Destined To Flame

Have you ever seen the flames?

Of course you have. Campfires, where all are gathered around to talk about times past and to have fun. House fires, to keep one warm in the time of winter, and to provide a sense of comfort among all of those who are near it. When gazing into it, you see the creativity, the happiness that comes with warmth. The glee in seeing how the flames dance. You could look upon them for hours in a mesmerized state, and not have a care in the world.

Have you ever seen them burn?

Of course you have. You've seen them burn wood to ash. Whole houses, if you're unlucky. Forests. Yes, as good as it will make you feel in a controlled environment, fire is unstoppable when allowed to be free. Nature's ultimate tool of destruction, destroying all in it's wake as it courses along, and then dies like everything else in the world. How ironic, that safe feeling it can give us, when in reality it is a monster when untamed.

I have seen it in both forms. What beings will do with controlled flame is much, much worse than the wild side of it. I would know, as I was destined to them.

My name is Twilight Sparkle. I woke up in medieval Equestria, a time before the chaotic reign of Discord the Draconequus and the peace that followed the uprising by Celestia and Luna. I woke up in a world where Unicorns were feared for their power, and were burnt to the stake because of it. I awoke in a world long forgotten, a world that left no trace in any history book, and most likely for the better.

My name is Twilight Sparkle. I was one such being destined to flame. This is my story.

* * * * *

It was my birthday. A wonderful one, too. Just having my friends there was enough for me, but of course it didn't stop there; I got many gifts from various friends of mine around Ponyville, all of them great, and one of my best friends, Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter, threw me one of her famed surprise parties. We stayed up well past midnight, and it was a blast. Applejack, another one of my great friends and the Element of Honesty, brought hard cider and pressured me into drinking it. I politely declined, but my best friends did not, and it was very apparent by the end of the party. I went to sleep chuckling, thinking about all the complaints I would hear from them the next morning.

The first thing I thought the following morning when I woke up was that I had forgotten to brush my teeth the previous night, and that I needed to do it twice this morning to make up for it; my teeth had always been perfect, and they wouldn't stop being in that state anytime soon.

The second thing I thought of when I woke up in the morning was that my bed was unusually uncomfortable, as if it were composed of just sheets over bales of hay. At first I thought I had slept in an odd position the previous night and woke up still in that position, but the realization slowly came to me as I stretched out on the mattress.

The bed was, in fact, just a sheet over a few bales of hay. That also meant that the bed was not, in fact, mine. My eyes shot open, and I quickly took in my surroundings; yes, I was not in my room.

The room was extremely small; my closet next to my bed in the library was almost as big. The bed I was on was rather crudely constructed, with bit of straw flaring out from under the sheets. There was a tiny, dark wooden desk, the same color as the wood that made up the walls of the room, right next to the bed. It had two candles on it, which were lit, and three bits. My bag I usually carried around , leather with an over the shoulder strap, was leaning on one of the table legs, buttoned shut. The bed was pressed all the way against the wall on the left side, and the door was immediately across from the right side.

I climbed out of bed and levitated my bag up in front of me. I unbuttoned it and slowly poured out the contents, levitating them in the space next to my bag.

There was a dark black cloak, which I didn't remember buying, and bag of bits (I had no idea how many were in said bag), but those two items were instantly made insignificant when I pulled the third and final object out of the bag.

It was the Element of Magic, the purple gem I would wear as a necklace in times of crisis. The necklace part was gone, but the gem remained; I had never seen it detached, and it was gorgeous. The purple color was dark, but it glowed with a radiance that might have tricked the eye to believe it was much lighter. As is bobbed around ever slightly (levitated items don't stay perfectly still) the candle light caught it and it sparkled, no, it shimmered with a graceful motion. I stared at it a for quite a bit before putting everything back, save for one item; I donned the black cloak, but I kept the hood down as I preferred complete vision and understanding of my surroundings.

Magic had something to do with this, I knew that as much. I must have been teleported here, but by whom? There was something else, though; this place looked old. Very old. Could I even extend the possibility that I had been sent back in time with some sort of arcane force?

That's preposterous, I thought to myself as I took a step and found myself at the door to the room. No magic can do that, not even Celestia or Luna. It is capable to relive memories like that, but even that takes a massive amount of magic and the subject is omnipotent when in these memories. No, I was teleported somewhere.

Opening the door, I stepped into the hall to find that it, too, was abnormally small. It took effort to walk through it, as it was just a little wider than I was, and I got stuck quite a few times. I slowly nudged my way down the stairs of what I now knew was some sort of inn, as there were other doors that lined the hall to the left, and finally made it to the first floor.

Not surprisingly, it was small. The walls were the same kind of wood used everywhere else in the inn, but there was a few pictures up; they all depicted two Alicorns I didn't recognize, which was strange. There was only one other pony here, a middle aged stallion who sat behind a tiny counter directly in front of me, which was to the right of somepony walking through the door. The counter is aligned just like the one in Sugarcube Corner, I thought to myself before approaching the man at the front desk. The Stallion had a light blue mane and tail, with a vanilla coat. His Cutie Mark appeared to be a cake of some sort.

"Hello, my name is Twilight and-" before I could finish, the stallion put his hoof up to signal me to stop.

"I know who you are, you came in last night looking for shelter. I assumed it was from the mobs, but I didn't ask any questions. How was your sleep, by the way?"

When did I come here? I know I fell asleep in my house last night! I suppose now is the time for questions...I thought as I began to speak to the man again.

"Good. Um, this is going to sound weird, but I don't remember anything that happened last night. At all. Could you tell me exactly what happened?" I said, ready to pull out bits if they were needed; they weren't, as he began to tell me everything whilst filling up a mug with a drink of some sort behind the counter.

"Not much to tell. You came in last night with a worried expression on your face; you were very, very lucky no one else was in here. I saw that horn on your head and I knew you had to be runnin' from the mobs. Well, you said you needed a place to stay, only for a night, and you were willing to pay. Knowing the situation you were in, I said it would be fine and you didn't have to pay. I'm closed for the day, so you're safe here, but if you really want to leave I'd recommend you hide that horn of yours."

I was baffled by what the stallion was saying. I had no idea what was going on and, quite frankly, that worried me. I almost freaked out before I mentally regained composure. It's alright, just ask the man what you want to know.

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by "mobs"? And what does my horn have anything to do with this?" At that last statement, I pointed towards my horn with my hoof. The stallion went wide-eyed and stopped filling the mug he had in his hand. He turned to look at me, his countenance being a mixture of surprise and worry.

"By Vega...you really don't know, do you? What happens to Unicorns?"

Now I was really confused. This couldn't be any place I knew of, so where was I?

"No, I don't-did you just say "By Vega"? Who's Vega? Where exactly am I?"

In response, the stallion put down the cup he was holding and made his way over to one of the small tables in the room and sat down; he beckoned me over to join him with his hoof. "Sit." he said.

Reluctantly, I walked over to the table and pulled out the other chair, sitting down with him. Once I settled down, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"King Vega is one of the rulers of this land, Bringer of the Dawn, Lord of the Fire. You'll see him on the portraits around here. The other ruler, also depicted in the portraits, is King Luan, Bringer of the Night, the Dreamwalker. He is the youngest of the two. You are in a kingdom called Equestria, in the Town of Ponyville. King Vega and King Luan are seated in Canterlot, which is a whole lot bigger than this place. As for what they do to Unicorns here, I..." The stallion hesitated for a good, long moment. "...Don't want to talk about it. I'll let you see for yourself, as it all happens right outside of here. The townsfolk are becoming more paranoid as well, as the Kings are in town for this year's King's Tourney. Just keep low...wait, can you make your horn invisible?"

I nodded an affirmative. The spell wasn't too difficult, but I couldn't cast anything else while it was going on or I would break my cover. I also couldn't keep it going for more than five hours, but that isn't exactly a short amount of time. I'll be okay, but...is what they do so bad that I have to hide my horn?

Stallion got up and pointed to his right, which was away from the front door. When I turned, I saw what he was pointing at; it was another door that went out the back of the store which I had previously failed to notice.

"You can go out there with your horn hidden. I won't tell anyone you were here, just so you know. I'd do it quick before the authorities start to expect I've smuggling a pony in here, and that leads to more problems. Go on, go!

I casted the spell. I couldn't feel anything physically different, as the horn was still there, but I probably looked a little different without it. None the less, the stallion nodded and began walking towards his desk as I walked towards the exit. I was about to leave before I turned around. The stallion raised an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to thank you for what you've done for me and everything, mister. What is your name, and what is the name of this inn?" The stallion gave a smile.

"I'm Blueberry Cake, and this Sugarcube Corner, Inn and Pastry shop. And really, it's not a problem. Now go, before I have to shove you out of here." I took effort not to go wide eyed at that statement.

It isn't teleportation; I've actually been sent back in time. What kind of magic could possibly do that, and when did it get the time to do so? I'm still in Ponyville, I'm still in Equestria, and I'm in a place I go and visit just about every day. Everything looks so old, so this is probably around the renaissance period of Equestria, but that doesn't answer a question; who the hay is King Vega and King Luan? I've read up on every ruler in Equestria and I've never heard of them...unless...

My eyes widened as it all came together, but I quickly stopped. Blueberry Cake looked a little confused, so I just nodded and made my way out the door. As soon as I closed it behind me I jumped in the air with glee. I had to be in the dark spot!

The "dark spot", as it was called, was the only lost part of Equestrian History. It's the point where all recorded history stops for about ten years, and then mysteriously resumes again afterwards. Countless historians have attempted to uncover it's secrets, but all have failed. The most intriguing part about it is that many figures were alive during the time, and young; Captain Hurricane, Starswirl the Bearded and Princess Platnum were all estimated to be in their mid twenties during the time. It was only after the dark spot that territories began to get reclaimed and the three races went to war. I had to be in it; that would explain the mysterious King Vega and King Luan, as all Equestrian Rulers were documented; besides, the last Kings of Equestria were King Sunce and King Noc. After that, there was never another King or Queen again. Not to mention the fact that this was clearly old enough; the buildings were very simple, and there was no roads anywhere unless you counted the dirt paths. There were a lot less buildings, too, and the sky was clearer than anything I had ever seen; no light pollution. I once asked Celestia and Luna about the dark spot, but they glared at me and told me to never bring it up again; I obliged.

To think of all the things I'll learn! When I come back to present time, I'll finally know the truth! I'll bring something with me, too, and I'll write a book about it. I'll win an award for my findings, and...

In my state of thinking, I had completely drowned out everything; I was brought back to reality by a mass amount of hollering
and cheering. I quickly ran around the side of the building to see what was going on, and found a massive amount of ponies gathered around something. They were yelling and cheering at the top of their lungs, and the crowd was getting larger by the moment. Quickly, I ran towards the spectacle. I'll need to get in front before it becomes to crowded!

The cheering got louder and louder as I got closer. There were a lot of ponies here, and they were jumping up and down, flailing their hooves in the air. Once I got even closer, I could hear the words they were saying; they weren't nice ones.

"Down with the unicorns!"

"Kill em' all!"

"Burn! Burn! Burn!"

I couldn't see, even though I was slightly taller than the average mare, so I had to push my way to the front. I occasionally got some shoves, but nothing more. I had to be careful and make sure my horn wasn't touched, and I had managed to achieve that goal by the time I reached the front of the pack, or by the time I saw the most horrifying thing I ever laid my eyes on.

It was a male unicorn, with a mane and tail color very similar to that of Blueberry Cake's. His fur was bright pink, and his cutie mark was that of a scroll; he must have been a writer, or a courier. Much to my disgust, that wouldn't matter anymore.

He was tied to a stake, and was being burned. The mere sight of the act was revolting, and I stared in horror for a few seconds before turning away and attempting to keep my stomach from losing it's contents. That was easier said then done, however, as the smell was even worse, and the crowd around me encouraging it and saying such hateful things din't exactly make it any better. I managed to stagger my way out of the crowd and sit down on a nearby bench.

So this is what happens to unicorns, I thought while taking a few deep breaths. This is why the dark spot exists. No one wants to know about this, to live with the guilt laying on your shoulders. To know that your ancestors may have been advocates of such acts.

I must have sat there for an hour, thinking about what I had seen. How could this happen? Who would allow such things to happen like this, who gave the order?

And then I remembered. There are only two beings in the entire country who could possibly allow and legalize such a shameless act to occur. Two beings who could formally sign a bill that allowed torture of their own kind. King Vega and King Luan. This was their doing.

They were here, too. I was a fairly docile pony, and never wanted violence as an answer to a problem, but I wanted nothing more in that moment then to wring the two kings necks until their faces turned purple. No, they deserved a crueler fate, the one that I was presented with moments ago. Once again, my thoughts were interrupted by a large amount of shouting, and this time I could hear what they were saying.

"KING'S TOURNEY! KING'S TOURNEY! KING'S TOURNEY!"

The mob moved on, leaving the atrocity they had committed behind them. There was nothing left, now; everything was charred. I tried my best not to look at it as I moved with the mob. They were still yelling the chant when we finally got to the destination, which was about a mile away. Along the way I recognized some buildings and landmarks; I saw what would become the Sofa and Quills store, and Spike and I's favorite restaurant. However, none of it compared to what I was greeted with when I arrived.

A temporary arena had been set up for the occasion, and it wasn't simple. There were merchants and tents huddled around the area, with some performers and bards near the grounds. The bleachers that were set up here were massive, and created a wall around the arena area. I entered through a gate in the arena, which was where that bag of bits came in handy; I discovered there were at least eight hundred in there. Miraculously, I somehow managed to get a front row seat a midst the large crowd. And it was large, as there had to be more than three thousand ponies in attendance, as many must have traveled a long way to get her and see the tournament. I looked down into the area to see a pony I instantly could recognize, as the historians were spot on with his description.

The girls were swooning at the sight of him, and I was no exception, as he had to be the most handsome stallion I had ever seen. He had a long, jet black mane and tail, with glowing green eyes, and a dark turquoise coat that almost seemed to shimmer. His wings were a little bit larger then the average pegasus, and were in excellent shape. His cutie mark was a gold compass, a six-pronged star with four five-pronged stars surrounding it. He held a golden helmet to his side, and was stretching in the middle of the arena. Yes, historians had described him down to a pat.

Commander Hurricane put his helmet on and said something directed towards the right of him. It was impossible to comprehend because of crowd noise, even in the first row, but I quickly realized what he had asked for when a young colt came running to him with a sword in his mouth. He needed his squire to give him his weaponry, and the young colt came running at his call.

"SILENCE!"

I mentally kicked myself for staring at Captain Hurricane for too long and not noticing the Kings of the Realm sitting in a regal booth from the top of the bleachers. The voice had to have come from King Vega, and Luan didn't even look capable of emitting that loud of a noise.

Vega was about a quarter taller than his younger brother. The alicorn had a bright red and orange tail and mane and and a bright yellow coat. he had orange facial hair and dark red eyes, with the same cutie mark as Princess Celestia had. He looked like a king, regal and strong, and that made me hate him even more.

Luan was shorter and a little bit smaller, but he none the less looked his part. He had a dark purple mane and tail and a light purple coat, and had dark black eyes. He had no facial hair, unlike his older brother, and his cutie mark was the same as Luna's. Her mind wanted to tell her he didn't seem as bad, but her heart would have none of it.

"Welcome to the last round of the King's Tourney!" said Vega, much to the delight of the audience. He waited until the cheers and hollers stopped, and then continued.

"As usual, Commander Hurricane has won our tournament this year, making that five years in a row." Everyone cheered (the mares the loudest) but it just left me feeling horribly confused. He's already won? Then what is this all for?

"So, without further ado, we present to you the after party! He wanted a tough one this year, and we found him! Filly's and Gentlecolts, WHO WANTS TO SEE COMMANDER HURRICANE KILL A UNICORN?" More cheers, more hollering, and more sorrow from me.

Have we stooped so low? Is this the entertainment that these ponies desire? What could King Vega or King Luan have possibly said to cause such a mentality among the citizens of Equestria?

Four Pegasi came out into the arena, carrying what appeared to be a very heavy steel box; the cheering was hurting my ears now.

Whoever it is, they stand no chance. This is merely a farce, a cruel jest, meant for entertainment purposes. This will not be a fight, but a slaughter. I hate King Vega and King Luan for causing this atrocity, and I hate Commander Hurricane for being willing to destroy a pony for the people's pleasure!

I was just about to stand up and reveal myself to this damned crowd, to shout and yell at them for what they have done, and leave my friends and family alone in their world having served some minuscule purpose in this terrible, terrible place.

But then I saw the box open, and the Stallion that crawled out.