Rekindled Embers

by applezombi

Chapter 44, Part 1

Chapter 44

Recording of a Radio Free Equestria broadcast, taken 1113 AF. Listening to, recording, or possession of so-called ‘pirate radio’ broadcasts are to be considered an act of heresy and will be punished accordingly.

Hello hello HELLO to all my faithful listeners, it’s me, your favorite pony Cutting Wave, broadcasting from PARTS UNKNOWN AND UNKNOWABLE, and you are listening to me on…

Radio…

Free…

EQUESTRIA!!

Tonight we’ve got a blast of a show for you ponies, lemme tell ya. Because we managed to catch wind of an unprecedented development in Equestrian history, a defection unlike any other. Here, in the studio with me is the one and only Fiery Mantle, once a blathering puppet for the theocracy, but now his mind is free. And he’s here tonight to tell us all about it! Fiery, welcome to the program.

FM: Uh… hello.

CW: So how long did you work for EVOE?

FM: I’ve been in broadcast journalism for three decades now. First I was just a producer for the show, but for the last fifteen years I’ve been one of the voices.

CW: That’s a lot of experience on the radio.

FM: Yeah. I always knew I was going to be a journalist. Even when I was a foal, just getting my cutie mark. But I was so naïve back then. I had no idea what I was getting into.

CW: Tell us what you mean.

FM: When you’re a foal, just getting your mark, you’re full of dreams and ambition. You’re going to change the world. Only you haven’t quite gotten enough brains to know how the world really works. Someday, everypony grows up and learns the truth.

CW: The truth?

FM: It’s not like it’s a surprise to you, Wave. The news is managed. You know it, I know it. Anybody who’s really listening out there knows it.

CW: Well, yeah. Wouldn’t be much need for pirate radio if the news were really reporting the truth, right?

FM: And don’t you think we didn’t want to. Every Saints-damned day. Did you know AM and I were scripted?

CW: Scripted?

FM: Yeah, mostly. Obviously it’s not word for word, but everything we’re going to say on the radio, every bit of dialogue, every story, every interaction, every canned joke, is approved by the censors before we go on the air. And AM and I are allowed to improvise, but they put us on a twenty second delay, in order to interrupt anything problematic.

CW: So you know I gotta ask, then. What happened during your last broadcast?

FM: Perfect storm. They should have cut me off earlier. I should have self-censored. Somepony at the censor’s office was asleep, somehow AM and I got sent different copy. I swear, it was an accident.

CW: But it sent you down the path that led here, right?

[Static]

CW: Folks it [static] technical difficulties with our broadcast, we’re going to [static] quick break, and be back [static] things working again.

1113 AF, Nyumba Ya Joka

“Rarity? Are you okay?” Emberglow asked, watching her friend stare at the catatonic Heartwing in shock.

Rarity just shook her head silently, stepping out of the room.

Emberglow frowned. While she’d been willing to leave Rarity alone with her feelings earlier, she wasn’t willing to let this drop now. She followed Rarity out of the room. “Please talk to me.”

“I’m going to need some time to handle this, Emberglow,” Rarity said frankly. “I’m going to speak with Twilight for a while.” The request for solitude was implicit in Rarity’s tone, but she didn’t feel inclined to grant it.

“I’ll join you,” Emberglow said cheerfully, willfully ignoring the annoyed look that Rarity shot her.

“If you insist,” Rarity said neutrally, and Emberglow tried not to feel hurt. The two of them walked back into the sitting room, where Rarity had left the construct. “Twilight, I’d like to know about Discord’s responsibility for your death.” Her voice was bitter.

“I don’t blame Discord for what happened. I blame myself.” Twilight Sparkle’s voice echoed from the construct, and Rarity’s eyes widened. Emberglow could hear the guilt and regret that filled the recorded message.

“I should have seen what was happening. I should have seen the panic in his eyes as Fluttershy faded. I should have noticed the signs that he wasn’t going to handle the grief well. I should have been a better friend.”

Rarity let out a short sob.

“Instead, I was too caught up in what I was discovering. I found hints of a conspiracy to eat away at the Harmony magic that envelops Equestria. I thought this would be the most important thing for me to focus my time on. How could I have been so blind? I’m the Princess of Friendship, for Celestia’s sake, not the Princess of Finding Out About Conspiracies. In the end, it’s going to cost us both everything.

“Discord snapped when Fluttershy died. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense. This is the first time Discord has had to deal with real loss and grief. Before, he didn’t make friends, so he didn’t care when ponies died. Can you imagine living for thousands of years, never experiencing grief or loss that way? He was completely unprepared for the emotion, and it broke him.”

Rarity was shaking her head in wordless protest. Emberglow reached out with a hoof, then set it down without saying anything.

“Whichever one of you is seeing this message, if it’s Sunset, Starlight, or Rarity, please be patient with him. I don’t know how I know, but I’m sure he’s involved in whatever efforts there are to fix Equestria, to bring it back to what it should be. I’ve caught glimpses, brief impressions of the future. I don’t know where this prescience comes from, but I trust it. I know Discord will regret what he’s done, but please don’t let him wallow in it. I won’t ask you to forgive him. But please tell him that I forgive him.”

“Stop! Stop, Twilight, I can’t!” Rarity was breathing heavily. The construct stopped speaking. Emberglow watched her closely as she stared, Rarity’s face a mix of terror, fury, and grief. “I won’t forgive him. I can’t.”

“You have to tell him,” Emberglow said firmly. Rarity glared at her. “I didn’t say you had to forgive him yourself. But you have to tell him that Twilight forgave him in the end. And if you don’t, I will.” Emberglow held out a hoof to rest on Rarity’s shoulder. Rarity jerked away.

“It’s my job, remember?” Emberglow tried to ignore the twist in her gut. “I’m the Element of Honesty.”

“But he…”

“What would Twilight have wanted?” Emberglow hated pushing, but it had to be done. It wasn’t fair to Heartwing to keep this from him.

“I’ll tell him,” Rarity sniffed, after a scowl at Emberglow.

“Thanks.” Emberglow took a deep breath and tried to change the subject. “What are you going to ask next?”

“I think I’m going to leave Twilight alone for a while,” Rarity shuddered. “I’m not quite ready for more uncomfortable revelations right now. I believe I’d like to see what’s in the spell book that Twilight left. Though how she thought that would be useful to me, I don’t know. I’ve never had her talent for magic.”

At this point, Heartwing and Terminus stumbled out of the mare’s room. Heartwing looked dazed, and one of them (probably Terminus) had placed the golden necklace that held the Element of Loyalty around his neck. It had shifted, like Emberglow’s and Terminus’, to be shaped like a reflection of Heartwing’s cutie mark. It was now a butterfly in profile, just like the one on Heartwing’s flank.

“Twilight, dear?” Rarity called out as the two of them stared at her. “Please play the message you just played for me. Heartwing should hear it.” Without even another glance at the stallions, she brushed past them and into her and Emberglow’s room. Emberglow followed after as the Twilight construct began playing the same message.

“Thank you for telling him, Rarity,” Emberglow said softly. Rarity’s back was to her as she stared at the spell book and ledger that were both still sitting on Rarity’s bed. Rarity said nothing. Emberglow sensed her desire for silence, so she quietly shut the door behind her. “You know, you could always ask the music box about…”

Rarity’s horn glowed and the cover of the spell book turned. There was the faintest puff of dust as the pages rustled.

“I don’t understand,” Rarity said softly as Emberglow moved over to look. “The pages are all full of symbols I can’t read. Why did Twilight think…”

She cut off as a sudden wave of invisible power rocked the room, pushing both ponies back and scattering Rarity and Emberglow’s effects about the room. Purple tendrils of glowing power, looking like the appendages of some sort of eldritch horror, emerged from the pages of the book. The symbols inside glowed with arcane power.

The tendrils latched onto Rarity’s horn. She gave a shriek of terror, trying to jerk away as quickly as she could. It was too late; the glowing appendages were already wrapped tightly around Rarity’s horn. They pulsed with glowing magic and stuck fast, unmoved by Rarity’s panicked thrashing as she screamed. Emberglow dashed up, attempting to grab onto the tendrils with her teeth, to pull them loose. She encountered nothing but air; it was as if there was nothing to bite onto.

“Rarity!” She called out frantically. “I can’t…”

There was a massive surge of light, and a second explosion of power. This time both ponies were knocked onto the floor. Emberglow surged to her hooves, ready to spring into action again to defend Rarity, only to find...

Nothing.

The tendrils were gone. The book, still opened on the bed, now appeared completely blank. The arcane symbols were missing entirely. There was no evidence whatsoever about what had just happened. She rushed over to Rarity.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I think so, darling,” Rarity stammered. “Do you have any idea w-what just happened?” She raised a hoof to her horn. “I feel strange…”

“Maybe we should ask the music box,” Emberglow said. “Or Heartwing.”

“Yes.” Rarity’s voice was dazed. “Yes,” she said more confidently. “Let’s show him the book, as well.” Her horn lit up to levitate the book, and it glowed much more brightly than it had before. Rarity didn’t seem to notice until the aura of magic surrounded the book, and it shot through the air to bounce off the ceiling. With a yelp of shock, Rarity’s horn flickered out and the book plopped harmlessly onto the bed.

“What happened?” Emberglow couldn’t help the concern or fear in her voice.

“I-I don’t know.” Rarity’s gaze flickered between Emberglow, the book, and the ceiling. “I went to lift the book, using the same amount of force I always do, and suddenly it shot into the air as if it were a tenth the weight. It’s like I forgot my own strength.”

“Let’s go ask Heartwing,” Emberglow insisted. “I’ll find my rune gauntlet, too, so I can cast a few diagnostic spells.” She helped Rarity to her hooves.

“I feel fine,” Rarity protested, but she didn’t refuse the aid.

Suddenly the door flew open in a flash of yellow magic, to reveal a worried-looking Heartwing and Terminus. Heartwing dashed over to Rarity, his eyes sweeping over the disarray in the room before landing on the two mares.

“Is everything okay? We heard screaming, and banging.”

“We think so,” Emberglow replied. “But we need the music box so we can find out what just happened.”

Terminus backed out of the room to go fetch the music box, and Heartwing looked around.

“What exactly happened?” he asked.

“Rarity opened the spell book. There were runes I didn’t recognize on the pages, and they started to glow. Tendrils of magic came out and grabbed Rarity’s horn for a second, jerked her around a bit, then disappeared. When it was over, Rarity seemed fine, but misjudged her strength when she tried to lift the spell book.”

“Hmm…” Heartwing looked puzzled. “I’d like to see what the music box says, too.” Terminus returned with the object in question, laying it on the bed. Rarity cleared her throat.

“Um, Twilight, darling. Could you please tell me more about the spell book you left with my bequest?”

“The spell book is enchanted with a creation of Starswirl’s, known as Starswirl’s Arcane Transference.” The tiny mare took on a lecturing tone, and Emberglow blushed as she remembered all of the times Heartwing had compared her lecture voice to Twilight’s. “Please be careful not to open it until you listen to the full explanation.”

“Whoops,” Heartwing scoffed. Rarity scowled at him, holding a hoof over her lips in a shushing motion.

“When you open the book using your magic, the spell will automatically activate. Please remain calm. The process will only take a few minutes, though it may be uncomfortable. The purpose of the spell is to increase your internal magic reserve, making you capable of casting more powerful unicorn magic. The spells you already know will increase in power, and spells once outside your reach will become possible, such as teleportation.

“This is possible because Starswirl’s spell stores a piece of the caster’s own essence, giving it to the recipient. It is what the other alicorns cast to hide their magic in me when Tirek first attacked. I now use it to give a small piece of my own potential to you.

“Please be warned. Starswirl’s Arcane Transference isn’t perfect. There is a small risk involved. You need to be informed before you choose whether to open the book. There are possible side effects. The power could be too much for you, and you could be cut off from your magic. It may be permanent. These chances are tiny, though, and given the dangers you might be facing, and the tasks ahead of you, you might need expanded magical abilities.

“If you would like any additional information about the spell, or about any other spells you can now learn, this construct is equipped with instructional lessons on intermediate and advanced spellcasting techniques.”

While the music box was talking, Emberglow located her armor and put on her rune gauntlet after checking the battery. When it finished speaking, she approached Rarity.

“How do you feel?” she asked. Rarity was staring at the box in chagrin.

“A bit foolish, to be honest,” she said. “I suppose that will teach me to look before I leap. Though why couldn’t Twilight write some sort of warning and place it on the outside of the book?”

“It does seem the simplest of solutions,” Heartwing agreed. “But then again, Princess Twilight often did have trouble with the obvious.”

Rarity glared at him. “I’d rather not speak to you about Twilight right now, Heartwing.”

“Getting back to the matter at hand,” Emberglow interrupted. “I need to see how Rarity’s doing. Official doctor business, so all of you clear out.” She made a shooing motion with her hooves. Terminus backed out willingly enough, and after a pause, so did Heartwing, though he rolled his eyes before closing the door behind him. “Lay down on my bed, please.”

“Emberglow, do we really have to—“

“I’d like to be sure that spell did no lasting harm, if it’s okay with you.” Emberglow tried to keep the worry out of her voice, but it was hard.

“Very well. If it will soothe your mind,” Rarity said, and Emberglow realized she hadn’t quite been successful hiding her own feelings. Rarity laid down on the bed, and Emberglow cast the most basic of diagnosis spells. Rarity watched with fascination.

“It really is quite beautiful when you Knights cast spells,” Rarity said. Emberglow nodded, concentrating hard on the information the spell was giving her. According to what she could tell, Rarity was in perfect health, though there were more detailed spells she could cast.

“Do you have any symptoms of illness?” Emberglow asked. “Headache? Nausea? Dizziness?”

“None of those,” Rarity said. Emberglow looked at her eyes, looking for signs of head injury, concussion, confusion, even shock. Her diagnosis spell told her that Rarity’s heart rate was elevated, but other than that she seemed completely healthy.

“Now what about your magic? The music box suggested there was a chance your ability to do magic could be impacted.” She was swimming in unfamiliar waters here; her medical studies had included almost no information about how unicorns used magic, so she was worried she wouldn’t be much help.

“Well, I nearly put the book through the ceiling,” Rarity admitted with a flush of embarrassment. “The enchantment seems to have worked exactly as Twilight intended. It may take time to get used to the adjustments, though.”

“Can you try to lift something?” Emberglow asked. “Something not breakable. Like a pillow.”

“Very well.” Rarity’s voice was unsure, and her horn lit up. There was something different in the cerulean glow. It was brighter, perhaps more vivid, than Emberglow remembered. Slowly the glow surrounded one of the pillows on Rarity’s bed. It jerked into the air, and Rarity let out a startled yelp. The pillow froze in midair, and then slowly began descending again. Rarity’s face was screwed up with concentration.

“How does that feel?” Emberglow asked, cursing her lack of experience. She’d have to ask Heartwing to find her a text about unicorn biology. “Compared to your normal magic usage, that is.”

“It’s hard to describe,” Rarity said. Her horn lit up and she tried again. The pillow once again shot into the air, and this time Rarity wasn’t able to stop it until it plopped against the ceiling. She cringed and dropped the pillow back onto the bed. “It’s exactly the same, only… more. I don’t know how else to put it.”

“I’ll take that as a good sign,” Emberglow said. “I’m sorry, I simply never studied much about unicorn magic, except various techniques for combating it.”

“I wonder if Twilight recorded anything on the subject,” Rarity mused. “Twilight, dear, do you have any information on unicorn biology?”

“That information has not been stored in this construct,” the music box responded blankly. Rarity shook her head with disappointment.

“Sorry, darling. It looks like you won’t get to learn unicorn medicine from Princess Twilight.”

Emberglow hadn’t thought about it like that, but now that Rarity mentioned it, she felt a sense of loss. What an incredible opportunity that would have been! With difficulty, she set the thought aside.

“I can’t say for sure, but you appear to have reacted just fine to the spell Twilight Sparkle put on the book,” Emberglow said. “I’d like to check once a day. And you are going to keep practicing with your telekinesis, right?”

“Of course. I can hardly go about my daily business without being able to lift things, can I?” Rarity asked. Emberglow rolled her eyes, and waggled a hoof at Rarity. “Oh please,” Rarity laughed. “Why use hooves when I have another option?”

“You might have to learn if you’re having a hard time controlling your magic,” Emberglow admonished. Rarity sighed.

“I suppose I can do some basic things with my hooves, like lift cups and utensils. But I shall not do so forever!” She sounded determined. “I’ll just have to practice.”

“Good.” Emberglow grinned. “Well, as your doctor, I clear you to return to your normal life.” She laughed at that last phrase.

“What is normal now?” Rarity asked, echoing Emberglow’s own thoughts.‘Normal’ had gone on vacation forever, it seemed. For both her and Rarity.

Rarity sighed, glancing at the door.

“What are you going to do about Heartwing?” Emberglow asked bluntly, sensing Rarity’s train of thought. Rarity shook her head.

“I’d rather not think about it right now, Emberglow. Twilight may be right to forgive him, but I don’t know if I can take that last step.”

“We’ll have to travel with him. You’ll be able to get along?” Emberglow asked. Rarity eyed her askance.

“You’re asking if I’m capable of behaving?” Rarity huffed lightly. “You’re just as blunt as your predecessor. Don’t worry, I can be civil.”

Civil. The word left a bitter taste in her mouth. From friendship, to civility? Suddenly it wasn’t about Heartwing any longer. Fear clenched at her chest as she saw everything they’d started to build together, everything that had happened before meeting Mlinzi teetering at the edge of a cliff of civility.

“What if I don’t want you to just be civil?” Emberglow breathed. She opened her mouth to say more, but froze. She wanted… she wanted more of what was happening before the dragon.

Selfish. Not everything is about you.

She blinked suddenly wet eyes. Rarity reached out a hoof, resting it comfortably on Emberglow’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Emberglow. I’ll do my best, but right now, I just don’t see that happening. Don’t worry. Nothing will change between us, at least.” She let out a sigh. “Let’s go see if the stallions are ready to go.”

* * * * *

Packing up was a rather awkward affair. Rarity kept to herself, ignoring everypony else while shooting longing glances back to her own saddlebags, where the construct was kept. Heartwing just looked like he was still in shock. Every so often he would take out the Element of Loyalty and simply stare into the gem. Terminus and Emberglow kept glancing at each other. Emberglow could see just how worried Terminus looked, but every time one looked at the other and opened their mouth to begin speaking, nothing came out.

Finally, they left the inn. The adorable young foal was no longer at the counter; instead, his father was running the front desk. He gave them a stern look as they packed out.

“Had I known you were here to harass our protector…” he muttered as Heartwing settled their final bill, then shook his head. “Nevermind. Please do not return. The Guardian deserves his peace.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever come back,” Heartwing said. “Thank you for your hospitality, though.” The innkeeper grunted and took their money, and the four ponies left the building.

Outside, it seemed as if somepony, probably Sergeant Irontail, had spread the word of why they had come to Nyumba Ya Joka. Gone were the curious glances from the zebra townsfolk; now the stares ranged from unfriendly to downright hostile.

“I can’t understand,” Terminus whispered. “We didn’t do anything more than talk with him. Why are they so upset?”

“They truly do love their Guardian,” Heartwing answered. “He keeps them safe, in exchange for practically nothing in return. He simply wishes to be left alone, and we ruined that.”

“We had to, though,” Terminus said. “Don’t they…”

“We can’t change their minds, Terminus,” Heartwing reached out and pulled Terminus into a quick hug. “They’re going to dislike us no matter what we do. Let’s just go.”

Irontail was silent as she arrived with her escort of soldiers.

“You’re ready to go?”

“Yes, please,” Heartwing said politely, ignoring the cutting antagonism in her query. “We’d like to leave as soon as possible.”

“Come with me,” Irontail said coldly. The four followed behind. Emberglow kept looking at Rarity, trying to get a sense of what the mare was thinking. But Rarity’s eyes were distant and unfocused. Emberglow said nothing, but she found herself sighing out loud. That earned her a slightly confused look and the smallest of smiles.

It was something, at least. Maybe it was too much to hope for the same cheerful flirting she’d gotten before the mountain, before Mlinzi and his revelations.

They ignored the frigid looks from the villagers until they were outside the village itself. Irontail continued to escort them until they were far from the last buildings of Nyuma Ya Joka.

“I’ll ask you not to circle around back to the village,” Irontail said significantly.

“We have no plans to,” Heartwing said. “We got everything we needed from Mlinzi. Thank you for your hospitality.”

Irontail snorted, and motioned with the butt of her rifle at the road ahead of them. With no further farewell, they began to trot down the road back west, towards Jubilation.

As soon as they were out of sight of their paranoid escort, Rarity’s horn lit with an unsteady blue glow. Emberglow watched her intense look of concentration, her brow furrowed. Rarity’s saddlebag popped open, and Princess Twilight’s spell book levitated out. It was unsteady, dancing about in the air, dropping or shooting up, until finally coming to a gentle float in front of Rarity’s face. She opened it up and began to read.

“Rarity, are you sure you should be reading while we walk?” Emberglow understood the significance, but it hurt to see the other mare hiding behind a book.

“I’m sure it will be just fine, darling, but we shouldn’t waste too much energy on idle conversation. It’s rather hot out, and I don’t see any convenient clouds nearby.”

The dismissal stung, and Emberglow couldn’t help but flinch away.

“Careful, Rarity. Reading while walking? I’d swear you’re turning into…” Heartwing never got to finish what he was about to say.

“You shut your mouth, you villain,” Rarity hissed, and it was Heartwing’s turn to flinch from her fury. “Don’t you even dare.”

“Rarity…”

“If I am to grow stronger, as Twilight clearly wishes, I’m going to have to study, aren’t I? As inconvenient as that sounds, we seem to be frequently under some sort of urgency. So if you’re all quite done, I’d like to concentrate. Just… tell me if I’m about to stumble into something.”

“Okay, I will.” Emberglow felt an ache in her chest, and stepped away from her. Terminus moved up alongside her and gave her a hug with one wing, which Emberglow gratefully leaned into. Rarity never noticed.

It didn’t take long for the day’s intense heat to push them into an early afternoon rest. Heartwing declared that they would be taking a break during the hottest few hours of the day, and they found one of the rare savanna trees to take shelter under while they recovered and napped.

Emberglow felt restless and unsettled, but she followed Heartwing’s instructions, laying down in the shade with the rest of them. Rarity never let the book out of her sight. Emberglow kept hoping she’d put it away and actually speak with them, but she didn’t expect it.

“Some things take time,” Terminus whispered to her as they sat together under the tree. “Don’t give up. She’s just going to need some space to deal with things.” He hugged her again.

“Twilight, darling?” Rarity called out, and Emberglow glanced over. She had retrieved the small construct out of her bags, setting it alongside the spellbook. “The book mentions exercises for unicorns to increase fine dexterity with their telekinesis. Can you guide me through them?”

“Very well,” the construct said. “Please locate an object roughly the size and weight of an apple. When you are ready, we will begin.”

“Rarity, we’re supposed to be resting, not training,” Heartwing muttered, but Rarity ignored him. Her cerulean aura found a small rock and it began to lift, only to suddenly jerk into the air so quickly it fired up over them in a wide arc before disappearing into the tall grasses.

Undaunted, she selected another. This one wouldn’t even lift until her third try. Finally it floated, wiggling about unsteadily in the air in front of Rarity. Heartwing gave an exasperated sigh.

“I’m ready, Twilight dear. What’s next?”

Emberglow tried to tune her out. Instead, she looked for something to distract herself with, reaching for her own saddlebags and pulling out the journal that connected her with Bubblegum. She flipped through the pages until she reached the final entry, a rather cartoonishly rendered (but quite adorable) drawing of Emberspark.

She pulled a quill out of her bag and stared hard at the blank, empty spot on the page that sat after the drawing. She pressed the quill to the page, and then froze. What was she going to ask? Her friendship with Bubblegum was short and fragile. Did she really trust the volatile mare to give her any realistic or helpful advice?

With a snort, she shook her head and began to write. Friendship was about trust, after all.

Bubblegum? I need some relationship advice.

She hated herself for her wording the second the quill nub left the page. Of course Bubblegum was going to tease her for this. Or misconstrue things. Or something else ridiculous. In fact, it was only a few moments of silence before the book vibrated.

What kind of advice? And what kind of relationship? Are you talking sex advice? Because I understand. Let me know what your troubles are, and Auntie Bubblegum can fill you in about all the dirty details. You need positions? Techniques?

Emberglow was flushed and hot while she read, on top of the weather, but there was something rather sweet about Bubblegum’s eager willingness to help, even if she’d misconstrued the question.

Not that, Emberglow wrote back. I do want to ask a little about flirting, though.

FLIRTING! The word came almost instantly and was followed by three successive silly smiley faces. Ask away.

But Emberglow didn’t exactly know where to go from there. She wanted things to go back the way they were, before Nyuma Ya Joka. But suddenly the question was too big to ask.

You still there, Emberglow? Because if you chickened out, I’m going to start drawing terrible things to torment you. Like since you’re into mares, maybe I could draw stallion bits? You have four seconds to comply before I…

DON’T DRAW WEIRD STUFF! Emberglow hastily scrawled across the page. I’m just thinking about how to word my question, okay?

The journal went silent, and Emberglow kept staring at it warily for a bit, waiting for the dreaded graffiti to emerge. But when Bubblegum seemed to be waiting patiently, Emberglow finally began to write.

I was flirting with Rarity. Things were going really well. We went on a date. But then something happened. It wasn’t me, it was Heartwing. And it wasn’t even anything we could prevent. But now she won’t really talk to anypony. She’s withdrawn, basically hiding within herself. I want to go back to where we were, when things were going well. Do you have any advice?

She felt guilty for writing it all out. Maybe it wasn’t any of Bubblegum’s business. She did her best to try to keep things vague, but it still felt a bit as if another pony’s dirty laundry was on display, because of her.

Woah, that sounds heavy. Maybe you can’t share all the details with me, and that’s okay, Bubblegum wrote back. I’ll do my best to help, but you have to promise me that you won’t feel guilty, okay?

Emberglow read the last sentence a few times, wondering what she meant. I promise.

Good. So when me and my husbands fled Port Luminescence, Windy was pretty closed off. He was pissed because, well, we’d screwed up. Galileo and I had messed up big time by bucking where you could catch us. It was our fault, we should have been more careful. NOW DON’T YOU DARE START BEATING YOURSELF UP ABOUT THAT, OKAY!? You’re not allowed, and besides, everything’s so much better now. We live in a world where we can be with Spark. All three of us, his mommy and his two daddies.

Anyways, when we fled, we went to our hideout. Windy was always the planner. He had a safe spot hidden away, if anything ever went totally teats up. But he was furious. So for a while, he was just like how you described Rarity acting.

Now maybe it’s different, because Rarity’s not mad at you. But Galileo and I didn’t give up. We kept trying to get him to talk to us. We also put him in the middle of a sexy sandwich between the two of us, but somehow I don’t think that’ll help you with Rarity. Unless it will; I won’t judge. And if you think it will, I’m happy to do my best to tell you all about positions and techniques, though my expertise in that category may not be as helpful. You know, without the right attachable toys. Speaking of which, you didn’t pick up any when you were still in Angel’s Rest, did you? Because if you didn’t, it’s a shame.

Emberglow didn’t know whether she wanted to boil from the heat of her own embarrassment or ask for more details.

I don’t know what else to say besides keep communicating. Find a way to keep talking to her. About anything. I know you really like this mare. It’s evident you’re smitten whenever you look her way. I think you have a chance with her, because she has this look on her face when she looks at you too. Like she’s considering. Don’t give up.

Let me know how it goes.

The wall of text was finished off with a crude drawing of Bubblegum herself, with a wide smile and her forehooves waving about happily. Emberglow had to laugh out loud at the almost foal-like drawing. But as she laughed, the journal trembled again and one final sentence appeared.

P. S. You should have a chat with your dream therapist about all this. She’s probably smarter than I am (okay, that’s a low bar to set).

That was a great idea. The problem was, she hadn’t been in contact with Topaz since they’d landed in Jubilation. Something about the distance involved; Topaz had warned her this might happen. Still, there was no point letting Bubblegum worry. She penned a quick note of gratitude for her friend and put the book away.

Maybe it would be helpful to imagine a conversation with Topaz. What would her therapist say about all this? Or maybe she would get lucky tonight, and Topaz would be close enough to contact.

“Break’s over, ponies. Let’s get moving.” Heartwing’s call broke her out of her thoughts.

Author's Note:

I'm sure you noticed the 'Part A'. I am experimenting with splitting up some of the larger chapters. Part B will come soon.

Randimaxis has done a dramatic reading of this chapter's primary document! Listen here:

Comments

[applezombi]

Hey readers!

First off, I need to acknowledge some lovely people. A few weeks back I made a call for pre-readers. Several people responded. I've asked three new pre-readers onto Team RE, and their insight was valuable for this chapter, and hopefully future chapters. So I'd like to mention and share my deepest gratitude for bananachips, Thought Prism, and Chyre. I really appreciate the help, guys! Hopefully this will help to take a bit of the pressure off of my longsuffering editor, Cyonix.

Secondly, I'm in the process of creating a Discord server for Rekindled Embers. I wanted a place to gather all the pre-readers together, but it might also be nice for there to be a way for people to ask me questions about the story and the lore, as well as a few folks expressing tentative interest in writing spin-offs (which I love). I hope to see you there soon!

[Thought Prism]

10950463
Yo, a server? That's hype. Anyway, I dig the new intro for this chapter.

[Oberth Effect]

Wonder if the bit of Twilight Rarity now possesses will be useful in the future beyond simply having increased magical capabilities - say, for a magical lock of some kind, or to prove identity/truth in some manner. Bit worried about how long this boost might last as well, and whether it's time- or usage-based.

Not particularly looking forwards to what kind of ambush they'd be facing when they get back to Jubilation...

[SmokyFlare]

10950463
A server sounds really cool!

[Time Reaper]

WOO

Finally caught up to this story and WOW did I miss a lot. Kinda bitter at the zebras for being so rude but at least it's not me the one there (I don't get along with that kind of people) but I hope Spike gets well in a few chapters (I know he will show up again when it becomes important) and, as of now, it looks like everything is improving.

Best wishes.

[The Great Derpsby]

Anyone else feel terribly annoyed by Rarity's group? For heaven's sake, please give her some room and some quiet.

Probably doesn't help that I'm not all that invested in the EmberwingIty romance myself, so to me, it's more important that Rarity is allowed some time to get to grips with everything. And that includes perhaps not forgiving Discord either.

[Biglulu]

I prefer long chapters myself. There's always something satisfying about reading through a 20k chunker.

[Santiaguo1]

That dramatic reading was so dope! I hope there are more of these irl documents/audios going forward, it really helps with the immersion.