//------------------------------// // Quiet Times and the Experiment from Hell // Story: Blazing Dragon // by Zanem-Ji //------------------------------// It was like the entire world had been silenced. The Hell King could do nothing more than simply let his Hellions go and search for the Fallen and their military. Some came back after decimating some already empty bases. Some didn’t ever return. No matter the outcome, none of them had come back with the news he wanted to here; the Fallen's location. He stared blankly out into the void of the wasteland that was his creation. He was bored. Where had his little playthings ran off to? Trixie had done well to cause them harm, but perhaps she had gone a bit too far to scare all of them off and force them into hiding. Those little ponies were tricky. Such vile, disgusting little creatures. ‘Those vile, disgusting little creatures are my family…and they will be your demise…’ He rolled his eyes at the voice speaking to him in his head, “You keep saying that. You have been for a while too. When are you ever going to shut up about it??” ‘When they kill you off.’ “I already told you, if they kill me, you’re going to die as well.” ‘I have no qualms with that.’ He smirked, “But Twilight does..." There was a few moments of silence. His smirk turned into a full on grin when he assumed the voice in his head had nothing else to say. His smile instantly disappeared when the voice spoke up once more, ‘Twilight is my sister…but she is a leader. A leader that understands that the needs of the many vastly outweigh the few. I do not mean as much to her as millions of lives do. I know that…and that’s how it should be.’ Corrupted Spike let out a low growl, as he continued to listen. ‘She will do whatever needs to be done to end your reign of tyranny. You could not even take over her body…that just proves how weak and pathetic you were…and still are.’ Corrupted Spike snarled, “I had complete control over her body!! The only reason I didn’t get to keep it, was because you managed to somehow take me out of her!!” ‘No…you weren’t in complete control. I could see it in her eyes. She was still in there somewhere…you know, you’re kind of like a plant. A weed, to be more specific. You weren’t rooted in deep enough…so it made it easier to rip you out from your foundation…’ “Well then, I seem to have a much better influence upon you, because I’ve had control of your body for decades.” ‘True…you have indeed taken my body…but you’ll never take my spirit…’ Corrupted Spike rolled his eyes, and drowned out the voice speaking to him. His ear fins perked up when he heard knocking at his bedroom door, “WHAT?!” “Great Dragon, we wish for you to lend me your ear and let us in, so that we may share this wonderful news with you.” Eternal’s voice declared from the other side. “ENTER!!” Eternal trotted in with Trixie trailing behind her. Their heads held high, and Eternal's eyes burning a bright shade of red. They both gave him a bow, before looking up at him, “I sent out a small squadron of Hellions to go investigate the last base that the Fallen were seen at. When they searched the area, they found a few pieces of Changeling chitin." Eternal reported. Corrupted Spike tapped his chin thoughtfully, “That’s strange…the Changelings have managed to keep themselves hidden all this time…I wonder how that got there.” “We believe that the Fallen may have some sort of bond with the Changelings, or at least one of them.” “Damn…that might be a bit of a problem.” “Forgive Trixie for questioning you, but how so? They’re just Changelings.” Trixie asked. “The Changelings aren't as fragile as ponies. Not to mention they do not have the same standards and ethics like the Fallen’s rebellion does. If they travel in groups, no matter how long they’ve been together, if one of them dies, they will not care. It could’ve been family to them, but the only Changeling that will EVER be important to them, is the hive’s Queen. They won’t hesitate or flee just because a ‘friend’ died in their holey little hooves.” He smiled, “Why, if I were to get them to fight for us…they’d pose a powerful threat to Twilight and her rag-tag gang of misfit ponies…” “What would you like us to do, Great Dragon?” “You and Trixie shall go and scour that area.” “Perhaps…I could be of some assistance as well…Great Dragon…” The trio snapped their heads in the direction of the voice. A Unicorn with a red tipped horn emerged from the shadows, his dark grey coat gleaming from the glow of Corrupted Spike’s eyes, “How dare you enter the chambers of our mighty God-king without permission, Sombra!!” Trixie snarled. “Have you lost what little mind you may have left in that tiny skull of yours?!” “I do believe that I was speaking to our King of Hell, not you, Lulamoon.” Sombra hissed back, baring his fangs at the mare.. Trixie’s horn burned brightly, “Why, you conceited little piece of shit-” “There will be no fighting here. I don’t want your blood splattering the walls.” He gave another evil grin, “Or do I? It would add some color to this place.” The three ponies backed away from him, their gazes falling to the floor. He focused on Sombra, “Yes, I think you will be of some use to me at the moment…” ~MLP~ Sparks sat next to Patch on one of the many tiny cliffs that lined the walls of the hidden hive. “Ah can’t believe we’ve been here fer over three years…” Sparks looked over at the cyborg with a soft smile on her face. He was a lot bigger than when they first met. What remained of his real flesh was chiseled muscle that rippled under his bright, bold, red coat. He had shaved off his mane, and opted to grow a small fuzz on his chin. Thanks to the colony welcoming the Fallen, Dash now had the materials, tools, and means to not only repair, but upgrade all of his machinery. The plates were painted a matte black, and on the plate attached to his left hind leg, Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark was spray painted onto it (a strange request made by the Unicorn). He now wore a white tank top, and like his mentor's, it was also smudged with grease and oil stains. He opted not to wear a tool belt, as he was able to magically summon any tools he would need. “Yeah…it is a strange feeling…I remember how we didn’t get along when we first met.” “Yeah, Ah was the trottin’ junkyard,” “And I was the zombie freak…” Sparks finished with a chuckle. “Well now, Ah can say that ya lookin’ nothin’ like a zombie freak.” Sparks’ smile turned somewhat bitter, “I’m still the scary, brain eating pony that the young Changelings and ponies run from.” Patch magically summoned a mirror and turned it in Sparks’ direction. She let her eyes fall upon her reflection. Her mane and tail had grown much longer, and somehow, her coat had regained some of its bluish shine. She had a row of EvenTide crystals aligned down her spine, and two short crystals that jutted out of her shoulders. Her eyes had retained the light blue ring of death around the irises, but her eyes had a slight sheen to them. She wore a custom black leather vest that allowed her spinal EvenTide crystals an opening, and it had a few pockets lined with small trinkets and helpful devices that she had collected over the years. Her smile once again returned to full force, “There we go, made the pretty lady smile.” She playfully slapped his shoulder, “Shut up, Patch.” They laughed and chatted a bit more, before Dee landed beside them. She had let some of her mane grow out, some wild strands covering one of her golden orbs. Her upper fangs protruded a bit from her mouth, and most of her teeth had turned into hooked fangs. Her leathery bat wings were now bigger as well, and her hooves had a slight, hooked curve to them as well. She was definitely an intimidating foe to those who lived outside of the colony. “So this is where you two have been hiding.” She declared. She plopped down next to Patch and looked over at Sparks, “Miss Twilight and Miss Rarity have been looking for you. They want to do their bi-weekly check-up on your rotting corpse.” Sparks’ rolled her eyes, “Haha, you’re so funny. Let's just disregard the fact that you were a rotting corpse long before I came along.” “Oh now, don’t go dying on me because you got your feelings hurt.” Sparks horn glowed bright, “Oh, that was hilarious, you blood sucking vermin.” “I prefer the term ‘blood sucking demon’, but that’ll do.” “Fuck you.” Dee winked at her, "That can be arranged." Sparks rolled her eyes and smirked before teleporting herself to the medical center. She slowly walked through the massive halls as she looked for Twilight and Rarity. “We’re in here darling!” Sparks immediately turned to the source of the voice and headed towards it. She stepped into the room to be greeted by the two older Unicorns. Rarity trotted up to her, “Hello, Darling! How have you been doing today?” “I’ve been doing well, Master Rarity.” “Step over here, Bright Spark.” Twilight ordered. Sparks walked over to Twilight and stood tall. The older mare's cybernetic eye glowed bright purple, as it made a line of light that scanned over Sparks' body. After it vanished, she then summoned a small flashlight and put it to Sparks’ eyes. She flickered it a few times over her eyes. A small smile crept on her face, “Pupils are showing some responsiveness to light. That’s a promising sign.” She made the flashlight vanish, and summoned a tongue depressor. Sparks knew the drill, and opened her mouth. Twilight inspected her mouth for a few seconds before taking it out, “Saliva production is in good order.” The depressor disappeared, and replaced with a notepad and a pencil. She turned and instructed Sparks to conduct a few exercises. After she completed them, Twilight summoned a stethoscope. She placed the chest piece on Sparks, and they all stopped talking. Save for the barely audible whir of the gears in Twilight's prosthetic leg, the room was silent. Twilight’s expression morphed from pure focus to slight confusion, and ended with unbridled joy. She snapped back up, “My gods…” Sparks and Rarity leaned in, “What?” Twilight’s eyes widened, “You...you have a heartbeat…” The other two Unicorns mirrored Twilight’s expression. Rarity shook her head, “D-did we just hear you correctly?” Twilight did a slight bounce as she trotted over to a nearby table, “Yes! You have a heartbeat. It’s very faint, but I’ll be damned to Tartarus if I didn’t just hear your heart actually beat.” She jotted down a few notes in a book on the table, then flipped a few pages, “I wrote something down a few months ago…about…” she trailed off until she found the page she was looking for, “Aha!! Here!! I wrote down a while back that it might be Bright Spark’s DNA that was reacting differently to the EvenTide crystals. That’s why her body is showing signs of life, while nothing has yet happened to Dead Moon, who died two years before her. Of course, Dead Moon is showing some signs of growing too, and I'll definitely have to look into that...but that's beside the point right now!!” she looked up at Sparks with glee in her eyes, "Do you know what this means?!” Sparks slightly shook her head, “…No Miss Twilight…” “It means…that so long as the EvenTide crystals are in your system…you can never truly die. Your body, while it may take time, will regenerate itself. YOU ARE THE CURE TO DEATH ITSELF!!! Gods, the possibilities don’t end just there! With your blood-” Sparks jaw dropped, while Twilight continued her happy rant. Never truly die? She couldn’t believe it. Was this her purpose? Is this what every moment in her life was supposed to lead up to? Did she really want to live forever? Twilight and Rarity looked at her, confused expressions on their faces. She must’ve spoken her thoughts out loud, as Twilight’s face turned to slight irritation, “It’s not about you not wanting to live forever. It’s about you having the ability to come back to life. An ability that hopefully…we can extract from your DNA.” Sparks turned her gaze to Twilight, “Extract? You want to extract whatever is happening to me, and give it to other ponies?” “Yes, of course.” “…Why?” Twilight’s face faltered back to confusion, “Why what?” “Why would you want to bring this upon somepony else?” “Bright Spark, we may be in quiet times right now, but we’re still fighting a war outside of this cave. We’ve had dozens of platoons go out and search for hundreds of miles. Bases have been destroyed. Medical bunkers have been decimated. Ponies have, and are to this day, being slaughtered. While joining up with this colony has benefited us tremendously, we still suffer greatly from the massive losses outside while we were recuperating from our injuries.” She took a couple steps towards the younger Unicorn, “We are no longer one million strong. We’re lucky if we’re even a half of that now. And for each pony we lose, that’s a potential Hellion for Spike’s army. We can’t afford to lose anypony else, and we certainly can’t afford to GIVE him soldiers on a silver platter. With your help…with your genes, we can keep what few fighters we have left alive, and give us a fighting chance to survive all this.” “But at what cost?” Sparks questioned. “For them to live in an endless cycle? To let them watch the ones they love the most die off for all of eternity?” her voice rose with her anger, “I didn’t choose to do this! I didn’t choose to be a living zombie! You made that choice for me!!” “I did what I had to do to keep you alive!!” “THEN YOU SHOULD’VE JUST LET ME DIE!!!” Rarity and Twilight stared at her, utter shock plastered onto their faces. Before either could respond, Sparks vanished, teleporting herself to the cave’s secret entrance. She used her magic to open the entrance and slid into the dark forest. Breaking into a furious gallop, she tried to put as much distance between herself and the cave as possible. When she felt like she was far enough, she plopped down on a rock and buried her face in her hooves. She let out a soft wail, like that of an unhappy foal. Her eyes did something that they hadn’t done since she died, They produced tears. And so she cried. She had never wanted this. She was so lost in her world of worries, that it took her a moment to notice the smell of burning marijuana. She looked up to see Haze trotting up to her. “Whoa…I didn’t know you were still able to make with the water works. What’s going on?” Sparks stared at him for a moment. He was taller than all of them now, but was still a very lanky stallion. His eyes still held a certain, permanent glaze over them. One pupil was now drastically smaller than the other one, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was because of all the drugs he did over the years. His coat was a bit duller with age, but had for the most part, retained it’s violet hue. His mane and tail were still an electric blue, and still somewhat unkempt, though not as bad as it was when they first met. Wisps of foggy white smoke continuously poured from his mouth and nostrils, and he snorted occasionally to clear the smoke while he waited for a response. She wiped the tears from her eyes and gave a soft smile, “Oh…it’s nothing serious…really...” Haze slowly rolled his eyes, “We’ve been friends for a few years now, dudette. I can tell when something’s wrong. And even if we weren’t that close, I’d have to be a complete idiot to not see that those aren’t happy tears.” He wrapped a foreleg around her shoulder and pulled her close, “C’mon, tell Ol’ Haze what’s on your mind.” Sparks sighed, “I just found out that my heart’s beating again.” She looked over at Haze. She couldn't make sense of his unexpressive gaze, so she continued. “My body is bringing itself back to life. Nopony thought that it would be possible, but here I am…a living testament to immortality, all without being an Alicorn. Miss Twilight wants my DNA to see if she can recreate those effects, so that she can pass it on to other ponies so that they can be immortal too.” “Go on…” “But that’s not the life I want to live. Who would want to live forever? I mean, look at our mentors. They’re only a hundred and some change. But you can see it in their eyes...they’re tired...worn out. Sometimes, they look like they want to give up. I feel like the only reason they don’t is because their lovers are still alive. Don't get me wrong though...they've done alot for me. I’ve been taught some of the most powerful magic that a Unicorn can ever learn, thanks to Master Rarity and Miss Twilight. If I were to leave right now, I would be able to survive on my own against Hellions. I could smite them down with the flick of my horn. I could take care of myself and never have to worry about anypony else. And thanks to my newly found immortality, I could do that forever.” “So then…why don’t you?” Sparks looked up at Haze in confusion, “Huh?” “All that stuff you just said, why don’t you just go ahead and do it?” Sparks shifted her gaze elsewhere. Why didn’t she? What unspoken bonds were chaining her to the Fallen and the other Apprentices? She was only supposed to go and find the Fallen. They were already in the process of rebelling against the Hell King. And not just sitting around doing nothing, they were actively fighting his hordes of demons and monsters when she found them. Well, when they found her. If nothing, they were more inactive now than they were years ago. So why? Why did she stay? Because they loved her. Though it was not a blatant as a parent loving their child, it was still obvious enough that they loved her dearly. They had taken her in, and taught her how to truly survive in this apocalyptic world of theirs. She had roughhoused, ate, slept, and fought along the Fallen and the Apprentices for years now. They were- “My family…” Sparks replied softly. Haze leaned closer, a smile on his face. “That’s right…we’re family. That’s why you can’t leave. That’s why you go to your bi-weekly checkups. That’s why you’re not happy…because your family will die off before you do.” “So…what should I do?” “Well…would you say that being immortal has more negatives than positives?” Sparks quickly nodded. “Would you ever put the burden of immortality on your family?” “Absolutely not.” “Then if that's what you think, you should follow your heart. See, the thing about families, is that sometimes, we don’t like shit that we do to each other. We don’t like something that gets done or said, but you know what? At the end of it all, that’s your family, and there’s not shit that anypony in that family can do to change that.” He patted her back, “Miss Twilight is our family. If you don’t want to pass it on, then you’re going to have to tell her that you don’t wanna do it. She’s going to be pissed. She’s going to yell, and scream, and you’re probably going to be terrified, because let’s face it…she is one fucking scary ass mare.” Sparks groaned while he continued, “But believe it or not, she’ll get over it. Its not like she’s not going to kill you. I mean, not that she can anyway, we just covered that. Eventually, she’ll forgive you. Despite her very logical mindset, she doesn't see you as an asset or a tool She see's you as family. It’s your body, you have every right to decide what happens to it, and because you're family to her too, she wont force you to give you your DNA.” Sparks sighed softly, “I hope so...because she didn’t give me a chance the last time.” Haze gave a small smile, “Don’t be so gloomy, dudette. You’re going to be fine. Believe it or not, I’m the first Apprentice…Master Pinkie Pie found me and took me in when I was only a couple years old. She didn’t just mentor me, she raised me. Her and Miss Applejack. So trust me…I’ve been around here long enough to see how these mares act. The formalities are moreso for show, so worry so much.” Sparks nuzzled his cheek with her muzzle, “Thank you so much, Haze.” She gave him a cheeky smile, “You know, for a somepony that did so much marijuana, that his body now makes the shit itself, you’re a pretty intuitive stallion.” Haze blew a smoke ring from his mouth, “Yeah, I tend to see the world a little differently.” He pulled away from her and waved a hoof, “Later dudette.” Sparks waved in response, as Haze slowly walked away. As he got further away, she froze. Without turning her head, her eyes shifted to the direction of where Haze went. He was still there as well, frozen in mid-step, with his head looking over his shoulder back in her direction. “Blue Unicorn…Purple Earth Pony…” They felt powerful wave of magic hit them both. They started to turn their heads, “Don’t. You will not be the same if you look upon my form in this realm.” They both stopped. Haze turned around and focused on Sparks, briskly, but carefully, up to her. “Who are you?” Haze questioned. “I am the voice that guided your mentors long ago. I am the reason they still fight.” “’The reason they still fight’?” Sparks repeated. “With all due respect ‘disembodied voice’, the reason they fight is because we are in the middle of a world war with the Hell King.” “The Hell King? I see…so that is the name he has taken on now…” “You know who the Hell King is?” “I do know who the Purple Dragon is…” Sparks closed her eyes and looked in the direction of the voice, and she gasped. There was a transluscent form of a massive Earth Pony stallion, with a vertically split, two-tone coat, and a flowing mane and tail. She knew the form of this stallion from her mother’s stories. She bowed before the pony. “It is…the utmost honor, to be in your presence right now, Great One.” “The honor is mine as well, Blue Unicorn. It has been quite some time since I’ve seen a Unicorn with such an excellent expertise of the ‘Mind’s Eye’ spell.” “Can I open my eyes?” Haze questioned. “No.” Sparks quickly replied, “Don’t open your eyes, no matter what.” She focused back on stallion, “What brings you to our realm, Great One?” “Unfortunately, I bring news that does not bode well for this realm. This war is falling into chaos and turmoil. I will be forced to bring this world to its end, in order to restore balance to the universe.” “How can we stop that from happening?” “The dark weapon breathes. It's existence is the action that will start the timer to this realm’s end. Find it and kill it. Stir up the Corrupted One and end this for good." He turned and walked off. “Wait, Great One, what’s the dark weapon? How do we find it? Where do we look?” There was no response. The stallion had vanished. The surge of power dissipated. “Sparks…is it safe now?” “Yeah…go ahead.” “Who was that, or better yet, what was that?” “That was Ubenox, the son of the universe. Any Unicorn worth their salt knows of him.” She turned and started to gallop back to the base. “Let’s go, Haze!” Haze broke into a gallop to follow her, “Why the sudden rush?!” “We’ve got to tell our mentors about this!!” ~MLP~ Corrupted Spike lumbered to his dining room. There was a feast laid out for him, extravagant and an amazing sight to behold. He licked his lips and picked up a fat chunk of ruby. Just as he was about to pop the crystal into his mouth, a Hellion wearing glasses and a doctor’s coat trotted up beside the massive table. “Mighty God-King of Hell…” the Hellion started. “I wish to pass wonderful news to you.” Corrupted Spiked looked down at him, “What is it?” “It is my greatest pleasure to announce to you that the experiment is complete.” A vile grin spread on his face, “You don’t say?...” he rose from his seat and knelt down to be closer to the Hellion, "I’d like to see it.” The Hellion doctor nodded, “Absolutely, Great Dragon.” The Hellion quickly trotted off, with the giant dragon trailing behind him. They traveled down an immense length of halls before coming to a massive steel door. The Hellion pushed a few buttons, and the door slid up, welcoming them inside. It appeared to be a massive laboratory, filled with massive steel and glass canisters, filled with twisted forms of things that were questionable to be considered living creatures. They passed them, heading straight to the canister that was the farthest in the back. Inside, levitating in the mass of green plasma, was a sleek, black Unicorn. His mane and tail were a dark blue. His hooves appeared to glow with a very faint, violet hue. Corrupted Spike smiled, “He’s amazing. You all did an excellent job making him…” he pressed his hand against the glass, “You look like you could fuck some shit up…” he looked over at the Hellion, “Go and start the stimulation. I want to make sure this little guy wakes up…” “Yes, God-King of Hell.” He went over to a long table that was covered buttons of various colors and hues. He pushed a few of the buttons, then pulled the massive lever next to the table. Corrupted Spike’s eyes lit up as electricity flowed through the canister. The body inside twitched a little. His eyelids started to flicker as he struggled to open his eyes. “Yes, my dark prince…Open your eyes for your king!!!” As if on command, the Unicorn’s eyes shot open. Like other Hellions, his sclera were black instead, but he bore heterochromatic irises as well. Corrupted Spike smiled with dark delight as the Unicorn’s eyes focused on him, “Welcome to my Hellish Kingdom, and you new world, Dark Star….”