The Flames of the Phoenix- Be Free
Sweet Apple Acres (Next Morning)
The morning sunlight began to breach through the curtains the moment Ember first began to open her eyes. The air was slightly cool, but nothing too cold for anypony. In fact, Ember could never actually be cold. Her powers would passively keep her warm no matter what the weather was like outside. Rain or shine, Snow or not, she still remained warm. It was one thing that at times she liked. Back in her old world, her room was always freezing at night and the house she lived in did not have any heating for the winter days or air conditioning for brutal summers.
Not the case for her now. But one thing she did find that was quite… odd was that she woke up to Applebloom snuggling against her arms… and good lord, was she cute. The Filly wasn’t even aware that Ember was actually awake. Right now, she was curled up in a ball and purring like a cat that was relaxing in their favorite spot on the couch. Turns out, that spot was on top of her and the look on her face made Ember think that Applebloom wasn’t just a pony, but also weaponized cuteness that can melt someone’s face off. Of course, if there were such a thing, she would use to defeat Anivia. However, that would just sound too simple. And in her long immortal life, nothing like that could ever be simple.
It was then though that she heard a small knock. A knock that would wake up the filly sleeping on Ember. “Uh… What t-time is it?”
“Good Morning Applebloom.” Ember told her.
“M-morning Aunt Embah… What time is it?”
“Well…” Again, she heard a faint knock. “Judging from that, something tells me your sister is at the door telling us about breakfast.”
“Ah’ll get it.” She cheerfully replied, leaping up to go for the door and opening it, only to not see her sister there. “Oh, well good morning Caesar.” She spoke to the boy at the door, who was waiting on the two of them as Ember began to rise from her position on the couch that she fell asleep on.
“G-good morning. Applejack said to see if you two were awake and to wake you if you weren’t. She want’s us helping out with breakfast.” Caesar explained.
“Well, your knock did just the trick.” Ember explained as Applebloom zipped past Caesar and zoomed downstairs. The pyromancer was lucky that Applebloom didn’t trip and tumble down the stairwell. Bumping her head would not be a good way to start her day. “So… How was your first night?” Ember asked him as she closed the door behind her. “Comfortable?”
“It was nice actually. I don’t usually dream, but I had a nice one about my family… Then there’s always that weird feeling when you wake up in a new place.” Caesar explained, looking a bit downcast at the mention of his own family.
“Hey, it’s alright. You’ll grow accustomed to everything here soon. It just takes time.”
Caesar mumbled something in response. Causing Ember to look back at him with a curious glance. “Could you speak up please? I didn’t quite catch that.”
Caesar shook his head a little before responding, “It was nothing important. Sorry. Let’s go and get breakfast.” Caesar said before turning away and going down towards the voices coming from the kitchen.
“That was… odd.” The mancer thought to herself. “I’ve only seen him be happy so far around Applebloom and the others. Plus, AJ was telling me that Caesar had a chance to meet Applebloom’s friends. What could possibly be bothering him?” Then she realized something. Maybe this had to do with the mentioning of his family. He did look a bit upset and distracted about it. If so, then maybe she’ll have to find a way to help him open up a little.
Because from what she remembered, bottled up emotions were like when you shake a soda can. At the moment you open it, everything just hits you directly in the face.
With that, she made her way downstairs, adjusting her scarf as she found AJ’s dog at the bottom of the stairs, wagging her tail eagerly and barking a little. Possibly her way of saying “Good morning!” as she turned to see Applebloom and Caesar in the kitchen.
“Mornin’ Sugarcube!” Ember heard from behind her as she turned around to see Applejack trotting into the room. “Guessing Caesar got your attention?”
“Sure did.” Ember replied. “What’s he helping out with in the kitchen?”
“Well, Big Mac is getting some Apples from around back and bringin’ them here so these two young’uns can help start with making some Apple Pancakes.” The Earth Pony replied, just as a small stone pillar with a basket of fresh apples appeared right next to them. “And speaking of which, there he is.”
“Mornin’,” The Stallion spoke as AJ took the basket over to Applebloom. He soon dismissed the Earth Pillar as he trotted over to Ember. “Thought ah get the chance to practice my abilities while helping out the family.”
“So you kill two birds with one stone. Nice job… and no, that was not a pun on your powers, Mac.” Ember chuckled.
“Ah was aware of that.” He replied. “Hey, has anypony seen Granny Smith this morning?”
“Ah’m comin! Ah’m comin!” They heard her shout from upstairs as she slowly walked on down. “Ponies these days…”
“So, what are we to do with the apples next?” Caesar asked, apparently never having baked before.
“Well, first we wash ‘em and then from there, we peel the skins off before we cut them to slices.” Applejack replied, showing her working with the mixing bowl for a bit. “Big Mac, please help them with the cutting part. Ah swear that they might cut themselves if they aren’t careful.”
“Eeyup...” Big Mac replied, nodding his head trotting on over to where Applebloom and Caesar was and lending the two of them a helping hoof.
“Hey Applejack?” Ember interjected. “If the kids are doing the peeling, I can help with the cutting afterwards. That way it doesn’t look like I’m not helping out around here.” The earth pony thought about it for a minute before nodding her head in agreement.
“Ah like that. Change of plans Mac. Ember’s helping with cutting the apples once you’re done peeling ‘em.” The mare said, her brother just simply nodding her head as they all pitched in on helping each other out with breakfast. At one point though, after Ember had noticed that one of the knives that she would have used for slicing the apples was dirty, she got out another one. But this knife in particular wasn’t really… ordinary.
For one thing, the knife was made out of a black metal that Ember didn’t recognize. The handle was a wooden red and it was the same color as the edge of the blade. There was a runic marking on the sides of it, almost resembling a cutie mark. But what really surprised her was that this knife… had a message go off inside her head. “To those that have found my weapon. I ask of you to help me in my quest. Call me, let me come to your world and find my sister, let me warn her and my previous tormentor of what my world brought me. Let me help them and prevent disaster. To those of you who let me do such, I offer you my help. Be it a threat from an unimaginable evil, or a simple need to talk, I would love to help. Call me, Blood Cleaver, and I will appear."
Ember thought for a moment on the predicaments of the fact that this wasn’t just a knife, but a summoning token. Just how in the world did it exactly get in the Apple Family’s kitchen? That was something she wouldn’t have to think about right now, but instead, just used the knife to cut the apple that was on the cutting board. Only to realize that it also cut straight through the board. Cutting it in half and almost leaving a dent on the counter.
“Whoops.” She thought to herself. Thankfully, she got rid of it before Applejack noticed and by the time she was done with the apple slicing, breakfast was almost done. The family decided to take some time to eat a full meal first before working out on the farm for Zap Apple season, but to Ember, the thought of the Knife was still fresh inside her mind. After finishing her food, she stepped outside along the back of the barn with the token in her hand. Ember was going to summon this “Blood Cleaver” so she could take to her. But, it seemed like she would have to hold off on that given how busy the family was today.
She soon noticed Applebloom racing out of the barn in an eager sprint. “Come on, Caesar!! Let’s go get some Zap Apples!!!”
“Alright, alright. I’m coming. I’m not as fast as you…” Ember saw Caesar following her, seemingly already being strained from trying to keep up with her. “Or as in shape as you are, geez.”
She just chuckled, watching as Applebloom tried to slow down so the young boy stood a chance when it came to catching up with her. It might not look like it from her position, but she was able to see the two of them go over to where the trees were in the distance and prepare to pick them now before they were fully ripe. She needed to talk to Applejack though.
Yesterday, when Ember was with Caesar and Applebloom, the Mancer saw a note on the fridge that caught her attention. This though, was followed by a brief conversation with her before the mare had to run out the door that left her with more questions than answers. But it wasn’t what had the pyromancer worried. Overnight, she felt a massive surge of negative life force that alarmed her. Almost making her think that Anivia was up to no good again. She needed to talk to Applejack and find out what happened.
Looking over by the barn, she noticed the farm mare by herself organizing the baskets needed for the harvest. But as she was carrying them over, the Mancer soon spoke up. “Applejack, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Aunt Embah? I honestly didn’t expect ya here. What’s on your mind?”
“What were you and your friends doing the other night?” She asked, folding her arms. The earth pony right now, felt like she was caught doing something wrong. “And don’t say nothing because I felt a surge of negative life force throughout the whole town.”
“Ya felt the Tantabus?” She asked. “That nightmare varmint was causing trouble all over the darned place.” Ember though, was familiar with the name. She had heard tales of it, but not actually seen anything like it in person. As Applejack kept talking about it, Ember kept thinking on something else though.
“All and all, ah don’t think we have any repercussions if everything's all normal right now right?” Applejack asked, causing Ember to shake her head.
“You said that it affected everyone in Ponyville, including at the orchard?”
“Yeah, but you don’t seemed phased to it. Now that ah think ‘bout it, ah didn’t see ya in that shared dream.” The pony replied
“I can’t dream Applejack… It’s a price for my immortality. But you’re forgetting somepony else that can.” It was then that Applejack’s eyes widened, realizing who she was referring to.
“Caesar…”
“Exactly-.” Before saying anything else, Ember turned around to see Applebloom by herself. Outside the barn and alone for that matter. “Hey, Applebloom, where is Caesar? I thought you were eager to get started with the harvest.”
“We are,” Caesar responded from behind them. “We just thought it would be best to take a few extra baskets, you know, since I can carry more.” Caesar explained.
“So, why are you here, you wanted something from us before we head out?” He asked.
“Well… I just thought it was off that you weren’t next to Applebloom and went to look for baskets on your own.” Ember mentioned, “You could've just told Applejack and she would’ve been more than willing to help get them for you.”
“You two seemed busy, and it’s not like I couldn’t do it myself.” Caesar said shrugging.
Applejack though, looked at Ember before looking back at Caesar. “Anything else besides… baskets?”
“Well… I guess I also wanted to see the barn? I didn’t get a chance to do that yesterday.” He said.
Applejack just sighed, looking back at Ember again before speaking. “Caesar… Can Ember and ah talk to ya for a minute… in private?”
“I guess,” Caesar responded before turning to Applebloom. “I’ll be with you in a minute then, you get started without me and we’ll be done faster, alright?” Caesar asked, at which Applebloom saluted and galloped off towards the Zap apple orchard.
Shortly after that, when Ember and Applejack were with Caesar by themselves around the opposite end of the barn, Caesar was the first one to speak.
“Soooo… what is it? It must be important if we’re taking time off harvesting Zap apples, when they only grow once a year like this.” He pointed out.
Ember sighed, looking back at him. “Caesar, from what Applejack was telling me, her and her friends the other night were dealing with something very… important last night. Did last night feel strange to you in any way? Like after you went to bed?” The mancer tried her best to be discreet, but didn’t want Caesar to be asking her and Applejack too many questions since it would be taking time away from the harvest.
“You mean besides everyone having one big dream altogether yesterday where everyone in town were more or less battling some kind of smoke monster that tried to escape into the real world?” Caesar asked.
Applejack herself, just stared at the young boy. Surprised. Ember though, nodded her head. “Yeah, that’s right. We’re only asking you this because we wanted to make sure you were okay. That’s all.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It was actually fun, and I think I got something cool out of it as well.” Caesar said with a smile.
“Cool you say?” The pyromancer replied. “What was it?”
“Well, it’s kind of meant to be a surprise, but I haven’t found it yet. I think it’s somewhere in the orchard though. Me and Applebloom were going to keep an eye out for it while we did our chores and helped out with the harvest. It’s supposed to look like a black box with yellow lightnings on it. Could you give it to me if you find it?” Caesar asked.
“Sure. In fact, we can take some more time after the harvest to look for it if you want. That way, you aren’t distracted with keeping an eye out for it while we’re getting Zap Apples.” Ember offered, causing the young boy’s face to light up like a christmas tree.
“Eh, yeah. That does sound better. But if you find it by coincidence, tell me. I think it could help us harvest faster.” Caesar said while scratching the back of his head a bit in embarrassment. All Ember did was smile, scratching Caesar by his newfound ears before letting him go and rejoin Applebloom. Shortly afterwards was when Applejack spoke again.
“Yellow lightnings?”
“I think he means bolts. Like Lightning bolts,” Ember chuckled, looking back at Caesar as he and Applebloom went to join Big Mac out on the orchard. “Ready to work? I’ll try to be careful. I rather not burn the whole orchard down by accident.” She said, just as a leaf fell on her arm before turning into cinders a few seconds later. Shortly before they caught up with Caesar and the others out on the orchard.
“Alright, I think I can use Agility to make myself faster, and Strength to help with getting the Apples down easier. But I don’t know how long they’ll last or how many times I can use them before I’ll have to rest.” Caesar explained his plan to Applebloom.
“That’s alright. If you need to rest, we can switch. It is your first harvest.” The filly assured him.
Caesar nodded. “Yeah, you’ll show me the ropes then, right?” Applebloom nodded, taking her time to explain to the boy what he needed to do for the harvest, step by step before finishing it up. Like with most farmers, the Apple Family used raw strength and power to shake the trees, but controlled their strength to where their strikes would only shake the apples off instead of uproot the tree. It was a matter of force. The force you release… and the force you restrain.
“Does that make sense?” She asked, once Applebloom was done with explaining.
“Yeah. My normal strength would most likely not be able to even make one of the apples drop, but strength should be enough to make it work. I’m roughly estimating, but I don’t think I would be able to uproot a tree like the Zap apple trees, even if I wanted too. But I’ll hold back at my first tries, just to be sure.” Caesar said.
“Whatever works for ya, sugarcube.” Applebloom smiled, stepping back as she watched Caesar prepare himself.
“Agility!” Caesar first called out, before taking a deep breath and once again calling a second move. “Strength!” He shouted before looking around.
“Where should I start?” He asked.
“Near the center of the tree. The force of the strike will vibrate to everywhere else.” Applebloom told him, not noticing that Ember was watching the two of them as Caesar got himself ready.
He smirked before he drew back his arm and suddenly took off towards the tree, stopping himself next to the nearest tree, sending up a lot of dust. Before he could slow down completely, he drew his fist forward, hitting the tree hard, canceling his own momentum. The apples fell like intended, but brought with them a lot of the leaves as well.
“Oops.” Caesar said, his cheek sparking in response.
“That was a good try, Caesar.” Ember said from behind them. “The leaves you don’t need to worry about. They’ll grow back with time.”
“Same here. Now… to the next tree!” Applebloom gleefully cried out, racing towards the next one like she was trying to play a game with Caesar and see how many Apples they could collect. This continued on for awhile, but after thirty trees, Caesar felt like he was beat. However, it was in the thirty-first tree that Ember noticed something. It was a black box with yellow lightning bolts.
What Caesar was looking for.
Surprising the two youngsters, Ember walked past them as she rolled up her sleeves. Surprising them when she kicked the tree with a forward jab. She wasn’t using her powers for extra force, but instead, used a normal kick to catch what fell out of the tree and into her right hand. “Caesar, would this happen to be the box you’re looking for?”
“Yeah! That’s it right there. Wow, I didn’t even notice it.” He confirmed her suspicion.
“You were exhausted a bit, so I can understand that,” She said, handing it to him. “What I’m curious about is what’s inside.”
Caesar smiled as he was handed the box and gave it a quick taze, the locks on the sides instantly popping open with loud clicks.
“When we were in that dream, and the cloud thing was trying to escape, I got an idea. If it is possible for it to leave the dream world, what would stop anything else from doing the same? Since the rift was already open, all I had to do was imagine this, and throw it through the rift. And voila!” Caesar explained as he took the cover off the box to reveal its content.
Inside were three items. The first one, looked much like a red tile with rounded edges and a transparent middle.
The second item, looked much like a small yellow marble.
The third and last item, was a transparent green stone with a lightning bolt running through it, although there was a crack running through it.
“Woah… So you had all three in there… as a test?” Ember asked him.
“Well, I wasn’t sure if I would ever get another chance. So I aimed high and went right for the bullseye.” Caesar explained. Ember herself though, thought that this was interesting to a much different degree. This wasn’t no small feat. This was something much more. So, she asked Applebloom to give them a minute to themselves. Once the filly left with a couple of the baskets they had, Ember then looked at Caesar.
“That was a very smart trick… I think it’s time I told you something that I wanted to wait for until you settled in, but it seems that right now will do.” She said, almost confusing him.
“Um, what do you mean?” He asked.
“Well… how should I put this… you remember when you first arrived here and found out you were part Pikachu?” She asked, just to start. “Well… you and I aren’t the only ones that this has happened to.” Taking a moment, she pulled out a phoenix feather and handed it to him. She had a feeling that he would hear her voice speak out to him and probably proceed to ask what it is.
Taking the feather, Caesar’s eyes widened as he heard the message from it. “I am Ember Valkyr, the heart of the phoenix. Call my name and I will let my flames help you anyway I can.”. Looking back at Ember with a confused look.
“Do you want me to tell you what that is?” She asked him kindly.
“Um… I’m guessing ‘a feather’ isn’t what you’re after, right?” Caesar asked.
“It was a trick question, Caesar,” She chuckled. “This is my summoning token. As I was saying before, we aren’t the only ones who ended up in Equestria. However, all these other people ended up as different people or characters in their own Equestria’s. Summoning tokens are a way for us to have other people come see us or have us come see them. Because you and I are what’s called a Displaced.” She said, having Caesar stay there for a minute as she ran into the house. When she came back out, Ember was holding the knife that she found this morning. “Now tell me… what do you notice is off about this on first glance?”
“Um… that strange mark on the side of the blade?” Caesar asked unsure if he got it right.
“That’s one thing. The thing with tokens is that they come in many forms. Mine is a feather, yet this Displaced had her’s resemble a knife.” Ember explained. “Now, it’s when you have someone else’s token that you can summon them. If you want to of course. There’s not really a specific reason for summoning one. Sometimes, you need someone to talk too or someone to help turn the tides of battle. This case though, it’s so we can help introduce you to the concept… You still with me so far?” She asked, thinking that she was boring Caesar because of her constant talking.
“I think I understand… But, if they are in different Equestrias, and are able to come here with the help of their token, couldn’t they go back home, to Earth with the tokens?” Caesar asked, a glint of hope lighting in his eyes.
“Actually… I haven’t really thought about it like that before… Tell you what, when I summon this Displaced, maybe she might have the answers you’re looking for.” Ember replied back, setting the knife down before placing a hand over it. “Blood Cleaver, if you can hear my call, I would like to meet you in person.”
“And I answer your summon.” A female voice rang out before a hole, seemingly made out of many black particles having come together appeared out of nowhere. An adult woman, with long, straight, black hair stepped out, clothed in a black, long sleeved shirt with pink stripes going down the sides, black, long legged pants and black boots.
“So, any particular reason for summoning me?” She asked as she stepped out from the black portal and it closed behind her.
“I was just curious to know who you are,” Ember replied to the woman. “Not only that, but I’m introducing my friend Caesar here to the Displaced, so I thought him meeting one could be useful for him.” With it, Ember motioned her head to where Caesar was, allowing for Blood Cleaver to see him.
“Well then. Nice to meet you then. I’m Blood Cleaver. I’m part Sayian and part Solid Class human. My special talent is blood magic, and the blood rune on my token is also my cutie mark.” She said, bowing slightly.
“Ember Valkyr. Caretaker of Philomena and Pyromancer. This is Caesar and he’s part Pikachu.”
“Nice to meet you.” Caesar said.
“Well, I guess that’s the introductions out of the way. So, you guys have tokens on your own?” Blood Cleaver asked them.
“I do, but Caesar does not. He’s… new to this.” Ember replied to her as she handed her feather to her. “I was thinking that maybe you can help Caesar with getting his token out there and answering any questions he might have… If that’s okay with you, of course.”
“Of course. Helping others is my thing. So ask away, and if you wish to make a token, I can help you send it out.” She assured.
“Go ahead, Caesar. Tell her what you told me.” The Mancer encouraged the young boy, who looked a bit nervous at first.
Steeling himself, Caesar decided to ask what he thought to be the most important question of them all. “Is it possible to get back home?”
Sighing, Blood Cleaver seemed reluctant to answer at first. Making Caesar look down at his feet as he felt his hopes being dashed, before Blood Cleaver spoke up again.
“Yes, it is possible. But I would not recommend pursuing a goal like that. The Void is a near infinite, if not infinite place. And to get home, you would first need to find your home. And before that, you would also have to learn to safely navigate the Void. The Void is what the name implies, a place devoid of all things, an empty space between universes. The tokens, are the safest way to traverse the void without even touching it, as they work like direct routes to where you’re going.
The only way to find your way in the ever changing Void, is if you have trained yourself specifically for that purpose. The power required, just to slip into the void itself, can be more than some ever manage to gain during their lives, And after that one would have to adapt to the Void’s madness without going crazy, as I’ve already mentioned.” Blood Cleaver explained. Caesar’s mood dropping even further.
“But there are also other ways. There are beings known as the Void walkers. One of them, is most likely the reason for you being here, but some, are not like that. There is one that I know went by the name Essence. She has helped many Displaced find their way home, if you ever stumble upon her, she should be able to help you. So don’t lose hope kiddo.” She said, smiling at him kindly.
“Thanks for the help, Cleaver…”
“Yeah, this is all heartwarming and all, but Aunt Embah, who is the new pony?” Ember turned around, noticing that Applejack and Applebloom had been standing there for a while. How long? She wasn’t sure. But that didn’t really matter right now.
“Aunt?” Blood Cleaver asked with curiosity.
“Long story. It’s complicated.” She sighed. “A final wish of a dying friend had me be with his daughter and help raise Applejack, Applebloom and Big Mac. Hell, I just found out about this a month ago.”
“Well, we Displaced do tend to find ourselves in the most unique of situations. I once almost got stuck in an Equestria that didn’t have any Elements of Harmony. I was only able to escape because someone else summoned me before Nightmare Moon’s return.” Blood Cleaver said with a chuckle.
“Heh… Tell me about it.” Ember said as she got up, offering a hand to help Caesar up. “I was summoned by a group of guys that were… I think it was the Ginyu Force. Very… interesting characters if I do say so myself.”
“Wait. They’re Dragonball Z characters, right? Do you have their token?” Blood Cleaver asked.
“Back in my room at the barn, wanna follow me?” Ember offered. “I have their token and a couple of others if you want to see them.”
“Yes, please. I’d love to have a copy of their token if you could. I’ve been looking for Dragonball Displaced for a long time. My teacher wasn’t able to teach me everything. She had to figure them out herself, meaning I never learned Instant transmission or such.” Blood Cleaver explained.
Ember smiled. With that, she guided her over to the barn and upstairs. On a bookshelf, she had a few tokens from previous endeavours. Including the braincase from Gremmy, the metal heart from Ultron, and some other ones. “Now where did I place the token of those numbskulls… Ah, here we are.” She said, handing a badge that resembled the insignia of the Ginyu Force. “I haven’t met much Displaced, but some of them have weird tokens if I do say so myself.”
“Tell me about it. But I think I got you beat, I helped make a token out of a cutie mark once. Made it into a bouncy ball.” Blood Cleaver shuckled before looking around at the shelves containing tokens. “Ember, do you have a pocket space, hammer space or inventory screen of some kind?” She asked.
“Not really. Most things I have I either carry with me or conjure. Since I’m a Mancer, I basically have control over all things fire… And my anger made the badlands… I… rather not discuss about that.”
“I hear ya sister. I’ve had my own rampage, sure, it was before I became a Displaced, and I didn’t hurt anyone. But there is a reason I’m accused of attempted murder, treason against the crown and deemed insane by court back home. We all make mistakes, but we learn from them and become better people.” Blood Cleaver said before taking hold of the Ginyu Force’s token with both hands, before splitting it into two tokens, giving one back to Ember.
“Now, let’s go back. I’m sure Caesar has thought of more questions for me, and that our little break has only added onto the workload of your family. So, I’ll offer to help out some if you wish.” Blood Cleaver reminded Ember before jumping out a hatch in the barn wall that wasn’t there a second ago. The hatch closing behind her and leaving a completely intact wall behind. A small paper note taped to the wall with the words “Race ya!” Signed by Blood Cleaver.
Ember just grinned, using the chance to run down the stairwell and catch up with Blood Cleaver and Caesar, who was right now with Applejack, Big Mac and Applebloom outside.
“So, you have an idea for a token yet, champ?” Blood Cleaver could be heard asking Caesar.
“Yeah… but I don’t actually wish to lose it. I just got these, to use one of them up…” Caesar said unenthusiastically.
“Don’t worry about it. You could always keep the original. You don’t have to absolutely part with the template for a token.” Blood Cleaver explained.
“Really?” Caesar asked.
“Of course. As long as you grab it before it falls into the void, you’re able to keep it. You just have to let it divide itself first.” She explained.
“So, have you thought of what to say?” She asked, making Caesar furrow his brows.
“No. I don’t actually know what kind of message to send out.” Caesar admitted. “Um, can we do this a little bit later?” Caesar asked.
“Whenever you think is the right time, Caesar.” Ember spoke as she looked at both the boy and the displaced. “So, are you ready to help with bucking a few more trees Caesar? We still got a lot of ground to cover.”
Caesar began nodding eagerly. “Yeah, I’ve even got an idea on how I can do it better. Watch this!” He exclaimed.
“Strength! Agility!” He quickly shouted in rapid succession while smiling.
Looking back at the others, his smile got bigger before he sprinted off towards the nearest Zap apple tree that still had fruit on it. As he was closing in, he didn’t slow down as expected, but instead jumped into the air, launching himself, legs first, into the tree trunk. As he impacted, he bent his knees and pushed off of the tree, landing in a sprint, already running towards the next tree as the rainbow fruits fell down into and filled the baskets up by the roots of the tree.
“Well… Something tells me we might be done a bit sooner than expected.” Applejack replied, watching as Caesar was zipping out from tree to tree.
“Well, we won’t let him outdo us, will we?” Asked Blood Cleaver before seemingly disappearing, only to re-appear next to one of the trees, lightly tap it, and be gone again as the fruits simply fell off of the the completely undisturbed branches. Blood Cleaver having already tapped the next tree, disappearing and appearing at the next one before the fruit had hit the baskets.
“Heh… That’s one way of doing it.” Ember chuckled, looking at Blood Cleaver for a second. “Something tells me though that Caesar will tire out soon. Wanna pitch in and help him if he crashes?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep him from doing anything stupid.” Blood Cleave responded while continuing with her self appointed task of clearing trees of apples, faster than one could say “Apple”.
“Alright,” The Mancer replied, turning around to see that Applejack and Big Mac were working on the trees on the opposite side of the orchard before looking back at Blood Cleaver and Caesar. “If Caesar does pass out, I can do some trees in his place so we can give him some time to rest.”
“Why would he pass out?” Cleaver asked, pausing in her chore to look at Ember.
“He’s still recovering from being sick a few days ago. Zecora found him in the forest with a high fever and freezing to death. Even though he’s doing better, his body might still be trying to recover from a lot of… recent changes that have been happening to him.” She explained, pointing as Caesar as his newfound Pokemon ears twitched a little.
Blood Cleaver frowned looking at Caesar. “You know who his Displacer is?” She asked.
“No actually… All I know is that he arrived here part Pikachu and that he really wants to get home. Something tells him being Displaced separated him from his parents because he thought I knew his mother and that I could help take him home.”
“Dammit. That only makes it less likely for him to ever get back.” Blood Cleaver whispered to Ember before sighing.
“You know, the Displacers and the universe has a real sick idea of humor… None of us Displaced seem to ever catch a break, sooner or later, something happens that turns everything upside down, and all we can do is keep going. Never to return home, for whatever reason we have.” Blood Cleaver spoke with sadness in her voice.
Ember understood what she meant, but as she replied, what she told her was a bit… surprising. “Honestly… I wouldn’t have wanted to go back. My life before now was a living hell. Parents kept on fighting and I felt like I was the reason to blame. I was the outcast and felt as if I had no sense of purpose. Then…” She took a moment to put her hands on the scarf that she had on her. “... When I got this, I found myself on a cold night and right in front of a dying phoenix. Instead of leaving him like he wanted, I stayed with Phyrron in his final moments. From there, he gave me his powers and also put Philomena in my care. That’s when I felt like my life had purpose. Like I had a reason to live. Now I just want to help Caesar however I can… because in a way… he’s like a little brother to me.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to say I’m happy for you. If only other Displaced could find themselves in favourable situations like you… I myself don’t really have any Equestria to call my home. I travel the Void into any other Equestria I find… Speaking off, is it alright if I go and visit your Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie after we’re done here?” Blood Cleaver asked suddenly. “I have something I would like to make sure of.” She stated.
“Sure… oh and Blood… I’ll be more than happy to allow you to call this Equestria your home.” She said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Thank you. But I already have an Equestria I intend to return to after I retire from my work. I simply can’t stay long in one world, knowing that every moment, another might fall to a terrible fate if I am not there to prevent it.” Blood Cleaver explained, shaking her head while smiling. “But I do appreciate the offer.” She said, looking at Ember.
“Ah alright. I have a busy role myself so I understand what you mean.” She replied.
“Now, let’s get these Apples down!” Blood Cleaver cheered, before once again seemingly disappear, followed by loud taps on wood in quick succession and apples hitting baskets.
Ember chuckled, watching as Cleaver and Caesar kept knocking down apples, nonstop. Filling up the baskets in quick succession. “Something tells me that we’re going to need more baskets.”
Some time later…
By the time they were done, Caesar was already lying asleep on top of some hay bales, while Blood Cleaver was having fun watching the others gawk at how many baskets of apples she could carry at once, without using magic.
The unharvested Zap apples never had a chance to disappear, since before the time had come, they had managed to collect all of them. Making this year’s haul the biggest yet for Zap apples.
As Caesar was lying on the bale of hay, he soon had someone looking over him and noticing his tired self. That was Ember and she noticed the little one while watching Cleaver mess around. The little one had worked real hard like the rest to make this year’s harvest the best there was. Now he was just flat out asleep.
Turning to Cleaver, Ember smiled. “Well… now comes the question of what we’re gonna do with all these Zap Apples. Any suggestions?”
“Why not do what the apple family always does, make Zap Apple jam and sell it of course!” Blood Cleaver said, setting down the last few baskets.
“Heh… you got me there.” Ember nodded her head, chuckling to herself. “Hey… thanks for all your help. You know… with Caesar and the harvest.”
“It’s no trouble, I’m happy to help. After all, it’s kind of the reason I’m traveling the Void.” Blood Cleaver responded.
“I see. Well, with what’s going on lately, I’ve been a bit lucky to get some help with Caesar because of the circumstances… Honestly, I never thought someone as young as him would end up as a Displaced.” She said, “Not to mention that with his lightning abilities, that will make it another Mancer I need to teach.”
“The old generation teaching the new one?” Blood Cleaver asked.
“Sort of… it’s a bit… different than what you would think…” Turning around, she nodded her head in the direction where Big Macintosh was, the stallion working with his abilities as he slammed his hooves in the ground to form a few stone pillars. Before having them bend around and to return back to earth from where it once came from. “In this world, all living beings have a form of energy called Life Force. We breath it in and out every day like air. But some beings like Mac here can control one of five main elements with the life force they have and a strong will. The same goes for me.” With that, Ember showed Blood Cleaver an example when she conjured a powerful flame that resembled a rose in her hand. “I’m just trying to teach Mac and Caesar to control their newfound gifts… Trust me… It’s a bit difficult.”
“But they’re both willing to learn, aren’t they? I’m sure it’s easier with eager students, is it not?” Blood Cleaver asked before taking on a thoughtful expression. “You know what, I’ve heard there is some kind of academy that will be teaching and helping Displaced. Perhaps there could be something for Caesar?” Blood Cleaver asked.
That caught Ember’s attention. “That… may work. Though, I might need to find out a little bit of information on it first before making any decisions… Do you know the Displaced who set the academy up? Or was it just something you heard in the Void?”
Blood Cleave paused for a moment before responding. “Yeah, Sun Wukong is the name of the guy who had the idea. It will apparently be open to ponies, as well as Displaced. But other than that, I don’t really know. I guess we’ll have to look out for his token.” Blood Cleaver said.
Ember nodded her head, “Alright. If anything changes, let me know okay? And if you do find his token first, can you send a copy my way?”
“Sure thing. Helping out is my thing.” Blood Cleaver said with a smile before chuckling. Ember smiled as well, but soon looked around a little and was confused on something. Looking back at Mac, she then had a question for the Stallion.
“Hey Mac! Have you seen Frost anywhere!?”
“Can’t say that ah have, Ember. Haven’t seen him since early this morning.”
Ember then grumbled a bit, followed by facepalming herself. “Uh figures… Looks like I have one other person to look for now.”
“It seems that way. Hey, Ember. I would love to stay, but I still have a duty, and I’ve already helped out here. As soon as I’ve helped Caesar with making a token, I’ll be going. Just a heads up.” Blood Cleaver told her.
“Sure thing. I’m not so much worried about what Frost might be up too… however, I am concerned of what might be after him. But that’s on a personal note.” Ember sighed. “Guess I’ll let you keep an eye on Caesar for a bit?”
“Sure. We’ll be here. But once he wakes up, we’ll begin with making a token. If you’re not back by the time I’m leaving, I’ll escort him back to the farmhouse first.” Blood Cleaver assured Ember.
The mancer nodded, walking inside while thinking something over. After today, she felt like she needed to change something. More importantly, the message on her token. Keeping the feather in one hand, she channeled her energy into is as she said the same phrase that she said before. A new one.
She may still be a tortured phoenix… but her heart was not anymore. Now... her heart was free.
End Chapter 12
