Soul Fire

It was a beautiful night, clear despite the recently fallen snow, the longest night of the year: Winter Solstice. The night was calm and quiet, and her highness's full moon glowed bright as the chilly winter air blew silently through the dark purple and turquoise mane of our main character. She shivered at its touch, so cold in comparison to the warmth of his. Thinking back to how she awoke that moonrise, for unlike other ponies she was a loyal subject of the New Lunar Republic and spent her time awake by night rather than by day, in perfect happiness she had opened her eyes to see him sleeping soundly for once. Standing by the edge of the cliff overlooking the small town and forest below she worried over him. He seemed so restless these past few weeks, but as usual pushed her away from all of his troubles.

She stomped a hoof as she thought, ‘Always protecting me. I wish he would lean on me more.’

Lowering her ears and head down, her entire stance and demeanor softened, as it usually did when it came to him, unlike her usual rock solid and fiery spirit. She sighed thinking, ‘I've always been a take action type pony, but I care for him so much that I want to respect him, his space, and his decisions. Even when I view them as wrong, or when I wish he would take my help.‘

She looked to the moonlight, so conflicted by her emotions and what she should do, but for the life of her, she didn't know the answer to either problem. Thinking of his bright crooked smile, she felt herself brighten and warm up from her core out, but was quickly cooled by a soft blast of cold winter air. It was a calm quiet night, but unlike other ponies she knew that something was wrong. She could feel the emotions of all the spirits surrounding her, both living and departed. Empaths were rare, but especially in pegasi. As she opened her wings, she felt the cold air sting her back and sides where her wings had lain. Taking off into the night sky, she flew towards the area. She surveyed what gave her those wrong feelings and thought back to her days and a filly.

Walking down the hallway to her next class, the little filly briskly weaved through the crowd of other ponies. Ignoring the words and whispers, even the occasional shout hailing the names "Blank flank", "Freak" and "Worthless". She was the latest bloomer in recorded Equestrian history. Most ponies got their cutie mark in elementary school, while she was already in her second year of middle school. She was the only pony there that was different. Not as in special. She felt very un-special as the thought about the blank space that was under the paint of her fake cutie mark. Not that it had fooled anypony. She was also different in the fact that her entire look was darker than everypony in the school accompanied by her multiple pierced ears, and heavy dark makeup.

Nopony was her friend. Even the nice ponies at her school avoided her. She felt truly un-liked and outcast. She found that she was good at many things including art, singing, school, and a wide arrangement of sports, but she was never great at any of them and never excelled. To be honest, she was pretty much a cat, always on the fence and never truly belonging on either side. She walked into her next class, and could feel the air change around her, the emotional atmosphere shifted into annoyance, fear, and disdain. Yes, she could feel the emotions of everypony in the school. And she hated it. In elementary school she was always found to be emotionally unbalanced. One day she was found bouncing around all excited, and the next was found balling her eyes out.

It still affected her, shaking her mane to cover the eyes and face she walked to her desk and became as still as a statue, attempting to block the huge turmoil of emotions hitting her all at once. Feeling so overwhelmed, she wanted to cry and never stop, but flat out refused to. Concentrating on her own emotional state she fought back internally. It was a constant fight. Never ending. Placing her headphones over her ears, she shut out all things, letting the hardcore drums and rifts block everything out of her world. Well, save for the notes that she took off of the board.

As she walked back home, she entered the door to hear her mother screaming that the chores weren't done. As per the usual the little filly was in for it now. Her sister, who had already had her cutie mark and who was the first in her class to get one, had neglected her chores entirely, while she had studied at the school library before heading home. She started the chores silently as her mother screamed about how nopony helps her. Her dad looked to her, as she looked away from his blameful glare. He walked over as she emptied the dishwasher and said, "A pony like you should at least know how to do the dishes. You need to help your mother out more. And don't give me that look, you're the disrespectful little pony here."

"I was studyin-" She had started to say, empowered by his anger before she was smacked on the back of the head by her fathers hoof, not hard she thought as she had not felt it, but then again, she stopped feeling it when she was in her last year of elementary school.

“No back talk missy, and clean up your face. I can't believe you go anywhere with all of that crap on," He said as he stomped off. She boiled inside. Holding back tears of frustration, she finished her chores and took her things to her room. She had locked the door by pushing her dresser in front of it. She was used to barricading herself inside her room after a spat with her dad, just in case he came upstairs with that state of mind to give her a lecture, which she would debate and be given a well earned "spanking" for her insolence.

She opened her window and jumped out, opened her wings and flew to the Everfree Forest, a most dangerous idea as everypony found that the forest was crawling with monsters. She landed in her usual spot and began walking amongst the animals. She loved animals, as they communicated not with words but emotions, so she knew everything that they wanted to express. They were her only friends, but despite these honest friends, as an animal will never lie nor hide their emotions; she felt that their friendship was a warm blanket. Keeping her warm on the outside alone, without the capability to warm the cold and lonely feelings she felt inside. She walked and walked, passing the homes and caves of bats, bears, and even a dragon, which knew she wasn't scared of him and so had just snorted his disinterest and ignored her as she walked on by. The little filly had felt worthless in that moment and decided to walk along a different path to ease her mind, not knowing the dangers it may have. She didn't care.

She found comfort in the night sky and in the soft calm light in the moon’s glow. Looking up, she ended up tripping on a rock, and fell flat on her face.

"Argh! Useless! Totally bloody useless!" She screamed in frustration, sighing as all of that built up aggression, depression, and frustration had finished venting out from her trembling equine body.

"Maybe everypony is right. Maybe I am…" she sniffled as a single tear left her eye. She stopped and looked around her and saw something in the distance. Walking through the fog, completely drained, she started to make out an object. It was a tombstone. Sitting before the lone tomb she stared at the blank slate.

"No words. No name. Blank. As blank as me," she said somberly. "We're both alone in the world aren't we? Existing. Yet without purpose."

Closing her eyes she felt the atmosphere around her, and listened to absolutely nothing. No animals were anywhere near, but something wasn't right, something was here. In the atmosphere, but it wasn't physical. She opened herself up further, something she always feared for being overpowered by the swirling turmoil of emotions that were always around her. She could feel a great sadness, potent but small. She infinitely opened herself up and could feel something… a name. What was it? A name came to mind.

"Flora. Is your name Flora?" she spoke as if to somepony, even though nopony was here.

"Who's there!? You! How can you...? I'm here," a female pony spoke. Shocked, the little filly opened her eyes and could see the pony's apparition crying beside the tombstone. She was dressed in the old style as if she was from three hundred years time ago, with blood on her dress.

In a shocked voice the little filly spoke, "I...I...I... I don't know how or why but I can see and hear you now. Umm... Umm... Are you ok? You’re bleeding?"

"I'm lost. I was in the forest to pick flowers for my garden. I started to pick a... And was enveloped by a... I ran, but all I could feel was biting. I ran... Not seeing... I fell from atop a cliff. I couldn't feel anything. I got up and started to run again to look behind me. I was dead. I am dead. Lost... I can't find…" she panicked and gasped with wide tormented eyes, as if she was reliving everything in one-hundred percent clarity, only three times stronger. Flora began to cry hysterically as she fell to the ground in a heap.

Gasping and whimpering through her tears, Flora attempted to say, "I... I'm lost. I... I... Don't know w-wha... what to do. Can you help me?"

The ghost fell upon the young filly, she felt like a wisp of silk cloth, retaining shape but empty and not even physically existent. The young filly had been through a lot, but nothing like this. All of a sudden, the dormant fire in her soul burned with a strength she didn't know she had, the strength of acceptance and understanding. The fire in her was strong and wild, yet controlled and powerful, overcoming her own fear and uncertainty, she became the strong fire, but gentle soul required to help Flora's spirit.

She felt the cold air carry her as she smiled, remembering how she brought the spirit to the New Lunar Republic, asking for guidance on what she should do to help Flora. Princess Luna was surprised at first, but immediately gave them an audience. The now mare shivered externally in response to the cold, remembering how the smiling Princess had assisted the spirit peacefully to the other side then called for The Rite. The mare smiled proudly; the rite had included a purifying ceremony. As Princess Luna, herself, washed the young filly in the mares memory, and how the Princess had looked at the filly as the makeup and paint washed away to reveal the filly's new cutie mark, a light blue flame. The mare looked at her mark and smiled, then sighed, looked ahead, recoiling internally to what came next.

"I must tell you, if you wish not to go through this?" Princess Luna began.

"I will not let fear stop me, Princess. I've been through so much already that I care not of what may happen next," the young filly said as she walked into the dark metal doors.

"Then keep your wits about you, for no pony as young as you has ever ventured into this room. I cannot assist you from here on out, my daughter. And remember, don't scream," the Princess closed the doors with her magic and a worried somber face as the moon had set in the sight of the filly via a window. The filly was now enveloped by darkness. The rite would go on for the entire day. Come moonrise, the doors would open. The filly looked around in the darkness. She sighed, releasing the tension in her to ease her own rising fear.

She took one step when it happened. Pain shot through her still small equine body. She gasped and tried not to whimper. Biting her lip, she repaired for the onslaught. It seemed to go on for hours. When would it stop? This was unlike everything she had experienced. Worse than the lashings and beatings of her father, and one-hundred times worse then the teasing and groups of kids that had beaten her senseless in school. This felt like the collection of everything bad that had happened to her coming back all at once. She bit her lip harder to avoid screaming as she felt the pain sting, not through her small equine body, but her soul. Harder she bit as she crumbled to the ground, tasting the copper blood from her lip.

As suddenly as it began, the pain stopped. She gasped, and breathed in big gulps, completely immobilized by the pain she had felt. After a moment, she breathed harder, struggled to get up on all hooves. Her vision was blurry. Licking her lip, she tasted the blood that was now welling onto her chin accompanied by the salty taste of her tears. Closing her eyes, she attempted to breathe calmly. Something was off. She started to feel warmth. Opening her eyes, she could see a fire. She foolishly began to move closer to it. The moment she was within eight feet from it, the fire spread, wildly racing around her in a circle until she was surrounded by fire. Gasping at her situation, the filly began to panic as the fire moved in on her. She looked wildly around. She almost called for help when she bit her lip, reopening the partly closed wound. Feeling the small sting of pain calmed her in a way, which was odd all things considered.

The filly breathed calmly. Completely detached to her current situation, she opened her eyes and watched as the flame touched her tail. Gasping as the flame then jumped collectively onto her. It burned. She was going to be burned alive. Gasping without the ability to take in air, as the fire was eating all of the oxygen before she could get it. When she opened her mouth, the fire ran down into her body, almost as if it wanted to touch every part of her. She opened her eyes that were crying with everything it had even thought the flames had dried each tear before it could touch her cheek. She was in such pain that she couldn't even move or scream. Not that that could happen without oxygen. She watched as the flame condensed and became hotter, stronger but also how the fire started to change color. Slowly turning from red and orange to a blue and purple hue. As the filly began to lose consciousness, a bright white light flared. The filly lay crumpled on the ground; she awoke to hooves carefully lifting her up.

She awoke the next moonrise to Princess Luna carefully watching her. The filly opened her eyes, breathing calmly. Then smiled at the night sky. The filly was in that moment calmer than she had ever felt. She began to cry. Never before had she felt such peace. A single tear fell onto her black new gemstone that was lying on her chest, held by the purple silk cloth around her neck. As it flared internally with a purple-blue flame, the filly gasped.

Princess Luna spoke, "For every night should you feel something is amiss, venture into the night to save the lost souls and guide them into the other side. This stone is your map and key to the other side. The rite has also given you a gift in the midst of its pain. You shall now hold the power of fire. A fire so potent that it burns blue in its condensed state. You shall now hold the title of Ms. Amber Nightsong Soulfire. Sing to the spirits with your voice. Call their names so that you can find each other. Be the mystic flame that is concentrated into a stronger but gentle light to guide their way."

Amber has been apart of the New Lunar Republic ever since. Then she met him.