*Calming Blaze POV*
I keep running.
All around me, nothing but darkness.
Yet I could feel exactly what's inside of it.
Even in the darkness, I could still see my body.
I only know, that I must get away from it.
I run, and run, towards nothing.
It seemed hopeless, but I kept running.
And running.
And running.
I ran for a long time.
Then I ran.
My lungs hurt from exertion.
Yet I ran.
Then my hooves hurt.
But I kept running.
I ran, and run, until I finally saw light.
I used strength I didn't know I had.
Running faster, and faster than I had ever found myself to be moving.
Eventually, I saw the source.
The yellow mare with an orange mane.
The kitchen knife cutie mark was proudly displayed as she looked away from me.
I ran, and ran faster.
She felt like she always moved farther than me.
Yet I kept running, and running.
After a long, long time.
My body was reaching its limits, but I pushed myself.
And finally reached her.
With a leap, I hugged her, but I couldn't feel it.
Realizing something was wrong, I opened my closed eyes and stared.
Nothing.
My breathing quickened.
Looking down at my hooves, I could see the bright red hooves, coated with dust and ashes.
Memories resurfaced.
Feelings remembered.
Despair.
That was all I felt as I kept staring at the ashes on my hooves.
My face blank as the darkness grew on my body.
"Who even cares?" I mutter as I sit inside the dark, wallowing in my own sadness.
"That would be me" I hear a familiar voice sound out as the darkness around me disappear.
I raise my head to look at the blue alicorn invading my dreams.
"Do you have to?" I simple ask with a monotone voice as my face falls into a comfortable blank.
She had a sad look on her face as she kept staring at me.
"Blaze" she said with a somber tone.
"Yeah?"
She stayed silent for a few seconds as she kept staring at me.
She opened and closed her mouth several times as my face stayed impassive.
With a sigh, she sat next to me as she pulled me in with her wings.
I would've normally done something, but I don't really care right now.
The world around us changed as I just stayed in her embrace.
The ground changed to soft grass as the sound of a calm sea surrounds us.
Weird flowers grew from the ground, acting as a shield of sorts from a bright moon in the sky.
"Thanks" I silently mutter as my body grew heavier.
"It's what friends are for" her muffled reply came in as my eyes fully closed.
Yeah.
I guess so.
She's pretty fluffy.
As random thoughts swirl around my head, my senses eventually turn dull.
My eyes slowly open as a full white ceiling comes into my vision.
An annoying beeping sound is present.
My body was full of bandages.
I'm not even in any pain though.
Useless.
It's scratchy.
I tear it all off as I keep staring at the ceiling.
I turn to the side as I now face a window.
A constant breeze is coming from the opened part.
There was the sun in the sky, so peaceful.
The rays were annoying though, shining into my eyes.
I block it with my wing as I feel slight hunger.
Eh, don't feel like eating.
I should turn around to face away from the sun.
I'll do it later.
As I contemplated whether moving my body would be worth it or not, the door opens to reveal a very tired Celestia.
"Blaze, thank Faust you're awake" she said with relief.
"I guess" I simply answered.
I finally turn to her as my wing falls down weakly.
I must look weird, having one wing folded in while the other is limp.
She seemed slightly shocked as she stared at me with bewildered eyes.
After a few seconds, she moved to stand right before me as something followed behind her.
Oh, her horn is lit.
A cardboard box, half my size, floated from behind her and onto my hooves which I reached out with.
"Given your tastes, from a few examples" she muttered that last part, "I thought this will be your liking, I made it myself" she finished as she had a nervous smile on her face.
The top part of the box floated off with a golden aura.
Inside the box, a triple layered cake stood proudly as a large bottle was placed in an angle in the middle.
I look at her with a raised eyebrow as sweat starts forming on her forehead.
"I thought it would make for a good gift" she said as her shoulders sagged and her smile dropped.
"It's thoughtful, thanks" I say as I cut into the cake.
She lets out a breath of relief, thinking I didn't realize that she ate half the cake with that excuse.
Or maybe it's something else.
Biting into a slice, I feel my stomach growl a bit at food.
"It's pretty good" I compliment calmly as I eat at a normal pace.
Holding my slice with magic, I float over a slice to her as I clean off the bottle.
It was old enough not to have any indication of its origins as the brown liquid was fermented inside.
An ancient looking design.
As the taste of vanilla dominates my mouth, I stare out the window, noticing a pretty peculiar sight.
Going into the lower layer, I take a bigger slice as Celestia helps some for herself.
Chocolate.
A choice as old as time but is always the gold winning choice.
Although the window isn't that high, it still prevented me from seeing the ground.
What's there that's glowing brighter than the Sun right now?
Ignoring the rest of the second layer, which was gone not that long after, I dig into the bottom layer.
With the chocolate coating out of the way, I stared at the red colored cake with white cream fillings.
"What's this flavor?" I asked nonchalantly.
She swallows what was in her mouth as she drinks a cup of tea.
Where the fuck?
"That is called 'Red Velvet' cake, it's quite popular for its mild cocoa flavor with a slightly tart edge" she answered with slight pride.
Taking a bite, I reveled in the taste as my mood was lifted up by several levels.
I just found my new favorite cake flavor.
It seems my sudden lift in mood was noticed by Celestia as she stared at me with a slightly relieved gaze.
Anyways, after a few minutes of calm eating and a conversation here and there, I speak up.
"You might wanna check up on Ponyville, something tells me it's not something they'll solve on their own" I say as I go to open the bottle of bourbon that sounded amazing right now.
"What?" she tilts her head slightly in confusion as she moves towards the window.
Her face gets blank as she stares in shock for about half a minute.
More than enough time for me to take a deep gulp of sweet bourbon.
"What in Faust's name?" she mutters to herself which finally caught my interest.
"What is it?" I say as I stand next to Celestia.
I too, get a blank face as I stare at Ponyville.
"Did a very gaudy and rich pony get control of Ponyville?" I ask as I look at the utter disaster that is Ponyville.
It was made out of different kinds of precious materials as the road shined a full gold.
"So, you gonna ask anypony to mine out some of the gold?" I ask Celestia as I take another gulp of the bourbon.
She, very calmly, facehooves, with both hooves, creating a small shockwave, whilst the rest of her body didn't move, at all.
After staying like that for a few seconds, grabs the bottle from my magic and takes a large gulp before galloping out of the room with a goodbye.
Wait.
"The Bourbon!" I shout after her.
As only silence returned, I was about to give chase, but the half empty bottle appeared in front of me with a flash of light.
As I grab the bottle, I look towards the window again.
"Eh, I'm sure somepony will handle it" I say as I take another gulp and go back to bed.
As I stay in bed, I aimlessly stare at the ceiling as I wait for the feeling of sleep to take me.
Ugh, the discomfort.
Suddenly, the bed didn't feel as good as it was when I woke up.
"Whatever, I needed to piss anyway" I silently complain as I get off the bed, after turning off the annoying machine.
Opening an extra door in the room, I enter the bathroom as I head to the toilet.
Hmm.
When's the last time I brushed my teeth?
Actually, what is today's date even?
I'm getting knocked out too much lately.
Should I take a shower?
Eh, who cares.
I wash my hooves and step out of the bathroom as Lu walks in.
"Blaze! How are you feeling?" she asked with a worried expression.
"Dandy, a little numb from drinking, but I'm fine"
"Is that so?" She said in a somber tone.
"Pretty much" I say as I crack my neck. "We should get ready to leave"
She tilted her head at that.
"You already know about that?"
"Yeah, that much dirt magic is gonna be hard to undo, so Celestia will probably ask us while she takes care of paperwork"
"What do you mean?"
"Was, there something else I should know about?"
"Well, a few"
We state at each other for a few seconds as she contemplated her next words.
"So?" I ask after the silence.
"So you know how after you sent us to gather allies, there was the giant laser coming from the sky?" She asked with a nervous smile.
"Yeah?" I just raised my eyebrow at that.
"Well, we had to try and keep moral Higher, so eventually, it was decided that we reveal you to be an alicorn" she finished as she kept diverting her eyes.
"But I'm not one" I simply state.
It was true, I only have the appearance of one.
"Well, you don't have to prove it, just do a little magic and it'll be fine" she said as her shoulders sagged a bit. "Sorry"
"It's fine" I say as I give her a head pat and move towards the half empty bottle, leaving behind a flushed princess.
"I'm not a filly!" she complained after waking up as her front hooves flailed in the air.
I simply stay quiet as I stare at her pout.
No matter what she says, she's pretty adorable.
With a slam, the door opens as Celestia walks in, somehow looking like she aged 50 more years.
"Good afternoon Tia" Lu gave a greeting.
"Yes, good afternoon Luna" she gave her own greeting as she stared at me with a slightly uncomfortable look.
"Blaze, how okay are you right now?" She asked.
"I should be able to help with the golden dirt" I state as Lu just has a confused look.
"Golden dirt? Why have I not heard about this?" She asked after a few seconds.
"Ponyville" me and Celestia say at the same time.
"Oh" she had an understanding expression.
"Well, if you're confident, I want you and Luna to go and reverse the spells cast in Ponyville, I would've asked Cadence, but she's also busy putting out a evacuation plan in case of an attack"
"Sure, it'll also help with that alicorn thing anyway"
"Ah, yes, the alicorn thing, I apologize for that, and also for not holding a coronation before an incident like this" she finished with an apologetic tone as I simply shrugged.
"It's fine" I simply state as I take another gulp of bourbon.
Huh.
I'm really not feeling the effects.
Well that's a bit sad.
If I can't get drunk, what's the point of drinking.
"Alright, let's leave" I announce as I put down the empty bottle on the stand and move towards the window.
"Take a shower first" Celestia calmly says as she leaves the room.
"Is it that bad?" I ask Lu after Celestia left.
She took a step closer and took a sniff, then immediately back peddled.
"I'd say it's a maybe, but you should, just to be safe yeah?" She nervously says as I already start moving towards the bathroom.