//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: The Journey Ahead // Story: The Phoenix King // by Turtlehaus //------------------------------// Traveling to the Frozen North was not as simple as boarding a train. For the Kingdom of Ice Ponies is located on the other side of Mount Everhoof, ravaged with sub artic temperatures that would freeze ponies in minutes, it would not be an easy trip; if at all. Luckily though, the trip would not have them scaling the icy mountains near YakYakistan, nor crossing the frozen tundra of the North to reach the Kingdom. Because within two days, Lord Tundra and Lady Frost would return with Ice Ponies to assist with the restoration of Castle Char and would most certainly provide them with a safe transport to their Kingdom. With Smolder trapped in the Void, Twilight and her friends were anxious to learn what Princess Sapphire's plan was. With the King's Portal responding only to the Royal Family's flame, Smolder being the last of the line, it was a welcome if not brilliant idea to retrieve the small flame Smolder had left with Tea in a lantern. The other concern was the Void itself, opening the portal once more would just invite disaster to Equestria, but they would have to meet Princess Sapphire in the Frozen North to find out more. With Duke Wellington, Princess Sheva, Prince Rutherford, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, and Wingston being informed of Sapphire's vision from the metal seal, left behind by Smolder, every pony was curious to know exactly what she had seen. With Sapphire surely halfway to Manehatten, it was decided to call another meeting when Twilight and her friends had more to go on. With that, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack were headed back home for a short time until the arrival of Lord Tundra and Lady Frost. It had been little over a week since first arriving in the Ashen Fields, and every pony was nonetheless happy to be home again. It would be only a short time before having to head out once more, but it was a welcome sight seeing old friends and family again. Especially for Applejack who was said to have hugged nearly every apple tree in Sweet Apple Acres, after seeing the flat and barren fields of the Ashen Fields for so long. Applejack took every opportunity to do whatever chore that needed to be done, which gave Big Mac the easiest day of apple farming he could remember. "Are you sure you don't want to take a break Applejack?" Applebloom asked curiously, watching her big sister buck a week's worth of trees in just a couple of hours. "I done nothing but buck spiders and stand around building a dam for almost a week, sugar cube, I got some catching up to do." Applejack replied, gathering up a bushel of apples and bringing them over to the cart. "But Big Mac has been keeping up with all the chores since you've been gone, I'm certain we didn't fall behind schedule." Applebloom insisted looking at the three wagons filled with apples. Applejack removed her hat, wiping her brow before taking a hard look at how much apples she had bucked. Returning her hat to her head, Applejack nodded in agreement, admitting to herself that she was just glad to be home again. "Alright, sugar cube, let's break for lunch. We'll get these here carts back to the barn afterwards." Applejack remarked, motioning back down the path. "Now you're talking." Applebloom said with delight, walking beside Applejack. A couple steps down the path, the bell in the barn started to ring, signaling the alarm that there was a fire. Instinctively, Applejack and Applebloom sped off towards the house to grab themselves a bucket of water, but the closer they got to home the more it became clear that there was no fire; at least not one that wasn't already on a pony. Standing beside Big Mac was a familiar Flame Pony named Tiff Pitchstone, looking rather nervous standing on the dirt path, and that Big Mac was much tougher looking then him. It may had only been a day since leaving the Ashen Fields, yet Applejack was quite delighted to see Tiff waiting for them. There was just something about seeing a Flame Pony outside of their dusty, bland, and vacant fields that made them pop in a world of color. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Tiff asked Big Mac anxiously. "Nope." Big Mac replied, moving his head side to side. "I suspect that this isn't your first time seeing a Flame Pony. Seeing as you're not all that surprised with my being here." Tiff remarked. "Nope." Big Mac replied again. "You don't say much do you?" Tiff asked curiously. "Nope." Big Mac said again. "Well howdy there partner. What brings you all the way out here to Sweet Apple Acres?" Applejack asked kindly, approaching the two of them with Applebloom by her side. "I'm sorry for coming here unannounced Applejack, I wanted to relieve you of all the coffee beans you had stored for us." Tiff said nervously, although looking quite happy to see her once more. "Just how many Flame Ponies are you planning on bringing home with you?" Applebloom asked Applejack. "This here is my kid sister Applebloom. Applebloom, this is Mr. Pitchstone, a fellow farmer." Applejack introduced them, letting her comment slide. "I learned not to try and touch a Flame Pony, Mr. Pitchstone." Applebloom remarked, not offering Tiff a hoof shake. "It's Tiff, and that's very wise." Tiff replied, still looking rather nervous. "Relax Tiff, you're among friends here." Applejack said trying to put him at ease. "I'm sorry, Applejack. It's just that I'm… I'm frightened to step anywhere. I don't want to be the Flame Pony that burned down Sweet Apple Acres." Tiff confessed. "Don't worry yourself over that, we had Ash come walking through here and he didn't set anything on fire." Applejack said reassuringly. "Don't forget about that race with Hotshot!" Applebloom added excitedly. "Race?" Tiff asked curiously. "I'll tell ya all about it on our way to the barn." Applejack said, motioning for everypony to follow her. "Do you like my sister?" Applebloom asked, looking curiously up at Tiff. "Well I-uh- have a- great respect for Applejack, and I-uh-" Tiff stammered nervously, his flames flaring slightly. The barn in Sweet Apple Acres had nearly been filled to the brim with coffee beans, bottled grape juice, and some other assortments of perishable things that was brought over from the Ashen Fields. Big Mac lifted a large beam of wood from the barn doors, with little effort, that just made Tiff feel even smaller in comparison. The barn doors opened to reveal dozens of stone crates piled high, pristine condition, earning a sharp whistle from Applebloom. "Just how do you plan on moving all this, partner?" Applejack asked curiously, noticing that Tiff had come alone. "Ah yes, well a couple of volunteers from the Crystal Empire Restoration Committee said that they would send a caravan and ponies to help move this at noon." Tiff explained, looking up towards the sun to see that it was nearly overhead. "The Crystal Empire what?" Applejack asked sounding confused. "It's just easier to call it the C.E.R.C.; it was Lord Shining Armor's idea to call it that." Tiff explained further. "The ponies should be showing up any time now." There was a sudden scraping of rock coming from inside the barn as Big Mac had pulled a stone box off the stack and carried it outside. Tiff grimaced further, knowing he'd need at least five other ponies to move one, and this pony only needed himself. He didn't feel bad for long as the promised caravan appeared sailing through the sky, promptly on time with several pegasi ponies came soaring after it. No less than twenty Crystal Empire Ponies of pegasi and unicorns had come to assist in moving the stone crates. It took nearly a half an hour for the caravan to make three trips back and forth to remove every stone crate from the barn, but the job was finished in a rather timely manner. With the crystal ponies saying a farewell, they took off once more towards the Ashen Fields leaving Tiff and the others at the now empty barn. "Thanks for allowing us the use of your barn, Applejack." Tiff said appreciatively. "Don't mention it, Tiff. It was no trouble at all." Applejack replied. "I should get going then, there's a lot that still needs to get done." Tiff mentioned, looking towards the mountains that separated the Ashen Fields and the rest of Equestria. "Why didn't you take the caravan with the rest of the ponies?" Applebloom asked curiously. "I-well- I was a- planning on… walking back." Tiff stammered nervously. "It's so colorful here. Not even in my dreams did I think…" It was obvious that lush foliage and immense colors that Ponyville had to offer would be overwhelming if not unbelievable to a pony that grew up in shades of grey. Taking as much time as he could to return to the fields was just Tiff's way of prolonging his trip to soak in all the beauty Equestria had to offer. "Give it time, partner, the Ashen Fields will be just as colorful." Applejack said encouragingly. Applejack escorted Tiff back to the dirt path that would lead back out of Ponyville towards the meadows and back to the mountain range. Tiff stared longingly at the trees, the grass, even the multitude of wild flowers that bloomed near the edge of Sweet Apple Acres property. "You be careful on your way back, you hear?" Applejack asked. "Of course." Tiff replied, nodding his head; nervously scanning the ground for dried leaves or twigs. Tiff rummaged through his satchel for a moment, retrieving a medium sized metal tin. Doing his best not to look nervous, Tiff placed it on the ground before Applejack, not wanting to hoof it over and risk burning her. "It's for your trip up North. It's our first blend of coffee beans, ground finely; I thought it would make for a hot drink in the snow. " Tiff said awkwardly. "That's mighty kind of you, Tiff." Applejack said, picking up the tin and looking it over. "Thank you." "Stay safe, Applejack." Tiff said, a bit of worry in his voice. "You can count on it." Applejack said reassuringly. Applejack watched Tiff wave goodbye, moving down the path, doing some rather awkward steps to avoid some dry brush on the path; disappearing from sight a moment later. Looking over the tin can, Applejack popped the metal lid off the top, taking a sniff of the ground beans within. The smell was strong; the aroma was a pleasant scent, and just a sniff made Applejack feel wide awake. "They brew'em pretty strong in the fields." Applejack remarked, referring to more than just the coffee grounds in the tin. Two days had come and gone. Twilight and her friends had left early that morning to return to Castle Char and await the arrival of the Ice Ponies. Once more loading a cart full of their personal belongings that were going to be taking to the Frozen North, Applejack volunteered to pull the cart; a nagging thought in the back of her head reminded her of the promise she made after pulling the Obelisk out of the Spider's Lair. "I hoped every pony remembered to pack warmly for this trip. I've weathered a couple bad winters in Ponyville but I can't imagine what it must be like up North." Applejack remarked, watching Rainbow Dash fly down to help her pull the cart. "I've read that the Frozen North reaches subzero temperatures during even the summers. We'll be lucky if a couple notches above freezing." Twilight remarked sounding a bit worried. "It will be cold, I grant you, but we're not going on some sort of expedition. We'll be staying with the Royal Family, within a castle at the heart of their Kingdom, I dare say we should look forward to ice skating within the halls and drinking hot cocoa at all hours of the day." Rarity remarked with optimism. "It will be nice to see the snow rabbits and the polar bears that live up there." Fluttershy said quietly, looking moderately excited. "I can't wait to try some of their snow cones!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed popping out from the top of the cart. "Yeah well let's not forget why we're going all the way up north to begin with. We're supposed to be trying to find a way to get Matchstick back." Rainbow Dash spoke up. "There's nothing much we can do until Sapphire returns to the Frozen North, until then we should focus on just getting there and settling in." Twilight replied. The group of ponies slowly came to a stop noticing a rather large herd of Flame Ponies gathered near the front of Castle Char; as if expecting them. General Horizon, and recently retired General Hearth, stood apart from the herd to personally accept them. Upon their approach, Twilight and her friends could see some familiar faces waiting to greet them; namely the Flame Ponies they had befriended during their stay. "What's all this?" Twilight asked curiously. "You didn't think we'd let you leave without saying goodbye?" Hearth asked with a grin. "Or thank you!" Stitch shouted from the back. "Every pony wanted to send you off properly, and express their gratitude for what you did for them." Ray explained. "Well that is very kind of every pony but it really quite unnecessary we-" Rarity stopped short seeing her three student seamstresses approach her carrying a few bundles of clothing. "This is for you and your friends, Rarity." Stitch said, giving her a hoof made winter coat. Crow and Rose passed similar looking coats to every pony else, each one having a personalized embroidery of their cutie marks stitched onto the back. The winter coats looked very warm, stylish and very fluffy much to Fluttershy's enjoyment. "You made our dreams a reality." Stitch added. Rarity was almost on the verge of tears when Stitch nudged Rose who was too embarrassed to speak up; trying to keep a tough exterior. "Yeah, thanks for-uh- everything, and… stuff." Rose mumbled, blushing considerably; refusing to look Rarity straight in the eye. "I-I-I-I c-c-can't th-thank… you… enough R-R-R-R…" Crow struggled to get the words out. "Rarity. I-I-I-I-I'll look af-ter them." "I can't, I just can't take this right now, my heart is just overflowing with emotions." Rarity said, fanning herself, caressing her winter coat close to her chest. Twilight was admiring her own winter coat when Alex Papyrus approached her. Clearing his throat, Alex opened his mouth to speak, only to hear his voice crack before clearing it once more out of embarrassment. Holding a small stone box out to her, Twilight took the stone box with her magic, opening it to reveal a small roll of parchment. "This is for you." Alex said trying not to sound nervous. Even with her magic, Twilight was careful to unroll it. Twilight gasped in utter shock at what was printed upon the parchment. It bore the signature of a very famous pony. "Is this a forgotten spell from Star Swirl the Bearded?" Twilight asked in disbelief; seeing Star Swirl's signature near the bottom of the parchment. "Well… no… not exactly. It's just a lunch order he penned out to one of our cooks many years ago." Alex explained looking rather embarrassed. "I spoke with Princess Luna during the party and she spoke of your love of Star Swirl the Bearded. I thought that this might… well…" Twilight could see the words, apple, sandwich, lemon cake, hastily scrawled across the paper. His name was most likely placed there to let the cook pony know who it was for. "I wish there was more to offer but-" Alex began. "It's perfect. Thank you." Twilight said sincerely. Mr. Tutor and Lionel approached Fluttershy, but it was Lionel who seemed more nervous than Mr. Tutor. Having Mr. Tutor push Lionel forward, Fluttershy could see Lionel holding a small cloth in his arms, looking very embarrassed to be here. "I caught Lionel in the Dark Marsh yesterday." Mr. Tutor began. "Oh dear, I thought we had an agreement about going into the Marsh?" Fluttershy asked softly to Lionel. "I know." Lionel mumbled under his breath. "Turns out that Lionel wanted to surprise you with a gift when you came back; as a thank you for fighting off the spiders." Mr. Tutor continued. "Dad!" Lionel hissed, blushing a deep red. "A gift?" Fluttershy asked curiously. "It's a-a-a-a Phoenix Flower…" Lionel said nervously, opening up the small cloth to reveal a fiery looking flower. "It's a rare flower that grows where ever a Phoenix makes a nest." Mr. Tutor explained. "Its pedals have a special filament that reflects light to make it look like fire, and once it wilts away its pedals can be planted to make new ones." Fluttershy carefully took the flower from Lionel, holding it gingerly in her hoof. "I really don't know what to say, thank you, Lionel. You are a very sweet pony." Fluttershy said appreciatively. "It would make all the foals and fillies very happy if you would come back to visit and tell them all about the animals up North." Mr. Tutor added. "It would make Ember happy." Lionel mumbled, feeling Tutor's hoof cover his mouth and pull him back. Flare, Wisp, Solar, and Ray approached Rainbow Dash, seeing as it was a work day; they were dressed in their armor but were in good spirits nonetheless. Ray was wearing armor similar to that of what General Hearth had worn, signifying her new position with golden leaves tracing the edges breastplate. Flare was dressed in lighter armor, her wings plated with gold to signify her as the Leader of the Pegasi Air Force. "I do some pretty good work." Rainbow Dash mentioned seeing how far her students had come. "I didn't get a promotion." Wisp pointed out, pointing to his undecorated chest plate. "And you won't get one if you keep complaining about it." Ray interjected sharply. "I nearly got eaten by spiders; you'd think they'd give me a raise or something." Wisp continued on, not letting go of the issue. "But you didn't." Solar replied. "That's the point! I'm alive, I deserve a promotion!" Wisp insisted. Rainbow Dash watched Flare and Ray attempt to silence Wisp by covering his mouth with his hooves, but Wisp put up a tremendous fight spouting his need for recognition. Solar stepped aside to let the three Flame Ponies wrestle it out, while Rainbow Dash shook her head slowly seeing that they had a lot more work to do. "We named the Academy after you." Solar mentioned. "What?" Rainbow Dash asked in surprise. "Solar! You can't say it so nonchalantly!" Ray hissed in disbelief. "You could have at least tried to seem happy when you said it." Flare pointed out. "You named the Academy after me?" Rainbow Dash asked again in disbelief. "There wouldn't be any Academy or Royal Airforce if not for you. So Ray suggested we name it after you, seeing as you laid the foundation to what we are today." Flare explained further. "Are you serious?" Rainbow Dash asked in extreme delight. "It's called Dash Academy. We we're also using the title 'Rainbow Week' for first week of boot camp for all new pegasi students." Ray told her. "The stone cutter ponies didn't have time to get to carving out your statue for the Academy but it should be ready-" Wisp began. "I get a statue?" Rainbow Dash asked in overwhelming excitement. Pinkie Pie's nose began to sniff the air. The smell of freshly baked treats came wafting by. With no surprise, Ruby Simmer strolled up to Pinkie Pie with a stone box full of pastries for her and every pony else. She was followed by Argo Fleece who was looking much better, although he walked with a slight limp but it didn't slow him down any. "These are for your trip, Pinkie Pie. I've been practicing my tarts while you've been away." Ruby explained, handing the stone box over to her. "Ruby! They smell so delicious!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed taking the box from her and inhaling deeply. "I just wanted to come by and say thank you for helping me express myself, and being my friend." Ruby said nervously. "You don't need to thank a pony for being a friend, Ruby. But I will thank you for these treats." Pinkie Pie replied happily. "It would seem that the bakery was a worthwhile venture after all, proving once more that Ms. Pie is a very good judge of character and endorsements." Argo remarked, stepping up next to Ruby who seemed to shrink next to him. "I think Argo just paid you a compliment, Ruby." Pinkie Pie said in delight. "Th-Th-Thank you, sir." Ruby stammered nervously. "Don't be afraid, Ms. Simmer, I've retired my position as Treasurer." Argo said plainly. "Have you really?" Hearth asked in amazement, overhearing this bit of news. "You're really retiring, Argo?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously. "Seeing as the now retired General Hearth is being replaced by his ever charming granddaughter, I could not see myself dealing with such reckless youth of such financial matters." Argo explained. "I've already put in my two week notice to Wingston and have already found a suitable replacement." "You mean Goldie?" Pinkie Pie asked in excitement. "It would seem that my daughter has a talent for such work and thought it a blessing to stay here as Treasurer for the Ashen Fields." Argo added, looking almost proud that his offspring would be just as clever as he. "Is she nice?" Ruby asked. Argo gave Ruby a sharp look, which made her shrink away even more but Pinkie Pie was there to act as a buffer between them. "Goldie is a very sweet pony; she'll be a tremendous asset to the Kingdom." Pinkie Pie insisted. "What will you be doing in your retirement?" Hearth asked curiously. "Helena wants to visit Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, Manehatten, and several other dreadful places." Argo groaned. "What do you want to do?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I just…" Argo shifted uncomfortably. "Want to be with my Helena." There was a collective 'aww' that swept through the group of ponies that derived a stern but embarrassed look from Argo. Every pony went back to their own business while Argo cleared his throat and stepped forward to address Pinkie Pie directly. "You and your friends have done an incredible service to this Kingdom. You in particular Ms. Pie have gone above and beyond what was asked of you, including a personal matter concerning my family." Argo began. "I would like to present you with this gold medallion, it's twenty-four karat gold, engraved are the names of all previous recipients, including yours. It is, if not, the highest honor we can give a pony." Argo revealed a small stone case with a glass top, inside bore said medallion, Pinkie Pie's name among several others. "In the years to come, the Kingdom of Flame Ponies will know that Pinkie Pie had done us a great kindness, and it will hopefully inspire future generations to follow in your hoofsteps." Argo continued. "I will treasure it, like so many things in my life." Pinkie Pie replied happily. "Thank you… for being a good friend." Argo said slowly, obviously new to the whole gratitude feeling. With every pony speaking among each other, saying their goodbyes and well wishes, it was the soft thud of a metal staff that drew every pony's attention. Wingston approached Twilight and her friends, his old familiar limp, and brand new staff that looked quite fearsome to be hit with. Wingston was now sporting his new cloak, still very much the same in that it covered nearly his entire body except for his long boney fingers, and his two eyes that could be seen from the slot where the hood was. "Wingston!" Spike exclaimed, excited to see him once more. "Where?" Wingston asked sarcastically, looking over his shoulder. There was an awkward silence following Wingston's poor attempt at a joke but it didn't seem to damper his spirits. Spike quickly approached Wingston, receiving a pat on the back from Wingston, while in turn giving Wingston a firm hug. "It's good to see you up and about once more, Wingston." Rarity remarked, a tone of relief in her voice. "I take a few days off and everything just falls to pieces." Wingston joked, looking around the rather war torn fields. "Fret not, Lord Tundra and Lady Frost will be here soon with Ice Ponies to help in the restoration efforts." Twilight said optimistically. "The Ashen Fields owes a great debt of gratitude to a great many ponies, but none more deserving then the six of you." Wingston said. "Seven!" Spike interjected. "Seven of you." Wingston quickly corrected himself. "It was really no trouble at all." Applejack replied. "It was rather enjoyable to be honest, except for the spiders… and the Orc… and the dragon…" Fluttershy trailed off. "What she's trying to say is that it's no biggie." Rainbow Dash mentioned. "This is why it is difficult for me to ask for another favor from you ponies." Wingston said, sounding rather disappointed in himself. "It's no trouble at all, darling." Rarity said warmly. "What sort of favor did you want to ask us, Wingston?" Twilight asked curiously. "Bring Smolder back to us." Wingston said. "Please." It could be seen on every Flame Pony's face, there was hope, but the slightest bit of uncertainty that seemed to be just underneath the surface. Every pony had lost a King, but more importantly, they had lost a friend and were missing him dearly. Yet, there were no sad faces to be had; every pony had complete confidence in Twilight and her friends. "Count on it." Twilight said determinedly. There was shouting coming from the fields from Flame Pony's tilling the usable land as several magnificently royal carriages came soaring over the mountain tops and down towards Castle Char. The carriages were a light shade of blue and white, decorated in gold, drawn by Ice Pony Pegasi Royal Guards that dived low to land. The carriages lined up alongside one another, five in all, as several dozen Ice Ponies emerged from the carriages, two being Lord Tundra and Lady Frost. There were Ice Ponies of all ages gathering near their King and Queen, manes similar to Princess Sapphire's as dozens of small snowflakes showered down. "Is every pony ready?" Twilight asked, looking back at all her friends. "Let's find us a Smolder." Rainbow Dash said slamming her hooves together.