A New Era

by Shadowmane PX-41

Chapter 10: Case of Sunny Flare

Twilight was the first one to open her eyes, groaning as she felt the pounding pain in her forehead. She tried to rub it with her temples, but she found that she couldn't move her hooves. No matter how hard she wiggled and wobbled her legs, her hooves couldn't budge an inch. They had been welded into a slender slab of stone that was secured in place by two large Y-shaped rocks at each side of the lake. She tried to use magic to free herself, but her horn had also been encased in stone and stung whenever she tried to light it up.

"Wh-where are we?" Twilight's vision finally adjusted to the room around her. She and all of the other ponies were hanging upside down, right over a wide lake of bubbling lava. The cave that they were trapped in was quite expansive—big enough for the Dragon King and his followers; two of which were overseeing Twilight, her friends, and the White Wings ponies.

"Looks like our little ponies are waking up." One of the dragons spoke in a gravelly female voice. "Guess that means they're ripe now."

"Let's give them some time to ferment." Another dragon approached one end of the rock and started to turn it around, rotating the ponies. "The Dragon King always says that rotisserie ponies are way tastier than lake-fried!"

"This is all my fault." Sunny Flare sighed and closed her eyes. "I was supposed to foresee that bringing a baby dragon into the Dragon Kingdom was a bad idea, but I let myself down. I've failed my divine role."

"Hey. Lighten up, Sunny Flare. We've been through much worse than this," said Indigo Zap, with her hair dangling up and falling back down with each turn. "Remember the Void? You almost went insane trying to outdo the spirits at those wacky mind-games."

"Yeah, but that was just a mental strain," Sunny moaned. "Now, we're right in the clutches of the dragons here in the Dragon Kingdom, and they're not gonna let us escape."

"C'mon. Don't be so down on yourself." Rainbow Dash peaked over from Pinkie's shoulders. "We'll be able to get out of here."

"No. We won't." Sunny shook her head. "If we break out of the rock molds, the lava beneath us will fry us in an instant. And our horns have been burned by dragon flames so they'll be out of action for a while too. And even if you manage to fly out with your pegasus wings, the dragons would stop you and burn every wing feather you have straight off." She started to have difficulty keeping eye contact with the others. "Plus, if this rotation is anything, if you do break out, you'll be very dizzy and have trouble trying to even trot straight."

"Like Indigo said. It's not the worst situation we've been in," said Sugarcoat. "We'll figure out a way in time."

"If you have any ideas, Sugarcoat, please use them before we get turned into dragon food..." Sunny Flare felt the heat getting to her again, and she began to shut her eyes as heatstroke overwhelmed her.

---

Sunny Flare walked into Queen Cinch's throne room, almost immediately shivering at the cold and musky air around her. Not even the light of the stained glass window could help put her at ease. Sweat trickled down her forehead as she watched Cinch pacing back and forth at her throne. She simply walked up towards the steps and bowed before her.

"Your Majesty. You wanted to see me?" said Sunny Flare.

"Sunny. I'm going to cut the ice straight away." Cinch finally stopped walking and turned towards Sunny Flare. "I'm sure that I don't need to remind you of how devastating the attack was on the Daybreak Festival today."

"Yes." Sunny Flare's body grew as cold as the air. "But luckily, you deployed us to the scene of the crime, and I'm happy to report that all of the Cast Shadow rioters have been dealt with and sent back to their abodes. But not without causing some harm to the ponies who were celebrating the festivities."

"How many were injured precisely?" Cinch cocked a brow.

"From a headcount given by the other heroes of White Wings, we have at least twenty-eight ponies in hospital with minor injuries, with three more suffering from the brunt of the assault," Sunny said. "Thankfully, there were no fatalities. At least, not yet."

"Such a harrowing attack from uneducated worms." Cinch trotted towards the glass behind her throne and looked out through the bright pattern. "I would give them a proper lesson in respecting their neighbors, but I know that they wouldn't dare mount an assault like that on the castle with you five leading the charge."

"It sounds like you value us as elites, Queen Cinch." Sunny Flare cantered up towards Cinch. "I assure you, we've still got a lot to learn, and I don't think that we'll ever be as good as you or your predecessors."

"Don't be modest, Sunny Flare. You and the other heroines of White Wings are some of the finest ponies I've ever had." Cinch gave Sunny a loving smile, much like one of a mother to her child. "In fact, I daresay that Sugarcoat is looking more and more like a demigoddess with every passing day, given how much time she's been putting into her studies."

"Sugarcoat's only doing what's best for us and the kingdom." Sunny nodded. "She created Umbra, and now she's making sure that he never has the chance to rule; even if it means she has to spend all of her time in the library to do it."

"True, but as advanced a spellcaster as she is, Sugarcoat lacks care." Cinch turned back towards the throne and sat down, crossing her forehooves. "Sure, she's a powerful pony at that, but most of the time, she cares about nothing more than victory and the taking of it. I don't think I've ever seen her smile, cry, moan, or even growl in frustration. It's like she's become an apathetic husk; a shell devoid of emotions."

"If Indigo were here, she would say that she's a powerful shell at least." Sunny smiled.

Cinch couldn't help but let a tiny chuckle escape her lips. "Oh, Sunny. You always know how to cheer up this old bat."

"Thank you, your majesty. I do all that I can to please you." Sunny bowed, beaming brightly from ear to ear. "But we really must prepare for any more future attacks like that. Who knows what those Cast Shadow ponies can do?"

"Many a dangerous thing, I'm sure, given the facts." Cinch scratched her chin and looked to the ceiling. She knew that the ponies of Cast Shadow wouldn't give an inch in their rebellion against her and that the ponies were still at risk of being attacked with each passing second. Suddenly, inspiration struck her in the head like a lightning bolt and she began to form an idea. "Sunny, my dear? Might I interest you in a hidden spellbook?"

"Hidden spellbook?" Sunny jolted backwards. "Wh-whatever do you mean, your majesty?"

"Sunny Flare. What I'm about to tell you could shape your entire future here at White Wings." Cinch used her horn to conjure up a spellbook from thin air, with many archaic markings and stars on it. "The spells here are so powerful and so vital to our kingdom's future that I dare not let Sugarcoat lay eyes on them. Not because I doubt her with their power, but because she wouldn't use them the way they were meant to be used."

"Meant to be used?" Sunny Flare took the book and flipped through the pages, examining the pages that caught her eyes. "Solar Sight? Timegazer? Differing Paths? Why, these are all names of spells for—"

"Yes, Sunny. Foresight." Cinch smiled as she tapped the back of the book with her hooves. "By studying these spells, you will not only be able to improve yourself as a pony in my ranks, but you will also have the rare ability to see into the future, at all of the different possible outcomes of events, and steer White Wings in the right way for a prosperous and bright future."

"Oh, no, no, no. I can't possibly be the pony to help this kingdom out." Sunny Flare waved her forehooves in front of her. "Surely, there must be something, ANYTHING more suited for me."

"Sunny Flare. For many years, my family have been trying to learn how to look into the future. And with every new king and queen, I feel that we are further and further from the answer every passing day." Cinch raised her hoof, then slowly brought it back down towards her chest. "And I feel that if I try and learn these spells myself, it will either hurt me considerably and or end in failure. So, I hope that by breaking the tradition, maybe, just maybe, we can find success."

"Your majesty..." Sunny Flare wanted to continue, but Cinch just shook her head and put the spellbook on her subject's back.

"Sunny. I have faith in you. Something that I don't have much for in a particular individual." Cinch sighed and tapped the tips of her front hooves against each other. "Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest aren't unicorns, so they're out of the picture. Sour Sweet is so torn between her emotions that she won't be able to muster up the concentration to master these spells and Sugarcoat might be able to pull it off, but without a lack of proper judgement, she might end up making the wrong decisions with her newfound powers." She stood up from the throne and patted Sunny's chest with one of her hooves. "Sunny Flare. You're the only pony for this job. No-one else in this kingdom can be as level-headed and wise as you are. Now please, take the book, study its' contents, and do your hardest to make sure that White Wings doesn't fall into turmoil."

"But..." Sunny Flare grimaced at the role she had been given. "Am I really ready for this? For my divine role in White Wings?"

"Well, even if you're not, this new spellbook will make sure that you are ready for the future." Cinch gave Sunny Flare a confident smile. "Sooner or later, we all have to bloom. Some through sheer talent alone, while others learn as they go along." She stood up from her throne and opened the throne room doors wide. "Now, return to your quarters, learn the spells in this book, and do whatever you can to maximize the power of your newfound clairvoyance."

Sunny Flare was about to walk out, when Cinch put one of her hooves on her shoulder. "And one more thing, Sunny. Take your time. Don't strain yourself. We have all the time in the world to perfect these new powers. Take it step by step to begin with, then gradually work your way up the ladder. I guarantee you'll benefit the most that way."

Sunny thought it over, then let out a long sigh and hung her head as she took the spellbook up in her magic and eyed up the front page again. Brushing it down with her hoof, she turned back to Cinch. "As much sudden as it is unprecedented, I suppose that I can make this work out." She bowed one last time. "Thank you, your majesty." And with nothing else to say, she walked out of the throne room.

As Sunny Flare walked out of the throne room and studied the spells locked away in the book, millions of thoughts roared through her mind. At times, she wanted to play around with her new spells and see exactly what she could do, while other times, she let Cinch's words echo out. But regardless of whatever thought she was thinking, she just couldn't take her eyes off of the new spells she had been entrusted. It felt intoxicating, the idea of spells provoking her curiosity, and it was beginning to show as she pressed her muzzle against the paper.

Maybe I'm being a bit too hasty turning this down... Sunny Flare closed the book and looked out of one of the windows towards the town. She could still see the mess of the festival being cleared up by the townsfolk. The attack was pretty bad today. Maybe we do need someone to keep an open eye on this kind of stuff... She soon buried her head in her new spellbook once again and made her way back to her quarters.

---

"...unny... Sunny. Sunny! Wake up!" Indigo Zap's voice began to grow as Sunny Flare woke herself from her heat-induced trance. "C'mon, girl! Open your eyes! We're gettin' out of here!"

Sunny Flare opened her eyes to see that she and the group were back on the ground, with Sugarcoat fending off the two large dragons with a combination of teleportation and magical volleys launched from cards. Shaking her head, she tried moving her hooves and found that all of her legs could be stretched, bent, and shook. She tried using a spell of her own, but her horn still stung from the dragons' flames.

"H... How long was I out?" Sunny asked, tilting her head towards Lemon Zest and Indigo Zap.

"Long enough, girl." Lemon patted her mane. "Sugarcoat's stopping the dragons with some runes. But they're not gonna last long and her horn's still on the fritz. We're lucky she's, like, a goddess when it comes to magic, or we would've been fried for sure!"

"Runes?" Sunny observed the battle and watched Sugarcoat narrowly avoid strong blasts of fire from both of the dragons, using some of the marked cards to vanish and reappear in different locations within the cave. "Sugarcoat, you're a lifesaver..."

"Don't thank me just yet." Sugarcoat had to take deep breaths after each cast, holding each card in her muzzle. "The dragon's fire on our horns is still gonna be here for a while, so we should make our escape while we can."

"Leave it to me! I've handled dragons before!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and shot towards the dragons, kicking one in the face, before swooping high and dropping her hooves right into the second one's right eye. Despite how strong her attacks were, the dragons didn't wince or stumble backwards an inch. "Huh. You'd think that after joining the Wonderbolts, dragons would be a snap to deal with."

"You're not doing it fast enough, Dash!" Indigo took to the skies and charged towards one of the dragons, driving her hooves up one of the dragon's chins as it was about to bite Sugarcoat and the others. This one was so quick that it did snap the dragon's neck backwards. "That's why the Silver Bullets have your back!" And with a fast spiral dive, Indigo smashed against the other dragon's underbelly and knocked it into the wall of the cave.

"Come on, everyone! Let's get out of here!" Sour Sweet ran towards the exit to the cave with the other ponies galloping behind her. "The sooner we get out of the Dragon Kingdom, the quicker we can forget this ever happened!"

"Don't you run away from us, little ponies!" The female-voiced dragon clawed at the ground and snarled as she unfurled her wings and flew out of the caves, hot on the ponies' tail. "You still need ten minutes to bake! We're not about to let raw ingredients escape like this!"

"Wait for me, Lah'krik!" The second dragon hurried after the ponies as well, blowing steam out of his nostrils. "Don't let them cook without me!"

---

The ponies were now running through expansive caves with stalagmites and stalactites growing out of every inch. There were small holes along the way, but they were mostly out of reach. Pitfalls and slopes into other caves could be seen through the ponies' sweat-drenched sight. The orange and amber light quickly began to fade the further and further they got away from the lava pool, but it was quickly replenished when the dragons roared and breathed fire at them.

"Get back here!" Lah'krik screamed, flying fast over the ponies' heads. "The Dragon King ordered that you be eaten alive! Don't let us look like idiots!" And she blasted a fireball ahead of the ponies, in an attempt to strike them with the embers launched from the impact.

"Tch. They're on our tails..." Indigo groaned as she and Rainbow Dash both beat their wings faster and faster, just so that they could keep a few inches ahead of the dragons. "Rainbow Dash, if these Wonderbolts really are that strong, then prove it!"

"Oh, I'll prove it alright..." Rainbow Dash began to break a barrier in front of her. Tiny bolts of lightning began to appear as she closed her eyes and felt the energy build up around her. Been a while since I did one of these. Let's hope that I've still got it...

"Back off!" Sugarcoat used more runes to singe Lah'krik's tail and make her yelp, braking in midair. Just as she was about to use another one, she noticed that she had run out of runes in her bags. "Indigo! Rainbow! We're counting on you now!"

As Indigo flew ahead, Rainbow Dash finally broke the threshold and executed a Sonic Rainboom, blasting down the cavernous corridors at lightspeed, straight through a large magma tunnel. The massive blast caused the entire cave to rumble and shake, with rocks beginning to fall from the ceiling and into the rivers of flame below. The caves beyond were so tight and compact that Rainbow had to lean her body to avoid colliding with something. Even turns were a struggle, given how fast she was hurtling through the crumbling caves with her Sonic Rainboom.

"Whoa!" Indigo yelped as she avoided a few falling rocks, keeping up with Rainbow Dash and her trail of prismatic light. "Where'd this come from, Dash?"

"Sonic Rainboom! Patent pending of me, Rainbow Dash!" She yelled over the roar of her flight speed and the loud bangs of each collapsing rock. "Now c'mon! We're almost there!"

"Yeah. But what about the others?" Indigo looked back at the falling stalactites. "Without their magic, they're gonna either get crushed by the rocks or eaten alive by the dragons..."

Soon, Rainbow's eyes widened, and she tried to stop her Sonic Rainboom. But before she could even think of breaking, she was already out of the cave and back into the daylight, rocketing high over the Dragon Kingdom. Her streak of rainbow light was on full display for every dragon there, including that of the Dragon King. She arced her body backwards and tried to fly back down to the cave, but before she could turn the right way, she broke through the smoggy clouds above and found herself high in the air, out of the dragons' sight.

"Whoa!" Rainbow cried out as she finally flapped back under her own speeds and tumbled back down towards the ground. "This... Is... AWESOME!"

"Yeah! But it's not gonna be for the ponies back in the caves!" Indigo Zap burst through the clouds and watched Rainbow topple down through them. "We've gotta go back and get them! And fast!"

---

Back in the caves, the ponies were all trying to avoid the dragons, while trying to evade the falling rocks and keep out of the heat. Pinkie Pie tried to apply her antiperspirant to the ponies, but because they were all running, it was hard for her to properly apply the vapors to them without wasting any of the gas.

"Oh, I wish we had our magic back!" Twilight leapt over a dragon's bite and picked up the pace, breathing heavier and heavier the longer she ran. "If my horn wasn't fried, I could just teleport us all out of here in a flash!"

"And I'm all out of runes, so we've just gotta stay alive until the heat wears off!" Sugarcoat kept her eyes on the path ahead, but still managed to avoid a large jet of flame from Lah'krik's mouth. "Unless that pink pony has some kind of soothing cream that can cure horn heat!"

"Sorry, girls! My PPPPSK doesn't have anything like that!" Pinkie shook her head and watched the candy inside her pack tumble out and hit the ground. "GAH! MY RATIONS!"

"Stop running!" Lah'krik scowled as the ponies made it towards two bridges over a lava river, which were both beginning to fall apart due to the cave-in. "There's nowhere left for you to go! Just accept your fate and turn to ashes!"

"Hurry, girls!" Rarity charged over one of the bridges, with mascara running down her face like a waterfall of inky goo. "My make-up's running!"

"You're seriously worried about make-up at a time like this?!" Sour Sweet groaned and pushed on, finally breaking through the bridges and heading towards the exit. "I would get mad at you, but I don't want you to die to the dragons!"

"Nowhere left for you..." The second dragon smirked and darted ahead of the girls, standing in their way. He stood proudly and outstretched his wings. "Now you face the might of Rek'shki, the Devou—" But before he could finish, rocks smashed into his head, one after another, knocking him unconscious.

"Rek'shki! NO!" Lah'krik flew into Rek'shki and began to push him out of the caves. "GRRRRAAGH! Just you ponies wait until the Dragon King hears about this! He'll turn you into coal with a single breath!" She screamed as the ponies started to overtake her.

"We're nearly there, ya'll!" Applejack gritted her teeth and swerved around the tumbling stones, inching ever so closer to the sunlight. "C'mon! Ah can see the sky!"

But just as the ponies were about to escape the cave, the Dragon King blocked the entrance with his ferocious gaze. He took in some air and breathed a strong torrent of fire towards the girls, sandwiching them in between the falling rocks and the fire hurtling towards them.

"Ah crud!" Lemon Zest skidded on the tips of her hooves as the fires of the Dragon King got closer to them all.

"C'mon... Please work..." Twilight bit her lips as she lit up her horn, wincing at the pain that stung her due to the lingering dragon fire. Just seconds before the fires and rocks were about to crush and incinerate the group, Twilight and the girls all vanished in a blast of purple light.

---

Indigo Zap and Rainbow Dash watched the Dragon King fly away from the cave, watching the rocks consume the entrance entirely, sealing off anything within the caves. They both let out real horse screams as they landed on the ground and began to push the fallen rocks away.

"Girls! Ngggh! Girls!" Rainbow Dash called out as she pushed the heavier rocks away from the caved-in entrance. "Are you there?!"

"Speak to us!" Indigo punched the rocks away as hard as she could, flicking away the sweat with each strike.

"What do you want us to say, Rainbow?" Twilight and the others re-materialized behing the two pegasi.

"How about thank goddess for alicorn magic?" Rainbow Dash flew to the girls and gave them all a big hug. "Seriously, though. Don't try and scare me like that. I thought you really were goners this time..."

"Come on, Rainbow Dash. It's gonna take more than a little landslide and dragon fire to stop us." Starlight Glimmer gave her a cocky smirk and nudged her elbows. "You know that by now, don't you?"

"Yeah. Can we get outta here please?" Rainbow Dash shrugged and shuddered at the dragons on the cliffs above them. "All these other dragons are making me pretty nervous..."

"Wait. We've still gotta save Spike." Twilight held her hoof up just as Dash was about to fly away. "The dragons of the Dragon Kingdom still have him trapped in the nurseries."

"After just avoiding being cooked alive, you wanna go back into the caves?!" Sour Sweet shook her head and looked around at the other caves in the Dragon Kingdom. "And here I thought Sugarcoat thought you had a deathwish. This just straight up confirms it!"

"Look, girls. Spike's the closest thing I have to a son in this world." Twilight sternly puffed out her chest. "Dragons or no dragons, I'm. Getting. Him. Back. And you're not gonna stop me!" Before she could let anyone else talk, she galloped off towards the cave where she saw Spike being taken away.

"Twilight! Come back!" Pinkie called out after her. "You haven't had your PPPPSK water bottle!" She picked one out of the bag marked with Twilight's cutie mark with her fluffy pink tail.

The other ponies ran after Twilight, with the White Wings ponies at the back. They kept their heads low and blew the sweat off of their foreheads as they gave chase to the ponies from Equestria. They all knew that it was an incredibly risky venture to take, but they knew that without the help of Twilight and her friends, then they might never be able to stop Umbra once and for all.

"What an idiot..." Sour Sweet grumbled and ran with the rest of her White Wings colleagues.

Comments

[EchoWing]

Nopony gets left behind. Especially not Spike.

[FourShadow]

Hopefully Spike's not dead...

[Serenade Sketch]

Twilight never leaves behind her #1 Assistant.

[Starlight Nova]

Why was this cancelled?