//------------------------------// // Egg // Story: Raven’s Last Flight // by Chemtest //------------------------------// “Century 9, Year of Our Lord. Once upon a time, in the distant land of Judea, there would live two brothers, living under an empire which spans the whole known world, an empire of iron and gold, of blood and conquest. When they were still but children, soldiers of the empire would come to their village, bringing both torch and blade to the many inhabitants of the farming village, revenge for paying an incorrect amount of tax to the empire. In the smoldering ruins of the village, there would be only two survivors, the two brothers.” The bright sun shines down over the peaceful land of Equestria, warm golden rays casted down upon ponies all over the vast nation, going about their ordinary lives in ordinary manners. The sun seems to shine particularly bright in the grand capital of Equestria, Canterlot, a city filled with nobles in fancy dress, noses stuck up in the air, businessponies trying their best to compete with one another, and a large number of guards, all wearing shining golden armor. The city is surrounded by a blue bubble, an anti-changeling shield, for today is the day for the wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, a truly wonderful event. “Both brothers would beseech the heavens for assistance, for vengeance against the empire which had killed their family. But it was not the heavens that responded, neigh, instead it was something far darker. From the Beyond would come a sickly voice, offering aid to the youngest brother, giving him the power to control sickness and disease, that he might bring suffering upon those who made him suffer. The brother, filled with grief, accepted the offer, becoming a different form entirely, a mass of writhing rats, and he would go on to be called Pestilence.” Within a hotel room nearby to the palace would be a group of three fillies, sixteen to seventeen in age. One, a white unicorn filly with a multicolored mane, would be using the bright sun’s rays to light up a book within her hooves, reading to the other two. Another, a yellow earth pony filly with a red bow in her hair, would be currently busy slipping on a dress, while the last, an orange Pegasus filly, Scootaloo, would be focused on combing her unicorn friend’s mane, spitting out the comb to comment with disgust, “Pestilence? What’s that even supposed to mean? At least modern books don’t use made up words.” The yellow filly, Apple Bloom, would look over with a smile, slipping on a fancy dress, speaking in a thick country accent, “Oh, I know what that means! Applejack used it once when some of our trees got infected, it’s basically a fancier way of saying sickness.” The unicorn, Sweetie Belle, would look up from the book with a pointed look at Scootaloo, “Shh, if you keep interrupting I’ll never be able to finish, and then we’ll be screwed in our book report.” She then clears her throat and looks back down with a smile, “The other brother would be offered a different power entirely, as the being from Beyond would offer him two glowing orbs. They were his parents’ souls, both green and vibrant in color, and the being claimed that through the use of death, he could forever conquer it. The older brother, filled with hate and curiosity equally, would take the souls of his parents, swallowing them. His form would also change, as his flesh would rapidly age, falling off of his very bones, his eyes melting away in an instant, a millennia passing in but a second, before he took in a shuddering breath, now a living skeleton, with his parent’s souls where his eyes should be. He would have complete control over death and all things dead, and would thusly go on to be called Death.” Scootaloo grins as she finishes combing, “That sounds awesome! Maybe a bit disgusting, but a living skeleton? So cool!” Sweetie Belle would look at her with a small frown, with Scootaloo then sighing, “Alright, sorry, continuing reading. But it is pretty cool.” Apple Bloom grins slightly, adjusting her bow in minuscule ways, “C’mon, Sweetie, you spend all day reading that thing and we’ll be late! Applejack would kill me if we were late… not literally.” Sweetie clears her throat, returning to reading, “Twice more would these deals be made, once with a god from a distant land, trapped to forever drown in a well by those who had killed his mother. This god would be granted the ability to never die, and to gain strength from the blood he shed, and thus he became known as War. Finally, a white and black being would be granted an offering, having had their limbs taken off by one who killed their family, they were offered the soul of an Order god whilst they bled out. Accepting it, their form would become emaciated, and wherever they would walk, destruction and ruin would follow in their wake, they were thusly called Famine. These four, the Horses of the Apocalypse, would go on to tear down the empire-“ Her reading is once more interrupted, this time from Apple Bloom, “Horses? Like, d’ya mean Saddle Arabian horses? I met one of them once when we was going on a delivery to Baltimare. They were real slender and graceful, friendly too, don’t sound like they’d be of the apocalypse.” Sweetie Belle looks up and shrugs, “I don’t know, but Miss Twilight said this book is a translation from a language from far away, so maybe there’s other horses who are mean? Or it could be mistranslated.” She returns her nose to the book, “Once the Empire had fully fallen, the four Horses retreated to other realms, all but one. Pestilence was seen to have gone with the Black Death his final curse, having traveled to divine realms to spread his sickness. Famine left with one last gift to our realm, a starving realm, gone to worlds unseen. War never truly left us, for he is still in the hearts of the unworthy, driving them to kill, even as he goes to destroy other realms. Death, however, is our world’s faithful companion, settling in the Dark Forests within the realm of barbarians, crafting unholy abominations of flesh and bone, killing any foolish… Goth that would go near? Why would he target ponies who wear black?” Scootaloo rolls her eyes, “Because they’re the ones who would go near someplace called the ‘Dark Forests’, duh. Like the time Dinky dyed her hair and then went into the Everfree.” Apple Bloom, now fully dressed, helps Sweetie Belle into a dress of her own, while the unicorn puts the book aside, “Scootaloo, we went into the Everfree as well. And our sisters. We ain’t exactly goth.” Scootaloo grins, “Well, when we do it, it’s because we’re awesome heroes, of course, but awesome heroes would never be attacked by Death! We’d look him in his face and we’d laugh because we’re just that cool!” The other two would open their mouths to respond, but before they can, the door would open up, a mint green unicorn looking in at them all, Lyra. She wears a fancy dress just the same as them, one to match with the other Bridesmaids, giving them all a wide smile, scanning the room with bright green eyes, “Hey-hey, flower fillies, I hope you’re all ready, we’re starting the ceremony a bit early. We don’t want to do it on schedule in case Twilight tries to do something stupid… again.” The three would nod and smile, approaching Lyra, with Scootaloo grinning slightly, “Yeah, she’s had some… strange moments before, but I never expected her to shout at a bride-to-be like that, it was totally unlike her.” Apple Bloom giggles softly, “Maybe she’s the fake one, it’s just not like her to be so aggressive like that.” Lyra chuckles and leans down, so her head is level with the fillies, “Oh, stop that, nobody is fake around here, you three. She was just stressed, I’m sure.” She then looks at them, and breathes out a green gas, the three fillies inadvertently breathing it in, causing the three of them to instantly pass out. Lyra stands up straight, looking at them, before a potato sack floats over in an aura of green magic, stuffing the fillies inside of it, the potato sack having a concealing enchantment so it seems to be entirely empty. She then pulls out a mirror from within her dress, a handheld one, floating it up. Upon the mirror surface appears a pinky pony, an alicorn, Princess Cadence. The Princess grins, speaking in a no-nonsense voice, “Have they been secured?” Lyra nods and gives a small grin in return, “Yes, my Queen. Plan B is safe to go. I will get them to Mandible for transportation immediately, your highness.” Cadence smirks smugly, “Oh, I hardly think any of this will be necessary… but it never hurts to be safe, does it? Avoid any suspicion, the mind control is beginning to wear off slightly, we can’t afford to be caught so close to victory. Move swiftly, and then return to me, I require my mane to be brushed.” Lyra nods, “At once, your highness.” She then floats the mirror back into her dress, picking up the sack and putting it on her back, exiting the building. As she walks next to a small alleyway next to the hotel, however, she would notice a pair of green eyes noticing her. From out of the shadows trots a colt, sixteen years old, short, slim, with piercing green eyes staring director at Lyra, especially her horn. His coat is a dark grey color, and his hair is a matted, greasy black, with it being ruffled wildly, not properly maintained, with his coat being much the same. Of special note, the colt seems to have no mark on his flank, much like the three kidnapped fillies. He would continue to stare at Lyra’s horn, before speaking in a soft voice, one that sounds like it is fascinated by everything, “You’re a unicorn.” Lyra looks at him in return, slowly blinking as she takes in his words, before speaking slowly, “Umm… yeah, last time I checked, I was.” He tilts his head to the side, curiously, “Have you checked again? I have no horn, nor wings. How strange. Might I have a piece of your mane or tail?” She nervously shifts the sack around on her back, looking at the strange colt with a strange look, “My mane or tail? I… where are your parents? Shouldn’t they be keeping track of you?” He steps a bit closer to her, though his gait is odd, like a seapony walking on land for the first time in years, “It’s long been theorized that unicorn hair was the catalyst needed to transmute lead into gold. Given the decorations…” He looks around at the rich golden decorations of the city, “I think it might be right. Is this the city of gold I heard rumors about? How strange. I don’t know where my parents are.” He looks directly into Lyra’s eyes, “But I know where yours are.” Lyra looks around, and then clears her throat, “Umm, sorry to cut this short, but I really should get going, you see, I’m expected at a-“ She’s cut off as the colt walks up to her, causing her to take a small step back as he speaks, “One thousand five hundred years old, that’s your mother. She has a caring soul, a healer or caretaker, she’s to the southwest, two hundred and fifty miles southwest. Your father died in a war, a stray arrow to an artery, not even intended to kill him. He was a brave warrior, nine hundred years old, and he bled out in a distant land, seeing his closest friends dying around him, fighting for the promise of money.” Lyra is backed up into a corner by the colt, despite him being nearly half her size, looking at him with wide eyes, “I… I… how did you… who are you?” He tilts his head more to the side, “I don’t know, but I do know you. Carapace. His final thoughts were of you, you know. He was a truly loving father, and his soul was happy you gave him a traditional burial. I detect fear. I’m not supposed to know any of this, am I? How fascinating, I’m unknown. But to me, you are fully known. How strange.” Lyra, hyperventilating a tiny bit in a mix of panic and depressed memories, would rapidly extend a hoof, the very same green powder coming from within it. The colt takes a breath of the powder, “Hmm, a sleeping gas. And it’s working. How str-“ He then passes out in the middle of his sentence, collapsing in a limp pile. Lyra looks at him, and then looks around, seeing nobody watching. She would float up his small body, before stuffing him right into the sack with the fillies, closing it tight.