A long time ago, when the world was still young and when magic bubbled and boiled just below the surface of the earth, there lived a Grand Falcon. She was swift, powerful, beautiful, and above all else proud. She coveted all things beautiful, for she was the most beautiful creature alive and surely she deserved all things with even a fraction of her own glory.
One day, as she soared south towards the mountain ranges where the winds held the taste of ice and snow, a glint from below caught her eye. Down among the trees, beside a small stream, something reflected the light from above. Curious, she descended down from the clouds into the forest that covered the land below.
Once she was close enough to get a better look, she alighted on a tree branch and observed the scene before her. In the small glade beside the water, a pony sat with his back towards her. Whatever had been shining up into her eyes had been in front of him, now hidden from her view.
She cocked her head as he muttered to himself, she watched but was unable to hear his words. The stallion scratched his head, staring down intently at whatever it was in front of him. After a minute, the Grand Falcon's impatience got the better of her, and she spread her wings and took off. The sound of of the moving air startled the stallion, who turned and looked back in shock as the bird of prey soared towards him with outstretched talons. He froze, his life flashing before his eyes.
Her talons brushed his mane as she continued over his head and landed on his other side quickly turning to face him. Her gaze searched the ground before him, trying to spot whatever had caught the light so brilliantly. Her eyes narrowed. There was nothing but dirt before the stallion.
Her eyes focused on the stallion frozen in shock and fear. Their eyes met, but he did not flinch from her unwavering stare. After a moment's confusion from this, she recovered, asking, "Tell me, pony, what was it that shone so bright as to draw my attention and draw me down from the clouds? Something so brilliant, must surely be beautiful, and I wish to see it.
The stallion's brow furrowed, worry falling over his features. The Grand Falcon waited for his response. Now moving slightly, the stallion swallowed before answering, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about."
The Grand Falcon simply snorted. "Please pony, if you are going to lie, don't do it to me. Mere moments ago you were staring and murmuring with fascination at something there by your hooves. What was it?"
Another flash of emotion shot through his face for an instant before he suppressed it. "Oh, that was nothing," he replied. "There's nothing here. You must've just caught the reflection off the stream."
"I have flown over these lands countless times. I know it was not the stream," she responded. "Your face betrays you, pony. I know you lie. Now tell me what it was before my patience runs thin," she said, a dangerous tone creeping into her voice.
The stallion swallowed, his body trembling with fear. He had heard many tales of the fearsome birds that roamed the skies, stories of ponies mauled or killed, all from the slightest offense to their great pride. He had heard of the unbelievable power that they held. Power over the very air itself. Power that somepony like him could only dream of.
"Of course, of course," he replied hastily, not wanting to offend the Grand Falcon. "Please forgive me. I just do not wish for fools to gain this knowledge, for what do fools know of beauty? But you are no fool. You are beauty incarnate. Come closer, and I will show you."
She eyed him warily for a moment, her eyes scanning his figure. For a moment their eyes met, the great predator and the common pony. Deciding she had nothing to fear, she fluttered in closer to watch. The stallion gulped as her size truly hit him for the first time, the Grand Falcon towering over him looking expectantly back at him. He saw her vast power in her eyes, like an ocean in front of him.
He got to his hooves and planted each sturdily in the earth, the Grand Falcon watching his every move with the intensity of a hunter. He breathed deeply, ignoring her presence, and let the energy inside him begin to grow and move. It was paltry compared to the might of the Falcon, but it was his. Slowly it flowed to his surface, his coat and mane moving in a breeze that wasn't present. He began to send his power down into the earth tentatively, as if asking a question. The Grand Falcon watched in awe as a faint glow began to issue from the brown coat of the stallion. After a few moments of silence in the clearing, ever so slowly a patch of earth before him began to change.
He breathed deeply, brow furrowing in concentration . As the Grand Falcon watched, slowly but surely the patch of earth began to shimmer and shine as if it were made of diamonds. The dirt shifted and moved, clumping together into something more solid. What had been just simple dirt, was now as brilliant as anything the Grand Falcon had ever seen. Just as it seemed that the clumps of glistening dirt would solidify and truly be diamonds, the shimmer ceased and it was simply dirt once again.
"Why have you stopped," she cried in outrage, stepping closer to him while flexing her talons. The stallion breathed heavily, drained from the effort and quickly began to back away from the predator.
"I'm sorry," he said between breaths. "I'm not strong enough to do more." He made his body smaller, a more difficult target should she become truly angry.
The Grand Falcon observed the pitiful stallion before it came to her: there were more valuable things than diamonds. "Then tell me pony. Teach me. For if one as weak as you could nearly turn dirt to diamond, imagine what one with my power could do."
The stallion paused in his retreat at these words, as if struck by a sudden thought. The Grand Falcon was to busy imagining what she could do with his knowledge to notice the look in his eyes. He straightened his body and said, "I will share my knowledge with you, but I need your word, that no harm will come to me."
At this, the Grand Falcon let out a laugh, at which the stallion flinched. "Pony, your kind are so driven by fear," she laughed and came closer to him, any lingering wariness long gone. "To kill you would be a waste of effort. I kill when I am infuriated or I am hungry. I ate this morning and it takes something of far greater worth than you to truly anger one such as I. Nevertheless, you may have the honor of teaching a Grand Falcon your knowledge."
These words struck the stallion like a blow and his mouth began to open to argue, but he thought better of it. Instead, he mastered his expression quickly, making himself look thankful and humble.
"Thank you," he spoke, his mind racing now. The corners of his mouth turning up as a plan took shape in his mind. "What you must know first," he began. "Is that to achieve anything with this power, you must offer up energy of your own. If you try to do to much to fast, you can easily exhaust yourself."
"I have flown from where the sun rises to where it sets without stopping, pony. I have power plenty for this."
"Very well then," he replied. "Close your eyes and focus on the power inside of you. Feel the energy of your own life and of the world around you." The Grand Falcon obeyed, closing her eyes. The stallion let his facade of obedience fall, a predatory grin on his face. "Do you feel your energy?"
"Yes, and not just my own. It's almost as if I can feel the forces driving the wind and the air itself," the Grand Falcon replied in awe.
"Now, take your energy and control it with your mind. Bring it to your surface to your and down into your talons. It is you; it will obey," he directed her. The stallion watched as the Grand Falcon's plumage ruffled in a breeze that he didn't feel and how it almost seemed to exude light.
"Good," he said, his grin widening as he felt the power. "Now send it down into the earth below you, and seek out the very energy of the world."
The Grand Falcon nodded, willing her power to travel down, deep in the ground, searching for something. For a moment all she could sense was darkness and pressure, and she feared the stallion had been lying to her. But then all at once, like the sun rising, a wave of power washed over her, making her gasp in shock.
"I-it's here!" she managed to cry out. "The energy, it's unbelievable."
"Yes, it is," the stallion agreed, eyeing the glow which now shone golden off the Grand Falcon. "Now the only way you can use it's power, is to take that power into yourself. Will the energy to come to you. To become you, and it will obey."
The Grand Falcon hesitated. The force of the world was immense. Could she really take it into herself? But if she could, anything could be hers. If this stallion was right, not just the wind and weather would be hers, but the world itself!
Waiting no longer, the Grand Falcon willed the energy to be her with every particle of her being, and ever so slowly the magic obeyed.
"I can feel it!" the Grand Falcon cried in joy, opening her eyes. "It's like the sun itself is part of me now. And just look at me!" she cooed, looking down at her plumage, now a glorious orange, red, and gold which glowed brighter and brighter still.
In fact, the glow wasn't fading at all. The Grand Falcon look of pure joy shifted, becoming confusion and then quickly worry. She turned to the stallion who was watching intently.
"The energy is still coming," she told him worriedly. "I feel it burning inside of me, is this some trick?"
"No, " he replied calmly. "There is no trick. The power is doing exactly what you asked it to."
"It's too much!" she cried, tears beginning in her eyes at the pain. She was now struggling to stop herself from screaming in pain, her very insides being burned apart by the great magic she had called. It began to eat and tear at her very being. "It's too much. How can I stop it? P-Please tell me how to stop it!" she begged the stallion who only smiled and watched.
The stallions eyes widened as the Grand Falcon flapped her wings and a wave of heat hit him, knocking him back off his hooves. The Grand Falcon could barely fly, but managed to make it into the stream, desperately hoping for some relief from the fire inside of her. However as her body hit the water, she felt no relief and only more pain.
The stallion got back to his hooves and watched in awe and fascination as the Grand Falcon clawed her way out of the stream, her body quickly drying and steaming. Even when the water was gone, the steam continued.
The Grand Falcon called out again, not quite able to make any understandable words only a spine raising shriek. The stallion watched expressionlessly as she looked up to him with desperation. The eye contact was broken by an explosion of heat, as finally the Grand Falcon's body could take no more, and she burst into flames.
But still her screams continued, as her body burned away by the great power only to be remade by that same force. All sane thoughts driven from her mind she struggled blindly to her talons, flapping her wings desperately to escape the inescapable.
The stallion closed his eyes, reaching out with his inner power towards the beacon of energy which was the Grand Falcon. There among the boiling power of the earth, which he was careful to avoid, was the power of the Grand Falcon herself. He took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the power, before he wrapped it in his own power and pulled it into himself.
He shuddered as the magic fought against him, struggling to get back to its rightful owner, but he did not relent and after a few moments, he had it inside of him, safely locked up in his own mind. He opened his eyes, just in time to see the fiery tail of the Grand Falcon soaring away over the tree tops, her screams fading away.
He turned and began to walk away, his mind racing. He had always thought that one could steal the power of other creatures, but to steal the power of one of the Grand Six? He gave his new energy a flex, a small breeze coming down and ruffling his mane. Her power was his now to control. No longer just a weak pony. He laughed, his voice loud in the quiet woods. In fact he was the most powerful pony there was.
He could have anything he wanted now, but only one thing came to mind. He needed more and he knew just where to get it.
