Interlude: What Emberglow Saw
Interlude: What Emberglow Saw
The first thing Emberglow saw was a pathway below her hooves. It was made of stars, and it twisted and snaked through the starlight void like a meandering stream. There were images, like moving photographs, floating about the air around her. They were scenes from her own life.
“Pretty, aint it?” said a voice from behind her. It was a voice that dripped with an accent she couldn’t place, but that somehow sounded both homey and alien. Emberglow felt no danger or threat from the voice, so she turned slowly to see another pony standing on the path.
The pony was orange-furred, with long blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail. She stood casually, with one forehoof cocked in front of the other. She was smiling gently, and her green eyes were focused on Emberglow. On her head sat a familiar battered brown hat.
“S-saint Applejack?” Emberglow gasped as recognition sparked in her brain. The figure rolled her eyes.
“Don’t know nothin’ about this ‘saint’ business,” the mare muttered. “That kinda thing started up long after I was gone. But I am Applejack. Kinda.”
“You’re…”
“Dead. Yeah, I know it.” Applejack nodded. “For a few hundred years now, I reckon. Of course, things have changed a mite since I’ve been around, but you’d know all about that.” She laughed. “But we’re not here to talk about me. We’re here to talk about you.”
“Me?”
“I’m mighty proud of ya, Emberglow. A mare after my own heart, you could say.” Applejack gave a small chuckle. “You’re a good pony. I’ve been watching you for a while now.”
“Watching? How?” Emberglow asked. Her mind was spinning; she was completely lost in this conversation.
“You touched the Element, right? That’s why you’re here,” Applejack said, as if that answered anything.
“Where is here?”
“I don’t know much about it,” Applejack glanced around her. “It’s not really a place for mortal ponies like you or me. I guess you could say the Princesses are letting us borrow this place for a bit so we can chat.”
“I’m confused.” Emberglow admitted, and Applejack chuckled again.
“Yeah, I reckon that makes sense. Twilight would explain it a lot better’n I would, but she ain’t here, so you’ll have to live with me.
“It’s like this. I’m not really Applejack, see? I’m a piece of her, a bit of her memories broken off and copied onto that gem you touched. The Element. I’m like a shadow, or a reflection in a mirror. And I’ve been keeping an eye on the next pony that’s gonna be hangin’ onto the Element of Honesty.” Applejack’s grin widened, and she pointed a hoof at Emberglow. “If you want, of course.”
“But…” Her mind reeled. “If… if I want?”
“Now don’t go saying you don’t deserve it, or some other nonsense like that,” Applejack scolded gently, before Emberglow could even get another word out. “That ain’t true, and you know it. It ain’t about who deserves it. It’s about who’ll do the best job carryin’ it.” The mare stepped forward, her hooves making no noise on the starry path. With shock, Emberglow realized that the mare was partially transparent, looking ethereal and fuzzy, as if she weren’t quite there.
“We’ve all kept an eye on our successors,” Applejack said. “Well, all of us but Rarity. The poor stallion that’s getting hers is gonna be on his own, but he’ll be fine. He’s my kin, after all.” Applejack laughed. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve been watching you. You had some hard times, but every time you proved you were the right one for my Element.”
“How?”
“Well, think about it, missy. You’ve always been true to yourself. True to your faith, even when you didn’t know it was wrong. True to right and wrong, when you found out your beliefs were wrong. True to your parents, true to your friends. You’re honest to the core, Emberglow. Even when it hurts.” As she spoke, the images around them shifted to scenes from Emberglow’s life. Helping out in her parent’s shop. Standing up to Blingshine in the Port Luminescence prison. Arguing with Heartwing in the Manehatten cave. Even turning down Steadfast’s most recent offer. It was like a hero’s tale of her life; every proud moment in her life, on vulgar display about her.
Emberglow lowered her eyes to the path. The pictures she saw were telling one story. The images in her head were telling another. “You’re making me out to be a better pony than I am.” She clenched her eyes shut.
“The things you’ve done have hurt you,” she heard Applejack’s voice say from nearby, and a hoof gently patted her back. “But you need to know your own worth, sugarcube. There’s gonna be new Elements of Harmony, and you need to be their strength. Their pillar. The one that keeps ‘em honest.” She winked at the last. “Do you think you can do that, Emberglow? Hang on to the Element of Honesty, and save the world along with the others?”
“What if I can’t?” The question slipped out in a whisper. “What if I’m not good enough? I have blood on my hooves, Saint Applejack.” There had to be somepony better. Somepony who hadn’t lived a lie for years. Somepony who hadn’t killed.
“I ain’t gonna lie to you.” Emberglow’s eyes shot open, and she looked deep into Applejack’s own misty expression. “I can tell you’re hurtin’ cuz of what you’ve been through. The stuff you’re feeling ain’t gonna go away easy. Things might only get harder from here on out. But for what it’s worth? ‘Saint’ Applejack thinks you’re good enough to do what needs to be done.”
“Am I…” Emberglow took a shuddering breath. “I’m going to have to kill again, aren’t I? I mean, if I accept this role, I’m choosing sides.”
“Sides? War?” Applejack shrugged. “I reckon it’s a little more messy than that. But if it makes you feel any better, I think you’ll get to decide.”
“Decide what?”
“What kind of Element to be. How you choose to fight your battles. The Element’s yours because of who you choose to be, every day. Keep making those choices and you’ll do just fine.”
Emberglow wasn’t sure. She tried to see what Applejack saw, tried to focus on the floating images around her, tried to feel pride in the good she’d done. Instead she felt only uncertainty.
“Do I…” she took a deep breath. “Do I even have a choice?”
“Course you do,” Applejack said. “You always have a choice. But I think we both know what you’re gonna choose. We wouldn’t be having this chat if you weren’t the kind of pony I think you are.”
Did she have a choice? “What happens if I say no?”
“Don’t rightly know,” Applejack shrugged. “You could live your life, I reckon. Away from the war and the conflict.” Even as Applejack was speaking, Emberglow felt herself shaking her head.
“What do I do?”
“Same as you always do, I imagine,” Applejack said. “Be a friend. Stay close to Rarity and the others, and keep them safe. Keep your word. And keep chasing after the truth, just like you always do. You’ll be fine.” The phantom mare hesitated for a moment, and her eyes became misty. “One last thing, though. Look after my friend, will ya? Rarity’s a smart mare, but sometimes she gets in over her head, or loses sight of her priorities. Keep her in the present.”
“I will. I promise,” Emberglow said.
“And I know that means a lot,” Applejack said with another wink. “Good luck, Emberglow. You’ll need it.”
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So this interlude might have been a thinly veiled excuse to write Applejack, because I love doing that. Maybe.
I have some interesting headcanon regarding the Starlit Path, but it'll have to wait for later because spoilers.
Anyways, hope you all enjoy. Chapter 32 may be delayed as well because of real life stuff.
CONFESSION TIME: I'd like to say this update was a day late because of real life stuff, too, but... it's not. It's late because my wife and I discovered co-op Stardew Valley and have been doing silly farming video game together. I hope that somehow you'll be able to forgive me someday.
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Can't blame you for being distracted by video games; they're a vice for me too. If you and your wife ever tire of Stardew, I just picked up Haven, which is a really unique romance/survival story for one or two players.
So i found this in the featured box and gave it a read through. I was pretty much hooked the moment I started. It's fantastic, one of the best I've read, and I'm eagerly looking forward to what happens next.
Even in death Applejack continues to be best pony.
Yay!!!! Ghost pone!
Yay i caught up ^.^ this storys fucking amazing you know. The writing and style is amazing. I love how dark it can be yet theres ush a light to look for. So much to fix for poor emberglow yet ill root for her no matter what happens.
Today I stumbled upon this story and recognized it from a piece posted on Art for Fanfiction. That’s really the only place I’m active here anymore — I mostly read and lurk. But after catching up here, I felt I had to say something.
Reading as much as you had here felt like reading a novel. That’s a good thing; I was delightfully surprised. I started on my computer, then brought it up on my phone as I couldn’t put it down. The way the narrative fits together so snugly ... everything works together and flows so nicely. It’s beautiful. Your characters are intriguing, complicated, and interact with each other perfectly.
Your story is a stellar example of excellent fanfiction — as in, a story that takes complete advantage of the audience’s previous knowledge of a world/narrative. Not only is the world you’ve built interesting, its engaging nature is elevated due to our understanding of how things should be. We go in knowing things are wrong. Then we slowly learn just how wrong things have become. The slow burn is wonderful, down to the revelation that all Diarchy-born unicorns are killed (nearly) at birth. It’s a great turning point.
I may have only known about your story for a day, but I do think it’s quickly become a favorite of mine. Expect some fan art when I can manage— there are many characters to choose from, and I feel quite inspired.
I am very happy to have found your amazing work, and I am eagerly awaiting more
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Oh wow, I'm very excited now! Thanks for your comment, and I'm glad you're enjoying it!
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I can imagine, and I am impressed by the level of research you've done for this story, it really shows.
It reminded me of what we were taught in schools about fascism and gang culture. Why the school system stresses individually to keep dangerous groups from forming and the like.
I don't know if you've heard of the Third Wave Experiment, but I see what you mean.
I might have had that in the back of the mind when I wrote Stable 42. To me it was just me thinking it was odd how the original Fallout Equestria stable suit clashed with the stable atmosphere. All bardings ended at the waist, leaving cutie marks exposed. That seemed odd to me in an environment where they had a strictly disciplined mini-society with an overlord.
I simply extended the stable vault suit into an overall and put the stable number on the flank. It seemed like such a small change, and more in line with the original Fallout vaults.
But after a chapter or two I was stunned by the changes and realized that the story had taken a very dark turn and put it on the backburner.
This was a nice chapter. The obvious reference to how Celestia spoke to Twilight during her ascension brought down to AJ's earthly manners was a treat.
Some interesting revelations too.
I honestly, pun very much intended, didn't know what element Emberglow would bind to, since she seemed go represent them all so well. She's kind and forgiving and averse to violence like Fluttershy. Studious, inquisitive and skilled with magic like Twilight. Loyal, suicidally brave and willing to work extremely hard to achieve her goals like Rainbow Dash. Likewise she is generous and self sacrificing to a fault, following her idol Rarity. Though I think we've all suspected for a while that Lofty has the element of generosity as part of his story. Will be extremely interesting to see how he handles juggling that destiny with being a parent. It's not something I've seen in an mlp story before.
As for laughter, it's the one element I can't see working for Emberglow, and the very nature of life in the Diarchy makes it hard for that element to manifest. Ironic for a culture that literally worships Pinkie Pie. Though quite fitting it seems that particular element is no longer in Equestria but in the more liberal and relaxed nation of The Crystal Empire. It would seem we might have glimpsed a destined bearer for it too in the shape of Topaz Glitter. My guess is however that Topaz isn't at all the destined wielder of that element. Her theft and incursion into The Diarchy is to bring the element in contact with Bubblegum. The real embodiment of thst element. Topaz's loyalty to Empress Cadence is noteworthy though.
Anyway, just some speculations on my part. I might be wildly wrong, or uncannily accurate, either way I know I will enjoy reading the rest.
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Just pointing out that in Topaz' retelling of the story of finding the Element of Laughter, after she touched it she had a vision of Pinkie, and the element took the shape of Topaz' cutie mark.
Yay! Applejack. Short interlude, I feel llike these aren't really required to enjoy the main story, but they are still nice if you want that extra content, sorta like free DLC. Speaking of games, I can quite understand how distracting they can be! I was hooked on Darksouls 3 for quite awhile, even made a friend because of the game.
We see something in you, that you don't even see in yourself.
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