//------------------------------//
// Missing Pieces 
// Story: Fallen Sun 
// by shademaster24601 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 3: Missing Pieces




Twilight couldn't quite comprehend what she had just seen. In a nutshell, an alicorn just fell out of the sky in a ball of fire with a warning to princess Celestia, but it was more than that. There was something about him, just looking at him made Twilight uneasy. In his eyes, was the most prolific source of anger she had ever seen. She could tell that this Uriah was...broken, to say the least, and dangerous. After Spike's question, her instincts kicked in and the young princess made a b-line back to Ponyville, her library and, most importantly, the elements of harmony. Her friends were still a bit stunned by what they just saw and were even more surprised to see their friend making a mad dash for town.

Following the lavender alicorn back into town, passing curious ponies that were awoken by the crash in the night, the group was feeling more worried by the second. They soon reached the library and Twilight burst through the doors, panting heavily. She hurried herself to the basement, ignoring the questions of her friends. Luna took a more commanding stance above the growing panic of the others. "Everypony calm down!" She made sure to use her Canterlot voice to make sure they all came to attention, switching to normal once she had it. "I know what happened was surprising, but we can't let it get the better of us. We need to keep our wits about us and be ready if or when this Uriah character starts any kind of conflict. Twilight returned to the lobby carrying a tarp covered case, catching most of Luna's call to attention. The night princess turned her attention to her younger counterpart. "Now, Twilight, I assume you have a plan."

Twilight nodded. She placed the case on the table and pulled off the tarp, revealing the elements of harmony, sans her own, which she was already wearing. "I think we're going to need these. From what we've seen with him redirecting the comet and surviving that fall, it's obvious that Uriah is incredibly powerful."

Rarity butted in. "And an alicorn. I didn't think there were others beside you two, Celestia, and Cadance."

Luna answered with a concerned look. "It's true...there aren't many of us, and we are aware of each other. That's why the presence of Uriah is troubling, I have no idea who he is."

Twilight opened the case and began passing out the elements to their respective owners. "Maybe princess Celestia knows more about him."

The night princess seemed almost defensive. "Then she would have told me. Something as important as another alicorn would have been top priority. She told me about Cadance and the plan for you immediately."

Twilight turned to Spike and the little dragon just saluted and went to get a quill and paper. He knew when she was ready to send a letter. "Even so, I need to keep her in the loop and it can't hurt to check with her." She turned to her friends. "In the meantime, girls, I'd like you to start checking the books. See if you can find anything about Uriah and, until this resolves, keep your element with you at all times." They all nodded to the affirmative and set to work.



They saw him vanish in a funnel of red flame. The ten had run off, most likely to deliver his message. Thankfully they didn't notice that Uriah hadn't left. He had fully intended to be miles away after that, but he had forgotten about the damaged link. A quick-escape teleportation spell is more suited for the mind. Thinking quickly only got Uriah about ten feet behind the group. The moment he realized it, he flew for cover as fast as he could, hiding before they ever noticed. He watched them leave, then tried to escape once they were out of sight. 

As the alicorn ran, he was suddenly stricken with a great pain. "Gahkkk!..." He lurched forward and tripped. Uriah began to wheeze and cough, gasping for breath. He hadn't counted on it, but that five hundred years had left him accustomed to a zero atmosphere environment. Not to mention the change in gravity seemed to be making him more sluggish. "Curse...crkkkh!...that rock!" He managed to growl between choking fits. "Hrrrrk...Reduced to particles...and it still haunts me." His breathing started to regulate and the recently escaped alicorn resigned to lay on the ground for a moment."Hmm..."

Uriah rolled over on his stomach and spread himself out a bit. The feel of the grass, the smell of the dirt, and the gentle breeze of the night air were all sensations that he had been robbed of. His eyes widened a little, then half closed, his frown remaining a constant. He hugged the earth beneath him, dirtying his cheek as he nuzzled the ground.He looked up and saw a pond. The crystal clear water sparkled so brilliantly in the moon light. Uriah raised himself up and hobbled over to the water's edge, kneeling once he got there. Glaring back at him was the reflection of a ghoul who had to sustain himself on hatred alone. His eyes shut, Uriah thrust his head deep into the water, drinking deep and trying to remember the hero that once stood in place of the beast. He emerged, taking in a deep breath, then gazing back down into that same wicked face. Standing up once more and stretching out his muscles, he looked around at the scenery around him. This was his planet, his home. He was finally back home. His eyes shot open again. "And may the maker have mercy on any who would dare try to take it from me again!" Uriah stood proud in his grim resolve. Now came the planning. "First step..."

He got into a dead run. Uriah's eyes burned with a fierce determination. "I have to restore the mental link. Think, think, what do I know? I know...energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only be changed from one form to another. So she couldn't have just cut the link, she would have had to remove it and change it, but into what?" He thought for a moment of his studies of magic and it's uses. He remembered stories of great unicorn sorcerers, who would preserve their power through the bloodline. They would do this by waiting till their time of dying was near, then channel all of their power into some sort of charm or heirloom. Somewhere, out there in the world, was an artifact containing his mental link to his magic. Finding it would be easy, he just had to raise his heart rate enough to track it. Uriah had spent centuries practicing how to channel his rage. It all came down to one name. "Celestia..." He growled and his eyes flashed a glowing red. In that brief flash of rage induced magic, he turned his gaze west. "There!"

Uriah charged in the direction his magic was leading him at speed far beyond any mortal pony. Through high grass and leaping over large rocks, nothing was going to stand in the alicorn's way. He spread out his wings and came to a grinding halt at an old dirt road. Parked across from him was a large wagon that, to the raging alicorn's surprise, seemed to be a small house on wheels. There was a sign just above the door, purple, with the image of a light blue wand and moon shaped magic trail. Uriah, still fuming over the fit he had to work himself into to get the tracking spell to work, marched up to the door below the sign. He tried to open it, but to his frustration, it was locked, so he pounded on the door. An annoyed voice came from behind it. "I'm trying to sleep here." Uriah grit his teeth and pounded louder. The voice answered again with frustration. "Do you have any idea what time it is? Go away. Come back tomorrow." This made the alicorn angrier, making him pound slower, but with more force. "Alright!" Shouted the voice. "Ugh! Snips, Snails! If this is you bugging me for another autograph, I swear..." Uriah had lost his patience, and was now rearing back. "Who disturbs the great and powerful..."

The unsuspecting unicorn didn't even have time to open the door before Uriah came crashing through, forelegs first. "Rrrrrraaaahh!" He roared as he broke through the rest of the way, leaving a terrified Trixie on her back, backing away as quickly as she could as he loomed closer. Uriah glared down at her and bellowed. "Where is it?!"

Trixie was as confused as she was frightened. "Where's what?"

"Don't Lie to me!" He roared, as he smashed a hole in the floor with a thunderous stomp, just missing the mare. "The charm! Where is the Charm?!"

As big as she tried to make herself on stage, this raging force bearing down on her made Trixie feel very small. "Charm? What...I-I don't.."

"I followed it here." He growled. "I can feel it in you. You have been touched by magic that is not your own. My magic!" He raised his left foreleg and swung it, smashing a desk in one blow, inches from the petrified Unicorn.

Trixie finally understood. "The alicorn amulet?" The raging figure forced a nod. "I-I don't have it anymore." The proceeding growl, followed by the mad stallion getting right in her face, pinning her in the corner, told Trixie that wasn't the answer he was looking for. "I tried using it to get revenge, but it didn't work. It corrupted me and once it was off, I didn't want anything to do with that horrible thing"

It made sense, Uriah remembered being angry, paranoid, and ready to go beyond any limit when he was exiled. Some of that aspect of his personality must have been taken with the link. He kept his eyes on her. "Where?"

The poor, silver maned, unicorn turned her eyes away. "Zecora! Zebra! Everfree Forest! That's all I know I swear!"

Uriah looked furious, he Closed his eyes and let loose a roar to the sky, coupled with a bolt of pure magic energy that put a huge whole in Trixie's ceiling. He opened his eyes and looked back down at her and his expression began to change. He saw this poor girl, curled up and terrified out of her mind of him. His mind flashed back to a memory of long ago, when a young unicorn was threatened by a monster and he came to save her. Now the same situation replayed. Only, this time, Uriah was the monster. He calmed himself, his breathing relaxed, and a look of guilt came over him. He knelt down to meet her at eye level. Trixie was cautious, but slowly sat up to meet his gaze. Uriah sighed and then, gently, brushed the back of his hoof down her mane. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to be so cruel. I've been stewing in rage and hatred for centuries. I keep forgetting to control myself."

Trixie would have normally told him off, but then again, how terribly had she acted when she challenged Twilight to that duel. Plus, there was something about his eyes that she couldn't explain, something that brought a pain to her heart. She reached up, slowly, and placed her own hoof around his. "Well...alright then. Although the damages to my home..."

He nodded. "I promise, I'll fix all of it." Uriah looked down with a sorrowful expression. "I suppose I should be setting a better example."

Trixie was a bit puzzled. "Uh...Yeah. Who...who are you exactly?"

This surprised him. "You don't know me?" She shook her head. "But that's impossible. I know it's been a long time, but surely there must be something you've heard. Uriah?"

The unicorn just seemed more confused. "Sorry, but no. I haven't heard of you."

The alicorn mused. "How could that be. Unless...Oh that witch." He could feel his temper rising and Trixie backed up in anticipation. "I knew she was wrong, but this...and she dared to call me a monster." He calmed himself again. His frown never left, but he spoke in a more docile voice. "It doesn't matter. The truth will come out eventually." He held Trixie's hoof again. There was a pleasing quality to it, especially after so long without any kind of contact. "I will most definitely be seeing you again. Your use of the amulet has left an imprint. You and I...are linked now. There may come a time when your services are needed. Expect me. Tell no one of what has transpired."

Uriah released her hoof and made his exit. Trixie sat dumbfounded at the alicorn that had just visited her. Those two words, 'Expect me', were said in a way of such subtle volume, but such power behind them. She simply muttered "Okay." As he vanished in the night.



Celestia watched through her window when it happened. The explosion, that cataclysmic blast which would have destroyed her beloved ponies if it were any closer, came and went in about twenty seconds total. When the the lights died out, so did her heart. She knew she couldn't let him back. She had hoped that it would never come to this, but as she stood there, slumped over the balcony with this vacant expression looking over the horizon, Celestia realized just what it had meant. The princess of the sun turned to head back to bed, almost tripping, her knees weak from the battle of wills she had just been through in keeping the barrier up. There was silence, such a quiet that shook the princess to her very core. 

"He couldn't have survived." She said with a heavy heart. "Equestria is safe...There's no way...I mean," Celestia rolled over on her back, wrapping herself up in the blanket. "He was too far out, even with his strength, he couldn't have made it." Her tail twitched, waving from one side to the next. She laid her head down, pinning her flowing mane, which seemed to have lost it's motion in her calmness. "I know he's clever, but even so, I was careful. I would have sensed and I would have seen. He couldn't have..." There was a familiar sound that made Celestia glance over. A trail of magical smoke drifted over too her. It collected directly above her face as she gazed upward at it. A scroll materialized and fell, landing on her chest. Celestia used her magic and examined it a bit. It was one of Twilight's letters.

Dear Prin Celestia,

Something incredible and rather troubling has occurred. After a wonderful reunion with my friends, we gathered together, your sister included, and waited to watch the comet I had told you about earlier. The comet, to my surprise, did not simply pass over as I thought it would. Instead, it came straight toward the planet. Luna and I tried to repel it, but we were unable to touch it, due to a powerful magic back-lash. Thankfully, your barrier was able to destroy the comet before it could harm the planet, but I'm afraid that wasn't the end. When the comet exploded, something fell to earth. Upon investigating the crash, we discovered a pony, an alicorn stallion. He calls himself Uriah and he mentioned you by name, telling us to inform you of his return before making his escape. I know he, somehow, aimed the comet at the planet and his power just seemed to radiate from him. Luna, my friends, and myself are all unharmed and we have the elements of harmony at the ready, so any information you have about Uriah would serve greatly in preparing for whatever may come.

Your faithful stu friend,
Twilight Sparkle

Celestia's expression didn't change, she just lowered the letter to her chest, stared at the ceiling, and let out a sigh. Tears started to fall, but she retained a deadpan melancholy. "He always makes it."



The Everfree Forest was in a more eerie state than usual. It was such an unnatural quiet that would make one wish for signs of some creature or another. It was this silence that signaled to Zecora that something was very wrong. She went back and forth between working on a potion and looking out the window for trouble. She stirred the brew with a worried look, dropping in a few herbs now and then. That sound troubled her the most. It hit like a crash of thunder, and left the zebra feeling worried and a little light headed. She kept to her potions, unaware of the threat approaching.

Uriah prowled through the forest like an enraged beast on the hunt. Through brush, over stone, and ripping through a collection of creepers that tangled around him when he jumped a corner. He could feel it. The link, the amulet as the unicorn called it, was very near. It was getting harder to focus with his rage building more and more as his journey continued. Things would soon be going according to plan according to his twisted thinking. He marched on through the forest with a determination in each step. To the slight surprise of the wandering stallion, a manticore jumped out at him. It certainly was an interesting experience, but not a deterrent. The beast snarled at him, but Uriah just look annoyed and let loose a menacing growl of his own. The fierceness of it was enough to make the beast tremble. Uriah scoffed at the creature as it fled. "Pathetic! Is this is what stands as a threat these days?" He shook his head and continued his quest, his horn aglow and becoming brighter as he drew closer, reaching it's peak as he began his approach on a lone hut. 

Zecora took a deep breath and began flipping through her notes more vigorously. "Not enough time in the day, so very much to do. Maybe I can find a better way..." Her outspoken thought was interrupted when her door was ripped off the hinges and thrown across the room. "Can I help you?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, not missing a beat.

Uriah appeared as a silhouette standing in the doorway, his angry eyes standing out with their blood red glow. "You have something of mine." He stepped forward, revealing himself in full. His wings unfurled, his long black mane still a mess, and the moon light bringing emphasis to the sickly white of his coat. "Where is the alicorn amulet?!"

Zecora wasn't exactly prepared for an alicorn to grace her hut tonight, and she certainly wasn't about to just give such a powerful artifact to an obviously disturbed individual. "In you, I sense a timeless age powered by an even greater rage. For fear of what plans you might enact..."

She didn't even have time to finish before he fired a bolt of his magic at her and enveloped her in a dark red mist. When it cleared, there she stood, eyes widened and stuck mid sentence, frozen in stone. Uriah huffed past the now stone zebra. "Child, I have no time for your silly little rhymes and I, most certainly, didn't come back to be lectured." He began to tear apart the hut. He flipped over her table, her caldron, broke open her cabinets, and then he lifted her bed and threw it out through the wall. "Consider yourself lucky that the spell of a cockatrice can only be replicated and not duplicated. You should be back to normal by morning. Aha!" A small box lay still as a board where the bed once stood. Seeing it had brought a relative calm to Uriah, bringing disappointment when he realized this calm meant his magic was out again and he was unable to levitate it. He lifted it in his front hooves and inspected it. "Locked...hmph, am I supposed to be impressed?" He patted the stone Zebra on the head making an audible clack as he did. "Should I say that your cleverness knows no bonds." He said this with a deadpan sarcasm. "Please..." He lifted it up so the lock was facing the end of his horn. He carefully worked the tip into the lock and then got to work jimmying it. "If there's one thing I am..." There was a loud click and the box opened and Uriah removed his horn. "...It's resourceful. Yes." He reached into the open box and removed the amulet. The design intrigued him. The rubies were a fitting representation of his magic, but the onyx. "Vilifying me too? Thorough job, but pointless since nopony remembers me anyway." He fastened the amulet around his neck. It took a few seconds to take, but the surge he felt was incredible. The amulet sparked and cracked with magical energy and an arcing bolt connected it to Uriah's horn. It actually began to fuse into his skin, then absorb completely once the connection had been re-established. 

Uriah took a deep breath to relax himself from the sensation it left in him. He had to be sure his mental connection to his magic had been repaired. He looked around at all the trinkets, and bottles, and various ingredients. He closed his eyes, and made himself as calm and as focused as he possibly could. He opened them after about three seconds and found the objects swirling about the room in a levitation field. He pulled an empty bottle and a few of the ingredients from the vortex and mixed together a quick smoke screen. He had done it. Now he could act with precision and control again, and that made him all the more lethal. He blinked and created a repelling field that obliterated the shack in it's entirety, leaving him and the statue Zecora on the now empty floor. Uriah gave a slight sigh. He was pleased, but still kept the agitated look on his face. "I'm going to take a walk." He left Zecora frozen in the ruins of her home, not once even thinking to hide her someplace or leave a note if someone should find her. To him, it was insignificant compared to what he had in mind. For now, however, he had to think of what he was going to do for the night.



Twilight combed through book after book and there was nothing on an alicorn named Uriah. "This is bizarre." She went through another book, then another and another and another. "Ugh! This makes no sense. How could somepony just drop in on a comet and have absolutely no sign of ever having existed before." She grimaced at the stack of books, taller than she was and all proved useless, that stood before her. She just pushed it off the table in a huff.

The young princess felt a tap on her shoulder. Princess Luna looked at her with a worried expression. "Please, Twilight, it's getting very late. If you keep up like this, you'll be up straight till sunrise." Twilight looked down for a moment, then looked back up at Luna with sad blood-shot eyes that said 'I know'. "Get some sleep, then get back at this fresh in the morning. I'll head back to Canterlot to make sure Celestia is informed of the situation. Don't worry about coming back, you should stay here in Ponyville with the keepers of the elements, in case this Uriah tries anything nearby."

Twilight nodded. "He's probably half way across the globe by now, but we'll keep watch." She gave the elder princess a hug. "Stay safe, Luna." The night princess returned the hug and the wish, then exited the library. It was at this time that Twilight noticed that her friends seemed to be absent.  Her eyes scanned the library and there was nothing, just piles of open books. She gave up. She was tired and she wanted to go to bed. Making her way through the mess and up the stairs, Twilight was trying to shake something from her mind. Uriah wasn't looking at them when he announced his message to Celestia, he was looking right at her. He was dead focused on Twilight and she couldn't figure out why. His eyes, just pure rage and power, but inside them, she saw something else. Pain, was all that she could bring to mind. There was a pain in his eyes that spoke volumes, but from what Twilight saw, it was directed at her, and it frightened her. She reached the top floor and the question of where her friends had gone was answered. Spread out over the room, they had been working till they couldn't work anymore. Rarity had taken the guest bed, Fluttershy had passed out on the floor reading by candle light, Rainbow had brought in a cloud from outside, and AppleJack had gotten herself a pillow and slept by the window. That just left Pinkie and Spike, who were passed out at the foot of Twilight's bed. Pinkie was curled up nice and cozy and Spike was on top of her, his head resting on her mane. It was sweet and Twilight thought it was the right idea. She climbed up on the bed and got settled in next to Pinkie. Twilight smiled at her sleeping assistant, but thought he looked cold. She gently outstretched a wing and draped it over them. The young princess yawned and felt her eye lids getting heavier. "Tomorrow..." She whispered. "It can wait till tomorrow." She let her head hit the comfort of her bed, then slipped into slumber.



Luna knocked again. "Sister, are you alright?" Silence, and then she knocked again. "Tia, please answer." Nothing. The lunar princess simply shook her head, then turned and started back down the hall. She couldn't understand why, but her sister had shut herself in her room and wasn't letting anypony in. When she returned from her excursion with Twilight, Luna was met with reports from the castle staff that Celestia had run into her chamber and had been locked in their for hours. They told Luna that they thought she looked upset. As she opened the door to her room, the younger sister looked over her shoulder toward the elder's. "Oh, sister." She said with a worry in her voice. "I don't know what troubles you, but what I have to tell you would only make it worse." She sighed, then entered her bedroom. "It can wait till tomorrow.



It was like the sound of thunder. It came in rapid succession from deep within the cave. From out of the massive opening to the deep caverns, barreling through in a rush of terror, bumping into the side, breaking out a chunk of stone, was the Ursa major, cradling her minor cub in her arm, with a look of panic on her face. She Tore down tree lines trying to escape. There were claw marks on the walls of the cave, signalling a huge struggle. In the back of the cave, resting deep in the nest of the great beast that had once resided there, was Uriah. He did not seem phased by the process of evicting the Ursas, but he did notice something he could not ignore. He was tired. He lied down and placed the side of his head against the warmth the Ursa's nest provided, then closed his eyes. "Tomorrow," He thought. "The pieces are falling into play, and I make the first move tomorrow."