//------------------------------// // XI - Flames of Knowledge // Story: Pony Fantasy V: Exodus of the Void // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// Uniforge was a mess - but at least it still existed. Roughly half of the city was far enough from the detonation to survive the devastation. Ponies had begun to move back into the city and begin the harrowing job of cleanup - there were dead bodies everywhere in the destruction. Though the bodies closest to the explosion had been completely incinerated, meaning some ponies would never know for sure if their loved ones were killed or not. There were no smiles - not even from Pinkie. The four mares were walking down the street, helping where they could, heading in the general direction of the pub. Rarity walked in the door first, glancing around until she saw their new friend sitting on a barstool. “It’s all my fault…” Twilight Sparkle moaned, several empty cider glasses next to her head. “Solamane is no more…” “Oh, come dear.” Rarity waved a hoof. “Solamane still exists. The capital is still here, and a large portion of the citizens-“ “The Queen is dead. The castle is gone. The industrial power we got from the Fire Crystal is no more. There is nothing. No hope…” Pinkie popped into existence. “Hey! Don’t mope around, we’ve got a world to go save! Come on, we really could use your help to get to the lost city!” Twilight sighed. “It’s impossible to cross the Desert of Shifting Sands, the mountains have no passes through them, and the lost city hasn’t been visited in decades!” Rainbow Dash flew in. “Well then, you can prove yourself by discovering some new crazy way to accomplish the impossible!” “I tried to stop the destruction of the Fire Crystal… I failed… You’d be better off with Lyra now… At least she’s been studying ancient texts…” “Who the what now?” Applejack asked. Twilight sighed. “My daughter. She’s studying in the Library of the Ancients. She’ll be much more use to you than I will… A stupid old mare… Barkeep? Another glass…” Pinkie stayed behind for a little longer, but it quickly became evident that Twilight had spiraled into depression. “We need to cheer her up somehow…” Pinkie said, rubbing her chin. “Get her to snap out of it.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “I say we just go to this Ancient Library and talk to this Lyra person. She probably could help.” “And forget about Twilight?” Rarity gasped. “Rainbow, she needs our help!” Pinkie grinned. “And maybe getting her daughter to her will help! It’s a win-win solution!” “We leave immediately.” Applejack said, trotting towards the door. “Aaaaaaplejaaaaack.” Pinkie drawled. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” “If you are referring to the piano in the corner there, no Ah’m not. Ah’m just not going to play it. Ah’m not a complete dolt.” The three other mares turned to stare at her. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie couldn’t keep in a snort. “What? Ah can say ‘dolt.’ Nothin’ wrong with it.” Rarity facehooved while the pegasus and the “AAAAAALIIIIEEEEEN” broke out into laughter. ~~~ “Hello there and welcome to the Library of the Ancients, the trove of knowledge that survived the tragic fall of Cadenza. We have documents from the mountain-dwelling nation’s top minds, authors, and inventors. There’s something for everyone within the Library! How may I help you today?” Rarity smiled warmly. “We were wondering if you knew a Lyra Sparkle?” The guide’s warm smile vanished instantly. “Why does nobody ever say ‘I’d like the grand tour please’ or at least ‘I am looking for a specific document, can you help me?’ but nooooo it’s always ‘I can find it myself’ or ‘I’m looking for someone who got lost in the freaking deep archives!’ Good GRAVY.” Rarity blinked. “Lyra’s lost in the deep archives?” “Or dead.” The guide remarked. “The books in there are filled with evil spirits.” He facehooved. “There’s a reason we aren’t crawling all over the deep archives. Many of the books down there are older than Cadenza itself, but none of us can live with constant monster attacks.” He saw the look in their eyes. “Oooooh no, you aren’t thinking of going down there after her are you?” They just smiled and nodded. “Morons.” He muttered. “The deep archives are through that staircase. Just keep going down till you find the bottom and the screaming books. I’ll hold your funeral in a week.” He trotted off quickly. Pinkie blinked. “Silly, he can’t hold a funeral if he doesn’t know our names!” “Dear, I suspect he was just being macabre.” Rarity observed. Rainbow dash folded her front legs. “Who cares? Let’s just find Lyra and get out of this dusty old library.” The Library of the Ancients was most certainly a library - books, books, books, and more books. Nothing but tables, shelves, scrolls, and books. Down the stairs it was pretty much exactly the same, only there was no natural lighting - only eerie magically lit crystals whose construction instructions had been lost to time. Well that and the fact that the shelves had no sense of order to their placement in the deep archives. “I thought libraries were supposed to be organized.” Rainbow Dash observed, already annoyed by the cramped maze of paths created by the bookshelves. “Maybe it is.” Pinkie offered. “By some kind of eldritch fractal geometry.” “Er… what?” Applejack asked. “Neeeeevermind.” Suddenly, a book flew off a shelf and charged the mares. “I HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED FOR A MILLENNIA! YOU WILL BE MY NEW-“ The book’s cries ended when Rainbow Dash burnt the thing to a crisp. “Huh.” She said. “That was easy.” “I MUST AVENGE MY BROTHER!” Another book screamed, only to meet the same fate as its sibling. Pinkie giggled. “Silly books, fire isn’t a toy!” “IT ISN’T?” A much larger sounding voice said. “WELL THEN, I IMPLORE YOU! COME TO ME AND FACE MY FLAMES!” The four mares pondered this for a while. Then Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Eh, sure, why not. HEY FLAME DUDE. TELL US WHERE YOU ARE!” “Rainbow!” Rarity hissed. “I AM HERE!!!” The voice roared, and as he spoke a bookshelf fell into the ground, revealing a large book sitting on a pedestal. The book was open, and an orb of shifting flames floated a few inches from the pages. “Cooooool.” Rainbow Dash and Pinkie said. “I AM IFRIT! AND IF YOU PROVE TO BE STRONG, I SHALL GRANT YOU MY POWER!” The flame congealed into a muscular shape, not all that unlike a minotaur. The creature was a deep ashy color with eyes that burnt with intense fire. “COME AT ME!” He roared. Rainbow Dash complied, firing a blast of ice at Ifrit. Ifrit let out a resounding “HA!” as he intercepted the icy projectile with a burst of intense flame. “IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE LITTLE PONY?” “Do you have to shout everything?” Rarity muttered, trying to slow Ifrit down. “YES I MUST. IT IS THE WAY OF THE FLAME TO NEVER BE SILENCED!” Rarity rolled her eyes. “Just like the Fire Crystal…” “I AM NOTHING LIKE THAT PATHETIC WHELP OF TRASH! YOU DARE SUGGEST A CONNECTION? I WILL FRY YOU LIKE BACON!” Ifrit clasped his hands together, and four powerful jets of fire shot out of the ground around him, scorching both the floor and the ceiling. “FEEL THE HELLFIRE!!!!” Rarity and Applejack backed away from the intense heat, but Rainbow Dash and Pinkie stood their ground. “Shiva, I choose you!” Pinkie said, pulling a red and white ball out of nowhere and tossing it out. Shiva appeared in a blast of icy shimmers, smirking. Then she saw her opponent. “FINALLY! A dude! Hey there handsome!” Rainbow Dash facehooved. “SHIVA! Stop fraternizing with the enemy!” Ifrit blinked. “SHIVA? SHIVA!?!?!??! SHIVA YOU STILL OWE ME FIVE BUCKS!!!!” Shiva’s gleeful expression vanished. “Oh. You. Great. First guy I see in millennia and it’s you. Just my luck.” She pondered this for a moment. “Heeeeey… How about we just start over, and pretend like we don’t know each other?” She fluttered her eyes. “Hey handsome.” “WHAT THE FREAK SHIVA? ARE YOU REALLY THAT DESPERATE?” “Can you blame a girl?” Shiva retorted, angry. “I’ve been…” As the two spirits devolved into argument, the four mares exchanged glances, wondering if they should do anything. Applejack decide to break the awkwardness. “Er… excuse me?” “WHAT?” Shiva and Ifrit yelled. “Wasn’t there a fight we were supposed to be having?” Ifrit huffed. “OH, THAT. YOU HAVE TO PROVE THAT YOU ARE POWERFUL IN ORDER TO KEEP ME AS YOUR ALLY-“ Pinkie Pie doused him with water torrents. He wheezed. “That’ll do it…” He turned into a fiery burst of energy, flooding into Pinkie’s body. “NOW USE ME WELL! AND NEVER LET ME AND SHIVA OUT AT THE SAME TIME EVER AGAIN!” “But come on…!” Shiva whined. “What about your muscles!” “MY GOD SOMEBODY SHUT HER UP.” Pinkie un-summoned the two of them and grinned. “Welp, that was fun!” Suddenly, the air filled with evil books attempting to eat them. Rainbow stepped forth to burn them all, only to have Pinkie summon Ifrit. “BOOKS? HA! FEEL THE HELLFIRE!” Soon the entire hallway was ash. “Is that your tagline?” Rainbow Dash asked. “DO YOU WANT TO FEEL THE HELLFIRE PEGASUS????” “I’ll take that as a yes and hope Pinkie unsummons you quickly…” Pinkie complied with Rainbow’s wishes, giggling all the while. ~~~ “SO, THIS IS WHAT LIMBO INSIDE A SUMMONER IS LIKE…” “Yep.” Shiva said, sitting back in a lawn chair. “NO. NONONONO. YOU CAN’T BE HERE TOO.” “What? We get to share the space. Very preferable to being sealed in some box somewhere.” “I WANT TO GO BACK TO MY BOOK.” “Yeah? Screw you and what you want.” She unfolded an aluminum trifold and put some sunglasses on. “Go imagine yourself a giant volcano or something over that direction. I need to relax and think of guys who aren’t you.” “THIS IS HELL.” “Thank you for the negative remark.” “SINCE WHEN DID YOU BECOME SO SARCASTIC?” “Since I was locked in a damp dungeon for a millennia.” “WONDER HOW THE OTHERS HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME…” “I have no idea.” Shiva said. “Perhaps our little group will find them and we can ask them in person.” “MAYBE. OR MAYBE I’LL JUST BE FORCED TO SUFFER YOU ALONE.” The white chocobo appeared and made an obnoxious “CAW” noise. “WHO THE FREAK ARE YOU?” “That’s the albino chocobo.” Shiva said, not even bothering to look. “She’s a bit dumb. Also watch your eyes around her, she likes to try and peck them out.” “WAIT WH- AUGH! MY EYE!” ~~~ Rainbow Dash was leading the group, trotting down yet another hallway of bookshelves - the angry books had apparently noticed that they were being burnt up with ease and had stopped the constant attacking, much to the mares’ relief. To Rainbow Dash’s annoyance, as she tried to pass through a hallway an entire bookshelf slid into her way. “What the buck?” She exclaimed. “AhHA! I am the great BOOKSHELF! None can pass through me! Not even the likes of-“ Applejack went berserk and smashed the bookshelf to splinters without breaking a sweat. “You know…” Pinkie said as she put a hoof to her chin. “I think Ifrit was supposed to take care of this…” Nobody paid any attention to her, for they had found their way into a larger room. At the edge of it, they could see a mint-green unicorn completely absorbed in some book. “Ah, that’s probably Lyra.” Applejack gestured. “She seems rather… engrossed in that book…” Rarity observed. “Who cares?” Rainbow Dash responded. “Just go up and talk to her.” “Oh… That won’t be happening…” A deep voice said as a large black and blue book descended from the ceiling. “For Master cannot permit you to continue any further!” A blue-black sphere of energy appeared as the book opened, quickly taking the shape of a gigantic minotaur. However, this minotaur was vastly different form Iron Will - the muscles were much larger, the hair more wild, the teeth sharper, and the face much more menacing. In addition, some of the fur of the creature seemed to be glowing slightly. “I am Byblos.” He said, sneering. “And you have come far enough.” The four mares prepared themselves. “Ah think you’ve come far enough.” Applejack retorted. Rainbow Dash facehooved. “Really Applejack? That’s the best you could do?” “Ah’m not a smart-alee like the rest of y’all!” Byblos took advantage of the distraction, punching Applejack in the muzzle. A loud crack could be heard, followed by a spurt of blood coming from Applejack’s face. Her eyes rolled back into her skull and she lost consciousness. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie attacked at that moment, Rainbow Dash using fire alongside Pinkie’s air attacks. The fire lit Byblos’s considerable hair, making it much more effective than the air attacks - however the air attacks gave the fire fresh fuel, causing it to burn stronger. Pinkie took out her hammer. “Rarity!” She yelled. Rarity had just finished patching Applejack up, though the orange mare was still woozy. “What do you need Pinkie?” “Got anything I can use on this guy?” Rarity lit her horn, searching through her magic. “Him… try this!” She said, enveloping the hammer with her magic. “Thanks!” Pinkie said, leaping into the air with the hammer. Byblos attempted to punch her out of the way, but he found himself stopped by a slender ice-cold hand. “Hey there big guy! I hear you like icicles!” Shiva smirked as she generated a scythe made of ice and drove it into Byblos’s chest. The minotaur shifted slightly, but found the attempt to attack him with ice laughable. Then the hammer hit him, smashing him into the ground. He stood up, a little disoriented, but otherwise completely fine. “Ha! Nice try…” He blinked. “Wait… why are you all so big?” Rarity giggled. “I wondered if that would work.” Pinkie began to roll on the floor laughing. “You shrunk him! Ahahahahah!” She blinked. “OOOOH! I wonder what happens if I hit him again?” Byblos roared, casting a clear spell on himself and returning to his full height. He intercepted the hammer with his hand this time, snapping it in half with hardly any effort. He backhanded Shiva as one would swat away a fly, shattering her into thousand ice particles. Then he walked up to Rarity, taking a small hammer out of his pocket. It looked absurd in his tremendous hands, but he had an evil grin on his face as he wielded it. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie tried to charge him, but he threw the hammer at Rarity, hitting her square on the horn. “Ow…” She muttered, rubbing her horn. That hadn’t really hurt, it had just caused a minor annoyance. She tried healing what little damage it did, and found that she couldn’t use her magic as effectively. “Oh no. He has a magic block girls!” Rainbow Dash turned to Rarity. “What?” She got a miniature hammer to the face as well, and she suddenly found it a lot harder to fly, losing all the grace in her movement. This made her vulnerable to a devastating punch from Byblos that bent her wing in a direction it was not meant to go. She yelped, falling to the ground. Rarity looked around left and right, looking for something she could do. She grabbed her dagger, still enchanted with the slowing magic. Maybe she could do something… She realized she was helpless without her magic as Byblos charged her, horns ready to skewer her in the heart. She closed her eyes, waiting for the moment to come. “FEEL THE HELLFIRE!!!” Rarity opened her eyes to see four spiraling columns of fire hitting Byblos from all directions, in addition to Ifrit punching the minotaur like a punching bag. To Byblos’ credit, he wasn’t being moved around all that much, but the punches from the fiery being were at least doing some damage. “Ifrit…” Byblos said. “Why do you travel with these-“ “STOP QUESTIONING MY EXISTENCE YOU OVERBEARING COW!” Byblos kicked his back legs out in rage. “How dare you!” Ifrit took the attack head on, not quite realizing that as a summon he couldn’t take much damage without dissipating. “WELL CRAP.” He muttered, vanishing from existence. Byblos cracked his knuckles, turning to Rarity once more. “Now… where were we unicorn?” As Byblos approached Rarity, Pinkie’s mind raced. She needed something she could use, and fast… Minotaur… She thought about Iron Will… She thought about how he had fought… Her eyes lit up. That punch he used to incapacitate her friends - that wasn’t any regular punch. She grinned a mischievous grin. “HEY BYBLOS!” “WHAT?” She pulled her front left hoof back, enveloping it in a strange metallic energy. “Do you like bananas?” “Uh… no?” “Well then… I hear there aren’t any bananas… ON THE MOOOOOONAH!” Pinkie roared, her hoof contacting Byblos’ nose dead on. The force of the impact launched Byblos through the wall and into the next room. He groaned, feeling extremely weak. His vision was blurry as he began to sit back up. The first thing he saw after regaining his composure was Pinkie standing over him with a comically oversized Scythe. It was also the last thing he saw. Pinkie let out a breath, walking back into the original room. Rainbow Dash had completed healing herself and had moved onto Applejack while Rarity stood in a corner, eyes frozen on where Byblos had just been. “Uh.. Rarity?” Pinkie asked. “You okay?” “Yes Darling.” Rarity said, still shaking. “I just… need a bit of time to regain my composure. I just saw my entire life flash in front of my eyes.” She adjusted her crown nervously. “Give me a few moments…” Applejack was back up, rubbing her muzzle. “Ow…” She looked back towards the end of the room where the mint-green unicorn was still nose-deep in a book. “ARE YOU SERIOUS? YOU ARE STILL READING THAT BOOK?” Applejack yelled at the top of her lungs. The unicorn made no response. Applejack got fed up - she walked over to the mare and slapped her across the face. “HEY! What was that for?” “We just fought some crazy demon minotaur behind you and you didn’t even notice???” Applejack yelled. “Oh.” The mare said, shrugging. “Guess not.” She looked down at her book and closed it. “Well, this book was useless. No mentions of the Ancient Humans at all.” Rainbow Dash just groaned. “Look, you’re Lyra right?” “Yeah?” Lyra said, looking up. “What’s it to you?” “Well you see, your mom told us about you…” Applejack began. “Oh how is mom doing by the way?” Lyra asked, smiling. “Er… Not too good.” Pinkie said, frowning. “You see, her machine kinda weakened the Fire Crystal and when the Fire Crystal shattered it kinda blew up the whole castle and most of Uniforge. She’s in a bit of a depression spiral…” Lyra blinked. “But… Mom never gives up…” “Sure seems like she has now.” Applejack said. “Anyway, it seems like she thinks you can help u- where in tarnation are you going?” “I’m leaving.” Lyra said, activating a secret passageway. “Mom needs me to knock some sense into her.” She trotted down the passage, picking up a few books with her telekinesis as she left. It closed behind her. “Uh…” Rainbow Dash began. “…Does anyone remember how she opened that secret passage?” Applejack sighed. “Welp, guess we have to get out the hard way… Back to Uniforge then…” In the secret passage, Lyra sighed. Not only had she not found any sure-fire evidence of humans, and her mother was apparently in a depression spiral after some kind of world-devastating catastrophe. It didn’t even occur to her that she might hear about these things sooner if she didn’t spend all her time locked up in the ancient library.