Chapters Prologue: The Story of Burning Eclipse
I lean over my sister as I tucked her into bed, and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Good night." I said as I walked out of the room.
"Wait, can you tell me a bed time story?" She asked.
I pondered for a bit. "Maybe, do you have a story in mind?" I responded.
"Tell me a story about Burning Eclipse. I saw your picture of her. I want to know her story." She responded.
"Well then, I guess I can. Hmmmm, were should I start. Well lets start when she was born...................."
It was night time when I entered the world. My parents were in the hospital hoping that everything would go well. The doctor returned with me in a pink blanket. "Your daughter is healthy and fine, hear you go. You must want to see her."
My mom held me close. "She is perfect. I am the luckiest mare alive. We should give you a name. But what is fitting for you." My mom said aloud.
She sat there with me in her arms and was thinking of different names. She finally came up with the perfect name for her perfect filly. "Burning Eclipse, will be my daughter's name." My mom said with a smile.
The doctor went up to my mom and said, "Well that is a fitting name for her. Well I am going to need to take your daughter to the nursery to keep an eye on her. You and your husband are allowed to come and be with her as much as you want. But she will be getting an awful lot of attention. It is not every day that an alicorn is born."
When the doctor said what type of pony I was, my mom was in shock. "Aaa..alicorn?" And with that my mom unwrapped my body to reveal my wings. When she saw them she was in disbelief. Then she smiled, and her eyes lit up. "She is even more perfect then before." She said with her eyes starting to tear up. This is the happiest my mom has ever been.
Then my mom realized something. She did not want me to be known. She knew what attention that I would bring and what trouble might follow that. "Excuse me doctor can you leave me and my husband alone just for a few?" My mom asked the doctor who was patiently waiting. "Sure thing I shall leave you two alone, but when you guys are done I am going to need to take your daughter to the nursery." And with that he left.
"What is it dear?" My dad asked my mom. "We need to leave. I don't mean just the hospital but we need to leave the whole town and maybe even Equestria." She said with a sigh, "She will bring to much attention to herself. And not only that, but the dangers that attention will bring."
My dad looked at my mom with sad eyes as he realized that this was all true. They needed to leave, but where would they go.
"Very well dear, we will leave as soon as we get out of the hospital. This will be hard though. Just to leave all our friends and family. So do you have any idea were we will go?"
"I know of one place. It is very secluded."
So with that they ended it. The next morning they were able to leave the hospital with me. They went home and started to pack. "Well this is goodbye, so long old life. I will miss you." My mom said with a tear in her eye.
I then began to cry. "Shhh, it will be alright mommy and daddy will take care of you. You will be safe." She said as she held me close to her. Feeling her warmth sleep took its hold.
I don't really know much after that. My parents never told me were we came from or were we are now. I just know that I grew up here secluded away from anypony else.
Years have passed and I was becoming a very ambitious young mare, always getting into mischief. The other day I decided that because I have wings I should learn how to fly. So I did. It was hard but I figured it out after so many failed attempts. When I finally got off the ground I was supper ecstatic. I wanted to see how high I can get so I went up. Strait up into the blue sky. I made a mistake, I pushed myself to much and I worn out my wings to the point were they stopped working. So down I went tumbling down. Out of no were a cloud got in my way. I hit the cloud with a small thud, as it took the full force of my impact. I stumbled to my feet and shook the stars away from my head. I looked down and was shocked. 'How am I standing on a cloud?' I thought to myself.
I was shocked and yet over joyed because of what I just discovered. I then realized something, how am I going to get down. My wings are worn out and the fall back to the ground was pretty far. I need to rest a bit before I can go back home and tell my parents what I did. So I laid down on the softest thing I have ever known. I felt so at ease with myself that I did not care about anything. Then I looked at the sky and saw the moon slowly creep up in the sky. It drew closer to the sun with every passing second. It slowly was creeping over the sun. I could not believe my eyes. The moon had almost consumed the the sun. There was but a sliver left, then there was a flash. This flash was so bright that it seemed like it would blind whoever looked at it. and as I witnessed this event I felt something, a calling. Something out there was meant for me and I needed to go get it.
I looked back at my wings to see if they were ready to get off this cloud, and realized something that was not there before. On my flank there was a cutie mark. It was of the event I just witnessed. I have no idea what it means or why I got that as a mark. Maybe my parents will know. So with that I left after I made sure my wings could make.
I got back home pretty quickly. "Mom, I got something to show you." I shouted. "What is it?" My mom asked me, as she came out of the other room. "I got my cutie mark." As soon as I said that my mom froze in place. Her expression was scary. "Mom, are you alright?" I asked. My mom then slowly started to move, and smiled. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" My mom responded, with an awkward looking smile. "Well anyways look at it. I don't know what it is but it is there." I said to her. "Well I do not know either but it does look like that strange event that happened today. I bet that is it." My mom then whispered under her breath, 'Sweet Celestia, what have I gotten myself into?" "Mom, who is Celestia? I heard you and dad mention her name before, but you never told me who she was." I asked. My mom's eyes opened, like she was just struck with some invisible force, wide when she just realized that I had heard what she just said.
"Well, she was an alicorn, like yourself. She was a Princess, one of four in fact. Her and the other three disappeared about a thousand years ago. No pony knew who or what did this to them, but they kept an eye out for the smallest sign. about a few hundred years ago some of the mage ponies, who were investigating the disappearance, discovered that they did not just disappeared but that a strange force took them away. This force is still unknown today. When you were born me and your dad decided that we did not want whatever force that took them away to do the same with you so we took you away from Equestria and brought you here, a secluded part of the world that no pony knows about besides us. We have been here ever since hoping that we would not have to deal with the force." My mom explained to me.
"So are you saying that I am a princess like the others, because I am an alicorn?" I asked. "No, I don't believe so. Me and your dad have no royalty in our blood line so I don't believe that you are." "so what does my cutie mark mean?" I quickly asked my mom. "I do not know. You are suppose to get your cutie mark when you find your special talent, but if you do not know I really don't know." She said.
"Well it is time for dinner, so why don't you head off and wash up." She said as she walked back towards the kitchen. The rest of that night was quite. My dad congratulated me on my cutie mark, and we had a good dinner. I found myself in my bed lying there drifting of to sleep.
"Hello dear. It has been some time since I have shown myself in anyponies dreams, but you are a special one. I am princess Luna, one of the four that disappeared a thousand years ago. We have been imprisoned all this time and I just know have gained enough strength to find you to speak with you. You are our only hope, and we need you to save us from what ever force is keeping us prisoner." A dark blue alicorn said. I stood there speechless. I could not believe that this was real, or was this a dream. "Don't worry yourself this is a dream after all, but I fear that I may have endangered you and your family with my presence. I am going to ask you to do something but I am going to need you to promise me that you will do this." She said as she looked at me with slight fear. "I...I..I promise." I stuttered. "Good well listen closely, you will need to leave when I wake you up. I will tell your parents not to worry and that I am taking care of you. You do not need to take anything for the forest will provide you with anything that you need." She stopped there and looked around. "Quickly, I will contact you later, but for now I have to go." And with that she disappeared and so did my dream.
So remembering the promise I had just made I got out of bed and left. I do not know were I was going or if it was the right direction, but I just started to walk. It had been a couple of hours and I was feeling worn out. I looked around and found a cave of some sorts in the distance. I chose to take refuge there. I laid my head down and slept.
"Well sis, that is all I have now. I will tell you the rest later alright. Now it is time for you to go to bed. So good night and I will see you tomorrow after school." I gave my sister a hug. "Good night, love you" My sister said with a yawn. "Love you too." And with that I went to my room and went to bed. Hopefully things will get better soon.
'RING’ ‘RING’ ‘RING' "Hello," I said as I picked up my phone.
"Sorry to wake you at this time but I just wanted to tell you happy birthday. You are now eighteen so that means you are now the man of the house till I get home," said the voice on the opposite side of the line.
"Thank you dad; and no problem I love to talk to you. So when are you going to get home?" I said while letting out a yawn.
"I don't know," 'he said with a sigh.'
"Well, I hope you get home soon. I better let you go now. I got to get ready for school, love you Dad."
"I love you to, and I will call you when I get the chance."
After I hung up the phone, I proceeded to head into the shower. I turned the knob to hot, and just stood there, thinking about when dad will get home. After a long hot shower, I got dressed in my black polo shirt, with my blue jeans. I slipped on my socks and shoes. I then went back to the bathroom to brush my teeth and shave. I looked at my alarm clock and saw that I need to leave in about five minutes, so I grabbed my backpack and some pop tarts from the kitchen and headed off to school.
It took me a little while to get to school. I pulled in the parking lot and found my special spot by the big birch tree, were I always park. I stepped out of the car and looked up at the big old building. It is fairly large with four separate buildings that are different shapes and sizes. Each building was bigger than the next.
The school day was the same as every day; I kept to myself and did my work. I occasionally got a happy birthday, from some random people. It was pretty boring, so just a usual day in my life. I got done with that school day and headed off to home.
When i reached the house I realized my mom's car was not in the parking lot. I decided to go in side, and no one was there. I looked for a note or something, and could not find anything. I began to worry, so I called my mom. She did not answer, but her voice mail said, " Drake, sorry I’m not home right now. You should come up to the library, when you are done at home." So I dropped of my school stuff, and went to the library.
I got to their within 10 minutes. I walked into the library and noticed at once there was no one around. As I stood there in wonderment I heard a slight chuckle from further in the library.
So I followed the sound. As I came around a corner of books and walked into a big room, there were about 15 people who all jumped out and said "SURPRISE!!!" My little sister came up to me and asked me, "Did we surprise you?" I stood back a bit and said, "Hmm, I don't know maybe. Just kidding yes you did." She then walked away with a big smile on her face.
It was in all the best surprise birthday party ever. I met up with my grandparents, and some other relatives. We played some games and had a blast. Soon it was time to open presents. I got some clothes, money, and I also got a tablet.
It was now time to get cake and ice-cream. So they brought in the cake and put it in front of me. I looked down at the cake and there was a picture of a rather familiar pony on it. I looked at my sister and asked, "Did you pick this out for me?" She looked up at me and said, "Yes, mom let me decide what goes on your cake. I chose it because of the story you told me last night. Hope you like it." I smiled at that.
They sang me happy birthday. Then I took a deep breath in and blew out all eighteen candles in one breath. As I blew out the candles I made a wish, I wished that I could make a difference, and that things would change.
As soon as I blew out my candles my phone rang. "Hello, I'm with the Saint John Hospital, and we regret to inform you that your dad has passed away.
I dropped the phone. It hit the ground and everything else just came tumbling down. I could not keep a hold of myself, I ran outside and to my car. I started up my car and started to speed down the road hoping that what I just heard was a lie. Then as I made a turn at a high speed, 80-90mph, I lost control and started to tumble down the hill. Somewhere along the line I passed out.
When I woke up it was dark outside. I could hear the growling of animals, the wind blowing through the trees. I was confused, and did not know what was happening, so I decided to lie down and fall asleep.
When I woke up, again, it was morning. I stood up and looked around, to see where I was. After wondering around a bit, I realized that I don't know where I am. Then it hit me, hard, I don't know who I am, I have no memories of my life. I stood there even more confused than before, trying to remember who I was. Then I heard a voice. It came from nowhere but yet seemed like it came from all around. It was a deep calming voice.
"You are the savior of a universe, young one. I chose you for certain reasons that will later be clear to you. You will choose one of many different universes to go to. Then you will figure out what needs to be done first." The voice said
"Now before you follow me I will give you two choices to choose from. First you can go back to your previous life and get all your memories back, or secondly you can come with me and take a hold of your destiny."
And with that the voice left. I tried to call out after it to ask who or what it was. I got no reply, not even a hint of any presence besides mine. So I thought of what to do. If I choose my old memories and life I would learn who I was and not get this chance ever again. And if I chose to follow my "destiny" I would not be able to get my previous memories back: Unless someone from that universe was able to help me get my memories back.
After I made my decision I called out for him. I kept yelling at the top of my lungs, "WHERE ARE YOU?! I MADE MY DECISION, NOW ANSWER ME!!" But my yelling did nothing.
I soon gave up. I then thought about what to do, after all I can't just stand here forever. So I went looking for food. I found a couple of nuts, and berries. I ate all that I found. It hardly filled me up, but it would have to suffice. It's getting dark soon.
When it became night time I sat next to a tree and fell asleep. In my dreams I was surrounded by mist, and could not see more than 5 feet in front of me. The voice came back to me, this time a little quieter.
"Hello, young one. Are you ready to take charge of your destiny?"
Instead of answering the question, I chose to ask one. "Who are you, first of all?"
"Well if you must know, I am you in a sense."
Then the mist started to shift and a figure started to appear in the distance. As it got closer, I realized it was more like me. When he was three feet in front of me, I realized that he was me.
And with the same voice as before, gradually becoming my own, it said, "I am you, young one, and you are me. We are one and the same."
And with that his voice became exactly like mine. Then he raised his right hand out for me to take it.
"Come and take my hand, it is time to go and take charge of your destiny." He said.
I reached out and grabbed his hand. "I am ready." I said with such confidence, that I even convinced myself it was true.
"O, but you are far from that." And with that things started to disappear. My dream started to break apart, and I knew dawn was coming soon. So I let my mind drift to where it wanted to go. I later woke up and realized that things were different. I was in a new place.
I was in a room that was dark, but not to dark. I could see all around the room. On the floor and ceiling were spiral patterns that led to the middle. There were many different corridors around me. With destinations that end up who knows where. Then I looked towards the rest of the room I was in, and saw a pedestal at its center most point. There was a Staff on the pedestal. I decided that I need to check this staff out.
I went up to the staff to examine it closer. As soon as I got close I heard the voice again. It said, "Take this staff. It will be your guide throughout your journeys." And with that the voice disappeared.
The staff was a piercing white.It was surrounded with strange markings that I have never seen before, or at least I thought I have never seen. There was a moon at the bottom, sun above that, then a star above that. At the very top there was an eclipse. I tried to figure out what they meant, but to no avail. When I grabbed the staff I felt a surge of energy and calmness. I knew right there that I needed to take this with me. So I did.
I sat down on the floor there and wondered what I should do next. Should I go to one of these hallways or should I just wait here. I don't know how long I waited before I made up my mind, but when I finally do make up my mind I need to act fast so I don't psych myself out.
I then walked along the edge of the room. As I looked down each corridor, I kept thinking that I need to leave here soon, but which path should I take? I then realized that each corridor has a symbol above it. There was a red lightning bolt, blue balloon, pink butterfly, orange apple, purple diamond, lavender star, and the last corridor had an eclipse. I looked at each one and wondered what was the significance of each symbol meant.
I stood there wondering which path I should take, for a good while now. Which one? I looked at the symbols again and realized one stood out. That symbol is on the staff, I wonder if the two are connected well better go now. So I decided to go down that path. As soon as i stepped into the corridor with the eclipse I felt something different. I could not quite put a hand on it, but it was there regardless of what it was. I continued on the path I have chosen for a little ways, until I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me. I found myself struggling to stay awake, as i found myself lying on the floor wondering what just happened. I could not hold on for long, and then I was out cold, back into the darkness.
Out of the Dark and Into Lore
"Ugh, what happened?" I asked aloud, while I slowly got up. I stood up and stretched. As I was rubbing the sleep from my eyes I realized it was pitch black. "Were am I?" I heard my voice echo around a bit. I then heard a rustle of movement some were close. I froze in place, unknown what lurked in the darkness. "Hello," I whispered. The movement started to get more frequent. Then there was a yawn.
I froze in place as I realized I was not the only one here, were ever here was, and why was it really dark anyways? I stayed as still as I could hopefully so whoever or whatever was here did not notice me.
"Hmmm, I must be hearing things, I mean this cave is abandoned. Nopony besides my mom, dad, and I live anywhere near here." said a strange soft voice.
Then I felt a tickle in my nose. And here I thought that I was doing so well. I was about to sneeze when I stumbled forward and hit the ground. 'Oh great,' I thought to myself.
"What was that? Who are you? Show yourself!" Said the voice.
With that something started to glow. It seemed to lighten up the entire place. Then I saw who had just spoken. I was even more shocked, a pony. 'How can a pony talk let alone be able to light up an entire cave like that, and is that wings and a horn? What is going on here? Also why does she look familiar? I can swear that I know her, but how?' I thought to myself. I laid there on the grown unable to look away from her.
"Who and what are you?" She asked.
"I.....I...I do not know." I managed to stumble out of my mouth.
"What do you mean you do not know? How can you not know?"
"Well the last thing I remember I passed out in this hallway, after I got this staff. Before that not much. I have complete amnesia of my life. I wish I could tell you, but I can't. One thing though, you look familiar, I can't quite put my finger on it but it feels like I have known you for a while."
With a sigh she said, "Well that sucks. Also what are fingers?" I reached out my hand and wiggled my fingers. "Oh, those things. Well I don't know how I would look familiar to you, considering we have never met. You mentioned a staff can I see what that is."
"Sure, just let me find it." With that I went looking for the staff. It was relatively easy to find. It was the only thing white in here and with the light provided, it shined like a beacon. I grabbed it and felt the surge of energy engulf me again. I showed it to her. "Here it is, I have now idea what it is made out of or what any of these symbols mean. What is your name, by the way?"
She stood there and stared at the staff in awe. "My name is Burning Eclipse, also can i get a closer look at the tip.?"
I tilted the staff down a bit, to give her a better view.
"How is my cutie mark on your staff? What does this mean?"
"First what is a cutie mark? Also, what does what mean?"
She turned her body a bit and put her hoof on what seemed to be the same mark that was on my staff. "This here is my cutie mark. I do not know what it means,but it is there."
"You were right about one thing, it does look like this symbol on the staff. But what does this mean, and were can we find out? Well I do not know about you but I think it is time to get out of here." I said while pulling the staff back and putting back at my side.
"You are right we need to get going, that is if you want to go with me. I could use the company, and you don't know when you could use the help. I believe that us meeting was no mishap, and we may need to stick together." She said as she motioned me to the way out.
So I followed her out of the cave and into the lit up woods. It was peaceful out here. Whatever was in these woods left us alone. Since I don't know were to go or what direction, I just followed Burning. I am surprised though how well I am taking the whole talking pony with wings and a horn. I should be freaking out, but it felt familiar and calm. I hope I can make sense of this soon.
We continued to walk one direction. Not straying off to one side or another. Just heading forward. That is until we hit a road. It was just a dirt one, but were there is a road there is a destination. So we went down the road.
It wasn't that long before I was getting quite hungry. I could tell from the sound of Burning's stomach that she was too. "So when are we going to get something to eat? I asked while grabbing my stomach.
"If I remember right, the forest is suppose to provide us with what we need, so I would say to see if we can not find anything near the road."
"Well you look on that side, and I will look on this side." I said while stepping off to the left side of the road.
"See you in a bit. Hopefully we can find something." With that she went to the right side of the road and wondered off.
I walked out about fifteen minutes when I spotted an apple tree. "Well this will be good, but how do I reach them." I asked myself. I pondered for a bit. What can I do to get them down. The branches are clearly to high for me to reach, and the trunk of the tree is a to slick for me to climb. Then I thought of some crazy idea. What if I used magic on them. I felt the energy in my staff, I am pretty sure that is what it is.
So I put my staff in front of me and relaxed. I let the power from it flow through me. I managed to some how focus the energy into a single stream. I then willed the stream up to the apples, and imagined them falling down slowly with grace. What surprised me was that they did exactly what I wanted them to do. I stood there in amazement with what I just did. "This is awesome!" I yelled out loud.
So I gathered up the apples and headed for the road. I got there and decided to sit and eat some of the apples that I got. They were delicious, juicy, and sweet. I ate like half of them, while I was waiting. Then I saw Burning return with a lot of apples floating around her. More then what was on the tree I found.
I dropped mine when I saw her come. "Were did you get all those?" I asked with my mouth watering up. So much food. Even if it was just apples. We stuffed ourselves with the nice juicy apples. When we were both done we needed to rest. It was a pleasant meal, better then just a few nuts and berries.
When we figured it had been long enough we headed back down the road. "So, how does it feel to do magic?" I asked to break the silence.
"What do you mean how do I do it, it just comes natural. Why do you ask?"
"Well, no reason just was curious." I said with a slight grin. 'Might as well keep this to myself, just in case.' I thought to myself.
Then we stopped talking for a bit. Then I saw something on the ground. "Hey over here. I think I found something."
"Let me see. It looks like a sign, but it is very faded. I know a spell that will help though. Lets see here what is it."
I then noticed her horn start to glow, along with the sign. Then words on the sign started to show. "Welcome to Ponyville," the sign said in bold letters. "Ponyville what is that?" I asked myself. Then something clicked in my head, and images started to float around my head. It was a little town filled with ponies. Bright in color and full of life. Then I saw the same sign posted up at the entrance of the town. Then a few flashes of images later I found myself face to face with crystal tree looking palace.
"This palace is your destination. It hides in these woods perfectly, despite what it is made of. It will not be easy to find, but you must. That is all I can tell you. Now go and hurry. You haven't much time." A mysterious voice had said. It sounded different then the one from the other night, but who was it.
Before I could ask or think any more I came to. "Are you ok? You were just standing there, with your eyes white and your face flushed."
"Ya, I am fine. I just had a flashback. I saw this place in its' prime. This place is in Equstria, actually it is at it's center. It looks like your parents never took you away."
"How can you know this? You have no memory, and why would my parents lie to me?"
"I don't know how I know this but I do, and about your parents I don't think they did. A thousand years have passed since this town was in its' prime. So it could be possible that Equestrian borders have changed. But it is time to go. We need to find something here. So follow me." I left it at that and started to walk in a general direction. She quickly followed in behind.
After walking through the trees and rubble of the town I saw a glint out of the corner of my eye. I stopped in my tracks. "This way." I said as i changed directions. I have no idea were I was going, but my feet did. So after following that glint I noticed that a light shone in the distance. 'That must be it' I said to myself. So I continued towards what ever lied in the distance.
It did not take long before we reached it. I looked at Burning, "We found it. Inside should be some answers." And with that I went inside not caring if she followed.
Burning just stood there in awe of the structure that was in front of her. How could this be so close to where I lived and not even know about it, she thought to herself. She decided that she needed to head inside before she lost whatever his name was. 'We need to find him a name soon.' She thought to herself, and with that she stepped inside the strange crystalline structure.