Forgotten Fire: Ember of Darkness

          A cold chill arose in the dark forest. The full moon over-head radiated a pale, dim light as the filly walked over the rocky trail. Everything was strange and wonderful: the dark shaded plants, the playful fireflies dancing on the breeze, and gentle hum of the midnight air. The filly felt joy, something that had been hard to come by since the fire. There was no pain in her stomach from constantly repressing feelings, there was no thoughtless pondering on what had happened, there was only bliss. Just as she accepted that this was real, that this was what actual freedom was, she heard the howl. "No, not here. How could he have followed me here?!" Everything began to fade in a spinning blaze of light and sound, rushing past her as she was forced to "WAKE."

"Wake up little mare. You must end your bad nightmare." The filly's eyes fluttered open as she quickly surveyed the room of the hut. After realizing she was back amongst the friendly faces of the colorful masks, the warm fire beneath the cauldron, and the surprisingly comfortable dirt that made up the floor, she set her eyes upon the kindly face of the Zebra. "Good morning little one, come easy your mind beneath the sun." With a smile, the filly gently nodded and followed Zecora outside.

The sunshine burned upon the filly's face, but it wasn't an unpleasant burn. It was warm and caring... and familiar. As they left the small hut, the humid air hugging them as a flash of bright green caught the little filly's eye. Amongst the dark green leaves of the Everfree Forest, the light sparkled in the sun, before vanishing as quickly as it appeared. The filly didn't know why, but it worried her.

Her transfixion on the light was interrupted when Zecora asked, "While you slept, you did scream and shout. Please, tell me, what was your dream all about?"

The filly looked up, stared blankly into the Zebra's gentle eyes, and replied, "It was nothing. It was kinda weird; i don't really remember it much at all, but I felt like something was following me."

The zebra wanted to ask more, to see if she could help, but she remembered what she had been told. She knew not to pry into this ponies mind. She was specifically told to help guide her, to be a caretaker and mentor, but not to attempt to unearth what was locked inside this ponies mind. She knew it would be to dangerous to remind her what she had forced herself to forget.

So the zebra calmly looked at the filly, and with an expression of satisfaction, replied, "Well, as long as you are okay, is suppose you will be on your way."

Ember looked at her with a look of hurt and shock. "You want me to leave?!"

Zecora set her gaze upon the young mare, and said softly, "Do not worry, I am not pushing you away. You just have somewhere you need to be today." Puzzling confusion swept across the filly's face.

"I don't understand."

"I've been told, if you want a thrill, you should go to Ponyville." Ember looked at Zecora with a slight smile.

"You rhyme just for fun, don't you?". The zebra gave a laughing smile, and nodded towards the path that leads to Ponyville.

After packing her few possessions into her saddle bags that she borrowed from Zecora, and saying goodbye for now, the filly headed off down the path to Ponyville. The woods were dense, but there were pockets of light shining through the leafy sky. There were wonderful sounds of woodland critters, babbling brooks, and the sweet-smelling wind blowing past the trunks of the trees. Everything was so fantastic and serene. Serene? What was that word? It sounded so familiar. Darkness crept through her mind as visions of her home ran rampant through her memories...

Everything changed so suddenly. The pockets of light were fading, and the Everfree Forest grew dark and lifeless. The emptiness took hold of her heart and a nervous chill ran up along the filly's back. The sweet sounds of the woods was replaced by the sounds of snapping twigs and howling winds. Howling?

"NO..."

Adrenaline pumped through the pony's veins as she turned from a gentle trot to a full speed gallop. Nothing seemed to matter,only running. Running, jump, run, dodge the tree limbs and keep running. Run run run... SUNSHINE. Everything was bright again. She could feel the warm kiss of light on her cheeks on her face, feel the gentle breeze through her mane, and hear the soft sounds of woodland critters again.

"Was it real" she asked aloud before seeing a charming little town just over the horizon. "Ponyville?"

She hadn't stepped hoof in Ponyville in what seemed like years now, despite it only being a few short weeks. The candy-colored shops and houses brought up the feelings of shock and awe she felt during the Summer Sun Celebration. Her memories were faded and crushed from her psyche rejecting the events from that day. She couldn't remember why she was thee that day, what happened, or even who she was with. All she could make out was that there were two Unicorns and a Pegasus, but she couldn't make out who they were. She kept walking through the street, trying to deduce her memories, when she came face to face with a purple poster taped onto the side of a building.

Reading this poster... jogged something in her brain. What was it? She read the poster again.

"The Great and Powerful TRIXIE and her UNBELIEVABLE TALENT! The must see show of ponyville"

Her head started pounding as flashes of her sister appeared in her eyes. She fell to her back, wiping her eyes, when BOOM! The sound of explosions and fireworks filled the air. The filly could see light flashing over some rooftops to her right, despite it still being midday. A crowd of ponies was gathering towards the center of town. Ember picked herself up and followed the crowds, knowing exactly what she was walking towards. There was a large wooden stage with a trailer off to the side, bearing a flag with a magic wand in front of a crescent moon. There wasn't any doubt in her mind that this was Trixie. Ember remembered seeing her running from the house after the roof had fallen on top of her. Smoke bean to emerge from the stage and more fireworks lit the sky with a glamorous blaze of flame. Then the Magician suddenly appeared in the middle of the stage, rearing onto her two back hooves with a confident smirk on her face. The crowds began to cheer; to cheer for the Great and Powerful Trixie.