Fire and Ice: The Elements of Harmony

by SquareZack

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Romance, Princess Luna, Original Character, Spike, Adventure, Princess Celestia
Length: 7338

An earth pony and his friend help the Elements of Harmony defeat Discord after his return.

Fire is an earth pony who figures out that he is a pyromancer- a pony that weilds fire magic. Discord is returning, and he and his friend Ice aid the Elements of Harmony in Discord's defeat.

(Note: Cursing. Not much, but sometimes it can get a bit... colorful...
Note2: Removed Sad tag because the tragedy part isn't so much to change the entire fic. Also, added Alternate Universe tag because Discord was banished instead of being turned to stone.

Published 2012-02-20 03:24:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-04 05:41:31 UTC

Prologue

"FIRE! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Have you ever been raised by one of your friends? Not fun. I mean yeah, it CAN be, but when they're a bit over-protective? No. Not fun. What makes it even worse is when they're hardly older than you. That's how I was. After my parents died in a horrible earth pony/unicorn incident, Princess Celestia thought it would be nice for my friend Ice to take care of me. She was just a bit older than I. She's about 17, and I'm, what, only 14? Yeah, I'm 14.

Okay, so three years doesn't count as 'a bit', but it's nice, in a way. Ice never lived with anyone, really. Besides taking care of me, I mean. She just made her home in an abandoned house one day, and seemed to take care of herself from then on. Ice is an earth pony, like me. She has a long and VERY light blue mane with a few white stripes that ALWAYS cover half of her face; her tail's pretty much the same way, except it's not that long. It's actually a bit short if you ask me. Her coat is almost the same color of her mane, a very light blue, kinda like the color of the sky.

Her cutie mark is an ice shard. (Duh, her name's ICE for crying out loud!) And for an earth pony (I prefer pegasi, to be honest) she's actually very pretty! I had caught myself staring at her flank at times, but that's not what I'm talking about. I don't think of her like that, it's just that I need somepony to love or something. Anyways... I myself look a LOT like Ice, except for the color scheme. I have a red coat, and I mean RED. Like redder then the reddest apple in Equestria red. I had an unusually long mane, it was an extremely dark red, and my tail was the same except it had one big yellow stripe.

My tail was just as long as my mane, if not longer. My cutie mark was, obviously, a small flame. Ice never tells anyone how she got her mark, she's so cold. I, however, got mine when I got burned by a small fire in Canterlot. Nopony knows how it started, it just... started! Anyways, I really don't see how fire could be a talent or whatever, what I really don't get is that I have an amazing ability to... errr... how do I say it? "Get inside other ponies' minds"? Whatever. I'm a really good negotiator. I just don't understand how I got a flame as my cutie mark.

"FIRE!" Ice shouted from the kitchen, interrupting my thoughts.

"COMING!" I yelled back.

I like my home here in Canterlot, it's really nice. Ice and me, our house isn't so big. Just a kitchen, a living room, and two bedrooms with their own bathroom. I was just about in the kitchen when Ice yelled.

"FIRE YOU GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" She had her back turned towards the stove.

"I'm right here," I replied kind of smart-like. Then my tone changed to a hurt kind of tone.

"I've been here watching you yell at me without even turning from our breakfast." I said sadly. "I thought you cared about me enough to at least turn around while you yell..." Oh dang I was good. Ice, being as over-protective, parental, and loving as she is, immediately broke down; the kitchen was filled with her sobs and apologies. She hopped over to me (our kitchen is pretty small, three hoof steps and you've circled the edge of It.) and nuzzled her head next to mine in an apologetic hug. She's SO easy to manipulate, as is everypony here. I even got a nice view of her flank while I was being hugged.

"Oh I'm so sorry, Fire." She sobbed. "I'll pay more attention to you than I do my cooking." Which, by the way, was FABULOUS!!! That is, if it hadn't burned while she was cuddling me. Ice was an amazing cook. She had a very nice flank too... NO! STOP! I can't keep this up! 'Ugh, I think I'll go outside, maybe spy on the Princesses today.' I thought, and moved on with my day.

At Canterlot Castle, I somehow found the window to Celestia's bedroom cracked open. I saw two figures, the two Princesses inside! I sneaked underneath the window and tuned my ears in. Luckily, I knew the Princesses' voices very well, and didn't have to see them to know who was talking.

"Dear sister," Princess Luna started. "We simply cannot stand for this! Discord, although we have banished him, is coming here to take his revenge!" Same old, same old. Luna is paranoid of Discord returning. She has been since a cotton candy cloud arrived in Ponyville on its own free will a month back. I was just about to leave when

"You're right." Celestia, you've GOT to be kidding me! "Discord has shown signs of return, and they are growing more frequent. We must take immediate action."

Luna gave a deep sigh of relief. "So you finally believe me."

"Yes, dear sister, I do believe you, and I should have listened to you earlier. We must call the elements of Harmony to aid us again. I am going to write a letter and send it to Ponyville." She didn't need to explain to who, Luna already knew. Shoot. But about these Elements of Harmony? Sounds like something I should check out! And I sneaked off, back home to Ice, who just finished making Lunch. "Here you go, dearie!" She said in her usual, happy tone. Good. Now I just need to find a way to Ponyville.

Chapter 1: Magic

Twilight flipped through a new book she just bought. "The Elements of Magic and it's Properties" She knew about the Elements of Harmony, but Magic itself having (very many) sub-categories? This instantly grabbed her attention, and she began reading it. 'This is weird,' she thought. 'There are certain types of magic NOT found in unicorns or alicorns? Some earth ponies or pegasi are able to use magic?'

"No, this is too weird." Twilight said, shaking her head. "That's not possible." But she kept reading. Twilight read about how non-magical ponies could wield certain types of magic that magical ponies couldn't. Fire, Ice, some ponies could control nature itself? Applejack could use somepony like that around the farm! "No, what am I thinking? This isn't possible!"

Upstairs Spike could be heard as he burped out a letter. "Twilight!" He called. "There's a letter here for you!" Twilight sighed and almost began to go get the letter from Spike when he ran downstairs himself. "Here you go!" He said as he presented the rolled-up scroll to Twilight. The letter, surrounded in a purple aura, was lifted out of Spike's hands and unrolled itself. Twilight read the letter, her eyes growing wide as she finished it.

"What's wrong twilight?" Spike asked.

"Discord is showing signs of returning," Twilight whispered, terrified. Spike picked up the letter and read it himself.

"You should get the others."

"Why don't you do it Spike?" She asked, and plopped down on the floor. "You could get to see Rarity."

Spike perked up at the name Rarity, and dashed out of the library. Twilight just laid down. Discord had been banished from Equestria a long time ago, vowing that if he returned he not only would cause pure chaos, but he would destroy the lands. Discord had immense power, and he would never pass up an opportunity to use it for disharmony. When Princess Celestia banished Discord, she used her alicorn (that's fun to say. ALICORN. heh.) Powers to take his power away from him. If Discord was showing ANY signs of returning, then he had regained his power somehow.

"This is troublesome," Twilight sighed. She looked around the library for the letter. It was nowhere to be seen. Spike must have taken it with him. Oh well... and Twilight sighed again, and waited.

An hour or two had passed, and everyone was gathered in Twilight's study.

"We got the note from Spike," Fluttershy said in her overly soft voice. "Is it really that bad?"

Twilight sighed for the hundredth time that day.

"Ah think that means yes, sugarcube." Applejack told Fluttershy.

Rarity spoke up. "If Discord is as powerful as the letter says he is, then what are we to do? We can't simply use the Elements like we did last time."

Twilight perked up. "Maybe we can," She trotted over to her massive bookshelf and levitated the book she was reading earlier off of its shelf and laid it on the floor in front of the group. "It may sound silly..."

"No WAY is this right!" Pinkie pie yelled. Apparently she read the article that the book was open to. "I know every pony in Ponyville, and NONE of them can use magic! Well except for the unicorns, of course! But this is SILLY!" Pinkie finished and began laughing hysterically at the thought of non-unicorns being able to use magic.

"As silly as it seems," Applejack started, "It may be the only chance we have on beating Discord again."

"Well I don't like it," Rainbow Dash said. "HOW did the guy even break out of the stone curse to begin with? He's WAAAYY to dangerous!"

"Rainbow, darling. You simply must calm down!" Rarity tried to calm the upset Rainbow Dash.

"Uhhh, if I can help, don't you guys know anyone outside of Ponyville?" Twilight inquired

Everyone stared at Twilight, who had lived in Canterlot prior to the Summer Sun Celebration. "Would ya know anypony that can help us?" Applejack asked.

"Indeed I do." Twilight said proudly. "Princess Celestia has some good connections through Equestria; she can get us somepony like that!"

"And what are we supposed to do? WAIT?" Rainbow Dash said angrily. Nopony noticed Twilight exit the room after that.

"That's sorta our only option Dash." Applejack took her turn at calming down Rainbow Dash.

"Well why can't we find another option? This one is OBVIOUSLY too... uhh..." Rainbow was so caught up in her anger that she forgot what she was saying. "To IMPOSSIBLE!" She found her words.

"Hey!" Pinkie said in her always giddy voice. "Where did Twilight go?"

As if on cue, Twilight trotted down the stairs from her room. "I sent Princess Celestia a letter describing our course of action!"

"Now what do we do?" Rarity asked.

"We wait." Twilight responded.

-----Fire-----
It was the dead of night I was thinking on my trip to Ponyville, and how to even get there, when I heard what sounded like Princess Luna outside my window, thank Celestia I always keep it open! I quick hopped over to my window to see Luna storming through Canterlot.

"Ugh, why do I have to find an earth pony or a Pegasus that is able to use magic? It's so infuriating!"

WOW this pony is HOT when she's mad!!! Wait, what was that? Earth pony? Pegasus? Magic? Impossible! Did Celestia tell her to do that? WOW what happened?! Anyways, I realized that NOW was a perfect time to leave, I don't know why. When Luna was gone (I watched her leave if you know what I mean <3) I headed for the front door. I took a quick look around to make sure Ice was asleep. No.

She WASN'T in her room. She was on the darned couch reading a darned book! I cursed under my breath and quietly headed back to my room. The window was open, that wouldn't be so noisy! I leaped out the window and landed on the ground two feet down. Yes! I was on my way to Ponyville!

The trek wasn't bad, until I reached the Everfree Forest. A dragon was guarding the path. There were the dead remains of charred ponies around the entryway. Okay, so mabye it wasn't that easy.

"STOP!" It boomed." NONE SHALL PASS!" The ground shook when he spoke. This dragon was green, giant, and pretty much terrifying. It had six legs, each one ending with five sharp claws, and a horn on top. It breathed fire. GREAT. But I was fast. I ran straight towards it, and managed to clear the entire dragon in one leap. Angered, it blew a stream of fire at me. It wasn't hot, strangely.

Did I mention it hit me? Yeah, I caught fire. It was very strange that i didn't burn, considering how I was ON FIRE. My whole body burned with flame. I felt as if I was running faster than ever. Eventually I stopped running. The dragon was nowhere to be seen. I must have run a bit too far. Anyways, when I stopped running I saw that the fire went out as well. Oh, well. At least I didn't catch anything on fire. And I continued on my journey.

-----Ice-----
It's easy to know what Fire is thinking. I heard him in his room earlier scheming about his plans to venture to Ponyville. I've lived with him for so long I'm almost beginning to develop feelings for him. Maybe I should go with him; I already know he left Canterlot. WAIT. DAMN! THERE'S A DRAGON GUARDING THE WAY INTO THE EVERFREE! I'VE GOT TO GO SAVE HIM!

"What the HELL do you mean he caught on fire?!?!?!" I yelled at the dragon, who was frozen up to his head.

"That's... just...it..." It muttered. "When...I blew my fire at it... it just... went ablaze... and then it disappeared..."

UGH! I knew he'd come out sometime, but NOW? DAMN IT! "FINE, you're free." I said as calmly as i could force myself to, and left. The dragon was instantly unthawed, and it went to sleep. A very uncomfortable sleep. The moon was high in the sky as I dashed off to try and find Fire.

Author's note: Yes, Celestia DID defeat Discord differently, I know that, but this is a FIC! Hear that? A FIC! As in FICTION! The freaking website's called FIM FICTION?!?!?! I mean really?

*Added in note because i got an irritating comment on what really happened.*

"Oh, COME ON!" Rainbow Dash yelled angrily at those who commented (in their heads or on the comment thread) "What is your problem? It's JUST A FICTION! Get it? None of this stuff really happened! So get over it!"

Alicorn IS fun to say... heh, alicorn.

Chapter 2: Discovery

-----Fire-----
The Everfree woods are pretty creepy, especially when it's night. When I left the sun had just gone down, now its pitch dark. Except for the light that the moon's giving off. That made it a bit better. Speaking of the moon, I wonder if Princess Luna found one of those ponies she was looking for yet? I don't really know, my memory mostly remembers pictures instead of words. Heh. Pictures. I've never checked out Princess Luna before, and when I did earlier tonight, she was HOT. Not to mention MAD. Are other ponies always that hot when they're pissed?

Anyways, the Everfree? Not so fun. Ice had always taught me how dangerous the Everfree was, especially at night. Mainly because of the Timberwolves. After I escaped the dragon with my amazingly fast speed, I ran into a group of Timberwolves. They were...scary... menacing, pretty demanding. Demanding of pony flesh I mean. They surrounded me and... Ow, it's painful to remember. Those Timberwolves did some damage on me. One of them tore a nasty gash in my left hind leg. THAT memory I HATE. Some memories of mine I hate, others I look back on and I would find myself smiling like an idiot.

Like the other day, (last week maybe?) Ice almost caught me *looking* at her. She was (as always) cooking something. I noticed how nice she looked that day... and... Well... Wait. I was getting attacked by Timberwolves. ANYWAYS.... they DID jump me, they DID bite me, tear me, try to eat me, and they succeeded. A bit. No, not at all. They failed trying to murder me. When I was attacked, a sorta surge of strength pulsed through me. This is gonna be fun. My hind legs jerked out behind me, nailing a timber wolf in the face. I could hear a loud CRACK as it went limp.

I moved on to the next timber wolf. CRACK. Next, please! CRACK. Apparently I paused too long before bucking another timber wolf and one of the remaining three bit me in the leg. Ouch. I fell to the ground, and as I did, the three Timberwolves jumped on me AGAIN and started biting, clawing, gnashing, etc. And as they were, rage poured through me, and the temperature rose to extremely comfortable heights. And I mean ROSE. It got VERRRY hot. So hot, I began to hear sizzling. I looked up, no I STOOD up, and noticed three things: I was on fire, it was extremely comfortable to be on fire, and the Timberwolves were burnt to a crisp. OW. Did one of them get me too much or something? I turned my head around to look at myself. There was a wide gash in my left hind leg and blood was dripping from it. I stopped looking at my leg and noticed that I was on fire.

"Wow" I said. "What the hell I'm on FIRE!" How did this even happen? Oh well never mind that. Can I control it? I focused my thoughts on the fire and it slowly died. What. Freaking. Fun. I focused on becoming aflame again, and sure enough, I could feel the warm heat of myself on fire start up again. Maybe that's why my cutie mark is a flame! I have power over fire! Wait. Fire. Magic. I. Am. An. Earth. Pony. Ugh this is insane. Where's Ice when you need to talk to... And that's when I realized that not only I, but Ice were earth ponies that could use magic. My flame instantly died. Why are the Princesses looking for someone like me and Ice? And how can we use magic anyways?

Well, I never SAW Ice use magic, but I connected the dots. Her NAME was Ice, her cutie mark was an ice shard, she felt pretty cold (Not that I've touched her or anything, but... wait... ops, yeah I did touch her.) And, well... she LOOKED like ice herself! Damn! This can't be. Oh, well, I might as well get used to it... No. That's not something I'm gonna get used to so easily. But it won't change anything, right? Wait, yes it will. Darn. And with me being a, uh, what was it? Pyro-something or whatever? Yeah, that's it. Something along those lines. While rambling on with these insane thoughts, I remembered my injured leg. OUCH. Wait, I wonder if I can heal myself? Sure enough, healing flames lit my leg on fire. Afterwards, the wound was healed. YES! I CAN HEAL!

I lost myself in my newly discovered ability and began to play with it. I lit the bottoms of my hooves on fire and begun walking around, creating little fire-hoof prints. I breathed fire, accidently igniting a tree. Luckily I can absorb it as well as exhale it! I wondered, what else could I do? And what could I do to help with the return of Discord? Hmmm, that's a lot for a pony to think on. Oh well, I better get back to trying out my new power! I must have spent quite a long time with my fire, because I could hear somepony coming. Was that the sound of... hooves sliding on ice? Yup. That was Ice, skiing over here on an ice board. Fun. I wonder if I can fly?

"Fire! What are you doing?" Ice stopped right in front of me.

"Ice! Nice board! I was playing with fire!" That wasn't the smartest thing to say...

"Hm... you're heading to Ponyville, aren't you?"

"Yes..."

Ice just stopped there. I HAD to tell her about my magic! "Hey, Ice! Did you know that-"

"Yes, I did know." She cut me off. "And I didn't expect you to come out this early." Come out?!? What is she saying?

"Um... elaboration, please?" I was darn confused.

"Yes, I do suppose an explanation would be fit. Let's continue on to Ponyville while we're at it, though." So we headed off to Ponyville.

"You are a pyromancer, a pony that can use fire magic. Our types are different than that of other ponies. We cannot use the same magic that unicorns can. Our magic is a bit more... specific. You have the power over fire, explaining your cutie mark. Ponies like us are destined to have our type of magic at birth, and we get our cutie marks at random times when we least expect it. Our bodies react to the magical aura and begin to develop our powers. Then, as we go through life, we 'come out' as to say. Our bodies react to our certain type of magic once again, and we go on an uncontrollable rampage."

"Like what happened to me when that dragon hit me with fire."

"Exactly."

"What about you?"

"Now that's a story for another time, sweet Fire." Sweet, huh? I bet you didn't mean to say that!

Ice's face grew red, realizing what she said. GOD she is hot when she blushes! "So you're-" I tried to change the subject.

"A cyromancer." She finished for me. "Cyromancers have control over the cold and icy stuff like that."

No, I think I'll make her blush again. "That's hot." That didn't sound like a joke, as I intended it to be. Ice blushed hard, and turned her head away from me, finding interest in the trees on the side of the path. I think I successfully hit on her. SUCCESS! Not the reaction I wanted, but SUCCESS!

I'm enjoying myself here. "You look hot when you blush." Heh, too bad she's not the pyromancer. Then my hot jokes would be funny.

We stopped walking now, and she grew even redder, and turned her head away in attempts to hide it. I could feel myself getting... aroused. (A little bit too far I think?) WHAT? NO WAY! She's my CARETAKER! (And only three years older than me) How in the world am I getting...? WOW... by this pony? My body began to shiver a little, and eventually I was slightly vibrating. Ugh, this is... fun. I just stared at her. Every time she would slowly turn her head towards me, our eyes would meet, and she would blush harder and hide behind her incredibly long mane.

"Umm, excuse me?" Did you hear that? It was soft. Too soft. Did somepony say something? Where was that coming from, behind me? I looked in the direction, and, wait. Is that a cottage at the edge of Everfree? How weird. And there was a pony standing just outside it.

"Umm... it's really cold outside..." Oh really? I didn't notice. Maybe because I'm FIRE?! Yeah, baby! "Um, hello? You look, um, cold, and... Um... why don't you come inside? That is if you don't mind..." What the hell??? Am I THAT turned on? Am I vibrating THAT much? Ohhhhhh damn. Anyways, Ice and I trotted inside the nice pony's cottage.

"Would you happen to have sleeping arrangements?" Ice asked.

"Ummm... I have a bed..." Wait one bed? ONE? I don't know whether to say 'let's get it on' or 'shoot. I guess I'm sleeping with this beautiful mare tonight.'

"And I have a couch... but that's it... I mean..." OK she's gonna have to shut up.

"Why don't you sleep in the bed?" Ice asked kindly.

"Um... well... see... you looked uncomfortable out there..." Duh. I was turned on beyond belief and her there? Ice? She was blushing so hard it made me even more-

"And I want you two to feel at home here... if you don't mind." This darn pony is interrupting my thoughts! Oh, well. I didn't say how she looked did I? Ok then. Here it is: This pony was a Pegasus, a yellow Pegasus at that. Her mane was pink. Wow that was... simple. You're a simple colored pony, aren’t you? Her cutie mark was three cyan butterflies with pink wings. I wonder what that stands for?

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"F-F-Fluttersh-shy." She stammered. Fluttershy? Hmm. That's nice. Fluttershy, Butterfly.

"Fluttershy, you sleep in your own bed. I'm sure that Ice here won't mind the couch." I'm tired now >yawn< can we get some rest?

"OH, no." Fluttershy didn't seem... so.... shy... anymore. "Please. You... Ice, right? Ice you can have the bed. And..." She looked at me quizzically.

"I'm Fire." I said, standing tall and proud.

"Well, then Fire. If you and Ice will have-" Yeah. She went there. So I'm gonna stop her.

"No thank you, Ice and I are not a couple." I looked at Ice to see if she would agree. And to my surprise, she almost looked kind of sad, and then she said "No, we're not a couple. But that doesn't mean you can't have the couch." I guess that means I get the floor.

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy seemed happy she wasn't sleeping on the floor tonight.

"Yes we're sure." I grinned kindly. "I'm used to sleeping on the floor. You get the couch."

Fluttershy looked pretty happy after I said that. "Yay, thank you!"

"You're welcome." I said. Then a thought occurred to me. "Hey Fluttershy, why were you awake in the first place?"

"Oh, it's... um... nothing. Now get to bed, shoo!"

Darn. Oh well. So Ice, Fluttershy and I went off to bed, Fluttershy on the couch, Ice in Fluttershy's bed, and me? I was on the floor at the foot of Fluttershy's bed. Wow, that's a lot of Fluttershy. Tomorrow I'm gonna see if there's a library around, and maybe learn a bit about these Elements of Harmony. Elements of Harmony... That's got a nice ring to it. Fluttershy was so kind to let two complete strangers sleep in her house. She sure showed a lot of kindness there... Kindness................. zzzzzzzz >snore< zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Note: So, how do ya'll think? I won't be able to upload untill the 22nd, so i'll be writing the next few chapters untill then, but PLEASE msg me and tell me what you think/what i can do better!

Chapter 3: Rage

Hey all, I realize that it's been quite a while since my last update, but it's Summer, and that'll hopefully speed up my writing!

The area around me was dark. Not dark as in Everfree at night dark, but pitch black. I couldn’t even see my own hoof when i held it up to my face. I tried walking, but instantly hit a wall. I felt my way around the wall, and found that I was in a box. I began to hit my hooves against the sides of the box, desperate to get out. After a minute or two of unsuccessful beating, my rage began to grow. I felt anger surge through me as I tried to get out. Suddenly. I could see. My body had erupted in flames, creating light. The box I was in was made of pure steel. Steel melts. I figured that the flames on my body reacted to my mood. I tried to focus my anger, in attempt to will the flame to burn harder. I failed. The flames slowly died out. I erupted in another surge of anger and flames at my previous attempt. This happened so quickly that before I knew what was going on, I was standing in a puddle of liquid steel. My flame instantly died as I was filled with joy at being free from the steel box.

It was still dark.

This time it wasn’t pitch black, but a soft, warm light emanated from my body. I looked around my new surroundings, and saw that I was in some sort of circular building. There were windows on opposite sides of the walls, pointed and triangle-shaped as they were. It must have been night out, because no light seemed to be coming inside. I walked over to one of the windows and took a peek outside. It was night, that wasn’t a surprise. But the surprise was that I must have been tens of stories above ground. Below there was two small brightly colored dots, most likely Ponies. One of the dots, which was a bright green, seemed to lash out at the other, which was a light cyan dot. The cyan pony/dot was beginning to form a red circle around it, and the green pony/dot stopped moving. I leaned in for a closer look, and suddenly my sight seemed to zoom in on the two.

The light green pony stood over the dead body of the cyan pony, who was laying in a small puddle of blood. I backed away instantly, having witnessed murder first-hand. Not to mention lucky that I didn’t catch the process. I was filled with anger, trying to push the thought out of my head.

“True, it is a devious sight, but murder happens here everyday.” Somepony said behind me, then I turned around to see who spoke.

“What do you mean?” I asked angrily. Murder seemed to strike a rage nerve inside me, it was one of the few things that really set me off.

“Just that. It’s called Natural Selection, or Survival of the Fittest. Only the strong survive, and prey on the weak.”

That hit a personal note inside me. I was the weak, in my earlier life. This ‘Natural Selection’ would have had me dead long ago. “And just who the fuck are you?” I screamed. I hadn’t cussed in a long time, but I blew it.

“I am known as Darkly Ravage, the Overlord of this fine land.”

“What do you mean? Celestia and Luna rule Equestria!”

“Exactly.” Darkly Ravage smirked. “But this is not Equestria.”

Confusion and blind rage filled me. “Then where are we?”

Darkly Ravage only stepped closer, a dark aura appearing around him. He had a short dual colored mane, black and grey, that parted at his horn. Oh hay, he’s a unicorn. His eye was a nice shade of blue, it was dark, but not so dark as to blend in with the darkness of his body. His coat was a very dark blood red, and he had an exposed spot on his hooves, revealing night black bone, almost like a hoofnail. His tail was medium sized, black as it was, with a grey stripe in the middle. His mane and tail matched. Colorful. The pupils of his eyes were vertical slits, much like a cat’s. “Maybe you don’t have to find that out. I can sense your fire power. You have a damn strong heart, I found it difficult to find your inner self.”

“What are you talking about? Why the sudden change of nature? Strong heart? Inner self? You can SENSE my abilities?!”

“I see you need an explanation. Very well.” Ravage began to circle me, as I had come away from the wall. “I am a necromancer. I have the element of Darkness, Discord, Chaos, Corruption, and the Taint. The Taint is a special ability that enables one to change and look into others’ inner selves, which is who they are on the inside. You, Fire, I see a strong willed Earth Pony. But when I look in your inner self, I see the element of Fire, an even stronger will, a light side of the Taint, a playpony, and a.....”

“What the hay are you talking about???” I had to hear that again.

“Yes, Fire. I said playpony. You can easily bend others to your will, through minimal negotiating. And that onto your horny side, and you’re easily a-”

“Nice.” Was all I said.

“Yes, now that I’ve explained everything to you, I have been given sufficient time to dive deeper in your soul.” Darkly Ravage stopped in front of me, and gave an evil smile. “You’re a fine colt, aren’t you? FACADE! GET IN HERE!”

An alicorn slowly flew in from one of the windows. He was a dark, bluegreenish color. There were dark, black spots on some of his body. His wings were long and sharp looking, colored black. He had a spiky mane that was black and white, and a flat tail colored the same. His eyes were blood red, and his mouth twisted into a devilish snarl. His horn, was broken off, leaving a stump. There were bright red shackles around his lower legs, and ringlets with a ruby in them around his upper legs.

“An alicorn, huh? But this one’s got its horn cut off. How sad.” I said quietly.

Darkly Ravage smirked. “He was too powerful for me, so I got rid of his horn. The bastard could kill me, if he had his horn. Now enough with the talk. Facade, kill."

Chapter 4: Burning

Ice

“Fire, Fire dear. Get up...” It hurt me to wake Fire, he looked so peaceful. The sun hadn’t risen yet, and young Fluttershy hadn’t woken from her peaceful sleep. She was so kind, letting us two complete strangers sleep in her home. it actually makes sense, she’s the element of Kindness. I like keeping it from Fire, I enjoy watching him and his attempts to discover all that he can. Actually, it’s really easy to keep the Elements of Harmony a secret from Fire, let alone everypony else.

Fire stirred softly. “Fire, dear. It’s time to get up.” I cooed. Fire jumped up in response, alert as ever.

“Who? Ravage? Facade? Darkness?” He began.

“Fire, shush!” I said stern, yet quiet. “We need to leave now.”

Fire began to wake. “Huh? Leave? Now?” He exclaimed.

“Shush, Fire, we need to talk. Outside.” I kept my voice quiet as I guided Fire out of Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Where are we going?” Fire asked quietly.

“To train you. To help you learn to control your fire powers.” I said as we neared the Everfree. When we reached the edge, I turned towards Fire and smiled.

“Did you enjoy burning those timberwolves last night?” I asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t know how I did it...” Fire stared down at the ground, and let out a deep sigh.

“Would you like me to teach you how to control that?” However power mad you might get?

“Oh, please?” Fire begged. “Would you?”

“Absolutely.” I said. Then, I concentrated all of my powers, ice and darkness alike, and slowly, a deep purple colored circle began forming around my hooves. When the circle completed, it burst open, gushing out bursts of wind and dark energy. The area became dark, as if the light was being sucked from it. Two other circles appeared behind me, side by side. The circles began to glow the same light blue at my mane, which waved violently in all directions due to the wind that was emanating from right below me. Two figures, demonic and contorted, slowly rose up from the circles.

The creature to my left was clearly a draconequus, but darker in fur and skin. Its wings were similar, like a bat’s wing, but they were blackened to the point that they almost blended in with the darkness in the Everfree. The scales of its tail were blood red, and had sharp spikes lining it, making the tail a formidable weapon. its lion’s paw had eagle claws extending from it, both being as blue as Luna’s mane. What? I lived in Canterlot in my foalhood. Of course I saw Princess Luna. Its eagle’s claw looked golden, as were its talons. Its mane was pure darkness; blood seeped from it as if it were bleeding. The tip of its tail seemed like it was made of blades. Every strand of fur was as sharp as a butcher knife, and just as deadly. Its face was twisted into a wicked grin, ready for some bloodshed.

The second creature was hardly a threat compared to the Draconequus. It was a darkened unicorn. its fur was a solid white, its eyes a ruby red. So I had conjured up an albino unicorn, I didn’t care. Its mane and tail were also a solid white, blending in with its fur and almost disguising the eradicate and crazed styles they were in. Its horn poked out of the side of its head, and about an inch out, the horn curves so that its pointing forward. Its eyes were half closed, and its mouth was a solid line. Its stance was passive, its gaze was stern. It clearly didn’t care about anything that was going on around it and was completely adamant about that fact. A deep blue aura of magic shone around its horn as it prepared to fight.

“OK, Fire,” I began instructing. “For us non-unicorn magic folk, near the beginning of our magical stage in life, a sole emotion powers our magic. As we age, we begin to be able to control that magic so that that emotion can no longer power it, but our minds.” I looked towards Fire to see if he was paying attention, and he was. “You represent the element of fire, obviously. The most common emotion that comes with fiery magic is-”

“Rage.” Fire finished for me.

“Yes, Fire. Rage accompanies fire ponies. Now, in the earlier stages of life, more specifically yours,” I motioned towards Fire for emphasis. “one can voluntarily activate his or her magic by sparking their emotion within them. Do you have a certain memory that sparks your rage, Fire?”

Fire almost immediately flared up. The fire emanating from his body swirled around his coat and licked his mane and tail. In his eyes were signs of hate, pure anger, and raw power. I must have been staring, because Fire seemed to look at me like, Continue please? And I snapped out of it.

“Okay, so all you need to do is focus on your rage, and try to channel it through your body, preferably out of a certain part of you, such as your hooves, your mane, or you could- woah!” I barely had time to react before Fire let loose an enormous flamethrower attack. The flaming jet streaming from his mouth headed straight towards the albino unicorn I had conjured, who simply leaned away, dodging the blast completely. It yawned. Fire only yelled in rage and unleashed another flamethrower. The albino unicorn, having fully charged its spell, the unicorn whispered, “Dark Pulse,” and from its sideways horn, a pitch black orb of dark energy flew towards Fire’s flamethrower. The dark pulse crashed into the flamethrower and easily pushed it back. Fire noticed the receding flames, cut his flamethrower, and leapt out of the way just in time for the orb to fly harmlessly behind him.

Seeing how Fire seemed to have this, I turned towards the dark draconequus and whispered, “Wait until the unicorn’s down, then go for the fiery one.” The draconequus nodded, and I turned and disappeared into the deeper parts of the Everfree Forest.

Once a considerable distance into the damned woods, I stopped and took a look at my surroundings. The woods were considerably darker than the rest. The trees hung over me, as if they were watching me. I saw something in the distance, it looked like two ponies.

“The curse had befallen her this very night!” The silhouetted pony said. The other one just froze. “She had the mark! She had to go!” Beside the screaming pony there seemed to be the skeleton of a pony, lying in a pool of blood. The pony who was speaking seemed to be completely silhouetted, even as I moved closer to see what was going on. The other pony looked to be a bright yellow, with a mane the color of red apples.

“Who’s there?” I shouted. The yellow pony took one look at me, looked back to the darkened pony, then nearly fainted out of fright.

I looked around the area. There seemed to be the remains of a town here. The silhouetted pony looked at me. I now realised what this was. Two blood red- no. Two bloody eyes stared right through mine. The pony wasn’t even alive. Its mane ran down the length of its back, seemingly sticking to it, its tail hung down straight, unmoving. The entirety of the pony’s color was solid black. What seemed to be a pair of horns stuck out of the top of its head.

It took a few steps towards me, and my mind began racing, trying to think of a plan. Before I could react, a dark void consumed my body and I felt myself fall into a near unconscious state, where I lay on the ground, unable to move, yet aware of my surroundings.

“W- What happened to Ruby?” A filly’s voice rang. It was most likely the yellow one.

“Don’t worry.” The zombie pony lulled. “You will never become like her. We will protect you.” I struggled to wake up from my half sleep state. The cry of a filly rang through my ears, startling me awake. The zombie pony leaned in towards the scared stiff filly, and whispered, “FOREVERRR.”

I got up to my feet quickly, which got the attention of the zombie. “What? How are you awake?”

“I’m not a normal pony.” I said, and focused my icy powers in by breath. I felt the temperature drop as chilled air swirled around me, and I released an ice cold beam of... well, ice. The zombie pony barely had enough time to react before it was frozen to the bone. I then charged straight at the frozen zombie statue and rammed my head into it in a headbutt, shattering it completely.

It’s bad enough that I was interrupted by whatever this was. The filly, now frightened at me, ran off. I almost ran after her, but something caught my attention. I looked over to my right and saw the silhouette of a unicorn. It slowly trotted towards me and cast a spell that turned the area to solid ice. I love that spell.

“Thank you for coming.” I smiled. The silhouetted pony nodded to my back. I understood what it meant, and nodded back. “Let’s get started.” I said, concentrating my magic to freeze my own body over.

Luna

I saw it. Another cotton candy cloud. Tia doesn’t believe me; she never took me seriously. It’s her fault I turned into Nightmare Moon. She never listens to me, always telling me that I’m either seeing things or I’m being silly. But I’m not. This cloud really is made of cotton candy. I don’t know where it came from, but I know that Discord is behind it. Discord is returning from..... wherever Celestia banished him to. I used my magic to search the deepest parts of the Everfree Forest, where nothing escapes, but my search proved unsuccessful.

I remember the time when Tia and I stood up to Discord those many millennia ago. We used the Elements of Harmony to turn him to stone. When he broke out, Twilight Sparkle and her friends re-used the elements to turn him back to stone. What happened to him then, only Tia and I know. She banished him to a faraway place, where she said he would never return.

Discord is returning, and I am going to stop him.

So, how'd ya'll like chapter 4? I know it took too long, and still needs to be proofed. (No comments about the mistakes, please.)
For those of you Luna fans, I'm gonna have chapters describing Luna's quest to find Discord. Anyways, a like or a favourite is always appreciated!