Before Celestia~

by CuttingEdge

Warmth of the fire.

Blaze, Peach, and Blueskies had hardly moved by the time the sun went down.
They had finally settled to the ground, though.

"Don't s'pose we can get a fire going. Can we?"
Peach inquired.

Blaze jumped in before he got stuck with the other job.
"I'll get the wood. Blueskies can light it."
The last time he had to light the fire it took him over an hour.

"And I. . . Get a break!"
Peach sighed happily and fell on her back. Dirt got all over her orange mane. But she didn't care.

Blaze took off. In this wasteland, wood was almost as hard to find as water.
He zoomed at high speed just a few meters off the ground. Sticks, rocks, and dirt. . . Same old thing.
Even knowing what Diacon might have done to Equestria, he still longed to be there.
The fresh air, soft grass, softer clouds. It really could be heaven.

"But since when did heaven get occupied by the devil?"
This question came with the thought every time.

Diacon's palace: Old Canterlot.

Fires burnt in the braziers aroung Diacon's throne.
It all seemed so small. Nothing was big enough for Diacon.

Yew tree knew this well enough. . . He had been working directly for the tyrant ever since he took over.
Sweeping, mostly. He was one of the underdog servants. Diacon had fierce discipline for anyone who even delayed on an order.
He just did as he was told. He knew it was all the better for his wife.

"Where is Platinum!?"
Diacon opened the doors to the throne room.
Those doorse were so large that only he could open them, really. But that was the only way they could fit him.

Yew tree stopped sweeping and bowed as Diacon passed.
As he walked by chills went across Yew's body. And. . . That whispering. That INFERNAL WHISPERING!
He still heard it. It meant Diacon was close. At least it wasn't the. . . Nightmare that happened when Diacon had first appeared.

"Platinum is being hunted down, m'lord. She will not last."
A small peon advisor kept a steady pace by Diacon's feet.

"And the people know she lives?"
Diacon made it to his throne and sat down.
"We cannot have them knowing one of their old leaders still lives. Rebellion is a fearsome thing, Aerenor."

"I know, my lord. You have told- err, Taught me, as much."
Aerenor sat by the dark king's feet. His tail waving slowly.

"See to it that when she is caught, she tells us who helped her escape. And then kill her. Dump the body in the falls."
Diacon waved his hand, signaling Aerenor to leave.

"As you wish, Lord Diacon."
Aerenor scuttled out of the room, growling at Yew Tree on his way out.

Yew Tree thought about what he had seen- HEARD really.
If Platinum was alive, the rebellion needed to know. He had to get a message to Blaze.

Outside Equestria: Fire sand desert.

Blaze returned to camp, carrying a large bundle of small logs.
"Hey Peach, help me with this will you?"

Peach hopped off the ground.
"Okay."
She flew over to Blaze and grabbed a handful of firewood herself.

As the wood got stacked Blueskies started to light it.
"Took me weeks to get the hang of firemaking. My dad took me out camping, made me light the fire every time."

"Ah, your dad. Buisness pony slash camping addict."
Blaze smiled at his memory of camping with Bluesky's family.

"You two knew each other for how long before the war?"
Peach sat down by the soon-to-be fire.

"LONG before the war. Before the blizzards even. Where were you before the blizzards?"
Blaze sat by Peach.

"My mom's womb? Whoever my mom actually is."

"You never knew your mom?"
Blueskies finally got the fire burning.

"Or dad. I was left by a house. A pegasus. . . Left by an Earth Pony shack."

"I wondered about the accent. . . What was it like?"

"Well, during the blizzard. I would try to keep the sky blue above our field. That way I wouldn't have to till or anythin' like that."
Peach remembered the smell of fertile earth. And peaches.
"The peaches we grew were huge before the blizzard. I have one memory of the orchard before the blizzard. A good one too. I was looking out at the field as the sun went down. . . A breeze made all the trees sway and rustle. It was like a green sea. . . My cutie mark appeared then and there. When I was that young, too."

"That sounds beautiful, Peach. Like Blaze said, I grew up with bankers. Never got to see a harvest field."
Blueskies blew into the flames, prompting them to grow.

"Well, i guess I'm going to have to say something sweet aren't I?"
Blaze sighed sarcastically.

"Yes. . . Talk about something warm and fuzzy."

"Flight lessons. At school. . . Where to start?"
Blaze stared off into space as he started his story.
"I was a slow flier for the longest time. The coach would make me do wing-ups nonstop. But i never felt like I was going to fly well. Then Blueskies zipped across the field. She looked like a lightning bolt to me. I hopped up and I said: I am going to fly like that. Then I tried. . . And tried. . . It took a while, but i soon was going about Bluesky's speed."

Blueskies stared weirdly.
"Okay, your story has flaws. You SAID: "I am not letting a girl beat me." And you were always pretty fast."

"Ah, just had to go and spoil my manliness didn't you."
Blaze sighed.

Peach pulled off her helmet, and placed it down as a pillow.
"When all this is over, I don't suppose we could all get together for a gathering. Do you?"

"That would be a nice party. . . Yeah, Peach. It's a deal."
Blaze looked up at the stars.
He was screaming one wish to the heavens.

Let me live.
If not me; let my family live.
If not my family; let Blueskies live.
If not Blueskies; let Peach. . . An innocent girl. LIVE.