Chronicles of the Glow

by Rusty Parker

Chapter 8: Streams of Weakness

The golden horseshoes that exquisitely clad the tender hooves within touched down on the dusty rooftop. It wasn’t often that she flew without the aid of her carriage, her mighty guards doing all the work to pull her along to her destination. Then again, neither was it the norm for her to show up anywhere except for some holiday or event. Celestia was all too often stuck in the castle like a caged bird. It felt nice, for a bit, to be able to finally stretch her wings out personally. They had grown quite stiff in the time they had seen no use.

The sight of Beacon, however, ripped all the sensation of this right from her. Like wet paper, her smile grew deformed in seeing the destruction. It was worse than perhaps anything she had seen any settlement go through. The faces of the two who sat stunned on the rooftop didn’t do much to lighten up the situation, at that. Her guards came to attention beside her as she looked into the eyes of the mare that stood now, looking at her with a stone solid expression. Blitzy landed last, having circled around the building to come by the side of her. His daughter, a feisty little filly with a lot of energy and good will, clung to his back.

“As you can see, dearest princess,” he began with a low bow, “Things are just as I had described them. We are safe… for now. But we can’t keep going on our own without your help.” He turned to the mare beside him, who still stood still without a bow. Odd, she thought. Usually there would be no hesitation at all in any of her subjects to show their respect for her in some formal ilk of a bow. In honesty, she didn’t know what this meant, as none seemed brave enough to do this. She made it a law, she never asked for the formalities. They simply followed her wherever she may be, like ducklings being led to and fro.

“This is Glitter...” Lifting his hoof in her direction. “She has been try-“

“I think she knows very well just who I am. Or at least she should, with all the letters I send in to her,” she cut in as Blitzy tried to explain. Yes, this was the one who constantly asked for support, who seemed to send the very same letter in with more frustration each week. Like a fresh knife to her back, regret shot through her whole body. She saw the letters so many times, saw what they asked for, and saw that she felt things would go astray. Yet she had set them all off in favor of honoring whomever would waltz into her court.

“Yes… Glitter, I have read every single letter you sent in. I do not know what you think of me, but Beacon was always in my mind. I-“

“You what? You considered what to do? You thought about it, I take it?” Glitter again cut in. She was absolutely furious, her brow arched far down as she huffed air in and out of her mouth.

Celestia simply didn’t know what to think of it. Her regal expression remained at the point of calm, as was usual for her whenever she had to deal with stressful problems back in Canterlot Castle. Diseases, accidents, and all manner of attacks by some sort of monster had always caused her to feel pain for her subjects. She could never show it, but inside it tore at her. Sometimes there was nothing she could really ever do to fix it. What would never help anypony, though, was to see their leader turned to depression over their problems. She always had to keep her face as one that could show hope to any who looked to her.

“Glitter! She came to help us, calm down,” Blitzy pushed as the unicorn fumed.

“Blitzy speaks the truth, Glitter. I am only here to lend all of my hooves, wings and my horn in rebuilding Beacon.”

“So now you come to help?” she snapped back right away. “I sent you letter after letter asking for you to please just do something, anything, to keep us safe, and you choose to ignore every one of them. You’re too late, alright…” Glitter turned to face the forest to her right. Her face wasn’t filled with anger anymore, but seemed to turn sorrowful and distraught. Her eyes glimmered against the sun’s rays, and her neck arched downward.

Celestia didn’t remain still any longer. She walked up to the mare and, with a gentle touch of her hoof, tried to comfort her. “I am so sorry, Glitter. I should have listened to you. Even Kalk would agree in his own letters that there needed to be something done here, but I put it off…” Celestia sat down as her two guards drew more attentive. Their faces were steady and unwavering, but with how angry Glitter was, they must be concerned about her getting so close. “I am here now, though. Let me help you, daughter of Equestria.”

“And how are you going to help?” she asked, turning her head to look up at the princess again with anger. “Do you think you can fix what is really broken here? Nopony in the world can! You can’t fix this anymore than I can…” she fired away.

The sun princess remained silent with her downcast eyes locked on those of the poor little mare. Somehow, without knowing what was to come next, Celestia knew that the unicorn was right. She wondered if her own expression still showed the powerful alicorn that ruled without fear throughout the land of Equestria. In truth, this place was more of its own country than anywhere else in all her nations. It ruled itself. Her presence must not seem too comforting with how long this place has been left without any help from the outside.

Glitter, without saying a word, let a tear roll down her cheek as she stared right back into Celestia’s eyes. Then another. The pair made equally long streaks of wet fur down the mare’s face, and dripped off together as one at the chin. Celestia closed her eyes and bowed her head slowly. To her shock, Glitter’s forehead came to meet her own as her breathing grew stifled.

“My daughter… My poor little baby foal. She’s…” Glitter broke off. Their foreheads together, Celestia could feel the pulsing of her heart as the thoughts came into formation. “My daughter is dying, Celestia,” pulling her head away, she looked over to the forest again. “She’s hurt and not anypony in the world can fix that. Not anypony can stop her from turning into one of those…”

Blitzy came by her side to comfort her, pulling a wing around her shoulder as the filly atop his back clutched closer to him. A pain like none before grasped her as she realized just what had happened. Kalk had told her a great deal of the things that these beasts were in his time here in Beacon. Monsters spurred on by a dark magic. Nothing could release them from the hold that this strange energy took over them. In truth she felt pity for the creatures that they were before all this. Now this; a filly that had gotten unlucky enough to come into one’s path during her retreat had now been infected, and was doomed to become just as vicious as the lot of them someday soon.

Celestia remained silent, nothing she could possibly say able to in the least change the moral of the situation. She knew this feeling she saw in Glitter, knew it from experience herself. In a lot of ways, it seemed similar to what she had to see her sister go through. To watch the thing you care for most become a monster… there was nothing worse in this world.

Her eyes swept the roof, trying to find the filly that had sat near the door only moments before. She was long gone by now, she thought. Things got pretty tense here, and she had appeared to be hurt. She couldn’t blame her for wanting to be elsewhere. In the back of her own head, Celestia felt just the same. She wanted to fly off and hide back up in her chambers alone, free of the stress that this place had come under. She would never do such a thing now, though. No, this place needed her, even if she had failed the whole of the population already. She’d help even if it killed her to.

Word spread quickly of the Sun Princess’s visit. Ponies all around town were suddenly abuzz of how life was finally looking up for once in their lives. As he approached the school building, where he so often inspired his students to aspire to the great things they would someday do, Kalk felt the hope of it all fill him too. Things may not be as simple as everypony else was making it out to be, but he still couldn’t help but feel the updraft that lifted the town’s spirit from the ruins. Smiles were clad on almost every face as he walked through the doors that acted as the gateway to knowledge for his youthful intellects.

Within, however, he was met with a much more grim stare. While everypony was indeed happy, his presence seemed to squander that in them. As he stood just inside the building, he could feel their eyes beating upon his body. Shifting away when his own gaze came to bare, they suddenly seemed to be completely different ponies than those he saw working. His entrance had changed the atmosphere in the room, all the celebration and uproar seeming to quiet down to a low mumble.

Slowly, he made his way down the hallway as they all glared in his direction. If looks could kill, he would be in a pretty bad predicament. Further down the hall, a foal too young to have been in school playfully reached out to him. Smiling, Kalk offered his own hoof as if it were a sort of plaything. The near newborn pony reached out for it, but was stopped by her mother’s sudden movement. The infant was pulled toward her, being held close as she stared knives at him. What was this? Was he suddenly the plague come to kill them all? Just what had happened in the few hours he was out of the school?

As he rounded the corner to the stairwell, he could hear the voices of a nearby stallion whispering to his companion. “What could he possibly want here?” he uttered as Kalk froze in the place. Ears down, he turned to the pony who had spoken, and he shrunk back in reaction. Kalk’s eye half closed as he looked from him to the rest of the room confused.

“Just what in the name of Luna and Celestia has gotten into the lot of you? Why do you all look at me like I am one of the beasts that roam the forests around our town?” he asked in conflict. Not one of them gave an answer, nor did it even seem to register that he had said a thing. The stallion who had spoken was still staring at him with wide, hatred filled eyes. He heard the sound of something moving behind him and turned.

“You would be one to know about beasts, wouldn’t you?” a mare said behind him. Turning, he saw it was a nurse, her eyebrows arching up in sorrow. “Why would you do this?” Kalk only tilted his head in even more confusion.

“What do you even mean? Do what? I stopped the beasts, didn’t I?” he responded after a moment. Kalk didn’t have a clue where this was going, but he had a terrible feeling in his gut about it.

“Stopped them?” she asked as her brow came down in a glare now. “So you stop these monsters by letting one run around in this building? You stop them by letting it near all the injured and sick patients we have here? Are you trying to kill us all?” she barked angrily now. Kalk blinked as he came to realize what she meant. The red manned filly. She was actually calling the little girl a monster?

“You imply that that little filly is a… monster?” he asked as he looked around the room. They all seemed to look at him as if it were obvious all along. Some seemed disgusted that it had taken him so long to realize what this was all about. “So that is it then? That is why you all look at me like this?” he asked again as he looked around the hallway. He could feel the heat in his chest begin to rise and boil in his head.

“Of course we do! You traitorous little-“

“Me?” he cut in, yelling now. “You’re all calling me a traitor here? You are all saying that this little, innocent filly is a monster!” He looked around and saw that none had any quarrels now with him. Not one of the foolish ponies said a word as he now seemed to be the only one with any anger. “Did you ever stop in your burning hatred toward me to consider that maybe, just maybe, that ‘monster’ you speak so despicably of is actually just a poor, sick little girl who only has a few weeks left before her illness overcomes her?”

Heads lowered in shame as some came to realize just what they had been doing. Some, though, remained frigid and refused to accept this as any sort of truth. They kept to themselves now, but only because the majority of the group had backed down. Kalk exhaled through his nostrils some of the hot air that had built up in his skull and turned to walk up the stairs. It disgusted him truly that in a time like this, with so many having lost so much, none seemed to even care about the one who was about to lose so much more. They all disregarded the life of such an innocent little filly. He remembered looking into her eyes as he made her the offer to suppress the curse. Only when he said that she would not harm her family and friends had she accepted it in her mind.

Kalk reached the top of the stairs and was met by only one or two wayward glances. It seemed that none of the citizens of Beacon had any love for him now, even after having saved them from certain doom. The magic labs were just around the corner, and as he approached, a familiar face came into view. It even had a smile on it.

“Kalk! It has been so very long since last we met. How has this place been treating you?” Celestia, goddess of the sun asked as she saw him. Further back in the room, he could see the framework of some sort of pillar based devise being set up by her guards.

“On the whole? Well, things haven’t been that bad, though, I really could have used that pool-or-lake,” he said gingerly with a smile. This certainly hadn’t been the best of days, but Celestia was a very old friend to him. They crossed necks in a sort of kinship that most couldn’t say they shared with royalty. She was always busy, he knew, and that’s why he made it his duty to take care of things in Beacon himself so often. Still, it had been a seriously long time since they had her in town. “On a serious note though,” he mentioned, his face losing any semblance of his former smile. “There is a lot we need to discuss.”

“Oh? What such things need discussion?” she asked with her wings extended far behind her. Kalk’s eyes glanced over to the guards across the room, and then to the small group of unicorns that sat at the ready not far from them. He brought his eyes back to her with a raised eyebrow tilting his head toward where his eyes had just been scanning. “Ah, I see. We will have to find a good time to speak privately, then. I am sure there is a lot that has happened here.”

He nodded. “Yes. Now then, what have we got here?” he asked, raising a hoof toward the structure that was being erected in his lab.

“My, Kalk, and here I thought you had been the Dean of Magic?” she joked. He rubbed his head, laughing a bit at the old memory. It had been so many years since he had heard anyone use that title on him.

“Well, years go by and new things happen. We both know that now more than ever,” he said with a smile. Celestia’s flowing mane was brushed aside as she raised her head from him to the device. Two pillars erected at a decent distance from one another that bore large spheres atop them. The spheres gleamed in the light of the swaying gems above, their texture smooth and clean. It seemed that they were made of a reflective type of metal, maybe brass. The guards seemed to be attaching to them a variety of other smaller objects, some Kalk recognized and others he didn’t. The flat, brick like stone that sat near the base of both pillars was a sort of magical battery that could hold reserve energy.

Celestia inhaled before speaking, “This is a new project that our current headmaster in the arcane arts, Spell Nexus, was able to piece together. Really quite incredible, if I do say so myself. I think you two could get along very well, given the chance,” she mentioned offhandedly as she paced off to the side with her eyes glued to the device’s spheres. “The implications are… complicated. Suffice to say, it is a ‘door’, as I have heard him call it.”

“A ‘door’ you say?” Kalk asked, intrigued now more than ever about the device. Could this really be that sort of magic? He had theorized in his studies, but never did he suppose it to be something he would see. “I think I know exactly where this is going. Oh, and did I mention I absolutely love it?” he added with emphasis, smiling up to the princess now.

“You’ve already got this thing figured out better than I have!” she laughed a little, having forgotten just how into his work Kalk had been all those years back. “It is exactly what it seems. With this, a door to Canterlot Castle will open here in this very room. All the supplies, food, and help you could want will pour through as soon as we open it up.”

“Amazing! Ha!” Kalk half shouted as he walked around some of the stone tables that filled the lab. “Never thought I’d see the day…” escaped from his lips in a near whisper as he observed the two pillars up a little closer. Markings that were no doubt magical in their print lined their way all the way from the bottom of the pole to the shiny metal ball that sat atop it. It seemed as though his work back in that old school had been dated for some time now, this new stuff really had the works of genius in it.

He came trotting back to the smiling princess with a slight bounce in his step. “The oldest one in all of Beacon and you seem to be the most youthful in spirit too. How have things been going recently? Before the attack I mean,” she said with a tender, inviting voice. Kalk’s eyes wandered to the ground for only a moment, though he knew she had seen it. Always the problem with knowing someone so well, he guessed. They know you just as well by the end of things.

“Better… life has been… getting better.” Kalk sat down now, his eyes closed as he thought beside Celestia. Several moments ticked by as he let his mind come to a conclusion of how it had really been up till now. Though his eyes were sealed, he could feel her gaze upon him. “I was lonely for so long, Celestia. Not for lack of anypony trying to reach out, no, there have been many attempts to get near me. I just couldn’t find it in me to let them in, though. I couldn’t let the past repeat itself…”

“Kalk, the past is the past. I know that life has its ways of hurting us. But we live still, there is no point in fearing the past so much as to avoid others for its sake,” she said with a tongue dripping of her remorse for what she knew had transpired long ago. In a lot of ways, she wanted to see him happy like before. How could he ever forget or let go of his past now? His own hooves were a constant reminder of how things used to be. He had held them in close with these hooves, had kept them safe in his embrace. But then, something else came to his mind. A smile crept its way across his cheeks as he rose his head to peer into Celestia’s eyes now.

“Even after all that though. After all the running and hiding from the others. I still couldn’t stop myself…” he said as his eyes pulled across the room in a wide arc. “She was just like her. Everything about her, she was smart, kind, and stubborn as the earth we built this place on. Part of me felt content finally… to know that there were others like her.” He spoke in a disjointed mess. To anypony else, it must seem that he was yammering on like a mad-horse. Celestia looked down at him with a smile of her own now, relieved, he was sure, to finally see some semblance of his hope restored. “None of that mattered though. Even if she was nothing like her, a complete polar opposite, I would still love this little filly all the same. It may seem strange… but I already think of her as a daughter, in these few weeks I’ve known her.” Celestia, still smiling, walked around to be beside him once again.

“You always were a softy, Kalk,” she joked. Neither said a thing for a while as the guards finished their assembly of the many parts that made up the device that would no doubt be the population of Beacon’s salvation. As they sat, Celestia’s mane flowing to the side and Kalk’s remaining still against his neck, neither spoke for some time. Celestia finally broke the silence, “I am glad... Truly. You deserve every bit of happiness and joy that filly will bring you.” Kalk watched as she rose and stepped away from him, moving over to some papers that lay upon the table she had been standing near when he entered the room.

“What about you?” he asked before she could reach her ‘office’. Celestia froze in place, having not been accustomed to speaking of her own mentality. Kalk knew that she couldn’t really speak truthfully to much of anypony nowadays, her sister locked away on the moon and word of her anything she does short of sneezing being spoken of across Equestria. He also knew, however, that he happened to be an exception when it came to this rule. He not only was one of her oldest friends to date, but somepony who was isolated from the rest of the world due to the oh-so lush forest that surrounded the town.

“Honestly… I am tired. This is a lot of work to manage on my own. And well… call me daft, but even with so much company,” she added, looking to the guards. “I am still so very much alone…”

“I think I know what may solve that, my princess,” Kalk said with a sly grin on his face as he rose to his own hooves. Celestia breathed out a long sigh, expecting the most insane from him. And if she would ever except this, he wasn’t sure if she should thank him or throw him in some dungeon. He didn’t know exactly what could happen, given what he was about to suggest. But he had an implicit faith in a certain mare on the moon, and it was all thanks to the questions of a brilliant little mind that he was proud to think of as his daughter.

They spoke at length about his solution, and in the end, Kalk felt he may have won some ground toward her making a change that could either bless or forsake Equestria forever. He knew that there were more pressing issues at the moment, but for now, he simply wished to enjoy the company of his own long time teacher and friend.

Floating in the grip of her magic, the gem slowly rotated as she observed every edge. The surface was smooth all the way around, almost perfect in its form. As Crimson turned it over, she recalled her little trip through the classrooms turned hospital. Not one of the patients seemed happy to see her in the least, and feeling the throbbing beneath her bandages, it was plain to tell why. The veins and arteries that surrounded her wound showed through her coat as being jet black and pulsing with some sort of energy. Kalk hadn’t lied; his spell was only slowing it. How long was it before she started to change elsewhere? How long before she started to lose herself and began to want to hurt other ponies? The very thought sent shivers down her spine.

Her mind snapped to attention as she caught sight of a deformity on the small sphere’s surface. It protruded just off to the side like a lip in a rock. Syphoning some of her magic, she shaped a small amount of energy into a thin sheet against the sphere. Like a knife sharpener, she ran the energy smoothly and evenly over the gem, chipping away the bit that jutted off to the side. This had to be the third or fourth gem she had taken to help her shift her thought’s and gain a bit of closure.

Time had passed while she was lost in herself, and as if she had jumped through it suddenly, the red light outside ushered in the evening. Sitting in her hospital bed, she looked over this gem one final time. It seemed to come out in a familiar orange color, the texture within swirling like a typhoon. In a way, the strange way the sphere looked made her think of it almost like a miniature world, floating gently above her sheets. Mother had worked so hard to get these working, to get them to take to her magic. She wondered if her plan would work, but the possibility for failure was always evident.

Mom had thought that she could make these gems keep the original gem lit forever. What she remembered her saying of it gave Crimson an idea. “The magic swirls around, traveling through the gem like it’s on a current,” she had said to her father. “If I can work my energies into it the right way, the light will keep itself going. The glow will not simply emit itself until there is no energy left; it will simply circulate and show through in the outer-most part of the gem!” She had been so excited by this that she was practically bouncing around the shop. She didn’t fully understand how it worked, but the way her mother explained it, she thought a more rounded shape may help. No points for the energy to clog up in. Father had complained that this was the reason it exploded… she gulped air down her throat as the thought came.

Crimson had to get this to work, and if the gem exploded, things would be horrible. She diligently rechecked her work on the gem current ensnared in her magic and then on all the others. Small though they were, she felt confident with each she checked that they were perfectly round. An eternal light… something that would outlast her and anypony else. Something that everypony she knew and loved could carry with them, and remember her by… she sighed as she placed the spheres down on the desk beside the cot. She wasn’t even sure she was wanted anymore, with how everypony looked at her. Still, she wouldn’t want to leave her loved ones without anything from her. Looking over to the spheres, she smiled for just a moment before her eyes drifted to the window again.

She had to blink a few times, but what was there was no illusion. Daylight, bright as if it were noontime, shone through into the room. Crimson was on her feet in no time, going to get a better look. She had to kneel down, with the window being too thin to see up high enough, but there it was. A light shining brightly at the very top of the clock tower was the source. Everywhere she looked in town, she could see just as clearly as ever. Panic worked its way to her head as she wondered at the cause of this phenomenon. Clearly it was spell work, she didn’t think a fire could burn so brightly, but just who cast it?

Out the door she went, galloping at a surprising speed. Her muscles were as strong as ever, despite the her injuries and apparent handicapped status here. As she passed through the hallways, she noticed that nopony was anywhere inside the building at all. Was she the only one, she pondered, who was this confused right now?

The door came into view around the next corner, and through the glass slits in its structure, she could see ponies crowded around the front of the school building. She pushed the door open with ease and saw everypony staring up with awe, and to her relief, happiness. It was then that she turned her own gaze up and realized what was going on at last.

“Mares, fillies… stallions and colts of Beacon,” Celestia’s voice boomed as she floated lightly over them all. Crimson was a little surprised, she had heard that help was coming but this was still unexpected for her. The princess of the sun herself came? No wonder almost everypony in Beacon had gathered here, in this one spot. It was not too big a population, but there was certainly clutter. “As you may have heard, I have come to help in your time of need… While you all have suffered great loss here, some have lost so much more than others. Homes, possessions, business, and anything else you can think of lay in ruin across your great township. Some, however, have lost more than even that…” she looked around to the faces of each citizen as she lowered down to the ground. Celestia’s eyes locked on Crimson, and as she blinked in the face of her princess, Celestia’s eyes came to close.

“For those of you who have lost so much, for those of you who do not stand amongst us now, I am so greatly sorry,” she said with a genuine frown. Her guards seemed shocked, frantic even. They walked now behind her, looking to each other with confusion in both of their faces. As she approached the little, red manned filly, her eyes still met hers directly. Crimson didn’t understand any of this… did the princess know? Was she told of what happened to her already? “Mostly, I am so sorry. I am so very sorry, for the one who stands before me.” Tears seemed to well in her eyes as she looked from Crimson’s eyes to her bandages. She was directly in front of Crimson now, her tall frame making the filly have to look almost straight up to see her face. The crowd seemed staggered at this; none knew why she approached the one amongst them they had avoided most.

Reaching the filly, her sorrow seemed more real than anything about her. Her crown, hoof cups, and regal mane couldn’t shine a candle to the expression on her face. Celestia turned now to face the rest of them, her eyes closed and head downcast. “Of all the ponies in this town that have lost so much, she will lose the most. She will lose herself; her will, her very existence as a unicorn, and every bit of life left in her soul…” Celestia’s eyes opened and swept the crowd as Crimson looked up in disbelief. “Right now, though, she is the liveliest one amongst you. Where you all look to me for hope, she was looking for some other way to help every one of you. She worked with Dr. Steff to heal your wounds where hers remained open and painful. Do you not think I have heard what you think of her for this? What you think of my former student for his own actions?” Celestia said with actual anger in her voice.

Not one of them had a response, they all remained silent. Crimson looked to the princess, blinking now. Could any leader really be so incredible? Whole crowds of ponies turned upside-down morally so suddenly that they are speechless of it, and all with a few simple statements. The princess took in a breath of air before she allowed herself to continue. “Times of difficulty are never when we should be fighting amongst ourselves. Kalk saved her life because she knew and accepted that she would come to an end in the not so distant future. Can you put yourselves in her shoes?” Celestia walked through the crowd now, looking to each one of them as they cleared away from her. They scurried away as if she would lash out at any one of them for even the slightest resistance. “Can you imagine how brave this little, tiny filly would have to be, to know, just know, that she would lose herself any day? Can any of you say you’ve ever been that brave? She is accepting her own death when that happens because she wants to help you all before she leaves you forever!”

Crimson was positively dumbstruck. Of all the ponies she expected to avoid her, to think of her as a little monster to be gotten rid of, Celestia was one she thought would be more so inclined to break out the stakes and torches. Instead, here she was, pushing back all of those who even so much as looked at her funny. It was humbling, to say the least. She never asked for this… she could have dealt with their accusations and insults. In fact, she was almost certain that she would still need to. Celestia couldn’t stay in Beacon forever, just showing up must have been a nightmare for everypony back in Canterlot. These ponies would all lose their need to shield what they thought of the filly when the princess went back. In a way, it was oddly comforting. She needed to die, after all. Not soon she hoped, but definitely before she got worse. The affliction was already noticeable down her leg, the veins popping out in a deep black near her stomach.

The citizens of Beacon, for all their hope in the princess, seemed to lower their heads now in shame of their actions. So many backed away from the princess, avoiding her direct gaze as she search the crowd. It seemed like they were all children, trying to avoid admitting to the guilt of some petty rule being broken, with Celestia as the stern parent. With a few long, drawn out breaths, the sun princess spread her wings and lifted herself off the ground, her royal guard joining her now with attentiveness. Their armor shined in the light from the miniature star that had been brought to the town as they brought their bodies as close as possible to Celestia. With them at her flanks, she looked out at them with regained composure. No longer were their tears welling in her eyes, nor a deep arch in her brow. If anything, it was blank.

“We all need to stick together in this time of hardship. Things will get difficult, but they will only grow more so if you start to attack any one amongst yourselves…” Celestia paused, flapping her wings a few times to raise her altitude. “In this time, you are not alone. You have us, all of Canterlot, to do whatever we must to bring you back your home!”

She floated just above the schoolhouse when, as if from nowhere, the silhouettes of many pony shaped figures burst free into the air. It was as if they had just popped into existence one after the other. All different colors of pegasi flew to and fro, their wings extended through the air, seeming to slice right through it. Like leaves from above in the middle of fall, they cascaded and came to land in the clearing in the crowd where Celestia had stood just moments ago. The crowd was taken aback, and with good reason. Just where had all these ponies come from?

“Rest now, Beacon! The “door” to Canterlot has been opened inside the labs. Anypony we need, be it the best of engineers or the strongest of workers, is more than willing to lend their hoof to their brothers and sisters in need!” Celestia announced with a voice that could rally even the simplest of armies. Cheers of joy and relief rose from all directions, and as Celestia went to land atop the roof, more ponies poured out of the building. As the crowd dispersed, Crimson came to finally look away from the rooftop that Celestia had disappeared over. She turned, and to her surprise, her brother stood right beside her. Better yet, he hadn’t been looking at her when she looked over.

“Orange? How long have you been there? Come here, give big sis a hug” she teased as she pulled the unsuspecting colt in for said hug. With the squirming came the yelling into her chest as she held him tightly.

“Hrmm! Leh mm roh!” she made out as he pushed at her with the knees of his front hooves. Another moment and she finally let him go, the colt plopping to the ground gasping as he shook his head. Before he could open his eyes, find her, and yell at her, she brought her nose to his. With a smirk, she pushed against his snout with her nose. The cyan coat of the colt came to the ground as he giggled at his sister’s antics. Success! She shone all her teeth in a victorious smile as he got up.

“So then, little brother, what have you been up to all day? I didn’t see you around the hospital much,” she said as he looked away, disgruntled. She could see the blood rushing to his cheeks, the blush impossible to hide as he tried to turn away. She pulled her hooves over his back, and leaned in to his ear. “Hmm?” He quickly shook it off, turning to face her finally with a small smile showing. She had to work at it sometimes, it seemed, but that smile always came one way or the other.

“I’ve just been talking to Tick, really. Mom has been missing all day long, and Dad went off to help rebuild, think he’s still out there actually,” he said as he shot a look at the town, where the many pegasi and now earth ponies and unicorns all were starting to get down to work. His eyes seemed tired, the lids hanging drearily over them as he looked around thinking. Suddenly, they grew wide and he was unable to stand still. His hooves danced about as he trotted back and forth in place. “Oh, oh oh! Ditzy showed up again! She’ll be staying here while her daddy helps with the reconstruction!” he said with a wide smile.

“That’s great! Maybe we can all get together and play a little game!” she stated, seeing the eagerness suddenly in his eyes. Tick could really use some fun, with what she had gone through. More importantly, though, she wanted so badly for them to have this memory. How depressing would it be for her brother, Tick or Ditzy if later in life, they wonder what she must have been like? The four of them really ought to get some good times in, now that she thought of it… A thought struck her like a blow to the head, she blinked several times before she could confirm why it was so urgent. “Orange?” she asked frantically. He came to attention immediately, recognizing the way her voice showed her worry. “Orange, where is that blue manned filly? The one who was hurt in the rain? Is she alright?”

“Last I saw, she was still in bed… Hadn’t woken up yet either,” he answered after rubbing the back of his head thoughtfully. “She had a broken leg, but the doctors said she was going to be okay.”

Crimson almost felt idiotic. Of course, Steff couldn’t be responsible for all the hurt ponies in Beacon. There were other doctors to help too. No wonder she hadn’t seen her in her little run around with him, she was just under somepony else’s watch… Though Steff had opened an empty room or two… She shook it off. The filly wasn’t her responsibility, though she felt the need to make sure she was okay, still. It was a matter for others now. She had gotten her to safety, now the filly had her family and loved ones to take care of her.

With that in mind, she turned to the orange manned colt once more, seeing him off on his own tangent of thought. She smirked. Another joke or two wouldn’t get him too mad, she thought. He must have seen her expression, because in that moment, he galloped off as quickly as his legs could take him. She let out a small giggle, letting him get a head start for a few seconds before chasing him down for the biggest tickle attack of his life.

All was quiet as the light from the clock tower kept everything lit throughout the ruins. Whole buildings had been plowed out of the way, their state too degraded to rebuild on top of. This left several areas where, instead of roads and paths, there were wide courtyards. Stretching the length of several houses, they were a dangerous place for the young filly to attempt to cross straight over. She stuck to the sides, edging along the piles of debris that had been piled along the sides.

Her blue mane was full of dust and dirt, her hooves muddied with the dirt patches. Somehow, through some stroke of miraculous luck, she had eluded every single one of the workers as she had made her way this far. Limping, she could feel the stiffness in her three working legs. The cast had gotten wet, and she could feel the ilk of the muddy water at the tip of her hoof. For a while, she worried that it might fall apart, and that her bone would fall out of place again. Fortunately the solid shape held its form, and as she pressed on, she could feel the thing weigh her down more and more.

Gradually, she grew tired. Several times she had to find an alcove or an unchecked building to hide away in while she caught her breath. The stress of all of this was getting to her now, and in her mind, she began to feel the outset of panic. What if one of the places that had been plowed was her home? Where would Mom be then? Did they know before they knocked everything down that she was still inside? The thought surged adrenaline into her veins, and with it, she began to move just a bit faster.

As she rounded the corner out of the empty bowl of a site, something familiar caught her eye. She stopped dead in her tracks as her blue mane flowed off to the side in the breeze. She squinted at the object that lay upon the ground not too far off. Slowly, she approached disbelief in her mind. The bird shaped pendant lay there as if it were dropped and forgotten, but that just couldn’t be right. She slipped her hoof under the tightly wound twine that connected at two ends to the bird’s top wing and lifted it up to eye level. She had to balance herself on two legs, but now she knew for certain. The chip that ran from the bird’s head to its beak was exactly as she remembered it. This was the very same birthday present that Mom had given to Mommy last year.

It was a sunny day, and Mom had decided to take them all out for a picnic for the occasion. The filly could still remember the look in her mother’s eyes as the pendant was fastened around her neck. A mix of surprise and shy appreciation were visible in her, as her cheeks grew pink. Mommy looked to Mom with a smile and eyes that dripped with love from the edges. After giving her a moment to take it in, to come close and hold her, Mom turned her attention to the fluffy clouds above. Together with her parents, the filly had looked up as Mom spoke. “I love you both so much, you know…” she said, pulling both the filly and her mother’s attention to her. She looked off to the side, the forest the only thing in that direction.

“Are you alright dear?” she had heard Mommy ask behind her as her mother looked off to the dark abyss. The memory was plain and clear, as if it had been just yesterday.

“You two are with me… so I must be. I am just fine…” She looked over to Mom with the strangest look she had ever seen in her eyes. Mom had never shown any sign of being sad; she was always either happy or mellow. It never seemed that she was low in the dumps, and it was rare that a simple frown crossed her face. But then, with eyes wide and focused on the pendant, Mom had tears in her eyes. “I don’t want this place… I’ve been here all my life. That pendant, I saw it in a shop and knew why I needed it for you instantly. I don’t want you or our filly to have to be stuck in a cage for the rest of our lives… I want us all to soar together one day!” Mom had said with so much power, her eyes wet as she smile at the clouds. She stared at the sky then, imagining herself and her parents both flying high above the trees. It was funny; she had never in her life before, envied anypony really. But there she was, wishing so badly that she could be a pegasi like the ones she saw around town every now and then.

Seeing the pendant now, she could only hope that days like that would still come. Looking around her, she wondered if this would change anything. Maybe they could finally get flown out of this it in the forest. She took up the pendant in her magic, and closed its pin behind her neck. It hung loosely from her neck, but then, she was much smaller still than Mommy. Which begs the question, how did she lose it? She wouldn’t have just left it here, or forgotten it… something must have happened. Now, more than ever, the blue manned filly knew she needed to be back at home.

She turned the next corner with haste, and as she did, came to recognize where she was. The tea shop sign that lay at the side of the street was the same one that had hung only a short ways off from where her house was, and she was sure of it. She loved their tea, it was always soothing and warm in her belly. She frowned at seeing the sign on the ground, right beside the collapsed shop, but couldn’t stop now to get lost in her good memories. Around the next corner, she was certain that she knew exactly where she was now… Just one more turn and she’d be there!

The filly galloped to a stop at the end of the street she lived on. It was a shame really, to find it so completely crushed and torn apart. Her house was in view, and as far as she could tell, it still stood strongly enough to be rebuilt. Slowly, she walked down the path, letting her legs grow a little less tense as she moved. When the house was directly in front of her, she sighed in relief. She was home at last, after all those hours of sneaking and wondering. She had lost track of time, but now here she was. It didn’t matter to her anymore that her legs were sore, or that her cast had grown so heavy. Everything was alright now, because she had made it back.

Inside, the place was an absolute mess. Crumbled rock and clay lay here and there in piles, and light shined in through the holes they had left. The floor was still moist, and mush that must have been paper at some point covered a lot of it. She did her best to step around them, but they were too many and close together. She flinched as the cold, wet clump fell from her quickly raised hoof. Though it mattered little, with her hooves already covered in mud, she still didn’t want any of the stuff anywhere near her. After a few moments, she simply swallowed her feeling of disgust and walked right over the degraded papers. The next room over had much of the same, and was entirely emptied of any sign that life had once been there. It was, in fact, the dining room… or so she thought. It looked nothing the same, even the table was gone from the once well-kept picture.

The blue manned filly froze as she came to the doorway into the next room. There, atop a pile of rubble that separated the inside from outside, was Mommy. Her head sulked low, her mane in a total mess. With minute movements, she edged herself closer, coming around slightly to see the exhausted expression on her mother’s face. She looked down at the pulverized stone and clay below her, seeming to search it for answers. The puffy flesh under her eyes was bruised, and it was more than apparent that she had been crying.

Something must have stricken her in the emotional fog that surrounded her mother, for the filly’s legs suddenly became too stiff to move. In her shock, she stumbled to the side, her broken leg hanging off to the side throwing her off balance. Though she struggled, wiggling the appendage to and fro as she tipped, it was of no use. Her body came to collide with the wet and cracked floor with a loud thud. She couldn’t have helped herself; Mommy had never shed a tear in her life before the filly. She was the happiest mare she had ever seen even with the depths of the situations she always found herself in.

Her eyes clenched shut for a few seconds before she could bring herself to open them. Directly in front of her was the pile of rubble, and as she looked up, she saw Mommy. She stared back in disbelief, looking over the filly as if she was some sort of ghost. Blinking did nothing to clear her head, and as she rose to her hooves, the filly turned herself over. Slowly, they both approached each other. Mommy’s black coat gleamed in the light as she stumbled to the side, a rock out of place coming to meet her hoof. She almost fell over altogether, but was able to catch herself. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked down at the filly before her. Sitting there before her mother, she felt herself recoil backwards slightly. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but with her having a broken leg and all, Mommy might get overly worried. Without a word, she lowered her neck and pushed her forehead into her daughter’s. She flinched at first, but then closed her eyes and let herself feel the warmth of her mother’s coat. Eventually, Mommy pulled away, and when she opened her eyes, fresh tears fell to the ground before her.

“I am so happy… you are okay, Blue Gray…” Her mother said through her sobs. Was she this way because she and Mom had been looking for her? Was she thought to be missing? The filly just couldn’t get it. “Where… where were you? Just what were you thinking leaving the school in a time like this?” she yelled. Mommy glared down at her with rage the likes of which she had never seen before. The filly drew within herself as she looked back up, shacking. After a moment, her mother simply broke into tears. “Thank… goodness, you’re alright…”

“I am sorry, Mommy,” she said as she hugged her tightly. She didn’t know what caused her mother to break down like this, but she knew that it must have been horrible. Maybe some beast had caught a foal somewhere in town, and her missing was more worry than she could handle… she could only imagine how much trouble she must have gone through. Her mother sobbed on, and as she did, the filly could tell that none of that was relevant. No amount of worry would drive her this far… would it?

“No, don’t. Don’t be sorry, you are here! You’re here and safe… and that’s all I need,” she said as she hugged her daughter more tightly. Mom must be out looking right now, she thought. She must be out there, somewhere in Beacon right now, looking for her as Mommy waited here. It sounded just like her… The filly had to fight off the tears that came to her own eyes. She had to be strong! She needed to be strong for Mommy.

“Mommy, can we go get Mom now? She… she must be worried too,” the filly asked, bringing a stop to her mother’s sobs. Slowly, she pulled away from her, looking at her daughter dead in the eyes. Many moments passed before either of them did a thing.

“Dear…” Mommy began finally, sinking the filly’s heart into the sea of helplessness. She knew… she knew but it couldn’t be. She kept telling herself it wouldn’t be. She wouldn’t have been strong enough if it was true… “Mom… Mom isn’t worried about you. She knows you are safe and that you are so very strong…”

“No she doesn’t! We need to go tell her…” she argued. Nothing she did could fight it off, nothing she did would make it any less real. It wasn’t a dream, or a nightmare… it was worse. Silence passed between the two as they looked at one another.

“I… Listen, Blue Grey, Mom is… she isn’t…” she struggled to say as tears crawled down her cheeks.

“I know, alright!” the filly shouted, pulling her hooves up to her as she shook it back and forth. “I know already… I was there! She… she saved me… but not… but not her,” her voice turned almost to a whisper as she spoke. Tears came now, and this time, nothing she could do would stop them. They wouldn’t be stopped now, they were too strong… and she was too weak. She wasn’t strong enough, and she knew it. Mom was gone, and she was weak. Her tears, for the first time in years, fell to the floor instead of staying in their place. She sobbed on and on, for all the times she was strong she cried now; right when she needed to be strong the most.

Quite a bit of time passed with neither saying a word. They both sat, eyes looking where ever might be darkest, and simply let their sorrow pour out together. It wasn’t the first time they had both been sad together, just the two of them. They had to fight through really hard times, and while it was true that this was the hardest, they both would make it through, the filly knew. Somehow. Right then and there, though, none of it mattered. She only wanted the one thing she could never have again. She remembered all times she had been with her Mom, all the times she was scolded, all the times she was loved and all the fun they all had together. Then she remembered the necklace that still hung from her frail neck.

“When will we be free, Mom?” she asked, her drying tears growing sticky on her face.

“I don’t know, dear,” she said with nearly an empty voice. It was plain that she had grown exhausted, the travails that occurred today having brought their weight down on her. Without saying another word, the filly took off the necklace, and lifted it up before her mother with her magic. Standing there, she saw it twinkle lightly in her mother’s eye. She then fastened it around her neck, letting it fall gently against her chest. They both looked at the pedant with sad eyes. “Where did you?”

“On the sidewalk,” she answered quickly.

“I must have dropped it… but. No, I think you should have it now,” she said as she pulled the chain around to try and undo the bolt in the front. It took some work, but she eventually undid it, and then placed it around her daughter’s neck.

“Why are you giving me Mom’s necklace? She loved to see you wear it…” the filly said with a rasping voice.

“One day, you are going to soar high above those trees and finally be free… just like the birds she loved so much… and I want you to take her with you…” Mommy said as she looked up at the stars above. “She loved you so much, Blue Grey…” she said as the two looked up now. A light cast from one side of the sky to the other as they watched; a shooting star. It went from one side of the sky to the other, not stopping for anything below.

“I… I am not strong enough,” she admitted, remembering how she had finally lost her fight with her weakness.

“You’re wrong. You are one of the strongest ponies that anypony will ever see. She thought so, and so do I,” she whispered. The filly whipped her head around to face her mother.

“Did… did she really say that?” she asked. A nod was her mother’s only response, but as she looked up, she knew somehow that it wasn’t a lie. Like Mom herself had been there, right beside them confirming everything, she believed it all. Somehow, Mom had thought that she was strong. She felt the sorrow at her loss, felt the pain of it all. But in a way, the pendant that hung from her neck gave her reassurance. She would soar one day. She would soar and she would show this world just how strong she knew she could be. She had to, if only so that her mother could finally rest easily.

=========================================================================

Never ending flames shot out into the safety of nothingness, bringing doom to all foolish enough to go near. The endless forest gave way, at some point, to a clearing. Though it was a place of flame and loss half the time, hooves came to rest here, finally granting the free moment to rest. Eyes searched all around, and found no sign of the flames that had threatened to eat away all, nor was there any feeling of burning inside. The Blood had long ago calmed, and now, it seemed to only want silence. No other made sound, and for all that was known, no other even moved. Their light shined in the nothingness, scattered far and wide like the stars above.

As eyes were cast upwards, it seemed to be that others were truly in every direction but down. Up, left, right, back and forth; it didn’t matter where one turned. They all gleamed so brightly in the absence of such brutal fires. Swiftly, a heavily feeling entered the chest as rich visions opened inside. There was the same, gleaming light all around, and the same beautiful image everywhere that could be seen without such visions. Yet still, there was so much different. There was another… one with eyes that reflected the wonder within them.

A thought came, not born of the Blood nor of force. It was not the product of the strange other, either. No, this seemed to be new, something that spawned all on its own.

Why is it raining?

_________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note:

Well thank you, everyone, for reading this far! I have had a lot of fun writing so far, and I have so much more planned. This chapter took a long time for me to finally finish, and that is mainly due to some family issues and the factor of stress with finishing up school. I don't plan to take so long in the future! Hopefully my esteem will be fixed up a bit by finally releasing this chapter. It helps that the next chapter will be composed mainly of a crucial part of the story that I have been looking forward to for months now. The story is going to be taking a lot of turns soon, and I look forward to telling all of you every little detail once I release each chapter. In truth, this is only part one of a much larger story still, and I have plans for story to lead to a conclusion finally in part four.

Also, please don't be afraid to tell me what you think! I am always looking for insight, and whatever I can get, whether it be positive or negative, helps significantly. The positive will increase my moral and the negative will tell me what to change in how I write. So whatever your thoughts are, I am open to them. I have two tumblr accounts, one of which I use primarily and the other which I log to every now and then. I can answer any questions or take your criticism here or on one of them!

http://askdrearycloak.tumblr.com/
http://rusty-parker.tumblr.com/

Thanks again! I can't wait to show you all more of the tale that has spun for so long in this head of mine.