//------------------------------// // Irvest Saga part five // Story: Ruining Harmony // by Artaelian //------------------------------// Twilight and her friends found Sunshine Blaze waiting on the steps to their house at eight in the morning the next day. He greeted them and informed the six that they had a long walk ahead of them all to see what he had to show. They decided to bring some food for the trip. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy hastily gathered what mostly consisted of daisy sandwiches and cupcakes. With the food gathered into two saddlebags, the seven ponies begun their walk to the north, further inland. Sunshine Blaze hadn’t been wrong when he said it would be a long walk. At midday, the seven ponies stopped and sat on the grass lining the dirt path out of Port Equis, itself a white beacon just visible on the horizon. Rainbow Dash currently looked towards the city, chewing slowly on a cupcake. She swallowed the bite and looked at Twilight. “So, besides finding that machines can be worked with magic, what else have you been doing?” Sunshine Blaze asked Twilight. “Well, I figured that there must be a way to travel in time, like how Ulysses begun all this.” Twilight replied. The wind blew gently past the ponies, as Sunshine Blaze stared at Twilight with mild anger at what she had just said. “And how did that go?” he questioned. “Very well, look on the hill behind me.” she tilted her head to behind her, and Sunshine Blaze looked in the direction, seeing another Twilight smiling on the hill behind the one sitting down. That distant Twilight only stayed there for a few seconds and then disappeared. “Provided you keep things simple, and link the points, time travel is easy. A lot of magic is drained, but easy.” Twilight stated. “Ok, I get the feeling you’re about to say something else here that’ll probably annoy me.” Sunshine Blaze stated, waiting for Twilight to say something else. “Well, right now, the other me just went back to when I finally tested the spell, about four weeks ago. After a bit of rest, I attempted to go back and prevent Ulysses taking control of Equestria. I was met with a problem.” Twilight grinned nervously. The other ponies were now turning their heads as if watching a game of tennis. Rainbow Dash swore that for just a second, she saw Sunshine Blaze’s left eye twitch a little. “And that problem was?” he snapped a little when Twilight offered nothing else. “A time lock. I should have figured Ulysses would do such a thing, being able to use time travel. Basically, he’s locked the events that made us come here with you. We can’t ever go to that point and attempt to change it.” she replied. “Well, I was expecting something a bit worse if I’m utterly honest. Ulysses is smart, he wouldn’t leave such a gaping hole in his plans.” Sunshine Blaze said, now seeming a lot calmer than he had just a few second before. Silence once more fell on the seven, as they continued to eat. -- Rainbow Dash could swear it had been another hour of walking. Out in the wide open of the countryside, she had decided it would be better to fly than walk, after all, she had wings, why not use them? It also seemed that Sunshine Blaze had similar thoughts, as he took to the sky. He flew beside Rainbow Dash, and quitely motioned for her to fly higher. A little confused, she followed him up. “Have you noticed anything different about your friends lately?” he asked. “What do you mean? They’re all the same, Twilight’s still an egghead, AJ works her own farm, Rarity still makes clothes, Fluttershy looks after animals and Pinkie is, well, still Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash answered. “Aren’t any of you homesick? Irvest isn’t your home.” Sunshine Blaze said. Rainbow Dash had a moment to consider this as she flew out of the way of a lone tree. In it, birds chirrped and sung, reminding her of the days back in Equestria, when she would fly onto one of Applejack’s trees for a nap. “Honestly,” she said as she flew beside Sunshine Blaze again, “it does seem these days that they’re less bothered by the fact we’re in another country, even believe that their families are dead and nothing is left for them back there. I don’t get why I’m the only one who still seems to want to go back and save Equestria,” she replied. “It’s natural, since you still have that Element of Harmony. Ulysses has corrupted the bond between your friends and their elements, but since you got away with yours, the bond between you and it has had time to repair.” Sunshine Blaze smiled. Rainbow Dash waited for a moment, to see if Sunshine Blaze was going to say anything else. But after a few moments, it became clear he wasn’t, and she cleared her throat. “Where are you taking us anyway?” she asked. “It’s right over there.” Sunshine Blaze answered, flying back down to the path. Rainbow Dash looked ahead, and saw that the rubble and ruins of a long abandoned town stood before them. Nature had clearly plenty of time to begin taking the town back over, as vines climbed up broken walls and buildings, and trees grew haphazardly, wherever the seeds had fallen and taken root. She landed beside Fluttershy, as Sunshine Blaze led them through the abandoned town. The cobble paths had been either disturbed by tree roots, or the ground beneath had shifted slightly, as not a single bit of the path was perfect anymore, and even the cobblestones themselves had been broken apart. Holding back their questions, the six friends were led to an unusual sight. Perfectly in the middle of the town stood a metal device, with two iron handles. Compared to the town around it, this device was perfect, clean. They stood back and watched as Sunshine Blaze walked up to it. He said nothing as he stood under the metal device, and it creaked into life, lowering down and grabbing his front legs with the two iron handles, and strapped him down with iron locks. The device whirred noisily now, raising him up. Another arm appeared from a new part of the device that had raised from the ground, and connected to the goggles on Sunshine Blaze’s head. This arm then lowered with the goggles, and went over Sunshine Blaze’s eyes. It stopped, and a buzzing could be heard, making the six friends very nervous. A second later, the town became enveloped in a blue light, making them huddle close together in fear. As they watched, the blue light changed how the town appeared. It no longer looked abandoned, but perfect and fine. The buildings stood tall, the vines and trees gone, except where the trees had been purposely planted. The windows of the buildings were there as well, and buildings that had once been shops now had their signs over them again. The friends all stared in wonder at the sight before them. Around them, in the same blue glow, ponies now walked the town, one even walking through Pinkie Pie. The town was alive! Pegasus ponies flew through the air, some even moving clouds. Earth ponies moves wooden carts filled with crops, and unicorns walked around, carrying objects of various sizes, one in particular moved a wooden box marked with the words ‘One Ton’. Their jaws dropped, amazed at what they were seeing, the town having changed before their eyes in seconds. As the friends stared in awe at the sight of the abandoned town, reoccupied by the glowing blue ponies, Rainbow Dash saw two that were very familiar, and quietly pointed at them. As they watched, the six friends saw a very young Sunshine Blaze, minus his goggles. He looked barely about five years old, and beside him walked a tall, proud, and strangely kinder looking Ulysses. his cutie mark was a broken hourglass. “That explains why he was so good with time travel and using it to cause all these problems. It’s his special talent,” Twilight said. As they continued to observe, the younger Sunshine Blaze suddenly stopped, being noticed by Ulysses. Sunshine Blaze spoke words they couldn’t hear, and begun to cry. Ulysses grinned, a genuine, warm and friendly grin, and his horn glowed. He disappeared, then reappeared, a small saddlebag in his teeth, which he then placed on Sunshine Blaze’s back. Sunshine Blaze smiled. “I love you big brother!” came the haunting words of the younger Sunshine Blaze. Suddenly, the scene changed. The town was no longer perfect, and fires ravaged the buildings. Ponies ran about, their mouths open in screams. As they looked on, the six friends recoiled in horror as a pegasus with a dark blue mane and white coat, and a pair of familiar looking goggles, attempted to fly away, only to be met by a fireball, and fall to the ground, burning from head to tail, her mane smoking, and skin turning red raw from the burns from the fire that was consuming them. The sight, so close to the six friends, was too much for Rarity and Fluttershy. Rarity closed her eyes, while Fluttershy could not hold down the food she had eaten earlier. Rainbow Dash stood back a little from the ghostly blue image of the burning pegasus, and watched as she threw the goggles aside. “Brother!” came the younger Sunshine Blaze’s shout over the cries of the dying and roar of flames. Standing in the middle of the town was Ulysses, with his familiar, hate filled glare. Running through them, the younger Sunshine Blaze confronted Ulysses. “Why? Why are you doing this?” Sunshine Blaze cried. “You will never understand.” Ulysses replied, lifting the five year old Sunshine Blaze in front of him. Rainbow Dash noticed that Sunshine Blaze’s cutie mark was different than what she remembered. In the image, it looked like a little yellow sun, with thin straight rays radiating to the bottom half only. As she watched on, a red glow wrapped around the whole colt, and the red flames she recognized appeared above and slightly over his cutie mark. The ghostly blue Ulysses dropped the young Sunshine Blaze to the floor, and stared down at his unconscious brother. “Be glad of this gift brat. If you are foolish enough to try and stop me in the future, I will burn you. And it will be a slow, painful death over many meetings if that is the path you choose.” With that, the ghostly figure of Ulysses disappeared, and the scene changed once more. It was now much later, as the buildings around still smoldered from the fires. Slowly, the younger Sunshine Blaze got up. He begun to burst into tears of sorrow and confusion at the sight of the town in ruins, before his eyes landed on the pegasus that was still alive, if only just. He ran over and after quickly getting over a recoil of horror, nuzzled the pegasus. “Son,” the mare rasped, fighting for every breath, “I am glad you are alive. I am sorry you must see me like this.” “Mother... why did he do this?” Sunshine Blaze wailed, his eyes shut tight. “I don’t know. Now, please, don’t cry. Be strong for me Blaze. Don’t ever forget.” she said, losing her fight to stay alive at last. As they watched, the younger Sunshine Blaze slowly stood up and walked over to the goggles. He watched them for a moment, slowly turning his head to face the sky. Slowly, the younger form of Sunshine Blaze stood up, and looked around him. The mares watching could only imagine how horrible it would have been on the day it had been reality, and what toll it took on his mind. “Anypony? Mom? Dad?” the young Sunshine Blaze called out, only to be answered by the wind, and the distant sound of something breaking. The young Sunshine Blaze begun to cry, slowly walking with a clear limp. He came to a stop a few steps along, having seen something. Despite his limp, he ran to a form that lay before the mares. “Mom! Mom, wake up,” he nudged what they could now see was the body of a pegasus, the one that Ulysses had set alight, “please mom, we... we have to find big brother. He can fix this, I know he can.” Sunshine Blaze said, still crying from the pain of his injured leg. After ten seconds, he sat down, still looking at the unmoving form of his mother. By now, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie had begun crying, while Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight knew there was nothing they could do to help this Sunshine Blaze, as it was just a recording. “I... I understand mom,” he said, “you said today was going to be tiring and you needed to sleep in for a big job interview. I... I’m going to borrow the goggles okay? I’ll find big brother, we can fix this, and you can just sleep, so you’re ready for the job interview later.” The six mares watched as the young Sunshine Blaze kissed his mother’s cheek, then limped to the nearby goggles, which were clearly the ones that he still wore to this day. “Good luck today mom, me and big brother will be home in time for dinner!” With that, the ghostly blue light vanished, and Sunshine Blaze was lowered by the device to the ground. The six friends looked at him, as he remained with his back facing them, and one simple sound filled the air. Sunshine Blaze was crying, not hard, but enough that he made a noise. The six mares stood around, unsure of what to do. Sunshine Blaze had shown them his own tragic past, a past which clearly still hurt him, and all so they could witness how powerful Ulysses was up close. “So what do we do now?” Rarity asked. “Can we even do anything? This happened long ago, Rares, Ah don’t think there is anything ta be done.” Applejack answered, joining Rainbow Dash in comforting Fluttershy, who seemed the most traumatized by the events they had just witnessed. “Poor Sunshine Blaze,” Twilight muttered, looking at him, “he must have known how painful it would be for him to watch all this again, and he still did it anyway. Once was more than enough for him to witness such a traumatic event.” “Traumatic? Nah,” Captain suddenly turned from around a corner, “but here ain’t the place to talk. You six best come with me.” -- Captain had been smart enough to hire a road machine to take the six friends faster back to Port Equis than if they had walked. They had stopped outside a small hut at the harbour. Inside, the floor, and all the furniture was made from very old wood, and a simple lantern lit the room from the table. Through the wooden shutters, the sound of the water lapping the harbour was very relaxing. Captain’s blue glowing eye had dimmed, but it moved with his other eye, as he observed the six friends. “Now then,” he said, his voice soft and less grating than normal, “don’t be getting the wrong idea about Blaze. The events that day, on his fifth birthday, they still hurt him. But truth is, he no longer cries because it is traumatic. When I first came across him, he watched these events over and over, only stopping to look for food.” “Really? Then, how is he still sane?” Twilight asked. “Because he kept watching. Me and the crew were spooked by the ghostly images as well when we found him. At first, I wondered the same, how he was still sane. But as he watched, as I learnt, the final words of his mother helped him. He kept watching fer one reason. To be strong. Any old foal can cry and wallow in self pity reliving a traumatic event, but it takes a pony, strong of heart to watch and be strong.” Captain stood up and walked over to a counter, picking up a bottle with his mouth, and tilted it and his head into the air. When it came back down, he growled slightly. “Bugger, rum’s all gone. Anyway,” he returned to the table and sat down once more, “the more he watched it, the more Blaze changed. He didn’t cry and wallow in self pity, he cries because he’s frustrated he can’t find his ma, and no one is able to convince him that she’s dead. She told him ta be strong, and the way he sees it, stopping his brother will be the achievement, when he has finally become stronger than his brother, and make him pay.” “But,” Twilight paused a moment, “what does this have to do with us?” she asked. “What does it hafta do with you?” Captain laughed. “Yes. I don’t get what purpose we have in all of this.” Twilight stated. “You fillies are his best chance in years. Oh sure, Blaze knows alone he can't stand a chance. But there’s strength in numbers, see. He’s often had others help him, but you six,” Captain’s blue metal eye brightened, and shone on each pony in turn, “have the chance to achieve what the rest couldn’t. He needs you six, to help him.” “Others?” Rainbow Dash questioned. “Yes, others. Ulysses dealt with them, unfortunately. I usually found him and what was left, and took him away. How he still is alive, with the amount of times he’s confronted Ulysses, I don’t know.” Captain answered, the blue glow of his eye remaining on Rainbow Dash, illuminating her worried face. “So all the help he’s had before, they were murdered?” Applejack asked. “Now, don’t get bogged down on it. Go on, go back home. Blaze’ll come find you when he’s ready.” -- Twilight couldn’t sleep, her worried pacing in her room unlike the peaceful snores and neighs of her friends in the other rooms. Even Spike, who sat in his bed across the room, couldn’t sleep. Twilight stopped her pacing, passing some paper, a quill and bottle of ink over to Spike. “I need you to take a letter Spike, but keep hold of it.” she said. “But, what’s it for?” Spike questioned. “I’ll tell you later, just take down what I say for now,” Twilight replied and cleared her throat, “Dear Princess Celestia.”