Reign of Fire

by MarvelBrony

Chapter Six

Twilight Sparkle sat quietly in her seat on the train leaving for Canterlot, blankly staring out the window. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy all sat with her. Every one of them, even Pinkie, was completely silent in apprehension. The other three ponies had been informed of all that had taken place during that day, and all of them had expressed the same sense of dread that Twilight felt. Something was going down, and they were going to find out what.

Twilight glanced around at her friends. It was strange to be riding in the very same train that just a couple of months ago had brought them to the joyous celebration of her brother’s wedding. Now instead of cheerful excitement, they all felt only fearful anxiousness. Twilight desperately hoped that Shining Armor was back from his royal tour around Equestria with his bride. If there was anyone that could help defend Equestria and make her feel safe, it was him.

Soon enough the silence was broken when the train whistle blew and it heaved forward up the tracks. Pinkie Pie, as usual, could not stay depressed for long. She peered over her friend’s worrisome expressions and smiled cheerfully. “Come on guys, we don’t have to be so glum! Princess Celestia will take care of things when we get there, I’m sure of it!”

Applejack gulped and glanced sideways at Pinkie Pie nervously. She still hadn’t told them about her encounter with the shapeshifting dragon-pony-creature; after all, she had been the one who told it where Amethyst was. And after witnessing it impersonate a strange and corrupted version of Pinkie Pie, she was a little nervous and spooked around her; to think, that creature had also impersonated her as well! AJ shuddered and turned away to stare out the window.

Rainbow Dash sat in a corner, glaring moodily at the floor. That Voltspark really was a jerk after all. No, he was worse than a jerk; he was an evil kidnapper! But why did he try to get friendly with her? What did he see in her that was worth knowing if he was really evil?

Rarity agreed with Pinkie’s sentiment. “Pinkie Pie is right, we can’t let ourselves get all worked up over somepony we don’t even know. I’m sure that Celestia will take care of it all and we won’t need to worry about a thing.” She primped up her mane and looked at herself in the train window. “Besides, dourness is bad for the complexion.”

Twilight sighed and smiled sadly. She knew they were only trying to help and they were right about not being depressed, but she still couldn’t help thinking about Amethyst’s warnings. These two powerful ponies that had taken her were also trying to take something else; but what? What were they trying to accomplish? Were they alone in their scheme? Obviously they needed Amethyst for something, and the defeated expression on Amethyst’s face when they captured her made it obvious that their use for her was not pleasant. Twilight narrowed her eyes in thought. Rainbow Dash had talked about what Voltspark told her, about Amethyst having the power to destroy all of Equestria. But he was probably lying just to scare them; what one pony could do all that? Especially a seemingly helpless one like Amethyst? However, what if he was telling the truth? What if in fact, those two ponies claiming to be her siblings were the good guys and Amethyst really had a monstrous evil side like Princess Luna once had with Nightmare Moon?

Twilight’s head sank into her front hooves in despair. Why could there never been any peace for them for long? Enemies and troubles seemed to pop up everywhere now. If only they would a just go away...

Before Twilight knew it, she was fast asleep in her seat, the smooth bumping of the train carriage rocking her back and forth.

A soft hoof gently rustled Twilight’s shoulder and she raised her head sharply, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Fluttershy squeaked in surprise and jumped back, looking at the floor and apologizing quickly, “Oh Twilight, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you so rudely. But um, we’re here at Canterlot now so, um, you can get out if you want to....”

Twilight yawned briefly and smiled at the timid pegasus. “Oh, that’s okay Fluttershy, you didn’t wake me rudely. Thank you.”

Fluttershy smiled back at her shyly and trotted out the train car door. Twilight followed her out to where the others were waiting. They stood in a line, all staring up at Canterlot castle in anticipation. It felt very similar to the time Celestia had summoned them to fight Discord, and it was a feeling that none of them wanted to have again.

After turning to her friends and giving them a reassuring smile, Twilight strode up to the gate, the others following. The royal guards looked down at them and one asked sternly, “What business have you with the Princess Celestia?”

Twilight took a deep breath before replying as steadily as she could, “We are here to warn the Princess of a possible threat and to ask her advice on it.”

The guard’s raised their eyebrows and looked at each other. One turned back to her and answered, “What kind of threat is it?”

Twilight gulped and glanced back at her friends. Applejack stepped forward and said rather shakily, “Well sir, it’s about these two pony-creatures that-“

Twilight cut her off. “We need only to tell the Princess. It is vitally important!”

The guard frowned. “Who are you?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, brother of Prince Shining Armor and Student of Princess Celestia.”

A voice sounded from behind the guards. “Well in that case, come on in!”

The guards moved aside and Twilight’s heart leaped for joy when she saw her brother Shining Armor striding towards them. She ran towards him and they embraced warmly.

Shining Armor kissed her lightly on the nose. “Sorry about the guards, Twilie. I’ve put them on extra defense since the whole Changeling incident. It’s hard to know who to trust when shapeshifters are involved.” Twilight grinned nervously; didn’t she know it!

She then gazed into her brother’s kind eyes and spoke, her voice not hiding any concern. “Shining Armor, we need to talk to the Princess now. It’s a matter of extreme importance.”

Shining Armor frowned slightly. “Like, how important?”

Twilight bit her lip and lowered her voice. “We’re not sure. It could be nothing at all... or it could be a Changeling or Discord-level threat.”

Shining Armor stood up, his eyes hard. “Then go. Tell the Princess and let her decide how serious it is. If danger is coming, though, you can count on me to protect you and Canterlot with all of my strength.”

Twilight hugged him one last time and raced up the path towards the castle, followed by the other five ponies.

Princess Celestia stood out on her balcony, gazing up into the glimmering sunlight. Soon the sun would be setting and Luna would take over for her role for the night. A guard came up behind her and bowed. “Your Highness, you have several visitors who wish to speak with you.”

She turned and looked down at him. “And who are they?

“There is one Twilight Sparkle and five others. They say it is an urgent matter.”

Celestia nodded to him in gratitude and strode back inside. “Thank you. I’ll see what it is that Twilight is so urgent about.”

Twilight and her friends stood before Celestia in the long hallway where the Elements of Harmony resided. Twilight had just finished telling the Princess about all that had happened, with the others giving little tidbits and portions of information. When she had heard everything, Celestia turned towards a window, her face unreadable. The ponies looked up at her in anticipation, waiting for her response.

Finally she turned back to them and sighed. “I honestly don’t know what to make of this. I have never heard of such ponies in my life, although the one you say was a shapeshifter seems quite suspicious, given the recent Changeling incident.”

Twilight shook her head. “They weren’t Changelings, I’m almost sure of that.”

Celestia looked down at them for a moment, then turned and strode up along the hallway towards the chamber where lay the Elements of Harmony.

“Are... are we going to have to use those again?” Fluttershy wondered.

Celestia stopped at the foot of the small stairway leading to the chamber and turned back to them. “I don’t know, but if this threat is indeed a powerful one, you will need to take up the Elements once more. It’s best to be prepared for the worst.”

A sudden loud crackling sound erupted from the other end of the room, and everypony whirled around with a start to see what it was. A ring of dark purple magic energy slowly formed in the center of the room, growing larger at a quickening speed. As it grew, tongues of fire began to wreath around it, flickering outward with growing intensity. Everypony stared in awe as the ring of fire and energy grew larger and larger until it suddenly exploded in a huge burst of flames.

Fluttershy gave a small shriek and dove behind Rainbow Dash, cowering to the ground. Celestia leaped over the six ponies and landed in front of them, her wings outspread in a defensive stance.

The ring of flames was still there, hovering over the ground and casting a flickering light across the room, but now three figures stood in the center of the fire ring. Two of them were Dracona and Voltspark, each standing to one side and grinning wickedly. But it was the figure between them that was the most impressive.

He was a tall alicorn stallion, taller even than Celestia herself. His coat was a fiery reddish-orange that glistened and flashed in the firelight, making it look as alive as the flames themselves. On his neck and back he wore a long dark-purple cape with a high collar and two curved spikes jutting out from the sides and framing his neck. On his body he wore a very dark red and purple plated armor that covered his chest, sides, and upper legs. A long, razor-sharp spiraling horn pierced out from his forehead, sheathed in the purple magic energy. His eyes burned like red-hot embers from the depths of Tartarus with an eerie, orange monochromatic glow. But it was his mane that stood out above all else; a huge wreath of fire that rippled and roared out from his neck and streamed down his back, conjoining with a tail of flames that sparked and flickered down along the ground. A pair of huge fiery wings unfurled from his back, adding further to his dangerously regal appearance. All in all, he was a terrifying sight.

When Celestia saw him, her eyes grew wide in shock and she gasped, “Psyron!?”

The fiery alicorn smiled fiendishly and replied, his deep voice echoing and crackling ominously throughout the room. “Surprised to see me... sister?”