Suddenly, there was light, a brighter beam than Daring had ever seen before. Her instinct told her to look away, avert her eyes, but instead, she opened them wider. The abuse on her vision should have been so intense that her eyes began to water as a last-ditch defense mechanism, but there was no pain, no discomfort at all to be found in this light shining directly upon her. She was briefly reminded of her staring contest with the light bulb back in the police station, but unlike then, she didn't feel the need to blink and clear her vision. She only felt an urge to stare.
In an instant, the light was gone. At last, Daring allowed herself to blink, but when she looked around, there was nothing but a dark void, no sign of the apartment, Mare-Do-Well, Trowel, or anything for that matter. Wherever she turned her gaze, only blackness met her. She opened her mouth to call out, but found that her voice was gone. She could go through all the motions, even feel the vibrations in her throat, but no words came out. She tried her best not to panic, but the fact that she was in a vast, silent emptiness when only a few seconds ago she'd been sitting on a couch in Manehattan was quickly overwhelming her capacity for rational thought. Her eyes desperately darted this way and that, trying to find some sign of anything but herself in the darkness.
It wasn't silent for long, though the way in which it was broken disturbed Daring almost as much as the lack of noise before. A male voice, deep and strong, echoed through the emptiness. “Welcome, sky-sister.”
She couldn't pinpoint its origin; the sound seemed to come from absolutely everywhere all at once, assaulting her ears with its rumbling bass. She shivered at the raw power behind the voice, fear gripping her heart once again. The words “Who are you?” formed on her lips, but speech was still impossible. She could only wait, suspended in darkness with an unseen observer.
After a brief pause, the voice spoke again. “Welcome, brave explorer and chosen pony. Come, and bear witness to my tale.”
Daring's confusion was quickly replaced by wonder when a single speck of light appeared in the midst of the inky blackness. Suddenly, she was rushing towards it, not propelled by her own power, but rather hurtling in the direction of that pinprick of illumination. She felt the sensation of falling and flared her wings out, but she didn't slow down as the light grew larger and larger. Soon, different colors began to emerge, and she saw the dim outlines of a landmass set amidst a sea of blue take form in front of her. She was plummeting towards it at an incredible speed, and she clenched her eyes tight as it rose up to meet her.
No collision followed, and she dared to peek. To her surprise, she found that the darkness around her had been replaced entirely, and now, she stood atop a Manehattan skyscraper, gazing out over the whole of the city. When she looked down, however, she saw that she wasn't actually standing, but rather floating above the rooftop. Before she could get her bearings, she began to move again, except this time, it was as if she flew. It was an odd sensation to her, a pegasus, as she was carried over the sea of buildings not by her own wings, but by some invisible force guiding her along. She felt no resistance from the air, no updrafts or downdrafts forcing her to correct her flight path; she couldn't even feel the warmth of the sun on her back. To her, it seemed that she remained frozen in place while the world below her spun rapidly, pulling the city away from beneath her.
Metropolis gave way to ocean, the vast expanse of sparkling blue beneath Daring zooming by far too quickly for her to make out any details. She soared at a speed far faster than any airship could ever hope to achieve, and yet, her stomach remained calm, even if her heart was racing with fear and anticipation. Thoughts of Trowel's apartment were vanishing quickly, and she fixed her eyes on the fast-approaching horizon, eager to see where she would end up next.
At last, the water far beneath her hooves came to an end, and she glimpsed a long, white beach before flying more inland. There were no visible cities, at least none like Manehattan; the only bits of civilization she spied were spread out and sparsely populated, and she had slowed down enough to even spot the occasional band of nomads. Where there were no signs of ponies or rivers, the world below was nothing but sand, near-endless dunes underneath an unforgiving sun. She thought back to Zebrabwe, where she had been not so long ago, but suddenly, she remembered that the last thing she had done before ending up in this mysterious circumstance. Whatever was going on, it was because of the pegasus figurine, and her excitement and anxiety increased tenfold. This was all a mystery that she was now eager to solve, but at the same time, she feared what the answers would bring.
Her speed gradually decreased until at last, she flew at a more leisurely pace, though still much faster than she'd ever hope to achieve by wing power alone. Beneath her, the landscape changed yet again, a lush jungle springing up from seemingly nowhere. She scanned the flora below, but could see nothing of note. What was in front of her when she looked up, however, was a different story, and her eyes widened as she took in the sight of a massive mountain rising up from amidst the sea of green. A plume of smoke rose from its high peak, and she stared in awe at what she could only assume to be an imposing volcano of incredible size.
Her study of her environment was interrupted by the return of the mysterious voice. “This is the heart of Zebrabwe, a land in which you have already set your hooves. Few, though, have borne witness to the sight you now behold: the Mount of the Great Inferno, as the natives called it. It is here that I rest, and it is here that you will find your answers.” Before Daring could ponder this information further, she suddenly dropped, crying out (silently) as she fell towards a clearing in the jungle canopy.
Even though her hooves made contact with the ground, she didn't feel loose earth shifting underneath her, only a dull sensation that she was standing on something. More amazing to her than that was the fact that she hadn't been hurt by the fall, even though she had started to accept the strange reality of this...vision? Dream? She wasn't quite sure yet, so she lifted a foreleg and bit down hard. Ouch. She was still in the jungle; it was definitely not a dream.
She slowly became aware of something else new: sounds. Her surroundings sounded exactly like a jungle should, from the rustling of thick leaves to the howls and screeches of innumerable wild animals. A motion on the edge of her vision caught her attention, and she turned to see a rather large insect with wings of lace and humongous compound eyes hovering to her left. Without warning, the bug flew directly at her face, and she winced in anticipation of its collision with her. She felt nothing, and after a moment, opened one eye. The insect was gone, but a buzz on the other side of her head caused her to jerk around and see that the winged creature was now on her right. A suspicion crossed Daring's mind, and she lifted a hoof to poke at the bug; the appendage went through the insect like it wasn't even there. It then dawned on her that she was no more than an observer in this strange vision, and she wondered what it was she was supposed to see.
Her answer came quickly, as three ponies suddenly came bursting through the trees in front of her. She recoiled in surprise, but as she began to study the newcomers, several things stood out. For one, their garb was nothing like what normal ponies would wear if they chose to walk the streets clothed at all; it was much more like the garments she would often see depicted on ancient paintings or spoken of in old writings. It occurred to her that she might be glimpsing the past. The second strange thing was that they paid no heed to her, only strengthening the idea that she was indeed just meant to watch and not interact. Finally, what got her attention most of all was the fact that these ponies – an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn – were all arguing bitterly, words flying back and forth so vehemently and rapidly that she couldn't make heads or tails of what they were actually talking about.
The voice echoed around her, also unheeded by the bickering ponies but drowning out their squabble with its sheer power. “Long ago, as you may have been told, peace did not exist between the three pony tribes. This animosity was not limited to the continent that would become Equestria; the hatred and mistrust were rampant all throughout the world, and the tribes would often fight for dominance and territory in Zebrabwe. The land you see around you was especially sought after, for it stood as a lush oasis amidst harsh desert, and only the hardiest dared venture to claim it. What the ponies did not know, however, was that I ruled over this land before they ever laid eyes upon it, and when they set hoof in my territory, I was deeply disturbed by their arrival. Even more so, I found my once-peaceful heart growing cold as I heard them argue and bicker over trivial matters, and so, I took it upon myself to force them to unite.”
The vision around Daring shifted, and she suddenly found herself no longer in the same clearing with the fighting ponies. Now, she was in a village of some kind, with crudely-built huts and ponies wandering to and fro. She studied each one as it trotted by her, and to her surprise, she saw representatives of each tribe, apparently coexisting in the shadow of the mountain. Some clarification was provided by the voice. “As I was this land's ruler, I allowed them to stay in this ideal place on two conditions. First, they were to live side by side with one another in peace and harmony, not vying for power or looking down on the other races just because of their differences. Second, they were to offer a yearly tribute of their crops and animals to me, so that they would know me to be king of this mountain. For hundreds of years, they did just that, setting aside their petty hatred in favor of a thriving, happy village. It warmed my heart, and in my mountain, I slumbered peacefully.”
Daring smiled. The scene around her really was ideal, with little foals of every tribe running and laughing together while their parents talked and kept their eyes on their young. Off to one side, a pegasus assisted an earth pony with carrying buckets of water, while at another building, a unicorn used its magic to slide the last frond of grass into place on a roof of a house, eliciting smiles and thank-yous from the earth pony couple that stood in the doorway.
As quickly as the story had taken a pleasant turn, suddenly Daring came face to face with a horrific sight. The same village stood around her, but now, the structures looked dilapidated, worn-down, and the ponies themselves were pale and wan, their ribs clearly visible and their tongues lolling out as the plodded slowly through the crumbling settlement. A mother in front of one of the huts wept bitterly, her tears flowing down to a tiny bundle wrapped in red-stained cloth that she held close to her chest.
Again, the voice came. “But the desert is cruel, and little by little, the trees began to die as the sands encroached and the rivers ran dry. Crops were lost; lives were lost. I, the mighty ruler, saw the plight of the ponies, but resolved that I could do nothing to help them. After all, what good is any living thing against the might of nature?” Daring briefly thought of a pegasus' ability to control weather, but then remembered locations like the Everfree Forest where even the weather teams were helpless against the unstable environment. She started to feel sick, watching the dying ponies around her, and the voice went on, “I sat in my mountain and demanded my tribute, no matter the cost. My pride had grown, and I had become haughty with my might, fat and happy in my position of comfort. If only I had been more benevolent then, perhaps things would have turned out differently, but alas, it was not to be.”
Once more, the scene before Daring changed. Now, she stood before the entrance to a long, dark tunnel, and directly in front of her stood three ponies representing each of the three tribes. They were adorned with all manner of jewelry, and their heads were held high and proud as they started to move forward into the cave. Daring looked up and saw only the slope of the mountain above; below her she saw a path leading up the foot of the mountain to where she stood. She had only just taken in the sight when she was whisked forward by the unseen force again, descending into the depths of the volcano and falling in behind the three ponies. They were eerily silent, but the voice soon broke that calm. “The village elders fell to fighting, unsure of what they could do in the face of such death and demands. I had given them two days to bring their tribute, or else I would unleash my wrath, and in that time, they had come to no resolution other than to descend back into their old ways of argument. On the morning of the second day, unbeknownst to me, the sons of three of the elders made their way to my mountain and went inside to confront me.”
For a while, the journey continued in silence, save for the sound of echoing hoofsteps in the dark tunnel. The three ponies walked forward while Daring floated just behind, her vision fixed on the sons as they delved further and further into the cave. Glances to either side of her revealed that the rocky floor on which they walked was actually a thin ledge, and Daring recoiled a bit before remembering that she wasn't depending on the narrow strip of rock to support her. She admired the bravery of the three sons, whose eyes never seemed to waver from their destination even when they came within mere feet of tumbling to their untimely deaths. A distant light shone, becoming brighter as they drew near, and soon, the three real ponies and their silent guest found themselves in a vast, circular room within the very heart of the mountain.
Daring's eyes widened in awe as she beheld the sight of this new chamber. The three ponies stood upon a ledge of rock that extended several feet out from their room's entrance, but after that, it appeared to be a sheer drop-off that fell several hundred feet into a pool of bubbling magma; even though she couldn't feel the heat, Daring imagined it would be absolutely sweltering. She could already see beads of sweat forming on the bodies of the three stallions. Above her, the chamber extended up, higher than any Manehattan skyscraper Daring had ever seen, only the faintest hint of light visible at the very top. This was the very center of the volcano, and Daring knew that this was where the self-proclaimed king must have resided. She looked around, but other than the featureless wall of rock opposite her and the three others, she saw nopony else.
Then, the room rumbled. The walls shook violently, and large chunks of rock dislodged from the walls and plummeted into the lava below, a few coming dangerously close to the ledge upon which the three ponies stood. Even though Daring knew that she wasn't in danger, she still glanced around nervously as the ground quaked, but she was stunned to see that the trio of stallions remained unmoving and stoic. Clearly, they were waiting for something, and she tensed herself as the rubble fell around her, unsure of what would come next.
There came a great rush of wind. Daring couldn't feel it, but she heard it whoosh past the ledge and saw the manes of the stallions flutter violently. In the next instant, her vision was flooded with flame as something arose from the depths of the magma and flew up, spreading out against the backdrop of the volcano walls. Wide wings stretched to fill the entire chamber, tongues of fire dancing on its wingtips and searing the rock with a mere touch. Each impressive appendage was connected to a body whose color scheme of red, orange, and yellow seemed to shift and crackle like a massive blaze burning out of control. But Daring was most drawn to the great head of the creature, with its pointed beak and eyes that smoldered in their sockets behind unblinking lids; each one looked to be the size of a pony, and they glowed with a white fire that filled her heart with dread.
A booming voice issued forth from the beak of the gigantic winged beast, and Daring instantly recognized it as the same one that had come to her in the darkness. “And so you come to me, sky-brother, earth-brother, magic-brother. Do you bring to me the tribute that I desire, that you may not suffer the wrath of Ephrus, the Phoenix King?”
Slowly and confidently, the stallions bent down in a prostrate position of respect, casting their eyes down and away from the massive creature that hovered there, suspended on waves of heat. The earth pony was the first to speak. “Mighty king, our crops are withered and dead, victims of a relentless desert. We do not grow enough, even for us to survive.”
Next came the unicorn. “Our herds are malnourished, and countless heads perish without adequate sustenance, for all the grain and corn we have must go to providing for our families instead.”
Finally, the pegasus added, “Great king, we cannot provide you with our tribute.” The white eyes narrowed, and the phoenix's body flared in anger, but the pegasus continued, “Instead, we have come to offer ourselves to you, mighty king, that you may spare us in our hour of need.”
There was a pause, and Daring watched in dumbstruck awe as the three stallions remained in their bows, eyes never leaving the floor, while the phoenix loomed over them. She knew it could consume them at any moment, and yet, there they stayed, fully prepared to give themselves up for their village and their families. Once more, the voice echoed through the room. “Have your elders sent you, young ones, as a desperate plea to placate me? Would they so willingly throw away the lives of their own sons?”
The earth pony answered. “Our fathers know nothing of this, great king. We come of our own accord, to speak and plead on behalf of our races.”
The unicorn added, “Once our races fought and strove for power, but we set our differences aside. It brought us peace, but that peace is shattering in the face of these events.”
“We fear the worst,” said the pegasus, his voice quivering just a little. “If we do not die from the rivers running dry, we fear you, our king, and if we cannot stop the water from vanishing, then our only hope for life is to offer to you what little we can.” All three knelt lower, their noses now touching the rock. “Ourselves.”
The flames of the phoenix crackled and popped, and Daring saw the white-hot wrath in its eyes begin to subside as it looked over the stallions. The incredible amount of light emanating from the imposing creature dimmed as it thought, and finally, it said in a voice that rang through the entire chamber, “I, Ephrus, the Phoenix King, have considered your words. You have shown great courage, offering yourselves up before me, and my tribute seems a trivial matter when compared to the suffering and death of your families. Even so, there is nothing I can do to save the rivers, nor can I stop your crops and herds from perishing. This land is no longer safe for you, ponies, and so you must depart from beneath the shadow of my mountain.”
A massive wing swung slowly and bent down to touch the rock in front of the sons where they lay prone. There was a brilliant flash as flame from the phoenix's wingtip poured into the stone, roaring with a brilliant light, and when he withdrew the wing, there stood three objects that caused Daring's eyes to shoot wide open. In front of each stallion stood a small figurine that looked like it had been forged from the finest glass, each one in the shape of a different race of pony and coordinated to rest before the pony of the same type. The heart of each one glowed with an ember that could only have come from the phoenix king's power, and they seemed to absorb the light that came from the mighty bird. Daring stood spellbound, the origin of the artifact that had caused her so much pain and curiosity at last revealed to her, and she drank in the sight of the other two statuettes, seeing them for the first time.
Ephrus resumed his speech. “Take these, brave sky-brother, earth-brother, magic-brother. May they serve as reminders of the peace you shared here, and know that I shall dwell with you within these statues. Now, flee from this dying land, and I shall sleep within my mountain.” Slowly, the great figure descended into the pool of magma, the earth shaking once again as his massive form disappeared from sight. One by one, the ponies picked up their appropriate statues and carried them out of the chamber on their backs.
Daring wanted to follow them, to follow the artifacts, but instead, the walls around her seemed to sink as she floated up to the mouth of the volcano. The phoenix king spoke as she emerged from the top of the mountain. “And so, they fled, and I was left alone once again. My anger at my own greed boiled over, and with it, so too did my mountain.” Daring looked down to see lava pouring out from the volcano and flowing freely down the slopes, engulfing the little remaining jungle below in a sea of liquid flame. Ephrus continued, “I slumbered, my mind no longer at peace, and watched as my statues spread to the corners of the earth. For a time, the tribe stayed together, reminded of their harmony, but over time, war and disagreements drove them apart again, and with their division, so too did the statues separate, spreading to all corners of the world.
“The peace they represented was gone, and so they dimmed and were eventually forgotten, their tale told no longer. Anypony who stumbled across one found themselves drawn to the artifact, but their infatuation descended into greed and darkness, and many ponies were driven mad. Eventually, each one was hidden away in a room sealed by ancient magic, meant to never be discovered again so they could no longer harm, and in my slumber, I could not fight this decision. I did not want them to be lost for all of time, and so, I resolved that the statues would not be found again until a pony pure of heart and mind came across them. Only then would the chambers be revealed, and only then would I know the mind of the pony who found them. Thus were they hidden for thousands of years.”
Around Daring, the landscape started to fade away, dimming into the same blackness that had engulfed Daring earlier. “You, sky-sister, were chosen to bear the final statue, but I fear that something is amiss. The first to be found was by a magic-brother, but I can no longer see his mind. The second was by an earth-brother, but his thoughts have become clouded, like a thick fog which I cannot clear. Only when you, sky-sister, brought the statue into his presence did I feel a spark within him, but I fear that he is lost to foul magic that I cannot comprehend. It is only within your statue, sky-sister, that I remain unspoiled and whole, and so have I revealed myself to you.” Now, she was in complete darkness, with only the booming voice of Ephrus for company.
“This I ask of you, sky-sister: Find the other statues, and let them be taken up by ponies who embrace the peace and harmony they represent. Bring them to me, and I shall awaken from my slumber at long last. Then, perhaps, I can right the wrongs I committed so long ago.” The last echo of Ephrus' voice faded away into the nothingness, and once again, Daring found herself suspended in the midst of a black void.
Suddenly, she felt hooves on her shoulders shaking her back and forth violently, and she shut her eyes tight as the rocking motion rattled her thoughts. When her head ceased its bobbing, she opened her eyes, and there, in front of her, was the familiar masked face of Mare-Do-Well and the confines of Trowel's apartment. She inhaled deeply, and the rush of air into her lungs caused her to double over in a coughing fit. Amidst her attempts to catch her breath, she heard Trowel ask, “Is she gonna be okay?”
Her breathing stable, Daring raised her head and looked at both ponies intently. It relieved her to hear her own words, even if her voice was weak, as she said, “I'm all right.” She inhaled and exhaled deeply, wheezing as the air flowed back into her body. Her thoughts ran at breakneck speed, but amidst the chaos reigning supreme in her brain, she was able to form some coherent sentences. “I...I know everything. I think...both of you will want to hear this.”