//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Return of a Tyrant // Story: A Harmonic Sonata // by keaton-furman-prower //------------------------------// Sonata struggled not to panic as she looked up into the sky. The sun was hanging above the sky like normal, but it was unlike anything she had seen in her life; unlike other times, when the sun's rays had been warm and kind, it now radiated infernal heat, and it had expanded to encompass half the sky. It was also much redder than usual. All around her, ponies had walked out of their houses, a clear look of confusion and fear on their faces. “No,” said Sonata. “Why?! I haven’t been able to make any friends yet!” “Sonata?” asked Glides. “What's wrong?” Before anypony could say anything else, the sun above them began to flare. To everpony's horror, it ejected a huge mass of plasma, which proceeded to fall towards the ground. “The horror! The horror!” screamed three random mares with flower cutie marks. “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!” a young orange pegasus yelled. “The sun is falling on top of us!” screamed Fluttershy. “Hey everypony!” shouted a voice which Sonata swore was Pinkie Pie. “Come panic with me!” As ponies ran screaming in circles, the mass of plasma kept falling towards them. As it fell, however, it seemed to slow down. In addition, it became more distinct; at first it was simply a formless blob, but it slowly grew a pair of wings, four legs, and a distinct head. Slowly, the new limbs expanded outwards, growing longer and thinner, while the horn began to grow a long, sharp horn. As the figure began to change, ponies stopped running and looked up, curious as to why it was changing. Finally, as it approached the ground, it slowed to a halt, and the fiery surface was dispelled, leaving behind the pitch black body of an alicorn. But instead of dissipating, the fire flowed to the pony's head and bottom, forming a blazing mane and tail. For a moment, the mare stood still, her eyes closed as everypony stared in terror. Then, her eyes opened, revealing her glowing red eyes and draconic slits. “Hello, my little ponies. It has been far too long, has it not?” For a moment, there was silence. The many ponies were staring at the dark, fiery alicorn in abject terror. As they kept staring, the mare gave them a faux-offended look. “Oh, don’t give me those looks. Surely you know who I am?” “I know!” said Sugar Belle. “You're some kind of evil sun pony who wants to eat our cutie marks, right?” The mare glared at her, then created a fireball and flung it in Sugar's general direction, causing her and several other ponies to run away screaming. “So,” the mare said, her voice laced with rage, “you have all forgotten.” She then landed in front of a group of ponies and glared at them. “Do you not remember me?! Has the memory of my reign vanished so easily?!” Nopony spoke. They were far too terrified to speak. All except one. “I do!” yelled Sonata. The made then vanished in a blazing fireball and reappeared just a few inches away from her. “Really? Then, pray tell, who am I?” Sonata shuddered as the infernal mare glared at her, but she managed to retain her composure just long enough to answer. “Y-you're Hellfire Sun!” Several ponies gasped in shock, but Hellfire Sun chuckled. “So, it seems somepony does remember me. But do you know why I’m here?” This time, Sonata shrunk away, too terrified to speak. Her pupils had shrunken down to pinpricks, and her whole body was shaking. Hellfire Sun rolled her eyes, and then flew up into the sky. “You may not remember, my little ponies, that a thousand years ago, your beloved Princess Luna fell from grace, consumed by jealousy and resentment. I then came to her, offering her all she wanted in my infinite kindness. For a while, I believed she had accepted my offer, but then, she did the unthinkable and rejected the kindness I had offered her.” As she spoke, her mane flared up, letting out a terrible wave of heat. Ponies all around ran for cover as she began to scream. “I offered her everything she ever wanted, and she not only rejected me, but she locked me within the sun for a thousand years!” As she hung in the air, her anger slowly was replace with something far more ominous; laughter, but not the joyful laughter that Sonata was familiar with. It was a laugh of madness. “She will pay! She will watch as her precious Equestria burns! THE SUN SHALL BURN IT ALL!!!” “Not if I have anything to say about it!” The voice caused Hellfire Sun to snap out of her maniacal laughter. Looking down, she noticed a lone purple unicorn pointing a strange metal device at her. Sonata looked as well, and quickly recognized her as Amethyst Star. “Hellfire Sun, or whatever your name is,” she said. “I’m not going to allow you to hurt anypony! So give up now before I have to stop you!” Unimpressed, Hellfire Sun gave Amethyst a faux-scared look. “Oh dear. Some little unicorn thinks she can stop me. Whatever shall I do?” She then cackled mockingly, causing Amethyst to grit her teeth. “So, you don’t think I’ve got what it takes?!” she yelled as she aimed her weapon. “Well let’s see who gets the last laugh!” The weapon began to glow with a blue light as Amethyst pointed it at the mad alicorn, and then fired a beam of blue energy at her. As it hit Hellfire Sun, she did nothing to stop it; she merely watched with mild curiosity, then annoyance, as the energy caused her body to be covered in a thick layer of ice. She kept still, however, even as the ice expanded to cover her whole body. “Ha! How's that feel, evil wannabe overlord?!” All around her, ponies cheered. However, cheers turned to shock and horror as the ice burst into flames and melted away, revealing Hellfire Sun to be completely unharmed. “Is that the best you can do?” Almost immediately, everypony began to scream and run away, except for Amethyst, whose face showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, she simply seemed rather disappointed. “Huh. I guess I should have known it wouldn't be so easy.” “Yes, you should have,” Hellfire Sun deadpanned. “How unfortunate that you won't live to learn from that mistake!” As she finished, her horn began to glow with dark energy as she pointed it right towards Amethyst. “ENJOY THE LAST FEW MOMENTS OF YOUR PITIFUL LITTLE LIFE!!!” A terrible black ray sped towards Amethyst. Before it could reach her, however, she was tackled out of the way by another pony. The area where she had standing just seconds ago was engulfed by darkness before it exploded, leaving behind a large smoking crater. Amethyst gasped as she turned back towards the crater, more annoyed that she’d been pushed away than grateful that she hadn’t been vaporized. She then looked at the pony who had pushed her out of the way, and was shocked to see Sonata next to her. “Amy! Why didn’t you dodge?!” “Okay, three things,” Amethyst said as she gritted her teeth. “First off, I had a plan, which I could have carried out if you hadn’t pushed me. Second, you pushed me! And finally, my name is Amethyst Star, not Amy!” “Yeah, but Amethyst Star is kind of a mouthful,” said Sonata. “Amy is easier to say!” Hellfire Sun’s eyes twitched as she watched the two ponies below her arguing. “It might be easier to say,” said Amethyst. “But my name is Amethyst Star, not Amy!” “Well, of course it’s not your real name!” said Sonata. “It’s just a nickname!” “I don’t want a nickname!” yelled Amethyst. “And I don’t even like you!” “Well, maybe you would like me if you didn’t spend so much time-” “ENOUGH!!!” The two bickering ponies immediately shut their mouths and turned their gazes towards Hellfire Sun. “I’m not going to give up on my plans to destroy all of Equestria just because of a pair of fillies are bickering over somepony’s name! In fact, I’m just going to have to burn your precious little village down first! And I’ll start by killing you two!” Sonata’s eyes widened as Hellfire Sun’s horn began to glow with heat. But her fear was briefly replaced by surprise when Fluttershy flew between them, holding her hooves out in defiance. “No!” she yelled out. “I won’t let you hurt them!” The fiery alicorn briefly powered her horn down at the mare’s words. “Really?” she asked. “Are you truly willing to let yourself be killed for their sake?” Fluttershy briefly shivered at the idea of being killed by the evil mare; of never again being held in Big Macintosh’s hooves, or singing with her bird choirs, or taking care of her adorable little animals. However, she took a deep breath and held her ground. “You stay away from them.” Hellfire Sun stared at the yellow pegasus, unable to understand why she was so willing to die for another’s sake. Her bewilderment only grew as a baby dragon, a dark blue pegasus, a pink unicorn, and a peach-colored earth pony joined them. “We’re not going to let you hurt anypony else, Hellfire Sun!” yelled the blue pegasus. The evil mare was silent for a brief moment as she regarded the six ponies and their little dragon standing together. Then, she began to laugh as she gathered a huge ball of fire at the tip of her horn. “Did you really think that I’d be intimidated by your willingness to die together?! Ha! Such heroic nonsense!” She then flung the fireball straight towards the ponies. She could hear a number of ponies screaming in the background, but she paid them no notice. All she cared about was ending the miserable little ponies who had dared to stand up to her. But before the fireball could reach them, something amazing happened. A huge dome of blue energy surrounded the group, protecting them as the fireball exploded around them. Hellfire Sun watched in shock as the smoke dissipated, leaving behind six unscathed mares and one baby dragon. However, her shock quickly gave way to anger as she realized who had made the dome appear. “So… you’ve finally decided to show yourself, Princess.” There was a flash of light, and a dark blue alicorn appeared in front of the group. Sonata gasped as she looked up to see her. “Princess! What are you doing here?!” Luna did not reply; instead, she looked up towards Hellfire Sun. “Do not think for one second that you will succeed,” she said. “I was able to defeat you once, and I can do so again! You will not harm Equestria, or any of my little ponies!” As Luna spoke, she took a defiant stance, and her horn began to glow with blue magic. Hellfire Sun did not back down, however; instead, she smirked at Luna. “Well, if you believe yourself to be capable of besting me, then be my guest. However, you no doubt remember that the last time we fought, I was able to defeat you quite easily. And you don't seem to be carrying the Elements of Harmony either, so that takes out the possibility of using those either. So how exactly do you plan to fight me?” Luna did not say anything, but kept channeling magic into her horn. As she did, Hellfire Sun began to charge her own magic, preparing to strike back. Finally, Luna’s horn gave off a blinding flash of light. “So be it!” yelled Hellfire Sun. “Prepare to burn!” She then fired her dark magic directly towards Luna. However, before the magic could reach her, she vanished into thin air, along with the six ponies and dragon. The area where they had been standing just seconds ago was vaporized, leaving behind a smoking crater. Hellfire Sun gaped at the crater, dumbfounded by her enemy's disappearance. The ponies beneath her also stared at the crater, fearing the worst. However, they were quickly broken out of their trance when the fiery alicorn screamed in rage. “I WILL MOUNT YOUR HEAD ABOVE THE THRONE WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU!!!” Sonata yelped as she fell onto the floor. Taking a moment to gather her bearings, she looked around to try to identify her location. “Wow,” she said. “This place is kinda neat! A bit weird, but neat!” All around her, there were several colorful striped masks, as well as a large number of steaming pots containing a variety of colorful liquids. The walls were covered with shelves, each of which held pots, books, or vials containing all sorts of exotic plants. However, what intrigued her the most was the strange individual who was talking to Princess Luna. “Oh Princess! This situation is most dire! It seems as if the sky is on fire!” Sonata looked at the mare; she had the build of an earth pony, but her mane was much straighter than normal, and her body was covered in stripes. She was wearing a number of golden rings around her legs, neck, and ears, and her tail had very little hair, except for the tip. “I am keenly aware of our current situation, Zecora,” said Luna. “You know as well as I do what’s at stake, and why I must ask that you inform these subjects of mine while I go-” “Wait just one moment, Princess,” Sonata interrupted. “You know this pony?” “Technically, she is a zebra,” said Luna. “But yes. She is an old friend of mine.” “You must be Sonata, Luna’s student,” said Zecora. “I only wish we could have met when danger was not imminent.” “Indeed,” said Luna. “Zecora is one of the few who knows as much about the Elements of Harmony as I do. That is why I have brought you and the others here, Sonata.” At the mention of the other ponies, Sonata realized that she had yet to hear them say anything since they had been warped into the hut. She turned around and saw that the mares were all huddled in the back of the hut, while Fluttershy was clutching Spike tightly. “What’s wrong, girls?” “What's wrong?!” said Glides. “You’re talking to Zecora!” “She’s weird!” said Tennis. “She comes into town once a month, and she just paws at the ground!” “Plus, she lives in the Everfree forest!” said Sugar. “Everypony knows that place is unnatural!” “She’s scary!” squeaked Fluttershy. “Enough!” said Princess Luna, causing them to stand up in shock. “This sort of behavior is unacceptable! Zecora is one of my most trustworthy friends, and I do not approve of anypony who would refuse to accept her based on trivial differences! And even if that were to be ignored, you should not be so concerned about being stuck with the wrong sort of pony when the world is about to burn around you!” Sugar, Tennis, Glides, and Fluttershy looked down in embarrassment. “We’re sorry,” Fluttershy said quickly. “Good,” Spike said as he caught his breath. “I didn’t want you to crush my windpipe while using me as your teddy bear.” “I’m sorry!” she said again. Luna smiled in approval. She then nodded as Glides, Sugar, and Tennis each gave their own apology. Then, her gaze fell on Amethyst Star, who was still staring at Zecora skeptically. Sonata noticed this too, and walked up to her. “Aw, come on, Amy. If Princess Luna says she’s cool, you can definitely trust her, right?” Sonata reached out with her hoof to pat Amethyst on the back. However, the purple unicorn slapped it away. “I’ll trust her when I know she’s honest,” she said. “And my name is Amethyst Star.” She glared as Sonata backed away. However, as she looked away from the blue earth pony, she looked directly into Luna’s eyes. “Is there a problem, my little pony?” Even though Amethyst had spent many years training herself not to feel fear or nervousness, even she would feel a chill crawl down her spine at the anger in Princess Luna’s eyes. “N-none at all, your highness.” “Good,” Luna said sternly. “I would hate for there to be trouble involving my prized student or my friend.” The blue alicorn then began to walk towards the door. “I must go now. I cannot stand idly by while Hellfire Sun lets the sun’s rays burn Equestria down. Zecora will explain what must be done. Good luck.” With that, she ran outside and spread out her wings.