Fire and Brimstone, Book 2

by BluePhoenyx

Chapter 34 - Crimson and the Shadow of Dark

Hammers and Saws sounded all throughout the day as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sat in their seats in the throne room. They awaited a very special guest - one who has saved Canterlot on more than one occasion. Finally, their honored guest walked through the broken double doors of the throne room. Standing tall and proud, Crimson walked up toward the ones he considered goddesses, then gave a low bow in greeting. The chains of his armor clinked and chimed, and the jewels and gems in his mane sparkled in the light.

"Crimson, I am glad you could make it," Celestia greeted.

"I am honored to be summoned by such divine beings," Crimson answered.

Before Celestia could answer, Luna's smirk caught her eye, and she paused to let her sister speak first.

"If thou truly sees us as gods, then I demand something over thee."

Crimson gave a low bow. "Whatever you may wish."

"Do not look upon us as gods," Luna said. "Look upon us as friends."

Crimson's eyes peeked up in confusion. "Friends?"

Celestia, catching on to the ruse from Luna, sat up from her throne. "Yes, friends." She walked down to Crimson and put her hoof on his shoulder. "For what you have done for us, for Canterlot, and for all of Equestria, how could we have you look upon us as anything but?"

Crimson stood up straight. "If that is your wish..."

Luna and Celestia nodded. "It is."

Crimson nodded. "Very well."

"Now..." Celestia turned around and sat back in her chair. "How can two friends repay you for your efforts during these trying events?"

Crimson shook his head. "Payment has never been necessary, Princess."

Luna cleared her throat at the title.

"With all due respect," Crimson said with a bow. "Friend or not, you two are still princesses. Less why you sit on thrones?"

The princesses looked at each other, then smiled. "Yes, you are right. I will give you that."

"I have seen all I wish to see of the surface," Crimson said as he stood straight.

Luna's eyes widened in surprise, but Celestia looked as if she knew the answer was coming. "What does thou mean?"

"I wish to return to my home," Crimson answered. "I wish to mend the ways of my people."

"And how are you going to do that?" Celestia asked with a knowing grin.

"I do not know," Crimson replied honestly. "This is what I saw in my visions. And I believe that is what my sister would have wanted."

"Before you go," Celestia commented as she reached behind her. She pulled out a large tome and, with the use of telekinetic energy, set it on the ground in front of Crimson. "Please take this book."

Crimson looked at the leather bindings, noting it was never read. "What is this?"

"Princess Luna and Princess Twilight have transcribed the history of Equestria," Celestia answered. "We believe that this will be a great help in healing the anger of your kin."

Crimson opened the book and saw it was all written in the language he knew how to read.

"I was the only pony who knew this language," Luna explained. "Though it has been a century since I have really used it. I hope it is right."

Crimson flipped from page to page, seeing the illustrations and the writings of the tome. He then closed it and picked it up. "Yes, your words seem correct." He looked up at the two. “A question, if I may ask.”

“Of course.”

“What of the filly seer?”

“She will live peacefully with her brother and her aunt,” Celestia answered.

“The young filly will not be used as a weapon, as thy I am sure thou art fearing.”

Crimson nodded, satisfied with that answer. After a pause, he took a step back, then started to turn around.

"One more thing," Celestia said, stopping Crimson in his tracks.

He turned around to address the princesses once more. "Yes, your ladyship?"

Luna and Celestia walked up, and the both gave Crimson a hug.

"We are very sorry to hear about your sister," Celestia commented. "Our hearts break at your loss."

Crimson took a breath, holding back the tears he felt forming in his eyes. "Your words..." The hug broke, and they held him at hoove's length. "Your words are kind. I thank you."

"Take care."

Crimson bowed, then turned and left the throne room.

* * *

The six meet with Crimson at the crater he crawled out of when he first arrived on the surface. Each of them took turns giving him great hugs that lasted many heartbeats.

"You all have given me kindness I never knew of," Crimson said, addressing the girls. "I do not think I can ever repay you."

"Hun, you keep say'n that as if it were a debt or someth'n," Applejack said with a smile. She tipped her had back, then reached in her bags to grab some apples. "Here, hun. For yer trip back."

Applejack and Crimson shared another hug, then Fluttershy approached him. "Thank you for all of your help, and for saving the poor animals in the fire. Angel wouldn't be with me if it weren't for you. He wanted me to give you this." She reached in her bag and pulled out a small box.

"What is this?" Crimson inquired as he opened the container to look inside.

"It's tea leaves," Fluttershy answered. "And a carrot."

Crimson closed the box, then looked up at the yellow pegasus. "It was an honor to help you, Miss Fluttershy." The two hugged once more, then Pinkie Pie walked up.

"We didn't know each other very long, but I know you could have thrown one hoof of a party."

Crimson looked at Pinkie Pie questionably.

"With your magic, I don't think any pony could raise a roof like you could."

That brought a chuckle to the girls, but Crimson still stood in complete befuddlement.

"Because you could make those pillars... And..."

"Pinkie," Twilight interjected.

"Oh, right." She reached in her bag and pulled out a book. "I asked Luna to help me with this."

"Another tome?" Crimson asked as he took the book.

"What? No. It's a book." Crimson opened the book as Pinkie Pie continued. "More importantly, a cook book! Now you can make all of the cakes in the world!"

Crimson flipped a page, and saw the picture of his first time eating a cupcake at Sugar Cube Corner, and at the soot the two were covered in. He closed the book, and the two gave another hug.

Rainbow Dash approached, hovering in place. "Only cool ponies can get a hug from me." She reached back and grabbed a small transparent cube. "Here." She tossed it to Crimson, who caught it in his hoof.

"What is this?"

"It's a rain cloud inside some sort of square," Rainbow Dash answered. "Something Twilight thought of."

Crimson lifted the cube and stared in it for a long moment. "It looks like it is raining."

"Yeah, it does that. So..."

Crimson looked up at the hovering blue pegasus. "So, what?"

"So you going to give me a hug?"

"I thought only cool ponies could give you a hug," Crimson questioned.

"Yeah, I know," Rainbow answered in a grin. Then, then two locked in a hug.

Rarity walked up after the hug broke, and she cleared her throat. "Well, darling. I have two things for you." She gave Crimson a small box. "The box is a pin I made for your beautiful mane." She then handed him an envelope. "This... Well, you'll just have to learn how to read our language to find out."

Crimson took the gifts, then gave Rarity a hug.

Lastly, it was Twilight's turn. She looked upon Crimson with a solemn expression. "I'm sorry I couldn't save Demi."

Crimson blinked, then looked away. "You burden yourself with something out of your control." He looked back to Twilight. "You have a lot of responsibility. Be sure you do not let it drag you down."

Twilight nodded, then the two hugged. "Oh, I almost forgot..." She reached back and pulled a large, cylindrical tube.

"What is this?"

"A spell," Twilight answered as she handed it to Crimson. "Well, two spells. One, Princess Luna said it may help with the problems you may have when you return home."

"How so?"

Twilight shrugged. "I don't know. She really didn't tell me anything else."

"And the second?"

"Oh!" Her horn glowed, and she removed one of the rolled up parchments from the scroll case. "This is a dream step spell. Luna helped me design it."

"A dream step spell?" Crimson leaned forward and inspected the parchment.

"Yeah. It's supposed to let you step into other pony's dreams." She rolled up the parchment and put it back in the tube. "That way, we can stay in touch."

Crimson gathered the gifts, then looked at the girls. "You all have once again given me far more than I deserve. For that, I thank you. And most of all, I thank you for being my friends."

The group gave one last hug, then Crimson turned around and walked into the darkness to find his way back home.

Comments

[BluePhoenyx]

Chapter 34 - Crimson and the Shadow of Dark
The story comes to a conclusion. What's next?

Thank you for reading book 2 of Fire and Brimstone. What did you think? Leave your comments.