I nodded, pushing an arm into the portal before stepping fully through, emerging into the mirror reality once more. On the other side I could see Celestia’s tail, and I pulled on it playfully.

In the moment I completely forgot that I am much stronger than my siblings. In one fell swoop, Celestia shot through the portal and landed on the dark floor inside the portal and got the air knocked out of her. “Oof!”

My eyes widened with worry, and I immediately pulled my sister up off the floor. “Oh, sorry, I keep forgetting I am much stronger than you are...”

Celestia brushed herself off and chuckled slightly. “That’s fine... But where exactly are we?”

“A guest? Already? I had thought we would have more time alone, Apocalypso.” The voice sighed but quickly continued its spiel. “It’s an honor, Celestia. I’ll put on some tea for you two.”

A strange feeling then flowed through me. It was as if the void mana in my body was being pulled out and forced into the walls of this place, being quickly siphoned. I watched as the purple mana flowed through the walls as if they had veins before eventually converging on one point in the cave a few meters from us, then shooting down into the floor in a purple beam.

“A pleasure indeed, my queen. You may refer to me as... Hm. How does Sirrus sound?”

The purple beam then completely vanished and left in its wake was a tall human. He was dressed in a slick suit, and he had a neat purple tie as well as a small purple napkin in the suit pocket. Sirrus, as he called himself, then bowed toward me and my sister.

“S-Sirrus. Who- what are you, exactly?”

Sirrus straightened out his back again, looking at me with a warm smile. His face was very masculine, he had a well-defined and square jaw, and his irises were purple. It was a purple that was much more vibrant than the purple of his tie and napkin, however. “Oh, where are my manners. I am your humble butler, here to serve your highness’ every need.”

I looked at Celestia. She looked at me with a look that told me everything I needed to know. She was very uncomfortable and didn’t trust this person.

I wasn’t about to give up that easily though. “Sure... Say, where are we?”

Sirrus grinned with excitement. “Excellent question. Her highness may think of this as her... personal quarters. This place will always be protected and no visitors outside those you personally allow inside will be allowed access.”

I nodded in intrigue, but slight annoyance. “Okay, but that doesn’t really tell me much. Where exactly, in a geographical sense are we located?”

Sirrus’ smile returned once more. “Where else but nowhere. The void, if you prefer.”

A small, worried frown appeared on my face. “Alarming.”

Sirrus’ smile quickly dissipated, and a serious look replaced it. “I assure you this place is completely safe. There is no need for worry.”

I sighed. “That’s not what I meant...” I shook my head slightly before looking back up at the dapper man. “Say, Sirrus, didn’t you say something about brewing some tea? I think it’d really help with calming me and my sister’s nerves.”

“The finest herbs, directly from your highness’ imagination. I already know you’ll like it- you told me so.”

I took a sip of the herbal tea, twirling it around my mouth for a few seconds. It tasted bitter, but not too bitter. The bitterness was quickly overshadowed by a sour and sweet taste which faded out before I swallowed, at which point it tasted simply like cold water, despite the drink being hot.

“That’s... intriguing.”

I looked down at the liquid, and surprising no-one, it was a purple color.

“Is everything here either purple or black, Sirrus?”

Sirrus looked toward me with a smile. “Are you not satisfied with the colors of the void? They are yours to manipulate as you see fit after all, the colors can be anything your heart desires.”

I immediately snickered at the thought of seeing Sirrus in a rainbow suit and almost choked on the tea I had in my mouth. Celestia, who was sitting right across from me at the table, hadn’t taken a single sip of the liquid yet and she looked at me in worry. “Sis... I don’t like it here. Can I leave?”

I immediately perked up at my sister's words, and my eyes widened. “What? How come?”

Celestia sighed, looking into the purple liquid in front of her. “I don’t know... it’s just so dark in here.”

I put down my cup and leant back into the black couch that Sirrus had summoned for me. “Well, how about you try and summon some light for us? I’m sure Sirrus won’t mind.” I looked at Sirrus who immediately smiled and bowed. “By all means.”

My sister sighed, closing her eyes. “Okay, if you say so.”

As I was watching my sister attempt to cast her light spell, I noticed in my peripheral vision that Sirrus’ tie and napkin as well as eye color had changed to an animated rainbow color. I couldn’t help but laugh, and immediately picked up my teacup to see if it too had changed color, and sure enough it had.

“You look amazing, Sirrus.” I wiped away a stray tear as the dapper man in front of me suddenly seemed a lot more homosexual.

“Hush! I can’t focus if you’re going to be so loud.” Celestia said, and I immediately quieted down. “My bad, Sirrus just looks so funny.”

We allowed Celestia her silence, and after a few moments she was able to summon a sphere of light. It did illuminate the room- but not in the way you’d expect. The walls and Sirrus’ dress completely absorbed the light that hit it, but it was as if the air itself became more radiant.

“Oh, that’s cozy.” Suddenly a realization dawned on me, and I immediately perked up from the couch. “Celestia, are you afraid of the dark?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

My sister’s face contorted into a small pout. “N-No!” She crossed her arms, but the orb remained intact even though she wasn’t using her hand to keep it stable. “Okay maybe a little...”

Sirrus shook his head a little and clapped. The entire floor suddenly turned into normal wooden floorboards which were easily illuminated by the magical light sphere my sister had created. “Perhaps this will soothe you, Celestia?”

Celestia looked taken aback and lowered the amount of light streaming from her orb, until the room was bathed in a soothing yet warm glow. “Thank you Sirrus...”

I leant forward in my chair, putting my hand on my sister’s which was lying on the table. “You should have just told me sis... I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

My sister smiled warmly and took my hand in hers. “Thanks Apo.”

I smiled once more and then let go of her hand. “Well, Sirrus, now that we’re all a little more comfortable, would you care to tell me what all this talk about me being the queen of dragons is about?”

Sirrus snapped his fingers as soon as the words left my mouth, and out of nowhere a large map appeared on the table in front of us. “If you’d be so kind as to divert your attention to the map?”

I did as he told me, looking down at the map. It appeared to be a birds-eye view of the entire region, with clear outlines around every city and some random colored dots scattered around about.

“Is this a war map?!”

Sirrus chuckled slightly. “No, no of course not, your highness. Unless you’d like to use it as one, I suppose.” Sirrus cleared his throat. “In that event, I'd suggest we wait a few days though. There is something very important you need to know.”

I nodded in intrigue, looking up at the butler. “Well, spit it out then.”

“Your body still contains some traces of your...” Sirrus looks to Celestia for a moment, debating what he should say next. “You’re a very special dragon. Your uniqueness doesn’t stop at your element, however realm-shattering it may be. You are one of the few dragons to ever be granted the power to make your own dragonoids. What are dragonoids, you ask? Well, it’s really quite simple.”

“First thing you’ll need to do is find a human. The stronger, the better. Then, you need to make the human submit to you, and you have to make them willingly give up their soul. This can be done in a multitude of ways, torture, bribery... or you can take the other route, gain their respect and trust and tell them about the payback for their sacrifice. It is rather large, and rather potent, after all.”

I nodded, making a mental list of steps I had to take in order to make one of these “dragonoids” Sirrus spoke of.

“After the human has submitted their soul, they will undergo a transformation. They will gain some draconic traits, a whole boatload of power and the ability to create servants. We’ll get back to that, for now let’s focus on this new being that has been created. We refer to these as True dragonoid descendants, and they are the most potent of your underlings. The true descendants are able to become just as powerful as you are, but never stronger.”

“It should be noted that there can never be more than two True descendants at one time, and due to this I'd suggest finding one male human and one female. The reason why this is advisory is that they can, well, reproduce. They can make offspring or enslave other humans in your name, creating the second ranking dragonoid we call purebloods. These dragonoids have the potential to become around 75% as powerful as the True descendant that made them.”

I motioned for Sirrus to pause for a moment. “Sirrus, you wouldn’t happen to have this written down somewhere? This is a lot of information you’re throwing at me.”

Sirrus smirked. “Not to worry, I am only reciting written notes. You can review them later, at your leisure.”

I nodded. “Very well, continue then.”

Sirrus quickly cleared his throat. “Now, where were we... Ah yes, the pureblood dragonoids. Purebloods are but the second step in your hierarchy, these underlings can also create underlings of themselves. These 3’d descendants are referred to as Legionarii, and these can become 90% as strong as the pureblood that made them. Finally, we have the servants, the lowest form of dragonoid. These can become about 50% as strong as the Legionary who made them. Servants are known to have wildly varied potential, however, and some are even rumored to surpass even their Legionary masters.”

I nodded. “Okay, so all I need to do to grow an army is find a dude and a woman, then?”

Sirrus nodded, albeit hesitantly. “That’s the short of it, I suppose.”

I looked at the map once more and put a finger upon one of the colored dots. “Well, what is this map used for? What are all these colored dots?”

Sirrus’ smirk resurfaced once more and he moved closer to the map, looking down at the dot I was pointing to.

“That would be your father. Your secondary power as queen of the dragons, perhaps unsurprisingly considering your title, is the power to... well, I shouldn’t use the world control... You can influence dragons around you. No dragon that spots you will be able to harm you, no matter how much it wants to. Every dragon might not immediately bend to your every whim and will, but none will stand as your enemies.”

I hummed in intrigue. “Very interesting. Celestia, could you try and hit me, or something? I’d like to see if this is true.”

My sister suddenly perked up at my words, and it looked like her mind had wandered somewhere else entirely. “What? I’m sorry, I zoned out for a moment.”

I chuckled lightly. “I’d like you to try and hit me. Don’t worry, I can take it, I just want to test a theory.”

Celestia recoiled slightly, retreating a little into her chair. “W-Why? I don’t- I don’t want to hit you.”

I moved up to my sister, presenting my cheek. “You don’t need to punch full force, just a little thwack will do. If what Sirrus is saying is true, you won’t be able to lay a finger on me.”

Celestia looked in deep thought, then put her hand on my cheek. “If you really want me to...” She wound her arm back, letting it fly toward my cheek at rapid speeds. Her fist connected squarely with my jaw, and while it did hit, I didn’t really feel the impact much.

My head was immediately filled with two thoughts. One, Celestia really needs to work on her physical strength. Two, Sirrus was not speaking the truth.

“Sirrus... Care to explain this?”

Sirrus smiled with his usual polite look. “Ah yes, dragons are able to harm you if you consent to it. Try again, Celestia, this time without asking your queen for permission.”

Celestia removed her hand from my cheek. She looked a little worried that I appeared to be fine, and I asked her why that was. “I put all my strength into that blow... Are you really that much stronger than I am, sis?”

I nodded wearily. “I’m afraid that appears to be the case. You seriously need to work on your physical strength.” I didn’t encourage her further to hit me, as that would technically count as consent. Sirrus did remind her to attempt shortly thereafter though, and she did try.

Celestia’s face turned to one of confusion. “I-I want to try, but my instincts are screaming in my mind, yelling for me to stop. I-I can’t overcome it...”

I hummed in intrigue. “Well, that’s very good to know. Sirrus, do you know if this counts for unintentional damage too, for example if a stray fire blast would have hit me, or is that still something I need to take into consideration?”

Sirrus’ face turned to one of mild confusion, which is a look I didn’t know he was able to make. “Unfortunately, my queen, I do not possess that knowledge. All I can give you for now is my doubts, but I'm afraid I cannot provide concrete evidence.”

I nodded. “I see. Well, are we done here then?”

Celestia looked at me with a smile. “This little detour certainly proved to be quite interesting. I’m glad we found this place, and you too Sirrus.”

Sirrus bowed. “It was my pleasure, Princess.”

Celestia excited through the portal before I did, leaving me alone with Sirrus in the void-colored room.

“One last thing before you go. I can sense that you’ve used the power already, but you have the power to absorb magical creatures once they perish near you. You don’t need to do anything. Your body will just do it on its own. I’d advise you to exploit this ability in conjunction with gaining Dragonoids to really rocket-boost the power of both you and your underlings more quickly than any other dragon would be able to.”

I nodded, taking a final look at the butler before exiting the portal.

Man, I'm tired. I’ll just get in bed.