The air was still in the quiet throne room. The only person in there was Arch Mage Celestia, sitting in her throne with her stave at her side. Her dress was of mostly white, with the cloths that made up the gown alternating between white and light blue. Coming from her back were magically infused metals that were carefully and individually sculpted to give her the appearance of wings. She looked expectant as she enjoyed the beauty of the stained-glass windows. It wasn't long before the double doors burst open and a man with short, blond hair and glistening gold armor ran into the room. Underneath his armor were white tattered clothes that told stories of war with the chain mail underneath. He dropped to one knee and crossed him arm across his chest as his gaze was attracted to the ground.
"I came as quickly as I could, Your Highness," the man said, refusing to look up.
"Thank you, Double Edge," Celestia replied as the man, referred to as Double Edge, stood back up. "I have some important matters to discuss with you."
"Yes, Your Highness?"
Celestia glanced at one of the windows before continuing. The last few years had been tough on her. "Am I right in saying you are aware of the situation concerning the war against Discord?" she asked the paladin.
"Yes, Your Highness!" he said with a hint of excitement in his voice. "We are fighting spectacularly!"
"Do not be so sure," the Arch Mage replied. "Discord would never let us win this easily. It would be too high of a cost for him to lose the city of Manehatten, unless…"
"Yes?"
Celestia stood from her throne and walked over to a stained-glass window depicting six figures, whose heads were surrounded by yellow circles, fighting off a neat-looking villain who seemed to have had lost his right arm. "You must find the Elements of Harmony and bring them together again to defeat Discord. I fear we are walking into a trap of his."
Double Edge saluted and said, "I live to serve you, Your Highness. Where might I find the Elements of Harmony?"
"In Ponyville, past the Changeling Hive."
"Is there a way around the Hive, Your Highness?"
"I am afraid not. You will be walking straight into Death's garden on this mission." Celestia turned around and walked up to Double Edge, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Fear not, however. You are an excellent warrior, and you will do just fine." She removed her hand and said, "Now, go and begin your journey. Discord waits for no man."
Double Edge knelt again and said, "Nam claritas solis." He then ran out of the hall as quickly as he could to start on his path.
Celestia turned back to the window and gave a heavy sigh, muttering to herself, "What are you planning, Discord?"
Out of nowhere, a mischievous voice echoed, "Wouldn't you like to know, Celly?"
Celestia turned around with a gasp to see Discord standing on the other side of the room, facing her. His outfit was a mishmash of clothing: His brown-and-yellow vest stretched out at the back end to form a tattered tail, the two shoulder pieces were of either royal blue feathers or jet black wings, and it was all topped off with a pair of brown slacks that, ironically enough, matched the chocolate shoes he wore. However, the strangest part about him was that the bottom half of his right leg was mechanical, glowing emerald in the sunlight, and his whole right arm was mustard yellow automail.
"Have you-?" Celestia started before she was cut off.
"-been here the whole time, Celly?" Discord finished, a wicked smile growing on his face. "It seems so."
The Arch Mage gave a sigh of defeat and pleaded, "Discord, please…"
"Please what, Celestia?" Discord asked, fury in his words. "You want me to stop having a war so you can reconcile? The time for that is over! You had your chance before, and you blew it! It's time we did battle! Now, have at you!"
The Avatar of Chaos swung his mechanical arm at Celestia, allowing a blade to slide out of the top just as Celestia brought her stave up to block it. "Discord, I don't want to fight you!"
Discord swung again, this time to her side, only to be stopped by the stave. "Then why have you sent your forces against me, dear Celly?"
Again, Discord swiped at her. "Does our past mean nothing?" Celestia asked.
"Our past is simply that, Celly: the past! We must live for now! One of us must be victorious in the end, and I intend for it to be me!"
Discord spun away from Celestia and stretched his mechanical arm out at her, yelling, "Confusa accipiam!" and sending chaotic magic in her direction. At the same time, Celestia used her stave to send light magic at him, shouting, "Sol accipiam!". The two beams met in the middle, causing an explosive reaction and creating a blinding light in the middle, which swayed in between the two. As one forced their magic to work harder, it would move in the direction of their opponent before they countered it, sending it in the reverse direction and causing a stalemate.
Eventually, Discord yelled, "ENOUGH OF THIS!" and forced his magic forward as he walked closed to Celestia. The light reached dangerously close to her, causing her to wrench her stave away and be overwhelmed by the chaotic magic. Her crown flew into the air for a moment before Discord used his own magic to bring it to him, placing it on his head. In an instant, it was corrupted by Discord's chaotic magic and turned into a twisted version of its former self.
"At last, what is rightfully mine," he called out to Celestia, who was struggling to get up off the floor. "I think it's time for a change of scenery…"
As Double Edge reached the outskirts of Whitetail Woods, he looked back as a loud sound resonated through the sky and a giant ball of chaotic magic expanded from Canterlot Castle to surround the city.
"Her Majesty…" he whispered to himself, a look of grief on his face. Double Edge took one last look at the absence of Canterlot before running into the woods to start his journey.
Author's Note
I know this is short, but bear with me. A lot cooler stuff to come.
The blade ripped through the stomach of the changeling soldier, sending his sickly green blood spraying everywhere. His green eyes dilated in fear as he keeled over, Double Edge sheathing his sword behind his flowing yellow robe. Stepping on the neck of the changeling, the paladin asked, "Where can I find Chrysalis?"
With his dying breath, the changeling said, "S-she… center… Hive…" The changeling then moved no more.
"That's all I needed," Double Edge replied. He picked up the navy blue helmet of the soldier and said, "Now, for a worthy disguise…"
This is probably the most dangerous thing I've done, Double Edge thought to himself as the passed throughout the Changeling Hive, but it's neccesary. Only by defeating the Changeling Queen can I gain passage into Ponyville.
His disguise seemed to be working, however, as a squad of soldiers ran by, insectoid swords ready to strike. Double Edge walked up to two other soldiers and asked, "What's going on, why are they sending soldiers out?"
"They found a dead scout out there," said the first, almost unphased by the events. "Someone's hunting us."
"And with good reason," piped up the second.
"What reason?" Double Edge asked.
"Where've you been?"
"The Queen made an important catch the other day, yes she did!" the second changeling said proudly.
"You gonna tell me, or what?" Double Edge asked, receiving a cold stare from the first soldier.
"You're asking a lot of questions," he muttered, but neither of the two warriors paid him any mind.
"She caught an Element of Harmony!" said the other changeling, throwing his hands up.
Double Edge's face fell is faux terror. "Then there must be more on the way!" he shouted. "I must go warn the Queen!"
He ran off, but it wasn't long until he was stopped by the same two soldiers. "Where do you think you're going?" asked the first.
"To the Queen, why?"
"Taking the scenic route, huh?" quipped the second.
"What are you talking about?"
The first soldier drew his sword and pointed it at Double Edge's neck. "When did you get into camp?" he asked suspiciously.
"A few days ago. Why are you asking all these questions?
"We haven't gotten troops for a month, you're a spy!" the first yelled. Double Edge knew he had to take action. He kicked the soldier that had the sword at his throat in the stomach, sending him crashing to the ground. The second soldier reached for his blade, but the paladin, in one swift motion, drew his sword and sliced open his throat, sending changeling blood into the air. As he tried to breathe, a green mist started to form in front of the wound before he ultimately died.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the first soldier had regained his voice. "Guards, there-!" was all he could get out before Double Edge plunged his blade into his stomach. Thinking quickly, he ripped the sleeve of his shirt and wiped the blood there, making sure not to cut himself. He then took off his robe out of his pouch and placed it under one of the changelings. It wasn't long until two guards came up to Double Edge and said, "Halt! You're under arrest!"
"Guards, where is your sense of urgency?" Double Edge asked, venom in his words. "I was nearly killed by these two traitors because you couldn't get moving quick enough!"
One of the guards jabbed in the air towards him and said, "And how do we know you aren't the traitor?"
Double Edge stretched out his arm and showed them his fake wound. "You're lucky it wasn't deeper, you useless idiots!" he said, putting his arm down. "I was on my way to the Queen right before I was attacked, and I have half a mind to tell her of your density!"
The guards' eyes dilated in fear at the mention of Chrysalis' name and began profusely apologizing. As they started to drag away the bodies, Double Edge walked up to the one with his robe underneath it, picked it up, and said, "A warrior of the light, it seems. I shall take this as my prize."
"Why would you want to take such a meaningless thing?" asked one of the guards.
"Do you want your head to join it?" Double edge said. The guards cowered again and ran away. On the outside, Double Edge felt pretty good, but on the inside, he was shaking with fear. He'd never done anything like this before, and was sure he would've been found out by now. Nevertheless, he continued on to find the Queen of Lies.
As Double Edge walked down into the catacomb that made up Chrysalis' lair, he couldn't help to feel that he was walking right into the maw of Death itself. It wasn't helping that the only light in the room was an eerie green glow coming from an egg-like structure in the middle. Shrugging them off as spells the Queen had placed there, he started to run to the recesses of the dome-like cavern to see if he could find the Element of Harmony he was looking for. It wasn't long before he bumped into another figure. He pulled his sword out and shouted, "Sol illuminare!" In front of him wasn't Chrysalis as he had expected, but another figure wrapped in red cloths and yellow armor. Her straw-like hair was tied back into a ponytail, and her green eyes shot daggers at him.
Double Edge sighed, putting his sword down. "Oh, thank goodn-"
The figure shoved him down and shouted in an echoey voice, "Where have you been? My friends have fallen, and you were not there to save them! My friends DIED because of you, and you need to pay!" She took a giant hammer out of nowhere and slammed it on the ground right where Double Edge had previously been before he rolled out of the way.
"No, you don't understand!" he yelled. "Her Highness has sent me too gather the Elements-"
"The Elements are DEAD, paladin, and it was all your fault!" she shouted again, swinging the hammer horizontally as Double Edge ducked.
"Have you gone mad?" he yelled back. "I'm here to help you!"
"You deserve retribution!"
The figure jumped up and swung the hammer a third time, using the momentum to hang in the air. Double Edge ducked under the hammer and swung at her legs, catching one of them with the blade. The figure shrieked in agony as green oozed out of the wound.
"What? No!" she yelled in a distorted voice that got deeper by the second. A green flame erupted around her as her clothes burned away to reveal a dress made from shades of green and black underneath. Magic wings similar to those of Celestia, but in the same shades as the figure's dress came off her back, and her hair turned from yellow to teal hanging far off her head. Finally, a twisted black crown rose into view, revealing her as Queen of the Changelings, Chrysalis.
In a much more womanly voice, she shouted, "Ugh, you little brat!"
"You deserve it, witch!"
"Why, because my changeling army is aligned with Discord?" the Queen asked. "Please, don't be so naïeve. I'm only doing it to gain his trust." She thought for a moment before an idea came to her mind. She slowly walked up to Double Edge and placed a finger under his chin. "Why don't you and I word together? I've seen you in battle, your commanding skill are wonderful…"
Double Edge aimed the tip of his sword at Chrysalis' throat, causing her to back up. "You just tried to kill me, and then you want to make amends and fight together? I'm not buying it. Give me a reason to trust you."
"I'm your only way into Ponyville, and I know where the Elements reside. Besides, I know the prophecy." Double Edge saw Chrysalis' lips move after she finished her sentence, but thought nothing of it.
"Her Highness never spoke of a prophecy," he said, wary of the Queen's words.
"Alas, she never did speak of much. I think it' debt the best thing to do to tell you right now. Think of it as half of my offer now, and half when we're done."
"Listen, now, to these words six
If you are the world to fix.
First comes Truth, honest to a fault;
She will be found inside the dead’s vault.
Next is Fidelity, home in the sky;
That same place is where her guardian resides.
Third is Magic, most powerful of all;
Her rival guards her, standing quite tall.
Listen, now, to these words three
after you claim legend’s sword for thee:
First is Joy; for her, you must pray:
Her evil side has come out to play.
Next is Grace, full of fright,
Held captive by the Princess of the Night.
Last is Charity, willing to lend a hand;
The King of Shadows makes his final stand.
When all are beaten, return to the start
To do battle with the wicked heart.
Chaos’ bane, the sword of friends;
When it is pulled, then comes the end."
"Why are you telling me this again?" Double Edge asked.
"For your trust, dear," Chrysalis replied. "After all, we will be working together, right?"
Turning her back on him, she said, "How do I know you won't betray me?"
"I was afraid you'd ask that." Out of seemingly nowhere, two figured cloaked in black which stunk of rotting flesh grabbed Double Edge by the arms, restraining him and causing him to drop his sword. He struggled against his captors, but to no avail. "Choose now, paladin: join or die!"
"Then I will see you in the fiery depths of Hell!"
"Such a shame," Chrysalis said, raising her arm. "Mors accipiam!" A bright green projectile of magic energy shot out of her fingers and flew towards Double Edge, who shouted, "Sol protegat!"
Chrysalis' spell hit the wall of light that Double Edge, who was now wrenching himself free from the grasp of the zombies, had casted. The paladin took his sword in hand and sliced the head of the first creature clean off and stabbed the second in its skull. He then ran off around the room, cutting open as many chrysalises as he could.
Angered, Chrysalis yelled, "Rise, my Deadling army! Mortuos resurgere!"
At once, thousands of Deadlings clawed their way out of the ground to attack the paladin making his rounds. Double Edge stopped and started to hack and slash away at the army, effortlessly mowing them down. When he eventually realized he wasn't going to be able to fight them all like this, he plunged his sword into the ground and yelled, "Sol opprimet!" In an instant, a wave of yellow magic flew out from the blade, wiping out almost the whole Deadlings army. Only a few on the outskirts of the wave remained. Double Edge yanked his sword out of the ground, proud of his work.
"Mors accipiam!"
Double Edge had barely any time to react before the spell hit his right hand. He dropped the sword in agony and fell to the ground, bending over his blackened hand. He could feel the death climb up his arm. Chrysalis slowly walked up to him, an evil laugh escaping through her teeth. "It looks like you actually will be dying today, paladin. Glad to have you among my ranks. It's a shame I had to force you, though…"
"Not if I have somethin' to say about it!" shouted a distinctly country-themed female voice from behind here. Almost immediately, a wide-bladed sword was stabbed through the Queen's chest, causing her to clutch at her wound. The red runes on the blade began to glow, and in an instant, Crysalis was lit up with orange flame. She shrieked in agony for the second time that day, crumpling to the ground and giving in to the flame.
With what little sight he had left, Double Edge saw that the swordswoman looked exactly like the form Chrysalis tried to trick him with. It was the Element of Honesty, Applejack. She ran over to Double Edge, knelt down, and said, "You're gonna be A-okay, sugarcube. Just hold on to what you've got."
Double Edge whispered, "Help… me…" before he lost his consciousness.
Author's Note
So yeah, there's that. Pretty big cliffhanger there, huh? What's going to happen? Is he gonna be normal? Will I ever stop asking stupid questions?
No.
