High Seas of the Underworld

“Hello, little brother.”

The timbers of the walls of the captain’s cabin splintered under the sudden impact of Hades being slammed bodily into them. Before he even had time to breathe, a slender white-furred Alicorn’s hoof grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall, robbing the air from his lungs. Releasing him, the Alicorn chuckled coldly as she watched him cough and wheeze, desperately trying to catch his breath as he gasped out.

“Y-you lost...the right…to call...me that-”

Breathing heavily, his ragged breath stabilized as he staggered to his hooves, his body igniting in a firestorm of red-orange rage, as he continued, shouting.

“When you possessed that body, Chrys-”

“Do not speak that name!”

The cabin exploded outward in a shower of timber and debris all over the deck of the ship, as Venomous rushed him knocking him through the wall. Standing over the prone, unconscious form of her brother, Venomous roared in anger, over the eternally wailing maelstrom.

“I am not Chrysalis, I am Venomous Sun, and this body belongs to me!”

Her eyes glinted with a gleam of insanity as she cackled out loud.

“And soon, little brother-”

Two fangs slid down from the roof of her mouth, the Alicorn’s slithering, serpent tongue flicking excitedly as she finished coldly.

“-You will, as well!”

With those words, she lunged at the unconscious ruler of the Underworld as the lightning flashed and the thunder crashed above the rocking ship.

The haunting tone of the waltz filled the air, as Twilight and friends watched in awe at the flourishing movements of the dancers; creatures from many different corners of the Underworld and the Celestial heavens above, all cultures, all species for one moment in time in perfect harmony.

“Excuse me, madam, may I have this dance?”

Moonstone glanced up from her goblet of golden nectar, forged from the mythical Golden Apples of the Celestials. casting her gaze upon the speaker. A Seraphim of ethereal splendor, he curiously boasted six luxuriously feathery wings with pale pink eyes, and the perfectly sculpted muscles of an Adonis.

She shook her head, opening her muzzle to respond, when the Batpony was interrupted by an angry growl next to her. Lunar Moth stood up with vigor and slammed her hooves down on the table, shattering the teacups as she spoke sharply.

“That one is mine.”

Before the stallion could respond, Moonstone rose to her hooves, pulled the rose from her tuxedo with her fangs and gestured to Lunar Moth with it as she bowed low.

“My Queen, please grant me this honor.”

The rage and anger faded from Moth’s cold eyes in an instant and she smiled at Moonstone lovingly. Adjusting her mane with a hoof, Moth nodded and took Moonstone’s hoof.

“I suppose so, come.”

Without another word, Moth walked off, with Moonstone happily following her lead, both heading towards the massive dance floor. The stallion blinked in surprise.

“Do they not realize who I am?”

Shitake and Twilight shared a glance, and both rose up from their chairs, paying the stallion no heed as they headed to the dance floor, side by side. At a loss, the stallion glanced at Lightning, who was quietly sipping her seventh goblet of Golden Nectar.

“Are you spoken for by another mare, as well?”

Lightning, feeling unusually rather bubbly from the alcoholic beverage, chuckled.

“I could go either way, to be honest.”

The stallion regained his poise and ran a hoof through his mane before saying, somewhat cautiously.

“Would you like to dance?”

Lightning raised an eyebrow, staring at him for a moment before taking a sip and replying offhandedly.

“I don’t dance.”

The stallion just stared at her, unsure of what to do now. Feeling extremely deflated, he gestured at an empty chair.

“Mind…if I sit down…and join you?”

Lightning gestured at the chair, before raising a hoof and shouting.

“Waitress, another nectar and one for this guy!”

He stiffened in surprise.

“I don’t drink.”

Lightning giggled and gestured dismissively at him.

“Oh, lighten up, Diligence. It’s not like you are on guard duty at the moment.”

Looking at her in surprise, the stallion slowly sat down.

“You know who I am?”

Nodding, Lightning stated simply.

“The Virtue of Responsibility, Diligence, I read it in a book.”

He smiled, intrigued.

“Tell me more about these books of yours.”

On the VIP Balcony, a couple hundred hoof lengths above the dance floor, Love stood with her hooves hanging over the railing. Staring down at the dancers, her eyes were cold as ice, watching Twilight and her friends.

“Are those the mortals?”

She spoke quietly, her tone perfectly level, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking. Next to her, the Queen of the Underworld stood timidly awaiting her judgement, having immediately bared every detail to the celestial; Nyx finding it impossible to lie to her Aunt. Nyx flinched as Love turned her gaze upon her Niece, Nyx just knowing she was in trouble.

“Yes. That’s them.”

“I see.”

Love turned back towards the dancers without another word. Those icy blue eyes softened, and a strange warmth showed within. Her wings of breathtakingly pink feathery down rustled in intrigue, while her mane and tail flowed with her Celestially gifted power.

Nyx was dying inside as she stood there, desperate for her aunt to say something, anything. For several minutes, the third Celestial Sister was silent, watching unblinkingly as the minuet came to an end with the dancers leaving to go to their tables. What was Love thinking?

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Cadance lowered her hooves from the railing to the ground, yet she still said nothing. Nyx mentally screamed. What was her judgement? What was the fate of the Underworld? Everything was literally in the hooves of the Ruler of the Celestials, the successor of her eldest sister, the late Celestia. Was she really that angry about it, that she couldn’t speak?

Love opened her muzzle, and with a perfect poker face gave her judgement.

“So that’s how it is. Interesting. I’ll allow it. You can relax now. There will be no punishment. The treaty stands.”

As Nyx collapsed to her knees from sheer relief, Love quietly sauntered back to her table and sat down as a waitress quickly rushed to bring her some golden nectar. Taking a sip of the heavenly liquid, Love inquired offhandedly of Nyx.

“And how long has Venomous been awake?”

Nyx’s eyes went wide.

“How did you-”

Love’s eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“My beautiful niece, the mortals reek of her magic. It’s evident they were brought here by her.”

Nyx’s blood quickened. She whispered in panic.

“What did you just say?”

On the bottom floor, in front of the five friends a portal suddenly opened up and in it stood Hades. His stance was a little stiff and he addressed them in a somewhat monotone voice.

“I need you to return to the ship immediately, I require your help.”

The girls shared confused glances, and Twilight shrugged. Moth flipped her mane pedantically.

“Well, I for one, am over this place.”

Shitake nodded.

“Yeah, it’s a bit too loud for Twi and I.”

With that, they all rose to their hooves and walked into the portal, with it closing behind them, Lightning remarking.

“So much for that punch, I guess.”

Just then, Diligence, who had gone to get Lightning a glass of punch, came back to an empty table and panicked. Dropping the goblet as he immediately took off with a beat of his six mighty wings.

“I have to inform her Highness!”

Love stared at Nyx, who was suddenly busy searching herself, looking for something but to no avail.

“Make sure they don’t leave this palace. We don’t know what Venomous is up to. What are you doing?”

Nyx blinked in confusion as her searching picked up speed, she mumbled.

“My stopwatch, I seem to have misplaced it.”

Love's eyes softened and she chuckled lightly.

"Well, that’s alright, I’m sure it’s around here somewhere. We just need to make sure those girls don’t go anywhere.”

Before Nyx could respond, Diligence came soaring onto the balcony, shouting frantically.

“Love, the girls you wanted me to watch, they’re gone!”

Love’s eyes narrowed in sudden rage.

“What do you mean, ‘gone’?”