//------------------------------// // The Fallen // Story: Blazing Dragon // by Zanem-Ji //------------------------------// Her hooves softly trampled the dirt beneath them. Her back was hurting, the sweat stung at her eyes, and her legs were beginning to feel numb. But she had to carry on. She was on a mission, and she couldn’t stop because of a few measly aches. If the legends were true, then perhaps they could help end the suffering of their world… A young Unicorn filly bounded up to her loving mother. Even through the caked on ash and dirt, patches of her turquoise coat could still be seen. Her smoky gray mane and tail were matted down to her fur with sweat, but she didn’t care. She was but a child, and so long as she could play and avoid taking a bath, she would stay dirty forever. Not that water came too often anyway. After all, not being thirsty was way better than not being clean. Her mother held her close, as she looked into her eyes. Her heterochromia made her a bit of an oddity, but lovable none the less. The lavender hue of her right iris, and the light hazel of her left iris, both sparkled with child-like innocence and joy. “Mommy! I keep hearing about Daddy coming back! Is it true?! Huh, is it?!” Her mother frowned, “No, my little Sparks. Your father is still out searching for ‘The Fallen’…” Sparks popped out her bottom lip in a pout, “Why is Daddy still out looking for them, instead of staying here with us??” Her mother gently rubbed her head, “He is doing this for us, little one. The Fallen are the only ones that can save us all. Wouldn’t you like to be in a world where you can go out ALL the time? Where you can see the Sun, and there'd be grass under your hooves everywhere you stepped, and have food and water all the time?” The tiny Unicorn crossed her hooves, “I never even seen the sun, or that much grass all at once, so I don’t care if I don’t get to see or feel them.” Her mother gently smiled, “Well, the Sun is the most beautiful thing you will ever see, and the grass? It’s softer than all the mattresses you’ve ever slept in. And…it’ll be because your father managed to find The Fallen.” “Who are The Fallen anyway? Only the old ponies have seen them, and most of them are gone. Why does everypony want to see them?” “It is said that they were once close friends with the Princesses from before the ‘Fallout’. Ponies, who bore magic beyond our wildest imaginations, even though not all of them are Unicorns. Even though they are supposed to be in their 80s now, they are stronger than anypony around. It’s even said that one of them is RELATED to the Hell King, and can stop him.” she lifted the smaller pony’s chin, “Everypony needs somepony to look up to. You say you look up to your father and I, right?” The young filly nodded. “Well…your father and I…” she turned to looked through the dusty, dirty window, “We look up to The Fallen….” That was so long ago though. Her father never came back…and her mother died from disease and filth. She had to do this…she had carry on the legacy of her father, and bring The Fallen out from wherever they are, so that they could stop the Hell King. To help bring peace and happiness back to the land. To see the sun and feel the fields of grass that her mother spoke of so much. Grass sounded delicious right about now. Her stomach rumbled. Loud. She froze. She might as well have screamed out her existence to the world. They would be here any moment now. The sound of hunger had been too loud for them to not hear. Her ears swiveled faster now, waiting to hear any noise that would give away their position. The first one attacked. She quickly coiled her hind legs up, before bucking the creature in the teeth. It rolled and tumbled as she turned to face it. It had definitely been a pony when it was alive. It’s flesh was scarred, blistered and destroyed by the continuous black fire that spouted occasionally from random lacerations and crevices on it. It’s teeth were all crooked fangs, and it’s eyes were nothing but onyx colored orbs with gleaming red pupils. It had one twisted wing, and a small fleshy nub where the other should’ve been. It had been a Pegasus. It could’ve even been a friend that she had lost long ago. The flesh where it’s cutie mark should’ve been was gone now. It no longer matter who it had been before; It was an enemy to all things good now. It lunged for her again, and she fired off a blast of lavender magic at it, blowing a hole clean through it’s body. It still came for her. As she jumped to the side to avoid it’s tackle, another sprung up behind her. It dug it’s fangs into the meaty part of her shoulder and latched on. She let out a whinny before swinging around to throw it off of her. Another leaped out of the shadows. Then another. One bit into her thigh, the other into one of her forelegs. She couldn’t move. She was as good as dead. The one she had kicked earlier had gotten back up. It licked it’s dry, cracked lips as it honed in on her neck. She gave it a death glare. This wasn’t fair. She couldn’t die like this. If the gods be willing…they will let her survive. It lunged. She braced for it. It never came. Her eyes went wide as she saw a dirty orange mass fly into it. An Earth Pony mare. She turned to look at her, “You there, don’t move a muscle!!” Something in Sparks knew to obey the command. She froze, even as the beast continued to gnaw away at her. And then she heard it, Loud cracks in the air. The monsters released their grip and dropping to the dirt lifelessly. A maniacal giggle finished off by a quick snort. She looked up to see another Earth Pony in a gnarled and leafless tree. Another mare, with dark pink fur, and an unnaturally straight mane and tail. She wore a black leather jacket, armed with various knives, small hammers, and a few vials of different colored liquids. The jacket was open, and in the middle of her chest, she bore a massive, circular shaped scar. Her face was dirty like the other mare's, but her eyes were a bright shade of blue. Her twisted smile faltered when she looked down at Sparks. “You silly filly! You’ve been alive long enough to know that it’s dangerous to be anywhere outside alone!!” Sparks dusted herself off as the pink mare leapt from the tree and landed in front of her, “Thank you very much for your help. If it weren’t for you two, those things would’ve killed me off.” “Yer damn lucky we were passin’ through here. Why the hell are ya walkin’ around out here all by yer lonesome anyway?” Sparks turned to look at the orange mare that had questioned her. The mare wore a tattered brown coat, and a weathered, age-worn southern style hat. Both her silvery blonde mane and tail were tied up in thick, braided cords. Her hind legs had metal braces attached to them with screws that embedded into her thighs. Patches of her hind legs were covered with metal plates, and she wore horse shoes that had tiny spikes on the bottom. Her emerald green eyes shined brightly as she appeared to be staring into the Unicorn’s soul. “I am on a mission to find The Fallen; the legendary six ponies who could kill the Hell King.” The Earth Ponies looked at each other, before the orange pony spoke up again. “Ya need tah turn ‘round an’ head on back tah wherever ya came from.” Sparks arched an eyebrow, “What? Why?” she shook her head, “Nevermind. Look, I really do appreciate you both for saving me and all, but I have to do this.” she started to walk past them. The pink mare grabbed her tail with her teeth, and flung her over her head, smacking her into the dirt. She wheezed from the loss of air as the pony stood over her, “We can’t let you do that, silly!” the pony stated rather bluntly, “We don’t want to let you keep going by yourself, and then feel bad if something happens to you.” “My father disappeared looking for them!!” Sparks screamed. “All my life, I was told that The Fallen were the only hope to saving us all! They could bring back the Sun, and the Moon, and the stars, and endless water and grass, but more importantly, freedom and happiness!!” tears started to fall from the Unicorn’s eyes, “At first…I thought my father left because he cared about The Fallen more than he loved us. But as I got older, I realized that he did it because he loved us. So, the least I can do is carry on with my father’s mission, and find them…” she wiped the tears away and then gave the pink pony a hard glare, “Now, GET OFF OF ME!!” The mare didn’t move. Instead, she turned to the orange pony. The emerald eyes bore into her once more, “Tell me…what was yer pa’s name??” Sparks stared back at her, “His name was Star Blast…why?” The pink pony pulled Sparks to her hooves. She cleared her throat, “My name’s Pinkamena Diane Pie, but I like to be called Pinkie Pie. And this,” Pinkie looked over at the orange one, “Is Applejack…” Sparks looked back and forth between the two. Why did their names sound so familiar? Realization dawned on her; They were the names of two ponies that belonged to The Fallen. Sparks knelt before them, “I have spent the past decade searching for you. It is an honor, and a miracle, to have finally found you.” Applejack gave a small smile, “Thank ya kindly, uh…what’s yer name exactly?” “My name is Bright Spark, but everypony just calls me Sparks.” “Well, Sparks…it’s a pleasure tah meet ya, an’ an honor as well.” Sparks got a huge grin on her face, “Really?” “You’re the daughter of THE Star Blast!” Pinkie exclaimed. “He helped us with a lot of super-duper tough intel gathering missions.” The Unicorn practically bounced with joy, “You met my father?! HE FOUND YOU?!” Applejack nodded, “Yes he did. An’, he was one of the most amazin’ Unicorns that Ah ever met.” “Do you know where he is now?” Sparks asked. “I haven’t seen him since I was a little filly…and it’d be so nice to be back with him. Although…” her eyes fell to the ground, “He’ll be heartbroken when he finds out that Mom is gone…” Pinkie and Applejack exchanged sad glances before turning back to her. Pinkie stepped forward, “Sparks…there’s no easy way to tell you this…” she coughed and cleared her throat, “We regret to inform you…that your father-” Sparks shook her head. She had been to some of her friends’ houses when this happened. Soldiers would knock on the door….their mom or dad would answer, and they would start to say the same thing. By the end of it, the parent would be a pile of broken spirit and tears…and the next day, her friend would be the same way… Applejack stepped closer and gently placed a hoof on her shoulder, “Ah have a feelin’ yer gonna be with us fer a while…so…Ah know this hurts, but ya need tah hear it… an' Ah need ya tah be strong about it.” Sparks bit her bottom lip and nodded, as tears waited to be spilled. Pinkie gave a small nod, and looked at Sparks again, her expression was a lot softer this time, “I’m not going to give you the statement that we tell other families…your dad was a great stallion, a hero to many, including the two Fallen that he saved…we couldn’t have picked a better pony to fight alongside us. Again, it is one of my deepest regrets to have to give you such horrible news…but I would rather it be one of us who told you then one of our fighters…” Sparks nodded, and without thinking, hugged Pinkie as tightly as she could, “Thank you for that! It means so much…” Pinkie smiled and lightly patted her back, “No problem…I can say that we all were so happy to have your dad as a friend. He saved two of my best friends…he gave me something I couldn’t afford to lose, and I thank him every single day for that.” The Unicorn pulled away from her and nodded, thanking them once more for their kind words. Applejack placed a hoof on her again, “Yer Blast’s kid, so ya best believe yer gonna have tah meet the others.” Sparks’ face lit up, “You mean I-” The orange mare nodded, “Yup! Yer gonna meet the rest of us!!” Sparks couldn’t contain her joy any longer. She leapt into the air and clacked her hooves together. She took Applejack’s hoof into her own, “Thank you, thank you! Words cannot express how much this means to me!!” Applejack chuckled as she received the strong hoof shake, “No problem, Sparks. But we gotta get up outta here before more of them vermin come out.” The Earth Ponies turned to continue walking, with Sparks in tow. Pinkie and Applejack conversed with each other, and Sparks was too awe struck to join in. She simply observed how these two seemingly normal and friendly ponies, were said to be the most powerful heroines to have ever existed. Were they all this nice or was it just these two? Was it because her father fought alongside them? She wondered how it was for him to join them in battle. To look beside him, and see these powerful mares fighting alongside- “Wait a minute.” Pinkie and Applejack turned around, “What’s up, Sugarcube?” Sparks looked between them, “My mom said The Fallen were really old. Like…well into their 80s. And that’s when I was still a filly. How old are you two?” Applejack gave a small glare, “Ah know it ain’t right tah be askin’ a lady her age!” Pinkie elbowed her before looking back at Applejack, “Don’t mind her, she’s just trying to be a bully. I’m 120, and Applejack is 124.” Sparks jaw nearly hit the ground, “How is that possible that you guys are that old and look so young?! You don’t look a day over 50!” Applejack smiled, “Everythin’ will be answered soon, when we meet back up with our friends.” She turned and continued on, with Pinkie happily bouncing beside her. The Unicorn mare grinned with content before continuing the trek with the couple. ~MLP~ Sparks had expected more. Something greater, than what she was looking at right now. It was a rundown old warehouse of some sort. At least, that’s what it looked like it was. When they got inside however, it was as if she stepped into a completely different dimension. The inside was nice and clean, and was crowded with various ponies of all breeds. Some were making potions of different kinds, some were creating weapons for battle, and some were posting massive maps of the world on all the walls. But there was one thing that they were all doing that they had in common; Smiling. They all had genuine smiles on their faces, and hearty laughter. Sparks leaned into Pinkie, “Why is everypony so happy? It’s weird…” “Laughter is the greatest medicine.” Pinkie replied. “Most of us here have lost somepony we loved. Most of us have seen combat, and gotten into battles we knew we couldn’t win. Most of us...have seen some twisted, and to be completely honest, fucked up things. But one thing that we’ve gotten out of this war, is friendship. We are a band of brothers and sisters, whom through friendship, have doubled our joy, and halved our sorrows. If you can look death and despair in the eyes and laugh, then you my friend, are one tough pony.” Applejack smiled, “Wow…that was amazing.” Pinkie cocked her head to the side, “What was amazing?” Applejack shook her head, “Ah’m still amazed that we’re married sometimes, Pinkie. Ya just blow my mind.” Pinkie smiled and nuzzled up to her, “That’s the sweetest thing you’ve said all week! I love you too!” The Unicorn once again found herself grinning at the couple. She wondered in a world without the Hell King, if she could find love like that too. She wondered about that and more, and didn’t realize she had spaced out until she bumped into Applejack’s flank. She shook her head and looked up to see a massive door was the reason they had stopped. Applejack looked back at her, “Not many ponies have come intah this room.” She stated. “So what ya see an’ what ya hear, an’ say, can’t leave this room. Do ya understand?” Sparks nodded and her expression turned serious, “I understand.” “Good.” Applejack turned and started to push the door open, “Then let’s go.” Pinkie stepped inside, with Sparks following her, and Applejack closed the door. The room was dimly lit, save for one corner that had a large table with various weapons, armor, and other mechanical items on it. Just outside of the light’s reach, a pair of cerise eyes focused on the trio. The eyes squinted, “Who’s that mare with you guys? She looks kinda familiar.” A raspy voice spoke out. Applejack patted the younger mare’s back, “This here is Bright Spark, but she said her nickname is just Sparks. An’ the reason she looks so familiar, is because she’s Blast’s kid!” The cerise eyes lit up, “What?! No way!!” There was the sound of a quick trot, and a Pegasus mare appeared from the darkness. Her fur was slightly grayish-cyan color, and her mane was cut into a short, prismatic Mohawk. Her tail was also brightly colored, with a few barely noticeable strands of silver in it. She wore a white tank top that was covered in oil and grease stains and a thick, brown leather tool belt. The detail that caught Sparks’ attention though, was that one of her wings was made completely out of metal rods with a cybernetic meshing, and the metal wing was painted to match as close to her fur color as possible. The Pegasus bit down on the tooth pick in her mouth as she smiled hard at Sparks. “Well, well, I never thought I’d meet the little spawn of Blast. You definitely look like him.” She stuck a hoof out to her, “The name’s Rainbow Dash. Nice to meet ya!” Sparks eagerly took the hoof into her own, “It’s nice to meet you too! You’re The Fallen Pegasus that was once the leader of the Wonderbolts! My mother told me she used to go to their shows when she was a filly!” Dash nodded, “Yeah. But, of course, I’m not as fast as I used to be because of this thing.” She gave her prosthetic wing a few flaps, “But it does me well and gets the job done.” “Ow! Rainbow Dash, stop leaving all of these tooth picks all over the floor! They mess up my hooficure every single time!!” a voice shouted out from the darkness. Dash rolled her eyes, “Because that really matters, right?” A Unicorn with earmuffs around her neck stepped out from the shadows, glaring at Dash as she did. Her coat, though covered in numerous scars of various sizes, was a splendid shade of white, and her long violet mane and tail had streaks of silver in them as well. A jagged scar that started near the base of her horn, ran all the way down over her left eye, and bloomed over her cheek. She had a burn scar that covered the upper right portion of her face, stopping right below the base of her ear. And the right eye, while it had retained some of it’s sapphire hue like her other eye, had a milky lens over it. To Sparks though, the Unicorn made the look work for her, and she appeared to give off an air of sophistication. “Yes, it does! If you were a LADY, then you would know that! Instead, you continue to act like a grease monkey, whom can never take her hooves off of the machines and her mare!” Dash pressed her muzzle against the Unicorn’s, “You got a problem with that?!” The white mare’s horn glowed, “A problem that I will squash like an insignificant little insect.” Pinkie jammed her way in between them, “We’re all good friends here, so how about we be nice, and make Sparky here feel at home!!” The white Unicorn turned to face her, “Oh darling, I’m so sorry you had to see me behave in such an uncouth manner. Dash has the tendency to be a thorn in my side, and well sometimes, you have to act like a ruffian for other ruffians to understand you.” She stuck her hoof out, “My name is Fair Rarity-” “There’s nothing ‘fair’ about her.” Dash cut in. Rarity smiled politely at Sparks as she cocked back one of her hind legs. Dash looked at her in confusion, before feeling a white hoof slam into her side, flinging her back into the darker part of the room. Applejack and Sparks winced as they heard metal clanking loudly and glass breaking. Pinkie bounced in the direction Dash went, as Rarity continued once more. “But Rarity works just fine, if not better. We don’t always have time to scream the entirety of a name while we’re in the midst of battle, now do we? Now what is your name?” Sparks took the hoof into her own, and slightly bowed, “My name is Bright Spark, but most ponies call me Sparks. It’s a pleasure and an honor to meet you, Fair Rarity.” She smiled and winked at her. Rarity giggled, a slight blush tinting her cheeks, “Oh my, you are quite a little charmer, aren’t you?” she cupped the younger Unicorn’s cheeks, “Why, you bear a striking resemblance to a handsome stallion from long ago. He was a charmer as well.” “The thing that made him charmin’ though, was the love an’ devotion he had fer his kin back home.” Applejack stated. Rarity nodded in agreement, “Yes, that’s true. Why, he spoke so highly of his wife and daughter that I wish I had been given the opportunity to meet them. It would’ve been nice to see the driving forces behind Blast’s actions…” Sparks smiled harder, “What did my father say about me?” “Oh, Blast said that you were the most beautiful creature that he had the pleasure of creating! Why, he would-” Rarity gasped as she realized what Sparks had said, “You’re Blast’s daughter?!” Rarity scooped the Unicorn into a hug, “Oh my stars, it is absolutely WONDERFUL to meet you!! Why, he spoke nothing but absolute praise of you and Violet Spark. How is your mother anyway?” Sparks looked down at the ground once more, “She passed away when I was 17. I’ve been traveling ever since to find you all.” “Rarity…why can’t you be the bigger pony when it comes to your fights with Dashie?” a sweet voice questioned from the shadows, as a pair of big teal orbs appeared. Rarity’s ears flattened down in shame, “I’ve really been trying to be that pony…but that…creature…you decided to marry, can be just a teensy bit annoying and rude sometimes.” “I know she can be-” “Babe! Who’s side are you on?!” Dash screamed out. “But you, as the more mature of the two, should be able to make the decision to end whatever argument you two have gotten yourselves into…” the eyes turned to face Sparks, “Oh my…I’m sorry, let me introduce myself. My name is Fluttershy…who are you?” Sparks rubbed the back of her neck, “Name’s Bright Spark-” “But we’re callin’ her Sparks.” Applejack finished, “Sugarcube, ya gotta come on out the shadows so she can see ya.” There was a few moments of silence before a pony stepped from the shadows. She was a canary colored Pegasus, with a few grey hairs in her fur. Her pink mane and tail were incredibly long, with a lone, thick silver streak in each of them. Her mane covered one of her teal eyes, and she had a jagged scar that ran down the side of her neck and stopped at her collar bone. There were small metal rods that started in the middle of her spine, and disappeared at the base of her tail. Her left leg was made completely out of metal, and a soft whirring emanated from where a couple of visible gears turned. Her left thigh had metal plating on it, with three cyan and pink butterflies painted on it to match the real cutie mark on her right thigh. She smiled sweetly, baring a set of dangerously sharp fangs, as she looked down at Sparks, “I’m sorry. Let me try again…” she slowly stuck her hoof out, “My name is Fluttershy...it’s really nice to meet you…” Sparks carefully took her hoof into her own, “It’s very nice to meet you too.” Fluttershy turned her attention back to Rarity, “Now, I’m going to need you to be the bigger mare in this. You know how my wife can be. She’s got a bit of a temper.” “You’re the wife of the Fallen Wonderbolt…” Sparks said in disbelief. “That is so cool…” Fluttershy blushed and started to hide her face behind her mane, “Thank you.” “And I’m the wife of the most beautiful mare in the world!” Dash jumped back into the bright part of the room, smacking Rarity out of it, and into the dark. Fluttershy frowned and smacked Dash in the face with one of her wings. Dash rubbed her snout as she turned to Fluttershy, “What did I do?!” Fluttershy pointed at the dark spot that Rarity had disappeared into, “Go and help her!” Dash grumbled and turned to go and help Rarity out of whatever she may have collided into. Pinkie bounced out of the shadows, “There’s one more pony who wants to meet you!!” Sparks nodded and nearly showed equal excitement “Who?” A surge of power rippled through the room. The lone beam of light danced around as if it was blown in the wind. One by one, more lights turned on, until the whole room was lit up. Sparks could make out different parts of the room. A large couch with a blanket with a few romance novels and few spools of thread sitting on it. A small potted tree. A stove with a few slightly rusted baking utensils. And the entirety of the mechanical table with a ton of machine parts and half built projects. And the source of the wave of powerful magic. A dark lavender Unicorn stared down Sparks. She stood tall and had an air of regality to her, commanding the attention of all those around her. Her mane and tail had a slightly grayed shade of violet, with a pink and grey streak in them. Her glazed eyes had dark rings around them. Massive scars danced and stretched almost the entirety of her body, and a few lavender crystals spurted from her flesh. Her horn was slightly twisted and cracked, and she wore a noose that was broken and frayed at the end. Her lips were pursed into a thin line as she stared at Sparks. Sparks shivered as she felt like the older Unicorn staring deep into her soul. “Hello, Bright Spark. I am Twilight Sparkle, but for you, I will be known as the First Fallen…”