back once she retreated into the barn. It wasn't a crime to let the kid take a few seconds break after all.
Perhaps Ah should take a breather as well. Applejack was obviously accustomed to the typical exhaustion and sweats that came with taking care of a farm, so to be wheezing like this and feeling slightly dizzy wasn't unusual for her. The more the mare walked, the more the unsettling ill feeling began to take over.
Consarnit, I really overdid it this time. Ah shoulda taken more breaks like Big Macintosh suggested; it's taking a toll on me. Applejack's eyelids fluttered, if only to try and bat away enough of the ailment to be able to work. Her vision was suddenly blurred, and as she walked unsteadily to another apple tree, she could feel her breath begin to quicken.
What the hay is happening ta me? Applejack watched as the vibrant sun seemed to dim before her very eyes. As she gazed above, the trees seemed to be whirling in a distortion of colors. Her green eyes focused on two dangling apples, looking like shiny red orbs in her sight.
How...pretty.... Then she collapsed.
Applebloom hadn't been there to see her older sister slam into the ground, nor did she see how the country mare's body shook, but she did see the golden lump that was her sister lying under the tree as she came back outside. Not understanding the situation, the naive little filly grinned.
"Applejack, ya silly-filly! Ah told y'all'd be plum tuckered out, and looks like your energy level just hit zero!" With a giggle, she gently nudged her sister's hoof. The sick mare was completely unresponsive. A twist of fear hit the filly's heart and she took a closer look at her sister. Applejack's breathing had become erratic, gasping pants, and sweat drenched her pale face. Her body heaved and trembled, and that's when Applebloom lost it.
"APPLEJACK!!" the filly screamed, practically slamming her sister against the ground repetitively as she fiercely shook her. "SIS!!" When the mare remained unresponsive, Applebloom felt her panic begin to rise. "Applejack! Speak ta me! APPLEJACK!"
The filly began breathing heavily and started hyperventilating, whimpering out a few feeble pleas for her sister to wake up, only to receive agonizing silence as a response. "Oh—oh! Somepony help me! There's something wrong with mah sister! SOMEPONY! BIG MAC! GRANNY SMITH! HELP!"
Her screams, although unheard by the motionless, southern mare on the ground, reached the ears of five panicked ponies, who promptly galloped over to the distraught filly. Appleblom had almost forgotten that the rest of the group was coming over to help.
"Applebloom, what in Celestia's name is the matter?" Twilight exclaimed, rushing up beside the trembling little foal. "Are you alright?" It was then that Twilight saw the lump-of-a-sick-pony there at her hooves and gasped. "What happened to Applejack?!" She wedged a hoof underneath the still mare's chin, but the pony stayed silent.
Alarm bells screaming inside her head, Twilight began issuing orders. "Big Macintosh!" Twilight shouted as he and Granny Smith (at least as fast as a granny could go) came tearing out towards them. "Get her—in your wagon or something! We need to get her to the hospital immediately! Spike, write a letter to the princess, and everypony stop crowding her!"
"O-oh no!" Fluttershy cried, an ominous feeling tightening in her gut, "Will she be okay?"
"Yo, AJ!" Rainbow exclaimed, her voice warbling in fear as she tried to shake her as well. "Applejack, are you okay??"
Instantly, Big Macintosh was at his little sister's side and wriggled his way underneath her, lifting the limp pony onto his back and rolling her into a sales wagon. The ponies watched, half stunned as he carelessly bucked out three barrels of apples and caused them to smash as they hit the ground. Compared to his little sister, apples meant nothing.
"Oh please! What's wrong with her?!" Applebloom sobbed desperately, tears and sweat drenching her face. "What happened to her? Where are ya takin' her??"
"Does she need some water?" Pinkie asked, yanking a hose towards the group. "Will that wake her up?" A geyser of water gushed out of the hose opening and splashed into the southern pony' face. The water dripped off her scalding face, but she made no movement other than the harsh shaking.
Sending a parchment of paper into crackling, green flames, Spike put his inkwell and quill into Twilight's saddle bag and brushed away a few apples in the way of their path. "I sent her a letter asking to meet us at the hospital right away!"
"Thank you, Spike—let's move out!" Spike began nudging the wagon into a slow pace, but was abruptly knocked aside and into the mud as Big Mac wriggled on the saddle and began galloping out of the farm, knocking several more barrels as he ran.
"Wait, wait!" Applebloom cried, frantically trying to keep up with the herd, "I wanna come too! She's mah sister! Where are ya taking her?!" She was forced to back up a step as Granny gently took a hold of her scruff and Twilight leaned in to look at her.
"She-she'll be fine, sweetie," Twilight barely whispered, feeling the threat of tears she tried to fight for the sake of the child. "I bet she just has a cold. It's probably nothing serious." Unable to take those wide, searching eyes, Twilight turned on her hoof and caught back up with the girls.
"Twilight, what in Equestria do you think lying to the poor dear will accomplish?" Rarity asked.
"I'm not the Element of Honesty," Twilight said softly, "And I can't bear to tell her the truth."
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Celestia's stomach rolled with the uncomfortable feeling of indigestion as the eggs and lettuce fought inside of her stomach and slowly wriggled back up her esophagus. She didn't want to eat a thing, but Discord had made her. She had barely finished breakfast before the draconequus was nudging her down the hall and towards the hospital wing.
"I think I'm going to throw up," she gurgled.
"Bathroom is just in the left corridor, love~ Shall I carry you?"
"No, I just--" She paused in her wobbling steps at an ever familiar emerald flame creating a portal above her and dropping a small parchment at her hooves. With a weary sigh, the alicorn levitated the scroll with magic and unrolled it. Scanning the paper with an impatient look, a look of horror soon crossed her face and she dropped the scroll. "Applejack is sick."
Discord gave a casual shrug. "It's near fall, Tia—the time ponies get the sniffles." He blinked as his wife shook her head.
"I mean she's very sick. Seriously ill from the sound of it. ....Her symptoms sound reminiscient to what I've been going through." They both fell silent at that, the anxiety constricting the air around them. "Twilight wants me to come right away." Her horn began to glow, and she let out an indignant gasp as Discord closed a paw around it and snuffed out the magic.
"You're going nowhere," Discord said sternly. "Nowhere at least except for the hospital. Get your flanks down to the infirmary. I'll go see the girls."
The queen was much too tired to protest and only gave a tired nod, giving Discord a parting nuzzle and beginning to trudge her way to the infirmary.
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"She looks smaller than usual in that cot," Twilight whispered, eyeing her friend with tears brimming in her eyes. The usually vibrant, sun kissed mare looked as if she hadn't even seen the sun in a few years. Her skin had paled from a glorious golden to sickly orange, and her face seemed slightly sunken. She looked as if she was in the highest stage of a terminal illness.
"Maybe she looks so small because the cot seems so big," Pinkie Pie suggested, nudging the cotton mattress with her snout. "I don't even think a party can fix this... Not even my most delicious cupcakes."
Every girl was crying; Rainbow Dash was trying to hold up a tough facade, but was failing miserably, evident by the wet glisten in her eyes. "I can hardly believe Applejack is in this condition."
"How have we not noticed that she's been getting ill?" Rarity asked.
"But I was just at Applejack's yesterday morning!" Fluttershy exclaimed with a blubbering sniffle as a few large tears dripped down her snout. "And she was fine! She was corralling cows into their pens, a-and bucking t-trees, a-and..." It seemed her emotions had taken over her and she gave a sob, burying her face into her hooves. A talon began gently carding its fingers through her mane as a paw cupped her head slightly. Jolting up, Fluttershy stared in shock at the draconequus's concerned face.
"Discord," the pegasus sobbed, both in relief and misery. None of the girls had even noticed he had shown up. "D-Dis..."
"Yeah, that's my name." Perhaps it was supposed to be said as a joke, but there wasn't the slightest teasing lilt to his voice. His voice was more somber than they could remember. "Sorry I'm not Celestia—I know you wanted her."
"We don't mind who's here," Twilight said painfully. "We just need someone we trust."
Never thought I'd be on that list. "Come now, Twilight, things can't be that bad!" Discord exclaimed, slightly petting her mane. "I know Applejack is pretty under the weather, but little sicknesses come and go all the time."
Watery, violet eyes glared at him, and Rainbow Dash hastily tore off the blankets from the mare's bed. "Does this look like a little sickness to you??" The draconequus gawked at the earth pony's deteriorating condition, and at the IVs protruding from her skin. Lastly he stared up at the steadily beeping heart monitor in shock and utter silence.
"The monitor was going crazy at first when we brought her in," Twilight said, "And only recently has it stabilized."
"So she was dying?" Discord asked, shock clear in his voice. "When did she even get sick? A few days ago?"
"An hour ago." The tension could almost be cut with a knife, draping the room in heavy black clouds.
Discord gazed down at Applejack's still form and carefully scooped her up in his hands. Ponies were always tiny and could easily fit, but she seemed to have shrunk and fit pretty well. She seemed so little all of a sudden. Discord gasped quietly as she shifted, and her dim emerald eyes flicked open. Her white face scrunched up in confusion at seeing the mismatched eyes rather close to her own.
"What....huh? Discord?"
A wide grin spread across the spirit's face (it was meant to look relieved, but being it was discord it only came out in one of his usual smirks). "The one and only~! You gave us quite a fright, you know."
Dazed and confused and trying to focus on the draconequus, Applejack's eyes drifted over to her arm. She cried out when she saw the tubes protruding from it, attached to a large, colorless sack of fluid. "Wh-what in tarnation!"
"Oh, that?" Discord asked casually, "That's merely a bag of cream soda. You see, the doctors had seemed to notice your alarming cream soda deficiency—probably because of your love for healthy food—so he decided to--" Discord was cut off as Twilight angrily shoved him aside, causing him to trip and flip backwards over a cot next to her.
"How are you feeling, Applejack?" Twilight asked softly, disregarding the serious health risks as she nuzzled her critically ill friend. "We've been so worried."
"Ah....Ah feel just...fine!" Applejack wheezed out in her usual, stubborn way. "Git me...outta here so I can get back to mah farm!"
Relocating his spine, Discord rolled his eyes in exasperation and relief. "Oh yeah, she'll be just fine."
"I'm not so sure about that." The ponies jumped in alarm as the curtains surrounding Applejack's cot were abruptly pulled back and a grim faced doctor walked in.
"What do you mean?" Discord growled, ready to slam a pie-disguised anvil into his face. The girls were already freaked out enough! "What does she have?"
The doctor remained as somber as ever and his ears folded back in distress. "I don't know. I don't know the name, but I know what she has. She is not the first one to show symptoms of this alarmingly progressive illness. It's as if a wave of sickness has hit Equestria. All over the land these symptoms seem to be popping up."
"An epidemic?" Twilight gasped.
"A plague?" Discord added.
"Correct," the doctor confirmed. "It popped up in Equestria three days ago and since it has more fatalities have been reported. Like any epidemic, many patients recover...and many don't. There have been two reported deaths in Ponyville so far, and about thirty cases of the illness. The numbers are just continuing to rise."
Discord felt his body grow ice cold. To him, time seemed to have stopped. His voice sounded miles away from him, the only thing in his mind being his sick wife at home. "What are the symptoms?"
"Fatigue, shakes, dizziness; the victim becomes disoriented and stumbles a lot. The heart can go really erratic if it's a bad case."
"But I've been in town a lot!" Twilight exclaimed, "I've been supervising preparations for the royals' visits! How come I haven't seen any sick ponies?" She couldn't remember anything distinguishing; a few odd coughs, a sneeze here and there, but that was it!
"That's the thing though: the sickness comes just like that! There are no warning signs, no coughs beforehoof! Most of the victims just drop to the ground!" the doctor cried.
Discord blinked and tried to process this information. He stared at the doctor in confusion and tilted his head questionably. "Wait, it comes in a snap? There's no warning?" He shook his head, a troubled look on his face as he tried to figure things out. "But my wife has been sick for a couple of weeks now! So...what's wrong with her?"
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Why her father had decided to make these hallways so long she would never know. Why did a palace even need such ridiculously long hallways and so many corridors? She'd be happy with a tiny little house, really. At least right now she would be. Walking down all these hallways was excruciating.
Damn you, Father, she cursed in her head. As a hesitant afterthought she added, may you rest in peace. Continuing the strenuous trek (and almost throwing up several times), Celestia finally decided she had no choice but to rest against a nearby doorway. It was only five more doors to the infirmary, but she couldn't do it.
Across the hallway, a mare spotted her. Celestia could see her eyes narrow, and then they widened in horror. "Oh no, doctor!!" she shouted, "the queen has it!"
"I have wh—AUGH!" Celestia yelped as something suddenly slammed into her rear, and she suddenly fell back onto a fluffy cot. "What in Equestria?" She looked around, wincing as the swinging doors slammed open and she was suddenly in a large trauma room. "I really don't think this is necessary!"
Doctors probed at her and jabbed all over, and spoke in hushed tones as Celestia fought to get a word in edgewise. "I don't understand it. She seems sick, but she isn't exhibiting any of the symptoms the other-"
"Hey!" Celestia shouted, "What in Equestria is going on here?" The doctors snapped back with their tools and all exchanged troubled looks. One doctor sighed and turned to her.
"Your majesty, the infirmary has been packed the past few days. There is a sickness spreading across Ponyville, all of Equestria, and now it's attacking the castle as well."
"A sickness?" Celestia asked blankly, "A widespread sickness? I-I haven't seen anypony sick!" Of course, her eyes had been peeled for any threat the past two weeks, but she suspected the threat would be another invasion from a foreign land. Never could she have guessed the threat was an epidemic. "Why in Equestria's name haven't I been alerted about this until now?"
"Ponyville sent up a mail stallion yesterday, but he fell ill and died from the sickness within a few hours."
The queen looked around the trauma room and stared around at the many heaving, white bodies in the hospital cots hooked up to IVs, and there was a single, differently ailed patient with a head injury in the back of the room. "Why is he in with the sick? He'll catch the illness as well!"
The doctor hesitated, not sure if he should relay this information or not. Deciding it wasn't right to keep anything from their queen, he spoke. "That's the thing, your majesty. Cells from the victims have been taken to the lab, but we've determined that it isn't contagious. Not by air, not by physical contact, not even by fluid contact."
Celestia just stared. "That..." She shook her head. "That's impossible! If this is a wide spread illness it must be contagious! How in Equestria's name could this be hitting so many ponies if it isn't contagious?"
"We don't know," a nurse whispered. "It isn't even infecting the air. It's just...popping up."
Troubled, Celestia shook her head. "Is this...what I have then?" Her body wavered and she pressed her hoof against her mouth to keep the vomit back. She yelped as a needle was abruptly stabbed into her hoof and the vial filled with blood.
"I don't know yet," the doctor said, walking away with the vials. "But I'm going to try to figure it out."
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After sipping a few small cups of apple juice brought from her own farm, Applejack was starting to feel much like her own self. A little more lively; she was even sitting up against her pillow.
"Is there anything else you need, darling?" Rarity asked softly. "I could get you another drink, or get Discord to make a sandwich for you." From behind her, Discord scoffed.
"Get me to make her a sandwich? You know, prissy, I may have offered myself, but I don't exactly appreciate being demanded to make..." His voice trailed off as the fashionista shot him daggers and with an insufferable eye roll he snapped his fingers and created a delicious, fresh sandwich.
"Naw, now that's mighty kind of ya," Applejack began, pulling back, revolted at the sight of food. "Ah'm not hun...." Abruptly, she swiped the sandwich from his outstretched paw and practically wolfed it down in one bite.
"Geez...little monster," Discord muttered, staring at her with cautious eyes and rubbing his hands that nearly got bitten right off.
"You can call her a monster if you wish, your majesty, but what she just did is what none of the other patients has managed to do yet: she's eaten." Pressing a stethoscope against the mare's chest and taking her pulse, he turned to the group. "None of the patients yet have eaten a morsel of food. We've needed to feed them all through IV, and so what Applejack has done..." He smiled, "...It shows us all that she's on her way to recovery."
Excitedly, the ponies wrapped their hooves around their friend and nuzzled her affectionately. Discord stayed at the back wall, but he was grinning. But the smiles could only last so long.
"But what about the others?" Twilight asked softly, "What will happen to them? Will they recover, doctor?"
Grim faced once again, the doctor glanced mournfully towards the direction of the hall and sighed. "I don't know, Twilight Sparkle, I wish I did. Sadly, that's something I can't predict—no matter how many years I've been a physician."
"But what about Celestia?!" Discord demanded, "What about my wife?! She likely has the illness as well, so what's going to happen to her?"
"From what you told me, your majesty, being she's been sick this long it is highly unlikely the illness is what she has. However, that will be for the palace doctor to decide."
"But...the castle!" Discord exclaimed, "My sister, the workers...what will happen to them? How do we prevent this?"
The doctor released a shuddering, harsh breath and shut his eyes. "We can't."
"Then how do we cure the sick!?"
A heavier wave of mourn hitting him, the doctor lowered his head. "...We can't." He gave a gargled yelp as Discord abruptly grabbed him by the throat, forcing the doctor's terrified, amber eyes to meet seething vermillion.
"You're useless!" Discord snarled, his grip precariously seeming to tighten. "Everyone of you are useless!" The panicked, protesting ponies pushed their heads against his legs and begged him to stop, and after several moments, he released the doctor's neck.
Panting and staggering up, the doctor looked at Discord with sympathy in his eyes. "Until...until we find the source of this epidemic...until we find how it began, there is n...nothing we can do." He looked right up at the troubled group. "Some will live...and some will die. It's just the way it's going to be." Silently, he took his clipboard and left.
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Celestia had fallen asleep the moment the doctor left. Her head was still brimming with questions, and her brain kept shutting down on her even when she felt too anxious to sleep. With her weakened physical condition she didn't have much choice but to conk out.
The feeling of something moist being pressed to her lips is what woke her up, and she jolted slightly, staring groggily at something clear and wet looking in front of her face. It took her a few moments and a few tentative sips to realize the nurse was pressing a glass to her lips.
"How long was I asleep for?"
"A few hours," the nurse breezily responded, her horn glowing orange as it fluffed the monarch's pillows. Her voice seemed a little too cheery for Celestia's liking. "Your test results have come back and the doctor will be in shortly to discuss them with you." Before the queen could press her further, the nurse exited the room.
Almost immediately after, the doctor trotted in. His face was blank, the clipboard with her perhaps life-altering results at his side. "Good morning, your majesty. Are you feeling a little better? The nurse put some medicine in your IV for the nausea you've been having."
"Yes, I am noticing I don't feel as dizzy anymore—now what are my results?" Celestia rushed. "Do they show anything?"
"Oh..." the doctor breathed, "they do indeed."
As the doctor began talking, Celestia levitated the cup to her mouth, intent on taking another sip. Her glass smashed and scattered across the floor as he announced what was wrong with her.
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Chrysalis made her way through one of the caverns. It was pitch black, and hard to navigate through. No matter where she stepped she seemed to always stumble over something; rocks, stalagmites, and....furry things. Shaking the pebbles out of her hooves, the queen trekked on with her babies close behind.
They finally reached the clear, out in the middle of the room. Decorating a bunch of cubicles in the wall were two dozen, small jelly capsules. The capsules wiggled and wormed as the inhabitants inside tossed around anxiously, causing the entire egg to jiggle.
Smiling, Chrysalis sat in between the eggs and watched with pride as her babies wiggled inside of them. She ran a gentle hoof over the mushy substance and smiled as she saw a frail, tiny hoof touch against her hoof from inside the egg.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Maelstrom echoed, causing the startled Chrysalis to stare up at where he was hanging on the ceiling. "Who would have thought ponies come from eggs?"
"Ponies don't come from eggs," Chrysalis sniffed haughtily. "Baby changelings are the only ones privlleged enough to be born from eggs." Her ears went back at the small amount in their cubicle. "There are so little. I usually lay much more than this, but I have too little strength and magic."
"Oh, it'll come with time, my dear," Maelstrom smirked. "Why, we can't repopulate an entire species in only one day! Besides..." He slithered closer to her, a grizzly paw hanging around her neck. "There's a few matters I want to discuss with you, and I think the poor wittle babies need their nappy-bye time."
Giving her children a final glance, the changeling queen reluctantly fell into step beside him as he walked further into the cave. "What do you want, Maelstrom?" she growled.
"Why, I figured it would be obvious..." Even in the darkness, Chrysalis could see his fangs glinting demonically in the dark as he grinned. "I want your part of the deal, of course! Everyday the seal continues to weaken, and the spell that bound me here is slowly beginning to break. I've already sent Equestria a little warning of my own, but-"
"What kind of warning?" Chrysalis snapped. If he had done something to her land she would...
With another malicious smile, the entity held up a pointed claw and a swirl of black fog emanated from his finger tips. The fog soon contorted and formed an image, showing ponies all over Equestria in hospital beds, heart monitors flat lining, and collapsing sporadically all across the land. With a vicious sneer, he crushed the image and looked at Chrysalis.
"You've sent an epidemic? What is that supposed to do?"
Maelstrom laughed and slipped a fond arm around her back. "Oh, I've sent much worse than that, dear Chrysalis." He looked at her, his blood red, wet looking eyes boring into her own. "I've sent a plague. The epidemic is only the first part of my plan. "Next comes drought, then comes famine, and then—oh, maybe some fun natural disasters~!" he sang happily. "On all the realms~!"
"And mine?" Chrysalis snarled, her horn lowered and illuminated.
"Don't be ridiculous, you know you are spared!" He summoned another image, this one seeming to be of Disarray. He watched gleefully as the swirly eyed, moaning ponies stumbled about and collapsed, as their frantic king shouted orders for a doctor.
An arm draped over her again, the mare suddenly found herself being led back to the cave, and to her babies. "Now, what I need you to do is get to the palace. Don't worry your pretty, black head off—I can easily teleport you there."
"If you can teleport me out than how come you can't get yourself out?"
"The seal," Maelstrom growled, "It prevents me from leaving...for now. I need you to lure the royals, and those little fillies my way."
"You mean...the king and queen, the princess, and Twilight and her friends."
"Exactly, but I believe the Queen will be staying home. She's a little...pre-occupied with her own condition at the moment. Once you relay to them that the plague is a result of a curse from Tartarus, it won't take them very long to figure out they need to go there with the Elements. You'll lead them to Tartarus."
"What?!" Chrysalis demanded incredulously, "I'll be walking for ten days! Tartarus is on the edge of Equestria, and my changelings will starve! There is not enough food to sustain us."
"And that," Maelstrom began, hovering just above a few infant changelings sleeping away in the corner, "Is precisely what I'm here for."
Chrysalis stared up in horror as the demon's entire form was engulfed in a black fog. With a sudden surge of power, pure black beams shot into every one of the eggs, and zapped the adult and baby changelings. Their bodies twitched and they winced for a few moments, collapsing with an exhale as the spell finished.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEM?!" Chrysalis screamed in rage. Her horn sparked with a dangerous amount of energy and she charged right for Maelstrom. Hovering there in the air, he effortlessly held her away from him with a finger.
"Temper, temper, calm down!" Maelstrom chuckled. "The spell I just performed will help your babies. You see..." He slithered back over to her, "This spell is designed to lessen the amount of food a mortal needs to eat; be it food for their body, or their soul. This way you will all only need the slightest drop of ones' emotions to sustain you, and even keep your power relatively strong. You'll even be able to feed on your travel companions without damaging them. There is no way you will die of starvation."
Her anger soothing gradually, Chrysalis gave a small nod. "I see... So, when do I set off with my changelings?"
"Tomorrow."
The queen hesitated, and glanced back at the squirming little egg capsules. "What about the newborns?"
"Oh, don't worry about them—I'm excellent with children," Maelstrom smirked, "I'm the father of all the beings in this realm, children and full-fledged demons alike. I'd never hurt your children."
Looking doubtful for a few moments, Chrysalis at last gave another stiff nod. "Very well, but what in Tartarus's name makes you think the ponies will trust me to lead them to you?"
"Oh, I don't think they'll have much choice," Maelstrom laughed. "Once they know what I'm doing and that they need to get here, they'll have no choice but to turn to you for help. I have one small request though: as infuriating as I know they'll probably be, especially that kid draconequus, try not to kill any of them. I'd like them alive when they get here, especially Discord."
Chrysalis huffed, her ears pinning back in annoyance. Injuring them might be the only way she'd maintain some sanity. "Fine."
"Very well then. Go and prepare your changelings for the journey, and I advise not to bring too many of them. That spell is good for a few of them, but if an entire colony of fifty try to feed off the ponies then they will surely die."
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Celestia sat back against her cushion in bed as several servants crowded around her to try and make her as comfortable as they could.
"Would you like some tea, dear?" Rain Drizzle asked softly. It took a few tries for the queen to realize she was talking to her.
"O...oh yes, sure. Thank you, dear Rain."
"Some water, your majesty?" another servant asked. As the queen gave a faint nod they poured a cold glass of water and set it next to her tray. Another servant trotted near her side and gently threw a clean quilt on her, which Celestia eagerly snuggled into.
"You're all very kind and I appreciate the help," the queen told her workers, "But my husband will be back any minute, and he already knows something is up. Seeing you all crowding my bed might really freak him out."
The servants exchanged looks and nodded, respectfully leaving their queen with her own jumbled thoughts as she waited for her husband.
Barely five minutes later, those familiar, tired and aching mismatched feet appeared through the door as Discord dragged himself through the bedroom. The moment he lay his eyes on his sick wife, he was alert in an instant and bolted to her side.
"Celestia! How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, giving her cheek a small nuzzle with his snout.
"A little better thanks to some medicine," Celestia told him, and quickly asked, "Why do you look so tired? Hard day in Disarray?"
"You have no idea," Discord murmured. "I assume you heard of the epidemic when you were at the infirmary? It's hit Disarray as well."
"I did hear. Something must be done about that. How was Applejack?"
"Very sick; it's hard to believe that weak little thing lying in the cot was even her. She's eating though, and the doctor says that's a very good sign. I know she'll come around." The Discord smirk came back to his face. "This is the mare that survived her chickens being turned to monkeys, and her apples being turned to beach balls after all. It's also the mare that rendered me scared to go near her farm and made me always cover my backside with pillows when I did!"
Celestia laughed lightly and gave his tummy a teasing poke. "Maybe if you'd just behave you wouldn't have to worry about wearing pillows on your butt."
"How boring!" The two giggled again, but then the atmosphere once again went serious as Discord cleared his throat. "What did the doctor say?"
The queen bit her lip. She was hoping he wouldn't ask that yet, because she just had no idea how to tell him. Staring into his worried eyes, she pondered on what to do. He was always fond of riddles after all.
"...I...I think we should—um—have a new room created...next to ours! For guests maybe?"
Discord just stared at her. "Tia, we have twenty two guest rooms on this story alone. I sincerely doubt we need another—especially this close to our bedroom! We go at it like pigs and frankly no one needs to hear that."
There was a soft thud as Celestia's head flopped back into the pillow. With a groan, she pulled herself back up.. "No, hunny. I think...we really should make a new room. However...should it be pink, or should it be blue?" I'm terrible at riddles...
"....I don't know," Discord said blankly, as confused as ever. "You want to make it so bad, so the color of the walls should be up to you."
"You don't have to worry about this sickness I have," she told him, "It'll be gone in..a few months. Um...maybe a little more than a few. But—uh—there will always be a reminder of my sickness." As he continued to stare blankly at her, she looked at him with a deadpan expression. Oh, for the love of Equestria, this is getting me nowhere.
"I'm pregnant."
And with that, all the tension in the room balled itself up and crashed over the couple in waves of pure, unadulterated shock. Mostly on Discord.
Slowly, the draconequus's neck slid down to her level, his face slack in surprise. He couldn't find a functioning piece of brain in his skull to save his life. "Y... Y-You... Y-You're..." he rasped out, shakily gesturing to her stomach.
Celestia nodded.
The spirit followed her with a nod of his own, a strange grin creeping across his face. "Oh... Okay!" he murmured groggily, stumbling back a few steps as the world shifted around him. Oh, it was spinning now! He gave a little twitch, skin suddenly blanching in several different shades. His eyes fluttered, a strange, speechless gurgle riddling up in his chest, mismatched scarlet eyes rolling back in his head. "If you don't mind me, 'm just gonna...."
The alicorn stared, managing to lift herself up slightly from her pillow. "Dis... Discord?"
And with the faint words of his loving, feeble, pregnant wife ringing in his ears, Discord fainted, flopping on the floor in an unconscious heap.
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( "BUT WE USED A MILKY WAY WRAPPER! HOW CAN YOU BE PREGNANT?!"
"IT HAD HOLES IN IT, DISCORD. IT HAD HOLES. I TOLD YOU CANDY WRAPPERS ARE NOT DURABLE PROTECTION!"
WHEW! So sorry it took so long to get this done, but I've been sapped of artistic inspiration, have been busy, and I have "The Binding Of Isaac" and "Costume Quest" to distract me. :lol:
AND NO THE MAILPONY THAT DIED IS NOT DERPY. Even though I dislike Derpy...
A pulse of evil surrounded him as he walked out into the temple, and it smothered him, filling his heart with a dark, ominous feeling. Able to see the spiked, razor sharp back of the other entity, the angered stallion approached.
"Hatred..."
"Maelstrom!"
"Deceit..."
"Maelstrom!" Aegeus snarled. "Maelstrom, what are you doing?"
"Cruelty!" His voice had risen, both to drown out the infuriating stallion, and in pure excitement as the black cloud entwined with the spectrum of dark, rusted colors and began to rise. "Greed-" He was cut off as a tremendous spark of power erupted from the enraged stallion's horn, and careened into Maelstrom's spell, zapping the rusty colors into nothing and dissipating the dark cloud.
Maelstrom blinked for a moment, and rather then seethe with rage and retaliate immediately, a childish pout drew up his face, and his arms slumped to his sides, like a five year old whose block tower had been knocked over. "Oh, now look at what you did, Aegeus!" He sounded like a whiny toddler. "Now I gotta start all over!"
"What were you doing?" Aegeus demanded with the harsh stomp of his hoof. He stepped in front of the entity, forcing him back a step. Maelstrom only rolled his eyes and nonchalantly stepped away.
"Nothing but a little magic, Aegeus! Goodness, who said that there was a law against that? I mean, we are gods, aren't we?" he asked sarcastically with a dead pan look.
"I'd say that was a little more than a simple spell, Maelstrom." The stallion's eyebrows furrowed and his amber eyes blazed with fire as he snarled. "Since when do the gods use magic like that? Greed? Deceit?"
"Well, you should try something new everyday," Maelstrom responded in a low, and poisonous tone. He hopped back again as the stallion snapped at his face, his teeth bared.
"It is against the council's law to tamper with such dark power!" Aegeus hissed, and harshly jabbed Maelstrom in the chest, his blazing ember meeting blazing scarlet. "Don't forget who's in charge of you!"
It was then the entity's blood red eyes glazed over with a cool look, and hatred was immediately evident in his voice. "Oh, believe me...I never have." The stallion was in such close, easy reach. All it would take was one brutal snap and he could shatter the bones in his neck, and crush his windpipe. All in due time...
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Discord let his body casually float a few moments longer, drifting between the conscious and unconscious world. He could hear the distant, tired, and equally alarmed voice of his wife, and the exasperated and sarcastic tone to Rain Drizzle's.
His eyelids fluttered for a moment, catching the glimpse of Celestia's concerned frown, before everything melted back into darkness. He felt a hoof sharply nudge him, but he wasn't quite sure if he was ready to wake up yet.
She's pregnant.
He needed to think of something else. Blue birds and an Angel bunny cotton swab-
She is pregnant!
-a Twilight with her mane tinted a marvelous, sticky chocolate-
PREGNANT!
All at once, he shot up with a yelp, startling his wife and the servant nearly onto the floor. "PREGNANT!" he squealed, "Pregnant ponies are everywhere! They're trying to make me eat broccoli!"
Leaned back into her pillow as a precaution, Celestia gave a slight, wayward smile, while Rain Drizzle next to her mouthed, "should I get a sedative?"
"Darling..." She rubbed an alabaster hoof over her husband's tense, fur-sticking-up paw. His eyes seemed to twitch and dart around frantically, not actually looking at anything. Well, what exactly did she expect? In the middle of a world crisis, not even a month after marriage, he was going to be the father to a brand new little foal.
Or...dragon-ling... There was honestly no telling how...unique the spawn of a creature with dozens of different body parts and an alicorn would look like, but surely their child would be beautiful.
"Tia...!" He squeaked as if there was no air left in his lungs, finally managing to snap into reality slightly. "You...and...that?!" He pointed a shaking finger to her tummy, his mind a jumbled mess when he realize there was something living inside her. "There...there's a...a thing...a thing a thing in you?!" He couldn't even speak properly and just gestured blindly to her stomach with a baby inside.
Well, marriage had been fun while it lasted. In probably just a few seconds there would be a large, Discord shaped hole carved in her wall. "Yes," she said quietly. She waited, watching those hysterical, mismatched eyes as they twitched and flickered, just waiting to burst through the bricks.
Yet all at once, to the queen's shock, a large grin broke out across her husband's face, his ruby eyes simply sparkling with joy. "Oh, Tia! How wonderfully chaotic!" he practically crooned, crushing his wife, and his baby, in case he didn't remember against his chest tightly.
Shock flooding through her, Celestia's heart slowly filled to the brim with utter joy as well. He was happy! Never mind the fact there was a crisis going on, he wasn't going to leave her! "You're happy...? You're happy!"
"Of course!" Discord laughed, swinging his poor, very nauseated wife rapidly back and forth as he bounced on the bed. "Just think, Tia! A little you! A little me! A little Discord to carry on my chaotic legacy!"
Laughing with him, reality struck the queen, and she felt her eyes rolling up into her head. "A...little Discord..." A....LITTLE...DISCORD! Discord pulled back her limp, rag-doll figure enough to grin into her pale face.
"Have you told Luna yet?"
"N...not yet," Celestia croaked weakly, a hoof barely lifting enough to falter in the direction of the hall. "She's in..." Abruptly, Discord dropped her there on the bed and sped out of the room, while the queen was left to choke on her own bile and settle her aching stomach.
"Hey, Luna!" Discord shouted, practically running his startled sister over in the hallway. "How much do you hate me?"
"A lot," Luna answered, tilting her head at his large grin. "Why?"
"Because there's going to be another me!"
The night alicorn blinked and then snorted as she tried to decipher his stupid riddle, wondering what he was going on about now. It clicked within moments, and, eyes bulging, she stared up at her brother, who only nodded in excitement.
Celestia heard absolute silence for the next three seconds. It was very much welcomed in her state, and something she was going to miss. Why, in only a few months there would never be anymore silence ag-
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" The queen had no time to prepare as her positively-flipping-with-joy sister tackled her down on the bed, as well as Discord's heavy, cotton candy filled body. She moaned as her insides did an uncomfortable toss, but she could hardly hear it over Luna's screaming, and Discord's high pitched giggles.
"Oh, Tia! You're pregnant!?" Luna shrieked shrilly into her ear, causing the mare to give a wince and whisper a very nervous yes. "Oh, I can't believe it! I'm gonna be an Auntie!!"
"Not....if you both...don't let go of me!" she managed to gasp out as her face turned a brilliant shade of blue from all the death hugs and squeezes from both sides. Getting the point, they loosened up, and she took a much needed gasp for air.
The two siblings then turned to each other, hugging each other joyfully (a very rare thing with them), and chattering like high pitched hyenas about all the things they'd teach the baby, names for the baby, and etcetera.
"I'm going to teach it how to turn the flowers into puppets so it can chase the gardeners!"
"I'll teach it about all the different types of constellations!"
"How's Discord Junior for a name?"
"How about Astral?"
Celestia took this opportunity to gently ease herself under the quilts as the two continued jabbering about all sorts of ways they wanted to corrupt her baby. Not even seconds after settling, they both yanked her out again and into another, even more violently swaying, shaking, and bouncing hug. Celestia decided to keep quiet about the fact she was about to throw up on them so she wouldn't ruin the mood.
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Over the period of the next week, the world was tossed into a downward spiral of madness and tragedy All around the country, and even outside of it, disasters began to occur. An earthquake in Manehatten. A massive, smoldering heat wave in Fillydelphia, a flood in Trottinghan, and the tail end of the epidemic wiped out the lives of a thousand more – Equestria and Disarray alike - before it disappeared.
The death total was beginning to rise greatly, and the entire world was thrown into a panic as it became significant that things were seriously wrong. It wasn't something a quick spell could fix.
"Derpy, I said move the clouds to the left!" Rainbow Dash commanded, annoyed. She facehoofed heavily as the feather brain elegantly glided the cloud further to the right. Darn, probably dyslexic pony. "The left, Derps! The left!"
Tilting her gray head, the pegasus smiled and eagerly slid the cloud into the proper direction. "Sorry, Rainbow Dash. Does this look good?"
"It looks fine, Derpy." The pegasus gave an awkward smile. "Thanks." She soared up to her batch of clouds, and gave them a mighty pound. The mound of fluff jiggled...but that was it. Her violet eyes widened and she gave the cloud a harder, frustrated thump. "Derpy, can you get your cloud to rain?"
Derpy looked down at the cloud under her hooves and gave it an experimental pound. Not a single drop of rain fell. The two looked at each other in horror. These gray clouds were rain clouds, and they should be spraying water like a geyser.
"What in Celestia's name is going on with this thing?" Rainbow Dash growled as she gave the cloud a swift kick out of anger. It didn't budge.
"Is it out of water?" Derpy asked with another tilt of her head. She shrunk back as Rainbow glared at her.
"Don't be ridiculous—of course they're not out of water!" She tried to keep the fear out of her voice. There was really nothing else she could think of this being at all. Sure, perhaps one cloud could be a 'dud'. But two of them? By the look of frenzied pegasi around her trying to beat water out of their clouds there was more than two.
"Yo, Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow Dash instantly froze on the spot at the ever familiar, rugged voice above her. Sure enough, there she was, her sun yellow face etched with concern and her fiery mane seeming to have withered in stress. She looked terrible.
"Spit Fire??" The younger pegasus flew up to meet her. Lately she had been trying to get control of her emotions so not to embarrass herself in front of The Wonderbolts, but she couldn't help but gawk at the horrible one of the top fliers in Equestria was in. "What in Celestia's name--?" She quickly covered her mouth, not wanting to be rude.
Spit Fire gave a grim smirk. "No need to be sorry, because I know I look terrible." She looked ready to pass out. "We've been on the go non stop for days. We've been trying to figure out what's going on with the water." A somber look crossed her face. "And we figured it out." She took the younger pegasus's hoof (something Rainbow tried not to squeal over).
Rainbow Dash was more than confused as her hero led her out of the clouds, and took her down closer to the ground as they flew just over the very top of the trees. "How come you're taking us to the ground? Wouldn't the problems with the clouds have to do with Cloudsdale?"
Shaking her head, Spitfire dove further down with Rainbow and pulled back a few bushes. The horrified pegasus beside her could only give a quiet gasp.
The once brimming, clear lake shimmering in the sunlight was barely nothing but a withering little puddle slowly disappearing under the sun's cruel heat by the moment. The plants around the evaporated lake had died as well, and over the distant hill, Rainbow could see another crater from where a lake used to be.
"Wh...what happened to them?" Rainbow Dash cried, "What made us lose so much water? Was it the recent heat wave that just slammed Ponyville? We-we didn't have the heat that long! Although it's unbelievably hot today..."
The older pegasus shook her head, a stony look upon her face. "The Wonderbolts gave been working without rest on this case. We've been getting large buckets and forming small tornadoes to get what little water we can to Cloudsdale. We're not entirely sure why the water is disappearing so fast, but we do know the outcome if we don't solve this."
Rainbow did as well. The horrified expression as she thought of all the perishing ponies, dry, cracking lands, and famine confirmed it. "Do you need my help?" Rainbow Dash asked quietly. "I'll gladly work the nights and help you guys. I mean, I can stand to lose a few night's sleep, especially if Equestria is in danger."
A look of true admiration and compassion crossed the Wonderbolt's face as she gazed fondly at the young pegasus and embraced her. "You're truly a wonderful pony, Rainbow Dash, and we're proud to call you our friend—especially in these hard times. For now I want you to try and keep Ponyville calm, and try not to let them know about the lakes until we start getting it under control." She propped a hoof under Rainbow Dash's chin (who was absolutely frozen to the spot in incomprehensible threatening-to-explode joy). "Chin up, Dash. It'll be okay." With those parting words, she flew back up to the sky.
Rainbow Dash really just stood there for a moment with her mouth stupidly gaping. Exploding into high pitched, girlish squeals, loop-de-loops and cartwheels, she almost forgot about the current disasters.
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"Heat waves, floods, earthquakes..." Celestia threw down the scroll in anger and frustration, letting the parchment clatter to the floor and roll itself back up.
"Say it with a smile, oh solar queen," Discord sighed as he read another scroll. They were coming in twenties; Discord was honestly wondering if he'd have to have a carpenter make another room just for their mail. "I've got enough to worry about with Disarray on my plate." And now his pregnant wife.
"I've sent Luna out to Equestria to check on the country and try to stabilize as much of it as she can. I don't know when she'll be back." The queen tried to keep her voice from cracking, but a glisten shone in her eyes. It could be months before her sister returned. Catching onto his wife's pain, Discord immediately folded his arms around her.
"It'll be alright, Tia..." Discord tried to sound as soothing and comforting as possible, but really...what validity did something as insignificant as 'it'll be alright' have? Nothing. It was just a meaningless phrase said when one had lost all foundation of hope. Yet, it was all he could think of...
"Your majesties." Their faithful servant, Rain Drizzle was at the door. Like everyone else in the palace, she had lost that happy look in her eyes. "The Elements of Harmony have come to see you."
"Well, I didn't know necklaces could walk." The dracoenquus tittered at his own joke, even if nopony else would. Someone needed to stay cheerful in this situation!
The doors opened, and in came the six (albeit confused) faces as they stepped into the royal bedroom. It wasn't often they met the King and Queen in here, but right now Celestia wasn't in the condition to move around too much.
It pained both the alicorn and spirit to see the helpless look on the girls' faces, as it truly wasn't something they saw often. They were brave ponies, and they were always so confident that there was nothing their friendship couldn't fix. Up until now, that had always been the case. There was no villain here to destroy using their bond (that they knew of), and love couldn't impact a bunch of natural disasters.
Discord's eyes widened in alert at the sight of his favorite pegasus crying her heart out against Rainbow's shoulder, who was giving her an awkward, but still sincere hug. "Flutter...Butter?" He knew she was the most sensitive of her friends, and cried at the drop of a hat. Of course this would upset her.
"Oh, Discord!" Bawling, Fluttershy bolted towards the draconequus and attached herself to his chest. She was blubbering so much the spirit could hardly understand her, but he still hovered a paw over her back regardless. "M....my....an...an..!"
Twilight sighed heavily as the spirit shot her a desperate look. There was a look of true pain in her eyes. "Some of the lakes have dried up, and there's been no rain. A lake close to the forest was first to go, and a lot of the animals within it have died."
The spirit stiffened and Celestia lowered her head. His hold on Fluttershy became tighter as he shut his eyes. "So we add a drought to the disasters?"
"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said softly. "Spitfire doesn't want anypony else to know, and pretty much everpony doesn't. She wanted us to come to you two though, because the Wonderbolts just can't handle this, and we can't either."
Those heartbreaking looks all turned to Celestia and Discord, their pleading, tired eyes demanding one answer: "what do we do?"
"I'm afraid the only solution is probably not one either of you will find all that comforting."
The group spun around. The voice seemed to have come from no particular direction, but just echoed through the entire, vast bedroom. It sounded ominously familiar and not so much as welcoming. Everyone had their suspicions, but Discord was already low against the ground, his fur flaring up and his teeth bared viciously.
"Now that's not how a king should behave."
The figure stepped onto the illuminated carpet and from behind the shadows from where the curtains on the far left side of the room were closed. A shimmering, silver hoof stepped first, and a pair of turquoise eyes targeted them. The eyes looked cold and glazed over.
The tired, tensed crowd relaxed, although looked deeply confused. "Silverware? What are you doing here?" Celestia asked with a yawn. Silverware, next to Rain Drizzle, was her most loyal servant. "I gave you the day off to go check on your relatives in Fillydelphia."
The mare's eyes became more distant. "Thank you kindly for that, your majesty, but I don't need to right now." An unsettling smile crossed her face. "This was just a convenient way to get past the guards." Before Celestia could question why a servant needed to sneak back into the palace, a green light enveloped the mare.
The green magic ate away at the disguise with a crackling noise, and the group watched in horror as those gentle, serene eyes transformed into dragon like, cold and cruel irises. A single fang protruded out as she grinned maliciously at the group, and fluttered her moth-bitten wings.
Discord's mismatched eyes had contracted into shocked, tiny pin-pricks. They went back to normal as he snarled and ignited his talons in fire. "You-!!" The booming, hateful voice was enough to make everypony shiver, and set Fluttershy's waterworks off again. Discord's eyes were just blazing with sheer hatred, and his fangs were bared with the desire to flay off the black demon's skin.
Chrysalis took this time to fully take in their appearances. It hadn't been too long since she had seen that snooty Papa's girl, but it had been eons since she had seen that disgusting mess of meat. He was still as hideous as she could remember, but he had certainly changed. Wearing Aegeus's attire, crown, and a flowing red robe, he looked like a true king.
It was just then that several tiny heads poked their way out from behind Chrysalis's sea green locks. Wide, shiny blue eyes stared innocently up at the group as they buzzed and squeaked questionably up at their Mommy. Fluttershy wiped her eyes and gave a quivering smile when she saw the precious babies. She took one step and Discord stepped in front of her with a livid glare.
"Get away from those!" the spirit hissed. "I bet they're poisonous."
If Maelstrom hadn't forbidden her from killing that abomination, he'd be dead on the floor and gored through the face. How dare he say things about her children. Her horn began to ignite, but she extinguished it before doing something she'd regret. Unfortunately, Discord had seen the brief flicker and crouched in an attacking position, taking her horn flaring as a call to arms.
"Discord, stand down," his tired and annoyed wife ordered. She didn't even look angry, nor had a threatening tone to her eyes or voice. Instead of a dangerous queen bee and her colony, Chrysalis merely seemed like an annoying wasp right now. She was capable of causing problems, but there was too much other disasters going on for the queen to really care.
Still, she knew she couldn't ignore a potential threat being in her kingdom again. "What are you doing here, Chrysalis?"
The queen rehearsed what she had gone over in her head as she spoke to the mare. "I'm here for the exact same reason I'm sure a lot of ponies have as they come to you." She smirked at the saddened looks on their faces. "And they beg help from you, for you to fix the land and bring everything back to normal." She looked at Discord, and found she couldn't pass up the chance taunting him. "Indeed, isn't the all powerful god of chaos supposed to harbor the most magic in all of Equestria? Why aren't you doing anything to help them, Discord?"
His head hanging slightly, Discord's venomous pupils still darted up to her as his lips curled back in a hateful, warning snarl.
Celestia, however, seemed mildly intrigued. "You mean to tell me your land is suffering the same catastrophes?" Other than Disarray and Equestria, Celestia was certain these disasters had so far only been confined to her country, and she was therefore surprised to learn the desserts had been tainted with these problems as well.
"Indeed," Chrysalis said quietly. She feigned a convincing look of anguish as she shut her eyes. She even tried to get a few tears going to try and gain at least Celestia's sympathy, but all she managed were misty eyes. "When the sickness hit the hive, my changelings began to die. Thanks to that magical blast your damn brother and that princess used, our numbers had dwindled." She shifted her hateful eyes to Twilight.
The lavender unicorn instantly flared in anger and lowered her horn threateningly. "Well, if you hadn't tried to drain my brother's life," she snarled. Discord contemplated whether or not to let her strike at the mare, but deciding it was too risky, restrained the unicorn lightly by her tail.
"There wasn't much I could do," Chrysalis said in an uncharacteristically soft tone. This wasn't entirely part of her act. It wasn't hard to feign the true hopelessness when her children had begun to die. "I tried to take care of what was left of my children, but the sickness took so many of them. I took a few of the newborns with me and decided to find us all a new home."
Discord broke in here with a bitter snort. "And you actually think Tia and I will let you back into Equestria after everything you've done?" Celestia's face had seemed to barely soften, but her eyes still remained cold and unforgiving.
"Of course not," Chrysalis scoffed. "I wandered around with my newborns for a while...until I reached..." She walked to the window and gazed out into the distance. "...A certain set of mountains." She turned to the group, who continued glaring suspiciously. "Perhaps you've heard of them. ...They reek of death, and are set in front of a certain gate."
Never have been taught this in history class, most of the girls just looked at each other in confusion. Twilight, other than Discord and Celestia, was the only pony that stared at her with realization. "The Decaying Mountains?" she whispered, "The mountains approximately five miles from Tartarus?"
Chrysalis smirked and decided to say what Maelstrom had. "Bingo." Quickly, she washed away the smirk. She was supposed to look somber here! "I could feel the power, and the true evil the closer I got to the gates. The tremendous power seemed to be trickling out from under the gate. There was a black haze hanging over the sky. The further my changelings and I walked, the weaker we became. It felt as if that haze – which we merely thought was smoke at first – was killing us."
"Theoretically, smoke can kill you," Twilight pointed out, "It can cause suffocation, and prevents you from getting a proper breath of air."
"My changelings and I strayed closer to the gates. The closer we got, the more the answer to everything that has been going on became clear. There were cracks in the gate."
"Horse apples, you're lying!" Rainbow scoffed. "Flight school made us take some actual academics and I took a stupid history class. I listened to some of it, and I know for a fact that the gates to Tartarus are indestructible. Nothing can break them. Out textbooks of the ancient war of Tartarus's demons, and the alicorns said so."
"Textbooks don't lie," Pinkie Pie said, her tone comically serious.
"Tartarus may not be like any other gate, but it can be broken," Chrysalis told the ignorant pegasus with a sneer. "The only difference is that any other gate could probably be broken if something hit it hard enough. Tartarus's gate can only be broken once the seal containing the evil within weakens enough. The cracks prove that the seal is weakening."
The ponies all exchanged looks. There were murmurs of fear, disbelief, and anger. Celestia and Discord had frozen to the spot, a mixture of horror and confusion etched upon their faces.
"Tartarus was sealed thousands of years ago," Twilight argued, "That's what marked the end of The Great War." Everypony nodded with her in agreement, but Discord just stared at them all in confusion.
"Your point?" Chrysalis snapped. "Seals can break, as this one has. And what happens when prisons break? Well...." A cruel smirk drew up her face as she turned to look at Discord. "What happened the last time a prison broke? Or when somepony broke out of her...lunar prison?" The room had fallen silent.
"And we're supposed to believe that y'all have turned over a new leaf and want to help us?" Applejack asked doubtfully, a deadpan expression on her face. Chrysalis only gave a short, mean laugh.
"Of course not. I don't care if your precious kingdom shrivels up and blows away with everyone in it," Chrysalis taunted, leaning right up to Celestia's face and taking pleasure in how the mare was unable to really inch back in her bed. Discord viciously snapped at her, and would have ripped off half of her face had she not backed away. Yeesh, what a temper.
"I don't give a bucking horse apple about Equestria, but what's going on with Tartarus is impacting my subjects as well. My changeling race will die, as will I, if things aren't solved. The only thing that can be done is to go to Tartarus, and try to find a way to reseal the gate with the Elements of Harmony."
"Honestly, your race ceasing to exit is almost worth the price to pay for losing the entire world to Tartarus," Discord mused thoughtfully—only to yelp as Celestia gave him a fierce whack from behind. He winced and rubbed his backside. "I suppose the girls need to get to Tartarus then." The six ponies stared at him in horror.
"You must be joking!" Rarity exclaimed, gaping at the sheepish draconequus as he shrugged. "Tartarus is far from Equestria! The journey will take days!"
"Approximately eleven," Chrysalis quipped.
"I gotta protect mah family, and mah farm!" Applejack exclaimed. "There's a drought in Ponyville, and the dry weather is spreading to other towns. We need to do all we can to preserve our crops before it's too late! If our crops die, the town will starve!"
All around the room, the girls began to fret and panic.
"I have to take care of my animals!"
"I need to try and help the Wonderbolts with the clouds!"
Suddenly, a pulse of magic erupted from Twilight's horn and shot a colossal, magenta spark into the sky. It gave a loud, crackling pop, like a fire cracker. Everyone instantly shut up. Satisfied she had her friends' attention, Twilight gazed at the mares with a somber look. "Girls, we all have things we need to do...but Equestria needs us. It needs us now more than ever. We are the bearers of harmony, and it's our job to protect our land against this threat. Maybe Tartarus isn't the source of the problem, and our journey will be for naught...but what else can we do? What other choice do we have?" She glanced back at Discord and Celestia, as if she expected them to give an alternative solution, but they stayed silent.
"It's either we try and fight against this evil...or we watch our world and the ones we love perish in it." Pained, barely audible gasps sounded from the group of friends, and a look of anguish crossed every face. At last, they all gave a reluctant nod, and Twilight smiled. "We'll do it, your majesties... We'll bring Equestria back to order again."
Celestia looked down in admiration and love at the young mare, but she soon found Twilight blurring as her vision filled with tears. She drew the young mare into her wing and rested her cheek against the top of her head. Discord hovered awkwardly over his wife's shoulder, his ears pinned back silently.
"You are truly an amazing mare, Twilight Sparkle," Celestia whispered thickly as she gave her teary eyed student a nuzzle and set her down. Then, painfully, now finding herself holding back sobs, she looked up at her husband. "Discord, you will go with them."
It felt as if he had been drenched with a freezing bucket of water. "What??"
"The girls need someone to protect them. With your magic, you are as close as can get to a being from Tartarus. The creatures they will meet will be far beyond any of their strength, but not yours."
Was she insane?? "Wha—what?? No! No—Tia! No!" The draconequus clenched his fists to his side and clenched his teeth. "No! I won't!" She wanted him to leave? When there was a storm of utter, not-the-kind-of-chaos-he-liked going on? When she was pregnant?? "No!!" he shouted, enraged. "No! Never!"
"Discord, hear me out..."
"NO!" he darn well screamed, his voice crackling with emotion. "No! I'm not going anywhere! Tia—you need me! You, the baby—you need me!" Mouths all around him gaped in shock, (including Chrysalis's) but they couldn't bring themselves to celebrate right now.
"Discord, the girls need protection! They need someone to look after them! They cannot go to Tartarus on their own without the assistance of an immortal like yourself!"
Discord's face twisted in rage and hate as he felt the heat within him build. "I'm not abandoning my wife and foal just to supervise a group of stupid brats!" he snapped. He really didn't mean what he said. It was just impulse. Really, being torn away from his pregnant wife, knowing he may not ever see her again—how did they expect him to react??
"Excuse me?" Applejack growled, "What did y'all just call us?" The girls glared at him, while Fluttershy's eyes quivered with the threat of gushing with tears once more.
Trying to sooth his anger, Celestia spoke very gently. "Discord, if you don't go, something could happen to the girls."
"I don't care what happens to them!" Discord roared without thinking.
All at once, there were six gasps. The spirit whirled around—just in time to see Fluttershy burst into tears, and start crying into Rainbow. The six, shocked eyes stared up at him, before different reactions began to form. Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow glared coldly to cover their hurt as they left the room to go get packed for the trip. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie just stared up with wide, pained eyes, before they slowly shuffled out the door.
Discord sat there on the bed with his wife, holding his face in his hands. He could feel his wife's gentle and at the same time, angry glare on him. Slowly, Discord looked up at her. "Tia...you know I didn't mean it. I just...just..." He took a deep, shaking breath when he felt the threat of tears. "I can't leave you...I just can't!"
The queen nodded quietly. "I love you, Discord...I do..." She sighed, "But I also care about the girls." A small smile came to her face as she gave him a gentle and playful nudge. "And I know you do too...even Applejack. What would you do if something happened to Fluttershy?"
The very thought made his insides grow cold and twist in unbearable agony. "....I'll go. I-I will go..." He took a deep breath. "And I'll come back. I'll be back before you know it." He leaned down to nuzzle her, and a single tear dropped on her face.
Celestia pressed a kiss to his lips, and let it linger for a few seconds, before pulling back. "Do you know how to get to Tartarus?" That was an obvious no. Neither of them had been there, and Tartarus had a barrier around it restricting teleportation spells. Reluctantly, she looked up at Chrysalis.
The black mare smirked. "Oh, don't worry, your majesty. I know exactly how to get there, and I can easily lead the way for you all." She sneered up at the fuming, hateful Discord. "Provided the little colt here doesn't mind relinquishing some control." She grinned as he hissed quietly at her.
The spirit's sharp claws reached for her throat, and though he contemplated piercing through her windpipe, he thought better of it. "You touch them and you die."
"Why would I harm the ones who I'm counting on to save my land?" Chrysalis asked calmly. Discord hissed at her warningly, but he slunk out.
From the back of her mind, Chrysalis could hear Maelstrom's satisfied, and venomous purr.
Well done, Chrysalis. Proceed with step two of the plan.
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Discord grimly stepped into the portal leading to Disarray. The wacky, funny land seemed flat and lifeless as he stepped onto the other side. Even though the first few hills were made up of checker board patterns, they looked faded and old. They looked sickly.
There weren't as many ponies frolicking about. Discord knew most of them were still recovering, as were the lucky ones in Equestria, Applejack included. You could still see that shake when she walked, and she couldn't go very far. It wasn't very unlikely that he'd probably need to carry her the majority of the trip.
It was very quiet walking to his troops. He wasn't greeted by anypony on the way. Whoever was out was too busy wallowing in despair or wandering in confusion to say anything to him. Finally reaching the swiss cheese tents, Discord found his right hand man, and captain of his army.
"Sergeant Caramel Corn," Discord greeted. The general turned to him and immediately bowed.
"King Discord! It's wonderful to see you. How is the queen?"
"Irritable, and tired, and terrible looking. Oh, and she's pregnant too," Discord joked wryly. "I need you to prepare your troops." His voice had become dead serious. "We may have a war on our hands—er, hooves—soon." He didn't want to admit there was a possibility Chrysalis was right, but sadly there was. If the seal from Tartarus did break...Equestria would be no more. "I hope to be back soon to check on you. Train, train, train! Don't stop preparing for this possible war. Everypony needs to be on guard!"
Caramel Corn blinked. "Um—certainly, sir. May I ask where you're going? A vacation?"
"Yes, I am, in fact. I'm heading to Tartarus. Have you seen their brochure? They seem to have a top-notch spa!"
Caramel Corn gave a wayward smile. "I'd say something, but it would be rude to say anything about the king's taste in luxurious trips."
Discord smiled, but it quickly faded. "I'm headed to Tartarus with the girls to try and solve these bizarre things happening to the realms. There's a high chance Tartarus has something to do with it."
The stallion's smirk had fallen instantly. "Oh."
"I'll be back soon. Hopefully in less than two week's time." With those parting words, Discord exchanged a salute with his loyal captain and turned to walk back to the portal. There was an obstacle though. To be more accurate, there was a pinkish lump with a purple and white swirly mane just staring tearfully up at him.
Discord sighed. "Screwball, no, you have to stay." He moved to step out of the portal, but he could very easily hear the quiet clopping of hooves behind him. He spun around to glare at the little pony. "Screwball, I said no!"
She flopped down on her haunches and gave a pug whimper, her face low to the ground. Discord sighed and knelt down to the little one's level.
"Look, it's going to be too dangerous where I'm headed. It's far too risky for you to come along! You have to stay here. You can help Caramel with the troops!" He smiled at her, trying to coax one back. All that happened was she fell to her back and bawled, literally mimicking the sounds of an infant screaming.
The spirit gave a frustrated huff. "Screwball," he warned. She kept it up. Now along with her torrent of tears, there was the sound of a surging waterfall coming from her, as if it was mimicking the flow of tears. Discord just stared. How does she do that? "Alright, alright!" he shouted angrily, "You can come with me!"
Instantly, the tears stopped and Screwball made the sound of a party blower as she happily jumped into his arms and curled up like a cat.
The spirit blinked in surprise and stared down at the content, and sleeping little pony. He shook his head and chuckled. "Oh, my little abomination...what am I going to do with you?" he muttered as he pressed his snout against her forehead.
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It was hard deciding what to take for a few of the ponies. For Twilight she only needed her essentials, which were some food, a few books, and a check list. For what the ponies had no idea, but who knew. They might find a grocery store on their way there... Rarity of course, was a different story.
"Rarity, we can't take all of these accessories with us," Twilight sighed. "This sun hat is just far too big, and there aren't enough room for all of your shoes. She levitated a heap of Rarity's "essential" accessories and outfits and lay them in another pile.
"But Twilight, there's no telling how bad the heat will be! And I absolutely have to get another wear out of that hat and shawl before they don't fit me anymore!"
"Rarity, we have sunscreen for the heat..."
"Yeah, Rarity!" Rainbow Dash agreed as she randomly dropped a few things into one of the saddlebags. "I mean, we're going to Tartarus to stop bad guys! We're not going for a fashion show—leave your stupid hat at home!"
"Stupid?!" The fashionista was aghast."You wouldn't know fashion if it hit you on the head, Rainbow Dash!"
"Girls!" Twilight shouted. The two quieted while glaring daggers at each other. "Enough...please." She sighed and looked over at Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie, please don't fill all the saddlebags with cupcakes! I told you we need nutritious food!"
"Cupcakes are nutritious!" the party pony argued. "Pleeeease, Twilight, just a few, teeny-tiny-eeny-meeny cupcakes?"
With a heavy and annoyed sigh, Twilight relented. "Fine. Six cupcakes and that's it." She looked around as the rest of her friends gathered.
"I told Angel to take care of the animals until I got back," Fluttershy said quietly. "Or...what's left of them at least." She sniffled and looked ready to break down again. "H-he promised he would. He knows where the food is."
"And Ah told mah family they'll have to keep up the farm til Ah get back," Applejack said quietly. "But Ah have no doubt Big Mac will keep it in the best condition he can."
"Well, do we have all we need?" Twilight asked Spike. Her little assistant, perched over her back, began crossing things out with a quill.
"Let's see... Food, check! Blankets, check! Water canisters, check! Soap for quick baths somewhere where there's water—check!"
"Cupcakes?!"
Sigh. "Check! Elements of Harmony?" Spike glanced over Twilight's back, to where the mare was just delicately placing the box into the bag. "Check!"
The ponies glanced up as a shadow fell over them, and their expressions seemed to have become even more sad and grim as it did. Discord hovered above them, his hands behind his back and his ears pinned back.
"Look, girls...I..." He sighed as they ignored him to go back to their check list and last minute packing. "I'm sorr...I'm sorry." When they turned away, the spirit flew in front of them. "What do you want me to say?! How was I supposed to react? I had just found out I was leaving my pregnant wife! What else did you expect me to do?!"
The expressions on the girls' faces softened immediately when they noticed the draconequus appeared to be near tears. Of course he had acted the way he did. He wasn't thinking right, and he was distraught. Not only was he leaving his new wife, but he was also leaving a pregnant wife when all these disasters were going on! Fluttershy nuzzled his paw reassuringly. "It's okay, sweetie..."
"I don't see why you don't just stay," Rainbow Dash said haughtily. "I mean, I don't mean to say the queen is wrong, but we don't need a babysitter. We don't need an immortal just because we're going to Tartarus. Right, Twilight?"
The girls all looked at the lavender mare hopefully, but she didn't give them the answer they wanted. "Yes, Rainbow...we do need him." She looked at her friends. "These aren't just some mean monsters you find in Everfree. These are genuine demons, and we need all the help we can get to fight them. Remember the basilisks that attacked a year ago?" How could they possibly forget? "That's the kind of power we'll be dealing with. Those basilisks came from Tartarus, and now I know why."
"At least now we know why so many bizarre things have happened." The ponies turned to the serene voice behind them, and smiled as she stood there in all her ethereal glory.
"Queen Celestia!"
Discord hurried over to his wife and took her front hooves in his hands. "Tia, what are you doing here?" he frowned. "You should be in bed! You look ready to throw up!"
"I am," the queen said with a sheepish smile. "But I had to see you all off." She wrapped her wings lovingly around her husband, who immediately took her into his arms. The two remained in the hug for a few moments longer, before Celestia reluctantly let go. She held Discord's arms and looked at him seriously in the eye.
"Now, darling, I need you to listen to me. When you all reach Tartarus, you need to be at the peak of your power. That distinctly means no chaos. No pranks. You need to ration it through this journey."
Discord stared at her in horror. No chaos? No pranks what-so-ever? NO CHAOS? "Celestia, I...you know I can't do that! I can't not cause mayhem! It's what I do! I'll go insane if I can't cause a little bit!"
The queen was about to argue with his dramatic point, but she found herself contemplating. He was the avatar of chaos. Chaos was his being, and if he didn't cause any of it, that could possibly lead to some dangerous repercussions. Or, it could just lead to him being irritable the entire trip. That wouldn't be very fun either. "Fine. You are allowed three spreads a day. Just three. That means that anything else with your magic has to do with survival. Understand?"
Discord unhappily nodded.
The queen smiled and pressed her lips against his. "I love you..."
"Love you too," Discord murmured painfully. They each exchanged a tear and a final hug before pulling back. As an afterthought, Discord gave her stomach a light nuzzle.
"Well..." Chrysalis walked up to the group. She had no luggage other than the blobs of baby changelings hanging over her back. "Are we ready to leave?"
The group all exchanged looks with each other, and then began to quietly file after the changeling. After about ten minutes into Everfree, Pinkie Pie broke the silence. "I should have brought my instruments! We could be, like, a traveling circus!" she giggled. "And we could do a marching band the whole way down to Tartarus!"
"Pinkie," Twilight began in a serious tone of voice. "We aren't doing this just for fun; this is a serious mission. We have to give it out full attention, and we can't treat it as a joke. Furthermore, banging instruments and causing a racket will just attract the-" She was cut off as a zipper abruptly appeared over her mouth, shutting it.
Applejack glanced back at her friend and glared at Discord. "We ain't even fifteen minutes into this trip and already ya used up one of your magic freebies."
"Oh, that wasn't my magic freebie," Discord said simply, "It was for survival."
"And what in tarnation does zippering her up have ta do with survival?"
"Simple; if we're going to last this trip, we have to shut her up once in a while."
From the front of the line, Chrysalis merely rolled her eyes. Co-ruling with Maelstrom better be worth the time she had to spend with these idiotic foals.
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(The part where Discord scolds Screwy for following him reminds me of the part where Bullseye tries to follow Woody out of Sunnyside in Toy Story 3. c: Especially sneaking on hooves
Chrysalis has her work cut out for her.
Sadly, this is the unedited version. My editor is very busy and I have to wait for this to be edited. Excuse the fact nothing is indented, but this was taken from deviantart formatting (other than changing the italics), and my laptop is so bad that I can hardly copy paste anything. I tried copy pasting this fic into here and it took three times and three freezes. Yeah. Wonderful, eh? So I wasn't going to risk re-copy pasting again.)
Chapter 4 - Never Underestimate The Little Creatures
A claw tenderly caressed a lavish stone in an almost loving manner. Even through the shroud of black in the back of the temple, Maelstrom's vicious and gleeful grin could be seen as he looked over each and every one of his beautiful creations.
The rusted, colored stones lay there in his palm, each swimming with a hateful, and demonic aura. They were truly the most amazing creation, and far better than anything the other gods could come up with.
Especially Aegeus... Just the very name shuddering in his skull made the demon want to crush something in hate. He couldn't though. What was in his claws were his stones, and he didn't spend all this time, effort, and work into making something, just for it to be destroyed out of his own loathing of the alicorn.
“No...You must be kept in a safer place,” Maelstrom muttered to the stones as he carefully dispelled them into a black smoke, causing them to vanish from the air. Just in time, it seemed, as a warning, punishing streak of flames from Aegeus's horn scorched his face.
Aegeus couldn't help but smirk with dark pleasure as the surprised creature gave a screech of pain and desperately clasped his hands to his face, before spinning to the alicorn, absolutely seething. If it wasn't for the fact Maelstrom wanted to stay designated to his plan, that infuriating stallion would be a melted pile of flesh on the temple grounds.
“You're lucky that's all I'm giving you for what you've done to the book!” Aegeus snapped. Maelstrom should be grateful since the council had deemed him to be punished severely and all Aegeus had done was blast him. “Sympathy isn't very pleased with you either, and the council is just about done with you! You are to be condemned to the temple until the council can figure out what to do with you. You aren't to help out the other gods at all!”
Maelstrom tried to keep his face as straight as possible, but when Aegeus turned away for a moment he grinned into his claws. His plan had gone perfectly. Corrupt the book and get imprisoned in the temple? Now that's what I call killing two birds with one stone.
“You know you're not to tamper with that book,” the stallion snarled. “What you've done to it isn't something that can be easily erased.”
“Like permanent marker~!” Maelstrom sang. He hopped away with an almost childish, poisonous giggle as Aegeus stabbed at the air with his horn and snorted. “Just go see Sympathy!!”
He waited until the spirit had flown from the temple, and the livid glare on the retreating form turned to one of stress and sadness as he gazed down at the pit that still had the faint outline of a black aura from Maelstrom's earlier spell. His ears pinned back as he shut his eyes.
The penalty for Maelstrom's deed was supposed to be death, or at least an exile of some sort, but the stallion had decided in his heart against it. He had known from the beginning that the god was nothing but bad news, but out of the respect to Sympathy, and out of his pure heart, he could never kill the god. Maybe if Maelstrom knew Aegeus was protecting him he'd finally come to realize that his soul had been tainted.
But from the immortal that was soon to become the god of death and suffering that was a wish that would never be granted.
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“I'm tired.”
“Discord...”
“And hungry!”
“Discord...”
“And I'm thirsty!”
“Discord!”
“What?!” the draconequus finally snapped. He was beginning to regret unzipping that unicorn's mouth. Of course, he could maybe do a make-shift gag out of tree leaves and stuff it in her mouth, but he didn't think Twilight's friends would really appreciate that...
“We have been hiking for a half hour!”
“So?” the petulant and coltish Discord pouted as he made a big show of crossing his arms and slumping there in the air. Didn't these ponies realize just how much candy he needed to eat to keep up his strength? Why, more candy than the number of cupcakes that were cranked out of Pinkie Pie's bakery in a morning! “I'm far bigger than you little ponies, and a big draconequus like me needs to eat!”
“You don't need to point out how big you are,” Fluttershy giggled impishly, which heightened in volume as the spirit gave her a playful swipe.
“I hate to agree with the dog, darling, but I share his sentiments,” Rarity said from the back of the line. “You have to remember, Twilight, between the shortage of food in Ponyville, and the fact we were shoved into this journey so quickly, we've barely eaten anything all day!”
The rest of the girls looked at each other and at their bellies, which only then groaned in discomfort to confirm what Rarity said was true.
Chrysalis only rolled her eyes and continued trotting on with her babies. Ponies (and all species) and their need to constantly ingest materialized things... She and her children had been feeding from the group the entire time, and they hadn't even noticed. Combined with Maelstrom's spell, changelings didn't actually need to consume much in a day. The fact she wanted all the emotion she could get was just for the sake of having power.
“We really shouldn't dip into the supplies this early, guys,” Twilight pointed out. “We didn't pack that much food. Aren't there any fruits or berries nearby?”
“Aren't you all grazing animals?” Chrysalis asked flatly. “Just eat the grass.”
“Ah do actually see a bush in the distance,” Applejack said. “It's got a whole bushel of berries from the looks of it.”
Discord, who had been listening to the girls the entire time, just threw up his hands in exasperation and angrily tapped Twilight's head with his knuckles. “Hello, earth to Twilight! Earth to ponies! Are you forgetting you have a wonderful, handsome, and magical being on your team here? I'll just poof us up some sandwiches!”
The violet mare only shook her head at him. “Discord, Celestia said you should only use your magic when we really need it, just in case you need to be at your peak for something we encounter. If there's food nearby we should take advantage of that rather than waste unnecessary magic.”
What, did the ponies think his magic was a puddle and if it dried up it would be gone forever?
Pinkie Pie shifted a few things in the saddlebag to make room for the berries and followed Applejack to the bush. A bored Screwball decided to follow them.
Twilight visibly didn't look to pleased that they were stopping to take a break only a half hour into the journey, but she knew it would be mean not to; not to mention the fact they needed to take special care of Applejack, who had only just recovered.
The rest of the gang dropped their saddlebags and sat underneath a shaded tree to wait for the two mares. Twilight levitated a canister of water out of her bag and started passing it around to her friends. As Discord took a drink, he smirked and handed it back to Twilight.
The mare, deciding against common sense and instinct, took another swig—only to spit it out in sheer disgust from the putrid taste of salt. “Discord!!”
The draconequus howled with laughter and rolled about in the grass, clutching his stomach and pointing to her flushed face. “Ohoho, that's priceless!”
Seething, the mare stood over him. “That water is part of the necessities you aren't supposed to tamper with! We need to make sure we have enough so we don't get dehydrated on the journey, otherwise that could be dis...” The silver zipper was summoned up as the smirking spirit sealed her mouth shut and leaned over her shoulder.
“You were saying, dear?”
Face as red as a tomato, the embarrassed unicorn unzipped her mouth with magic and growled at him. “And you just used up one of your freebies! Now you only have one left, since you zippered my mouth shut earl...” There was the zipper once more. The ponies all gaped at each other. He was asking for it.
“You insufferable, horrible... Leave me alone or else.” By now it was clear what the spirit wanted: a magic duel. Twilight refused to indulge him. She normally loved having magic duels with him and they had them weekly. For the past few months now the spirit had taken her as a pupil of his own, in a sense. Silly pink clouds and flavored milk aside, he actually had some pretty good attacking and defending spells he had taught her.
“Or else what?” Discord taunted. His eyes were alight with a playful malice.
Deciding the best tactic would be to just ignore the imp, Twilight turned to her friends. “If we continue on without anymore stops we should make it out of Everfree by this evening. There we can stop and take a rest, and have a real meal.”
“I packed some cucumber and hay sandwiches,” Rarity suggested, “Even some lemonade.”
“And I packed some vanilla and chocolate swirl cookies!” Spike grinned. “I managed to whip up an entire batch in just an hour. We can have those for dessert.”
Twilight shook her head at her friends, which prompted questioning pouts. “I know we're all hungry, girls, but we need to carefully ration our food, remember.” Barely a moment after those words passed her lips, she was suddenly drenched in a downpour of thick, green goo from above.
“Hey!” Spike growled, shaking his fist at the laughing draconequus. “You leave her alone, you big bully!” He watched as Twilight stood there, motionless. Slowly, she turned to the draconequus with a fire in her eyes.
Oh, it's on.
The laughing Discord squealed as magical, purple binds suddenly appeared around his ankles and wrists and bound him together. Right before Twilight pounced on him, he snapped away the bonds and blew her back with a powerful gust of wind. “How about a little pepper with your salty water, Sparky~?”
The violet mare looked up, only to start sneezing uncontrollably as a vial of pepper appeared over her head and started to shake out large, gray flakes all over her. Although her magic didn't specialize in summoning something out of thin air, she improvised and influenced a mound of dirt nearby to explode into a puff of brown clouds and cover the spirit.
“Yeah, you get him, Twi!” Spike called out as he cupped his claws over his mouth and cheered. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy cheered as well.
Chrysalis, sitting as far away from the group as possible, only rolled her eyes and glowered at the duel going on in disgust. It seemed this group of idiots wanted to make this trip as unbearable as they could.
Just then, Twilight tied Discord's tail to the tree with magic. The changeling found herself giving a smirk as she watched the unicorn assault the draconequus with a Styrofoam baseball bat. Of course, if traveling with these girls meant she'd get to see Discord get frequently beat up, then maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all.
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“Pinkie Pie, there's a cherry tree!” Applejack's happy voice rang in excitement from beside the pink pony as she continued examining the berries. They had walked all this way, just to discover the stupid berries were poisonous.
“Ouu! You know, we were running low on cherries when I left Sugar Cube Corner,” Pinkie Pie pointed out, “And I bet I could get a whole hoof-full of berries to bring back to them!”
Applejack hated to dash the party pony's enthusiasm, but she needed to point something out. “Hun, by the time we get back to Ponyville the berries will be spoiled. ...Pinkie?” The peppy pony was already skipping up to the fruit tree.
Eying the area with a dopey smile, Screwball happily cantered on after them and sat just under the big cherry tree.
“Whoa, that tree sure looked a lot tinier from the distance,” Pinkie mused in awe as she stared at the towering tree above them. Its sturdy, chocolate brown form was twice the size of the fruit trees in Ponyville, with thick branches that tightly clutched onto their fruit.
“It's probably because we're further in Everfree,” Applejack responded offhandedly as she made her way to the tree. “It ain't nothing an experienced bucker like me can't handle!”
Confidently, she made her way to the tree and gave it a sharp buck. The sound of her leg thundering against the bark echoed through the vast area, and so did something else.“....YeeeeOOOWWW!!” The southern mare hopped back in agony and clutched at her throbbing back leg, muttering a string of curse words under her breath.
Pinkie Pie winced a little herself and glared up at the tree. “Here, let me try doing what Mrs. Cake does when she wants me to do something. Ahem. ....PINKIE, YOU GET DOWN HERE AND HELP THE CUSTOMERS, AND STOP STICKING GUMMY BEARS TO YOUR LIGHT TO MAKE A GUMMY BEAR CHANDELIER!”
Her screech echoed and caused the leaves to quiver around them, but nothing else happened. “Well, I got nothing.”
Applejack didn't answer. Her attention was diverted to the pink and purple pony hovering in the air and communicating with a frog on her belly. “She can float? Well, she is Discord's...pet.” It was worth a shot. Smiling, Applejack looked up at the pony. “Hey, ummm...” Consarnit, why didn't we ask Discord what her name was?
Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin thoughtfully with her hoof and tilted her head at ScrewBall's cutie mark. “I think Dissy said her name is....Screwy.”
Shrugging, Applejack turned back to the loopy mare. “Screwy, could ya help us with something?”
Screwball looked right at Applejack and blew a raspberry in her face. PBBBTTFFFF!
Applejack slid her eyes shut and wiped the saliva off her face. “Uhh...we need y'all to float up to that tree and pick some berries. Think ya can do it, Sugar cube?”' The response was just another raspberry, and Applejack angrily wiped her face. “Ugh! Ah don't even think she understands a word Ah said, Pinkie!”
Gasp. “Wait, look!”
Screwball was happily levitating up into the air and hovering closer to the top of the tree. The ponies below gave a whoop of joy—up until the floating mare darted back down to the ground, cowering, and without any berries.
“What gives?!” Applejack demanded angrily. “Ya scared of heights or something?” Her frustration increased when the pony only shook her head and suddenly mimicked an unsettling buzzing sound.
“I think we broke her!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Fed up with trying to get their food, Pinkie Pie shook her head and motioned far back to where the girls were sitting. “AJ, let's just go back and ask Twilight if we can dip into the food supply a little. Maybe cupcakes~!”
“No!” Applejack snapped. “If y'all wanna head back that's fine, but Ah'm bucking those berries off!” This wasn't even about food anymore; it was about her pride. She lowered her head and scuffed her hoof into the dirt. Right before she charged, Screwball suddenly jumped in front of her and started buzzing frantically. Angrily, Applejack pushed her aside. “Look, if y'all are scared of something than just git! Ah said Ah'm getting those cherries!”
Screwball's ears lowered as a pug whimper sounded from her. She backed away shamefully on all fours and started following Pinkie Pie back to the rest of the group.
Applejack snorted and eyed what was now her most loathed enemy: the tree. She lowered her head and galloped towards the tree, snorting in rage. Right before careening with the large mass, she whipped her body to the side so her entire right side slammed into the structure. As she expected, the leaves above shook, and finally, finally, nearly all of the cherries came tumbling down.
The country mare let out a cheer of happiness and bucked the air joyfully. Suddenly, a large, spherical structure slammed into the grass beside her. Applejack winced and glared over. What the hay...? She could only stare in horror as a dark cloud rose above her.
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“Uncle! I cry Uncle!” Discord finally managed to choke out through his laughter as Twilight continued her three minute attack on him by enchanting a bunch of feather soft blossoms to attack the spirit. He was helpless, stuck in the flowers as they kept nuzzling him all over his body with their fuzzy leaves.
“Oh, so you forfeit the duel~?” Twilight couldn't stop grinning. It was never too much of a surprise when she beat him, because her final attack was always to tickle him, and that's what broke him. Maybe it was a little unfair, but he cheated at everything too!
“I do, I do! I...” Through his cackling, Discord could hear an unsettling sound in the distance. It was loud, screechy, and very familiar. “St-stop for a minute...I hear something.”
“Yeah, it's your own girlish screams, Freak show!” Rainbow Dash laughed.
“No really! Stop!”
Whatever Discord was hearing, Chrysalis was as well. Her ears were up and alert and she had pulled her babies closer to her. As much as she hated to stop the spirit's torment, there was no way she could decipher what the sound was with his babbling and giggles. “Stop...and listen.”
There was no mistaking the intense urgency to their voice, so Twilight released her influence on the flowers and looked questionably at the draconequus and changeling mare. That's when the rest of the girls heard it; the shriek of a siren and a deadly, roaring buzz was unmistakable.
Having recovered completely from his laughter, the now vigilant, on guard draconequus stood in front of the girls, in a protective manner and eyed the distance.
That's when they saw the deadly, angry ball of glowing amber closely pursuing two certain ponies, and one little purple one that was frantically wailing like an alarm in alert.
“BEES!” Twilight shouted.
Screaming, the group took off frantically through the forest. Flying deliberately at the back of the line, Discord immediately engulfed the ponies in a protective bubble that were galloping in front of him, and he wormed his way to the back of the shield to look at the three still bolting through the trees, far behind.
“Applejack, Pinkie, Screwball! Try to get close enough to the shield so I can pull you in!” He poked his hand out, only for a bee to stab it with a stinger. Jerking back with a yowl, he stared at the fairly large insect glaring at him through the other side of the bubble.
The bee was huge, and intensely fierce looking. The most concerning thing about it was the unsettling, and seemingly demonic glow to its blood red eyes. These were not ordinary bees. The spirit stared, memorized for a moment longer, and then snapped back to attention and yanked the three trembling mares through the shield right before the bees impaled them.
The frightened group inadvertently huddled together as the billowing clouds of insects continued to pelt at the shield. Discord watched with terror as they quickly began to wear away at it. “I don't understand! Sure this shield isn't indestructible against something like a basilisk or a harpy, but its force should be enough to disintegrate these bees on impact!”
Chrysalis was the only one of the group to easily understand what was going on here. Tartarus's seal was weak enough for Maelstrom to carry out his influence across the land, and his poison could easily corrupt the minds of the creatures that lurked across the country. With Maelstrom's curse and him not there to control the demons, this could be a very dangerous journey. For all of them.
“The force field will not hold forever,” Chrysalis said. “We need to get out and fight them. These bees are being controlled by the demons in Tartarus, and they're ten times more aggressive and dangerous than normal bees, as is everything else in this land.”
Twilight pressed her snout against the bubble, curiously, and shrieked as a bee's stinger stabbed the bubble outside, inches away from her eyes. “The best thing we can do is to split up once we get out of the shield. It will confuse the swarm and they won't be sure who to attack. Discord, is there any way you can provide a distraction?”
The god scoffed, as if what the mare had asked was the most absurd thing he had ever heard. “Easily~!”
“And Chrysalis, is your magic strong enough to attack?”
How weak did these stupid ponies think her magic was? “Of course.” She cringed, as did Discord, when the two realized they needed to collaborate together to defeat the swarm. “I doubt we can scare the swarm away, but enough attacks should be able to kill one group at a time.”
“Alright, girls, brace yourselves to run!”
There was a tense moment of silence, save for the buzzing amber, and the group of ponies split the moment their hooves hit the earth. The bees buzzed angrily and in confusion, not entirely sure where they should go. As the swarm targeted the retreating backs of Twilight and Screwball, Discord engulfed the large forest in a shroud of darkness, effectively blinding the insects and the ponies.
“Oh that's your idea of a diversion?” Chrysalis snapped, “Blinding the ponies so they can't see where they're running to?”
“Oh, just trust me on this!” the spirit snapped. “I know what I'm doing!” As he predicted, the furious and deeply confused insects flitted around angrily, but could see nothing in the darkness around them. “We need to combine our magic for one blast that will send these stupid things straight to the moon.”
The prospect of teaming up with the meat rug made fighting a basilisk with a toothpick far more appealing, but she knew a strong blast might be the only thing that could affect the monsters. “Alright...”
The two lowered their claw and horn, and instantly a burst of power emanated; one aura green and one golden, and they entwined together in the air, twisting to create a blast of ribbon-like magic. It would have been a fatal hit and it would have disintegrated each bug on impact, had it hit them. The surprisingly intelligent insects split in the middle and swerved out of the way from the attack, which promptly singed through the trees behind them.
Chrysalis stared. “Oh-”
“-Crap,” Discord finished for her.
The enraged swarm targeted thousands of beady, glowing red eyes on them both, and their synchronized buzzing became louder. Abruptly, they dove for the spirit and changeling. The two hopped back in terror and ducked at the last second, causing the swarm to barely miss the top of their heads.
“This is ridiculous,” Discord snarled, “I'm ending this now!” He clapped his hands together, and an instant burst of golden fire shot to the swarm. Once again, they used the same tactic as last time to avoid it.
“It's no use,” Chrysalis said. “We need to attack from behind them. Whatever they see us do they can fly to avoid it. They're faster than normal bees.”
“They're everything more than normal bees!” Discord exclaimed, as he swatted futilely at one of the insects. It didn't even faze it. The spirit tugged at his ears in frustration as he tried to hatch a plan in mind. Finally, the proverbial light bulb going off, he grinned. “I've got it!”
With a snap, he had conjured a house sized, white cloud...that was dripping. There wasn't rain coming from it, but the cloud itself was dripping gooey, white drops. The spirit instantly teleported with the cloud, abandoning Chrysalis and leaving her alone to fight the bees.
The changeling queen seethed with hate. Of course it wasn't too much of a surprise that he just left her to be stung to death by the vicious bugs, and if she had her way, she'd probably have left him to die as well. With nothing to do but to defend herself and her children, Chrysalis stood her ground against the insects.
If it wasn't for the fact she promised Maelstrom she'd protect the ponies, she would have lured the bees straight for them. The changeling queen powered her aura and created a weak shield, but aimed it only to protect her babies.
The swarm hummed lowly in the air and prepared for the fatal dive to end her. Chrysalis backed up, to the shield. If she was going to die right now, she at least wanted to be as close to her children as possible. The insects made their fatal dive, and the queen shut her eyes to prepare for the end.
The end didn't come. Rather than hear the deafening buzzing and feeling the thousands of needles pierce her, the queen heard what sounded like a wet, loud squish, and opened her eyes. Discord was inches away from her, laying on top of a giant ball of glue (which she now realized was the cloud from earlier), and trapping the ball of buzzing amber. Chrysalis could hear the muffled hums coming from the wet goo as it wiggled around.
Breathing heavily, the queen stared up at the draconequus. He glared back at her, coldly, and pried himself loose from the glue. “Girls, you can all come back now!”
Moments later, several heads poked out from behind the trees as the ponies (and dragon) came trotting back. Fluttershy and Screwball galloped into the spirit's arms and wept.
“Are you alright?” Twilight demanded, horrified at how puffy some inflamed welts were from a few stings. “We should never have left you two alone!”
The spirit waved a swollen hand dismissively. “Nonsense, I promised Tia I’d protect you and I wasn’t breaking that promise.” He’d never say it, but his desire of protecting them stemmed from way more than just having his wife order him to.
“Are we sure those were even bees?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “I mean, I don't remember the bees in Ponyville being that big and...and...”
“Merciless,” Twilight finished. “They weren't even just aiming to protect their hive. They wanted to kill us all...”
“What we've all seen is only the beginning,” Chrysalis began in a grim and quiet tone. “The seal of Tartarus is becoming weaker by day, and the more it breaks, the stronger its power on this land will be. It may very well be controlling every feral creature in this land right now. We must always be on our guard with whatever we fight. The fact that Tartarus's influence is slowly turning them all demonic means they will be challenging foes.”
“Basically, what's in this journey could snap us all like a toothpick?” Applejack gulped.
You have no idea, Chrysalis thought gleefully. It would be interesting to see what Maelstrom planned to do with them, and she could sense one amazing fight to the death would commence between Discord and Maelstrom, that she'd be all too happy to help out with.
Still, she fabricated an almost sad look as she hid her secret pleasure. “That's exactly what I'm saying. However, we do have almighty chaos with us, so I think we have a strong chance against the monsters we'll encounter.”
The group was silent for a few moments as they contemplated this. Finally, Twilight quietly spoke. “Well, we better keep moving then. If we're still out walking by the time nightfall hits there's no telling what else will find us.”
“Ah just wish Ah managed to get those cherries,” Applejack said glumly. She stared as several, glistening red orbs were held up to her face by a pink hoof.
“Lucky for us, I managed to run back and get them when we ran from the bees!” Pinkie Pie giggled.
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Discord wasn't certain what time it was, but he knew that judging by how high his sister's moon was in the sky that it was late. The rest of the ponies were asleep, huddled up under one large blanket he had conjured for them. He knew he should probably sleep as well. Twilight had promised to wake them all up at the very crack of dawn, and she wasn't one to neglect a schedule. The draconequus found he couldn't sleep though. He needed to do something. He needed to write.
Dear Tia,
You know, it's strange how I managed to live without you for thousands of years and yet I can barely even stand one night without you. Corny, isn't it? I never thought I'd turn into...'that kind of guy', but...I just miss you so much. I guess this is what they call 'love'~?
It was strange not eating dinner with you, and having you force me to eat my vegetables. Of course, Fluttershy has taken over your part for now. ......And I just realized what I just said. Oh, gods—you know what I mean!
We ran into some bee trouble today. Apparently along with the plague on the realms, the feral creatures around here are going from dangerous to pure evil, insects included. Don't worry, I protected the girls like I promised. I even took a few stings to save them. You owe me a big cupcake when I get home!
P.S. How's...dear chaos, it still sounds so surreal. How's our baby?
He gently tied the scroll with a ribbon and smoothed a paw over it. He half wondered if hugging it would make her feel like she was getting a hug, but then he gagged to himself at the disgusting sentiment.
This time at night is usually when the two would either be asleep in each other's arms, or staying up later to enjoy their private time of husband and wife that they didn't have a chance to do during the day. Instead, his beautiful queen was all alone...and probably puking. Luna wasn't even there for her. There was nothing but servants she hardly even knew, and a plague all around her.
Bowing his head, the spirit thought he might have done something stupid, like cry, if he didn't hear the cautious little voice beside him say his name.
“Discord?” The baby dragon could hardly be seen in the shadows, but Discord knew he was there. Those blinking, emerald eyes easily confirmed it. “What are you still doing up?”
He shrugged a listless, quiet shrug. “Nothing really. I was just writing to Tia...” What about you?”
“I...well I have a really hard time sleeping away from home.”
Discord nodded absently and looked down at the letter in his palm.
Spike shifted awkwardly for a few moments and held out his claws tentatively. “Oh, well... You know, I can send it off for ya if you want.”
The spirit looked down at the parchment and back at the child. He could probably, easily send it off with his own magic, but since Spike was nice enough to offer he accepted and rolled the parchment into the dragon's claws.
Taking it, Spike dispersed it into the air with a crackling green flame, and watched the embers soar off into the distance until they couldn't be seen. The two sat there in silence for a bit, not sure what to say. Truth be told, they didn't converse much. Spike was always too nervous to approach the intimidating spirit, and what conversation they did have was usually Spike yelling at Discord for messing something up with his chaos or tormenting Twilight.
It probably would have spared them both the awkwardness if Spike had just gone back to the tent, but for some reason the baby dragon didn't budge. He could just feel...sadness from Discord. He could tell he needed someone to talk to...that he needed a friend.
“Are you homesick?”
“Yes,” the spirit answered. He turned sharply to the child. “Why, did you look at the letter?!”
“N-no, no!” Spike squeaked, waving his hands in front of his face. “It's just...well, it's easy to tell with just your expression and body language.”
A hint of a smile turned up the spirit's face. “Not too stupid for a baby.” It quickly fell again. “Yes, I'm homesick. I know it's stupid since it's only been one night-”
“I don't think it's stupid,” Spike cut in, “I think it's nice you miss Celestia. It's normal to want to go home when you're away from it.” He shrugged to himself with a sheepish smile. “See, I've never really had that feeling of homesickness because I've never really left the people I love. The biggest move I made was from Canterlot to Ponyville...but it was really from one library to another library.”
Discord stared at the hatchling, confused. “Don't you ever miss your dragon family though?” He watched as the baby almost instantly silenced and looked down mournfully at his claws. “...Oh.”
“I don't really know who my original family is,” Spike told him, feeling a slight pang in his heart as he tried again to remember where he used to be before Canterlot. “I mean, I was hatched by Twilight, and that was it. Twilight is like my family. She's kinda like a sister...” He shrugged, and then said very quietly. “Kinda like a mom...”
“Well, you're not alone on the whole not-knowing-where-you-came-from deal,” Discord said, “because I have no idea where I originate from.” He shut his eyes. “The thing is, although dragons aren't the most pleasant creatures, they're not downright diabolical. They're just fierce creatures, so you don't really have to worry about the kind of folks your biological family are, but I do. ...The theories of where I come from are not very happy ones.”
Listening intently, and with a look of concern in his young eyes, Spike watched Discord's face contort to a mixture of anger and inner turmoil.
“I'm said to have spawned from demons from Tartarus, or else I was born from the world's negative energy and hate. The servants were so afraid this was true, so many of them tried to kill me when I was only a child. The palace seer advised my adopted parents to drown me.” Discord felt something odd on his tail and he turned to see Spike was clutching to it, as if he needed it for security.
“Well...you-you know you don't come from demons,” Spike stuttered out, but the draconequus shook his head.
“That's just the thing, Spike; I don't. I don't know where I come from!” The look on his face was desperate. “I don't know who my parents are or if I even had any for that matter! I don't know...why I'm the only draconequus in the world now. I don't know what happened to the others, and I don't know if my parents were killed sometime in the past.” He closed his eyes. “I just don't know...”
It was a very unusual sight for the hatchling to see the spirit in such a sad and desperate state. He didn't think he knew any other emotion but happiness, and he didn't think he was capable of any facial expression other than his usual smirk. The two were a lot alike though. They were both dragons, both orphans, and both different.
“I know you'll find out someday,” Spike said, “And I'm sure I will too. And you know, it doesn't even matter where you came from, really. The only thing that matters is who you choose to be. At least, that’s what Twilight tells me. I come from a fierce race, and I know that. I come from very mean creatures, but I don't choose to be them. And you don't have to choose to be your...family, if you really were born from demons.”
His expression changing, the draconequus looked down at the child.
“And you haven't chosen to be like the demons,” Spike continued with a gentle smile. “I mean...you've done some bad stuff, but, er, I kinda have to!” He giggled slightly. “Did you hear about my rampage in Ponyville? I think I destroyed more than you did in your reign! You haven't chosen the path of a demon. I mean, well, you have a family now. You're married to the princess—er, queen--you have a sister, friends, and you're a king for crying out loud! Plus, Twilight tells me you're going to be a father?”
A slight smile came to Discord's face and he chuckled. “Yes, I suppose that's true.”
“Well there you go.” Spike shrugged and grinned. “I've never personally met a demon, but I've listened to enough of Twilight reading from her books, and you certainly don't sound like the demons she's read about. It's just my opinion, but I don't think you have much to worry about...”
He had to admit, the usually annoying kid he really just used as a prank target was very bright, and even comforting to some degree. “Um...thanks, kid.” He smirked slightly. “Tell you what, if you can help me find a way to dye Twilight's mane green with pickle juice when she's sleeping I'll help you find your real parents someday.”
Spike giggled to himself at the thought of a green maned Twilight and smirked. “Deal.” They shook on it, and yawning, Spike finally got up. “I should try to get to sleep again...and you should try too. Not sure how I'm gonna—it's so hard sleeping away from home.”
“You should have Fluttershy sing you a lullaby. It works wonders.” He stared as Spike gave him a weird look. “I mean...I wouldn't know that.”
The baby dragon giggled to himself and slipped back into the tent as Discord continued sitting there at the edge of the hill. Right when the spirit finally decided to turn in for the night, a bright flash lit the area he was standing in, and a scroll dropped to his feet. Hurriedly, Discord snatched it up in his claws and started reading.
Dear Discord,
I'm glad I'm not the only one having terrible insomnia tonight. Our bed seems so empty right now. It's actually so depressing to sleep in that I've taken Luna's bed.
We got a report from Luna, actually. It's not going too good in Trottinghan. They got an earthquake earlier and it wiped out a good portion of the town. Luna is there trying to stabilize and calm everypony down, but there isn't much she can do but clean the damages.
Don't worry, I promise you I'll have a mountain of cupcakes ready for you when you get back. I'll even put extra dill pickles and gumdrops in the batter...Ew.
I'm hoping the baby is feeling better than I am. It feels like I've been on one of those carnival rides that spin you relentlessly. Obviously since it's not moving yet, I'm not sure how it's faring, but I know it probably misses its Daddy very much.
I know it's hard, darling, but I want you to get some sleep. I don't like the fact you're up so late when you need to get up early in the morning. Other than missing me, what's keeping you up?
The spirit got out a quill and paper, sat down in the grass and responded.
The main thing that's keeping me up is how much I want to be with you, Tia, but I've also been thinking about things. I had a chat with the little 'Spikey-Wikey' earlier. It turns out I'm not the only one that's been wondering where I came from. I had no idea the poor kid was an orphan; I really just thought he chose to live with Twilight.
He's not so stupid for a dragon. Well...maybe I shouldn't say that considering the fact I'm part dragon, but you know what I mean. He had some insightful and comforting points. You know I've always worried that I do come from demons, and even though the kid says I don't seem like a demon, I'm still worried about the day I do find out who I am.
I'll always wonder about my past, but I think the question is...do I want to find out where I came from, and will I like what I discover?
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(Uggghh, I know it's not indented and I'm sorry about that, but it was giving me such issues when I tried to indent it for some reason! For now just enjoy it....jumbled, I suppose.
Other than my crappy revision this is not the edited version and I'm not sure when the edited version will be up. My editor is a busy bee and his academics come first before editing fics. c:
Shrouded in a sudden, black void, Discord could see nothing. The ominous sensation of true evil hung over him like a fog, surrounding him. The terrified draconequus quickly realized he wasn't alone, although he seemed to be alone.
“Hello?” Slowly, the piercing red eyes targeted him from the darkness. Discord felt his heart start beating faster, and he cursed himself for his fear. He was the god of chaos. Whatever this was, he could take it. For some reason, whatever it was instilled a powerful fear in his heart. “Who's there?”
The creature heaved a long and sad sounding sigh. “How terrible that we don't know each other. We should.” Some of the darkness was fading, enough that allowed Discord could see the demon's eyes.
“Who are you?” the spirit snarled. His fur was up and bristling as the surge of fear grew stronger. “I'm not afraid to fight.”
The creature rasped out a laugh, and those sinister eyes now held a mocking look of amusement. “Oh no...now I don't think that's a good idea. You are vastly outnumbered.”
Several other faces were illuminated. Several, very familiar faces.
Discord could only stare. His entire body washed over with a cold shock as he gazed up at the pegasus standing above him. Her beautiful, saffron coat seemed to have tarnished in color, but not in the way it did after he had corrupted her. Every pony, including her looked as if they had been bleached. Their eyes were soulless.
“Fl...Fluttershy...?” the spirit could barely whisper out.
The pegasus smiled, but it wasn't her normal, timid little smile she usually gave everyone around her. This smile was as cold as ice This wasn't even her. The draconequus stumbled onto his back with a wince as she advanced. He was afraid of her. He had no idea why, but he was terrified of her and everything else around him.
The pony continued to strut towards him, and he backed up, still on his back in the void. His sweaty hands continued scrambling to get as far away from her as he possibly could, but the pony only gained on his every move and lurked ominously closer. At last she stopped, and he did too. He just stared up at her.
She sneered at him. “Useless creature...Who could ever love a worthless abomination like you?”
The wide eyed shock on his face would have been comical if not for the flicker of pain that crossed at her words. “Huh? What are you talking about?” Instead of a verbal response, he got a physical one. Discord barely felt the sting erupting over his face before the force of her hoof slammed him back a couple of feet.
Wincing, the draconequus gingerly tapped his snout and drew back in shock at the blood clinging to his paw. He stared back up at Fluttershy like he was looking at a stranger. “What...what are you doing?” A trembling talon reached for her and fell gently on her shoulder. He almost cried out in shock at how cold the pony's shoulder was, as if she was dead.
The cold, and emotionless statue of what used to be...his best friend, really, didn't move a muscle. She didn't even blink.
“Hey, come on...” He tried to offer his paw again. “It's your favorite little draconequus, huh? The one that's always eating all your dish towels and turning your dinnerware into popsicle sticks? ...Flutter Butter?”
A gust of magic power sent Discord careening backwards, and into the wall. Funny, he never knew a void had a wall. The spirit's eyes stayed tightly shut in agony, and he was terrified to open them again. He didn't want to see the dead look in the pegasus's eyes, and if he had it his way he'd tear out his ears so he'd never have to hear her words.
“What's happening?” the spirit all but whimpered. Fluttershy's voice didn't answer him, but instead, that demonic hiss from before did.
“They are simply embracing you for who you truly are...”
A flash of anger sparked in the draconequus's eyes as he shot them open and glared, trying to find the source of the voice. The fury disslved from his face and was replaced to a look of utmost confusion as he looked around. He wasn't in the black void anymore, and he certainly hadn't the faintest idea where he was.
His surroundings had become brighter and redder, and flickered in front of his very eyes. Fire. There was nothing but fire all around him. The disfigured forms of tormented creatures could be seen beyond the flames, and the black and red sky.
“Where am I?”
“Home,” the cruel voice answered. The black silhouette was circling him now, and the spirit's fur went up as he snarled and curled in on himself to protect himself. “You're home, Discord. You're where you truly belong...”
“Right, I don't think so,” the draconequus scoffed. “Maybe fire and barbaque temperatures are your thing, but they certainly aren't mine. I have somewhere to be and a family to get back to.”
“Oh, really?” The haunting, and sickeningly gleeful chortle of the entity made Discord's stomach do flip flops. “I don't think your family would even want to see you right now. ...Well, if they were even alive that is.”
Discord was breathing heavily. His goal to keep from showing fear was definitely shot. “What...what are you talking about? Nothing has happened to them.”
“On the contrary,” the voice sneered, “You have happened to them.”
His breathing was even harsher if it was possible, and his voice came out sounding like a childish whine. “What? I haven't done anything to them! Nothing but maybe play with their sanity in a bit of pranking! That's all I'd ever do to them!”
“Oh really? Then maybe you should take a look...”
More of the surroundings were illuminated, and gradually, slowly, Discord was able to see several multicolored masses laying on the ground, that he prayed to the almighty gods and his dead parents were not his family.
There they were. From the girls, to his wife and sister—all of them were on the ground, dead, and covered in blood. Discord fell to his knees, screaming hysterically and crying harder than he thought he was capable of. He couldn't even get control of his mind enough to go over to them. He could only scream.
“GODS! OH GODS, NO! NO!!”
The sickening laughter resonated around the room. “See what you've done? Embrace it. You can never belong with them. You are a demon, you are evil...you are meant to destroy, to kill.”
“NO!!! NO!!! I DIDN'T DO THAT!! I DIDN'T!!!” The laughter continued and everything grew dark again, but not before Discord was able to catch the very brief flash of the monster in front of him, and the appearance of mangled horns before everything went black other than the pair of crimson eyes leering at him.
“Open your eyes, Discord. You are who you are...you are one of us. There is no escaping what you are and where you come from. You've known who you are and what you are capable of. Now, join us.” The form leaped at him, and Discord could barely choke out another scream before it slammed him down.
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Discord awoke with a sudden, hysterical scream, clawing at the darkness, as if to try and rip it away so he'd see some light, or something at least vaguely familiar. Eight fearful eyes stared at him as the group was severely jolted awake by the yelling. His screams continued until he felt something lightly tap his forehead.
After that, a wave of calm swept over his form and his screams turned to slight whimpers as his body heaved and shook from the trauma. Twilight's horn was dimly lit in the darkness, having obviously perfected a soothing spell over him. Discord could see the looks of annoyance and grogginess turn to looks of concern. When he wondered why (not even realizing he had been screaming), he realized his face was drenched with tears.
“Discord, sweetie, sweetie...” Familiar, saffron hooves wrapped lovingly around his neck as Fluttershy nuzzled her cheek into his own. He stood there and found himself too petrified to reject or return the gesture.
Chrysalis only glared at the group and rolled her eyes in disgust. Pathetic. Maelstrom was right; the draconequus really was a colt. A simple nightmare reduced him to a sniveling pile of mush as if he was only six years old. She had no idea what to think about the ponies now. It had seemed as if they didn't seem to care a great deal for the spirit before, and seeing them crowded around him and trying to soothe him was definitely confusing.
“What did you dream about?” Twilight asked softly. She briefly brushed a hoof over the spirit's damp bangs, pushing them out of his eyes. “Was it about your parents again?” The ponies stared at her in confusion.
“I thought you said he didn't have those nightmares anymore,” Rainbow Dash said, glancing from the heavily distraught draconequus to her friend. “You said they stopped after he told Celestia and Luna what had happened.”
“That's what I thought,” Twilight said, glancing back at the draconequus. The poor thing was shaking like a traumatized leaf. “Was it about your parents?”
Fluttershy frowned and clutched to the draconequus protectively. “Girls, don't pressure him right now. He's freaked out and he can't deal with all these questions.” Nopony knew how he was after nightmares better than her. “Just...you shouldn't pester him right now.”
The ponies dropped the subject and reluctantly climbed back to their sleeping bags. Applejack hung back with Fluttershy and Discord and rummaged through her saddlebag. After a few moments, she pulled back with a small canister. “Here ya go, hun! Cold or not, cider is always the best thing ta have after a rough dream!”
Twilight debated in her head for a moment, but then decided now wasn't the time to point out they shouldn't dip into the supplies until it was necessary. Besides, Discord had already taken the cup to his mouth. Fluttershy visibly had to help him hold it since his trembling caused it to slosh everywhere.
“Thank you, Applejack,” the saffron pony said softly. “That was very kind.” Applejack nodded her head through the dark and Fluttershy turned back to the petrified Discord. “Hunny, you really need to sleep.”
Judging by the wide-eyed terror on his face, getting him to sleep would be a very difficult feat, but luckily Fluttershy had done enough care taking in her day to know a few helpful tips.
“Hush now, quiet now
It's time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed...”
Clutching the blankets to his chin like a four year old, the draconequus looked up at her. Her sweet voice washed over him and instantly soothed the terror in his nerves. The spirit found his eyes drooping as he realized just how exhausted he was. He shut his eyes as the pegasus slipped into his sleeping bag, by his side.
“Drift off to sleep
Leave the exciting day behind you
Drift off to sleep
Let the joy of dreamland find you...”
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Discord wasn't himself the next day, and the girls noticed it immediately. It was the early morning and the ponies still had their manes and tails; they hadn't been mismatched like yesterday. He hadn't even missed with their breakfast.
“I think he's dying,” Rainbow Dash muttered to the group as they finally made their way out of the next forest and into the clearing.
“Shush!” Twilight hissed.
“No, this is normal,” Fluttershy assured them all, and they stared at her as if she was insane. “I mean, it's normal after one of his worst nightmares. His mind won't really be there and the littlest things will freak him out. I think during the day he has visions of the nightmares.”
“Oh, that's wonderful,” Rainbow Dash drawled sarcastically. “We're on a dangerous journey with booby traps and monsters everywhere and our one protector has a case of the jitters.”
“Rainbow Dash, be more sensitive!” Twilight snapped. “Haven't you ever had a nightmare that left you paralyzed with fear? Well, I was with Fluttershy a lot when he was constantly having these every night. I saw, literally saw the contents of his dreams and it's no surprise why he wakes up screaming.”
The cyan pegasus's eyebrows creased a little with concern and regret, but she shook it off with a snort and flew ahead of the group.
“Yes, I do admit I have a little bit of sympathy for the dog,” Rarity said. “Why, when Sweetie first started coming to stay with me at the boutique she had terrible nightmares because she wasn't used to being away from our parents, and she'd always wake up screaming and crying.” She shuddered at the memories. “But there's something that's confusing to me. If what you say is true Fluttershy and he doesn't dream about what happened to his parents, then what did he dream of?”
The pegasus was silent as they walked, obviously asking herself the same question. What was he dreaming of? How could a nightmare about anything but his parents have him so distraught? If it wasn't for the fact she promised Twilight and the Queen she'd never tamper with black magic again, she'd ask Twilight to do another dream seer spell. She was extremely curious.
“Ah feel bad for the varmint as well,” Applejack said, “but whether or not he's scared, we need him for protection. I hate to say it, but without him here to help us we're toast.”
“With butter!” Pinkie Pie piped with a giggle.
Trotting silently at the front of the line as she was excluded from the conversation, Chrysalis rolled her eyes and turned to the idiots. “That's right, I guess I forgot that I can't do magic and that I'm not capable of protecting us.”
Twilight's eyes narrowed as she stood up on a tree root and stood face to face with the Queen. “And whose to say we can actually trust you? For all we know, you could be conspiring against us right now.”
Chrysalis blinked for a moment. Instead of getting angry, she only smirked. “And you could very well be right mare, but what choice do you have? None. I suppose you'll have to trust me.”
“I am watching you,” Twilight growled, “And you better not do anything to me or my friends.”
“What would I possibly have to gain from that? I have my own intentions in this, and harming your friends are not part of them.” Yet.
“Oh come on, girls!” Pinkie Pie pouted. “Why can't we just all get along?” She was cradling Chrysalis's changeling hatchlings in her hooves. “I mean, these little guys are getting along with us just fine!” She giggled as the babies started nipping at her hooves. “I think they like me!”
“Darlings, spit that out,” Chrysalis told her children as they dropped the pink pony's hoof. “You have no idea where it's been.”
Pinkie Pie scowled. “Hey, it hasn't been anywhere your hooves haven't! Ya know, grass and mud and sand and poop-”
“What was that last one?” Rarity asked sharply.
“Oh yeah.” The pink pony shrugged with a grin. “Manticore poop; I stepped in it a while back.” This earned a collective chorus of gags and green faces from the group, especially Rarity (who promptly fainted on the spot).
“Yech! That's disgusting, Pinkie!” Rainbow exclaimed, her hoof flying to her mouth. “Why didn't you wash it off where we camped? There was a spring RIGHT THERE!”
“Girls.” Fluttershy's voice was a quiet hiss, but it was strict enough to get their attention. “If you yell like that you might attract some...m-monsters...” She shivered at the thought. “Plus, I think you're freaking Discord out.”
Half trapped in horrific visions with resonating screeches in his head, the spirit still managed to glare defiantly down at the pegasus. “I'm fine!” His shaking betrayed him.
“Convincing,” Twilight mused sarcastically. There was still a flicker of concern on her face though. She could easily see the clouded look of fear in his eyes, and the way his pupils twitched around worriedly.
Pulling the draconequus closer to the group, the ponies continued on through the rough terrain. The soft, forest grass had now become a sticky marsh, and they needed to step lightly to avoid sinking through the wet ground. It was getting increasingly harder to see as the mists lurked towards them.
“Whoa, why did it suddenly become so cloudy?” Rainbow Dash gasped. “I could have sworn I was just soaring in clear skies a few moments ago!” Slowly, she descended down through the fog and folded her wings in front of the girls. “No matter how high I go, you can see nothing but mist.”
“It is a peculiar weather change,” Twilight observed, “There's no dampness or cold in the air, so I can't understand where this mist came from. It's a hot day.”
“Well, hay!” Applejack snorted. “When have we ever let the weather slow us down? Let's just ignore the dang mist, stick together, and get through this...foggy land!”
The group started to move forward, up until a sudden sound pierced the air. Never had any of them heard such a sound. It was indescribable. It had to be the most beautiful sound, like a high pitched, crooning melody in just one note. Still confused, the group continued through the mist—up until Chrysalis stopped them.
“Stop. Don't go any further.” The cold look on her face was gone, and was replaced with solid fear. Her dark skin had paled several shades of white as she froze rigid and stared, unblinking through the mist.
“So it was a weird sound,” Rainbow Dash scoffed, “So what? Derpy makes weirder noises.”
“Now I know where the mist came from,” Chrysalis muttered softly to herself. The group stared at her. “That sound was not just a 'weird sound' you ignorant mare,” she snapped. “That was the sound of a siren. They are perhaps one of the most dangerous creatures on this planet, even rivaling a basilisk.”
Twilight tried to search her memory (and the books she had brought) for information on sirens, but there were none. “What are sirens?”
“Extremely rare creatures,” Chrysalis went on grimly. “They are perhaps one of the most rare monsters in the world. They're water spirits, similar to fuaths in the way they drown their victims, but that's where the similarities end. Sirens themselves are completely harmless against a strong willed victim, but it's what they do that makes them so lethal.”
“Well, what do they do?!” Twilight demanded, sick of the slow explanations. “How do they kill their victim?”
“Sirens are shape shifters, but they don't just shape shift into any creature. They shift into whatever will break their victim. There's many ways they can break them. Sometimes they choose to simply change into something their victim likes, and thus lures them...or sometimes they break them by shifting into what their victim truly desires, or breaks them completely out of fear.”
“Discord has already been broken out of fear,” Spike muttered, gesturing to the still slightly shaky draconequus trying to focus enough to listen.
“They create the mist to make their prey easier to get to,” Chrysalis continued. “Therefore, their victim can't run and can't find its way out without bumping into the siren.”
Several pairs of eyes twitched, and Rainbow scowled at the changeling. “How the hay is this thing 'completely harmless' then?”
“Its power and danger level stems only from its ability to take control of its prey. If its prey is immune to its tricks then it has no power over them and can't do any harm. If it manages to break its victim, then it will completely consume it, and the victim will literally not have a chance. I'm not sure if it freezes its victim at this point; all I know is that physically, and with magic they won't be able to defend themselves. This usually happens once its lured its prey into the water.”
“Alright,” Twilight said slowly, “So...if we don't fall for the mirage and stay together wouldn't we all be alright?”
“It's not that simple,” Chrysalis sneered, “If it was then I wouldn't be telling you all this. The siren is going to separate us the moment we step through the mist. There is no way we will stay together. We will all have to find each other. The siren will only attempt to separate us with the mist once, so once we find each other, we'll stay together unless we're stupid enough to wander off. On our own, we have to remain strong against them. Just remember that everything you see is a mirage, and don't let it affect you.”
Exchanging, final, briefly saluting glances, the group braced themselves and stepped into the mist.
Instantly, a wall of white divided them, as if it had been waiting for them to enter. Actually, it probably had. Shrieks of horror were heard, and shouts as the blind equines stumbled about.
“Try to stay calm, girls!” Twilight felt her own chest heaving as her bulging eyes tried to spot her friends in the mist. She couldn't see anything but clouds of white. “Just fight the mirages and you'll have the power over it!”
“Twilight Sparkle?” The lavender mare spun to the very distinguishable voice behind her. Sure enough, Chrysalis was standing there and looking down at her. Despite the fact she distrusted the changeling, it was such a relieving surge of joy to see her in this void of white.
“Chrysalis!” She hurried over to her. “It's you! Thank Celestia! At least we're not alone...”
The queen wasn't even listening to her, and when Twilight looked up she was beyond shocked to see tears in Chrysalis's eyes as the mare spun around rapidly. “Where's my babies? Where are my babies?! They were just on my back!”
Despite how rude it was, Twilight could only stare for several moments, before finally snapping to attention and trying to calm the mare down. She was still in a state of shock herself. “Chrysalis, calm down! You said that the siren is harmless unless it manages to trick its victims.”
“They're babies!!” Chrysalis screamed, “They don't have any will power! They don't know any better! They're infants! The siren could just shape shift into a teddy bear and they'd go straight for it!” She inhaled a sob.
For the first time Twilight didn't see the cruel and cold mare that was the changeling queen; she saw a frightened and distraught mother. That was what they always forgot though. Chrysalis was a mother, and any mother could be broken by the disappearance of their children.
“Don't worry,” Twilight said gently. “I'm sure the siren will be too busy trying to break us to be interested in babies. If they're like any other monster, they'll want a challenge.”
Chrysalis's voice came out as an out-of-character, fillyish whine. “You think so?” She wiped her face, and her mouth set into a straight line. “Sirens are likely to attack any prey they find, but they're likely only to kill a couple times a day. If I let the siren break me, maybe it will spare my children.”
Vigorously, Twilight shook her head. “What—NO! You can't kill yourself!”
Sneering, Chrysalis shot her a glare. “Why? Because you still need to use my knowledge to get to Tartarus?”
“No!” Twilight snapped back angrily, stepping in front of the mare harshly, enough to stop her in her tracks. “Because I'm not just going to let you kill yourself!”
“It's for my children!!”
“There has to be another way!” Twilight shouted back. “And how are your babies going to survive without a mother?! If it comes down to it, then...then I'll let the siren take me.”
The look of anger melted to one of shock and numbness as the taller mare stared at her. “Wh...what? You'd give your life...for them? Why would you do that?”
“Because it's the right thing to do,” Twilight said, “And when you're one of the guardians of Equestria and just have a good heart, it's what you do. You don't just let someone...some ponies die, even if they are children of your enemy.” She shrugged. “You do all you can. I can't let them grow up without a mother.”
Chrysalis was silent.
“Let's just hope it doesn't come down to that though.”
Twilight started walking on through the white haze, and Chrysalis, still in a mild state of shock, seemed to take a while to catch up to her. They walked on with cautious glances, for several minutes, but there was nothing but the white clouds and faint flecks of green under their feet from the grass.
“Maybe it's not here,” Twilight suggested.
“No. It's waiting for the perfect time to strike.” The mare's snake-like eyes darted back and forth, from one patch of white to the next. “It waits until its sure we aren't even slightly conspicuous, and that we've stopped searching for it.”
“Clever,” she mused.
Chrysalis walked further in the white void with Twilight as the two tried to see their way past the white, and at least find something that remotely looked like the sky or some trees. It seemed hopeless until she managed to see a few distant, black forms. Eyes widening, the changeling mare charged towards the sight. Twilight cautiously followed.
“My babies!” Chrysalis cried with relief. There, floating in front of her merely ten feet away were her children. Chrysalis could hear the frantic buzzing of their wings as they hovered in the air. It was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. “Oh, Mommy is so happy you're safe!”
There was something odd about the infants. It was something that Chrysalis didn't manage to catch on to, because with her utter relief and just yearning so badly to believe anything as long as they were safe, she didn't notice anything. Twilight did. The way they hovered, the way they didn't seem excited, and how they weren't even moving towards her.
“Chrysalis, NO!!” She tackled the mare to the ground and sent the two of them tumbling, seconds before the mare had managed to scoop them up into her hooves. The queen was too shocked to react for a few moments, but she finally snapped her head up to glare at Twilight.
“What in Tartarus's name was that for?!” the seething, and angrily buzzing changeling spat. “Let me up to my children!”
“Chrysalis, those aren't your children!” The two mares lifted their heads and looked over to where the form of the infants glowered in rage, furious at having its plan thwarted. Sure enough, the disguise melted off instantly, and took the form of the siren. It was a gorgeous beast, however fierce it was supposed to be. It reminded Twilight of a mare and a dolphin.
“Those...weren't my children.” The spark faded from Chrysalis's eyes. “Then they are still missing. What if the siren has them?”
“It's more likely one of the girls have them,” Twilight tried to gently reassure. She wasn't too certain herself, but the last thing she wanted was for the queen to go into full blown hysterics; a frightening sight indeed. “We should just keep walking.”
Closing her eyes and nodding in mournful agreement, Chrysalis followed.
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Fluttershy's limbs shook, her teeth chattered, and she squeaked out in fear at the sound of every twig snapping as she walked. Her bravery (whatever the girl had of one) was complete mush at the notion that the siren could be anywhere. The only thing soothing right now was the fact she was not alone. Only moments ago, she had found Chrysalis's babies wandering aimlessly, and they now lay draped over her back.
It was strange to her. Fluttershy had a fear of the changelings; she saw them as a cruel and wicked race, but these little children had not yet become what their species had. They were only innocent, young children.
“Keee-kee...” an infant said softly, tugging on Fluttershy's ear.
“I know,” Fluttershy agreed quietly, “I'm worried for everyone too.” She stared up pleadingly at the heaves, tears flooding into her desperate, cyan eyes. “Discord, where are you?”
Certainly she was concerned for all of her friends, but none more than Discord right now. As dangerous as the siren was, she knew her friends had the willpower to fight it, and they wouldn't be fooled by any clever mirages. Discord, however, was a different story entirely. Normally nothing could get past the god, and his judgement would easily give him the advantage over this demon, but not today. Not after his nightmare. In the state he was in, Fluttershy didn't even trust him to be alone right now. If the siren found him, the siren would have him.
The worst of the mist seemed to be lifting now, which gave Fluttershy hope. Maybe the siren was giving up on them. She could finally start to see a little bit of the distance, and the surroundings around her.
Even though it was very faint, Fluttershy could tell there was a set of trees in front of her, and as she walked closer, they became more clear into view. There was a dew platted, grassy hill under the trees...and something else curled in the shade.
“Oh my!” Fluttershy softly gasped. There, lying, crippled on its side, was a small badger. “Oh no...” As the pegasus got closer she was able to see the blood caking the trembling animal's fur. It was badly injured. “Oh dear...” She began inching closer to the creature. “It's okay, little one,” she shushed, as the animal backed away in fright. “I want to help you.”
In this case, her typical, nurturing instincts were overriding her own common sense, but not the changelings'.
The infants chirped and buzzed frantically as they tried tugging back on her hair, sensing with their intuitive baby sense that something wasn't right. Fluttershy only scolded them to stop it and turned back to the animal.
“You poor thing...how did you manage to get in such bad condition?” She knelt down in front of the badger, and it looked up at her with watery, heart breaking eyes, and pleadingly reached out a paw. Fluttershy was taken aback by this, as the common instinct for a wounded animal was to distrust anyone trying to help them, but regardless, she reached out her hoof to the creature.
Right before the pegasus barely brushed her hoof against the fuzz of the animal's paw, a sudden pain ripped up her wing. Crying out, Fluttershy whirled around to see Rainbow Dash lightly, but still firmly jerking the base of her wing.
“Fluttershy, step back from that animal!” Rainbow Dash shouted, and yanked her friend's tail, dragging her back in case she didn't get the point. “I don't think that's a real animal.”
“No, it is!” the pegasus cried, trying to get back to it. “Rainbow, let me go!” She whimpered as the animal started pitifully crying and squeaking in desperation, trying to get her back to it. “Dashie!” the pegasus sobbed. “I have to help it or it will die!”
“No, Fluttershy! Trust me, it isn't real!” Rainbow was astonished by the strength the pegasus had in her as she tried crawling her way back to the badger. Geez, when was Discord when she actually wanted him? That draconequus would be able to lift the stubborn pegasus by the tail as if she was a tiny stuffed animal.
Finally, with a furious snort, Rainbow Dash rammed her hoof against the badger, and sent it slamming into the tree. She heard Fluttershy scream in horror as it tumbled back down to the ground, but it vanished before Fluttershy could lay into her friend.
“See? A mirage, and it almost had you.” Rainbow Dash lightly rubbed her friend's back for a moment to calm her, and looked at her. “I told you to trust me.” She blinked as the pegasus threw her hooves around her and cried.
“Oh Dashie, thank Celestia you're here...! It was terrible being all alone...”
Rainbow blinked, uncomfortable being squished to death and just being hugged in the first place. Still, she smiled and patted her friend's back. “It's no problem, Flutters. Now let's get the hay out of here and find out if our friends are safe.”
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The walk through endless white was silent between the two. This was the first time they had been alone without the others, and the first time neither felt like insulting and hating each other in their state of worry. Twilight decided to break the silence.
“My book on mythical creatures should have information on every creature in this land, so why doesn't it have anything on sirens?”
“They are very rare.”
“So are basilisks.”
“Yes, well, they are rarer than basilisks. There is believed to be only two or three sirens left, but there is probably plenty of basilisks in Tartarus, just few that have been seen.”
Twilight nodded quietly. It seemed to make sense to her. She looked over at Chrysalis. “How do you know about them then?”
“I read it in a book,” Chrysalis told her. She could tell Twilight didn't seem to really buy that, and who would? If sirens had almost never been seen how would anyone have the knowledge? “My family was friends with another family...that is probably known well in this land, and known well by you, Twilight Sparkle. The stallion had seen many things in his time. He had...helped create the world we live in.”
That's when Twilight stopped in her tracks. Chrysalis's back was turned to her, but she could tell it had clicked in the mare's head and she didn't even see her mouth gaping.
“Helped create the world...a family I know of... the King and Queen's family? Discord, Celestia, and Luna's parents? You were friends with them?”
“Indeed,” was Chrysalis's response. It was curt and it indicated she didn't want to say anymore, but Twilight certainly did.
“How did that happen? How were you friends with them if you hate each other so much now?”
“As far as my knowledge proceeds me, Celestia and Luna hated Discord for a while and they had been close in the past.”
“Yes, but...”
Chrysalis snarled quietly to herself, but decided that the least she owed the stupid unicorn for saving her life and offering to give her own for her children was maybe to answer a few questions she had. “We changelings weren't always the way we are now. In fact, we were not even named changelings back in a time. We were a different, prospering species, and we helped the world rather than use them for our victims. The power and life we had was determined by how much love we managed to uphold in our kingdom and outside of it, rather than just sucking it out of others.”
“Were you shape shifters back then?”
“No, that came much later with the name of our species. We had a daintier appearance back then as well. Our coats were lighter, and our wings were larger and glimmered with patterns and spots, like a species of a butterfly. The kingdom was a paradise. Everything was pastel colored and enchanted. You so much as stepped into the grass and glitter would be all around you.”
Twilight stared up as Chrysalis's eyes shut from the memories. She wasn't sure if the changeling missed or hated them. “So what changed?”
“My mother changed it. She became consumed with power, greed, and lust. I was young at the time, and we had some issues going on in the kingdom. A passing pony tribe that we had welcomed in had left a sickness, and the sickness spread. Our subjects were getting sick, so my mother wrote a letter to Aegeus and Astraia. As I said, our families were tight at the time, and so Aegeus and Astraia were happy to help out. They sent us a book, that you're probably familiar with. It's called Alicorn's Power...”
And right there, Twilight felt all shades of purple wash off her body as she was practically bleached white, frozen rigid at the terribly familiar name. She didn't say anything, and only stared blankly.
“...I'll take your silence as a yes. The book has many spells that I'm sure you're aware of. It's filled with white and black magic. My mother used a strong healing spell to save our kingdom. Aegeus and Astraia told her she could borrow the book for as long as she needed it. ...That was a mistake.
As the book has many pure spells, I'm sure you know just from how Aegeus and Astraia died, that it also carries many dark ones. My mother started reading from the book, and she started practicing its black magic. I'd wake up at night to the sound of her chanting in the next room. She used Alicorn's Power to change our species. She found the way we gathered our power and kept the kingdom alive too weak. Our home was open to any species in the land, and we often got many, many travelers just because of our land's beauty. We welcomed that because making them feel at home and earning their love was how we got our own power.
Mother changed the rules. Instead, we were to feed from our guests. We were supposed to lull them into a sense of security as we slowly drained them to nothing. The way we now got the power of love and emotions was to take them. Our species changed, and the lands changed. Everything became darker and grimmer. There were always storm clouds or gray skies above our land, and we lost the identity of who we once were.”
Taking in all this information, Twilight stared gown at the ground. Just how many more lives did that book have to ruin? Finally, she looked back up at her. “And so your relationship with the royal family fell apart?”
“No. That was to come a little later. As I said, our land changed. Soon we didn't have any guests because no one wanted to come see us. They were afraid of us. Still, we needed to get our power from somewhere, so mother ordered us to move out. She was very old at this time. Changlings now had a much longer life span, and we could live for up to 2000 years before we'd die of old age.”
Aegeus and Astraia had long since demanded back their book, which mother gave back without a fight. She didn't need it anymore. They confronted us, and tried to be civil. They tried to hold onto the hope that Mother would redeem herself and accept help, but she didn't. She fought them instead. Being her daughter and her slave for the better part of my life, I fought as well."
"Did your mother even care about you?"
"No, she didn't. She hardly did before she changed, and she certainly didn't after. I was her slave. Aegeus and Astraia killed Mother and injured me, and they swore that they'd kill us all if we threatened their kingdom. This was shortly before they died, but we didn't want to take any chances against Celestia and Luna.
My species worked in secret, and subtly, trying to find lands with enough food for us before we finally decided to attack Equestria...only months ago. The wedding was the first time I had seen Celestia and Luna in over a thousand years. The last time we saw each other was before we became changelings, when I still had my grayish-blue coat and large, shimmering wings. The last time we had seen each other was when we were friends, Discord included, and playmates in my land.”
Silence stretched between the two as Chrysalis finished her story. “Does that answer your questions?” the changeling asked.
“I....I guess so,” Twilight breathed. “But don't you ever miss the way things were? Don't you miss being a beloved species...and friends with Celestia, Discord, and Luna?”
“No, I don't,” the mare said coldly. “Love is weakness, and we were never destined to be friends. It's just the way it was supposed to be. Nothing can change that.” She cleared her throat. “Now, I don't feel like answering anymore questions. Just be grateful I answered that one. Can we just keep moving?”
“Sure,” Twilight sighed. “Let's get to the rest of my friends before the siren does.”
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(Wow, guys ,you all probably hate me for the month wait, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. Originally the entire battle with the siren was going to be an entire chapter, but I realized Discord's battle with it is long enough to stand as its own chapter.
I am immensely proud of the backstory I invented for Chrysalis, and a little fact: everything in this universe ties to that book.)
“Discord, try to keep up! You're so slow!” Chrysalis called back to the panting draconequus. The three of them were far ahead of the colt now, passed the babbling brook while Discord was still trudging his way through the flowers.
“Poor thing,” Celestia mused, “It has to be hard having four different limbs; some built for running, and some not.”
“I'm a lot faster than he is!” Luna piped in with a laugh. She squeaked as Chrysalis playfully whipped her head back, causing the filly to tighten her hold on her shimmering wings.
“You're faster, Lulu? I'm the one that's carrying you! Hurry up, Discord!”
The kid draconequus grumbled and muttered obscene words and threats to the earth tripping him as he made his wobbly way over the stepping stones across the brook. Landing with an ungraceful flop on his pudgy belly, he sulked up at his friends staring down at him in amusement. “Why are my legs so weird?”
“Because the gods couldn't decide what animal to make you so they put you in a blender with a bunch of them!” Chrysalis laughed. She squealed as the draconequus jumped playfully at her and gnawed on her tail.
Shaking off the youngling spirit, Chrysalis stood up proudly and puffed out her chest like a young warrior. “Onward, explorers, to the golden berry bush! It's just up the...” Her silver-blue ears tilted to the side at the strange, muffled mantra coming from beyond the castle walls. Cautiously, Chrysalis peered inside, to the throne room, where her mother's back was turned to her as she continued chanting.
“Mother?” Chrysalis's turquoise eyes widened in fright as she stared up at her mother. “What are you doing?” She leaned to the side a bit and saw Uncle Aegeus and Auntie Astraia's book floating in front of her. “Why do you still have Auntie Astra and Uncle Aegee's book?”
Her mother whirled to her, and the girl scrambled back in alarm at the sharp, unfamiliar look in her mother's eyes.
“Out, you foolish girl!” the older flutterpony hissed, as she knocked the filly back through the door with her tail. “Mother is very busy right now!”
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Fog, blood, red surroundings, the deaths of the ones he loved—Discord wasn't sure what was more terrifying at the moment; the siren or the nightmare. The terror resonated through his head, each horrifying flash more brutal than the last.
Gotta think! Gotta calm down! I have to focus! There's a evil little fish monster after us here!
Of course, if Discord was lucky maybe these memories would continue to cloud his head and prevent any mirage from getting to him. Surely there was nothing in this vast forest that would break him, clouded judgement or not. He may be in a frazzled state of mind, but he wasn't stupid.
Right now it was up to him to find his friends and get them out of here. He was responsible for them, after all. That was right. He was responsible for their safety and yet here he was, alone and lost and unable to protect himself. Gods, he was pathetic.
“Didn't need much calculations to figure that out,” Discord muttered. He glared at the mist, his talon glowing. It dispersed a ray of golden light and destroyed the mist. Within seconds, the mist regenerated. “Son of a...”
Gritting his teeth, the draconequus hovered through the fog and searched for any familiar pony in this maze.”Twilight! Applejack! Fluttershy? Anypony there?” His voice echoed through the forest, but no sound greeted him in return.
The farther Discord ventured into the mist the more it seemed to fade. Maybe the damn siren was finally going to leave them alone now. Discord could see the faint outline of a pony in the distance. He quirked an eyebrow in suspicion. The pony looked to be huge. It definitely wasn't one of the girls, and its stature was too buff to be Chrysalis.
“Hello?” Discord asked cautiously. “Hello? Who's there? Can you help me?” Keeping his magic on guard in case he'd need it, Discord hesitantly approached the form as the final shrouds of mist cleared and revealed who it was.
His ethereal, flaming mane rippled in the wind as his loving, sunset eyes focused on him.
“.................Dad?”
In the right state of mind, Discord's judgement would scream out here and remind himself that this was all a trick of the siren, but the only thing the draconequus concentrated on was his father standing right there, in front of him. His father, here, and alive.
Suddenly, an unnatural hue seeped through the draconequus's eyes, and illuminated his irises in an unearthly, bluish glow. “Dad!” Discord bolted through the brush and practically careened into Aegeus, but the stallion's wings enveloped him instantly and held him up.
“Dad! Dad!” Discord wailed into his father's back, blubbering and breaking down like a colt as he clutched to the alicorn as tightly as he could. A malicious glint flashed in Aegeus's eyes, too quick to be seen with the naked eye, before he went back to play the role as the ever dotting father.
“Dad, Daddy...” Discord sobbed, unable to see anything through the endless onslaught of tears. “Daddy....it's you!”
“Of course it's me, son...” Aegeus's voice came out in a soothing coo, which made Discord's five year old-like weeping grow louder. The coldness in Aegeus's eyes was betrayed by the insincere, gentle smile as Discord fell deeper into the trap of the siren. “I'm here now, son...” The stallion's irises flashed an un-natural blue, before returning to their orange color. “I'm here now...”
xxxxxxxxx
“The mist is gone.” Twilight looked to Chrysalis for some clarification and hope, but the changeling did nothing to calm her fears.
“That means nothing, dear. If anything, it means the siren might have found a victim and given up on the rest of us. For now, we need to focus on finding the rest of our traveling group—especially that ugly, mismatched oaf. Discord could be in very grave danger.”
Twilight could only agree. After what happened last night, Discord was as vulnerable as a child and possibly unable to protect himself, especially if the siren broke him. Trying to force away those grisly thoughts, Twilight trotted a few steps ahead of Chrysalis to get a better look at the forest ahead.
“Twilight?”
The lavender unicorn spun around at the ever familiar, and welcomed voice of Fluttershy. Sure enough, the pegasus was eagerly galloping towards them, with Rainbow Dash tagging behind. “Oh, Fluttershy! You're okay!”
Chrysalis stepped aside to avoid being tackled as both pegasi enveloped Twilight in a close hug. She paid no heed to the emotional reunion and didn't even feel her hunger fulfilled by the overpowering emotions. All she could think of was her children. Pain bloomed in her heart as she watched the group embrace, and she cursed herself when she felt tears sting her eyes.
“Um...miss Chrysalis?” The changeling queen looked down for the source of the timid little voice. Fluttershy crouched inadvertently low to the ground, like a nervous little puppy. “I-I found your children.”
The most joyful look crossed Chrysalis's face when she saw those precious, beautiful eyes stare up at her from behind the pegasus's wings. Despite how much she feared the normally cruel queen, even Fluttershy had to smile as Chrysalis scooped the younglings up into a hug.
“Thank you.” Her tone actually sounded grateful. She must be losing her terrifying charm, because the weak little mouse actually smiled at her!
Within seconds of reuniting with the pegasi, the rest of the group of earth ponies, unicorns, and a little baby dragon skittered up to the trio. Relieved chatter went on for a few moments, until the ponies realized someone was missing.
“How do we lose a guy as big as Discord?” Rainbow Dash snorted. “And where did the fog go?”
“Not to worry girls.” The one thing Chrysalis hated about Twilight was how she always tried to act like she knew everything. She didn't know anything about this journey! “I'm sure the fog has passed because the siren gave up on us.”
“No,” Chrysalis cut in sharply, glaring at the stupid mare. She was the one in charge here, not them. “The more likely answer is that the siren has Discord, and so it's forgotten about us. That would explain why we can't find him. As much as I detest the oaf, Discord is strong willed, so whatever the siren has lured him with has to be dangerous...”
xxxxxxxx
“This part of the forest sort of reminds me of Moonshine Forest,” Discord mumbled. The vast area of trees and silver-blue flowers was reminiscent to his family's favorite vacation spot. If these flowers were a type of Moonshine and illuminated by the moon then journeying at night would be a lot easier.
The draconequus turned to his father and smiled at him, utterly oblivious to the grave danger his life was in right now. “I remember you and Mom took us there as often as you could. I wish we could have gone more often, but it was so far from the castle...” He leaned back against his father's folded wings, content.
Aegeus's eyes glinted like a knife, more akin to a lethal serpent than the eyes of a loving father. None the less, he tenderly draped a wing around the draconequus and rubbed his chin against the spirit's bristled mane. “Yes, well...you know a king has duties to tend to.”
Discord leaned his head back to look at his father, his vermillion eyes still glowing an un-natural, bluish hue. Discord mistook the siren's victorious smirk for one of his Dad's typical, wayward smiles.
“I can't believe you're actually in front of me. I've missed you...so much.” A golden paw tightly gripped the stallion's leg for support and security. Discord gave an awkward laugh. “Look at me, I'm acting like such a colt! I'm clinging to my Daddy as if I'm five again.” A traumatized look washed over his face. “Or as if I'm enduring another nightmare again...”
Subconsciously, the spirit scooted closer to his father, resting his head against the alicorn's cream colored side. He really did feel like a young child again, nuzzled into his Daddy for support and comfort in the midst of a sleepless night, or one haunted by horrific dreams.
“I don't know what's wrong with me... I just don't understand these nightmares. I've never had them before, and I don't know what to make of them.” His grip on his father grew tighter, causing Aegeus to wince and resist the urge to slam a hoof against the side of the brat's face.
“I've had nightmares since....since it happened,” Discord whispered. He clenched his eyes shut and the tears began to heavily flow once more. “Oh Dad, I'm...I'm so sorry.”
The siren inwardly rolled its eyes. This was getting ridiculous. Even from in this forest, it had heard of the legends of this land and knew that sitting before it was chaos incarnate. Whoever thought the terrifying god of destruction would end up being such a wimp and a Papa's boy.
“Why don't you just tell me what your nightmares are about?” It could afford to wait in consuming its meal, especially since it still needed to get the creature to the lake anyway.
Exhaling shakily, Discord gazed off with a frightened look. “I'm in this...pit, I think. This void of black and suddenly everyone I love is around me and telling me...how much they hate me. They say I'm just a monster that could never be loved. I try to fight their words, but this voice tells me that I am evil.”
Aegeus jolted as Discord's grip tightened even more, practically puncturing through his skin. He stared down at the spirit, resisting the urge to smirk at the sight of those owlish and terrified eyes. The siren knew the wretch's father probably wouldn't smirk. It feigned a look of concern.
“This voice, this...demon--it's in every dream! The dreams vary, but the demon is always there. The demon is the one thing that never changes. It's always trying to rile me and convince me I'm a demon. It tries to get me to join its...cult, or something.”
Discord gripped his head as the visions of blood red eyes assaulted his mind. “And I never know what it looks like. Sometimes I catch a flash—red eyes, long and mangled horns, and huge wings—one looks soft and pure, and the other looks jagged and black. And I-I try to fight the demon, but I can't move!”
The spirit's body shook with terror at the visions of his loved ones on the ground, dead and bloody. All because of him. “And then I see everyone on the ground, dead and bloody, and the demon tells me that I did it!” His voice grew louder as it became slightly hysterical. “The voice tells me it's because of me that they're dead, that I killed them!”
The air lapsed into silence as the heavily disturbed siren only stood there, staring down at this lunatic in fright. Perhaps this wasn't worth a good meal.
“W...well...” The one good thing about trapping a victim was the link the siren got with their memories. “Surely you don't believe that's true, that you could possibly be evil with all you've done to help the kingdom. And you know no one sees you as evil. Your child certainly won't.” This maniac was going to be a father? Pity on the poor mother!
“I don't understand what those dreams are... I feel like they're trying to tell me something, just like the nightmares I had about killing you and Mom tried to tell me to talk to Tia and Lulu.” He shook his head. “But what in Equestria could this be trying to say? Is it trying to warn me I'm turning evil? Is it confirming that I am the offspring of demons? What if I hurt the girls?!” He looked desperately up at the awkward stallion.
The siren inwardly groaned and vowed to stick to easier victims, like pigeons.
Xxxxxxxx
“We should've kept the varmint on a leash,” Applejack growled. “Ah mean really, ya had him on one once Fluttershy, and ya should've brought it with ya. Least this way we could keep a better eye on 'im.”
“What if the siren already has him?” Twilight whispered. She was hoping the changeling would ease her fears, but Chrysalis wasn't one for sugarcoating.
“It's a possibility. It's definitely possible he may already be dead right now.” She winced from the ear splitting bawl of Fluttershy. “The only thing we can do is keep searching for him, and to pray we find him alive. Twilight, is there any sort of tracking spell you could perform? It might help us a little. ...Twilight?”
The lavender unicorn was staring blankly off into the distance, mesmerized by something. Her friends waved their hooves in front of her face, but she only continued to sit there. “It's the king... And-And Discord is with him! It's Aegeus! But...how...?”
“What?” Chrysalis snapped, whirling to where the spaced out mare was gazing at. Sure enough, it was King Aegeus. It may have been over a thousand years, but he didn't look as if he had aged a year; the perks of immortality.
“It...it's...” She shook it off, eyes darkening to a a rage when she realized what Discord obviously didn't. In his defense though, she did a double take herself. “It's the siren...a...and Discord.”
Discord washed away the night's sweat, dried tear stains, and dirt in the lake. His frazzled nerves simmered to a calm as the cold droplets hit his face. Ponies were right when they said water was the number one, natural healer for everything. As for him, he'd still prefer chocolate milk, but he'd take what he could get.
Discord dried his face with a nearby leaf—only for his vision to suddenly be obscured once more. Wiping the stinging water from his eyes, he whipped up his head to see Aegeus in the water with a hoof raised playfully, about to deliver another splash.
All at once, the trauma washed from the spirit's face, leaving him almost looking like his typical-insufferable Discord self. He grinned devilishly at the stallion, snaggle tooth poking out from under his lip. “Are you really foolish enough to challenge me to a splash duel, Dad~? I do so hope you're prepared to be buried under the water and feasting on bubbles!”
Discord was too caught up in the moment of truly missed play with his father to notice the teasing grin on Aegeus's face was becoming far more sinister as the king lured him into slightly deeper waters. The strain had left Discord's voice as he giggled impishly and splashed his father, who took a leap behind him.
The spirit laughed and draped his tail over him for coverage as his back was sprayed from behind. Still snickering and spluttering out droplets of water, Discord watched as Aegeus's reflection behind him distorted and muddled together, until it wasn't recognizable.
Happy laughter turned to tense laughter as the reflection began to slowly settle, and Discord noticed the jumble of colors didn't resemble his father in the slightest. A cold fear pierced the spirit, harsh and frigid enough to take his breath away. He leaned in to look into the water, and felt his breath quicken in a panic when the cold eyes of the siren glared back.
“Dad?” There was no one there when Discord spun around. Everything had fallen ominously silent, other than the haunting echo of water dripping and rippling across the lake. “Dad?”
It reminded Discord of something out of a horror novel as the demonic form slowly rose out of the depths of the lake. It was still taking the form of his father, but his sunset eyes were now a piercing blue, and only now could the draconequus see the true evil on the alicorn's face that he couldn't before.
The draconequus stood there, wading in the deep waters, utterly expressionless as he stared up at the form of his father. A talon subconsciously raised in instinct, but the moment it ignited, the magic crackled and fizzed away to nothing.
“Discord!” Twilight shouted, “Discord, snap out of it! That's not Aegeus! Discord, MOVE!” The unicorn charged over to the spirit's aid, but a sphere of lime green magic held her back as Chrysalis stepped in front of her.
“Twilight, it's no good! We can't snap him out of it! There's no getting him back to reality after the siren claims him!”
“Well we can't just let him die!” Twilight retorted furiously, struggling in Chrysals's magical binds.
“That's not what I'm saying!” the changeling snapped. “Follow me, and hurry! This may be Discord's only shot at survival!”
The mirage dispelled as the tides washed away all traces of Aegeus, and left only the haunting and beautiful appearance of the lethal siren. A pale white mane tumbled down into the frigid waters as the deadly creature emitted a hiss.
A silver fin slapped the surface of the water and sent a harsh force rippling over the water. Waves rolled up and Discord immediately found himself nearly swallowed up by the sudden, raging rapids.
The spirit was yanked, and before going under, the draconequus heard the blood curdling scream of Fluttershy and saw a glimpse of familiar faces before he was swallowed by the waves. He quickly realized that same force that pulled him under rendered him unable to pump his legs in the water.
From under the water, Discord heard the muffled sound of a struggle and felt his body rocking violently from the force of the waves above. There was the sound of a muffled screech and Discord realized he now had control of his limbs. He used this time to propel himself back to the surface, where the battle above was taking place.
“DISCORD!” The draconequus barely had the chance to reach a paw out to grab Fluttershy's hoof before being consumed in another wave.
“It's trying to drown him!” Chrysalis shouted. “All of you, distract the siren! If we don't keep it occupied it'll be able to bind Discord again! One of you, try to grab him the next time he rises to the surface!” A sparking orb of green pulsed from the tip of her jagged horn and engulfed the shrieking demon.
Discord rose again, flailing and sputtering. The roar of the waves and the blasts of magic was deafening, but the draconequus was still able to hear his guardian's desperate screams over it all. He watched as the body of his father slammed against a rock from the force of Twilight's magic. The siren had long since gone back to its original form, but all Discord could see was Aegeus.
“Dad!” the spirit spluttered. “No, don't hurt him!! Leave my father alone!!” He was yanked from the water by two certain pegasi, but he struggled and fought in their hold to try and get back to his father. “Let go! DAD!!!”
The look on Aegeus face twisted into unimaginable hate, and Discord was frozen as his father lunged at him once more. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy lifted him up out of the way and darted through the air as they tried to avoid the foaming waves.
“NO! DAD!!” Discord screeched and clawed in the ponies' iron grips as they attempted to pin him to the sand. He fought and bit and clawed at them with all his might, but even as they became covered with marks and bruises, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash wouldn't let go.
Weeping, the saffron pony wrapped her hooves around him, rocking his form back and forth as she tried to push his face into her fur so he wouldn't see what was happening. “It's okay, sweetie! It'll be okay,” she sobbed. “It'll be okay...”
The siren twisted around and screeched in rage as Pinkie Pie latched around its face and clung adamantly, refusing to let go.
“No!” Pinkie shrieked, snarling like a wild animal as she tightened her hold on the demon's face. “You're not making seafood out of OUR Dissy!!” She yelped as the siren bit down on her hoof, causing her to go crashing into the rapids. The force created a sudden splash that lapped up the rocks near the shore, where the infants were.
“MY BABIES!!” Chrysalis screamed in horror, watching as two of the children were swept into a sudden whirlpool the enraged and dying siren created with its last strength. She lunged towards the lake, but the siren abruptly whipped its tail around and sent her slamming into the rocks. Bleeding and disoriented, the mare flexed her wings in an effort to fly, but only collapsed from the effort.
Spike watched in terror, his heart tearing as the babies cried out in fright for their mother. His frightened eyes took in the horror of the ponies around them. They were all too far from the deep part of the lake to reach them in time. Having been left on the rock with the changeling children, he was the only one close enough to grab them before it was too late.
With a snarl, he leaped straight into the crashing waves, amidst his friends' – Twilight's especially - screams. He pushed himself up with the effort to remain above water—at least long enough to get to the children.
The baby dragon lunged forward through the foaming waves and took the children into his arms. They instantly clung to his chest, wailing. The force of the vortex felt as if his scales were being torn right off his body, but Spike still paddled and thrashed against the current with all his might. But his efforts seemed to be in fain, and he cried out, and squinted his eyes shut as he and the frightened infants dipped into the center of the gaping hole in the water.
Right before the vortex sucked him under completely, a lavender hoof suddenly grabbed onto his claw. With a fierce tug, Spike and the changelings were pulled out of the vortex's grip. Spike opened his eyes to see a rope of multi colored hooves connected together as Applejack held them together by gripping a rock behind her.
With a final, hoarse snarl, the siren made one last effort to drown them as it lunged into the water. Rainbow Dash managed to pull him in just before the beast crashed into him.
“Spike,” Rainbow Dash panted, “You have got to be either the bravest or the stupidest dragon I have ever known!”
Spike clambered to his feet, coughing and spluttering out water. In an instant, he found himself swept into a pair of lavender hooves, and Spike was able to feel Twilight's chest convulsing with sobs.
“Don't you ever do that to me again,” Twilight whispered fiercely through a sudden hiccup. Spike could only nod shakily and nuzzle into the mare's chest.
“I won't,” he promised softly. When she released him (and the babies as well), the little dragon walked timidly up to the large changeling mare. Chrysalis didn't say a word, evidently completely stung and frozen. That was broken as her children crooned tearfully and happily, and ran straight for their mother.
The mother nuzzled her whining and sniffling babies, tears rolling down her black cheeks as she held them and mumbled words of reassurance and comfort. Slowly, her cool, serpent like eyes focused on the baby dragon, and Spike suddenly found himself pressed against the mare's leg, draped under her hoof.
Utterly stunned, the baby dragon could only blink for a few moments, and then he gently rested his cheek against Chrysalis's leg.
The heartfelt moment was broken by the siren's dying croak, and the group turned to stare at the water. Discord's frozen, and seemingly lifeless eyes watched as his father slowly began to sink under the water, until there was nothing but a few, quiet bubbles at the surface. The water became still.
“Discord...sweetie?” Fluttershy whispered hoarsely. She gripped his face in her hooves and tried to see any semblance of familiarity in his eyes, but there was nothing. His eyes were literally blank and were still illuminated an un-natural blue. They were dead.
Chrysalis limped up to the group beginning to crowd around the silent draconequus. She stared hard at him through her puffy eyes, and a grim and almost sad look crossed her face. “He has been severely damaged...”
“What do you mean?” Fluttershy wept. “We got to him before the siren managed to hurt him!”
Chrysalis folded her wings against her sides with a wince. “The evil of a siren is beyond comprehensible. Those that meet one rarely escape alive, and if they do...it is not without a lasting effect. Few can get over the horror of seeing what they think is their loved ones trying to kill them. It often leaves temporary to permanent emotional trauma.”
Twilight's horn began to glow, but Chrysalis stopped her with a hoof before she could gently tap Discord's forehead. “I'm afraid a soothing spell will do nothing for this. There is nothing that we can do. Discord will have to come out of it on his own...”
“And if he doesn't?” Fluttershy whimpered. The group stared up at Chrysalis with prying and desperate eyes, but the changeling didn't respond and only turned her head so she wouldn't have to look at them.
“We need to keep moving; once night hits we won't be able to see a thing in this forest...”
xxxxxxxx
Traveling with a group of soft-hearted, wimpy little kids must be starting to get to her, because Chrysalis couldn't understand why she felt something tug at her black heart as she watched the girls attempt to bring Discord back to reality. Of course, it wasn't as if she didn't have a soul at all. It was hard not to feel affected by seeing a group of helpless kids try to futilely bring their friend back to them. Hay, even her children tried to help!
Dark came sooner than it normally did. Perhaps it was just the shade of the forest, but either way, the traveling group quickly found an un-occupied cave to rest in for the night.
“How are ya feeling now, Chrysalis?” Applejack asked the changeling.
“Sore,” Chrysalis said honestly. Fluttershy had bandaged her broken wing and the mare had just escaped a concussion. “I'm sore and my wing feels as if every tendon in it has disappeared.” She stared at the limp, noodle-like appendage. “ She shrugged, and gave something close to a smile. “But I'm living.”
“Hey, come on you guys!” Spike whined, chasing after a bunch of flitting, happy little infants. “This game of tag isn't even fair! I mean, you all have wings!” He scowled as one of the babies rubbed it into his face by flitting just above where he could reach.
“Spike,” Twilight advised the scurrying dragon, “You should settle down anyway. I know you're tired, however much you want to fight it.” She smirked when the child scowled at her. “It's true, and you know it.”
Adamant to prove that wasn't true, the little dragon stuck his snout up in the air and returned to chasing the infants. Twilight rolled her eyes and just gave up. He was a kid; kids never went to bed when they were told.
Within a matter of moments, it was clear sleep was taking its toll on the children as their movements gradually began to get slower and lack luster. Chrysalis glanced up and felt her hard heart melting at the sight of the stumbling babies, and one certain little dragon.
A few of the changeling babies had already given in to sleep and rested against their mother's side. The more stubborn of the children remained stumbling and yawning, eyelids drooping. The last of her babies finally came to their mother, with only one child remaining awake.
At last, a certain baby dragon succumbed to sleep, as evident by his swaying, but Chrysalis's snout dipped down to catch him before he fell.
“I didn't know there was this side to you,” Twilight mused softly as Chrysalis tucked her children and the sleeping baby dragon under her good wing.
The changeling shrugged. “Even when you're a diabolical mare like me, when you're a mother, you just have instinct.” She glanced down with soft, aqua eyes at the peaceful infants and dragon curled up together.
“Sweetie, you need to eat something.” This was the third time today Fluttershy tried to coax anything into Discord. His mental state had recovered slightly, at least enough that he looked at someone when they said something, but he never responded. He had been mute since the incident.
Fluttershy sighed despondently as Discord's tail nudged the cupcake away. A cupcake! He was actually refusing a cupcake! “I don't know what to do...”
“As I said,” Chrysalis told the disconsolate pony, “There isn't much that can be done. He is making a little bit of progress though. At least he acknowledges when someone is talking to him. I don't know if he hears them, but...” She shrugged.
A tiny pug-like whimper sounded from the draconequus's lap, where Screwball was cuddled into her creator and pawing at his chest. She blew a raspberry up at him, waiting with a hopeful smile for him to blow her a wet one right back. But he didn't.
“It's okay, Screwy,” Fluttershy told the pony as she rubbed her mane. “He'll be alright soon, no need to cry.”
The swirly pony was persistent in her prying and ignored everypony else as she floated up to his face. A rumbling sound vibrated from her throat, purring, and the group watched, puzzled as the little mare placed her snout gently against Discord's forehead and nuzzled it.
There wasn't any reaction at first, but then Discord focused on her face and blinked hard. When he opened his eyes they were their usual vermillion and more alert. Without saying anything, Discord stared at his little companion, wrapped her up in his hands, and cuddled her up under his chin.
“Discord, sweetie!” Fluttershy breathed. “Are...are you alright?”
There was a beat, and then Discord gave a shaky nod. Finally, his lips parted and he hoarsely whispered, “I...I think so.” Immediately, Fluttershy launched herself into his arms. Still trying to process what was going on, Discord only looked down at her.
“Do you...do you remember anything that happened?”
A deep shudder shook the draconequus as he nodded grimly. “Yeah...I do.” He closed his eyes as the horrific visions flashed through his mind. His father attacking him, his father dying... “The siren...took the form of my father.”
Fluttershy draped a blanket over the draconequus's shoulder and gazed in wonderment down at the kooky little pony curled into his lap. “We thought we had lost you...” She watched as Screwball stretched and walked in a circle, laying down again. “Screwball managed to bring you back, but how? We've been trying all day.”
The spirit gazed down at the sleeping pony and smiled lightly. “Back in the day, when I first created her, my magic wasn't stable. I was strong, and I had great power, but I didn't know how to create a perfect, living being.
“Magic can do many things and there are few limits, but not everything is as easy as snapping your fingers. I wanted to create life. During my reign I had lost my family, and even villains get lonely at times. I had tried numerous times when I was younger to create a companion of chaos, but every one of them died only hours after their creation.” He smiled as the pegasus gripped his arm.
“I was sick of feeling different. I loved my magic, but I had no one to share it with. When I finally did manage to create Screwball, she lived, but not without difficulties. She became seriously ill after her creation, just like the others... I was prepared for her to die, but she was stronger than that, which surprised me. She didn't have a voice, I noticed. It was difficult for us to communicate, so I taught her to communicate through sound effects.
“She had some mental issues. She had the mindset of a two year old even though I summoned her to be a full grown pony. The main issue was her night terrors. She woke up screaming every night. I didn't get any sleep during my brief reign, but that didn't matter. Either her night terrors woke us both up or I did with my screaming from my nightmares of guilt and regret.
I found a way to calm her down and bring her back to reality. I used to press my forehead against hers.” He grinned and gave a slight shrug. “I told her that it meant our minds were connecting. I never really believed it, but it was just something silly to say to make us both feel better.” He gazed down thoughtfully at the sleeping earth pony.
“Well, maybe it's true,” Fluttershy whispered with a smile. Discord returned a fleeting smile, but it faded quickly.
“I can't believe today...everything was a hoax. F-for a thousand years, I've yearned to see my parents again. I thought I finally had a chance to tell them that I was sorry and ask their forgiveness.” He blinked as Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around his neck and rested against his shoulder.
“Discord...they do.”
Instead of denying it or agreeing, Discord only rested his chin against her shoulder and peacefully shut his eyes.
Xxxxxxxx
Chrysalis and Discord were the only ones still awake. Discord was too afraid to try and sleep again, and Chrysalis was tucking her changelings into a bed of moss. The changeling mare trotted quietly over to the make-shift bed and lowered her head, allowing the seven infants and baby dragon to delicately slip off, into the moss.
“Funny, I didn't know changelings could birth dragons. When did he become yours~?” Chrysalis rolled her eyes and turned to the smirking draconequus. She wasn't sure whether she should be relieved or annoyed that he was going back to his old, obnoxious self.
“He's not; I'm just showing my gratitude.”
“Good, because if you want to adopt the child you'll probably have to pry him away from Twilight's hooves. And trust me, she bites. I'd know. I tried to take her gummy bears once.”
Chrysalis gave the spirit a weird look, but decided not to ask on the matter. “So how are you feeling?”
“You care~?”
“I'm just trying to start a conversation here. You don't want to have nightmares and frankly I don't want to dream about my children drowning either. So it looks like it will just be the two of us awake tonight.”
Discord heaved a shuddering sigh. “I don't know what I'm supposed to feel. As if my nightmares weren't bad enough on their own, now I'm haunted by the fact that some demon took the form of my father and tried to kill me.”
“...You're hurt.”
“What?”
The spirit jumped as Chrysalis's magic engulfed his arm and illuminated a gash that he had obviously gotten from some rocks when he was pulled from the water. Her horn glowed more and a pulse of magic attacked the wound.
Discord almost screamed from the sudden, needle-piercing pain that attacked his arm. “WHAT THE BU-”
“Shut up!” Chrysalis snapped, slamming a hoof over the idiot's mouth. It didn't do much to quiet him since she had holes in her hoof. “It's just a soothing spell!”
“That is not a soothing spell!” Discord snarled into her hoof, eyes almost watering from the intense pain digging into the wound. “That is a dipped-in-salt-with-an-extra-spurt-of-acid-for-effect spell!”
The changeling smirked, enjoying the oaf's discomfort. “Our magic is more for changing, attacking and defending rather than spells. Our methods of healing are quite...aggressive.” She pointed to where Discord's flesh was slowly mending back together with invisible stitches.
“Healing magic should only be used if the situation is dire, but from what I heard you're quite susceptible to illnesses. The last thing we need is for you to develop a case of blood poisoning. That will only slow us down more and you did enough of that today when you decided to go play with a siren.”
Discord flashed her a livid glare, but the queen only smirked and crossed her hooves. A few more moments of silence passed before the spirit spoke. When he did, his voice had become quiet and somber. “Chryssy, can I ask you something?”
“Only if you promise never to call me that again, as I will gore you through your corneas with my horn if you even think about it.”
The spirit didn't react to the threat. His vermillion eyes shone with desperation and confusion. “Do you think I'm evil?”
The question caught her off guard, as shown by the perturbed look on her face. How he managed to switch moods so quickly was beyond her. She took his question in silence as she thought things over. Finally, she shook her head with a sneer.
“You're...the guardian of Equestria, and their king. You've done everything for a bunch of little girls you used to hate... You're risking your life on a dangerous journey to save an entire kingdom of ponies that probably wanted you dead a time ago.” Something barely resembling a smile crossed the changeling's face. “There are a lot of words to describe you, you ugly oaf...but evil is not one of them. And I'm not saying this because I like you, because obviously I hate you.”
The draconequus blinked and then gave a slight amused smile of his own and looked down at the cave floor.
“Get some sleep,” Chrysalis told him. “You're not much use to begin with, but you'd be utterly useless as a zombie.” She exited the cave as Discord settled down beside Fluttershy and Screwball, and she walked through the brush and into a clearing.
The queen exhaled deeply as she settled next to a spring and gazed into the waters. The tip of her horn began to glow as a gentle pulse of magic rippled the water. Her grim faced reflection disappeared, and Maelstrom's reflection came into view.
His eyebrows shot up as he smirked, both at the mare's expression and appearance. She was still banged up and battered from her battle with the siren. “My my, you certainly look ravishing. The blood really compliments your complexion, and why the long face, my dear~?”
“Just...one of those days.” Right, one of those days. One of those days where you begin questioning your motives when a group of brats save your life, and your children—twice, and with nothing to gain on their side.
“Tsk-tsk. What a shame. Does it have anything to do with why you're bruised more than a peach~?”
“Ever heard of a siren, Maelstrom?” She hopped back as he gave a hearty laugh.
“Heard of them? Why, they're practically my creations! Such beautifully conniving and manipulative creatures. How I adore the way they break their victims down to a pile of mental and emotional mush before devouring them.”
“Your evilness knows no bounds.”
“Says the mare that was hell-bent on draining an entire kingdom of their emotions.”
She smirked. “Touche.” A more serious look crossed her face. “We should be approaching the Decaying Mountains in a few days. In other words, we're almost to your realm, so I certainly hope you're prepared for us.”
“Oh indeed I am. I've prepared the most spectacular cake for your arrival, and I'm readying the loot bags and pin-the-tail-on-the-pony as we speak! What type of beverage do you think the children will prefer~? Perhaps Discord can help me decide when we get there. Of course, the center piece will be the Elements~!”
The mare frowned. “What could you want of the Elements? They're the representative of friendship and harmony, and I can't possibly see what you have to gain from them. Even Discord wasn't going to do anything with them during his reign. He simply hid them from the ponies.”
“Well...” A malicious sparkle came to the entity's blood, red eyes as he feigned a look of innocence and curiosity. “Perhaps I want to know more about the magic of friendship and love. Perhaps I could get that kid draconequus to teach me.”
“And what do you want of Discord?”
The demon smirked and wagged a claw at her. “Nosy, nosy; what I want with the boy is of no concern of yours. Concentrate on your duty, my dear. Til next we meet.” We waved his fingers at her mockingly. “Toodles~”
Chrysalis sat back against the bank and thought back to the events of the day. Mostly all she really thought about was Twilight; Twilight offering to sacrifice herself for her children, and Twilight tackling her out of the way from the incoming siren. She remembered the way Fluttershy nuzzled her children and how they had cuddled right into her.
And then she remembered the little dragon; not much older than her own children, and yet he still courageously put his life on the line to save them.
There was no way Chrysalis could harm any of them now. Of course, killing them wasn't in her top priorities anyway. She more so would have just handed them to Maelstrom so he could do what he wanted with them. Perhaps a comfortable prison would suffice instead of an untimely end when she took over with Maelstrom. Maybe she'd be able to convince him to spare the group.
An eye for an eye, she thought.
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(So this is the un-editted version; I have to post them like this now until they're edited by my professional editor. c: I'm just a noob that knows nothing about grammar. XD
The idea of Chrysalis subconsciously mothering Spike is just too freaking adorable. I'm thinking at one point I might do a small side story with the two of them. Don't know what it'd be about though.
Poor Discord, he never gets a break.
On the other hoof, how great was the premiere?! c: WELL...not the best, in my opinion. Enjoyable and ponies, yeah, but a few things just made it seem less epic than it should have been. But man, black magic. Didn't think we'd see Twilight use that. Why do I have the feeling Twilight is going to be the next ruler of Equestria? XD)
(Just a brief author's note, Sympathy's name has been changed to Purity.)
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Maelstrom breezily cruised through the temple halls. It was black other than the illumination of a string of torches on the wall. The entity gazed absently at the portraits of the Council, and the group of low life creatures he had the pleasure of spending most of the waking moments of his life with.
Finally, Maelstrom stopped at the two best portraits, in his opinion. He and Purity really were the most photogenic of the entire group. Purity had the grace of a flower dancing in the breeze, and the beauty of the twinkling stars.
Not even more than two feet away, and pinned to the wall at a higher angle than his portrait, hung the painting of one beast Maelstrom loathed more than anyone in all of the realms. Even on a inanimate piece of wax paper, the detestable worm still looked at him with that smug look, reminding him he'd always carry a higher title.
The god's hateful, crimson eyes scanned Astraia's photo right next to him. He hated her just as much. She was a direct copy of that miserable wretch and just as judgmental.
In a smaller frame below the two was the first offspring of the King and Queen. Little Celestia was still so young; at just the tender age of two she was still so easily corruptible. If only Maelstrom had access to get to her, but he had been forbidden to see the little sun princess and threatened with death if he attempted it.
It hadn't stopped the child from approaching him in curiosity one day. Oh, Maelstrom would never forget that day. The naive, spoiled little princess had wrinkled her face up at his appearance and asked why he had looked so strange. She had been quite talkative for a two year old. Maelstrom had remembered picking the girl up and sitting with her in his lap as if he was one of her family.
Before he had the chance to taint her little infant mind, he was blasted with a powerful current of fire and Aegeus had whisked the girl out of his arms quicker than a whip. Any attempt to get close to the King's daughter after that was always thwarted by a magical barrier that the King and Queen had summoned around Celestia as a precaution.
It never broke his hope that one day he'd be able to get to her, when Aegeus and Astraia were unable to protect the girl anymore. Mommy and Daddy wouldn't be able to keep Uncle Maelstrom from instilling darkness into her and destroying those pathetic notions of harmony.
“Maelstrom?”
The entity was broken from his venomous thoughts and realized he had a claw raised and engulfed with flames, inches away from Aegeus's portrait. A smile snaked across his face as he floated over to Purity. “Purity, darling, Aegeus told me you wanted to see me?”
“That I did.” Purity's normally serene and heavenly tone had become hard and stern, and her soft, blue eyes were riddled with anger. She led the god towards a large, stone table in the middle of a room.
“Perhaps you can tell me how the book got this way.”
Maelstrom stalked closer to the table and watched as tendrils of pure, black magic seeped from the pages of the book. The ominous, sinister energy curled around him, filling his black heart with the demonic aura. He inhaled deeply through his nose, as if he was smelling the most pleasant aroma. “It's beautiful, isn't it?”
“No it isn't!” Purity snapped at him. She rarely raised her voice, even to Maelstrom. “You corrupted the entire book! These changes—these spells you added, they are permanent! They cannot be erased! And the supply of this magic paper is low. I can't just get a new book.”
“So don't,” Maelstrom told her with a casual shrug. “I don't see the big deal. This book of spells; it's to provide guidance to the mortals when we leave them on their own. It has every magic a mortal could possibly want to use.”
“This book is supposed to have only one type of magic,” Purity growled, “White magic. These spells are supposed to prosper the inhabitants of this world. It has healing spells and purifying spells, and spells of love and harmon-”
“Oh, GAG me!” Maelstrom cried, yanking at his ears fiercely. “I can't hear anymore!”
“And now there's no way to remove the spells you added!” Purity glared at one of the pages. “You added curses! You added a spell for disabling magic? That requires a tremendous level of power and knowledge. The results of this spell could be catastrophic!”
“Well then, let's hope an idiot doesn't attempt it,” Maelstrom chuckled. He hopped back a bit, a startled smirk on his face when Purity's leopard paw furiously slammed against the table.
“That does not matter! These spells are not supposed to be in here in the first place!!” The room lapsed into silence, save for Purity's heavy breathing as she glared at the silent immortal.
Purity realized flying into a rage wasn't doing any good, and it did nothing to make her feel better. She soothed her anger and gently cupped his face in her hands.
“Darling, please listen to me. The Council is already angry enough with you. You know what your penalty could be. You could face the threat of death.” She blinked, and there were tears in her eyes. “I don't want that to happen.”
There was a moment of silence, and Maelstrom heaved a sigh and threw up his arms. “Very well then. I'll stay away from the book, dearest.” Not that it would do any good. The damage has been done, Purity.
Purity had heard it all before; the lies that he wasn't doing anything wrong, the empty promises that he would better himself, and the fake apologies. Still, she refused to believe there wasn't at least a speck of light in her husband. There had to be something, or maybe she was too far in denial to ever see the truth.
“Thank you, love.” She pressed a kiss to his lips, which he immediately returned. Purity had always wished she could be Maelstrom's humanity, that she could help him see the light. After all, he still loved her. So that had to say something, right?
Maelstrom smirked to himself as he stalked off. He'd keep his promise to his wife, no doubt about that.
After all, he mused with a smirk of glee as he summoned up the rusted, colored stones. Soon I won't need that book at all.
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Temperatures dropped to sub zero that night. In addition to the howling winds and sudden, frigid rain, it made for one uncomfortable, cold night of sleep.
Discord wearily lifted his head off the rocky surface and discovered he wasn't the only one awake from the weather conditions. The sleeping bags were thin. It was in the middle of summer and the thought of packing warmer sleep wear, just in case, hadn't even crossed anypony's mind when they were setting off.
Shivering, Discord raised a talon with the intent to easily summon up some furry blankets, but the dim spark of magic faded to nothing as he raised a solitary claw. Muttering angrily, he vaguely recalled Chrysalis's warning that he may not have magic for several hours after the siren encounter. So hopefully a demon would wait until tomorrow to attack.
Shivering, Discord curled up tightly and expanded his fur as much as his muscles would allow for extra heat. About to drift back off (most likely into a land of nightmares), the spirit could hear the distinct sound of chattering and grinding. Cracking a vermillion eye open, he turned to see a tiny lavender, and saffron form curled up together a couple of feet away from him.
His burgundy tail slid away from his body and wrapped itself around both Fluttershy and Screwball, tugging them close to his body. Even with his exhausted eyes shut, he felt the two bodies settle and start to warm, and he smiled gently.
A few moments passed and Discord heard the sound of quiet hoof steps on the rocks. He opened his eyes—only to see nothing but a neon pink and feel something warm lay across his outstretched arms. Sure enough, the groggy draconequus found himself staring down at the content and smiling face of Pinkie Pie.
From across the shallow cave, Discord heard the shifting of blankets. He didn't think anything of it until he felt a warm presence curled up under his wing and nestled into Fluttershy and Screwball. Twilight.
When did he become these ponies' personal heated bed?
Awake and alert, the remaining ponies at the back of the room glanced over at the snuggled bundle of ponies and exchanged looks. Finding that huddling together didn't do anything for warmth, they decided it was the better option and Discord soon found himself with more ponies draped over him.
Chrysalis and her babies were the only ones alone now, curled up together in a small group that did nothing against the icy fingers of the night. The mare snorted in rage at the indignant thought of snuggling up with everyone else, especially Discord. If those imbeciles wanted to cuddle together, then they could be her guest.
What little warmth against her body was suddenly gone as the changeling discovered her babies and Spike had left their spot at her side. They were a few feet away from her now, and looking pointedly at the others.
“Go on,” Chrysalis said, feeling a small flicker of hurt at their choice. “You can go where it's warm.”
The children toddled a few steps closer to the sleeping group, and then glanced back at their mother. They crooned softly and motioned to her, and to the group. Chrysalis snorted louder and whipped her head the other way.
Not intending on looking back, an eye betrayed her as it wandered curiously to glance behind her. The children had made themselves comfortable under a welcoming wing, smushed up against Twilight and Fluttershy, but still happy regardless.
The changeling queen snorted in indignation at the pestering thought in her head. She must have snorted at least ten times before she finally, grudgingly pushed herself up, and walked very cautiously up to the group.
Everyone was squished together in a heap of fur and scales, no longer shivering or looking to be in any discomfort. She snorted again, this time in amusement, at seeing Pinkie Pie somehow sprawled across Discord's face with her butt right between his eyes.
Chrysalis stared down at the group a moment longer, before making her mind and turning away.
That's when a serpentine tail gently curled around her hoof. Discord didn't open his eyes, but Chrysalis knew that had been a conscious action. She stared down at his quietly breathing form, and down at her hoof. Then, she silently laid down next to her children, with the tip of the draconequus's wing barely grazing her back.
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Most of the group was still huddled together the next morning when sunlight leaked into the entrance of the cave. Chrysalis didn't want to admit it, but she couldn't remember the last time she had felt so comfortable. The sun rays beaming down on her just added to that.
The changeling queen groggily lifted herself from the rocky surface, and was confused by the weight on her head. She jolted, startled by the pink hoof hanging in her face. Oh for the love of Equestria. Pinkie Pie was sleeping on her head.
What in Tartarus's name is with this pony's sleeping habits? She could just throw the mare against the wall, but that probably wouldn't even wake her. Rolling her eyes to herself, Chrysalis nudged the pink pony off of her head and let her plop gently to the rocky ground beneath her.
Chrysalis stood up and stretched. The warm beams of the sun hit her face; a far cry from last night's below freezing temperatures. The mare couldn't help but give a smile. Everything was so peaceful, and so calm. From the heavenly rays, to the gentle breeze rustling her mane, it was hard not to be content.
Suddenly, a blood curdling scream tore through the air. Instantly, the sleeping group of ponies jolted awake and utter chaos broke loose as they tore from the cave and down the path, the terrifying sound of Rarity's screams still echoing in their ears.
Realizing the screams were coming from the direction of the lake, Chrysalis feared it was a siren. Sure they had seen what looked like the demon drowning, but sirens were not easy to kill. It was more likely it had gone to regenerate and it was still at large.
“Rarity!” Twilight shouted, “We're coming!” The panicked group skidded to a stop at the clearing to the lake, and they couldn't believe what they saw.
Hunched over the shallow waters of the lake, Rarity was wailing into her hooves. Her normally gorgeous, purple bangs didn't spill over her face like they normally did. ...She didn't have any purple bangs, or any hair for that matter.
“Oh, my coiffure!” Rarity wailed, “My beautiful coiffure! It's gone!”
It was no secret as to what happened to Rarity's mane, especially when the group heard the hysterical laughter from above them, in a tree.
“Oh relax, my little pony! Why, haven't you heard, my dear? Bald is in this season!” He dissolved into obnoxious cackling once more.
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie collapsed to the ground in uproarious laughter, and even Chrysalis had to bite her lip and turn her head. The more sympathetic ponies like Twilight and Fluttershy approached the distressed mare.
“Rarity.” Twilight's voice went up into a hysterical squeak, and she had to quickly swallow to fight back her own raucous laughter. Clearing her throat and regaining her composure, the unicorn took a deep breath to say something. Then she started laughing as well.
“You!” Rarity seethed at the laughing draconequus. “Why you wicked beast! You horrible, cruel and unspeakable creature! You will pay for this crime against FASHION!!”
Watching as Rarity gave chase to the mirthful spirit and screamed all sorts of horrible things she would do to him, the entire group could only laugh. Where they would be annoyed by Discord's chaos, especially so early in the morning, the group could only feel relief. After yesterday, they weren't even sure if he would ever be the same again.
“I never thought I'd be happy to see Discord tormenting us,” Twilight commented through a stream of breathless giggles. Nodding her head, Chrysalis found it oddly difficult to disagree.
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Celestia had stood on the edge of this balcony ever since she was a kid. She always loved raising the sun here because then she would be able to stand in the warm rays, and watch as they cast their light down on her prospering kingdom, the luscious grass, and the pristine lakes all around Equestria. Most of all, she loved to watch her beloved subjects canter about and begin life once more.
That was not the case today.
The great orb of light rose from beyond the horizon, and spilled a cascade of rays onto the dying land. The emerald, dew platted grass had now become a pale, crackling yellow with black sprouts of the remnants of wilted flowers.
Instead of bustling commoners going about their day, the land was almost entirely deserted. Even in the busy city of Canterlot, many food markets had closed and there was only a couple of farms barely getting by.
Lakes were lucky to have three feet of water, if at all, and it was now seldom you'd see a lustrous flower. Plants everywhere had nearly all died out completely.
Ponyville and Canterlot were barely getting by, and it had only been a little over a month that these disasters had started. Celestia had arranged with the officials of regions that hadn't been tormented by drought and famine to borrow some necessities for survival.
Every couple of days, the Wonderbolts rounded up a group of pegasus and flew to a region somewhere across the country to receive water. The water was taken back and split among Ponyville and Canterlot by the weather pegasus and the citizens. The citizens mostly used it on their farms and to share as drinking water, while the weather pegasus used a portion to create a very brief rain.
This temporary solution would not be able to sustain them for very long. At the rate life was going now, Ponyville and Canterlot would be exterminated within a matter of weeks.
As a Queen and her people's hope, Celestia felt utterly helpless. She was unable to counter this black magic with her own, and she couldn't just summon up a glass of water for every citizen in the region. She had never felt more helpless or stressed before in her entire life.
Tearfully, the mare laid back in her bed and grazed a hoof over her stomach. At least the nausea wasn't as bad. Although, that was probably because she spent the entire night throwing up and had nothing left in her stomach to make her feel sick.
She missed her husband, she missed her sister, and she missed the little ponies she had sent out on a journey to the unknown. Other than a few letters back and forth, there was no way for her to communicate with her beloved husband, and there was no telling when she would see him again.
“My Queen.” The mare groggily raised her head to see Rain Drizzle at the door. “You have a visitor. Should I let him in?”
“Of course,” Celestia mumbled, not even caring who the visitor could be. She was utterly lonely and miserable.
The doors opened by a magic force of the guards, and in stepped a stallion Celestia had never seen before. Yet, somehow, he was vaguely familiar.
The stallion's fur coat looked like it had been dyed in caramel, which got a little darker near the bottoms of his hooves. The most perplexing thing, unlike Celestia had ever seen, were the swirls in his jade eyes. Immediately, Celestia knew he wasn't from this realm.
“Good morning, Queen Celestia,” Caramel Corn began. He hesitated and gazed mournfully at the perishing lands outside the castle. “However good we can call it...”
“Good morning.” The queen found herself staring due to his appearance, and blushed from her rudeness. “Apologies. What can I do for you? I've never seen you around here before.” She laughed, “Granted, I can't possibly know all of my subjects, but...”
The stallion smiled and kowtowed. “My apologies as well. My name is Sergeant Caramel Corn. I'm from the realm of Disarray, and captain of its army.” A hazed look came to his eye. “I've come to ask for your help with something.”
“And what would that be?”
“Tragedy has befallen our land, as I'm sure it has for you. The only difference is we have nobody to help us. King Discord has left to figure out the source of this problem, and I am only his adviser, and an earth pony. There is only so much I can do.”
Celestia felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach, and she motioned the stallion to follow her. “My friend, I'm afraid I am as helpless as you are under these circumstances. The plagues that have been scattered across our lands were sent by a powerful curse. The magic is too strong for either me or my husband to counter it.”
Her horn glowed with a powerful aura, that swung the library doors open. The stallion clopped after the mare and gazed around in wonderment. He had never seen this many books before! “What are we doing here, your majesty?”
“Please, just call me Celestia. I bear no title over your people and I'd hate to feel as if I'm responsible for the downfall of even more of my subjects.” The stallion quieted.
The alabaster mare moved past the dusty, forgotten shelves, and trotted up a few carpeted steps until she reached...a wall. Caramel Corn stared at her in puzzlement, and back at the wall. “Your ma—Celestia? Why have you brought us to a wall?”
Without saying anything, the tip of Celestia's horn glowed with another pulse of magic. The trails of gold traced the outline of a large section of bricks on the wall. With a brief, blinding flash, the section of bricks disappeared, revealing a secret door.
“Try not to inhale too much dust,” the queen joked dryly, as she led them in. Another pulse of magic engulfed her horn, this time creating a light to bring the room into view. The room was barely the size of a closet and bulged with books from every dust-devoured shelf.
“What is this place?”
“The hidden corner of the library. This room is my father's; it is filled with ancient history and spell books. I figure if I'm lucky, I might find some way to counter this plague with another kind of magic.”
“Another kind of magic?”
A sphere of magic engulfed several books and levitated one of them in front of Caramel Corn. “This is a book on your world's history. I used it to figure out how to open the portal to Disarray again. If you're lucky, you might find something in this book that can help you until Discord returns.”
Caramel Corn silently tucked the book into his saddlebag and nodded his thanks. The desperate look of crumbling hope in his eyes tore through Celestia's heart like a knife.
“There isn't any spell book here that can help?” Caramel Corn asked quietly. “I heard the legends of a great spell book with the strongest spells in Equestria. In fact, I heard that's what killed the former King and Queen.”
Celestia shut her eyes tightly. “I know of which book you are referring to, and the answer is no. That book can't help you. Few have been able to harness the magic in that book and it has led to nothing but disasters. It is a vile, vicious book that shouldn't be existing.”
“So why is it?”
Celestia took the question in silence for several moments, remembering the moments after her parents' deaths. The hatred she felt for that book—there were no words. She remembered screaming and trying to throw the book. She remembered trying to burn the book, and she remembered the burning pain of electrocution when she tried to tear its pages.
“Because it can't be destroyed,” Celestia whispered. “Not in our world, anyway. Not with our resources. Alicorn's Power was crafted with an ancient magic, and this kind of magic can't be found anymore.
“This is the magic that can alter the book and erase the spells so it will only have spells crafted from pure, white magic. If that's all the book had in the first place, many things in this life wouldn't be the way they are today.”
“Like what?”
“For one thing, my parents would still be alive, and the changelings would not be a threat to us. In fact, they wouldn't be the changelings at all. They'd be the benevolent and kind species they once were. Discord would not have tried to take over this land, and would have little chaos magic, if any. There's too many to list, my friend.”
“So where is the book now?” Caramel Corn asked quietly.
“Hidden,” Celestia said shortly. “Hidden and locked away, where it will forever stay. I am never taking my chance with that book again. It has destroyed too many lives, mine included. It's traumatized my family, and especially my husband.”
Another moment of silence passed, and Celestia encased a stack of her father's books in another sphere of magic. “I'm going to see if I can find anything in my father's records that can help us. I'm very sorry I couldn't have done more for your people, Caramel.”
The stallion shrugged and gave an appreciative smile. “You did your best, your majesty.” Before she could rebuke him, he held up a hoof and gave her a playful grin. “And yes, I am going to call you 'your majesty', because you are a Queen, and as long as you offer to help us, you have the respect of our people too.”
The queen felt a warmness flood through her heart as she gave a quiet nod, and closed the entrance to the room behind them.
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“Okay, okay, anypony else startin' ta' have second thoughts about Discord being back to normal?” Applejack deadpanned. Although it was hard to hear her through the tissue over her mouth, as well as the rest of her body.
“What?” Discord quipped, “I wanted a mummy!”
It was late afternoon now, and the siren's forest was miles behind. Thankfully, nothing else had risen past the lakes, and there was no more uncanny weather to slow them down. Chrysalis would say things were going well, but to say it would jinx it.
“Do hush your complaining, Applejack,” Rarity snapped, “At least he didn't do anything to sully your mane!” She finally had her amethyst curls back. It only took the threat to cut off all of the draconequus's scales and use them as fringes on one of her capes.
“Oh come now, my little ponies!” Discord snickered, “My pranks are how I show my love~!”
“Wowie, if that's the case then you must love Twilight the most!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. A hoof gestured to the lavender mare currently covered in glitter, glue...and molasses. “You rained molasses on her the longest!”
“I guess the plan to let the brat have only three freebies a day went out the window,” Twilight griped under her breath. She coughed and spluttered as she accidentally inhaled a mouthful of molasses and glue.
“Then I guess he loves Chrysalis the least,” Pinkie Pie giggled. The changeling mare hadn't had anything done to her yet, for which the group were thankful. They hardly wanted to be cleaning bloody pieces of him off the trees and ground.
Chrysalis's eyes glinted with a slight, mirthful malice. “That or he simply fears what I could do to him.”
“Oh please!” Discord scoffed. “Don't flatter yourself, my dear! There is not one part of me that fears one part of you! In fact...” The most devilish smirk came to the draconequus's face, and to the ponies' alarm, he began to stalk towards her. “Let me prove it to you...”
The changeling mare snorted rudely, but before she could take another step forward, Discord abruptly swept her off her feet. The Queen could only let out a filly-ish squeak of surprise as she suddenly found herself upside down in his arms in a blur of motion.
The girls cried out in horror. They were legitimately fearing for the dracoenquus's life. Certainly Chrysalis had eased up a bit on the evil side since the siren incident, but they didn't imagine this would go over well.
“What by Tartarus's name ARE YOU DOING?!” Chrysalis screamed in rage. She barely craned her neck up to shoot a glare of daggers and murder at the draconequus, only to stare in confusion and further rage at the totally not-intimidated smirk on his face. Before she could snarl anything else, he abruptly took a deep breath, and...
KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
The group flattened their ears from the sudden, high pitched shriek that they at first thought was coming from Chrysalis's mouth. Upon further looking, they realized it was emanating from her hooves, that were vibrating rapidly.
Chrysalis could hardly believe the unbelievable indignity of what was going on. She, the mighty, feared-all-around changeling queen was being played like a damn bagpipe! Her hooves struggled and a snort threatened to burst out at the tingle against her hooves. With a fierce kick against his chest, she managed to free herself, nearly sending Discord back onto his haunches.
The cocky smirk on the draconequus's face faded the moment he saw the terrifying expression on Chrysalis's once she manged to regain her composure. He backed up a few steps as Chrysalis took a stance.
The snake-like eyes of the changeling burned with an emerald fire, and her snout twisted up in a fierce snarl, baring her sharp fangs. The group cried out as the mare's horn suddenly began to spark with green bolts of lightning so bright the terrified ponies had to shield their eyes.
Whipping her head back, a cascading blast of green energy slammed into Discord with a roaring crackle, and he promptly collapsed to the ground, glowing an un-natural green.
“Discord!!” Fluttershy screamed.
There was no sound or movement from the draconequus at first, and then he began to twist around rapidly on the ground, roaring with laughter fit to burst a lung. “NOHOHO! NOT THIS AG-HAHA-AIN!!”
The girls stared in awe at Chrysalis, whose look of seething rage and murder had morphed into a dark and triumphant smirk.
“It's a convenient spell I learned to wrangle him back in our childhood, that I almost forgot about, until now. It consumes his entire body in tickling sensations—far beyond anything your measly duster could ever do.” She snickered; there was a cruel, but slightly playful smile on her face. “A brutal torture without causing any bodily harm.”
Twilight relaxed. Despite the poor spirit going ballistic in laughter (and possible respiratory distress), she felt an odd sense of peace. Perhaps there was the smallest shred of care left between the draconequus and changeling since this was all Chrysalis chose to do to the draconequus. Or, perhaps she was just leaning too much into things.
“He's going to pass out soon,” Twilight mused, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her face, despite everything.
“Yes, exactly. At least then we won't have to worry about his incessant chattering for about an hour.” Okay, perhaps Twilight had been leaning too far into things.
With a sigh, the unicorn cast a spell on the spirit to extinguish the torture, leaving Discord twitching and wheezing out a few hoarse giggles into the sand.
“Everyone.” The changeling turned sharply to the group, causing the ponies closest to her to ram into her from behind. “We're here.”
The group of bewildered ponies could only stare in sheer awe at the sight before their eyes.
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Dear Sister,
I miss you and my brother more and more everyday. It's hilarious, really, because there were days where I just wanted him to blow away, but you know I love him. He is my brother, after all.
Fillydelphia is a little more stable than it was when I got here. That's not to say they haven't had some tragedies. We've buried many since I got here. And many buried themselves in the earthquake.
I pray to our Mother and Father that Discord and the girls are faring better on their journey. They must hurry and solve this problem, or Equestria will be no more.
I should get some sleep, and you should as well. Give my love to my little niece or nephew!
Your dear sister, Luna
Celestia closed her eyes mournfully and let a tear slide down her face. The haunting words continued to play in her head: Equestria will be no more... The entire country was rapidly deteriorating, and this was just her country. There was no telling what toll these plagues were taking on all of the realms.
The Queen sifted through her large stack of books with magic, and wiped a layer of dust off the covers. There were books on Equestrian history and spells with weak healing incantations, but nothing that could help her with this madness.
Celestia was about to go to give up, until a book in the pile caught her eye. It was tiny; more like your average address book than an Equestrian text book.
This book was dated before she was even born, and the title was scrawled in Equestrian, and in very distinguishable handwriting. This belonged to her father.
Celestia delicately flipped the pages of the book with magic. She was almost scared to touch them. They were so thin, frail, and yellowed at the edges from age.
The first page the Queen turned to immediately had her do a double take. It was the Elements! Or...was it? It had the same diamond-like appearance before they became jewelry, but the gemstones had a far more jagged appearance. The smoother curves of the diamonds looked needle sharp, and the vibrant colors had become darker, with a tinge of gray to them.
The Council has Maelstrom in custody, where he belongs. I managed to appeal to them and convince them out of giving him the death penalty. That has to be the fifth time I've saved the ungrateful creature's life.
Purity has been trying to decipher the mysterious powers of these stones he's crafted. The Council wants to destroy them, for their demonic power is too dangerous to chance, but Purity is convinced that if this power is harnessed and changed, it could be beneficial for our people. I only hope that she's right.
For now, at least we're all at ease that Maelstrom is in custody. At least now we don't have to worry about his evil or him trying to get to my daughter.
Maelstrom. Why did that name sound so familiar?
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“Mistah, why do ya look 'tho funny?”
“My, my, what a rude question, little one! Haven't your parents taught you any manners? Surely they've mentioned something about me!”
“Well....what' yer name?”
“How about you try to guess it, little Tia.”
“You know me?”
“Indeed I do, dear little princess. Why, I'm your Uncle Maelstrom~!”
“Das'a funny name.”
“No funnier than Celestia. Perhaps we should get to know each other.”
“I like cr'wayons. Ar'we you one of da ponies trwyin' ta' help th' wor'ld?”
“Oh yeah... I'm trying to help the world alright.”
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(Unedited version. Any mistakes you see don't hesitate to point them out. I don't bite! ...Unless you take my gummy bears.
Adorable cuddling scene is inspired by "Land Before Time". It looks like Chrysalis is starting to warm up to her traveling companions. So what's going to happen when they realize she's stabbed them in the back?
Those of you that paid close attention to this chapter would have probably gotten a massive chill at one eerie point. c: Let's see if you know what part.
Next chapter synopsis: The ponies are only one step away from the gates of Tartarus, and Chrysalis has one final choice to make up her mind to follow Maelstrom or not; meanwhile, Celestia continues unearthing more of Aegeus's reccords, and starts to realize the danger she's put the ponies in.)
“I'm shocked at you, Aegeus! After all these years, all the time we've been through, I would have thought you had more fight in you.”
The bleeding, bone-broken stallion painfully rose to his feet, his cream-orange horn sparking with amber magic and spurts of blood from the injuries done to it. “I'm not down and out yet, you coward.”
“Oh, a coward, am I?” Maelstrom laughed. “Granted it took me eons to finally stand up to you, but I think I've made my assertiveness quite clear, don't you?”
The stallion snarled and sent another cascading blast of fire at the demon. “You're not as strong as you think. You resort to some evil stones to do your dirty work for you, you low life rat.”
“I wouldn't speak so boldly to me if I were you; I'm the one holding relics that could very easily melt your face and your horn into a pile of goo.”
“You manipulated the entire clan!” Aegeus snarled, “You took lives to make your gems of absolute power! You tricked those draconeqii to turn against all of us!”
“What can I say, it takes a little bit of sacrifice to get what you want,” Maelstrom drawled, lazily juggling the rusted stones in his hands. “If it helps, the spirits of those draconeqii will be remembered in these stones.”
He laughed as the magic from the gems trapped Aegeus in a force field, nearing him. “This is what true power is, reverting the very souls of living beings and manipulating their minds to change who they are.”
Aegeus slowly shook his head. “You're a monster. You're nothing but pure evil.”
All that received was a chilling laugh as Maelstrom prepared to deliver the death blow. “What was your first clue?”
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Chrysalis hated the girls. She hated the girls, she hated Discord, and she especially hated the little dragon that found himself asleep on her back, nuzzled into her hair with his scaly arm looped around one of her babies.
Peculiar, one would certainly think, since she was willingly allowing Spike to cuddle her and had expressed concerns and gratitude for the traveling group that had saved her and her childrens' lives numerous times now. That was just it; that was why she hated them. She hated them because even the smallest shred in her dark heart cared about them.
The queen chalked it all up to her damn, still-remaining-loving Flutterpony instincts, but she knew the emotions ran deeper than that. She had known that insufferable draconequus since they were fillies and colts, and she owed this group of girls her childrens' lives.
Damn. Changelings weren't supposed to feel this way. Emotions were a necessity in a changeling's life, but not in the way they were for most ponies. They fed off emotions. They fed off love. That was all the use feelings were ever supposed to be to changelings.
Now with the downgraded hunger Maelstrom's spell had given them, emotions didn't serve much of a use for the changeling and her few children, and yet the mare found herself feeling them strongly.
They were far past Decaying Mountains by this point, and only about a half hour away from Tartarus. The queen only had a half hour to make up her mind about what she was going to do: lead the unsuspecting group into a brutal trap or collaborate with them to get out of this mess safely.
“Be on your guard,” the changeling told the nervous ponies. “We are nearing the most dangerous realm in existence, and the strength of the demons and monsters is incomprehensible. Even with Discord's magic at full power now, monsters will be a challenge for even him.”
The area surrounding the group emanated a translucent, golden hue from where a protective bubble was keeping them out of sight. Monsters were everywhere, and surrounded the entire group. They were oblivious to the ponies as long as the spell stayed up.
“I'm scared,” Fluttershy whispered into Discord's fur. She was tucked in his arms with a whimpering Screwball, peering frightened eyes out at the demons around them.
“Yes, and I'm with you on that,” Discord chortled shakily. “Those monsters do look like they're hankering for some pony flesh, as well as a big, fat old draconequus that tastes like sugar and cotton candy.”
“How long will your shield stay up?” Twilight asked him.
“Normally, this shield would stay up as long as I tell it to and it's regularly invincible. However, due to the certain...location we're in, the Decaying Mountains compromises with my magic. There are so many creatures here, and this is of course where the more demonic ones like fuaths and basilisks originate from. They have the ability to suck out any magic in the surrounding area. Comforting, no~?”
The unicorn's ears pinned back, having been dreading that kind of answer. “So how long do we have?”
“About a half hour—that should at least get us to the gates, and then all we have to worry about is Cereberus.”
Applejack chuckled. “Ah wouldn't worry about 'im. Fluttershy managed to subdue 'im pretty well with a belly rub last time.”
“Oh yes, her belly rubs are absolute magic.”
Chrysalis paused briefly in her trot long enough to picture the ludicrous image of Fluttershy attempting to subdue Maelstrom with a belly rub. She almost burst out laughing at the thought. Well, if the little bearer of kindness was able to reform and befriend the spirit of chaos and the guard dog of hell, maybe she did stand a chance against Maelstrom.
“Do we have...any idea of what we're going to face?” Twilight asked. “Are we up against a thousand demons? Some...leak of evil magic? Some monster we've never even heard of? “ She looked over at Chrysalis. “Do you have any idea?”
Personally, I'd go with the 'monster you've never heard of', that's probably capable of snapping even Discord in half, or use him as a skipping rope. She'd have to remember that. It'd be perfect payback for how he played her like a bagpipe.
“No, I have no idea.” Again Chrysalis had to stifle a giggle at the mental images.
The golden bubble around them began to flicker, indicating the group was quickly running out of time, and there was at least ten minutes to go before they were safe from all these monsters....and in the territory of even more monsters.
“We're running out of time!” Rarity exclaimed, “Make that shield of yours stronger!” She blanched at a particular grueling monster with thick, foaming saliva dripping from its fangs. “Oh, disgusting...”
Discord's talon flickered, squeezing out the last bit of juice to power the shield, but it didn't do much to stop the dwindling power. “There's Cerberus!”
The large guard dog of hell stood at the side of the gate, far larger and fiercer than Fluttershy remembered. The three headed beast was flat on its tummy, breathing heavily and peacefully as it slept. Its breath was like the air from a furnace.
“I don't believe it,” Fluttershy squeaked. “It looks so different!”
“It would,” Chrysalis pointed out. “The evil of Tartarus has become stronger, and the beasts inhabiting the land have become more sinister and powerful.” She smirked. “So have fun with the dog.”
“If I had it my way I'd transform that mutt into a fluffy Pomeranian,” Discord muttered to himself. “Stupid...magic sucking monsters. Come on, this shield is not going to last forever. There should be enough time for us to slip through the gate.”
“Why the hay would the gate be open?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “No wonder monsters are getting out!”
“There's a difference between the seal of the realm itself, and the gate. The gate is how mortals who have been sentenced to suffering in this realm manage to get in, but the seal itself is what prevents the demons from releasing into our world. Something is weakening the seal, which is how the lands are cursed and the monsters are roaming.”
“Right, right, let's have this discussion when we're inside the gate, in the safety of...” The draconequus trailed off. “Alright then, so let's just have this discussion another time.”
The group of ponies quietly crept past the sleeping guard dog, pausing at the entrance to the gates long enough to look at the beast.
“Still want to pet his belly, Flutter Butter?” Discord sniggered. The pony scowled at him.
“Just get in the gate!”
There were many things the group was expecting the moment they stepped through the gates; blinding heat, or the sight of fire and thousands of demon eyes staring at them. Instead, the only thing that washed over their bodies was an ice cold chill, and the sensations of thousands of demonic presences.
Almost everything was pitch black other than the illumination of a dim crimson from the skies above. The ponies turned when a golden light lit the darkness behind them.
Discord hovered there, his entire being brimming with intense magic, and his talon sparking brightly to guide them through the dark forest. He felt more powerful than he had in ages, and had no idea if he should be elated or concerned about that.
“How...interesting my magic came back the moment we stepped in this realm.” Shouldn't Tartarus have the adverse effect on him? Then again, it was a realm entirely different from Equestria, and the Decaying Mountains marked the end of Equestria. Perhaps he was at a safe enough distance from the magic sucking demons by now.
He didn't want to think of any other reasons as to why he felt strong in Tartarus.
“At the very least we have enough light now,” Twilight mumbled, igniting her horn for some extra guidance through the black abyss.
The group continued to trek carefully through the silent forest, preparing for any given moment that a demon would lunge at them. They had only been walking for a few minutes before they became aware of the ominous, black silhouettes surrounding them.
Even Chrysalis felt her chest convulse with a surge of fear, as she had seen these shadows tormenting the damned souls of the living and knew what they were capable of. The ghostly entities just floated there, silently staring at the petrified group with the gaps of light that were their eyes.
As Discord and Chrysalis prepared for an attack, they fled, all ascending out the top of the forest without giving any of them so much as a second glance. The group exhaled in relief.
“Scary shadow monsters,” Twilight murmured; “Check that off the list of Things To Watch Out For In Tartarus.”
Pinkie Pie quivered, her hooves knocking together as she gazed around the insidious land. “This doesn't look like a nice place to stay. It's so dark and...it could really use some color and sunshine!”
“Yes, well remind me to bring confetti and balloons on our next trip,” Discord snapped. “We can have a party to liven up the place.”
Ten minutes into the journey, the group of ponies spotted a crack of light in the distance, spilling in blood red rays. They weren't sure whether or not to they should be relieved at leaving the cold forest, and into....most likely a more frightening and dangerous situation.
Discord floated closer to the red opening and turned to the mares. “Here is where you kids stop. I'm not letting you go any further.”
Every jaw hung in shock, and Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof. “You've gotta be kidding me! You think we're just going to let you go confront....whatever you're confronting ALONE?”
“Yes,” the spirit said sternly. “We're in Tartarus and I'm the best bet out of all of us against whatever monster is in there causing everything. Plus, I have excellent negotiating skills. I'll be able to persuade it to stop this carnage easily~”
Chrysalis bit her lip. Her plan wouldn't work this way. “You are strong, Discord, but I really feel you should have the Elements as back ups. They're the strongest relics known to Equestria, and should your magic and...negotiating fail, you'll have another plan up your sleeve.”
The draconequus looked thoughtful for a moment, and then he nodded. “I suppose that's correct. Stay in the thickets unless Chrysalis tells you all otherwise. Hopefully you won't be needed—no offense, ponies. I just don't want to put you all into un-necessary danger.”
He glanced down when he saw a certain, loopy, lavender pony clinging tightly to his leg and whimpering like a pug. “No, Screwball, you aren't coming.” He physically pried the pony off his leg and pushed her toward the group of concerned mares (and dragon).
“Will you be alright?” Twilight asked softly. Discord tried for a brave smile, but his chest was fluttering on the inside.
“I wouldn't worry, Sparky. God of chaos here, so I'm certainly not helpless.” He leaned over when a saffron pegasus flew up to him.
“Be careful, sweetie,” Fluttershy whimpered out, tears in her eyes as the two nuzzled. “Come back safely.” A playful look came to her wet, teal eyes. “If you don't I'll send the feather duster after you. I brought it, you know.”
He giggled. "I'll keep that in mind." The spirit took a deep breath as he set her down. “I want you all to tell my wife I love her, and my unborn child as well.” He sniffled and wiped a tear from his eye. “And if I do die out there, I want you all to know-” sniff, “that you're all very annoying.”
The girls exchanged wayward frowns and Chrysalis snorted. Discord turned to the opening leading out of the forest, and with a deep breath, he stepped out.
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“Would you care for a freshly baked biscuit, your highness?”
The queen's face turned a lime green at the mention of food, and she fought back the urge to gag. Taking it as a no, the servant quickly hurried off.
It had been like this all day. Scratch that, all week. Eat, throw up, repeat. Eat, throw up, repeat. Eat, throw up, and then throw up again, and then again, and then repeat.
“Oh, you are definitely your father's child,” the monarch sighed as she rubbed a hoof over her stomach. “You're more trouble than you're worth.” The seed of the goddess of harmony and the god of chaos... What an endearing train wreck that was going to be.
Her violet eyes roamed to the door when she spotted the pale, beige snout of her favorite servant peering in. “Come in, Rain Drizzle. No need to spy now.”
Flushing, the elderly mare quickly scurried in, her magic hovering something behind her back. “My apologies, Celestia. I just wanted to be sure you were up.”
“Yes, I'm gracefully hacking my lungs into a bucket right now, but I can spare a moment I suppose.”
“I brought you something.”
A large and rather lifeless bouquet of flowers was gently set on the bed. The queen gently grazed a hoof over the limp petals, watching as they broke merely by her touch. “How...thoughtful?”
Rain Drizzle shuffled her hoof sheepishly. “These were the most alive flowers I could find in the gardens. The drought is spreading to Canterlot.”
Celestia shuddered out a sigh and laid her head back against her pillow. The pathetic, dying morsels that used to be luscious blossoms were proof of the disasters ravaging the lands. “Equestria is dying and there is nothing I can do to stop it.”
Rain Drizzle lifted Aegeus's memoirs from Celestia's bedside table and hovered it in front of her. “Weren't you reading this to see if anything in it could help us?”
Celestia took the book with a heavy sigh and started flipping through the pages. “I was, yes, but so far I haven't found any solutions to our problems. The only thing I've accomplished is invading my father's privacy.” She flipped the the page with the rogue looking Elements and showed it to the mare.
“But take a look at this. Doesn't this look like a morphed version of the Elements? Their colors are rustier and the diamonds are sharp and jagged, but what else could it be?”
Rain Drizzle blinked. “Maybe those can help us.”
“But what are they and how do we find them?” She gazed at the gemstones and felt a chill wash over her. They were only drawings, but something about them gave the queen an unsettling feeling in her stomach.
“Perhaps you should read further into the memoirs,” the aged mare suggested. “I doubt your father would mind you invading his privacy if it's for the sake of saving your country.”
That was true. To Aegeus, Equestria always came first. It was his first priority and he'd do anything to protect it. She knew her father would want her to do the same.
Celestia thanked Rain Drizzle for the flowers and determinedly set the book in front of her, relentlessly scanning the frayed pages for a solution.
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So far, Tartarus wasn't as bad as Discord feared it would be. Sure the decor wasn't in his tastes, but there weren't as many demons trying to chew off his limbs as he feared there would be. In fact, there were none. For a realm designed for the damned souls and mutated monsters, it was empty. When Discord did encounter a demon it fled the moment it saw him.
Perhaps this won't be so difficult after all.
The draconequus stood on one of the volcanic rocks and peered around at the empty surroundings for any sign of life. “Hello? Is any monster there?”
It was silent other than a ripple of hot wind, and then the spirit heard an ominous and somehow...familiar chuckle.
“We prefer the term 'demon', as it is much less insulting.”
Immediately, the spirit's talon flared in defense and the voice laughed again.
“Now there's no need of that, child, but it's good to see you have some fight in you. The name is Maelstrom. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, oh King of Equestria...”
The spirit's breath hitched as the source of the voice slithered out of the darkness. Instantly, his attack stance fell as he nearly staggered in shock, staring at the monster. “You're...”
The creature was larger than him, but there was no mistaking what he was, from the twisted horns, to the mismatched limbs, and two poking snaggleteeth.
The entity's eyes mirrored a sea of blood--wet and demonic. His head was a rusted brown, and the rest of his serpentine form so brown it was nearly black. Extending from his back were two wings, almost the size of his entire body. One was a pure, feathered white, while the other one was jagged and jet black. His crimson tail slithered across the rocks, black spikes protruding from the scales.
“You're a draconequus?!”
Maelstrom slowly circled the younger draconequus, his eyes never leaving him for a moment. He took in every detail of the smaller body, his face unreadable. “So you're finally here.”
Discord shivered as the demon's grisly paw gripped his smaller face, the crimson eyes studying him before finally pulling back.
“You're a draconequus...” the spirit breathed out, needing to blink several times to make sure he was seeing things correctly. A real, live draconequus was standing in front of him. He staggered back a step, and Maelstrom made no movement.
“You catch on fast, don't you kid,” the demon snorted. He smirked when the younger spirit's face scrunched up into a pout, and he ascended higher into the sky. Still babbling for a moment, Discord followed him.
“Are we the last of our kind?” Discord's eyes roamed over the realm, but it was still nothing more than a ghost realm. “Strange, I would have thought Tartarus to be a little more....rowdy.”
A cold sneer slid over the larger draconequus's face as he turned to Discord, his red eyes piercing him. “We are indeed the last of our kind.” A sad, almost melancholic look came to his face as he gazed around. “Our kind was killed off long ago by those wretched alicorns. The same kind as the ones you've lived with the majority of your life.”
It felt as if a block of ice had settled in the pit of the draconequus's stomach, but he forced away the panic as he tried to rule out the logical explanations for Maelstrom to know he lived with Celestia and Luna.
“I guess you know that because of my status, right?” Discord's talon began to instinctively glow in warning as the larger entity began to circle him once more.
“Oh, not quite...” The sinister chuckle made the spirit shiver, and his magic to flicker and sputter in fear. “I know everything about you, child... I've shadowed you since you were an infant, and I know every detail of your life...”
Intimidated and feeling dangerously trapped as the demon prowled around him, Discord managed a shaky snort. “Well, I can't help but feel personally violated about that part. Why exactly have you been stalking me since I was born?”
Maelstrom bellowed with laughter, making Discord shudder all the more. “Oh now, stalking is such a harsh word. I merely wanted to be sure you were being raised the way you were supposed to be.” His face twisted in utter disgust and pure, black hatred. “Needless to say, I was highly displeased with the way that wretch chose to do it.”
Discord's fear diminished as a deep flicker of rage burst forth in his chest, his teeth baring viciously as his hands became engulfed with fire. “How DARE you speak about my father that way! You say anything bad about him ever again and I will personally rip out those gross, red eyes of yours and stuff them down your throat.
“My father was a kind, just King, and he never committed any atrocities in his day, and certainly never did anything to earn the title of Wretch!”
“Is that really what you think, colt?” Maelstrom snarled viciously. “Has living with ponies for thousands of years corrupted your mind that much? You know nothing about Aegeus and what he has done to our kind. I highly suggest you watch your razor tongue around me, boy.”
Discord yelped as tendrils of black constricted firmly around both his arms and legs, holding him back from the entity, whose face was brimming with hate.
The spirit whimpered as the tendrils held him tighter, binding him there in the spot as he snarled and thrashed, his magic dispelling the binds and glowing dangerously with the intent to attack.
“Whatever he did you deserved. Aegeus was an honorable stallion and I will not tolerate such disrespect against him. I am the KING of Equestria, and I will have you-”
“You really think your little title has any power over me, child?” Maelstrom laughed. “Oh Discord, if only you knew who you were dealing with. Your passion at the very least is commendable if not simply pathetic.” He grinned maliciously, caressing the spirit's face with a sharp, falcon talon. “I wouldn't waste your energy, boy. You need to save it.”
Discord snapped viciously at the draconequus, but he only drew back with a sneer. A blast of fire pulsated from the tip of the spirit's claws, and sent Maelstrom slamming back into a rock.
Wincing, the elder draconequus pulled himself to his feet and smirked, wiping the blood stains from his face and passing a healing talon over the bits of charred flesh. “Such a pity. I was hoping we could actually talk and get to know each other better before you took a tantrum.”
Discord smirked, his snaggle tooth glinting ferociously in the red light. “I can see trying to negotiate with you is going to be futile. You're like the way I used to be when I was nothing more than an evil bastard that refused to see reason.”
Maelstrom laughed as he prepared a colossal orb of black magic in his own hands. “Oh yes, such wondrous days those were. They were the only days that gave me hope you wouldn't turn out to be such a weakling.”
Discord bristled with rage. “I am not weak.”
Maelstrom only smirked. “Then prove it.”
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Celestia had been reading through her father's memoirs for hours, and so far, there was nothing that she found helpful. Aegeus didn't have much in the book other than describing his experience at the Guardian Council—something Celestia remembered very little of, being as young as she was.
“This is hopeless,” the queen snarled, hurling the hard book onto the mattress, It flipped open to a page she hadn't seen yet. Cautiously, she picked up the book and stared to read.
It's been three days since the war with the draconeqii. Maelstrom has been eradicated, hopefully for good, but our problems are far from over. If anything, a reckless decision on my wife's part may have started a whole new one.
The home we've constructed is ready for us to finally move in so we can raise Celestia and our-soon-to-be-born foal. Celestia was out in the gardens for the first time, and Astraia and I were near the sprouts we recently planted when we heard Celestia shriek.
She came scampering back to us, and she wasn't alone. A tiny, ugly little mismatched critter followed her back. It could barely walk, so we knew it was young.
It didn't take much investigating to learn it was a baby dracoenquus, and that it had somehow survived the extinction of the draconeqii clan. There was something concerning to me about the baby though. I could sense it had overwhelming power and I knew it wasn't the son of any normal draconequus.
I'm not a cruel king, but I was prepared to regretfully terminate it. No good could come of any draconequus being left alive, not if Maelstrom tainted all of them. Astraia wouldn't let me kill it, and somehow thought adopting it would be a good idea.
We learned from our seer that the baby was the spirit of Discord; chaos and disharmony. She warned us to drown it before its evil became uncontainable, but Astraia refused. I couldn't say I was too fond of the idea of killing it either. It was only a baby after all.
It was a long shot, but Astraia and I decided we would teach Discord about harmony, and our seer advised we lock away the records of the war and prevent baby Discord from ever learning about where he came from.
At this point I'm not sure what the outcome will be. He's bound to find out eventually in life and we know what that demon was capable of. If Discord truly is who we think then there may be no suppressing his evil.
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“Had enough yet, child?” The bruised and bloodied Maelstrom hovered in front of Discord, who was injured as well. Maelstrom took the brunt of the damages; gashes and magical burns adorned his skin. For the most part, he was testing the kid draconequus's strength, and hadn't doled out many blows himself. “I'd like to keep going if you don't mind, gauge your strength more...”
Discord wheezed out a coughing laugh, clenching his fists tightly as the two draconeqii slowly circled each other, on all fours. “I assume you won't be relenting anytime soon. Just what exactly is your plan? What are you trying to accomplish here?”
A smile snaked over Maelstrom's lips. “Funny, Chrysalis asked me the same thing. Wanting to know my motives seems to be a popular notion it seems. Wouldn't you say so, Chrysalis?"
The spirit felt his blood froze rigid. “Chrysalis?”
It was then that the spirit spun around, and spotted the eight bodies hanging helplessly in the air, bound and immobilized with changeling magic. Chrysalis stood right below them, surrounded by changelings.
“Well done, Bug,” Maelstrom smirked. “You've been far more valuable than I expected you would be.”
“No...” Utter, cold betrayal stabbed into the draconequus's chest like a knife as he simply stood there, the look of anguish and disbelief enough to cleave through anyone's heart. “No, you couldn't... You wouldn't!”
The look on the queen's face was as frosty as ice, no longer keeping the gentle masquerade as she stalked toward him, pinning him to a rock in a web of green magic.
“I knew it,” Discord snarled painfully, lifting his face to meet the strained face of the mare standing in front of him. “I knew we couldn't trust you. All this time when we actually thought you were helping us. You were always siding with the demon.”
“You're wrong, Discord,” the changeling said coldly. “I didn't choose him over you. I chose my children. We were promised the life and power we've deserved since the changelings were born.”
From behind her, Maelstrom cackled. “And the fact you actually listened to me was perhaps your biggest blunder yet, you old mare.”
Instantly, the look of assured confidence dropped from Chrysalis's face, and her ears fell back, the regal changeling queen looking more like a filly than she ever had. “What?” She cried out as needle sharp claws dug into her chest as Maelstrom jerked her up to his face.
“Did you honestly think I would keep my word? Were you actually stupid enough to believe the god of death itself would keep his promise to you, or were you simply that desperate? I'm the King of Darkness, and the last thing I need is a little parasite like you trying to keep up in my shadow.”
Instantly, the wide eyes of the changeling narrowed into wrathful, murderous slits. She snarled so viciously her lips felt as if they would split her face. As her horn began sparking with dangerous, green bolts, Maelstrom simply hurled her back with an explosive blast.
Chrysalis's spell lost its grip on the girls and Discord, as the ponies hurriedly scrambled to the box containing the Elements.
“I have to give you credit, kid,” Maelstrom chuckled as he tilted Discord's chin up. “You certainly have the fire your mother did. Such a shame you didn't inherit much from me other than the dashing good looks.”
Discord was barely conscious, but the unadulterated shock still slammed into him with the force of a mallet, his blurry eyes widening as he stared at the entity. “Wh...what?”
“Formation, girls!” Twilight shouted, flipping her tiara onto her head. The ponies gathered to form a circle around Maelstrom, the gemstones on their necklaces and tiara beginning to pulse with power. There was no apparent fear on the demon's face, his smirk only growing all the more wider as the magic grew stronger.
Suddenly, the Elements became blinding and emitted a piercing, resounding shriek that echoed through the entire realm. The jewels began to quiver and spark with electricity, screeching so horrendously it was deafening.
There was an explosion of gold as the necklaces and tiara shattered into tiny fragments, and the charred ponies were blasted back, convulsing as their bodies sparked and jolted.
No longer stones, the rainbow energy of the gems rose up from the group of injured ponies, and began to rotate around Maelstrom in a circle. Black magic seeped from the draconequus's hands, and slowly, the rainbow hues began to morph.
The group could only watch as the vibrant rainbow slowly lost its pigments of color and became darker and rustier, taking the jagged shape of deformed diamonds.
The ponies stared, watching as Maelstrom slowly ascended into the air with the corrupted Elements. He cackled, and his cackles were joined with hundreds of others, echoing from across the realm.
“You ponies should never have tried to be heroes,” he called out to the helpless and wounded group. “Because now you've lost...”
The cackles grew louder as the foundations of Tartarus began to crumble, and the ground shook. Discord barely had the time to weakly summon up a shield to protect the girls, his serpentine form curling around the seven of them as they watched as - in a literal and metaphorical sense - all hell broke loose.
