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Dodge Junction was full of the usual hustle and bustle that came around Hearth’s Warming. Despite having little snow in the desert, denizens shared with those of Appleloosa the crisp, cool air that offered something of a skip in their steps after a deep breath. The main road was strewn with wide variants of tinsel, banners, lights, and holly also. Enough to brighten even the darkest of nights, when a great cloud would hide Princess Emeritus Luna’s own decorations.

Everypony was in good spirits all round, whether greeting each other, sending and getting mail, buying or picking up catalogue items from the store, or even cantering wispy tunes on the platform walks. The wagons and coaches were piling up from both ends of the street, with relatives pouring in from Appleloosa, Ponyville, and even as far out as Applewood, Hollow Shade and Vanhoover. Since this town had the fewest train stops passing into the station, regardless the season, many would get off at the two closest stations before renting a wagon, or jumping into the first set of wheels available.

Indeed, this was turning into another great celebration, and remembrance, of Equestria’s founding. A time to relive, renew, and revive the very souls and events present with them throughout all of history. Hard to imagine anything or anyone else ever adding to the festive magic being shared among such jubilant ponies far and near.

And yet, that was what these ponies had to offer in Dodge Junction: a strange addition that rivaled Ponyville’s own creature features.

“Yes, sir,” Bing Cherry beamed to his cousins at the tavern. “That human of a grandson’s heading back here from the Crystal Empire no later than Hearth’s Warm’s Eve. Won’t be more than a couple days now.”

“Well c’mon, Bing,” goaded Pluck Cherry, sliding his hot cider from Apple-Pear Acres across the table. “You’re not just gonna give an answer like that without saying all there’s to know about him after.”

“Yeah,” Mellow Lemon joined with his own mug. “We know you well enough to catch you in one of them storytelling moods.”

“Really,” Cherry Pit groaned with rehearsed annoyance. “Ain’t we all heard this same two-bit tale a score and nine times now?”

“But it always gets better with each telling,” Pluck answered. “More added onto it every year. Plus, my young’uns love hearing about the human on the train ride back.”

“I’m always aching to hear the whole start of this each year,” said Mellow. “How a wild thunderhead strayed out from the Everfree and reached this here town before Fall.”

“No, Mellow,” chuckled Pluck, “that was Spring.”

“I just knew it being one of them two equinoxes.”

“If the story’s so entertaining for ya,” Pit remarked, “how comes you don’t remember it?”

“Just the finer details get me, cuz. You know how much I like me a heart-tugging saga that gets me to appreciate the simple things in life.”

“Like what, for instance? And ain’t we got this here Hearth’s Warming tale to do that already?”

“Sure, Pit. But ya got to have a little something extra to help give that one a bit more oomph. Like that one with the mare who didn’t really like the celebration. Just giving a new angle on things.”

“But it ain’t even about Hearth’s Warming,” Pit persisted. “Except at the end, when that big beluga comes to town each year during the holiday.”

“’Course that’s true, Pit,” smiled Pluck. “But it still got that wholesome, friendly, unifying spirit to the whole gimmick. Showing just how much life can be really good and wonderful at the end of the day.”

“Any cousin of mine willing to stay and hear the tale’s more than welcome,” Bing spoke with plain, yet strong clarity to regain their attention. “Pit, you ain’t interested, hats off to ya for sharing your thoughts. We’ll let ya alone while we reminisce.”

“I’m just staying ‘cause I won’t sleep with all the yammering downstairs from my room. At least find a good stopping point so we ain’t up late and tired with loud and playful grand foals to think about in the morning.”

“That’s fair,” Bing Cherry nodded. “Think I got a good sense of where that might be, before calling it a night.”

“Just don’t skip over anything, ya hear,” said Pluck, leaning over the table. Mellow was doing the same to his left.

“Alright, I’ll try. Let’s see here now. It was twenty-nine years ago, this Spring, when the wildest of storms went astray from the Everfree. It was shortly after those Windigos came back with a fierce vengeance along with that there Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow debacle. Also during the big Coronation. Nopony could’ve seen it coming. News ain’t even reached Canterlot ‘til after Princess Twilight’s inheriting the throne from Celestia and Luna. They didn’t suspect nothing had happened.

Turns out it took whatever few Pegasi left in Ponyville to lend a hoof reigning in that storm. We were just glad to get that telegram wire installed at our tiny station before it hit. And it’s an even bigger blessing that my son, Black Cherry, came home on leave from the Lunar Guard and took charge then and there. Really took after his Thestral mother, Stellar Vertex. Anyway, while he’s up in the sky dealing with all that lightning, hail and gust, his wife Peach Cobbler’s down on the ground making sure everypony’s safe and sound in their shelters before a twister touched. And that’s when her Earth Pony senses kicked into high gear, the same time as Blackie’s Thestral senses.

From Peach’s angle, she heard crying like a small foal. But Black caught only a glimpse of something strewn at the Everfree tree line from up high, all helpless and scared, and Peach racing towards it. So both were charging right toward whatever it was, right into the heart of that gusty cyclone. Just as soon as they both reached it, they didn’t have time to get a good look before the twister’s funnel touched ground. All’s they could do was hold tight before Blackie could sense the right moment to reopen his wings and glide his wife and their mysterious load safely. Twisted one of them, and nearly lost the other out of its socket. Had to get stitches after resetting it. Peach Cobbler had some fractured ribs, herself. They’re just lucky and blessed to crash-land near Ponyville proper.”

“But what about the crying critter?”

“I’m getting there, Pluck. Hold your Missus’ knickers. After the three of them were taken to Ponyville General, that’s when everypony got a good look at him. Furless, fiery pink hide, hungry, scared, cold, lonesome, abandoned. Like something out of an old pony’s tale, yet also like nothing ever seen before. And circumstances so terrible, that the concept’s more than just something to think about, or even gloss over during the telling. But that’s what everyone saw, and that’s what Blackie and Peach found.

Turns out the only ponies who knew something about this human critter were the ones having that massive coronation hoo-ha at Canterlot! Only thing the doctors had to go on was to try and treat it like any newborn foal. And that’s only after Peach stepped up showing initiative to care for him, even in her own battered state. Thankfully, no cuts or bruises were found on the little guy none, while x-rays made of him were showing nothing busted as far as they could tell.

So, while waiting for news to reach Canterlot, those first few days spent at Ponyville General were all that’s needed to help seal the deal for my son and daughter-in-law. They’d been trying to have foals, and started to look at adopting. How about that stroke of luck when they happened upon the smallest, most helpless thing they ever saw during the worst of storms to hit this town, even after the Windigos before hoof!”

“What’d the Princess say to that, Bing?”

“Well Mellow, soon as Princess Twilight Sparkle got herself and her friends over to the hospital to gather all they could hear, she sent a pair of Unicorns, Sunset and Glimmer was their names I think, to check the Everfree for anything else out of the ordinary. Princess Twilight agreed to let Peach and Blackie care for the little human, at least ‘til they found out where and how to send him back to his parents. But that’s-”

“When things got real interesting,” Pit muttered. “So you like to tell us, Bing.”

“Chomp it, cuz,” said Pluck, “let him tell it.”

“Those Unicorns, Sunset and Glimmer, they found the old castle ruins in a far, far worst state than before. Like some big, huge battle was going on there, and some ponies were set to making a last stand. Bodies of timber wolves, cragadiles, manticores, cockatrices, and even a bug bear were either shot with arrows, burnt to a crisp, or buried in rubble from the castle and gorge. But what really caught their attention were the three graves all set there. All three were marked with strange names, but one of them was empty. Almost like some creature wasn’t quite ready to join the other two.

But to make things even more interesting, that Harmony Tree House that those creatures from the school helped to make, somehow was able to make those graves look like glass tombs for the Unicorns to peek inside them. Well, one of them. If I recall what Blackie and Peach said to me, the Unicorns noticed one of two tombs was open and empty, while some sort of monument was standing on top of the rubble down in the gorge. The statue looked like the creature inside the closed, second tomb. Fact they looked identical, like twins. And one of the Unicorns, Sunset I think it was, was able to get a sense of what happened based on some kind of memory imprint that was left behind, or something.”

“What kind of memory?”

“Here’s the hard part of it, Lemon. There were three brothers. Triplets, from the looks of it. Their names could’ve been lost to time if not for Harmony making the markers look better and longer lasting than whatever shoddy effort was put there first. They was Caleb, Isaac and Aaron Grant, if I’m not mistaken. Turns out, them three was out fishing on some far away mountain lake when some strange, mysterious cloud cover rolled up on the mountain where they were. Next thing they knew was that they found themselves in the middle of the ocean, coming up towards what some folk call Isla Tormenta, or Storm Isle to the hippogryphs.

No pony ever knew what the island of the Storm Creatures was about. So the memory Sunset gathered from the old ruins showed the first pony ever what those brothers had to put up with. It was an eye-opener, to say the least. For those brothers, they were watching their worst night terrors, fears, and struggles coming to life by the likes of shadow creatures all round them. And they had to face those shadowy terrors, sometimes together, sometimes apart, for something like seventy moons. That puts their starting point around the time when the Crystal Empire returned.

And the only way they could ever find a way off the island was to get into the center of the mountain peak, in the eye of a swirling hurricane, where the moon could shine the brightest, and pass through some sort of gateway. After a long time, they finally made it into the heart of the mountain, and had to wait even longer for the moon to shine through the big gaping hole in the rocky ceiling. And when they finally stepped through, those shadow monsters went in after them.”

“And that’s what brought them to Equestria, right cuz?”

“You got it, Pluck. Right into the ancient castle of the Royal Sisters. But then, see, the brothers found themselves surrounded by them shadow creatures, who then went and rattled every kind of beast in the Everfree to up and attack them. By one miracle after another, they managed to fend them off with the old, magical-preserved weapons, gunpowder, and old wine kegs for protection. But then the first brother, Aaron, sacrificed himself to cause a ring of fire around the castle, both to draw somepony’s attention, and buy time for the other two. He only succeeded with that second part. Even Zecora was away from the Everfree then.

Aaron almost made it back to his brothers, before a cockatrice turned him to stone, and a loose barrel of powder exploded to cause that landslide. His statue form crumbled to pieces and got scattered and buried in the rubble. Caleb and Isaac would last a bit longer, making a stand on a high tower. But Isaac took a manticore sting for Caleb, just before the sun came up. That’s when the shadow monsters lost their influence on the wild animals, which then retreated.”

“Land sakes,” gasped Mellow Lemon, “ain’t that the worst sort of luck.”

“Having to survive for so long on an island full of terrors,” Pluck Cherry shuddered, “only to watch them die in front of him like that, and to survive it all by himself?”

“Got worse than that, even. After bleeding and sweating and crying himself to bury Isaac, then making some wooden planks to mark his and Aaron’s resting place, Caleb went and dug a hole for himself, and his own wooden marker. But then he remembered Isaac’s dying words of them always being with him, and to hold out a bit longer for their folks and sisters. So after fighting and wrestling with himself, he decided to up and leave. If nothing else, then at least to avoid the temptation. He recalled spotting two settlements from up at the tower, gathered what gear was left for protection, and opted for the direction with less woodlands to trek. That being here.”

“Tell us about the Tree House.”

“Well, Pluck that’s just it. Caleb Grant didn’t get to see what Harmony did for him and his brothers. Gave Isaac a clear crystal case that made him look like he’s just sleeping inside, Aaron got a solid, shining statue over his scattered remains, and all three markers turned to solid onyx that would last for centuries, at least!”

“And the third grave became a clear case too?”

“You got it, Mellow.”

“And that was before or during the wild storm that entered Dodge Junction?”

“Well let’s see here, Pit. After the shadow creatures up and dissipated from the sunrise, the Everfree was in a wilder frenzy than usual, ‘cause of all the damage that was done. It then up and started a whole storm to wash away the fire and death that rose from it.”

“But how come the Forest – or hay, Harmony’s Tree House – done nothing to help them? Sure it must've done something to help them last, but why not just banish the dang monsters in the first place?”

“The answer to that is the same as how and why they were brought to Storm Isle: Nopony knows, save Harmony. Must’ve taken all that effort and sacrifice made for Harmony to set things right, who knows? Also, I think what those brothers did for each other during all those terrible things was a shining example of Friendship.”

Pit asked, “And that same storm’s what chased Caleb down to Dodge Junction?”

“Partly. But see, that’s where Sunset lost the memory trace. Neither she nor Glimmer could gain more knowing other than what his days’-old tracks showed them. Best they figured, he was too tired, injured, starving and delirious to mind where he was stepping, as he was racing to find shelter against the looming storm. He tripped into some poison joke, cut his limbs on some rocks and trees full of moss that did who knows what to him. And along the way, was able to absorb that magic into himself.

Turns out the Princess and Sunset said humans don’t got inner magic the way we're born with it, and guessed that the whole time he was on Isla Tormenta helped him with that. So he must’ve been really taking that Everfree magic without realizing. He was pretty much a walking sponge, soaking up all that wild magic, including from the twister. It got to a point that unless he was properly treated right away, in the right order from different kinds of exposure, there’d be no going back for him.”

Mellow nodded, “And that’s when Peach and Blackie found him as a tiny baby.”

“And spent the next three days or so in Ponyville General as such, with no pony being the wiser ‘til too late.”

Pluck Cherry asked, “How’d everypony take it?”

“Princess Twilight and her friends were crushed at how they wasn’t there to help him. But mind you, it’s through no fault of theirs. But they recognized also the greatest need Caleb had now was somepony to take care of him. Black and Peach, though Peach the most, were the ones who really hurt for him. And with the way his body changed back into a newborn, they're unsure if he could remember who he was or what happened. Not at least ‘til much later. They knew he needed a loving home and fresh start, before ever getting that chance. And to make sure he had someplace to stay, before the Princess could find some way to send him back, and when he’s old enough again to decide.”

Cherry Pit reiterated, “And that’s whether Princess Twilight could find a way, if he could ever remember, and if he’s ever willing to go back, or even keep going. That’s a whole lot of ‘ifs’ for a starting point.”

“Which is what spurred my son and daughter-in-law to adopting him fully. They wanted to make sure he had the most secure foundation Equestria had to offer. And yeah, Pit, Princess Twilight and the rest agreed that Blackie and Peach were exactly what he needed. They’re the ones who found him and stuck with him throughout those first days, after all. Sunset would come by to check up on him now and then, to gauge his growth with Equestrian magic.”

“But how’d they get to naming him?”

“Well Lemon, they said how Peach was thinking about how his furless skin was like hot embers in the hearth. How small and helpless he was, but also full of wonder, energy, and even fearful might that welled up inside him, even before she heard Caleb’s story. She saw in him a revered force to be reckoned with, and Black agreed. Even how they found him in those gusty winds under a looming twister felt like a sign of what may come. So with that, they gave him the new name August Blaze.”
A.M.D.G.

+J+M+J+

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