//------------------------------// // A glimmer of hope // Story: A blaze rekindled // by RedBlack //------------------------------// A portal appears in the sky, right above a map made of crystal as an alicorn and dragon fall from it. "Whoa, what happened this time?" the dragon asked his companion. "I don't know Spike, without the rainboom ever happening, the present can always get worse" the alicorn answered with concern in her voice. The surrounding had been full of chaos, flowing lava and magma dominated the lands, burning everything it touched. A forest, full of dangerous animals had overgrown, yet no signs of life could be seen, apart from the plant life. Ice mixed with dark crystals had spread across the lands, destroying whatever had stood in its path. Both the sun and the moon were out at the same time, both seemingly closer than it should've been. "Come on Spike, we must stop Starlight and fix the past" The dragon nodded in response as another portal opened in the sky and pulled them both away. As the portal closed and the chaotic landscape was once again engulfed in silence. Until. *BOOMM* Two figures came crashing down from the sky, one on top of the other. On top, an alicorn with a blood red coat and fiery orange mane, wielding a long, black rock in his hoof, caked with mud and blood, not much of his finer details could be made out. On the bottom, with the rock on his neck, was a mix between various creatures and a smile of victory on his face. "You've actually found some of that rock? I'm surprised" the mix of creatures said. "Do it then, finish me off, you're the saviour right? The hero" he said with a mocking voice. The alicorn simply looked at him with an empty gaze. "Heh, you're savoring the talk this time? Couldn't you have done that with Tirek?" he continued his questions whilst mocking, yet the alicorn only responded in silence. "Well whatever, I've lost, I'll admit, I'm not stupid after all, but have you actually won? Because let's be honest, you're only listening to me because once I'm gone, you'll be alone in this world and that leads to your demise, doesn't it?" His grin grew wicked. "So how about you just let me go, and we can be friends again, what do you say? You can even tell me your name, which you haven't told anyone for some reason" The alicorn stood in his position, not moving an inch, not even blinking. The suddenly. He chuckled. The discorded beast joined in with slight confusion and hesitance. Then the alicorn full on laughed, almost freeing his prisoner from his grasp. He suddenly lifted the black rock and snapped it in half, only to trap the draconequus from his neck by implanting the two broken pieces of the rock into the ground. He proceeded to laugh as if he's turned crazy. This had continued, that even the draconequus had stopped and only stared in confusion as fear started to spread his face. The alicorn suddenly stopped laughing, his face turned from crazed to furious in a moment, he planted his hooves on the ground, right next to his prisoners' head as he looked into his eyes. "You've truly been my hardest hurdle Discord" the alicorn spoke for the first time with a dry voice as if he hadn't drank a drop of water in weeks. "Well, I AM the god of chaos" Discord replied with a prideful voice. "Truly, I didn't have to prepare this much, even for The Nightmare" "She was strong, she was an alicorn after all" he spoke as his voice regained his confidence. "Yet, you'll die the same" "What? No no, you don't understand friend, if you kill me, you'll be alone, forever" his face now filled with fear and concern. "Will I? We both felt that didn't we? So I don't think I'll be alone for much longer" "Won't you take me with you then? I promise I'll behave" he said with a nervous smile. "You don't deserve that" Discord now shuddered under the crazed yet furious gaze from the alicorn. "Oh fine, at least fulfill my request no?" The alicorn's gaze softened as he chuckled a bit. "My name is Calming Blaze, ironic isn't it?" he finished as he raised his right hoof, preparing for a blow. "Truly" Discord said helplessly as he stared at the hoof. A gruesome crack was heard as the alicorn approached the crystal map. His wings stretched out, a few bones cracked as he lighted up his horn. Disappear as a rebellion commander fixed the past or try and move to a different timeline? Dying had never been a choice for Blaze, but would it be different if it was disappearance due to a fixed timeline? Softly closing his eyes, he concentrated his magic on the map. The answer was obvious. Magic filled the area growing in size and potency. Five gems were pulled from various places around Equestria. Some even destroying mountains, others burrowing entire lands. When the pieces gathered, the final piece appeared. With a burst of power, freed from Discord's chaotic magic, the artifacts had chosen the only being left in Equestria to make the final choice for this universe. The magical power of the artifacts had made a field of intense magic, bringing a sign of life inside it, if only for a minute as the grass had returned to being wilted as the magic power of the area started concentrating on the map. The alicorn was lifted off the ground as he opened his eyes which glowed with pure magic power. With a soft sigh, the burst of magic disappears. The alicorn drops to the ground, filled with exhaustion as he flips himself over to look at the sky. Only the sun and moon were in the sky, giving a sense of dread and calm at the same time. In the middle of the sight which gave a morbid feeling, a small crack appeared. The crack quickly grew large, spreading out throughout the entirety of the universe, forming a bubble of sorts. A feeling of disconnection filled the universe as the cracks grew dim for a slight second, only to grow brighter than ever. As the cracks grew bigger and brighter, it spread throughout Equestria, covering everything, the corpses of dead enemies and allied, the erupting volcanoes and the very ground beneath. Yet it still missed the only pony alive, instead the cracks grew around him, only to drop into the very fabric of the universe. A shield of the highest degree protected him as the very universe began to disappear. His eyes were blinded by the ever growing brightness as he shielded his eyes. Then it stopped. He opened his eyes to see two worlds connected with a string before him, as well as the six artifacts. Countless worlds spread around as far as his eyes could see as he floated about in a void with stars. Yet only the two worlds in front of him had his attention. One of them had been dying, slowly disappearing as the very essence of it disappeared to nothing. He knew what he had to do. His horn glowed brightly as the string between the two worlds strained. With a whip of his head, he slashed the string causing the worlds to be disconnected, obliterating the dying world as the six artifacts broke down, having used the final of their magical might. The bubble then broke with a shattering noise as the alicorn calmly touched his right hoof on the single world. It grew bright, blinding him and the countless worlds around him. "Finally" the alicorn spoke as the light disappeared. Only the infinite worlds were left as silence rang throughout the area.