Emberwolf

by Lucky Dreams

Embers

Afterwards, the makeshift village was evacuated. It didn’t take a weather pony to see that the mountain had grown unstable; there was no telling when it would fall and smother the tents in a snow tsunami. However, Twilight Sparkle, along with some of the more adventurous pegasi, couldn’t resist the call of the frozen firebow. When, later, she flew back to meet the others at her castle, they had rarely seen her so excited.

“It’s incredible!” she told them. They were gathered in the entrance hall: Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie. “It’s solid ice, yet when you touch it, it’s warm. It has magic which I’ve never even read about – and – and—”

She sat down, quivering with excitement and muttering about all the books she was going to need to properly study the frozen firebow.

The Pillar of Hope, ponies were already calling it.

Throughout the little town, ponies bathed in its magic: magic which radiated from the ice, a feeling of absolute love. It was the feel, ponies said, that the world could always stand to be a kinder, more welcoming place…

An hour later, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna arrived, the two of them having been far away on a royal engagement. From Twilight’s tallest turret, everypony gazed at the Pillar of Hope rising on the edge of Ponyville – the princesses saw at once what others could not: that the firebow’s magic was strong and enduring. Thousands of years would pass before it melted, and in that time, its light would never fade.

“That’s impossible!” Twilight insisted when they said this. “That defies Aurora North’s theorem of Light Everlasting!”

“So it does,” said Celestia with a grin. “Yet the Pillar of Hope shines anyway.”

The Princess stretched her wings and legs. It had already been a long night of travelling for her. “I think,” she continued, “that the Pillar calls for a close-up inspection. But how about a cup of tea first, hmm? Put the kettle on, Twilight.”

---

Scootaloo was around for none of this.

Once the tent village was abandoned, and after a last hug with her friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were sent home to bed. Aunt Holiday and Aunt Lofty headed to Twilight’s castle, where they intended to remain until dawn. Transformation magic was dangerous, after all. It was best to stay near Twilight and make certain there were no unexpected side-effects from their ordeal.

Scootaloo climbed onto Rainbow Dash’s back.

They flew through the limitless night. The horizon was pink, for the Sun was beginning to rise… Rainbow’s cloud mansion came into view…

Then Rainbow led Scootaloo to the spare room, lay her in bed and tucked her under the covers. The sheets were soft and the mattress was made from freshly plucked clouds. Rainbow Dash pulled up a chair, sat beside her and said, “I ain’t leaving you. I’m staying here ’til you wake up, and that’s a promise.”

Something lurked in Scootaloo’s mind. The thought had entered her head in the tent village, and she hadn’t been able to shake it off. “Rainbow?” she whispered. “Ages ago, remember when you said you let the sky into your heart and it’s lived there ever since?”

Rainbow Dash leaned closer. “Yeah? What about it, kiddo?”

“Um… what did that mean?”

Scootaloo’s face flushed. She remembered how the first time she had asked this, Rainbow had coughed and changed the subject. This time, however, Rainbow placed a gentle hoof on her cheek, and her voice was soft but serious. “It means,” she said, “that I should’ve taken you more seriously, and not treat kids like they’re too dumb to understand. You want the truth? I’ve got nooo idea what it means. I heard it from somepony else, and I thought it sounded cool, is all.”

Scootaloo sniffled. It was the answer she had hoped for, yet the one she had been scared she wouldn’t receive.

“You don’t have to go away again, right?”

This time, the question slipped out of her – she hadn’t meant to ask it. She felt her cheeks burn even hotter.

Rainbow gave her a loving smile, pulled the blanket down a little and placed a hoof over Scootaloo’s heart. “Wherever I go,” she said, “no matter how far away I am, I haven’t left you. Listen to me, yeah, and don’t ever forget this: you are Scootaloo, and you are loved. You’re loved beyond reason. There ain’t a filly alive as awesome as you.”

She spoke with such sincerity that Scootaloo knew that what she said was the deep, immutable truth. Rainbow Dash’s words were stronger than the forces that push mountains from the earth and lift the stars at night…

Scootaloo smiled from perfect happiness; her eyes welled with fat, burning tears. Through the gap in the curtain, she saw that the morning was red and orange and yellow, as though splashed with fire. It was like the sky itself was telling her that things were going to be different, that life wasn’t such a cold dark place as it sometimes appeared…

In the space of a whispered, “Sweet dreams, kiddo,” from Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo was asleep.

Her dreams flooded with oceans, and she sailed on the water upon a luxurious bed. She dreamed of her parents, of her aunts and friends, and of Canis Major and Daring Wolf leaping playfully between floes of rainbow coloured ice; then she dreamed just of Rainbow Dash, who sailed under the blankets with her, and held her close and warm. The stars gleamed. The Northern Lights shimmered before being replaced with a pale pink glow on the horizon; from above, dawn-drenched clouds reached out for them, lovingly, caringly. The ocean was silent. The air was cool and still. Scootaloo felt calm.

She was loved.

She was safe.

She was home.

Comments

[Southpaw]

9275631: 13 out of 18 of your stories are unfinished. No one here owes you anything. But maybe you owe them a sincere apology for immature badgering with criticism made on a foundation of hypocrisy.

[I love life]

gaaaaaaaaaaa! I love it! it is so good

[rolemaster]

Very interesting story, I greatly enjoyed it.

[Lucky Dreams]

9322069
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it

[Lucky Dreams]

9322735
Thanks man!

[Tetrominon]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[Lucky Dreams]

9590350
And thank you sooo much for reading it!! I only just saw your comments, but they've really made my day

[Edguy0009]

It'd be interesting as a result of her reuniting Canis Major and his pack they give her a gift of a blizzardpony form (pony with the ice traits of a blizzardwolf and the ability to control ice to boot) as a gift or a rainbow colored emberpony form (similar to above) though the flames are NOT a result of anger but as a result of a heart burning with love or a control over the wind.