Forgotten Fire: The First Spark

Ughhhhh, why does my head hurt so much? I was only sleeping; I couldn't possibly have hit it on anything. I should probably go make some tea or something to relieve the pain. After all, the Summer Sun Celebration is tomorrow, and there is no way we are missing it this year. Hopefully Mom returned with some herbs and such. I'll just whip up a quick cup of tea and straight to bed. Gotta be well rested.

Ember headed for the kitchen where Trixie was eating an alfalfa sandwich. She had become inseparable from the new cape and hat she had gotten as a birthday gift a few months ago. It had always been obvious she wanted to be a magician, but now she looked the part; she was even going to start traveling and performing live shows in front of an audience. Trixie was finally going to start living her life just the way she wanted to. She had always known what she would be, ever since the wand and moon cutie mark had appeared on her flank a few years ago. And here Ember was, close to being out of fillyhood and still without her cutie mark. She didn't really know what it would even be, since Ember wasn't particularly good at anything. Sure she was good at magic, but weren't all unicorns supposed to be? Trixie had a specific way to use magic that set her apart from any other unicorn, but Ember only knew what everypony else knew; nothing special about it. She decided to get her mind off of this thought, because it felt like her head was cracking and ready to burst like one of Trixie's fireworks.

After a nice, warm cup of herbal tea, Ember crawled into her bed with the thoughts of tomorrow. Her mother Serenity seemed really concerned about tomorrow. Every year she had stopped them from going to this "Pointless little Celebration", but this year was different. She wanted to make sure her whole family was in Ponyville to see the Princess raise the sun this year. Ember didn't understand her mother in any way; after all, she'd been concerned and strange her entire life, or as far as Ember knew, since she really didn't have any pony to compare her mother to. The darkness of sleep began slowing these thoughts, and she eventually was out cold. The last thought in her mind was "What if something goes wrong?"

~~~~~Summer Sun Celebration~~~~~

It should have been midday, but it was as dark as midnight. The sun had just simply never risen. Ember had never been to a Summer Sun Celebration, but somehow she knew that this year didn't go as planned. Who was this Nightmare Moon, and why did she trap Equestria in eternal night? Nothing really made sense; all Ember knew was that her mother was being very distant. Serenity seemed hexed in thought. Ember's head was still pounding, and Trixie's unceasing talking didn't help. "What was that? Who was that? What happened?" Trixie seemed distressed by what happened at the Summer Sun Celebration, and she couldn't get her mind off of it. Ember, on the other hoof, would like nothing more than to be in her bed and sleep. Her head just needed to rest.

The four ponies had arrived back at their house. The afternoon air was frigid with the absence of the sun. The ponies could see the breath in front of their muzzles, and the happy sounds of woodland critters was replaced by the silence of frosted air gently blowing through darkened trees. As Faolan started to unlock the front door, the blood-curdling screams of what could only be a group of mares beamed through the Everfree Forrest. Startled by this sound, the Lulamoon family stood perfectly still, peering into the woods to detect where the screams came from. After about half a minute, the sound of joyful laughter replaced the traumatizing screams, as well as what sounded like a happy song being sung. Perplexed by the sounds, Faolan quickly unlocked the front door, let the three mares into the house, and sealed the door behind himself after entering. Trixie's mind was now set on the sounds in the forest, and as her questions flooded the room, Ember made her way to her bedroom. Her eye sight was becoming blurry, she was feeling naueouss, and she struggled to keep her balance. She crawled into her bed, her mind in to much pain to make even the simplest thought, and drifted into sleep. Despite the freezing air blowing through every nook and cranny of the room, Ember felt surprisingly warm, almost as if there was a fire lit near her.