0- How this all began

The Flames of the Phoenix- How this all began

The Phoenix. A majestic bird that is beautiful to look at and also watch as it rises from the ashes. However, many ponies in Equestria wonder where exactly do they come from. The only one ever seen in Equestria these days was the personal pet of Celestia, Philomena. But, to understand this story, you must know more about one specific individual. One that isn’t a pony at all, but just as important as any historical figure that you would ever come across in the history books. Now then, let us begin the story now.

She groaned to herself, drooping her head down with her hood up as the bus they were on was beginning to come to a complete stop. Everyone around her was slowly moving and getting off of the mobile transport, but she was the last to get off. Personally, this was not the way the girl wanted to spend her Saturday morning, but it was sure as hell better than hearing her parents fight all the time about the bills that came in the mail and whatever was true or not true.

She sighed a little, catching the attention of a nearby classmate. “Oh come on, Emma. Don’t act like that. You’re going to have a great time!!”

“Pfft. Says you.” The girl retorted as she took off her hood, revealing her long brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail. “My mother only had me come along on this trip so I could get out of the house. Extra credit points… Graduating high school… My ass.”

“Well, at least you’re here now.”

Emma grunted a little. “Yeah, but I’m not sure how long that’ll last.”

Her fellow classmate looked at her with a raised eyebrow as they folded her arms. “What’s that suppose to mean?”

“My father decided to announce to my mother and I that he wants to file for a divorce almost half an hour after I’ve woken up.”

“Oh god, I’m sorry Emma. I didn’t know-.”

Emma just accepted the apology with a simple “It’s alright” despite the fact that inside her head, things weren’t alright. She loved both of her parents, but barely saw them get along with each other. Even after this morning, Emma did not want to be forced to leave with her father to go to god knows where. She had lived in her neighborhood ever since she was a little girl and have had a lot of memories from then. Now, her current memories were just of times where her parents fought. Her father worked as a lawyer for the city and barely had the time to spend quality time with the family because of the amount of cases he had been asked to serve on. While for her mother, she was a stay at home mom with a kind heart, but everything she did to help the family made her look like a workaholic.

In a way, both her parents traits could be seen in her, despite the fact that she would rather not admit it. From her father, she learned how to be strong and stand up for herself no matter what hardships she was going through. From her mother, she learned kindness and how to care for others in times of need. Emma didn’t really see these things as being handed down to her from her parents though and personally saw them as skills that she had learned from experience over time.

The group of students she was with was soon browsing through the museum that they were visiting today. A costume and wax model museum. Home to the fake models of many famous movie stars, and TV characters. Emma herself though, was just looking around to find something to cure her of the boredom that she felt was slowly trying to kill her. She was only interested at one point where she was seeing some of the newer additions that were added recently. One that even included Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan and “Team Avatar” from The Legend of Korra. It was quite surprising to see real life version of the characters clothes.

“So… you seem to be enjoying yourself, right?”

Emma turned around quickly and her eyes now looked upon a middle aged woman, possibly in her early forties and looked like she had been raised in Chinatown. She had what looked a badge that made Emma think that she was a member of the museum staff.

“Kind of… Life has been crap for me and I felt like I was forced to come here so I can’t hear my parents bicker at each other constantly.”

“I can relate.” The woman replied. “You know… It’s funny to see my work put on display like this.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “Your… work?”

“Well, who else did you think made those clothes?” She said as she pointed out to a model statute of Mako from The Legend of Korra. “It was hard to complete, but I was satisfied with the final product once I completed piecing everything together.”

The girl was now personally surprised. This woman… was the Seamstress that made these clothes? Wow… this work was amazing. “Miss… Shonin…? Can I ask you something?”

“Surely… Oh and call me Maho. There’s no need for formalities.”

“Well, I was wondering if…… you’re currently taking any commissions.”

The woman looked back at the girl now, slightly intrigued as she scratched her chin. “That depends…… What kind of clothing would you want me to make?”

Emma paused for a minute as she looked around the room. She looked back at the models of both Mako and Mikasa and then came up with an idea in her mind. “A scarf. Something like the one you did of Mako in length, but has the darkened colors of a burning fire. Like the scarf of a phoenix. People call me Ember as a nickname, so I thought I would have something that could fit the name.”

The woman smiled. “I believe I can do that within a couple of days. Would you like to discuss a price?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Twenty. Twenty Five for next day shipping. I am a busy woman after all.”

Emma smiled. She had forty dollars in her pocket. Enough for this and Lunch later when everyone had to stop by the food court later. “I’ll take it.”

Three Days later…

“Ugh… Mornings… My mortal enemy…”

Emma hated early mornings. She preferred to sleep in sometimes if she could, but was always an early riser. This morning was no different. After getting dressed in a dark grey t-shirt and dark navy jeans, she went to the bathroom to straighten her hair and prepare herself for the day. So far, she had not heard of anything from her parents at all, which was odd. Normally, her parents arguing was what woke her half of the time.

Today though, it was different as she heard a THUD at the door. Emma walked on over to the door and looked down on the welcome mat to see a package with her name on it. The scarf from Ms. Shonin had arrived and this made Emma feel a bit happy. Tearing open the box, she put on the scarf, feeling the fabric warm her skin. It felt really comfortable.

When she set the box down though, Emma found something. A note for her. Looking it over, it’s contents soon extinguished her happiness.

“Emma honey. I’m sorry for telling you this now, but we’re not here this morning because your father and I are heading to the courthouse. It may be hard to take in, but we’re splitting up. Remember though, no matter what happens though, we still love you.”

-Mom

This though, didn’t help ease the pain. It instead made her furious. Did they even consider to run this decision by their daughter first before making this choice!? Emma now couldn’t take this. This must’ve been all a bad dream. She crashed herself onto her bed and closed her eyes. Wishing that she was no longer here and to not deal with this Sh*t anymore. But, unknowingly, she did not know that her wish would soon come true as a warm fire slowly covered her and had Emma disappear from her room.

When Emma opened her eyes again, she didn’t find herself in her room anymore. She was in a partially frozen forest and snow was falling. Which seemed impossible because it was suppose to be the middle of May. Despite her attire, she wasn’t cold. In fact, the scarf she wore was glowing and kept her warm and toasty like an open fireplace.

“W-what the hell? W-where am I?”

Turning around though, she felt another familiar source of heat. Her eyes widened. The girl was looking upon a majestic phoenix. Lying on the ground. Curled up. Like it was waiting to be taken away and burn out like a lit candle.

Hello, Child.

Emma flinched for a moment, staring at the avian. “D-did you just…… speak?” The fiery bird just nodded it’s head weakly as the human drew closer. She was concerned. “Are you okay?”

No… I’m not.

“What’s wrong?”

I am dying.

The teenager’s eyes widened when the phoenix told her this. “B-but that’s impossible!! A powerful creature like you should be-.”

Immortal? It interrupted. That’s the belief. Though we are immortal, one can only last so long with the amount of pain and suffering that living forever brings. Therefore, at one point in our lives, we sacrifice ourselves so our powers can help replenish the Stream in which magic flows through Equestria. Please… Just leave me to die alone…

For a moment, the teen considered to take up the bird’s advice. But, she began to think it through. He was alone. Like she was right now. Far away from home. Turning back and getting close to the bird, she said one word.

“No.”

I… beg your pardon?

“A beautiful and majestic creature such as yourself should not have to die alone. Hardships made me the person that I am and that means I never leave anyone alone, even if they want me too. I’ve been through a lot of crap in my life and even though I might not have seen the things you have, you’re the only person I can relate to. Therefore, I will stay with you in your final moments and keep you company.”

The phoenix stood silent as it’s eyes widened. This… creature… really did care about him. He felt that there wasn’t a individual in the world that could appreciate him for what he was capable of, but now… she made him feel… appreciated. Loved. Cared for.

Young one, what is your name?

“Emma Valkyr. But you may call me Ember.”

I am Phyrron. Guardian Phoenix of Equestria. I thank you for your kindness and for staying with me in my final moments. Therefore, I have a few parting gifts for you.

Phyrron motioned his wing, dropping a feather into her hands before it’s magic flowed around her, causing her to close her eyes. A plethora of images flowed through her mind as well as the knowledge each one contained. Ember couldn’t believe everything that she was seeing as she heard Phyrron speak.

This feather contained all the knowledge of the world of Equestria, from its inhabitants to the towns that are spread out through the land and the creatures that roam. I’ve also taught you to control the flames that resemble your scarf and have them bend to your will. Now, open your eyes, Ember. I have one last parting gift for you.

She did so. In front of her, a little Phoenix hatchling was right in front of her as Phyrron began to slip away.

This is my child. My offspring. She will see you as her caretaker. Raise her well, my friend.

Before the young pyromancer could ask anything, the phoenix ascended into the sky and disappeared, leaving her and the young chick in the snow as the sun slowly began to rise. Looking at the young hatchling, Ember asked her a question.

“So… what should I call you?”

All it did was chirp as it looked back at Ember.

“How about…… Philomena?”

The young phoenix squawked happily as it perched itself atop Ember’s head. It like the name as Ember got up and smiled. ‘I promise you, Philomena. I’ll do my best to help you.”

1- Reunion

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Reunion

Canterlot

It has only been two days since the Centaur named Tirek had trampled through the streets of Canterlot and things were beginning to go back to normal. However, despite everypony feeling normal, not all creatures were able to quickly recover from the scary events from a few days ago. Philomena was one such example as she sat perched upon her personal resting place. She saw Celestia outside on the Balcony as the Alicorn used her magic to raise the sun once again before turning to the bird to give her the occasional morning greeting.

“Good morning, Philomena. You look great this morning.”

The bird chirped in response and the Sun Alicorn assumed for it to be happily greet her as she went over to get it some food. Using her levitation magic to carry the avian’s food over to her tray and set it down and pet her softly with a gentle hoof before having to go prepare for day court. Philomena would normally be okay with something like this, but after recent events, the phoenix was partially worried for her caretaker’s safety. For a couple of days, the city had been under constant unrest involving the incident in Tartarus and the possibility for this leading to other future crises.

Personally, Philomena wanted things to be different. She had already seen enough horrible things. Things that her Alicorn caretaker could not begin to understand. She had seen her parents die in front of her. Saved by… her.

A thousand years ago…

A young Philomena barely a week old looked as her parents came back. Speaking in their language. “Our Hatchling, we are back.” Her mother said as they came back with heat worms. As the family was eating, a laugh could be heard.

“So touching, I see you settled down and raised a family... Phyrron.” The voice caused Philomena father to look around on alert.

“Impossible.” Landing on a nearby tree was a bird, it was like a hawk yet its very body seemed to have a look of living snow. The tree branch under it started to freeze. It was Phyrron’s arch enemy, Anivia.

“Impossible is but a word.” Anivia said with his wings opened he had an almost predatory look at the little hatchling. “You know our last fight was the one that could have ended me oh yes.” The bird walked causing the tree to freeze it wiped its feathers over the trunk caving right thought it. “However instead of finishing me you left me to die. But, as you can see…”

The tree branch then was broke as the cold froze the branch though. “I've gotten stronger.” The bird flew to the branch were the next was on slowly freezing the tree.

Phyrron was with his mate, ready to fight. “Take one more step and we will end you!!” The bird of ice had a smile. She took the step as the two charged at him covered in flames. The hatching saw them all land on the forest floor. Shadows could be seen behind her.

The hatching watched them fight the shadows behind her showed as the invader seemed to not only hold his own but seemed to be winning as her mother attempted to tackle him. He reacted by grabbing her head and smashing it into a rock while her father attempted to attack. A snap was heard as her mother neck was snapped. “NOOO!” Her father screamed.

The young hatching moved back. She then saw her father get impaled by ice. “gaaa.” He said. She fell from her nest as she moved back. She got up to see the killer of her parents right over her. “Go to Sleep.” He said as he was about to kill her.

“Leave my DAUGHTER ALONE!!”

In a surprise attack, Phyrron used the last of his strength to put his body over Philomena and cast themselves in a fiery barrier, warding Anivia away from them.

The bird screamed as his opponent then grabbed him. “Hatchling, run.” That would be the phoenix’s last words. Philomena tried to fly away as her father burned himself in an explosion. When it was done, Phyrron was victorious. However he was tired. He burned out his life force in that last attack. He had only a few hours to live this time. Maybe minutes. As he laid in the snow, Philomena returned to him, crawling underneath his wings to seek shelter. Her father couldn’t speak since his throat was destroyed. But, as a new figure approached them and refused to leave, Philomena saw her father smile. Thankful for whoever this was to be here now.

“So…” The figure spoke. “What should I call you……? How about…… Philomena?”

Present

The grown phoenix could still remember those moments as her father faded away and she was left in the care of a new figure. One that understood her. Could speak to her. Relate to…

“I’m back, Philomena.”

The avian was surprised to see her Alicorn friend return. But, she looked a little concerned for her. “Philomena, is something wrong…? You didn’t eat your food.”

She chirped a little, trying her best to show that nothing was bothering her. But Celestia thought otherwise. Something in her years of experience with being around the phoenix told the Alicorn that she was somehow stressed.

Celestia decided it was best for some fresh air. Flying free usually calmed her nervous and Philomena enjoyed it as well. “Lets go for a short fly by. Some fresh air would do you some wonders.” Celestia proposed. Philomena gave a chirp. Perhaps flying in the morning air would help calm her nervousness. The Alicorn turned towards the door of her room and caught the attention of her sister.

“Luna. Philomena and I are going to stretch our wings for a little bit. We’ll be right back.”

“Sure thing, dear sister. Please, enjoy your flight.”

“We will.” Celestia answered back. With that out of the way, she opened the door to the balcony, walking out with her Phoenix companion. They took off into the sky of a Canterlot morning, soaring above the thousands of civilians that call the City of Canterlot home. As Philomena soared next to her, she felt the need to go faster. As the avian looked down though, the phoenix thought she saw something… impossible.

She thought that she saw… an old friend.

Without warning, the phoenix went for a barreling nosedive as it soared towards the ground, catching Celestia by surprise. Crying out with a loud shriek.

The Alicorn flew after the Phoenix as she landed on the ground to see what had cause Philomena to act this way. It was the first time that she had seen the phoenix fly off on her own like this. As she landed though, the princess saw the phoenix come back up and fly to a clearing that was by a lake and that had only a single oak tree. However, something was by the tree. Something she couldn’t make out from her current position. She needed to get closer.

Lightly flapping her wings, the pony soared over for a small distance until she came across a strange sight. Philomena had found a young… bipedal figure that wore a red scarf around her neck, a grey garment that covered half of her body and another separate garment that covered the bottom half. The creatures mane was tied up in a ponytail as well and it also had red, fire like eyes. But what surprised the princess the most was when the figure used it’s… hand… to rub Philomena on top of her head. A place that she never allowed Celestia to touch.

The figure hugged the Avian as it perched itself on top of it’s head. “Aww… I’ve missed you too, Philly. It’s been quite some time since I’ve last seen you.”

That… surprised the Alicorn. This being knew Philomena? Now she was becoming a little curious. So curious that when she got closer, the phoenix noticed her presence and chirped, having the figure turn towards her. It looked tense, but looking back at the bird on her head, she relieved herself a little. “Oh, she’s a friend of yours? I didn’t know that… Well, it’s what happens when we get separated for a thousand years.”

The Alicorn herself raised an eyebrow. Did she say that as a joke or was she being serious? She couldn’t really tell. “Pardon me… I don’t mean to alarm you in any way.”

“It’s alright… I’ve had some… really bad experiences with some ponies a long while back so it’s hard to trust a lot of individuals that I meet.”

Bad experiences? With ponies? How could this girl have bad experiences with any of her subjects? “When was this?”

“Oh YEARS ago. Nothing to worry about now… Oh! My apologies, I haven’t even ask for your name.”

The Alicorn cleared her throat as she sighed. “I am Celestia. Princess of Equestria and Diarch of the Sun.”

“Wow… I’ve never thought that Philly here would be cared for by someone of royalty. Oh but where are my manners? I’m Ember. Ember Valkyr.”

“That’s a very… interesting name.” Celestia tried to follow up on what the girl said before she continued the conversation. “Tell me though, how do you know Philomena?”

“Didn’t she tell you?”

The Avian squawked for a moment, causing Ember to look up at her. “Oh, she can’t hear you? I believe I can help fix that.” For a moment, the figure stood up and placed a finger on where Celestia’s horn met her forehead. A small spark went off, having the pony jerk for a little bit. “I’m sorry if it startled you. I just wanted to make sure it worked.”

“W-what worked?”

‘Tia? Can you hear me?’

Celestia blinked in surprise. “P-philomena? Is that you!?”

‘By the heavens, it worked!! Thank you so much, Ember!!!’

Now the Alicorn herself was looking back at Ember, a little confused by what she did. “Excuse me, Ms. Ember, but what did you just do?”

“Some beings are born with the trait to hear phoenix’s speak to you mentally while others, mostly those that have high amounts of magic, can’t hear them and only hear a phoenix’s cries like other birds in nature. I just made it to where you could hear Philomena just like I can.” The girl told her as Philomena squealed with delight, making Celestia remember when Fluttershy took the firebird into her care a long time ago. “It seems you still have a lot to learn.”

“What do you mean by that?” The princess asked as she looked at Philomena. The phoenix sighed as she looked at her Alicorn friend.

‘To understand how I know Ember, you must understand something else, Tia. Do you remember what Starswirl said about my kind?’

The Princess did remember. “He said that Phoenix’s were very rare and that their might be others across Equestria?”

Philomena sighed, shaking her head. ‘We are rare, yes. But you see, there are no others. I’m the only one left. Phoenix’s have a natural enemy. A bird that isn’t made of fire, but of Ice. They are known as a Cryophoenix because they represented the cold heart of those consumed by sin. Greed, Pride, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth. A thousand years ago, My parents and I were the last ones that remained in Equestria until a Cryophoenix named Anivia attacked us. My mother died during the encounter and my father sacrificed his life force energy to protect me. As he was dying though… Ember found him.’

Celestia now looked at Ember in shock. This girl found them that long ago? How was she still alive?

‘Despite my father’s pleas for her to leave because he feared that she would become a target to Anivia, Ember refused to leave and decided to stay with us for his final moments. As a sign of kindness and generosity, he passed down his knowledge and powers to her so she could be aware of this world and it’s inhabitants. From then on, for the next five years, before I met you, Ember raised me. Took care of me. Treated me like a daughter. But then, at one point, a group of ponies that lived in the southern portion of Equestria by the Mexicolt border ambushed us. Their intent was to capture me, but Ember allowed herself to be captured so I could escape. As I flew away, I began to tire out… And that’s… when I met you.’

The Princess of the sun could not believe what she was hearing. Ponies… trying to capture them? How cruel… “W-what happened?”

Ember sighed. “What happened next is the reason why I’m known as The Tortured Phoenix. They captured me and treated me and hundreds of other innocent ponies like trash. They forced us to work for hours on end, whipped us if we were not obeying them and if we did obey, we were only to be given scraps of food and water to survive. It was pure torture. Then… one day… I snapped………” For a moment, Ember stopped talking. Celestia thought that it was because she couldn’t bear to continue about the subject. However, it wasn’t like that. “Were you ever told how the Badlands were formed?”

Celestia shook her head. “All I was told was that it was because of a massive explosion.”

Ember gritted her teeth. “That’s the thing… I was that explosion. When I snapped, I unleashed a wave of fire that consumed all the ponies that treated us like trash. Those that were put through the same pain I had to deal with had the flames restore them to proper strength while those who were giving us that pain were turned to ash that was carried away with the wind. That was when I realized how powerful I was and how I needed to control what I was capable of. That way, it would never happen again. I had been a wanderer for years. I’ve known love, loss, and what it feels like to be part of a family even though before I came here, my life was a wreck. My experiences though made me the person that I am and the hardships that I’ve been put through have only made me stronger. Philomena though, was the reason I kept on fighting. To be able to see her again. Now, I am happy.”

Ember snapped her fingers for a moment as a small bit of fire formed around her hands, letting it dance around her fingers as it flowed around with ease. Celestia though, was stunned. She couldn’t believe that her own kind would commit such atrocities. In her kingdom no less. “I-i’m sorry about everything you had to go through. If I’d had known, I would’ve done something.”

“We can’t move forward if he have our heads stuck in the past. We’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes of the past if we do.” Ember said, almost like a philosopher.

“That is… very wise of you to say.” Celestia complimented. “You should come with me back to Canterlot. You have quite a wonderful story and I believe that with all the years you were on your own, that some rest would be much deserved.”

“Thank you for your generosity. Can I just do one thing first?”

“Certainly-.”

Before the Alicorn could say any other words, the three of them were soon teleported to the Badlands. Philomena stood idly in the air by Celestia’s side, watching as Ember walked up to what looked like a stone. But to her shock, it wasn’t a stone.

It was a grave marker.

‘Here lies the body of Red Apple. A true friend and guide in the toughest of times. You will be missed forever.’

“Thank you for helping me when I needed it the most… I’m sorry that I was never able to help you in return, old friend…” Ember spoke, a tear in her eyes as she formed a small feather of fire in her hands and placed it on the ground.

“Who was he?” The Alicorn asked.

“A dear friend. He helped me survive the slave camps. But then, he was also the reason why I snapped.”

“The…… reason?”

“The slave owners in charge killed him in front of me… to teach me a lesson. But instead…… the opposite happened.” Ember swallowed as she sighed. “You probably might know the rest. Fortunately… his brother, Golden Apple, lived on. I even helped him construct a barn in memory of him. I haven’t been back there in centuries.”

“He was important to you?” Celestia then asked, wanting to know more.

“Yes. He and his brother even accepted me as family. Something I never thought would happen…” Ember said as she turned back around to face both Philomena and Celestia. “I’m ready to go when you two are.”

Nodding, Celestia Horn lit up, whisking them away from the barren wastes of the Badlands. Returning them to the comfortable castle of Canterlot and the Hall of Elements. Where her sister was there with Discord, the Spirit of Chaos.

“Welcome back-! Sister, who is this?”

“My apologies… Ember, this is my sister Luna and this is-.”

“Discord.” Ember interjected. “Trust me. We’ve met before.”

“We have? I don’t quite remember seeing you before……” The Chaos spirit scratched his chin, looking at the girl and trying to jog his memory. Then, he got it. “Oh, NOW I remember!! You were the girl who created the badlands.” The spirit remembered that memory. “I was about to brighten up their day then you ended the fun so I went up north instead.” Discord said.

“Brighten their day? Do you even know what hell everypony down there was going through? While you were trying to have “Fun” and sit comfortably in the place you considered home, slave handlers tortured us and made us work in the mines. They even killed my best friend until I snapped.”

Luna herself was now shocked. So was Discord. He never realized how bad things actually were. “Oh… well, I’m truly sorry to hear that, Ms. Ember.”

“It’s a thing in the past now…”

“Just out of curiosity, how did Celestia find you-?”

“I didn’t find her.” the Alicorn interjected the Draconequus mid sentence. “Philomena did.”

“She did?”

“Exactly. Before Philomena was founded by Celestia, I raised her as a promise to her dying father. But with the events of late, I’m worried about something. But for you to understand, you both must know her story.”

In the shadows of a forest, a tree slowly froze. “So… the hatchling still lives.” A claw like Philomena’s fathers cut right through the tree as it froze right into the trunk. “Oh this would been fun.”

A crystal made from the heart of the Wendigo king was infused into its body, with another piece in its very head. “I guess I’ll you have a bit of mercy... For when I’m done, the Alicorn and your caretaker will be dead.” He was no fool. The Spirit of Chaos was too much to take on. Plus he had respect for Nightmare Moon, so he'll let the moon princess live.

But for now, he had other tasks to attend to. Before he went back to the focus of exterminating what remained of the Phoenix’s…

For when there was no more fire to warm their hearts… they will fear the chill that comes with a cold death. They WILL fear…… Anivia.

End Chapter 1

2- Canterlot Calamities

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Canterlot Calamities

Things were going alright for Prince Blueblood on this beautiful sunny day, courtesy of his dear Auntie; Princess Celestia. He had enjoyed a rather delicate morning in the gardens with Mr. Fancy Pants and his wife, Fleur De Lis as they had a properly cooked breakfast. It felt good to be treated with respect like how he believed that Nobles were suppose to be treated. He despised of being treated anything lower than that.

However, as he returned back to the castle so he could check in on Princess Celestia, he could hear a new voice coming from the hall. A female voice that sounded like she had a lot of power and passion. For a moment, the stallion thought that the voice belonged to a mare. But when he opened the door, The Unicorn was greeted to a very… Different sight.

“Hello Auntie-. What the? Who… is this?”

The person that Blueblood was referring to was Ember. She stood in the room with her back facing towards him and had turned around at the sound of the new voice.

Celestia was the next one to speak. “Blueblood. This is Ember Valkyr. She will be our guest for the time being…”

“Ember? Is that right? I really like your name. It’s really beautiful.”

For a moment, Blueblood felt like he was going to win her over the same way he did to Rarity at the last Grand Galloping Gala before it turned into a complete Disaster. However, what he got in return was a lot different than what he expected as he trotted closer.

“Is that so…?”

*SMACK!!!!*

Ember rammed her fist into the side of Blueblood’s head, knocking him out of the hallways and sending him flying twenty or so feet. “Sorry about that. It happens to a lot of people who get in my personal space.”

“How big is this personal space of yours?” Discord then asked, rubbing his chin.

“About a three foot radius on all sides. Plus, this also commonly happens when I believe that someone is trying to seduce me. Case in point, Mr. BlueBroke.” She said, cracking her knuckles. “It’s a good thing I didn’t use any of my Life Force energy or else his mane and fur would catch on fire.”

“Well, he was always one for toasted marshmallows.” Luna sighed as she trotted over to where her sister was. “Come on, why don’t I give you a tour of Canterlot? It’ll give Celestia some time to send a letter to the elements.”

“Pardon me, but what are these elements that you are referring too?”

Celestia and Luna looked at Ember with surprised expressions. “You don’t know of the Elements of Harmony?”

“Only heard about them once or twice. I don’t exactly know who or what they are.” Ember answered honestly. She had been all over the country, but had only heard bits and pieces of words on different subjects. Nothing to really put together. It was like a Jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces.

“The Elements of Harmony are a collection of Artifacts that have been used countless times to save Equestria from Peril. The wielders of those artifacts are the Mane Six, Six ponies that live in Ponyville and also are like daughters to Princess Celestia and I.” Luna explained. “In fact, one of them is a princess like Celestia and I. Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and something tells me she would have a lot to ask you.”

‘Sounds like a reporter wanting to interview me… Fan-freaking-tastic.’ Ember mentally sighed. “Well Luna, where should we begin with the tour?”

“Follow me, right this way.” Luna told Ember as they passed by the shocked body of Prince Blueblood that was still on the floor. Trying to think about what just happened as Celestia facehooved herself.

“You should’ve given her some space, Blueblood.”

“Auntie!!!”

Ember and Luna were beginning to go through the halls of Canterlot as The Alicorn gave the human a tour of the castle. All the ponies that were there for Day court and also all the guards on duty stopped and stared at Ember as she walked through the main hallway to the garden. The hedges themselves have been given a bit of a “makeover” from Discord so they would resemble Celestia and Luna as well as the Royal Couple of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. The Human was cautious though not to touch any of the plant life in hopes of not accidently setting anything ablaze. Despite her best intentions though, a leaf falling on her arm evaporated into cinders and almost caught an oak tree on fire if Ember didn’t dismiss the flames.

“Wow… that is quite some talented magic you have there.” Luna complimented Ember as she dismissed the fire with a finger snap.

“You mean my control over fire. It’s not magic. It’s life force energy. There’s a difference between the two.” The human explained. “Life Force is the union of your stamina and the strength of your soul. It can be easy to conjure, control and use; but hard to master. I only know all of these abilities because of what Philomena’s father passed down to me. But I’m still finding new ways to use my powers everyday.”

“Interesting. But how is magic so different from it?”

“Magic is like air. You breath it in and breath it out as well as use it for multiple purposes. It’s all around you even though you can’t normally see it.”

“That… is a valid comparison.” Luna complimented. The Two of them continued to move on as they now had reached the Barracks. Where the two of them found something very… surprising.

Guards were fighting against each other with armor and swords for sparring purposes. But instead of the normal one against one ruling, it was one against all. A single unicorn stallion in the middle of the arena was holding a spear with his magic while many others around him came at him from all directions. With a few swift motions, the stallion was able to quickly disarm the other guards and have them fall to the floor in defeat.

“Now, do you yield?” He asked them. All of them said the exact same answer as they returned to the bleachers.

“Who is that?” Ember asked, watching as a few more recruits entered the ring.

“That is Shining Armor. Princess Sparkle’s older brother.”

“He’s quite skilled in combat.” The human girl smiled, soaking it all in as she watched with awe. As he finished up the next few rounds, she heard the stallion boast a new question.

“Anypony else want to spar before we conclude this training exercise?”

That was Ember’s chance as she stepped forward, Luna alongside her. “Is that a challenge I hear, Captain?”

Shining Armor looked confused as he looked at the Princess that was by her side. “Princess Luna, who is this girl?”

“She is Ember Valkyr. She’s only staying for a little while, but that’s not important. What is important is that I believe Ember wants to challenge you. And it is not polite to keep a lady waiting.”

“If your friend thinks she’s up for it, then be my guest.” The Guard captain said as he levitated a towel to wipe the sweat off of his forehead and face. “It’ll be a nice change of pace.”

Ember smiled as she hopped into the training grounds. “You’re too kind.”

“Choose a weapon. You wouldn’t want to face an opponent unarmed.” Shining suggested to her, pointing his spear at the nearby weapon’s rack. The others watched as she inspected each of them, carefully looking at the craftsmanship of each of the weapons that were available. But, what she said next surprised all of them.

“Thanks for the offer, but I believe I’ll let my fists do the talking.”

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow as he looked back at Luna. “Are you sure about that?”

“Positive. I just might surprise you of what I’m capable of, Shiny.”

Shining Armor grinned. He honestly did not expect to be called “Shiny” by anypony else other than his wife or his sister. The Stallion made the first move as he went forth in a sideways motion to strike Ember. The human dodge it effortlessly as she did the one thing the Captain never expected.

Grab hold of the spear and yank it towards her, causing him to fall forward.

“Woah-!!” Once the stallion was close enough, Ember hit him with a forward palm strike in the face, causing Shining Armor to lose focus and drop his spear.

“Too slow.”

Ember was already at the next step in her attack as she struck Shining in the chest while he was on his hind legs. Anything harder and the stallion would have a few cracked ribs. The Stallion fell backwards into the weapons rack as Ember snapped the spear he was using in half like a Twig.

“Anything else?”

Shining Armor charged again, this time with Dual swords as he tried to focus his strikes. However, Ember was quick on her feet and dodging the Captains intended strikes, making him swing aimlessly. At one point, the human even was able to disarm the unicorn, leaving it to where they blocked and parried each other’s sword attacks with their own counters. Both of them were evenly matched. But Ember still had a few surprises for him. Especially when with the next sword strike, she followed it up with a powerful roundhouse kick filled with Fire energy that launched the captain through the wooden door of the training grounds.

“A good display, but you must remember that there are no rules when it comes to combat. You must expect the unexpected. Foresee the Unforeseen. Predict the unpredictable.” Ember told Shining Armor as she helped the Stallion get back on his hooves.

“You, my friend, are quite skilled.” Shining Armor told her as they walked on back inside.

“Why thank you, sir. I appreciate the compliment.” The human girl replied as they made their way to Princess Luna. “You’re not half bad yourself.”

Shining Armor twitched a little once he heard the comment. “H-half bad? I graduated at the top of my class when I was in the Royal Academy, with outstanding marks in weapons training about five years ago.”

“Well, I’ve been around this world for about a thousands years, give or take so…… yeah, there’s that.”

Shining Armor now just stared at Ember, eyes widening… trying to understand if he heard that right. However, it was too much to comprehend as he soon passed out on the floor.

“Is… he going to be okay?”

“I hope so. Otherwise, we’ll need a replacement captain.” Luna replied as they walked out of the barracks and back onto the main street of the city. Both the Princess and the Mancer continued to walk throughout the city, introducing Ember to every nook and cranny of what was within the castle’s walls. She previously never had the chance to visit Canterlot, unlike other towns and cities, because of some of the new defenses to the city that would dismiss illusion based disguises. A precaution against future changeling attacks, but also a problem for the human since it would cause her pony disguise to fade away into a puff of smoke and ash. Some places were also not seen by the human due to other constraints.

Countries that were across the sea would be exhausting to travel to, even if she did try to fly there because her Life Force energy could only carry her so far. Plus, the higher she flew, the more energy she would drain. It was something she called The Icarus Factor based off of the legend of one man who made wings out of wax so he could fly, but when he went too close to the sun, his wings burned up and he went crashing to the ground. In Ember’s case, her Life Force energy would burn up and she would pass out mid flight before reaching wherever she intended to go. Also, those who decided to travel by boat had to go through a check in process that was long and excruciating. It made her think of when she was back on earth and there was something called “TSA screenings” in order to get on a plane.

Over the few centuries she had been alive, Ember had visited a lot of cities inside Equestria. Vanhoover, Applewood, Las Pegasus, Ponyville, Manehattan, Pie-ami. You name it, she would remember her brief time there. However, there were some places she had never been too besides Canterlot. For example, The Crystal Empire had only been saved a few years back and Ember had not heard about it being freed til almost a year later when she had heard about the Equestria Games being hosted there. Another example would be Cloudsdale since the Mancer did not know any powers that would allow her to walk on clouds so she couldn’t fall through them. Then there was the mentioning of the village referred to as “Our Town” by Princess Luna. It was a strange name and for a moment, given the description of the Geographical location, Ember thought that the town resembled Dodge City. A small desert town to the East of Appleloosa. Either somepony rose to power since the last time she had been to the sandy area nearby the San Palomino Desert… Or this was a new town she had not visited in general that flew under her radar.

Out of all the places she had been too before though, only a few of them she would consider as her favorite. One place was a woodland area named Hollow Shades to the northeast of Canterlot. It was a quiet forest with a beautiful ecosystem. In addition, the wildlife there took a liking to her after she saved them from a forest fire fifteen years ago. She thought that the pony that Luna described as “Fluttershy” would be interested in going with her to there sometime so she could meet some of the species that called those woodlands home.

Soon, the two of them returned back to the castle, where Celestia and Philomena were waiting for their return inside the hall of elements. The Alicorn that was described to Ember as Princess Cadance was also there too. “Welcome back Sister. Did you two had a nice walk around the city?”

“Yes we did.” Ember replied. “Is Prince Blueberry okay? I hope I didn’t hit him too hard earlier.”

“He’s retired to his quarters to rest. You do not need to worry about him.” Celestia answered the Mancer’s question with a small chuckle as she turned her head towards Cadance. “Ember, I would like you to meet my niece. Princess Mi Amora Cadenza, the Princess of Love.”

“Please Tia, Cadance is fine.” The Pink Alicorn insisted as Ember shook her hoof with an outstretched hand. “I’ve heard quite a lot about you, Ember. Even my husband had high praise for you earlier when you faced him earlier today. If I wasn’t so busy, I would’ve come on over to watch you face him.”

“It’s quite alright actually. To be fair, and don’t tell him I said this, but I was going easy on him.” The Mancer told her. “If I was fighting seriously, then a lot of bits would have to be used to fix any damage to surrounding property and I rather not have that happen. Besides, I can control more than fire.”

That caught the princesses and Philomena off guard for a moment. “You can?”

“Yeah. I’m not quite skilled with it, but with the amount of time I spent at the Smokey Mountains, I’ve slowly begun to learn how to conjure, control and bend Magma.”

“Magma? Isn’t that Earth related magic?”

Ember shook her head. “You must be thinking about Lava, which is the combination of Magma and heat from the planet's core and earthen rock that’s formed as a Molten Soup. Magma is just the molten liquid itself. I’ve only begun to learn the basics though. Do you think there’s a chance I might find what I’m looking for in the royal library?”

‘Possibly.’ Philomena told her. Cadence only heard a small chirp as she stared at Ember in confusion. She seemed to understand the bird, but didn’t know why.

“Oh I almost forgot… Here.”

Ember placed her finger at the base of Cadence's horn; where it met her forehead and a small spark occurred. “There we go. Done.”

“What was that all about?” Cadence asked.

“That was so you can hear Philomena. Did Celestia mention to you about how only a few individuals could only hear phoenix speak mentally?”

“I was going to, but that was when you and Luna came through the door.” Celestia answered the Mancer’s question. “As for your question Ember, it could be possible. I recommend you check the Advanced Magic section of the Library and see if you can find anything that can help you.”

“Thank you kindly, Princess.” Ember told her. She remembered where to go after going through the entire city. The Mancer’s mind was like a big storage bin and her eyes were like the lenses of a camera. Almost every time she blinked, a photo of a location or place was saved inside her memory. But only when she converted the Life Force needed to make a snapshot a permanent imprint in her memory.

After about three minutes, she entered the library and moved up to the almost empty second floor. Looking at the section numbers, she remembered the location of the section Celestia told her from looking at the Directory as she walked in.

“Let’s see… Row numbers… 400 through 500…” Ember spoke to herself as she looked up. Soon, she came across the right row and began to look some more. “Here we go. Now… Starswirl’s guide to Advanced Sorcery.” She cracked open the book and flipped to the table of contents, looking for any clues on the studies that she wanted to look at. However, something else caught her attention.

Ember…

The Mancer stopped looking in the book and stood up, looking around her. She had just heard a voice that the girl had not heard in over a thousand years.

“P-phyrron?”

Behind you, child.

Ember turned around to see a red and orange bird that looked very much like a ghost as she heard it speak to her. Do not be alarmed. This is only a mere message that I have left behind for you. I would’ve told you when you were with me, but my priorities were the safety of my daughter instead of my own. You are one of many that have arrived in Equis under different circumstances. In different versions of Equestria, each one far more different than the last. You are only getting this message right now because you found what I had left behind for you inside that book.

Ember looked downward, realizing that there was a feather of a phoenix in the book. The section of the book being The Theory of Clover the Clever. The only theory in the book was one called The Displaced Theory, which had the exact same details as the spirit had described.

This may be hard for you to take in all at once, but soon, you will encounter someone that had entered under the same circumstances. You will recognize her when you see her use a strange form of powers that are not the same as your life force. Thank you for helping Philomena. I am proud of you, Ember.

The spirit faded as the feather grew warmly inside the girl’s hands. Taking a red ribbon she had as a spare hair tie, Ember tied the ribbon across it and then inscribed a message into it using her powers.

I am Ember Valkyr, the Tortured Phoenix. If you are in need of help, call upon me and my pain and rage will turn your enemies to ash.

Then, she spilt the feather into multiple feathers and tossed them into the air, each one disintegrating into nothingness while one remained for her to keep. She closed the book. There was no need to try and find the Magma section of the book. She thought it would be better for her to go back to the castle. It was about time she got some rest. Because something told her that tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Especially when Celestia told her that they were going to meet her student in Ponyville. And one of them happened to be part of the Apple family… Which meant the one thing that she would personally wasn’t prepared for was going to happen.

She was going to return to the barn the Mancer built for Golden Apple and his daughter… Granny Smith.

End Chapter 2

3- Sweet Apple Surprises

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Sweet Apple Surprises

It was a little before sunrise when Ember woke up from her slumber. The sound of hooves in the early morning being the sound that caused her to rise. From the guest bedroom that Ember was in, she could hear Celestia calmly trotting to the Balcony as the mancer hopped out of her bed and exited her room. She, like any other night, would sleep in her clothes since they were the only ones she had. So she didn’t have to deal with changing clothes, doing her hair or putting on makeup and all the glamour crap like most of the women do back home.

By the time she entered, Celestia was just about done with letting the Sun rise and having it’s light awaken all the sleeping souls in the land. Philomena was the first to notice her human caretaker as she lightly walked into the room, surprised that her leather sandals didn’t make any loud sounds across the floor. ‘Good morning, Ember.’

“Good morning Philomena. Good morning to you too, Princess.”

“Good Morning, Ms. Ember. How did you sleep?” The White Alicorn asked.

“Alright. It felt good to sleep on a bed. It’s been years since I’ve slept on one that felt just as good as the one in the guest room.” The mancer told her. “Hey, Can I ask you something-.”

“Princess!!” One of the guards outside caught the attention of the individuals in the room. “Princess Luna requested me to come get you so she could talk to you about today’s case in Day Court.”

“Just a moment.” Celestia said. “What was it that you wanted to ask me?”

“Can we hold off on meeting the Elements? Luna told me that they had just come back from Our Town and I think they would need some time to recover. Plus, I got somewhere I need to go today.”

Celestia scratched her chin with her hoof, thinking through for the proper answer to tell her. “I’ll be okay with that. Just on one condition though. I do not want any trouble to occur while you’re there. Understand?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Celestia just smirked a little. She didn’t think that Ember would know that. But then again, she was just as old as her and Philomena. Give or take a few years. “Very well then. I’ll hold off on our get together until the girls are properly rested. Before you leave though, are you familiar with how to send letters by Dragonfire? It’s a form of communication that I use to stay in contact with Twilight and her assistant, Spike back in Ponyville. It would be helpful for you to know it as well so you can contact me if anything occurs.”

“I don’t exactly know that. But I can talk telepathically with Philomena. If anything happens, I can have her tell you until I learn how to do that spell.”

“That would be a reasonable alternative.” The Alicorn said. With that, she trotted off, following the guards as Ember walked to the balcony.

‘So, what do you plan on doing today?’ Philomena asked out of curiosity.

“Remember when I mentioned that I helped Golden Apple build a barn? I was going to go visit.”

‘But that was a LONG time ago. Wouldn’t the place be abandoned or run down to the ground?’

“Not exactly. Even though Golden has passed on, his daughter still lives there. I just hope that I don’t give her a heart attack. It’s been 50 years since I last saw her.” With that, Ember disappeared in a quick shimmer of flames, leaving Philomena on her perch as she looked over the city below her.

Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville

Seconds after leaving the castle, Ember found herself in the far out fields of the Ponyville Countryside. Surrounded by lots of Apple Trees that were normally attended to on a regular basis. Earth ponies could not perform any magic, but it made them excellent with farm work and work in the fields either with growing crops or just nature in general. However, the one earth pony that Ember was looking for was not in the fields tending to crops. The pony she was looking for was in the barn at the back of the Farmland estate.

Ember remembered when she helped construct the barn. It was a lot smaller than. Now, it was three times as big. It got a new coat of paint that was a bright red and had a new coat of white across the beams and also a newly planted fence that went across the plot of land. She still remembered the day they built it like it was yesterday.

“There we go… All done.”

“Great job, Ember!! We couldn’t have done it without your help.”

“Aww thanks, Golden. It was nothing really. I’m glad to help you guys out.”

“Thank you so much, Emmy!!” Ember hear a young green filly say as she went down to her level to hug the earth pony. “You’re always welcome in our home. Now, all it needs is a name. What do you think we should call it?”

“Hmm… What about-?”

“-Sweet Apple Acres.” Ember said, taking in the sight as she began to walk closer to the property. However, as she got closer, she saw a figure moving through the trees. It looked like a stallion by appearance. But… something about it did not feel right to her. She saw the figure move again and now ember could tell that it was apple bucking the trees that had ripe fruit ready to be picked. But something seemed too… familiar with this figure… It’s mane and tail were short and orange, but it’s fur was… “Red?”

Ember blinked twice, trying to make sure that she wasn’t seeing things. The pony that she knew so long ago was dead. But… why did this one look… so similar? She was going to take a closer look at the stallion…… until he found her first.

“What the-? Hey!”

“Easy there, big guy…” Embers memories of her friend were beginning to return to her as she watched this Stallion. The resemblance was uncanny, but she knew for sure it wasn’t him. After all, the cutie marks weren’t the same.

“Who are you?” It asked.

“My name is Ember… You remind me of a friend of mine…”

“Ah… Do?”

“Yeah. His name was Red Apple. He looked a lot like you actually.”

The Red Stallion looked at the human, stunned and in disbelief. “Y-you knew mah Great Uncle?”

“I knew him, yes. I didn’t know he was your uncle until you told me just now… Come to think of it, what’s your name? I told you mine and it’s only polite if you do the same.” The mancer got the earth pony at that part. He knew that it would be disrespectful to ignore a lady. Even if it’s a weird one like this… individual.

“Big Macintosh, but mah family refer to me as Big Mac.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Big Mac.” Ember replied casually, trying not to laugh since hearing the name reminded her of the McDonald's sandwich. “Can I ask you something real quick? Do you know anypony that lives here that goes by the name of Granny Smith?”

“You know Granny?”

“You can say that. It’s a long story.”

“Ah got time…” Big Mac snorted, not moving anywhere. “Ah’ve been working all day and could use a chance for a break.”

“Not if you need to get those back to the farmstead first.” Ember said, pointing to the cart filled with a dozen baskets of apples of all varieties. “First rule of Applebucking is to bring your take back to the farm so it can be counted and that’s before you get a break. Trust me, I’ve helped pitch in myself back in the day.”

Big Mac was speechless. She was right. “Well, Shoot. You got me there.”

“I can lend you a hand though. Help carry the cart back to the barn for you. Afterwards, may I see Granny?”

The Stallion though, needed a little bit of convincing that Ember had indeed knew about the rules of Applebucking and in the countryside, you needed to prove your claims. “See that tree over there? Get a bucket and buck that tree. If ya prove to me that ya know how things work during the Harvest, then I can be able to trust ya.”

‘Just like Red when I first met him… Just with bucking stones from the mines instead of trees.’ Ember thought to herself. Walking up to the tree, she grabbed a basket and set it down. Calmly, but composed, she slammed the tree with a jab kick using her right leg. Soon, enough apples were beginning to fall to fill not just one basket, but two.

“Impressed?” Ember asked.

“Eeyup.” Was the only reply she heard as the two of them began to go back to the barn. Ember helped Big Macintosh a little bit more by pulling the cart the last leg of the trot back and helped unload the payload of apples.

“Thank ya. Now… To count all of these…”

“Hmm…” Ember thought to herself. “How much do you put in each bucket?”

“Use ta be ten. Now it’s twenty due to the increased population in town.”

The girl now began to make some mental calculations inside her head. A few math problems later and she got the number. “280.”

“I beg ya pardon?”

“There’s around 280 apples here.”

“Ya kidding? We haven’t even counted them and ya assume it’s that many?”

“It wasn’t an assumption. It was a calculated answer.” Ember explained, taking a stick and drawing out the problem in the dirt below them. “There’s fourteen buckets and based on what you said, there’s roughly twenty apples in each basket. Twenty times seven is 140 and what’s that number times two?”

“ …… 280. Wow… How did ya do that?”

“Just simple arithmetic.” Ember said, chuckling a little as she ruffled up Big Mac’s mane. However, before they could bring the buckets inside, a new voice came from the porch as the door opened.

“Big Mac? Yer back a little early-.”

Coming outside was an light green elderly earth pony that looked like a green apple. The elderly pony stepped out from the porch as Ember got down on one of her knees. The Mare’s eyes widened.

“E-emmy? I-is that you?”

All Ember did was silently nod her head as the Elderly mare got closer. She thought that Granny Smith would be angry at her for not being able to be there anytime when she was younger. When the Earth Pony really needed the support and attention. But instead, she received an unexpected hug.

“Y-ya look like ya haven’t aged a day… I missed you so much…”

“I’m sorry, Granny-.”

“What is there to be sorry for?” She told the Mancer. Unknowingly though, Ember still answered. “All that matters is that you’re here now. Besides, I believe there’s something we need to talk about inside. You too, Big Mac. This is important.”

Big Mac and Ember looked at each other with confused expressions. Why did this conversation now involve the both of them? There was no point in asking though because Granny Smith was being persistent about them coming inside since it was an important family conversation.

“Granny, should we wait for AJ an’-?”

“We can tell them once they get home. Right now though, this is important.” The Mare told her. “Ember, do you remember…… Golden Apple? Ya know… Papa?” Ember just nodded her head silently. However, she felt bad now. Given the amount of time that had passed over the years that she had been alive, the brother of Red Apple and the Earth Pony that referred to her as The sister he wish he had must’ve passed away. After all, unless you’re immortal or stuck in the same scenario as her, nopony lives forever.

“Yes. You’re father was very kind and treated me like a sibling.”

“Well, he was always one to show his kindness. However, it did not stop there though. Ya see, on his will, Papa had asked for something to be done for you.”

“For… me?”

The Elder mare nodded, grabbing a series of papers from out of the nearby drawer that had a small lock on it. They looked a lot like… legal documents? Ember tried to understand it, but when it came to writing, trying to understand earth pony writing was like trying to read chicken scratch. Really Illegible and hard to understand unless you were the one writing it.

“He asked for the legal documents here to be verified for you to be his legal sibling. In other words, he wanted to make you an official member of the Apple Family.”

Both Big Mac and Ember were shocked and surprised by what Granny Smith just said and seeing the documents have a big red Approved stamp at the bottom of the page. Even Ember couldn’t quite exactly wrap her head around what just happened. “I-i’m…… what?”

Granny Smith sighed. “Let me make this simple for ya… Big Mac here…… He’s ya nephew. You’re his Great Aunt, Emmy.”

“Wait… I’m… your aunt?” Ember said, turning to face Big Mac.

“Yes, you are, Ember.” The Elderly Earth Pony told her, calling her by her actual name. “Papa felt sorry for ya when ya told him that you were traveling all across Equestria and how you had been taken from your home. So, he wanted ya to feel like this was your home as well since you helped build it all those years ago. In fact, we had a room locked up on the second floor because it was suppose to be your room. He was going to tell you about it the day after you built the farm with us, but by then, you were gone.”

“Wow…… I… don’t know what to say…… Thank you.” Ember said, trying to hold back some emotions. This was the most surprising…… and the most grateful gift she had ever received in a long time. Other than when Phyrron gave her Philomena and her powers. “This… Really means a lot to me.”

“It’s the least that Papa wanted to do.” Granny Smith continued as she set a hoof on Embers shoulder from across the table. “He told me that even though ya might not be able to go back to ya old life… You can start a new one here. With the four of us.”

Ember herself now raised an eyebrow, confused by what the elderly mare just told her. “Wait…… us? What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Along with Mac, ya have two nieces. Both of them younger than him, but just as talented and hard working. They should probably be back by sundown.” Granny Smith now turned towards Big Mac. “In the meantime, how ‘bout Big Mac show you around the Orchard?”

Big Mac nodded his head, followed by a simple gesture that had Ember following the Red Stallion outside. He showed her around the barn, the orchard and where exactly everything was from the carts to the cider making equipment. After some time though, the human noticed the Earth Pony being a little nervous. Curious, Ember tried to play along a little.

“Is something on your mind, Big Mac?” she asked him. At first, he didn’t say anything. But then, he sighed. His silent and stoic self couldn’t really hold in what he wanted to ask her. The Grand Aunt that he recently found out about.

“Ya. Um…… Where are ya from, Aunt Embah?” He asked. “I haven’t seen anypony like ya before. Or at all for that matter.”

“That… is a lot to explain Mac. You’re fine if I call you that right?” She asked. His only response was a nod as she continued to talk.

“Eeyup.”

“Okay. Now, as I was going to explain, my world is a lot different from this one. But one thing remains the same. Both of them have their legends and mysteries that can’t exactly be solved. How I got here is a mystery, but I haven’t let that affect me over the time I’ve been here. In fact, when I came here, I obtained gifts that I would only dream of being able to have.” Ember showed what exactly she meant by creating a small flower of fire in her hands to show him.

Big Macintosh was amazed. The Fire flower looked so… lively. This wasn’t like any magic he had seen before. Almost every time, it was… different. He wasn’t an expert, but he didn’t think it would take on the form of an actual element. “What kind of magic is that-?”

“Magic? Oh boy Mac, you have a lot to learn. What I just did was with my Life Force energy. The energy of all living beings that only the strongest of heart can control. I used the energy of my stamina and soul to create a physical form. One of a few things you pick up from traveling across Equestria for over a thousand years.”

“A-a… thousand… years? H-how?”

“Well, one of the effects of coming here was that I can’t age properly. Even though I look like I’m a young adult, I’m just as old as Philomena.”

“The Princesses pet?” Mac asked, wondering about what the phoenix had to do with his Grand Aunt. “Forgive me Aunt Embah, but how does that relate to you though? I know ya have fire abilities, but I’m still confused on why ya mentioned it.”

“It’s because I raised her since she was a hatchling for the first five years of my new life here and her dying father was the one who gave me my powers.” She sighed a little, now holding one end of the scarf around her neck. “A dying phoenix gave me powers shortly after I arrived because of this. It had only been yesterday that I had reunited with Philomena and now, I feel grateful to meet the descendant of Red Apple. You’re a good pony, Mac. Strong. A brave heart. Willing to help others see right from wrong. Even though we just met, I want to let you know that I’m proud of you.”

Before Ember could say anything else though, she felt a tingling sensation down her spine. It was a disturbance in energy. And it was coming from Canterlot. “I’m sorry for having to do this so abruptly, but I have to go. I’m feeling a disturbance in Canterlot that I need to investigate.”

“Alright…” Big Mac told her. “Ah’ll tell granny that you'll be back by Sundown.”

“Thank you, Mac.”

“Oh, uh… Can ah ask you something before ya go?” The Stallion said as Ember turned around to face him. “Remember when ya said about Life Force and it being used by the strong of heart?”

“Yes?”

“Well… Is it possible if you can teach me how to do it? Ah want to be able to help mah family in times of need and protect them if they’re in danger.” The Earth Pony said, his tone being one of a determined trainee. The encounters that Ponyville had with Lord Tirek taught him that he needed to be ready to assist the family if another Crisis was going to occur.

“It is… But you need to put in as much determination in it as you do with everything else in your life. But that’s only after the Element your Life Force represents accepts you. I promise to explain it tomorrow.” With that, Ember was gone in a small burst of flames that simmered out quickly in the dirt that was in front of Big Mac.

Canterlot

“Wub a dub dub motherbuckers!” Yelled the Unicorn named Vinyl Scratch as she fired another beam of Electronic wubs at the royal guards. “Geez, and here I thought we would of gotten out of here without drawing the guards out.”

“Well, it’s not like blasting Luna and Rainbow Dash in the face with wubs helped us.” Said the human named Erica; who was firing a barrage of sorcery bullets at the last remaining guards. “I think that’s all of them-.”

Before Erica could breath a sigh of relief, she turned to see a hand grab her in the face and ram her into a nearby building. That hand being from the closed eyed Pyromancer that grabbed her. She had felt the shift in Life Force and feeling none from the unconscious guards that were scattered across the Plaza and used her powers to narrow in on the assailant’s location and give them a surprise attack. However, opening her eyes now, she let go of the girl she grabbed hold of and stepped backwards.

She was looking at another human. The last time she saw another one was before she arrived here and that was over a thousand years ago. “Holy sh*t…”

“HEY! HANDS OFF ERICA, JERK!” Vinyl yelled as she fired at Ember. To her sudden surprise though, she blocked the blast with a thick wall of flames.

“Would you care to explain who you are and why you were attacking the guards?” Ember said, looking at the blue haired girl. Noticing Vinyl with her weapon, she turned her head to face her for a moment. “Oh… and may I remind you that I’ve lived long enough to know when ponies such as yourself will try to attack me from my blind spot so I recommend you stay out of this.”

“Ok. One, don’t tell me what to do. I get that a lot from the royal guards when they arrested me from time to time. And second, we were sent to the Canterlot dungeon because Princess Moonbutt sent Erica to jail for no reason.” She said still pointing her gun at Ember.

Ember sighed. “Typical for one to not think first before they act. The city’s tensions are already running high due to what happened in Tartarus and what you two are doing is adding fuel to that fire. If you let me help you, I’ll make sure you don’t receive any time behind bars. But… if you even think about pulling that trigger…” The Mancer picked up a pipe on the ground, using her powers to melt it into a molten pile of hot liquid. “Then your toy will have the same fate as that pipe.”

When it came to situations like these, Ember was firm with her tone and speech. Any sign of weakness would show to them that she wasn’t saying the truth. The Pyromancer was trying to show that she meant business. Soon, Princess Luna was arriving around the corner as she began to screech to a halt.

“I found you fiends-!! Wait… Ember? What are you doing here?”

“I felt a disturbance in Life Force energy and came to investigate. From what I know so far, this seems to be a simple misunderstanding given their stories.”

“But the pony that called the guards said that this girl was taking hostages-!”

“Yes and almost all of the citizens in the city are still in a emotional state of fear after Tirek penetrated through the castle walls. Did you consider that? Also, I don’t feel any negative force from them.”

What Ember meant just now was in relation to Life Force energy. There were both positive and negative types of this energy and it all focused on personality, emotions, and behaviors. After hearing Vinyl’s story, Ember felt both the Unicorn and the girl’s Life Force being positive. Therefore, she could tell that they were telling the truth.

“How should we deal with this then?” The Princess asked. “If what you say is true, then how can they prove it?”

“Did you ask possible witnesses?” Ember asked.

The thought just went across the Princesses mind, remembering the talk she had with two of the Witnesses inside the cafe they were in. Two friends named Lyra and BonBon. “We did… and given Ms. Scratch’s story…… They’re all the same.”

She turned towards the Unicorn as Ember helped Erica get up on her feet, apologizing for her actions that she took against them. “What should they do now, Ember?”

“Well, If Vinyl has a place to stay, then Erica should stay with her.”

“H-hey!! Don’t I get a say in this!?!”

“I think you would prefer the bed in a guest room than a guard's cell.” Ember told the human. “Still though, when you get a bit familiar with your surroundings, come find me at Sweet Apple Acres. I would like to talk to you when you have the opportunity.”

Erica just nodded her head as Ember walked away, disappearing in a shift of flames. Vinyl had only one response to what just happened though.

“Okay, who the buck was that!?!”

“That, my little pony, was Ember Valkyr.” Luna told them. “The Tortured Phoenix.”

“Huh… eh. What eve’s just tell us where the guest room is so I can relax for a bit.”

Luna sighed. “I think when she meant guest room… she meant your friends guest room.”

The only thing that could be heard for miles was the outcry of agony from Vinyl Scratch that could be heard for miles. “NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!”

Back at Sweet Apple Acres…

When Ember returned from Canterlot, she was greeted with a surprise. Big Mac was there with two other mares, who she had found out were his little sisters. Both of them were surprised to find out that the mancer was actually their great Aunt and the filly had a lot of questions for her. Mostly related to if she had a cutie mark. The older one of the two was surprised to know that everything that Ember told them was actually the truth.

The human later found out the names of the two mares. Applejack and Applebloom. She also was surprised to find out that Applejack was one of the Elements of Harmony that Luna and Celestia had explained to her the night before. Quite an accomplishment if she thought so herself.

Later though, as the sun fell and the moon rose, Ember and her newfound family had finished eating dinner and Ember was just stargazing out on the Orchard. She liked to do so in order for her to clear her mind and stay focused. But, to her surprise, she wasn’t alone.

“Heyah Embah.” She rose up from the ground to find Applejack standing right in front of her. “Mind if I join ya?”

Ember nodded, offering her a spot to sit on the grassy hillside. After sitting down though, Applejack began to speak again. “Ya know… I wanted to ask ya something. Something that has been bothering me a little.”

The Mancer raised an eyebrow. “Bothering you?”

“Yeah. Big Mac said that ya knew Great Uncle Red, but ya also knew Granny Smith when she was a filly. Ah don’t know the slightest about Magic, but from what ah know, there’s a severe gap in how far apart those are time wise if ya know what I mean.”

Ember sighed. She never thought anypony would bring that up. “And you want to know how that’s possible?”

“Eeyup.”

“...... It all started with when I met Red and his brother a long time ago. The three of us were forced into a labor camp to mine for gems and coal along with hundreds of others. At one point though, when I refused to kill a buffalo that tried to steal food from the camp, the pony in charge decided to kill Red instead. That made me snap and in a split second, my rage caused the creation of the Badlands. But it didn’t stop there. When the Badlands were formed, something else was created. Something that I honestly never expected was possible. For when I save Golden again, it was over nine hundred years later. As it turns out, when he was trying to seek shelter from a raging dust storm, he entered an enchanted cave called the Tunnel of Time. In there, the flow of time was much faster than in the real world. Twenty four seconds in there was twenty four years out in the real world. He had only spent almost ten minutes in there and when he came out, nine centuries had passed in the blink of an eye. I was lucky enough to find him then and help him block off the entrance to the cave so nopony else could enter it, but after that, I helped him over the next few months in being able to turn his life around and get it back on track. I helped him start a family again, built a home for him and helped him take care of Granny before I moved on. But the one thing I regret the most from this, Applejack, is that I never got the chance to say goodbye to him.”

Applejack was speechless. Despite how crazy this whole thing sounded like, she did not feel anything that would make her think that she was lying. This whole thing was all true. But still, something else didn’t add up. “What about you though? How long have you been around?”

“Over a thousand years. In a way, I can’t age. I don’t know if it’s because of me coming here or if it’s because of the powers I inherited, but I have learned many things over the years that I’ve been here. I’ve helped many ponies like you. Now… I want to do what I can to help you and your family AJ. For my sake… as well as Golden and Reds. I feel like I owe it to them to help your family as much as possible.”

The Element of Honesty did not know what to say. But then, actions always speak louder than words. With that, Applejack surprised Ember by hugging her in a warm embrace. The human was wondering why she was doing it… until she heard Applejack say something to her.

“Thank you……” The Mare told her. “Thank you for helping mah family grow and thrive to what it has become today. Welcome home, Aunt Ember. Welcome to the family.”

Ember didn’t know what to say. Instead, she returned AJ’s hug with one of her own. “You’re welcome, AJ. I’m glad to have found a place that I could call home.”

End Chapter 3

4- Stoneskin

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Stoneskin

Sweet Apple Acres

That night, Big Mac felt restless. It wasn’t because of fear or excitement. Actually, he didn’t know why he was like this. Maybe it was because he was scared. Scared of what though? Maybe it was because of not knowing what to expect. It was around an hour or so til the sun came up and he couldn’t sleep anymore. Turns out though, the stallion wasn’t the only one who was wide awake.

From his bedroom window, he saw his Aunt, The human named Ember Valkyr; on the front porch. She was playing around with her “fingers” and creating small balls of flame that would disappear seconds later. Seeing that there wasn’t a need for him to be sitting around in his room like this, the stallion walked down to the porch and joined her. “Mornin’.”

“Ah, Hello there Mac. Couldn’t sleep?”

“Eeyup.”

“Happens to me as well.” The human told him. “I sleep for a long time, but I always happen to wake up an hour or so before Celestia raises the sun.”

“Y’know Celestia?” Big Mac asked at the mentioning of the Alicorn.

“Only met her recently after I reunited with Philomena only two days ago. Besides that, I had only heard bits and pieces of information here and there.” Ember said. “Hey… since we are up, maybe we can get started.”

Big Mac raised an eyebrow, puzzled. “Started on what?”

“Figuring out your Life Force. You asked me if it was possible that you could have the capabilities of controlling Life Force, so it’s time to test you.”

The Red Stallion gulped. “T-test me?”

“Yeah, but it’s a simple one.” Ember said as she took out two pieces of paper, setting one by Mac’s hoof and holding the other one. “This paper is helping us with the first step. It’s enchanted to where it’ll react to you and tell what you can possibly control.”

“What are the possibilities?”

“There are five in total.” Ember said, holding her paper until it burned up to ashes. “If you control fire, the paper will burn. Those that control water will soak the paper. Wind users cause the paper to cut in half. Lightning users would cause the paper to crinkle up and earth users would make the paper crumble away. Put your hoof on the paper and close your eyes, then open them when I tell you too.”

Following her instructions, Mac did so. Placing his hoof on the paper. It felt weird at first, but then, after a few seconds, it felt like he was standing on normal ground again.

“Now, open your eyes.”

He did so. The stallion could not see anything in the minimal light that was cast upon the setting. “Ah don’t think it worked. Ah don’t see anything.”

“Actually, it did.” Ember told him. She brushed up some of the dirt under his hoof to see scraps of the fibers that made up the material. “It crumbled underneath your hooves. You have a powerful Life Force Mac and we just figured out what it is. You are an Earth user. What I would call a “Stoneskin”.”

Around now though, Ember was beginning to feel something course through her. She felt a pulling sensation along with a small headache as she dropped to a knee. Big Mac himself was a little worried about his Aunt, but became a little more concerned as she was pulled by an unknown force and disappeared in a brief flash. All that he heard next was only a few words.

Don’t worry… She’ll be back soon.

The Forge (Ultron’s Equestria)

“I can’t believe how much this place was destroyed.” Luna said as she picked something made of metal up. The mane six had came with by Luna’s request to Ultron forge and now were helping him clean it up.

“Well, I kinda had to fight my prototypes after all.” The metal man said. Pinkie Pie pulled out a old box and almost fell over from it. A feather was seen flying out from it. Ultron saw it as it landed.

“What’s that? It looks like a Phoenix feather.” Twilight said. Ultron scanners picked up similar anomalies in the feather as the fang and the black orb.

“I think I may know what it could be. Give me a moment.” He said as he walked into another room. The tokens recording then was heard on his ears.

I am Ember Valkyr, The Tortured Phoenix. Call upon me and my pain and rage will turn your enemies to ash.

It wasn’t until long that Pinkie herself, since she found the feather in the box, got closer to it and the feather tickled her nose. Her nose began to twitch a little.

“Aaaaah… ACHOO!!”

That single sneeze caused the feather to glow an almost fire like color inside the room Ultron was in along with the pony who sneaked in.

Ultron glared at the Pink Anthro pony. ‘Note to self: proof my forge against her.’

The feather soon gave way to a fiery vortex. Ultron took the time to study it for all it was worth. Even the shortest of scan would be most helpful for him. A figure came out the vortex and landed right in front of him. “What is it?” Pinkie asked.

Ultron knew what it was but didn’t think it was possible. “A human.”

The human that was on the floor slowly began to wake up. Ember was unsure of what just happened. For one thing, the Life Force energies in the room weren’t normal. For one thing, the signatures they were giving off were similar in rhythm, but the pacing was different. Her eyes opened up. The first thing that he saw was feet.

Metallic feet. Like a machine or robot.

“What the f-?”

Standing there was a machine or robot who was looking down at her. It looked human in designed. It was tall easily taller than any human could ever be. The biggest thing about it was its Life Force. It actually had life force. Its life force was almost human yet was so off it might have well been alien for all she knew. The machine opened his mouth. “Hello, I am Ultron.” Ultron answered.

Ember’s first reaction was to move backwards and create some distance between this Ultron and her as Fire formed from her hands. “Okay, what kind of messed up dream is this? Because the last I remembered, Ponies don’t walk on two hooves.”

Ultron turned to Pinkie Pie. “Get out of here.” He said, Pinkie nodded and leaved..

Ultron turned to her with his hands raised he used magic to pull out the black orb and fang. Ember eyes had widened, this machine was using magic? “I believe it's not a dream, this is very much real.” He turned to her. “Have you ever heard of Multiverse theory? The theory states that there are possibly other universes-.”

“I know what the hell that is-! It’s something that’s part of some Displaced crap or something along those lines.” Ember’s flames were now getting hotter, now conjuring magma. “Now, I want answers or I’ll melt your heart!!”

Ultron rolled his eyes. He gave a quick scan of her body and make up. “If you do that the Magic reactor will explode with enough force to rip your cells apart.”

“So what? I’m over a thousand years old and my rage created the badlands!! You think your threats are going to intimidate me!?!” Ultron blinked.

“That wasn’t a threat, the reactor literally would kill you.” Ultron decided that this wasn’t going to get him anywhere. He sent a sign to have something ready if this gets ugly.

“Look lets calm down-.”

In front of Ember, something drifted between her eyes. The Phoenix feather that brought her here. Her eyes widened upon seeing it. The flames she conjured were soon dispersed as she caught it. “P-phyrron?” She spoke softly.

Ultron was confused. He pulled up his files on that name. A old memory in his data banks. He remember Phyrron. “I’m get the feeling something else is different about our realities.” He knew Phyrron was still alive as his satellites picked up the Phoenix colony had grown under his leadership.

“What is that suppose to mean?”

“By your shock, I get the feeling Phyrron is dead in your reality. In mine he is leader of the Phoenix colony.”

“Phyrron is the reason for my powers. He had me inherit them and raise Philomena as he was dying. That’s how come I’ve been alive so long.”

Ultron found that both fascinating and sad. “So the flames you are using is Phoenix flames?” Ultron asked, his forge use to have Phoenix fire to melt the metal. “So, you say you are a thousand year old as well?’

Ember nodded. “Trust me, you don’t want to hear my tale. There’s a reason that I’m called The Tortured Phoenix.” She was flexing her hands, having fire come out of them every few minutes or so. “Because it wasn’t until just now that I felt like I was putting my life back together.”

Ultron decided he’ll be first with introductions. “Well I’ll go first. I am Ultron and alongside my friends, Celestia and Luna; we once wield the Elements of harmony against a mad god called Discord.” That was strangely familiar. “However I been kind of in a coma for a thousand years, I tried to talk my Luna out of becoming Nightmare Moon, she destroyed my old body and now.” Ultron finished. “I was awakened just after Discord was re imprisoned. you?”

Ember sighed. “For the first five years of my new life in Equestria, I had raised Philomena. But then, in the San Palomino Desert, I was captured by Bandits when they wanted to get the phoenix since their feathers make a fortune on the black market. I was forced to work in a coal and gem mine for years alongside two other ponies who were captured. Red and Golden Apple. However, when I refused to kill a young Buffalo who stole food from the camp, the head stallion in charged killed Red in cold blood. That… was when my rage went off. Burning everypony that was torturing us and turning the peaceful lands that we were once in into the Badlands. As time passed, more events played on, but over nine hundred years later, I was personally shocked to find that Golden Apple… was alive. He had stumbled upon a place called the Tunnel of Time, where every twenty four seconds in there was twenty four years out here. Nine centuries went by in a matter of minutes. So, I helped him turn his life around and it wasn’t until recently, that I found out that Golden Apples dying wish was for me to be part of the family. Now, his daughter; Granny Smith, helps me raise my Nephew and two nieces. Big Mac, Applejack. and Applebloom. Not to mention that I found Philomena again.”

Ultron realized she had a hard life. He saw a ball the old prototype heart in his hands. “Here if you need any help just call.” He said handing her his orb. She nodded, taking the orb for her to hold. Soon, the fiery vortex that was how she originally arrived formed again. She began to walk towards it, but then turned around. Looking at Ultron and Applejack, who Ultron had not seen walk into the room. “Ember. Ember Valkyr. That’s my name. I’m a Valkyrie. Use the feather to call upon me when you need me. Thanks by the way.” Ultron nodded and waved good bye.

“Thanks for having me see things clearly. Now, I need to return to Applejack and the others. Don’t want my niece back in my world to freak out about me going missing.”

With that, she went into the vortex as the churning pathway closed. Ultron himself felt relieved for a minute. Until he heard something behind him.

“Now, What’s this about me being her Niece?”

Damn it… He hated it when having to explain these things.

Sweet Apple Acres (Ember’s world)

By the time Ember came back, it was still partially dark and Big Mac was still on the porch. She caught the stallion by surprise as the Mancer emerged. “Sorry for Startling you.”

“Startlin’ me? Yah scared me to death with that Vanishing Act of yours!” The Stallion told her. “Matter of fact, what the hay was that?” Ember sighed. She had a big explanation ahead of her and it might be a bit much for her niece to handle. But he seemed to be the guy to take these kind of things well. Guess there was no other choice at this rate.

“I was summoned.”

“S-summoned?” Big Mac asked, confused.

“Yes. There are others who got brought to their own versions of Equestria who can summon each other using tokens.” She showed her phoenix feather just to demonstrate. “I don’t know much about them, but I believe both of us will learn more about it over time. Right now though, let’s keep this as a secret between the both of us. Okay?”

The Red Stallion nodded his head in agreement as the Mancer smiled. “Alright. Now, lets continue on where we were before that.”

“Right, somethin’ about bein a Stoneskin?” Big Mac asked. Ember nodded her head as she sat down on the ground.

“That’s right. An Earth User. Or what I would call a Terramancer.”

“Terror?” He responded, a little concern in his voice.

“No, not Terror. Terra… with an A. It’s a word that means Land. Your abilities reflect the Land around you and the ground you trot on. You can move the earth with your hooves and bend it to your will. Your strength has been enhanced too. A Terramancer use their skills in Offense and Defense even though most of their skills are used to form protective walls and barriers. As for myself, I’m what you may call a Pyromancer since I can control fire.”

“What are you capable of, Aunt Embah?” Big Mac then asked her, curious to find out his Aunt’s reply.

“Well, what I can do is mostly Offensive. But it doesn’t mean I can’t take a few pointers from the other elements. A thick wall of fire is just as effective of a defense as a Barrier of Rock. My abilities are more offensive though and I’ve had years to practice. Even though I’ve been figuring out new ways to control them recently. I would say that you are a balance between offense and defense and with practice, you can be just as strong as me.”

The light of Dawn was beginning to shine upon them as Ember dismissed her flames and the two of them began to watch the beautiful rising of the sun. Applejack was soon up as she joined the two of them for breakfast. Applejack was wanting to have breakfast early since she wanted to take the opportunity for Ember to meet her friends this morning. Applebloom herself was sleeping over with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo back at their clubhouse.

The hard part though for Ember was when she was walking through Ponyville. The whole time she was walking through the Town, she received nothing but deadpanned stairs. Mostly because it seemed that most of the Townsfolk was afraid of her. Given what happened with the Tirek Incident, Ember should’ve expected something like this.

“Here we are. Welcome to the Castle.” Applejack said as she trotted inside.

“Wow… It’s a lot bigger than I thought it would be.” Ember said as she followed the element of honesty.

“Wait til ya see what’s on the inside.” Applejack chuckled as the two of them entered the door. Immediately, they were greeted by the Chandelier that loomed overhead that was made of tree roots. Ember saw the Crystals hanging amongst the branches and was amazed to see that they were Crystalline Memories. Only a Unicorn advanced in Gem based Magic could create something like this.

“Good morning, Appleja-.” Came another voice, that was soon interrupted when it laid eyes on Ember. It was a Lavender Alicorn with a Purple mane that had two stripes of Pink going through it. “Oh… I did not expect any guests this morning.”

“My Apologies, Sugarcube. Mac hasn’t had a chance to see the Castle yet and I also wanted to introduce you to my Grand Aunt, Ember.”

“Ember, you say? You mean as in Philomena’s caretaker?”

Before Applejack could say anything, Ember then began to speak. “Yes, that is correct. My name is Ember Valkyr and I knew Philomena when she was a hatchling. In fact, I helped raise her for the first few years of her life.” She then looked up towards a nearby window on one of the upper floors and smiled. “Well, speak of the devil, here she is now.”

From the windowsill, Philomena swooped down majestically and landed on her shoulder, nuzzling her face into Embers neck. “Hehe… Looks like somebirdy is a bit playful this morning.” That’s when the Mancer turned towards the three of them and sighed. Quickly and lightly, Ember did the same procedure that she had done before with the Princesses and the Spirit of Chaos. Just a finger to the forehead is all that was needed.

“There we go. Sorry about this being so sudden, but it’s the only way that you can hear Philomena.”

“Wait a second, Sugarcube… Hear… Philomena?”

‘Greetings to you as well, Element of Honesty.’

Everypony in the room was shocked to hear that. “D-did she just-?”

‘Indeed, I did speak. Only certain gifted individuals like Ember and the Element of Kindness can hear me talk to them. But Ember has allowed you to hear my voice and also talk to me. I’m very appreciative to have the opportunity to talk to all of you.’ The Phoenix told them, showing her appreciation by landing nearby each of the three ponies in the room and nuzzling her head against their manes.

“Well… That’s a lot to take in… First, to find out that Ember is Applejack’s aunt and now she allowed us to talk to a phoenix… And I thought I had crazier mornings.”

The firebird now looked puzzled. The Pyromancer sighed, explaining to not just her, but also to the Princess the same thing that Granny Smith told her, AJ, Applebloom and Big Mac yesterday. In addition, she added on the explanation on how she was Philomena’s caretaker. That way, everypony knew her story. The story of The Tortured Phoenix.

“Wow…… I’m sorry you had to go through all of that hardship and pain.”

“It’s fine really,” Ember said in response to Twilight. “An old saying back from my home is What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. For me, I’ve learned from all of those experiences and they made me into the person that I am.”

“I’m concerned about one thing though,” Twilight continued. “What happened to Anivia? Matter of fact, how come she exists? I thought all phoenix’s were firebirds.”

‘Not quite, young Spark. You see, when the world was first formed, the planet was almost uninhabitable. The winters were below freezing and the summers were scorching hot, burning up any chance of nature to even exist. That’s when two creatures decided to do something about it. The Phoenix’s made sure to control the warmth of the sun while the Wendigo’s made sure to control the winters. However, with this position of Power, the Wendigo king was overcome by greed and wanted Equis in a neverending winter. Therefore, he was sealed off and the heart of the King was used to keep the season’s in check…… Tell me, are you familiar with the Mirror of the Crystal empire?’

Twilight and Applejack nodded while Big Mac just let the bird continue. ‘Well, the Mirror was once used for a different purpose. King Sombra had originally intended to use the mirror to draw out the darkness in the hearts of those who looked into it and have those shadows take form and be under his command. Like a copy of your negative self. The first one he tried it on was actually my mother, Phyrra. From her, a phoenix of Ice was formed from the mirror with one set goal in mind and it was not to serve under Sombra. Instead, her goals were to eliminate every phoenix in the world. A massive genocide. I had thought that she had faded away after the night she snapped my mothers neck and my father sacrificed himself to protect me. But… something makes me feel like Anivia is watching me… Waiting for herself to get stronger so she could finish the job.’

And waited I have, Spawn of Phyrron.

The hairs on Ember’s neck began to stand on end as she turned around. Up above her, on the ledge by the Chandelier was the Cryophoenix. Her wings were crystalline and the surface that she had used as a perch was slowly beginning to freeze. A horn like crystal and a crystal around her neck hummed with Magic as she looked down on the five of them.

“It has been far too long since I had last quenched the thirst I get from killing one of your kind. But, with the newfound power I gained, it would be far too easy to do so.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

The Phoenix just laughed as she pointed at the crystal on her head and around her neck. “See these? They were two out of three crystals that I had infused into myself that came from the heart of the Wendigo king. The third was taken from me, but it doesn’t really matter now does it? You should be thankful that I’m letting you live, but I’ll be leaving you with a grim reminder of what I’m truly capable of.”

With that, the Cryophoenix took off from the ledge and disappeared, dropping something onto a cushion that was in the room. It was something encased in Ice, but it wasn’t until Twilight went over there and saw what was frozen there that she began to panic.

“SPIKE!!!”

End Chapter 4

5- Bring me to life

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Bring me back to life

Castle of Friendship

“SPIKE!!!”

Both the Alicorn and the two earth ponies scrambled to the side of the baby dragon in order to try and help him. He was encased in a tomb of solid ice, frozen alive by the Cryophoenix that slipped in here undetected by anypony inside or outside the castle. Twilight herself tried to use her own magic, only to get bounced backwards and into a wall of the castle. Applejack herself was going to try and break it with her hooves, but stopped when Ember put her hand right in front of it.

“Stop, That’s not going to work!!”

“Well, Ah can’t just stand here and do nothin’!!” Applejack shot back.

“Then help me then.” Ember told her niece as she began to surround the icicle in a warm flame. Slowly, the fire was able to do something that Twilights magic could not. The Fire began to slowly melt the ice away, thawing the baby Dragon that was inside. “Even though my fire can melt the ice, I need something to get his body temperature back up. Princess, do you have any gems on you?”

“Y-yeah but-.”

“Well, I need them now. Gems to a dragon are like logs to a campfire. He needs to have them if you want him to survive.”

Twilight herself was surprised. She did not know about that. But now was not the time to ponder on newly discovered information. The Princess needed to do this if she wanted her Assistant to be okay. Swiftly, she teleported into the castle’s kitchen and grabbed the sack of gems in the cabinet. Flying back with her wings, she tossed them to Ember, who caught them with one hand. Spike was fully thawed out of the ice, but now came the hard part of this emergency operation. Ember had to have the Dragon digest the gems, which meant she had to move his jaw to simulate a chewing motion as she fed him a Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald and a Topaz to finish it off.

After a few minutes, Spikes closed eyes sprang open as he rose upward, coughing a little. “W-what? What…… happened?”

“Oh Spike!!” Twilight was so relieved that she tightly gave Spike a hug that would resemble a hug from Pinkie Pie. She had been worried for the past ten minutes if he was okay, but now, she was beyond relieved. “Y-you scared me!”

“S-scared you? But I was only taking a nap upstairs. Matter of fact, why am I wet?” The little dragon looked around a little, confused before walking back upstairs to go dry off and return to reading the unfinished Power Ponies Issue he had upstairs. Now, Applejack and Big Mac were looking towards Ember, who had Philomena on her shoulders.

“One moment, he’s Frozen in ice and the next moment, he can’t remember a thing? What in tarnations is that all about?”

‘My guess is that Anivia erased any memories of his encounter with her so that way nopony could follow her trail. Which means, we don’t have any clues on where she could possibly be or what she’s doing.’

“Actually, I think I have an answer for the last part.” Ember said as the ponies looked at her. “She said that she had infused herself with two pieces of the Wendigo heart. Which means that she’s looking for whoever has the final piece she needs.”

“But what’s tha big deal with this Wendigo Heart or whatever it’s called?” Applejack asked.

‘Clearly, you didn’t remember my explanation from before, but let me make this simple. Whoever controls the heart can have the power to turn the world into the literal definition of the Phrase ‘Hell has Frozen Over’.' Philomena explained again. ‘It was the reason why the heart was broken into three pieces. Because of how powerful the artifact was.’

Now that was a big deal. Especially after the fiasco that happened at the last Winter Wrap up. Nopony would want the world to become frozen over. “Where do you think the piece could be?”

‘When it was split up, the three pieces were sent to the coldest regions in the world. The First was Cantartica at the southern Hemisphere. The Second was the region of Neighpal in the southeast. The Last one was said to be deep within the caves of the Crystal Empire. Possibly near the Equator. But given the defeat of Sombra, the circumstances might change.’

Philomena was right. Due to the dark king’s defeat, a lot of Tectonic activity occurred in the days that followed. Everything these days was calm, but it was unknown if that last piece was somehow coughed up during those days.

“We should prepare ahead just in case.” Ember said. “Philomena, return to Celestia and informed her of what occurred. Twilight, can you send a letter to Princess Cadence requesting me to meet her? Something tells me that we have a trip to the Crystal Empire in our future. Plus, Big Mac, follow me please. We’re going to get a head start-.”

Philomena herself left while Twilight was preparing a letter to send, but the Alicorn stopped once Ember began to speak about Big Mac. “Wait… Forgive me for being so abrupt, but what do you mean about getting a head start?”

“With Training of course. Mac here is strong enough like me to control a force in nature using Life Force energy. However, his element is Earth and we just discovered it this morning. If Anivia is planning to do something, and I believe she is, then ALL of us need to be ready.” Ember told her as they walked outside. However, what they found outside was not exactly what any of them would expect.

Ember was looking at the same girl who she saw in Canterlot yesterday tear apart a metal suit of armor to shreds with her Cloth turned weapon.

“That’s what you get for trying to hurt my friends, tin man!!!”

Ember sighed, facepalming herself. “Well, looks like we meet again, Ms. Erica.”

The Blue hair girl now turned around to face the Mancer, the Princess and the Two earth ponies. “Oh……oops.”

“What took you idiots so long to get here?” Said Vinyl, who jumped off of Erica’s back. “I’m surprise you didn’t hear the gunshots and cannon fire tin man over here fired off.” She said as she spat up some of her own blood onto the remains of The Captain of the Knights. “Figures whenever something like this happens you Princesses are late to the party.”

“Ember, how do you know this girl?” Twilight then asked the Mancer as the girl sighed.

“Yesterday, they caused a ruckus in Canterlot because some Townsfolk that were still fearful of what happened with Lord Tirek thought that Erica was holding ponies hostage when she was only talking to them inside a Cafe. If I hadn’t shown up, the list of charges against them would’ve grown much bigger.”

“Oh really? List them then!!” Vinyl retorted.

Ember stretched her back muscles as he named them off one by one. “Property Damage, Assault with a deadly weapon, multiple noise complaints, bunch of innocent bystanders and lastly…… Sexual Harassment.”

“...... I’m not apologizing.”

Ember rolled her eyes as she looked at the two of them. “To put it lightly, you two would’ve been locked up in the Canterlot Dungeon if I weren’t there to help clear things up. Which means two things… One, you owe me an apology and two, you better thank me for saving both of your flanks.”

“Hey! I didn’t ask for you to save us! And for the record, we were doing just fine on our own in Canterlot that day-.”

“Should I remind you of the fact that you blasted Princess Luna in the Face with your Toy, Ms. Scratch?”

“It’s not a toy you jerk! And it her fault for locking us up just because of that scared pony. I mean who does that just because of the way Erica looks?”

“Anypony who is still afraid. Besides her, I’m the only other human here. So with that in mind, I’ll leave you two to get a lecture from Princess Sparkle. In the meantime, I need to be able to help train my nephew. Come on, Big Mac.”

“Coming, Aunt Embah!”

“How pathetic.” Said the Armor knight. “To think humans like yourselves would serve the-.”

Before the knight could say anything else, Ember melted the suit of metal with her Magma abilities til it was nothing more than just a core. “I hate it when people are trying to monologue before they are defeated.”

“.......You idiot.” Said Erica. “We could of figure out who sent him, and why he was after me.”

“I know exactly who from the looks of it. The Crystals that are in the Armors eye sockets explain everything. It was Anivia’s doing so she could test you. Now, I believe that core is somehow familiar to you, so I’ll leave the princess to you while I attend to something with my family members.”

“Wait so this Anivia guy is working with the Mad Queen as well?” Asked Vinyl. “Cause I don’t know who they both are, but tin man here kept on say ‘for the glory of the mad queen’... a lot.”

“Two things. One, Anivia is a girl. A female Cryophoenix for that matter. Two, It could be a simple case of Mind Control.” Twilight replied as Ember left the scene with Applejack and Big Mac. “Come inside and I’ll catch you two up to speed on everything so far.”

“Great…..why do I get the feeling she’s going to ask me a lot of questions?” Asked Erica.

“You should’ve seen the question list she had for me when she found my wubstep gun.”

Crystal Empire (Unknown Location)

He felt exhausted. His hands were worn down to the bone as he was panting for air. The garments he use to have along his upper body were taken from him along with his other possessions like the shoes on his feet. Like the other children who were taken to work as slaves for an Illegal Mining Operation in the Town of Coalson, this being was forced to work alongside them. To serve as an example for what happens if you misbehave or disrespect the Stallion in charge. It was easy to do that with a figure that had resemblances to a Diamond Dog, but wasn’t completely one.

But today, things were different for the Wolf Excedian that was in the cave. A small discovery that he personally made helped restore hope to his soul. Made him think that he could be free. But if he were to be free, then all the other Colts, Fillies, and younglings that were taken from their homes must be freed too. It would be painful and also cruel to leave them behind. But, for this to work, he needed to break himself free of his restraints.

His hands and feet were chained up in a special kind of restraint that the handlers would normally put on Unicorns. So that way it would prevent them from casting Magic. For him, it just limited him from using his full strength. However, if he were to give these Criminals a true taste of the pain they caused, he needed to break free.

Outside, he heard a few of the Stallions out there talking amongst one another. “Hey Onyx. You left the Mutt inside the cave again.”

“Seriously? Why is it my turn to go get him!?”

“Because Eride and I already had to deal with him for the past two weeks and you know the bosses rules. A new pony tends to him every week.”

“Ugh, Fine… He’s probably passed out on the ground anyways.” The other stallion grunted as he was heard trotting towards the cave the wolf was in. He got himself in position. Lying against the cave walls like he was passed out. The black crystalline pony trotted in, saddle bag in tow. He grunted in disbelief, cursing to himself as he tried to nudge the wolf awake with a hoof. That single motion was what the Wolf needed to spring a trap on him, taking the chains on his hands and wrapping them around the pony’s neck. After a few seconds, “Onyx” passed out on the ground.

One down, seven to go.

Moving quickly, The Wolf went to the stallions saddlebag and opened it up. He was relieved to see a keyring inside the bag and after some trial and error, he freed himself from his restraints. He could feel his energy flowing through him like water as he opened the other side of the saddlebag. To his surprise, he found his garments inside the bag. A sleeveless cyan shirt and a Sleeveless Turquoise jacket. Nothing much, but it does help keep his fur protected from the brutal cold of the Blizzards that occur here. Speaking of which, one was occurring right now. A perfect way for him to catch them by surprise.

Putting the crystal pony in a Ice like Cocoon, the wolf stepped out of the cave. He was Bipedal in appearance, had two hands, feet, was about a little below 5ft 10in in height and had a set of Quills on the front and back of his head. His front set consisted of three spikes that were in between his Ice like eyes and the back set had two top quills pointing straight behind him, another two pointing up at the first set and the last set pointing straight down at the ground. The Back quills also had bits of fur that resembled snow.

“Hey, Where’s Onyx? He should be back by now!”

“Crap.” The Wolf cursed. He could feel the presence of the others in the camp heading towards him. But this also served as a perfect chance to knock all of them out at once. Clapping his hands together, he slammed his right hand into the ground and a Runic Sigil began to glow underneath him. Seconds later, A barrage of Frozen Spikes formed from underneath each of the incoming slave handlers and froze them in place. They had no idea what was coming at them.

Seeing that all his opponents as of right now were all unconscious, it meant that one more enemy remained. The one guarding the other workers. The Wolf began to run on all fours to increase his speed, using his sense of smell to track their location. Finally, when he found the last one, the Excedian sprung forth and tackled them to the ground. Startling the Stallion.

“Y-your the Wolf-!! What the hay did you-?”

The Excedian froze the pony’s mouth and sighed. “Your comrades are all unconscious and will soon be facing the same punishment that you will face for the Crimes you have committed.” With that, he knocked him out with a fist to the face. Grabbing the Keyring from his saddlebag, Frost unlocked the door to the house the final stallion was guarding. After looking around a little and finding the place where these ponies had stored all of their important supplies, he used the same key again to open up the door to the basement. Where he found all the Children that the Slave handlers had foalnapped over the course of three long months.

“W-who are you-?” One of them shrieked as they stared at him.

“It’s okay… I mean no harm. The ones that took you away from your homes are knocked out and I plan to bring them to the Crystal Guard so they can be locked up for the crimes they’ve committed. Is everypony okay?”

Most of them said yes, but Frost could tell otherwise. The conditions in this place were horrible. Barely any food or water, no clothes or blankets to keep them warm, and some looked like they were on the brink of death. “Anypony who is strong enough to stand on their own hooves, come follow me. Bring everypony up here too. Your foalnappers have Medical supplies, food and water up here in the kitchen and there’s wood in the fireplace to warm yourselves up with. Once everypony is able to move, we’ll make our way to the Crystal Empire as soon as possible.”

Everypony in the room soon began to scramble upstairs in a mad dash as they raided the shelves for whatever supplies they could find. One of the older mares in the camp named Pearl and a colt named Valiance soon trotted up alongside the wolf. “Thank you…… I don’t know what we could’ve done without you.”

“One of us had to stand up for everypony else.”

“True… Oh, that reminds me, you never told us your name. What is it?”

The wolf smiled a little as he looked at the colt that asked the question to him. “Frost. My name is Frost Shinekuya.”

“Mr. Frost, why is it that you decided to help us all out?” Valiance asked.

“We all deserve the chance to be free. Otherwise, we’re all like a bunch of puppets. Tangled in the strings that bind us. Now that we’re free, they’re no more strings on us.”

Pearl smiled and Valiance happily hugged the wolf. Frost felt glad to be helping these ponies. Nopony had to go through this kind of suffering. Over the course of the day as they waited for the blizzard to die down, the children helped each other, played together, ate together and sang as a way to thank their savior. As night fell though, all of them were now standing outside. Their captives were on a frozen sleigh that Frost had conjured using his powers. The trek to the crystal empire was going to be a long one…

So why not get a head start? They have a long journey ahead of them after all. Things don’t come to those who wait, but instead come to those who take action and priority. Right now, Frost, Pearl, Valiance and the others behind them were going to travel to the Empire to reunite the ponies with their families.

The march of the children had begun. The march to return them home.

End Chapter 5

6- Friendly Advice

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Friendly Advice

Sweet Apple Acres

It was the morning of a new day as Ember was up bright and early with Big Macintosh in order to help him with his Mancer training. It had been a couple of days since when they first began and with Applejack, Applebloom and her Friends down in Appleloosa to help with the Rodeo that was there, it gave the two of them some extra time to practice. For Ember, her biggest challenge was helping Mac get started with controlling his powers before going into any advanced teachings. Elements to Mancers were like colors on a color wheel. Besides the primary colors, two of them can form complementary colors and so on.

The same thing occurred with Elements. Control over Earth and Fire could lead to controlling Lava or Magma. Wind and Lightning along with Water can allow a Mancer to manipulate the weather like a Pegasus. Ice and Fire could lead to the creation of a blue flame called Cryofire, which contained the properties of both elements that the user can switch between at will, but it required years of experience in order to master. Same went for seeing the earthen minerals inside of metallic surfaces like Steel, Gold and Silver

But right now, the basics was all that was needed for a pony like Big Mac. They could get into the Advanced sections later when the time was needed. As of right now, the current test that Ember was having the Stallion perform was for him to concentrate and be in tune with his element. Which of course, was no easy task. He had to feel the energy of the earth underneath him in order for him to pull it off successfully. Now though, as he slowly moved his hoof onto the ground like he was stomping it, a earthen pillar was formed on his left hoof side.

Ember clapped her hands, congratulating him. “Well done, Mac. You’re getting the hang of this for being a beginner.”

“Thanks, Aunt Embah.” Big Mac sighed a bit, relieved. “But ah have a question for you…”

“Well shoot, go ahead and ask then.” Ember told him. “No need to be shy.”

“How were you able to make that flower with ya flames two day ago?” The Stallion asked. “Something like that ain’t going to be easy to create.”

“You’re right. But there’s a small trick that I’ve learned while controlling my powers that has helped me learn to do those kind of things. In fact, a certain Draconequus might see it as similar to how his Chaos Magic works. Try to picture what you want in your mind before expending the Life Force needed to make your object out of stone. You're only limited by your imagination, your Life Force, and the amount of Focus you put into it.” Ember demonstrated what she meant by putting her hands together and soon forming a replica of Applejack’s cutie mark out of her flames. With all three apples burning brightly before she dismissed it a few seconds later.

“See what I mean?”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded.

“Now, can you apply what I just said to what you already know?” The Pyromancer then asked him. The Stallion nodded, adding on with a simple “I can try” to add onto it. She was quite impressed when he was able to Form a dome around himself using his training after a few minutes.

“Impressive. But there's one thing I believe we can work on.”

“What’s that?”

“Timing. You need to be quick on your hooves when using Life Force. Nopony is going to wait around while you try to attack them with something. We need to quicken the pace and have it to where you don’t need to wait as long in order for you to attack with your abilities. This… also gives me an idea.”

“An idea?”

“Try focusing your Life force into the same motions you use when Applebucking. Maybe that’ll help.”

“That… is actually clever. Give me a sec.” Big Mac soon prepared himself, arching his back legs and stretching them out. He then concentrated his Life Force into his Back legs and A pillar that resembled a closed hoof surged from the ground at a diagonal angle instead of straight up like before. To add onto it, the stallion slammed his back hooves into the ground, making the surrounding area shake as more of those hooves emerged in a rising motion.

“There we go! Somepony is getting the hang of it!! Great job, Mac!”

“Thanks!” Was all Big Mac could say before he got back to practicing a little more. Still, the racket from outside attracted the attention of Granny Smith, who wanted Big Mac to quit fooling around and to get back to work on attending the crops on the farm. Ember herself chuckled as she saw the Stallion put his head down like a disappointed schoolfilly and trotted over to the apple trees. However, the Stallion now had an idea. One that Ember didn’t pay attention to. For she was on a walk towards the Everfree forest.

The Everfree forest was always a place that allowed Ember to calm herself when she needed to spend time to close her eyes and Meditate. Back home, she wouldn’t think that the practice would help her at all. But, as it turns out, meditation allowed for the Mancer to attune herself to nature and the elements around her. However, she wasn’t quite able to do that today because she met an unexpected individual on her walk over there. Specifically, in front of Fluttershy’s college.

“Well, Isn’t it the Girl on Fire. You look a little… warm today.”

It was Discord. Avatar of Chaos and master at making horrible jokes. “Very funny Discord… What brings you to this neck of the woods?” Ember asked, trying to return the joke with another joke of her own based on their location.

“ … Very clever, I have to admit. You know… You’re just the being that I need to talk to.” Ember herself was quite surprised with what he said. In fact, she thought that he was joking.

“Me? Why do you need to talk to me? I assumed that you live with Fluttershy based on what Philomena told me.”

“Well, you see, that’s the thing…… Have you ever heard of the Grand Galloping Gala?”

“Other than it being a sore example of Repetition, then no.” Ember answered, shaking her head. “It sounds like a celebration though.”

“It is… Hosted at the end of every year in Canterlot to celebrate the end of this year and the start of the next one. I was invited. But, when I was going to ask Fluttershy about if she wanted to come with me, she tells me that she was going with a new friend of hers that she made this week called… Tree Hugger? I think that was her name… Either that or Treesmok-.”

“Can you get to the point?” Ember asked, a little irritated by the Lord of Chaos’ rambling.

“Well… I’m starting to think that Tree Hugger is trying to take Fluttershy away from me. Something with her Medical procedures involving burning leaves or something-. Anyways, my point is that I’m concerned that she is trying to take away my only friend.”

At first, Ember raised an eyebrow, followed by a small series of chuckles as she looked at him. “Oh goddess, this is comical…”

“What’s so funny? Can’t you see that I’m in a real personal Dilemma here-!!”

“No… You’re not. I’m guessing you’re new to the whole thing involving friendship?”

“Been in reform for almost two years now.” He replied, lighting a #2 candle on top of a cupcake he conjured out of nothingness.

“Well, let me give you an extra lesson.” Ember sighed as she put her hands in her pockets. “Theres an old saying back where I’m from. It’s make new friends, but keep the old. Which means that anypony can have more than one friend, but it doesn’t mean that they’re replacing you. They’re just getting the chance to meet new people. Heck, you may become friends with them eventually.”

Discord scratched his chin, taking the thought into consideration. “You may be right, but I’m not sure… Something about her to me seems… off. Either that or it’s just my head being affected by that smell she reeked of earlier.”

“Suit yourself. Don’t be surprised if what I told you will come back to haunt you.”

“Heh… yeah right. I just need a good wingman… And I have just the perfect idea in mind.”

“And that’s my cue to leave. See you around, Dissy.” Ember teased as she walked back towards Sweet Apple Acres. Discord was surprised that the Mancer called him by a nickname. Could it be possible for him to become friends with her?

Meanwhile, for the Mancer, she had a few other things on her mind. One being a strange presence from the Everfree Forest. For now, she decided to ignore it. Because she had other priorities that were more important as she began to see flakes of snow begin to sprinkle from the clouds above her.

Winter had come… and with a family… comes Heart’s Warming… and Damn it all to hell, she didn’t have anything for the family that gladly accepted her as one of their own. She needed something spellbinding, but personal. That’s when she came across Twilight and another white Unicorn, who was using a spell that involved… gemstones?

“Hello Ember!” Twilight called out as the Mancer approached them.

“Good morning. How are you?”

“Okay, just scrambling a little with two days before Heart’s Warming. Oh, Rarity, I almost forgot. This is AJ’s Aunt I was telling you about earlier.”

“So you’re Ember? My my, your scarf is just so… Magnificent!!”

“Why thank you, I’m flattered.” Ember replied. “Actually, I was wondering if I could ask for your help Twilight. It’s about Heart’s Warming.”

“Really? What about it?”

“Well, since Applejack and Big Mac have accepted me into the family, I want to get them a gift that shows how much I appreciate their generosity. But I’m running thin on ideas. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Well, that depends really. What did you have in mind?” The Alicorn asked her.

“Well, I wanted it to be something that came from the heart and also be something they will cherish for years to come. Show them that I really care for them. They’re my nieces and Mac is my nephew for crying out loud. I don’t want to give them something cheap.”

“I agree. Something poorly made would just be disastrous!” Rarity boasted, using a levitation spell to move some gems into a different Saddlebag she had on her. Then… an Idea came to her.

“Ms. Rarity. Can I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

“I saw you using your magic with those gems of yours and I just had a crazy idea for a Heart's Warming gift. Do you know what a Firestone is?” A firestone was known as a very special gem that was made to look like living fire was trapped inside of it.

“My word!” Rarity exclaimed. “Why do you need such a beautiful gem such as that for!? It’s very rare to come across and almost impossible to make. Plus, I don’t think you would want to travel all the way to the Crystal Empire to find a jewelcrafter that can make that for you.”

“Well, I was remembering the Gems that were on the chandelier inside the castle and I was thinking of having something like that, but more focused on Applejack’s family. I was thinking a Firestone to be formed in the shape of an apple and have some kind of picture or something inside it that shows itself when the light reflects on it. If you have the crystals, I can provide the fire.”

“That… is just plain wonderful, darling! I am quite impressed by your ideas. Very well. I can help make that for you.” The Unicorn proclaimed. Using a spell, she formed several transparent Selenite Crystals to form the shape of an apple. “Now darling, can you please provide your flame?”

Ember nodded, snapping her finger and a small controlled flame began to form at the end of her finger. Using another spell, Rarity let the crystal form around the flame and encase it inside. The color began to change in the form of the rich red that Ember wanted. Now came the final part. The Picture. It was hard for her to think of one. But she decided to imagine the Applejack, Applebloom, Big Mac and Granny Smith standing outside Sweet Apple Acres.

“Have you thought about what you wanted to put in there, Ember?”

“Yeah. What happens next?”

“Well, you might want to close your eyes for this part.” She warned. Her Horn soon began to flash and a few seconds later, what Ember thought about was encased inside the Crystalline Fruit that the two of them have created.

“What do you think?”

“It’s… Beautiful. Oh Applejack and the others are going to love this!” Ember said. “Thank you so much for your help.”

“Anytime, Darling. Come by the Carousel Boutique if you need my help with anything else.” Rarity told her as she trotted off. Ember herself now faced Twilight as she placed the gift inside her pocket.

“Your friend is quite imaginative.” She told the princess.

“Well, when she gets inspiration, she tries to use it anyways that she could. Of course, that’s lead to some trouble a few times. But generally, its for a good cause. Oh and I just got a letter from Princess Cadence a little while ago. She wants us to come to the Crystal Empire.”

“The Crystal Empire?”

“Yeah, her kingdom to the north. Why? Have you been there before?”

“No. I’ve stayed clear of it because I thought Sombra still lingered there. I didn’t know it was freed until I heard about it being the place to host the Equestria Games a few months ago.” Ember said. “After what happened to Philomena’s mother, I didn’t want the same thing to happen to me and give birth to something even more crueler than Anivia.”

“I see what you mean. Speaking of Anivia, that’s the reason why Cadence wants to talk. Her and her husband want to talk about the possibility of it being a security concern for the Empire. Given the time right now if we took the train, we would only be able to arrive tomorrow morning.”

“What? You can’t teleport us there?” Ember asked, shocked by what she said.

“No, it would use up all of my strength to teleport the both of us. If it were just me, then it would be easier. The quickest method for us to reach there is to go by train. If we tried to go by carriage, then the Pegasi pulling it would tire out too quickly. “

“Damn… Alright, let me go tell Granny Smith and Big Mac about it first and find a gift box to place this in before we leave.” Ember told them. Something about the Crystal Empire made her think that she was going to get a little more than what she bargained for.

The Crystal Empire (Train Ride; the next day)

The ride to the Crystal Empire was a little unnerving for the Mancer as she traveled with the princess. She had not ridden a train at all ever since coming to Equus and she wasn’t sure what were the appropriate customs for riding inside one. Additionally, riding the train with a Princess meant that the two of them would be sitting in Royal Class. Which was guarded by the best of the Royal guard. However, the sight of those guards and the fact that Ember wasn’t a Pony made her feel like this was some sort of prison transfer instead of a friendly visit.

“Ember?”

The single word from the Princess of Friendship snapped Ember out of her self inflicted trance and had her look at Twilight. “Yes, Princess?”

“There isn’t a need to call me that, Twilight is fine.” She giggled as she cleared her throat.

“I apologize. I thought there were certain customs that came with traveling with a Princess such as yourself.”

“It’s okay really. Despite my title, I still wanted to be treated like everypony else. I don’t wanted to be treated differently just because of my status.” Twilight made a very good point. But it felt a little difficult for that same logic to be applied to Ember. She was human after all and Twilight wasn’t. They would see her differently… maybe be scared of her.

“I understand. I’m just nervous, that’s all.”

“Nervous?”

“Yeah, I don’t want to do anything that would screw anything up. I’m new to this and I haven’t met Cadences husband yet. I’m not quite sure what he’ll think of me.”

“Don’t worry about it. Shiny’s a good pony.”

“Wait… Shiny?”

“His name is Shining Armor. He’s my older brother. Speaking of family, do you have any siblings?”

Now, Ember grimaced. “No. No, I don’t.”

“What about family?”

She gritted her teeth. “I rather not talk about it. I preferred my life here over the life I had in the world I was born in. My parents argued anytime something wasn’t done properly, they pushed me to my breaking point when it came to school and on the day that I ended up here, my father and mother were at the courthouse filing for a divorce. They didn’t even get the chance to run it by me first at all. They just thought I would understand by leaving a damned note on the kitchen table. Philomena was more like family to me and Applejack’s family is better than the two of them could ever be.”

Twilight herself was shocked. She never thought that this would have occurred to other species. But then… she heard something.

“Emma…”

“What?”

“That was my name back where I’m from. When I came here, I changed it to Ember because I wanted to forget about my past. In a way, being with Philomena and being in Equestria allowed for me to have a chance to start my life over. I’m thankful for that chance.” The Mancer said. “I wanted to find a place where I would belong and despite the amount of pain I was put through, I feel like I found myself a home in this world.”

Twilight smiled. “Well, I’m glad you did-.”

“Now arriving at: Sapphire Station”

“Well, that’s our stop.” Twilight told the Mancer as the two of them began to leave the train car. The eyes of all the ponies that were also on the train were immediately set on the two of them as they walked out of the station and continued to go through the streets. From Children to commoners, they stared at her. Even talking about her like she couldn’t hear them.

“What is that creature?”

“Why would it be with Princess Sparkle?”

“Is it a monster from Tartarus?”

Ember herself sighed deeply as she continued to walk. Twilight noticed this and then asked her something. “Are you okay? You seem stressed.”

“I’m fine. It’s just that everypony here has been talking about me ever since we started walking. Talking behind my back. It just irritates me.”

“Don’t worry, were almost there. The entrance to the palace is just over there.” The Alicorn said as the set of doors blocking the way opened for them. The guards that followed them soon left to return to their post and as Ember and Twilight reached the center of the room, two other figures entered. One new and One familiar.

“Twily!!”

“Shiny!!” Twilight cried, wrapping herself around the White Unicorn Stallion that entered the room alongside Cadence. Ember assumed that this was Shining Armor as she looked at Cadence.

“It’s good to see you again, Ms. Cadence.” Ember greeted the Alicorn, shaking her hoof.

“You too. Ember.”

“Ah yes. It’s nice to be able to finally meet you again despite everything that’s been going on in the Empire as of late.”

Ember herself, raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean?”

Shining sighed, looking at his wife before looking back at the Mancer. “We’ve been having a lot of trouble as of late. Many ponies are scared because of the amount of children that had been abducted over the last three months. Our guards are working around the clock in order to try to keep the peace within our walls, but to also find the ones responsible for these abductions. So far, we haven’t had any success.”

‘Must’ve been the reason for all the rhetoric being said behind my back.’ Ember thought to herself.

“So… what else brings you to the Crystal Empire? I don’t think you’re exactly here for sightseeing.”

“You’re right on that part. Cadence, did Philomena ever tell you about a Cryophoenix named Anivia?”

“Yes? What about it?”

“Well, she got the jump on us yesterday and froze Spike. I thawed him out, but from we found out, she has two pieces of the Wendigo heart.” The name of the object alone had stunned both Shining Armor and Cadence.

“You mean THE Wendigo heart?” Both Mancer and Princess nodded their heads. “Oh dear… But that means…”

“That she’s in the Crystal empire somewhere looking for the final piece. We wanted to know if their was anything that could possibly help us stay one step ahead of her.”

“Possibly. But we should talk about this over dinner. It is getting late after all.” Cadence told them. The conversation continued in the dining hall as the four of them ate and had a wonderful meal. The only possible chances for something that Ember could use as a lead though went up in smoke when some records about the heart were one of a few documents that were sabotaged when the wing that they were held in at the Archives caught fire. Something else was on Ember’s mind though. Anytime that Shining and Cadence mentioned the missing children, a look of dismay ran across their faces. Something that she thought was off.

“Cadence… Are you okay?”

“W-why yes dear, why do you ask?”

“Well, anytime the conversation mentioned the missing foals and fillies from the abductions, you two look at each other in sadness. Is something wrong?”

The Princess of Love sighed. “Well…… How should I put this? …… Shining Armor and I a month ago decided to consider adopting somepony. We went to the Orphanage, looked around, saw a pair of twins that we liked. But when we went back the next day, they were the next two victims to be abducted.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Milady!!!”

One of the guards, a Black Crystalline Pegasus opened the door and barged in. “We got a situation. A pair of frozen train tracks just appeared that lead all the way to the main square!”

Ember herself was caught off guard by this along with the other few ponies in the room. “Did you try to remove them?” Shining Armor asked.

“We did. But our mages said that the rails are made of something other than magic!!”

“Life Force.” Ember said, looking at Twilight and Cadence. “We got a Mancer coming.”

“Is it… her?”

“Only way to tell is if I go have a look for myself. If anypony wants to come along, now’s your chance.” The Mancer told her as she walked past the doors and went outside. Twilight soon chased after her along with the others as they reached the sight that the guard was talking about. Rails of Snow and Ice had emerged from the cracks in the ground, going straight towards the center of the Crystal Empire.

Ember got down on her knees, looking closely at the track that was made. Twilight stood behind her, nervously. “Is it-?”

“No. It’s not Anivia. It’s somepony else. Who though, I don’t know.”

“How can you tell?”

“Life Force sometimes gives off a feeling that can define whether it’s positive or negative. Positive Force makes you feel like you’re in a warm hug while negative gives you a chill down your spine. Looking at the tracks, it’s made with a LOT of positive force. Three times more than any being could actually have at once.”

Before anypony else could react, the guards were yelling for all the civilians to stay off of the streets as a Cold Train came through the front gates. It was the literal definition of a Polar Express based on appearance. But as the train got closer to the center, it actually began to slow down. Which was surprising to almost everypony present. Ember herself used one of her hands to conjure a small burning blade the size of a combat knife and hold it in reverse. You can’t be too prepared given the current situation.

As the train rolled to a stop though, something surprising happened. A loud whistle went off and the doors of the train opened. Within seconds, a swarm of Foals, fillies and Colts barreled out of the train and jumped into the shocked and surprised arms of their parents. Shining Armor was also surprised. All of these ponies were the missing children from the abduction cases. But soon, a personal miracle happened for both him and his Wife.

“Cadence!!! Shining!!”

Both of them turned around; their eyes widening as their jaws dropped. “Oh my stars!! Pearl!!! Valiance!!”

Both of the children that Cadence and Shining Armor wanted to adopt leaped into their hooves in a warm embrace. The Royal couple had missed them as much as the two children had missed them. “We thought we weren’t going to see you again!! What happened!?”

“Frost saved all of us!!”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “Wait… Who’s Frost?”

“That would be me.” A new voice echoed as one last figure stepped out before having the train and tracks fade away. A bipedal wolf with Dark Blue fur, turquoise vest, black pants with turquoise cuffs on the bottom, grey hands and a light blue shirt. Behind him, he dragged a sled with seven unconscious bodies.

“These seven are responsible for the abduction of these children. They forced them to work in the mines in the abandoned town of Coalson along with myself. However, I made sure that all of them could be brought to justice. They’ll wake within an hour so please make sure that they’re locked up before then.”

Shining himself was quite surprised. This… Wolf… was able to not only bring everypony home safely, but capture all the ones responsible. That, in itself, is no small feat. He issued an order to the guards to take all seven of them to the dungeons to lock them up. But, one thing came out from Ember that nopony ever expected.

“You’re an Excedian…”

“Yep. That’s me alright. Not a lot of my kind left, but I’m thankful for the friends I do make. Pearl and Valiance were a big help as well.”

Ember looked at the wolf from head to toe, thinking that something was somehow… off with him. “May I see something real quick?”

“Uh, sure-?”

Before the wolf could say anything more, Ember put her hand on his shoulder and focused. The Mancer was trying to see his Life Force, but what she found was surprisingly different. Even to her. Something was surging inside of him where his heart would be. What it was caused Ember to back up and let go of his shoulder.

“Holy sh*t…”

“Ember, what’s wrong?”

“I…… found the final piece…… It’s fused with Frost’s soul.”

End Chapter 6

7- What happens when Numbskulls play with Fire

View Online

The Flames of The Phoenix- What happens when Numbskulls play with Fire

Crystal Empire

“Wait… What the hell are you talking about?” were the first words to come out of Frost’s mouth upon hearing Ember speak again. Many things were going through his head right now and all of them were focused on his next question. “What do you mean by Final piece?”

“Twilight… Can I please talk with Frost… alone? I might need some time to tell him what’s going on.” The Mancer asked. The Princess of Friendship nodded along with Cadence and Shining Armor, allowing her to go inside the palace of the Crystal Empire and use one of the guest rooms so the two of them can talk. “I believe you have a lot of questions to ask me.”

“I honestly don’t even know where to begin.” The Wolf asked, folding his arms. “You haven’t even told me your name for starters and now you are talking about me like I’m some kind of public concern.”

“Well Frost, my name is Ember. Like you, I’m a Mancer, a being that has control of a kind of Elemental Power. For me, It’s fire. For you, it seemed to be Ice, given your name and everything.”

“Yeah. I’ve had my ice powers ever since I was a young pup. Almost froze the entire home that I use to live in one time. Still though, how does this relate to the conversation?” Frost then asked as he took a seat on a nearby couch. Ember sighed. This was going to be a while. But… if he had his powers before… then why the sudden change in what he was capable of?

“Well… Have you felt anything… Different recently?”

“Sort of. Before I freed everypony from the camp, I felt like I was bone dry from all the work they forced me to do. But then, I came across a gemstone that was warm to the touch. I was a little bit cold, so I placed it near my heart in order to keep myself warm and after a few seconds, I felt my strength return to me and then some. In a way, it restored my will and helped me keep fighting.”

‘So THAT’S how he found it.’ Ember thought to herself upon hearing the Wolf’s story. “Well, that Gem is only one piece of something far greater. Have you heard of an artifact called the Wendigo Heart?”

“Pearl and Valiance had told me about the Crystal heart, but nothing called that.”

“Well, the Wendigo Heart is a very powerful artifact that contains the power that was left behind by the King of the Wendigos. Hence, the name. It was so powerful that it was said that anypony who came across it had the power to have this world go into an Ice Age. That’s why it was split into three pieces. So that nopony else could be able to restore it and unlock it’s true power.”

“But when you said final…… Does that mean that somebody else already found the first two?” The Wolf then asked, his tail twitching a little.

“Very perceptive… Indeed it does. A powerful enemy that calls herself Anivia has already obtained the first two pieces of the heart. Which means that she would be coming for you if she found out about you being the third piece.”

“I can take her-.”

“No you can’t. She’s just as strong as either of us. On top of that, she is a Cryophoenix.”

“A what-?”

“The opposite of a phoenix. Phoenix’s are birds of fire, Anivia is a Phoenix of Ice whose goal is to exterminate every living phoenix in existence and then collect the pieces of the Wendigo heart. It is unsure though her reason why for doing this though.” Ember told the wolf. “Whatever the case may be, you aren’t safe on your own-.”

“What am I to you? A foal? I don’t need bodyguards!!”

“I never said that you needed them. I was going to suggest for you to stay with me.” Ember suggested. “With your capabilities, you can help out with the ponies in Ponyville and help me train my Nephew in controlling his powers.”

Now this sounded intriguing to the Wolf. However, he needed some more details. “What is he capable of?”

“He controls Earth.”

“A Stonemancer? Must have a very strong heart if they’re able to control something like that.”

Ember was quite surprised by the Wolf’s response. “Wait… Why does it feel like I’m missing out on something here?”

“You seem surprised.” Frost said. “Excedians have a lot of knowledge on controlling the elements. In fact, back when there were more of us, our kind use to be the generation that gave birth to the practice. However, with so few of us left, it’s rare to see an Excedian who is alive that has control of an element. Most of my kind that are still alive have moved on to where they have control of Magic or something else entirely.” Ember was personally surprised to hear this new information surface to life. There were other Mancer’s before her, but now Frost was one of them. She had more questions for them, but had to save them for another time. One where the two of them would have more time to conversate.

“So… I guess I’m coming with you then?”

Ember nodded her head, using her hand to mess with the Fur on Frost’s head. “Yeah… Geez, it feels like I’m adopting a child.”

“I’m not a child!! I’m twenty years old!!”

“Well, I’m over a thousand years old so give it a rest.” Ember joked with the wolf. “Before we go though, I need to let you know of something. From time to time, I will be summoned by other individuals who would need my help and to an extent, I can summon them too. They’re known as Displaced and for summoning them, you need a token. In that case, take this.”

In Frost’s hands now laid the Phoenix Feather that was her token. He looked at it for a few moments before putting it in his pocket. “What’s this?”

“It’s my token. So if I’m away and you need my help, summon me and I’ll come.” Ember told her. “There’s also another reason why I told you this…”

“Oh really? Do tell.”

“I’m getting summoned right now. So instead of resisting it, bringing them here and causing a commotion, I’m going over there. We’ll have to keep this between us for now, so cover me while I’m gone.” With that, Ember left, leaving Frost by himself as he walked outside the room. When Twilight asked about her whereabouts, the wolf said only one thing.

“She told me that she was going out for a walk…”

Meanwhile…… (Ginyu Force’s Equestria)

“Come on Jeice! You can do this!” Ginyu yelled as they watched their friend try to control his attack again.

“Crusher Ball!” Jeice yelled, as he stayed floating in the air, before lifting his hand up near his head, and tried channeling his ki into his hand, where an unstable orange ball appeared, looking as if it was about to blow up. Jeice removed his hand from underneath it, before bringing it up behind the ball of energy, and moving to slap it down. But the second he touched it, the ball blew up in his face. “Darn it!”

“Better luck next time Jeice!” Burter yelled out, as his friend slowly descended back into the small grotto in the Everfree Forest, where the Ginyu Force was currently training. After some previous… misadventures, the five of them were currently inside the forest since it was considered as a “Safe Place” by their friend, Surprise. Who happened to be watching them from afar.

“You can do it Jeice! Just believe in yourself!” Surprise yelled, jumping up and down, while holding a foam glove in her hooves that looked like a human hand with one finger pointing up. Soon though, something fell on top of Surprise’s nose as it tickled her. A strange feather that represented the color of fire and looked like a phoenix feather. With a small twitch, it flew downward and landed on top of Jeice’s white hair.

“What’s this then?” Jeice asked, as he lifted his hand to his head, and gently grabbed the feather, before holding it in front of his face. He lightly twirled it in between his fingers, before speaking out to his friends, who were busy talking to each other. “Hey guys! Check this out!”

The remaining four Ginyu Force members all walked over, before Jeice showed them the feather. “What do you think it is, Jeice?” Recoome asked.

“It looks like a feather.” Jeice responded.

“It reminds me of a phoenix feather.” Ginyu added, causing everyone present to look at him funny. “I read.” Everyone ‘oohed’ at that response.

“Hey, why is it glowing?” Surprise then asked as she came closer to them, pointing at the feather with a hoof.

“Hunh?” Guldo reacted, as he noticed the feather glowed even brighter, before setting Jeice’s gloved hand on fire. “Jeice! Your hand’s on fire!”

Jeice quickly patted out the fire, before inspecting the burnt glove, happy that it didn’t seem to be damaged much. He looked at the ground, noticing the burning feather gently landed on the ground. Soon, the small flame grew forth to where it looked like a doorway was created. Soon, a new individual that once appeared like a fire-like bird stood a few feet away from the force. A woman… One with a red scarf and wore a dark grey shirt, dark navy jeans, sandals and tied up dark brown hair. She then turned around, only noticing Surprise at that current moment. She was a human. The first one that the Ginyu Force had personally seen at all ever since becoming the Ginyu Force.

“Hunh? A pony?” Was her first reaction. She didn’t notice Ginyu and the others until Jeice was the first one to speak.

“Who are you supposed to be?” Jeice asked, confused why a feather summoned a human.

“I’m Ember Valkyr.” She replied, noticing the feather. “And it seems like you…… guys came across my summoning token.”

“Summoning token?” Ginyu asked, before remembering something. “Oh, you’re a Displaced aren’t you?”

“Yes I am.” Ember said. She now noticed the surrounding area and saw some of the craters in the ground. “What the hell happened that caused all of this?”

“Well, we’re trying to train, and get used to our new powers.” Ginyu explained. “You see, we’re a group of fighters, or at least that’s what we dressed up as. And we have the ability to call upon our body’s natural energy to help us with fighting, or healing, or even flying.”

“Sounds similar to Life Force. Either that or something you might refer to as Chi.” Ember pointed out. “What seems to be the problem? Can’t control it?”

“Well, we call it ki, but it has been known by different names. But yeah, we can fly somewhat, but when trying to use energy attacks, we seem to mess up.” Ginyu said, and lifted his hand, before creating an unstable ball of purple energy in it. It blew up a second later, and Ginyu wiped the soot off his face. “That keeps on happening.”

“Hmm… it seems like you aren’t fully focusing on what you are trying to do.” Ember said, demonstrating by forming a flame in her hands. “Something like this is broken down into a series of steps. You five seem to have the energy to do so and can picture your attacks quite well, but you’re not focusing hard enough.”

“See! I told you guys we need to focus more!” Guldo exclaimed.

“No you didn’t.” The rest of the Ginyu Force replied, causing Guldo to roll all four of his eyes, before grumbling softly.

Ember sighed. “Well, it’s not just the energy you’re using, it’s also your stamina… Tell you what, maybe it’ll be best if I show you what I mean. Who here is up for a bit of sparring?” For a moment, the Ginyu Force thought that this girl was crazy. Even Guldo didn’t see a point to it. But then, Ember let her Life Force surge forth, rising high on the ki sensing abilities each Ginyu Force member could feel.

“So, who's going to fight?” Ginyu said, causing his men to look at each other, their competitiveness showing. “Rock Paper Scissors, aye?”

Ginyu’s men got in position, and started doing one of their favorite ways to determine who gets to fight. “ROCK PAPER SCISSORS!”

“ROCK PAPER SCISSORS!”

“Yes! I win!” Burter exclaimed, as he walked forward, before stretching. “Don’t think I won't go easy on you just because you’re worth two and a half Raditzs.”

“I don’t understand who you are referring too, but to make it simple and not kill any of you, I’m only using ten percent of my total strength.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll just have to use even less, just to make sure you don’t die prematurely. You see, while it might require concentration for energy attacks, it doesn’t for meleeing. I’m as strong as the Burter I’m based off of, and as fast too, so don’t expect to hit me.”

“Right…… Let me ask you something though… How old do you think I am?”

“Probably somewhere around ten thousand. They’re usually around that age when they ask you that question.”

“Good guess.” In a quick instant, Ember appeared behind Burter and gave him a quick jab kick to the back, inches from the spine. “But no. Too high up.”

But what shocked Ember was when Burter disappeared in front of her, before reappearing across the small grotto they’re in. “Figures. It’s never exactly ten thousand. And what did you think of my after image ability?”

“Neat trick, but you can’t just use it to run all over the place.” Ember smirked. “Now… speaking of which… Heads up.”

Quickly, Ember fired off a blast of Fire energy that went at Burter like an armed warhead.

“Too slow.” Burter said, and as time seemed to slow down, he dodged the fire as if it were a leaf, and delivered a swift punch to Ember’s stomach. However, Ember dispersed into flames and was behind Burter now. Holding out her hand in a fist, the Warhead from before was moving faster, but Ember had a new trick up her sleeve.

“Disperse.”

Opening her hand caused the one rocket to split into a barrage of homing blasts. All aimed at Burter. Burter quickly flew into the air, and shouted, as he fired several rapid blasts of unstable ki at the area below, destroying each of the projectiles, and seemingly hitting Ember.

“Scatter beam attack!”

Before the attack could be pulled off, Ember moved his fingers in an upward motion. One thing about the Mancer was that the last place where she placed her hands, the handprint could be used as a trigger for an explosion. For Burter, as he looked down, two of her hands from when she struck him in the back lit up as it caught the Blue Hurricane in a massive explosion. It didn’t kill him, but it at least was able to teach him not to let his guard down.

“You must be aware of the possibility that your opponent can attack from all angles. Be lucky that I’m only using ten percent. Because the last time I was at one hundred percent, my anger and rage created the badlands back in my world.”

But what surprised Ember, was when the smoke cleared, and Burter hardly looked damaged at all, and flew down to the ground. “You’re pretty strong, and I definitely didn’t see that attack coming. So, for the sake of the entire forest being burned down, let’s just call it a draw.” Burter held out his hand in a peaceful motion.

“Good idea. Because trust me… I know more than fire abilities. What I caught you off guard with was a taste of me controlling Magma.”

“Yeah, I got some abilities I didn’t use too. Everyone on the planet is lucky I didn’t try to use a kamehameha up there, or the world and the moon would have been destroyed. Because my unstable energy attacks are a lot stronger, but aren’t controlled at all.”

“Heh… I have something like what you just mentioned… Just a lot more powerful to the point where it might decimate a mountain range if left unchecked. But there is one thing I would like to test.” Without warning, Ember’s energy flung out and caught on to Burter like a lasso as it pulled him onto the ground. Then, she dispersed it. “Good, I’m not rusty with Whiplash. Haven’t used that technique in ages.”

“Lucky for you, I could tell that wasn’t an attack. Because if it was, I would have accidently used super explosive wave, and blown us all up. And the surrounding area wouldn’t exist anymore. Including you. It would kill the Captain over there, who is much stronger than I am, and could beat you.”

“I wouldn’t say that Burter!” Ginyu yelled from the sidelines. “A good captain lets his men attack first, and then uses the body swap technique to leave his enemy in a dying body.”

“Right… presuming the fact that you think you can kill me.”

“Pretty sure we could. I just noticed Guldo used his time stopping abilities five times while you were speaking. You didn’t notice what he did at all, and would probably not want to.”

Ember just facepalmed. “You’re not getting what I mean, are you? Maybe your captain knows.”

“Just leave her alone Burter! We could easily take her on as a unit, but that’s not how we roll. And besides…”

“Dear Celestia… None of you get it at all. You CAN’T kill me… I’m immortal. The reason for my powers was because they were given to me by a DYING PHOENIX and with that, comes immortality.”

“Well, Captain Ginyu could easily swap bodies with you, and have his body be dying when your in it, so you wouldn’t really be immortal anymore, and could die.”

“It’s not that either. Even your body fades away, my SOUL still lives on and Phoenix’s come back to life. Which means if you did try to kill me, I would still live on…… But immortality is not always a good thing.” Ember now reached up to her head and did something that would scare most fillies and colts.

She took out her own eyeball and crushed it, the object fading to dust. A new eye formed in Ember’s head, but the dust had a different effect on the five of them. As they breathed it in, they saw visions… Which turned out to be Ember’s memories.

‘Get up, you filthy primate. Do as you were told and kill this thief!!’

The image shown was of Ember in what looked like a mountain area diverse with trees. A young buffalo was chained up, looking at her in fear. Ember shook her head.

‘No. I won’t do it.’

‘Grr…… You know, I think it’s about time you learned your place. An eye for an eye. A life for a life.’

Soon, a red earth pony was brought out, forced to lie on the ground. The Griffon that was in charge, despite Ember’s plea’s, slit her friends throat and followed that up by snapping his neck. Anger and Rage coursed through her as the Mancer let it all out, burning all the killers, slave handlers and murderers that were there in a volcanic uproar that could be seen from all the way in the Crystal Empire to the north. When the dust settled, all that was left was her and the few survivors that she was able to save.

‘I’m sorry Red… I never wanted this to happen… It should have been me...’

“Do you understand now?” Ember asked as the Ginyu Force snapped back to reality.

“While it did look traumatizing, we’ve had worse.” Then, before Ember could even blink, Ginyu put his fingers against her head, showing her an image that would be forever ingrained into her skull.

All that Ember saw was something black, with two souless white eyes, with lifeless black pupils, and a red mouth similar to a clown. But if that didn’t scare her enough, what it said did. “Pecking order!”

Ember though, didn’t move. “Meh… Popo right?”

The entire Ginyu Force gasped at that. “No! Don’t call him that! It’s Mister Popo! He’ll destroy you if he hears you failing to refer to him by his title!” Just then, the entire planet shook, as a single voice was heard in the distance.

“That’s right, maggots.”

“Okay, MR. Popo then. My apologies.” Ember sighed. “Next time we meet, I want to get the chance to meet him in person. I think he and I can strike up a nice conversation about you guys.” The last bit about the conversation was to be sarcastic.

“Well, Mr. Popo is right behind you.” When Ember turned around, she did indeed see Mr. Popo right behind her, standing on a magic carpet.

“Did I hear that you thought you could strike up a conversation with me?” Mr. Popo started laughing. “You must remember the pecking order. In case you forgot, it’s you, the dirt, the worms living inside the dirt, Popo’s stool, Kami, and then Popo.”

“Right… Something tells me that there’s one thing these five aren’t going to be after I leave… Safe.”

“No, they did everything correct, so they will receive maximum punishment. But you on the other hand, disrespected me, so I will show you TOTAL CRUEL UNJUST FOR LIVING BEINGS PUNISHMENT-!”

“Mr. Popo… I apologize for my rudeness. I was unaware about your title or position. In exchange for allowing me to leave and return to my family for heart's warming, I’ll place this in your care.” Ember told Mr. Popo, giving him an Identical phoenix feather. “You may use it to summon me whenever you believe it is necessary.”

Then, before Mr. Popo could react, Captain Ginyu spoke up. “Umm, here you go.” He handed her the Ginyu Force’s token, before moving away quickly. “You may leave now. Our contract is complete.”

“Thank you, Mr. Ginyu. It’s been a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially you, Mr. Popo.” She replied as she conjured a portal of flames and stepped through, disappearing through the gateway before the flames died down and faded away.

Mr. Popo slowly turns to look at the Ginyu Force. “You didn’t let me exact my punishment Maggots!”

The rest of the day was filled with the Ginyu Force receiving punishment.

“Aww man guys, I just realized something.” Recoome said as he was getting punished.

“Oh yeah? What Recoome?” Jeice asked.

“We never got to introduce ourselves.” And when Recoome said that, the entire Ginyu Force screamed, as that was more punishment than whatever Mr. Popo could give them.

And if you listen closely, you could hear the maniacal laughter of Mr. Popo as he continued his punishment on the Ginyu Force.

Back at the Crystal Empire…

Ember’s return back to her world did not go unnoticed. She arrived back in the guest room, where both Frost and Twilight were waiting for her patiently. However, the Alicorn had a BUNCH of questions for her in regards to what she just did and where she was. Ember though, avoided answering the questions since she thought that trying to explain the whole Displaced theory would cause her mind to explode. Instead, the three of them hurried to make sure to catch the train to Ponyville so that way they could get back to the town before morning came.

Because Ember did not want to miss her first Heart’s Warming with her new family.

In the Distance though, Someone was watching them as they left. However, she believed that their search was to no avail as she continued to look for the last thing she needed to become whole. To become complete… To become… Perfect.

End Chapter 7

8- Dreams

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Dreams

Sweet Apple Acres

By the time Ember got back to her room, it was close to midnight. Frost had agreed to stay with Twilight in order to not cause a commotion back at the barn for when she came home. By the time she got to her bedroom, the mancer almost just passed out on the bed and fell asleep. But somepony else was still awake as she drifted away into a state of slumber. Somepony who was curious enough to see what exactly did the mancer dream about when she was asleep.

That pony was Princess Luna, Alicorn of the Night and sister of Princess Celestia. It was only two days ago that she had met the caretaker of Philomena and in doing so, got very curious about what she would find inside her sleep. She had traversed through the dreams of many ponies before, but not anypony like Ember. Curiosity was the primary reason why Luna wanted to see Ember’s dreams in the Dreamscape. That way, she could possibly learn more about her like where she was from and what her life was like. However, upon entering the dream, she heard a different voice and saw something… Different.

The first thing she saw was a girl, like Ember, but she seemed excited. She had opened a parcel and had received the scarf that the Lunar Princess had seen before. But that smile soon faded away. She Angrily tossed a note to the ground in a rage and went into her room. The note dropped down to Luna’s hooves as she read the message.

-Mom

She was surprised at seeing this. Who was this “Emma” that the note referred to? Before she could find out, a bright flash happened and the location of the dream changed. It was now a cold forest. But she didn’t know what was going on. She watched as the events played out, but couldn’t exactly hear the girl talk to the phoenix in front of her. But, at one point, she did hear her speak to the bird. Shortly after the phoenix asked for her name.

“Emma Valkyr. But you may call me Ember.”

‘So this was Ember back then…’ Luna wondered as she continued to watch. Surprisingly though, The area around her soon faded away. It was now a darkened night sky as Ember could now be seen looking at Luna in front of her. Her arms were folded and she was standing in front of her.

“Good evening, Luna.” She asked. Luna, for one, was quite surprised that Ember was actually talking to her. They were in her dreams and it would take onepony quite a while to realize that she was visiting them. She saw this as the case with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, but what made her so different.

“H-how did you know that-?”

“You were here? Well, these dreams that you see are my memories. And they’re a LOT different from dreams. So you won’t be able to find any dreams here, Princess.”

“Oh?” Luna said, a little puzzled by her answer. “Are you saying that what I saw wasn’t dreams?”

“In a way… That’s one of the things that’s a backlash when it comes to immortality for me. I can’t dream. All I can do is look back on my memories. Even the painful ones at times. But it helps me remember what is important and the choices I made. Because there are always consequences for your actions and the choices that you make.” Luna herself was quite stunned by what Ember had to say. So stunned in fact, that she had to say something herself.

“I believe I know what it’s like to face consequences.”

“You do?” Ember asked. “What do you mean?”

“Have you ever heard of Nightmare Moon?”

“Yes, but I was told that it was only a children’s tale.” Ember replied. “Is there something I don’t know?”

Luna nodded. “Well, you see, I was Nightmare Moon. But not by choice. My anger and jealousy took control of me, having me become something I’m not. In the end, I was banished for 1000 years on the moon. To this day, I still feel that some ponies are afraid of me because of who I once was. That nopony appreciates the moon or the night.”

“I do.”

Luna looked at Ember with a surprised expression. “What?”

“I enjoy the night and the light that the moon brings. It, to me, is beautiful and serves as a guide for me when I travel during the evening. You are the one who raises the moon, so in the end, I must thank you for being the deity of the moon and it’s light that helps guide me during the toughest of times. It was the first thing I looked up to after I lost a dear friend of mine long ago. For that, I am grateful.”

“I-i… I don’t know what to say… Thank you Ember.” Luna said as she trotted to her and hugged her using one of her hooves. “That really meant a lot to me. Mostly, I thought that everypony would ignore the fact of what I’m responsible for. But now… I know otherwise.” The area around them began to shimmer as Luna looked around and then back at Ember. “Morning draws closer. I must go.”

“Okay then. Happy Hearth’s warming Luna.”

The princess smiled as she looked back at the Mancer. “You too, guardian of the Phoenix.”

Sweet Apple Acres (Next Morning)

As the morning sun rose, Ember rose along with it. The sounds of tiny hooves also rushing down the flight of stairs also woke her up also with everypony else in the household as she left the the door to her room to see Applejack and Big Mac standing in the hallway.

“Let me guess, Applebloom is downstair?”

“Eeyup.”

“Figures. Oh, and Happy Hearth’s Warming.” Ember told the two of them, greeting them with a warm hug. “Should we wait on Granny Smith or-.”

“Granny told me that we could get started if she wasn’t immediately up around the same time we were.” Applejack informed Ember of what she was told last night. “Besides, she told us that you had a gift for all of us.”

Ember chuckled. “Indeed. Let me show you.” The three of them walked downstairs to find Applebloom anxiously waiting for the chance to open her presents while wearing her traditional Apple Family scarf. She, along with her older siblings soon opened their gifts and were very thankful for the members that gave them their things. Afterwards, they turned to Ember, who was holding the box that had her gift in it. She soon opened it and presented the gem that she and Rarity crafted for them. At first, they seemed confused, but upon further inspection and seeing the images of them in there, their faces lit up with pure joy. Enough to the point where Applebloom felt sorry that they weren’t able to get a gift for Ember in time.

“I wanted to be able to show how much all of you meant to me.” Ember told them. “All of you are a blessing to have and the greatest gift I could ever ask for. Being with you right now is your gift to me and that I am thankful for.” With that, the three ponies all trotted over and hugged their Auntie. Because for her right now, she felt comfortable.

She was home.

End Chapter 8

9- The Wolf and the Spark

View Online

The Flames of The Phoenix- The Wolf and the Spark

Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse

Scootaloo was like most other fillies who had nothing to do on a long weekend like today. Bored out of her mind. Her Idol, Rainbow Dash, had left with Pinkie Pie earlier today to go to a griffon city called Griffonstone. It was only the day after the Grand Galloping Gala and the apparent ‘Disaster’ that Discord had accidently caused because he thought that another pony named Tree Hugger was taking his only friend away from him and a week after heart's warming and right now; she was waiting on her friends. Applebloom had probably been stuck at the farm doing chores and Sweetie Belle was probably having to deal with one of her sisters “meltdowns” that happened occasionally. The Filly sighed, climbing out of the wooden house, but found something soft on the ground as she stepped on it with her hooves.

What it was looked like some kind of plush like tail. A Blue sapphire like tail that looked like a fun toy to play with. So, being the curious soul that she was, Scootaloo began to cuddle, hug and also lightly chew at the fur. However, she soon realized that the tail wasn’t exactly plushie as she heard a voice calling to her.

“What the heck?”

Scootaloo looked up, realizing that the tail actually belonged to something. It looked like a bipedal wolf. But still, it seemed quite… friendly.

“Hello. What did you find there, little rascal?” It asked, petting Scootaloo on the head and rubbing her ears. No matter how hard it was to resist, she found the motions… comforting.

“I-i’m not a rascal! M-my name is Scootaloo?”

“Scootaloo? So you’re one of the fillies that Ember mentioned?”

“Ember? Who’s she?” The filly asked, confused. Frost sighed. He knew that this wasn’t going to get anywhere at this rate.

“Never mind, I’ll introduce her to you once we're at Sweet Apple Acres.” The Wolf then picked up the filly and put her on his shoulders along where his neck would be. “You better hang on.”

“Wait what-!?” were the only words the filly could say before Frost began to sprint at full speed. She was holding on for dear life as the Wolf used the trees as ways to quicken his travels. It reminded Scootaloo of the forest chase scene in Mare Wars Episode VI: Return of the Pon-I. Where Luke Skytrotter and the Princess of the destroyed planet, Stalldaron, were being chased by soldiers of the Imperial Empire called Stromtrotters. She could feel the wind flow through her mane as she flapped her wings like she was really flying. Scootaloo didn’t need her scooter for this kind of fun. The wolf was already doing that for her and she was enjoying it. She couldn’t wait to tell Rainbow Dash about all of this later.

Sweet Apple Acres

“Okay Mac, you’re doing good. Now, lets try that exercise again.”

The Pyromancer named Ember had been using the past week to help her Nephew, Big Macintosh, learn how to control his newfound elemental powers. He was what Ember would call a “Terramancer”, or one that was able to control the earth around them. With the proper training, anything from stones to boulders or even the ground the earth pony walked on could become a fatal weapon for him to use. However, the past few days have not shown much progress and the stallion was becoming a little frustrated because of it. This was shown again when he tried to lift up a small boulder with his hoof, only for it to crumble as it ascended into the air.

“Darnit!! Not again!” The Earth pony snapped, letting off a little steam by stomping his hooves into the ground.

“Easy there, Mac. Nopony told you that this would be easy. Hell, it’s been a few months for me and I’m still having trouble trying to learn how to conjure Magma.” His teacher told him, demonstrating by having a ball of Magma appear in her hands, only to disintegrate seconds later.

“Ah know. But ah really thought that ah had everything under control that time!” The Stallion replied, sighing a little. “Guess ah still got a long way to go…”

“Don’t say that. You’re doing pretty well for somepony like you. If a Mancer tries to teach a Unicorn or a Pegasus how to do it, it might interfere with their capabilities in magic. So they need to learn how to switch between their magic and their other abilities. Trust me, I know firsthand about this.”

“You do?” Big Mac asked, a little surprised.

“Yeah. About five years ago, I met a young pegasus named Swift Ace. He was raised in a family of master thieves that stole only from other thieves. When his home was destroyed and was left on his own to fend for himself, I taught him how to harness the winds around him to help him with his combat skills and mobility. For him, it took me almost a few months to help him master it. For you, you’re doing just as well as him and it’s only been two weeks.”

Big Mac didn’t even have the words to say anything. He was completely surprised by what he just heard. But also, he was completely surprised to see what was coming towards the Orchard as he heard the silly cries of one of Applebloom’s friends enjoying herself while riding the back of… a wolf? Did it come to harm them? The Stallion took a defensive stance and snorted, catching Ember’s attention as she turned around to see what he was looking at. Afterwards, she just laughed a little as Applebloom and Applejack were coming out of the barn to see how they are doing.

“What in tarnations is that!?” Applejack asked the moment she saw Frost.

“That… is my friend, Frost. He’s a Cryomancer and it seems like he’s made a friend.” Ember smiled as Frost came to a halt right in front of her.

“Good morning Ember. How are you?” The Excedian asked, noticing the ponies that were behind her. “Oh… am I interrupting anything?”

“No actually. In fact, I think it’s time to get the introductions out of the way. Frost, This is Applejack, Applebloom and Big Macintosh. Everypony, this here is Frost Shinekuya. He’s an Excedian.”

“And what the hay is that suppose to mean?” Applejack replied.

“Basically, I’m a bipedal creature with features of both an animal while being able to speak and talk to others like a normal pony would.” The Wolf explained. “Which reminds me, Scootaloo here seems to like cuddling with my tail.”

“Oh? How did she find you?”

“Turns out, I was meditating under her clubhouse.”

“Well, that explains a lot.” Ember replied back.

“Wait… Aunt Embah said you were a Mancer right?” Big Macintosh interjected. Frost’s only reply was a nod, answering the earth pony’s question. “What can you do exactly?”

“Well, I’m a conjurer of Ice. As in my name, I can form anything inside my head using my energy.” The Wolf said, pointing to his head with his left index finger. “Even if something happened, I can still fight because up here is where Mission Control is. Why do you ask?”

“Well… Ah’ve been trying to learn how to control Earth recently, but ah feel like ah haven’t been doing well.”

“You can say that again.” Frost sighed. For a moment, he thought that the Wolf was taunting him. However, he was surprised to hear what came next. “You have closed gates along your lifestream.”

“Mah what?”

Ember sighed. “The Lifestream is what you rely on in order for you to control your powers and exists along your nervous system inside your body. The gates that Frost mentioned are referring to important parts along the neural network where the most amount of energy flows through. Mostly being where the joints connect with your forelegs. But that makes me wonder… how can you tell that Mac’s Lifestream was blocked?”

“My eyes can see sources of Life force energy.” Frost commented. “Now, why don’t we unlock those closed gates and see what happens.”

Big Macintosh gulped. “This isn’t going to hurt now, is it?”

“For a little. Just stand still and suck it up.”

“Wait wha-?” Before Mac could say anything else, Frost placed his energy on his fingertips and jabbed his shoulders and the back of his kneecaps along with his forehead. The pain was brief, but afterwards, the stallion felt something… New. The energy he felt before when trying to bend the earth was now flowing through him like the morning breeze. he even felt like he could split a mountain in half if he wanted to.

“There we go. That should clear things up… Now Mac?”

“Yes?”

“Try controlling the earth now that your energy has been unlocked.” Frost instructed him. The Earth Pony complied, doing as he was told and stunning everypony when a simple stomp of his hoof caused stone spikes to emerge from the ground below him.

“Congratulations. Your powers seems to be working well. Now you just need to practice them.” The Excedian told him, clapping his hands. “Now, that’s one thing that’s taken care of.”

“One thing?” Ember asked, confused by the wolf’s comment.

“I’ve been feeling a weird energy surge in the forest that’s nearby Ponyville. Personally, I would go myself, but I was thinking of sticking around and helping out your nephew.”

“Well, I don’t have that much to do anyways.” Ember shrugged her shoulders. “Go easy on him though, alright?” Frost nodded, letting the Pyromancer leave the orchard as he prepared his training with Big Macintosh.

Fluttershy’s Cottage

Discord had a lot on his mind recently. Especially after having to make amends at the grand galloping gala and apologize to Tree Hugger for the way he was acting. Now though, he was trying to help out around the cottage while Fluttershy was with Rarity for a spa day at the Lotus Twins Spa in Ponyville. He was just finished with sweeping the porch by the time that he noticed a familiar face approach the cottage. Looking up, the avatar of chaos saw Ember walking towards him.

“Hello, Dissy.”

“Hello to you too Ember.” Discord replied with a bit of cheer in his voice. “How have you been recently? I didn’t see you attend the Grand Galloping Gala last night.”

“I felt like Applejack should spend time with her friends and not have somepony like her aunt appear to be watching over her.” She replied. “Which reminds me… Remember when you asked me that question a week ago?”

Discord gulped. He personally wanted to avoid this conversation. “Yes?”

“And remember the advice I gave you and you just said that you needed a wingman? How did that work out for you?”

“…… Not as well as I intended.” Discord shamefully admitted to the Mancer. “You were right you know. Fluttershy was telling me the same thing you told me on the train ride back to the cottage.”

“I have been living for over a thousand years, Discord. Maybe next time you should take my advice?” Ember insisted, folding her arms and nudging the Draconequus in the chest with her elbow, tickling him a little. The Spirit chuckled a little, trying to keep himself together. “Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I’ve been feeling something strange inside the forest that I need to investigate.”

“The Forest you say?” Discord asked. “And what kind of strange?”

“Like that surge you feel when you get shocked by lightning.” Ember replied. “I felt it go off a few times earlier today and it’s been driving my senses nuts.”

“Well, maybe you should go see Zecora. She’s a zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest and makes potions from the herbs that she finds.”

“You mean she’s an Alchemist?” Ember wondered.

“Many have called her that, but she doesn’t see herself as one. More of a shaman if you ask her. Oh and one other thing, she’s a bit of a poet with her speech so expect her to rhyme… quite often.”

“Okay, thanks for the tips. I’ll see you later!” Ember soon was on her own, using a small glowing ball of flame as a source of light as she made her way through the bushes and branches. The animals around her did not try to run or harm her, but instead greeted her warmly. For being one that had life force meant that you were attuned with nature and all the beings that called nature their home. Your force demonstrated your physical strength and how well you were. However, things like sickness and both physical and emotional trauma can cause it to alter and become distorted. That was the feeling that Ember was getting the more she moved inward.

When the Mancer came across a portion of the forest where sunlight was peeking through the dense ceiling of leaves, Ember dismissed her flame and looked around. She focused on attuning her hearing to any sounds that seemed… unordinary. One thing that stood out was a clinking sound. A sound commonly made for when you wore a multitude of metal rings along one another like a tribal priest. That along with the sound of hooves making contact with the ground made Ember think that this could be the Zecora that Discord had previously mentioned. However, it could be just as much a traveler with a saddlebag full of equipment and trinkets. So, the Mancer had to let the being come to her instead of going to it. Patiently, she sat down and waited.

Then, the moment arrived where the figure arrived. It indeed was a Zebra and the clinks were from her golden tribal accessories that were across her body. For a zebra, she had a lot of stripes and was also quite surprised to see that she had a mohawk like mane. “Oh my. I never thought another creature like yourself would be nearby.”

Another… creature? What the hell did she mean? She ignored that thought and instead decided to make sure that this truly was the one Discord had told her about.

“You must be Zecora, am I right?” She asked. “I was told that you lived here in these woods.”

“Indeed, I do. Though, who are you?” came the Zebra’s next question in the fashion of a rhyme.

“My name is Ember. I’m a Mancer and one that can control fire. I wonder though, what do you mean by another creature?” She asked, cautious by the words she chose. Zecora sighed a little to herself before clearing her throat. This was going to be hard to explain to her with the current circumstance.

“I found one, younger than you and with a strong will. However, right now, he grows quite ill.” The Zebra spoke. “The child has come down with a fever. If I don’t hurry, it might be too late for Caesar.”

Caesar? That must’ve been the boy’s name. “Let me help you then. Where is he?”

“He is laying down back at my home. I fear his condition has only worsened since I have left him alone.” The Zebra then ushered Ember to hurry and follow her. When the Mancer arrived at the shaman’s hut, Zecora quickly opened the door. What she found though caught her off guard. The boy laying down in the back of the makeshift home had the ears and tail of a Pikachu. She could even see the electricity short circuiting from his cheeks every time he coughed.

Quickly, she went over and placed a hand on his forehead. “Dear ancients, he’s burning up.” She gently placed her other hand on other parts of the young boys body. Mostly the stomach and upper chest. Unlike the forehead, those areas felt Ice Cold. Ember was beginning to worry the young boy now. “He’s got a bad cold. We need to treat him quickly before his immune system shuts down.”

“I will hurry and brew something as fast as I can. Please help me so he can be well again.” Ember nodded, applying a small amount of heat to the areas that were previously cold. After five minutes, Zecora had a small mixture inside a wooden bowl and handed it over to her. “Be careful, this might taste bitter, but I have faith in the youngling; he isn’t a quitter.”

Slowly, Ember had the liquid go down the throat of the young boy. At first, the medicine didn’t show any signs of it working, but then the boy’s eyes began to slowly open. A sign that he was feeling alive and well.

“Wha- W-where am I?” Caesar asked as he began to wake up from his fever induced sleep.

“Calm down, kid.” Ember hushed, trying to ease the startled boy. “You were having a severe fever, so Zecora and I brought you in here to help cure you.” She waited a few moments for the boy to take in his surroundings before speaking again. “My name is Ember. You must be Caesar, right?”

Caesar nodded. “Yeah. So you found me? Will I be able to see my mom soon?” Caesar asked.

Ember looked at him, with a surprised expression. “Umm… Caesar…… do you have any idea where you are?”

“I say. Is he okay?”

Zecora’s words soon caught the boy’s attention and startled him. Caesar now a bit more aware of his surroundings now saw Zecora. Not expecting to see a Zebra he almost jumped out of the bed.

“W-what?” He asked, unable to fully comprehend the talking Zebra even though it wasn’t the weirdest thing to happen to him the past days.

Ember sighed. “Caesar… If you think you are on earth, then you’re WAY off. You got Displaced like me and now on a world called Equus.”

“Equus? But… what do you mean not on Earth? How can I not be on Earth?” The young boy asked with panic creeping into his voice.

Ember took a moment to think it through, then responded. “Because back home, you wouldn’t have the abilities of a Pikachu and I wouldn’t be able to do this.” Opening her hand, she created a small bird of fire and let it drift towards Caesar.

He swiftly responded by fainting on the spot from the combination of the information and his still raging fever. Before he hit the ground, Ember caught him and set him down on the floor. “This… might take a while.”

After an hour or so later, Caesar once again awoke. Remembering what happened before he blacked out and the truth of his situation revealed to him he began to cry. However, as he was trying to act grown up he turned away trying to conceal his tears and trying to muffle his cries as he tried to accept the situation.

“You okay?” Ember said, sitting down by his side, trying to comfort him. Caesar first tensed up as she sat down next to him, but did nothing to prevent her from sitting next to him. It took him a while to respond. But once he finally did he had almost stopped crying. Wiping the last of his tears he turned towards Ember and nodded. Not entirely trusting his voice at the moment.

“It’s okay. When I was first here, I was a little scared too. But then… I was able to adjust to everything around me. I can help you if you need me too.”

“I-I’d like that. Thank you Miss Ember. And you to Zecora.” Caesar said as he thanked them both for caring for him.

“It’s nothing really. Being as old as I am, I have seen a lot of things, but nothing quite like you. You are unique, that’s for sure. Wait til you meet Applebloom.”

Caesar was about to ask Ember how old she was, but remembered something about how it was rude to ask a lady her age or something like that. He had heard it from his mother at some social gathering. Instead he chose another question.

“Um… Zecora. if you don’t mind me asking… What are you?” He asked. Unsure if he offended her. “And… who is Applebloom?” He asked Ember, his quriosity showing through his ears that were now standing on end.

“I am a Zebra, Caesar. My next question though is for Ember. Though it may seem silly, how exactly do you know the filly?”

Before Ember could answer that question, the three of them soon heard a song like tune as the sound of hooves came closer. Soon though, the exact pony they were talking about. “Howdy, Zecora! Oh hi there, Aunt Embah. Didn’t expect to see ya.”

Caesar instantly noticed that Applebloom was far smaller in size then Zecora, and that she didn’t look much like a Zebra, or at least didn’t have the same resemblance as Zecora had to the ones he was familiar with. However, the sudden encounter was still something he was unable to process as his fever had yet to fully calm down.

“Um…” Was just about the best response he could manage.

“Oh my… Who’s this little Fella?” The filly asked, trotting towards him.

“Easy there, Applebloom. Caesar here is still recovering from a bad cold. Not only that, but he’s a bit…… Timid.”

“Oh… You mean like Fluttershy?”

Ember nodded her head. “Caesar, this is Applebloom. She is the youngest of two nieces that I’m keeping an eye on.”

Caesar looked at Ember with a confused look. “Niece? But you’re a human, and she’s a…” Caesar trailed off realizing he didn’t really know what Applebloom was exactly, his closest guess would be pony, considering her size. but the resemblance between her and Zecora who was a zebra made him hesitate as he was unsure how many other races could be similar Also, ponies usually didn’t come in red and yellow colors. But then again, zebras didn’t usually talk. So Caesar was at a loss.

“It’s a bit complex to explain, sugarcube.” Applebloom said. “She helped out one of our relatives and they wanted to repay her for everything she did, so he completed a few legal documents that allowed her to be part of the family now. Yeah, basically adult stuff.”

“You mean like an adoption or somethin?” Caesar asked, curious about Embers age once more.

“Sort of.” Ember said, smiling a little, watching both Caesar and Applebloom. Then, it hit her. Caesar had nowhere else to go and was all on his own. He needed friends, family, people to support him, people that can help him stay strong. That’s when she sighed.

“Applebloom, can I ask you something?”

The young earth pony turned around, puzzled a bit. “Yes Aunt Embah, what is it?”

Ember paused for a bit… Wanting to think the next words through carefully. She thought that the filly was around ten years old in age. Caesar looked about nine or so. Who knows? But the Mancer sighed. “Caesar was taken from his home and brought here against his will… So, I want to offer him a place to stay, but that also means I need to ask you something… Do you think you responsible enough……… to have a little brother?”

Caesar was surprised at Embers suggestion. He wasn’t sure if he liked the idea or not. He had just woken up, found out he was no longer on Earth and wouldn’t be able to see his parents.

“Can I think about this?” Caesar asked her.

Ember nodded her head, but was soon swamped when Applebloom caught Caesar in a diving hug, snuggling him a little. “Of course!!!”

As the hug caught Caesar by surprise, he was not to blame for the shock that Applebloom received when his cheeks sparked with electrical energy.

“Ahhahaha!! That Tickles!!” She laughed, not realizing that the tickling sensation was actually lightning. Or the fact that her fur was standing on end as well as her mane.

“Sorry, you caught me by surprise… Um… I hope your ha- I mean mane won’t stay like that, it looks a little weird…” Caesar said as Applebloom reminded him of the crazy scientist look.

“What do mean it looks weird?”

“Well… It kinda went... poof?” Caesar said, trying to empathize his point by gesturing with his hands.

“Yes indeed, you mane is in mane product need.” Zecora confirmed.

Applebloom blinked a little, looking at herself in the mirror. “Aww man!! I didn’t get the cutie mark for being SO FLUFFY!!!”

“Cutie mark?” Caesar asked, confused by her statement.

“It’s a mark that represents a pony’s special talents.”

“Mark… like a tattoo? Mom always said they were a bad thing and that I should never get one.” Caesar said. Not sure why someone as young as Applebloom was so eager to get one. As far as he knew they were only painful to get and didn’t look good anyway.

“No… Not like that… It’s something having to do with magic.” Ember tried to help, but was a bit puzzled as well. “It’s complicated.”

“I see… I guess there is someone else who could explain it better then?” Caesar asked.

“Maybe Twilight can help!” Applebloom cheerfully replied.

“Careful Applebloom…… she might have a lot on her plate given that she’s an Alicorn Princess.” Ember reminded her, making sure that her niece wasn’t being hasty. “Tell you what, let’s take Caesar back to Sweet Apple Acres and work our way from there.”

“Am I really good enough to be moving around yet?” Caesar asked, turning towards Zecora.

“I see no bad alignments as of yet, but I wouldn’t take such a bet. Drink some tea and rest my dear, or it might get worse I fear.” Zecora replied.

“Okay, then why don’t we let him rest here until he can walk and then we’ll come back to get him?” Ember suggested. “Would that be good with you, Zecora?”

Zecora nodded in responce and went over to bring Caesar some tea.

“I guess I’ll be staying for a little while longer, sorry.” Caesar said apologetically.

“Yah don’t need tah be sorry! Don’t wantcha to be sick when you meet the family!” Applebloom squeed.

“Actually, speaking about resting… I really should have thought of this sooner.” Caesar said as he once again laid down. “Rest” he said as he suddenly closed his eyes and he began breathing calm breaths just like he was asleep.

“Well, I guess my tea he did not take, for his sleep could not let him stay awake.” Zecora said as she returned with a few cups of tea, offering it to both Ember and Applebloom.

“Indeed… At least he isn’t alone anymore.” Ember smiled, raising a cup. “To Caesar?”

“To brother!” Applebloom exclaimed, giggling to herself before sipping her tea.

End Chapter 9

10- Renegade

View Online

The Flames of The Phoenix- Renegade

Next Morning

Like most mornings, Ember was an early riser. Unlike the last few times though, everypony else she knew though was just asleep. Big Mac and Frost both tired themselves out with the amount of training that they were doing and were asleep in the barn, Applebloom was having a Sleepover at the Carousel Boutique and Caesar was still in recovery back at Zecora’s hut. She wanted to just watch the sunrise that morning, but life had other plans for her as she felt a familiar tug that the Pyromancer had felt two times already. Ember looked at the Grandfather clock in the Kitchen as it read 4:30am on the dot.

“Pfft. Should be simple enough. I’ll be back in time for when I introduce Caesar to everypony else.”

With that, Ember disappeared with a quick flicker of fire, leaving nothing behind except for ashes and cinders.

Meanwhile…

The Renegades. That’s what they called themselves. Four friends who ended up in Equestria and decided to live by their own set of rules. Especially since how they got there was almost like what happened when you reach 88 miles per hour in Back to the Future. On their journey, they made some friends along the way. Including a Shifter named Kat and a robotic filly that went by the name “SweetieBot”. They had been on the run for the past couple of days after a simple misunderstanding went completely south and now, they were seen as Fugitives just because they fought back against the Royal guards that tried to wrongfully imprison them.

“Tch, I can’t believe we’re labeled criminals just because we defended ourselves from Sunbutt.” Said the Gravity shifter named Kat, as she levitated the car that her and a few other friends that she was with into the air. “I mean really? You expect us to just surrender and go to jail?”

“Well, you did crush Celestia with your gravity powers.” SweetieBot replied. “That’s pretty much frowned upon in Equestria.”

“Don’t forget hitting Blueblood with the car.”

“Shut up, Mike.”

“That’s Dusty to you sis, and you pretty much made things worse for us.” The cat meowed back, rolling his starry eyes.

“Look whatever, let’s just get in the car and leave this place so we can.” Before Daidouji was able to finish speaking, something peculiar had landed on the windshield. It looked like a burning feather and the looks of it caught the attention of the starry feline.

“Hey guys, any idea what this looks like?”

“It looks like a feather.” Said Kumatora. “A very pretty feather if I do say so myself. Hey Dusty, can you get that and bring it over here so I can take a closer look?”

“Give me a second.” He said as he levitated the feather from outside, into the car. “Think it belongs to a bird?”

“I don’t know. I mean, what bird looks like a burning fire?” Daidouji asked. However, something else was beginning to happen as Dusty’s nose began to twitch. “Uh oh…”

“Ah… ah… CHOO!!!”

“Eww!! Not on my clothes!!” Daidouji complained. “Don’t you have any manners at all, stupid cat!?!”

“Uhh… I don’t think that should be our major concern.” Came the reply from the Filly robot in the back seat as the feather began to go up in a spiral of fire. As the shifter was about to get on the Starry Cat’s case for causing the feather to disappear, something else crashed on the hood of the car, causing the airbags to deploy and smack Kat and Kumatora in the face.

“DAMN IT!!! Now I need to call my State Farm Agent!!!”

“I don’t think that works here-.”

“SCREW THE RULES, I HAVE SUPERPOWERS DAMMIT!!!”

“Um not to get off topic or anything, but I think someone or something hit us?”

“No Sh*t!!” Dusty cursed. That was… Until he realized something. “Hey, who’s the chick on the hood of the car?”

“Don’t know, don’t care. What I do know is that she better have money on her to pay for the damage she caused to my sweet ride.”

“You mean the car that bought from you uncle for $25?” Asked Kumatora.

Around now though was when the smoke began to clear up and the new arrival can see all of them. It was another girl with a long red scarf, Grey t-shirt and jeans with sandals. But also, this was when they saw the extent of the damage of the car. Where the complete front end of it was totaled and machine parts were scattered everywhere. She looked up, now seeing the group of renegades. “So… which one of you summoned me and what the hell is going on?”

“Oh nice going Dusty. You summoned a Displaced by accident, not only that but she totaled our ride.” Kat snarled at Dusty, personally ticked at the cat.

“Excuse you?” Ember retorted, personally confused on what was happening.

“What? Never heard of a car before lady?”

“I have. But for being immortal, I haven’t seen one in over one thousand years. Which reminds me, does anyone smell… burning oil?”

“Uh oh.” Daidouji stated. “EVERYONE OUT OF THE CAR NOW!”

Ember herself dashed off of the vehicle in a burst of ash as she reformed next to where Sweetie Bot was and was soon followed by Dusty. Kumatora, Daidouji, and Kat also got away just in time as the automobile exploded, becoming nothing more that burnt metal and car parts. One of the doors from the car even flew open and landed by Daidouji, which Kumatora snickered and told her that she won “The Door Prize”.

“MY CAR! I ONLY HAD ONE MORE PAYMENT ON THAT!” Yelled Kat, as she focus her attention towards the Displaced Human. “YOU! You better have money or something to repair or replace our ride.”

“Uhh… I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I see anything close to a repair shop around here. Which makes me wonder, can’t you just use your powers to just fly over somewhere or something? You do look like that one chick from Gravity Rush.” Ember did not play a lot of games when she was back home on Earth, but she did see a LOT of gameplay videos and watched her classmates play different games. So she did kind of recognized who Kat was based off of. As for Daidouji, all she saw her to be was a Genderbent Jotaro Kujo.

“Okay one I prefer not to waste energy on doing something like, especially when Sunbutt is after us. Two, that car was the only mean of transportation without us having to spend money on a train ride. Which I might add would of gotten us in trouble with the royal guards.”

“We’re kind of already in trouble-.”

“SHUT UP, DUSTY!!!”

All Ember did was sigh. “Okay, what did you do to get on Tia’s bad side?”

“We ran over Prince Blueblood, beat the living hell out of the Elements of harmony along with stealing them so we wouldn’t be turn to stone. Froze, burn, and/or shocked a few royal guards, and freed Sweetie Bot from her stone imprisonment in the Castle of the royal sisters.” Said Kumatora.

“Well crap, you definitely had to piss her off.” Ember sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Understatement of the f***ing millennium lady, now are you paying, fixing, or repairing the damage you caused to my car?” Asked Kat who was tapping her foot in anger.

“You do realize that I have no bits on me and just some other Displaced’s tokens right?”

“I don’t care if you were hobo, either you’re gonna pay for this or else.” Kat snarled as Ember facepalmed herself.

“And just when I thought that Applejack’s temper during the harvest was bad enough-.”

“Stasis Field.” Kat said as she caught Ember in her field of gravity. Ember’s first reaction to this with the floating debris around her was to use the biggest piece of metal as a launch pad. What Kat had in powers, she had in experience and also speed. With a simple push, she accelerated forward and behind the Shifter, striking her with a burning Roundhouse Kick.

“If that’s all you got, then I’m disappointed.” Ember retorted, spitting at the ground by her own feet.

“In case you haven’t notice you’re dealing with a gravity user remember? Which means I can DO THIS!” Kat’s body turn red as she forced Ember onto the ground. Slamming her down though did something the Shifter never expected. Where the Mancer turned into flames that moved with the wind as she reappeared behind her and grabbed her face.

“I am more than a fire user. I am fire itself. These flames are the flames of a phoenix and can not be dispersed so easily. You seem to only have your powers for a few days. I’ve have over a few generations to master mine. Your arrogance affects your judgement.” When she finished, Ember threw her forward, having Kat land into Dusty.

“......Dusty.”

“Yes sis?”

“Mind making a gravitaional field for the rest of the team?”

“Can’t we just talk this out?”

“..........”

“Fine, I always hate it when you get like this.” Dusty levitated next to Kumatora, Daidouji, and Sweetie Bot and created a field of gravity around them.

“Now then.” Kat cracks her neck then her knuckles. “Let’s see how good you are.”

Ember sighed. “A fool’s mistake is to get their friends involved when they rather stay OUT of the conflict that YOU started. Maybe you should actually listen to your Feline Friend. He actually looks a lot smarter than you when it comes to decision making.”

“The only time I’ll listen to my brother is when sh*t hits the fan, other than that I tend to see how things turn out.” Kat started to stretch her leg muscles. “Plus after what we did to Celestia’s royal guards, and being on the road for the past few days. I’m pretty much bored and I need something to do, and you pretty much-.”

She wasn’t able to finish her sentence when a stretched out arm of fire grabbed her and threw her down against the ground, making her lose her concentration on the gravity field. Next up, The Pyromancer focused on the other two as Kumatora tried to hit her with PK fire. But as in the saying goes, all the PSI youth did was add fuel to the fire as Ember caught her flame and threw it back at her. Lastly, there was Daidouji as she tried to attack with a flurry of punches and kicks. Ember stayed on her feet and used her speed to dodge her attacks and get behind her. Using her reflexes, she used her leg to grab her from behind and throw her down.

Now she turned towards Dusty. “So… now that the unnecessary fight is over, mind if we talk about this like normal people?”

“Normally I would say yes, but something tells me that my sister says otherwise.” Dusty said as he pointed to his sister smashing a green crystal in her hand along with her friends. “Little bit of advice, this is just like a ff13 battle system…..somewhat.”

“Hey Dusty, you can use your powers to hold them down right? Like how she tried to do it to me earlier?”

“I’m a NPC that only gives out advice. Sorry lady.”

“Says the fact that you’re with a group that says “Screw The Rules” as their slogan.”

“Well it’s better than the last slogan we had.”

“Let me take a guess.” Ember said, folding her arms. “Renegades for life?”

“No, but that would be a good slogan. Our last slogan was F**k you that’s how.”

“And now they’re starting to mess with the wrong Mancer. I basically formed the badlands when my rage erupted back home. But now, I’m part of the Apple Family. You guys met Applejack?”

“Just be grateful I didn’t activate the battle stage. Oh and yes we… met her.”

“She’s my niece back where I’m from. Also, mind if I let you on a little secret? I’ve only been using like fifteen percent of my total strength.” Ember whispered the last part. “Oh and I met Mr. Popo.”

“Cheeky little minx. That would explain why you’re at lvl 100 in this world.”

“Not to mention that I can basically cause Magma to surge from under their feet if I wanted too.” Ember sighed, snapping a finger and having a spout of Magma surge from under Daidouji’s feet.

“Elemental rings, a gift that Spike gave them that nullifies any to all types of elemental magic.” Dusty replied.

“Who said I was using magic?” Ember told her

“IT BURNS!!!!!!”

“You can’t die Daidouji. Remember? Battle stage have been activated the moment she did that.”

“Oh… still, it burns.”

“Big boobed idiot. I’m surprise she haven’t killed or knocked any guy out with those.”

“Sexist.” Ember shot back at Dusty. “Besides, consider this like a training exercise or a Tutorial stage because I’m not planning on killing anyone.”

“Battle stage is set up like a double edge sword.” The Starry Feline told Ember as she looked at the party in front of her. “Both sides are evenly match depending on what level the person is and the conditions of the battle location. Right now, it just one of those tutorial stages seeing how you’re level 100 and these three are only level 10.”

“Right… So what exactly am I teaching them?” The Fire Mancer asked the cat. “Team coordination or working together as a group?”

“No, it’s pretty much item using and accessory boosts. We did the whole team coordination with the Elements of Harmony.”

“Hmm… Should I do something that almost kills them, but teaches them how to use healing items? If so, I got just the thing that I kind of picked up when I met the Ginyu Force.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. See the speech bubble above them?” Ember looked and nodded her head, only seeing it partially. “That pretty much will explain to them how to use items in battle.”

Then, one second later, the bubble disappeared and Ember used it as her cue to blast them with a burst of Flames. “Wildfire” was the name of the attack, but it significantly reduced their health down to size in a raging inferno. “Did that work?”

Dusty looked at his friends as Kat pulled out a green crystal and smashed it onto the ground. Engulfing the three in a mist a green energy. The mist vanished as the three fighters rose back to their feet, with all their wounds healed. “Does that answer your question?”

“Yeah, it does. Now, isn’t this a two part tutorial?” Ember asked. “You did say that the other half of the tutorial was focused on accesories or whatever the hell the second part was.”

“They can equip or switch between whatever gear they have, it’ll help when dealing with those that use elemental, magic, or physical attack. Not only that, but sometimes an item may allow them to use a spell or two.”

“Like in the Golden Sun games with Djinn?” Ember asked. She remembered finishing Golden Sun: Dark Dawn and how she could use Different kinds of Djinn to perform special abilities and summon various creatures.

“Something like that yes, but that’s with the tokens they have. Let’s just hope they don’t summon Guardian or you’ll be K.O. in one hit.”

“Yeah… Something tells me that they might now listen to you.”

“Maybe, but then again Kat is hard headed at times. Not to mention you wrecked her car so I think she won’t be listening to either of us.”

“Technically, one of you did summon me so you know the location of where you do it determines where the Displaced will land.”

“Yet you couldn’t move out of the way or turn to flames when you were being summoned?”

“One, I was walking through a bright portal and I couldn’t see a damn thing. Two, the moment I could see, I was already on top of the car. and three-.” Before Ember could say three, Kat could be seen channeling a LOT of power around her. “-Is that what you were talking about?”

“No, but I think she figure out how to make a micro black hole.”

“You mean mini?”

“No micro. If she made a mini black hole, then you wouldn’t be here and be sent to lord knows where…… that or kill you just like that manticore they fought when they found Sweetie Bot.”

“Noted. So I’m guessing were almost done?”

“Yeah pretty much.” Dusty told her. “I’m going to turn off the battle system now that we finished with the tutorial.”

“Fine by me. I think I might need to go soon, but I do have a good suggestion for you dealing with the car trouble.” Ember told the cat while the other three girls were walking towards her. “Have you heard of Discord?”

“Don’t you mean Eris? Goddess of Chaos and Discord?”

“Something along those lines.” Ember said. “The point being that since she is a Draconequus and uses Chaos Magic, there’s no limits to what she can do. So basically, if you get on her good side, she can conjure a new car for you guys. Maybe a Porsche if you’re lucky.”

“Kinda hard to get in contact with her when she pretty much trying to keep under the radar from Celestia.”

“Hmm… Then why don’t you try to go to a place where only she would know about. Like the castle of the twin sisters in the Everfree forest?”

“We just came from the Everfree.”

“Huh… If that’s the case, then try going north to Vanhoover or the Crystal Empire. Somewhere where the weather might play a crucial factor to her search efforts.” Ember said, seeing that Dusty was once again holding her summoning token. “Oh and do you guys happen to have a summoning token on you?”

“Yeah we do.” Dusty levitated three tokens. One was a purple crystal, a Mr. Saturn that didn’t seem to be alive to what Ember could tell, and a bento box. “Here you go.”

“Thanks. Oh and please stay safe. All of you seriously got guts to be making Celestia mad. I just hope you three don’t get sent to the sun for your actions.” With that, Ember disappeared in another pillar of fire, leaving behind a burnt patch of ground as she returned to her own world and back to the apple farm that she called home. That’s was when though… Kat could be heard yelling in response to the last statement

“WAIT, WE CAN GET BANISHED TO THE SUN!?! HOW THE HELL IS THAT POSSIBLE?!!”

End Chapter 10

11- Stay Strong

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Stay strong

Zecora’s Hut (Caesar)

Ember had just returned again from meeting another Displaced and now, she was heading towards the hut of Zecora; the Zebra that lived in the Everfree Forest, to check on Caesar.

As she neared Zecora’s hut however, she noticed that both Zecora and Caesar were out and about in the small clearing around the hut. Zecora was standing close to the hut itself, while Caesar was running about doing some kind of spinning motion. But it didn’t look like he was simply fooling around as he had a serious face on and seemed frustrated about something. Presumably something to do with all the spinning.

“You okay there, Caesar?”

Caesar stopped and turned around to face Ember. As he realized it was her, he smiled.

“Yeah, just a bit excited. I managed to do ‘Defense curl’ in my sleep! So I was trying to do it again and see if I could learn it properly and maybe learn some other transfer-only moves.” He said happily. But right after saying that he suddenly sat down on the ground.

“Heh, guess I got to work on it some more, getting really dizzy…” He said, trying to keep the world around him from spinning.

While Caesar was recovering, Zecora came up to Ember to greet her.

“Good day Ember, You have come for Caesar as I remember. Caesar is so much better today, I don’t think he has any reason to stay.” Zecora said looking back at Caesar as he was getting back up.

“All this talk about his ‘moves’, at first I thought they were just a ruse. But alas I was wrong, this boy is quite strong.” Zecora said with a small smile.

“I can tell.” Ember smiled happily. “You look like you’re getting the hang of your abilities.”

“Yeah. I discovered early on that I can use any moves a Pikachu can learn. But it seems that the transfer-only moves are a bit more tricky. But I guess that makes sense, some of the moves don’t really fit a Pikachu. But I would still love to learn them… if it’s possible that is.” Caesar explained with a somewhat dreamy expression.

“Right… I’m starting to think that you don’t want to see Applebloom and the rest of your new family, do you?” Ember asked, folding her arms for a brief moment as her words caught Caesar’s attention. It made his ears twitch and his cheeks spark a little. “Applebloom is excited to show her new little brother to the rest of her siblings.”

“Oh, no. Of course I do! I was just so excited to learn about transfer only moves that I… forgot. Sorry.” Caesar said looking a bit embarrassed about having done so.

“It’s alright, little guy. You’ll have enough time to learn your moves afterwards, I promise.” Ember chuckled, offering the pikachu boy a place on her back to crawl on. “Ready to go?”

Caesar smiled and nodded once before jumping up onto her back before turning around while still holding onto Ember with one hand and waved towards Zecora.

“Goodbye Zecora. Thanks for taking care of me.” He said waving goodbye with his free hand.

“Bye Zecora. Thank you so much all of your help!”

“I guess there’s no reason being late, the time spent with you has been great.” Zecora responded while waving her own hoof at them until they were out of sight.

“So… um… how is Applebloom’s family? I mean, I’ve met Applebloom, but I don’t really know anything about her family…” Caesar asked, breaking the silence that had been since they left Zecora’s.

“You mean what are they like?” Ember asked. “Well, she has two older siblings. A sister and a brother and besides me, she also has a grandmother.”

Caesar nodded. “Yes, I think it would be good to know a little about them before I meet them, but I also think I should know more about… ponies in general. I mean, the only one I’ve met is Applebloom and she is only about my age. And I really don’t want to do something inappropriate or embarrassing only because I don’t understand something.” Caesar explained.

“Well, it’s kind of complicated if you ask me. But let me try to help,” Ember said, her flames taking the form of three kinds of ponies. “Applebloom herself is an earth pony. A pony that is one with the land. Therefore, they have a lot of talents that involve hard work and strength. There are only two other normal kinds of ponies. Unicorns that have horns and can control Magic and Pegasi that have a pair of wings and can control the weather in the sky.”

“Wait, magic?” Caesar asked, his eyes going wide.

“Yeah. Like mine, but different.” Ember said, pointing out her flames. “Think like when an Alakazam picks something up with Telekinesis or when Mewtwo teleports.”

“Oh, I think I get it… is it very specific in what it can do, like pokémon moves or can it do a lot of different stuff beyond what you mentioned?” Caesar asked, thinking about the possibilities involving magic.

“Yeah, but it varies depending on who uses it and how much power they have. Unicorns and Alicorns, a species of ponies only found in royalty, can control magic, but it is limited by certain guidelines. Like you can only use certain moves out of combat for you like Flash or Strength. However, another species called Draconequus though, that’s a whole different story.”

Caesar rubbed the side of his head. “That is quite a lot to think about… but… isn’t it unfair?”

“Well, it really focuses on you and your strengths. Draconequus like Discord though,” Ember said, showing a fiery projection of the Spirit, “-are masters of Chaos Magic. Almost like a legendary Pokemon. They can learn any move and master it with ease depending on the guidelines they follow.”

“Reminds me of a move that allows a pokémon to learn a move it observes permanently, don’t remember what it’s called though… But I was more hinting towards the fact that Unicorns and… Alicorns you said? - well, while they get to use magic, pegasi are limited to flying and earth ponies have a connection to nature? Isn’t that like… far less possibilities for them?” Caesar asked while looking at Ember with a frown.

“Honestly, it depends on that ponies talent. There Cutie Mark on their flank that they earn tells a Pony what they’re skilled at and how they could help others. As for the Pegasi, they can control the weather and are responsible for the rainy seasons in Equestria while Earth Ponies are the only ones capable of growing food.” Ember finished for a moment… before speaking again. “It’s like a cycle. Are you familiar with the Pokemon of Alpha, Omega and Delta?”

“You mean the ruby, sapphire and emerald remakes that came out on Nintendo 3DS?”

“Yeah. Groudon represents the Land. Kyogre represents the Sea and Rayquaza represents the sky. Now… think about that and then think about this. Earth Ponies represent the Land, Unicorns represent the magic that flows through this land like the waves of the sea and the Pegasi represent the weather and the sky. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, I think I understand… wait a sec,” Caesar suddenly began to search for something in his pocket and quickly got a 3DS XL out. It was black and had a golden motif of a Pikachu on it. He quickly opened it up and began writing everything Ember told him on virtual notes with the little stylus that came with the small handheld gaming device. “There, now I won’t forget and… what? how come it’s charging?” Caesar asked, completely baffled and glad at the same time that he wouldn’t have to worry about charging his gaming device. Not noticing that his cheeks were buzzing slightly with electricity.

“Seems like your cheeks react to electrical devices. Since Pikachu’s are electric types.”

Caesar quickly put a hand to his cheek and felt that they truly were reacting to something. Looking down to the device in his hand he frowned.

“That doesn’t make much sense… I mean, you can’t just carelessly charge something by using a random power source, you have to take into account the stuff like watt, ohm and things like that. Otherwise it could break!” As soon as he said that Caesar seemed to realize exactly what he said and immediately let go of the DS, afraid of breaking it. The DS fell to the ground which fortunately consisted of soft dirt. Looking at the DS Caesar saw that the small light indicating that the device was charging had turned off and that his cheeks had stopped reacting him holding the DS.

“I… I guess I’ll have to be careful with it. Think they possibly have regular DS chargers for sale somewhere around here?” Caesar asked, already suspecting the answer to be no.

“Yeah. You kind of are a human light socket.”

At that Caesar suddenly grew sad and and his eyes began to fill with tears.

“Y-you mean I won’t be able to play on my DS, ever?” Caesar asked with a trembling voice.

“I never said that. What I was trying to tell you is that over time, if you control your powers, then you can play your DS without damaging it.”

With hope returning, Caesar sighed and jumped of Ember’s back to pick up his DS and quickly shoved it into his pocket. Looking around some Caesar tried to judge the distance they had already traveled during their conversation.

“How far is it until we’re there? Maybe I could walk rest of the way? I don’t want to be an inconvenience…” Caesar said, realizing he should probably have said something about that earlier.

“Actually,” Ember replied as the two of them soon reached a clearing. “We’re here.”

“Oh.” Caesar simply replied as he took in the sights of Sweet Apple Acres. Everything from the Massive trees to the bright red barn. Outside the barn, Caesar could see a huge red stallion and a orange mare. Both of them earth ponies. Then, Applebloom came out, turning around to see both him and Ember, filled with Joy and Glee.

“Oh. Hi Applebloom nice to-” was all Caesar managed to say before Applebloom tackled him with a hug, making him fall over from the sudden “tackle”.

“Looks like somepony’s excited to see you.” Ember giggled.

“App-Applebloom, Air!” Caesar managed to squeeze out as he was suffocating from the highly effective assault.

“Aunt Embah, who is this little Critter?” Applejack asked as she trotted over to the both of them. “And why is Applebloom hugging him like tha?”

“Applejack. Big Mac. I would like the two of you to meet Caesar. He’s a lot younger than me, but came to Equestria the same way I did. Since he’s around Appleblooms age, I thought we would let him stay here for the time being and let him have fun with Applebloom and her friends. Plus, it’ll be good to have extra hands-er I mean hooves on deck for when Zap Apple season is coming.”

“Zap Apples? What’s that?” Caesar asked, his curiosity overwinning his confusion about Ember’s use of the word hooves when he clearly had hands.

“They’re special apples that only come around during the spring.” Ember first said. “But I believe Applebloom can explain more about them.”

“Yah, ah reckon ah can do dat,” Applebloom stated with a smile. “Come on Caesar, Ah show ya where tah trees are.” With that, the Filly and the Young Boy were soon walking over that direction. With it though, Applejack now looked at her Aunt with a raised eyebrow.

“Is there somethin’ we need ta know about him? Because he looks a bit… different than you or Frost and it isn’t like ya to just bring a youngsta home like a stray kitten. Ah know you want ta help tha boy, but we need ta talk about this as ah family first.”

“Applejack, when I found him, he was dying of a common cold from sleeping a night in the Everfree forest. He’s scared and with abilities that he doesn’t know about. If Zecora and I didn’t find him when he did, he would be a goner. I owe it to him to help him feel comfortable and have a family here he could call home.”

Instantly, Applejack donned a face of worry.

“Ah goner? You mean he’h be … dead. Goshdarnit, I guess it was a good thing ya found him… He’s gonna be alright, ain’t he?” Applejack looked towards the acres that contained the currently completely naked Zap Apple trees where the youngsters had gone.

“I found him only yesterday and he’s had some time to rest, so he should be fine. If anything does occur though, I can go back to Zecora’s and see what’s wrong. He’s quite the curious soul despite being timid at times. Almost makes me think of Fluttershy.”

“Really now... “ Applejack frowned a little. “Ya said yesterday, didn’t ya? So how come he’s already out and about, Ah reckoned he’d be restin’ still?”

“Well, I found him yesterday. Zecora might’ve tended to him for a while before I showed up.”

“That must be it… So, does he… ya know, eat the same as you?” Applejack asked Ember with an awkward look on her face.

“I’m an Omnivore and rely on meats, fruits and vegetables to stay healthy. Caesar might be the same, but something tells me that it might be different. We’ll just have to wait and see. Plus, Apple Bloom gets to see what it’s like to take care of a little brother.” Ember smiled, watching as she saw the filly interact with the youngster. During this though, she felt a familiar tug and realized that she was being called upon.

“Hey Mac, Mind watchin everypony for a little while. I gotta go somewhere real quick.”

“Really, go where?” Applejack asked.

“That part doesn’t matter. But what you should know is,” Ember looked back at her family and smiled. “I’ll be back.”

Before Applejack could even ask about it, Ember disappeared in a small plume of flames, slightly burning the ground beneath where she was standing.

Elsewhere…

“Hey, Moondancer.”

“Yes Kaoru?”

“Why do you have a feather in your mane?” Kaoru asked as she pointed at the brightly colored feather that was in her hair.

“Sonata gave this to me, something about it being a good luck charm or something.” Moondancer said as she levitated the feather toward Kaoru, allowing her to look at it a little more closely.

“You think she got it from a store or something?”

“Highly doubt it,” the Unicorn replied back. “The Feather is a rare phoenix feather. You can’t find these in stores now-a-days because of the limited amount of them that are around. My guess is either she found this lying around… or she did something dumb and bought it off the black market in exchange for tacos.”

“I’m gonna go with the taco one.” Kaoru said as she tossed the feather aside. However, in doing so, the small feather began to glow brighter than it once did as a flame began to flicker. “Oh crap! Quick get something to put the flames out!” The two of them didn’t have the time to react properly as a figure emerged from the flames. A woman who appeared to be just as old as Kaoru in it with a burgundy scarf, gray shirt and dark blue jeans.

She soon looked up, looking around the room. “Hello.”

“Great, more Displaced… Can’t I ever get a moment of peace for once in this messed up world?” Kaoru said as she hid under the covers with Moondancer.

“Well, hello to you too.” she replied sarcastically. “I’m going to go out on a whim here and say that you two are ghouls.”

“Moondancer is, I’m not anymore.”

“Your tone doesn’t match your words.” The woman told her, noticing how the voices weren’t in synch. “Besides… it’s surprising for me to meet someone like you. I’ve already met a few other Displaced… Well, most of them were morons and one of them was… something else. I didn’t think you two would find my token.”

“That was Sonata that found it.”

“Yet, it only reacts to other Displaced… Trust me… I’ve been around over 1500 years and-.”

“Woopty fricken doo, your old big deal.”

“No, you don’t because you cut me off. I am immortal… A tortured Phoenix.” Ember told her. “And I can tell that you are in pain.”

“If you’re here to try to cheer me up, then good luck with that. Because the last displaced didn’t help, and he was annoying to the point where I wanted to gut him.”

“Unlike him, I can actually do something.” Ember told her. “But it requires you to trust me. All people have good intentions, but our opinions at times clouds our vision to where we only see the negative side of things.” She then sighed, looking back at Moondancer before looking at Kaoru again. “Now… do you trust me?”

“....Fine I’ll trust you, but if you do anything I don’t like then I’ll have Moondancer or Sonata throw stuff at you.”

“Fair enough,” Ember replied, softly touching her forehead just once. Kaoru might not have been able to see anything happen on the outside, but what was going on was on the inside. That single touch on her forehead had a massive wave of Life Force flow through her body, acting as white blood cells to fight against bacteria. Burning away any remnants of Carnage Kabuto and the bands that bound her. Allowing her body to return to normal. “There… done. Your body should mostly be back to normal. My energy is the same powers as a phoenix when it dies and is reborn from the ashes. The circumstances that held your body down are now different. Your will is what you need to have you become a ghoul. Not a material object… Also, you gained another… interesting ability.”

“What ability?” Moondancer snarled, thinking that Ember did something to her.

“Easy there, I didn’t harm her. Since the energy I gave you is not going to disappear anytime soon, you can split it into multiple selves.” Looking at Kaoru, she sighed before giving her a simplified explanation. “Think Agent Smith from the Matrix.”

Kaoru looked at Moondancer, before looking at the Pyromancer again. She only had one thing to say in response. “Oh, F*** the hell yes!!”

“So how many can she make of herself?” Moondancer asked.

“That… depends on the amount of energy she uses. She may have a lot of energy, but each clone takes a small amount for her to control. Also, she can mentally command them and they’re linked with the original body. Which means if the clones get hurt, the original host feels the same pain. So I say that two should be your limit now until you learn how to control it and make more.” She told them, explaining it step by step. “However, remember, the same energy that allows you this ability is linked to what’s healing your body. Which means the more clones you have, the slower your body heals.”

“So I have to be more careful than how I was before. Damn, and I was so enjoying the quick healing factor.”

“Your healing though should have your body be back to normal in about four hours.” Ember advised them, looking back at Moondancer before telling Kaoru something else. “But I think there’s one other thing that you’re overlooking regarding yourself, Kaoru. Remember what I first said before Moondancer asked about the clone ability?”

“I get the feeling they’ll have different personalities of their own I take it?” Kaoru asked.

“Well, that’s the thing. You wanted to stay human correct?”

“Technically I’m half, just without the darkness around my one eye or kagune.”

Ember sighed, looking back at Kaoru. “Maybe it’ll be best if you try your abilities now. That way you can see for yourself.”

“And how do I do that fire lady?”

“Just think of it in your head. Your brain is a canvas and you are the brush. Whatever you think of will be created.” She replied.

“.........”

“Just snap your fingers, Kaoru.” Moondancer said.

“Oh okay.” With a snap of a finger, two different versions of herself appeared next to her and Moondancer. “Well…… this is interesting to say the least.”

“Since you are half human and half ghoul, the two clones you made represent that,” The Pyromancer explained, pointing at them. “The one on your left is the human you. The one on the right is the ghoul you.”

“Naw really? I couldn’t tell.” Kaoru ghoul side said sarcastically.

“Sarcasm is not your best trait.” Ember deadpanned. “Plus, I’ve been patient with you. I don’t think you really want me to demonstrate what I’m fully capable of. In my world, my rage is the reason why the badlands were created.”

“Lady, I’m friends with a Displaced who can simply change a world with just a simple thought. Compare to you he’s scarier.”

With a snap of her fingers, a bright and blinding ball of fire that was a miniature sun appeared in her hands. “Oh trust me, one who imagines things to happen is ineffective if you don’t believe in his tricks. Where is your friend anyways?” She asked, standing up and walking towards the door.

“Outside talking to his breezie friend, why?”

“I was just curious.” She replied. “From the way you described it, he seems to be just as strong as I am.” Opening the door, she noticed the small charm hanging on the door and turned it around, seeing the notice from the previous visitor Kaoru had. Taking it off the store, she stored it in her pocket before turning around to notice another pony seeing her. One who was carrying an entire rack of tacos.

“What is this, Taco Tuesday?”

“Well it is Tuesday silly… Wait a minute, you’re not Kaoru!”

“No, but I did heal her-.”

“Chrysalis we have an intruder in our base!” Sonata yelled as she pressed the alarm button on her communicator watch.

“Oh come on! Seriously!?!” Ember yelled, turning to the Displaced and her Unicorn friend. “Kaoru, get out here and calm down your friend. She thinks I’m an intruder and-. Oh, for phyrron's sake, STOP SCREAMING ALREADY!!!”

“Quick get the guns we gotta protect the tacos!” Sonata said as she held a lifebar in her hooves. “I’ll deal with her. The rest of you get the boss.” The pony soon got her weapons and tried to hit Ember by firing a barrage of bullets. Only for a purple screen to pull up in front of Ember, labeled “IMMORTAL OBJECT” like the command in Sword Art Online.

“No fair! That’s cheating!”

Ember sighed, facepalming to herself. “It isn’t cheating if it’s true…”

“Hacks! I call hacks!”

“YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH, TACO LADY!!!”

“IT’S STILL HACKS YOU CHICKEN LADY-!!!” The moment that Sonata tried to fire again, Ember held up her hand and a small wave of heat had her guns turn into piles of Ash on the floor.

“I’m called the Tortured Phoenix for a reason. It’s not a title. It’s what I am.”

“Don’t care.” Sonata said as she pulled out a rocket launcher. That caused Ember to flinch a little, wondering where the hell does she keep all these things before having another wave of fire knock Sonata backwards.

“To be fair… You almost had a point. But let me fill you in on something… I’ve been alive for 1500 years, I hate everyone equally when they have the nerve to piss me off, and no one gives a damn about who the hell I am…”

“Oh cry me a river chicken lady.” Sonata said as she unpinned a grenade and dropped near her.

“Call me a chicken again and I will have half a mind to leave you kentucky fried. Besides… you do realize that you are just destroying your own base right?” With that, Ember used her abilities and energy to teleport herself to where she was outside the door. “So… jokes on you.”

“Please this is a normal thing for me.” Sonata said as she appeared next to Ember. “We can patch this place up in no time.”

“Yes, but how are you going to explain to your boss, who I believe is standing right behind you, all the property damage you caused?” Ember said, pointing a finger behind her. “Because I only came here because Kaoru summoned me. Not to cause any trouble whatsoever.”

“Oh… well why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“YOU WERE FIRING GUNS AT ME WHEN I WAS TRYING TO CALM YOU DOWN!!!” Ember shot back.

“You could’ve just made a barrier around yourself and said it while I kept attacking you.”

“To be fair, I use violence as a last resort… Also, I’m being serious about your boss being behind you… Is your boss a changeling?”

“That’s Queen of the Changelings to you, human.” Chrysalis said before patting Sonata’s head. “Good job Sonata at attacking somepony in our base.”

“You do realize I’m the reason why Kaoru is back on her feet, right? She’s herself again and can clone herself.” Ember told them. “Also, Sonata here tried to blow up your base with a rocket launcher.”

“To be fair this is pretty much a normal thing for us when she does that.”

“Not really considering the fact that I’m not normal. Sonata can tell you that.”

“The part about you being immortal, yeah I overheard the conversation you had over her communicator. Which I’m not impressing seeing how we meet certain void dwellers that can deal with those that are immortal.”

Ember sighed, looking back at Chrysalis. She seemed just as stubborn as Applejack back home. “Yes, I’m well aware of that, but I’m a different case. Nevermind that, I was in your hideout here because Kaoru summoned me.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, looking at Sonata before looking back at Ember. Unconvinced. “And how did that happen?”

“My token was the phoenix feather Moondancer was wearing.” She sighed, showing them an example before having it turn into flames. “Anyways, you may be relieved to hear that I helped mend her back to full health. Whoever tried helping her really needs to obtain a medical degree first before trying to help anymore patients because they screwed up with Kaoru big time. Also, she has some new perks that you might want to pay attention too.”

“Well sorry if I don’t have the proper equipment like most hospitals do.” said Adagio glaring at Ember. “You try patching her up without the use of your fancy displaced powers, and equipment that’s made from spare parts from the junkyard. This league isn’t funded by anyone, so don’t mock my abilities as a doctor seeing how you never had to operate on somepony without the use of magic or displaced powers.”

Ember sighed a little, looking back at Adagio. “You didn’t hear the last part of my sentence did you?”

“I did, but you also mocked my medical skill. Something that no one should mock especially from a displaced who never operated on somepony without the use of her powers.”

“My intention was never to mock. To phrase it differently, I’m sometimes brutally honest.” The Pyromancer apologized to Adagio as she continued. “The trace of both the bands that were holding her in place and the poison in her body has been removed and her body is back to normal. Give her a few hours and she’ll be back to normal. Also, don’t be surprised when you see three of her walking around the place.”

“Great, as if one of her was enough.” Adagio said annoyingly.

“The thing is, right now, Kaoru is half human, half ghoul. The two clones of her are based on her human and ghoul side and she has control over them. But still, Kaoru told me something… interesting. Something of another Displaced here besides the last one that came here. I believed he was known as The Visionary.”

“If you’re looking for Gremmy, he’s outside on the roof.”

“Gremmy?” Ember replied, chuckling to herself for a minute. “Sorry, I just thought you said Gummy for a minute.”

“No, she said Gremmy.” Gremmy said appearing next to Ember.

“Why this is a surprise,” The Pyromancer turned around, looking at the visionary. Seeing the look on his face and his blondish hair definitely surprised her because Gremmy was not like who she assumed for him to be. “When I first heard of this visionary, I expected you to be…… older.”

“1,599 years old, the reason why I look young is because I don’t age.”

“Welcome to the club. Same here. 1500 years and counting.” She told him. “I’m going to take a guess that you either imagined yourself to live this long or is it something else?”

“I’m imagination incarnation, can’t die until the end of time.”

“That sucks. I’m the tortured phoenix, reincarnated. My powers and my immortality were given to me from a dying phoenix. If you were to kill me, I’ll just rise from the ashes again.”

“So you’re pretty much just one of those kind of Displaced.”

Ember raised an eyebrow when she heard Gremmy refer to her as kind. “I’m not quite sure what you mean by kind, but power wise, my rage is the reason why the badlands were created back home.” That response got Chrysalis and Sonata to look at her in shock. Eyes wide open as they stared at her.

“And I meet a Displaced who can destroy a world with the power of gravity, your point?”

“Not trying to prove anything. You’re actually the first Displaced that actually took my interest. The others I met were a bunch of renegades who blamed me for destroying their car, a bunch of idiots as the Ginyu Force that were being trained by Mr. Popo and some guy as Ultron. So, you and Kaoru are actually the ones that I like better than those guys. Most of them except for Ultron act like idiots at times.”

“You tend to get use to it from time to time when meeting other Displaced.” Ember nodded her head in agreement, looking around them and realizing just how much of an open space they were in. If she wanted, she could challenge Gremmy in a fight. However, her concern was that it would track unnecessary attention. Especially since these guys were vigilantes.

“I’m going to assume you overheard me talking about Kaoru?”

“It’s not that hard to hear or feel your presence in this world.”

“So you already know about her new abilities. Expected… But what about your… other companion. I heard Moondancer refer to her as Lotus?” Ember asked, mentioning the name of the breezie. She had heard of them before, but never saw one in the flesh.

“Over here chicken lady.” Lotus said munching on a piece of gummy worm.

“ … I’m letting that slide, but just like I told Sonata, I have half a mind to leave someone kentucky fried if they call me that again.”

“You and I both know that you would be in trouble with Gremmy here if you even think about trying that.”

“ … Fair enough. Besides, you should be thanking me for helping Kaoru.” Ember told the Breezie. “She’s back on her feet again and now has two of herself like if it’s Agent Smith from the Matrix.”

“Just like Arima, but different.”

“Quite…” Ember sighed, “So, what else is there that you need me for. Because I’m being tempted to start calling Sonata Police Girl right around now… I am curious though as to see how Gremmy’s powers serve him…… in combat.”

“You really think you can beat Gremmy, Master of Imagination?” Lotus asked while laughing.

“Not exactly beat… I just want to get a chance to unwind. I haven’t been able to use all of my strength in such a long time that I have been itching for a fight. Plus… I believe you can’t imagine something in which I can’t destroy.”

“Wanna bet, because you’re the fifth Displaced that said something like that.” Ember smirked, her eyes giving off a fierce predatory glance as a golden fire like aura around her. The second she saw Gremmy blink, she blazed forth a trail behind her before grabbing Gremmy’s face and setting off an explosion.

“I can only use my full strength for two to three minutes, but it makes my flames as hot as a thousand suns. So… let’s make this fight worth it!!!”

“*sigh* And here I thought I could relax for a while, but it seems I have no choice but to fight.” Gremmy said as he dust himself off and pulled out four keys. “Unlock code 2345.” He said as the keys broke into pieces. “Over confidence will get you killed.”

“Thanks for the tip.” She replied, adopting a low combat stance as her legs got into a crouch. “Remember though, this is only lasting for a limited amount of time. This is technically how I relax.”

Just don’t blame me if you get wrecked.”

“Same here.” Ember grinned. The Fires around her began to rage as they burned the ground by her feet. With a snap of her finger, Molten flames burst forth from her, heading towards Gremmy from all sides in front of him. She watched as he easily swerved to the right to avoid all the flames entirely, but the Pyromancer had more tricks up her sleeve with the next blast she fired as it grabbed onto Gremmy’s wrist.

“Get OVER HERE!!” She yelled, trying to yank Gremmy off of his feet. Only problem though was that we wasn’t budging.

“What part of imagination did you not understand?” Gremmy said as he made the fire like rope disappeared from his wrist. “I can imagine anything that you would think of, for example.” Gremmy snapped his fingers as Ember heard a snapping sound coming from her right leg. She instantly fell on one knee as she placed a hand on the ground. “I can imagine your bones to be a brittle as a cookie.”

“Heh… true… But… it puts me in a position I wanted to be in.” She snickered, her energy forming around her hand. What happened next was a molten fist emerging from behind Gremmy, smacking him forward. “The first few attacks were to observe your moves. Now… I know how exactly in order to proceed.” The Pyromancer now began to stand again, using an ability she had called Remedy. It allowed her to divert a significant amount of her energy to reinforce the bones in her body. “I haven’t fought like this in centuries… Let’s have some fun!”

“This should be interesting.” Gremmy said with a smile on his face. “But even I know you can’t keep healing your body forever.” The Visionary point his finger at Ember’s right shoulder. “Let’s see how good you are when I imagine your healing factor slowing down.” with that a hole about the size of a water pipe appeared on Ember’s right shoulder. Ember’s first reaction was forcing her flames onto the hole, burning her in the process, but using the method to close the hole. Fighting through the pain, she twisted her wrist, which in turn caused Magma to erupt from below Gremmy’s feet in a fiery upward blast. Almost like a volcano erupting.

“Did you really think that move would work?” Gremmy said walking out of the Volcanic eruption. “It’s not that hard to figure out most of your moves seeing how they fire based attacks.”

“If you think my fire is ordinary, then that is your first mistake.” With that, Ember released another plume of flames. However, this time, it actually burned his sleeve. Another plume burned the edge of his hood as he slid backwards. But another thing caught his attention when she quickened her reflexes, surprising him with a newfound boost of speed as a hand of burning heat tried to tear off his jacket.

“Huh. It’s a good thing I had made a copy of myself during that little fire show of yours.” Gremmy said appearing on the sidelines with a drink in hand. “Little bit of advice Ember, never think that you’re fight the real person or enemy sometimes. Because they can pretty much get a lot of info on you just by watching you.” He said as he made the imagination clone of himself disappeared. “Interesting way of using your life force to increase your attack power, but you’ll have to do better than that if you’re even able to stand up against someone as strong as me.” Gremmy said as he flicked his finger sending Ember through an abandoned building nearby. “Now that I know that little trick of yours, I’ll have no problem defending myself from that.”

“Touche’. But you’re forgetting one thing. Your time is almost up.” She reminded him. “I only said three minutes.”

“For person who’s supposed to be strong, you really are a disappointment.”

“Yet, this isn’t my world. I would have enough power to burn down the entire world, but with great power comes great responsibility. I don’t use it to play games or have fun. Mine comes with a purpose… You can’t imagine anything if you can’t use your brain. Now, if you would excuse me, I’m going to say my goodbyes to Kaoru.” With that, the Pyromancer walked back on inside, passing Sonata on the way in along with a stunned Lotus. Soon, she arrived back at Kaoru’s door and knocked on it briefly.

“Ha! Jokes on you I can…..wait are you calling me an idiot?”

“Kaoru, it’s Ember. I wanted to make sure I said goodbye to you and Moondancer before I go back to my world.” She told her. Soon, the door slowly crept open, with Moondancer on the other side of it.

“So how the fight go with Gremmy?” asked Moondancer.

“I got a good few hits in, however, I put myself on a timer since I need to get back to my family at Sweet Apple Acres.” Ember replied back to the Unicorn. “Otherwise… He was… well… I don’t normally say this, but he was kind of boring.”

“Said the girl who put herself on a time, what do you expect when you do something like that?”

“Honestly, I thought he would show a little more effort. All he used his powers for just made me think he was trying to run away from conflict instead of actually fighting. He tried slowing me down, preventing my healing abilities, and teleportation. I first expected him to have actual combat maneuvers rather than just dodging and weaving. He seriously needs to learn responsibility.” Ember told the Unicorn as she closed the door behind her.

“One, he did the dodging and weaving to get info on you. Second, unless you can actually go all out on him then he’ll go all out on you. Third, you think those are the only moves he know? If you haven’t notice he’s pretty much a god like being, minus the abuse of power and stuff. Be grateful that you didn’t piss him off like the last pony did.”

“I get that. The entire thing was like the beginning of a game of chess,” She said, comparing the board game to their tactics. “Early on, both sides would be hesitant to take a move. I was ironically doing the same thing with all three of the points you said. I was trying to see how Gremmy would act and respond and he was doing the same to me… However, I wonder one thing now…”

“And that is?” Kaoru asked.

“What if there’s a backlash to his abuse in power? Something he never saw coming. You don’t know that you would have Cancer until the doctor finds out and when they do find out, it might be too late for them… I just wonder what would Gremmy do when he begins to feel backlash.”

“That might be hard for him to feel that seeing how he has no physical body. And even if that did you need something that can actually do that to him. But I’m sure somewhere in his life something like that happen and he made himself immune to something like that.”

“You’re not far off” Gremmy said catching Moondancer and Kaoru off guard.

“Heh… thought you would be there listening in.”

“When someone is talking about me I listen in. To answer your question I had a backlash once a few years ago. So, to prevent that from happening again, Lotus gave me a labodyme.”

“Interesting… do go on.” Ember insisted, letting him continue.

“That and she had me keep my brain hidden.” Gremmy said as he open his head like a can. “Empty like the vacuum of space.”

“Strangely enough,” Ember mentioned, “There are similarities between us. Just that the circumstances are different. My backlash was… my rage. My anger and fury created the badlands after a group of hunters snapped the neck of my friend in cold blood after I refused to kill a young buffalo that stole food from them. It was then that I realized I needed to learn how to control my abilities more and not let them control me. I spent over 1000 years mastering it so an event like such would not happen again.”

“Well better late than never. Lord knows you don’t to wait too long before you did something like that in the later future.”

“Actually… the friend who died… His brother lived on. I helped him start his family… and he included me in it.” Ember told them as she looked back at Gremmy and Kaoru.”

“Let me guess, someone from the apple family?”

“Golden Apple. His brother’s name was Red Apple and his Daughter was named Granny Smith.” The Pyromancer recalled. “Now, I have two nieces and a nephew to add onto that. With one of them being extremely desperate along with her friends to get her cutie mark.”

“Oh, the cutie mark crusaders.”

“Yep. Well, I need to get back.” Ember told them. “It’s been fun, but Applebloom is now trying to help a young boy I found who basically is a living Pikachu, so I better get back before his lightning sparks a forest fire. Kaoru, it’s been a pleasure meeting you. Stay safe.”

“Yeah, you too.” said Kaoru waving good-bye to Ember. This was before she disappeared in a small column of flame and was no longer in the room. However, seconds later, Sonata came rushing in with a bucket of water and accidently splashed Gremmy.

“Oh, Sorry! I thought there was a fire in here! I could smell the smoke from the-.”

FWOOSH!

“-Kitchen.”

“SONATA!!!”

By the time Ember returned home, the sun had begun to set. She felt bad for being gone too long. The Mancer though was soon told otherwise when she felt something jump onto her shoulder.

“Aunt Embah!!”

“Hey there, my little bloom.” Ember greeted, nudging her for a little bit. She felt glad that she finally got the chance to come home. “How is everything?”

The Apple filly just smiled, letting Ember inside as she decided to rejoin her family. In the distance though, from the mountain cliffs, a pair of sinister eyes were soon locked on to Ember from a distance.

“So… this is the family that you care for so much…” She sinisterly spoke as Anivia was about to fade away with the darkness that was setting. “Enjoy them while you can, Tortured Phoenix… But let me assure you… Anyone who dares try to stop me… they only have one fate. And that fate… is death.”

End Chapter 11

12- Be Free

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Be Free

Sweet Apple Acres (Next Morning)

The morning sunlight began to breach through the curtains the moment Ember first began to open her eyes. The air was slightly cool, but nothing too cold for anypony. In fact, Ember could never actually be cold. Her powers would passively keep her warm no matter what the weather was like outside. Rain or shine, Snow or not, she still remained warm. It was one thing that at times she liked. Back in her old world, her room was always freezing at night and the house she lived in did not have any heating for the winter days or air conditioning for brutal summers.

Not the case for her now. But one thing she did find that was quite… odd was that she woke up to Applebloom snuggling against her arms… and good lord, was she cute. The Filly wasn’t even aware that Ember was actually awake. Right now, she was curled up in a ball and purring like a cat that was relaxing in their favorite spot on the couch. Turns out, that spot was on top of her and the look on her face made Ember think that Applebloom wasn’t just a pony, but also weaponized cuteness that can melt someone’s face off. Of course, if there were such a thing, she would use to defeat Anivia. However, that would just sound too simple. And in her long immortal life, nothing like that could ever be simple.

It was then though that she heard a small knock. A knock that would wake up the filly sleeping on Ember. “Uh… What t-time is it?”

“Good Morning Applebloom.” Ember told her.

“M-morning Aunt Embah… What time is it?”

“Well…” Again, she heard a faint knock. “Judging from that, something tells me your sister is at the door telling us about breakfast.”

“Ah’ll get it.” She cheerfully replied, leaping up to go for the door and opening it, only to not see her sister there. “Oh, well good morning Caesar.” She spoke to the boy at the door, who was waiting on the two of them as Ember began to rise from her position on the couch that she fell asleep on.

“G-good morning. Applejack said to see if you two were awake and to wake you if you weren’t. She want’s us helping out with breakfast.” Caesar explained.

“Well, your knock did just the trick.” Ember explained as Applebloom zipped past Caesar and zoomed downstairs. The pyromancer was lucky that Applebloom didn’t trip and tumble down the stairwell. Bumping her head would not be a good way to start her day. “So… How was your first night?” Ember asked him as she closed the door behind her. “Comfortable?”

“It was nice actually. I don’t usually dream, but I had a nice one about my family… Then there’s always that weird feeling when you wake up in a new place.” Caesar explained, looking a bit downcast at the mention of his own family.

“Hey, it’s alright. You’ll grow accustomed to everything here soon. It just takes time.”

Caesar mumbled something in response. Causing Ember to look back at him with a curious glance. “Could you speak up please? I didn’t quite catch that.”

Caesar shook his head a little before responding, “It was nothing important. Sorry. Let’s go and get breakfast.” Caesar said before turning away and going down towards the voices coming from the kitchen.

“That was… odd.” The mancer thought to herself. “I’ve only seen him be happy so far around Applebloom and the others. Plus, AJ was telling me that Caesar had a chance to meet Applebloom’s friends. What could possibly be bothering him?” Then she realized something. Maybe this had to do with the mentioning of his family. He did look a bit upset and distracted about it. If so, then maybe she’ll have to find a way to help him open up a little.

Because from what she remembered, bottled up emotions were like when you shake a soda can. At the moment you open it, everything just hits you directly in the face.

With that, she made her way downstairs, adjusting her scarf as she found AJ’s dog at the bottom of the stairs, wagging her tail eagerly and barking a little. Possibly her way of saying “Good morning!” as she turned to see Applebloom and Caesar in the kitchen.

“Mornin’ Sugarcube!” Ember heard from behind her as she turned around to see Applejack trotting into the room. “Guessing Caesar got your attention?”

“Sure did.” Ember replied. “What’s he helping out with in the kitchen?”

“Well, Big Mac is getting some Apples from around back and bringin’ them here so these two young’uns can help start with making some Apple Pancakes.” The Earth Pony replied, just as a small stone pillar with a basket of fresh apples appeared right next to them. “And speaking of which, there he is.”

“Mornin’,” The Stallion spoke as AJ took the basket over to Applebloom. He soon dismissed the Earth Pillar as he trotted over to Ember. “Thought ah get the chance to practice my abilities while helping out the family.”

“So you kill two birds with one stone. Nice job… and no, that was not a pun on your powers, Mac.” Ember chuckled.

“Ah was aware of that.” He replied. “Hey, has anypony seen Granny Smith this morning?”

“Ah’m comin! Ah’m comin!” They heard her shout from upstairs as she slowly walked on down. “Ponies these days…”

“So, what are we to do with the apples next?” Caesar asked, apparently never having baked before.

“Well, first we wash ‘em and then from there, we peel the skins off before we cut them to slices.” Applejack replied, showing her working with the mixing bowl for a bit. “Big Mac, please help them with the cutting part. Ah swear that they might cut themselves if they aren’t careful.”

“Eeyup...” Big Mac replied, nodding his head trotting on over to where Applebloom and Caesar was and lending the two of them a helping hoof.

“Hey Applejack?” Ember interjected. “If the kids are doing the peeling, I can help with the cutting afterwards. That way it doesn’t look like I’m not helping out around here.” The earth pony thought about it for a minute before nodding her head in agreement.

“Ah like that. Change of plans Mac. Ember’s helping with cutting the apples once you’re done peeling ‘em.” The mare said, her brother just simply nodding her head as they all pitched in on helping each other out with breakfast. At one point though, after Ember had noticed that one of the knives that she would have used for slicing the apples was dirty, she got out another one. But this knife in particular wasn’t really… ordinary.

For one thing, the knife was made out of a black metal that Ember didn’t recognize. The handle was a wooden red and it was the same color as the edge of the blade. There was a runic marking on the sides of it, almost resembling a cutie mark. But what really surprised her was that this knife… had a message go off inside her head. “To those that have found my weapon. I ask of you to help me in my quest. Call me, let me come to your world and find my sister, let me warn her and my previous tormentor of what my world brought me. Let me help them and prevent disaster. To those of you who let me do such, I offer you my help. Be it a threat from an unimaginable evil, or a simple need to talk, I would love to help. Call me, Blood Cleaver, and I will appear."

Ember thought for a moment on the predicaments of the fact that this wasn’t just a knife, but a summoning token. Just how in the world did it exactly get in the Apple Family’s kitchen? That was something she wouldn’t have to think about right now, but instead, just used the knife to cut the apple that was on the cutting board. Only to realize that it also cut straight through the board. Cutting it in half and almost leaving a dent on the counter.

“Whoops.” She thought to herself. Thankfully, she got rid of it before Applejack noticed and by the time she was done with the apple slicing, breakfast was almost done. The family decided to take some time to eat a full meal first before working out on the farm for Zap Apple season, but to Ember, the thought of the Knife was still fresh inside her mind. After finishing her food, she stepped outside along the back of the barn with the token in her hand. Ember was going to summon this “Blood Cleaver” so she could take to her. But, it seemed like she would have to hold off on that given how busy the family was today.

She soon noticed Applebloom racing out of the barn in an eager sprint. “Come on, Caesar!! Let’s go get some Zap Apples!!!”

“Alright, alright. I’m coming. I’m not as fast as you…” Ember saw Caesar following her, seemingly already being strained from trying to keep up with her. “Or as in shape as you are, geez.”

She just chuckled, watching as Applebloom tried to slow down so the young boy stood a chance when it came to catching up with her. It might not look like it from her position, but she was able to see the two of them go over to where the trees were in the distance and prepare to pick them now before they were fully ripe. She needed to talk to Applejack though.

Yesterday, when Ember was with Caesar and Applebloom, the Mancer saw a note on the fridge that caught her attention. This though, was followed by a brief conversation with her before the mare had to run out the door that left her with more questions than answers. But it wasn’t what had the pyromancer worried. Overnight, she felt a massive surge of negative life force that alarmed her. Almost making her think that Anivia was up to no good again. She needed to talk to Applejack and find out what happened.

Looking over by the barn, she noticed the farm mare by herself organizing the baskets needed for the harvest. But as she was carrying them over, the Mancer soon spoke up. “Applejack, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Aunt Embah? I honestly didn’t expect ya here. What’s on your mind?”

“What were you and your friends doing the other night?” She asked, folding her arms. The earth pony right now, felt like she was caught doing something wrong. “And don’t say nothing because I felt a surge of negative life force throughout the whole town.”

“Ya felt the Tantabus?” She asked. “That nightmare varmint was causing trouble all over the darned place.” Ember though, was familiar with the name. She had heard tales of it, but not actually seen anything like it in person. As Applejack kept talking about it, Ember kept thinking on something else though.

“All and all, ah don’t think we have any repercussions if everything's all normal right now right?” Applejack asked, causing Ember to shake her head.

“You said that it affected everyone in Ponyville, including at the orchard?”

“Yeah, but you don’t seemed phased to it. Now that ah think ‘bout it, ah didn’t see ya in that shared dream.” The pony replied

“I can’t dream Applejack… It’s a price for my immortality. But you’re forgetting somepony else that can.” It was then that Applejack’s eyes widened, realizing who she was referring to.

“Caesar…”

“Exactly-.” Before saying anything else, Ember turned around to see Applebloom by herself. Outside the barn and alone for that matter. “Hey, Applebloom, where is Caesar? I thought you were eager to get started with the harvest.”

“We are,” Caesar responded from behind them. “We just thought it would be best to take a few extra baskets, you know, since I can carry more.” Caesar explained.

“So, why are you here, you wanted something from us before we head out?” He asked.

“Well… I just thought it was off that you weren’t next to Applebloom and went to look for baskets on your own.” Ember mentioned, “You could've just told Applejack and she would’ve been more than willing to help get them for you.”

“You two seemed busy, and it’s not like I couldn’t do it myself.” Caesar said shrugging.

Applejack though, looked at Ember before looking back at Caesar. “Anything else besides… baskets?”

“Well… I guess I also wanted to see the barn? I didn’t get a chance to do that yesterday.” He said.

Applejack just sighed, looking back at Ember again before speaking. “Caesar… Can Ember and ah talk to ya for a minute… in private?”

“I guess,” Caesar responded before turning to Applebloom. “I’ll be with you in a minute then, you get started without me and we’ll be done faster, alright?” Caesar asked, at which Applebloom saluted and galloped off towards the Zap apple orchard.

Shortly after that, when Ember and Applejack were with Caesar by themselves around the opposite end of the barn, Caesar was the first one to speak.

“Soooo… what is it? It must be important if we’re taking time off harvesting Zap apples, when they only grow once a year like this.” He pointed out.

Ember sighed, looking back at him. “Caesar, from what Applejack was telling me, her and her friends the other night were dealing with something very… important last night. Did last night feel strange to you in any way? Like after you went to bed?” The mancer tried her best to be discreet, but didn’t want Caesar to be asking her and Applejack too many questions since it would be taking time away from the harvest.

“You mean besides everyone having one big dream altogether yesterday where everyone in town were more or less battling some kind of smoke monster that tried to escape into the real world?” Caesar asked.

Applejack herself, just stared at the young boy. Surprised. Ember though, nodded her head. “Yeah, that’s right. We’re only asking you this because we wanted to make sure you were okay. That’s all.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It was actually fun, and I think I got something cool out of it as well.” Caesar said with a smile.

“Cool you say?” The pyromancer replied. “What was it?”

“Well, it’s kind of meant to be a surprise, but I haven’t found it yet. I think it’s somewhere in the orchard though. Me and Applebloom were going to keep an eye out for it while we did our chores and helped out with the harvest. It’s supposed to look like a black box with yellow lightnings on it. Could you give it to me if you find it?” Caesar asked.

“Sure. In fact, we can take some more time after the harvest to look for it if you want. That way, you aren’t distracted with keeping an eye out for it while we’re getting Zap Apples.” Ember offered, causing the young boy’s face to light up like a christmas tree.

“Eh, yeah. That does sound better. But if you find it by coincidence, tell me. I think it could help us harvest faster.” Caesar said while scratching the back of his head a bit in embarrassment. All Ember did was smile, scratching Caesar by his newfound ears before letting him go and rejoin Applebloom. Shortly afterwards was when Applejack spoke again.

“Yellow lightnings?”

“I think he means bolts. Like Lightning bolts,” Ember chuckled, looking back at Caesar as he and Applebloom went to join Big Mac out on the orchard. “Ready to work? I’ll try to be careful. I rather not burn the whole orchard down by accident.” She said, just as a leaf fell on her arm before turning into cinders a few seconds later. Shortly before they caught up with Caesar and the others out on the orchard.

“Alright, I think I can use Agility to make myself faster, and Strength to help with getting the Apples down easier. But I don’t know how long they’ll last or how many times I can use them before I’ll have to rest.” Caesar explained his plan to Applebloom.

“That’s alright. If you need to rest, we can switch. It is your first harvest.” The filly assured him.

Caesar nodded. “Yeah, you’ll show me the ropes then, right?” Applebloom nodded, taking her time to explain to the boy what he needed to do for the harvest, step by step before finishing it up. Like with most farmers, the Apple Family used raw strength and power to shake the trees, but controlled their strength to where their strikes would only shake the apples off instead of uproot the tree. It was a matter of force. The force you release… and the force you restrain.

“Does that make sense?” She asked, once Applebloom was done with explaining.

“Yeah. My normal strength would most likely not be able to even make one of the apples drop, but strength should be enough to make it work. I’m roughly estimating, but I don’t think I would be able to uproot a tree like the Zap apple trees, even if I wanted too. But I’ll hold back at my first tries, just to be sure.” Caesar said.

“Whatever works for ya, sugarcube.” Applebloom smiled, stepping back as she watched Caesar prepare himself.

“Agility!” Caesar first called out, before taking a deep breath and once again calling a second move. “Strength!” He shouted before looking around.

“Where should I start?” He asked.

“Near the center of the tree. The force of the strike will vibrate to everywhere else.” Applebloom told him, not noticing that Ember was watching the two of them as Caesar got himself ready.

He smirked before he drew back his arm and suddenly took off towards the tree, stopping himself next to the nearest tree, sending up a lot of dust. Before he could slow down completely, he drew his fist forward, hitting the tree hard, canceling his own momentum. The apples fell like intended, but brought with them a lot of the leaves as well.

“Oops.” Caesar said, his cheek sparking in response.

“That was a good try, Caesar.” Ember said from behind them. “The leaves you don’t need to worry about. They’ll grow back with time.”

“Same here. Now… to the next tree!” Applebloom gleefully cried out, racing towards the next one like she was trying to play a game with Caesar and see how many Apples they could collect. This continued on for awhile, but after thirty trees, Caesar felt like he was beat. However, it was in the thirty-first tree that Ember noticed something. It was a black box with yellow lightning bolts.

What Caesar was looking for.

Surprising the two youngsters, Ember walked past them as she rolled up her sleeves. Surprising them when she kicked the tree with a forward jab. She wasn’t using her powers for extra force, but instead, used a normal kick to catch what fell out of the tree and into her right hand. “Caesar, would this happen to be the box you’re looking for?”

“Yeah! That’s it right there. Wow, I didn’t even notice it.” He confirmed her suspicion.

“You were exhausted a bit, so I can understand that,” She said, handing it to him. “What I’m curious about is what’s inside.”

Caesar smiled as he was handed the box and gave it a quick taze, the locks on the sides instantly popping open with loud clicks.

“When we were in that dream, and the cloud thing was trying to escape, I got an idea. If it is possible for it to leave the dream world, what would stop anything else from doing the same? Since the rift was already open, all I had to do was imagine this, and throw it through the rift. And voila!” Caesar explained as he took the cover off the box to reveal its content.

Inside were three items. The first one, looked much like a red tile with rounded edges and a transparent middle.

The second item, looked much like a small yellow marble.

The third and last item, was a transparent green stone with a lightning bolt running through it, although there was a crack running through it.

“Woah… So you had all three in there… as a test?” Ember asked him.

“Well, I wasn’t sure if I would ever get another chance. So I aimed high and went right for the bullseye.” Caesar explained. Ember herself though, thought that this was interesting to a much different degree. This wasn’t no small feat. This was something much more. So, she asked Applebloom to give them a minute to themselves. Once the filly left with a couple of the baskets they had, Ember then looked at Caesar.

“That was a very smart trick… I think it’s time I told you something that I wanted to wait for until you settled in, but it seems that right now will do.” She said, almost confusing him.

“Um, what do you mean?” He asked.

“Well… how should I put this… you remember when you first arrived here and found out you were part Pikachu?” She asked, just to start. “Well… you and I aren’t the only ones that this has happened to.” Taking a moment, she pulled out a phoenix feather and handed it to him. She had a feeling that he would hear her voice speak out to him and probably proceed to ask what it is.

Taking the feather, Caesar’s eyes widened as he heard the message from it. “I am Ember Valkyr, the heart of the phoenix. Call my name and I will let my flames help you anyway I can.”. Looking back at Ember with a confused look.

“Do you want me to tell you what that is?” She asked him kindly.

“Um… I’m guessing ‘a feather’ isn’t what you’re after, right?” Caesar asked.

“It was a trick question, Caesar,” She chuckled. “This is my summoning token. As I was saying before, we aren’t the only ones who ended up in Equestria. However, all these other people ended up as different people or characters in their own Equestria’s. Summoning tokens are a way for us to have other people come see us or have us come see them. Because you and I are what’s called a Displaced.” She said, having Caesar stay there for a minute as she ran into the house. When she came back out, Ember was holding the knife that she found this morning. “Now tell me… what do you notice is off about this on first glance?”

“Um… that strange mark on the side of the blade?” Caesar asked unsure if he got it right.

“That’s one thing. The thing with tokens is that they come in many forms. Mine is a feather, yet this Displaced had her’s resemble a knife.” Ember explained. “Now, it’s when you have someone else’s token that you can summon them. If you want to of course. There’s not really a specific reason for summoning one. Sometimes, you need someone to talk too or someone to help turn the tides of battle. This case though, it’s so we can help introduce you to the concept… You still with me so far?” She asked, thinking that she was boring Caesar because of her constant talking.

“I think I understand… But, if they are in different Equestrias, and are able to come here with the help of their token, couldn’t they go back home, to Earth with the tokens?” Caesar asked, a glint of hope lighting in his eyes.

“Actually… I haven’t really thought about it like that before… Tell you what, when I summon this Displaced, maybe she might have the answers you’re looking for.” Ember replied back, setting the knife down before placing a hand over it. “Blood Cleaver, if you can hear my call, I would like to meet you in person.”

“And I answer your summon.” A female voice rang out before a hole, seemingly made out of many black particles having come together appeared out of nowhere. An adult woman, with long, straight, black hair stepped out, clothed in a black, long sleeved shirt with pink stripes going down the sides, black, long legged pants and black boots.

“So, any particular reason for summoning me?” She asked as she stepped out from the black portal and it closed behind her.

“I was just curious to know who you are,” Ember replied to the woman. “Not only that, but I’m introducing my friend Caesar here to the Displaced, so I thought him meeting one could be useful for him.” With it, Ember motioned her head to where Caesar was, allowing for Blood Cleaver to see him.

“Well then. Nice to meet you then. I’m Blood Cleaver. I’m part Sayian and part Solid Class human. My special talent is blood magic, and the blood rune on my token is also my cutie mark.” She said, bowing slightly.

“Ember Valkyr. Caretaker of Philomena and Pyromancer. This is Caesar and he’s part Pikachu.”

“Nice to meet you.” Caesar said.

“Well, I guess that’s the introductions out of the way. So, you guys have tokens on your own?” Blood Cleaver asked them.

“I do, but Caesar does not. He’s… new to this.” Ember replied to her as she handed her feather to her. “I was thinking that maybe you can help Caesar with getting his token out there and answering any questions he might have… If that’s okay with you, of course.”

“Of course. Helping others is my thing. So ask away, and if you wish to make a token, I can help you send it out.” She assured.

“Go ahead, Caesar. Tell her what you told me.” The Mancer encouraged the young boy, who looked a bit nervous at first.

Steeling himself, Caesar decided to ask what he thought to be the most important question of them all. “Is it possible to get back home?”

Sighing, Blood Cleaver seemed reluctant to answer at first. Making Caesar look down at his feet as he felt his hopes being dashed, before Blood Cleaver spoke up again.

“Yes, it is possible. But I would not recommend pursuing a goal like that. The Void is a near infinite, if not infinite place. And to get home, you would first need to find your home. And before that, you would also have to learn to safely navigate the Void. The Void is what the name implies, a place devoid of all things, an empty space between universes. The tokens, are the safest way to traverse the void without even touching it, as they work like direct routes to where you’re going.

The only way to find your way in the ever changing Void, is if you have trained yourself specifically for that purpose. The power required, just to slip into the void itself, can be more than some ever manage to gain during their lives, And after that one would have to adapt to the Void’s madness without going crazy, as I’ve already mentioned.” Blood Cleaver explained. Caesar’s mood dropping even further.

“But there are also other ways. There are beings known as the Void walkers. One of them, is most likely the reason for you being here, but some, are not like that. There is one that I know went by the name Essence. She has helped many Displaced find their way home, if you ever stumble upon her, she should be able to help you. So don’t lose hope kiddo.” She said, smiling at him kindly.

“Thanks for the help, Cleaver…”

“Yeah, this is all heartwarming and all, but Aunt Embah, who is the new pony?” Ember turned around, noticing that Applejack and Applebloom had been standing there for a while. How long? She wasn’t sure. But that didn’t really matter right now.

“Aunt?” Blood Cleaver asked with curiosity.

“Long story. It’s complicated.” She sighed. “A final wish of a dying friend had me be with his daughter and help raise Applejack, Applebloom and Big Mac. Hell, I just found out about this a month ago.”

“Well, we Displaced do tend to find ourselves in the most unique of situations. I once almost got stuck in an Equestria that didn’t have any Elements of Harmony. I was only able to escape because someone else summoned me before Nightmare Moon’s return.” Blood Cleaver said with a chuckle.

“Heh… Tell me about it.” Ember said as she got up, offering a hand to help Caesar up. “I was summoned by a group of guys that were… I think it was the Ginyu Force. Very… interesting characters if I do say so myself.”

“Wait. They’re Dragonball Z characters, right? Do you have their token?” Blood Cleaver asked.

“Back in my room at the barn, wanna follow me?” Ember offered. “I have their token and a couple of others if you want to see them.”

“Yes, please. I’d love to have a copy of their token if you could. I’ve been looking for Dragonball Displaced for a long time. My teacher wasn’t able to teach me everything. She had to figure them out herself, meaning I never learned Instant transmission or such.” Blood Cleaver explained.

Ember smiled. With that, she guided her over to the barn and upstairs. On a bookshelf, she had a few tokens from previous endeavours. Including the braincase from Gremmy, the metal heart from Ultron, and some other ones. “Now where did I place the token of those numbskulls… Ah, here we are.” She said, handing a badge that resembled the insignia of the Ginyu Force. “I haven’t met much Displaced, but some of them have weird tokens if I do say so myself.”

“Tell me about it. But I think I got you beat, I helped make a token out of a cutie mark once. Made it into a bouncy ball.” Blood Cleaver shuckled before looking around at the shelves containing tokens. “Ember, do you have a pocket space, hammer space or inventory screen of some kind?” She asked.

“Not really. Most things I have I either carry with me or conjure. Since I’m a Mancer, I basically have control over all things fire… And my anger made the badlands… I… rather not discuss about that.”

“I hear ya sister. I’ve had my own rampage, sure, it was before I became a Displaced, and I didn’t hurt anyone. But there is a reason I’m accused of attempted murder, treason against the crown and deemed insane by court back home. We all make mistakes, but we learn from them and become better people.” Blood Cleaver said before taking hold of the Ginyu Force’s token with both hands, before splitting it into two tokens, giving one back to Ember.

“Now, let’s go back. I’m sure Caesar has thought of more questions for me, and that our little break has only added onto the workload of your family. So, I’ll offer to help out some if you wish.” Blood Cleaver reminded Ember before jumping out a hatch in the barn wall that wasn’t there a second ago. The hatch closing behind her and leaving a completely intact wall behind. A small paper note taped to the wall with the words “Race ya!” Signed by Blood Cleaver.

Ember just grinned, using the chance to run down the stairwell and catch up with Blood Cleaver and Caesar, who was right now with Applejack, Big Mac and Applebloom outside.

“So, you have an idea for a token yet, champ?” Blood Cleaver could be heard asking Caesar.

“Yeah… but I don’t actually wish to lose it. I just got these, to use one of them up…” Caesar said unenthusiastically.

“Don’t worry about it. You could always keep the original. You don’t have to absolutely part with the template for a token.” Blood Cleaver explained.

“Really?” Caesar asked.

“Of course. As long as you grab it before it falls into the void, you’re able to keep it. You just have to let it divide itself first.” She explained.

“So, have you thought of what to say?” She asked, making Caesar furrow his brows.

“No. I don’t actually know what kind of message to send out.” Caesar admitted. “Um, can we do this a little bit later?” Caesar asked.

“Whenever you think is the right time, Caesar.” Ember spoke as she looked at both the boy and the displaced. “So, are you ready to help with bucking a few more trees Caesar? We still got a lot of ground to cover.”

Caesar began nodding eagerly. “Yeah, I’ve even got an idea on how I can do it better. Watch this!” He exclaimed.

“Strength! Agility!” He quickly shouted in rapid succession while smiling.

Looking back at the others, his smile got bigger before he sprinted off towards the nearest Zap apple tree that still had fruit on it. As he was closing in, he didn’t slow down as expected, but instead jumped into the air, launching himself, legs first, into the tree trunk. As he impacted, he bent his knees and pushed off of the tree, landing in a sprint, already running towards the next tree as the rainbow fruits fell down into and filled the baskets up by the roots of the tree.

“Well… Something tells me we might be done a bit sooner than expected.” Applejack replied, watching as Caesar was zipping out from tree to tree.

“Well, we won’t let him outdo us, will we?” Asked Blood Cleaver before seemingly disappearing, only to re-appear next to one of the trees, lightly tap it, and be gone again as the fruits simply fell off of the the completely undisturbed branches. Blood Cleaver having already tapped the next tree, disappearing and appearing at the next one before the fruit had hit the baskets.

“Heh… That’s one way of doing it.” Ember chuckled, looking at Blood Cleaver for a second. “Something tells me though that Caesar will tire out soon. Wanna pitch in and help him if he crashes?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep him from doing anything stupid.” Blood Cleave responded while continuing with her self appointed task of clearing trees of apples, faster than one could say “Apple”.

“Alright,” The Mancer replied, turning around to see that Applejack and Big Mac were working on the trees on the opposite side of the orchard before looking back at Blood Cleaver and Caesar. “If Caesar does pass out, I can do some trees in his place so we can give him some time to rest.”

“Why would he pass out?” Cleaver asked, pausing in her chore to look at Ember.

“He’s still recovering from being sick a few days ago. Zecora found him in the forest with a high fever and freezing to death. Even though he’s doing better, his body might still be trying to recover from a lot of… recent changes that have been happening to him.” She explained, pointing as Caesar as his newfound Pokemon ears twitched a little.

Blood Cleaver frowned looking at Caesar. “You know who his Displacer is?” She asked.

“No actually… All I know is that he arrived here part Pikachu and that he really wants to get home. Something tells him being Displaced separated him from his parents because he thought I knew his mother and that I could help take him home.”

“Dammit. That only makes it less likely for him to ever get back.” Blood Cleaver whispered to Ember before sighing.

“You know, the Displacers and the universe has a real sick idea of humor… None of us Displaced seem to ever catch a break, sooner or later, something happens that turns everything upside down, and all we can do is keep going. Never to return home, for whatever reason we have.” Blood Cleaver spoke with sadness in her voice.

Ember understood what she meant, but as she replied, what she told her was a bit… surprising. “Honestly… I wouldn’t have wanted to go back. My life before now was a living hell. Parents kept on fighting and I felt like I was the reason to blame. I was the outcast and felt as if I had no sense of purpose. Then…” She took a moment to put her hands on the scarf that she had on her. “... When I got this, I found myself on a cold night and right in front of a dying phoenix. Instead of leaving him like he wanted, I stayed with Phyrron in his final moments. From there, he gave me his powers and also put Philomena in my care. That’s when I felt like my life had purpose. Like I had a reason to live. Now I just want to help Caesar however I can… because in a way… he’s like a little brother to me.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to say I’m happy for you. If only other Displaced could find themselves in favourable situations like you… I myself don’t really have any Equestria to call my home. I travel the Void into any other Equestria I find… Speaking off, is it alright if I go and visit your Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie after we’re done here?” Blood Cleaver asked suddenly. “I have something I would like to make sure of.” She stated.

“Sure… oh and Blood… I’ll be more than happy to allow you to call this Equestria your home.” She said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Thank you. But I already have an Equestria I intend to return to after I retire from my work. I simply can’t stay long in one world, knowing that every moment, another might fall to a terrible fate if I am not there to prevent it.” Blood Cleaver explained, shaking her head while smiling. “But I do appreciate the offer.” She said, looking at Ember.

“Ah alright. I have a busy role myself so I understand what you mean.” She replied.

“Now, let’s get these Apples down!” Blood Cleaver cheered, before once again seemingly disappear, followed by loud taps on wood in quick succession and apples hitting baskets.

Ember chuckled, watching as Cleaver and Caesar kept knocking down apples, nonstop. Filling up the baskets in quick succession. “Something tells me that we’re going to need more baskets.”

Some time later…

By the time they were done, Caesar was already lying asleep on top of some hay bales, while Blood Cleaver was having fun watching the others gawk at how many baskets of apples she could carry at once, without using magic.

The unharvested Zap apples never had a chance to disappear, since before the time had come, they had managed to collect all of them. Making this year’s haul the biggest yet for Zap apples.

As Caesar was lying on the bale of hay, he soon had someone looking over him and noticing his tired self. That was Ember and she noticed the little one while watching Cleaver mess around. The little one had worked real hard like the rest to make this year’s harvest the best there was. Now he was just flat out asleep.

Turning to Cleaver, Ember smiled. “Well… now comes the question of what we’re gonna do with all these Zap Apples. Any suggestions?”

“Why not do what the apple family always does, make Zap Apple jam and sell it of course!” Blood Cleaver said, setting down the last few baskets.

“Heh… you got me there.” Ember nodded her head, chuckling to herself. “Hey… thanks for all your help. You know… with Caesar and the harvest.”

“It’s no trouble, I’m happy to help. After all, it’s kind of the reason I’m traveling the Void.” Blood Cleaver responded.

“I see. Well, with what’s going on lately, I’ve been a bit lucky to get some help with Caesar because of the circumstances… Honestly, I never thought someone as young as him would end up as a Displaced.” She said, “Not to mention that with his lightning abilities, that will make it another Mancer I need to teach.”

“The old generation teaching the new one?” Blood Cleaver asked.

“Sort of… it’s a bit… different than what you would think…” Turning around, she nodded her head in the direction where Big Macintosh was, the stallion working with his abilities as he slammed his hooves in the ground to form a few stone pillars. Before having them bend around and to return back to earth from where it once came from. “In this world, all living beings have a form of energy called Life Force. We breath it in and out every day like air. But some beings like Mac here can control one of five main elements with the life force they have and a strong will. The same goes for me.” With that, Ember showed Blood Cleaver an example when she conjured a powerful flame that resembled a rose in her hand. “I’m just trying to teach Mac and Caesar to control their newfound gifts… Trust me… It’s a bit difficult.”

“But they’re both willing to learn, aren’t they? I’m sure it’s easier with eager students, is it not?” Blood Cleaver asked before taking on a thoughtful expression. “You know what, I’ve heard there is some kind of academy that will be teaching and helping Displaced. Perhaps there could be something for Caesar?” Blood Cleaver asked.

That caught Ember’s attention. “That… may work. Though, I might need to find out a little bit of information on it first before making any decisions… Do you know the Displaced who set the academy up? Or was it just something you heard in the Void?”

Blood Cleave paused for a moment before responding. “Yeah, Sun Wukong is the name of the guy who had the idea. It will apparently be open to ponies, as well as Displaced. But other than that, I don’t really know. I guess we’ll have to look out for his token.” Blood Cleaver said.

Ember nodded her head, “Alright. If anything changes, let me know okay? And if you do find his token first, can you send a copy my way?”

“Sure thing. Helping out is my thing.” Blood Cleaver said with a smile before chuckling. Ember smiled as well, but soon looked around a little and was confused on something. Looking back at Mac, she then had a question for the Stallion.

“Hey Mac! Have you seen Frost anywhere!?”

“Can’t say that ah have, Ember. Haven’t seen him since early this morning.”

Ember then grumbled a bit, followed by facepalming herself. “Uh figures… Looks like I have one other person to look for now.”

“It seems that way. Hey, Ember. I would love to stay, but I still have a duty, and I’ve already helped out here. As soon as I’ve helped Caesar with making a token, I’ll be going. Just a heads up.” Blood Cleaver told her.

“Sure thing. I’m not so much worried about what Frost might be up too… however, I am concerned of what might be after him. But that’s on a personal note.” Ember sighed. “Guess I’ll let you keep an eye on Caesar for a bit?”

“Sure. We’ll be here. But once he wakes up, we’ll begin with making a token. If you’re not back by the time I’m leaving, I’ll escort him back to the farmhouse first.” Blood Cleaver assured Ember.

The mancer nodded, walking inside while thinking something over. After today, she felt like she needed to change something. More importantly, the message on her token. Keeping the feather in one hand, she channeled her energy into is as she said the same phrase that she said before. A new one.

She may still be a tortured phoenix… but her heart was not anymore. Now... her heart was free.

End Chapter 12

13- Firestorm

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Firestorm

Sweet Apple Acres

Another long day of work and helping out at the farm for the Apple family soon lead to the evening itself being very calm and soothing. The same could be said for Ember, who only a few hours ago, had met Blood Cleaver and tried her best to help her and Caesar, the other displaced that was with her at the time. Now though, it had been a few hours since them and almost everyone was asleep… Except for her. The mancer never found a point to sleeping in the first place. Because of the immortality that was bestowed upon her from Pyrrhon all those years ago, she found that she could not dream like how others could. Instead, anytime she tried to close her eyes and sleep, all that met her was a black and empty void. Soulless she would call it, but that was just one way of describing it.

But tonight was a little different. Around ten minutes til midnight, she had felt a familiar sensation through her body. One that comes with being summoned as a Displaced. She did not expect to be summoned so soon in the middle of the night, but felt that whoever was summoning her must’ve needed her help or something else.

Before she left the orchard, Ember took a few moments to write a note and place it on the table in the kitchen, allowing for the possibility that she might not be back when morning comes. Once that was done, she stepped outside of the barn and walked off of the orchard. Once she was far enough away, she sighed to herself, using a hand to pull at whoever was trying to summon her… and bring them to her world instead. She couldn’t risk Anivia trying to unleash chaos while she was out helping others. So instead, Ember decided to bring them to her instead.

However, what exactly she brought through the void… was another story.

A swirling vortex appeared in the sky, spewing streams of data into the air. The streams collapsed, forming into a blue, bipedal dog wearing boxing gloves and a small upright orange lizard. But that wasn’t the weirdest part about it though. The weirdest part… was when she heard them speak.

“Now I know what an e-mail feels like...” the dinosaur groaned, getting to his feet.

“At least we didn’t get sent to the deletion bin,” the dog replied, shaking his head, “Okay, we’re at AJ’s farm, I think.”

Ember just watched the two for a little bit. Seeing how they could see the barn was one thing, but since it was the middle of the night, they were probably not going to be able to see her unless there was any actual light. So, forming a bit of fire in her right hand, she soon spoke up. “You would be right… And just who are you two?”

“The guys who just got sucked through a portal after touching a feather.” the dinosaur responded, looking her over. That answered one of the questions in Ember’s head, revolving around who found her token… but didn’t exactly get the answer she was intending.

“I meant your names.” She sighed for a moment, letting that sink in a little.

“Oh yeah, sorry,” the dinosaur laughed sheepishly, “I’m Marty and that's Lee.”

“Yo.” Lee waved.

“Nice to meet you two. I’m Ember,” The pyromancer introduced herself, taking a moment to form the next question in her head before she spoke again. “Now, just out of curiosity… what exactly are you two? I haven’t seen anyone like you before… Then again, I’ve only met a few displaced.”

“We’re both digimon,” Lee answered. “More specifically I’m a Gaomon and Marty’s a GeoAgumon. Pleasure to meet you.”

“I’ll be honest, I thought we were summoning you,” Marty muttered, causing Ember to chuckle a little.

“Summoning works both ways. Think about it like pulling something with a magnet. Either you bring someone to you… or with enough force, that someone brings you to them.” Ember told them as she dismissed the fire in her hands. “Does that make sense?”

“About as much as anything else in our situation,” Marty said, rubbing the top of his head. Ember chuckled a little in response as she looked back at the two of them.

“Well what do you know. First Caesar and now you guys… One of my nieces is really going to get a kick out of seeing you two when morning comes along.” However, what she said only confused both Marty and Lee as they looked at one another and tilted their heads to the side.

“You talking about one of the girls?” Marty asked, “I mean, we are on Applejack’s farm.”

“Yeah, Apple Bloom.” The mancer explained. “It’s a long story, but to simplify things, I’m basically Apple Bloom’s aunt. Same goes for AJ and Big Mac. Heck, a long time ago, I helped build that barn that you’re seeing right now.”

“Sounds like you’re pretty close to the Apples,” Lee noted.

“Yeah… comes with living around here for over a thousand years.” However, what she said just caused the two rookie level digimon to stare at her in disbelief. Making her worried that she might’ve messed up in what she was saying.

“Not to be offensive or anything here… But you don’t look like you’re over a thousand years old,” Marty said, still blinking.

“Neither do we Marty,” Lee reminded, socking him in the arm.

“Oh right… Yeah, I should’ve told you this first off, but I’m immortal,” Ember explained. “When I was originally displaced, I met a dying phoenix who gave me control of his flames as a final gift before he passed on. That’s why I’m known as The Heart of the Phoenix since I gained my powers from one…” She noticed the confusion between the two and then sighed. “How about this… I’ll answer your questions if you can answer some of mine in exchange. Does that seem okay to you two?”

“Works for me,” Lee nodded. “Ask away.”

“Well, for one thing, you said that you two were sent here by a feather,” She said, holding up the Phoenix feather that was her token in one of her hands. “Would it happen to look like this by any chance?”

“Yeah that's the one,” Marty agreed, “We found it in Rarity’s house.”

“Well, congratulations. You happened to find my token,” Ember said to them, surprising them for a minute and giving herself time to think inside her head. “What was it doing in Rarity’s house though? Was Opal trying to play around with it?” However, before any of them could answer, a cold deep gust of wind brushed over the three of them, making some of the strands of grass nearby partially freeze as all three of them felt the chilling wind just now.

“Okay, why are we popsicles?” Marty asked, his teeth chattering. Ember gritted her teeth, using her fire to warm the two of them as she looked in the distance. Noticing something, she turned to both of them and then asked something.

“This is not good… Do you two know how to fight?” She asked them, her tone getting more serious now than before. “I’m going to need your help. I’m worried that a friend of mine is in danger right now…”

“Yeah we can fight,” Lee said, getting into a fighting stance.

“Follow me then, I’ll explain on the way,” She said before she started to run in the direction where she felt the energy surge from. “The reason for the ice and you two almost freezing is because of a Cryophoenix named Anivia. Unlike phoenix’s, which are birds of fire and represent good, cryophonix’s are the exact opposite and are their natural enemy… He’s a bird of ice that was almost successful in killing all of the phoenix’s in this world.”

“Isn’t Anivia the name of a champion from League of Legends?” Marty asked. “And wasn’t he a cryophoenix too?”

“He was… but this one is different,” Ember informed them. “His intent is to try and turn all of Equestria into a frozen hell because she believed that the lifeforms here were unfit for living here. Phyrron, the dying phoenix I met, thought otherwise and the result was the almost complete genocide of them… Philomena is the only one left.”

“Wow… sounds like we’re in for a rough fight.” Lee said, tapping his fists together.

“We can deal with it.” Marty assured, snorting loudly. This caused Ember to smirk at their optimism, but sigh to herself.

“My main concern though is something else… In order for Anivia to become strong enough to carry out her plan, he needs to complete an artifact that he stole called the Wendigo Heart. The heart is split into three pieces and he has two,” The pyromancer began to explain. “My friend Frost, a wolf excedian, has the third piece, but it’s fused with his soul. Which means that if he wants it… the only way he could obtain it is by killing him. Frost is strong on his own, but at times, he’s also reckless…”

“Heh, reckless is something we do best,” Marty said with a chuckle. “Isn’t that right, Lee?”

“Well, as the saying goes, fools go where angels dare to tread.” Ember thought to herself. “Hopefully, we can reach him just in time. They’re getting closer now. I can feel their energy just over that ledge up ahead.” She told them, pointing at the location so the others could see for themselves.

“Then I guess we should put on our game face on,” Lee commented. “You ready to digivolve, Marty?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Marty nodded, cracking his neck. “GeoAgumon digivolve to! GeoGreymon!”

While the two digimon took the chance provided for them to change forms, Ember herself dashed forward, her fire in the form of a phoenix as she landed in the ravine. At first glance, the mountain basin that they were on looked awfully familiar to her… but then she realized what it was… and the old memories it brought were painful for her to have.

They were by the badlands, along the edge of it as the group noticed the wolf excedian running and dodging the attacks that Anivia was launching out at him. Turning her feathers into projectiles as one of them almost shanked him in the arm.

“Frost!!”

“Well, look who we have here…” Anivia menacingly cackled. “The cavalry and her strange assortments of overgrown pets… who would’ve thought you would raise more then that despicable hatchling, Ember…”

“Hey, I’m no one’s pet!” Marty roared, snorting out a plume of smoke. “Say that again and I’ll turn you into fried chicken!”

“Oh and an anger management problem… I seem to be finding all sorts of strange figures… However, I would like you freaks to step aside. My business is with the wolf, not with your puppydog and an extinct reptile, firebird.”

“You want him, you need to get through us!” Ember snapped, growling a little as fire formed from her hands. “I’m not letting you lay a single talon on him-!!”

“Bold words coming from the same mancer who was unable to save a dear friend of hers thousands of years ago in the exact same spot where we are now…” Anivia’s comments were sharp like knives right now… and what she said was really beginning to have her anger boil.

“Whatever happened here before won’t happen again,” Lee cut in, crouching and getting into a ready stance. “I wouldn’t take us lightly.”

“Fine then… Whenever you’re ready… coward.” He taunted, trying to provoke them into attacking her recklessly without any sort of plan in place.

“And this is the one time I wish Willy had been with us,” Marty commented, growling. The Cryophoenix waited for one of them to make the first move. Patiently waiting for the right opportunity to strike as she looked at both digimon.

“Well this is awkward,” Lee spoke, staring back at Anvia.

“Yeah, we’re all just waiting for someone to crack,” Marty agreed. “Hey Ice Chicken, wanna start us off? I wanna kick your ass before lunch.”

Anivia laughed, looking back at them with a menacing glare. “I believe I already have started.” She said, pointing behind them to the ice that was expanding over the GeoGreymon’s tail and the back paws of the Gaogamon before releasing a blast of ice in between them.

“Mega Burst!” Marty roared, unleashing a torrent of flames from his mouth, melting most of the ice. The flames though soon died down as Anivia put up a wall of crystallized shards to block the rest of the attack. Followed by the rain of shards that were trying to pelt the two digimon’s defenses. Ember herself tried to assist in the attack against Anivia, but it lead to the phoenix only sustaining minimal damage from the blow.

“I got an idea,” Lee said. “Marty, let out another mega flame.”

“What is that going to do to help?” Frost asked, confused by who they were and what kind of strategy they were trying to pull off.

“Mega Flame!!”

“Spiral Blow!” Lee shouted directly after, the gust of wind combining with the flame, causing it to grow and burn hotter. Anivia herself channeled a high amount of power with her next attack as it met the blast head on. But with the explosion, she also sent out a spear of ice that struck Lee in the forepaw. Lee cried out, glaring up at the cryophoenix.

“Okay, that hurt.”

“That is only the beginning… Now to have your friend join you.” He said, having a spear stab Marty in the tail as it pinned him to a nearby tree. “And with that… the true fun begins…”

“What are you going to do to them!?” Ember yelled, Frost being right next to her.

“Simple… I’m going to do whatever it takes to make you break… After all… your rage created the badlands… and I have been waiting TOO long for a real challenge…” Anivia snickered, setting a claw on Lee’s head, the talons scraping along the sides. Ember wanted to stop her, but attacking headfirst was not going to help her in this case. However, just before she could do anything, a giant stone boulder soon crashed along her face, making her lose her focus and drop her grip on Lee.

“AGH!! WHO DARES-!?” Ember wondered that herself, but soon saw who exactly it was on the opposite side of the cryophoenix as she noticed a familiar red stallion with a short orange mane and tail channel the earth with his hooves.

“Mac!!”

“...Is that AppleJack’s brother doing something awesome?” Marty asked, blinking in shock.

“So… we have ourselves a Geomancer… Never thought I’d see one in the flesh…” Anivia replied.

“Say somethin’ like that again… Ah dare you.” He growled, staring down the cryophoenix.

“Well, looks like I got myself an interesting collection of opponents,” Anivia smiled, her gaze unchanging. “So, who’s first-.”

“Spiral Blow!!” Lee shouted, aiming at her head. The attack barely affected the phoenix as he looked back with a “Oh good… a volunteer.” With a menacing glare in the phoenix’s eye, Anivia quickly struck and used its claws to wound Lee and throw him into the wolf that was trying to stand.

“LEE!!” Ember growled, the flames around her hands burning brighter than before with the more rage she let on, staring down Anivia. “You BASTARD!!!”

“Oooh, come on now… It’s been ages since I ever had a real challenge… and it looks like your two overgrown pups are at their limit.” The cryophoenix smirked as the ice around Anivia began to solidify as it was launched forward. “Now do me a favor and PLAY DEAD!!”

“Screw you lady!” Marty growled. “GeoGreymon digivolve to! RizeGreymon!” He doubled in size, taking on a more human stance. His torso gained red metallic armor, his right arm being replaced entirely. His forearm was now a huge revolver, its cylinder spinning. Two massive artifical wings sprouted from his back, his head armor and the tip of his tail being replaced with metal. “Trident Revolver!” he roared, firing off a trio of shots at Anivia.

Ember watched as the digimon blasted the phoenix with enough force to cause the entire ground to quake as she tried to hold her ground. The phoenix herself just growled as she looked back at Ember. “This isn’t over… I will have that last piece and make sure to kill you while I’m at it… Tortured Phoenix.” With that, the cryophoenix flew off as the pyromancer soon watched Frost pass out on the ground.

“Crap… We need to treat their wounds quickly… Mac, get us back to the Orchard as quickly as you can!” The Earth Pony nodded, slamming his hooves as he made the ground underneath them move like they were surfing on the earthen terrain itself. With this, they were back shortly before the sun began to rise… and Marty was a LOT smaller than he was a few moments ago.

“I really, really, really hate that...” Marty complained, being reduced to a small pink blob with rabbit like ears.

“Aunt Ember… who’s the little puffball?” Mac asked as he used a hoof to poke at Marty’s head.

“I am not a puffball!” Marty growled. “I’m a Koromon! And it’s not like I wanna be like this.”

“A koro… what?” Big Mac questioned before shaking his head. “You know what, nevermind. I’m getting the first aid kit… And Ember, you might want to look out. I think we just caught Twilight’s attention.” He said, pointing a hoof in the distance as the group saw the Alicorn Princess and a couple other ponies racing on over to where they were.

“Hey Twi, howya doin’?” Marty asked as the Twilight came into earshot.

“What happened?!” Twilight said, shortly before being interrupted by a certain pink earth pony appearing out of nowhere.

“Yeah, we woke up this morning to the sound of EXPLOSIONS!?!?!!” Pinkie said as she noticed Marty. “Hey look! A weird beachball!!”

“I am not a beach ball!!” Marty snapped. “I’m a Koromon and my name is Marty. Now can you please get my friend some help? I don’t have hands at the moment.” However, even though they were tending to Lee in that present moment… Pinkie’s priorities involved picking up Marty with her front hooves and snuggling him like he was a plushie.

“It even talks!! Twilight, can I keep him? Can I!? He would be a perfect playmate for Gummy!!” She squeaked, almost ignoring Marty’s desperate pleas for help.

“Pinkie Pie, I swear by everything holy, I will bite you.” That was when Pinkie Pie did drop him… if you consider drop being shaking her head from side to side really fast and letting him go shortly afterwards, causing him to fly into Ember and catching him.

“Twilight, the beach ball knows my name!! BEST DAY EVER!!!” The party pony shouted, causing Ember to sigh as she looked at Twilight.

“Yeah… to answer your question Twilight; Anivia attacked us, Frost almost got hurt and two other Displaced here tried to fight her. The one I’m holding is Marty and the one that we’re trying to give medical attention too is Lee…”

“Interesting… So are they like Caesar or something different?” Twilight then asked the pyromancer as she analyzed the Koromon from all angles, having Ember answer by shaking her head and confusing Marty unintentionally in the process.

“I'm a digimon,” Marty sighed, exasperated.

“Yeah Twilight, these guys are different. For one thing, they aren’t humanized forms of what they were displaced as. They’re the actual thing-.” Ember explained, shortly before Marty interrupted her.

“Again, I'm a digimon.”

“Yes, but Twilight is referring to another displaced that is staying with me who is currently asleep,” The mancer explained. “Unlike you though, he’s a humanized version of a Pokemon. Pikachu to be more specific… can even do the moves right.”

“Fun.” He sighed for a moment before Ember asked him a new question.

“Would you like me to set you down? You’re kind of moving around in my arms and I’m thinking that if you digivolve, Pinkie will stop calling you a beachball.”

“Unless you got some food, I ain't digivolving.” Marty sternly complained as Ember then walked him inside where the others were. Leaving Twilight to try and calm down an over excited Pinkie Pie as the mancer thought of the quickest thing to feed the Koromon off of the top of her head… But then stopped to ask if it was okay with him first.

“Does an apple work? We have some in the kitchen.” She offered, bringing the in training digimon inside and setting him on the counter… shortly before another voice was heard as it was coming down the stairs.

“What in tarnations is with all this racket-!?!” A particular earth pony said before looking back at everything that was going on… specifically at Marty and Lee. “Aunt Embah, what are these two critters doing in the barn?”

“Yeah no man. I mean like three course meal.” Marty looked over at the mare. “Sup Bloom?”

“Uhh… Marty… That’s Applejack.” Ember pointed out to him. “Give me a sec to find something for you…” She said as she looked around to see if there was anything that could feel Marty while Applejack now trotted in. Seeing Mac tending to Frost and Lee while also looking at Marty.

“Is this thing some overgrown Parasprite?” She asked, causing Ember to facepalm herself for a moment.

“No AJ, he’s a digimon… Trust me, I know it might sound weird but-” That was when they heard a loud rumble, which definitely sounded like it came from Marty’s stomach. “... Yeah. This guy’s hungry.”

“Beach Ball is Hungry!? This is UNACCEPTABLE AND MUST BE FIXED!!!” Pinkie declared before galloping out of there before Marty even had the chance to shout back at her for calling him that name again. Only causing Twilight to groan a little as she trotted in.

“I got a feeling that Sugarcube Corner is going to be opening extremely early today.”

“What was your first guess?” The mancer sighed, looking to the Koromon on the counter. “Hey Marty, come with me for a sec. Since it’s a likely possibility that you and Lee are going to be given an entire breakfast buffet from Pinkie, we should check up on your friend first and make sure he’s okay.”

“Yeah,” Marty agreed, “He got hit pretty hard.”

“If there is anything serious, I think I can lend a hand in the healing process. But right now, let’s see what Mac has to say on his condition.” With that, Ember lead the Digimon out to where they would keep the harvest in the outer section of the barn as they saw Mac just closing up the first aid kit. “How are they doing, Mac?”

“Bruised, but not broken.” Mac simply replied. “Frost’s wounds are healing quickly, but Lee’s pretty banged up. He’s breathing though, which is good… But has a lot of injuries to overcome before he can be able to fight again.”

“It's a good thing digimon don't have bones,” Marty commented, hopping up next to Lee.

“I’ll let you two be here for now, but let him get his rest. I’ll explain to sis and her friends what happened in the meantime,” He told them before picking up the first aid kit with his teeth and trotting inside. Leaving Ember and Marty with Lee while Frost was in another corner at the other end of the room. However, it was then though that a personal thought of his was going through his mind and driving him crazy.

That it was his fault that Lee got hurt… If he would’ve been able to do something… if he would’ve been able to help them fight, Lee would not be in the state that he was in right now. Just the sheer thought of it was driving him mad as he sulked in the corner. Not even looking at Ember, Marty or Lee.

That was until he got up and began to walk, catching Ember’s attention. “Frost, where are you going?”

“Anywhere that’s not here… I’ve caused too much trouble here and you would be better off without me being here.” He said coldly, not even looking at Ember or Marty in the process.

“Eh, don't worry about it, we’ve had worse beatings. Boxing gloves here will be fine,” Marty assured him

“Yes, but if I was able to actually do something, your friend would’ve not been hurt in the first place… Throughout my life, everything that had happened to me happened because I wasn’t able to help anyone… Not even help my parents before they died at the hands of cold hearted savages… It’s happened over and over again for me and now… I feel as if I risk everyone else’s safety if I stay here.”

“Dude, don't worry about it. Digimon can't die in the first place.”

“Yes, but others can…” Frost snapped back. “I’ve been trying to help others, but with Anivia hunting me specifically, that cryophoenix will not stop at anything in order to get to me or Ember and she knows exactly what I am talking about. I just need some time… alone.” Without Ember getting the chance to say anything, the wolf disappeared, using his powers to form wings of ice as he darted off and disappeared without a trace. The only thing left behind was the cold snow on the trees that were nearby him as he disappeared.

“When I have hands again, remind me to slap the self pity out if that guy.”

“Noted… Though, he is right on one thing,” Ember sighed as she looked back at Marty. “I do know exactly what he was talking about… About how some ponies will try to do anything, even push you as far as hurting somepony you care for to get what you want.” She tried her best to not remember it, but couldn’t as she said one other thing. “It happened to me…”

“And you think it hasn't to me?” He asked, raising his head eyebrow.

“No, it’s not like that…” The pyromancer sighed. “Do you remember what Anivia called me earlier before she retreated?” The name burned into her mind and was one that she wanted to forget. Ever since meeting Caesar, she wanted to change herself… Be known as The Heart of the Phoenix. But there was one other thing she was referred to as… and that was The Tortured Phoenix. “Well, there's a reason for it… Tell me, back in your world, do you know of the Badlands?”

“Yeah, it was created during the final battle between Lucemon and the 10 legendary warriors.”

Ember sighed, looking at the Digimon for a moment before speaking again. “Well here… I was the reason for its creation. Over 1000 years ago, I was thrown into a slave camp with a bunch of other ponies. I met one named Red Apple, who helped me survive. However, when a young Buffalo calf tried to steal food and I refused to kill it, the head of the slave camps tried to teach me a lesson… and killed Red. Next thing I knew, I snapped and my power was released everywhere, creating the badlands everypony knows now… That’s why I was known as the tortured phoenix.”

“We've all done things we’re not proud of,” he assured her, averting his gaze.

“Yes, but sometimes, no matter how many times you try to move on, something always comes back to haunt you,” She sighed, looking back at Marty. “I’m glad you two did help though. Without you… things might’ve been a lot worse.”

“You think I don't know what that's like?” Marty asked, frowning. “I spent god knows how long as Sombra's pet enforcer. I don't even want to think about what I did...”

“I wasn’t thinking that… I was just saying that I was grateful that you and Lee were here to help. I really appreciate it,” She replied, rubbing Marty’s head a little. “You are pretty strong and I am quite impressed with both of your guys’ level of skill.”

“Digimon are rather OP.” He chuckled, looking up at her.

“I can tell… Hey, just out of curiosity… How many of you guys are in your world? … displaced wise.” She asked, curious to hear Marty’s response to her question as Ember looked at him. “Because I have a small hunch that you and Lee aren’t the only Displaced in your world.”

“There are about eight of us. We were our colleges anime club.” Ember honestly did not expect to hear that as an answer. She had met a couple other displaced where they were by themselves or with one or two others, but a total of eight? That was new to her. Before she could say something though, both of them heard a familiar humming tune and saw a blur of pink as Pinkie Pie came zooming in with an entire three course breakfast. Complete with Pancakes, eggs, waffles, oatmeal and apples before topping it off with Maple Syrup and butter. Anything else and the meal would've looked like it came from the heart attack section at a state fair.

“Holy crap!” Marty shouted, his eyes going wide as he stared at the plate.

“That’s Pinkie for you… She must’ve heard you needed a three course meal and literally prepared one for you,” She chuckled. “You think that would be enough to fill up your stomach?”

“Everything I eat or drink is automatically converted into data, so... yeah.”

“Well, you better dig in before the food gets cold.” She advised him, watching as the Koromon was preparing himself to consume the meal in front of him. He licked his lips, starting to devour everything. Not even realizing the strands of food that landed on Ember’s face in the process until after he finished the entirety of his meal.

“Warn me next time before you dive head first into that.” Ember jokingly told Marty, trying to get the stray bits of pancakes that was on her face as she looked back at the Digimon. “How was it?”

“Amazing!”

“Glad to hear it. You’re going to have to make sure and thank Pinkie Pie before you two go back.” The mancer reminded him as she looked back at the in-training digimon. Ember took a moment to bring the dishes that were licked clean by the Koromon into the kitchen so they could be washed in the sink. As she returned though, that was when she saw Marty digivolve back into his Rookie form now that he had a full stomach.

“Koromon digivolve to! GeoAgumon!”

“Well, it seems like you’re back to normal again. You won’t have to worry about Pinkie calling you a beachball anytime soon.” Ember chuckled for a moment before looking back at the dinosaur digimon and stopped laughing to herself. “No offense…”

“Eh don't worry about it, Pinkie lavishes everyone like that. You should see how she treats Hackmon.”

“Another friend of yours?”

“Yeah, he's Pinkie's Digimon partner.” Now that got the mancer curious about something as she looked back at them.

“You guys have partners? Like fight as a team?” She asked. “I thought your friends can fight on your own like with you and Lee.”

“Hackmon isn't a displaced, he's a true blooded Digimon.”

“Ah. I guess he has to play by a different set of rules?” Ember then asked, wanting to inquire a little bit more information.

“Nah. He just draws energy from Pinkie, otherwise we’re exactly the same.”

“I see,” She replied shortly after the GeoAgumon answered her question. “Well, unless there is anything you want to ask me, you should be free to head back to your world once your friend is awake. Rather not keep you here for too long if you know what I mean.”

“That'll be for the best, god knows what Piedmon could be doing back home.” The Digimon replied as Ember looked to his friend. The good news was that he was breathing steadily now. But he had yet to wake up from his slumber after getting knocked out by Anivia.

“How long does Lee normally sleep?” She then asked out of curiosity.

“That really depends on how badly we get beaten.”

“So with the case of Anivia… It may be a while?” Ember then asked, leading to the digimon nodding his head and her sighing afterwards. “Would it be possible for me to still send you back? I think it’ll be easier for Lee if he wakes up in someplace that he’s a little more… familiar with.” She suggested. The mancer wanted to make things easier for the two of them and with hearing Marty’s concerns about this Piedmon figure, Ember thought that the sooner she would get them back to their world, the better.

“I don't see why not.” He nodded, looking at her.

“Do you happen to have a token? If so, I can use it to send you two back.” She told him.

“It's a digivice.”

“May I see it then?” Ember asked, not bothering to ask about what a digivice was or ask about the details as she held out a hand for Marty to place the token on. Once it was handed to her, she channeled some of her life force into the device and used it to channel a simple, yet effective doorway that would help get the two of them back home. “There we go. One portal back to your world done. I think you’ll need me to return this before you go back right?” She said to Marty, handing the digivice back to him.

“Why are you handing this to me?” He raised his eyebrows. “I'm...not even sure why you opened the portal. You could have just sent us back by saying 'our contract is complete.’”

“Don’t want you ending up in the middle of nowhere on accident now. Plus, most of the time, it’s me going to other worlds instead of bringing guests here.” She replied, taking a deep breath and closing the portal before looking back at them. “But, if you insist… I guess the second option could be better. Marty, Lee, our contract is complete.”

“Cya.” Marty waved, tossing her the digivice, the two of them vanishing in a flurry of fractal code. Ember herself caught the device and smirked. It was something to add to what she had already and another token to put on the shelf in her room. Yet, as she was walking back inside, she had a feeling that things were… going to change in the near future. Anivia was stepping up her game, that was one thing. But her concern was Frost. He may have needed time to be back on the right track, but it also left him exposed. Making him a potential target for the cryophoenix.

She decided to set that aside though, focusing instead on something else as she placed the device on her shelf and walked to the door across the hall, softly knocking it. “Caesar? You up buddy? You’re going to miss breakfast.”

End Chapter 13

13.5- Nine Lives

View Online

The same evening...

The night was long and cold as the ponies who worked for the stallion named Dr. Caballeron patrolled the personal ship that had several artifacts onboard that were raided from numerous different ancient ruins. The boat itself was on course to the doctor’s personal mansion to be stored away before any treasure hunters like that of Daring Do would take anything on board away from them. Despite being a doctor, when it came to ancient treasures, Caballeron preferred the old saying… “finders keepers” and did not see the point to museums or having these artifacts being on display.

Yet, the talk amongst the ponies on board was not of Caballeron, but of something else that the ponies on board heard. A rumor that spread like wildfire throughout the Horseshoe Bay and now was the talk amongst the crew members. “I don’t believe it. It’s sounds like a bunch of bullcrap!”

“No, it’s true! The barkeep in port told me that many ponies, griffons and a bunch of other people have all encountered this Black Cat thief. Rumor is, anypony who’s encountered her has had more than their bits stolen… but has been left having nightmares for days. It’s supposed to be even faster than a pegasus.”

“I would only believe if I see that for myself, Starboard.” Another pony spoke up, looking back at the stallion as they spoke. “Speaking of which, it’s time to change shifts. You’re supposed to take over Calm Shore’s place for Nightwatch.”

“Okay, but if the rumors are true, don’t say I told you so.” The earth pony named Starboard grumbled before he stepped out and slammed the door behind him. He was frustrated at more than one thing. First, there was the fact that the ponies that he was paired up with were drinking on the job while they were supposed to be guarding all this treasure for their client. Second, because of all the others being in some kind of drunken stupor, if something were to happen, their client would be furious if something were to happen to what they were suppose to guard. Third… and probably the most important right now… he can’t happen to find any signs of where the other sober pony on this boat, Calm Shores, would be.

Then… out of nowhere… he heard a creak in the wooden boards of the deck, causing him to turn around and see if he heard anything. He had a crossbow in case of emergencies, but when the stallion turn around, he saw nothing anywhere. It had the stallion be on edge… and made him want to hurry and find Calm Shores.

A few moments after beginning his search though… he did not find his colleague anywhere. Which, had his fur stand up on edge as the stallion continued to look around frantically as he tried to calm himself… Only to hear something fall nearby. He turned around rather quickly… only to find a gold coin in the middle of the deck where he was standing…

And an unknown figure perched up above him nearby. It donned a navy cloak, black wraps around what looked like something that minotaurs would call ‘hands’, and darkened trousers from the waist down. Certain features on the figures clothes matched the color of the figures mane along with the glow that was radiated from the evening moon and it’s azure eyes. It was then that something clicked in the stallion's head… which soon had every part of his body tremble in fear.

This figure… was the same thief he heard about in the harbor… The black cat. Before he could speak, it was when the figure leaped down, picked up the coin… and placed one of it’s fingers to his mouth. “Ah ah ah… No talking… only listening…”

“Wha-”

“No talking,” The figure spoke, a young female voice coming from her. “You had a friend, yes? The mare that was here earlier…” All Starboard could do is nod as the girl continued to speak, a bit scared of what was going to happen… and if something happened to Calm Shores. “Easy there, I’m not going to hurt you. Your friend is fine… In fact, she’s on the lifeboat on the water outside the ship. There’s another one with your name on it if you go now…”

Hearing that made Starboard relieved… for only a moment. But it was then that a new thought emerged inside his head… What was she doing… and why? “I only harm those that try to attack me first… and since you two are the only ones who haven’t tried to put a crossbow bolt in my back, I’m letting you get out of here while you still can.”

“W-why-?”

That had the girl glare directly at the stallion… shortly before repeating what he said. “Why? I’ll tell you why… Because there’s something on this ship I want… and I’m giving you the option to get out of here on your own before things… well… go overboard.” At the last part, she chuckled a bit before tilting her head in a certain direction. “All I ask is that you leave the key for the cellar… I know you have it because Calm told me.”

Listening to what he said, the stallion dropped the key, allowing for the thief he was talking to the chance to pick it up and store it in a satchel on her waist. But as he left for the lifeboat, he only had one question for the girl… “W-who are you?”

The girl had only one word to say in response as the stallion. “Maeve.” That… was followed by her throwing a dagger that curved like a boomerang as it cut the ropes holding up the lifeboat and letting it drop to the water below.

Below Deck

“Uh… Mates, something doesn’t seem right…” One of the shipmates below the main deck spoke up as everypony on board looked towards them. “Is it just me… or are those our lifeboats drifting away from the ship?” That single question… immediately had the entire crew on edge as they all immediately drifted to the side of the side. Seeing the same exact thing that the same pony had described.

“...... Everypony, get off your asses and get topside NOW!!” The deckhand of the ship, One-Eye, snapped as everypony dropped their food and beverage to pick up their crossbow’s and blades. But just as they were about to head outside, the door soon immediately snapped open… and the resulting gush of wind blew out every lit candle they once had.

“Starboard, what the bloody hell is going on-?!”

“Sorry boys… But I’m not him.” They heard, seeing a new figure in the door’s entryway as it was holding a pair of daggers in it’s hands. But when she said two words… everything soon changed instantly as the figure began twirling both of her daggers and a magenta like glow illuminated from the weapons.

“Good night…”

Instantly, for all the ponies in the room. Everything went pitch black. None of them could see a thing, even though they can hear each other freaking out over what was going on. Some of them attacking each other in the panic and paranoia. “What are you fools doing!? She’s just one girl! Catch her already!!!”

“S-she’s too fast!!” One of the other crew members shouted, before dropping to the floor seconds later after failing to shoot their crossbow and hitting a wall instead. Which, to Maeve, was a good thing. The quicker she was, the likelier that these drunken sailors would knock themselves out before even touching her.

Yet, the moment she thought that though… was when things did not go as well as she thought it would. “I see her!!”

“Whoops…” She sighed, looking back at the ponies that were still standing. Out of the five of them that she originally saw in the room, only two of them were unconscious and on the floor as she looked back at the three others that were about to attack her. Firing their crossbows at her, only to miss her arm and neck by bare inches. “That was too close…”

Reaching to the sides of her cloak, she soon got another pair of throwing daggers in her hands as she glared at the remaining guards in the room. “Well… what doesn’t kill me… better start running.” In a flash, Maeve lunged forward at the pony that was closest to her, slamming his head into the ground and knocking the stallion out cold. Then, before one of the two remaining guards could fire off his crossbow, Maeve hurled another two daggers at the second one. The first of the two striking the weapon… while the other one struck alongside the head of the pony who was wielding it as they soon dropped to the ground.

Now, only one pony remained… and he was just as terrified as he was defiant. “W-what the hell are you!?” The only response from the girl originally… was a flick of the knife that was in her left hand as a brief turquoise glow could be seen. Shortly before the girl soon appeared behind him… and with one of her daggers to the stallions throat.

“Someone that had something stolen from me by your employer… and I came to get it back,” The thief said with a sinister edge to her tone. “Now, I hate to rush things, but let’s make a deal… You show me where the cellar for your treasure is… and I’ll make sure to not stab you in the back.”

“You crazy bi-!” Before the stallion could fully insult the girl, the knife on the stallion’s throat went a bit closer to his neck as he could feel the cold. “Okay, okay okay… O-other end of the s-ship… main door… silver lock… There, I told you… what happens now-” As he said that, the girl then struck him in the face with a curled up fist as he laid there unconscious. All before chuckling.

“Oh, I forgot to mention… When I said ‘stab in the back’, I meant that literally.” She chuckled before taking a moment to tie up all of the crew, pilfer them of their belongings, and leave them knocked out on the main deck. As for her though, what Maeve was looking for was something rather… precious to her. And it was the first thing she found upon busting the lock to the treasure room and having the door swing open.

It was a magenta colored gem. One that was similar to the features on the back and front of her cloak as she took it and placed it in her pocket. The room was filled with other treasures too, but none of which she really needed even though it was tempting to have them. She had gotten what she wanted… and now, there was only one other thing left to do.

When Daring Do had arrived in Horseshoe Bay this morning, there were some things that she did not expect upon landing in the port city. She was originally here because of a rumor that she overheard where some ancient treasure was stolen by thugs who were hired by her nemesis, Dr. Caballeron. But upon landing this morning, she was rather shocked to find a lifeboat come into the shore… with a rather big chest of gold and treasure inside it along with a mark of what looked like a pawprint on the side of the boat.

The second thing she didn’t expect… was the first thing she heard about upon the locals in the harbor recognizing the mark. “The Black Cat… that’s her mark.”

“What’s the mark of a thief and a pickpocket doing on there?” The pegasus heard another one say before the shoreline was beginning to fill up with lots of the locals. Causing Daring Do to leave so she wasn’t spotted and having the scene be escalated further. But it was in during this that she happened to overhear more about this… Black Cat. How the thief wasn’t an equine at all… and was something called a ‘human’. That any encounter with her lead to the victim having nightmares for the next few days… But most importantly, being able to see an image of the supposed thief on a wanted poster.

That was… before it was taken down just a moment after Daring noticed it. Ripped off the town’s bulletin board by a bipedal figure before they proceeded down an alleyway. The pegasus at this point was rather curious about who it was… and therefore, decided to pursue the figure down the alley. Yet, when she turned a corner, the whole alleyway was empty… with nopony in sight.

Or at least… that’s what she thought. “You know it’s rather rude to follow someone like that, kitten.” Daring immediately turned around, only to see the same bipedal figure sitting on a stack of crates as she looked at the pegasus while messing up the wanted poster in her hands before taking a chance to throw it away in a nearby trashcan. “Hmm… You’re not the same as the other kittens… who are you?”

Daring herself raised an eyebrow in response. For one thing, why did she address her and other ponies as kittens? Nevertheless, after a bit, she then answered the question. “Daring Do, Explorer and Archeologist…” Then… something began to click as she looked back at the youngling. “Are you… the Black Cat?”

“Do I look like a cat to you, kitten?” she said, before giggling a bit. “It’s just an Alias, even though some ponies think I am a cat because of how I speak around others… but if you are asking about the thief, then I can only say yes. Yet, that’s only my occupation, Ms. Do.”

“Then let me ask you the same question you asked me,” The pegasus replied, which had the girl tilt her head to the left in curiosity as Daring then asked her question. “Who are you?”

“Originally, I was known by a different name, but that’s a thing in the past, kitten. You may call me Maeve. Treasure Hunter, thief and thrill seeker… Yet, I’m not like most thieves.”

“Could you clarify on that?” Daring Do then asked, rather puzzled by that last statement.

“Even though I do like treasure, I have some personal rules, but there are two main ones.” She said, holding up two fingers in the air. “First off, I only steal from other thieves. Secondly, and most important, I only harm others if they try to harm me first as an act of self defense.” To Daring, that was rather surprising. Most treasure hunters and thieves she encountered were only focused on their personal greed. But Maeve… seemed different. Kind hearted, yet cunning. It was a… different kind of twist to what she normally expected. “Now, Kitten. Since I answered two of your questions, it would be fair if you can answer one for me.”

The Pegasus, seeing this as fair to her, nodded her head as she looked back at Maeve. “Alright, what’s on your mind?”

“Well… I’m trying to find more people like me and the last thing I heard on the streets here was that there’s two of them in a place called… Ponyville I think. Would you happen to know anything about this?” She asked the adventurer.

“I have heard of it, but haven’t met them personally. I only read about it in this newspaper from the last town I was in.” The pegasus replied, only to extend her wing and hand Maeve the article with a picture above it.

However, once she saw the picture, she felt as if her heart skipped a beat. Her face losing the carefree expression that she had earlier as she now looked like she saw a ghost. For a couple of moments, she was silent. But then asked something off the top of her head. “Can I keep this?”

“Yeah, I don’t need it for anything…” She said as she Daring looked behind her for a moment in order to make sure she still had her stuff and closed the flap of her saddlebag. “So what are-”

Before the adventurer could add onto what she was trying to say… Maeve was gone. Nowhere in sight. Vanished without a trace and the same paper she just handed her by her hooves… with the picture missing.

For Maeve though, as she ran into the jungle and away from the port… The adventurer did more than help her… she gave her hope. Because in the image… was something that she thought she lost long ago. The picture itself was of one particular human. A woman, with brown hair tied in a ponytail, crimson wristbands and scarf, jeans and a grey t-shirt with two earth ponies next to her. It even got to the point that it made the girl cry a little.

“I f-found you…” she said to herself, before pocketing the picture away in her coat. “I finally found you...... Emmy.”

14- The Heart of the Forest

View Online

Author's Notes:

Now for some storytelling from a different perspective. I've had this on the backburner for a long while, but I felt that now we're in 2018, we finally get this one out of the way.

Some of the inspiration from this, as well as a new antagonist, came from the indie Smash Bros themed title called 'Rivals of Aether'. Given how Mancers here are elemental based (And so of the fighters), I thought this would work out perfectly. Another scene was also based on the Warhammer 40K parody called 'If the Emperor had a text to speech device' (Introduced to me by this guy).

Anyways, next chapter will require a LOT of explaining... I think by the end though, you'll see why. In the meantime, I want to thank everyone for being patient with me so far and I hope you like it.
-Frost

The Flames of the Phoenix- The Heart of the Forest

When Big Mac had finally returned back to Sweet Apple Acres shortly after helping Aunt Ember and two strangers fend off an attack from that of the Cryophoenix named Anivia, he thought that he would be able to finally get some much deserved rest. But when he opened his eyes again, he did not find himself in the comforts of his own room, but rather in the middle of the Everfree Forest. But… it was rather calm and no creatures seemed to be running around. Something that made him feel rather uncomfortable.

However, what really did not settle right with him was that as he was looking around and moved his head to the left… that was when he laid eyes on something that caught him off guard. “Granny, tell us a story!”

“W-what?” He asked himself. Because when he fully turned himself in the direction of the voice, that was when he found himself looking at what seemed like a memory. A time when he and his sister were a lot younger. Before Applebloom was even born. It was when his parents were out of town meeting some of their friends and they were being watched over by Granny Smith, who was sitting in her rocking chair with a book on her lap.

“Oh, come on now you two. It’s too late to for that.” He heard Granny Smith tell both of them. But it didn’t stop his sister from being persistent.

“Come on, Granny. Can we listen to one story? Please?” Applejack asked her. At first, the elderly mare was rather insistent on not doing it… but after a while, she let out a deep sigh and gave in.

“Alright… But I’ll be the one to pick the story… You always choose the ones that you like, so you two young’uns are going to be listening to something new tonight,” He heard her say as he felt a small breeze flow past him as Big Mac looked all around him. It was as he heard Granny Smith speak though that the forest around him began to change. “You two both know that it’s dangerous to go into the Everfree… but to know the true reason for why it is a dangerous place, you must know how it came to be.”

Immediately, everything around Big Mac suddenly began to change. As he moved through the forest, he began to see that many of the most dangerous hazards that were in this place… were not even there. The Froggy Bottom Bog was not there either and instead… when he got to the edge of the forest, all that Mac saw was… pure green. An endless meadow of grass, flowers and the spare trees. It looked like it would reach to the badlands.

Wait…… The… badlands? “Once, the Everfree was a much more beautiful place. An endless plain of green and life. One where many of the inhabitants loves to have called it their home…” At this point, Mac froze. The air suddenly became dry and the earth around him began to disintegrate right before his very eyes. “Then… came the burning. A vast wave of heat and fire began to rapidly spread throughout the Everfree. Scorching everything that stood in its path.”

“A-aunt Embah…” Mac gasped, just as he was finding himself immediately turned around and facing what looked to be the center of the Everfree.

“It was as the flames approached the center of this vast green… that the heart of the forest awoke… and the Everfree raged,” All around him, Big Mac heard what sounded like the clashing of weapons and the burning sounds of crackling fire as he still heard Granny Smith speak. “It fought back against Fire… and it fought back against those who dared tried to invade the forest. But this heart grew cancerous.” Now, he was seeing the trees decay and the ground below him change. Becoming more of the kind of forest that many would think of when they hear the Everfree.

“It tried to dwell into territory that it was not allowed to go into… but, it was pushed back. Many think that it is gone. Some ponies assume that the Timberwolves first originated from this single heart, but there are many things that we do not know… It is the reason why most ponies stay away from the forest and everything that’s inside.”

Though, it was around then though that Big Mac… heard his younger self speak. “But Granny, didn’t you go in there when you were younger?”

“Ah only was there when I came across Zap Apples for the first time… but that is a story to be told another night,” Granny told both of them, before closing the book as Big Mac heard the sounds of them trotting upstairs. “It’s time to get some sleep you two…”

“But Granny… what about the heart? What happened to it?” The moment that he heard that question, a chilling wind blew over Big Mac as the stallion noticed several barbed vines circling around the trees and in the ground. Some even passing over his hooves, which immediately made him flinch as he turned to see where they were coming from.

Only for him to be met with a pair of dark red eyes that stared directly back at him. The sound of growling in the distance. “Well now, sugarcube… according to the stories… you can still hear the winds say it’s name to this very day.”

Then, Big Mac felt not just something move from under his hooves… but over them. He looked down to see that the grass he was standing on was now coming over his hooves. Almost as if it was dragging him into the ground like quicksand as he looked up at what was in front of him. Only for him to come face to face with the figure he was looking at.

It was a timberwolf… but one with a black head, almost as if it was burned. It had a mane of grass similar to that of a lion and the timber that was on the front of its body looked to have been old and worn. But what was most noticeable was that there were three flower buds on this timberwolf. One on the end of the tail and two were on the peaks of it’s shoulders. But as the end of the tail was faced towards Big Mac, the flower opened up and turned into the jaws of a ferocious beast.

But the most chilling part of all was something that he was never prepared for. This timberwolf… spoke to him. “Who DARES invade the domain of Sylvanos!!?!”

“Gah!!” Big Mac immediately shot up and started to look around him, only to realize that he was immediately back in his room. For a moment, he didn’t know if this place was truly real. But hearing some of his family members downstairs soon lead him to realize that he wasn’t in a dream at all.

However… what he experienced just now… That definitely felt real to him. “Mac, ya okay in there?”

Hearing the voice of his sister had the stallion stumble out of there before looking towards the door. “Y-yeah, ah am. Why?”

“Aunt Ember asked me to check on ya. Ya missed breakfast this morning,” Hearing that from AJ had Mac shudder for a moment, before he looked at the clock that was on the wall and realized that it had been almost two hours before the sun came up. “Are ya sure your okay? Ya sound sick.”

“Nah, nah, ah’m fine…” Mac told her in response. Even though it wasn’t a lie, part of him was telling himself that it was. “Just overslept. That’s all.”

“Uh huh…… If ya say so,” Applejack replied back to her. “Mac, if ya like, ah can be able to help Aunt Ember on the farm today. She told me about what occurred last night and ah think ya just need some rest.”

“Nah, ah’m fine AJ… Really, ah am.” Big Mac insisted, going as far as getting up and going to open the door to his room in order to see her face to face. “Besides, it’s mah responsibility to take care of the orchard no matter how ah’m feeling.”

His sister began to think it over for a moment, before an idea came to her mind as she looked back at him. “Well, if ya insist… Ah need some apples delivered to Twilight’s castle today. Ya think you can do that?”

With that thought in mind, all Big Mac did was nod to his sister. “Sure thing.”

“You… want to know about Timberwolves?” A confused Twilight asked. Big Macintosh had just arrived a few moments ago, delivering the apples from the orchard that she had asked for. But instead of taking his leave so soon, the stallion had asked her a question that seemed… rather bizarre. “Zap Apple Season’s already passed though.”

“Ah know and we didn’t have any Timberwolves come by the orchard thankfully…” He let out a sigh of relief. “However… last night, ah had some trouble sleeping and-”

“Wait… are you sure that this isn’t something from the Tantabus incident?”

“The Tanta-what now?” Mac asked, sounding confused for a moment before Twilight shook her head and insisted for him to keep going. “Well, last night ah had a… weird dream and ah was wondering if you had some kind of book that talked about the ecosystem of the Everfree.” Almost as instantly as he said that, the princess teleported out of the room… before coming back a few seconds later with a rather large book that she cracked open and laid out on the crystalline table.

“You said it was Timberwolves right?” A single nod from the Earth Pony had Twilight’s horn light up as it immediately had her turn to somewhere in the back of the book before stopping. “Alright… What was it that you wanted to ask about them?”

“Well… Ah’m not sure if this was because of what ah saw in mah dream or something else,” The stallion stated as he looked at the book for a brief moment, before saying something that Twilight did not anticipate. “But the one ah saw was a lot different and… it actually spoke.”

“…… Come again?”

“Ah’m being serious,” The earth pony was telling her, trying to not sound like he was insane. “At first, ah was remembering a story that Granny Smith told AJ and I when we were young and the next thing ah know, ah see this Timberwolf covered in thorned bramble and had a leaf like mane similar to a chimera glare at me. He even seemed to have a name.”

Now that had Twilight raise an eyebrow for a moment. “A… name?”

Man nodded his head and took a deep breath as he looked back at her first before telling her his answer. “Yes. This… timberwolf called himself Sylvanos.”

Now though was when both of them heard a completely different voice enter the room as the spirit of chaos, Discord, emerged from hiding as a chair that was behind the two of them. “Oh… now this has just gotten a lot more interesting.”

“Discord!!” Twilight gasped. “What was that for?! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“I just thought I would listen in for a little bit to see how things were going,” Discord replied, before looking back at Big Mac now. “But the moment that I heard him mention that name, I thought that it would be the perfect time to come in. Besides, I think I can be able to help answer both of your questions.”

Both ponies now looked at one another in complete and utter confusion, before they said one simultaneous response. “How?”

“Well… the initial question that I’ll answer for you is not a what… but who. Because on the surface, Sylvanos may just seem like a timberwolf with an interest in carnivorous plants… but it’s a lot more important than that,” He replied back to them. “In fact, Sylvanos, in many ways, has some similarities to both myself and the phoenix girl, Ember.” That just confused Big Mac even more. Mostly because he had no idea as to what could he exactly mean by ‘similarities’. If anything, it seemed like there were more differences than that.

“What exactly do you mean by that, Discord?” Twilight then asked him.

“Well, think of it like this…” Discord said as he looked at both ponies and with a snap of his talon, he had a golden coin appear in his hands. “Myself, Ember and Sylvanos are all beings that have on for a rather long time, and in our own way, we reflect the thoughts and emotions that creatures all across the world feel on a daily basis. Both good,” On one side of the coin, it showed the faces of a calm Discord, Ember and Sylvanos. But upon immediately flipping the coin, it was the exact opposite. It was… “bad and downright ugly. For example, you may not fully believe me on this, but I would almost be seen as a force of change.”

“Excuse you?” Twilight asked, blinking in response to the draconequus’ statement. “How exactly can you… You… be a force of change? That’s like asking Pinkie Pie to get into politics…”

“Ah yes… but perhaps it would be best explained through an example,” Discord said, creating something that would replicate what looked like a puppet theater as he had different drawings of ponies emerge on stage. All while they were taped onto what looked like wooden popsicle sticks. “For starters, I might be seen as a devious trickster by some ponies, but I can also be a sign of progress and a beacon of hope. Like how I gave you the last key in order to unlock the Rainbow Power needed to defeat Lord Tirek. The whole thing with this is that it wraps around change. True, without change there would be nopony to plot evil schemes, but it would also mean that there would be nopony smart enough in order to outsmart those schemes.”

“... B-but that would mean… Nothing would ever get done. Society would just be in a standstill.”

“Exactly,” Discord replied back. “We would be stuck in a state of Static karma… and speaking of which,” At that moment was when Discord threw away the stage puppet of himself as it blew up in pink smoke. “That leads directly to what Sylvanos represents. What happens when there’s a complete lack of change. Cycles of Decay and Renewal that are inevitable. It’s the reason why the Everfree Forest is the way that it is because unlike Equestria and the places where Ponies now reside, the Everfree Forest has not changed at all.”

That… left Mac with a question though. “Wait a second… if what ya say is true…”

“Which it is…” Discord added on.

“And ya say that they’re a representation of all emotions… what good thing does he actually represent?” The farmer asked. To which, the spirit of chaos picked up right where he left off.

“The good traits that Sylvanos represents is that he represents the resolve and will in order to face such inevitabilities. Meaning that without him, there would not be any consistency or safety in living and dying… in fact, there would be no consistency at all,” But the next thing that the spirit of chaos told them definitely threw both of them off guard. “Sylvanos is technically nature incarnate.”

Twilight, at this point, didn’t even realize that one of her eyes was twitching as she looked back at Discord. “Is… all of this true?”

Mac himself wanted to know the answer to the same exact question as well… despite the fact that he was confused as to how this really applies to everything. After all, he just wanted to find out more about Sylvanos after what he had seen in his dreams.

“To be honest… even though this sounds as crazy as a pair of sisters being able to move celestial objects around the planet, what I’m telling you is actually correct…” Discord told them before letting out a deep breath. “Sylvanos is still a pain in the ass though. Gets completely defensive over who enters ‘his domain’.”

“Um… can ah ask a question?” Mac spoke up, before Discord nodded his head. “Ah know this sounds a bit crazy to understand, but if you’re change and Sylvanos is nature, then what is my aunt supposed to represent?”

“Well, for Ember, she may be seen as someone who’s rage and anger needs to be kept in check because of what she did in the past, but she could also pass for another trait that a lot of us represent. That being Survival of the Fittest,” Discord told both of them, throwing away his old props and having them explode as he solely focused on Ember now. “Strength and Skill can be represented through her actions, but she is also one that wouldn’t try to trick you and stab you in the back for it. Making her seem like a representation of traits like justice, vengeance, honour, honesty, loyalty and the strength to stand up to and fight against injustice. Like how the villagers in that one town of equality stood up to the towns mayor even though she had the upper hoof and you & your friends hostage.”

“What-?” Big Mac asked, looking towards the Princess of Friendship.

“It’s a long story…” Twilight hastily replied to him for a moment. “Though… that was rather… informative. You happen to know a lot of information on this subject Discord.”

By the time he was finished, Discord had his entire prop set dissipate into pink smoke as he looked back at Twilight. “That I do… however, the one this I don’t know is why I’m hearing all this stuff about Sylvanos now…”

“Perhaps all this conflict going on right now with Anivia has gotten his attention?” Twilight hypothesized.

“Maybe… but Sylvanos normally doesn’t get himself involved unless it directly involves him. Like if you happen to walk into his territory…” Discord then replied back. “I don’t know what might be the cause of something like this unfortunately… but one thing I do know for a fact is that whatever you do… do NOT tell Ember about this.”

“What? Why?” Both Mac and Twilight simultaneously asked, while also being caught off guard by saying that statement at the same time.

“Let me put it to you simply then…” The next thing he said though was what caused some chills go down both of their spines. “Her rage… was the reason why Sylvanos woke all those years ago.”

Meanwhile

In Ponyville’s marketplace, many tradesponies and merchants were making the rounds as they were all trying to sell their wares, whether they were specialty goods or just household items. The one common thing though was that right now, most of the carts that those merchants had used to carry their goods were all in the same place.

And for the thief that hitched a ride on one of these carts from Horseshoe Bay… she saw this as open season. Especially after being in the back of a cramped car carrying tropical fruits and produce for the last few hours. But for Maeve, despite the fact that she was able to pickpocket as much as her cloak can hold… there was one thing that she wasn’t a fan of. “Wow… I honestly did not think that my search would have me end up in the middle of the sticks…”

Normally, she would prefer to try and keep herself hidden from view in a dark alley or under the cover of night. However, she also learned that most ponies don’t normally stay in town and close up their shops after sundown. And since it was only a couple of hours away, Maeve saw that it would be a better time to do that now instead of wait for too long and miss her window of opportunity.

After sneaking out of the cart she was hiding and pickpocketing some food and bits from the two carts right next to it though, that was when she happened to overhear something not far from where she was at as she proceeded to a nearby alley and hid close to the wall. From her position, she peaked around the corner and happened to notice what appeared to be a red stallion emerging from a crystalline tree while he was talking to a… pony with a horn and wings? “That’s… a new one.”

“Thanks for coming over Mac,” She heard that winged pony say to the stallion. “And thank you for the apples. Tell Ember I said hello.” That immediately had the hairs on the back of Maeve’s neck stand up as she looked back at both of them. She did not know about who this… Ember was, but the name… sounded rather close to the name of someone else she was looking for. And it was the only lead that she had at this point.

“Well, let’s see what this big kitten can lead me too.” She grinned, before beginning to run up the side of the alleyway and follow the stallion from the rooftops. When they left town, Maeve proceeded to follow him by hiding along the side of the road and also in the trees. Staying out of sight to not catch the stallions attention and have him think somepony was following him.

The more that she continued to follow him though, the more that she was personally tempted to try and steal from him. Causing Maeve to stop moving for a moment and try to get her to snap out of it. “Come on, stop thinking that. You’ll give your position away to the big kitten if you try to rob him now!”

Yet, it was as she was thinking this, Maeve realized that the pony she was pursuing was now really close to what looked like an orchard. And with it, there was somepony else waiting for him. An orange pony with a blond mane & tail who was wearing what looked like an old stetson hat. She tried to listen in on them, but it was when she got closer and decided to hide in one of the trees that she happened to notice an apple right in front of her. And that the tree she was hiding in was an apple tree.

“Well, I haven’t really had the chance to eat anything since I got out… Guess it’s fine for me to have a bite. Five finger discount after all,” She said, grabbing an apple and yanking it off of the branch before beginning to eat it. It was as she was eating it though that she noticed that the orange pony was… walking over to the tree with what looked like some kind of basket. Before setting it down at the base of the tree. “Now why would she do that-?”

Then, she felt the tree shake. And with it, all the apples immediately fell out of the tree. And Maeve lost her grip on the apple she had just finished eating. “Alright, ah’m all done here-” And just as the earth pony was speaking up, that apple core that Maeve had accidentally let go of hit the pony in the head… and landed right in the basket.

“Now, what in the hay-?” Was the only thing that the mare could say… before she immediately lifted her head up and spotted the thief in the trees.

To which, Maeve only had one thing to say. “Um… Hi-?”

“Mac, get out here!! We got a thieving varmint-!!” On instinct, Maeve immediately dashed out of the trees, knocking the mare to the ground as she began to run. Racing through the trees and thinking that there was a new place she could hide.

Unfortunately though, just as she thought she was about to get away, a giant stone wall emerged in front of the burglar. Causing her to stop in her tracks. “What the-?!” Just as she backed up though and turned around, she felt a lasso wrap around her as she found herself looking directly back at both the mare and stallion she had seen just moments ago, letting out a deep sigh. “… Okay, this sucks!”

“Sis, is this… really the thief? She looks… rather small.” She heard the stallion speak up.

“Darn right! Ah found her in the trees and she dropped an apple core on my head!” The mare snapped, before turning her gaze to Maeve. “Now, what do you got to say for yourself?!”

“Well…” She grinned, remembering something as she had one of her knives appear in her hands very close to where the lasso was holding her. “It’s not really easy to catch me, kitten. Now if you excuse me… I need to cut loose.” Just before they could ask, Maeve cut through her restraints and made a break for it. Startling both of them as they were now chasing her through the back of the orchard.

“Haha!! You can’t catch me!” Maeve taunted, gaining the upper hand. But just like before, something had the chase reach a dramatic hault. But instead of a stone wall this time… it was a fireball to the face. “Ow! Ow! OW!!”

“Okay, just what in the world is going on out here?” That voice, had Maeve immediately lift her head up. Only to see the last thing that she was expecting. What she saw was a human, grey shirt, blue jeans, sandals, crimson scarf and brown hair tied back in a ponytail with dark red eyes.

“Aunt Ember!”

The human, now addressed by her name, looked back towards Maeve… who was personally caught off guard by everything that was transpiring. Which only had her say one word.

“E-emmy?”

Ember herself though, raised an eyebrow. “I…… have not heard that since I had originally come here… And only one person ever called me that-” Now, things were clicking inside her head… just as the two ponies from before were attempting to restrain Maeve in her current state.

“Agh! Hey, what gives?!” The thief shouted, before the farm pony glared at her.

“You were the one who ate one of the apples on the orchard and try to get away with it! You think you can just swipe something that isn’t yours and-”

“Applejack, let her go…” Both of them turned towards Ember, surprised by what she had to say. Personally, Applejack didn’t want to let her go, but after a little bit, she shook her head and let her free.

“Why are you telling me to let her go, aunt Ember?” Applejack asked.

“Because I want to ask her a question…” The pyromancer told her. “Back home, there was only one person in my family that ever called me by that name… So let me ask her something,” Then, she turned to Maeve, who was finally able to get up on her own as she looked back at Ember with a shocked face. “Is that you… Mom?”

That… caused tears to run down the burglar’s face as she walked up to where her daughter was and embraced her in a hug. Trying to hold back her joyful tears as she said something that answered Ember’s question. “I finally found you…”

End Chapter 14

15- Truth

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Truth

In Applejack’s mind right now, there were so many questions that she had regarding what was currently playing out just steps from the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. It was only a few moments earlier though that Applejack had come face to face with a bipedal pink maned bandit that was able to free herself out of her lasso and the next moment, they found out that this… thief was somehow Ember’s mother. If anything, there were still several questions that Applejack had on her mind regarding the situation. And some that needed immediate answers.

Though, before she could say anything… she noticed something in particular with her aunt that she had not seen before up until now. And that was the fact that she… was crying. Not tears of sorrow, but tears of happiness. Small ones, but tears all the same. Even Big Mac himself was a little bit puzzled by what was going on along with that of Applebloom. Though, it was the latter of the three ponies that actually decided to speak up on the matter. “Um… not to sound rude, but can somepony explain what the hay is going on?”

That question from the filly had Ember stop for a moment as she used her scarf to wipe the tears off her face. The one that the ponies called ‘mom’ also did the same, just with her jacket this time as she let Ember speak. “That… is something that might not be so easy to explain.”

“How exactly, Aunt Embah?” Applebloom asked, tilting her head again.

“Well…” Ember said, letting out a sigh. “Back before ever meeting you… or Golden Apple… or anypony in Equestria, I was once just a normal girl named Emma in a place called Earth. I didn’t have powers or anything like that… but what I did have was family. That was… until my parents left me a note on one fateful day saying that they wanted to split. After that, I just put on my scarf, fell asleep and… well, ended up here.”

That even had the little burglar that was sitting next to her look rather shocked for a moment. Before smiling a bit. “Well, at least I’ve found you now, Emmy…” Again, all three ponies looked back at her for a moment, looking confused by what she just said. Until the thief then explained what she was referring too. “Oh… right. Emmy was always the nickname I used for her when I was raising her. Short for Emma.”

“Okay… but what is your name exactly?” Big Mac then asked her.

“Well, where we used to be from, my first name was Mae,” She explained to her. “And I used to be just as tall as my daughter. However, ever since coming here, I’m now known as Maeve and I’ve shrunk in size to the point where I look like a young child. Does that answer your question, kitten?” Big Mac almost twitched at being called that, while Applebloom just chuckled as she looked back at her brother. Even going as far as pretending that she was purring like a cat to make the fur of her brother stand up on his neck.

“Ah think that’s a yes.” Applebloom then replied back with a smile on her face.

“Heehee…” Maeve grinned a little bit, before looking back to Ember. It was in this moment that Ember felt inclined to ask her something as she turned to face Maeve directly.

“Mom… can I ask you something?” The pyromancer spoke up as the thief nodded her head. “How… did you even get here?”

“Could you be a bit more specific?” Maeve responded back with a question as Ember took a small sigh. “Do you mean get here to this town? Or are you thinking bigger then that?”

“I mean this world…” Ember clarified. “Like how did you arrive here?”

“Well… that is something I don’t really remember… my brain’s still a bit fuzzy on that subject.” The thief frowned, scratching the back of her head. It didn’t help any at all that after she scratched the back of her head was when they heard a loud rumbling as everypony stared at her.

“Was that… your stomach?”

“Um… yeah?” Maeve told them, before following up on that with another thing she said. “What? A few hours ago, I was hiding inside the back of a trading wagon bound for this town from Horseshoe Bay and aside from that apple I had just now and small crumbs of bread, I haven’t eaten anything in almost two days.”

That almost threw Applejack and the others off guard as she looked back at the rogue. “Well, why didn’t you say so!? If you would’ve told us that and not gone on to try and steal from our crop, we would’ve gladly gave you something to eat.”

“You didn’t know who I was until just now. How would you know that I wasn’t trying to lie and steal something from you?” Maeve then asked her.

“Applejack can tell if somepony’s being truthful or not,” Applebloom then chimed in. “If you would’ve told her that from the beginning, then she would’ve listen to you… kind of.”

That had Maeve raise an eyebrow for a moment as Applejack turned around to look back at the filly. “What do you mean by ‘kind of’, sugarcube?”

“Don’t you remember what happened when you and the girls first met Zecora?” Apple Bloom asked, before looking back at her. “You thought she was an evil enchantress that lived in the Everfree before you shrank because of poison joke. And she was the one that was brewing the cure for it, but you were too stubborn to hear her out.”

Ember herself raised an eyebrow at that, before chuckling. “You thought she was an evil enchantress?”

“And why didn’t you tell me this?” Big Mac then added alongside what Ember asked.

“Well… to be fair, Pinkie Pie started with that and then everypony else still went along with it. It’s something that I still regret to this day,” Applejack sighed, before looking back at Big Mac and Ember. “And this happened when you were Granny Smith back in Appleloosa a long time ago. You weren’t even at the Orchard when this occurred.”

“It’s funny you say that because when you were little, you said you were going to ‘tell Big Macintosh on me’ when ah ran to go help Zecora.” Applebloom chuckled as Applejack face-hooved herself, adding a small groan while looking back at them.

“Alright, ah think ah get the point…” Applejack then spoke up, removing her hoof from her face as she looked back towards Ember and Maeve now. “Besides, it’s getting real close to lunch. If you want to lend a hoof with preparations, then we can let you join us and give you something to eat as well.”

“Why thank you for that,” Maeve replied as she got up off the porch and followed Applejack and Applebloom towards the kitchen. The rogue soon noticed that the filly had placed a basket of apples by the kitchen sink, which… had her grin a little bit as she took out one of the knives that was originally on her coat and began twirling it around her finger as she asked another question to the farm pony. “Can I help with peeling the apples? These blades are made for slicing, after all…”

Both Applejack and Applebloom looked at one another for a moment, before Applejack then said something. “As long as you wash your… uh...”

“Hands.” Ember then added to Applejack’s sentence in order to help her.

“Right… As long as you wash your hands first, then we’re okay with some extra help.” Applejack then responded, allowing Maeve to come over, wash her hands and use some of her knives to peel the apple skins off first before cutting them into slices. Originally, Applejack herself thought that she would need some help with that… but after watching Maeve cleanly peel away the skin of one of the apples and then cut the first apple down into a series of freshly divided slices, it made her think otherwise.

Especially since she was able to cleanly cut away the skin of the apples and divide them into slices… in half the time it usually would take them to do the same thing. Cutting enough pieces for not just apple slices, but also letting Big Mac use some of the apples that she peeled to make some fresh apple juice. As for Applejack, she asked Applebloom to get out the frying pan because she was going to start cooking some Apple Dumplings.

Only to run into one particular problem as she was trying to get it started. “Dang nabbit!”

“Is something wrong, Applejack?” Ember asked.

“Darn stove isn't lighting the gas… Been meaning to have somepony to come take a look at it, but with all that has been happening recently, I just haven’t had the time-” The farm pony stopped speaking though the moment that Ember walked over and lifted her right hand over the stove. Snapping the fingers as a small flame was conjured and the gas was lit, causing Applejack’s hat to fly backwards and for her mane to be sticking up a bit. “Oh… right. Thanks, Ember.”

Maeve herself though, had just turned around when she watched her daughter light the stove with the snap of a finger. And she was rather surprised by what she had just witnessed. “Emmy… How are you able to do that?”

“That… is a lot to explain,” She explained to her, before walking over to another cupboard and getting out some plates to set on the table. “If you would like, I can tell you about it after lunch. We should be ready soon once Applejack is done with the Apple Dumplings.”

“That seems fair, kitten.” Maeve responded back as she also decided to lend a hand with setting up the table as well, going as far as to set up the table, pour drinks and even set out a bowl of apple slices to serve as an appetizer. Which provided enough time in order for Applejack to be able to finish the first batch of dumplings as prepare a second one just in case anypony wanted seconds.

Eventually, they were able to finish cooking and had everything set up on the table for them to eat. But there was one thing that was missing as Applebloom soon wandered off into the next door room. “Granny, it’s time for lunch! We made Apple Dumplings!”

That… had Maeve look back at Ember and the others and raise an eyebrow. “Granny?”

“Ah coming, ah’m coming!!” The sound of Granny Smith’s voice spoke up as she entered the room on her walker alongside Applebloom. “Well done, everypony. All of this smells delicious-” Of course, it was also then that she happened to notice Maeve as she was taking a seat next to where Ember was sitting. “Ember dear… who is this?”

That had the mancer turned her head to look at the rogue for a short moment, before saying something. “Granny Smith… I would like for you to meet Maeve. We just met her a couple minutes ago.”

“Really now? Is she a friend of yours?” Granny then asked as she took up a seat next to Applejack.

“Not… exactly,” Maeve spoke up, before looking back at the elderly earth pony as she reached for an apple slice on the table. “You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Ah come on, ah’ve seen many things in my life… Ah’m sure this isn’t any different.” That… made the Rogue grin a little as she fumbled something out of her coat pocket before looking back at her. When Ember looked to see what she was getting out, the mancer happened to notice that what Maeve was holding onto right now was some kind of photograph. One that was of the both of them when… well, before being separated.

“Well… this is a picture of Emmy and I from a long time ago. Back where we used to call home,” She said, sliding it across the table as she looked back at her. “I know that I look different in this picture, but I do believe the relationship is the same, kitten.”

That… had Granny be a little bit puzzled as she looked at the photograph. Going as far as putting on her reading glasses in order to look at it clearly. It took her a few minutes in order to try and figure it out, but… unfortunately, it was someone else who happened to spoil the surprise. “Wow, your mother looks much different in that picture, Aunt Embah!”

“Applebloom!!”

“What? Isn’t that a compliment?” The filly asked her sister, all while Granny Smith was trying to wrap her head around what she just heard.

And she still seemed to be rather puzzled by this revelation as she was trying to form a question in her head. “Wait… if yer her ma, then why do ya look so…?”

“Young?” Maeve asked.

“Ah was going to say small, but yeah… Why do ya look like that?” Granny then asked as Applejack began to place a few dumplings on each one of their plates.

“Well, that is something I’m still trying to wrap my head around…” The rogue sighed as she set down the rest of the apple slice that she was having. “It happened when I was invited to a special event back where Emmy and I were originally from. I was meeting a few friends and… well, while we were at that event, I got roped into a contest. When I won, they gave me this jacket as a prize, complete with fake knives as props and I fell asleep with it on. Next thing I know, I woke up to being smaller that normal, my hair was changed to pink, my voice was a lot different and I found myself in the middle of Horseshoe Bay. That and the knives that I thought were props turned out to be real. Even cut myself one of my fingers on accident.”

“Wait a minute… Horseshoe Bay?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow upon hearing that name. “You mean that cove filled with pirates, cutthroats and thieves?”

“Yeah, not the best kind of situation that you would want to wake up in…” Maeve sighed. “Course, it did help me learn a bit about how to survive along with some of the new… abilities I can do. But the moment I heard about another human being in this place, I was quick to pounce out of there… How do you know about that place though?”

“A while back, we were helping Fluttershy return a fish that she nursed back to health, only to end up getting captured by some crazy pirate named Hoofbeard. It’s a long story.” Applejack answered as she noticed Maeve chuckle a little.

“Ah that guy… He was the first pony I was able to successfully rob while trying to survive that place,” That had everyone, including Ember, just stare at her with a look of shock and surprise on her face. All before she just looked back at them with a shrug. “What? I needed the bits for some food and he was drunk out of his mind when it happened. Probably had too much Apple Cider.”

That… had Granny Smith then turn to Ember as she asked her something. “Are ya sure that she’s not going to cause ya any trouble?”

“Hopefully…” Ember sighed, just as she was about to eat one of the dumplings that was on her plate before assuring her something. “But I will be keeping my eye on her.”

After having lunch, the rest of the day was rather quiet and calm given how Applejack, Applebloom and Big Mac already had harvested the apples from the trees and now brought them into the barn to sort. Of course, Ember wanted to help them, but Granny Smith insisted that she should be able to spend some time with her mother and leave the work to AJ and the others. This… also provided the chance for Ember to have the first ever conversation that she had with her mother in a long time. One where it was just between the two of them and with no one, or nopony else interfering.

Of course, it was over the course of their conversation that a single question began to burn in the back of her mind. At first, it was nothing… but the longer the conversation with Maeve went on and the more that she told her about the things that happened to her over the years that she had been in Equestria, the more and more that it began to irritate her to the point where it was driving her crazy. Until at one point… she decided to ask. “Hey mom… there was something I wanted to ask you… and I’m sorry if this sounds a little too personal.”

“Hmm? What is it, Kitten?” Maeve asked her, a little puzzled by what Ember was asking. However, Ember had a bit of trouble trying to say the words for it at first. But after letting out a deep sigh, she then began to speak.

“When I originally came here to Equestria, it was after I found out about what was going on with you and dad…” The mancer explained, before adding in the question. “But why did you two decide to split up?”

Maeve herself sighed, before straightening herself up as she looked back at Ember. “You know… I have been waiting for you to ask that for the longest of times now. And I think now’s the best time for you to know what happened.”

Personally, Ember was not prepared to hear that specific answer. “R-really? You… actually want to talk about it?”

“Yeah I mean… What do you think I was going to do? Tell you no after learning how my daughter is immortal and been around for over a thousand years. That would just be cruel and unusual punishment,” The rogue told her, before stretching out her hands as she leaned up against the side of the barn while the two of them were sitting on the patio. “So why would I make you wait any longer?”

Ember had to admit, that was a valid point. She didn’t want to wait any more, nor did she want anyone to hide the truth. Back home, her father always said that the fights that he and her mother had were just minor… yet, someone wouldn’t want to have a divorce after a small fight. That’s like saying you want to fire your agent because of a small disagreement. “So… Why did you and dad want to split…”

“Well… the main reason for that is simple. When you were six, your father was on a business trip and during that time… he had an affair with another woman,” The Rogue began to tell her, and right out the gate, Ember was shocked by this. “He kept the whole thing a secret for twelve years… many of the times that he was out in the same area on a ‘business trip’ he was seeing her. And not just for getting together…”

That part puzzled Ember for a moment as he looked back at her. “What do you mean?”

“Emmy…” Maeve let out a small breath, before speaking. Because what she said next was something that the pyromancer was not prepared for. “You have a little brother. Step brother, to be more specific.”

At first, Ember did not understand what she meant. But slowly, the pieces were coming together. “Wait… you mean…” Her question was met by a small nod, to which, made Ember ask a quick follow up question. “But if that were true… how did you find out?”

“When you went on that field trip and I was running errands, your father brought her to the house because she needed to talk to him badly. When I got home early, I overheard the entire conversation and also overheard that their son… the one that is your little step brother now, had gone missing… disappeared without a trace in the middle of a toy store,” The rogue said as she continued on. “At the time I heard this though, I saw this as a big betrayal of trust. Twelve years… twelve years that I thought that I was happy and that he would not do anything to hurt me turned out to be a lie. So, after learning the truth, I did not hesitate in order to separate from him. Because I wanted a better future… for both of us.”

However, when she finished that statement, Maeve looked away for a moment as she tried to restrain herself from crying. “B-but I did not think that I would lose you too… just like that boy.”

Ember herself, looked back at Maeve and placed a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her from any pain. “I-i’m sorry to hear that…” She replied back, before thinking of something. “Um… I’m not sure if it’s too much for me to ask… but what happened after I was gone?”

“To simply put it, I started looking for you. At the time, I thought that you were kidnapped just like the boy that’s your little brother. I was once a detective for the police, I couldn’t just sit around and wait for something to come up on it’s own. However, when I couldn’t find any leads, I decided to take a break and visit my family in Atlanta. Possibly ask them for advice,” Maeve told her, while also commenting on the fact that it was ironic that she was once someone who caught criminals, but now is a criminal causing trouble. “And the first thing they taught me was to try and forgive… I mean, it wasn’t that other woman’s fault that this whole fiasco happened-”

“Hold up a minute,” Ember blinked, before looking back at her. “You actually reached out to the woman who had an affair with dad? How?”

“Actually, she reached out to me instead. Told me that on the original night that he and your father met, he said he was not married,” She replied back to her daughter. “We talked for a bit and she… well, she invited me to her home up in Baltimore. We had the chance to talk and told me more about her son. Or your brother for that matter.”

That part had the mancer curious as she talked a bit more about him for a few more moments, before asking a question. “Did you get his name?”

“Yeah I did actually,” Maeve said before the sun began to start setting. “Your father had him keep our last name… but he let his mother choose his first name. It’s-”

Around now though was when the window along the side of the barn opened up and with it, Applejack stook out her head. “Hey… Sorry for interrupting yer talk, but supper’s almost ready. Come on in before it gets cold.”

“We’ll be there in a moment,” Ember assured her, which had Applejack nod as she returned back inside before looking back at Maeve and beginning to walk back inside. “So… as you were saying?”

“Ah right…” Maeve smiled, just before the rogue told her what she was going to say before they went inside for supper. After she was time the name, it had been stuck inside her head for some time, getting to the point where she could not be able to get any rest.

So, in the late hours of the night… she got up from her bed and opened the window. Taking out one of the phoenix feathers that she had as her token and replicating it as she opened a small pocket of the void and let it drift inside. Followed by a brief and simple prayer.

“I hope this finds you wherever you are… Calvin.”

End Chapter 15

Author's Notes:

So... I'm sure that a LOT of you might have some question about what exactly you just read. Well, for this, I thought I would have the chapter specifically be focused around Ember and Maeve given that the two of them have finally reunited after so long. But given how Ember never truly knew what drove her parents apart, I thought she would be able to finally get an answer as to why.

As for the ending... Well, let's just say that is something that I wanted to do for a long time, but I haven't really thought of how to do it until thinking things through last week. So I hope that this will provide a new angle into some of these characters I'm bringing into this world and how they connect to some other stories I have.

For now though, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and look forward to what else I have going on in the future.
-Frost

16- Familiar Flame

View Online

Author's Notes:

So... where do I begin with this one...

I had ideas for how to continue on this one for a LONG while now... but after a while, I decided to fully go with this one. We're picking things up from where we left off to where its now the beginning of Season six and with it, new characters are introduced. And fair warning, its going to be rather... detail oriented.

Part of me feels that I should've added more or had the ending turn out differently, but that'll depend on what you guys think. Tell me your thoughts and I'll see if I can do something about it. Also, now adding the 'sex' tag for... implications alongside 'violence' because of the earlier fights from previous chapters. Not fully bringing this back yet, but I felt that I needed to do something and not make you guys wait any longer than you already are.

Until next time.
-Frost

The Flames of the Phoenix- Familiar Flame

It had been a few months after the night where Ember had reunited with her mother, Maeve and now, things had been rather calm and steady around Ponyville despite several key differences. For one thing, Ember had found out that after a string of confusing events regarding magic, time travel and what not, Twilight Sparkle had taken up an apprentice of sorts by the name of Starlight Glimmer. A unicorn who was skilled in magic just as she was, but only had recently learned what the true meaning of friendship was and with it, wished to learn more.

Yet, this wasn’t a primary concern for the mancer. In fact, after some time, she had found it easier to not have herself ‘step in’ and take part in day-to-day duties that the princess or her friends would have to undertake. Instead though, she would spend her time more with helping out around Sweet Apple Acres and cover in Applejack’s place whenever she had to leave to go for some important friendship business.

Such was the case today. Twilight was bringing Starlight to the crystal empire alongside her friends for her first ‘lesson’ in friendship during the crystalling, a special ceremony that takes place there. Even though a part of Ember would’ve wanted for her to go, she had to accept the fact that since Twilight’s friends were going too, she had to cover Applejack’s shift on the farm today.

Yet, her job was mostly working with the stuff in the barn. For the one who was primarily doing most of the applebucking today was Big Mac. Apple Bloom was working on finishing her chores, Granny was inside and Ember was with Maeve to help wash and sort the buckets that were brought in. And after a while, Big Mac had almost bucked all the trees in the orchard and brought them back to the barn.

“Mac, come in! Time for lunch!” He heard Granny Smith’s voice echo from inside as he looked to the door. Organizing the last of the buckets as he turned around and trotted to the door. However, just as he was about to push it open with a hoof, that was when he heard something.

“Excuse me?”

When he turned around, what Mac saw almost made his heart skip a beat. There was a pony standing at the front of the barn, but it had eyes and wings similar to that of a ‘changeling’ like the ones that his sister told him about before. However, it was taller than that of Applejack, the body was white with the eyes colored pink and a red mane and tail. That and there were no ‘holes’ like the ones that her sister had told him about before.

Before Mac could say anything though, the figure spoke again. Her voice sounding calm. “Would this happen to be Sweet Apple Acres? I’m… looking for somep-pony that lives here.”

In the stallion’s mind, he thought two things. One, she could be looking for Applejack, who wasn’t here. Or two, this mare could be looking for Ember, who was busy at the moment. Just in case though, he put a small amount of energy into bending the ground by one of his hooves. “Yes… who’s askin’?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I haven’t even gotten the chance to introduce myself. Silly me. I have a habit of forgetting things like that,” She giggled, putting a hoof to her chin for a moment. “My name’s-”

“Mac, is everything going alright out there?” They both heard the voice of Granny Smith calling out from inside the barn. Something that caught the stallion off guard when he realized that he had not returned inside yet, but he kept himself calm as he looked back to the pony out front.

“Granny, there’s somepony here that’s lookin’ fer somepony.” Mac called out in response, saying it loud enough so that she could hear him while also keeping an eye on the stranger in front of the barn.

“Is she lookin’ fer Applejack?” The elderly mare replied back, which had the mare out front shake her head in response to the question.

“Nah, she isn’t.”

“Really? Well, then maybe she’s one of her friends or something,” Granny replied back, sounding as if she wanted to have Big Mac hurry up and get inside. Possibly because if they were cooking something, they would want for him to have it before it gets cold. “Have her tell us her name and then she could leave a message for her-”

“Actually, if I may interject,” The stranger now spoke up. “I was looking for someone in particular. Wears a red scarf, walks on two legs?” Hearing that had the fur on the back of the stallions neck begin to stand up. He was realizing that she was not looking for that of her sister, but instead looking for Ember. And the last time that something was looking for Ember was when they encountered Anivia when those two critters named Marty and Lee were here. So in Mac’s mind, he thought that this pony was coming to try and harm his aunt.

“Who are you?” He now asked sternly.

“Oh right, my name! You did ask me earlier, so let me answer that for you,” She replied back, realizing that she almost forgot about that and lightly giggled again. “My name is Amaryllis.”

Almost immediately after she said that, Big Mac heard a chair immediately slide across the floor and somepony getting up and heading towards the door behind him. Before he could do anything, the door immediately slammed open behind the stallion as Ember stepped out. What surprised him the most though was that when she looked at Amaryllis, her eyes were not expressing any form of anger. In fact, they were expressing joy with a side of disbelief. Like if you met a close family member that you have not seen in ages. “A-ama? Y-you actually came-?”

“Why of course,” She smiled, trotting closer to the mancer. “I didn’t want to wait in order to come see you again, my dear.”

Now it was Mac who was beginning to stare in disbelief. Not only did this ‘Amaryllis’ figure actually know his aunt, but from how they acted, they seemed to have a lot closer of a relationship than he thought. Which was expressed not only when the two of them hugged each other, but also by when his aunt actually kissed her on the lips.

By that time though, that was when a couple others from inside came out through the door and spoke up. “Woah, woah woah… what in the hay is going on?” The two of them heard Granny Smith speak up as both Amaryllis and Ember turned to see her by the door alongside Maeve before pointing a hoof towards the two of them. “And who’s she?”

“She has a name, Granny,” Ember told her. “Her name’s Amaryllis. And she’s… well, how should I put this?” The mancer pondered what to say next, but it was during this that the stallion noticed a slight blush on her face while she was thinking of it.

“Don’t you still have the bangle, dear?” Amaryllis then asked. Which had the mancer realize what she meant as she moved back one of the cloth wristbands on her right arm to show what looked to be a gold bangle underneath.

“Ooh, shiny.” Maeve giggled, shortly before getting glared at by Granny. “What? I happen to like things that are pretty, kitten.”

“That’s not an ordinary trinket, sugarcube,” Granny Smith told her, who took a moment to try and find a way to best summarize it before explaining it to her fully, “That’s what ya see couples wear after they tie the knot.”

That was met only with a brief silence at first but as soon as she began to realize the gravity of what she meant, Maeve was not entirely excited by what she heard. “My daughter’s married!?!!” That was a bit of a shock to pretty much everypony else, but to Amaryllis, she just seemed more puzzled than anything else.

“Why did the little one call you her daughter?” Amaryllis now asked.

All that did was have Ember let out a deep sigh, shortly before looking back and then suggesting something to Granny, Mac and Maeve. “How about we take this inside? I think it would be easier for everyone if we did this calmly without shouting out loud and attracting the attention of everypony that could possibly walk by.”

Upon going inside and getting seated at the table in the dining room, Ember first took the time to explain how she had found Mac and the others was taken in as part of the Apple Family to Amaryllis. That was shortly followed up by Maeve giving a short summary of how Ember is her daughter and how that, through unforeseen circumstances, lead to her ending up in the body of a child while also knowing to steal whatever suited her fancy.

“Alright, so now that we’ve said our piece, ah think it's time ya answer a few questions that we have,” Granny then spoke up, to which Amaryllis nodded her head as she looked back at the elderly earth pony. “First, what exactly are ya? We haven’t seen anypony like ya trot around these parts before.”

“Well, that’s easy, I’m a changeling,” She responded back, noticing how the two ponies in front of her almost flinched when she said the last part before continuing. “Though, please don’t be alarmed. As you can probably see, I look rather different from most. And there is a reason for that.”

“Really? Cause all ah think of when ah hear the word ‘changeling’ is those two-bit bugs who-”

“Granny, watch it,” Ember interjected, glaring back at the elderly earth pony. “I advise you actually hear her out before you say anything. If Applejack were here, she would want to hear her say the whole story first before saying anything like that.” That had Granny stop speaking, shortly before looking back at Amaryllis and apologizing for what she said. “Go ahead, Ama.”

“R-right,” When she said that, she almost came off like Fluttershy for a brief moment, before continuing where she left off. “A-as you can see, I-i’m not like most changelings. That’s because instead of taking love away from somebuggy, I actually gave it to somebuggy freely instead. And that was Ember.”

“For a long time, I was out there by myself. But after I found Amaryllis, we’ve been getting to know each other for a long time. She gave me her love because she told me that she believed it was a sign that she was committed to staying with me,” The mancer now picked up where she left off. “Yet, it also meant though that she could not go back to where the other changelings stayed. Everything over in their kingdom is all about personal greed, jealousy and taking things from others. They saw what Amaryllis had as like a ‘defect’ and had her be an outcast. Leaving her stranded in the badlands to fend for herself.”

That immediately had Big Mac and Granny look back at the changeling with much different expressions than the ones that she had before. Instead of caution and concern, they now looked shocked and stunned. Especially as Ember explained all the hardships that she had to go through in their time together. There were even instances that, if Ember weren’t there for her, Amaryllis wouldn’t have been able to survive on her own. Though, a new question now surfaced in Big Mac’s head as he waited for a pause in the conversation first before asking. “H-how long have ya been together for?”

“If I really had to take a guess,” Ember scratched her chin, looking towards the changeling as she tried to recall how long it would be. “I would say that we’ve known each other for a rather long time. Yet, if you’re asking how long we’ve been a couple… that would put us close to five years. Trust me, it’s been a while and since changelings aren’t entirely seen as the ‘friendly’. Back when we first started our relationship, if you told somepony that you were in love with a changeling, you would have a mob of ponies with torches and pitchforks at your door within a matter of hours.”

That was a lot to take in. Not just the imagery with the torches and pitchforks, but the whole thing about the two of them being together for around five years or even longer than that. But with this, one of them happened to have a new question. “So kitten,” Maeve now spoke up. “Why did you decide to come looking for Emmy?”

“Well, originally, Ember told me that she had to take care of a few things that were personal to her, so I was waiting for her to finish… but then after a while, I thought that instead of sitting around and just waiting for her to come back to me when everything was all said and done, I thought it would be easier to come find her instead,” She replied back. “I mean, I can be able to feel her emotions.”

“Hang on… feel emotions?” Mac now asked, looking back at his aunt with a puzzled expression on his face. “Did ah hear that right?”

“Changelings can feel all forms of emotions, whether good or bad. It's natural to them like how Earth Ponies are with nature, Unicorns when it comes to magic and Pegasi with the weather,” Ember now took the moment to explain further. “Of course, unlike all changelings, Amaryllis can use her power to locate individuals she cares for and be able to use that as a way to locate them. No matter how far away they might be. Just… trust me on that one.”

“Can ya give us an example? Because ah rather see it with mah own eyes just to be sure.” Granny then asked.

“Sure, though, I’m gonna need one of you to do something for this to work,” Amaryllis told them, which was followed by Big Mac raising a hoof and offering to volunteer. “Alright, now, I want for you to think of something. Anything that comes to mind that would in turn set off an emotional response,” At first, the stallion just raised an eyebrow. But before he could even think of something, Amaryllis began to sense it. “Hmm… small sense of doubt, but I’ll not count that one.”

Just from that alone, the stallion was surprised by how quickly she caught on. But he wasn’t quite done just yet. He now began to think of something else. Something that did not have to do with what was going on in that present moment. A memory of his from when he was just a colt. One that made him feel a couple of things. And not long after thinking of them, Amaryllis caught on. “Hmm… I feel three things right now. One part is happiness and joy. The second part is sadness and grief. But the third… the third is curiosity.”

At first, Ember and Maeve looked back at Mac, wondering what exactly was he thinking about that could trigger all three of those things. Granny though, remained unfazed. As if she knew what it was. “Were ya thinking about them, Mac?”

All that did was cause the stallion to nod his head in response, before Granny let out a sigh. Patting him on the shoulder with a hoof before excusing herself to the patio and closing the door behind her. Which, in turn, had Ember look back towards where Granny went off too. She had never seen her do that before. The Granny Smith that she remembered would always do what she could to comfort others if they felt hurt. So why wasn’t she here to comfort her own grandson?

“Um… sorry if I am speaking out of turn, but who’s ‘them’, kitten?” They heard Maeve now ask. Which had Mac look back at them as he let out a sigh.

“Mah parents,” He spoke, “They always cared for AJ, Bloom and ah when we were little, but both of them passed away when we were young. Died in an accident when visiting relatives in Dodge Junction.”

“Oh… I-i’m so sorry, I didn’t know-” Maeve attempted to apologize, before watching the stallion wave it off with a hoof.

“It’s alright. It’s a thing in the past,” He assured her. “Though, ah wish ah had the chance to know more about them. But anytime ah ask Granny about it, she just doesn’t want to talk about it. Not sure why though.”

It’s fine, dear,” Amaryllis now spoke up, sounding as if she was taking responsibility for what she just did. “I was just asking in order to show what I could do. I didn’t mean that to have you go through any unsettling memories.”

“Ya don’t have to apologize. After all, ya just asked me to think of something,” Mac assured her as the stallion looked back at everyone that was presently in the room. “Ah chose to think of them because ah wondered if ya can feel it and ya did. Ah’m surprised by that.”

“Oh, I can feel a lot of things,” Amaryllis replied back. “For instance, I can feel that aside from the joy of seeing me and her being calm that Ember feels a bit of uncertainty.” Now they looked back towards her as the mancer had to take a moment to explain what was on her mind.

“That might be because either I was uncertain of how everypony would react to finding out about our relationship. That and for some reason, I can’t shake off the feeling that Discord’s trying to hide something. He’s been acting different around me the last few days.”

In the middle of Fluttershy’s cottage, Discord’s ears immediately shot straight up as he dropped the cup of tea that he was holding, moving around for two seconds as if his ears were antennas for a radio. He was drinking tea in the middle of a room while reading a book that he happened to find. “My plot device sense’s tingling…” Two seconds later though, his eyes widened and his pupils began to shrink. “Oh no, she’s catching on!”

With a snap of his fingers, he had the entire tea set that he was using immediately get washed up and put away in the sink before lifting up the rug. A pair of stairs emerged out of nowhere as he hopped inside, locking the door as if he just entered a bomb shelter. All while Fluttershy’s animals looked back at where the draconequus once was, beyond puzzled by what just happened.

“Eh, it’s probably no big deal.” The mancer shrugged as she looked back towards everyone else. “So, is there anything else that you would like to ask about Amaryllis?”

The changeling thought it over for a moment, but then decided to shake her head. “Nope. Though, I think I want to have some time to just ourselves now~” She cooed, before nudging her head against Ember’s shoulder.

“Well, if that’s the case…” She said, before looking back at both Maeve and Mac. “If it’s okay with you guys, I’ll be taking the rest of the shift off.” There really wasn’t much time for either the stallion or the thief to properly respond because after only a few moments, the two of them went upstairs and closed the door to her room.

All of which left Maeve to sigh as she looked back at the stallion. “Well, let’s just leave them be, Kitten. I think they rather have some time alone now.”

“You mean to catch up?”

“If anything… they might be doing much more than that, kitten.” She cooed, poking Big Mac on the nose before walking outside. Leaving a bewildered stallion to try and understand what exactly he just heard.

“W-what the hay is that supposed to mean?!”

“Really now? You’re not sure what that’s supposed to imply?” All that did was cause Big Mac in order to shake his head as she looked back at her. “Let’s just say that whatever your thinking that’s supposed to look like right now… isn’t what it looks like.”

That though… did not help any at all. “Then what does it look like!?”

At that response, all Maeve did was just hit her head against one of the support beams on the porch. This was going to be a long afternoon.

End Chapter 16

17- Settling in... almost

View Online

Author's Notes:

Once again, I provide an update for this story. It's still a bit on hiatus since I'm not updating this story as frequently as some others, but I do hope that you like what you see here. Some of these next chapters are going to explore a bit more into Amaryllis and a few special traits about her, so I hope you enjoy what I got here and what would be coming in store.

Also, I'm thinking of changing up the little nickname that Ember has for Amaryllis. Something like Ami (pronounced as Ah-me) since Amaryllis always calls her Emmy. What do you guys think? I would like your input on it.

As always, feel free to fave, comment and track the story if you want to get notified of future chapters. Thank you for your patience. I hope you like the sheer amount of randomness that awaits you.

Until next time
-Frost

P.S. This chapter does imply a bit of nudity due to certain circumstances, but I tried my best to keep it rated teen. If there are any problems, please let me know and I'll get to fixing it right away.

The Flames of the Phoenix- Settling in… Almost

By the time that she had returned from the Crystal Empire, Applejack was already adjusted to the effects that the Crystal Hearts magic had on her body. This wasn’t exactly the first time that she had her appearance changed because of the hearts magic, but in her mind, there were a couple of things that she had to take into account. First, there was her aunt Ember and Maeve. Sure, Ember had gone up to the Crystal Empire before once and Twilight told her all about it, she did not witness the Crystal Hearts magic activate. As for Maeve, it was probably likely that she herself did not even know what the Crystal Empire was, so she would probably be just as puzzled.

Of course, upon reaching the orchard and coming in through the front porch was for Big Mac to be pondering to himself. And just what he was saying alone made Applejack confused on what was going on. “It’s not what it looks like… It’s not what it looks like… It’s not… what it looks like…”

The earth pony herself just blinked at what she was seeing, before she spoke up to try and get his attention. “Uh… you okay, Mac-?”

“Thank goodness you’re back, kitten,” Applejack turned her head to the left to see Maeve leaning against a wall as the thief let out a sigh of relief. “You look pretty sparkly~”

“Thanks?” The earth pony replied back, raising an eyebrow as she looked back towards her brother, before looking back at Maeve. “Is something wrong with Big Mac? He didn’t even seem to notice me when ah came through the door just now.”

“He didn’t seem to take a hint to something I told him earlier. Now he’s been treating it like a brain teaser that needs to be solved for the last hour,” The thief let out a small breath. “This will take a bit of explaining… but I’m gonna have to ask you something first that might be a bit embarrassing. Did your parents ever explain to you about the birds and the bees?” The question alone was enough to have a small red shade appear on Applejack’s crystalline face as Maeve looked back at her. “You don’t need to answer that.”

“So why even bring that up?” Applejack then shot back, wanting to know the answers as to why Maeve would even think of bringing up a subject like that.

“Well, that’s the thing. You see, to the surprise of everyone, including me, Ember actually has a… what’s the term…?” She asked, putting a finger to her chin as she tried to think of the right thing to say, shortly before telling her. “Ah yes, a special somepony. Ember’s married to somepony named Amaryllis and when the two of them decided to spend some time together by themselves, your brother thought it was so they could catch up.”

“Okay… ah don’t see how-” Applejack did not have the chance to finish her sentence as Maeve soon cut her off. Picking up where she originally left off.

“In response, I told her that it was more likely that they might be doing more than that. But all that did was have your brother ask me what that was supposed to mean,” Of course, that just lead to the thief letting out a groan as she looked back towards the stallion at the table. “I told him that whatever he thinks they’re doing right now, it’s not what it looks like… which lead to him asking ‘Then what does it look like?!’ and now he’s been trying to figure out what that means. The only time he’s left that spot was to grab some water in the kitchen before getting back to trying to uncover what it means.”

Applejack could only facehoof herself in response to hearing that, letting out a deep sigh as she looked back at Maeve before sitting in a chair that was nearby where the thief was leaning against the wall. “To be frank, that just sounds like it’s kinda yer fault.”

“What? I thought he would get the meaning of that expression and leave Ember be for the moment. I just wanted to let my daughter have some privacy,” The thief told the farm pony in response. “I mean, if you were in my position, you would probably do the same thing.”

“If ah were in position, ah would just tell them that we should leave ‘em be and leave it at that. Ah mean, why didn’t ya just leave it at that? It woulda been easier for ya.”

“See, the thing about that Applejack,” Maeve was going to continue speaking, just before a realization hit her as she was talking. “… is that its an excellent idea that I wish that I thought about at the time. But hey, we all make mistakes right?”

“We do, but it doesn’t mean we just leave it at a mess. We should at least try to fix it.”

Maeve blinked for a moment, just before she looked back at the farm pony as Applejack was getting up off of the chair. “You sure? I’m a bit concerned that trying to fix this mess at this point will just do more harm than good. Besides, would you really want to have that kind of imagery of my daughter in his head right now?”

Applejack’s pupils shrank a bit as she looked back at Maeve. “Fair point… though, we have to do something. Ah mean, ah don’t even know a thing about this Amaryllis pony you were talking about.”

That was one thing that Maeve herself… was not quite sure if she was ready to explain that to her. But felt that it was necessary to at least tell her. “Yeah… about that… Amaryllis is, well not quite exactly a pony.”

Applejack just stopped walking, slowly before turning herself around and looking back at the thief now as she looked at Maeve with a raised eyebrow. “Care to explain that, sugarcube?”

Meanwhile…

“I see… it seems like you have been quite busy by yourself now Emmy,” Amaryllis said as she sat on the bed in Ember’s room. “I mean, coming here only to find that you’re an aunt and one of your nieces is an Element of Harmony? That would be kind of a lot to take in if I was in your position.”

“Don’t forget the fact that my mom told me that I now have a step-brother that I didn’t know about before coming here.” The pyromancer told her, sitting down next to the changeling. She had just spent the last hour or so telling Amaryllis about everything that had happened since the last time they saw each other and a lot of it caught the changeling by surprise. For one thing, she did not think it was possible for there to be more than one version of Equestria. But she could tell that Ember was telling her the truth because she did not feel any emotions that would come off if some creature was intentionally trying to deceive her.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the ‘multiple Equestria’s’ thing and the possibility of others from your kind ending up the same way,” Amaryllis explained, before she thought of something that had the changeling give off a small grin. “Though, the more that I think of that, the more that I remember that I’ve been working on something that I really want to show you~”

“If it’s trying to attract attention, then you kind of already doing it, Ama.” Ember chuckled.

“Cute, but it’s actually kind of different, dear. I was trying to come up with something for my transformations and… well… one time when I thought of you, this happened,” There was a soft white glow that began to flow over Amaryllis’ body and not long afterwards, Ember began to realize just what kind of a transformation it was. Within a matter of moments, the changeling’s entire form began to change into the last thing that the mancer would expect.

A human. A human girl that looked to be Ember’s age before being displaced. She had a short haircut that matched the color of her mane, had the same colored eyes and was around the same size as her as she playfully threw a light bed sheet over herself like a cloak. “Well? What do you think? I have spent weeks trying to make sure that I got this right.”

“I… just… wow…” Ember was baffled. Out of all the things that she had attempted to see Amaryllis turn into, this was not one of them. “You look amazing, dear. Though… there’s one thing I think you’re missing.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“Well for one thing, a set of clothes.”

“Really? Are you sure that we need that right around now?” Amaryllis giggled, just before she playfully touched Ember’s nose with a finger to see how her lover would react. “I mean, it is just the two of us-”

SLAM!!

Just before she could say anything else, they heard somepony slam the door open as Applejack herself was seen on the other side. The door slam itself startling Amaryllis. “Get away from mah aunt, ya-” However, before she could say anything else, her eyes locked on to Amaryllis’ new form as she just stared for a moment. Not even noticing Maeve as she tackled the earth pony to the ground.

“Hang on just a moment,” Ember told Amaryllis as she got up from the bed. Walking her bed towards the door and looking out in the hallway. Watching as Maeve was struggling to hold down Applejack and prevent her from barging into the room a second time. “Just what the hell is going on out here?”

“S-sorry kitten! I tried to tell Applejack about what happened while she was away, but when I told her about Amaryllis-” Before the thief could be able to finish speaking, she felt one of Applejack’s hooves push her off as the earth pony tried to get back inside. Only to be blocked by Ember as she stood in front of the door.

“What did she do to ya?” Applejack spoke up as she looked at Ember. “What is she trying to hide?”

“Uh… nothing?” Ember told her. “Is something wrong? You seem kind of… agitated.”

“Oh ah don’t know. How do you think ah’m supposed to react when ah hear that my aunt is married to a changeling!? For all ah know, she can be-”

At that, Ember just cut off the earth pony before she could continue. “Okay, I’m going to need to stop you right there… I already had this conversation with everypony else and they took it a lot better than you are taking it right now based on the limited amount of information mom gave you,” The mancer looked back at the thief for a brief moment, just before taking a look back at Applejack. Her tone sounding quite serious now. “If you think that she is some kind of spy, then you can drop that notion right now.”

“Hard for me to be a spy for a kingdom I was already exiled from years ago anyways,” the two of them heard Amaryllis say. Ember turned her head around for a moment, seeing a small flash happen again just before the door opened. Allowing for Applejack to see the changeling in her true form. “I’m sorry if I… startled you earlier.”

“No no… Ah should be the one apologizing,” The earth pony commented. “When ah heard about how you were a changeling, ah… kinda got scared. Ah was worried about the possibility of a changeling spy infiltrating mah family. Many ponies are scared of changelings after what they’ve done at the Canterlot Wedding.”

“And I can assure you that I’m not like them. I changed a long time ago and for it, I was cast out… but that doesn’t mean that all of us are the same. There are other changelings who think that what Chrysalis is doing is wrong, but they’re scared to tell her,” Amaryllis sighed as she looked back to the mancer now, before changing back into the human form she had earlier. Keeping the bed sheet over herself. “Ember though, gave me a second chance. One that I thought that I didn’t deserve at first, but now I am thankful for. I just hope that you give me the same chance too.”

“W-what do ya mean by that?” Applejack asked.

“Well… as silly as it is to admit it, being here is the first time I feel like I’m included in something more. The feeling of being part of a family,” Amaryllis smiled as she looked back at the element of honesty. “I just really wanted to feel welcomed.”

That… had Applejack blink for a moment. “Ah… don’t really know what to say.”

“How about yes?” Ember told her. “You guys were able to accommodate for Maeve and I, so I think you can include her too… now, if you excuse me, we were supposed to be having some time to ourselves.”

“O-okay then, sure thing!” Applejack replied, finding herself trotting back downstairs with Maeve right behind her. One glance at Amaryllis’ human form made the thief whistle as she scurried on downstairs. Prompting Ember to close and lock the door before turning back around, looking back to Amaryllis and sitting back down on the bed. Kissing her wife on the lips for a brief moment before asking her the first question that came to mind.

“So, where were we? You know, before all of that happened?”

Amaryllis’ first night at Sweet Apple Acres was quite a good one. Dinner consisted of some of Granny Smith’s best dishes, including Apple Fritters for dessert and it was the first time that she was able to savor something other than Ember’s love… well, mostly because a lot of the dishes were actually made by Ember herself so she could actually taste them. It felt a bit odd to have Amaryllis at the table at first, but after a while, she was able to fit in with everypony else that was at the table.

Of course, it was after dinner that Ember needed to talk with Applejack and Amaryllis about something. It was not to revisit what happened earlier, but to discuss what the plan was going forward. Sure, everypony at Sweet Apple Acres might see her as a good changeling. But for a lot of other ponies that they knew, the words ‘good changeling’ were just as much of an oxymoron as ‘non violent yak’, 'charitable dragon' or ‘polite griffon’. So, they came up with a plan that they would try to introduce her to the girls one at a time to try and avoid having what happened the other day repeat itself.

Of course, after Amaryllis demonstrated the same transformation that she showed Ember to Applejack… and giving Big Mac a giant nosebleed in the process, it became clear who was the first of Applejack’s friends that they needed to see. “I don’t understand Emmy. Why would I need to have some clothes?”

“It’s because if you want to be able to be in that human form outside of the barn, you need to have to cover yourself up. You can’t go out with anything on in public.” Ember explained to her as they were walking along the outskirts of Ponyville. Currently, Amaryllis was in a form that made her appear like that of a unicorn mare as they were trotting to Carousel Boutique. Of course, her questions for Ember were not as comfortable as she had hoped.

“Ponykind and many other species, aside from yaks, go out with nothing on all the time. I don’t see the problem with it.”

“I can’t believe I’m actually having this discussion right now,” Ember thought to herself as she looked back at Amaryllis, who was walking alongside Applejack. “Back where I’m from, going around without any clothes on is a lot more taboo over there. Just trust me. Many people in the world do stupid crap back home just like that and it ususally ends up with them getting arrested by the police.”

“You have a police force back where ya come from, Aunt Ember?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, there’s a division in pretty much every known city, whether big or small. Yet they don’t always get along with the public and before I ended up getting displaced, there was a big argument about how much force should an officer use against an unarmed suspect,” She said, before turning towards the earth pony. “Why do you ask?”

“Sorry, but hearing that is kinda rare in Equestria. They’re only seen in big cities where the Royal Guard isn’t stationed like Manehattan, Fillydelphia or Baltimare,” Applejack replied back. “Honestly, it makes me wonder what other similarities there are between where ya came from and Equestria.”

“There’s a lot, that’s for sure,” The mancer replied back as she let out a sigh. “Though, one of the more noticeable ones is how some of the cities and places in Equestria sound like a pun of a particular place back home,” As she was speaking, she held up three fingers with her right hand and began to count off each one at a time. “For us, Manehattan, Fillydelphia and Baltimare sound a lot similar to Manhattan, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Not just in the name, but also the fact that each one of them is a big urban city with some of the landmarks being almost identical. With some minor changes.”

For a moment, Applejack was thinking about possibly mentioning the friend that Twilight had on the other side of the mirror portal she had in the castle library. But before she could say anything, the trio arrived at the front door to Carousel Boutique as Ember herself knocked on the door. The three of them waited for a short moment, yet since they did not hear anything from anypony inside, she was a bit concerned that nopony was home.

“Should I knock again?” Ember asked Applejack, who only gave her a slight shrug.

“Hey, Rarity! Somepony just knocked on the door outside. Do you want me to see who’s there?”

“Go ahead Spikey, I’ll be down in a couple of minutes,” The sing song voice of Rarity could be heard on the other side of the door as the door was pushed open a few moments later. Ember and Applejack recognize the small dragon that had opened the door for them as the earth pony let out a soft breath and smiled. Tipping her hat as well.

“Good morning, Sugarcube. Didn’t expect you to be over here this morning. Did Twilight need some help or-?” Applejack asked.

“No, Twilight asked for me to see if I can help out Rarity,” The dragon replied back. “Something regarding making sure that Starlight had a proper friendship lesson or something-” Of course, it was in that particular moment that Spike had seen Amaryllis, who was kind of surprised since he had not met her before. “Who’s your new friend?”

“I’m Amaryllis,” The unicorn now replied back. “And you look rather adorable for being so small.”

Spike himself… was not entirely sure how to respond to that as he looked back at the Unicorn. “U-uh… t-thanks?” He nervously told her, before looking back at Ember. “W-was there something that we can help you with?”

“Actually, now that you mention it,” The mancer replied back. “I was wondering if Rarity could help us. Amaryllis needed some clothes and Applejack told us that Rarity is the best seamstress in town. So we wanted to see if she could help us out at all. That is, if she’s not busy-.”

“Spike dear, who’s at the door?” They all heard the unicorn ask him as the dragon turned his head back around to find her right beside him. “Oh, well good morning Ember. Good morning to you as well, Applejack. How are you two?”

“Alright, for the most part,” Ember said, turning her head to where Amaryllis was standing. “Though, we wanted to ask you if you can help us with something. Can we come inside?”

“Why sure, dear! I was just getting ready to open up anyways. Come on in,” The unicorn replied, having Spike stand off to the side and let the three of them come into the boutique. “Sorry if it seems a bit disorganized. I had to move some of my materials around after coming back with some of the fabrics I picked up in the Crystal Empire,” Rarity turned around, focusing her attention on the other unicorn in the room. “Oh my. I don’t think we’ve ever met before. My name is Rarity.”

“I’m Amaryllis,” Amaryllis replied back, extending a hoof for Rarity to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Rarity. You have quite a lovely establishment here.”

“Why thank you, darling,” She said, shaking the outstretched hoof before turning to Ember. “So, how can I help you today? Are you looking for something new? Maybe updating your look? I know a couple of things that we can try-”

“A-actually, it’s different,” The mancer shook her head, just as she noticed Spike standing next to Rarity. “It’s Amaryllis that needs clothes, not me. Yet… she needs some clothes that are similar to what I have on right now.”

“Really dear?” Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Forgive me if I sound a bit rude, but wouldn’t it be kinda hard for her to move around if she had the same kind of clothes you had? I mean, it’s not like I can’t be able to do them. I’m just confused as to why.”

For a moment, both Applejack and Ember looked back to each other as they took a few seconds to think. Shortly before looking back at Rarity and Spike. “You might want to have Spike look away first,” Ember suggested, before looking back at Amaryllis and nodding her head. “Go ahead, Ama.”

Amaryllis nodded her head as her horn began to glow a soft red, before she began to change forms. Unlike other changelings, who would have to switch back to her true form first before changing back, Amaryllis had figured out how to shapeshift more than one time before having to turn back to normal. Something that was demonstrated as she took her human form in the middle of Rarity’s boutique. The only things covering her this time being a series of bandages around her chest and a piece of navy cloth that Applejack whisked from a nearby table to cover her from the waist down.

Of course, that alone was enough in order to get both Rarity and Spike to stare at the newcomer with eyes as wide as saucers. It did not help any that the young dragon was beginning to have a massive nosebleed that forced him to rush to the bathroom, trying to cover his nose so that the blood did not soak Rarity’s carpet.

The fashionista herself though, was rather surprised by the sudden change. “Oh… well, this is a rather unusual development,” she said, shortly before looking back to Ember. “Is this why you wanted to ask for some similar clothing?”

“Sort of,” The mancer replied back. “It’s kind of complicated, but I wanted to ask if you can be able to help make some clothes for Ama that she feels comfortable with. It’s… not too hard of a task now, is it?”

“Why, of course not! How else can I call myself a designer if I don’t find a way to think outside the box and try new things!? You don’t really learn how to make anything new if you stick to doing the same thing over and over again!”

“Aw, why thank you so much,” Amaryllis giggled, before wrapping her arms around Ember for a moment and pulling her in for a kiss. “You too, Emmy.”

Around the time that the kiss happened though was when Rarity turned back around with some of the supplies that she had… and simultaneously dropping them from her magical grip as she looked at them. “Is… there something I should know about you two before I start?”

“Well, Amaryllis tends to get playful when she’s around me,” The mancer replied back, stretching out her neck as she looked back towards the unicorn. “Kind of been like that since we got married.”

“H-hold on… Y-you two are…” Before Rarity could finish her question, Ember just nodded her head as the unicorn looked back at Applejack. Who also nodded her head in response to what the mancer just said. Though, the follow up question from Rarity was something else entirely. “A-apologies if I sound a bit bold, b-but how long have you two been married for?”

Now it was Amaryllis’ turn to answer as she looked back at both of the ponies in front of her. Holding out a hand and having the palm of it face Applejack and Rarity as she gave them her answer. “As of now, Five years.”

Both ponies flinched at hearing that as they stared at the two of them, caught off guard by her answer. Especially Applejack, since she had just learned about their relationship only yesterday. She did not ask how long that the two of them had been together for, yet the answer was still a bit of a shock to her. “F-f-five years!?”

“We’ve known each other longer than that, but she’s right on how long we’ve been married for,” Ember replied back, scratching the back of her head with her left hand. “It’s just been hard to try and find a place to settle down with everything going on in the world.”

“Emmy’s right,” Amaryllis chuckled, smiling a bit as she looked back at the two of them. “We hope things do settle down a little… I’m really wanting to have kids~”

That sentence alone was enough for Applejack to faint right on the spot. And for Rarity to use a spell to pause her mid faint, summon her fainting couch and let her friend resume as the earth pony landed on the couch. The unicorn let out a sigh of relief upon catching her friend on the couch and looking back at both of them. “W-well, I’m really happy for the two of you. I can get those clothes done for you, Darling. Just give me a moment to check on Spike and we can get started.”

With that, Rarity trotted towards the back room as both Ember and Amaryllis let out a deep sigh. Despite the rather awkward start to today, things seemed to be looking up.

Of course, that thought only lasted for five seconds as they soon heard what sounded like Rarity screaming from the bathroom. For a much different reason than either of them thought of originally. “M-my bath towels!! What did you do, Spike!?”

“I-i’m sorry Rarity! T-this was the first thing I could find to stop the bleeding!”

“They were a gorgeous pearly white! Now they’re straight up scarlet!! Do you have any idea how many times I’m going to need to wash this?!”

Ember just looked back at Amaryllis, letting out a sigh. “Welcome to Ponyville… where normal lasts for only a few minutes every day.”

“I think we can manage that~” She was close to kissing Ember on the lips, but was interrupted as she began to look around the room. “Hey… not to ruin the moment or anything, but did you hear something?”

Ember looked around for a moment, a bit puzzled by what Amaryllis was saying as the mancer looked back at her. “Uh, no. Why do you ask-?”

Her question was soon interrupted when she heard somepony crash through the front door and ended up colliding with her wife. Causing some of the mannequins that were standing to fall over as she looked back to see that what crashed into Amaryllis was none other than Rainbow Dash. Yet, she was not focused on who exactly crashed into her… but because her face had landed directly into Amaryllis’ chest.

Not that the pegasus actually noticed. “R-rarity… is this some kind of pillow? Because it feels really soft.”

“Hehe… Why thank you~” Her comment was enough in order for Rainbow to immediately look up. Her eyes locking on to Amaryllis as the pegasus immediately backed away. All while Ember just let out a groan.

“And like that, those few minutes are up.”

End Chapter 17

18- Two Sides

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Two Sides

Out of all the potential things that Rarity wanted to get done and off of her personal to-do list for today, having the aunt of one of her friends come into her place with her special somepony and turn into a human was not one of them. Of course, it was not only that which actually had the unicorn stop what she was doing, but it was also the request that she received from Ember herself. Her special somepony, Amaryllis, needed clothes for it. Not just any clothes, but a set of casual clothes that she felt comfortable with.

Now usually, when it came to client requests, the client themselves had a set idea in mind. But this was different for two reasons. First, most of the clients that she has helped over the years were mostly equine in form and therefore, were all quadruped aside from Spike when she helped prepare a jacket for him during the Grand Galloping Gala. Second, most of her clients would already have an ideal design or color scheme in mind for the clothes that they requested or she would have already thought of that in her head. But given that Amaryllis did not happen to say much on the matter, Rarity would have to ask some questions to get an idea as what she was thinking about.

Of course, after Applejack ended up fainting in the middle of her boutique and Spike having a massive nosebleed that fully changed the color of one of her bathroom towels, the last thing that the seamstress wanted to happen was something that would give her a headache. Yet, when she trotted back into the lobby of the boutique, she found herself staring at her friend Rainbow Dash, backing away from Amaryllis after colliding with her chest.

“Rainbow, what are you doing?”

The pegasus was quick to turn around and see her, but slow to answer. Fortunately, the mancer that was sitting right next to Amaryllis, just sighed. “Your friend flew in too fast and crashed right into Amaryllis. Mistaking her for a pillow.”

“H-hey!! I didn’t mean to do that! Matter of fact, who is she anyways? And why does she… well…”

“Why does she what, Prism Pony?” Amaryllis giggled playfully as the pegasus looked back at her.

“W-well…” Rainbow stopped for a second, which was odd because Rarity did not recall her friend being hesitant to speak her mind. “Why do you look like what Ember is, but younger? Like one of Scootaloo’s friends younger?”

“Oh, so you say that I can’t pretend that I’m younger than I look?” Amaryllis then asked, putting a hand to the side of her face. As she moved it across, the underside of her hand glowed, changing some of the facial muscles on her face to make herself look a bit older. Not to mention that her voice changed as well. Sounding less like a girl and more like a mature woman. “Are you satisfied now?”

Rainbow let out a gulp, before nodding her head. Which, prompted Ember to speak. “I know that she sounded young before, but she’s actually much older. However, it’s also rude to ask a mare about her age. Still… It would be best for both of us if it looked like I didn’t marry somepony that was underaged-”

“Woah woah, hold on a bucking minute! You two are married!?” Rainbow asked, caught off guard by the sudden revelation. “Since when?!”

“Rainbow dear, please calm down,” Rarity herself now took a moment to speak. “I was just told about it recently too, but there isn’t a need in order to get so loud and abrupt about it. Besides, you’ll wake up Applejack,” She said, before motioning a hoof to Applejack as the earth pony was still resting on the fainting couch. But before Rainbow could ask about it, the element of generosity interrupted her and asked her something else. “How about you explain to me why you were barreling through my front door and crashing into my new client this early in the morning?”

“Well I was going to be heading out to Wonderbolt Academy for today's training, but I stopped by Sugarcube Corner first,” the pegasus explained. “While I was there, Pinkie wanted for me to ask you about something. She kind of overheard from Twilight about you maybe taking a trip to Manehattan soon and wanted to ask if she and Maud could come with you.”

That had Ember blink for a moment, surprised to hear that. “Pinkie Pie has sisters?”

“She has three from what Applejack told us, but we’ve all met Maud Pie before,” Rarity replied back, letting out a breath before looking back at Rainbow. “They’re more than welcome to come. After all, I can use some company on my trip. Let her know that we’ll be leaving at 11 o’clock tomorrow morning and that I’ll meet them at the station.”

“11 o’clock, tomorrow morning, at the station,” The pegasus replied back to confirm everything Rainbow said, before giving her a salute with her hoof. “Alright! I’ll let her know! Bye Rarity!!” Before the unicorn could speak, the pegasus dashed out the door again, loudly slamming the door behind her as Rarity only let an irritated groan.

“I really don’t like it when she does that,” As she turned around, the unicorn began to channel magic with her horn, “Now though, at least we can be able to get started. Just let me get a few things first and then we can begin.”

Using a levitation spell, Rarity placed four different items on a small table that was not far from where Ember and Amaryllis were sitting. The first was parchment. Not like the standard size parchment that you would see with the letters that Twilight writes to Princess Celestia, but canvas sized. Almost as big as an average sized painting you would find in a gallery of fine art. The second was a small pouch that, when Rarity opened it, contained a variety of different pieces of art supplies. This included pencils, a pencil sharpener, a quill and a vial of ink, though, based on the label, it seemed to be magically enhanced so that it would not bleed through parchment if there was a lot of pressure applied to a quill. The third item, a color swatch with multiple different color palettes in different styles and shades. Yet, it was the fourth item that happened to catch Amaryllis attention the most.

It was a journal. One that looked like the size of a standard book, but had a latch over it. Almost as if it was something. “Well now, is that a diary~?”

“What?” Rarity asked, only to see what Amaryllis was looking at before letting off a chuckle. “Oh, that’s not my diary dear. It may look like it, but it is actually what I call my ‘inspiration notebook’,” The unicorn then used her magic to open it up as she showed some of the pages inside. Different dress designs, rough sketches, ideas for accessories such as scarves and cardigans. Numerous unique and diverse ideas and designs on each page. “At times, I usually feel a burst of inspiration so quickly that if I don’t act upon it, I might forget what it was. So I record anything that I think of in here, just so that I can be able to refer to it later.”

“Why isn’t that useful,” She chuckled, “I’ve only met you ten minutes ago and I’m beginning to like you already.”

Ember also liked how this was going as well, but she had a much different question in mind for Rarity. One that she was kind of curious about as she looked back at the unicorn. “Apologies if I sound a bit bold, but what's all of this for?”

“Why this is the first step for how I provide for my clients. I set myself apart by listening to what the client has in mind for what they need and consult with them. Get a general idea as to what they were looking for,” she explained. “The parchment, ink and quill are for me to write down any small notes such as particular requests that the client asks for as well as other important things such as measurements and color preferences. It also serves as a canvas for any rough draft ideas that I might come up with while we are discussing it. I also keep my notebook around if I feel the need to draw inspiration from previous ideas I’ve had and apply it to this.”

Hearing that had Amaryllis ask something new as she looked back at the fashionista. “You said measurements, but where is your measuring tape?”

“Now now, there’s no need to be hasty dear,” Rarity assured her in a calm manner. “Measurements come after in step two. The first step is primarily focused on concept and what the customer wants. How they want to feel when wearing the finished product. The second step is where measurements are taken and we see what’s the range I need to work with in order to make it happen… Well, we need to work with considering that Spike will be helping me.”

“Once the bleeding stops?” The simple question from Ember was only met by a nod from Rarity as the three of them turned their heads at the sound of the bathroom door opening. Spike slowly walked out of there with a box of tissues in one claw and a tissue applied to the wall of his left nostril to try and stop the bleeding. “You okay there, Spike?”

“Y-yeah… I think I’m good now,” The dragon said, before looking back to the unicorn in the room. “Sorry about the towel, Rarity.”

“No no, I think I’m the one that should be apologizing darling. I think you already know that I have a tendency to overreact to stains, whether they’re big or small. We can worry about it later,” The unicorn told the dragon as she looked back towards Amaryllis now. “Besides, you came back at just the right time. We were going to get started with the design process.”

Spike took a moment to take in his surroundings in a bit, even going as far as to notice that Applejack was on the nearby couch Rarity would usually bring out for herself. Of course, once he noticed the items on the table that the seamstress brought out, he asked a new question. “What would you like for me to help with?”

“Well right now, I wanted to ask Amaryllis a few questions. After that, then I can have you help me with measurements and design,” the unicorn beamed as she looked at Amaryllis. Spike himself now walked over to where Ember was as Rarity insisted for her wife to move a bit closer to her. “Oh my goodness, this is going to be so exciting!”

At first, Ember was a bit excited to see how Amaryllis was getting along with that of Rarity. “Would you like for me to help out as well?” she offered. “I still remember some forms of clothing that I had back from where I was from that could be helpful. I can draw a few examples on a spare parchment piece while you and Amaryllis are discussing ideas.”

“Why sure darling,” The unicorn told her as she used some more of her magic to provide another big piece of parchment along with an extra pencil that she had with the rest of her supplies. “In fact, let Spike be with you.”

“No no, I don’t think that’s necessary-” Despite the mancer’s insistence, Rarity herself was already too focused and too engrossed in conversation with Amaryllis to even hear her. Leaving the mancer with just a pencil, a blank canvas and a baby dragon watching over her shoulder.

So, instead of saying anything else, she immediately got to sketching. Even though it had been a rather long time since she had been to earth, but before she could get to sketching clothes, she had to sketch something else first. That was body composition. She first started with several simple lines, but connected them together and added more to it to give it shape. Adding lines to determine the size of the body she was going for. Yet, she only drew the body from the waist to the neck and then repeated it a couple more times on the page before requesting a second sheet. When Ember was given the next piece of parchment, she began to draw everything on the body from the waist down to the feet.

There was only one particular reason in the mancer’s thought process as to why she was doing it this way. The idea was that with the first piece of parchment, she would draw clothes that would be worn on the top half of the body such as shirts, sweaters, jackets, sweatshirts, and more pieces of clothing. The second piece of parchment would be used for pants, shorts, blouses and other clothes that would be worn from the waist down. There wasn’t any particular shading or color applied to what she was sketching because the colors were something that Amaryllis was going to choose. Not her.

Of course, after a while, she gave her sketches to Rarity to look over. Just before letting out a sigh. “I hope she likes them. That’s all I can remember.”

“You hope who likes what?”

Ember blinked for a moment, looking around for a moment as she began to think again. “Philomena? Are you talking to me right now?”

“What other phoenix do you have a mental connection with?” When she heard the reply, Ember was a bit taken aback. In all of her life, she had never heard Philomena use sarcasm at all. “Sorry. Kind of been picking up on some of Celestia’s habits when it comes to speaking with nobles.”

“Fair enough I guess,” The mancer thought to herself. “Though, is something wrong?”

“No, I just wanted to check in and see if you were okay,” She heard the firebird reply back to her through their link. “I mean, I know that you’ve been busy, but I couldn’t just sit here and wait for you to come to Canterlot again in order to talk to you. I mean, it has already been a couple a months..”

“Well, now I feel like a jerk,” Ember told her, feeling guilty after hearing Philomena call her out on that. “I mean, I know I have been busy and everything, but that doesn’t mean I should just ignore you. So sorry about that.”

“It’s alright. Even if you’re immortal, we all make mistakes. Celestia told me that herself,” Philomena told her. “So, how have things been going? What did I miss since we last… well… talked?”

It was in this time that Ember began to take a few moments to think over everything that had happened up to this point, and in turn, explain everything to Philomena while she watched Rarity and Spike begin to work on getting Amaryllis’ measurements. For some parts, Philomena was able to understand. Yet, Ember tried to keep the details at a minimum when it came to the times that a displaced had called her over or if she summoned one. Though, as they were talking, there was one part that even Philomena was confused by.

“So let me get this straight. Your mother not only had herself end up in this world, but had her age regressed to that of a teenager… and after you meet her, she told you why your family split up and that you have a stepbrother that you did not know about before? And he’s likely in another Equestria like ours,” All Ember could really do was tell her yes since there was no such thing as the mental equivalent of nodding her head. “All of that while Anivia is still out there? Geez, talk about one thing after another.”

“Yeah, but it’s not all that bad. I mean, I finally got the chance to see somepony I care about again.”

“… Now that you mention it, I need to ask you something,” She heard the phoenix speak to her. “I was feeling some strange magical surges recently. Kind of similar to when the Canterlot Wedding was invaded by changelings, but instead of multiple sources, it's just one. And last time I felt it, it was with you,” That part made Ember’s flood freeze. Out of all the things that she thought that she would have to explain to Philomena of all creatures, explaining Amaryllis to her was not one of them. “Would you happen to do something with that?”

At first, Ember said nothing. But after a bit, she just let out a sigh. Knowing that there wasn’t a way to back out of this. “Hey Rarity, can I step outside for a moment? I need some air.”

All the seamstress did was nod her head, shortly before Ember made her way to the boutiques door and opening it up. Stepping outside and closing it behind her before speaking again. “Philomena… let me be clear with you on something. What I’m about to tell you now… do not tell to Celestia under any circumstances. Okay?”

“I wasn’t going to tell her about us catching up anyways. She just thinks I’m going on a morning flight,” the phoenix told her. “So, what is it?”

“Well, what you felt… was Amaryllis. And by what you said, she is a changeling… however, it doesn’t mean that she’s a bad one,” Ember began to tell her as she looked up at the sky above her. “Some time ago, I came across Amaryllis all alone out in the wilderness. She was abandoned by some of her kin, left out to die on her own. Yet, that was when I found her. At first, Amaryllis wasn’t particularly open minded to my generosity. But she began to open up. She began to tell me about her kind, the hive and their queen. She knew that what they did in order to survive was wrong, but she didn’t think there was another choice other than steal love from other species. To quote her directly, ‘the rules of survival out here for us are to either steal or starve’.”

“So what happened?”

“To put it simply… I showed her another way,” the mancer let out a deep breath. “Instead of letting her take it, I gave her love freely. That act changed her. No longer did Amaryllis have to steal from others and not have to worry about starving to death. However, the other changelings of the hive did not see it like that. They saw her as a defect. Something that went against the values and beliefs of their queen and disowned her because of it. She no longer needed them though, because I was there to help her. Now she and I have been together for several years, even going as far as getting married. However, part of me thinks that she hopes that some other changeling would think like she does. Think that there’s a better way then just go through anything like that.”

“If they do, then they might not take the idea of a changeling living peacefully in Equestria so kindly, you know that right?”

“I’m already painfully aware. Which is why we are taking precautions,” Ember added on. “Only a couple of ponies actually know Amaryllis’ secret and she has shown me that she could take on the form of a human. We’re at Rarity’s right now, hoping that she could be able to make some clothes for her so that she doesn’t wander around with nothing on.”

“Right. You’ve told me before that not wearing any clothes in public is taboo where you’re from,” She heard the phoenix reply back. “Though, if its clothes you want, can’t you just go through the mirror?”

Hearing that had Ember stop for a moment. She tried to get her thoughts in order, before coming up with a response to say. “The what now?”

“The mirror. You know, the one that Twilight keeps in her castle?” The phoenix asked again. “What? Did she not tell you about it?”

“Yeah, this is my first time hearing of it. What are you talking about?”

“Honestly, I don’t remember much. The only reason why I know about it is because I happened to read one of the letters that Twilight sends to Princess Celestia and her recent one talked about how she visited ‘Sunset Shimmer and her friends in the human world on the other side of the mirror’. Outside of that, I am not entirely sure. I’ve tried looking through some of the other scrolls in here to see if there was anything related to it, but there’s a mountain of them in here after that Rainbow pony dumped a chariot load of them in here as a prank.”

Ember just closed her eyes at that part, shortly before redirecting her attention not to the sky, but to Twilight’s castle in the distance. “Then I guess there’s only one way to find out.” She turned around and went back inside the boutique, informing every creature inside of where she was going to be before stepping out again and making her way over to the castle of friendship.

Throughout the course of the morning, Princess Twilight had a lot of things on her mind. Not only did she have to catch up on what happened in Ponyville while she was away, she was also hard at work trying to set up a proper schedule for the friendship lessons that she wanted to teach Starlight Glimmer. Not just on what she was going to teach, but when it would be the right time to teach those particular lessons.

None of that prepared her for when she turned around, only to have herself come face to face with the last being she expected to see this morning. “E-ember! W-what a pleasant surprise! I-i didn’t see you there-”

Ember response to her though, was not exactly what she was hoping to hear as the mancer looked back at her. The glare in her eyes making her think of the same glare Princess Celestia would give off if she was provoked. “We need to talk. Now.”

“I-is something wrong?” The princess of friendship nervously asked. Part of her now was thinking back to when she and Big Mac had that conversation with Discord several weeks ago. The same one where she was told not to tell Ember about Sylvanos. Part of her wanted to add onto what she was saying and try to clarify any misunderstandings. But before she could say anything, Ember beat her to it.

“Why is it that now of all possible times that I hear that you have a portal in your castle? Not just any portal, but one that’s a mirror?”

The train of thought that Twilight originally had was soon derailed off the tracks in her mind… and then quickly replaced by a new train shortly afterwards as she looked back at Ember. “W-who told you about the mirror?”

“Philomena did,” Ember folded her arms, looking back at the princess as Twilight’s eyes began to widen. “I was talking with her earlier and she happened to bring up a letter that you had written to Celestia recently about going to see someone named Sunset Shimmer in the human world on the other side of the mirror,” As she spoke, the tension in Ember’s voice began to increase. “Do you have any idea how pissed I am right now!? For the longest time, I thought that I was the only one here in this world, and yet-”

“It’s not your world!” Twilight’s retort came quickly as she looked back to the mancer now. “The mirror… doesn’t lead to your world.”

“Then what the hell does it lead too!? What is this ‘human world’ you’re talking about-?” Before Ember could finish, Twilight let up a hoof and quickly beat her to it.

“If you can calm down and let me explain, then I can tell you,” the alicorn told her assertively, half tempted to speak in the royal canterlot voice to speak over Ember. “The mirror is a doorway to a universe that’s parallel to ours. Both our world and that world are like two sides of the same bit. That world has its own version of everypony that you see here. Including me. However, going through is dangerous because for the longest time, there had not been any form of magic whatsoever. However, several incidents that have transpired, including one last week, have almost torn the boundaries between our world and theirs apart. Equestrian magic now seeps into the counterparts of each of my friends, including the Twilight Sparkle over there and Sunset Shimmer.”

Things… slowly began to make a bit of sense. But Ember herself still had a lot of questions. “Who is this Sunset Shimmer anyways?”

“She was once a pupil of Celestia, but deserted her when she felt that her teachings did not give her the results she wanted, she became defiant and ran. When I first met her, she tried to steal the element of magic in order to take over the world on the other side, but now… now, things are different. I was able to convince my friends over on the other side to give her a second chance. She wants to be redeemed, but is afraid of how Celestia would act when it is time for her to see Celestia again.”

“So she’s an equestrian… living in a human world? How-?”

“When somepony steps through the mirror, they turn into a human on the other side. Clothes and everything. Not like you though. In my experience, my fur color is the same color as my skin on the other side. In addition, it's not the same as if another species went over too. When Spike came over with me by accident the first time, he was turned into a puppy,” Twilight explained to her. “Of course, everything that transpired each time I went over is a bit of a long story. Yet, ordinary objects that you might have on one side of the portal, like a quill, would turn into something called a pen on the other side.”

“Ordinary objects? What makes you say that?”

“Based on previous circumstances, Sunset and I right now have a theory that objects that have magical properties don’t have to go through the change since the magic it has protects them from it. For one thing, the element of magic did not change when it went through the portal. Also, Sunset and I both keep a journal that we use to communicate with each other back and forth. It’s magically enchanted and works without any problems.”

“Okay, so here’s a question,” Ember now asked. “Why keep the portal’s existence a secret from me? I’m human. Shouldn’t I at least know that something like this exists?”

“I wanted to tell you, but I have two reasons as to why I didn’t,” the princess let out a deep breath. “First, one of the previous incidents that we call the ‘Battle of the Bands’ involved a trio of sirens that were banished from Equestria through the mirror trying to mind control every being on the other side in the efforts to get revenge. After that cryophoenix froze Spike, I didn’t want to think about what would happen if she learned of its existence. Secondly, while I know about the changes that would happen to somepony like myself or Spike, there’s no way of knowing what would happen if you went through there. When I first went there, I was cut off from my magic. I don’t know if you would still have your powers or not if you tried to cross over.”

In the moments after she said that, Twilight’s words soon began to sink in. They were possibilities that Ember did not even take into consideration until after the alicorn told her. Yet, something told her that there was more to it than just that. But she didn’t say anything to follow up on that.

Instead, she said something else that the alicorn herself did not expect to hear her say. “I… I’m sorry.”

Twilight blinked for a moment. She couldn’t even comprehend what she just heard the mancer say to her as she looked back. “U-uh… what-?”

“I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier,” The pyromancer clarified. “When I originally started talking, I didn’t even take into consideration why you would not tell me about this until after you explained everything. I don’t like it at all when someone tries to keep secrets or hide something from me, because in my mind, I see that as not being honest and trustworthy.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Twilight shook her head. “If anything, I should be the one apologizing. If I had known that something like that was important to you, I would’ve told you sooner. However, I have a duty to keep Equestria’s citizens safe from whatever might harm them,” She let out a sigh for a moment, before looking back at her with a reaffirming gaze. “Whether it be a monster from Tartarus, an attack from that cryophoenix or another changeling invasion-”

In that moment, Ember felt a chill go down her spine. She was aware of how Twilight was not exactly a fan of changelings after what happened during the wedding between Cadance and Shining Armor, but did not think that it would be like this. It was a good reason why she decided to have Twilight be one of the last ponies out of Applejack’s friends to introduce her.

However, one thing that did seem to catch her by surprise was what Twilight said next. “Though, I must ask. What exactly were you two talking about that lead to her telling you about the mirror in the first place?”

The question had Ember redirect her attention to the princess as she let out a small sigh. “Well, I was at Rarity’s boutique earlier this morning. You see… My special somepony happened to stop by while you girls were in the Crystal Empire and she happened to know a spell that allowed her to turn into a human. Of course, the only problem was that she had no clothes,” The mancer explained. Taking her time to try and make things as simple as possible for Twilight to understand. “So we were at the boutique this morning, Philomena decided to check on me, I brought her up to speed and that was when she asked me why can’t I just go through the mirror if it was clothes I needed.”

It wasn’t entirely truthful, she had to admit… but then again, she wasn’t exactly talking to Applejack either. If anything, it was honestly the only thing she can think of to say in that moment.

Oddly enough, it happened to work. “Hunh… I guess that seems reasonable enough,” Hearing that had the mancer feel as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders as she looked back at the princess. “Though, even if you did go over, it’s not guaranteed that it would stay in one piece. Remember, as of now, it only seems as if objects of magical power are the only ones that don’t change when crossing over.”

“So you’re saying that it’s all the more likely that if I bring some clothes over from the other side, they might turn into clothes that would fit on a pony and not on a human?”

“In theory, yes,” Twilight nodded her head. “Of course, that’s all what it is right now. A theory.”

By that point though, Ember felt as she needed to head back. “Well, let me know next time you head on over. I would like to come with you if that’s possible,” The mancer told her as she turned around for the door. “I gotta head back to Rarity’s. I don’t want to keep my wife waiting.”

And just like that, she was gone. Disappearing from the room in a flicker of flames. Yet… it took a moment for her parting words to register with Twilight before she could properly respond.

“Wait, DID SHE SAY WIFE!?!”

The freezing winds of the frozen north began to twist and blow violently as the late night storm raged. Snow began to fall as the vast plains that lead up to the crystal mountains were nothing but a field of white. It was not a place for anypony in order to be wandering out during a snowstorm like this late at night as the frigid cold set in.

Deep in the mountains though… there was one that was hiding. Lying in wait. Sensing what was going on out there. They had once searched throughout the world to find something she was seeking to obtain, but doing so had her attract too much attention. What she sought out was split into three, yet she only had two. One short of a complete set. One short of a complete heart.

Now though, she had a new plan. One that was simple, yet bound to work. The last one she sought was not held in a museum or a treasure hall, but instead was bound to the soul of another. A wanderer. One that saw himself as a danger to those who gave him a place to stay.

Anivia would lie in wait… and with it, let the final piece wander into her claws and rip it from their soul.

End Chapter 18

19- An Old Friend

View Online

The Flames of The Phoenix- An Old Friend

Some time after they had stopped by to get some clothes for Amaryllis, Ember found herself walking over towards Carousel Boutique to try and see if Rarity herself was making any progress this morning. In the time that they had introduced Amaryllis to the element of generosity, she had met the rest of Applejacks friends as well as get a non-optional ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party, courtesy of Pinkie Pie herself. Which made the changeling feel rather comfortable with her newfound home, even if only the Apple Family and Ember knew that she was a changeling.

Though, as Ember was getting closer to the boutique, she found that there was a sign on the window that was next to the door. Which was surprising because Ember did not recall seeing anything like that the last time that the mancer came over here. Taking a closer look, she began to read what was on it and say the words to herself.

“Carousel Boutique is closed today due to a personal emergency. I apologize for the inconvenience and business at the boutique will resume tomorrow. Sincerely, Rarity.”

That was strange for a few reasons. One, Applejack had told her of times where Rarity had seen fashion emergencies, but not a personal one. Two, the writing on the sign looked to be done hastefully and did not look like she took her time to do it. But most importantly… what kind of emergency is she talking about? What would be so urgent that it would require for her to immediately stop what she was working on and have to close up shop for the day?

Immediately though, Ember thought of somepony who might know the answer to that question. That being Twilight Sparkle. Though, as the mancer rushed over to her castle, she was greeted by an empty room. There was nopony sitting at the Cutie Map, nor was there anypony else that was around. This castle was usually busy on a daily basis, but the fact that it was dead quiet in here was completely unsettling. There wasn’t even any guards stationed outside. Which, seemed like a rather big oversight issue considering what happens in Ponyville on a regular basis.

“Um… excuse me? Can I help you?”

Much to what Ember thought of originally, turns out that there was somepony in the castle. As Ember turned around, she saw a lilac colored mare with a mane and tail that were similar in color to that of Twilight, but instead of pink, this mare had a line of cyan on her mane instead. She had heard from Applejack that Twilight had a student, but never really had the opportunity to actually meet her in person. So this must’ve been Starlight Glimmer.

“Yeah uh… are you Starlight by chance?”

The mancer’s question only had the mare blink for a moment before the unicorn asked something in response. “How do you know my name?”

“Applejack told me about you. Though, I believe this is the first time we’ve met,” she explained, before extending an arm to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Ember. Ember Valkyr.”

“N-nice to meet you too,” Starlight nervously responded, shaking the outstretched hand with a spare hoof before asking the pyromancer a new question. “W-what brings you here to the castle?”

“Well, I was originally looking for Rarity, but I saw that she had closed her boutique for today. So I came here to find Twilight, given that she has a habit of knowing where somepony is at a particular time,” Ember told the unicorn as she let out a small breath. “Only to not find anypony here except for you. Heck, I haven’t seen Spike this morning and he’s usually the first one I see when I come in. Do you know where they might be?”

Starlight put a hoof to her chin for a moment, thinking to herself before looking back to Ember and shaking her head. “Not exactly. Hay, I honestly did not think that Twilight would be going out anywhere. There isn’t anything on her schedule about it.”

That had the pyromancer lift up an eyebrow as she looked back at the unicorn. “Her… schedule? Don’t get me wrong, I know Twilight likes to keep herself organized. But I don’t remember seeing a schedule the last time I was here earlier this week.”

“Well, it’s more of something that Twilight keeps on hoof so that she knows when to teach me particular lessons,” the unicorn replied back to her as she began to explain, “She also uses it to keep track of other things too just in case some kind of meeting crops up.”

“That way she could reschedule the lesson for another day?”

“Sort of, yeah. There was one thing listed for today involving the Princesses, but I don’t see Celestia or Luna here at all,” the unicorn said to her, “Sorry if this isn’t helping anything.”

“No no, you don’t need to apologize,” the mancer insisted as she looked back to Starlight and reassured her that it was alright. “I’ll just ask somepony else. Hope you have a good day, Starlight.”

No sooner after Ember said that did she step out through the main hallway of the castle as she was back outside and began to think through everything that she knew. For one thing, both Twilight and Rarity were nowhere to be found. Given how quickly things had transpired and how Starlight did not know where Twilight went, it was unlikely that Applejack or the rest of her friends would know where they went either. She could ask Celestia, but it was likely that she was holding Day Court right now and would not want to interrupt.

There was still one option that she had though, and frankly, it was the only other option that she really had at this rate. “Hey, Philomena? Are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” She heard the phoenix say to her, which prompted to have the mancer sigh in relief. Something that the phoenix happened to overhear. “You alright? You sound a bit frustrated.”

“More like confused,” Ember replied back mentally, “I was heading over to the carousel boutique this morning to see if Rarity had finished Ama’s clothes, only to find that the boutique was closed. So, I went over to Twilight’s castle to see if Rarity happened to know if she was doing anything, only to find that she and Spike were gone too. Do you or Celestia have any idea what might be going on?”

“Actually, I think Celestia knows exactly what’s going on,” the phoenix told the mancer in response, “I heard her and Luna talking about something earlier when they came back from Twilight’s Castle. Something about getting summoned by the ‘dragon lord’ and that all dragons must answer the call.”

That had Ember’s eyes widen a bit as she took the time in order to process that piece of information. “Wait… dragon lord? You mean like the ruler of the Dragons?”

“Yeah, I believe that Celestia said that their name was Torch or something like that-”

Of course, before Philomena could explain anything further, that was when the mancer interjected. This time though, she actually sounded quite surprised… in a positive way. “No way… Little Torchy? He’s the dragon lord?”

“Hold on… Torchy?” Philomena asked, caught off guard the moment that the pyromancer asked that, “Ember, are you saying that you actually met the dragon lord that Celestia was talking about?”

“Yeah, years ago!! He was still growing and around Spike’s size when I last saw him,” Ember explained further, “I ran into him when he and a bunch of other dragons were migrating over and he got separated from the others that he was with. So, I helped him out. Oh man, I wonder how big he’s gotten now.”

There was a brief pause from Philomena as she now began to try and process everything. Especially since she did not quite feel comfortable about the subject of dragons after overhearing what happened when Spike was part of a dragon migration much similar to this one. “You seem way too excited about all this.”

“How can I not? Earlier this week, I reunited with Amaryllis and now that I found that a dragon friend that I helped is now all grown up and the leader of the dragons? For someone that’s been around as long as Celestia, moments like these rarely come up at all!” the mancer told her mentally. Even though she wasn’t saying anything, Philomena can personally tell that she was getting a bit excited. “I gotta go see this for myself! Talk to you later, Philomena!!”

By this point, the mancer already had her mind set on what she was doing and didn’t even listen to what Philomena was trying to say to her. It had been so long since she had last seen Torch that she began to wonder what he looked like now. “Guess I’ll have to wait and see when I get there. Hopefully, he hasn’t changed that much since we last saw each other.”

Some time later…

It was one thing to be able to reach a location by traveling through the badlands and reaching the edge of Equestria, yet, it was another for her to realize that in order to get across to the dragon lands, there was one obstacle that stood in her way. That being the Celestial Sea, the body of water that ran along the east coast of Equestria. Now, the issue was not exactly the ocean itself, but crossing over it. Trying to use her powers to soar across the gap would not only drain her life force, but also be suicidal if she happened to run out halfway across and find herself plummeting into the waters below.

“Come on, think… there’s gotta be some way to get over there,” Ember said to herself, trying to brainstorm something that she could do, while she stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean below, “I’m too far away from any known harbor, there’s no ships nearby and I’m sure as hell not going to attempt to swim across. What else could I do?”

As she continued to think and ponder on what to do, Ember looked up to notice a few birds flying across the ocean. Wings spread out as they were gliding along the breeze that was blowing and soaring across the ocean. But as she watched the avians fly, a new idea began to click inside of her brain. One that got her to begin thinking outside of the box and after a few moments, had her backing farther away from the edge.

“This has got to be my craziest idea yet,” the mancer told herself, getting herself ready as if she was about to start a race. Heart rate increasing as she took a moment to compose herself before letting out a deep breath, “Okay, here goes nothing!!”

Without hesitation, she ran towards the cliff’s edge, having her flames form around her with each step. Conjuring more and more past her limits as the flames began to channel around her body the closer she got to the edge. As she prepared to jump forward, her power now only surged around her, but also began to change her. Her appearance began to morph and change to the point that when she leapt off the edge at full speed, she wasn’t in her human form.

Instead, she had taken on the form of a bird. An avain of pure flames that soared with the wind and left a trail of smoke behind her. It was not like that of a phoenix, but it was enough for her to travel over the ocean much more quickly than if she attempted to cross in any other way. Though, with this new change came a few things that she had to adjust too.

Mainly though, there was the factor of control. When she would try to use her powers to quickly travel from place to place, it either involved transmitting herself to someone she was familiar with or propelling herself forward and channeling fire through her hands behind her like it was the throttle on a race car. Now though, those hands and arms were her wings and if she held them behind her like before, she would end up diving towards the water below. She had to keep them straight and use them to propel herself forward.

Of course, there was one other thing that she completely forgot to keep in mind as she saw land in the distance. That thing being that you need to slow yourself down before being able to land. Which she learned the hard way. Because the moment that she pulled the plug on her power to change herself down, she found herself tumbling forward towards the rocky plateau beneath her. “Aw, son of a-”

THUD!!

The first moments on the ground were painful for the mancer. Not even trying to use her powers to slow herself down was helping any as she found herself rolling around on the ground like she was thrown from a carriage in an accident. Once she stopped moving and her life force began to tend to the sores and scrapes that she sustained from that crash, Ember pushed herself up off the ground as she tried to take in her surroundings. Everything around her was a rocky wasteland aside from the volcano that was off in the distance as she let out a deep sigh.

“Well, at least I’m here-”

“Over here! I think I heard something!”

That had the mancer turn around as she saw four dragons come up the ravine and approach her. One was a mud brown colored body with a set of cerulean horns on its head, another that had a purple body and had blond hair cover its eyes, the third one that had a charcoal colored body and had a set of horns that looked like the horns of a goat and the last one was white with some pink scales along his head and light pink scales along its body. All four of them were equally caught off guard once they saw her, but it was only after Ember spoke up that they actually reacted.

“Uh, Hi-”

“Holy scales, it talks!?” the third one was the first to speak, before turning to the other two.

“Who cares if it talks?! It’s not some creature that we’ve seen around here before,” the second one shot back, before turning its head to Ember. “Hey, You! What is an outsider like you doing on dragon territory?!”

“Me? I’m just looking for a friend of mine,” the pyromancer retorted, folding her arms as she looked back at the dragons. For some odd reason, the first one seemed a bit nervous. Though, the other two looked like they were eager for some kind of fight. So Ember was trying her best to remain calm and ask them her question carefully. “It’s been years since I’ve seen him, but I still know his name. Would you happen to know where can I find Torch?”

Unknowingly though, asking about Torch got a much different response from all of the dragons as the first one was quick to say the first thing that came to his head. “If this thing knows about Torch, then she must be partaking in the Gauntlet of Fire!!”

“Gauntlet of wha-?”

Before she could fully ask her question, the dragon that was speaking moments ago charged at Ember, leaping up into the air before slamming the ground with its tail. Of course, even though the dragon thought that it landed a direct hit, when the dust cleared, he was caught off guard as they saw Ember holding him by the base around his tail. “No seriously, what are you even talking about?”

The mud colored dragon attempted to break Ember’s hold on him by clenching his claw and swinging it at Ember’s face, striking her. Yet, to Ember, the dragon's claw hitting her felt less like a punch and more like a soft tap on the face. The pyromancer just let out a sigh, before tossing the drake up in the air and as it fell down, delivered a return punch that send the dragon crashing into a nearby boulder.

That moment alone caused a deafening silence over the small group. A silence that was broken when Ember chose to repeat the same question that she was trying to ask a few moments earlier. “Now, do any of you know where I can find Torch-?”

Unfortunately, her question didn’t give her the answers she wanted the second time around as both the second and third dragon glared back at the mancer.“You’re gonna pay for what you did to Clump! Get her!!”

As the second and third dragon charged at her, Ember just rolled her eyes. The second dragon was attempting to use its claws in order to scrape and slice at the mancer’s skin, while the third dragon attempted to ram her with its horns. Backpedaling out of the way, the mancer intentionally fell back, before following through with a sweeping kick to knock the third one off its legs and a fiery jab kick to send it back to where ‘Clump’ was on the ground. Seeing this, the second one swung at her with a ferocious combination of claw attacks. One of them grazing the side of her face.

Even though the dragon thought that was good, the mancer did not. “You’re going to regret that.”

The dragon did not have enough time to respond. All Ember place her hand in front of him, before firing off a blast of pure flame. One that was powerful enough to send him flying towards the other two dragons while also burning off the hair that was once on its head. Leaving only the fourth one standing. However, unlike the others… this one was not exactly wanting to fight. If anything, he was afraid for his life.

As Ember looked at the last one, there was a glare in her eyes as she firmly began to speak. “I will not tell you a third time… Where can I find Torch?”

“H-he’s over there!” the fourth dragon hastily gave the mancer the answer she was looking for, while also pointing at the burning mountain in the distance. “T-there’s a canyon by the volcano. He’s waiting in there-” At first, the dragon thought that Ember was going to harm her… but instead, her fierce gaze changed in an instant and now was smiling.

“Thank you,” was all she said, before disappearing shortly afterwards in a plume of flames. The dragon known as Fizzle was speechless. He not only witnessed some of his friends easily get beaten by whoever that creature was, but later spared? Just what was she-?

“Fizzle?! What the hide happened here!?” He heard an all too familiar voice as he turned back around.

“Garble! Thank the ancestors! You would not believe what just happened-”

“Look, I don’t care for you just sitting around doing nothing!” Garble snapped at him, “There’s no way that we’re going to get anything done if we sit around like what you are doing now.”

Of course, in Garble’s mind, he thought that Fizzle would just automatically say yes and then do what he said. However, what happened was much different. “Forget it.”

“Excuse you-?”

“Garble, I don’t think you get what the hide just happened here at all,” the white dragon snapped as he pointed at the dragons that were flat on the ground. “Fume, Charcoal and Clump were all beaten in combat by a creature who barely broke a sweat and now you’re asking them to just walk it off!? If you think that we’re going to just listen to you and throw ourselves in front of you just so you can get what you want and not give a damn about what happens to us, then forget it!”

At first, the dark red dragon was caught off guard by Fizzle’s sudden shift, before he snorted as he stomped his foot into the dirt. “You know what? Fine! I don’t need you four to help me! I’ll become the next dragon lord, even if it means that I have to do it myself!!”

As time began to pass and the Gauntlet of Fire was well underway, the dragon lord named Torch began to lay down and rest within the confines of the rocky valley that he had tore through with his own two claws. The walls of stone were smoothed over as amber crystals were placed on the walls as decorations while he waited at the end of the gorge that served as his own throne room. He was waiting for the dragon that would return to him with the bloodstone scepter, the relic that would prove that they were the next in line in order to become the leader of the dragons.

Of course, the one thing that he did not happen to anticipate at all was visitors. Some creature that was there for a purpose not related to the Gauntlet of Fire. He could not see them, but could feel their presence as they carefully entered the ravine. Their steps echoing as they came closer.

When they were approaching the ledge where his throne was, Torch opened his eyes as the dragon lord began to speak. “Who’s there? Identify yourself now or you will be seen as a threat.”

At first, there was silence. Something that did not settle right with the dragon as he began to rise up off of the floor and look over the canyon that was his throne room. The sound of steps got closer, before he found himself looking at a strange figure. It was bipedal, but not a dragon. In fact, it was as tall as his daughter. The only difference was that it was wearing light clothes and a scarf around its neck.

As the figure spoke though, things began to start clicking inside his head. “Woah… I heard that you had grown, but damn. I did not think that you would’ve ended up growing this big.”

That voice… was familiar. He remembered hearing it once before, when he was just a hatchling in fact. However, in his mind, he did not think that it would be possible to see them again. Even as he was able to clearly see them in front of the steps, the dragon lord did not think that it was actually them. “I must be hallucinating… is this a dream? There’s no way that this is possible.”

“Oh? And why exactly is that?”

“You look exactly like the same one that I met when I was only a hatchling… yet, you look as if you haven’t aged a day,” the dragon lord spoke, “If you were really them, then they would look much different than you right now.”

Yet, even though his reasoning was clear, the response that he got was not one that he expected. Not to mention that he was completely wrong. “Wow… and just when I thought that you were actually a gentledrake to dragonesses, little Torchy.”

Instantly, the dragon’s thought process was derailed as they looked back at the figure that stood in the ravine. Realizing that this was no hallucination, but that it was indeed the same being that he had met before. “By the ancestors… But how?”

“Hmm?” she tilted her head, a bit confused by the question.

“It has been over forty years since I had last seen you, yet you look as if you haven’t aged a single day,” the dragon lord further clarified. “How exactly is that possible?”

At first, there was silence, just before the mancer that stood in front of the dragon lord realized where the confusion was as she let out a sigh. “Well, the best way to explain that is that ever since I came here, I was given the abilities of a phoenix when I met one that was dying and could not reincarnate. Therefore, I am immortal and cannot age,” As she looked back at the dragon, she smirked as she began to move closer to him. “And all these years, I thought that you forgot about me.”

The dragon lord looked away for a moment, scratching the back of his head before letting out a small sigh. “Sorry Ember… it’s just things are a lot different than what they used to be when I first met you.”

“You tell me. I just found out that you are the dragon lord of all things,” the mancer replied back, “Back when you were a hatchling, you thought that obtaining such a title was near impossible for you.”

“To be honest, I once did think that such an achievement was impossible,” Torch admitted, “But after meeting you, I learned an important lesson. You might not have the strength or the might to face your foes, but as long as you have your pride and something to go towards, nothing could stop you. But being the dragon lord is not just about sheer power or will, it’s about bearing the responsibility of all dragons on your shoulders. Choices you make not only affect those you talk too, but every other dragon you represent… I just hope my successor understands that responsibility.”

That response had Ember look at Torch with a raised eyebrow as she asked him a new question. “Wait… successor? You’re calling it quits?”

“Ember, I’ve been the dragon lord for nearly thirty years. In that time, we’ve had close calls with that of other nations and almost gone to war over misunderstandings. I believe that my kind need a brighter future, and to ensure that, today is where all dragons compete in the gauntlet of fire to prove who becomes the next dragon lord.”

“Hunh. Now that you mentioned it, I heard something like that earlier,” the mancer told the dragon, “I was asking a group of dragons for directions on where I can find you, but they ended up attacking me because they thought that I was participating in the gauntlet they just mentioned. They were rather rude all things considered,” after finishing her sentence, she then proceeded to ask another question as she got up on the same ledge Torch was sitting on. “So, how exactly does the gauntlet of fire work?”

“Well, dragons from across the continent would come to the dragon lands to face a series of challenges that I constructed,” he explained. “The first one who obtains the Bloodstone Scepter and returns it to me will be judged by me and if I believe they are qualified, then they will become the next dragon lord.”

That sounded a little bit risky. But as Torch explained it further, and even went on to show her what the Bloodstone Scepter would look like, the mancer had a much different response. “So wait… you’re having them go through a death course just to get a scepter that, in your claws, would look more like a toothpick? Doesn’t that seem… overkill?”

“Many dragons would want to have the scepter because they are driven by greed alone. The gauntlet is a test to root them out and to rely on the other instincts a dragon would have,” he explained further, “It’s the same test that was run by my predecessors, just in a different proving ground.”

“But couldn’t they just come here to find out where the scepter is from you without having to go through the gauntlet?” the mancer then asked as she folded her arms and looked back at her friend. “I mean… I don’t mean to sound rude, but with you being the dragon lord, wouldn’t you have some guards or something to protect you-?”

In the moments after Ember asked her question, she heard what sounded almost like a record scratch as she turned around, trying to find out where the noise came from. Unfortunately to Torch, hearing that meant something completely different to him. “Not again…”

Before Ember could ask, three different dragons broke through the stone walls and landed gracefully on the stone floor that wasn’t far from where Torch and Ember were. All three of them had muscular builds and wings, looked like they came out of an oil bath and wore leather loincloths around their waists with each one having a different feature that made them stand out. The first one had a scale pattern where the outer linings look to be dark brown, but the inner shade was the color of meat if it was cooked ‘medium rare’, while also sporting iron bracers around its claws. The second one had lines of white around its darkened red body and sported a leather cuff around one of their ankles, while not being as muscular as the other two and bearing a well groomed mustache across his face. The third one was the color of marinated meat with ‘grill markings’ along his arms and body, while also wearing what appeared to be tribal bands around their wrists and ankles.

If that did not make the mancer feel rather uncomfortable before, things did not really settle right for her once the first one began to speak. “Mmm Mmm MMMmmm! Greetings, my glorious dragon lord!! I did not think that you would be having guests visit you while the gauntlet is underway.”

“Mmm yes,” the second one then began to speak, “It is a rather odd coincidence, to say the least. Especially since it’s not like any other creature that we have seen before.”

“The suspense of the mystery surrounding the visitor’s identity is just FLARING up inside of me!” the third dragon dramatically announced, “Who would be so bold and daring to burst into our lord’s own personal chambers while such an important event is taking place!?”

If Ember was not uncomfortable the moment that all three of them first arrived, then she was definitely feeling uncomfortable right around now. Uncomfortable to the point that she needed to know who exactly these three idiots were and why they were acting like this. “Torch… Care to fill me in?”

“Those three are Sear, Simmer and Sizzle,” Torch explained, letting out a groan while doing so, “They served as custodes, personal guards and caretakers of my predecessor and in turn, serve me.”

That had Ember blink a bit. Torch’s response answered one question as to who their identity was, but not the why. “Okay, but why-?”

“If I remember correctly, these three were able to convince my predecessor that they could be able to do their duties more effectively without being weighed down by the armor that most dragons would wear to protect themselves during combat and instead take on more ‘traditional attire’,” the dragon lord continued from where he left off as he looked over at the other three. “Personally, I think that’s only part of the reason why they decided to be… well, like this.”

“More to the point though,” the first one, Sear, soon spoke up he soon approached where Ember and Torch were standing. Getting rather too close to the mancer as he spoke. “Who is your visitor? Out of all those who have visited you over the years before and after each annual migration as well as over the short time that our kind have been in our new home, we have not encountered any creature quite as majestic as this one-”

“Sear… what have I told you about giving my visitors personal space?” the dragon lord’s question was followed by Sear backing up a few steps as he turned back to Ember. Allowing for her to answer the caretaker’s question as she let out a deep breath.

“To answer your question, my name is Ember Valkyr-”

“Oh MY!” The third one, Sizzle, soon interjected. Preventing the mancer from continuing on with her explanation, “Another Ember!! Does the princess happen to know anything about this, my lord?”

That had Ember raise an eyebrow, shortly before looking back to Torch. Unlike the calm and composed self that he had mostly been in the last few minutes, his eyes this time around were wide with shock. Almost as if he forgot to tell her something rather important. “Torch, what are they talking about?”

“Uh…” Torch was at a loss for words, finding it hard for him to answer her question. Unfortunately, before he even remotely had the chance to say anything, the other dragons beat him to it.

“Oh, you are not aware? Our glorious dragon lord has a daughter,” Sear spoke again, before the second one, Simmer, soon began to finish the statement that his comrade, “Mhmm yes, and oddly enough, both her and you share the same name. Which is strange considering that its tradition for dragon lords to name their kin after powerful warriors.”

Ember looked back at Torch, her eyes narrowed a bit as she looked back at the dragon lord. “You named your daughter after me?” that was only followed by a small nod from the dragon lord as the pyromancer let out a sigh. “I… did not think that you would remember me to the point that you would do that-.”

“I wanted for her to be strong and brave, just like you when we first met all those years ago,” he admitted, letting out a breath. “I wanted to tell you, but I did not know where I could possibly find you or if you were even still around. It was only just moments ago that I found out that you were still alive… You aren’t angry now, are you?”

“No, I… am honored,” Ember replied, but found it hard in order to continue based off of that. So instead, she had to take a moment to recompose herself and to get her thought process in order as she looked back at the dragon lord. “My apologies, I needed a moment to recompose myself after everything you told me so far.”

“Hmm? My apologies for interrupting, but what were you two talking about before we came in?” Sear decided to ask after hearing the mancer say that “I will admit, I am a bit curious about what my lord was discussing with you since the two of you happen to know one another.”

That had Ember look back to Torch, before the dragon lord nodded his head. A cue for her to start explaining to the trio, even though the other two seemed more occupied by flexing their muscles instead of listening. “Well, in the short time I was here, I found out that Torchy over here is the dragon lord, a competition is going on to determine who his successor will be, found out he has a daughter that shares my name and also met you three-”

“Torchy? Is that what you used to call him?” the simple question from Simmer was met by a nod from Ember, which soon lead to all three of the caretakers snickering among themselves before Sizzle immediately proclaimed the first thing that came to his mind, “Oh by the ancestors, that is the cutest nickname I’ve ever heard!!”

“Don’t you three have something better to do than bother the two of us?”

For a moment, all three looked at one another, shortly before they all shook their heads from side to side, “Not that I can think of, my lord. I mean, what could be more important than watching over you?”

Both the dragon lord and the pyromancer just groaned simultaneously, before Ember herself let out a small breath. “I don’t know… anything? Something tells me that you do a lot more than just stand around and wait for something to happen, and I still don’t understand why you guys are dressed like that. I mean, what do you do when you’re not busy helping Torch? Stand around and pose for visitors?”

“Only on thursdays…”

“Mhmm, well, you see… we are assigned to not just protect the dragon lord, but to also attend to him when he needs assistance,” Simmer soon spoke up.

“You do realize that there’s a competition going on that will determine who the next dragon lord right? Shouldn’t you… I don’t know… wait to see who the victor is? I mean, they technically would be the next dragon lord, right?”

That sole comment from Ember had the room go immediately silent, just before all three of them began to realize what she was saying. “She’s right!! Hurry comrades! We need to make our way to where the scepter will be, posthaste!! We shall return soon, my former lord!!!” Just as dramatically as the three of them have entered the ravine, all three of them dramatically left in the same fashion. When they were gone, Ember let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Finally they’re gone,” the mancer said as she took a seat on the ground next to Torch.

“You seemed rather composed during all of this,” the dragon lord told her.

“Honestly, I was trying…” she admitted, “Those three creep me the buck out.”

For a moment, Torch seemed a bit surprised, but found himself agreeing with Ember as he too also took a seat. “I agree with you. Even though the three of them mean well, they are all rather ignorant and don’t always understand that being a dragon lord is more than just a fancy title. That there are duties associated with that title as well. That and they have a rather unhealthy obsession with… well… everything you just saw. Though, they all have their own personal issues too.”

That had Ember raise an eyebrow for a moment. “Can’t you just find some replacements or something?”

“It doesn’t exactly work that way, Ember,” Torch began to explain to her, “The reason why they are the only ones who actually have served the dragon lord is because they are more interested in helping the dragon lord rather than helping themselves. One of the major flaws with our kind, something that many species also notice too, is that many dragons only care about themselves. Some would steal to satisfy their greed while others would hide so they would feel safe. The three of them have something that many dragons don’t have. The only other one that I could think of that might have these traits is my own daughter.”

That got Ember thinking for a moment, shortly before replying back. “You know, there is one other dragon that can possibly fit in that category. Though, I don’t think you have met him yet.”

“Oh? And who would that be?” the dragon lord asked.

“Spike. He actually reminds me a lot of you when we first met,” Ember explained, “He was actually raised in Equestria and lives with ponykind. He not only demonstrates putting himself in front of others, but also is living proof that ponies and dragons can co-exist.”

“Really? All of this and he’s only a half pint?” Torch asked, his tone sounding like that of utter disbelief as he shook his head. “Come on, you can’t be serious.”

“I am-”

BOOM!!

Before either of them could tell what was going on, they heard the three custodes barge in once again, with Sear making the dramatic announcement or their arrival, “We have returned, my former yet-still-glorious dragon lord!! We bear good news from the gauntlet of fire!! A victor has been determined and we have a new dragon lord!”

That had the dragon lord look back towards the three of them, shortly before asking a new question. “Oh? Who is the victor?”

“Why it is none other than your own daughter,” Simmer soon explained, shortly before three of them stepped aside to let two new dragons come in. One was around the same height as the mancer, it’s body colored blue as it wore a set of yellow battle armor around its chest. The other one… was a much smaller one that the mancer herself recognized immediately. The same one that she was telling Torch about no less than a few moments ago.

Much to Torch’s dismay, it was Spike that was the first one to speak. “Ember? What the heck are you doing here?”

“Spike, I’m right here-”

“I believe Spike’s referring to me,” the mancer interjected, getting up from her spot next to Torch and walking over. Jumping off the ledge that was not far from Torch’s throne as she walked over to greet herself. “Ember Valkyr. Pleasure to meet you. I actually know your father when he was a hatchling.”

“You have the same name as I do?”

“Mhmm, technically, lord Torch told us earlier that you were named after this Ember here, mhmm yes,” they all heard Simmer say from nearby while Sear was inspecting his claws and Sizzle was somehow sliding along the stone floor.

Yet, the comment from Simmer just had a few other questions show up in the back of the new dragon lord’s mind as she looked at the mancer. Inspecting her appearance, her attire, her clothes and even how she was looking at her during her inspection. “May I ask you a question?”

“Yes?”

“It has been known that throughout the years that dragon lords named their kin after powerful warriors, but… I’m having trouble understanding something,” the dragoness explained as she folded her arms. “What exactly would make you fall under that category?”

It took a moment for the pyromancer to come up with a proper response for the newly appointed dragon lord. But after a bit, she thought of the perfect way to get her point across. “I don’t know…” As she spoke, she extended her right have off to the side, having flames channel from the palm of her hand as its glow began to shine throughout the ravine. Growing in size a bit before the mancer finished her sentence. By asking the dragon lord a question of her own, “Are you saying that you rather not be named after an immortal badass who channels enough power to turn a nearby forest to ash in a matter of moments?”

The new dragon lord took a moment to look at the fire that was churning in the mancer’s hand, seeing how she controlled it before dismissing the flames on command, shortly before saying one thing. “I like you.”

“Sear, I want you, Simmer and Sizzle to leave us for now. I believe I want to hear from our new dragon lord what happened in the Gauntlet of Fire,” Torch’s words were followed by the three custodes leaving the room, while the mancer herself said that she had to go as well. Transforming back into a bird of fire as she took to the skies. Leaving Spike and Ember to explain what happened during the gauntlet of fire to Torch.

“Stupid Spike! Stupid Ember! Stupid Fizzle!! Stupid EVERYTHING!!” the dragon named Garble yelled as he kicked a stone that was on the ground to release his anger and rage. He was so close to the Bloodstone Scepter. So close to becoming the next dragon lord. Yet, because of that half pint Spike, not only did he have to leave in shame, but he had been dealt the most embarrassing punishment ever. Having to hug every dragon that he came across on the way to his cave.

How was he going to explain something so humiliating to his sister-?

Bump!

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, you jerk-!” Garble snapped, shortly after falling backwards onto the ground. As he tried to get back up, he found himself staring at three dragons. All of whom were dressed rather weirdly and some were colored in oil. They were all a little taller than he was and from his position on the ground, looked rather intimidating. “Oh no…”

“Oh my, who do we have here?”

“Uh… no one! No one. Just passing through-” the dark red dragon spoke, trying to get himself up off the ground and out of there before they could press further.

“Isn’t this the dragon that was ordered by decree to hug every dragon that he came across on his way back to his cave?” One of the other dragons with a slimmer build then asked his two companions.

“Hehehe, I think I remember now. Garble… Garble the selfish one, only cared about himself and not at all about others,” One other soon spoke up. Garble himself tried to turn around and walk away, but they immediately took notice. “Of course, he would know that there would be far greater punishments if he disobeyed a direct order.”

As Garble took notice, he soon found all three dragons just feet away from him as he looked back at them. “N-now w-wait just a second! C-can we talk about this?! N-no? P-please?”

The only thing that Garble could think about was that he was definitely not going to tell his sister about what he had to do on his way home.

End Chapter 19

20- No such thing as ordinary

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- No such thing as ordinary

Sweet Apple Acres

It may had only been a few days since Ember had visited the Dragon Lands during the Gauntlet of Fire, but to her, it felt much longer than that. Aside from spending time with Amaryllis, there just did not seem to be a lot going on that really caught her attention. Aside from Applejack mentioning that Starlight made friends with a pony that had caused trouble in town a couple of times before and a tell-tale article in Manehattan almost ruined the grand opening of Rarity’s new boutique, not a lot of things had been on the mancer’s mind. She wanted to go see Caesar, but thought that he would be busy helping Zecora since Apple Bloom would be starting school soon and not be around so much to help her with potion brewing.

Then, of course, there was today. Where Twilight and Spike ‘convinced’ Applejack that she should take the day off and that they would do their chores for her. However, they were finding some of the tasks that were part of her morning chores to be a lot more difficult than what either of them originally thought. Much to the amusement of both her and Amaryllis as they couldn’t help but watch her try to do some of the chores that Applejack would normally do on a daily basis.

“Something on your mind, Emmy?” she heard Amaryllis ask her, catching the pyromancer’s attention for a moment as they were sitting back against a tree on the orchard. “You know that I can tell when you’re deep in thought, right?”

Ember herself let out a bit of a sigh, before looking back at the changeling. She was in her human disguise, but was wearing some of the outfits that Rarity had made and they looked rather amazing on her. Though, the mancer was thinking about something else. “I was just wondering how Celestia and Philomena have been recently. I mean… I know that Philomena and I have talked on occasion before, but I really haven’t heard anything from her today.”

“Don’t you think the princess would be busy? I mean, she’s not like Twilight over there, but she does have to tend to some events to keep the gears of bureaucracy turning, right?”

Ember blinked for a moment, before looking back at the changeling as she chuckled. “I guess. Though, to be honest, I never thought of you as the kind of person to be interested in the inner workings of government though, if I have to be honest.”

“Well, I have to find some sort of way to keep myself entertained while looking for you,” she teased, before looking back at her. “Though, you now have me a bit curious.”

“About what exactly, Ama?” Ember now asked, wondering what her wife was going to say next.

“Well, remember when you told me that you went to the Dragon Lands and found out that a dragon that you remembered seeing that was as young as Spike was the dragon lord? Torch was it?” Ember nodded in response, shortly before Amaryllis continued, “Well, considering that his daughter is now the leader of the dragons, wouldn’t a transition in power mean that the new dragon lord would have to meet the princesses in Canterlot at some point? You know, so that they could have the chance to meet and talk about how to improve relations between species?”

That left the mancer a bit baffled, before looking back at the changeling with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, but where did you get that idea from?”

“Well, it’s what I would do if I were in charge of a kingdom of any kind,” Amaryllis replied, “No matter how strong or powerful you might be as a ruler, a kingdom always needs allies. It’s one of the things that Chrysalis doesn’t understand. So personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some kind of meeting between Celestia and the new Dragon Lord.”

“I just hope the custodes don’t follow her…”

“The what now?” Amaryllis blinked, not remembering her wife mention anything of that regard the last time they talked about this particular subject.

“Oh… right. Well, let’s just say that it happened on the day of the Gauntlet of Fire while I was talking to Torch. When I found him originally, he was sitting there by himself in a ravine that would be the equivalent of the main hall at Canterlot,” Ember began to recall as she turned to face Amaryllis, “At the time, it seemed a bit odd for him to be by himself if you take into account that such a rather important event in dragon culture was taking place.”

“I would say. Wouldn’t he have some guards standing just in case someone came straight for him?”

“That’s what I asked… and later ended up regretting,” the pyromancer told her, “He has three personal guards that also serve as his caretakers. They refer to themselves as his ‘custodes’, but the way that they were dressed and the way that they spoke were enough for me to feel a bit disturbed by the whole encounter.”

“How so?” Amaryllis asked, a little puzzled by what Ember was telling her.

“Well, to start, they were barely wearing any clothes. Now, clothing may not be that much of a big deal in Equestria, but from where I was from, anyone who wore that would make me think that the three of them are strippers,” Ember groaned, trying to purge a few images that spawned in her brain from saying that statement alone, “The fact that their bodies were covered in oil, they have no conceivable concept of personal space and their speech was borderline innuendo doesn’t help them. It was just horrible.”

“Oh, it can’t be that bad now, can it?” her wife now asked.

“Honestly, I don’t even think they realized that their words could be interpreted that way. Their names were Sear, Simmer and Sizzle,” Ember explained to her, before conjuring what looked like replicas of all three dragons in the palm of her hand, “Sear seems to be a bit too devoted to serving the Dragon Lord, though something tells me that he’s a complete moron. He didn’t realize that it would be better for them to be waiting to see who was going to become the next dragon lord until I had to point it out to him.”

“At least he seems devoted to his position,” Amaryllis added, before pointing something out to the mancer, “Though, I think I have to agree with you on their attire. Why would they choose to have something that… exposing if they’re supposed to be guards?”

“Apparently, Torch told me that they were able to convince his predecessor that the less clothing that they had, the more capable they would be at performing their duties. Yet, he personally thinks that there’s another reason.”

“Honestly, after hearing that, I would definitely agree with him,” the changeling nodded, before pointing at the other replicas as the one of Sear began to flicker out and disappear, “Who are the other two?”

“Simmer is… well, there really isn’t anything about him that particularly stands out. He has a mustache, but he doesn’t really do a lot to contribute and only say his piece after one of the other two speak first. He kind of seems a bit more well grounded,” that had the second flame that represented Simmer flicker out and fade. Leaving only one more burning in the palm of her hand. “Though, the opposite could be said for the last guy, Sizzle. He’s the creepiest out of all three. He’s the one that covered in oil to the point that he slides around on any surface he’s standing on and when he speaks, anything that he might say can come off on some grounds as rather sexual. Guh… don’t even ask me to-”

“Can you give me an example?”

Ember personally cursed under her breath at the timing, especially since she did not want to repeat practically anything that those three have said. “If any of them heard Luna or the Princesses speak in that loud booming voice of theirs, he would be the first one to say ‘my oiled abs quiver in delight at the sound of that majestic voice’,” For added effect, the mancer even tried her best to impersonate Sizzle. But all that did was left her rather disgusted once she had finished speaking, “Ugh… I feel like I need to wash my mouth with mouthwash after saying that.”

“If I were in the same position that you just hypothesized, then I would do the same thing,” Amaryllis commented as the last flame disappeared from Ember’s hands. Blinking a bit and rubbing her eyes with her hands as if she was trying to purge some images from her mind. “Maybe we should change the subject a bit. You know, talk about something other than that.”

That was something the mancer could definitely agree with. But the only real thing that either of them could notice was that Twilight of all ponies was trying to dangle a piece of corn over a pig pen and Spike holding onto some kind of list.

“Maybe we should talk less and perhaps help her out,” Ember admitted, before getting up off the ground and walking over to where the alicorn and the dragon were standing. “Need some help?”

At first, Twilight jumped and almost slipped out of the harness that she was in as she turned her head to face her. “O-oh… H-hello Ember. H-how long have you been there?”

“Long enough,” Ember replied back, folding her arms as both the princess and her assistant looked back at her, “I’m glad that you want to help out Applejack, but if I may be so bold, what in the world are you doing? You look like you’re trying to play some kind of fishing game that would be held at a children’s carnival.”

“Applejack asked us in order to feed the pigs while she was with Rarity for a spa day,” Spike explained, before handing the mancer a piece of paper as he looked at her. “She even gave us a list as to how she would do it. Twilight’s been trying to follow the steps on there, yet we haven’t exactly getting any progress on this at all.”

Ember took the list that Spike gave her and took a moment in order to look everything over. At first, given that this was Applejack they were talking about, she thought that some of the steps on here for her chores would be more simplified. Instead, some of the steps on here were unnecessarily complex. “I think I found your problem.”

“W-what is it? Am I not doing it right?” Twilight then asked.

“No, that’s… not necessarily it,” Ember replied back, “You see, most of the steps that are on here would only be necessary if we need to solve a particular problem that you come across. However, just from briefly looking at each of these and by looking at the pig pen itself, I can see that there aren’t any problems that would necessarily require them.”

“B-but if that’s true, t-then why would she still be doing them?” Spike now asked. Part of him was a bit surprised that everything that Twilight and him were doing up to this point was completely unnecessary. Though, another part of him did find the sight of Twilight struggling to do particular tasks without the use of magic to be rather amusing.

“She’s still doing them?” Ember now asked.

“I think I might have a theory,” the three of them now heard Amaryllis speak up as she walked over to where they were standing, “From the looks of it, Applejack might have solved these problems a long time ago, but ended up getting stuck in a routine where she had to do these on a constant basis while unnecessarily putting more work on her shoulders than she has too.”

It was after she said those words that she looked back at Twilight before smiling happily. “On a side note, I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. I’m Amaryllis, Ember’s special somepony. You must be Princess Twilight?”

“U-uh, yeah… how-?”

“Rarity told me about you and her friends while she was making the final touches on these clothes of mine,” She told her in response, “Some of the things that Rarity told me about regarding you were just straight up adorable~”

That had a small blush form on the princesses’ face while Spike himself couldn’t contain his urge to chuckle. “W-what things?”

“Do I look like I’m the kind of girl that would tell you someone else’s secrets, dear princess?” Amaryllis teased again, before looking back at Ember, “Though, now that I think of it, perhaps we can find a way to help her out while she’s enjoying herself.”

That now had Ember unfold her arms, before asking Amaryllis a new question that came off the top of her head. “What do you have in mind, Ama?”

“Well, since we identified what the problem is, why don’t we take some time to go through what she wanted us to do and find a way to make it easier for her. Nothing too fancy, just make it simple while cutting out any unnecessary work,” she suggested, looking at all three of them now, “Surely, Applejack would appreciate it if she had more time to spend with her friends, right?”

“That and Applejack would not have to worry about taking on so much work,” Spike added on, before thinking of a question to ask, “Though, are you sure that Applejack herself will take this rather well. She isn’t quite a fan of us doing things for her behind her back.”

“Well, let me assure you that by the time we’re done here, she’ll definitely appreciate some of the changes we’ve made,” Amaryllis smiled, “Now then, I say it’s time we go to work.”

“Applejack, I’m sure that Twilight’s a very capable pony. I’m sure that she can figure out what to do next.” Rarity said as she looked back at her friend. Because of some complications that happened at the Ponyville Day Spa, both her and Applejack were coming back to Sweet Apple Acres to see if Twilight and Spike were making any progress with feeding the pigs.

“Look, Rares. Ah know that Twilight means well, but she’s a princess and not a farmer,” the earth pony insisted, “Ah’ve been doin’ farm work mah whole life and ah’m pretty sure that it can’t just be something that you can just ‘figure out’.”

As the two of them were talking, they were soon coming across Sweet Apple Acres. But something did not seem right to the earth pony. Sure, the pigs look to have been fed… but judging from what was left of the food, it looked like it had been sitting there for a while. Not to mention that the pigs themselves seemed to have barely moved anywhere either.

“Something ain’t right.” she said, narrowing her eyes and looking around the orchard.

“What’s the matter, darling?”

“Well, the gates looked to have barely moved at all, and the pigs aren’t moving around. It used to be that this gate would squeak so loudly that ah have to open and close it in order to make sure that the pigs know it’s safe,” Applejack explained, demonstrating what she was talking about by moving the gate herself. Only to show that it wasn’t squeaking at all. Another thing that she happened to notice was that she found her list, but with a series of check marks next to them. “What in tarnations?”

“Is something wrong, dear?”

“Ah don’t know, but somepony has been scribbling on mah chore list here,” Applejack pointed out to her friend, only to realize that there was a second piece of paper underneath. This one looking less like a list of chores and more like a list of ideas. Of course, when Rarity began to look at them herself, she seemed to notice something.

“Darling, I think whoever is doing this is trying to help you.”

“Really? Didn’t ah say on the way here that ah grew up on the farm for most of my life,” the earth pony then reminded her, “Why would ah need help on something that ah already know how to do?”

“Would you like for me to answer that?” Both ponies turned around to find Ember walking over to them, looking a bit tired out as she looked at Applejack and Rarity.

“Aunt Ember! What’s going on? Where’s Twilight and Spike?”

“Well, after taking a look at the steps that you have for your chores, we soon began to realize something. But, let me ask you something,” the mancer said as she took a seat on a crate that was by the pig pen. “It’s about your instructions. Why do you have to open and close the gate, followed by ‘startle the pigs’ and then a… ‘chicken dance’?”

“Well, ah open and close the gate to let the pigs know that it safe for them to move since the gate used to squeak and startle the hay out of them.”

“Used to?” Ember then asked. “Why not now?”

“Well, ah fixed that gate ages ago,” Applejack replied, noticing that Twilight and Spike were coming on over along with Amaryllis. Ember had to take a brief moment in order to catch all three of them up to speed first, before the farm pony continued speaking, “As for startlin’ them, ah would do that because ah found out that giving them a bit of a fright would get them to hustle out of the pen faster.”

“But… they don’t seem to be afraid,” Spike pointed out.

“Yeah, they kinda got used to it after a while. So that’s why ah started doing the chicken dance,” Applejack explained, “Ya know, to try and encourage them to eat because if they don’t, the chickens will. Of course, ah can’t handle the gate while doing that, and getting the food bucket to spill into the trough was a happy accident since ah left it there by mistake.”

That only had Twilight come to one possible conclusion, just based on hearing that alone. “Applejack, I don’t know if this is just me, but it seems like all the steps that you’re doing are to solve problems that aren’t exactly problems anymore.”

“It’s not just you,” Amaryllis added on.

“Well, ah’ll be,” Applejack then said at that realization, before turning to Ember, “Ah didn’t realize that until now.”

“Which is why we wanted to help you out,” Ember added on, “After looking over a few things with Twilight, we were coming up with ideas on how to make it easier for you to complete your chores without any unnecessary work. Though, we did not want to follow through on anything until you had a look at them for yourself and see what works for you.”

“How generous of you,” Rarity chuckled, before trotting over to where her friends were and looking over some of the ideas that they came up with. Which allowed Ember to exhale a sigh of relief for a brief moment as she watched the three of them at work. “Would you like to join us?”

“Why, I would love too,” Amaryllis spoke cheerfully, before pulling Ember along to bring her over to the first of several renovations that they were going to do. Though, it was as they were walking over that she had a random question to ask the princess of friendship, “So Twilight… how has Princess Celestia been recently?”

Twilight blinked, almost tripping over herself as she looked back at her. “W-where did that question come from?”

“Well, Emmy was wondering how she and Philomena had been doing, so I thought that the best way to find out was to hear it from you~,” Amaryllis’ response was enough to have Ember facepalm herself as she groaned a bit in the process.

“Well, she did say that she was having a meeting to get the chance to know the new Dragon Lord, but outside of that, nothing too out of the ordinary.”

Ember just raised an eyebrow as she looked back at the princess of friendship while they walked along the side of the barn, “You’re sure about that?”

“Auntie, what’s the meaning of this!? Who let this dragon in here!?!” Prince Blueblood demanded as he burst through the door. The sight of a dragon meeting with that of both Princess Celestia and Luna was unheard of!

“Please forgive him, Ember. He has a tendency of doing this to everyone that he meets that thinks they don’t belong here-” Celestia tried to explain, before the Dragon Lord herself cut her off and

“If you must so happen to know, I am Dragon Lord Ember. I was invited by the Princess to discuss the diplomatic relationship between my kind and yours,” the dragon lord boldly looked straight at the stallion that barged in on their discussion, “So if you would be so kind, take whatever it is that you have to say and leave. We have more important matters to discuss.”

“M-more important!?” the prince snapped back, “What could be so important that both of the princesses have to waste their time on?! Matter of fact, I’m not convinced that you are a so called ‘lord’ like you say you are! You don’t even have any guards!!”

In the seconds after that statement was declared, a loud record scratch was heard echoing throughout the chamber as Ember let out a deep sigh. “Princess, I’m really sorry about this.”

“For what? You didn’t do anything wrong-?” Luna asked.

“Not that,” Ember corrected her, “I’m sorry for what’s about to happen.”

Before anypony in the room could ask, three bolsterous figures burst through the stained glass window that overlooked the entire room as the three custodes of the dragon lord stood in between her and Blueblood. To the dragon lord, she had seen them many times before, but to both of the equestrian princesses in the room, this was their first encounter. “Oh my, would you look at that. An unfashionable and wannabe stallion harassing our lord in the middle of one of the most important meetings between both our species.”

“You came to the wrong neighborhood, shithooves!!”

“W-what is the meaning of this?! Who in Tartarus are you freaks!?! … and why is the floor covered in body oil!?” Blueblood demanded.

“We are Sear, Simmer and Sizzle respectively. Custodes, bodyguards and personal caretakers of the Dragon Lord,” the one named Sear spoke now, striding along the floor and being careful to not step on the shattered glass. “More importantly, we are merely doing our job of protecting our lord. Now, what makes you think that a lunatic like you can get away with this? It is rather disrespectful to insult the ruler of another country, especially one who wants to be allies with Equestria.”

“Perhaps we should show him the error of his ways. This stallion looks to have no knowledge of how foreign policy between nations is supposed to work. Why don’t we teach him a lesson?” Simmer then suggested.

“Well, this is a rather special occasion,” Sizzle was the next one to speak, “One that makes my abs QUIVER in anticipation. Ready to BURST at a moments notice!!”

“Perhaps, but maybe I should ask a more interesting question? One that this one has yet to answer,” Sear declared, before looking back at the so called prince, “What is it that you think you are doing here? What do you think you’ll try to accomplish by thwarting this rather important meeting between two world leaders.”

“Because I think that your claims that the dragon behind you being a leader is a ruler are lies! She is clearly trying to brainwash my aunts into thinking that this is just a meeting, only for them to-!”

All Sizzle could do was just snicker to himself, while Simmer began to speak, “So the wannabe is also a racist prick. Are all the so called ‘nobles’ just like you or are you a variant of the species?”

“The Bloodstone Scepter might have power, but it only affects dragons. Furthermore, it’s only used to call any dragons to the dragon lord in time of aid. So you have no real reason to person this heinous and most embarrassing act. The only thing that you will be damaging is your own reputation.”

“You done goofed!!” Sizzle declared shortly after Sear was done speaking.

“T-this is insane! All of you have gone mad! MAD I say!!”

“Blueblood, that is enough,” Celestia now sternly spoke up, “Despite their… unannounced entry, these three speak the truth. Cease this nonsense now or else!”

All the prince could do was grit his teeth, before trotting out the door as he slammed it behind him. All while the custodes let out a collective sigh.

“That pony has rocks for brains, I swear.” Sear grumbled.

“Waamu~” Sizzle spoke shortly afterwards.

Which was followed by Luna asking her sister a rather personal question, “Sister, is it weird to feel rather flustered because of what just happened?”

“Yeah, most definitely. Barely anything weird happens during meetings like these,” Twilight insisted.

“If you say so,” Ember responded, before turning her head towards the tool shed and noticing something that made her stop. In the forest that was far in the distance, a pair of dark emerald eyes stared at her. Not batting their gaze as Ember’s heart skipped a beat.

“Ember? Ember, are you alright?”

“Wha-?” When she looked back, she noticed that Applejack and the others were waiting for her. Not to mention that when she looked back in the distance, the pair of eyes that she saw were gone. “Y-yeah… I just thought I saw something.”

“Well, don’t worry about it, Now come on and help us out. We can’t fix these problems by just staring off into space,” Applejack told her as Ember nodded. Though, in her head, she was thinking something much different. Thinking about who it was that she might’ve have seen in that split second.

Thinking about why would they now step out of their domain.

End Chapter 20

21- To Where Now?

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- To Where Now?

When it comes to the Apple Family, the most important thing that they valued aside from honesty was hard work. If you worked at Sweet Apple Acres for a day, you would come to learn that the ponies that tended to the orchard did not cut corners. That there was a difference between simply doing a job and doing a job correctly. Ponyville counted on the Apple Family not to make mistakes during the time of harvest, and it was their responsibility to make sure they didn’t let Ponyville down.

Though, for two of the newer residents on the orchard, adjusting to this was much trickier than anticipated. First, there was Maeve. Ever since she somehow ended up in this world and finding herself to be much younger than she was before, Maeve had to steal and pickpocket in order to get herself out of the pirate docks of Horseshoe Bay. Heck, there were times where she stole something out of sheer impulsivity.

Though, ever since she began to stay at Sweet Apple Acres, Maeve always found it difficult to help out around the orchard. She didn’t have the body strength to kick trees and make apples fall off the branch like that of Big Macintosh, so the only real thing that she could do was either get any apples that were still clinging to the branches or help count out all the apples in each of the baskets… while also resisting the temptation to take any for a light snack.

The second resident that found adjusting to life on Sweet Apple Acres was Amaryllis. For the changeling, it was mainly because she had to maintain her transformations and doing so for long periods of time was exhausting. Even though the Apple Family was okay with letting her live here, she was more concerned about if anypony else found out about her being a changeling. Even with the support of Ember, many creatures had a negative impression of her species after the Canterlot Wedding. So how exactly would she try to convince anypony else otherwise?

Today though was a rather calm one. Big Macintosh was helping Granny Smith bring the apples that were harvested earlier to the Ponyville market and Apple Bloom was with her friends on ‘official Cutie Mark Crusader business’. Which left Ember, Applejack, Maeve and Amaryllis to watch over the barn while they were gone. As they were doing some chores around the house though, that was when Applejack decided to mention something. “So, ah heard something from Twilight the other day. It was… a bit strange and kinda had me thinking of Amaryllis.”

That statement had the others curious, but most especially the changeling as she looked back towards the earth pony. “Oh really? And what exactly could that be?”

“Well, if ah remember correctly, the Crystal Empire welcomed a changeling as an official citizen last week.”

That statement alone almost had Ember lose her grip on the cider stein that she was drying as she looked back at Applejack, “You’re serious? An actual changeling?”

“From the sounds of it, yeah,” she nodded, “Granted, they’re not like Amaryllis, but based on what Twilight told me, they seem to want to learn how to share love among others rather than just steal it for themselves.”

“Well, that part is definitely familiar,” Amaryllis added on now as the changeling poured a glass of apple cider for herself, “Did you happen to get a name at all?”

That part had the farm pony a bit puzzled before she began to scratch her chin, “Ah remember her saying one, but it ain’t easy to remember. Ah think it was… thor… Thorn or something? When Twilight said her name, Trixie accidentally set off some fireworks from her wagon, so ah only managed to get a piece of it.”

“Well, it doesn’t sound like any name I would know,” Amaryllis sighed, “Must be part of Chrysalis’ brood then.”

“Uh… what’s a brood?” Maeve now decided to speak up, using one of her throwing daggers to peel an apple she was holding.

“You know how some animals are in large groups? Like a pack of wolves or a flock of birds?” Amaryllis’ question was followed by a nod from all three of them as she continued to speak, “It’s like that. There’s always a queen or king to lead the others and those that are in the brood are considered their children.”

“Really? Ah thought a bunch of changelings were called a swarm. Is that not true?” Applejack now asked.

“That’s actually rather specific,” the changeling continued, “To us, a swarm of changelings is used as more of a military term rather than anything else since changeling battle tactics are about overpowering foes in mass numbers. It’s like how a group of equestrian soldiers in the guard would be referred to as a platoon,” as she finished speaking, Amaryllis then turned towards Maeve, “Does that answer your question?”

“I… think it does,” the thief then replied back, cutting through the apple and making slices as a new question formed in her head, “Though… sorry if this sounds a bit… personal kitten, but were you part of a brood? Like before you met Emmy?”

That had the changeling take another sip of her drink, before letting out another sigh as she looked towards her. “Once, yes. In fact, the brood I was born into was the same as Chrysalis. Both of us were highly regarded by the queen at the time. However, when she passed away, both of us had different opinions on how we should help our species,” she paused, followed by another drink, “I was forced out and found Ember afterwards. I tried to come back and show them that we didn’t have to steal love to survive, but they just didn’t believe it. That was years ago… and look where it’s gotten them now.”

“Well, at least this changeling’s trying to do the right thing, right?” Applejack now asked.

The changeling shrugged its shoulders, “Perhaps. Though, in my experience, actions speak louder than words. You can say one thing, but only when your actions match your words will people start to believe you.”

“You had me believe you,” Ember told her as she finished drying the last few dishes and sat next to her, “And it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”

“Aw, isn’t that just purrfect,” they heard Maeve say, just before she realized how exactly it came out as she nervously looked around the room, “Uh… s-say, do any of you know where the cider is? I think I’m thirsty.”

Now it was Applejack who spoke up as she crossed her front hooves and looked toward the young girl. “Aren’t ya a bit too young for-”

“Top left pantry door, near the stove,” Amaryllis cut her off. Something that surprised both Applejack and Ember, but Maeve just smiled as she immediately worked her way to the cabinet to pour herself out a glass. While also being careful to not step on anything in the process.

“Sugarcube, are ya sure that’s a wise choice?” Applejack asked. Yet before she could continue, she noticed Amaryllis hold up a hoof. Almost as if to tell her to ‘wait for it’. As if on cue, just as she had started drinking, her eyes widened. Jumping off the counter, Maeve immediately bolted for the sink before spitting out everything she almost swallowed.

“W-What the hell!? That wasn’t cider at all!” she snapped.

“Actually, it is,” Amaryllis grinned as Maeve looked towards her, “Yet, it’s something new that I was trying to make. It’s still Apple Cider, but it doesn’t have any alcohol,” as she said that, the changeling looked towards the farm pony as she let out a smile, “I remember when you told me about how some ponies end up making stupid decisions after having too much cider. So, after talking about it with Granny Smith a couple of days ago, I’ve been trying to come up with a non-alcoholic kind of cider.”

As she finished, the changeling looked back towards Maeve again as she had a new question for her. “Besides, aren’t you a bit young to be drinking?”

That had Maeve twitch for a moment, before she shook her head and glared back at the changeling, “Do you even know how old I am?”

“Come on, dear. It’s highly inappropriate to ask a lady about their age,” Amaryllis teased, almost as if she was quoting Rarity when she was speaking.

“If the circumstances were different, then I would agree with you,” Maeve grumbled, “Yet, things are a bit different from what I’m used to, kitten. It feels like you forgot I was Emmy’s mother.”

“I didn’t forget,” the changeling told her as she let loose a smile, “I just find it amusing to watch you when you’re agitated.” That just had Ember chuckle a bit, with Applejack finding it only a little bit amusing. Though, it took a bit in order for Maeve to calm herself back down, especially after learning that Amaryllis was only doing this just for her own amusement.

It was days like these that Ember enjoyed the most. In the presence of family and not having to constantly watch her back for anyone that tried to harm her. Though, it was as she looked out into the forest far beyond that of Ponyville, uncertainty began to settle in.

It was something that Applejack soon noticed as she looked at Ember, before tapping her with a hoof to get her attention. “Hey, Aunt Embah? Are ya alright? Ya were kind of staring off into space.”

The mancer blinked, shaking her head as she stopped her train of thought before looking back at the farm pony, “Huh? Oh… sorry, I just…” Ember stopped, taking a moment to adjust herself as she straightened the scarf that was around her neck, “Do you ever feel like, even though everything looks normal, something is watching you?”

Applejack shook her head, unsure about what Ember was talking about as she looked back to her aunt, “Can’t say that ah have, sugarcube. Why do you ask?”

Ember was unsure how to respond back. She could try to play it off like it was no big deal, but then Applejack would know that she’s trying to hide something. So, the mancer tried to answer her question the best that she could. “I was just wondering. That’s all.”

Though, in the back of her mind, the mancer had a feeling that something was already happening. Where no amount of precaution could prepare her for what was coming.

Over the next several days, Ember’s anxiety from before did not cease. Despite a lot of good things happening in Ponyville and with those she cared about the most, the feeling that something was wrong didn’t go away. Sleep didn’t do much to help her either. While everypony else would see sleep as a peaceful dream or find themselves in a haunting nightmare, sleep for the mancer felt more like a long transition between night and day as she circled through memories. Both good… and bad.

It was on one of these evenings, at the stroke of midnight, that she got an unexpected wake up call. “Ember? Ember, are you there? Wake up, please.”

Immediately, Ember was awake as she rose up in her bed. She placed a hand on her head as the mancer was slowly coming to her senses in the dimly dark bedroom. Thankfully, Amaryllis was still asleep and she wasn’t disturbed by Ember’s sudden wake up call. “Philomena? W-Why are you waking me up so early-?”

“T-there’s something going on here and I can’t find Celestia or Luna anywhere. Come to Canterlot, but don’t tell anyone where you are going.”

Before Ember could even ask for clarification, Philomena’s voice was gone. The mancer knew that the phoenix would contact her as a way to keep in touch, but this time it sounded like she was in danger. If that was the case, and she couldn’t find either of the princesses anywhere, then there was no time to waste.

Quickly, she rose up from the bed and got her clothes before proceeding to get changed out of her sleepwear and into her regular attire. After putting on her clothes, she tied her hair up in a ponytail before wrapping her scarf around her neck and putting on her wrist bands next. The last thing she needed to do was get her sandals, which were by her side of the bed.

Though, as she stepped out of the bathroom, Ember soon realized that she wasn’t the only one who was awake, “Leaving so soon, Emmy~?”

Despite Ember’s best efforts to remain quiet, Amaryllis was now awake and sitting up against the back of the bed. Which had the mancer let out a sigh as she looked back at her wife. Even though Philomena specifically told her to not tell anyone where she was going, it would feel wrong to outright lie to Amaryllis. “Sorry that I woke you up, Ama. Philomena needs me to come to Canterlot. She thinks something’s wrong and can’t find either Celestia or Luna.”

“Really now?” Amaryllis asked, “I know that this phoenix is important to you, but-”

“It’s not just that, Ama. She sounded… scared,” Ember explained some more, “Can you sense her emotions from here? I know that you sensed Discord from here, but I wasn’t sure how far away you can sense someone.”

“I can most certainly try,” the changeling tried, her horn lighting up with magic as she closed her eyes, “Hmm… it does look like there’s a bit of fear and anxiety. Though… no no, that can’t be right.”

That had the mancer raise an eyebrow as she looked back at Amaryllis, “What isn’t right?”

“What I’m sensing, it’s… not normal,” the changeling explained, “Anytime that I sense emotions of multiple creatures in a city, the emotions I get are various and different. Though, aside from your friend and three… others, the emotions I’m feeling in that city are almost the same.”

“The same?” that had caught Ember off guard, especially since this was the first time that she had seen her wife act this way in a long while, “What do you mean?”

“What I’m sensing is hatred… hunger… wanting to fulfill desires. Almost like-” she stopped, cancelling the spell as she tried to make sense of everything, before looking back at Ember, “This might be… much bigger than either of us realize.”

“Ama, are you okay? What is it?”

“What I felt… were the same emotions that other changelings would feel… those like Chrysalis,” Amaryllis told her, before getting out of bed as she trotted over to Ember and placed a hoof on her shoulder, “If what I saw is true… then please be careful. The last thing that I want is for you to end up being-”

“That won’t happen,” the mancer assured her, going as far as to pull the changeling in for a hug to calm her down, “I don’t go down without a fight… if anything does happen, you’re the first to know. Just… make sure nothing happens to Maeve. I know she says that she can handle herself, but… just look out for her, alright?”

Amaryllis nodded, before giving Ember a kiss as the mancer stepped outside, disappearing in a small flash of flame. Leaving the changeling to watch over the residents of Sweet Apple Acres… and hoping that her fears don’t become reality.

The dimly lit alleyways of Canterlot were quiet as soldiers from the royal guard were seen patrolling throughout the city streets. Many ponies who lived in Canterlot were either already in their homes or they were staying at a lodge or tavern. All was quiet tonight as the light of the moon shined over the city.

Yet, that did little to ease Philomena’s worries. She had tried to fall asleep, but something felt off to the phoenix. There never was this many guards patrolling the city at night, but now they were everywhere. Almost as if the city was on a lockdown. The fact that she couldn’t find Celestia or Luna anywhere either did little to ease her worries. Something was clearly wrong, and yet, the phoenix couldn’t tell what the problem was.

It was as she was processing this that she heard a few voices from outside the door. Voices that sent a chill down her spine. “C-come on, how much longer do we have to keep this up before we can feed-?”

“Shut it, Maxilla,” a second voice snapped at the first, “If you don’t want to end up with those three morons that are in the caves, then we better get this done. The other swarms are almost finished doing their parts of the plan. Now we just need to hear back from the team in Ponyville and tie a few loose ends in Canterlot before we could really be done here.”

Swarms? Plans? Loose Ends? None of these things made any sense to Philomena. The fact that the voices were unfamiliar to her and there was a hornet like buzzing from them only made her even more on edge.

“What ‘loose ends’ Tarsus? You always say that, but never tell us what exactly that means,” the first voice protested, “H-how are we supposed to do our job when you-?”

“Are you forgetting who was chosen to lead this swarm?” the voice that belonged to ‘Tarsus’ retorted back, “My orders come from the queen. You are to follow me, no questions asked. Abandon reason, or you’ll become an outcast with nothing to feed on and nothing to help you survive. Do I… make myself clear?”

Philomena definitely did not like the sound of that. Especially with what she just heard just now. Was this some kind of nightmare she was in? The last time she remembered anything involving a queen was the disaster that was the Canterlot Wedding invasion with the changeling queen. Were they… referring to her?

“Thought so,” she heard Tarsus say again, “Now, the last thing we need to do involves that pet the princess keeps in her quarters.”

“W-what, the bird? Why?” Maxilla then asked.

“It’s not just a bird, you fool. It’s a bucking phoenix! If we don’t deal with it now, then it can cause the entire plan to crumble. Not just that, but if the swarm in Ponyville isn’t done with capturing the ponies that can wield the elements of harmony and the phoenix gets away, then it can alert them of Chrysalis’ plans!”

Now Philomena was beginning to realize what was happening. If the two voices that were outside were indeed changelings… and if what they were saying is true, then everypony else in the city could be one too. Not to mention that the princesses could already be captured by them. She needed to find a way out of here and warn somebody of what was happening.

Yet, as she began to fly idly with her wings, the perch that she was resting on fell onto the floor. Which, to her, wasn’t good at all. “W-what was that?”

“That came from inside. Either somebuggy is sneaking around in there or the princess’ pet is awake,” she heard from the other side of the door, “Help me get this door open now!”

“Ember, please hurry! Quickly,” the phoenix said mentally, hoping that help would arrive soon. She tried to push herself through the window overlooking the courtyard, but it was already closed up. Philomena then turned towards the door that the two on the other side were trying to barge through and sent a flame towards the handle as it began to overheat.

“Gah! Son of a-! Okay, that bird’s ticking me off!!” she heard Tarsus from the other side, just before a giant hole was blasted through the door where the handle once was. Two more blasts were fired at the hinges that held the door up as it crashed on the ground. At first, it looked like there were two royal guards on the other side of the door. Yet, as they trotted in, their appearances began to flicker away as it showed two changelings in front of her.

As they were about to channel their spells and try to capture her though, that was when Philomena’s prayers of help were answered. “On your left, Philomena.”

In an instant, the glass shattered on her left hand side as her caretaker, Ember, crashed into the room. Flames at the ready as the mancer glared at both changelings.

“W-what the hive?! W-who’s that-?”

“Who cares! Get her-!!”

Before either of the changelings could react, Ember struck first. With a motion of her hands, the mancer unleashed a blast of flame that repelled the first changeling’s best attempts to cast any spells at her. Then, she sweeped the legs on the first changeling before grabbing its head and slamming it into the ground.

“Tarsus!!” the second changeling, Maxilla, shouted. Shocked by the recent turn of events as they were shaking in fear. When Ember looked to them, the changeling thought that she was going to kill them. Out of desperation, it began to plead, “P-Please, d-don’t hurt me! I-I’ll do anything!!”

For a moment, Ember paused. Looking down on the drone before turning to Philomena for a brief moment, “Philomena, are you alright?”

“Y-yeah, just… processing,” the phoenix telepathically told her.

“Do you know any particular reason why changelings would be in Canterlot?” Ember then asked.

The phoenix shook her head as she looked back towards the mancer, “N-no, but I heard those two talk about a plan of some kind. That and how this changeling might be starving. It probably might explain why it didn’t have the strength to fight back.”

“If that’s the case,” Ember then turned towards the changeling, before looking back at the changeling, “Listen… I’m not one for trying to force answers out of people. My friend here told me that you were starving, so… why don’t we make a deal?” With it, she extended her right forearm to the changeling and held it to them. A move that caught the changeling by surprise, “I’ll let you feed from me… in exchange for telling me what you know. The more that you share, the more that you get.”

The changeling was hesitant and scared at first. It looked around the room, then back towards Ember before cautiously putting its fangs to her arm. Contrary to popular belief, Changelings didn’t need to bite a subject in order to feed. Their fangs just simply needed to touch whatever subject they were feeding off of. Ember watched as the fangs began to glow a light green and the color in the changeling’s eyes began to return.

When the mancer moved her arm away, that was when they began to tell Ember everything. The Queen of the Changelings, Chrysalis, had put a nefarious plan in motion to take over Equestria. Yet, instead of invading Equestria through brute force, their plan was done under the cover of night. Swarms of Changelings were sent to different cities to kidnap every important pony that could potentially ruin their plans, with this swarm in particular capturing Princess Celestia and Luna. From the queen’s perspective, if the princesses and the elements were already captured, then she already won and nothing could hope to stand against her and ruin her plans.

“So that’s why you’re all here…” Ember grit her teeth, before letting the changeling feed off of her again, “Is that everything?”

“W-what?”

“Is that everything?” the mancer repeated herself, “Remember, I’m letting you feed off of me on the premise that you tell me everything that you know. Are there any details that you’re leaving out?”

“The other one mentioned something about there being others in the caves underneath the city,” Philomena added, “Maybe you should ask about that?”

Hearing the suggestion from the phoenix, the pyromancer proceeded to ask just that, “My friend here told me that there were others in the caves below. Would you happen to know something about that?”

“T-They were standing guard in the t-throne room,” the drone replied, “Not a pony, but still a guard. T-Tarsus told us to knock them out and t-throw them in the caves so they couldn’t sound a-any alarms.”

That only made Ember think of one possibility, even though it was one that really made her skin crawl. “Okay, I think that’s everything I need.” Though, it was as she was about to leave that she felt the drone grab hold of her leg.

“P-please don’t leave me here… I-if anybuggy finds out that I told you, I-I’ll have no place to go… The hive will see me as a t-traitor,” the changeling begged, fear in her eyes as she looked back at the pyromancer, “I-I have a sister back home. S-she’s too young to be a fighter, so I v-volunteered in her place. I can’t just leave her behind.”

For a moment, Ember stopped. The way that she was acting almost reminded her of Amaryllis when the mancer first bet her. She looked towards Philomena for a brief moment, before looking at the drone as she got down on one knee, “What’s your name?”

“M-Maxilla.”

“Maxilla, I’m going to need you to do something for me alright?” Ember said, before she had a burning feather form in her hand, “I want you to take this feather to someone I know. They’re right now at Sweet Apple Acres, just south of Canterlot and their name is Amaryllis. If you can be able to tell her everything that you just told me, then I’ll make sure that they’re safe.”

“Y-You will do that?” the drone asked, staring at her in disbelief.

“Absolutely,” she promised, “All I need to know is their name.”

“Are you sure that was a good idea?” Philomena asked as both the phoenix and her caretaker began to make their way through the caverns that were under Canterlot Castle. The phoenix was perched on Ember’s shoulder while she was carefully making her way throughout the underground passage. They were certain that no one was following them, but the two of them were talking by telepathy on the off chance that there were any changelings that were on patrol down here, “I mean, for all we know, she could’ve been lying.”

“I highly doubt that,” the mancer retorted, “Amaryllis taught me a few things about her kind over the years, including how you can tell when a changeling is lying. Plus, out of all possible emotions, there are some that you can’t just simply fake. Maxilla feared for her life and did not hesitate to tell me what was going on. Any other drone would probably refuse out of loyalty to Chrysalis. That’s why I trust her. I just hope that she can reach Ama in time.”

“When I heard her and Tarsus talking earlier, it sounded like they were waiting to hear back from the Swarm in Ponyville. So if that’s the case, then there’s hope that we can be able to warn them.”

“It’s not just that though. If this queen is smart, then she would know about Maeve and the others and have drones try to capture them too. Amaryllis, Big Mac… Caesar… practically anyone that has been to the orchard or has some kind of ‘special gift’ might be a target too because she sees us as a threat to her plans. I just hope that it’s not too late.”

As the two of them continued to work their way through the caves, they passed through many crystals as well as what looked to be an underground rail system that was broken apart. Philomena said that a long time ago, there was a proposal in Canterlot for having miners come down to extract the crystals that were in here, but the project was cancelled on safety grounds after a cave in destroyed most of the tracks that were already built. Remnants of mining equipment were still scattered everywhere as they ventured deeper into the darkened hollow.

Though, it was as they were further in that both of them heard something. A voice. “O-oh, my word… this is… rather concerning.”

“Oh no,” Ember thought to herself. She heard that voice before and knew who it belonged to. Yet, she didn’t want to think about the possibilities as to why she was hearing it now of all times-. “Please don’t tell me it’s who I think it is.”

“What do you mean-?”

“Mmm yes,” another voice spoke up shortly afterwards, “This is quite the predicament that we found ourselves in. If our lord found out about this, she would be most displeased.”

“No, seriously. What exactly do you mean, Ember-?”

“B-Brothers, w-what happened? W-why do my limbs and tail feel so tight and constrictive?! My muscles burn in agony when I try to stretch them out.”

Now felt like the time for Ember to actually see who was there as she walked around the corner. Stuck in a clearing were the three custodes that she had met in the Dragon Lands; Sear, Simmer and Sizzle. They were in the same attire as before, although it looked as if they had sustained some scratches and injuries to their bodies as they were trying to make sense of everything.

“Oh great, it is them.”

“Uh, who exactly are they?” Philomena asked.

“They’re the personal custodes of the dragon lord, Sear, Simmer and Sizzle. I had the… unfortunate privilege of meeting them when I went to visit Torch. The three of them are rather devoted to their jobs. It honestly creeps me out.”

“Is that why they’re… dressed like that? Shouldn’t they wear something… bulkier?”

“Apparently they were able to convince the dragon lord before Torch that they would be more capable of doing their duties like this… Honestly, I rather not even think about it-”

“Mmm, right,” Simmer now muttered at Sizzle’s own debacle, “Though, I must ask. Do either one of you remember what happened before we ended up here?”

“To be honest, the last thing I remembered was those ponies in the royal guard demanded for us to leave immediately and our presence was unwelcomed. Next thing I know, I felt something hit my head and then we found ourselves here,” Sear now spoke up, “Rrgh, we were welcomed here by the princess with open hooves and then her guards treated us like this?! Surely this is the work of that nephew of hers.”

“So disrespectful and BRUTAL at that,” Sizzle now took a turn to speak, “Why, I have half the nerve to bolster my way up there, POUND on the doors of the castle and file a seething complaint with whoever is in charge! Because I have swallowed just as much as I can take from that stubborn bratty prince-!”

Now felt like a better time than any to make her presence known as deep breath let out a deep breath, “Uh, phrasing?”

Immediately, all three dragons turned towards Ember and Philomena. They were caught off guard at first, but after a few seconds, Sear was the first one to speak. “Well, isn’t this surprising. Out of all the creatures in the world that could find us, I honestly did not expect for you to find us down here, ally of Torch?”

“Just Ember is fine,” the mancer told the dragon, “More importantly, what are you three doing here? Shouldn’t you be… I don’t know, assisting the dragon lord?”

“Mhm yes, well that is why we were in Canterlot,” Simmer now spoke up, “You see, we were tasked with sending a message to the princess’ here to help schedule the next diplomatic meeting. Yet, while we were waiting in the grand hall, some rude stallions demanded for us to leave immediately.”

“We tried assuring the stallions that we did not mean any harm, but that didn’t even convince them in the slightest!” Sizzle responded afterwards.

“The next thing we know, all three of us were knocked unconscious and found ourselves in this place. If this is the conduct that the guards take towards foreign visitors, then I must say that it is out of line and entirely inappropriate.”

“Oh, the irony,” Philomena said in response to Sear’s comment as all three of the custodes looked back towards the three of them.

“I can assure you, that’s not how they treat visitors. If anything, what’s going on right now is much more of a problem,” the pyromancer began to explain as she looked back at them, “Before I continue though, let me ask you three a question. Are you familiar with Changelings at all?”

All three of the dragons looked back at one another, before Simmer cleared his throat, “Mmm, not exactly. I mean, we have heard rumors and stories about them, but have never actually encountered any. The only creatures that I am most familiar with are the ones back in the dragon lands as well as ponykind.”

“Some of the rumors that we heard were the most disturbing though,” Sizzle interjected so he could add to the conversation, “Them being able to transform into any creature, feeding off of love and emotions! Eugh! The thought of any of these rumors being true is just sickening.”

“They also are not exactly the most friendly of creatures from what we’ve heard,” Sear now spoke up, “Based on what we’ve heard, it's almost as if society has labeled them as nothing more than parasites. Though, more to the point, how exactly does this relate to our current situation?”

Ember let out a deep breath as she looked back at all three of the custodes, “How about I bring the three of you up to speed while we find a way out of these caves? Because…” the mancer paused, before letting out a deep groan as she continued to speak, “To put this in a way that you three would understand, if what’s going on right now blows out of proportion, then we are screwed. Literally and figuratively. Considering that the Dragon Lands and Equestria are rekindling their diplomatic relationship, I think you three would not want anything to interfere with that, would you agree?”

“Mhm indeed,” Simmer nodded in response as the dragon looked to his companions, “When you put it that way, our lord would most certainly not want that.”

“I can agree with that,” Sear now replied as the mancer and the three dragon began to start walking. “Now, what exactly is going on out there?”

With that, Ember began to explain everything to the trio from the beginning. Not just everything that she had encountered within the last hour, but also important background information that they would more than likely not know about. Information such as Queen Chrysalis, the events of the Canterlot Wedding and her plans for revenge. The mancer also informed them that she was capturing anypony that would be a considerable threat and can foil her plans, while also suggesting that the reason why they were thrown into the caves was because of their meeting with the princesses. Not the meeting itself, but to remove any potential witnesses.

Of course, unlike talking to someone like Amaryllis or Torch, the three dragons took a lot more time in order to try and process the information. Mainly, because Ember had to explain it to them piece by piece after Simmer told her that Sear and Sizzle were known to frequently ask questions. So, she wanted to make sure that everything was explained thoroughly and that nothing was left out. After all, if it came to the point where the only thing standing between Chrysalis and all of Equestria was them, they needed to at least know what was going on.

After they made their way out of the caves, the three dragons decided that it would be better for them to head back to the dragon lands to report everything to their lord. At first, Ember thought that this was a bad idea because the last thing that she would’ve wanted was for them to drag another country into this mess. Though, strangely enough, Sear made one valid point. If they went back, then they could have the dragon lord make sure that no creature from the dragon lands would get themselves wrapped up in this mess. Not to mention that if they were gone too long, she would send some other dragons to try and find them.

Of course, even though Ember herself did not like it, it was Philomena that convinced her to go through with it. The last thing that they wanted was for another nation to send help for a crisis that very few creatures actually knew about.

Though, after they left, the first thing that Ember did was immediately race over to Sweet Apple Acres. She hoped that Maxilla was able to reach Amaryllis in time, but upon reaching the orchard, the only two ponies that she was able to find were Apple Bloom and Granny Smith. No sign of Amaryllis, Applejack, Big Mac or Maeve anywhere.

It got even stranger when she had Philomena scout out Ponyville from the air. There were no signs of Applejack or her friends anywhere in town or staying at somepony’s house for a sleepover. Even Zecora was still in her hut and sound asleep while Caesar was resting. All of this made Ember uneasy.

“Philomena, is there anywhere else we should look? Any place at all?” Ember asked, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

“We still have yet to search inside Twilight’s castle. It’s a long shot, but surely somepony else might be inside. We can’t be the only ones who know about what’s going on.”

The phoenix was right. Someone else should’ve realized that something was wrong. Quickly, she hurried to Twilight’s castle, not even bothering to knock as she flew in from the castle balcony and made her way down to the main floor. Upon landing on solid ground, the mancer found herself in an empty room. Several items were scattered all over the room as Ember began to look around. There appeared to be signs of a struggle, but she couldn’t make out what exactly happened here.

“Ember, I can feel their presence of a few creatures in the castle,”

“How many?” She asked, not even choosing to ask mentally.

“Three,” the phoenix told her, “Two of them are hiding, but the last one… is behind you-”

The second that she turned around, the mancer found herself looking at none other than Amaryllis, who was holding the feather that Ember had given Maxilla earlier. For a moment, things were tense… yet, it was Amaryllis that made the first move as she wrapped her arms around Ember. Hugging her as she let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh dear stars, I was getting worried,” Amaryllis let out a sigh of relief as Ember noticed a tear coming down her face, “I’m glad that you had that drone reach me… otherwise… well, I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if she was too late.”

“I’m just glad you’re safe,” Ember told her back, before looking around a bit, “Wait… Amaryllis… Where’s Maeve?”

That had the changeling let out a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes again. “I tried to stop her, but she went after the changelings that captured Big Mac. She… didn’t come back.”

That was devastating for Ember to process. Chrysalis had done more than simply kidnapped those that would ruin her plans. The queen had gone after those that she saw as her family. She had crossed a line.

“Ember?” she heard the changeling now ask, “What are we going to do?”

“The only thing we can do,” She explained, “Get them back. Yet… this is something that we can’t be able to do alone. We need a group. One that knows what’s going on.”

After she said that, both of them heard what sounded like hoofsteps as Ember turned around and held a ball of flame in her hands, “Who’s there?”

At first, there was silence… followed by a silver shimmer near the window as they could now see two unicorns. The first one had a purple mane with an aquamarine highlight and heliotrope fur with a starburst cutie mark, while the second was an azure unicorn with a pale blue mane and silver stripes with the cutie mark of a wand. “W-who are you?” the first one asked, “A-Are you with the changelings?”

“If you mean the ones that were wandering around earlier, I knocked them out and threw them into a timberwolf den in the Everfree,” Amaryllis responded, followed by a look from Ember that could be best summarized as ‘explain yourself, please’, “I… was still angry that they took Maeve and needed to let my aggression out on something.”

“Well, that’s one way to do so I guess.”

Ember just let out a breath as she looked back at the unicorns. “To answer your question, no. My name is Ember Valkyr,” she introduced herself, before motioning to Amaryllis and Philomena, “This is my wife, Amaryllis and Philomena.”

At the mention of her name, they noticed the eyes of the first unicorn widen, “O-oh my gosh, y-you’re the one Twilight told me about! The caretaker of Philomena,” she let out a sigh of relief, before clearing her throat, “Oh, sorry. I-I’m Starlight Glimmer, Twilight’s student. This is my friend, Trixie.”

“Would it be safe to say that you two have an understanding of what’s going on?” Ember now asked

“More or less,” Trixie spoke next, “Trixie was woken up by her friend, saying that Princess Luna had warned her of this. Yet, when we came here, we found that everypony inside were actually changelings.”

“We came back, thinking that they might have left something behind as to where they had taken everypony,” Starlight added on, “Yet, when we came back, we found you two.”

“Well, at least that’s someone,” Ember told them, “Canterlot is already crawling with changelings and both Celestia and Luna are gone. I convinced one of their drones to tell me what was going on-”

“Wait,” Trixie interjected, “What do you mean by ‘convince’?”

“I offered a starving drone a chance to feed in exchange for them telling me what was going on. That’s how Amaryllis was warned of what was happening,” the mancer explained, “Anyways. Maxilla, the drone, told me that Chrysalis was putting her plan of taking over Equestria in motion. Yet, instead of brute force, she’s taking a different approach by capturing anypony that could potentially foil her plans.”

“W-we heard Chrysalis only mention Celestia, Luna, Twilight and the others though,” Starlight now spoke up, “Maybe Cadence is still safe? We can try to contact the Crystal Empire and-”

“That won’t work.”

All four of them now turned towards the other end of the room as they watched a changeling drone walk in. Trixie shrieked at the sight, but Starlight seemed to recognize who it was. “Thorax!”

“Huh… so he’s Thorax,” Amaryllis said as she looked at the drone, “He… definitely seems different.”

For a moment, Ember watched as Starlight was trying to see if Thorax was really who he said that he was or if he was a changeling pretending to be. Though, him doing an almost identical impression of Twilight seemed to be all that she needed in order to be convinced. Yet, Trixie herself was still a bit scared at the sight of him. The changeling told them that Chrysalis’ swarm had gotten Cadence, Shining Heart, their daughter Flurry Heart and even the Crystaller Sunburst. He was sent to get help from Twilight, only to find out that he was too late.

Though, it was as Thorax looked to Amaryllis that he was thrown off guard. Not just because of seeing another changeling, but because of who it was. “N-no way… You’re… the exiled sister. Amaryllis.”

“Huh… never heard that name in a long time,” Amaryllis looked back to Thorax now as she smiled, “It’s alright. I don’t bite~”

“Ama, be nice,” Ember told her as she walked over to the table in the center of the room.

“Exiled… sister?” Starlight asked.

“It’s a long story,” Amaryllis answered quickly, “And one that we don’t have time for. If we’re going to stop Chrysalis, then we need to hurry and figure out what to do.”

“What can we do?” Trixie then asked, “Everypony we know with powerful magic is gone-”

It was just as she said those words that Ember felt a shift in the air as she looked up. Everyone else then looked up as well, only to see Discord from up top like he was a relaxing cat, “You know, I personally would feel rather offended that you decided to have a conversation about powerful magic and forget to include me,” the draconequus added, before snapping his talons as he began to drink what looked to be a chocolate milkshake, “But I’m more curious about the sudden council of mostly secondary characters. Where are Twilight and the girls-?”

“Taken,” Ember abruptly interjected, folding her arms, “By Chrysalis no less.”

In that brief second, Discord dropped his milkshake as it exploded in a cloud of pink smoke, before dropping from the chandelier and looking at Ember. “They… took Fluttershy?”

“Yes,” the mancer simply answered, “Along with the Princess and members of my family.”

With a menacing look on his face, Discord only asked one question. “Where?”

“The Changeling Kingdom,” Amaryllis said, “Knowing her, that’s the only likely place where she would take them.”

“B-but we don’t even know where that is,” Trixie spoke up, “How-?”

“Let me,” Discord immediately interjected.

“Wait, don’t-!”

With a sudden snap of his talons, everyone found them in a much different location. Instead of standing on a crystalline floor, they were now on solid ground with darkened trees everywhere. Even Philomena was trying to wrap her head around what just happened as she covered her face with her wings.

Though, Discord was more confused by something else. “Huh… that’s strange. I was trying to bring us to Fluttershy, but I don’t see her anywhere.”

“This was what I was afraid of,” Amaryllis groaned, “It must mean that she still has that old throne.”

“Old… throne?” Starlight asked.

“Chrysalis’ throne is made of an ancient dark stone that drains the magic of anything that isn’t a changeling,” Thorax now took a turn to speak, “It goes as far as the border of the kingdom. Meaning that if anyone other than a changeling goes in…”

“You’ll be dried up,” Ember said, just before looking out into the distance as she saw the castle of the changelings, “Well… Guess there’s no point in turning back now.”

Now, the mancer could only hope that her family and friends were okay. Nothing was going to keep her away from them… and if Chrysalis was going to try and stop her, she had another thing coming.

End Chapter 21

22- And Back Again

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- And Back Again

It had only been a short amount of time since they arrived, but to Starlight Glimmer, her head felt like it was spinning all over the place. Not just because of what had happened, but because of who was here. Everyone else she knew quite well, but there were two creatures that were a mystery to her. First, there was Ember, the caretaker of Philomena. She was someone that her mentor Twilight only told her about briefly, but what she knew was that she was able to control something that was not like magic at all. Secondly, there was Amaryllis, the exiled sister. She didn’t explain much about why she was referred to that, but the way that Thorax acted when he saw Amaryllis was enough to send a small chill down her spine.

Right now though, what they knew was simple. Queen Chrysalis had enacted her plan to take revenge against Equestria after the Canterlot Wedding four years ago. Yet, instead of a full frontal invasion into the Kingdom of Equestria, the queen took a different approach. She had her drones kidnap and assume the identities of the most well known figures in Equestria that could possibly stop her. The Elements of Harmony, the Princesses, Sunburst… Even Spike and Shining Armor were captured and taken to the Changeling Kingdom.

If that was not troubling enough, then there was what made the idea of a rescue attempt far more difficult. According to Amaryllis, the throne that Chrysalis sat upon was made from an ancient dark stone that would drain the magic of anything that wasn’t a changeling. Meaning that if they did attempt a rescue, they would not be able to use their magic to defend themselves in case they were attacked. They were still trying to think of a plan, but the more that the unicorn thought about it, the more that Starlight became nervous.

“Hey,” the voice of the mancer caught her by surprise as Starlight turned to see Ember standing next to her, “Are you alright? You seem a bit… distracted.”

“Y-yeah… just a bit nervous is all,” the unicorn answered honestly, “I mean… we don’t know what will wait for us when we go inside.”

Ember herself chuckled in response as she looked back at her, “Fear is something we all experience when you’re faced with uncertainty. You’re probably not the only one who’s feeling this way.”

Even though those words sounded calming, it did little to help Starlight focus. “I know, but… there’s another thing I fear too,” she admitted, “Everypony is counting on me to be a leader of sorts. But… I’m not sure what I can do-”

“Just have faith in yourself,” the mancer said to her as she placed a hand on Starlight’s shoulder, “If you can be able to do that, then you can overcome anything. Besides, you probably would come up with a better plan than any of us. I’m sure you got this.”

Starlight didn’t know why, but hearing those words happened to renew her confidence and gave her hope. There must’ve been a way for them in order to save everypony, for they were counting on them. A plan began to form in her mind as she went back to her companions, all while passing Amaryllis as the changeling looked back at Ember.

“Having some trouble?” Amaryllis told her.

“More like giving her a bit of ‘encouragement’,” the mancer replied back, “This will test her resolve, so she needed to have confidence in herself in order to succeed.”

“You plan on helping them?”

Ember smirked, before looking back at her wife, “I feel that helping her would only lead to not learning an important lesson,” she replied, “Plus, I have a different task I need to accomplish.”

“Oh?” Amaryllis now asked, a bit curious as to what the mancer was referring too, “What would that be?”

“Remember Maxila? The changeling I told you about?” Ember’s question was followed by a nod of the head, a sign for the mancer to continue, “Well, in exchange for seeking safety at Sweet Apple Acres, she wanted me to make sure that her sister was safe. Maxila gave me a name and I gave her my word that I was going to make sure that she was safe.”

“How noble of you,” the changeling said, before noticing Philomena fly over to them and sit on her shoulder.

“Hey, if it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have known about what Chrysalis was doing,” the pyromancer remarked as she turned to face the changeling, “I owe it to her in order to see this through, Ama. Though… that’s not the highest priority.”

“Oh really, now?” Amaryllis asked, “And what is the highest priority?

“That goes to finding Maeve and Mac. Chrysalis made this attempt to take over Equestria personal the moment she decided to go after those I call family,” the mancer explained. “Plus, if we rescue them, that means more people that can help us rescue the others that were taken captive.”

Amaryllis was going to say something else, though, the changeling remembered something. If Ember set herself up for a task, then she would always try to see it through. It was one of the traits that Amaryllis really liked about her after all. “If you say so. Though, there’s no way in Tartarus that I’m going to let you do this alone. So, let me help you.”

The mancer acknowledged what she said, before folding her arms as Ember looked back at her wife, “What do you suggest then, Ama? I’m all ears.”

“Well, I can’t exactly revert my current form to disguise myself as a drone,” Amaryllis replied, “Though, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any other forms I can change into.”

After taking some time to discuss amongst the group, Starlight was able to form a plan of action. The main obstacle that hindered their chances of a rescue attempt was Chrysalis’ throne, since that was the sole source that blocked off the magic of everyone else besides Thorax and Amaryllis. So the plan was that they needed to find their way inside the Changeling Kingdom, preferably without being detected by the queen’s drones, and destroy the throne so their magic could be restored. Once they did that, they could use their magic to get Twilight and the others out of where they were being kept and stop Chrysalis.

To make sure that their infiltration was successful though, they needed some eyes in the sky. Fortunately, that was where Philomena came in. With her being their eyes in the sky, the phoenix served as the group's lookout and was able to oversee any movements of patrols that were scattered around the area. Something that was rather important considering that they were trying to be as quiet as possible and also be aware of their surroundings.

Upon entering the tunnels that led to the changeling kingdom, they happen to realize something else that was going to make their rescue attempts harder. The layout of the kingdom itself was constantly shifting and changing with every passing moment, with Thorax going further to say that only changelings themselves can be able to navigate through the kingdom without getting lost.

Yet, even though that was something Ember knew already, she found herself getting blindsided. While she was checking an archway to determine farther ahead to see if it was where they needed to go, a wall from the hive emerged from behind her and blocked her off from the rest of the team. “Ember!” Starlight spoke up in panic from the other side of the wall, “C-can you hear me?”

“I’m fine, Starlight” the mancer assured the unicorn, “Stick together with everyone else.”

“B-but-”

“Starlight, go,” Ember told her, sounding more as if she was giving an order instead of a suggestion “I’ll try to find my way back to you. Just focus on the task at hand.”

It didn’t take long for her to hear the sounds of running hooves as Ember heard Starlight go back to the others. Of course, even though the mancer herself did not expect for this to happen, this did work out in her favor. She would be able to cover more ground on her own than if the mancer was still with the others. Though, before getting started, there was one thing that she needed to test.

Calmly, she closed her eyes and snapped her finger. When Ember began to open them, a small flame was burning from the tip of her right index finger. It was a site that made her smirk, for that meant that she can still use her powers since it did not rely on magic like Starlight and the others. “This is going to be helpful.”

“It seems like Chrysalis didn’t take it upon herself to improve the fortifications on this place since the last time we were here,” she now heard a familiar voice and looked down by her side. Next to Ember was a red colored fox with a white underbelly and a shade of pink on their eyes, a sight that was familiar to the mancer, “You would think that she would try to have something in place to not make it look so easy to get in here.”

“The impression I was given was that she’s overconfident,” she replied back, before lowering herself to the ground, “Also, may I ask, why did you turn into a fox of all things, Ama?”

“Why else?” she said, “According to what I know, they’re rather agile, good trackers and can be able to get into places no other creature can be able to reach. Wouldn’t you think that’s an important skill to have, considering our situation?”

“Well, yeah… though, how do you plan on even tracking them?”

“Check your back pocket.” Shortly after the fox said that, Ember moved her hand to feel something in her back right pocket. As she pulled it out, the mancer found herself holding onto a navy blue strip of cloth. Yet, this was not any normal piece of cloth as she began to realize what it was.

“Ama, where did you get this?”

“Remember when I told you that Maeve didn’t come back earlier when she went after those who captured Mac?” the fox asked her, leading to Ember nodding her head as she continued, “Well, the only thing that I could find was a torn piece of her coat, which I placed in your back pocket when you and I hugged each other at the castle where we met Starlight. The scent isn't too strong, but I think it’s enough for me to pick up a trail and find her.”

That was something that the mancer honestly did not expect to hear, but was honestly glad that she did. “Have I ever told you how much I loved you?”

“Many times, I’m sure,” Amaryllis said, “Though, why don’t we wait until we’re not in the middle of my sister’s lair of despair first?”

All Ember could do was smirk as she looked back at the fox and held the cloth down for them to sniff. “Fine by me. Lead the way.”

Throughout the entire hive, the changelings in every different section of the kingdom were in a state of alarm. After one of the patrols had spotted outsiders lurking around the inner sanctum, the entire hive was alert. Multiple drones were deployed to the queen’s chambers to protect some of the cocoons that contained prisoners that were captured by them. Though, in one other section of the Hive, there was one captive that was separate from the others. They hung from the ceiling, but were smaller in size as the changelings inside had not received word of what was happening.

One particular changeling though had their gaze locked onto them as the few changelings that were around her continued on with their tasks. She knew that she was not a fighter, but couldn’t help to wonder what was so important about the cocoon that hung above their heads. What was it that was inside? Why would they be so important?

“Hey,” the sound of another drone’s approaching her snapped her out of her trance, “Weren’t you supposed to be with Tarsus in Canterlot?”

She immediately shook her head, “N-no, m-my sister Maxila took my place, Coxa. W-why do you ask?”

“Well, somebuggy needs to help with the specimen up there,” the changeling named Coxa, replied back to her, “There’s a reason why the queen kept this one separate from the others that are in the throne room, so you’re going to help me run some… tests.”

Coxa himself was not an ordinary drone by any means. Unlike many of the others in the hive, who fought as warriors, Coxa was the closest thing that the hive had to a doctor and biologist. If a patrol happened to discover something that was unknown to the hive like a creature or a specific plant, they were told to bring it to him so he could study it. Mainly, to determine what it was and if it could be a potential source of love that could be harvested.

As the changeling looked up to the ceiling, their horn began to glow as they detached the cocoon from the ceiling and gently set it on the ground. With another spell, they began to undo the cocoon and pull out what was inside. The drone that was helping Coxa though was shocked by the creature inside. It was a bipedal being that looked rather young at first glance. As the jacket the creature had on was removed, the two changelings noticed what looked like some scars were on her arm.

“W-what is it?” she then asked, “Is… it dead?”

Coxa, after hearing this, shook their head, “No, it’s not. It’s just asleep. In this chamber, we can run these tests without having this creature wake up,” he assured the drone. Coxa was going to continue, but then stopped as he looked back at the changeling that was with him, “Is something wrong? You seem nervous.”

“S-sorry,” the changeling apologized, “It’s just… this thing, whatever it is, looks rather young. Like the age of a hatchling. It… doesn’t feel right.”

After hearing this, Coxa sighed, before looking back at the drone. Paying attention to the red transparent fin that was along its head as it spoke, “What is your name?”

“O-Ocellus,” the changeling replied.

“Well, Ocellus,” he addressed her, “It may not exactly seem like the right choice, but sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Our people don’t have the resources to keep finding love, especially to feed the young ones. Think of the amount of changelings in the hive that we could feed if we found out that we could extract love from this creature? There would be drones like Pharynx that would kill for something like that.”

“B-but… what if it… kills them?” She asked while Coxa was orchestrating some tests. He was looking at the muscles and bodily structure of the pink haired subject, conducting measurements and recording his findings. Though, as Ocellus’ question reached him, he just looked back at the changeling and let out a groan.

“Preferably, I wouldn’t want that to happen,” he said to her, “Losing a potentially valuable resource would devastate everybuggy here. Though, it wouldn’t be the first time that it’s happened.”

His response shocked Ocellus. This was the changeling in charge of taking care of every changeling in the hive, yet he sees any specimens in his care as just a resource? How heartless did you have to be in order to treat another being like that, let alone one that was still alive? Ocellus felt that she had to do something, but found it difficult to summon the courage needed to act. Especially since disobeying a changeling that works directly for the queen would be considered as an act of treason.

“Alright, there we go,” she heard Coxa say as the changeling set down what looked to be a series of sharp objects that Ocellus had not seen before. They were definitely not made by changelings, but what exactly were they used for? “Now then, let’s-”

Before Coxa could be able to do anything though, they heard a sound echo throughout the chamber they were in as they both looked towards the entranceway. “W-what was that?” Ocellus asked.

Her question though led to Coxa looking back at her and tilting his head in the direction of where they heard the noise. “Go take a look. It might not be nothing, but I would rather not take any chances.”

Ocellus could only nervously nod and swallow any fear that was down her throat as she slowly walked over to where they heard the noise. She tried to calm herself, but there was a feeling of anxiety that the drone couldn’t quite ignore. That something was hiding nearby… and was just waiting for her to come find it.

“Come on now. You can do this,” Ocellus thought to herself, trying to stay calm as she began to look for whatever was the source of the noise. Though, as she got closer to the archway, what the changeling found was nothing that she anticipated.

Hugging the wall of the chamber behind a boulder, there was a creature that looked to be that of a fox. One with red fur around its body and a white underbelly as well as pink eyes. It was strange, since there were no creatures like it in the forest that surrounded the changeling kingdom. Originally, Ocellus thought that the creature was somehow lost and that it possibly got separated from others like it in the forest.

That all changed though the moment that she looked away and nervously looked back towards Coxa, “What’s the matter? Is something bothering you?”

Immediately, Ocellus twitched, slowly looking back at the fox, “D-did you-?”

Before she could finish, the fox placed a paw on her mouth and shushed her, “Easy… don’t be afraid. I’m not going to harm you,” the beast spoke to her in a faint tone, “There’s someone we’re looking for in here. A small girl, on two legs, has a pink mane. Does that ring any bells?”

When she heard who the fox was talking about, Ocellus’ heart skipped a beat. They were… talking about Coxa’s patient. Did they know who she was? Were they here to rescue her? Numerous other questions began to circle around in the changeling’s brain as she tried to come up with an answer.

However, her train of thought came crashing to a halt much sooner than anticipated, “Ocellus, what’s going on over there? It shouldn’t take this long to find out what was causing some noise.”

Nervously, she pulled away from the fox and looked back towards the drone, quickly trying to come up with an answer. “S-sorry. Some rocks just fell from the ceiling and hit a boulder. N-nothing to worry about.”

Even though what Ocellus’ said was far from the truth, her words were enough in order to convince Coxa. “Just get back over here. I’m almost done with the tests, so come back and help me finish things up here.”

As Ocellus turned back around, she found that the fox had vanished from sight. Slowly, she began to trot back towards Coxa. Though, as she trotted back, something began to feel different. For some reason,she began to feel something akin to a warm summer breeze flow through the chamber.

She had to set these thoughts aside once the changeling had returned to the center of the room. “So… uh… w-what else do we need to do?” Ocellus nervously asked.

“Well, I gathered everything that I could on this specimen,” he replied, “It seems that the only thing we can do now is extract the love from it before it wakes.”

“W-wait,” she interjected, “I-I thought that a creature had to be awake before you can do something like that.” Ever since Ocellus was a hatchling, she was taught that feeding love from creatures would only work if the creature itself was awake. That creatures don’t show emotions while they are in a state of rest and therefore, their love cannot be taken that way.

“Normally, yes,” he told her, “Though, through my research, I’ve been working on a way where the subject doesn’t need to be awake in order for us to feed. They just need to be in a state of slumber, like this one.”

“H-have you done this before?” She asked, as Coxa looked over the specimen one more time.

“Only on the animals in the forest until now. This will be the first time testing it on another creature,” he told her. Though, before Coxa could proceed, the drone noticed something as they looked back at the changeling that was with him, “You don’t seem rather thrilled. Is something troubling you, Ocellus?”

At first, Ocellus found it difficult to form the words that she wanted to say. Though, she knew that staying silent would not help her. “T-this all feels… wrong. I-is there n-no other way we can-?”

“That’s enough,” Coxa snapped, his tone as sharp as a blade as he glared at Ocellus. His retort was enough to startle her and have her feel as if her soul jumped out of her shell, “There is no other way, Ocellus. That’s just how the world is. It’s not kind, peaceful or welcoming, it’s a place where only the strong survive! You’re either the hunter or the hunted! The only way to ensure the hive’s survival is to not show weakness and do what must be done!! Otherwise, you’ll end up dead like the rest.”

The room immediately fell silent seconds after his outburst. Though, that silence was replaced by the sound of laughter that could be heard throughout the chamber. Before either of the changelings can do anything to act, they heard a voice echo shortly afterwards, “Really now? Is that really the best excuse you can come up with to justify your actions? That is just really sickening.”

When she heard the voice, Ocellus froze. It was… the same voice she had heard from the fox. But, why was it speaking now? Where was it even?

Coxa though, did not take the voice lightly. His horn lit up with magic, eyes darting around the room as the drone grit his teeth. “Who’s there?! Show yourself!”

“Aw, struck a nerve, did I?” the voice chuckled, “Tell me, you are seen as a healer to the changeling kingdom, yet you’re completely fine with disposing of creatures under your care that don’t even offer something of use to you. Aren’t doctors supposed to do no harm or was that just something you ignored entirely?”

“What would you know about what our kind is going through?! About the choices I’ve had to make?” Coxa snapped, “You’re not even showing yourself, coward!”

“Hehe… really now? I am many things,” In that moment, Ocellus watched as the same fox from earlier appeared before them out of nowhere in front of Coxa as it began to start glowing. Within a matter of seconds, the room was filled with a bright flash of light, forcing Ocellus and Coxa to shield their eyes. When the glow began to fade, Ocellus gasped at what stood before them. It was a changeling, yet their appearance was much different than any other changeling in the Hive. Their body was white and had no holes along with a red mane and pink eyes, as well as being around the same height as Chrysalis, “Yet, I am not a coward.”

Ocellus only just watched in shock as she looked at Coxa. Not only was this changeling much different from any other in the hive, but the mere sight of her was enough to make the other changeling shiver in place. “W-what… are you?” He said, the magic around his horn glowing brighter now.

The white changeling did not answer at first, only simply looking to Ocellus with a caring glance. Yet, when she turned back to Coxa, those eyes immediately showed fury, “I am a changeling who sought out another way and found it,” she told him, “Now, I am only going to ask you this once. Step away from the girl and stand down, or else there will be consequences.”

Despite her warnings, Coxa refused to listen. In a moment of desperation, he fired a blast of magic at the changeling before casting a levitation spell as he grabbed the patient and pulled the creature towards him. The drone held his left foreleg around their neck, before putting one of his fangs on the edge of their neck. “Don’t come any closer,” he threatened, “If you do anything, this ‘girl’ gets it!”

Ocellus gasped in horror as she saw what was happening. Yet, the changeling in white just looked composed as they closed their eyes and let out a small breath. “Just when I thought that things could be resolved without violence. Though, it appears that you’re too devoted to your queen to think differently,” she retorted, “I did warn you that there will be consequences.”

“Are you crazy!? I have a hostage here and warned you not to come closer,” Coxa snapped, “What are you going to try and do? You can’t-”

“I’m not the one who’s going to do anything,” the changeling in white replied, opening her eyes and looking past the drone as she smirked, “Though, my partner is a different story.”

Moments Earlier

“Amaryllis, do you have some kind of plan?” Ember asked her partner as they looked out into the chamber from a ledge overlooking the whole place. After what felt almost like an hour, the two of them had finally found Maeve. However, she was asleep and on what appeared to be the changeling equivalent of an operating table, “Because if we don’t do anything now, that changeling won’t hesitate to use her as an experiment.”

Amaryllis herself scanned the room again, shortly before looking back to Ember, “I have a plan. Though, there are a couple things that need to be done in order for this to really work.”

The mancer just simply raised an eyebrow, puzzled by what she was saying, “What do you have in mind?”

“If this is going to work, then I’m going to need you to stay up here until I tell you,” she explained, “That drone down there… the younger one. It looks like they don’t want to be involved in what that other drone’s doing. However, if she sees you, she’ll surely be scared and warn the one closer to Maeve. So… I’m going to try and see if I can convince them to help us.”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

“If it doesn’t, then I’ll break my disguise. Use that as a distraction,” Amaryllis told her, “They’ll be so focused on what’s in front of them that they won’t notice anything behind them. Though, we need a signal of sorts. Something that can tell you when would be the right time to act.”

Only one thought emerged in Ember’s mind as she looked back at her wife, “So, a code word then?”

Amaryllis nodded, before looking out back into the chamber again. “Yes, we’ll need one. However, it has to be something specific. If it’s too obvious, then they’ll know that something is wrong and your cover might be broken.”

She was right about that. Though, there was one thought in Ember’s mind that sounded like an ideal option for a code name. “How about ‘My Partner’?”

“Isn’t that… well, I don’t mean to be rude, but doesn’t that seem a bit obvious Emmy?”

“If they’re focused on you, they wouldn’t even consider the fact that you’re not alone,” the mancer explained further, “When they do realize it, it’ll be too late for them. I know that it sounds risky… but if this will help us rescue my mom, then I’m willing to take the risk.”

At first, Amaryllis was surprised to hear that. Though, after a moment, the changeling couldn’t help but agree with her. “Alright then. I guess that will work. Now, let’s not delay any longer.”

With that, Amaryllis used her magic to change back into a fox and leaped her way down to the ground. From above, the mancer watched carefully as she was able to easily get the attention of the young drone that was there and just as quickly escape from sight. Though, as this played out, there were moments where Ember felt that she had to step in. Yet, she forced herself to ignore the need to break her cover, for it was too early to do so.

Though, there was one point in all of this that she thought everyone was rapidly going downhill. “Don’t come any closer! If you do, this ‘girl’ gets it!”

“Oh no,” Ember immediately thought, “Ama, come on!! If you don’t say it now, she’s a goner!”

Despite the urge to act, Amaryllis stayed calm and composed as she let out a small breath and closed her eyes, “Just when I thought that things could be resolved without violence. Though, it appears that you’re too devoted to your queen to think differently. I told you that there will be consequences.”

In Ember’s mind, that was a sign to get ready as she looked at the ground behind the changeling that was holding onto Maeve. The mancer was already thinking about what she was going to do the moment she heard the signal from Amaryllis. The only thing she had to do now was wait and not act on impulse.

“Are you crazy!? I have a hostage here and warned you not to come closer! What are you going to try and do? You can’t-”

“I’m not the one who’s going to do anything,” the changeling in white replied, opening her eyes and looking past the drone and towards Ember as she smirked, “Though, my partner is a different story.”

The moment she heard that, Ember bolted from the ledge and landed on the ground behind the changeling. Before the changeling was able to properly react, Ember grabbed the drone’s shoulder and forcefully turned him around. Shortly afterwards, the mancer struck the changeling in the face with a strong haymaker that broke his fangs and sent them crashing into the wall. Amaryllis herself used her magic to catch Maeve and prevent her head from hitting the ground as she lifted the rogue over to her.

“Is she going to be okay?” the mancer asked, worried that she and Amaryllis might have acted too late.

“She’ll be alright,” the changeling assured her, before casting a spell over Maeve’s body, “This should help wear off the sedatives inside the cocoon. Give it some time and-”

Yet, before Amaryllis could continue speaking, something happened to catch her attention. It was the young drone that did not want to take part in what the older one was doing. She looked scared, but still found it within herself to speak as they looked towards the mancer, “A-are you… a monster?”

Ember shook her head, before getting down on one knee to be at the same level as the drone. “No. I’m not a monster,” she assured her, “Don’t worry. No one will force you to do anything that you don’t want to do,” It was moments after the mancer said those words that she decided to ask her a question. “What’s your name?”

“O-ocellus.”

Ember blinked, looking back to Amaryllis for a brief second before turning back to the changeling, “You’re… Maxila’s sister?”

“Y-you know my sister?” Ocellus quickly retorted, “I-is she safe?!”

Ember gave her a reassuring smile as she looked back at the drone, “Yes she is. If anything, she was worried more about you.”

As soon as she heard that, the changeling’s attitude changed. Ocellus wasn’t scared, but relieved to hear the good news. Though, as Ember got off of the floor and looked towards the entry tunnel, she had a new question. This time though, it was for Amaryllis. “I-is what you said true? Is there… another way?”

The white changeling didn’t say anything at first, but took a moment in order to gather her thoughts. When she did, Amaryllis looked back towards Ocellus as she began to speak, “There is… though, it depends on whether or not you are open and willing to let go of everything you once knew. Though, it is something that will take some time.”

Ironically though, just as Amaryllis said that, Ember felt the ground shake as she saw what looked to be a bright light flash at the far end of the corridor. The walls of the hive were beginning to wither and crumble as the mancer watched. She had seen this kind of light before, but only once many years ago as the light drew closer to them, “Actually, I think that’s happening right now!”

Both changelings immediately looked back towards Ember as they began to see what she was referring too. Immediately, they all began to race through the tunnels and try to get out before the entire castle collapsed on their heads. Ember took it upon herself to carry Maeve and hold onto her coat while Amaryllis shapeshifted back into a fox and ran beside them. Ocellus herself did her best to try and keep up as pieces of the ceiling continued to collapse all around them.

Luckily, they were fortunate enough to break through and emerge from the castle before it was able to fully collapse. All around them were pieces of what used to be Chrysalis’ domain as the hive that was once there was no more. “Oh damn… I hope the others were able to make it out of there.”

“They probably were the first ones out,” Amaryllis added, “Whatever just happened, it came from where the throne room would be.”

“W-wait… others?” they heard Ocellus ask, confused by what the two of them were talking about.

“The two of us came here with some companions and we were here to rescue some friends,” Ember answered, looking up to the sky as she saw a welcoming sight. Philomena was flying over them, and not a moment too soon did the phoenix notice them.

“There you are! I was beginning to get worried up here,” Philomena said, “Are you alright?”

“For the most part. Maeve’s still knocked out, but she should be coming around any moment,” the mancer replied, “Do you happen to know where everypony else is? Amaryllis and I kind of got separated from the others while we were inside.”

“They’re right over here on the other side of the ravine,” the phoenix told her, “Though… can someone explain why almost every changeling over there is bright and colorful?”

That statement alone made the mancer paused for a brief moment, before looking over towards her wife as they followed Philomena. “Ama, you’re not going to believe this… but the changelings have changed.”

At first, Amaryllis was silent, before both of them looked back towards Ocellus. Unlike the drone they originally met, she was different too. Unlike their first encounter, she now had cyan eyes, a neck fin that was a shade of light amaranth like her wings and her chitin was a pale arctic blue. It didn’t even look like she had noticed the changes that have taken place at all.

“How many?”

That single question was answered the moment that they walked over the edge of the ravine in front of them and saw what was waiting for them. Numerous changelings of different colors stood in front of them, some even helping free the captive ponies that were in the cocoons. One massive one stood out from the rest with a pair of horns that almost looked like antlers, who was with Spike and Starlight. Ember also saw Applejack and Big Mac reunite, which made her overjoyed.

“I think it’s… all of them.”

Unfortunately, just as she said that, the sound of a high pitch screech ran out as the former queen emerged from the rubble.

“Except for her.”

Amaryllis let out a deep sigh, before they all returned to where everyone was waiting for them. As they were walking, Starlight looked to try and convince Chrysalis that she did not have to seek revenge. Though, it was as they met back up with Big Mac and Applejack that the queen smacked the hoof that the unicorn extended out in friendship. One last chance for her to cease her villany and it was met with defiance.

“There is no revenge that you can ever conceive of that will come close to what I-” the queen boasted, before her gaze met Ember as the queen’s eyes narrowed. “You…”

“Long time, ‘Chrysy’,” the mancer remarked. Something that caught everyone’s attention right away. Though, the former queen did not take those words rather kindly.

“You were the one that did this,” the changeling snapped, “Every since the day I first saw you all those years ago, I knew you were no good. Was taking her away not good enough for you!? Did you have to take away everything else too!?!”

“She did not take me away,” Amaryllis spoke, dismissing her transformation as she stood beside the mancer. For everypony who did not know her or only saw her in one of her forms, this was a shock to all of them. Especially when they started to hear the murmurs and chatter from the other changelings, “I chose to go with her. We tried to tell you before that this could our kind survive. That we didn’t have to steal love from other creatures anymore. Yet, your pride and your refusal to accept the truth has come back to bite you… sister.”

“Woah, slow down! Sister?!” Ember overheard Rainbow Dash blurt out. “Did I hear that right or do I have something in my ears?”

“She’s telling the truth, Dash,” Applejack was next to speak, “She told Mac and I everything, though the whole part about ‘sister’ is new to me.”

Chrysalis though was not backing down as she glared at the white changeling with fury in her eyes, “Amaryllis…”

“Accept the truth already,” her sister told her, “Our kind had suffered under your rule. Your failed invasion, shortages of love, children losing their parents. You may claim that sacrifices must be made for the greater good of our people, but all of those were preventable. If you would’ve just listened to me, things would have been different.”

“What do you know about the choices I’ve made?! I was only doing what I thought was best for us!! Following the example of the queen before me-”

“You mean the one you left to die?” Amaryllis’ words were sharp as a knife as a collective gasp could be heard from the rest of the changelings behind her. Even Chrysalis flinched when she heard that, “That’s right. I know what you did with Queen Elytra.You put your own loyal subjects in her guard and the night before she planned to go to Equestria to ask for aid to help our kind, you had your subjects kill her while she was sleeping. Then, when you were crowned, you told everybuggy in the kingdom that Elytra was murdered by assassins that served Princess Celestia. What do you have to say to that, sister?”

The former queen said nothing, gritting her teeth as she glared at her sister. Not only was every changeling shocked by these new revelations, but even the princesses of Equestria were stunned. They knew that Chrysalis was evil… but they did not think that she wanted to be in power so much that she would assassinate her predecessor.

Amaryllis though remained composed, briefly looking at Starlight Glimmer before stepping for it. “The way I see it, as noble as Starlight’s intentions are, your actions can’t be easily forgiven. No one will learn anything from the likes of you if you stayed here,” she told her, “Though, running away from the truth will not help you, sister. Only in admitting what you did wrong can you be redeemed for the actions you’ve committed-”

“There is no redemption for her.”

Immediately, Ember felt a chill run down her spine as she saw grass beginning to take form under Chrysalis’ hooves. She knew that voice anywhere, but of all possible times, why did it have to be now. With each passing second, the grass began to spread rapidly underneath as the ground began to shake. The mancer only had mere seconds to act as she looked towards her Amaryllis, “AMA, GET OUT OF THERE!!!”

The changeling in white only had seconds to act as the ground tore open underneath her sister. From the soil, a crimson maw that was in the shape of a flower swallowed her whole. The former queen tried to resist and crawl out with whatever strength she had left, but the sheer strength of the maw’s teeth was enough to cut through her and sever her hoof from her left foreleg.

“What the BUCK is that!?!”

“Ah don’t know, but this doesn’t look good,” Ember heard Applejack say to her friends, “Aunt Ember, come on! We’re going somewhere safe-”

However, the mancer did not listen to Applejack’s words. For she knew that no one would be safe if it were here. Instead, she chose to act on impulse. As the flower was descending back into the ground, she conjured a lash of flame as it grabbed hold of the bloom at the base. The pull she felt dragged her down towards the ground, forcing her to just hold on.

“Aunt Ember, what are ya doing-!?” Applejack’s words were the last thing she would hear as the mancer was dragged underground.

In the darkest corners of the Everfree, it waited. For too long, the queen of the changelings and the devoted subjects that followed her had broken the natural balance between life and death. Yet, for the longest of times, it could not act. For the queen cowered behind the dark throne inside her kingdom that robbed every creature of their magic. Something that would only protect her for so long.

Now… that safeguard was gone. It felt its destruction from here. It was the time for action now. To maintain the balance, the queen had to be removed permanently.

Though, it was as he felt the bloom burrow back that another presence could be felt. An all too familiar one. As the bloom broke through the ground, it saw them land and force the bloom to cough up the scarred and weakened queen. It was unmistakable. The appearance, the scarf, the fire in their eyes. No doubt, it was her.

It was the one whose rage led to his creation. His birth into the world. The one who embodies the phoenix. It had been centuries since they had last seen each other, but this… was an unexpected reunion.

“Hello, Mother.”

End Chapter 22

23- The Second Reunion

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Reunion

When she was released from her captive state, Applejack did not recall much of what had happened. All that she had remembered was that she had done her chores like any other day in the week as well as do her usual routine. Though, at some point she must’ve blacked out, because she never expected for her to wake up in the changeling kingdom of all places. Everypony else was here too, including her friends, her brother and even Aunt Ember.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have much time to ask about what happened, how everypony got here in the first place or why every one of the changelings were all brightly colored and one looked almost like a deer with antlers, for Chrysalis had emerged from under a pile of debris and she was furious. Her attention was mostly focused on Ember, for it appeared that she had a bone to pick with her.

“Um, girls?” she now heard Rainbow ask everypony, “Who’s that?”

As Applejack turned her head, the earth pony found herself looking at somepony that she didn’t anticipate. Amaryllis was there, but not hiding herself with a disguise. She was in her true form as the changeling trotted over to join the mancer by the fallen queen. “Well, ah’ll be… Never thought Amaryllis would be here too.”

“W-wait a moment,” she heard Rarity stutter now, “She’s… Amaryllis?! B-but when she came to the b-boutique, s-she was-”

“Sugarcube, ah’m gonna have to stop ya right there,” the earth pony interjected as she turned to look back at the unicorn, “The whole thing is a bit of a long story and this is not exactly the right place to talk about everything-”

“…your refusal to accept the truth has come back to bite you… sister.”

That statement alone was enough for everypony, but none more so than her friends. Especially Rainbow Dash, who was quick to blurt out the first thought that came to her mind, “Woah, slow down! Sister?! Did I hear that right or do I have something in my ears?”

“She’s telling the truth, Dash,” Applejack was quick to answer to try and prevent her friend from blowing things out of proportion, “She told Mac and I everything, though the whole part about ‘sister’ is new to me.”

“T-then what exactly did she tell you?” Fluttershy now asked, her friends now looking at both her and her brother this time.

“Yeah, AJ! What did she say!? Come on, the suspense is killing me!!” Pinkie Pie replied next, who looked to be having a bit of trouble trying to keep herself calm and relaxed. Though, before Applejack had the chance to say anything, her brother decided to take the initiative.

“What she told us was that Ember showed Amaryllis that changelings did not have to steal love from others in order to survive. However, when she tried to share this to the other changelings, they made her an outcast and sent her away,” Big Mac now took a turn to speak in his sisters place, “We know that they share a very close bond with one another, considering they’re-”

“There is no redemption for her.”

Applejack had not heard that voice before, but whatever it was, it had her brother immediately stop speaking. His eyes were wide in fear as the fur on the back of his neck began to stand up, before slowly turning his head back to where Ember and Amaryllis were. The grass on the surface was spreading rapidly as the ground was shaking underneath their hooves, “AJ… did you hear that-?”

“AMA, GET OUT OF THERE!!!”

Just as both members of the Apple Family looked back towards the pyromancer and her partner, the ground had torn open underneath that of the weakened changeling queen. They could only watch in shock and horror as a crimson maw in the shape of a rose swallowed Chrysalis whole. Even though she tried to fight back and resist, the teeth of the beast that caught her was too strong as her front left foreleg was torn from her body and landed several feet near them. A sight that almost had Rarity and Fluttershy faint on the spot.

“What the BUCK is that!?!” Rainbow screamed as every creature was now backing away from the monster that suddenly appeared.

“Ah don’t know, but this doesn’t look good,” Applejack told her, before looking back to Ember. The only one who had not moved since the plant-like beast appeared. She didn’t know if she was frozen in fear or something else, but one thing was for sure. It wasn’t safe here and they needed to leave, “Aunt Ember, come on! We’re going somewhere safe-”

The mancer did run. Though, instead of running away from the monster, she ran towards it. Her eyes were burning with rage as she conjured a lash of flame from her hands and grabbed hold of the plant at the base before being dragged underground.

“Aunt Ember, what are ya doing-!?” she screamed, but her words fell on deaf ears as silence fell everywhere. In an impulsive rush, Applejack galloped towards the hole, only to find nothing but an empty pit, “Ember? EMBER!!!”

“Applejack, come back!” the earth pony heard Twilight speak, concerned for her safety on the off chance that the same monster came back as the alicorn rushed to her friend's side, “Don’t do anything reckless! There’s no telling what-”

“Twilight, my aunt just got dragged by a monster that ate Chrysalis from out of nowhere,” Applejack snapped back, “No way in Tartarus am ah leaving her out there! Just what the hay was that even?!”

“I… don’t know,” the alicorn honestly admitted to her, “I had not even seen something like that before, much less speak. But whatever it was, it was terrifying given how ruthless it was.”

Twilight tried to reassure her friend that it would’ve been safer for them to go back with the others, but Applejack herself was not that easy to convince. It wasn’t until the princess of friendship left her alone the earth pony happened to notice Discord walking over to the giant hole in the ground. He wore a dark colored coat now and had a lollipop in his mouth as he groaned at the torn earth, “Really? Now is when he decides to come out of the shadows? Not even being silent, just raze the whole ground and scare the fur off of any fillies that are watching. Geez.”

Slowly, Applejack looked back at the draconequus. Though, it was Applejack that was the first to speak, “Care to explain what ya mean, Discord? Cause ah’m not in the mood for any riddles,” As Discord looked back, Applejack began to glare directly at him, “Who is he?”

“Let me try to answer your question… with another question,” the spirit of chaos replied, “Have you ever heard of the Heart of the Everfree?”

“What the hay’s that? Some kind of thing from the castle or something?” Applejack honestly asked. She had not heard of this ‘heart’ until now, but given that Everfree was in the same sentence, the first thought that came to her mind was that it was some kind of item back at the castle of two sisters.

“Oh, it’s more that just a thing, my little pony,” Discord told her, before tossing the lollipop stick and having it explode into dust, “The Heart of the Everfree is the living beating soul of the forest… and like I told your brother and your friend Twilight, they have a bone to pick with Ember.”

Throughout the years, it had waited patiently. Kept to itself inside the forest that was its domain as time passed by like the seasons. Though, when it comes to those that defile the rules of nature and serve as a threat to the balance, the heart takes it upon themselves to eliminate it before it festers. Kill it at the source before the malfeasance of their intentions spreads like a disease. One that corrupts the very ideal balance that is the circle of life.

The queen of the changelings was no exception to this. The acts that she had committed against the creatures of Equestria as well as her own kind did not go unnoticed. However, she cowered behind a source of protection that could not be broken by any means. It stole the magic of those who dared entered inside and forced any intruders to navigate a maze of uncertainty. No creature that dared entered would be the same if they came out.

That was… until now. The destruction of the safeguards and the castle that the queen called her home was felt all across the Everfree, and to its heart, served as a call to action. The response was swift and precise, not letting even a moment go to waste. It had patiently waited for this opportunity and was not going to let this chance slip away.

Though, much to the hearts surprise, its actions led to an unexpected reunion.

When she had resurfaced back on solid ground, Ember found herself deep within the darken confines of the Everfree Forest. There were no other creatures running about and the leaves from the trees blocked out the light from the sun. On the ground was the carnivorous rose, dead on the forest floor and forced to cough up the prey that it tried to devour. A former queen, weak and broken beyond measure.

As the queen struggled to regain its senses and opened her eyes, the first thing that she noticed was the missing foreleg that was severed from her body, before seeing the mancer. “Y-you-!”

Swiftly, Ember placed her hand over her mouth, “Listen to me very carefully,” she spoke sternly, her eyes burning with rage, “If you want to live, then be still and do not say anything. You understand?”

In the mind of the changeling, she had many questions echo in her mind. Why would someone that was close with her sister go as far as to save her? What was the monster that tried to kill her? Where were they right now? Yet, she did not have the chance to speak, for the carnivorous flower was dragged away through the darkened enclave as another being made its presence known

It was a darkened timberwolf and it was not like others that would roam the Everfree. It’s head and the body was the color of darkened moss with leaves all around its body while the front paws and what looked to be a spine of wood was along its back. It’s tail was the same carnivorous plant that attempted to devour the changeling and its darkened emerald eyes glowed. As if this wasn’t intimidating enough, there was one more detail that made the changeling stare in fear.

This one… could speak. “Hello, Mother.”

The mancer grit her teeth as she looked at the beast. “Don’t start that shit with me. Because you know damn well that’s not the truth.”

“Is it though?” the beast questioned, “It was from your anger centuries ago that I was born. Because of your fury, I exist… and as time went on, I learned what my purpose was. I am nature itself. The eternal circle of life and death is what I am and it is through my will that the balance is enforced. Your interference with this insect is upsetting the order that I must enforce.”

Ember did not keep her focus off of them for even a moment, her right hand forming a fist, “Being the embodiment of nature incarnate does not make you an executioner, Sylvanos. While it’s true that what you represent is inevitable to all living things, it is not your place to forcefully decide who lives and who dies. Even to those who might deserve it.”

“That’s rather bold of you to say,” Sylvanos growled, “Unlike you, I choose to erase pending threats before they have the chance to act. This queen’s existence is not only a sickness upon the Everfree, but has ignored the pleas of her own kind. Many of her own species had died prematurely because she forced them to starve for the sake of the hive, and that is not even including those that she had murdered herself.”

It was when the timberwolf said those words that the queen’s eyes widened in shock, “H-how-?”

That small comment had the beast's maw form a grin as it stared at her now, “Do you know what pain truly is? It’s more than just a flesh wound or a lost limb that you can never recover. For me, it's hearing the voices of all the souls who cry out in pain and agony before they return to the eternal circle. All the souls that couldn’t be saved. Even though you had that throne, I still heard the cries from there. Your hive was nothing more than a burial ground for the sins you committed against your species and no magic of yours can hide that from me.”

At first, Chrysalis did not notice anything. But as Sylvanos’ eyes began to glow, flowers that took the form of crimson roses sprouted from the ground underneath her that were attached to vines that rose up from the forest floor. As they bloomed, she expected for them to try and lash out at her with sharpened teeth. Though, that was not the torment that the former queen was about to receive.

That came in the form of the voices that echoed through her mind. The cries and suffering of her species buzzing in her brain like a swarm of hornets. Newborn nymphs crying out for her, only to have their pleas go unanswered. She closed her eyes and begged for the voices to stop, but they only grew louder and more intense with each passing moment as Chrysalis tried to cover her ears.

Yet, as soon as they had begun, the voices ceased. The smell of smoke was now felt on her nostrils as Chrysalis opened her eyes. Fire burned around Ember’s fingers as the vines turned to ash. The sounds died as the burned petals fell to the floor. “Going as far as using Wail Vines to prove your point? How despicable of you.”

Wail Vines were one of few plants that were native to the Everfree Forest. To the unknowing, they appeared as ordinary flowers that were on a vine. However, if one was too close to the plants when they bloomed, the plants will mimic any form of speech and proceed to drown out the thoughts of any creature nearby in a flurry of screams. If Ember had not intervened when she did, it was more than likely that Chrysalis’ ear drums would rupture and that she would go deaf within moments of being exposed.

“You may question my methods, but my resolve still remains,” the beast countered, “The more that you defend her, the more that you just delay the inevitable.”

The mancer just grit her teeth, the flames still burning in her hands as she stared down the timberwolf. Something about all of this was amiss. Even though this was the same Sylvanos that she knows, Ember could not shake off the feeling that there was a hidden meaning to the beast’s words. Another reason as to why it had chosen now of all times to re-emerge from deep within the Everfree and make its presence known to not just her, but to everyone that she knew. There had to be an explanation for Sylvanos’ actions, for nothing was making sense.

Yet, it wasn’t like the beast was just going to simply tell her. If anything, Ember knew that it would try to kill them first and tell them while they were bleeding out on the forest floor. Sylvanos was the kind of beast that would ferociously pursue its prey to the bitter end, while doing everything in their power to torment its victims. Let them cling onto whatever little hope they have before ripping it from them in front of their eyes.

For as long as they were in Sylvanos’ domain, there was no such thing as escape. “Very well, mother. Let’s see how long your defiance will last!!”

The pyromancer had little time to act as the beast aimed it’s tail towards them and fired off several seeds towards her and the changeling. Mid flight, the seeds began to change and transform into carnivorous flowers that were smaller than the one on Sylvanos’ tail. In a matter of seconds, Ember had to use her powers to push herself and Chrysalis away to gain some distance. All before channeling fire through an outstretched hand to set them ablaze as they burned to ash.

Of course, that wasn’t enough. She knew that this was only just the beginning. Yet, while she was fighting off the spawns of the forest that Sylvanos had created, a thought occurred to her. Ember knew that the beast was intent on killing Chrysalis, that was for certain. Though, based on how they were fighting, the pyromancer was given the impression that it was somehow testing her. Like it was trying to see if it could not only fight them off, but have no harm come to the changeling he was intent on finishing off.

Quickly thinking to herself, she conjured a burning blaze in her hands before throwing it down in a line in front of her. Within seconds, a giant wall of flames went up that burned brightly. Which provided the mancer an opportunity as she looked towards Chrysalis now, before picking up the changeling in her arms. Much to the former queen’s own surprise. “W-what are you-?”

Ember didn’t say anything, but instead began to run as she looked everywhere around her. The mancer needed a place to hide Chrysalis. Somewhere where Sylvanos won’t be able to easily find her. If she could be able to do that, then Ember could be able to handle the beast without having to worry about the changeling’s safety. For it would be next to impossible to try and fight Sylvanos while keeping her safe from harm at the same time.

Fortunately, she found what she was looking for. A small cave that was secluded from the rest of the forest. Before Ember could get Chrysalis off of her back, she conjured more flames and burned the ground inside thoroughly. Once it was done, she set the changeling down, but not before she had a question. “W-where are you going?! W-won’t that… thing c-come here?”

“No, they won’t,” the mancer answered this time, “Sylvanos can only sense us wherever there is life. Since the ground is more than torched, you’ll be hidden from him,” At first, the former queen let out a sigh of relief. That was, until Ember continued where she left off, “As long as you stay here though, you’ll be fine. Just do not come out until I get back. Understand?”

A small nod from Chrysalis was the only thing Ember needed to see before stepping back out into the forest that was Sylvanos’ domain. Now that the queen was out of their reach for the time being, she could fully focus her attention on the beast. With fire burning in her hands, Ember focused her life force and prepared herself. She knew that there was more to Sylvanos’ actions than they were letting on, but there was only method to know for sure.

That method being provocation, “For a being that only attacks when someone intrudes on their territory, this is going too far. Even for you, Sylvanos.”

“One would be a fool to think that my domain is just the Everfree,” she heard them reply as gentle winds blew past her, “I dwell wherever nature dwells.”

“Yet, do you really see it as your responsibility to interfere with the affairs of mortals?” Ember questioned, followed by avoiding another attack as blades that took on the form of leaves tried to cut through her skin and clothes.

“The actions that I take are ones that are necessary to preserve the balance. I seek to root out threats that can end everything that I work to uphold,” She heard again, before a set of jaws snapped from the floor as the beast rose from the ground. Yet, its words were what caught Ember off guard the most, “Unlike you, who has made no effort to stop the frozen soul that is your sworn enemy.”

That statement alone caught the mancer off guard as a few of the grass blades scraped her arms and face as Ember did her best to hold her ground, “You… know about Anivia?”

“Oh I know more than just that, mother,” the beast growled, “I know of the excedian that you tried to take under your wing. Yet, when the frozen soul attacked you, instead of being there for him, you just let them distance yourself from them. Doesn’t that ring a bell?”

“Frost is not like you,” she snapped, “He did not want others to get hurt because Anivia was hunting him. You took what I tried to teach you twisted it to meet your ends-”

“Yet, you did not think that there was a better alternative. You thought that the only way to help him was to abandon him. Just like me-”

In that moment, the pyromancer tossed her composure to the wind. Before Sylvanos could finish, Ember fired off a powerful blast of burning energy from her hands as it hit the beast directly in the face. The flames burned at its wooden head, but the timberwolf just stood still and let it happen. After a few moments, the fire subsided. Though, Ember could only watch as its body began to mend and fix itself.

“He is not like you,” the mancer snarled, knowing that this was the only chance that she had to speak, “You’ve said enough and we both know that nothing will come out of this if we continue to fight any longer.”

“That much is certain, mother.”

Ember could only grit her teeth, before letting out a sigh as she focused her gaze on the beast, “So, why have you decided to re-emerge? And don’t bullshit me. You may have spoken about how Chrysalis needed to pay for what she had done, but I believe you have another reason for going as far as to get my attention specifically with the stunt that you pulled.”

At first, the wolf was silent. Though, after a moment or two, Ember heard what sounded like a laugh echo throughout the Everfree as the beast just looked at her. “As blunt as ever I see? Well, there is another reason. I chose to re-emerge because the threat you chose to ignore is making moves while you are distracted with the affairs of mortals.”

“You mean Anivia?”

“They are only but a small piece,” the timberwolf spoke, before turning around and beginning to walk away from her. Yet, the last of what Sylvanos said would ring in her mind, “It’s the one that you let slip away. For something else is beginning to fill the void that you left behind, and they see them as nothing but a vessel.”

Elsewhere…

The howling winds and shivering cold blew against him as he continued to explore through the mountains. The city of the Crystal Empire had been quiet for some time, yet he chose to keep his distance from them. There was a predator that was hunting him and if he took refuge inside the city, each creature inside would be greatly at risk.

Though, there was something that they were seeking in the depths of the snow. Something that once belonged to a fallen king and that could even the odds against his pursuer.

At least, that’s what he was told.

Have you found it?

The voice was what he saw as a comfort. It startled him at first, but over time, their words guided him since he had no one else to rely on. They called themselves Kaldr, and said that they were someone that watched over his kind for many years. Since they were the only one left, they took it upon themselves to provide aid and assist them.

As he pushed his hands farther into the crevice of the snow, they soon felt their hand touch something, it was curved and sharp. Once they grabbed hold of it, he proceeded to pull it out of the ice. Much to his surprise, what he found was a horn. One that was the color of blood and power could be felt flowing from cracks at the base.

“Is this what you were talking about?” he asked as the excedian rose to their feet, “The horn of the fallen king?”

Why yes it is. Not in the best of shape, I must admit, the voice admitted, But once a few adjustments have been made… the horn of the Umbrum will become our ace in the hole.

End Chapter 23

24- Aftermath

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Aftermath

In the days that passed since rescuing everypony from the hive and since then, everything was slowly beginning to return to some state of normalcy. Many of the ponies that were captured by the changelings originally were able to return to their daily lives, while those that did remember only recalled small bits and pieces of what happened after being released from their cocoons. Applejack and the rest of her friends were rather thankful that Ember and the others came to rescue them, while also surprised at the transformation that took place among the changelings. As for the mancer, she was glad that everyone was okay and that the former queen’s plan didn’t fully come to fruition.

However, not everyone came out unscathed. For it was when Chrysalis was outnumbered and on the verge of defeat that something else intervened. A ghost from Ember’s past that thought that the only way that the former queen could atone for the sins she committed against her own people was through her own demise. Sylvanos, the wrathful incarnation of the Everfree and nature itself. While Ember prevented him from killing Chrysalis, she did not come out unscathed. For Sylvanos’ intervention tore away her left leg and left her scarred. Both physically… and possibly emotionally.

Instead of being taken to Ponyville’s hospital, the former queen was taken to Twilight’s castle, where her guest room was converted into a care facility. Since then, Amaryllis and Ember had come by so that the changeling could visit her sister and try to help with her recovery. However, this was a process that needed time in order to work effectively and it was not something that could be accomplished overnight. Yet, she still wanted to try and help anyway that she could.

Though, it was on the second day that the two of them were at Twilight’s castle that the two of them came across an unusual sight. That being that Princess Celestia was waiting for them by the Cutie Map. Though, she didn’t give off the friendly and welcoming presence that was seen the previous times that Ember had seen her. Instead, she looked to be rather serious.

“Oh good, you’re here,” the princess spoke.

“Celestia?” Ember asked, looking over to Amaryllis for a brief moment, before looking back at the diarch of the sun, “Is everything okay? Did something happen?”

“No, nothing’s happened,” Celestia assured them, “Though, there is something important that I wish to discuss with you if you’re not busy.”

Just from that alone, the mancer felt a small chill down her spine. She didn’t like it when the warm and welcoming alicorn was being ominous. It could mean that she wanted to talk about something coming up that wasn’t that much of a big deal… or something that was more serious.

“Is this involving my sister?” Amaryllis now asked, a bit of concern in her voice. The first thought that came to her mind was that something had possibly gone wrong with her sister’s care.

“Sort of. To avoid any misconceptions, your sister’s recovery has been going rather well. There haven't been any problems with the process so far. In fact, she’s resting right now,” Celestia clarified for her, which helped put the changeling’s mind at ease, “However, what I wanted to talk about was not your sister exactly, but the creature that’s responsible for doing this to her. Something that Ember knows about.”

That immediately raised some red flags, and the mancer did not like this. “How-?”

“Before she took some time to rest, Twilight and I asked her some questions regarding what happened after she was taken away and you pursued her,” the princess explained, “She also told us of the beast you encountered in the Everfree. How you alone stood against it… and how it called you ‘mother’. At first, I wasn’t sure whether or not to believe her, but the fear in her eyes when recalling everything told me she was telling the truth.”

After she spoke, Celestia let out a deep breath, before asking one simple question. “Ember, I’m only going to ask this once… Who is this creature? Why do they know you?”

The question might’ve seemed simple to Celestia, but to Ember, it wasn’t something that could just simply be answered. Yet, she still had to try regardless. If she did nothing, then Celestia might do something reckless and get other creatures hurt in the process. Yet, the mancer had to be straightforward with this in order for the princess to really see how serious this was. No cutting corners or leaving out any bits of information.

“That creature is Sylvanos. The first timberwolf, the embodiment of nature and the wrath of the Everfree,” the mancer began to speak as clearly as she could, “Born from my anger and rage when I set the badlands ablaze thousands of years ago. He sees me as a mother for that reason and that reason alone, but his methods and ideals are far different from mine. He sees himself as one that must correct what he perceives as the natural balance, even if it means having to kill anything that might as well threaten it.”

At that, both Amaryllis and Celestia looked back at her in shock. It was one thing to learn about the creature, but both of them did not expect for Ember to be the reason why such a beast existed in the first place. But, there was still a question that didn’t make sense to them, “W-why would he go after Chrysalis though?”

“To him, the suffering that she had caused on her people was an act that could not be forgiven under any circumstance and went against the balance,” the pyromancer continued, “However, my guess is that the anti-magic barrier from Chrysalis’ old throne prevented him from enacting his wrath on her sooner. When we went to rescue everyone and the throne was destroyed, nothing was holding him back anymore. If I didn’t step in… her fate would be a lot worse.”

“Dear me,” Celestia swore, “To think that such a being even existed…”

“Emmy, if I may,” Amaryllis now spoke up, “If this Sylvanos is as dangerous as you say he is, why can’t you just… well…”

“Kill him?”

“I was going to say burn them to ashes, but I think you get what I mean.”

“Well, that’s the thing,” Ember replied back as she turned to her wife, “You can’t kill him and hypothetically, if you did, it would come at a great cost. Nature is the cycle of life and if it were to stop, all life not just here but throughout the world would cease to exist. Reformation is also out of the question too, for I once tried that a long time ago. Yet, not only did it not work, but everything that he experienced basically did more to try and prove his point.”

“S-so you’re saying that at any point, he can just-” with a motion of her hooves, some magic and a ‘poof’, Amaryllis had a small cloud of smoke go off while she was talking, “-show up and attack somepony?”

“Fortunately, no,” the mancer let out a small sigh, “Like with many other creatures, Sylvanos is territorial and will get aggressive if someone unknowingly enters his domain. Not only that, but from my understanding, he only goes against those that are trying to break the balance, not correct it. Applejack had told me before that she and her friends had gone into the Everfree before on several different occasions and based on what she shared, none of them had encountered him before.”

That comment surprised Celestia, especially considering the amount of times that Twilight and her friends had ventured into the Everfree for the last few years. “Really? Nothing at all? Which ones did she tell you?”

“Pretty much everything. Some of the more notable ones being the Summer Sun Celebration with Nightmare Moon’s return, when Trixie first came to Ponyville, Zap Apple Season, something she called the ‘Plunder Vine’ incident, when they started looking around the old castle, Lord Tirek and a few others. Most of them had to deal with creatures that call the Everfree Forest their home or those who trespassed through the Everfree, but not deal with Sylvanos specifically.”

“What do you mean by correct though?” Amaryllis then asked, “That’s the part I’m having trouble understanding.”

At that, the mancer took a moment to catch her breath before she answered the changeling’s question. “With each one of the events I’ve mentioned, there’s one similarity. With every instance that something bad happens that could throw the world out of balance, something else happens that prevents it from doing so. When Nightmare Moon returned, Twilight and her friends awakened the Elements of Harmony and defeated her, while also bringing Luna back from her banishment. When Lord Tirek attacked Ponyville, Twilight faced him in order to try and prevent him from destroying Ponyville.”

At that point, Celestia realized something, “Neighton’s third law.”

“What?”

The princess then looked back to the confused changeling and tried to help clarify something. “Back in the early days of me being a princess, there was a unicorn in Canterlot named Isaac Neighton. A brilliant mathematician who made groundbreaking discoveries in the fields of science, mathematics and astrology. One of his greatest works is the three laws of motion, with the third law being that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

It took a couple of moments, but after a bit, Amaryllis realized what she was implying. “Oh! I get it… So, you’re saying that if an event that throws things out of balance is an action.”

“Then whatever is done to correct it is a reaction,” Ember added, “Of course, I would think that there’s another part to it as well. That Sylvanos would only act if no one else does anything to address whatever tips the balance out of line. In the case of the hive, after everything that Chrysalis had put her people through and all the unanswered pleas for change… since no one else answered their cries for who knows how long, he’s the only one that did.”

“But that’s only in the Everfree, right?” Celestia replied, “Since that’s his territory.”

“I would hope so. Though, from the sounds of it, he’s not making any promises,” the mancer retorted, “He told me ‘I dwell wherever nature dwells’, which could mean that he’s preparing to make some kind of move outside of the Everfree and set up territory in different areas across Equestria. However, given how cryptic he phrased it, it’s really difficult to tell.”

“And just when we thought that things were actually starting to turn around as well,” Amaryllis let out a groan. With everything that happened over the last couple of days, including the changelings being reformed and Thorax becoming the king of the changelings now, she thought that things were actually going to get better. However, the more that they talked about Sylvanos, the more that she became concerned that something awful was going to happen. It even made it sound like littering in a public park is punishable by death.

Of course, there was one more question that Celestia needed to ask. “So, Ember, what do you plan to do now?”

Yet, the pyromancer’s answer was something both of them honestly did not expect, “I need to head north.”

“North? To the Crystal Empire?” Amaryllis asked, “Why? What seems to be the problem?”

“During my encounter with him, Sylvanos mentioned something to me that sounded rather concerning,” she explained, “He may be many things, but one thing that he is not is a liar. There’s something that I need to look into and make sure that it’s not what I fear it is. I’m not leaving today, but first thing tomorrow.”

“What exactly did he say that would make you so concerned?”

That had Ember look back at Celestia as she folded her arms, “That one of the threats that I have yet to confront might spell disaster for everyone if they aren’t stopped now.”

End Chapter 24

25- Feed the Wolf

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Feed the Wolf

When Shining Armor and his wife Cadance had returned home to the Crystal Empire with their daughter in tow, the captain of the guard immediately set his focus on trying to make sure that there weren’t any security vulnerabilities that were exploited by the ‘replacements’ that snuck in. While everything seemed normal at first, many of the empire’s citizens were shocked by the sudden change of events. To hear that Queen Chrysalis had held them captive was one thing… but to hear that the changeling that they had welcomed into their home was now a king? That took some time for the members of the Crystal Guard to get used to since, only a few weeks ago, Thorax was just a simple drone that wanted to find another way to survive.

“Captain, I have the report that you requested.”

As Shining linked at his desk, his gaze fixed on Lieutenant Garnet, a crystal pegasus that had set a rather hefty looking manila folder onto his desk. “That was quick, Lieutenant. I thought that something of this nature would take longer to prepare.”

“That was my assumption too, if I have to be honest,” Garnet told him, “However, when I mentioned that you needed it post haste because of the recent breach in security we had, they were quick to shut up and get to work.”

The unicorn raised an eyebrow at that, “What did you tell them, exactly?”

“What you told me and the rest of the higher ups in the guard. Yet, I left out a few details that could be seen as ‘classified material’,” the pegasus answered, “The point being that once I mentioned this to them, they did a thorough inspection of everything in the Empire to make sure that nothing was unaccounted for.”

That seemed all well and good, but Shining could tell that the stallion in front of him had more to say, “I see. Well, is there anything about this report to you that I should look at first? Anything that could potentially be dangerous if left unattended to or not addressed immediately? Given everything that has happened recently, I want to make sure that nothing is overlooked and if there are any problems, we address them as quickly as possible.”

For a moment, the pegasus was silent as he took a moment to compose his thoughts. Yet, the captain had a feeling that whatever he was going to say, it wasn’t going to be good. “There is one matter that I think should be addressed above all else, Captain. In the report, it mentions that some items had gone missing from the barracks. At first, we were under the impression that it was the ‘imposters’ who disguised themselves as you and the other members of the Royal Family. However, after looking into the matter myself, there is one thing that’s unaccounted for that is the most concerning.”

Now that was enough to pique his interest, “Which one is that?”

“Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Permission granted.”

“It’s from a section of the barracks that most of the Crystal Guard calls the ‘don’t buck with this’ armory, since it serves as not just a storage facility, but also a containment wing for dangerous magical artifacts that have been encountered over the years. Not just in the Empire, but also across Equestria as a whole,” The pegasus explained, “The particular artifact in question that’s missing is something that was recovered after the liberation of the Crystal Empire.”

Immediately, the pupils in Shining’s eyes began to shrink as he realized what Garnet was talking about. “Oh no. Is it-?”

“I’m afraid so, sir,” the pegasus nodded.

“Oh horsefeathers,” the captain groaned, “If word about this got out, then there would be a panic across not just the Empire, but also Equestria. And just when we got ourselves out of a different crisis already. Please tell me you at least made some progress to recover it.”

“We are still piecing that together. Though, one thing to note was that there was a message left behind in the container it was usually kept in.” Garnet said, while one of his feathers pointed out at a slip of paper that was sticking out of the report. For a moment, as Shining pulled out the piece of paper, things seemed a bit confusing. Who would leave a message after trying to steal a dangerous artifact such as this one? What exactly was this thief trying to prove?

Then, he read the words that were on the page.

To the Rulers of the Empire and all those who welcomed me with open arms, I want to say… I’m sorry. I had carelessly hoped that your home would provide shelter for me from what was hunting me. However, all I realized was that I was just avoiding the inevitable. Running away from what I was afraid of and hoping that by hiding from sight that things could just blow over.

Now, I realized that such ideas were foolish to even consider. So, I’m done with running. I want to confront what it is that hunts me and show them that even if I’m gone, they will not win. For The Wanderer watches over me, as it did with the rest of their people before their time. If I have to give up everything I am now to ensure that every living being in the world has a chance to live their lives the way that they see fit, then that is a trade I am willing to make.

Watch over Pearl and Valiance for me. And if you see Ember… tell her Thank You.
-The Last Excedian

“Sir?” Garnet asked, “Are you alri-?”

Before the pegasus could even finish, Shining Armor had grabbed his scarf and was already out the door. Shining knew who did this, and if he were to make it in time, then the unicorn hoped that he could stop them from doing something reckless.

Elsewhere

As the cold winds blew around him, the wolf that stood in the center of a snowy plain awaited for the appointed hour. The time where he thought that by doing one thing right, it could help the mancer that stood defiantly against the cryophoenix and bring her end. However, it was not yet time.

Only when it was time to fulfill the bargain he struck with The Wanderer, one of the patron deities of his people, will he be buried in this cold light. Where his soul would bravely take the leap into the void and join the rest of his people that had been butchered and slain by Anivia’s claws. Once that was done, his body would feed the wolf, and let Kaldr finally shed his skin.

The Wanderer would bleed no more and rise again.

End Chapter 25

26- Pyrite

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Pyrite

It took her several hours of non-stop travel on foot and hitching a ride on the roof of a train, but by the time that Ember had reached her destination, the pyromancer had one goal in mind. To either find Frost and stop him before he does anything reckless… or to find Anivia and prevent her from finding the excedian. If Sylvano’s warning was what she thought it would be, then either of them were either planning or trying to make a move of some sort. There were details that Ember lacked, but one thing she knew for a fact was that if the mancer did nothing, the outcome would cause havoc on a global scale.

The main concern though was not about the outcome if Anivia or Frost happened to meet, but about what they had. Both of them had shards of the Wendigo Heart and if it was somehow made whole again, the relic’s power would put Equestria in an eternal ice age. There would be no fire of friendship to hold it back this time as the bearer of the completed heart would become an incarnation of frozen fury. So, if this was to be prevented, the mancer had to intercept one of them and find a way to prevent that from happening.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. She could attempt to try and track Frost, but even if that were possible, using any of her abilities would more than likely alert Anivia of her presence here. Ideally, Ember would prefer to catch one or the other by surprise. However, even that was wishful thinking at this point since there were a lot of things that Ember did not know. The two of them could be either very far apart or within walking distance of each other for all she knew.

In any case, the mancer had to approach this with the utmost caution. If she tried to go too fast, then the creatures she was pursuing would learn of her presence. If she went too slow, then things would only get worse. Personally, Ember hated this… but there was not much that she could really do to change anything. No matter what angle she looked at it from, it was a case of ‘Damned if you do, damned if you don’t’.

That and trying to navigate the Crystal Empire without any form of map while in the middle of a snow storm was probably not the best idea. Especially when you don’t have much to keep you warm or anything that can help you see where you are going. “Why am I beginning to feel like everyone who has ever climbed Mount Everest? The Empire was definitely not like this when I last visited.”

After about fifteen minutes of walking through the raging storm, the mancer felt as if luck just so happened to be on her side. It wasn’t much, but it looked as if an outpost of some kind was in the distance. Perhaps one that belonged to the crystal guard, for there looked to be a shield shaped insignia along the outer walls of the camp. There weren't any tents there, but instead there were a couple of buildings that resembled cabins made from cobblestone. Icicles hung from the edges of the roof and smoke rose from the chimney.

Cautiously, Ember tried to hurry over to the shelter and get out of the snow. An attempt to try and open the door led to her finding that it was locked and a knock on the door did not exactly bring immediate results at first. For a moment, she could see the reflections of about four ponies on the other side, talking among themselves. Yet, that was only brief as one of them soon quickly trotted over to the door and opened it.

Needless to say, who opened surprised her just as much as her presence surprised him. “Ember?”

“Captain Armor?” the mancer asked, noticing that the other ponies in the cabin happened to be two other members of the crystal guard, “What are you doing out here?”

“I can ask you the same question,” the stallion retorted as he motioned his head inside, closing the door behind her as she stepped in. Once inside, the unicorn handed her a coat and offered a spot by the fireplace, “You don’t exactly look dressed for the weather. Would it be safe to say that your visit isn’t exactly a social call?”

“You can say that,” Ember shrugged her shoulders, “What about you? Wouldn’t you and the guard be back inside the city during something like this?”

“Under normal circumstances, yes. However-”

“Sir, are you sure that we should be discussing this here?” One of the crystal ponies asked, “Didn’t you say this was supposed to be secret and that nopony’s supposed to know? She’s-”

“A friend of the princesses’, Philomena’s caretaker and is a phoenix incarnate,” Shining retorted, before glaring at them, “Considering what we’re dealing with, she’s more experienced in this than all of us, Topaz. So please, show a little more respect.”

The crystal pony named Topaz only sighed as he looked to Ember with an apologetic look on his face, before Shining sighed. “My apologies. Things have been a bit tense over the last few hours and emotions are running a bit high. Before we fill you in though, what exactly brings you out here to the Empire?”

The pyromancer took in a deep breath as she tried to clear her head, before she began to answer the question, “Let’s just say that I was warned that Anivia might be making a move soon. The details are a little iffy, but if the storm right now is anything to go by, then my concerns are warranted. I came out here to try and stop her. What about you?”

“Unfortunately, it seems like our circumstances are similar,” the captain of the guard told her, “Your friend that was staying with us, Frost, left the city a short while ago. While that in itself is concerning, he also happened to take something with him that would be catastrophic in the wrong hooves. Especially if that happened to be Anivia.”

Now the mancer was concerned as she folded her arms, “And pray tell, what exactly did he take?”

Yet, the answer that Shining gave was one that did not settle well with the members of the Crystal Guard that were in the room at the time. “Your friend Frost took the Horn of Sombra with him on his way out.”

“Wait, wait wait,” Another crystal pony that went by the name Malachite spoke up, “This guy we’re trying to find has the Horn of Sombra?”

“Yes.”

“The same one from the ‘Don’t buck with this’ armory!?”

“Yes.”

“The same armory that contains the Alicorn Amulet, the Keys to Tartarus and the original writings of Starswirl the Bearded himself!?!”

“Yes. And I think you have a better understanding as to why I wanted to deal with this immediately instead of waiting for the storm to pass,” the captain finished, before his eyes shifted back to Ember. “While it’s only a fragment of Sombra, that horn still has a lot of power behind it. I don’t know what your friend is thinking of doing, but if that horn is somehow part of his plan, there’s no telling what could happen. I wanted to try and search for him as soon as possible, but then this storm kicked up out of nowhere and now we’re stuck.”

“And how long has this storm been going for, exactly? Has it moved”

“It’s stayed here for the last couple of hours,” the guard named Topaz added, “Just before we could even head out to begin our search. We thought that things would die down if we gave it time, but it just seems to be only getting worse.”

With this information, Ember began to slowly try and put the pieces together. If everything that Shining and the guards described happened recently, then the storm that was happening now was probably no coincidence. She felt that something was off when the weather was too cold for her liking. But now, there was a possibility that the storm wasn’t natural. But if Anivia were responsible, why would-?

Then, a realization hit the mancer as if it was a block of ice to the head. One that, when she thought about everything that was going on, Ember realized that this was going to be a much bigger problem, “Oh no.”

“What? What is it?” Shining asked, “Did you figure something out?”

“Yes, and it’s not good,” she replied back as Ember looked around the room, “How familiar are all of you with Life Force?”

“We’ve heard of it before,” the crystal pony named Malachite replied, “However, we were also told that very few creatures are capable of using it and that it’s separate from magic. Outside of that, we never actually met any creature who could use it.”

“Well, at least that saves me an explanation,” the mancer mentally let out a sigh of relief, before continuing, “Well, similar to how magic works, the power that Mancers draw from Life Force can be amplified to use their power on a much bigger scale. Sometimes, it’s combining their powers with someone else’s… while for others, they use strong artifacts as a conduit to channel it through and amplify it. I’m betting you that Anivia is using the pieces of the Wendigo Heart that she has to create this storm.”

At first, it looked like Shining and the Guards agreed on that. However, it was only a few moments afterwards that Topaz brought up a different question, “Okay, but what exactly is their play here? Is it supposed to be like a flex of her power? A test? What exactly is this Anivia trying to do?”

“It’s worse,” Ember told them, “Consider everything we know. One, Mancers can feel the life force of other Mancers when in close proximity. Two, the same person that your captain’s looking for, Frost, is a Mancer himself and also has the last piece of the Wendigo Heart. Something that Anivia will stop at nothing to try and claim for herself. Three, the storm only seems to be focused in this area and hasn’t reached out to the rest of the Empire or Equestria for that matter.”

She then paused briefly and folded her arms, before posing a new question for them, “With all of these factors, why do you think this is happening?”

It took a bit for the three of them in order to process everything. Yet, after about five minutes, Ember noticed a look of realization and horror on Shining Armor’s face. “No… you don’t mean-”

“Captain? What is it?”

The unicorn looked back at his companions and then looked briefly at Ember, before he gave his answer. “It’s a lure. Anivia’s using her powers as a way to lure Frost to come to her. Like how you would use bait to catch a fish.”

The pyromancer smirked for a brief moment. She didn’t think that Shining would come to the exact same conclusion as she did, but was still impressed regardless. “Now you see why this is something that needs to be prevented under any circumstances. No matter how you look at it, there’s no telling what could happen if we just let them meet. It has to be stopped now.”

“I agree, but… what exactly can we do to prevent that?” Shining then asked. “It would be impossible to try and navigate through the storm on your own.”

That had the pyromancer look towards the door on the other side of the cabin as she adjusted the cloak over her body. “While that may be true, what I plan to do is different. Since Mancers can sense the presence of other Mancers that use their powers, I’m going to give Anivia a different target to focus their attention on. Have someone else go for her lure instead… and hopefully, it will be enough to get her to focus on me instead.”

It was going to be a gamble, and Ember hoped that it would be one that would pay off.

As the howling winds roared above him, the excedian named Frost waited in anticipation. The cryomancer knew that the one he was looking for was here. The same creature who was responsible for the storm and wanted to take his heart was close. With assistance from a spirit that knew his ancestors for the longest of times, preparations were made and risks were taken to get to this point. If the cryophoenix that wanted his heart was after him now, he was not going to go down without a fight… and if the worst were to come and he would fall in battle, he would take the bird with him.

Something’s off.

The two words from Kaldr did not sit well with him. They have come too far for setbacks, so hearing this did not sit right with him? “What’s wrong?”

Do you sense it? The feeling of warmth in the air? It asked as a small amount of pressure directed over Frost’s shoulder. The sound of flames burning that even the winds around us can’t blow out? Something else approaches.

A realization soon hit as the excedian moved his hand over where he kept the Horn of the Umbrum King. “No… Not something. Someone.”

You know them.

The wolf nodded as he looked out into the distance. “Ember, a living phoenix in the body of a mortal. The predator that hunts me has a score to settle with her… as do we. The plan remains the same.”

Even with a possible ally, you still wish to see your plan through?

“There’s nothing left for me here,” Frost defiantly stated, his eyes shifting to what looked like a flickering torch out in the distance “My people, long before Anivia slaughtered us, were responsible for tragedies of our own making. Many of the machinations my ancestors left behind were the source of hardships that the Equestrians had to endure, with what’s bound to my heart being one of them. If I want to bury the past of what we’ve done and ensure that the creatures who live here now have a future… then I must go with them.”

Unknown to Frost, the spectral ally that watched him has a small grim on their hidden face. They thought that they would show some sort of hesitation when speaking about this. Instead, their resolve was unbreakable. Not to mention, there was the phoenix as well.

Perhaps, there was hope after all.

The moment she stepped out the door and into the storm, Ember knew the risk that she was taking. Yet, Anivia was something that only she could face. The pyromancer was not going to let anyone else get hurt because of a creature whose hatred For those who gave her a chance in this world was as cold as their heart. This was not their fight, but hers and hers alone.

Phyrron’s final wish came with not just her gifts, but a duty… and now was the time to fulfill it.

As Ember reached the middle of the storm, she extended her hand out towards the sky as flames began to crackle around it and burn brightly. It started small, but then grew bigger and bigger with each passing moment as it turned into a bonfire. A beacon of flame amidst the storm that burned with rage and anyone could see.

“Well, isn’t this a wonderful surprise?” An all too familiar voice echoed as a pair of eyes glowed brightly among the darkening storm, “I thought you would cover behind the comfort of warmth and those you love. Yet, instead, I find you here… Boldly approaching me instead of running in fear. Why the sudden change?”

“You know exactly the reason why,” the pyromancer grit her teeth.

Then, the movements in the wind began to change. Ember watched as the snow that was being blown around began to move faster and blow past her and tear through the coat. Not hesitating for even a second, Ember grasped the flames in her hands and had them surge in a frontal wave as it melted through the frigid air and toward the pair of eyes. At first, it looked like the pyromancer hit her target… only for whatever was there to just crumble like a statue.

“Straight to the point as ever,” the voice of the cryophoenix echoed as Ember felt a chilling presence from behind her, before an icy set of talons grabbed at her throat, “As much fun as it would be to put out the fire in you though, I seek something else first… and you will not interfere-”

Immediately, the mancer extended her right hand outward and set off a blast of flame right in Anivia’s face. Yet, despite the amount of power she put into it, it did little to stop the cryophoenix from wrapping a wing around her arm and throwing her into the side of a mountain. The impact was enough to almost knock all the air out of Ember’s body as it felt like her bones were beginning to break.

Before she had the chance to straighten herself up, Anivia was in front of her, “… You know what, forget what I said before. Perhaps if I take the time to leave you battered and broken, then what I seek will come to me instead!”

The pyromancer couldn’t help but smirk at that for a brief moment as a fiery blaze began to burn all around her. Now that she got a hold of Anivia’s attention, it was time for her to hold onto it and not let go for even a second. “Oh, it’s going to take more than just a storm and throwing me around to break me.”

Within a matter of seconds, the fire in her hands began to rapidly flow around her like the winds of the storm she was in. When different creations of ice were hurled towards her, the heat that radiated from the flames had them melt and evaporate before they even came close to touching her as she sent her own blasts towards the frozen bird. Originally, Anivia was taken aback by this. However, much like her opponent, she was quick to adapt and change her strategy as her attacks not only came from the air, but from the ground that Ember stood upon. Cold waves of razor sharp spikes tore through Ember and left scars on her body, but she continued to fight.

Yet, something about this felt off. If anything, it felt like Anivia wasn’t even trying yet. She had two pieces of the Wendigo Heart in her possession, but it didn’t look like the cryophoenix was even using them. Ember was under the impression that Anivia had used them to create the storm they were in, but if she wasn’t using the pieces of the heart now… then did she underestimate her capabilities.

“I think that was a satisfactory warm up,” the words echoed as a chill was felt down Ember’s spine as the cryophoenix’s life force started to grow immensely, “Now, let’s see how long it’ll take before your flames become extinguished!”

“Oh shit-!”

Immediately, an assault of hail and frozen shards came at her from all directions. Ember did not even have the chance to defend herself as the coat Shining let her borrow was torn to shreds as the cold winds can be felt on her arms. Shards of ice cut through her skin like razors as the pyromancer staggered for a moment and tried to refocus her power to ward off any other attacks that came her way.

However, even though Ember was able to create the hottest of flames to defend herself, it did little to slow down or stop Anivia’s ravenous assault. Some of her attacks avoided her flames, while others just looked unaffected and flew straight through before landing on the ground, This in turn forced the pyromancer to think differently about her approach as she had to torch the ground with fire, before creating a slab of molten rock to serve as some manner of defense.

When Ember actually caught one of the shards, that’s when she realized what the cryophoenix was doing. She was using her life force to create shards of ice that wouldn’t melt or break apart under extreme heat. This was a major problem, because it meant that Anivia could just as easily execute attacks that her flames couldn’t stop or create a solid defense that the pyromancer couldn’t break.

“Dammit,” she cursed, “How the hell am I going to get around that? She basically gave herself plot armor-”

Shed your limitations. No defense can save their rotted soul.

Ember flinched. The voice did not belong to anyone she had met previously. Yet, it was somehow familiar. Like she had known them from somewhere else. But that was not important. She couldn’t just stand behind a molten wall and do nothing while Anivia threatened the lives of every creature in Equestria.

For several minutes, this continued on with no end in sight. But then, she heard Anivia say as the cryophoenix looked away from her, “Oh, what’s this? Finally done with hiding now are we, little wolf?”

Immediately, the mancer took her eyes off of Anivia for a moment to look around in the storm. Among the howling winds stood the excedian, snow covering his fur as his life force was flowing from his fingertips. Of all the times that Ember wanted to see him, now was certainly not that time. Especially since the cryophoenix that she was fighting wanted to kill him so she could have the final piece of the heart. Just what was he doing!?

Instead of saying anything, the excedian resorted to actions as he clapped his hands and slammed them into the ground as his life force surged forth as two claws surged from the ground to strike Anivia. Yet, when the attack struck, the pyromancer realized that it was more of a diversion than anything else as she realized that the wolf was next to her. Not to mention that they did not seem entirely relieved to see her.

“What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? What are you doing here?!” Ember retorted, trying to make sense of what the wolf was saying to her, “You know that she’s after you-”

“And if I stayed where I was, I would’ve put more creatures at risk,” Frost retorted, “I know what I’m doing.”

The pyromancer grit her teeth, “I’m honestly not so sure about that. Because from what Shining told me, you also took something that shouldn’t-”

Much to her surprise, before she could continue, the excedian placed his hand over her mouth to silence her. “Listen, it’s not what you think… I’m counting on her trying to come after me and come for what I have. If she does, then I have a plan to capitalize on her greed. All we ask for is one thing.”

That left the mancer even more confused. What the hell did he mean by ‘we’? Was it something to do with the voice from earlier? At this point, she didn’t care. There was too much going on and Ember couldn’t focus on everything at once. And Anivia was not going to stand by and just let them freely converse like this for long, “What is it?”

“Trust me,” Then, the sound of crackling ice was heard as both of them turned back to see Anivia shrugging off the attack from earlier before sending another attack back at them. Both mancers had to separate quickly as both of them looked towards the creature that they were facing.

“Are you two just about done? Because you have what I want and I’m not going to just wait for you to give it to me!!”

The excedian just smirked at that, “If that’s what you want, then you’re going to have to pry it from my corpse.”

“Heh. Ironic for you to say that considering the blood on your people’s hands,” the bird grinned, “Tell me, what makes you think that you will stop me?”

At this point, Ember couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something that Frost was keeping from her. Unlike the last time they saw each other, the wolf’s attitude and demeanor had changed. Originally, she saw him as just being as rebellious as she used to be. Now though, his actions reminded her of Sylvanos… but came off as if his time was short.

“Because I accepted the sins of my people long ago and I know that my time is up. You are still obsessed with ending a feud that’s long since over,” the excedian said. As he spoke, Ember couldn’t help but notice that there were lingering shadows around his feet. They did not move, but their presence felt intimidating as he continued to speak, “Not just in this life, but all the lives you had before.”

“And what would you know about that? You mortals are not like us. You don’t have second chances!”

“Because I have seen them for myself,” he told her, some shadows forming around his eyes, “My people hunted your kind back then out of fear of the unknown. Your father and mother were the first to fall.”

As he spoke, Anivia’s calm demeanor was beginning to deteriorate. Something that, from Ember’s perspective, had never been seen before, “No. Stop.”

Yet, the more she made demands, the more that Frost continued, “The feathers from them were used to create the heart. My people intended it to be used as a way to commune with the elements. Yet, the heart was stolen by the Wendigo’s and used for their own ends.”

“Lies!! That’s not what-”

“Then, when you saw that the heart was gone, you did not hesitate to murder every creature in that village. In your eyes, all of them were guilty,” As he spoke, Frost dared to step closer. Anivia lashed out and fired off bolts of ice as they shredded through his fur and clothes and hurt his arms. Yet, he still spoke, “Over time, as you died and came back, you saw the phoenixs and began to hate them. For unlike your kind, they made peace with mortals and did not have to suffer your hardships. They were the same as you and had your curse of rebirth, yet you hated them… and then, hated all life. Does that seem right, Hail-?”

“SHUT UP!!” the outburst from the cryophoenix was followed by a furious storm of attacks as each one of them shredded the wolf to pieces. Ember could only watch as Frost persisted through the onslaught as his blood stained the snow. What the hell was he doing!? Was he trying to get himself killed?! He couldn’t barely make sense of what he was saying, yet he was freely throwing his life away. She had to do something-

Don’t

The voice from before ringed in Ember’s ears. Yet, this time, she could see a figure alongside Frost now. One that marched with him. Yet, it also seemed like everything was… slowing down. Like time itself was beginning to become still. He knew this was a risk and despite my insistence, he chose this path. Would you dishonor his last wish?

“The hell-? Who are you!?”

Many have referred to me by different names over the ages. Your friend calls me Kaldr, but I call myself the Wanderer. We have met once before, but right now it does not matter. The being then looked over to Anivia. Frost knows that he will not win and that his life will end by her hands. However, he wasn’t planning to go down so easily. For you see, he has one last trick up his non-existent sleeves.

At first, Ember didn’t get it. Her emotions were running high to the point that she wanted to just punch this ‘Wanderer’ in the face. However, that was when it hit her. “The horn?”

It may not have looked like it, but the pyromancer couldn’t help but feel as if this… presence was smiling at them. Exactly. Umbrum magic is known to corrode and corrupt anything it touches, including magical artifacts. If she were to take the last piece of the heart, she would not realize that she took in the Umbrum magic corroding it. Her defenses will break and lose control on the power she worked tirelessly to master. A fitting send off, for all of us.

That hit Ember with a realization as she looked at the Wanderer, and everything began to come to a standstill. “You’re… dying.”

Afraid so. You see, to many, my brothers and sisters are seen as gods. The excedians were our children and we helped foster and grow life on this world long ago. However, the thing about gods is that we only live through belief. Through our stories and history, creatures believe in our deeds and take it upon themselves to do the same. However, because of what our children did, they ended up meeting a premature end… and Frost has been the only one to keep us alive. However, I knew that wasn’t enough. So, I needed another… one who can be the opposite of the cold that had killed so many that could burn away our wrongdoings. And then, I found you.

Something in the pyromancer’s mind clicked as she looked at the scarf around her neck as a realization hit her. “Wait… did you-?”

All I did was bring you here. Everything else that had happened on your journey was through fate. Now though, it’ll be your task to finish this. As the voice grew faint, Ember couldn’t help but feel a warming sensation running through her scarf. Break her down, for she can’t bear the weight of what she hopes to do. You have the fire to outweigh her desires, so pull her down and burn her to the ground.

Only one final remark was said before the Wanderer faded into nothingness. Be a beacon for all the world to see.

Then, time sped up back to the way it was as Ember watched the events unfold before her very eyes. When Anivia was close, she swung forth and drove her claws into Frost’s heart as she tried to extract the final piece. However, instead of the intended results, shadows from his body overtook her as the excedian ceased to exist. The cryophoenix began to screech in pain as the armor on her body began to crack and break. “You WRETCH!! I WILL-”

Like a firework, Ember launched herself at Anivia as her scarf began to glow hotter with each passing second. Rage took the wheel as the pyromancer grabbed her by the neck and slammed her to the ground. All the snow and the cold winds were gone in an instant and now, both of them were in a burning crater as the melted ice from the phoenix’s creations evaporated into the air. When Anivia tried to channel her life force through her wings, a pair of burning arms took form from her scarf and grasped hold of the wings. Searing pain was all the cryophoenix felt as the arms not only stopped her from casting anything, but tore them right off as they evaporated alongside everything else.

As the cryophoenix hollered in pain, Ember grabbed her face as the arms grabbed the heart of the beast. In that moment, only one thing could be said after everything she had gone through in her life and knowing that this was now coming to an end. “This is for Phyrron… and every other soul you’ve taken!!”

In one final strike, Ember launched herself up into the air, before pulling what was left of Anivia and plummeting her to the ground before slamming her to the ground. In a flash of fire and fury, the cryophoenix’s body was broken and the heart turned to ashes. As exhaustion took hold, Ember dropped to her knees and just stared into the sky. The fire in the sky that she created took the form of a mighty phoenix, and unknown to her at the time, every living creature could see it no matter where they were.

A beacon for all the world to see.

End Chapter 26

27.1- Every End...

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- Every End...

In the time after the world had seen the blazing beacon of the phoenix light up high in the sky, the pyromancer known by many as Ember Valkyr chose to step back and stay out of the affairs of Equestria and its saviors. After the defeat of Anivia, she considered her fight to be over and chose to not only spend her time with both her family and loved ones, but also shift her focus to something that she considered as a personal project. Through her travels, she had met many strange individuals in not just her world, but worlds almost similar to her own. Each one had a story to tell, no matter who they were or what they were capable of doing.

However, with the passage of time, many stories would end up becoming forgotten and fade to dust. Just like the story of the Wanderer, his siblings, the excedians that were their children… and Frost.

So, if anyone was going to take it upon themselves to record the stories of those who ended up being in the same predicament as all those she had met on her journey, it was going to be her. She would create a place where the stories of others displaced would be kept safe, no matter who they were, where they lived or what they did. For Ember solemnly believed that each one of these stories can serve as a chance for anyone to grow and learn from their experiences, much like how several ponies she knew learned from the friendship lessons they had over the years.

At first, this seemed like just an idea between her, Amaryllis and Maeve for some time with every other displaced that they happened to meet. However, the idea started to gain more traction on the day that they learned that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna planned to retire and abdicate the throne to Princess Twilight. When the two sisters learned of what Ember had been working on since she ‘faded’ from the attention of the world, both of them offered their knowledge, skills and expertise to make sure that this simple idea became a reality and by the time the two of them were back from a mandatory vacation, much of the groundwork had already been laid.

It had taken several months, but by the time that the Princess of Friendship became the Princess of Equestria, their project was complete and what is now known as the Candlelight Archive was open for business. A trove of stories and books from not just one world, but the worlds of many. Each token that Ember had on her person served as a key to another world and no two were the same. It was a place that was run by herself, Amaryllis, Maeve and even the royal sisters themselves from time to time.

Yet, the Candlelight Archive wasn’t a place where you can just trot in and seek out knowledge. In fact, it wasn’t stuck in a set location that you could just simply visit. For the Candlelight Archive was a place that existed in between dimensions and its red oak doors would only appear to those who seeked knowledge for a reason that did not benefit themselves. For even though she wanted to preserve the stories of those she meets, Ember took it upon herself personally to make sure that the knowledge that was contained in the Archive was not misused for ill intentions.

Of course, like with many stories involving journeying around the world, you always end up finding your way back home. But as soon as the first customer came through the door that day, everyone who lived and worked inside the Candlelight Archive realized that the Equestria that they called home had undergone some… drastic changes.

As the feather that was her token locked into place along the left side of the door, Ember had a lot of thoughts go through her mind. It had been some time since she had last visited her Equestria, but couldn’t quite tell how long it had exactly been. She had stopped counting after what felt like a century, but if she remembered correctly, Twilight and her friends were at a significant point in their lives last time she saw them.

To be more specific; Twilight herself had a young student of her own, many of the Mane Six were married to their ‘special somepony’ and some even had children. Peace between every race was possible and many of the students that graduated from Twilight’s School of Friendship were able to find happiness in their lives as well. Celestia and Luna, on the other hoof, found the retirement life to not be as exciting as it once was. So, Ember allowed for them to stay in the Candlelight Archive as long as they are able to carry their own weight.

As for Philomena, when it came time for her to reincarnate, she chose instead to merge herself with Ember so that the two of them were always together and no longer had to be apart. It was a difficult decision for her to make, but one that she was happy to do nonetheless. Because to her, it meant that she would be able to help her on her journey, much like how her father helped start it.

Her train of thought was suddenly broken by the familiar jingle of the bell that hung from the main door. “Oh, a customer? We haven’t been here long and someone needs us already? Who could it be?”

As the door opened, a stallion trotted inside and was… taken aback at the sight. They had a light blue coat with a cobalt mane, tail and also sideburns along with a pair of glasses, a saddlebag and what looked to be a cutie mark of a shooting star. However, what caught Ember’s attention immediately was that the stallion was wearing a necklace with a wooden circle that had a cutout of what looked like Twilight’s cutie mark.

“Right, I should probably change,” Ember found as she fiddled with a trinket that Celestia gave her and adjusted the wedding bangle she wore. Very early on when the Candlelight Archive opened its doors, they were quick to learn that there were worlds where its denizens had either not met humans or were afraid of them. So, with that in mind, Celestia had her wedding bangle enchanted to where if she adjusted it, her appearance would change accordingly without needing a spell cast on her. It took a long while to help her get used to it, but it was either that or having a customer accidentally damage the records in here out of fear.

As her appearance shifted to that of an earth pony, she trotted over to behind the counter and smiled. “Hello there, sir. Welcome to the Candlelight Archive.”

The stallion jumped a bit at first, but was quick to straighten back up. “H-Hello. Uh… sorry I… honestly did not expect to find this door in the middle of an alley. Or for that matter, finding this on the other side,” he apologized, “Did you set up here recently? Because in all my years of living here, this is the first time I’ve seen such a wonderful place before.”

“Well, first, thank you for the compliment,” Ember chuckled, “But to answer your question, we’re more of a… traveling business, so to speak. We just have a habit of showing up when somepony really needs a helping hoof, whether it be trying to learn something important or just needing some help figuring out a few things. You seem like that kind of sort yourself. Tell me, what exactly brings you here?”

The stallion scratched the back of his head with a hoof, before adjusting his glasses for a moment. “Is it that obvious?”

“Trust me. I’ve met my fair share of creatures who have something on their mind,” she assured him, “There’s nothing you can’t surprise me with.”

Then, the stallion said something that immediately made Ember eat her words, “Do you have anything that was published during the Age of Harmony?”

Immediately, any thought that she had on her mind came to a screeching halt as Ember just looked back at the customer in front of her, “Okay, I take that back. There’s one thing you can surprise me with.”

“You haven’t heard of the Age of Harmony before?”

Despite the numerous questions that were bouncing around inside her head, Ember just shook her head and focused on the stallion. “Let’s just say that I’ve been to numerous places before and this is the first time I’ve heard of such a thing,” she said, before a new thought came to mind as she changed her tone a little, “Though, perhaps if you tell me a bit more about it, I can look through what I have and find something for you.”

“I can try,” the stallion said, “It’s been difficult to find any leftover records from the past nowadays. That and many ponies think they know the story of Princess Twilight and her friends from that golden age, but with magic gone and the pony tribes split up, it’s been difficult to find any variation of the story that isn’t ‘twisted’ in a particular way, if you know what I mean.”

Just from that along, Ember realized that things were far worse than she thought they would be. If the time of Twilight and her friends is considered ancient history now, then there was no telling how long they had been away for. At first, she thought that the stallion was lying. However, it didn’t look as if he was trying to carefully pick his words or hide anything from her.

Still, there were a few things that she needed clarification on. “Could you explain what you mean by ‘twisted’?”

“Simply put, since the tribes have split up, everypony’s afraid of something. If something doesn’t make sense, many ponies start blaming their problems on somepony else. It doesn’t help that CanterLogic sees them as ‘threats to public safety’ and most ponies accept it without a given reason. Nowadays, many ponies judge others based on what they are and not their character.”

Ember scratched her chin with a hoof as she looked back at him. While everything seemed okay so far, there was still one major question that needed to be answered. The door to the archive would only show itself to someone if they seeked something that wasn’t for themselves. So, what was the stallion’s reason for coming here? “I see. Though, what about you? Surely, you must have a reason for trying to find what some might call relics of the past, is that right?”

“Well, I see myself as a historian. The past is meant to be preserved, because if we don’t, we’d only end up repeating mistakes we’ve done before,” he said at first, before he briefly looked away and sighed, “Though, there’s… also another reason.”

As he spoke, the stallion moved his saddlebag and opened the flap. After moving out a couple of things, he pulled out a photograph and placed it on the counter. In the picture, there was a young orange filly with a magenta colored mane that was standing behind a cardboard cutout of Princess Twilight, yet with her face being where the alicorn’s face would be.

“My daughter has a big dream and one that often gets looked down upon by everypony else. She wants to have Equestria be reunited and find a way to bring back magic. Many have told her that such a dream sounded impossible and unrealistic. However, as her father, I want to do everything I can to support her. To tell her that no dream is too impossible to chase. Even if there comes a time where I’m gone, I want her to still carry that bright spark of hope wherever she goes. In fact, today’s supposed to be her birthday and I promised to surprise her with something special.”

It took no less than a few moments for Ember to come to a conclusion. She knew exactly what this stallion needed and now that the mancer had a better understanding of what he was looking for and why, it was time for her to follow through on it. “Is that so…? Then, I think I might have just the thing.”

As the stallion looked up, Ember trotted to the back to grab a particular book with a golden sigil on the front as she placed a feather inside the front cover. “Harmonious Tales. A complete compendium of stories of Twilight and her friends. An original copy as well.”

Immediately, the stallion was thrown off guard, “O-Original? A-are you sure I can have this? I mean… wouldn’t something like this be valuable and important to you?”

“Yeah, but after I finished reading it, all it’s been doing has been gathering dust on a shelf. I think it would be better in your hooves than mine.”

“T-thank you! H-how much do I owe you-” The stallion asked, reaching over to a compartment in his saddlebag where it looked like he kept his bits.

“Keep your money. I’d have little use for it,” Ember insisted, before helping the stallion place the book in his bag along with the picture he took out. “Though, there is one thing you can provide for me.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

She couldn’t help but smirk at that. “Well, a name. You’ve told me so much and you haven’t even introduced yourself.”

“Oh, s-sorry… My bad,” The stallion scratched the back of his head with a hoof. “It’s Argyle. Argyle Starshine.”

“Well, Argyle, you can call me Candlewick.” Ember smiled, “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

Just as soon as Argyle had originally entered the archive, he stepped back out through the door and was gone. The moment that she was by herself, Ember immediately twisted the band again to change back to her original form and went to lock the door so nopony else could enter or even see the door. “Philomena, did you catch all of that?”

“Every single word,” Philomena replied as the fiery bird manifested on her shoulder, “Still, everything that this Argyle guy said seems really hard to believe.”

“Yeah, but I’d doubt that he would have any reason to lie,” Ember replied back, before looking past the front counter and to the rooms behind it, “Go tell the others to meet me in the recreation room. This is something that everyone needs to know about and I have a bad feeling that Celestia and Luna aren’t going to take the news lightly.”

“T-that’s impossible,” Celestia was the first one to speak after Ember shared with them everything that she had learned only a few moments ago. Even though what the mancer was telling them was the truth, the gravity of her words made it rather difficult to believe as the former princess tried to process what was said, “Equestria… lost its magic? How?”

“That I don’t know,” Ember shook her head, “For a moment, I thought it was another Equestria. But the key we used to arrive here was my own feather. This has to be ours, but… something does feel right.”

“Not only that, but the tribes are now split up once more,” Luna added, “Ember, my friend. Are you certain that we aren’t in Equestria’s past? The only time that they had been separated before was because of the Wendigos-”

“That’s what I thought too at first,” she replied, “But the stallion that came in today, Argyle, implied that the time of ‘Time of Twilight and her friends’ was in the past and even called it a Golden Age. Based on what he told me, ever since magic disappeared without any warning or any reason as to why, everypony’s afraid now and they twist old stories to justify their fears.”

At that point, the sound of throwing knives hitting a dart board in the back of the room echoed outward as Maeve, who had been sitting on top of a pool table that was mounted to the floor, chose to speak up, “So, what you’re saying is we are somehow in the future. However, we just don’t know how far in the future or how things turned out this way?”

“Seems like it,” Amaryllis now added as she trotted up next to Ember’s side, “Though, if you think about it, this isn’t the weirdest thing we’ve come across. We’ve met a lot of other people and seen other Equestria’s over the years that the Archive has been in business. I’m pretty sure that we’ve seen our fair share of strange things.”

“Can’t argue with that, kitten,” the cat burglar shrugged as she looked at the wall where all the ‘keys’ were kept and looked at a few of them, “Say, weren’t some of those Equestria’s also in the future too?”

“A few, give or take,” Luna grumbled, “But don’t get me started on some of those other worlds. Even if they were home to displaced like you and Ember, some of them were just plain rude.”

Now Ember couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as she looked back at the lunar alicorn, “Really? This is the first time I’ve heard of something like that.”

“It happened while you and Amaryllis were celebrating your wedding anniversary and left the three of us in charge of the store. All was going well for the most part… until we ended up meeting… I think he called himself ‘Tom’?”

“'EY, WOT GIVES!? 'OO THOUGHT IT WAS A GUD IDEA TA HAVE A RANDOM DOOR SHOWZ UP 'N 'DA MIDDLE UV 'DA WAAAGH! ROOM!?”

“… You’re telling me that an Ork just happened to show up on the day that we happened to leave you guys in charge of the archive for a day? A day?!”

“We tried to help them just like anybody else that comes in,” Maeve retorted, “But the more that we tried to help him, the angrier he got and we were afraid that he was going to try and burn down the place. He’s the only one that we had to forcefully kick out and we didn’t want either of you to panic, so that’s why we didn’t tell you. Sorry.”

At that, the caretaker just let out a deep sigh. While she still had some reservations about the sisters and also her mother hiding this from her, there was no point in getting worked up over small details. “It’s fine, mom. I think we’re just getting ahead of ourselves though.”

“I agree,” Amaryllis nodded, “But back to the matter at hoof, even though we’ve seen what other Equestria’s were like in their future, ours pales in comparison. If anything, I think we can all agree that this is a huge step backwards.”

Everyone in the room collectively nodded at that as Luna chose to speak again, “The only question that remains is how exactly it got to that point. Because when we last left Equestria, everything was perfectly fine. There was peace and harmony between not just the tribes, but other species.”

Briefly after her sister had finished speaking, Celestia now added on to the conversation, “Now, it’s as if everything that Twilight and the element bearers worked for is gone. Even though their story remains, the meaning behind those stories have been lost. And since nopony is around to tell them the truth, they just… accept it.”

For a moment, silence filled the room. While there were things that all of them did know a few things about what happened to Equestria since they left, there were still some questions that were unanswered… and more than likely might remain unanswered. Several Displaced that they had met had a bright future by the time their story had finished. So, what exactly happened to their home that made things turn out the exact opposite of what Twilight and her friends had hoped for?

Then, a realization hit as if something clicked into place. Yet, it wasn’t Ember who had this realization, but Maeve. “Nopony around…”

In an instant, Amaryllis picked up on what she said as the changeling looked back at the cat burglar. “Hmm? Did you say something, Maeve?”

“Yeah, what Celestia just now,” she said, before starting to twirl a knife around one of her index fingers, “What if that was the reason?”

That left the solar alicorn with a puzzled look on her face as she looked over at Amaryllis and Ember for a moment, before her gaze shifted to Maeve. “I’m… not sure if I follow. What exactly do you mean?”

“Think about it for a moment,” the cat burglar reasoned as she put the knife back in her coat and hopped off the table. “Every story for every displaced that we happened to meet had a happy ending because they stuck around to see things all the way to the end. However, instead, we decided to stay out of Twilight’s affairs so that she and her friends can solve any problems that come her way by themselves instead of relying on us to solve their problems for them.”

“Yeah, and when we left, everything seemed perfectly fine,” the caretaker pointed out as she folded her arms, “Are you trying to say that we made a bad decision?”

“No, far from it,” Maeve shook her head, “I know this sounds like me coming up with theories, but at least hear me out. We all know how Twilight thinks, so if you were her and found yourself in a situation that you can’t think of a solution to overcome it, what would immediately come to mind?”

“Well, she would come to me for-” Immediately, Celestia’s pupils shrank as realization kicked in. “Oh no.”

Now, it seemed like everyone understood what she was trying to tell them, “That’s right, kitten. I don’t know if this is correct or not, but I have a feeling that something happened back in the past where Twilight was forced to make a decision to ensure the safety of her subjects. How Equestria is now is the consequence of that choice. Cause and Effect at work. However, there’s one discrepancy to this.”

“What’s that?” Amaryllis asked.

“Everything that we know so far is based on the words of a resident in Equestria that just happened to come in here,” Maeve said as she moved back to the pool table, “However, none of us have actually seen this for ourselves. If we’re to get a better understanding of what’s going on, I’d say we change that,” The thief then looked over towards Luna, “Do we still have the Orb of Observation?”

The mention of that alone was enough to catch their attention. The Orb of Observation was one of a few magical items they kept inside the archive and used on a case by case basis. If the orb was attuned to someone, then whoever was watching the orb could not only see things from that person’s perspective, but also hear whatever they hear as well. Of course, the fact that Maeve was specifically referring to it right now could only mean one thing.

“Maeve, are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

“Why of course, kitten,” she smiled, “We are barely going to get anywhere if we just sit around here discussing mere possibilities. The only way we’re going to truly see how much Equestria has changed is if one of us goes out to see it for themselves.”

By that alone, Ember had a feeling of where exactly this might be going. “And let me guess, I’m the only one capable enough for this task?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Maeve told her, “Not because we don’t want to, but if magic truly is gone, then it limits a lot of the things the rest of us can do because we either use magic or have magical items. You are a different story since your powers aren’t magical and you don’t need a spell cast on you to change your appearance.”

Despite the reservations she had about this, her mother made a valid point on one thing. Staying inside the archive was going to do little to help them get a better understanding of what happened to Equestria. “Alright, fine. However, if we’re doing this, then there’s one place I need to visit while I’m out and about.”

That had Celestia and Amaryllis raise an eyebrow, “What’s that?”

“I need to see what has become of the Everfree,” the mancer insisted, “We all know that the creatures of the Everfree, as well as other species, needed magic to survive and Sylvanos was the heart of the Everfree. He’s my responsibility and if magic truly is gone, I need to know what has become of him.”

27.2- ... is a New Beginning

View Online

The Flames of the Phoenix- ... is a New Beginning

By the time that Ember had made all the proper preparations and finally stepped out of the archive, she honestly did not know what to expect. However, out of all the possibilities that ran through her mind, ending up in what looked like the equestrian equivalent of Baltimore was not what Ember expected. Anywhere she looked, it reminded her a lot of what life was like before displacement, and not always in a good way.

Mainly, because she couldn’t go a few feet without seeing something from whatever this ‘Canterlogic’ thing was supposed to be. Claiming to have safety devices to protect its citizens from unicorn attacks and saying that they are capable of probing ponies’ minds? That just seemed a bit far-fetched… and sort of racist, if she had to be honest.

It didn’t help that anywhere she looked, many ponies were still falling for it. “Dear elements, the more I see this, the more that it sickens me. If Applejack were here, she would throw up at the sight of so much dishonesty.”

“I believe all of us are equally appalled by the state of things,” she heard the voice of Celestia echo in her mind as Ember pulled out a red feather and put it on her scarf as if it was a pin of some kind, “Still, this place is much bigger than I think any of us were expecting. It’s like Ponyville, but more… what’s the word?”

“Urban?”

“Something like that,” the alicorn said, “In any case, we should probably find a way out so we can go see the rest of Equestria.”

Ember could only groan at that. If there was a way out, then she would’ve found it already. However, with the way that Maretime Bay was set up, it almost looked as if the city was trying to make it so that nopony would want to leave. Especially with the way that Canterlogic portrayed its ‘neighbors’.

Fortunately, she did happen to find something to help guide her way as the sun was beginning to set. For standing above all the building in Maretime Bay was a lighthouse on a hill. One that happened to belong to a pony he recognized, for she could see Argyle in the window alongside the little filly in the picture that he showed her. From where she was outside, the two of them looked rather happy together as the little filly had decorations around her home and a special party celebration had to make her look like Princess Twilight. Heck, as she was getting ready, Ember watched as two colts, one red and one that looked a faded orange, knocked on the door and were let inside.

Around that point though, that was when she heard two voices. The first being a warning, “Uh, Ember? There’s somepony behind you.”

And the second one being unfamiliar, “Excuse me, are you a friend of Argyle?”

When Ember turned around, she found herself looking at a pink mare with the biggest curly mane she had ever seen. A pair of pink glasses were on her face and a pearl necklace was around her neck. “My apologies, but I don’t believe I’ve seen you before. Who are you?”

For a brief moment, it looked like the mare’s eyes twitched a bit in disbelief. But shortly afterwards, she let out a small breath. “My name’s Phyllis Cloverleaf.”

“Well, Phyllis, I’m Candlewick,” she greeted, “I’m… kind of new to Maretime Bay and earlier, I was helping Argyle with getting a gift for his daughter after running into him.”

For a moment, there looked to be a look of suspicion on the mare’s face. Though, that started to subside shortly after Ember happened to mention Argyle’s daughter. “Ah, Sunny. She’s friends with my son actually. She… Well, she has a bit of an imagination, that’s for certain. Argyle’s dedication to raising her is commendable to say the least.”

“Well, that’s just downright rude. How dare she try to criticize how somepony else parents their child!”

Ignoring the remark from Maeve about this mare’s attitude, the caretaker focused her attention back to the earth pony as she asked her a new question, “Tell me, what was the gift that you helped him find?”

“A storybook,” Ember told her, “Argyle told me that he and his daughter liked stories from Equestria’s past and… well, I had something that my parents left for me long ago. I just thought that it would find more use in their hooves than mine.”

As both of them turned to look at the window, they could see the filly unwrap the present that Argyle had gotten for her as her face immediately filled with joyful glee. Seconds later, she happily wrapped her forelegs around her father as Argyle smiled. Whatever look Phyllis had on her face soon had changed to happiness for her as she smiled.

Of course, it was during this that Ember had an idea, “Hey, Philomena? I doubt that this mare’s going to let me go anytime soon. Care to help me make a swift exit?”

“S-sure, but… here? If somepony were to see you-”

“I know and I have a way to work around that. She’s going to look back at me any minute now, so we’re going to do that exit the moment that this Phyllis pony looks away again. If we time it right, the light from the sunset would just make it hard for her to see.”

“Okay, I… think that can work.”

By the time that was in place, that was when said pony Philomena and her were talking about began to speak again, “Well, whatever you got for her really made her day.”

“That’s a good thing,” Ember said, shortly before turning away and starting to trot down the street. “I should probably get going.”

Unfortunately, that simple remark had Phyllis’ attention immediately switch back to her, “Going? Going where?”

The earth pony turned back around to face her. Immediately, she had something in mind to say and she personally hoped that this pony would believe them. “Outside. Don’t get me wrong, Maretime Bay is a nice place… but it feels really… tight. Constricting. I’m a bit claustrophobic and I don’t really do well when things are too close together and I’m stuck between them. Things like large crowds and buildings that are too close to one another don’t really make me feel well. That’s why I like camping outdoors. Hay, it’s almost as if the city doesn’t want me to leave.”

Immediately, Phyllis’ eyes narrowed. “Why would you want to leave? It’s dangerous outside the city. Everything outside of Maretime Bay will hurt you or worse.”

“Yeah, but being stuck inside and all that? That’s not safety, it's stagnancy. The world is a big and wonderful place. The only way that you can see it for yourself is not by being scared, but by being the opposite. Instead of fearing your neighbors, learn from them. Because if you only see things from one perspective, you’re blinding yourself to potential possibilities.”

At that, Phyllis just stood there in silence. She looked away for a brief moment to see her son, his friends and Argyle inside the lighthouse again. But when the mare turned back, the pony that she was talking to was gone. Though, it was hard to tell since the light from the setting sun was getting into her eyes.

“That was quite the risk you pulled off, Emmy,” Amaryllis said in a disapproving tone as Ember landed back on her hooves. “If that mare even saw you disappear for a second, you could’ve caused a panic.”

“Well, it’s not like I’d want to head back there anytime soon,” the caretaker let out a deep sigh, “I mean, I don’t know who that mare was, but she was giving me real impression of ‘I’m superior to you’ and I didn’t like it.”

“Admittedly, that mare wasn’t exactly friendly,” Philomena said, “Still, that plan of yours was all based on chance. If it were me, I would not want to do something like that again.”

“Still, at least everything turned out alright,” Ember said as the pyromancer took a brief look around at where she was. It looked like she was on a peak of a mountain that overlooked a vast majority of Equestria. To her left, Ember could see the city that she was thankful to have left behind. To the right, there was a forest that was a lot bigger than what she was expecting.

And right behind her, there was what Ember could see as a definite eyesore. It was a city on the top of a massive plateau, much like Canterlot. However, everything was… golden and stood out like something from the roaring twenties. There were strobe lights, giant television screens and in the brief images that she saw, there looked to be pegasi that were paying a lot of attention to their phones.

That and a princess was doing a video blog on one of the TV’s. For some reason.

“Oh for the love of-” she groaned, “I’m definitely not visiting that.”

“Kitten? What’s all that shiny stuff behind you?” Maeve now asked

The pyromancer could only groan as she looked back at the mountain again, “Apparently, it’s where all the pegasi are living and… from only one look, it seems like they tried making the royal family look like a social media sensation. Like, they’re treating it like it’s a reality show and not a real occupation-”

“THEY DID WHAT!?!”

Ember staggered a bit in place as a ringing in her ears echoed. “Luna, what have I told you about using the Royal Canterlot Voice while we’re using the Orb?” Amaryllis cautioned, “If you were any louder, you could’ve given Ember hearing loss.”

“S-sorry,” Luna apologized, “It’s just… so infuriating to hear that. I mean, why would they go try something as outlandish as that?”

At that question, the pyromancer looked back towards the screen again. This time, the same princess looked to be doing a performance of some kind. Going as far as to prance around the stage as they were singing. However, when the small pony took off and looked to be flying… that’s when a feeling of suspicion set in.

“Hey, uh, correct me if I’m wrong… but without magic, pegasi can’t fly right?”

“From what I remember, I think that’s the case,” Philomena now spoke up, “Why do you ask?”

As the phoenix asked, Ember’s gaze looked at the pegasus again as they were doing an encore presentation at the concert they were at. “That’s what I thought. I wasn’t sure at first, but now that I’m looking at it again, something about that looks… routine. Like you rehearsed so many times for a show or play to the point that it doesn’t come off as natural,” as the camera on the screen shifted to the cheering crowds and smiling pegasi, that confirmed everything that the caretaker needed to know, “And I think I know why.”

“You do? What is it, then?” Celestia now asked, her voice coming off as rather curious.

“Remember what Argyle said before. Each one of the pony tribes is afraid of something,” she explained, before turning around and sitting on the cliff edge, “From what we saw in Maretime bay, the earth pony’s fear is the fear of ponies that are different than they are. Hence, their propaganda towards unicorns. For pegasi, it’s a little more complex… Hey, mom?”

“Yes, Kitten?”

“Do you remember when you and dad used to take me to the circus when I was younger? Like the one with all the practical effects and the performers flying in the air?”

“You mean the ones that used all the wires? Why-?” There was a brief pause. But after a moment, the cat burglar was hit with a realization, “Oh… OH! You think those royal ponies are using the same trick to fake flight?”

“That’s… certainly seems like a possibility,” Amaryllis added, “But I’m having trouble trying to understand why.”

It was at that moment that the caretaker chose to continue on, “I think what pegasi fear, or more specifically the royals, is truth. The royal family lie about their ‘flight’ because they want to keep their subjects happy. Maybe the eldest of the family came up with it as a way to calm down their people if they were starting to panic about magic disappearing. They might not like it, but if it's between that and having to face the grim reality of it, what choice do you think they would go with?”

The silence that came afterwards was enough to know that her point was made. Though, it was as Ember was about to descend that Philomena said something that caught her attention. “Actually, now that we’re here and have… explored a bit, I don’t quite think magic is gone.”

There was even more silence after that, followed by two words that were said by not just Ember, but also everyone else that happened to be listening in. “… Come again?”

“I’m not kidding. It feels less like it’s gone and more like it’s… How should I explain it,” the phoenix said as she now manifested and perched herself on Ember’s shoulder, “It’s like if you were catching fireflies in a jar. They’re still there, but the jar itself is sealed tight and something is preventing that seal from opening.”

“So, you’re saying that magic may still be here, Philomena?” Celestia asked.

“Possibly, but Ember’s not out here to find a way to unseal it. We’re just trying to find out how much things have changed. Now that we at least know about the earth ponies and the pegasi, there’s still one more thing that we need to look into.”

At that, Philomena had herself merge back into Ember as the caretaker looked back towards the distant forest. “Guess it’s time to visit the unicorns then.”

As Ember dropped down and transformed into a bird of fire, there was one thing that she and everything that was watching didn’t see. From a distance, a white pegasus with a partially magenta mane and colored feathers on her wings watched as this… pony saw them turn into a majestic blazing bird and glide down to the depths below.

“What the buck-?”

By the time that Ember felt herself land back on solid ground, the moon was already high in the sky as its light shone through the trees. As she tried to refamiliarize herself, the first thing that she noticed right away was that the forest looked a lot different this time. The trees were much bigger than she remembered when last in the Everfree Forest and there was a lot more fauna spread out everywhere.

“Okay, can we all agree that this was probably not what any of us had anticipated?” Amaryllis asked, “I mean, this forest looks less gloomier than what the Everfree was. But not entirely.”

“Something tells me this place would look a lot brighter and colorful when morning comes around,” Ember said as she let out a deep breath, “This definitely seems like a place Sylvanos would call home.”

As the mancer looked around and began to trot down the forest path, something seemed a little bit off. When she tried to feel where Sylvanos' life force was, Ember had trouble trying to pinpoint a single place for where he could be. If anything, it felt as if he was everywhere and the longer she tried to make sense, the more that she became a bit disoriented. If this kept going, she would start to feel sick.

After a couple minutes, she forced herself to stop. A sudden gasp of air and her dropping to the ground was enough to catch the attention of those who were observing her, and some of them were concerned. “Ember? Ember, is everything alright?”

“Y-yeah, just… give me a minute.”

“What were you even doing, Kitten?” Maeve asked, “You looked fine one moment and the next thing we know, it looked like you were gonna throw up or something.”

“I… was trying to see if I could feel where Sylvanos might be, but… I can’t find him,” the caretaker said in disbelief, “It’s… like he’s everywhere and also nowhere. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe you should try and look around some more?” Celestia suggested, “Find a proper place to rest a moment and regain your thoughts?”

At that, Ember felt as if Philomena was on her shoulder again as she heard the phoenix follow up, “I agree. But perhaps you should change your form to look more like a unicorn before we go on. I have the feeling that the unicorns aren’t exactly ‘welcoming’ if you get what I mean.”

The caretaker was already planning to do that, but when she looked to see where the phoenix might’ve been, she saw something else that served as a grim reminder for how much Equestria had changed. A collection of wooden warning signs nailed down to trees, implying for any pegasus or earth pony to stay away and that they weren’t welcome. Ember could understand the feeling as to why it would be like that for Earth Ponies… but pegasi too? All that she had seen from them is just the royal family being deceiving prima donnas. She couldn’t imagine them even thinking about doing anything hostile.

Whatever the case, it was enough for her to heed Philomena’s advice as she adjusted her wedding bangle again and had her appearance take on that of a unicorn. Once the transformation had set in, and the lack of magic with it, the mancer continued down the pathway. Whether or not this led to more trees or something else entirely was unknown, but it was the only real lead that she happened to have.

Though, after five minutes, things within the forest began to change. The gloom from before was now replaced with different colors, there were buildings made from wood that looked to have been grown in the trees and crystal formations had taken form in the ground. All the buildings looked rather nice, but it seemed… quiet. Like there was not a soul in sight.

“So, who wants to take a bet that this is where the unicorns happen to live?” Ember heard Maeve ask.

“I remember back when Twilight first lived at the Golden Oaks library all those years ago, but this is much different by comparison.”

Ember sighed as she ignored the background chatter in the back of her mind and focused on what was ahead. Out of all the buildings that stood out, there was one that happened to catch her attention the most. For it was the only one that had any sort of light on inside, and as a bonus, it looked to be a restaurant of sorts. Philomena did suggest that she take a rest, so perhaps this ‘Crystal Tea Room’ was the best place for that.

Of course, when she first opened the door and came inside, the first thing that Ember saw was that the establishment looked to be one part restaurant and one part bar with an arcade in the back. There didn’t seem to be anypony around, so she trotted over and took a seat at the bar area of the establishment. While there wasn’t anypony around, there was one thing that was taped to the back wall, next to a couple of picture frames and was big enough for everypony to see.

Rules of the Crystal Tea Room

-Absolutely no jinx’s of any sort. No exceptions
-No sugar or candy after midnight. We’re still cleaning up from last time after chewing gum got on the ceiling
-Any trash that’s disposed of is not to be considered as ‘unicycling material’ unless it’s specifically in the recycling bin. I’m looking at you, Izzy.
-We do not talk about the Mayonnaise Incident.
-We DO NOT talk about the Mayonnaise Incident.
-Any bets made in the Tea Room are to be officiated by me so nopony is cheating.
-No take backs are allowed on any bets made, especially bets made against me.
-If you need to get a hold of me at any time, talk to Boneless and have them come find me.

Alphabittle Blossomforth

“Boneless?”

A series of squeaks was heard shortly afterwards as the mancer turned her head to the right. Much to her surprise, an armadillo that somehow had a small patch of hair stood at attention and looked at her. It didn’t appear as if they were being suspicious, but instead seemed to be rather curious of her. Even going as far as to sniff some of her fur as it examined her from top to bottom.

“Oh, uh… hi there,” Ember said as she looked at the little creature. “Would you know where… uh,” The mancer paused briefly, before she looked back at the list briefly, “Alpha… bittle might be? S-sorry, I’m a little bit nervous and haven’t been here before.”

“Seriously, Kitten? Nervous?”

“What? Fluttershy knew how to talk to animals, not me!”

Despite her hesitation, it seemed like the armadillo understood her perfectly. So much so that they proceeded to roll off the counter and land on the floor, before heading towards the back of the establishment. Even though it was bumping into some of the things that were on the floor every couple of seconds, Boneless seemed to be a trooper and continued on.

“The little guy does look rather cute, I have to admit. Whoever this Alphabittle is, they must be a gentle type like Fluttershy.”

Of course, by that point, it felt as if Amaryllis spoke a little too soon as Ember heard a voice echo from the back of the Tea Room. “Huh? Boneless, what are you doing back here?” A couple of squeaks were heard and then shortly after that, “Wait, there’s somepony in the tea room? Right now? I thought it was clear that it was closing time. Why would-” There was a pause, followed by a few more squeaks and then the audible sound of what seemed like a hoof making contact with a forehead, “… Oh dear stars, I forgot to put the sign up again, didn’t I?”

Immediately, the changeling was quick to change her response, “… On second thought, maybe I should hold off on any further guesses.”

Ember did her best to ignore the internal chatter in her head as the conversation from the back of the room continued, “Okay, I guess we can serve one more customer tonight. You said this mare is a newcomer right? What did they look like?” There were a few more squeaks, but it was as this happened that the mancer heard the sound of a ceramic cup falling onto the floor and shattering. “Boneless… are you absolutely sure that is the mare at the front right now? … No, I’m fine. It’s just… I was told that this would happen at some point. I just wasn’t sure when. I’ll clean up later, let me handle this.”

Both Ember and the others that were watching her were equally shocked by what they were hearing, and before anyone had the chance to say anything, that was when the stallion from the back of the Tea Room trotted in and made his presence known. The appearance of this stallion reminded Ember a bit of Big Machintosh when it came to the size of his body. However, his appearance was that of gray fur, a white spiky mane and tail that was brushed backwards and a pair of what looked like brown eyes.

“Uh, hello,” Ember spoke up, “Are you… Alphabittle?”

The stallion was quiet, but after a few seconds, he nodded his head, “Yes, that’s me. And this is going to sound strange, but I already know who you are.”

At that, the mancer’s heart almost skipped a couple of beats. This unicorn, who she only just met, happened to know who she is? It didn’t seem like Alphabittle was lying to her. Yet, with how long she had been away from Equestria for, how was something like that even remotely possible? “You do? I mean, this is my first time here. Are you sure you didn’t mistake me for somepony else-?”

“Is your name Ember Valkyr?”

Immediately, the mancer’s thought process just stopped. Anytime that she would encounter ponies in her shop, as well as outside of it, she always told them that her name was Candlewick. However, Alphabittle somehow knew what her actual name was. While it could’ve been a coincidence, Ember did not take that lightly. “How do you know that name?”

“Whoa, easy there.” Alphabittle cautioned, “It’s a bit of a long story, but… let’s just say that when I was younger, I met a creature who told me that you were his mother. Although, he described you looking… different, but he mentioned specifically about the scarf you had and your feather.”

In an instant, her defensive nature ceased and instead, it was replaced with a sense of realization. This unicorn… might have some answers to the questions she had when she first stepped hoof in Equestria, “You know Sylvanos?”

Her question was met by a raised eyebrow and a small smirk from Alphabittle as he brought out a couple teacups and a saucer, “So that’s what his name was. Never really shared it with me when I met him,” the unicorn said, “You might want to get comfortable though, because this is a bit of a long story. Can I get you anything though? Maybe a drink?”

Ember herself could only let out a deep breath and nod her head as she tried to process some of the information that was shared with her. It wasn’t much, but she had a feeling that what Alphabittle might tell her was not going to be hopeful in any particular way. Even Philomena had the same feeling too as she tried her best to help comfort Ember and keep her calm.

After about three minutes, Alphabittle was back with a kettle as he poured the tea into the cups and slid one over to her. “Here you go. I put some sweetener and milk in it to balance out the taste, but if you want anything else to go with it, just tell me.”

“Thank you,” the mancer said as she used her hooves to take a small sip, “So, about that long story you were telling me about?”

“That took place a long time ago,” the stallion admitted, “When magic disappeared, I was only a colt and… things weren’t exactly the way that they are now. I don’t know who or what started it, but since many ponies believed that we were more knowledgeable with magic than the other tribes, the idea that ‘if magic were to go away, it was because of a unicorn’s fault’ was an idea that took root overnight. Many families like myself were forced out of places we used to call home and blamed for something that we didn’t even know could be possible. We didn’t even have a place to call home for the longest time.”

Alphabittle paused, then took a moment to drink some tea that he made for himself before he looked back at the mare that sat across from him, “Then, one day, I got separated and chased by some earth ponies that were coming after me. I ran into the forest, thinking that it would be a safe place to hide… but I got lost trying to find my way out. In doing so, that was when I met a creature with the appearance of a wolf, yet with a body of timber. He had a look of hostility when I first saw him, but as I approached, he became… curious, I think.”

That had Ember raise an eyebrow That did not seem like a trait that Sylvanos would demonstrate. Especially since anytime he had seen him before, the timberwolf was always hostile to her. “How so?”

“Well, he wasn’t expecting for anyone to come looking for him,” he said, “The only thing I can really tell was that they seemed exhausted and somewhat in pain. When I asked what was wrong, he said that something had been taken from the forest… and until it was returned, he would have to take its place to make sure that its denizens survived.”

“Oh no,” Celestia gasped in Ember’s mind, “Does he mean… magic?”

“He wanted for me to leave him be and let him rest, but… I couldn’t. I didn’t know where my family was and I didn’t want to leave them alone in the state that he was in. He asked for me to go home, and I told him that we didn’t have one now. That’s when he asked for my name and said that if he were to give us a home, then I would have to fulfill a promise for him,” As Alphabittle spoke, he then looked back up to Ember and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper as he turned it around to show her.

Young colt, heed my final words to you. One day, you will find a figure with a crimson scarf, the feather of a phoenix and a heart of fire. Her name is Ember Valkyr and she is my mother. Tell her what has become of me and say that I chose this because if she put her trust in ponykind, then so should I. Bridlewood will be my greatest and final creation, as a gift for your people and you. Cherish it with all your heart and keep it safe.

Mother. Long ago, you took it upon yourself to put your trust in ponykind and their potential. Now, it is time for me to do the same. Know that I spent my final days not in anger at the creatures that called this place home, but served as their guardian and friend. I spent what was left of my days trying to follow your example. To not be an incarnation of hate, but the opposite.

Remember that no matter what happens, the forest will remember. Always.

Sylvanos, the heart of nature.

The moment that she had finished reading what was on the page, the mancer felt a mix of various emotions all hit her at once. First, there were the feelings of grief and anger. Grief that Sylvanos was no longer here and anger at herself for not taking it upon herself to come see him sooner. Then, she felt a sense of happiness, for since she left, Sylvanos seemed to change his ways for the better. Even though he represented nature, he actually took it upon himself to care for the creatures that called Equestria home… and when the unicorns had their home taken away from them, Sylvanos used the last of his strength and will to provide one for them. Even if it cost him his life in the end.

As tears came down her face, the mancer couldn’t help but smile as she looked back at the unicorn. “I… see. So that’s what happened. Thank you for being with him to the end. Your actions remind me of something I once did a long time ago and here I am now.”

“Well, I’m glad I can help I guess,” Alphabittle said, pausing for a brief moment to take some tea before he looked back at her, “Even though everything happened so suddenly on the day I met him, your son gave us a place to call home, and that I will always be grateful for.”

As Ember drank some more tea, some other thoughts came to mind. While she did learn of what happened to Sylvanos, there were some other things that the mancer had to piece together while she was here. Given how Alphabittle not only welcomed her, but also had been kind enough to her so far, perhaps asking him for some information was a safe bet. “Hey, Alphabittle? Do you mind if I ask you some questions? I’m… still trying to refamiliarize myself with a few things, so I wanted to ask a couple things.”

The unicorn paused, raised an eyebrow and looked back at Boneless for a brief moment before he turned his attention back to her. “Okay… but only if you answer some questions for me in return. Fair’s fair, right?”

“Emmy, are you sure about this?” Amaryllis spoke up, “I mean, I'm not quite sure how much this guy would be willing to share with you.”

“I understand, but I still want to try anyway. I mean, this guy’s giving me the impression that he’s the one responsible for taking care of everypony here. He probably knows a few things. Plus, when I ask certain questions later, I can judge his responses.”

“So, you’re basically trying to see what makes him tick?” Philomena then asked.

While the caretaker took another sip of tea and nodded her head to answer to Argyle, she answered the phoenix’s question, “More like try to narrow down some things. Remember what Argyle said before about fear? I thought that by asking him certain questions, I can gauge what unicorns are afraid of instead of trying to ask him bluntly. Trust me, I got this.”

At that, there were a couple of murmurs in the back, but then Amaryllis chose to reply, “Okay, but maybe we can help provide some questions? Like, if you’re stuck?”

“If it gets to that point sure, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she cautioned, before putting the teacup down, “So, would you like to go first or should I?”

“O-oh, uh, if you insist,” the stallion replied, a little bit caught off guard by what she said, “Ms. Valkyr, out of curiosity, what do you do for a living? I can only assume that based on what you said that you’re a… traveler of sorts?”

Ember chuckled at that as she smiled, “Sort of. I do travel on occasion, though my occupation is a bit… difficult to describe. The easiest way I can try to describe it is that I’m an archivist of sorts. I take it upon myself to try to collect knowledge and stories to try and preserve them. There’s a lot of them out there, I know that for sure, but I think that learning from such stories can teach us valuable lessons.”

“So… you’re a librarian of sorts.”

“Pretty much. I mean, I do have quite a collection as of now,” she admitted and shrugged her shoulders, “Now, my turn to ask you something. What’s life like in Bridlewood usually? Do you do anything special?”

Now, it was Alphabittle’s turn to shrug, “We’re not the kind of ponies that try to bring attention to ourselves. As long as everypony follows the rules and doesn’t try to break them or leave Bridlewood, then we don’t cause any problems with the other tribes. On occasion, there’s somepony that tends to get a bit… creative, but outside of that, nothing too serious.”

“Leave Bridlewood? That sounds… ominous. Wasn’t there that one song that you and Maeve would listen to about a lovely place you may never leave from?”

“Kitten, I like your taste, but I doubt this village is like ‘Hotel California’,” the thief replied, “Still, he doesn’t seem very optimistic about ponies trying to bend the rules either. Maybe that’s a clue or something.”

With that in mind, Ember took it upon herself to try and form another question. Yet, right around the same time, Alphabittle had a question for her. “My turn now. When Sylvanos said that you had a heart of fire, what did he mean by that exactly? I thought that it was something to do with personality, but I rather not assume.”

“Well, first off, thank you for the compliment,” Ember chuckled, “And second, it’s more complicated than that. Plus, this isn’t quite the ideal place to demonstrate.”

Alphabittle’s eyes widened for a short bit, unsure of what to make of what she just told him as he tried to wrap his head around what was said. Though, after a couple minutes, he decided to drop it. “Okay, I’ll… uh, take your word for it.”

“Fair enough. Though, fair warning, my next question is going to be a bit more complicated now,” Ember told him, before taking one last sip to finish her tea and set the cup and saucer aside, “If there was ever a chance that magic would come back and things would go back to the way they were before, what would you think about it? Honest answer.”

The welcoming attitude from Alphabittle slowly began to shift to a different tone as he finished his drinks and put the dishes away. “That’s a rather difficult question, I’m afraid. Though, if I have to be honest, even if magic were to somehow come back, I doubt it would change anything. Earth ponies have made us their scapegoats for years to ‘protect’ themselves from us, even though everything about what they claim about us is false. And pegasi? Pegasi are insufferable. Honestly, I think all the time that they spend in that grand city of theirs has made them blind to reality and what’s really happening in the world.”

That was enough to provide an answer for another question that was on Ember’s mind. Based on his words from earlier and this response now, Ember could guess what exactly it was that unicorns feared. Their fear was change. All of them stuck to the rules of Bridlewood and did not leave because they thought that if anything happened that was different from what was expected, it would spell disaster for everypony. They also believed that change was impossible and something that they couldn’t see themselves doing.

Then, the unicorn returned her question with a different one, “Now, why exactly are you wanting to hear my opinion on this? I doubt it’s just for the sake of curiosity.”

That wasn’t quite an easy answer to provide for that one. Still, he did ask, so Ember had to provide something, “I wanted to see what Sylvanos saw in you. Now that I had the proper chance to do so, I can see why. You remind me a bit of who I was a long time ago. Someone who had been through a lot of hardship, but persisted nonetheless because you knew that there were others that counted on you. I wanted to ask something difficult to see if your resolve would falter in any way. But you proved me wrong.”

Alphabittle though, looked as if he honestly expected for her to say more, “Is that it? Just a judgment of character?”

“Well, not quite. In fact, the best way to get my point across is do something to intrigue you,” Ember said, taking a quick glance over at the rules that were along the wall, before giving a smile, “I would like to make a bet with you, Mr. Blossomforth.”

Alphabittle’s face looked like it was one part intrigue, one part confusion and another part suspicion as he looked back at her. “Miss, I’ve only known you for almost half an hour and now you want to make a bet with me? Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Yeah, Ember, are you crazy? What are you even trying to prove?”

“A point,” was the only reply the mancer had for the voices in the back of her head as she looked at the stallion, “I’m pretty sure. You seem like the kind of stallion that seems pretty confident. Especially if you have specific rules relating to bets with you involved. So, I want to make one with you. Not a simple one that can be won now… but something for the next time I come back.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Well, I personally believe that change is not only possible, but can be good for everyone. So, I bet that one day, you will meet somepony that has an impossible dream that they think they can achieve. When that day comes, something marvelous will happen that would not only change your lives for the better, but many other lives too. It doesn’t matter what their tribe is, for it’s their character that counts.”

“Hmm,” Alphabittle narrowed his eyes and turned away for a moment. Ember watched as he looked to be speaking with Boneless for a bit and tried to run it by someone else first. Yet, after a couple of minutes, “What exactly are you waging?”

“How about… if you win, you can take any piece of knowledge from my vast collection and it’ll be yours to keep, no exceptions,” the caretaker told her, “But if I win… you would let me stay in Bridlewood.”

“Okay, but, I have not seen this collection of yours,” the stallion pointed out. “How would I know that you’re not just trying to rip me off?”

As the stallion said that, Ember took off the feather from her scarf and placed it on the counter. “Then let me provide some extra incentive. For this isn’t just an ordinary decoration. It is also a key for you to come visit me. Use this like a key in any door you find and when you walk through, you will find yourself in my home. Perhaps seeing what I have and who lives with me will be enough to dispel any doubts you have.”

Then, the caretaker got up from her seat, left a few bits on the table and turned to walk out the door. “I await your response, Mr. Blossomforth.”

At that point, Alphabittle was already trying to go out after the mare as he hurried out to open the door. “Hey, wait a minute, you can’t just-!”

However, when the door did open, he was shocked to find that the pony he was talking to was gone. All he found was the empty courtyard of Bridlewood as the moonlight shined overhead. For a moment, the stallion thought that the mare had just ran off somewhere. Considering that there were very few places to hide in Bridlewood, that would’ve been possible.

Yet, what the mare told him just moments before was still fresh in his mind as he trotted back inside and looked to the feather that Boneless was now holding for him. Part of him felt that it was too late in the evening for him to be doing anything else and he should just go to bed. However, if there did happen to be some truth behind the mare’s words… it would probably be better if he knew what it could do rather than somepony else finding out about it by accident.

“I can’t believe I’m actually going through with this,” he thought, having Boneless come with him as he locked the front door, put up the closed sign and trotted back to the door that would normally lead to his bedroom. However, instead of going in, he had the armadillo on his shoulder put the feather in the keyhole and turn it like a key. Immediately, the blank door began to change appearance and the symbol of a burning candle was seen at the top.

“That’s… not what I expected,” the unicorn admitted. At one point, he thought that he should back out. That all of this was just way over his head and that he should just leave it alone. Yet, he was not the kind of stallion to back away from something like this. So, nervously, he gently pushed the door open, closed his eyes and stepped inside.

“So, let me get this straight kitten,” Maeve asked as she folded her arms, “You left your feather to this Alphabittle guy… as an invitation for a bet?”

The mancer nodded, now relieved to be back in her regular body as Philomena sat on her shoulder. Celestia, Luna and Amaryllis were in another one of the archive’s chambers with the Orb of Observation, taking their time to go over every detail that Ember had seen on her survey into this ‘new generation’ that Equestria was now in. Which left both the mother and daughter to watch over the archive in case they had any visitors come see them.

“Mhm. That’s right.”

“And what exactly makes you think this stallion will take you up on it, Ember?” Philomena asked, which just had the caretaker smirk.

“Because I have a feeling that some time from now, when change does come to Equestria and magic one day returns, he will play a part in it. But for that change to come, there needs to be a change in himself first. That and I thought that the only way for that change to happen is for it to come in a form he’s most familiar with.”

Just as she said that, all three of them turned their heads to the door as they heard the handle squeak and the door. “And speak of the devil. Looks like he’s not one to keep somepony waiting.”

When Alphabittle opened his eyes again, he found himself not in his room, but in what looked like a massive library. There were shelves that contained all manner of books that went as high as the ceiling along one of the walls and a collection of… oddities on the other side. The different tables spread around had various forms of writings and pictures, some of which depicted creatures that he did not know even existed.

It was as he looked around in awe that a somewhat familiar voice caught his attention, “Well, when I left you my key, I did not expect for you to use it right away.”

When the stallion turned around, he found himself looking at a figure that looked to be in somewhat casual clothes and a crimson scarf stood behind a rather ornate desk with a bird that was bright as fire perched next to her. Even though her appearance was different, the voice was immediately recognizable. “W-wait a minute. A-Aren’t you-?”

“I am. But perhaps now I should introduce myself more professionally to you,” she replied, “My name is Ember Valkyr. Heart of the Phoenix, traveler and caretaker of the Candlelight Archive. This repository of knowledge is everything that I’ve acquired through my travels and contains the stories of many figures like that of myself. Sylvanos put his trust in you to watch Bridlewood, and now, I trust for you to keep the knowledge of the archive’s existence a secret until the time is right.”

As she finished speaking, she had one last question for the stallion, “Now that you have an idea as to what I am offering, would you like to accept the bet I proposed?”

In all honesty, Ember thought that the stallion needed more time to think about it. Yet, all she saw was a grim on Alphabittle’s face as he extended a foreleg to shake her hand with. “Well, this was not what I was expecting at all… but if it’s a bet you want, then I’ll accept it.”

The mancer did not know it at the time, but despite her attempts to keep herself hidden from the residents of Equestria, her actions would provide the spark for a new generation to ignite.

The End