> The Orbs of Destiny > by FlareBolt > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Catacombs and a Strange Object > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1: Catacombs and a Strange Object It was a nice evening, Flare Chaser, a young colt Pegasus with a white pelt, brown and messy mane, amazingly blue eyes, and a blank-flank, was walking home from the canterlot school. His father was in Celestia's Military, and a high ranking officer. As he walked, he noticed the same alley he passes every day *What is over there... Well, there's only one way to find out...* He thought as he entered the alley. He first noticed a trap door, he opened it to see a stair case leading down deep into the ground. *Well, this I don't exactly see every day... Better head down, it looks fun...* he thought as he started down the stairs, finding himself in a torch lit cavern. *Wait... This looks familiar, I've been here before, when my uncle died we paid him a visit. These must be the Canterlot Catacombs. Interesting... Why is there an entrance here...* he thought as he continued through the catacomb until he came to a iron door. *I don't remember this, this must me deeper where they keep the older dead. Well, I may get some answers through here: Why is this part sealed off?* He thought as he began to open the door, revealing more of the cave. He entered and closed the door behind him and began deeper into the caverns. He finally came to a large circular room with a pedestal in the middle of it. Upon the pedestal lied a strange orb-like object. Flare Chaser moved towards it, finally reaching it. He picks it up and begins to examine it but then the ground began to shake and a shadowy figure appeared behind him and it began to charge at him. So Flare Chaser started for the other side of the room where there was a door. He opened it, there were stairs leading up, and then he slammed the door close behind him, slowing down the figure. He continued up the stairs and found himself in a small room with no way out. The shadow finally caught up and charged for him again. He then threw the orb that was in his hooves at the shadow and the shadow disappeared when it made contact with the orb. Flare Chaser then picked up the orb and there was a flash of light. He was suddenly back at the trap door in the alley. *This was most indeed an interesting event... Lets get a better look at that orb, shall I?* he thought, looking at the orb. It was white and covered in strange runes. He put it in his saddle bag. *Well, now I should get home. I'm already late...* he thought, running back home. He finally arrived and was confronted by his parents. "How was your day sweetie?" his mother asked. "Wha- Umm... It was nice." he said *Wait... what time is it?* he thought as he looked at a clock. It was 2:30 pm. *Strange... I get out of school at about 2:00 pm and get home at 2:30 pm, but it felt like hours down in the catacombs...* "Is something wrong?" she asked with concern "No, everything is alright, it just feels like it's late to me." Flare Chaser responds with a convincing voice. "Alright..." She said sounding skeptical. A few hours passed and Flare Chaser went to bed, feeling tired. > Questions > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2: Questions Flare Chaser woke up to an alarm clock. He mumbled a bit not wanting to get up, but he manages to do it. He goes to the kitchen quietly, eats breakfast, makes his lunch, brushes his teeth, and gets his saddle bag ready. When the clock hit 7:00am, he went out the door. He flew his way over to the Canterlot School, he entered and went to an area called the "Forum". It is where the students wait for the bell to ring. He sat in a corner of the large room, bustling with fillies and colts, and the loud noise of them all talking. Eventually, Solar Spark arrived. "Flare, you won't believe what I have for lunch." she said with a smile on her face. "Well, that makes us both have interesting topics to talk about." he replied. "Really? Well, I have sushi for lunch, what is your 'interesting topic'?" she asked. "Well, I found this strange orb on my way home from martial arts yesterday, it has some ancient-looking runes on it, I'm going to ask the history professor about it." he said, pulling out the orb. "Hmm... it looks so.... mysterious." she said. "Yeah, I thou-" Flare Chaser was interrupted by the ring of the bell. "Well, see ya later!" Solar Spark said as she ran off. He began his way to class, he found himself in his science class. He spent about an hour there, then headed to his next class, math. After that, he made his way to lunch, ate, and went to his next class, english. Then finally, he was in his history class, once it ended, he went to the professor. "Sir, do you know anything about this?" Flare Chaser asked, pulling out the orb. "Hm?" he asked as he examined the orb. "Now! Where the hay did you get this artifact!" the professor asked. "I found it on the side of the street, somewhere close to my house." Flare Chaser answered. "Well, this is an ancient relic called a Orb of Destiny. They have special compounds that make them powerful, but without the other two, this is useless." the professor said. "Do you know where I could find more information on the subject?" Flare Chaser asked. "Yes, well, possibly. The Royal Library is the first place I would look." the professor said. After chatting with him for a while, Flare Chaser headed back home. > The Royal Library > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3: The Royal Library A few days pass and Flare Chaser is standing a few hundred meters from the castle gate. He finally sees Solar Spark coming in the distance, she finally gets to him. "There you are, you said you knew a way into the castle without being seen by the guards?" Flare Chaser asked. "Yeah... wait, where are you going with this? Why did you ask me to come here?" She asked. "I need to get to the Royal Library." he answered. "It this about your obsession with that orb? Look, it's probably some old thing somepony dropped on accident." she said. "Look, I just need your help to get in there." he said. "Fine... I can't believe we are skipping school for this..." she said, taking the lead as Flare Chaser follows her. They get to a sewage pipe. "Well, this will be fun..." Flare Chaser said and climbed in as Solar Spark gave him directions and left. He followed the directions to find a trap door, he opens it and he is in a small room, it looks like it's meant to store cleaning tools. He opens the door in front of him to see it is clear. He begins to use stealth to get out of the closet and close the door quietly. He sneaks his way up the corridor and sees some stairs. He begins to climb them. After he got to the top, he looked around in the hall he was in, there was the door to the library, it was guarded by two royal guards. They were talking: "So, this new student of Celestia's, is she really as good as they say she is?" one of them ask. "I believe so, said she hatched a dragon on her own. She is in there right now actually." the other guard replied. *How am I going to get past those guards... wait... what time is it?* he thinks as he looks at his watch. *It's 12:20 right now... when do the guards eat lunch?* he thought. Another guard walked up to the others. "Hey, I'm done eating, you two can go eat now." The guard said as the other two guards walked off to where ever they eat. *Well, one guard will be easier to deal with than two...* he thought. The guard was wide-eyed for some reason all of a suddenly, his face was green as he ran off. *Food poisoning maybe?* he thought has he went into the library. He looked around, looking for Orbs of Destiny, The. He finally came to it to find it missing, or it doesn't exist. He looked everywhere to find a purple unicorn, a filly. She was reading a book that was quite large. As the unicorn moved to go do whatever Celestia knows, so Flare Chaser went up to the book to see it was indeed, The Orbs of Destiny. "Um... can I help you?" a voice said behind him. He turned around to see the unicorn, Flare Chaser stayed quiet. "Well, if you could excuse me, I need to study." said the unicorn. "Can I borrow this book?" Flare Chaser asked quickly. "Umm... Why...? What would a Pegasus need this book for?" she asked suspiciously. "Look, I have one of the orbs, I need this book to find the others and learn more about them." Flare Chaser answered. "Fine, you can borrow it, no need to make things up." the unicorn said as Flare Chaser stuffed the book into his saddle bag. "Thanks." he said as he went to the balcony. *There was a balcony... of course...* he thought. "Wait... what is your name?" the unicorn asked. "Flare Chaser, you?" he answered, worrying she might report him to the guards. "Twilight Sparkle." she answered. He nodded and flew off, he made his way down back into town. > Ponyville > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4: Ponyville Once he got home, it was about 3:00pm. He entered his house and went straight to his room. He opened the book and began to read. After a while, he was called to dinner. He grabbed his food and went into his room and continued to read. When he finished his food, he took the plate back into the kitchen and put it in the sink. Flare Chaser went back to his room and continue reading the book, it stated many different facts he probably won't remember. Then he finally found the location. *Ponyville... huh, strange place to hide an artifact...* he thought. He closed the book, put it in his saddle bag and went to sleep. He woke up to the alarm clock once again and got up. He went down stairs and got ready to travel. He took one-hundred bits from his father's money stash and placed it in his bag, took some food, and headed out the door but was met by Solar Spark when he opened the door. "Alright, lets head to school." she said. "Actually... I'm headed to Ponyville..." he said. "What? Why? Does it have to do with the orb?" she asked annoyed. "Yes, it does, now, I need to get there as soon as possible." he said, closing the door behind him and ran off. "Hey, wait!" Solar called to him. "What?" he asked as he slowed down, letting her catch up to him. "I think I will go with you, you will need the help." she said. "Alright, now lets make some distance between here and us." he said as he began to run. She followed him until they came to the train station. They went to the ticket booth. "Excuse me sir, but could I have two tickets to Ponyville?" Flare Chaser asked. "Uh... aren't you two a bit too young to travel without a parent..." the ticket stallion asked. "Yes, yes we are." Flare Chaser answered. "Oh, um... okay, here are two tickets, that will be twenty bits." the ticket stallion said. "Thank you." Flare Chaser said as he took the tickets and headed for the train to Ponyville. They got onto the train and it began to move. They were right on time. After a few hours, they arrived in Ponyville. They get off the train and find themselves at a small train station, a lot smaller than the one in Canterlot. "Here, I'll find us a place to sleep, you begin your little search for the next orb-thing." she said and walked off. "Alright, be careful." he said as he headed into town. He looked around at the colorful houses and shops. *Where to begin...* he thought. He decided to head to the library. He asked someone directions and headed in the direction. He found it, it was a large tree house. He entered, found himself seat and got out the book. He read over the area where the orb was suppose to be. *Oh look, a riddle... lets see... "The place you seek is close to the center, all you must do is place it's brother into the unnatural waterfall. Only then will the path reveal itself. Then you must preform a trial of courage to continue." huh, better write that down...* he thought, writing down the riddle. It was getting late, he needed to go find Solar Spark. He walked around town, looking for her until he found her. "Awesome, there you are, c'mon, I found the perfect place!" she said and pulled him along. They came to a abandoned building. Flare Chaser really didn't care, he just followed her inside and fell onto the floor, then fell asleep. > The Second Orb > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5: The Second Orb He woke up, naturally this time, he checked his watch to see it was 10:00am. He walked outside the abandoned house and stretched his wings. *Maybe the librarian might know something...* he thought He went back to the library and went to the desk. "Hello? Could you tell me what this means?" Flare Chaser asked, handing the note to the librarian. "Hmm... well, it could be referring to town hall and the fountain in front of it..." she said. "Great! So where is the town hall?" he asked excited. "It's you just go straight down the street and make a right, you can't miss it." she said. "Great, thanks!" he said, rushing out the door. He used the directions he was given and finds town hall. He sees the fountain and looks inside it. *The orb I have must be "The brother".* he thought, getting out the orb. He dropped the orb into the fountain and the water stopped flowing. Then the water began to evaporate as the orb began to glow, ponies around him began to stare at the fountain. Then the fountain caved in and a stair case was revealed. Ponies around him began to whisper to each other. Flare Chaser picked up the orb and placed it in his bag. He stared at the stair case, then began to go down. He found himself inside a cave, it was damp and cold. He saw two paths, one went right, one went left. He went right, he found himself in a large room, there was a sword in the middle of it. It was a short blade, he could probably wield it and not hurt himself from heavy weight. He picked up the sword and then the cave behind him collapsed, he found himself looking forward to see a shadow-like pony figure. It began to charge at Flare Chaser. He charged back at the shadowy pony, parrying with swords. The shadow went for a stab but it was hit away with Flare Chaser's sword. Flare Chaser then sliced at the thing and cut it, but it didn't do much. The thing laughed and swung it's own sword at him. He dodged and stabbed the shadows side, this time, it was deep. He pulled the sword out, but it was still standing, it didn't bleed. The shadow charged once again at him. *Wait... a trial of courage...* he thought. He charged back at the thing and when they collided, the shadow disappeared. He put the sword he obtained into his bag. He saw there was a new opening in the wall. He headed through it to a room, in the middle was a pedestal with the second orb on it. The orb was a pure black, he picked it up and then there was a flash of light. He was by the fountain in Ponyville again, the fountain was in tack again and no pony seemed to be surprised or anything. In his hooves, he still had the black orb. He placed it in his bag and headed to the abandoned house. > Everfree Forest > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6: Everfree Forest Flare Chaser got in the abandoned house, Solar Spark wasn't there. He opened the book to find the next orb. *Lets see here... Well, thats a surprise... the EverFree Forest... in a ruin at the end of the path... here's a map to the ruin, at least they know it is in a more exact location this time... another riddle, they may be directions through the ruin... "To gain access to the room, you must find the correct elements and place them where they belong. Then the Elements of Harmony shall show you the way through, then use your wisdom of truth to reveal the last of the brethren." better write that down too... well, great, I have to make my way through the Everfree Forest...* he thinks, then copied the riddle onto a paper. Solar Spark arrived shortly after with a bag of food. "Hey, I see you got another one of the orbs then? I suppose you're telling the truth then..." she said. "Eeyup, now, I need your help this time... I could use as much help as I could get actually..." he said. "Arg... where do we have to go?" she asked annoyed. "The Everfree Forest, it will be my first time, but who knows, it might actually be fun." he said wondering. "Fun? The Everfree Forest is far from fun, we could get killed!" Solar Spark said with fear. "Exactly, won't it be exciting, so are you coming or not?" he asked. "*sigh* I might as well..." She said with a regretful tone. "Great! We head down tomorrow, right now lets get something to eat and then get some sleep, sound good?" he asked. "Better than anything we have now...." she said shrugging. They eat dinner then head off to sleep. In the morning, Flare Chaser is the first one up again, he shakes Solar Spark awake, they eat some breakfast and they head out. They come to the entrance of the Everfree Forest. "Well, lets get started, shall we. I suppose I shall go in first." he said, walking into the forest. "Wait for me!" she yelled, hesitant to go in. They begin to walk deeper into the forest. They come to a cliff side. "So, the map says we have to get down there some how, how about I carry you down there, that is probably our best bet." he said. "Alright, as long as we get out of here alive, I'm good." she said as Flare Chaser picked Solar up and flew to the bottom the canyon. "Now, wouldn't it suck if the ground was to break somehow and we fall, almost dieing?" he asked. "Yeah, but that ledge looks pretty stable, it looks like something would have to make it break." she said. They continue to walk through the forest. "According to the map, this is manticore territory, so be quiet, we don't want to attract any of those monsters..." Flare Chaser whispered. "Not a problem..." she said, looking around paranoid. They then see something in the distance, they get closer and they see a sleeping manticore in the middle of the path. "Oh... buck... alright, no need to panic, lets just quietly go around it and-" he was interrupted by Solar Spark screaming. "Shhh!" he shushed her, but it was too late, the manticore was awake, and probably not too happy about being woke up. The manticore charged at them, then he got an idea. "I learned something in the cave when I got that black orb, just follow my lead, alright?" he asked Solar Spark, she nodded. "Alright, lets go!" he yelled as he charged back at the manticore as Solar Spark followed. The manticore swung at him, but he dodged, and ran under the manticore and so did Solar Spark, they started to run away from it. They finally lost it. "Well, at least we lost the manticore, but it's gotten pretty dark, lets just keep going, c'mon." he said, as Solar followed hesitantly, finally coming out of the dark area, they come to a river. "Huh, strange, this river seems to be a bit too calm... ugh, this place is weird, lets keep going." Solar Spark said as they crossed the river. They finally come to a bridge, it doesn't look very stable, but it will do. Flare Chaser crosses the bridge. "C'mon Solar, you can do it!" he shouts to her from the other side. She begins to cross it, but after a few steps, the ropes snap and she began to fall. Flare Chaser dived down, caught her, and went back up to the ground. > The Last Orb > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 7: The Last Orb There was the ruin, right in front of them. There was a large wooden door, he opened it to find a large room, there was no roof and there was a large pillar-like thing in the middle of the room that branched out into five different branches, holding nothing at the moment. "We have to find the things called 'The Elements of Harmony' according to this riddle, they sound so familiar... Alright, lets get started, we should split up." Flare Chaser said. "Okay, you go left, I'll go right." Solar Spark said as he nodded in agreement. He began left, he went down a hallway and found two orbs sitting in a room. *Alright... I'll just pick these up and...* he thought as he tried to pick them up, but before he could, a shadow came out of nowhere. Flare Chaser got out his sword. They charged at each other and collided. The shadow didn't disappear, they swung at each other over and over until he found an opening and went for it. He stabbed the shadow's neck and sliced right, creating a large cut in the shadow's neck, making it disappear. He grabbed the orbs and headed for the main room where he found Solar with two orbs. "So, now what?" Solar asked. "We still need one more, It must be in the room ahead, lets place these orbs up there then place the final one in it's spot when we get back." he said, putting the four orbs in there spots on the branches. "Alright, lets go." he said, heading down the hall as solar followed. They came into a small room where they got the element and ran out before anything could happen. They placed the last element in it's spot and a light shined in the middle of it. It was another element, it shot a beam of light at the wall in the middle hall way creating two slots in the wall. They ran in the direction of it, they got to the end of the hall and placed the black and white orbs in place, creating a door between them. They entered the room it was a large room with a pedestal in the middle it was a grey orb, but it seemed to have some kind of force field around it. "Can you deactivate that?" he asked. "No! That looks way to complicated!" she said with a confused look on her face. "Alright, there has to be some way to deactivate it..." he said, thinking. *Use your wisdom of truth to reveal the last of the brethren...* he thought as he looked around. He noticed a gas of black smoke rush into Solar Spark. "Wait... you haven't been keeping anything from me, have you?" she asked. He thought about that question. *Does she mean about this adventure, or about my entire life?* he thought. "About what exactly?" he asked. "About these orb things, what do I not know about them?" she asked. "Well, I can only tell you what I know, they are called The Orbs of Destiny, they are suppose to be powerful when together, but apart, they are nothing, I also read quite much about them in the book I got from the Royal Library. Lets see what I can remember..." he said, then something went through him, he began to see things, he was beginning to gain knowledge through Celestia knows what. Then, he remembered. "I remember, the orbs are suppose to give you a power based on one of your strengths, it can be anything from muscle to mind, it reveals your destiny. That is the complete truth." he said as there was a flash of light. The force field was down. "Yes! Finally!" he said as he ran up to the orb, grabbed it, and placed it in his bag. "C'mon, lets get out of this place." he said as he ran out of the room, grabbed the other two orbs after Solar got out of the room and placed them in his bag, closing the door and sealing it. He ran out of the hall and came into the main chamber. The beam then faced them, then there was another flash of light, they found themselves in front of the Everfree Forest. > Sword and Home > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 8: Sword and Home (Conclusion) "Well, that was quite the adventure, lets get back to Canterlot, shall we?" Flare Chaser asked. "Probably a good idea, we probably have scared our families to death by now." Solar replied. "Wait, before we do, we need to do the ritual, I remember reading it in the book, it is how we can discover our destinies." he said as he ran to the abandoned house as Solar followed. They began rereading the ritual, they made a triangle around Flare Chaser and then Solar use her magic to create a spark. The orbs began to whirl around, then they stopped in mid-air, surrounding Flare Chaser. They then shot a beam into him, making him scream in pain. "Flare Chaser!" she shouted as the orbs disappeared. "Did...did it work...?" she asked with worry in her eyes. "Yeah, I think... I also feel something..." he said as he turned to his flank to see the sword. "You got your cutie mark! Finally!" she said with excitement. "Yeah yeah, lets get home now." he said as they headed for the train station. The two ponies got off the train, Flare Chaser felt exahustion, by the looks of it, so did Solar Spark. "Well, this is it... where we split up..." Solar Spark said with a sad voice. "Indubitably, I suppose I'll see you in detention then?" Flare Chaser said as Solar laughed a bit. "Yeah, I guess, well, see you later!" she said, walking off. *Before I get home... what did that thing do to me? Lets see...* he thought and started to concentrate then there was a flash of light. He began to see everything that has happened in the last twenty four hours, he also saw better ways he could have done things. His vision came back to reality, he was on a street in Canterlot. *Interesting... It allows me to clearly remember the smallest of detail and use it to my advantage in the future, also I can see better ways of doing things... This will indeed be useful.* he thought getting home. His parents started to yell at him, telling him how worried they were, after a while, they stopped and went to bed, as did Flare Chaser.