Memories of the Fallen

The walls of the dungeon are craggy and damp, tiny droplets of water falling from the stalactites. There were several small cells in the dark room that had rusting iron bars to keep prisoners from escaping. The air was thick and had a subtle rotten smell to it. The hooded mare tossed the two of them in the cell furthest from the exit and locked the cell door before leaving. Scootaloo pushed against the bars, watching the mare disappear behind the large prison door. She looked over and saw Charcoal partially covered in his own blood. His mechanical leg was crushed at the joint, making it immobile. She tried to sit him up, which only resulted in a sharp pain shooting into his chest. The dark stallion cringed and groaned before being set back down to the floor.

"What are we going to do?" Scootaloo panicked, shaking. "There's no way out of this...We're going to die!"
Charcoal opened his mouth to tell her to calm down, but a sudden voice spooked him.

"You just gotta have hope..." a soft voice echoed from the corner of the cell. Stepping into the light was a mare covered in dirt, as if she was down here alone for weeks. She had gray fur and a messy, blond mane, with deep amber eyes staring at them through the darkness. Scootaloo took a closer look, squinting, and gasped to see it was none other than Ditzy Doo, or more famously known as Derpy Hooves for her slight eye coordination problem.

"D-Derpy? What happened to you?! We thought you were dead when you went missing for so long!" Scootaloo's face brightened up a bit.

"I, um...” Ditzy mumbled, looking down shamefully. “I snuck away during when we were on lookout around Dodge City. I...” she decided it was best to stretch the truth a little bit. “I was chased by a shadow pony! Into the Badlands.”

Though in reality she really just chased a cute bunny, either way she was in Badlands. She thought she could handle taking a little look around on her own. Charcoal's been raving about Discord being alone the whole time, so it wouldn't be a big deal, right? She could prove to Scootaloo, Charcoal, and Spike that she wasn't useless this way. Maybe save Equestria, or at least find something. By then, it was too late to go back.

“...and that's when Discord found me and locked me up in here..." the bubbly mare looked down sadly. When she tried to make herself useful, she just doomed herself. Scootaloo was unsure of what to say, she just stared at Ditzy with a dismayed expression. She looks at Charcoal and trots over to a small bucket filled with cool, slightly dirtied water and a small cloth.

"We need to clean off that wound, can you bring him over?"

Scootaloo nods and gently moves Charcoal towards her and leans him against the wall. Ditzy began cleaning the stallion's wounds. He yelled in pain as the wet cloth sent surges of pain from the exposed flesh in his chest. The cross-eyed mare scrunched her face and looked at him with a serious expression.

"I know this hurts, but it's the only way to make sure the wound heals properly." she sighed. Scootaloo was looking at her the whole time and had a feeling of relief and concern, and even regret.

"How were you able to survive down here for weeks?" she asked in curiosity.

"They sent scraps of food from time to time, and the small droplets of water from the ceiling as well as the rain was my only source of hydration."

"I see." Scootaloo was surprised by her innovative thinking.

"So how did you two get here?"

"We tried to stop Discord once and for all. It sorta backfired..." The orange pegasus looked away.

"You two made a lot of commotion up there."

Scootaloo looked at her, a bit surprised. "You heard everything from here?"

"The sound echoes down here, so I heard the whole thing." she smiles. There was the sound of a large door opening and the sound of hooves walking in their direction. It was the hooded mare, and she stood in front of the cell, flanked by two shadow-like stallions. She points her hoof at Scootaloo and glares at her from under the hood.

"There, the orange one. The master requests her presence." she ordered sternly.

"No way in hell am I going with you!" Scootaloo spat.

There was something...familiar about the mare's voice to Charcoal, and he couldn't help but feel a vague sense of deja vu.
Ditzy quickly trots up to the two of them and holds the iron bars with her hooves desperately.

"Shadow Blast? Shadow! I knew I recognized you from earlier! What are you doing here? Why did you go to Discord?"

The mare froze and suspiciously eyed the grey pegasus, her dark, sunset-colored eyes narrowing.

“I bet it was Discord! He brain-washed you, didn't he?”

Without answering, the mare opened the gate as the two stallions grabbed Scootaloo by force, much to Ditzy and Charcoal's horror. Scootaloo kicked and screamed, but they did not loose their grip. The mare glanced once more at Ditzy, a disturbed suspicious expression glued to her face, or at least what she could see of her face. The hooded mare looked back and commanded the soldiers to take Scootaloo out, this time using a cuff big enough to snugly hug her neck with two chains attached which with the stallions can hold in their teeth. Scootaloo gulped and eventually accepted her fate, her head hanging low as they dragged her to their king.

Discord waits in anticipation as his little ponies bring his prize into the throne room. He could hear struggling and yelling from the stairs as she brings his next meal into the room.

"Excellent! Excellent!" Discord was giddy for the plans he had for her. "Tie her onto that circular platform!" The struggling pegasus was hoisted on, and the circular platform stood upright. Discord casts a spell that spun it involuntarilly. He summons a box-shaped ring box and takes out a small dagger that had sat inside. Upon seeing the sharp object, Scootaloo begins to struggle between the bindings frantically and yelled to be let down.

"Keep moving like that and you'll be an easier target to hit." He chuckles as he beams the dagger in her direction, barely clipping the side of her wing. She yelps in surprise as the dagger sticks to the wooden platform with a large 'thud'.

"This is only just the beginning of what's to come my little prisoner. I have an even better idea I'm going to use for your friend down in the cell." He chucks another dagger, hitting her in the right foreleg. She screams in agony as the blade digs into her skin a few inches. Discord could only laugh as the sounds of pain amused him. The hooded mare stood beside him, watching in silent horror. She would never be able to grow used to Discord's murderous ways. She turns to leave.

“Where are you going? Don't you want to admire the fruits of your labor?” Discord said, looking to her with a smirk.
She cringed and froze. “Come, play with me, my little pony. Soon, you'll be rewarded, I promise.” he reassured, quite bent on her not disobeying him like last time, which resulted her in receiving a nasty burn on her foreleg. The mare looked at her hooves, sighing, and turned to join her king, for she couldn't dare turn him down.

"Now let's see if I can get this one to where I want it to go." He cooed, and chucks another dagger.

There was a brief silence down in the dungeon as Charcoal recovers from his wounds. Then there was an earth-shattering cry followed by Discord's menacing laughter.

"Ha! Right in the eye!" his voice echoed into the cell. Ditzy flinched at the sound of the screams and Charcoal sat there, staring at the ceiling, numb to the sounds.

He thinks back to how all of this mess started fifteen years ago. Nopony saw it coming and everyone suffered. Honestly, it only hit closer to home for Charcoal when his own family, the one he grew to love after all these years, were stolen from him by Discord.

It was a normal day in Ponyville, the skies were blue, and the ponies were going about their daily grind. Weeks have passed since the incident with Discord, and all seemed to return to normal. Everypony just figured it was over, and they won.
Charcoal adjusted to living with only three legs instead of four, and it didn't hinder him much when it came to his work, after much getting used to. Applejack would stop by from time to time and check up on him, occasionally bringing him some home made apple fritters or apple pies. It was back to a regular, under-appreciated morning.

“Anypony home?” A feminine voice called through the small cottage that stood just outside Town Square.

“In the basement!” a muffled voice called from the staircase just by the back door.
Applejack looked towards the staircase and shut the door behind her with a back leg, her mouth full of a basket. The basket adorned a red checkerboard colored bandanna. She trotted down the steps with a cheery smile on her face. It was a bright day that morning, and she had an umbrella attached to her back, hiding her from the sunlight. She insisted she was fine, but Rarity said she simply had to stay out of the sun right now. Applejack shouldn't have even left today, but what's a little walk going to hurt? Charcoal lifted himself from his large working desk, a strange mechanical doohicky sitting on top of it, with various bolts and wires layed about. His face, hooves, and mane had patches of black oil stains. He grinned at her.

“Hey Applejack!” he said excitedly, as he did every time he saw her.

Applejack grinned just the same once she set down the basket. “I brought you some lunch, on account'a you always forget to eat.”

Charcoal blushed as he remembered his hunger; she was right, he never ate when he was working. She pulled an apple fritter out and some cider for him. Charcoal took a bite out of the fritter, chewing it carefully, taking in its sweetness.

“You okay, Hun? You look stressed about something,” Charcoal said through a full mouth. Applejack grew nervous instantly.

“Uh, yeah! I'm totally fine.” she stuttered, giving a nervous grin. Charcoal stared at her with half closed, unamused eyes as he swallowed a mouth of fritter mush.

“Okay,” Applejack admitted, looking at everything but Charcoal. “I've been meanin' to tell you this for a while, but I've...I've been too nervous. Rarity said ah needed to tell you soon, because you'd notice sooner or later anyway.”

Charcoal stared with a curious, concerned face as he took another suspicious bite, eyes narrowed. There was a small thought at the very back of his mind that he wasn't able to admit.

“Charcoal, I'm... I'm pregnant! There, I said it! I'm pregnant!”

Applejack hid her face behind her hat as tears welled up in her eyes. Surely he would leave her now, they were too young to start a family! Well, they weren't too young, but Charcoal couldn't be ready to raise a filly or colt, could he? She felt so stupid now, but it's out in the open, and Applejack braced for her heartbreaking fate. A small silence followed the two. The hat covered Applejack's face, she couldn't tell what his expression was. It got almost eerily silent until finally, Charcoal slowly reached out and touched her hoof, pushing her hat downwards. Applejack's gaze shot up, and she met them with Charcoal. He smiled and hugged her tightly.

"This is great! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He looked at her, seeing her surprised reaction. She didn't expect him to react so positively given the situation at hand.

"This gives me all the more reason to finish this project I'm working on." Applejack looks at his work station and tilts her head in confusion.

"What's with all the wires and metal and such?"

"Well I can't hold the foal with just one leg now can I?" He chuckles. Upon closer inspection, there was a long frame held together with steel bars and aluminum padding. "It's just a basic model, but I'll be making minor improvements over time."
Charcoal suddenly snapped back into reality by a soft voice.

"Wow, that's deep."

Charcoal jumped a bit and glared at the cross-eyed mare.

"What? It is!"

Charcoal prepared to say something, when there was a sudden stream of light as the large door opened. Trotting can be heard, as well as hooves being dragged across the floor. The hooded mare returns with Scootaloo, who is covered with cuts and a large gash on her right eye. Charcoal's eyes widen as Ditzy gasps and panics. The orange pegasus was thrown to the floor and the two shadow ponies that were with her now have their sights set on the dark stallion. He had no choice but to go with them, rather than put up a futile fight. Before heading out into the inevitable, Charcoal turns to Ditzy and gives her a look of concern.

"Take care of her for me, will you?" He muttered. The grey mare nods and quickly tends to the injured pony. Charcoal is brought before Discord and the two mares that accompany him. The shadow ponies chain the dark stallion to a metallic platform that has a few rods extending from the base. The hooded mare sat next to the throne and hung her head low while the deity of chaos was simply ecstatic.

"I've been waiting to get my claws on you for the longest you know."He grinned widely

"Screw you!" Charcoal spat at him, his saliva quickly morphing into vanilla pudding as his hits Discord's cheek.

"Energetic, I like that! It's just what I want for this... 'electrifying' experience." A small light flashes from the center of the platform, surging volts of electricity through the stallion's body. He cringes and holds in the pain as the gashes from his chest burn into a large scar. As the static dissipates from his body, Charcoal pants heavily, drops of sweat crashing against the metallic panel beneath him.

"That was 'shocking'! Needs a little more juice though." Discord chuckles to himself as the obvious pun had gotten nowhere. He snaps his claws, making the platform send a stronger jolt of electricity pumping through the stallion's veins. Charcoal grunts and yelps in pain, his eyes narrowing and body viciously jerking back and forth. The hooded mare flinches a bit as the flashing lights and cries of pain start to ebb away at her thoughts. Discord looks at her and frowns.

"Something the matter my little pony? Come, sit on papa's lap." He invitingly pats his knee and gestures her to climb up. She reluctantly does so and sits on his lap, leaving the two hypnotized mares jealous.

"Now what seems to be the problem miss pouty pants?" He removes her hood to pet her mane. Charcoal's eyes widen as he recognizes the mare that sits on the deity's lap. It looks like Ditzy wasn't lying about who she saw under the hood.

"S....Sha..." The stallion chokes on his words as the voltage gets stronger.

"I think I know what's bothering you." Discord said with concern as he gently strokes her mane "I've been holding out on your reward that you so desperately wanted for over ten years now. Isn't it?" Her ears twitch as she remains silent. He sighs as he gently places her to the ground. The purple mare turns around and looks at him, unamused, and Discord finally gives in. He snaps his claws once more and a puff of smoke covers the area around the two of them.

"I guess it's time I finally give you your pink friend that you desperately wanted me to bring back." He grinned. The mare's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in anticipation and disbelief. After all this time, all of her hopes in seeing her friend again, seeing the pony she loved is becoming a reality. The smoke began to thin out, revealing a silhouette of an earth pony with a rather poofy mane. Tears welled up in the purple mare's eyes, but her expression turned into a look of horror, as what stood before her wasn't all that she expected it to be.