A Prelude of Things to Come
The train ride back to Ponyville was… well, it was noisy. Aside from Pinkie asking their new Pokémon friends a barrage of questions, and Twilight’s friends fawning over Dreamy, there was another problem.
Flare Blitz was sound asleep.
And he snored. Loudly.
Like, the windows of the train rattled loud. Twilight to levitate the snoozing stallion to the back of the carriage, but it made little difference. His snoring was like that of a full-grown dragon with a megaphone strapped to it.
“Gah! Why is he so freaking loud?” Rainbow finally snapped. “Does he always snore like this?”
“No, that the weird thing, he’s never done this before,” Twilight explained. “I just don’t understand.”
“I do,” Sapphira explained. She walked up to him and whapped him upside the head, waking the unicorn rather abruptly. “He’s using Snore!”
“Well we gathered that he was snoring,” Twilight deadpanned.
“Not normal snoring,” Sapphira said with a low growl. “He was using a Pokémon attack called Snore, it’s an attack that can only be used while a Pokémon is asleep.”
Flare rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, maybe Mew’s spell hasn’t worn off yet?”
“Spell?” Twilight’s eyes widened as she scooted over to him. “What spell?”
“Remember when we fought Darkrai? Well while you and Dreamy were moving the heavens, I was fighting against Darkrai-“
“No, really!?” Dream Catcher said with mock surprise. “And here I thought he was beating the tar out of himself.”
“Aaanyway,” Flare continued, ignoring the sarcasm. “A spell that Mew had apparently cast on me back in Kanto activated. She gave me access to every move I can possibly learn, and well, Snore is one of those moves.”
“But it’s been two months since that fight,” Twilight replied. “Surely the spell couldn’t still be active?” Her horn lit up as she scanned Flare’s body. There was his magical aura, as well as some residual magic from Nightmare Moon… but that was all. “Well I’m not detecting anything.”
“I guess we’ll figure it eventually,” Flare yawned, but a sharp glare from Sapphira warned him about the perils that will befall him should he fall asleep again.
The scenery rolled by as Flare Blitz stared out of the train window. A small smile appeared on his face as he watched Dream Catcher look around the train with a sense of wonder.
“Never been on a train before?” Flare giggled, causing the little filly the stop and blush.
“Of course I haven’t!” Her body was young, but her tongue was still sharp. “These things didn’t exist a thousand years ago you foal.”
“Aren’t you the foal now,” Twilight said, her gaze not even averting from the book she had started reading.
Flare snorted, suppressing a laugh and pulled the little filly into a hug. “C’mon now Dreamy, play nice.”
“Me? What about Miss Twilight Snarkle over there!”
“Oh, that must’ve been a hard one to come up with,” Twilight replied.
“See!?”
Flare just sighed and resumed his staring out of the window. They were getting off to a real great start.
*~*
Flare Blitz wasn’t sure what he was expecting when they finally arrived in Ponyville… but it sure as heck wasn’t what awaited them.
Almost the entire town was crowded around the train station, with Sparkler being front and centre. She wasted no time on running up to Twilight and Flare, wrapping them both in a crushing hug.
“It so good to see you guys safe,” she cried.
“I sent several letters explaining what was going on,” Twilight said, returning the hug. “I’m surprised that you never came to Canterlot.”
Sparkler took a step back and shook her head. Now that Flare and Twilight could get a close look, she looked exhausted. Her mane was sticking up in some places and large black rings hung under her eyes. “It took a long time to get everything sorted from the Changeling attack, not all the kidnapped ponies were kept in the same place, so it took a while to find everypony…” She sighed and smiled wearily. “But we’ll get to all that later, you two had it a lot tougher than me-“
Twilight shook her head and frowned. “And from what I see, you’ve worked really hard to things running here.” She turned to the crowd of ponies and smiled warmly, “I’d like to thank everypony for coming out to see us. I know that lot’s happened in the last few months, and tomorrow our very own Pinkie Pie will throw a party for everypony!” Pinkie nodded enthusiastically as the crowd cheered. “I’ll also be holding a meeting for anypony wanting to know what exactly happened in Canterlot.” There were some interested murmurs and soon the crowd dispersed, leaving Twilight and her friends, along with Sparkler, Ditzy and Dinky.
Ditzy walked forward until she was staring Twilight straight in the eye, as well as a cloud. “Miss Sparkle,” her voice was curt and lacked its usual bubbly warmth. “First of all, I agreed for Sparkler to become your assistant, provided you did not drag her into your Elements of Harmony business.”
“But Mom-!” Sparkler instantly jumped to defend her teacher, only to be silenced by Ditzy.
“And not only is she on the frontlines during this Changeling invasion,” Ditzy’s glare intensified. “I hear she was attacked by an ancient evil and sent to another dimension. So in no less than three days, that promise you made to me has been utterly shattered!”
But before Twilight could respond, Ditzy continued. “And do you want to know what I thought when I found out that my Sparkler, my precious daughter, led a charge against the Changeling swarm and assisted with their defeat?”
Everypony held their breath, while Dreamy inspected the bottom of her hoof. Twilight couldn’t speak and just shook her head.
Ditzy wrapped the unicorn up in a tight hug as she wept. “I was so very proud of her. She displayed such leadership skills and Princess Celestia’s school even wants her as a full time teacher!” She pulled back and smiled brightly. “And I have you to thank for it!”
“I’m sorry that Sparkler got pulled into all this craziness,” Twilight said, finally finding her voice. “But Sparky’s an amazing mare, I’m also proud of what she’s become, and she’ll only shine brighter for here!”
“Oh! My! CELESTIA!” A furiously blushing Sparkler jumped in between them. “For one, I’m right here and two, would you kindly stop!?”
Everyone just laughed as Sparkler pouted, getting a hug from Dinky.
*~*
Everypony had gone to their respective homes, eager to greet family and catch up on some much needed sleep. Flare sighed loudly as he walked past the threshold of Golden Oaks Library, “It’s good to be home!”
“That it is,” Twilight agreed, leaving her saddlebags near the door and shaking her body. “It feels like forever since we were here last.”
Dreamy looked around, mildly fascinated by the unique building. “A library housed within a tree? How ironic.”
“So this is where you’ve been hiding?” Sapphira ducked her head as she walked in. “Not too shabby Flare, beats that tiny stable of yours back in Alamos.”
“You lived in a stable?” Twilight suddenly said from beside him, causing the stallion to flinch in surprise. This reaction got a laugh from Sapphira, and an embarrassed look from Lucy for some reason.
“Still not too good with surprises huh?” Flare growled as he put his own bags down, as Sapphira put a claw on his back. “Well at least you don’t jump through the ceiling anymore.”
“HIYA FLAREY!” The stallion let out a loud whinny as he shot straight up, desperately clinging to his favourite rafter. The pink mare below looking up in confusion as Sapphira roared with laughter.
“I take it back, you’re still a scaredy-skitty~”
Flare fell back down to the floor, caught by Twilight’s magic before he landed. “Pinkie…” he started to say, keeping his voice calm. “Why are you here?”
“Huh? Oh! Cause I have this for all of you!” She reached into her mane and pulled out some invitations, one for everyone in the room. “It’s an invite to my ‘Congrats on saving the world and we’re glad you’re not dead, also welcome to Equestria to our new Pokémon friends party’!”
“That’s… quite a mouthful,” Lucy said, reading the excessively long title. “Uh, thanks, I guess?”
“Indeed, a lovely gesture,” Velvet said. “I look forward to it Miss Pie.”
Pinkie squeed happily and disappeared from the room, with Flare breathing a sigh of relief.
“I love that girl, but she really needs to stop sneaking up on me like that, oh, you can put me down now Fairy.” Flare still hung suspended in the air by Twilight’s magic. Twilight nodded, gently lowering him to the floor.
“Do you think that pony is really Mew is disguise?” Sapphira said, as Flare shuddered at the thought.
“I pray to Arceus that those two never, ever meet… Have I mentioned that before?” Flare yawned again and his head drooped slightly. “I think I need more sleep though, that spell must have really taken it out of me.” He gave Twilight a quick hug before heading upstairs to their room for a nap.
Twilight watched him leave and turned back to the Pokémon present, and the piercing glare that Sapphira was giving her.
“So I take it you still haven’t told him yet?” She wanted to yell, she really, really did. But Flare was trying to rest so she kept the peace… for now.
“And how do you suppose I tell him?” Twilight countered. “It’s not something I can say on a whim, and besides that, he’s been in a coma for two months. To him, that fight with Darkrai was only yesterday!”
“And the longer you put it off, the more pissed he’s gonna be!” Sapphira stomped her foot. Lucy and Velvet nodded in agreement. “I don’t really get all this magic mumbo jumbo, I ain’t no Mismagius, but I think he has a right to know!”
Dream Catcher, who was content to look at the squalor of an abode she had to live in, overheard the conversation.
“And what are you idiots talking about? What is it exactly that you are not telling Flare?”
Twilight went to respond, but the angry dragon beat her to the punch. “You don’t know? Considering that it’s probably your fault, so here it is; Flare supposedly overused his magic in that fight against Darkrai, pushed it well past his natural limits. Now that should have been the end of it, no spells for a while until he recharged. But those doctors in Canterlot said that there’s a method to keep casting… a dangerous one.”
Dreamy didn’t need to hear anymore, she knew exactly what method the dragon was talking about. “Life Limit,” she said quietly. “He used his own lifeforce as a source to cast magic from.”
Twilight nodded, “I performed the scans myself and confirmed it. I don’t know where or how Flare learned how to do that, but the strength of the magic he used…” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut. “He used up so much of his power that he has maybe a year… maybe a little more…”
Dream Catcher frowned as she looked up at the room where Flare was sleeping. “That damned fool, though he probably didn’t do it on purpose… pure instinct is how he fights.”
“And he deserves to know dammit!” Sapphira almost shouted. “We were his friends long before he came to this world, we know him better than you or anyone else here!”
“And how would you put it?” Twilight shot back. “You’ve hardly been one to show tact!”
The dragon and the unicorn continued to bicker, the two remaining Pokémon and alicorn foal deciding to stay out of it. Dreamy in particular, was already lost in the memories she gained from Luna, wondering if there was a way to fix this…
*~*
Pure silence filled the lonely hall of Canterlot Castle as Celestia walked through it. Soft candlelight filled the hall, the walls barren of any windows.
This was probably due to the fact that it was several metres underground.
This particular hallway led to a secret chamber, known to only a few ponies, two of those ponies walked alongside the princess.
“Well this entire debacle has been a disaster!” Lyra Heartstrings said, furrowing her brow. “Canterlot is in ruins, our ‘hero’ won’t be around for much longer, who knows how Arceus is going to react to that. And we still aren’t even sure if Darkrai was destroyed… oh, and Chrysalis and Sombra are still at large!”
Celestia sighed, she was feeling weary today, like the last fifteen hundred years of life were bearing it’s full weight. Still, she was a Princess of Equestria and would not falter.
“Canterlot can be rebuilt, my little ponies are stubborn like that. Darkrai may be unconfirmed for being truly gone, but he will think twice of trying something like this a third time. As for the Changeling Queen…” She turned to the third pony, an Earth Pony mare with a smiling sun Cutie Mark.
“How does your Queen fair Miss Sunny?”
Sunshine dropped her disguise and revealed the true form of the Changeling beneath it.
“She has retreated to the emergency hive, in fear that Darkrai still lives. She has taken possession of the petrified Sombra, but I doubt that she has the ability to revive him, at least for now. A lot of Changelings perished or were captured during the attack, another full-scale invasion is impossible. It will take years before she will have the required strength and numbers for another attempt.” Sunny resume her pony form, breathing sigh of relief. She much preferred being like this. “May I add a personal statement?”
Celestia nodded and Sunny continued. “Chrysalis is a fool and a tyrant… but she is not stupid. My guess that she even tried to take Canterlot again was because Sombra and Darkrai were assisting. Without either, I don’t think we’ll see a repeat performance.”
“I concur,” Lyra agreed. “But it’s not a sure thing, and she just might find assistance elsewhere. I bet the Diamond Dogs, Griffins and Minotaur are jumping up and down that our capitol city fell so easily. Our strength and political standing are severely compromised.”
Celestia cleared her throat, “Which is why I will seek a more permanent solution regarding the Changelings.” She offered a look to Sunny and added, “A peaceful solution I assure you.”
“My allegiance is to you and Lord Flare Blitz,” Sunny said. “But… thank you Princess.”
Celestia nodded and looked forward, towards the large door that they approached. “As for Flare’s ‘condition’, I am looking into that. There may be a way to save him, I just hope that she is willing to help.”
Lyra’s eyes widened. “Y-you mean, she’s real!?” When Lyra took this job, several state secrets were entrusted to her, one of which was just how many powerful entities inhabited Equestria and the true nature of a certain artefact.
“Heh, I’m glad I can still surprise you Miss Heartstrings,” Celestia chuckled. Her horn lit up as the runes surrounding the doorframe followed suit. The door creaked open to reveal a circular room. Lit by a crystal chandelier and decorated with floor to ceiling bookshelves, Lyra wondered just how many books were in this castle.
“I’m glad that Chrysalis and Darkrai never found this room,” Celestia said as she walked over to a pedestal in the centre of the room. “That would not have ended well for us.”
“So why are we here anyway?” Sunny asked, earning a chuckle from Celestia.
“What? Am I not allowed to simply spend time with my friends?” That remark earned a small blush from both mares.
“I wished to hear your reports on recent events, but just, eh, how to the young ones say it? I wanted to hang out?”
She took a book from the pedestal and looked at it fondly, a smile crossing her face as certain memories bubbled to the surface of her mind. Lyra looked the book and frowned again.
“What book is that? An important one?” The cover was as black as night, save for the intricate star patterns. A smirk crossed the Unicorn’s face, “Maybe Princess Luna’s fanfiction?”
“No, that book is kept in her desk drawer,” Celestia replied idly. “No, this book is something that will change the course of the world… should she prove worthy.”
Sunny and Lyra exchanged confused glances. They hated it it when she got all enigmatic like this.
*~*
Flare Blitz leaned against the other side of the door, listening to the argument that raged on in the living room/foyer.
“So that’s what this is all about, and why I feel so tired all the time.” Admittedly, he didn’t feel the way he thought he would about this. His thought he would be angry, or perhaps devastated. But instead, what he felt was, hope. Hope that Twilight and his friends would find a way to fix it. It still irritated him that they didn’t tell him straight out, but he figured that Twilight would get around to it in time.
“As long as life doesn’t throw another curve ball…” He’d about had it with world-ending disasters for the time being. Maybe things could finally settle down and he could spend some time on his relationship with Twilight. They’d been together for a while and gone on what, two dates?
“Well, there’s always tomorrow,” he yawned and headed to bed.
*~*
Darkrai floated in the empty Void, hanging on the fine edge of life and death. Where had those two gotten such power from? Darkrai should have been invincible, the Princesses should have been defeated and he should be ruling over Equestria.
So where the hell did he go wrong?
He had underestimated the power lying in that Rapidash/Pony, he was completely caught off guard by that sole unicorn moving the sun and moon and he was a fool to rely on Chrysalis and Sombra.
A slight chuckle escaped his lips, there was always next time. The fools probably thought him to be dead and he hadn’t escaped to the Void at the last moment, then he probably would have been.
“I’ll eliminate the purple Unicorn first, a threat like that should not go unchecked a second time. Next time I’ll-“
“There will not be a next time for you!”
Darkrai suddenly paled, he knew that voice. He looked around frantically and then the coldest of chills went up his spine. He quickly turned, only to be snared in a red aura, unable to move.
“You have failed twice now,” The creature that floated before him instilled a fear in Darkrai like none other. It’s piercing blue eyes seemed to stare into what was left of the dark-types soul. “You are aware of the price of failure, no?”
“Please Master, just once more. All I need is a little more power and Equestria will fall without question!” Darkrai shook violently, praying the creature would be lenient.
The next sounds to pierce the Void were Darkrai’s screams as the creature drained the life from him, until nothing was left.
The creature sighed, as the red glow faded along with Darkrai.
“It would seem that it is my turn,” An unsettling laugh escaped his lips. “Those fools will not stand a chance!”