The Ash

by Raging Mouse


Coronation Fireworks

Chapter 35:

Coronation Fireworks

A thousand hooves pounded the cobblestones of Canterlot City, their noise mixing with shouts of joy and celebration. Musical instruments added to the din: drums, horns and pipes of all kind were played with reckless abandon. The focus of the noise was the wagon containing the two princesses of Equestria. It was surrounded by a densely packed crowd of revelling ponies that grew quickly as it proceeded through the streets of Canterlot on its way to the main market square below the castle.

Diamond Dust’s guts twisted in fury. The ponies near the stage had long ago tired of saluting her and were milling about, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the incoming procession. Already the echoes coming from between the buildings were louder than what her cheers had been. Never mind that the two princesses had been defeated and that Celestia was in shackles, the ponies still celebrated them more than they did their queen.

“Bulwark?”

The rugged commander stepped forward.

“Yes, your majesty?”

“As soon as I’m crowned I want you to behead the princesses. Pick somepony you trust to assist you so you can execute them at the same time.”

“Your will be done, my queen.”

“That reminds me, send a soldier to fetch Firebrand from wherever that lout is hiding. He’s supposed to be the one that performs the revelation upon Celestia.”

“My soldiers are already looking for him, my queen. There’s been reports of fighting down by the camp and he was last spotted in the vicinity. Details are sketchy, but some claim the field hospital was assaulted.”

“Really? Some kind of rebel movement?”

“Probably, my queen. The rumours speak of the undead attacking, but I’ve not received any reports of casualties. We’ll be able to ask more once the prisoner and her escort arrives since they had to travel through the field hospital to reach us. It is my hope that Firebrand is with them.”

Bulwark left to carry out her orders. Moments later the first wagon of the procession rounded a corner and entered the main street of Canterlot, bringing it into view of the market square and the stage. Cheering erupted around the stage and the spectators were herded back so a clear path formed between it and the procession. Another wagon swung into view, containing Mi Amore Cadenza and, Diamond Dust noted with some amusement, her husband Shining Armor. By now he’d have realised that the former empress had never been an actual hostage, having been immediately converted during the assault upon the Crystal Empire. Diamond smirked as she imagined how poorly that discussion might have played out. Firebrand was standing next to them and the Ash Queen’s mood lifted further upon seeing him.

Then a third wagon swung into view, confusing Diamond Dust for a moment. It was the heavily reinforced strongbox on wheels that served as the windigo’s magical prison. She wondered for a moment why it was there until she realised that Twilight Sparkle would have to be killed anyway, so she might as well die together with her beloved princesses. She assumed Firebrand had anticipated this and felt slightly less angry towards the high priest. It would be extra sweet to execute Twilight in front of her friends, the other Element Bearers who were looking so proud as they served as their former princesses’ honour guards.

Diamond Dust smiled. Yes, something as horrifying as unknowingly escorting your friend to her public execution was certain to have been thought of by that old sadist Firebrand.

The carts finally approached the stage and were turned around so they could back up to one side of it and the passengers could simply walk from one to the other. The reinforced cart had been parked in the middle, most likely for symmetry. Firebrand walked up to Diamond Dust while the three princesses were herded to their places. The high priest was garbed in his full vestments, including a voluminous hooded robe that left his face in deep shadow, but his grin shone nevertheless.

“Hello, your majesty. Shall we proceed?”

The Ash Queen glanced at the three princesses. They were all looking back at her, faces portraying varying degrees of fear and apprehension. One thing was off, though.

“Firebrand? How come I can tell Celestia is of the ashen already?"

“A little surprise for you. She will perform the coronation speech.”

Diamond Dust looked into the dark shade of Firebrand’s hood. She could just about make out his eyes, and they seemed almost to glow with a golden sheen. She was impressed.

“I knew you could be persuasive, but you’ve outdone yourself this time.”

Firebrand chuckled merrily.

“Oh you haven’t seen anything yet, your majesty. So, shall we get the party started?”

“Go ahead!”

The elder unicorn turned around and nodded to an icy blue unicorn who was standing near the stage wearing an utterly stunned expression for some reason. The mare was clad in ash sisters’ robes and she started slightly when she noticed Firebrand was signalling her. Then she concentrated and a huge cascade of fireworks erupted from her horn. Firebrand reared up as they exploded overhead and shouted to the spectators.

“Citizens, be silent! The coronation of the Ash Queen shall commence!”

Celestia’s shackles were loosened and she stood, turning a complete revolution to look at the crowd surrounding the stage. Then she took a deep breath.

“My little ponies, we are gathered here today to reward and celebrate one mare’s ceaseless struggle for the good of all of ponykind. She’s sacrificed so much to be here now and her very life has been imperiled countless times, but she’s withstood every challenge issued to her and overcome all the obstacles in her path. To have accomplished so much and beat so slim odds with stakes this high is momentous.”

Celestia hung her head.

“Even I and my sister Luna opposed her. Even we moved against her. We regret it now and hope she’ll forgive us. We were wrong and we must accept that with humility. We are looking forward to seeing what she intends to do next.”

Diamond Dust was so touched by the speech that she almost considered letting the princesses live. Almost. She listened raptly as Celestia continued.

“It is therefore my greatest honour and highest joy to stand before you today, my little ponies, when she finally reaches her goal and everything she’s strived so hard for falls in her lap. It is therefore with all my love that I shall proclaim her Queen of the Ashen, Queen of Equestria, Empress of the Crystalline and, above all, Sovereign of Harmony. If anypony has ever deserved this it is her.”

Diamond Dust saw one of the Element Bearers, a pearl white unicorn that the queen recalled was named Rarity, light her horn and step forward with a velvet-draped pillow hovering behind her. On the pillow rested a gold tiara adorned with sapphires and crowned with a huge emerald cut into the shape of the Star of Harmony. This was more than impressive, Diamond Dust was amazed that Firebrand had managed to produce such a fantastic piece of jewelry. She actually found herself so moved that there was a lump in her throat. The ceremony was shaping up to be unforgettable.

Celestia lifted the tiara with her magic and held it in front of her while looking straight into the Ash Queen’s eyes. Diamond Dust sensed this was her cue so she walked up to stand in front of the princess, marvelling at how calm and collected Celestia seemed. That created a sting of jealousy: the Day Princess was far too graceful to let live.

“Therefore, ladies and gentlecolts, it falls upon me on this day and on this hour, and with you as Harmony’s witnesses, to bestow this tiara and the title of Her Imperial Majesty the Queen upon...”

There was a flash of magic above Diamond Dust and four metal-clad hooves slammed into her back and wings with a nasty crunch, flattening her against the stage and knocking all the air out of her. Dimly she heard Celestia talking on without even losing her rhythm.

“...Twilight Sparkle, also known as Honoured Prophet Fulcrum. Long live Queen Fulcrum!”

The crowd of spectators erupted into paroxysms of jubilation, the noise from their thundering hooves deafening in intensity. It was enough to bring Diamond Dust back from the brink of unconsciousness and she gazed blearily through the pain up at the purple armor-clad unicorn in front of her. Twilight Sparkle was wearing the tiara – her Element, Diamond Dust realised – and was looking back down at her with insufferable smugness. The shock and sudden rage made her shiver, and she issued forth an inarticulate scream while she tried to rise... only to find she was stuck to the stage.

Her shivers were increasing in intensity as she looked back at herself and found out the problem: ice was growing around her, and it had already encased her legs. She wrenched her head forward and found Twilight – Queen Fulcrum – speaking to her with eyes blazing.

“You should’ve heeded the old legends, Diamond Dust. This is what happens to ponies incapable of showing love and friendship when windigoes are near.”

“No no no no you shall not take this from me!!!”

The Ash Queen’s savage yell echoed as her body transformed into a cloud of ash and swirled up into the air before drawing back together and reforming, free of the ice and complete with wings adorned by ashen feathers. She flapped powerfully to gain height while snarling down at the ponies on the stage. There was an explosion of purple smoke and blue ice where Queen Fulcrum had stood, then the windigo appeared rocketing after Diamond Dust. The windigo’s magical propulsion offered much higher top speeds than the ashen alicorn’s (admittedly magically assisted) wings, and Diamond Dust dodged and screeched at Twilight as she thundered past.

Then Twilight turned sharply and zoomed back for another charge, aiming for Diamond Dust’s head. The Ash Queen forgot her rage for a moment and gulped before letting herself fall out of the way. Intense cold burned the ashen alicorn as she was enveloped in a cloud of ice crystals. Then she realised she could no longer feel her wings.

One shocked look back at her scrawny, skeletal wings encased in ice mixed with ash was all Diamond Dust had time with before she fell down and smacked into the cobblestones of Canterlot City’s central market, the ponies below barely managing to leap out of her way in time. Immediate unconsciousness was cruelly denied her and instead she felt how her body broke from the impact and her frozen wings shattered. The pain made her choke, and she threw her head back in a desperate attempt to control her lungs and inhale. The ice grew around her once more, numbing her body. She shut her eyes tightly and a detached, analytical part of her tried to reach out to Harmony but failed. Harmony had shut her out. Instead, her alicorn aspect answered.

Her link to the ash opened and she poured all of her anger, pain and, desperation into it, screaming through her mind until every piece of alien matter rang with harmonics of her voice.

And then the very nearly critical alien matter – all of it – stirred.

Diamond Dust managed to freeze solid with an insane grin plastered on her broken face.

Twilight looked down at the Ash Queen’s unmoving form and frowned. She had felt an immense shift in magic right after Diamond Dust had fallen. Then she gasped as the body trapped in ice started glowing in the characteristic hue of the alien matter. She looked up and saw how the clouds around Canterlot were glowing, and the ashen soldiers still wearing their armor were shouting with alarm and struggling with the buckles.

“Oh no...”

She flew down to the stage, where everypony, but especially Firebrand – Libram – looked up at her.

“It’s do or die, Twilight.”

She nodded while she chewed her lip. Then she shouted above the rising panic of the crowd.

“We need to use the Elements right now! Girls, gather up!”

The Element Bearers gathered around their new Queen but looked a bit dubious.

“Twi, last time we did this it kinda went poorly for you. You sure about this?”

Twilight smiled reassuringly at Applejack before closing her eyes.

“It’s different now. Last time I was just a rebelling lieutenant who knew too much to Harmony. Now I am Queen and I’m supposed to know about these things. In fact, I can sense Harmony now...”

And Twilight did. It stretched out before her mind’s eye as complex patterns of energy, at the same time delicate like gossamer and containing more power than any lightning bolt. It sprawled over the entire world, penetrated every mind that was part of it and bent everything within its domains to its will. But it was weakening. Clashing directives made its gears grind against each other. Its source of energy – the ponies – was severely depleted. And now an external threat was dawning that could shatter it for good.

Twilight saw all this and yearned to explore and study it for ever, but she didn’t have the time right then. Instead she focused on the Elements, magical tools that controlled and restored Harmony’s enchantments, and particularly on her own Element – the engine. Before, its workings had been as obscure as the night sky to her, but now they were laid bare. She saw what had to be done.

She opened her heart and her mind to her friends, a lump coming to her throat as her windigo senses let her feel her love for them be reciprocated, returned to her five-fold. A hexagram of friendship created a magic diagram in the Harmony... and into it she poured the invocation to call the renewing fire of the phoenix. She felt herself lift into the air as the massive spell took hold, the feeling of the elemental magic surging through her new and exhilarating.

She opened her eyes and saw how gigantic wings of fire were building around her and her friends, stretching ever farther. She lowered her gaze and saw the princesses, Celestia, Luna and Cadence, look up at her with awe and joy... and behind them stood Welder, who had been hidden in the armored wagon, and whose eyes were bulging with terror.

Twilight looked into Welder’s wide-open eyes and saw in their mirroring surfaces her incandescent wings explode.

Welder, sustained by enchantment and body made from unnatural materials, raised his arms in front of his face and screamed as the purging flames of the phoenix enveloped him.

Welder burned.



 ~~~~~



The phoenix fire raced across Equestria and beyond, carried by the energy paths of Harmony. Divine flame born from a spirit of nature whose aspect was both creation and destruction, it embodied rebirth through self-annihilation. That which was natural was purified and strengthened, taints of corruption burnt away. That which was unnatural was anathema to the fire, and thus it lashed angrily but ultimately futilely at the magical shields of the undead ghost it sensed within the body of an old pony.

The next creature it encountered was even less natural. A strange construct that shouldn’t live, guided by an even stranger spirit. It was also defenseless against the flames of the phoenix. There was a third abomination as well, a creature that had melded with matter and natural laws that were alien to this world. It was surrounded by solid ice but such paltry barriers were of no concern to the flames of the phoenix.

The fire ate with satisfaction, consuming flesh and spirit so that new and proper life could grow.



~~~~~



When the fire left Twilight’s stunned mind she found herself lying next to the stage, surrounded by ponies in a similar state of returning consciousness. She breathed in, hesitated, and breathed until her lungs threatened to burst, holding in air that was so fresh it intoxicated her. Her lungs absorbed that sweet power and converted it to silver that leaped into her veins and coursed into her limbs, filling her with energy and making her want to run just for the sake of running. She gathered her legs under her and stood, looking with wonder at everypony around her. They seemed, somehow, more right than ever before. Healthier, certainly. Manes had grown and coats were lustrous and shaggy.

Then she looked past the ponies. Where there had been a ruin next to the market square, of a house that had suffered a direct hit by a catapult boulder of alien matter, there was now a tangled forest of bushes and young trees that were growing unseasonal leaves in the middle of the winter. The warmth she felt on her coat made itself known, and she looked up. The ashen clouds were gone, and Celestia’s sun shone in a perfect blue sky.

She felt the joy and relief of success a fraction of a second before she remembered Welder. A burst of magic and purple smoke later she was standing on the stage and looking down at the charred remains of what had been a living, thinking being. The blackened form in front of her simply did not want to register its significance in her mind. She sat down and tried to sort out her feelings. On one hoof, she had saved Equestria. She was queen.

On the other hoof... this wasn’t supposed to happen.

She sat and stared at the pile of ashes as the ponies around the market square slowly returned to their interrupted cheering and laughing. She was still staring when she heard Applejack joyfully exclaim that her ashen magic was gone, replaced by normal earthen powers. She was still staring when Celestia draped a wing over her for comfort, but by then there were tears rolling down her cheeks as well.

“You did the best you could, Twilight. You did more than anypony could ask of you.”

Twilight still stared ahead and down, but found her voice somewhere far away.

“He didn’t want to burn again. I promised that I wasn’t going to make him burn.”

She felt sympathetic hooves touch her as her shudders intensified.

Then there was a weak sneeze, and the ash that had formed Welder’s torso whirled into the air. Twilight froze and stared at the black pile. Then she slowly moved forward, reaching her forelegs into the ash until she touched something solid.

Everypony stared down at the wriggling thing she pulled out of the ashes and cradled in her forelegs. Tiny, stubby fingers dug into her coat and gripped tight. Green-blue eyes looked into hers with the sort of serious wonder that make the very young seem so very ancient. The soot-covered alien infant sneezed again and smacked his lips, meeting Twilight’s utterly stunned gaze without blinking.

Fluttershy cooed.

“He’s... so... cute!”