The Ruby of Balance
by Gabriele Hall “OtterFeelings”
Chapter 1
As I sit here at my desk, I contemplate the outcome of that faithful day many many years ago. I wonder if she succeeded, or if everything that I live in, everything that I see around me that is good, is really just an illusion to mask her failure. I am not sure whether or not she succeeded, but either way, I think it is impossible to tell which it was.
The Ruby of Balance was the most powerful stone in Equestria. It was the balancer of good and protector from evil. Keeping bad from corrupting the good and darkness from spoiling the light, the ruby was balance. It was nothing more than a beautifully formed gem, created out of the molten rock from the volcano at the end of the Everfree forest. It was said to be so remote, so dangerous and mysterious, that not even the bravest of dragons dared set foot within miles of it.
Ten thousand years ago, an evil alicorn named Shade Heart stole the Ruby from its place at the center of Canterlot. He tried to destroy it in the volcano to give power to the darkness, to let evil be allowed to infiltrate the purity of ponies of every stature. He assumed throwing it into the volcano would destroy it. But he was mistaken, as the ruby is incapable of destruction. It simply remained dormant at the heart of the volcano. It was not destroyed, so goodness could still prosper and be the shining light. However, due to it no longer being in Canterlot in the sacred statue, evil could corrupt the ponies of Equestria. It has remained in the heart of the volcano for millennia, allowing evil to grow in power. And although Shade Heart failed to ever gain power from this grievous act, his actions millennia ago continues to cast a shadow over Equestria.
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But there was hope for the return of the Ruby back to Canterlot. It was said that only the purest of heart, the strongest of the strong, the bravest of the brave, and the kindest of the kind, could retrieve the Ruby from it residence in the molten core of the volcano. The shadow that was cast over Equestria might finally be able to be cast out.
And it was with this knowledge, limited as it was that I, a young earth pony who was bored with life as an apprentice to a printer, set out to retrieve the Ruby. Only I never did retrieve the Ruby, as before I was about to make my decent into the volcano, something stopped me from even attempting to do so.
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The volcano was in a fit. Molten rocks, red hot with energy, flew sporadically over the edge of the rim. The edges of the volcano were lined with jagged outcroppings of rocks that seemed to form barrier. It was as if they were attempting to say,” don’t even think of trying what you’re thinking about doing.” The sky was extremely dark and rough from the constant puffs of steam and soot being blasted skywards by the angry volcano. The depths of hell were probably calmer than the seen on top of the volcano at the end of the Everfree forest.
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I stumbled and clinged on for dear life multiple times while trekking up the volcano. It was harder than I expected when I first set out to journey to the volcano. In hindsight, I should have expected about as much, it was a volcano rumored to be cursed by the most powerful alicorn to ever live. Not to mention breathing in such air was like trying to breathe up a burning smokestack. I spent many hours, so many that I lost track of time, desperately trying to reach the summit. Desperately trying to pear into what only one other pony in history had ever seen. The heart, the core, of the volcano where the Ruby of Balance had been stored away in for ten thousand years.
Despite many times feeling like it was an impossible task; I managed to reach the summit. The joy I experienced, or rather, pure relief that I had done what no pony would even consider possible, was incredible. It was an emotion I had never had before, and one I know I shall never have again in my lifetime.
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But this memory does not require me to explain the trials and tribulations after this point. It is unnecessary in the most basic sense of the word because my story would be one of inaction on my part, and heroics on another’s. What is important are the events that I saw after I reached the summit. What I care for you to know is not what happened over the next decades after that night on the volcano, but instead the most tense filled, longest moments of my life that happened in the span of a few short minutes. A few short minutes that affected all of Equestria for the rest of history.
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I looked out across the jagged ring of rock that acted as a wall around the base of the inside of the volcano. I thought to myself what a magnificent, yet at the same time, horrifying, sight that was the inside of the volcano. It was beautiful in the strangest of ways; the dark red hue of the lava had a glowing radiance that was breathtaking. But something else besides this marvelous wonder of nature caught my attention. It was a flash of purple on the opposing side of the interior.
I looked in awe as not one, not two, but six ponies rose one by one over the horizon that was the rim of the volcano. At first my reaction was one of shock. Why, if for ten thousand years, no pony had ever set foot within a hundred miles of the god-forsaken place, all of a sudden six of them appear? I wasn’t furious, I was so in shock that I had no true reaction to seeing a pink pony bouncing over the edge.
After observing them from behind a small rock wedged at the crack of a crevice, I noticed that two of them were pegasi, two were unicorns, and the other two were normal earth ponies. What an odd grouping of ponies, I pondered. I watched intently as the purple unicorn led the way down to the very tip of the rim in the interior. She gazed intently into the flaming liquid rock, and shook her head. I noticed one other in particular, a light bluish one with a mane that had all the colors of a rainbow.
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I had much time to think on my journey to the volcano at the edge of the Everfree forest. My thoughts traveled from everything to whether or not I was really the pony who could rescue the Ruby of Balance, and forever banish the corruptible darkness and evil in Equestria, to whether or not there really is a blue fruit. I came to realize very late into my trek, that something about what I was trying to do was wrong. That maybe I shouldn’t be doing this. That maybe I was not the pony that was the bravest of the brave and the kindest of the kind.
These thoughts tormented me constantly. And if it were not for the slim hope I had that maybe I really was the pony of the prophecy, I would have turned back and headed back to Appleloosa. But upon seeing these six ponies, something about them told me that it was one of them, not I, who was the pony of the prophecy.
I didn’t know it at the time, but one of these ponies would attempt to rescue the Ruby of Balance. Actually, I did know that one of them would try; I just had a hard time accepting that it wasn’t me who was the pony of the prophecy. That my place was to watch, to bear witness to whatever might occur on that volcano on that day so many years ago.
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From behind my hiding rock, I watched with great intensity the actions of all six of the ponies. One by one they would look over at the boiling lava then quickly turn away in fear. A yellow Pegasus with beautiful pink hair was so scared in fact that every time the volcano let out even a bubble she would jump behind one of the large rocks, whimpering in fear. I knew that the time was approaching. The time when one of them would take the dive straight towards the center of the volcano, and either retrieve the Ruby or be burned alive before they even made contact with the liquid rock.
The prophecy says that all who try to retrieve the Ruby from the volcano and are not the purest of heart, the strongest of the strong, the bravest of the brave, and the kindest of the kind, will be destroyed. But the pony that is all of these things will retrieve the Ruby, and will be spared from the lava within. And if the Ruby is not retrieved by the end of the ten thousandth year, then great changes will happen in Equestria. But if it is recovered, then it shall make its way back to Canterlot, and darkness and evil will never exist in Equestria again.
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I looked on with great anticipation as a pony was selected by the group as the one to try to retrieve the Ruby of Balance. Although saying she was chosen is debatable. It seemed like this one, the light blue pegasus from earlier, had needed no insistence to try. She had the confidence in herself and in her friends, to try to rescue the Ruby. I thought about doing a silent prayer. But at this point any attempt to help her was futile. If she was truly the pony of the prophecy, then she did not need any help, her destiny was set. But if she wasn’t, well, it would have been too late to stop her from trying.
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I have often heard that on a somber day, when everything hangs in the balance, crows and other birds will appear and sounds will be amplified. As well, all things will stand quiet as the moment of truth unfolds. Well on this occasion the birds were not there, due to the soot laden atmosphere. As the pegasus prepared herself to plunge into the liquid rock, everything was quite, a deathly silence fell over the volcano. Flugel horns could have been playing behind me, but they would have fallen on my deaf ears. Every fiber of my being was on seeing if this light blue Pegasus was really the pony of the prophecy. A pony one who would live in the history books as the pony that vanquished the evil from Equestria forever.
And so, after saying what could be the final goodbye to her friends, the pegasus dove. Face first straight towards the blazing inferno that was the heart of the volcano she plunged. And as I prepared to take my last glimpse of her right as she was about to hit the certain death that was the lava, a rainbow burst out from behind her like nothing I had ever seen before. The loudest boom that I have ever known blasted air and soot in every direction for miles around the volcano and surrounding area following the colour blast. I had to blink to force the crud out of my eyes. But before I could reopen them again, I blacked out.
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