Without Question

Without Question

Chapter Nine – Burning Hearts

Typhoon had stopped his flight to Equestria after only having traveled about one kilometer.  He had a bad feeling, and he began regretting that he’d left Lyra alone to carry out her second mission.  After all, she was his friend, and he only hoped he wasn’t too late.  Typhoon spun around in the night sky and flew as fast as he could back to the Changeling castle.

After several minutes, he had returned and hid behind a pillar near the front gates.  There were two Changelings guarding the front doors, but they didn’t seem to see the small blue and grey dragon hiding about twenty feet away from them.  Typhoon began thinking of a plan to sneak in, but that plan was torn to pieces as the doors opened and his eyes filled with tears.

Queen Chrysalis walked out of the front doors behind a pair of Changeling Imperial Guards who carried the fallen Lyra on their backs.  Her eyes had been closed and her neck returned to its normal forward position.  The Queen led the Guards over to an empty wooden crate.

“Here.  Place her body in this.  I shall deal with it in the morning.  But for now I…I need to attend to Lord Silus…” she said in a quiet, worried voice.

The Guards gently lowered Lyra into the crate and reentered the castle with their Queen.  The doors shut and the two remaining Changelings stood at attention on each side with their halberds at the ready.  Typhoon’s cheeks reddened as tears streamed down his face.  His friend…his dear friend was dead.  He didn’t know what to do, but he fought to resist making any rash decisions or panic.

She deserved better than this.  Typhoon picked up a rock near the pillar he was hiding behind and chucked it far from himself.  It made a small noise as it skittered across the stone ground.  The two Changelings ears perked up and they ran off to investigate the sound.  As soon as they were out of sight, Typhoon ran over to the crate and lifted Lyra’s body out of it, cradling her in his arms.

“Why, Lyra…?  Why did I leave you like that?  What came over me?  I’m the worst friend imaginable...” he whispered as the tears fell freely.

He tightly closed his eyes and shook with guilt.

“It’s too late to save you now…but I can still bring you home where you belong…” he muttered as he took flight and headed back to Equestria with Lyra’s body in his arms.

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“How is he doing?” Chrysalis asked as she stood behind a trio of sages.

The three sages were standing around Silus’ body, doing their best to sew up the gash across his chest and heal the wound with various magical dusts.  Silus himself was unconscious; his eyes were closed and he breathed slowly and heavily.  The large amount of blood on his body had been wiped away and he was injected with a serum to speed up his blood production.

“Well, he was bleeding quite profusely when you alerted us, Your Highness.  We managed to stabilize him, so he’s no longer in danger of dying.  He’ll just be unconscious for a short time,” a sage answered as she finished the last stitch.

“A short time?  How long is a short time?” the Queen pressed.

“Anywhere from three days to a week, Queen Chrysalis.  We apologize, but that’s how long it will take for his body to naturally recover from something like this,” another sage answered as he closed each bottle of magical dusts with corks.

Chrysalis was deeply worried about Silus.  Obviously she needed him to tend to her military, but she had come to enjoy his company, especially after their previous embrace.  She had so many questions for him when he awoke, but for now, it would be a long week without him...

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Typhoon finally arrived back in Canterlot after having flown for several hours.  Celestia had just begun to raise the morning sun.  The small dragon landed in front of the Princesses’ castle and approached the gates.  A pair of white Sun Guards, though shocked to see him holding a body, blocked him from entering until he frustratingly showed them the paperwork in his bag.

Upon entering the castle with a solemn look on his face, he was approached by the sister goddesses.  Celestia covered her mouth as her eyes beheld the deceased mint-green unicorn.  Luna closed her eyes and lowered her head.

“I hope the report was worth it…because risking her life to assassinate the Changeling Queen wasn’t...” Typhoon mumbled as he clutched his lifeless friend in his arms.

“That report was invaluable to our cause, young Typhoon.  We now know things that may change the course of the war thanks to your dedicated friend, Lyra,” Luna responded.

“I’m…sure she did everything she could,” Celestia said quietly, still covering her mouth with her hooves.

“It wasn’t enough…I’m so sorry, Lyra…” Typhoon closed his eyes and whispered in Lyra’s ear.

“I believe we should begin preparations for her funeral,” Celestia said, running a hoof gently along Lyra’s cold cheek.  “Typhoon…if you wouldn’t mind…could you please inform Bon-Bon of her loss?”

“Yes, Princess…” Typhoon mumbled as he handed Lyra’s body to a Sun Guard that Luna had gestured at to come over.

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Silus had been moved to the bed in his Lord’s bedchambers.  He lay there motionless, except for the occasional deep breath.  Chrysalis sat at his side, her hoof running delicately through his long, pitch black hair.  They were alone in the room, and Chrysalis wanted a moment with him.

“Silus…I don’t know if you can hear me…but thank you.  Thank you for everything you’ve done for me…I never thought you’d be capable of so much in so little time.  My entire world was collapsing around me, and you saved both it and me.  Words cannot express my gratitude…” she whispered into his ear.

The Queen hadn’t slept in over twenty four hours, and the events of the last night had left her exhausted.  It took every last ounce of energy for her to ‘speak’ to Silus.  Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, she rested her head on Silus’ shoulder and nuzzled his neck before falling asleep.

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Typhoon held his breath as he stood in front of Bon-Bon’s door.  How does one inform somepony of their spouse’s death?  He had no idea.  It was hard enough on him that his friend had died.  But this was Bon-Bon; she loved Lyra more than Typhoon ever could.  This would break her heart into a thousand pieces.

The small dragon sighed and softly knocked on the door three times.  He heard someone trot to the door and unlock it.

“Come in!” he heard a happy voice inside yell out to him.

Typhoon clawed his forehead.  This would be far harder than he imagined.  He entered and closed the door.  Bon-Bon sat at a table with a cup of tea and a box of muffins.

“Well hey there, Typhoon!  Would you like a muffin?” she said with a wide smile.

Typhoon’s eyes were beginning to water.  By Celestia, his own heart was breaking again…

“Ty…Typhoon?  Is something wrong?  And where’s Lyra?”

The small dragon couldn’t take it anymore.  The confused look in Bon-Bon’s eyes pierced him and he ran over to hug her as tightly as he could.  Though surprised, she hugged him back.

“I’m so sorry, Bon-Bon…Lyra won’t…she…she’s…” he stuttered as he tried to hold back the building flood of tears.

At this point, Bon-Bon’s eyes were on the verge of tears as well.  She had a feeling she knew what Typhoon was trying to say, and she almost didn’t want to hear him finish, but she had to know for sure.  She grabbed his shoulders and looked into his bloodshot eyes.

“Typhoon, where is Lyra?” she pleaded.

“She…she’s…she’s no longer in this world…” Typhoon forced himself to speak as he shut his eyes.

Bon-Bon’s finally couldn’t hold back anymore.  Tears ran down her face as she covered her eyes and quietly sobbed.  Typhoon wrapped his arms around her and cried as well, though silently.  They needed each other for comfort, but no amount of comfort would replace Bon-Bon’s wife or Typhoon’s best friend.