Chapters 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.
Forgotten Fire: Ember of Darkness
That... could have gone better. The entire conversation she had was a blur; all she remembered was that Trixie obviously didn't remember her somehow. Either she had also repressed the memories of that night like Ember had, or maybe she whammed her head on a rock or something, but she definitely had no idea who Ember was. Ember also remembered something about a few books and plates being thrown at her in Trixie's trailer, but that probably wasn't important.
"So is that it," she asked aloud, "because that certainly was a thrill. My own sister has no idea who I am, my mother abandoned me, and I have no idea what happened to my father..."
Then it hit her. What had happened to her dad? She hadn't really thought about it until now, but she didn't know if he got out of the fire or where he might have gone to. How could she have been so scatterbrained?! Had Faolan not been only the most important pony in her life? Ember kept banging her head on the wall of the building she was sitting next to out of anger at herself. Tears began flowing from her sore eye, and a quiet, squeaky cry came from her throat. She hit her head on the wall until she grew dizzy from the large bruise now forming just underneath her horn. She was glad there was nopony around to see her suffer; they were all gathering for the Great and Powerful Trixie's second show.
She sat outside that building for what felt like hours, just thinking about everything she had ever done wrong. When she felt her head was about to literally explode from thought, she felt a cold breeze blow past her and into a nearby alleyway, accompanied by a strange noise that was unlike anything she had ever heard. Ember rose to her weary hooves to go investigate.
She peaked around the corner, where she saw two ponies talking. There was a brown-coated earth colt with an hourglass cutie mark, and a grey-looking pegasus with blonde hair, crossed eyes, and her cutie mark was...bubbles? What a strange thing this was. She hadn't heard them back there, and she was sure there was nopony around when she was...sitting by the wall, so where did they come from? It took her a bit before she saw a large, blue box that the two ponies were standing by. She tried to lean a little closer, but she tripped on a rock by the corner of the wall. Ember fell on her face with a loud "ophhhh."
"Oh... helloooo." said the brown colt with a turn of his head towards Ember.
"Ughhh, oh, sorry to uh...interupt" Ember replied as she picked herself up and brushed herself off.
"Oh, no bother. Me and my friend were actually just about to get going. So much time, so little things to do. Oh, erm, reverse that, actually." said the colt with a smile. "Ah, manners. This is Derpy, and I'm the Doctor; who might you be?"
"It's...not really important."
"Well of course it is. You have to be somebody, or else your nobody at all, and where's the fun in that? Just some nameless pony with no past, present, or future. Totally insignificant. Might as well be dirt, or a rock, or..." Derpy shot a friendly but impatient glance at the Doctor. "Oh, yes, rambling again. I tend to do it a lot. Anyways, we must be going; adventures and such. Have a good day miss...unknown filly."
"Ember..." she said shyly. "My name's Ember Lulamoon."
"Well Miss Ember, I will be seeing you later, yeah?
"Sure," she said confusingly. "I guess so."
"Good." And with that, the Doctor and Derpy headed into the strange blue box labeled "Police Public Call Box". After a few seconds, the strange sound returned, and the box began to fade; fading until there was nothing there except the other side of the building. A million thoughts were racing through Ember's mind as she tried to comprehend what just happened, but nothing made any sense. Suddenly, she remembered something she had been told not long ago. She heard, "Many strange things will happen to you, things you may not understand, but do not be afraid. Whatever may happen, stay true to your path and your destiny. All else will come with time." She was still bewildered by this Doctor, but Ember figured he was speaking the truth when he said he'd see her again.
She could have spent more time at that spot where the blue box had disappeared, but Ember had the strange urge to return to Zecora's hut; to return to the kindly zebra and her peaceful hut, where everything made sense. It was becoming dark out, and Ember longed for a nice, peaceful rest after her weary and confusing day. So, she walked. She walked all the way through Ponyville, all the way through the Everfree Forest, and right into the tree in which Zecora lived. Finally in her bed, Ember let the sweet gift of sleep wash her away into unconsciousness.
Forgotten Fire: Ember of Darkness
The Harmony Chronicals-Part 2
"HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?!" Luna screamed at her sister, letting all of her anger and frustration pour out of her heart. "What did you do?"
"ME?!" Celestia shot a sharp glance at her younger sister. "What could possibly make you think this was my fault?"
"The fact that he was FINE yesterday, and now he's destroying everything. He went to see you last night, and then today he's gone psycho! You obviously have to know what happened."
"Listen to me little sister, you forget your place. I am the ruler of Equestria, and I will not be accused by you. I do not know what happened to him, but we must deal with this. It is complete chaos out there. The ponies are terrified, Equestria is being destroyed, and we must stop him, not sit around here arguing over who knows what. Will you help me?"
"Of course," Luna said automatically, "I would never standby and let Equestria suffer."
"Good, then we must gather the Elements of Harmony"
The two sisters alighted from flight at the very highest tower in Canterlot, where the Elements were being kept. After unlocking the door, the two alicorns walked to the chest sitting on the alter in the middle of the room. Celestia unlocked the chest with a spell, and opened the box.
"Six Elements for two ponies... my how things have changed" Luna said wearily.
Celestia gave a sad look at Luna, and proceeded to put on three of the Element necklaces: Loyalty, Kindness, and Honesty. She then placed Magic, Generosity, and Laughter on Luna. With a ruffle of their feathers, the two princesses took off and headed for Manehatten.
Buildings were turned upside down, the ground was checkered, and chocolate milk rained from the sky. Celestia and Luna flew past ponies fleeing in terror from the giant animals with the teeth as sharp as razors. Luna began to descend to help the ponies, but Celestia quickly shouted
"No, we must stop the cause of all this. There is nothing we can do until we stop Discord!"
Hearing the name Discord used instead of his birth name tore at Luna's heart. She figured it was better to associate these chaotic misdeeds with a new name so as not to defile his old one, but Luna couldn't stop thinking about how terrible a thing it was to think that he was gone. To think that he was REALLY gone. Luna pulled up next to Celestia and continued flying towards where this monster was.
It wasn't hard to find him; everything became more chaotic the closer they got to Discord. When they had finally found him, sitting in a throne he conjured, fear and disgust covered their faces. How had he become this ? He had always looked as if he was made up of different body parts from all sorts of animals, but only now did he actually look monsterish. His kind eyes that had always shown how caring and friendly he was were replaced by those comprised of nothing except evil and chaos.
"Well hello Princesses Celestia and Luna. Just how are you doing? Wonderful weather we're having, am I right?"
"Stop this NOW Discord," Celestia barked.
"Oh, I never can get tired of hearing that name. It just has such a marvelous, chaotic ring to it. Anyways, what brings you to my humble abode?"
Luna stepped forward, "Discord, please, end this now. This isn't you. Can't you please put everything back to normal and come back with us?"
"A tempting offer if I've ever heard one, but you see, I rather like being the spirit of Chaos. I feel as if I always have been, I just didn't realize it before. And honestly, this is just to much fun!" He snapped his fingers and three ponies began to float around his hand, spinning as they went. "I'm having fun here and there is nothing you can do about it. The Elements of Harmony barely worked when it was just the three of us wielding them, so I highly doubt they'll work with just you two ponies. Go ahead and try all you like, but I feel confident that they will fail." With that, Discord disappeared and re-appeared on a nearby cloud, lying down and getting comfortable on its fluffy top.
Luna gave a troubling look at Celestia, who scrunched up her face angerly. "Alright Luna, we have to try, no matter what." Luna reassuredly nodded her head and activated her Elements. It took a while for them to activate, due to the fact that she only actually controlled one of them, but eventually all three began working. With a positive glance from her sister, a rainbow began to emerge from the Elements, and after shooting into the sky, it made its way to a completely off-guard Discord.
"No," he screamed. "No, No, NO! It isn't possible! There is no way only two can control the Elements! NO!" As he screamed his legs began to turn to stone, and it slowly worked it's way up to his head, until Discord's entire body was turned to stone. The pony princesses were left panting and sweating. It was definitely much harder to control the Elements with less than 6 wielders, let alone only two. With Discord having been turned to stone, everything his magic had changed was undone, and Equestria was put back to normal.
While on duty for guarding the night, Luna was alone with her thoughts. She sat there watching the night sky, thinking about how that kind creature had become Discord. She thought for hours about what could cause somepony's heart to turn dark and evil. Deep in thought, Luna heard a quite whisper in her ear that said, "You Luna...you should rule Equestria. None of the ponies appreciate your beautiful nights. They all love and praise your sister, while your left unappreciated and alone. If you ruled, you would be loved, and you could cover the land in eternal night." At first the whisper startled Luna, and made her want to flee, but as she listened the words she heard became truth. She was unappreciated, and it would be good to be ruler of Equestria. A small grin appeared on Luna's face, and she sat there for the rest of the night, just staring at the moon.