My Little Pony: StarBlaze

by BlackWater

Friendship is Magic

Silence...

Synch and the Pega-Pacer helicopter were close enough that the sounds from the crashing vehicle were near deafening. His mind was blank and his heart was leaping through his chest. The typhoon of emotion he felt in that instant drown out all sound to mere silence.

What was it like to lose somepony that cared about you? Who gave a nickel about your feelings? What was it like to lose somepony you cared about? Who gave you some miniscule bit of encouragement that got you through another day?

Maybe the unicorn, Earth pony, and pegasus hadn’t been together long enough to form a deep friendship but, to somepony that had never felt any kind of friendship before, there was no difference. Even knowing that it was possible to care about somepony else - to have true friends - was enough to bring Synch to tears. It was easy to glaze over such things in daily life and take them for granted. Ponies who had friends, or at least thought they had friends, usually passed the concept up us elementary or trivial. It was not something to get so worked up about.

But there were those ponies that had been bullied, picked on, or shunned their whole life. To them, friendship was just some sham that others used to get what they wanted. Or perhaps it was just some ideal that never actually happened in real life. Whatever the case, it was as impossible as reaching into an empty sack and pulling out a million bits.

So there were those that had friendship and those that didn’t. What about those that lost it? What would go through a pony’s mind if every friendship they had was lost in an instant? Anger? Sadness? Depression?

Synch didn’t know what to think as he helplessly watched his two friends fall to their inevitable death. Perhaps he felt all of those possible emotions together and the result was mere void. Now, it wasn’t true that he would lose all his friends. After all, even if Lifeline and Nebula Swirl were to disappear, he still had Princess Celestia as his new friend. Of course, he wasn’t thinking about such a technicality.

Lifeline was shouting desperately as he fell, having nothing else he could do. Nebula Swirl, a pegasus capable of his own flight, was trapped in the Pacer. At the very least, he was unconscious and unable to do anything. At the very worst...

Were there no flight-capable ponies nearby? Had none of the response team been able to do anything? Synch had no way of knowing exactly why none of the pegasus or alicorns had flown to assist. However, that point would be made clear in quick order.

The Pacer was not in a simple clockwise spin anymore. It was spiraling in every possible direction on its course to meet the ground. Synch’s hooves gave out under him. There was nothing he could do but watch - even if he didn’t want to.

Like watching a train wreck his eyes were glued to the horrific scene until finally the void in his mind let his gaze fall with the rest of his body as he buckled into the grass. What cruel being had waved friendship in front of him just to take it away in one terrifying and blazing moment? What had been the point of all of this?

One thought entered the white blank in his mind.

I don’t want this.

It copied itself until his vision was a white paper with the phrase plastered a thousand times across it. He had never felt that way before. Sad yet enraged. Horrified yet depressed. That one bit of selfishness blazed within him.

I don’t want this.

It was like a computer feeling emotion for the first time. He was curious at first and then exhilarated. He had to try it out more. He had to play with the emotion. Revel in it.

The feeling burned his chest and he felt nauseous. He no longer saw the grass below him, even though his gaze was fixed on the ground mere inches from his face. It was as if he was gazing into the brilliant light of the sun yet without losing his sight from the intensity. He could not know what was now taking place because his emotions had ignited a magic far beyond his ability to control. The magic controlled him even though it was really his own raw emotions that dictated the magic.

His unicorn’s horn, never sparking any magic before, shone like a star. His body was enveloped in a glowing tempest of magic. Only one thing had any influence now.

I don’t want this.

Lifeline, nearly blacking out from the fall he was in, suddenly started decelerating midair as a deep green haze enveloped him. The Pacer, also slowing in its descent, began smoking furiously as the fires died mysteriously - replaced by the haze. It’s furious spin slowed.

Synch’s heartbeat continued to thump faster than could ever be safe. He no longer had the ability to understand what was happening around him. He could not see or hear. Only that one thought consumed him. He never wanted to feel alone again. He could only think his existence would cease if it were to ever happen.

Lifeline’s mind twirled with confusion and joy as his adrenaline-filled death drop came to a happy end. He slowed until he was falling almost gracefully as a feather to the ground. His hooves barely made a sound as they met the grass. That was, of course, until the Pacer also touched the ground. It landed just as gently, but there was no mistaking that the craft was heavy. It made a somewhat muted thud.

Lifeline stood still for a few minutes. He didn’t know what to think. Joy that he was alive? Confusion as to why? Fear as to what had hit the Pacer earlier?

Finally, the Earth pony looked over to the nearby anti-gravity aircraft. It was totalled by every definition and smoke poured from it like a reverse waterfall to the sky. The situation finally hit him and he ran to the craft with every ounce of energy he still had. Was Nebula alright? He had to be removed from the vehicle fast. It could still explode or else the smoke might choke the pegasus to death.

The green haze that had guided both Lifeline and the Pacer to a safe landing was now completely gone. The same haze that had consumed Synch was likewise absent as the unicorn laid motionless on the ground.

Synch began to open his eyes but his vision was as blurry as if he was trying to see underwater. He could only make out brown things, which were probably the tree trunks around him. There was a green wall to the left, which was probably the grassy ground that his head was laying on. A few small blurs were also in sight but he had no clue as to what they could be. Three minutes past and he began to see with clarity again.

His first attempts at standing back up failed with little to show for. When he finally did get back up, he could see that the unidentifiable blurs from earlier had been Lifeline darting to the downed Pacer. Although he didn’t comprehend everything yet, he still started stumbling forward towards the smoking vehicle.

He heard muffled shouting, as his hearing was still impaired. “Nebula!”

It was Lifeline, or at least that was Synch’s guess.

Lifeline? Shouting for Nebula? Were they dead?

Clearing his mind more, he fixed the question. Were they alive?

He picked up the pace, nearly tripping over his own hooves as he ran faster than he was really capable of in his current state. He definitely saw Lifeline pulling on something as he bent over the remains of the cockpit. He was bending in where the forward windshield used to be. There was no longer any trace of it.

Now close enough, Synch tried his voice. “Lifeline!”

With no other form of acknowledgement, Lifeline merely yelled a “help me.”

Synch climbed onto the mess that was the Pacer and saw Lifeline pulling a cross beam off of Nebula. It looked heavy and the Earth pony was clearly struggling. The pegasus however did not look anywhere near healthy. He was covered in blood and did not move. It was only a small movement, that of breathing, that assured Synch that he was even alive.

With no hesitation, the unicorn tried harder to muster his strength back. Grabbing the crossbeam, he pulled with Lifeline to remove it. Unfortunately, it was even heavier than it looked and it was wedged in at some point that wasn’t even visible. Synch strained until he nearly felt his muscles seize and his shoulder pop. With an agonizing sound of metal against metal, the crossbeam finally swiveled off of their pinned down friend.

They both dived down, nearly bumping heads, so they could pull the pegasus out. Synch reached the strap harness first and almost started looking for a knife when the harness release button failed. However, it finally gave and the straps retracted to let the pegasus fall forward. Synch caught him and Lifeline helped take the weight as they carefully pulled him out.

Not safe within immediate distance of the Pacer, they strained their muscles to drag the pegasus away from the craft. Once clear, they both fell to the grass exhausted. With the adrenaline of the rescue fading, the reality of Lifeline’s physical condition began to hit him. A large mark ran across his right side where he had momentarily collided with the burning anti-gravity pad. It was something of a cross between a burn and a bruise and he felt pain as if it were both.

“Life...line,” Synch wheezed from having carried the pegasus. “Are...you ok?”

After voicing a grunt of pain, he simply answered, “Had better...”

Lifeline was caught between staying with his injured friends and running for help. It was another few minutes before Lifeline spoke up, “Why are...we alive?”

Since Synch only had a vague clue as to what happened, he decided not to treat his guess as fact. Instead he speculated, “I think something happened with my horn...”

“You used...magic? I thought you couldn’t...”

Lifeline continued to have a pain-filled expression as he grasped his side. It worried the unicorn but too much had been happening and he was still too overwhelmed to think logically. “I don’t know...what happened anyways?!”

“Oh no!” Lifeline looked up in terror at the question. He had been in one nightmare after another and it took Synch’s question to remind him of why everything had happened to begin with. Straining his body further to get back up and grabbing Nebula again, he fought to overcome the pain and continue moving. “We have to go! She’s nearby!”

Synch, however, did not understand. “What are you talking-?!”

The unicorn never finished his question as a new lance of fiery energy leaped between two trees and hit him in the chest. The impact sent him flying backwards but his temporary flight was almost immediately halted by the tree that was behind him. Knocking into the truck, the air left his lungs and he hit the ground with a tearful cry.

Lifeline, attempting to run to Synch, collapsed face-first into the grass as the pain from his wound knocked his legs out from under him.

Leaves crunched as a pony approached from the direction that the energy lance had come from. Synch slowly got up from the ground as he clutched his chest with his front right hoof. He coughed painfully as tears ran down his face and began soaking the grass.

Seconds passed and when Synch finally looked over to see Lifeline on the ground he found another pony standing over him. The alicorn was smaller than the “boss” or Celestia, but held an air of intimidation that exceeded them both. She held one hoof atop Lifeline’s head, as if claiming him as a hunting trophy. However, her gaze was locked with Synch’s.

In her brown eyes blazed hatred more intense than a wildfire. Her horn was unusually long like Celestia’s and her wings bulged from her body like those of the “boss.” Her coat was the color of a dull and burnt yellow, as if all the vibrant color it might have once had was long gone from prolonged exposure to the sun. Red streaks lined the feathers of her wings and only furthered her menacing appearance.

The alicorn’s hair was as wild as her eyes and had only the faintest hint of orange. Unless one had specifically known that it was once that color, it could only be concluded that her hair was, in fact, a deep brown. The style matched her tail, as it seemed to be just as large and messy.

Her horn began to glow like a flame and Synch immediately knew that she was the one that had struck him as well as the Pacer. She was responsible for the entire incident. Of course, he had no idea who she was or why she was doing what she was doing. He knew only the reality of the situation. She was about to fire another lance and the unicorn had little doubt it was meant to kill.

Her gaze of hatred never faltered and the glow surrounding her horn reached its peak. A lance formed instantaneously and launched towards him. He had closed his eyes even before the lance formed, not wishing to watch his own end. At the very least, he would die with his friends...

Something exploded and he suddenly felt clods of dirt and small pebbles assault him from his left. By reflex he opened his eyes and witnessed a magic bubble disintegrate in front of him. What had just happened?

“You’ve grown much more powerful since the last time I saw you...sis.”

That voice...

“Your hatred hasn’t changed at all though.”

It was the “boss.”

The female alicorn was now a few hooves distance from Lifeline and her image shifted within a powerful heat wave surrounding her body. It looked as if she was about to explode into flame. The other alicorn, the “boss,” was facing her as he positioned himself between the injured ponies and their enemy.

“Hatred?! You know all about that don’t you?! Don’t forget you were the one that left me to die, StarBlaze!” she countered. The spite and anger she channeled into his name was intense, yet her voice was far lighter than expected. It might have been described as the awkward space between a tompony’s rashness and the eloquence of a princess. But then, words never mean much for describing sound now do they?

“I never left you, SunFire!” the other alicorn responded with the same emphasis on the name - minus the hate. “I tried everything to help you, but you wanted to be mad! Why are you doing this? Do other people have to suffer your bad attitude?!”

Now SunFire did erupt into flames. The fire wrapped around her body, not causing her any harm. The grass below her caught fire though and, in a single leap forward, she careened into StarBlaze.

The fireball she formed around her erupted and Synch could no longer see either alicorn. The heat scorched him even at his current distance and he knew he had to get Lifeline and the still unconscious Nebula out of danger.

Another cough escaped him as he ran over to Lifeline. Kneeling, he asked, “Are you ok?”

“Nn....no. But we have to get out of here!” Lifeline forced a response from his shaky voice as he tried getting back up.

Synch knew this was not good. There was a burning in his chest from the fire lance and it felt like something was wrenching his insides. Lifeline couldn’t walk and neither could the unconscious Nebula. He couldn’t get them both out on his own and he was out of time. The greenery was catching fire all around them.

Closing his eyes, Synch tried to replicate what happened earlier with the haze. He didn’t really understand it but perhaps if he could force enough emotion in his thoughts, he could pull something off. It was not like they had any other options.

Get out of here.

Nothing happened - not even a hint of something.

Danger. Must escape.

The fires spread.

I have to save my friends!

A spark flicked off of his horn and Nebula was engulfed in a green haze. Feeling the unusual sensation of magic, the unicorn opened his eyes to see the haze start to form around Lifeline as well.

The Earth pony widened his eyes as he saw what was taking place before him. “Synch! You can-”

His words were cut off as all three ponies suddenly disappeared in unison. A puff of the green haze lingered before dispersing. However, the three soon reappeared some 150 hooves distance from the fire. Again, the green haze puffed as they came back into existence. What had just occurred was, quite simply, teleportation.

“-magic?” Lifeline finished. His vision spinned from the bizarre sensation of spatial displacement. The pain from his wound didn’t help and he barely held onto consciousness as a blackness nearly overwhelmed his mind.

Synch looked around quickly. Whatever it was seemed to have gotten them out of immediate danger. He was glad it had worked out because what he had just done was really nothing more than a gamble. The magic could have landed them within the inferno rather than out of it. There was no time to think of what-ifs though.

Nebula was right beside Lifeline on the ground. They had to get immediate medical aid and Synch was even less able to help them as a new nauseousness came over him from his overextended and uncontrolled use of magic. Feeling a sharp sting from his chest, he looked down to see the burn mark from the lance wound. It glowed!

Once again, Synch felt the somewhat cool and plush sensation of the grass against his face as he joined his two friends on the ground. His hooves had given out again and fresh tears began to escape him. The burning feeling he had inside was becoming more intense.

It was at that moment that he saw a bright light shoot by overhead. It was past them in a fraction of a second but Synch had seen the alicorn clearly enough. She had apparently landed outside of his ground-level view, as the Princess suddenly appeared again from the corner of his vision. She was no longer in flight and was back on her hooves as she leaned down to Synch.

“Celest-” was all Synch could pronounce before the Princess interrupted.

“Shh! Save your breath until I can heal you and the others...” she tilted her horn so that it touched Synch’s chest. A blinding light shone momentarily as Celestia attempted to heal the lance wound.

The unicorn had to admit that the sensation was interesting, as many other sensations had been that particular day. It was almost like being stuck with a needle, punched in the stomach, and slapped in the face all at the same time. It only lacked the gentleness and subtlety of such experiences.

In spite of his attempts not to, the unicorn cried in pain.

“SunFire will pay for this,” Celestia seethed in a rare fit of anger. “She used shadow magic to keep us from coming. I’ve never seen a shadow wall so ridiculously powerful! It held even when I unleashed the sun upon it!”

The unicorn had most likely passed into the forest before the wall had been brought up, or else he had traveled through some hole. Synch tried to understand her words as his vision waved in and out from the pain. At the very least, the internal burning seemed to have lessened. Celestia moved out of sight as she turned to heal Nebula. However, she continued talking - attempting to make up for her tardiness in helping.

“StarBlaze had to add the power of his own star to mine for us to break through. Thank goodness!” she sighed in relief. “It doesn’t look like any of you are beyond help.“

Clearing his mind and turning his head, he still didn’t have the courage to stand back up. He could see the Princess moving over to Lifeline after finishing with Nebula. The pegasus didn’t open his eyes but he looked far better. The blood was gone and his breathing was more peaceful.

Synch’s tears were no longer for pain but for the same relief that Celestia had. His friends would be alright.

“Healed by you? I... I couldn’t ask for a better doctor huh? Ancient magic is pretty handy...” Lifeline commented as Celestia lit her horn once again. The Earth pony’s scar began to fade away.

There was no time left for appreciation, though, as a rumble shook the trees around them and an explosion could be heard from the nearby fire. Smoke had begun making its way towards them.

“You’re all good enough to leave now,” Celestia hastily commented. “I have to go help StarBlaze, but you three need to get to safety.”

Synch didn’t know what had happened to either of the other alicorns from earlier but Celestia seemed to indicate that they were still fighting each other. Whatever the case, it was out of the unicorn’s hooves. The Princess was right about them retreating.

If only things were that simple. It looked like things were finally going right, if only a little. Perhaps Synch’s old skepticism should have been giving a chance because things quickly went sour once again.

As the Princess turned to go to the fire and Synch and Lifeline went to carry Nebula, a massive fireball landed between them. They were all sent tumbling in different directions as the fireball dispersed to reveal SunFire in all of her seething anger.

None of the ponies wasted any time in getting to their hooves. Nebula was now awake, albeit terribly disoriented.

“You! Why aren’t you dead yet?!” SunFire screamed as she stared at Synch.

He never got the chance to respond as the mad mare erupted into another fireball and charged at him. The unicorn began to run away but Celestia stopped the fiery hurricane short. Enveloped in a sphere of light, the Princess collided with SunFire. The opposing haze of fire exploded outwards as it burned out, but the impact sent both mares tumbling to the ground.

A bluish purple mist suddenly puffed nearby the sprawled Princess as StarBlaze exploded into existence. Lifeline found Nebula and began leading him on a dash back to New Ponyville. It was complete chaos.

SunFire arose to her hooves once more as Celestia did the same. The “boss,” StarBlaze, quickly glanced to the Princess to see she was alright and began emitting a vibrant glow from his horn.

“I won’t let you hurt anypony, sis!” the alicorn bellowed. He was obviously fighting his own anger and trying not to let it control him.

“Stop calling me that, you worm!” the opposing alicorn countered before charging at the other two.

Synch stood there, forgetting to run away. The magical power emitted from the alicorns was overwhelming him. His newfound connection to magic was making him oversensitive and the ensuing battle left his hooves frozen. This one hate-powered alicorn had caused so much grief already and she was somehow able to stand against two other extremely powerful alicorns. From what Celestia had said earlier, it seemed likely that all three of the alicorns present had a connection to a star. Celestia was connected to the local star - the sun. It was anypony’s guess as to the other two. Judging from the colors and their relation, StarBlaze and SunFire were probably connected to sibling stars - a class B and K respectively.

A lance of blue energy shot from StarBlaze’s horn but fizzled uselessly when it struck the charging opponent. Seeing no other choice, StarBlaze charged to meet his insane sibling. Why had she so desperately tried to keep the others away while she killed Synch’s friends? What did she have against them?

Foreign thoughts began to burn themselves into his mind as StarBlaze and SunFire collided, their horns knocking away from each other. They smashed into each other with a nasty thud as their shoulders met. Both ponies spun onto their backs, hitting the ground and sending dirt flying. The smoke from the nearby fire was thickening.

Celestia charged at the fallen enemy as she lit her horn with the power and light of the sun.

· · · · ·

“Brother!” an alicorn screamed in terror as flames engulfed the cottage. It was night and yet the blaze of the fire lit the darkness to make it seem as though it were day.

Another alicorn burst from the burning building to land in front of his tear-filled sister. The brother smelled of smoke and was aglow with conflicting colors of blue and red. His expression was barely neutral as he fought to keep emotional pain from showing. His sister didn’t need more bad news than they had already been given. It almost seemed like their life was one long nightmare.

“Where’s mom?!” the sister alicorn cried loudly and painfully, knowing the unspoken answer. The red energy that was crackling across her brother’s body was proof. It had happened again. First their father had been killed and now it was their mother. And there was nothing they could do to stop it.

The culprit was obviously some kind of powerful pony capable of magic. Only such a pony could succeed in killing a celestial alicorn. Both of their parents had been connected to healthy G-class stars. But the residual red energy that remained at the scene marked the killer as an alicorn with a connection to a sickly M-class star. How they had overpowered their parents was a mystery but a horrific truth nonetheless.

“We...” the brother tried to speak but had difficulty. His emotions were overpowering him. He couldn’t cry - not when he was the only family left to his young sister. He had to be able to take care of her now.

“StarBlaze! Tell me mom’s alive! She’s alive!” the sister cried bitterly.

“We....” he choked back tears that were insistent in coming. “We have to leave. It’s not safe here, sis.”

The young mare didn’t move. To do so would be admitting that they were now alone.

“SunFire!”

Tears were her only response.

“SUNF-” his words were cut short as a red streak fell from the sky. It’s trail left the shape of a scythe - the tip landed right before StarBlaze.

SunFire turned in horror to see the towering stallion that now stood before them. His blood red coat and black mane matched the terrifying pony that she imagined the killer to be. In his eyes were nothing but hatred. Red energy snapped across his body even to the point of singing his own coat.

StarBlaze shoved his sister out of the way as the red stallion whipped a bolt of red energy at them. It cracked the ground and burned the brother’s hooves even as he moved to avoid it.

“I thought getting rid of your father would get me farther in the court but your worthless mother just took his place,” the murderer bit out. “I didn’t want to have to work so hard but it looks like I’m going to have to bury all of you if I’m going to get anywhere in life.”

A red lance of fire shot from the alicorn’s horn and sent StarBlaze flying onto his back. He barely managed to block it with his magic shield and he was nearly spent on energy already. The murderer was indeed powerful and StarBlaze had only been learning magic from his father when he had been killed.

The killer wasted no time and was immediately before StarBlaze again. His red horn blazed with fire as he prepared to finish off the young stallion.

The brother tried desperately to do something but every once of energy he had was resulting in nothing but useless sparks from his horn. There was nowhere to run and no point in trying. It was as he contemplated his end that his sister barreled into the red alicorn.

Not expecting it, the evil stallion struck the ground hard on his side and the fire building around his horn exploded into mere smoke. He didn’t get back up.

“Brother!” the mare screamed in panic.

With nothing left to do but run, regardless of its use, StarBlaze got back up to his hooves and bolted. The only thing going through his mind was that his sister had just given them the small chance to get away. Obviously they were not capable of defeating the insane stallion.

Thinking that his sister was right behind him, StarBlaze continued his mad dash into the night. However, the concept of running was not in SunFire’s mind. She had managed to overcome her worst fear and tackled the pony of her nightmares. She wasn’t even thinking straight and, in a crazy fit of adrenaline, continued to assault the downed stallion with her bare hooves. Something had snapped in her mind.

The parents they had lost...the life they could have had...she had almost lost her brother too. Everything was the fault of this one insane alicorn. A small ember sparked in her eyes.

It was not until many days later that StarBlaze heard the news. The red stallion that had murdered their parents was dead. SunFire had been picked up at the scene by the police and she was blamed for the stallion’s murder. Every trace of their home was disintegrated in the fire along with their mother who had been killed. SunFire was sent to the worst prison imaginable. A stone prison of nightmares was her reward for killing a pony in self-defense.

It was many years later until StarBlaze learned the truth. The fire lance spell that the murderer was known for had backfired when his head hit the ground. The spell had imploded and ignited internally, killing the stallion instantly.

He attempted to free his sister with the information but was promptly and harshly rejected. He was even blamed for attempting to obstruct justice.

· · · · ·

The memories had been intense as if being brought forth by the battle of the siblings and then being rushed upon any pony unfortunate enough to be nearby. The unicorn’s inexperience with magic was perhaps the most likely culprit but, in that moment, Synch knew what had to be done. He didn’t know how to do it but he was going to try to pull it off anyways. It was just like his earlier encounter with the Princess. He didn’t know how to make friends or what he was supposed to do with them, but he would do anything possible to help them, give them hope, and show them love.

The struggle that was taking place in front of him was nothing more than a vicious cycle. It was a pattern of hatred that fueled itself and the only way to break it was to fight it with hatred’s worst enemy. Love.

Synch recognized it was a foolish and even stupid plan but, as he already scraped by death a few times, he somehow cared less about what happened to him. Perhaps near-death experiences made a pony consider the meaning of life...or some such deep-sounding gibberish.

Celestia plowed into SunFire even as she was getting back to her hooves. A beam of molten white energy erupted from Celestia’s horn and burned off half of the feathers on the yellow alicorn’s right wing.

SunFire screamed in pain just before the Princess turned around sharply to kick her with her back hooves. She took the hit hard and rolled across the grass, leaving singed plant in her wake. StarBlaze was also back up and was charging at his sister. It was that moment that SunFire finally revealed an opening. If StarBlaze made a hit, it could have spelled the quick end of the pale yellow alicorn.

However, he never got the chance as Synch dove into her before StarBlaze could. He forced the thoughts into his mind and hoped with every fiber of his being that he could perform magic one more time that day.

Prove to her that she’s not alone.

Give her friendship.

Show her love.

As Synch collided with the wounded alicorn, a green haze enveloped them both. Although not to his knowledge or intent, the spell that had been cast was not one previously recorded nor was it one to which Princess Celestia had previously encountered. It was a very strange one that had little use if it were not for Synch’s intent to heal SunFire’s blackened heart. The spell synched the minds of the four ponies.

Suddenly the world went dark as if they were all asleep and in the world of dreams. There were no words. Only thought.

There were no explicit thoughts, but the emotions behind them told a tale more vivid than any memory. Depression, fear, and anger blazed until they met honesty, generosity, and loyalty. Sadness and loneliness burned until they encountered kindness and laughter. Pain threatened to end everything until it clashed with the magic.

It was the magic of friendship.

Synch, or anypony for that matter, could not prove something in only an instant. He could only hope that synching their emotions was enough to show SunFire that they all experienced the bad things in life. She was not alone in that, but she was also capable of experiencing the good things just as he was. However, he didn’t have any control of the magic taking place and could only be affected by it as the others were. The deep green unicorn knew what he wanted. He wanted friendship. He wanted somepony to care about him. He wanted to be somepony that cared about others too. To get what he wanted, he had to act. So that was precisely what he was doing.

If he could calm SunFire and gain her friendship, the entire ordeal would come to an end. There would be no more trouble - at least for that day. After all, Synch didn’t know the future and could only hope and work for the best day by day just like everypony else.

The torrent of emotions were still storming about, but he suddenly felt something new. The sensation was like a single tear hitting the sands of a dry desert. The tear grew until it was a pond. The pond grew to a lake and the lake was rushing towards him.

It was hard to explain emotions with mere words but Synch could only think of it as a powerful wave of water as it hit him and he began to cry - adding to the wave. It was then that he knew that the wave was from SunFire.

The spell was coming to an end and Synch was suddenly afraid. That was it? But what had it done? It was quick, vague, and felt somewhat like a...waste of time. This was bad!

The unicorn opened his eyes to find himself lying beside SunFire. They were both laying on the grassy ground as were StarBlaze and Celestia. The other two alicorns were opening their eyes with expressions of confusion and exhaustion. What Synch saw, though, was a crying SunFire.

No longer was her horn or body emitting unreal heat. The anger that permanently occupied her eyes was completely gone. What remained was nothing but hurt.

A strong realization hit Synch as he understood what the magic had just accomplished. The realization threatened to give him a migraine but he was too much at a loss to care because the magic hadn’t actually solved the problem.

The spell had synched their emotions long enough to dispel the hatred that had consumed SunFire and reveal the hurting heart behind it. However, the hurt remained unaltered by the feeling of friendship that Synch had wanted to fix it with. He didn’t know what to do. He had only recklessly hoped that magic would solve all of his problems.

“You...” the female alicorn sniffled out.

Synch felt like turning to stone as he watched the mare cry only two hooves distance from his own face.

“You...c-care?” she squeaked as if her voice was about to fly away.

It seemed the spell had worked exceptionally well at ridding the hate. However, the broken heart that laid before him was nothing short of tragic. Synch didn’t know anything about friendship but he knew even less about talking to a crying mare. Life seemed to throw everything at him that he was incapable of dealing with. He had stumbled along this whole time barely surviving and today was a stellar example of it. Well...whatever, he thought. If I’m going to mess up a relationship then at least I’ll mess it up trying to do the right thing.

“Uh...I...want you to be happy,” Synch responded and immediately regretted it. Wow. That sounded just stupid. Congratulations, somehow you managed to be corny and creepy at the same time, he thought.

“...” her silence was like the second punch to him but she soon spoke up again. “No...pony has ever wanted that...”

Synch didn’t say anything. He was again at a loss but felt he wasn’t supposed to speak anyways.

“Nopony wants anything...anything to do with me,” she sniffled again as a few new tears rolled off of her face. “It’s always my fault for everything.”

“...”

“Even my own brother wants me gone so he doesn’t have to deal with me anymore,” she said a bit too quickly. “There’s no reason,” she paused as she sniffed again from her crying. “No reason for me to live!”

There it was. The pain of depression and loneliness in her heart had given birth to the void of hopelessness. Hate had tried filling that void to give her a reason to live. Now that it was gone she faced the very same dilemma. What was she living for? On that note, what was Synch living for?

A few days ago he might have hesitated at that. However, he knew what he was living for at that moment. He was trying to give others the love he always wanted. Just the pure love of friendship. He had to do that before anything “deeper” would have meaning for him. After all, the “deep” stuff was nothing but useless words if it didn’t have action with it, right? Synch was doing the acting at that very moment.

“How about me then?” he asked the crying alicorn. “If I’m your friend, would you live for my sake?”

It was a big risk for him to ask and he was practically in a cold sweat. Who would want to live for his sake anyways?

“...” she was silent minus the sniffling as she processed his words. “I...You want me to live...?”

That was a rather delicate question. “Yes! Even if it’s just to laugh and smile a few times each day! Isn’t that better than simply kicking the bucket?!”

She didn’t say anything and her expression almost said that she did think that kicking the bucket was better. However, she eventually came to a response, “You want to have me around?”

Didn’t she already ask that kind of question? Synch almost panicked as he remembered the other two alicorns behind them. They must have been simply watching the exchange because they hadn’t interfered yet. Great, he thought. It was almost like he was in the spotlight and he never did well in that position. Just one more reason to sweat some more. What was he getting himself into?

“Of course! In fact, I’ve been feeling the same way, you know. I was wondering just what the point was...just living for another day to pass. It makes me sick, but having friends really changes things, you know.” He began to use “you know” more often as his mental panic escalated. He was blowing it. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but he was definitely blowing it.

“...”

“So...uh...please don’t give up. I’ll be your friend even if nopony else will.”

She sighed as she wiped some of the tears away. “Th-thanks...”

StarBlaze finally stepped over to them and they took the hint to get up. Synch was worried at first about what StarBlaze might do until he saw the stallion’s face. He looked like he had just been scolded.

“SunFire...” the male alicorn started. “Sis...I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

SunFire stepped sideways towards Synch as if she was going to use him as a meat shield. “About what?” she asked cautiously.

“I wasn’t very sensitive towards you and...I was basically ignoring you this whole time.”

Giving a moment of silence for the words to sink in, she replied, “Yeah. It’s true.”

Synch could see pain strike StarBlaze. The bluntness was simply nasty but she didn’t stop there.

“I forgive you though,” she continued. “Because I’m not living for that old stuff anymore.”

StarBlaze sighed in relief. “Thanks, sis. We both need to forget the past. It was just too painful.”

Not needing to reply, SunFire shared her brother’s opinion. As the two siblings shared that moment, Synch glanced around to see that Celestia had disappeared. Before he could speak up about it, StarBlaze turned his attention to the unicorn and answered preemptively.

“The Princess went to assist with the fire. I should go help but I want you two to go back to New Ponyville - you’ve both been through enough.”

“But I started that-”

StarBlaze cut off what his sister tried to bring up, “No. I accept responsibility for it. I want you to forget everything that happened earlier, okay?”

His voice was so stern that SunFire took the hint. Her brother wanted the entire case closed permanently. “Okay...” she murmured.

“You too, Synch. I’ve never experienced such...strange and powerful magic. Considering your physical condition, I want you off work for a few days,” StarBlaze continued as he motioned towards Synch’s chest.

The unicorn looked down to find a bright scar where he had been hit with the fire lance. He gasped. Hadn’t Celestia healed him? Maybe the Princess was slipping a bit with her healing magic. Sighing, he resolved himself to live with it. What else could he do?

StarBlaze quickly took off to help Celestia and Synch found himself walking back to the town with the alicorn that had tried to kill him not even an hour previous. Of course, he was working to forget that fact as she was now his friend. It would take time.

He noticed that the mare walking beside him was not necessarily walking slow out of intent. She was as exhausted as StarBlaze had likely guessed. Synch was no better off as his muscles felt like bread dough that had been beat for far too long. A nasty headache was working its way into his head as well. In general, he felt lousy. Well at least I’m not dead, he thought.

SunFire broke the silence, “So what do we do?”

Now he wished he were dead. “Ah...” he thought out loud. “Well, we’ve been ordered to stay out of everything so...there’s not much for us to do. I think I’ll just check on Nebula and Lifeline before hitting the sack.”

The mare was quiet for the next minute as they got closer to town. It was true that Synch wasn’t going to do much else for the day. He really was as exhausted as he probably looked. At the very least, he wouldn’t need to worry about the fire with two powerful celestial alicorns on the job.

SunFire spoke and, unknowingly sparked a pinch of pain with Synch’s headache, “What should I do then...?”

In all honesty the unicorn hadn’t a clue. It was probably best that she get rest as well but she didn’t have any assigned cabin. After giving it a bit of thought, Synch’s technical mind worked out the best logical solution. He would ask around at the control complex to get Celestia’s cottage designation. SunFire could rest there until the Princess got back and assigned her a living quarters.

“You should probably get some shut eye too. I’ll ask around to find you some quarters.”

She only seemed half satisfied with his answer, however. He never had to ask what else was on her mind because she came right out with it. “What do I do after the resting?”

“Huh?” was all he replied. He wasn’t thinking quite that far ahead.

“I’m living for your sake right? You were the only one that saved me,” she pointed out. “My brother may have apologized back there but it’s not like things are going to be magically different between us. He’s probably happy to shove me off onto somepony else.”

If only magic really could just solve every problem, Synch thought. The alicorn apparently held some bitter thoughts. On the other hoof, maybe she was just being realistic about it. The unicorn didn’t really believe things would be easy either.

The mare looked expectantly at him as if he held the answer to all of life’s questions. He sighed. “Rest until you’re really not tired anymore...then come get me. We’ll figure out what to do then - it’ll probably be late enough to go stargazing or something. Just be sure to knock really loud because sometimes I sleep pretty deep.”

Her face glowed and he guessed that he had handled her concern well. He was a little nervous since he felt like the mare’s sanity was now hinged on his shoulders. If he failed in some way then who knows what could happen. She could even lose it and try to kill again. He shuddered at the thought - no pressure.

As they entered town again, he noticed that there were very few ponies. Most of them were probably either indoors or helping with the fire. As they continued walking towards the control complex, the unicorn had an idea.

“You know...love is what binds people together. Family...friends...”

SunFire uttered an “ah” to indicate she was listening.

“You could say it’s our society’s greatest conflict,” he continued.

“Conflict? How so?” she asked, not quite getting the idea.

“Well, love is the difference between war and peace isn’t it?”

“I guess so, but that’s kind of...overanalyzing it don’t you think?”

“Guh,” he had to admit she was right. But that didn’t necessarily make it any less true in his mind. At the very least, the harmony they had achieved that day was only possible because of the love and friendship that he had recklessly cast out at SunFire.

She gave a tiny laugh. It was so small that Synch barely noticed it. “I’d like to go stargazing,” she said to nopony in particular. Turning to specifically address the unicorn beside her, she made up her mind. “I need to show you where my star is in the sky.”

He smiled. After all, his life was certainly a lot more interesting now. It was practically a rollercoaster, in fact. However, the green stallion was sure of one thing. Nopony could deny the simple fact anymore.

Friendship is magic.

Comments

[Snowfyre]

nice story but the ending is rather sudden
are you going to write a sequel?

[BlackWater]

@Snowfyre: I'll consider writing a sequel if enough people want one.

[Sdall122]

904203 WRITE THE SQUEAL DAMN IT I WANT IT

[Salizar65]

Wow, just wow. That was seriously getting good. Why did you end it there? So much potential for more chapters or a sequel. Awesome fic.

[BlackWater]

6920190
Thanks! Since I made this almost four years ago, this really takes me back. I had planned to write more of it before my story Queen No More got sequel requests, prompting me to write Hive Alive first after finishing Bullets of Fire. I would like to get around to writing a sequel someday but I'm not sure when. (My writing schedule is booked tight at the moment.)

[Salizar65]

6924181 trust me I understand, my life has gotten in the way of mine. I'm reading bullets of fire right now actually lol. I like your work, it's definitely a different drink of water compared to most stories I read on here.

[BlackWater]

6928174 Well thanks. And happy reading.

[Stark Trist]

Friendship is Magic
Thanks for writing. Really great story!