Blazing Dragon

by Zanem-Ji

The Experiment, The Hidden Princess, And The Dark Soldier

The sound of computers and machinery quietly humming floated throughout the room, as the Mane Six stared at the singular pony encased and suspended in a clear ooze within a massive glass tube. Celestia’s coat was no longer its pristine alabaster, now dyed a deep gray. A shining ebony helmet rested atop her head, blacked out eye sockets appearing hollow and lifeless. Circuity traveled throughout the tube and connected to the helmet, glowing a soft shade of pink as power coursed through them. Alloy plates had been fused to her legs, and ran along the sides of her spine. A short, thick Eventide crystal had sprouted at base of the back of her neck, with two thin pins embedded into it. Attached to the pins were thin metal tubes filled a slightly luminescent blue liquid. Millions of hair thin pink metal strands made up her mane and tail, and reflected the lights in the room. An thin spiraling Eventide crystal had sprouted from her forehead, reminiscent of a Alicornian horn. Numerous IV lines and metal wires were buried into her flesh, all running back to two machines located at the top and bottom of the tube. They beeped with a steady pulse and various numbers and codes danced across the screen located in front of the tube. Dash trotted up to the screen and studied it,

“Her stats show she’s still in the green.” She looked over at Twilight, “I’ll try to activate her again.”

“Activate?” Fluttershy repeated, “You can’t activate a living thing. That thing in front of us isn’t Celestia.”

“This is Celestia.” Twilight responded. “Do you all remember when she was on her death bed?”

The others nodded.

“Well, after she passed…I placed her body under preservation.”

“You did what?!” Rarity shrieked. She then shook her head, “You know what…I’m…I’m not surprised. But you?” she questioned as she turned her head in Dash’s direction, “I didn’t expect you to play a part in this!”

“I…I just wanted to help. I didn’t know Twilight had her until six months after.”

“An’ why didn’t ya stop her?” Applejack questioned as she stormed up to the two and honing in on Twilight, “What’s up with actin like yer a goddess?”

“Jackie’s right…this is…this is too much.” Pinkie agreed. “It’s one thing to bring Dee and Sparks back right after they died…but this? This isn’t right.”

“If it were Haze, you’d be singing a different tune.” Dash snipped.

“Fine.” Pinkie admitted. “I probably would…” she looked at the tube, “But that isn’t Celestia. It doesn’t even look like her.”

“Rainbow and I have been making some improvements to her in order to ensure a successful revival.”

“Improvements?” Rarity repeated angrily. “Twilight, this goes beyond dark magic. you’re tampering with laws the gods and goddesses have laid out for us!”

“Where are they now, as we face off against Spike?!” Twilight snapped. “CBS-01 could be an essential asset in this war!”

“Listen to yourself!” Pinkie screamed. “You didn’t even call her Celestia!!”

“She doesn’t even call herself Celestia anymore!” Dash retaliated with equal ferocity. The room grew silent. Dash took this opportunity to continue.

“A couple years ago, we activated her cardiovascular pump, and raised the transmission waves in central processing unit to a level of consciousness. When she showed signs of activation, we conducted a basic functions test on her. Movement, organ function, coordination, things like that. After, we asked her a series of questions to try an get a baseline for her level of sentience.” She looked up at the mare in the tube, “She passed with flying colors. She remembers everything. “She is aware she died a long time ago, and believes that that name died with that pony. So…she gave herself a new name; Burning Sun.”

“The one and only of her kind, Celestia the Burning Sun; CBS-01.” Twilight explained as she stood closer to Dash, “Believe me, I had no intention of pulling Rainbow into this initially. But…after the fight was had with Spike-”

“Ya brought back Celestia because of Spike?” Applejack questioned. “Ya did all this fer him?”

“Do you not remember what he did?!” Twilight exclaimed. “He beat us! Badly! He torn Rainbow’s wing off!” she pointed at Rarity, “He almost burned you to death, again!” she stomped a hoof, “Was his life not a big enough sacrifice? What about the tens of thousands we’ve lost in battle? Were their deaths in vain?” she looked back up at Burning Sun, “CBS-01 may be able to repay the debt everyone so far has paid.”

Dash cleared her throat, “We’ve been working on her for almost two decades now. Twilight’s scientific knowledge and my engineering have been able to give her strength that rivals an Alicorn.”

“And with Eternal Slumber’s return, we’ll need her more than ever.” Twilight added.

The other four mares wearily looked at one another. Fluttershy sighed and rubbed her left temple,

“So…does she work?”

"No, she doesn't work." Dash looked up thoughtfully at the cyborg, before back to Fluttershy,

"She lives."

-MLP-

The Apprentices sat at one of the posts that lined the outer gates of the base. Sparks smiled as she watched Patch, Haze, and Dee tumble around in a sparring match. Skye plopped down beside Sparks. The Unicorn flinched a little as she felt a wing rest on her upper back and shoulder. She looked over at Skye,

‘It’s nice to have a moment of quiet, isn’t it?' Skye asked as she watched the rumbling trio. ‘It almost feels like we’re in a world that is recovering from a global war.’

“I wish I could be a part of that world.” Sparks replied sadly.

Skye let out a soft hum of acknowledgement. Sparks used this opportunity to start a lighter conversation,

“So…you’re a Pegasus that can use telepathy?”

‘Yes, thanks to the Eventide crystal in my head.’ Skye answered. ‘Miss Twilight truly is someone I look up to…’ she looked on at the sparring match with a small smile on her face, ‘And I’ll do anything to make her dreams come to…like getting a little training in myself.’

Sparks chuckled as she watched Skye leapt into the match. Her smile quickly disappeared she felt a source of powerful magic nearby. She turned her gaze to a nearby forest. The others had stopped as well, looking at the forest.

“Did you guys feel that?” Haze asked in an unnatural serious tone. “Something’s over there.”

“Well let’s go and check it out.”

‘Let’s not?’ Skye replied with nervous energy.

Sparks joined the group, “If we managed to feel that, I’m sure the Fallen have too. I think we can handle whatever’s over here before they come to investigate.”

The other Apprentices let out small murmurs of again, before Dee hovered beside Sparks,

“Alright then, Sparks. Lead the way…”

-MLP-

“Where the hell did it go?” Patch scanned their surroundings. “How could something so powerful just disappear like that?”

“Maybe whatever it was like ‘Oh noooo, I better dip before I’m found!’…or something like that.” Haze responded. He let out a chuckle, “Or maybe it was never here at all. That’d be trippy.”

Patch let an annoyed snort, “Or maybe…you’re too high to see what’s going on…like usual. Just shut ya trap.”

‘Shut the hell up.’ Skye hissed at Patch, before looking up at Dee, who was hovering just below the treetops, ‘Do you see anything?’

Dee looked around, her eyes shining in the dim light as she scanned the area, “No, not yet…” she landed amongst the group, “Maybe if I…” her sentence dropped off as she got lost in her thoughts. She took a couple more steps ahead of the group and looked around once more. She opened her mouth, and let out a series of barely audible squeaks. Her ears swiveled around for a few minutes. They finally perked up and she snapped her head to the left.

“There’s something over there.” She whispered. Her ears twitched a few more times, “It doesn’t sound like a typical forest animal…” she broke into a furious gallop, “Follow me!”

The others quickly fell into a gallop. Within a few minutes, they came across the creature that pinged in Dee’s echolocation. The thing was surrounded by several Hellions.

“A Changeling?” Haze tilted his head.

One of the Hellions leapt at the creature, who snarled and dug its fangs into its carcass. The Apprentices looked on in disgust, as the Hellion shriveled up before their eyes.

‘Wait, don’t Changelings only siphon love?’ Skye questioned. ‘I doubt that Hellion had any love to give…’

“It doesn’t display vampiric tendencies…” Dee stated thoughtfully.

The creature dropped its wrinkled prey, and scanned the other Hellions. The remainder of the Hellions hissed and snarled, before dog-piling the creature.

“Let me go!” The creature snarled in a feminine voice. Patch growled in frustration,

“Whatever she is, she needs our help.” He started to move, only to have Dee’s hooves latch onto his shoulders,

“Wait a minute, we’re still not completely sure what she is. It has un-Changeling like properties, I mean, look at it!” she hissed.

Haze shrugged, “Meh, I’m down to help the hybrid chick.” He finished as wisp poured through mouth and nostrils. His lids drooped low and a frighteningly relaxed smile crossed his lips. He rose to his hooves,

“Yooooo, whats up you guys?!” he called out to the group. The Hellions and the hybrid focused their attention on him.

“A 7v1 isn’t really uh…fair, ya’ll.” He continued as he stepped further into the clearing. The Hellions snarled at him. He slowly arched a brow,

“C’mon, just chill. We could be friends if you want.”

In response, the Hellions all leapt towards him. Sparks looked on in shock, and Haze’s body seemed to liquify with the fluidity of his movements. He danced across the clearing, and with the feather light touch of a single hoof, snapped the neck of the closest Hellion to him. Another gentle sweep of one of his hind legs, crumpled in the skull of another. The others that were still “alive”, began to appear lethargic, their movements sluggish as they made pathetic attempts catch him. His hooves packed immense power behind their deceptively gentle touches as he executed the remaining Hellions. The smeared his bloody hooves into the dirt before walking over to the hybrid and helping her up,

“You alright??”

“I’m fine.” She looked over at one of her translucent light pink wings, a soft click emanating as she from it as she fluttered it against her hard body. “Other than a wing cramp, I’m okay…” she gave Haze a friendly smile, “Thank you for helping me. I greatly appreciate it.”

The rest of the group sized her up. Her coat was a deep, grayish pink with ebony chitin plates running along the tip of her snout to the base of her tail. Cat-like pupils were bathed in a pool of hot pink irises that occasionally dilated as she scanned the Apprentices. She flicked her translucent pink tail about,

“My name is Locust Charm. What about you guys?”

The group exchanged pleasantries and introduced themselves, before Dee took a couple steps forward,

“If you don’t mind me asking…what are you exactly?” Dee questioned, focusing on the holes near the bottom of Locust’s legs, “I’ve seen Changelings before…but not like you…”

Before Locust could explain, a loud thud drew the attention of the group. They all looked over to see Pinkie standing in the clearing with them,

“Why are you guys way out here in the middle of the woods?” Pinkie questioned. Before they could answer, she honed in on Locust,

“A halfling?” Pinkie questioned. She stood a bit taller, all traces of her normally friendly demeanor were gone, “You. You’re coming with me.”

Locust took a couple steps back, “W-what are you going to do to me?”

“Nothing, if you come peacefully.” Pinkie closed the distance. “But if you stepped a single holed hoof out of line, I will do whatever needs to be done to protect my family.” A dangerous gleam flashed behind her eyes, “Do you understand?”

Locust swallowed the lump in her throat, “Yes ma’am…I understand…”

Pinkie’s friendly smile returned, “Great!” she looked back at the Apprentices, “We need to start heading back to the base.” She rubbed the back of her head, “Although, I’m not going to lie, Twilight’s pretty peeved about this…”

Sparks stood tall, “With the utmost respect Miss Pinkie, I think helping her was the right thing to do. I wont speak for the others, but I’m prepared for whatever Master Rarity throws at me.”

Pinkie’s smile shrank, “We’ll see, kiddo. We’ll see…”

-MLP-

Dash let out an impressed whistle, “Well I’ll be…a Changeling hybrid.” She leaned forward, “What’s your name, kid?”

“Its Locust Charm, Fallen One.” Locust replied.

Rarity’s ears perked up, “Locust Charm you say? As in-”

Rarity was cut off as a surge of magic pulsed through the room. Twilight was suddenly towering over Locust,

“Locust Charm, Princess of the Hidden Changeling Hive, and the first Forbidden Hybrid. You’re very far from home.” Twilight’s horn crackled with dangerous magic, “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you where you stand.”

“I came here under the presumption that you worked off of diplomacy first, not destruction…”

“That was before a global sized war broke out and destroyed three-fourths of the planet.” Twilight replied bitterly. “Despite the war, Changelings are still somehow showing they're monsters in all of this, feeding off of what little love is still left in this world.” a hum started to emanate from her horn, “So…you still haven’t told me why I shouldn’t incinerate you.”

Locust stood a bit straighter, “With all due respect, First Fallen, Changelings haven’t fed off love since my mother and father took control of the Hive over 30 years ago. We feed off the dark souls of the Hellions. Our Hive is friends with everyone who seeks refuge in our borders, thanks to my parents.” Her eyes glinted with determination, “As for a reason not to kill me…you just said so not too long ago. I’m the Princess of a hive. A hive that you have no idea how many Changelings it contains. I’ve done nothing to warrant an attack from you. If you were to kill me, you would have an unknown amount of Changelings and other creatures retaliate.” She cleared her throat, “So…may I please explain further my purpose for being outside of my hive without the threat of death?”

Twilight snorted angrily, but said nothing, allowing Locust to continue,

“My mother and father wish to speak with you, in hopes of forming an alliance.”

-MLP-

Hell King drummed his claws on his arm rest, while Eternal shifted nervously beside him. He looked down at her,

“You were defeated by a Unicorn that’s over 100 years old. How.”

“Twilight’s power has grown immensely. Far stronger than I had thought was possible. It was unexpected-”

He slammed a fist down on the armrest, silencing her,

“Unexpected?!” he snarled. “Don’t give me that bullshit!” he leaned in, spilling blackened smoke from his maw like a wispy waterfall, “You were my host…some of my power still flows within you! How were you not able to handle a pathetic old mare!”

She opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced again with a roar,

“JUST GET OUT OF MY SIGHT BEFORE I RETURN YOU TO THE EARTH!!”

Eternal nodded, “Yes, Great Dragon…”

She vanished from his presence. He let out an irritated sigh, before snapping his fingers and summoning an onyx colored mirror to hover beside him. His reflection however, did not how show the symptoms of corruption. The reflection narrowed his eyes,

“Looks like you didn’t get what you want.”

“The span of my existence goes beyond whatever your mind could comprehend. Time is not a concept for me.” Hell King let out a snort of irritation. “While the incompetence of these creatures have cost me my spoils for now, the contract of having you as a vessel is still a good compensation until then.”

“Even with my body, you wont win this war.” Spike stated. He gave a small smile, “My family is far too powerful to be defeated by the likes of you.”

Hell King scoffed, “Your ‘family’? You truly are an imbecile if you think of them as family. You’re a-”

“Dragon. Yes, I’m aware.” Spike cut him off, “Of course I know what I am. But blood is not the only thing that determines ‘family’. They’ve cared for me all my life. Twilight in particular…”

“Ah, the ‘best sister’ one could ever hope for.” Hell King assumed. “You seem to forget that she wont hesitate to kill you if she needs to.”

“No, she wont hesitate to kill you.” Spike pointed at Hell King. “And she knows that I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same if it means the safety of the world.”

“And yet, your brand of ‘sacrifice’ has only delayed the inevitable.”

Spike smirked, “Delayed you enough to where even your Alicorn couldn’t stop them.”

At this, Hell King roared in frustration and punched the mirror, bringing an abrupt end to their conversation as it shattered. Black flames quickly burned away the reflective shrapnel that were buried into his fist and cauterized the wounds. He snapped his fingers again, and a pair of gleaming purple eyes glinted from the darkness,

“You have requested me, Great Dragon?” a sultry voice spoke from the dark.

“Yes. I would like to see what you can do.” His gaze remained focused on the mirror fragments, “I expect far better results than Eternal’s, so do not fail me.”

“But of course, Great Dragon. I will give you a spectacular show of my strength…”

With that, the eyes disappeared. An unreadable expression crossed the drake’s features,

“Let’s see how you pathetic creatures handle her…”

Comments

[Not Here Anymore]

This story is intriving to me it's lime a bomb ticking the bomb won't blow till the final chapter of this story. Really fun