Amber Ashes

by GMBlackjack

Credits

Credits

AMBER ASHES

THE END

By G. M. Blackjack

Starring

Hope as Enchantress Rarity Ponsia

Amber as Empress Twilight Sparkle

Scribble as Pinkie D Acorn

Aegis as Fluttershy, Goddess of Battle

Rainbow Dash as Never Changing Her Name

The Blue Bolt as Rainbow Dash, Fastest Thief Alive

Applejack as The Hero

Scarcity as Starcrossed Destroyer

Glimmer as Walking Mental Issues

Rx'len as The Gardener

Unity as Big Sister is Sorta Watching

Quasar as HE'S A DRAGON MADE OUT OF STARS THAT'S WICKED AWESOME

Hazel Acorn as The Loving Husband

Red Riot and Red Rage as Battle Twins!

Temple Brick as The Confused Priest

Nod as Nondescript Darkness

Jupiter as King of the Abandoning Gods

Uranus as Temporal Shenanigans

Blueberry as Over-Stressed Manager

Dust as Are You Sure She's Not A Pinkie?

Auburn as Thief of Thieves

The Moon as Do You Like Bananas?

Shine as Oh Yeah, He was a Bad Guy

Renee as Overhead of Expeditions

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic belongs to Hasbro.

Special thanks to the commenters, as always, including FanOfMosteverything, Golden 123123123, Neece, Avendrial, Keybounce, Crack-Fic Kai, Black Hoof, Undeadking243, and Quinch

Some of you may already know this, but Amber Ashes exists for a reason: people have said that Songs of the Spheres, my magnum opus of a story, is just TOO BIG to recommend to people. So Amber Ashes was created to use a lot of the major themes and ideas in Songs of the Spheres without a million words of buildup. My hope is, if you enjoyed this story, you'll be willing to check out something much larger that goes into a lot more detail about the multiverse, how stories play into reality, and how a bunch of adventuring ponies can slowly become the central part of a massive multiversal nation.

And for those of you who have already read Songs of the Spheres, you can use this as an introduction to the ideas in SotS. In fact, I actually recommend reading Amber Ashes first. It spoils a few things about the Starcross Society, but it also lets people know what to expect further down the line. This story was, and was always intended to be, a self-contained introduction.

But it stands on its own. If you want to leave it here, by all means. Amber Ashes is complete.

However, there is so much more story to be told...

-GM, master of the Multiverse

PS: And yes, I did edit Hope into two scenes in Songs of the Spheres, both of which are published. I wonder if you can tell me where they are?

~~~

Many years later…

Hope set her teacup down. "So... Question."

Renee looked up from her drink. "Hmm?"

"How did this all start? You don't just become a multiversal nation overnight."

"Well, sometimes it sure feels like we did..." Renee giggled. "Oh, where to start... my story, the story of the Merodi, or Evening's? The day the bowling ball fell into our lap, or the Starcross Society itself and... My word, there are a lot of events that led us here, it's hard to say where it began!"

"Well... what do you consider the start of your story?"

Renee smirked and adjusted her glasses. "I guess we'll jump a bit back from the bowling ball and the multiverse... To the opening of the book. After all, you aren't from a baseline Equestria, you probably do need to hear it, and it will be great to relive the old days." She cleared her throat. "A long time ago, in the magical land of Equestria..."

Hope situated herself and prepared to listen to a long, long story about Friendship, magic, evil, and eventually more universes than her mind could possibly keep track of...

Author's Note:

Many heroes have a story all their own...

Who is Applejack?
Who is Pinkie Pie?
Who is Fluttershy?
Who is Twilight Sparkle?
Who is Rarity?

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Rainbow Dash as Never Changing Her Name

Heh. True.

The Moon as Do You Like Bananas?

Booo.

Brilliant work all around. And darn it, now I'm going to have to see if I can spot Hope in SotS. (Also, I get the feeling that the Merodi literally have a sport called "sportsball.") Thank you for an awesome tale at one-tenth the scale of its source. Here's to whatever lies ahead.

[Neece]

Wait, the Merodi come from a baseline equestria? Huh, interesting. I might give SotS a go, even if the length is indeed frightening.

Still, this was an incredible story I'm quite glad I followed to the end. I'm anxious to see what you'll do next

[aline1]

I think empress Twilight was glorious fun, a tad mad but in a gloriously fun way.

[guldringr]

But..... I just re-read SotS a month ago now I have to read it again to try to find hope😒

"Hope"fully she gets some cameos in your other stories it'd be fun to see these characters interacting with the crew of whip.

[Jalthir]

Aw heck i spent the last TWO MONTHS reading sots and now you give me reason to re-readit? Sorry but i cant, however i will re-read said entire chapter if someone responds with the locations.
As for this story i rather enjored it, i would like to know more about the origin of the Stars though, a lot of their actions caused these stories you write in one way or another.

[_Ardena_]

Can anyone tell me the backstory or the prequals of this??

Idk what those are...

[Quinch]

9944143
I'm not sure if I'd call them prequels, but Growth Among Gears, A Pen and a Smile, Cowering Heroism, The First Day of Unity and Last Hope will give you the background stories of... most of the mane six.

Plus, they work really well as standalone stories. I went through them before I realized there was a subsequent larger story about them.

[_Ardena_]

9944566
Thanks

[Spooksi]

Even if I didn't understand the "many worlds" thing half the time, I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks.

[keybounce]

9931204

Wait, the Merodi come from a baseline equestria? Huh, interesting. I might give SotS a go, even if the length is indeed frightening.

They are "canon compliant" up to the end of 8 / start of season 9. Instead of Discord trying to make Twilight more confident with the resultant destruction of a tree and elements, they find something that they call a bowling ball. They find that it contains a spell, similar to the mirror portal, and a power device. Using the science of "take it apart and see how it works", they ...

[GearShift77]

This was a fun story.
It was nice reading the ponies' individual stories before reading this one. I appreciated their worlds and each other all the more.

Now for SPOILER section

• I was heavily debating whether or not seeing Fluttershy being cured of her curse would be a good thing or not. Because part of me did want to see her be relieved of her curse. But I also knew that there were probably be story issues there.
• I was initially confused about "The Cure for Pain" chapter in regards to whether Pinkie recently changed Fluttershy's past, or it was as Pinkie said, a story that she wrote long ago that unexpectedly became a true backstory for one pony in another world. I am now certain that it was the latter.
• I admittedly wished that there was some way to revive Blue Bolt somehow. Though I'm pretty sure that probably would've cheapened her death, and being killed by an eldritch monster would most likely leave the survival of your soul doubtful. And it was, I suppose, necessary for the plot in a lot of good interesting ways. Showing a story where the Elements of Harmony doesn't get formed. Maybe after the battle was over, Pinkie could revive her in some form or fashion and let her live her life out, or perhaps she somehow is still "alive", but no longer an element (based on the Blue rune flickering for a moment before fading). But, I guess her death could signify when Pinkie decides to no longer be an author anymore. Overall, I think it worked for the story, but I also low-key wanted her to survive in some form or another.

[GearShift77]

Should this be in the "Songs of the Spheres: Exteneded Multiverse" group?

[GMBlackjack]

10164334
Huh. Yes, it should, and I was sure it was. I don't know why it wasn't.
-GM, master of sides.

[Tali_The_Lamia]

Ok this comment is before I start the story, so if my questions are answered by the first chapter then just ignore them.
Im gonna assume that Starlight Glimmer is the Enchantress. Now to the questions.

1: Are the symbols from the Cover of the story the Main 6`s NEW Cutie Marks? If so I love them already.
2: With the way the colors are formed, does this mean that Rarity is the leader of the team instead of Twilight? If so I`d say quite an interesting path to take. Not to mention that attention to detail of Rainbow Dash s Cutie Mark being cracked. No doubt meaning shes gonna be a bit of trouble through the story.

[GMBlackjack]

10482677
1: Yes. I don't think it's pointed out directly that many times, so it's a detail that might be hard to notice.
2: I'll let you figure out the deeper symbolism of the cover as you read the story.
-GM, master of krinkles.

[Maulet Paya]

Hope situated herself and prepared to listen to a long, long story about Friendship, magic, evil, and eventually more universes than her mind could possibly keep track of...

And dead, a lot of dead and suffering . ( My love /hate relationship with SotS stills going onXD) Great fic GM

[BleuBlooms]

9745093
The audio book is quite good. Its how I go into it. But if you want the full Dune vibes you kind of have to read all the original books.

[The Cynical One]

This is phenomenal. Truly inspiring. I’d have to write my own novel to really say what I liked... so I will! Starting off we already got a GREAT concept. Mini-novellas! Each one captivating and intriguing world in their own right with our last one saved for the real big story. Each member playing their own part on the team! Sometimes the smallest parts are mandatory to make the whole machine run! The splits also help give characters more focused dialogue and interact without ‘sidelining’ any characters. Every pony has an opinion and with the way this story is told gives us a great perspective into each of their minds and we really get each character. Nothing like a lovecraftian horror too! Gotta get addicted to that ‘huh wow that really isn’t reality’. Not to mention the scale! Even galaxies pale in comparison to what we got going on! Not to mention working around overpow-light is no easy feat. An alicorn with the power to reduce many an occupant into dust? To develop something so powerful she calls it for aid? The theatrical dance around our local powerhouse is both beautiful and entertaining... not the torment and lost hours likely caused but definitely the result. Rarity too is an elegant solution too the powerhouse headaches. She’s just a pony 9 times out of 10 (though I have no doubt that 1/10 is alicorn) and brings a sense of one step above a laypony. Just that small difference that puts the risk in risqué. And Pinkie. Thumbs up. Uh so yeah good story 9/10 not enough socked ponies and... Onwards! Maybe there’s a universe I say retreat!

[Keywii_Cookies55]

11161343

It wasn't something they did in the beginning of SOTS, and moreso started doing as the story went on. There's one chapter in particular I have a pretty heavy gripe with, because even the author painted the one behind things as a bad guy instead of being ambiguous about it.

[My name is R]

11164206
Clockwork Angels, I believe?

but every time this has come up in Sots it's always painted as a positive thing.

I think my point was that it's not always shown that interfering is good. Come to think of it, wasn't their problem with the USM a matter of the USM pushing their beliefs? I don't know if that makes them better about acknowledging other worldviews or more hypocritical. (I honestly don't know, I'd have to look back and double check context.)

[Keywii_Cookies55]

11168868

Clockwork Angels, yes, it was... a chapter I deeply dislike just because of how it handles the idea of freedom and happiness both in story and in a meta sense. It almost reinforces the idea of an objective right and wrong way to be happy.

The whole USM thing might have been my influence on GM, I make it no secret that I've always been pretty heavily opposed to how US-Centric people can get on the internet. It's often to the point where some people think that what applies in Atlanta or Michigan or whatever other state is something that applies to the entire world. And as a Canadian that didn't experience life as an American, it's painfully obvious how deeply intrusive that type of thinking can get. The USM was that in spades and I made explicitly clear how the earlier USM chapters were pretty unabashedly showcasing how 'good' and 'right' they were. I remember GM shifting how he portrayed the USM after that.

Regardless, when it comes down to it, I've calmed down on the matter.

[GMBlackjack]

11169276
For the record, the USM was always intended to be an opposing force, and a rather negative view of 'MURICA. You no doubt influenced that, yes, and I turned up the dial regularly as time went on. But not even early on did I portray them as something positive—merely an unknown.

-GM, master of dots.

[RoboRed]

Well darn, Blue Bolt's gone-gone, I guess. I guess it's kind of fitting, in a way. Her presence was always the outlier. The one that "shouldn't exactly be". And that happened in the form of her and Rainbow Dash.

Great story. Definitely a good fairly self-contained story that takes some of the SotS concepts and plot points and puts them together. The worlds were great, the characters were great, this was a fun read.

At least Rainbow did get to go out on a grand adventure before-...

PS: And yes, I did edit Hope into two scenes in Songs of the Spheres, both of which are published. I wonder if you can tell me where they are?

Yeaaah...that's a future Robo issue to figure out. If I already read them I didn't take note. Definitely not going to be looking back right now at this time. Still have a lot to look forward to, though. I'll keep it in mind should it happen in the future chapters.

[GMBlackjack]

11855238
You've only seen one of Hope's appearances. if you're curious:

She's the unnamed Rarity who said nothing, but was nonetheless invited to Eve's confession after Rainbow's death.

-GM, master of kells.

[RoboRed]

11855769
Oh, okay.

...Bruh...that makes it hurt even more...

I'll have to keep an eye out for the other appearance, then.