Blazing Dragon

by Zanem-Ji

The Prince Of Hell

Sparks stared at the stallion in utter shock and horror, as his mix-matched eyes bored back into her soul.

“Ah….my daughter…it is….quite nice to see you again.” Dark Star stated. Black magic wisps poured from his mouth like a smoky waterfall. Sparks slightly shook her head,

“Dad…”

He smiled at her, and his hardened expression softened a bit,

“Come…give your ol’ Dad a hug…”

Sparks’ hooves instantly started to carry her towards him. She stopped when she felt something clamp onto her shoulder. She looked over to see Dash holding her.

“That’s not your dad, Sparky. Not anymore.”

“I’m still her father, Rainbow Dash…just like I was your friend,” Dark Star’s smile disappeared. “Before you and Rarity let me be crushed to death.”

Rarity stepped forward, “You’re the one who jumped in the way, remember? And you did it to save Rainbow and I!! We would’ve never let you die, if we had been given the chance to save you, Star Blast!-”

He stomped a hoof. Fissures broke through the ground and shot towards the group.

“DO NOT CALL ME THAT!!!” he roared, causing the ground to tremble a bit more. “Star Blast died, long ago, saving your pathetic hides!!” he stomped again. Dash and Fluttershy took to the sky while the others dodged a pit that formed itself in the ground.

“I am Dark Star, prized warrior for my Hell-Father!!!"

A tear slid down Sparks’ cheek, “Dad, please don’t do this!!” she started to gallop towards him. Pinkie tackled her,

“Are you loco in the coco?!" Pinkie shouted. "What are you trying to do?!"

“Let me go!! He needs us!!”

“Bright Spark, he’s not the same anymore!!”

Dark Star chuckled, earning all of their attention,

“You’re damn right about that…”

His horn glowed a strange, violet color, with black electricity sparking around it. He rose onto his hind legs, and the magic atop his horn grew in size. He slammed down at the earth, and the magic made a humming sound in the air, before a massive beam shot across the battelfield. The air grew hot with sizzling magic, and a numbness ran through all of their bodies. A ringing echoed in their ears as the explosion filled the atmosphere. Pinkie was the first to get her senses in order, and when she did, she was horrified.

“…Sparks?”

The other Fallen slowly rose to their hooves, rubbing their heads and letting out groans of mild confusion and pain. When they all heard Pinkie, they focused on her, then followed her gaze. All of their jaws dropped, and Twilight’s normally calm expression was turned into one of horror.

“My gods...”

Sparks was standing tall, massive chunks of her flesh hanging from her skeleton, or missing altogether. Her bones had been replaced with EvenTide Crystals, and her body had pillars of steam and black wisps swirling around her. Her irises had retained their strange colors, while the whites of her eyes had turned pitch black. She stared straight ahead at her father, motionless. Dark Star arched a brow,

“So…you too possess some of Hell-Father's black magic??”

Sparks blinked a few times before she looked over her body, assessing the damage that had been done to her, “WHAT?!” she looked over at Twilight,

“Miss Twilight, what’s going on with me?!”

Twilight lightly shook her head, “I…I don’t know…”

Sparks turned away from her dad and took a couple steps towards them. The exposed parts of her crystal skeleton were clanking with each step, “W-what do you mean you don’t know?!” she snorted angrily. Black mist shot from her nostrils like a dragon, “Everything that has been happening to me, is because you tethered my soul back to my body!”

Dark Star chuckled and looked over at Twilight, “Good job, Twilight. I heard about you using necromancy, but I figured it was just a rumor.”

Twilight shot him a glare, “You stay out of this!!” she looked back at Sparks, her expression softening, “Bright Spark, please calm down. More than likely, this is just another side effect of your body coming back to life.”

“Just another side effect?” Sparks repeated. “I…this can’t be. I’m…scared…”

“You have nothing to be afraid of, my child…”

Sparks’ ears swiveled to the sound of her father talking. She looked at him,

“What did you say?”

He smiled at her, “I said there’s nothing to be afraid of.” He took a couple steps towards her, “That magic is powerful, and if you want…” he outstretched a hoof, “I can help you control it…”

Her eyes glazed over, while his seemed to shine brighter than ever.

“Come with me, Bright Spark. Let your old dad show you just how strong you can be…”

Sparks started to walk towards him, slowly at first.

The others took a couple steps forward, each calling out to her,

“Sparks, don’t go with him!”

“Snap out of it, Sparky!!”

“Bright Spark, stop!!”

A big grin worked it's way onto her face, as Dark Star’s coat and mane stared to turn back to the way it used to be when she was still a little filly. It was a shade of deep blue, while his mane and tail turned fiery orange. His smile seemed friendly and more inviting. More fatherly.

“Dad!!”

She broke out into a gallop. The Fallen were cheering for her, excited that she had finally been reunited with her dad. It seemed that her mentor was the most excited out of all of them. She was coming to give her one of her dramatic hugs right now.

*THWACK!!*

She hit the ground. Hard. Stars swam before her eyes as she sneezed a few times she tried to get rid of the ash that had invaded her nose. She blinked a few times before focusing on the white mare hovering over her. She felt hooves cup her cheeks. She looked up at bright lavender and milky sapphire eyes.

“Ma…Master Rarity?”

“Sparks...honey, I’m sorry I had to tackle you, but I just want you to know that I did it out of love!”

“I…what?”

Rarity helped Sparks to her hooves, “Please….don’t let Dark Star fool you...it was just illusion magic..."

“But…he’s my dad…if anypony can help me, it’d be him.” Tears started to well up in Sparks’ eyes, “I just…I miss him. I miss my dad and my mom…I just want at least one of my parents back at least…”

Rarity’s face screwed into an expression of sorrow and pity. Tears started to fall from her eyes, as she watched Sparks cry like a lonely little filly. She wrapped her forelegs tightly around her quivering form, letting the younger mare cry into her coat. Dark Star let out a loud sigh,

“Bright Spark, I know that you are much stronger than this.”

Sparks and Rarity looked over at him as he continued.

“I am still your father, and I have never led you astray. You were not meant to be crushed under the might of Hell-Father, but to stand beside him.” He outstretched his hoof towards her, “I will help you control the powerful magic flowing through you. If you join our side, you will not be seen as a zombie…as a monster. You will be known and respected as being one of Hell-Father's elite warriors, one of the powerhouses for his army.”

Rarity let go of Sparks, wiping her cheeks, and glaring at Dark Star,

“Do you really think that that’s the reason she’s crying?!” she screamed. “You’re a damn fool if you think so!! She doesn’t need Dark Star’s false promises of power and glory in exchange for serving that evil dragon! She needs Star Blast, holding her and loving her like a father should!!” she stood in front of Sparks, her glare never leaving Dark Star’s face. “I can’t believe how far you have fallen. You were a great stallion. You fought with a purpose. You fought not for glory, but for the peace and tranquility of all life that remained. You were…a great friend, Star Blast…”

“I already told you not to call me that! That’s not my name anymore!” Dark Star snarled.

Rarity shook her head, “Very well then! Since you are not Star Blast, you are not Sparks’ father. And since you are no longer her father,” she looked over sadly at the turquoise Unicorn, “Then that means both of her parents are gone…”

Sparks’ gaze fell to the ground. Rarity tilted her chin up, looking her in the eyes while still talking to Dark Star,

“But that does not mean she is unloved! I care about her very much! I will give her the love you can no longer provide her!”

A smile and fresh tears appeared on Sparks’ face at her mentor’s words. She felt a small rush of wind, and looked over to see Dash and Fluttershy landing beside her,

“We care about all of our Apprentices. They were hoof-picked by us, and receive the utmost care.” Fluttershy stated.

Dash smirked, “These kids are following in our hoofsteps, so of course, we have to be excellent examples for them!”

Applejack and Pinkie trotted up to join them,

“Shoot, we done raised a couple of 'em since they were still lil' fillies an’ colts! They may not be our blood, but that don’t mean they ain’t our kin!”

“They’re not just our students, they’re our close confidants as well! We go to them just as much as they come to us! THEY’RE OUR FAMILY!!” Pinkie added.

Twilight slowly stepped in front of the group, giving the black Unicorn one of the fiercest glares Sparks had ever seen,

“These mares behind me are my closest friends and family. The ones that are fighting for what’s right, are my family.” Her iris started to glow a little, “And I will do anything and everything…to protect my family…”

Dark Star belted out a hearty laugh, “I see you have corrupted my daughter’s mind. Okay…I can work with that…” he started to trot towards them, “She’ll just have to endure what I went through to understand just how great Hell-Father is…” he then broke out into a gallop, going fast enough to surprise them,

“I’LL HAVE TO KILL HER!!”

He suddenly vanished into thin air. It was but another moment in time when he reappeared, his horn drilling into Applejack’s side, cracking her armor in the process. The farmer let out a whinny, before she bucked him off. He hit the ground, then poofed into a small explosion of smoke and magic dust remnants.

“Was he a damn doppleganger the whole time?” Applejack questioned, as steam poured from her self-healing wound.

“No…” Twilight answered. “Somewhere in his little teleportation, he summoned that fake.” She quickly began looking around, “He’s around here…I can still feel him.”

Rarity suddenly gasped, “Pinkie, in front of you!”

Pinkie only had a second to blink, before she was tackled by Dark Star. The two tumbled in the dirt, hooves pounding away at each other. Pinkie snarled, spittle flying out of her mouth as she jammed a small dagger into the side of his neck. With ferocity, she gripped onto it, twisted and yanked on it, causing the puncture wound to tear open into a thick, wide gash. He let out a gurgle, before teleporting away from her. He appeared about 10 feet in front of them, blood pouring from his neck,

“You think…this can stop me?...” he coughed, more blood spurting from his wound and mouth. He chuckled,

“This is nothing…”

The wound healed almost instantly. He cracked his neck a few times before chuckling,

“I am the strongest fighter in Hell Father's army…do you really think that little toothpick would be enough to stop me?” he clicked his tongue, “Shame on you for thinking that...”

Rarity teleported towards him, then leapt into the air. She spun, her hind leg cracking into the side of his skull. He staggered to the side, but didn’t fall over. He shook his head,

“Now, Rarity, I don’t apprecia-”

Rarity silenced him by bucking him into the air, then jumping to drill her hoof into his chest. He wheezed out. The older Unicorn tackled him in mid-air, sending them both crashing back into the earth. The dust cleared, and Twilight gasped as she saw Rarity crumple into a pained heap. She galloped over to her, Sparks following right behind her,

“Rarity! Rarity, say something!”

Rarity weakly opened an eye, “I’m…I’m okay. I’ll be okay…”

Twilight and Sparks helped Rarity to her hooves. Twilight and Rarity’s horns suddenly flickered with black electricity,

“He’s right next to us…”

A moment later, Dark Star appeared. His horn was covered in a blade of thick, bubbling violet magic. His eyes were wild with blood lust, as he smiled maliciously down at the trio.

“YOU ALL CAN JOIN ME IN SERVING HELL-FATHER!!!”

He brought his blade of magic down.

Sparks felt something smash against her shoulder.

Sparks slammed into Rarity, causing them to both tumble and roll in the dirt. Stars swam through the two mares’ eyes. Sparks rubbed her eyes, her ears perking up as Rarity let out a horrified scream. The screams of the other mentors soon followed, as Sparks stared in horror at the scene in front of her.

Twilight was lying on the ground facing them. She was looking at them with her eyes wide open, the pupil was nonexistent in the white of her natural eye. Her flesh on the side of her body had been ripped to shreds by the acidic magic of Dark Star's horn blade. EvenTide Crystals jutted from her wounds, which were pouring with steam and magic as her Element began to heal it’s host. Her prosthetic limb was on the ground not too far away, a broken mass of gears and wires. Rarity pulled the broken mare closer to her, feeling Twilight’s ragged breaths against her face. Hot, salty tears rolled down her cheeks,

“TWILIGHT! LOOK AT ME!!”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up, followed by the others. The laughter of Dark Star started to ring in their ears.

“That’s not going to work. She’s unconscious, in case you can’t tell.” The chuckle rang out some more, “And soon, she’ll be dead.”

“Show your fucking face, Dark Star!!!” Dash screamed out.

There was no response. Only the sounds of faraway screams and the clashing of weapons. Dash growled and stomped an angry hoof,

“Dammit, I can’t believe he just vanished like that….” She looked back over at Twilight,

“How is she?”

“Her element’s healing powers are slowing down, for some reason…” Rarity replied worriedly as she looked down at Twilight’s fizzling wounds. Pinkie got closer to the couple and sat down. She reached into a satchel on her left hind leg and pulled out an Erlenmeyer flask with dark violet liquid sloshing around in it. She looked over at Sparks,

“Sparks, come here please.”

Sparks trotted over to her, “Yes, Miss Pinkie?”

“I need you to spit into this flask.”

“WHAT?!” Sparks and the others cried out in unison. Pinkie remained deadpanned as she looked up at Sparks,

“I’ve seen your test results from your bi-weekly checkups. Mixed with your blood, this chemical would bring a pony back to life, and let them live forever.”

“But ma’am, that’s gross…and-” Sparks was cut off as Pinkie placed a hoof on her lips. The Earth Pony got a hardened expression on her face,

“This is not a discussion, Bright Spark. Now do it.”

Sparks’ ears went flat. She was never one to disobey the orders of The Fallen, Especially when Pinkie Pie was the one to get serious. But, she didn’t want to place the burden of forced immortality on anypony, much less the ones she called her family. She glanced over at Rarity, who was staring up at her with pleading eyes. She took the flask from Pinkie, and reluctantly spat in it. The chemical inside bubbled, fizzled, and changed to a shade of lime green. Pinkie snatched the flask from her and tilted Twilight’s chin up, so that the Unicorn would be able to drink it. Twilight downed the drink, and her pupil rolled from underneath her eyelid. Twilight focused on Rarity, her pupil flickering from the size of the head of a pin to the size of a dinner plate. The group’s eyes went wide with horror as Twilight started to violently convulse in Rarity’s forelegs. Rarity looked up at Pinkie,

“What’s happening to her?!” she asked in a panic-stricken voice. Pinkie ignored her and cupped Twilight’s face,

“Twili-TWILIGHT! Look at me, okay? You’re going to be fine, but I need you to calm down and let the potion do it’s thing.”

Twilight’s convulsing died down to shudders. Pinkie softly smiled and nodded,

“Atta girl…”

Her ragged breathing began to normalize, and Pinkie let go of her face. Her gaze trailed over to Rarity, a tired smile working it’s way onto her face,

“I’m so glad that you’re okay…”

Happy tears fell from Rarity’s eyes, “Thanks to you I am…”

“W-where’s Bright Spark?”

Sparks leaned forward so that she’d be in Twilight’s field of view, “I’m here, Miss Twilight.”

Twilight feebly reached up and patted her shoulder, “Sorry I had to push you…it was the only way I could make sure you both made it out alive…” she slowly sat up on her own, and looked over at Pinkie, “Was that the immortality potion? How were you able to make it? Bright Spark wouldn’t allow us to.”

“It wasn’t a perfected state of the potion, just a reagent chemical to Sparks’ DNA.” Pinkie started. “Since the only way to make it work as an immortality potion is to use her blood, I used something else so that it wouldn’t make you immortal, it’d just help you heal quicker.” She paused for a moment before sheepishly adding, “Annnnnd maybe add another decade onto your lifespan.”

A mixture of relief and joy crossed Sparks’ features, as she looked over at the pink Earth Pony. Pinkie looked back at her and winked.

Twilight coughed a bit, “So…what did you use?”

Pinkie rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, “Ummmm, I used-”

All of their earpieces crackled loudly. Patch’s voice was screaming through them,

“We need back up NOW!! They…they got Haze!!”

Applejack and Pinkie jumped to their hooves, and Applejack turned on her mouthpiece,

“Shoot a magic flare up intah the sky! Pinkie an’ Ah will head towards it!!”

Twilight slowly rose to her hooves, “I’m going with you…”

Applejack placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, “Yer body still needs time ta heal. An’ besides, yer missin’ a leg.”

“There’s the signal!” Pinkie shouted, as she pointed up at the sky. She broke into a furious gallop. Applejack soon followed right behind her, and Fluttershy not long after. Twilight looked over at Rarity, Sparks, and Dash,

“They’re going to need your help. Go on without me…”

“We’re not going to leave you here.” Dash replied. “Well, I won’t, at least. Rarity however, will be going.”

Rarity snorted, “You can’t make decisions for me!”

“I’m staying so that I can repair that prosthetic for Egg Head.” She tilted her head towards Sparks, “And Sparky here is going to stay and teleport some spare parts from the base. Since you’re the second strongest Unicorn we have, you have to go and help the others.”

Rarity looked worriedly back and forth between Twilight and Dash. Twilight nuzzled her and smiled softly,

“I’ll be okay, Rarity. You and I both know they’ll take care excellent care of me.” Her smile disappeared, “Now go and help them.”

Rarity sighed in defeat, before placing a gentle kiss on her lover's lips, “Please stay safe.” She looked over at Dash and Sparks, “All of you.” She hugged Dash and gave Sparks a peck on the cheek, “You two keep her safe, okay?”

Sparks and Dash nodded in unison, “Yes ma’am.”

Rarity smiled at them, before galloping off into the direction the others went. Dash looked over at Twilight,

“Alright, sit down so I can get your leg back on.” She looked over at Sparks, “Levitate EggHead’s prosthetic over here, then summon my tool kit, and my box of spare parts."

"Which one, Miss Rainbow Dash? You have alot of boxes..."

"The one that's in between the second calibrations table and the sawing booth."

Sparks vanished for a few minutes, then returned with a box of parts and a tool kit hovering beside her. She dropped the items next to the mechanic, then magically grabbed Twilight’s battered prosthetic leg. Dash reached into her toolbox and pulled out a mini-welder, a couple screw drivers, and began to work on her leg. Twilight looked over at Sparks,

“Bright Spark, tell me…how are you feeling right now?”

“It feels like something is crawling underneath my skin…” the younger Unicorn replied solemnly. “Something that wants to get out. I’m scared, Miss Twilight.”

“I didn’t know I passed on some of the Corrupted One’s magic to you…” Twilight started. “It seems your body has magnified whatever it did take when I brought you back to life. The fact that your entire skeletal system is now EvenTide Crystals, seems to be a proven fact of that.” She leaned forward, “Your scleras are black like an Elite…yet you’re not being aggressive like them. Maybe…maybe you’re immune to the black magic. You could be-"

“Hold still, Egg Head.” Dash cut Twilight off, as she lined up the limb to her shoulder socket, “I’ve gotta make sure this is going to be the right length before I reattach it.” She placed the hoof on the ground, making sure it was long enough for the lavender mare. After a few minutes, she reached into her tool box and grabbed a tiny plank of wood,

“Alright, I’m going to need you to lie down. Sparky, I’m going to need you to sit on top of her.”

The two Unicorns looked at her in confusion, but obeyed none the less. Dash hovered the wood over Twilight’s lips,

“Put this in your mouth.”

“Why?” Twilight questioned in a worried tone.

“We don’t have any anesthesia, Egg Head…” Dash replied in a regretful tone. “So this next part is going to hurt like a motherfucker, and you’ll end up biting your tongue off if you don’t use this.”

Twilight grimaced for a moment, then reluctantly opened her mouth to let Dash slip it between her teeth. The Pegasus looked up at Sparks,

“Sparky, pin down her other leg, and keep all of your weight on her no matter what. I need her to be still so that I don’t mess this up…”

Sparks nodded, “Yes, Miss Rainbow Dash.” She looked down sympathetically at Twilight, “I’m sorry, Miss Twilight.”

Twilight nodded in understanding as the younger Unicorn got into a comfortable and more stable position. Dash grabbed a laser pen from her tool box and lined the prosthetic back up with her shoulder socket,

“I’m going to reattach your nerves to the brainwave receiving wires, alright?” Dash started. “Like I said, it’s going to hurt like a bitch, but I need you to stay as still as you possibly can okay? I don’t want the nerves to end up attached to the wrong receiving wires.”

Twilight nodded again, then shut her eyes. Dash leaned forward and turned on the laser pen. Sparks cringed, as she watch Twilight’s eyes pop open, and scream as loud as she could with the wood still in her mouth. The younger Unicorn’s ears flattened against her head, as the sound of the small plank cracking under the pressure of Twilight’s bite hit her ears. Twilight started to tremble violently, her resolve to stay still quickly evaporating.

“Hang in there, Egg Head. I’m going as fast as I can.” Dash stated.

Sparks placed more of her weight onto Twilight. The older mare was starting to buck from the pain.

“Miss Twilight, you’ve got to stop moving! Look at me, please!”

Twilight’s eyes settled on her, wild with pain. She snorted repeatedly as Sparks firmly placed a hoof on her foreleg, and stared down at her with a hardened gaze.

“You have a fight to finish! You’re our leader, and we will follow you to the ends of the world! But we need you to stay alive for us to do that, and you can’t stay alive out here on three legs. So be strong, and let Miss Rainbow Dash finish!!”

Twilight vigorously nodded, tears streaming down her face as the smell of burning flesh and hot metal started to waft into the air around them.

“I’m almost done. Just a little bit longer…” Dash announced.

“You’re doing great, Miss Twilight. You heard her, she’s almost done, so just hold on until then!” Sparks encouraged.

The plank of wood splintered into pieces, and Twilight screamed like nothing else in their world mattered.

“Don’t let her bite down on her tongue!” Dash ordered.

Sparks used her magic to pin Twilight’s other leg to the ground, and moved her foreleg to Twilight’s mouth. Just as she did, Twilight bit down onto her, breaking the skin and causing blood to surface almost instantly. Sparks let out a quick, pained yelp, then looked down at Twilight,

“You’re our voice, Miss Twilight. You won’t be able to speak without a tongue, so I'll make sure you don’t lose that!”

The orange mare hissed in pain, as Twilight gnashed down on her foreleg. She could feel the heat of Dash’s laser pen on her face, and the smell of burning flesh was much stronger now. She glanced up at Dash,

“Miss Rainbow Dash, how much longer?!”

“Just a few more seconds, Sparky….” Dash squinted and leaned closer, “And…DONE!!”

She pulled away from the surgical site, and examined her work. Twilight released Sparks’ foreleg from her mouth, gasping as her body tried to make the pain go away.

She looked up at Sparks with regretful eyes, "I'm sorry, Bright Spark. You know I'd never want to hurt you.”

Sparks looked down at her foreleg. EvenTide crystals had formed a casing over the bite wounds.

“I think I’ll be okay…” Sparks stated sadly. Twilight propped herself up with her flesh foreleg, and looked over at Dash,

“Thanks, Rainbow. I don’t know what I’d do without you…”

“You’d be a three legged pony leading an army, kicking ass and taking names. That’s what you’d be doing.” Dash replied, a smirk etched on her face. “Alright, now do some basic leg movements. I want to make sure everything is connected properly.”

Twilight winced as she moved her prosthetic leg. She moved it in conjunction with Dash’s orders, until the Pegasus told her to stop.

“Alright, so it works…” Dash stated. “You’ll be able to stand on it, but not right away. It’ll hurt too much and you may sever the nerves. Let me hit Pinks up and see if she’s got a topical anesthetic on her. I’ll have Sparks get it.” Dash clicked her mouth piece,

“Hey Pinks, do you have any topical anesthetic in your medical kit?”

There was loud crackling, and the sounds of screaming in the background.

“Pinkie? Pinkie, what’s happening?”

There’s was more feedback. Magic exploded into an array of bluish lights and violet fire off in the distance. There was collective group of screams that even the trio could hear without their headsets.

“PINKIE PIE?!?!”

Another crackle went through all of their headsets. Pinkie was sobbing,

“S-s-she’s d-dead!!! She's fucking DEAD!! Dark Star got her!!!"

All three of their eyes went wide,

"Whoa whoa whoa, Pinks, who did he kill?!?!" Dash questioned.

Static. Crackle. Pinkie screamed and cried out at the same time,

"HE FUCKING KILLED RARITY!!!"

Comments

[Stryker Bolt 11]

Crap JUST GOT REAL AND Has Hit the Fan at the same time. incoming rage induced curb-stomping

i feel terrible for what happened to sparks but...
anyway, I can't wait to see the next chapter. Keep up the good work.

[MacJack]

Shit just got real. Twilight's definitely going to kick some serious ass now that Dark Star's killed Rarity.
Never the less, keep up the good work.

[ozzyozborn7]

Damn man didn't see that coming hell of a story keep it up!

[Katnine]

Oh shit