Blazing Dragon

by Zanem-Ji

Return

The Mane Six surrounded the hologram of the Hell King that had emerged from the messenger crystal they had found on the body of Shekara. They could barely recognize their former friend. The corruption had twisted his face into something far crueler than they had ever seen him capable of doing. Twilight stepped closer to the hologram and glared up at him,

“You really think you’re going to be able to stop us by sending a measly horde after us?”

Hell King smiled, “Of course not, puny thing. But, I do intend to bring you out into the open.” He crossed his arms, “Its been 16 years since I’ve last seen you all. We’re loooong overdue for a little…reunion.”

“If ya send yer little herd of vermin ta us, yer just gonna be sendin’ em ta their deaths!” Applejack warned.

“Then I’ll send out more.” Hell King snarled. “I’ll send as many as I need to until they find you, and bring Twilight to me!”

Confusion overtook Twilight’s features, “What the hell do you want me for?”

“You have something that belongs to me, and I want it back!!”

They all slightly flinched at the ferocity of his voice. He cleared his throat and used the moment to calm himself. He looked down at her,

“Do you not remember, that I was once your only companion? I was the one who wished to further your goals of domination. All that power in your hooves, and you threw it away!” he sneered, “But not this vessel…in fact, he’s one of the most powerful vessel I’ve ever had. I intend to make good use of this body…” he pointed at Twilight, “So long as you hold on to my powers, I will scour through every part of this world, destroying it in the process until I find you. And once I siphon the rest of my powers from you, I’ll take yours too. Then…” a diabolical grin formed on his lips, “I’m going to force you to watch as my minions and I do delightfully sickening things to your precious little friends…”

Chills rippled through them as he straightened back up,

“Farewell…I’ll be seeing you again soon.” He started to fade from the hologram, before snapping his fingers, “Oh, one more thing!” his gaze settled on Rarity,

“You look absolutely horrendous, you deformed creature. I cannot believe this vessel once held some romantic inclination towards you…”

Twilight snarled as he cackled in their faces. She reeled a foreleg back and slammed it against the crystal, causing it to smash into a nearby wall and shatter on impact. She then immediately was at the side of a teary eyed Rarity. The others all had their eyes on Twilight,

“So what are we doing? If it involves cracking skulls open,” Dash stomped a hoof, “Then I’m all game.”

Twilight looked over each of them, “Go and get your Apprentices. We need to get them ready.”

-MLP-

Sparks sadly stared at her reflection in the mirror of one of the bathrooms she’d hidden herself away in. She had seen dead bodies before, but this was taking it to a completely different level. She stared a bit longer before Dee walked into the bathroom.

“I figured I’d find you somewhere that had a mirror.” The Vampony stated. She sat down next to Sparks, “I used to stare in the mirror for hours when I first died. You’ll learn to get used to it…”

“Its just…this is fucking crazy. I’ve only been around the Fallen for a few days, and in that time, I’ve died and been…resurrected, I guess? How the hell does that happen?” Sparks finished with a bitter chuckle.

Dee smiled, “Those mares are unlike anyone else. I’d be surprised if you hadn’t died after facing Master Fluttershy. She means well though….they all do. They treat us well, love, and care for us.” She looked back in the mirror, “And soon, we’ll be following in their hoofsteps.”

Sparks turned to her, “What do you mean?”

Dee was about to respond, but Applejack popped her head inside,

“Ah’m glad Ah heard ya’ll in here. We got a meetin’ ‘bout ta start. All Apprentices are attendin’, so let’s go an’ get a move on.”

“Yes, Miss Applejack.” The younger ponies responded in unison, before rising to their hooves and following Applejack out the bathroom. They trailed behind her as they entered the meeting hall. Fluttershy and Rarity were already seated, with empty seats right next to them. Sparks and Dee took their places beside their mentors. One by one, the other Fallen entered the room, with a trio of younger ponies shadowing them. Two stallions and a mare. The Earth Pony stallion that sat beside Pinkie had a dark violet coat. His electric blue mane was twisted up in to a dreadlocked ponytail, and his tail was coat into a small tuft. His eyes appeared to be slightly glassed and red, with rings of silver encasing enlarged pupils. He looked around the room with a goofy grin plastered on his face. He too, had many scars that told stories of the battles he’d been in, with one crossing over one of the grey smoke cloud Cutie Marks he bore. He clacked his hooves together as his eyes settled on Sparks,

“Whoooa, who’s your friend, Dee?” he chuckled, “She’s pretty…”

“Yeah, pretty dead.” The other stallion responded in a gruff voice. “She’s the one Miss Twilight brought back to life.”

Sparks leered at the Unicorn stallion seated beside Dash. His deep red coat, black mane and tail, all had a couple splotches of motor oil in them. His body, like the other stallion, was also laced with numerous scars. His left foreleg, right half of his face, and both eyes were made of machinery plates. The lime green light from his cybernetics eyes glowed brighter as he returned her glare,

“The hell ya starin’ at, zombie?”

Sparks quickly rose to her hooves, “Who are you calling a zombie, you trotting junkyard?”

Rarity clamped a hoof onto Sparks’ shoulder and forced her back into her seat, “Absolutely not! There will be no bickering while we’re here.” She focused her glare on the stallion, “And Patch, stop picking fights with everyone. Such uncouth behavior is absolutely uncalled for!”

Patch started to reply, but Dash smacked the back of his head, “Goddess dammit, Patch, sit down and shut up!”

“Yes, Master Rainbow.” He return to his seat, “I apologize for my actions, Master Rarity and…Sparks.”

The purple stallion sniggered, and Patch shot him a glare, “Shut up, Haze!”

Haze giggled a bit louder, before the Pegasus mare beside him roughly jammed a hoof into his ribcage,

‘Knock it off, before you two piss them all off!’

“Mind ya business, Skye.” Patch grumbled. She leered at him. Twilight let out an irritated sigh,

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know we were foal sitting while attempting to conduct a meeting.”

“Planning for what though, Miss Twilight?” Haze asked.

“Spike has located this base. We need to everyone and our supplies out of here before his horde gets here.”

“Why are we running?” Patch questioned. “We should just whoop their asses like we normally do.”

“We don’t know the size of the horde he’s going to be sending this way.” Twilight stated. “One day, you’re all going to take leadership over our Rebellion, an army that is well over one million strong.” she looked over all the Apprentices, “And they will all be looking to you for guidance, following your commands without question. Sending them into possibly an unwinnable battle is not an option. Not when there are lives at stake.”

The Apprentices all had serious expressions on their faces.

“Until then, you’re still under our command. So no, Patch Work, we will not be fighting this time. Not unless its necessary.” She grabbed a file from the stack of folders sitting in the middle of the desk, “Now, the nearest base is Base S-13-

Dash threw a hoof up, “Hold up, did you say S-13?” she shook her head, “We can’t go there. Not if we’re going to be carrying a lot of valuable cargo.”

‘But, Miss Dash, that base is only 4.2 miles from here.’ Sky stated, the small Eventide crystal embedded into the side of her head glowing as it telepathically voiced thoughts, ‘We should be fine if everyone here is going.’

“You’re forgetting that there’s a ton of Automaton Hellions in between here and S-13.” Dash replied.

“And that’s why you’re going with the first wave.” Twilight stated. “You’re the best and strongest mechanic we’ve got. If anyone can stop them, its you.” she looked over at Dee, “Dead Moon, you’ll go in the first wave in case Dark Hours fall before we make it to S-13.”

Dee nodded, “Yes Ma’am.”

Applejack raised a hoof, “Ah’ll go with RD, and help her knock out anyone that gets in our way.”

Skye clacked her hooves together and smiled, ‘I’m very excited to go on a mission with you once again, Master Applejack. I’ve been feeling a bit rusty.’

Applejack grinned, “Ah know ya’ve been itchin’ ta get back out there, sugarcube.”

“No, we shouldn’t have too many of our strongest fliers in the first wave.” Twilight argued. Purple Haze, you’ll go in the first wave.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Haze replied.

“After your squadron handles the Automatons, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Bright Spark will go in the second wave. Rarity and I will keep a couple platoons of Unicorns to focus on teleporting cargo to the other base.” She looked at Rarity, “If Spike comes here himself, you’re going to swap out with Fluttershy, since she’s physically the strongest pony we’ve got.”

Fluttershy shook her head, “I’m only that strong when I transform into that monster, and I don’t want to until I learn how to control it…”

“You may have to though…” Twilight softly replied. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you kill anyone…I give you my word…”

Fluttershy looked for the reassurance in Twilight’s determined gaze, before silently nodding. The lavender Unicorn placed her hooves on the table,

“Alright, we’ve got to do this as smooth and as quickly as possible. Rainbow, Applejack, grab the first 450 creatures you see walking around here, and get them ready to go in the next half hour. Pinkie and Fluttershy, you two do the same. Your wave will be going out 30 minutes after they do.” She rose onto her hind legs, “Does everyone understand their part?”

The group nodded. Determination returned to Twilight’s features,

“Alright then, let’s get started!”

The group jumped up from the table and began to quickly go to complete their orders. Sparks Dee, and Haze followed Pinkie and Fluttershy into a room full of base occupants, and the Earth Pony’s face went serious,

“Hey everyone, listen up!”

All eyes focused on her,

“We’re heading to Base S-13 ASAP. Grab any food and gear you can carry and get moving!”

“YES MA’AM!” the room cried out.

Sparks watched in awe as creatures quickly but somehow in sync, gather up anything they could carry on them. Pinkie turned to Dee and Haze,

“Moony, Haze, go get geared up. We can handle rounding the waves up. Be ready to go when Dashie and Jackie are.”

Dee and Haze nodded before dashing to another section of the base. The base came alive as any and everyone got ready for the trek. However, only 20 minutes into their errands, everyone froze when the sound of a nearby explosion reverberated through the base and caused it to tremble. A few moments later, a massive Eventide Crystal exploded into the center of the room and nearly touched the ceiling. Twilight’s face appeared in it,

“EVERYONE, EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!!”

The entire room burst into chaotic noise, as everyone still scrambled to grab whatever they could get. They flooded the hallways, making an attempt to escape before whatever caused the explosion was upon them. Most of the Mane Six reunited in the room, before Twilight magically popped in to join them. Her eyes settled on Applejack, Dash, and Pinkie,

“The horde got here far quicker than expected. I’m going to teleport you and the others to S-13. Please explain the situation to Base Commander Sound Warp.”

Applejack nodded, “Gotcha girl.”

Another explosion shook the base, followed by the sound of snarling and hundreds of footsteps. Twilight’s horn glowed bright, “I’ll see you shortly!”

The room flashed in a brilliant lavender light. When the light faded, only Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Sparks, and Patch remained. Twilight let out a short series of ragged gasps and her horn fizzled,

“I’ve teleported everything in the Intel room, but the Fallen Quarters’ contents must get sent away. If they get ahold of anything in there, we could be in serious danger.” She tiredly tapped her horn, “Unfortunately, teleporting over 3,000 creatures and almost nine tons of gear and intel has burned out my magic. I need about 10 minutes before my magic completely replenishes.” She looked at Rarity, “I’ll need you to teleport whatever you can until that happens.”

Rarity’s horn came alight. “I’ll get started.”

There was another flash of light, and they appeared in the Fallen Quarters. Rarity immediately began to start teleporting any and everything in the room. She only had a few more items to teleport before there was loud banging at the doors. They buckled under the force of what was on the other side, before finally surrendering to the strength and flying out of the doorframe. One of the doors connected with Sparks. She spun until smacking into the wall on the opposite side of the room. Pinkie was quickly on her,

“Holy shit, are you okay?!”

Sparks shook the rubble from her mane and slowly rose to her hooves, “I’m…alright? Don’t know how, and I felt it, but it didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would.”

“Then you’ll be the luckiest one in this room.” A voice spoke out. All eyes focused on the slender dark colored Alicorn as it crossed the threshold. Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie had a look of horrified disbelief on their faces. Sparks, Patch looked between them in confusion. Twilight took a step forward,

“Lu…Luna?”

The mare stepped forward, “It’s been so long since I’ve heard that dead name…”

Pinkie glared at her, “You monster…how the hell are you still alive?! We watched you die!”

The Alicorn smiled deviously, “The mighty Hell King deemed me worthy to assist in his domination. He brought me from the depths of that wretched state you put me in.” she took another step forward, “In return, he wishes for your demise, and I shall grant it.”

Rarity’s horn reignited with battle-ready magic, “You’re sorely mistaken if you think you’ll defeat us.”

A dark aura surrounded Eternal’s horn, “You don’t have an inkling of a chance in defeating me, you disfigured freak.”

Rarity snarled and started to charge, but Pinkie grabbed her,

“Don’t!” she leaned closer to the Unicorn, “She’s still an Alicorn, Rarity. She’ll kill you…”

“You and I both know I’m the strongest Unicorn here behind Twilight.” Rarity whispered back. “I’ll be alright, dear.”

The room began to tremble as bright sapphire light burned behind Rarity’s eyes. Eternal’s horn crackled in response,

“Let’s see how long you survive before I reduce you to ash…”

Rarity let out an angry snort, before taking a light step forward and vanishing into thin air. She suddenly appeared before a surprised Eternal. She rammed her horn into the meaty portion of Eternal’s shoulder, and fired off an explosion of magic that blew through the flesh and half of Eternal’s face off. Eternal’s tongue lolled out of the wound and she staggered backwards. Rarity looked on indifferently as steam billowed from the tip of her horn. Eternal looked up at her, black particles starting to form around the wounds. The temperature in the room dropped, and the lights began to flicker,

“Youf got some powuh, ah giff yoo dat.” Eternal stated as her maw began to repair itself. “But ah’ve got da powuh oof da Gweat Dwaguh…” she smacked her lips a few times to make sure her face had repaired itself properly and shot Rarity another look,

“And his blessed power far surpasses yours.”

She stomped a hoof, and a surge of magic pulsed through the air, making them all stagger on their hooves. Another wave pulse, and they were knocked to the ground, giving Eternal the opportunity to be on top of Rarity. The Alicorn reeled a forehoof back, and Rarity only had a moment to summon a shield around her. However, Eternal broke through, slamming into Rarity’s muzzle and snapping her jaw out of place. As she reeled her other forehoof back to prepare for a combo, Pinkie slammed the entirety of her weight into Eternal’s barrel. Sparks summoned magic into her horn, it crackling with her might as she prepared a follow-through attack. Eternal suddenly focused on her and smiled,

“What power…what dark, foul power. The Hell King would love to have you as one of his pawns.’

She started to slowly walk towards her. Pinkie helped Rarity to her hooves. Her jaw snapped and cracked, setting back into its correct location. She looked over at Patch,

“Patch, be a dear and get the girls out of here, will you?”

“Right away, Ma’am.” Patch replied, and began to wrap his magic around Twilight,

“No you fool, send the others away first!”

“Ah’m sorry! Yes, Miss Twilight!” Patch stammered as he began casting the teleportation spell on Pinkie and winking her out of the room. He then focused on sending Haze away, then settled his gaze on Sparks,

“You gotta get outta here!” his horn started to envelop Sparks in his magic. She fired a miniscule beam of magic in his direction, causing him to cancel the spell,

“Dammit, what the hell are you doing?!”

“I’m not leaving Master Rarity behind!” Sparks replied defiantly. She looked over at the older Unicorn, who’s gaze was still laser focused on Eternal. She galloped over to Rarity’s side, who briefly glanced at her,

“You should be gone already…”

“And leave you?” Sparks slightly shook her head, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that, Master Rarity. It wouldn’t be right to leave my mentor to fight this monster alone.”

Eternal scoffed, “Me, a monster?” she let out a harsh chuckle, “Are you unaware of what you are? You reek of death. You shouldn’t even be here to allowed the opportunity to serve the Hell King.”

“And neither should you.” Rarity spat out.

Eternal rolled her eyes, “Enough of this foolishness.” She sent off another wave of magic. this time, the Unicorns stood their ground. Rarity looked back at Patch,

“Take your leave. We’ll take care of things from here.”

“A-are ya sure, Miss Rarity?”

Rarity nodded, “Tell the others we’ll meet up with them after we handle this…” she gave Eternal a look of disgust, “Insect infestation here.”

“Insect? How cute.”

“Fine.” Rarity snipped. “We’ll meet up with you after dealing with this low-browed, snaggle-toothed buffoon.”

Eternal snarled, and charged at the Unicorn. The room trembled, before an Eventide spear pierced Eternal’s side. She brayed out in pain as her wild eyes turned to Twilight,

“I wont let you hurt her.” Twilight growled.

Eternal roared out in anguish, “I WILL NOT LET YOU LEAVE THIS ROOM ALIVE!”

The gravity in the room shifted, causing the Unicorns to crumple to the ground. They tried numerous, futile attempts to stand as Eternal dislodged herself from the spear. She lightly dropped to the ground, anger etched on her face as she slowly made her way towards them, honing in on Rarity,

“Now all you’ve done is piss me off. I had planned to make your death swift, but you’re deserving of more suffering before I grant you that exit…”

Twilight managed to rise, “Stay away…” the ground trembled from the epicenter that was her, “Don’t you dare lay a hoof on her…”

An warbling orb of violent magic formed atop her horn. The earth buckled and slightly cratered under her might. Eternal smiled,

“Despite this little display of chivalry you’re attempting, it still won’t be enough to kill me.”

“Maybe not…I know I’m no longer an Alicorn…” Twilight’s head began to hang lung under the weight of the magic, “But I can make damn sure that you’re too hurt to do anything further!”

She fired.

The orb slammed into Eternal, then shrank to the size of a grape. Eternal let out a scream of agony as the orb began to disintegrate her body. The world went bright, and when the light faded, Eternal was gone. Twilight inhaled a gulp of air, before beginning to crumple under her own weight. Rarity caught her before she fell,

“Twilight, dearest, are you alright?”

Twilight rubbed her head, “I’m alright.” She paused as Rarity nuzzled her chin, “It just took a toll is all…” she looked over at Patch, “Teleport us to S-13 before a second wave of Hellions come through here.”

Patch quickly nodded, “Yes, Miss Twilight. Of course.”

He quickly focused his magic, and teleported himself and the group to S-13.

-MLP-

“Pardon me, Fallen…but why that I don’t have access to this door?” a pale pink Pegasus mare questioned as the Fallen and their Apprentices stood in front of a large metal door.

“Because you need to have Level 10 Security Clearance to access it, Commander Sound Warp.” Rarity replied in a polite, but curt tone.

“But I’m the Base Commander, I already have Level 10 clearance.” Warp stated in an irritated tone.

“Rainbow Dash reprogrammed it so that only our access codes allow entry, since we’ll be setting up here for now.”

“How are you all suddenly going to close off an area in my base?!”

Twilight quickly spun around, her dull amethyst orbs lighting up with magic, “What did you just say?”

The air around them grew thick as Twilight trotted up to Warp, her already towering form overtaking the Pegasus as she glared down at her,

“All bases in the Rebellion’s control belong to the Fallen, and we will do what we see fit with them. If there’s an area you no longer have access to, then its that way for a reason.” She narrowed her gaze, causing Sound Warp to wilt even further, “It appears that leaving one of our bases under your care has caused you to mistake her normally kind demeanor as a sign of her being your equal. If you ever have the foolhardy inclination to speak to Rarity, or any of us, in such a manner again, I will not hesitate to remind you of your place, and the vast gap of power between us. Have I made myself clear, Commander?”

“Y-yes, First Fallen. Forgive me for speaking out of turn. It won’t happen again.”

“See to it that it doesn’t.” Twilight snapped. “Now take your leave. We have business to attend to.”

The Pegasus bowed, before taking off in the opposite direction. Rarity looked up at Twilight,

“Twilight, dearest, while I’ll always appreciate you defending my honor, I’ll have you know that I have methods of intimidation in my repertoire as well…”

“I know, I know…but I won’t have some hardhead youngling showing her ass and disrespecting you, especially in my presence.” Twilight replied. She glanced down at a smiling Rarity, “I’ll defend all of you until my dying breath.” She quickly added.

“But like, since you’re already dead, can you do it until your undying breath?” Pinkie quipped. Twilight gave her a deadpanned expression and didn’t respond.

“Good Evening, Twilight Sparkle.” A synthetic female voice greeted. “Access granted.”

The door clanked and groaned as it slipped upward into the ceiling. Twilight started a brisk trot, the rest of the group falling in line. As they approached a second door, Dash quickly caught up to Twilight and whispered in her ear. Twilight whispered back, before they both turned to the group.

“The hell are ya’ll whisperin’ about?” Applejack questioned.

“Before Rainbow and I open this door, there’s something we need to tell you.” Twilight started. “Rainbow and I have been working on a project down here for about 16 years,

“And its probably going to blow your minds when you see it!” Dash exclaimed.

“I love blowing my brains out!” Pinkie squealed.

“Pinkie, that’s not how that goes…” Fluttershy quietly interjected.

“Anyway…” Twilight stated in a raised volume. “We need you girls to remain calm. Please hold all of your questions we explain everything, okay?”

The others eyed one another, then back at Twilight and Dash. They slowly nodded in agreement.

“Very well then…” Twilight turned and tapped a few buttons on a nearby panel. The door slid up, and Twilight and Dash stepped aside to let the others in before following. The Fallen’s eyes all fell on something in the center of the room. Their expressions were a mixture of shock, disbelief, and horror. Pinkie took a couple steps forward,

“Holy shit…is that-”

Twilight nodded, “This is Experiment CBS-01. But yes...It’s Celestia…

Author's Note:

Damn, it's been a while since I've added to here. Sorry folks, it's been pretty busy for me. And it still is and will be for a while, so bear with me while I try juggle some things to get these chapters out to you.

Comments

[Katnine]

Celestia? Shit just got real. I know she had her power drained and all but still.