The Flames of the Phoenix

by FrostTheWolf

Rating: teen
Tags: Human, Applejack, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Philomena, Alternate Universe, Sex, Big Macintosh, Adventure, Violence, Princess Celestia, Crossover
Length: 75342

I am more than what you think I am. You think that I'm weak, broken and easy to deceive? Well, you're about to find out the reason why I am not to be trifled with [Displaced story]

If you think you know me, then you are truly mistaken.

Back where I'm from, I was forced to go with my classmates to a museum filled with costumes and clothes. It wasn't quite my cup of tea until I met a woman who told me that she could tailor something for me for a small fee. So, I asked for a scarf that resembled the burning flame of a phoenix. After receiving it though, things began to go south (Mostly because of my emotions back then). My life was already a living hell and ending up in another world was the last thing I would've expected.

But as I would find out, my life experiences and the things I've learned in the course of my long life have forged me into the being that I am. The tortured phoenix with a burning heart and spirit.

I am Ember Valkyr. The flame that will be the last thing you'll see.

Displaced story following the perspective of one of my own characters this time. One that I came up with. Thanks Fiction Fanatic and ElementBrigade (along with many other people) for your inspiration.

Credits to everything shown. Artwork made by me. It's a partial League of Legends crossover because of one of the characters, but that's it. League of Legends belongs to Riot Games

Featured: 8/7/2020 (Thank you guys so much!)
Featured again: 9/29/2022

Published 2015-05-08 23:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2022-10-19 22:48:19 UTC

0- How this all began

The flames of a phoenix- How this all began

The Phoenix. A majestic bird that is beautiful to look at and also watch as it rises from the ashes. However, many ponies in Equestria wonder where exactly do they come from. The only one ever seen in Equestria these days was the personal pet of Celestia, Philomena. But, to understand this story, you must know more about one specific individual. One that isn’t a pony at all, but just as important as any historical figure that you would ever come across in the history books. Now then, let us begin the story now.

She groaned to herself, drooping her head down with her hood up as the bus they were on was beginning to come to a complete stop. Everyone around her was slowly moving and getting off of the mobile transport, but she was the last to get off. Personally, this was not the way the girl wanted to spend her Saturday morning, but it was sure as hell better than hearing her parents fight all the time about the bills that came in the mail and whatever was true or not true.

She sighed a little, catching the attention of a nearby classmate. “Oh come on, Emma. Don’t act like that. You’re going to have a great time!!”

“Pfft. Says you.” The girl retorted as she took off her hood, revealing her long brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail. “My mother only had me come along on this trip so I could get out of the house. Extra credit points… Graduating high school… My ass.”

“Well, at least you’re here now.”

Emma grunted a little. “Yeah, but I’m not sure how long that’ll last.”

Her fellow classmate looked at her with a raised eyebrow as they folded her arms. “What’s that suppose to mean?”

“My father decided to announce to my mother and I that he wants to file for a divorce almost half an hour after I’ve woken up.”

“Oh god, I’m sorry Emma. I didn’t know-.”

Emma just accepted the apology with a simple “It’s alright” despite the fact that inside her head, things weren’t alright. She loved both of her parents, but barely saw them get along with each other. Even after this morning, Emma did not want to be forced to leave with her father to go to god knows where. She had lived in her neighborhood ever since she was a little girl and have had a lot of memories from then. Now, her current memories were just of times where her parents fought. Her father worked as a lawyer for the city and barely had the time to spend quality time with the family because of the amount of cases he had been asked to serve on. While for her mother, she was a stay at home mom with a kind heart, but everything she did to help the family made her look like a workaholic.

In a way, both her parents traits could be seen in her, despite the fact that she would rather not admit it. From her father, she learned how to be strong and stand up for herself no matter what hardships she was going through. From her mother, she learned kindness and how to care for others in times of need. Emma didn’t really see these things as being handed down to her from her parents though and personally saw them as skills that she had learned from experience over time.

The group of students she was with was soon browsing through the museum that they were visiting today. A costume and wax model museum. Home to the fake models of many famous movie stars, and TV characters. Emma herself though, was just looking around to find something to cure her of the boredom that she felt was slowly trying to kill her. She was only interested at one point where she was seeing some of the newer additions that were added recently. One that even included Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan and “Team Avatar” from The Legend of Korra. It was quite surprising to see real life version of the characters clothes.

“So… you seem to be enjoying yourself, right?”

Emma turned around quickly and her eyes now looked upon a middle aged woman, possibly in her early forties and looked like she had been raised in Chinatown. She had what looked a badge that made Emma think that she was a member of the museum staff.

“Kind of… Life has been crap for me and I felt like I was forced to come here so I can’t hear my parents bicker at each other constantly.”

“I can relate.” The woman replied. “You know… It’s funny to see my work put on display like this.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “Your… work?”

“Well, who else did you think made those clothes?” She said as she pointed out to a model statute of Mako from The Legend of Korra. “It was hard to complete, but I was satisfied with the final product once I completed piecing everything together.”

The girl was now personally surprised. This woman… was the Seamstress that made these clothes? Wow… this work was amazing. “Miss… Shonin…? Can I ask you something?”

“Surely… Oh and call me Maho. There’s no need for formalities.”

“Well, I was wondering if…… you’re currently taking any commissions.”

The woman looked back at the girl now, slightly intrigued as she scratched her chin. “That depends…… What kind of clothing would you want me to make?”

Emma paused for a minute as she looked around the room. She looked back at the models of both Mako and Mikasa and then came up with an idea in her mind. “A scarf. Something like the one you did of Mako in length, but has the darkened colors of a burning fire. Like the scarf of a phoenix. People call me Ember as a nickname, so I thought I would have something that could fit the name.”

The woman smiled. “I believe I can do that within a couple of days. Would you like to discuss a price?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Twenty. Twenty Five for next day shipping. I am a busy woman after all.”

Emma smiled. She had forty dollars in her pocket. Enough for this and Lunch later when everyone had to stop by the food court later. “I’ll take it.”

Three Days later…

“Ugh… Mornings… My mortal enemy…”

Emma hated early mornings. She preferred to sleep in sometimes if she could, but was always an early riser. This morning was no different. After getting dressed in a dark grey t-shirt and dark navy jeans, she went to the bathroom to straighten her hair and prepare herself for the day. So far, she had not heard of anything from her parents at all, which was odd. Normally, her parents arguing was what woke her half of the time.

Today though, it was different as she heard a THUD at the door. Emma walked on over to the door and looked down on the welcome mat to see a package with her name on it. The scarf from Ms. Shonin had arrived and this made Emma feel a bit happy. Tearing open the box, she put on the scarf, feeling the fabric warm her skin. It felt really comfortable.

When she set the box down though, Emma found something. A note for her. Looking it over, it’s contents soon extinguished her happiness.

“Emma honey. I’m sorry for telling you this now, but we’re not here this morning because your father and I are heading to the courthouse. It may be hard to take in, but we’re splitting up. Remember though, no matter what happens though, we still love you.”

-Mom

This though, didn’t help ease the pain. It instead made her furious. Did they even consider to run this decision by their daughter first before making this choice!? Emma now couldn’t take this. This must’ve been all a bad dream. She crashed herself onto her bed and closed her eyes. Wishing that she was no longer here and to not deal with this Sh*t anymore. But, unknowingly, she did not know that her wish would soon come true as a warm fire slowly covered her and had Emma disappear from her room.

When Emma opened her eyes again, she didn’t find herself in her room anymore. She was in a partially frozen forest and snow was falling. Which seemed impossible because it was suppose to be the middle of May. Despite her attire, she wasn’t cold. In fact, the scarf she wore was glowing and kept her warm and toasty like an open fireplace.

“W-what the hell? W-where am I?”

Turning around though, she felt another familiar source of heat. Her eyes widened. The girl was looking upon a majestic phoenix. Lying on the ground. Curled up. Like it was waiting to be taken away and burn out like a lit candle.

Hello, Child.

Emma flinched for a moment, staring at the avian. “D-did you just…… speak?” The fiery bird just nodded it’s head weakly as the human drew closer. She was concerned. “Are you okay?”

No… I’m not.

“What’s wrong?”

I am dying.

The teenager’s eyes widened when the phoenix told her this. “B-but that’s impossible!! A powerful creature like you should be-.”

Immortal? It interrupted. That’s the belief. Though we are immortal, one can only last so long with the amount of pain and suffering that living forever brings. Therefore, at one point in our lives, we sacrifice ourselves so our powers can help replenish the Stream in which magic flows through Equestria. Please… Just leave me to die alone…

For a moment, the teen considered to take up the bird’s advice. But, she began to think it through. He was alone. Like she was right now. Far away from home. Turning back and getting close to the bird, she said one word.

“No.”

I… beg your pardon?

“A beautiful and majestic creature such as yourself should not have to die alone. Hardships made me the person that I am and that means I never leave anyone alone, even if they want me too. I’ve been through a lot of crap in my life and even though I might not have seen the things you have, you’re the only person I can relate to. Therefore, I will stay with you in your final moments and keep you company.”

The phoenix stood silent as it’s eyes widened. This… creature… really did care about him. He felt that there wasn’t a individual in the world that could appreciate him for what he was capable of, but now… she made him feel… appreciated. Loved. Cared for.

Young one, what is your name?

“Emma Valkyr. But you may call me Ember.”

I am Phyrron. Guardian Phoenix of Equestria. I thank you for your kindness and for staying with me in my final moments. Therefore, I have a few parting gifts for you.

Phyrron motioned his wing, dropping a feather into her hands before it’s magic flowed around her, causing her to close her eyes. A plethora of images flowed through her mind as well as the knowledge each one contained. Ember couldn’t believe everything that she was seeing as she heard Phyrron speak.

This feather contained all the knowledge of the world of Equestria, from its inhabitants to the towns that are spread out through the land and the creatures that roam. I’ve also taught you to control the flames that resemble your scarf and have them bend to your will. Now, open your eyes, Ember. I have one last parting gift for you.

She did so. In front of her, a little Phoenix hatchling was right in front of her as Phyrron began to slip away.

This is my child. My offspring. She will see you as her caretaker. Raise her well, my friend.

Before the young pyromancer could ask anything, the phoenix ascended into the sky and disappeared, leaving her and the young chick in the snow as the sun slowly began to rise. Looking at the young hatchling, Ember asked her a question.

“So… what should I call you?”

All it did was chirp as it looked back at Ember.

“How about…… Philomena?”

The young phoenix squawked happily as it perched itself atop Ember’s head. It like the name as Ember got up and smiled. ‘I promise you, Philomena. I’ll do my best to help you.”

Author's Note

Now, the Tale of the Tortured Phoenix begins.

1- Reunion

The flames of a phoenix- Reunion

Canterlot

It has only been two days since the Centaur named Tirek had trampled through the streets of Canterlot and things were beginning to go back to normal. However, despite everypony feeling normal, not all creatures were able to quickly recover from the scary events from a few days ago. Philomena was one such example as she sat perched upon her personal resting place. She saw Celestia outside on the Balcony as the Alicorn used her magic to raise the sun once again before turning to the bird to give her the occasional morning greeting.

“Good morning, Philomena. You look great this morning.”

The bird chirped in response and the Sun Alicorn assumed for it to be happily greet her as she went over to get it some food. Using her levitation magic to carry the avian’s food over to her tray and set it down and pet her softly with a gentle hoof before having to go prepare for day court. Philomena would normally be okay with something like this, but after recent events, the phoenix was partially worried for her caretaker’s safety. For a couple of days, the city had been under constant unrest involving the incident in Tartarus and the possibility for this leading to other future crises.

Personally, Philomena wanted things to be different. She had already seen enough horrible things. Things that her Alicorn caretaker could not begin to understand. She had seen her parents die in front of her. Saved by… her.

A thousand years ago…

A young Philomena barely a week old looked as her parents came back. Speaking in their language. “Our Hatchling, we are back.” Her mother said as they came back with heat worms. As the family was eating, a laugh could be heard.

“So touching, I see you settled down and raised a family... Phyrron.” The voice caused Philomena father to look around on alert.

“Impossible.” Landing on a nearby tree was a bird, it was like a hawk yet its very body seemed to have a look of living snow. The tree branch under it started to freeze. It was Phyrron’s arch enemy, Anivia.

“Impossible is but a word.” Anivia said with his wings opened he had an almost predatory look at the little hatchling. “You know our last fight was the one that could have ended me oh yes.” The bird walked causing the tree to freeze it wiped its feathers over the trunk caving right thought it. “However instead of finishing me you left me to die. But, as you can see…”

The tree branch then was broke as the cold froze the branch though. “I've gotten stronger.” The bird flew to the branch were the next was on slowly freezing the tree.

Phyrron was with his mate, ready to fight. “Take one more step and we will end you!!” The bird of ice had a smile. She took the step as the two charged at him covered in flames. The hatching saw them all land on the forest floor. Shadows could be seen behind her.

The hatching watched them fight the shadows behind her showed as the invader seemed to not only hold his own but seemed to be winning as her mother attempted to tackle him. He reacted by grabbing her head and smashing it into a rock while her father attempted to attack. A snap was heard as her mother neck was snapped. “NOOO!” Her father screamed.

The young hatching moved back. She then saw her father get impaled by ice. “gaaa.” He said. She fell from her nest as she moved back. She got up to see the killer of her parents right over her. “Go to Sleep.” He said as he was about to kill her.

“Leave my DAUGHTER ALONE!!”

In a surprise attack, Phyrron used the last of his strength to put his body over Philomena and cast themselves in a fiery barrier, warding Anivia away from them.

The bird screamed as his opponent then grabbed him. “Hatchling, run.” That would be the phoenix’s last words. Philomena tried to fly away as her father burned himself in an explosion. When it was done, Phyrron was victorious. However he was tired. He burned out his life force in that last attack. He had only a few hours to live this time. Maybe minutes. As he laid in the snow, Philomena returned to him, crawling underneath his wings to seek shelter. Her father couldn’t speak since his throat was destroyed. But, as a new figure approached them and refused to leave, Philomena saw her father smile. Thankful for whoever this was to be here now.

“So…” The figure spoke. “What should I call you……? How about…… Philomena?”

Present

The grown phoenix could still remember those moments as her father faded away and she was left in the care of a new figure. One that understood her. Could speak to her. Relate to…

“I’m back, Philomena.”

The avian was surprised to see her Alicorn friend return. But, she looked a little concerned for her. “Philomena, is something wrong…? You didn’t eat your food.”

She chirped a little, trying her best to show that nothing was bothering her. But Celestia thought otherwise. Something in her years of experience with being around the phoenix told the Alicorn that she was somehow stressed.

Celestia decided it was best for some fresh air. Flying free usually calmed her nervous and Philomena enjoyed it as well. “Lets go for a short fly by. Some fresh air would do you some wonders.” Celestia proposed. Philomena gave a chirp. Perhaps flying in the morning air would help calm her nervousness. The Alicorn turned towards the door of her room and caught the attention of her sister.

“Luna. Philomena and I are going to stretch our wings for a little bit. We’ll be right back.”

“Sure thing, dear sister. Please, enjoy your flight.”

“We will.” Celestia answered back. With that out of the way, she opened the door to the balcony, walking out with her Phoenix companion. They took off into the sky of a Canterlot morning, soaring above the thousands of civilians that call the City of Canterlot home. As Philomena soared next to her, she felt the need to go faster. As the avian looked down though, the phoenix thought she saw something… impossible.

She thought that she saw… an old friend.

Without warning, the phoenix went for a barreling nosedive as it soared towards the ground, catching Celestia by surprise. Crying out with a loud shriek.

The Alicorn flew after the Phoenix as she landed on the ground to see what had cause Philomena to act this way. It was the first time that she had seen the phoenix fly off on her own like this. As she landed though, the princess saw the phoenix come back up and fly to a clearing that was by a lake and that had only a single oak tree. However, something was by the tree. Something she couldn’t make out from her current position. She needed to get closer.

Lightly flapping her wings, the pony soared over for a small distance until she came across a strange sight. Philomena had found a young… bipedal figure that wore a red scarf around her neck, a grey garment that covered half of her body and another separate garment that covered the bottom half. The creatures mane was tied up in a ponytail as well and it also had red, fire like eyes. But what surprised the princess the most was when the figure used it’s… hand… to rub Philomena on top of her head. A place that she never allowed Celestia to touch.

The figure hugged the Avian as it perched itself on top of it’s head. “Aww… I’ve missed you too, Philly. It’s been quite some time since I’ve last seen you.”

That… surprised the Alicorn. This being knew Philomena? Now she was becoming a little curious. So curious that when she got closer, the phoenix noticed her presence and chirped, having the figure turn towards her. It looked tense, but looking back at the bird on her head, she relieved herself a little. “Oh, she’s a friend of yours? I didn’t know that… Well, it’s what happens when we get separated for a thousand years.”

The Alicorn herself raised an eyebrow. Did she say that as a joke or was she being serious? She couldn’t really tell. “Pardon me… I don’t mean to alarm you in any way.”

“It’s alright… I’ve had some… really bad experiences with some ponies a long while back so it’s hard to trust a lot of individuals that I meet.”

Bad experiences? With ponies? How could this girl have bad experiences with any of her subjects? “When was this?”

“Oh YEARS ago. Nothing to worry about now… Oh! My apologies, I haven’t even ask for your name.”

The Alicorn cleared her throat as she sighed. “I am Celestia. Princess of Equestria and Diarch of the Sun.”

“Wow… I’ve never thought that Philly here would be cared for by someone of royalty. Oh but where are my manners? I’m Ember. Ember Valkyr.”

“That’s a very… interesting name.” Celestia tried to follow up on what the girl said before she continued the conversation. “Tell me though, how do you know Philomena?”

“Didn’t she tell you?”

The Avian squawked for a moment, causing Ember to look up at her. “Oh, she can’t hear you? I believe I can help fix that.” For a moment, the figure stood up and placed a finger on where Celestia’s horn met her forehead. A small spark went off, having the pony jerk for a little bit. “I’m sorry if it startled you. I just wanted to make sure it worked.”

“W-what worked?”

‘Tia? Can you hear me?’

Celestia blinked in surprise. “P-philomena? Is that you!?”

‘By the heavens, it worked!! Thank you so much, Ember!!!’

Now the Alicorn herself was looking back at Ember, a little confused by what she did. “Excuse me, Ms. Ember, but what did you just do?”

“Some beings are born with the trait to hear phoenix’s speak to you mentally while others, mostly those that have high amounts of magic, can’t hear them and only hear a phoenix’s cries like other birds in nature. I just made it to where you could hear Philomena just like I can.” The girl told her as Philomena squealed with delight, making Celestia remember when Fluttershy took the firebird into her care a long time ago. “It seems you still have a lot to learn.”

“What do you mean by that?” The princess asked as she looked at Philomena. The phoenix sighed as she looked at her Alicorn friend.

‘To understand how I know Ember, you must understand something else, Tia. Do you remember what Starswirl said about my kind?’

The Princess did remember. “He said that Phoenix’s were very rare and that their might be others across Equestria?”

Philomena sighed, shaking her head. ‘We are rare, yes. But you see, there are no others. I’m the only one left. Phoenix’s have a natural enemy. A bird that isn’t made of fire, but of Ice. They are known as a Cryophoenix because they represented the cold heart of those consumed by sin. Greed, Pride, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth. A thousand years ago, My parents and I were the last ones that remained in Equestria until a Cryophoenix named Anivia attacked us. My mother died during the encounter and my father sacrificed his life force energy to protect me. As he was dying though… Ember found him.’

Celestia now looked at Ember in shock. This girl found them that long ago? How was she still alive?

‘Despite my father’s pleas for her to leave because he feared that she would become a target to Anivia, Ember refused to leave and decided to stay with us for his final moments. As a sign of kindness and generosity, he passed down his knowledge and powers to her so she could be aware of this world and it’s inhabitants. From then on, for the next five years, before I met you, Ember raised me. Took care of me. Treated me like a daughter. But then, at one point, a group of ponies that lived in the southern portion of Equestria by the Mexicolt border ambushed us. Their intent was to capture me, but Ember allowed herself to be captured so I could escape. As I flew away, I began to tire out… And that’s… when I met you.’

The Princess of the sun could not believe what she was hearing. Ponies… trying to capture them? How cruel… “W-what happened?”

Ember sighed. “What happened next is the reason why I’m known as The Tortured Phoenix. They captured me and treated me and hundreds of other innocent ponies like trash. They forced us to work for hours on end, whipped us if we were not obeying them and if we did obey, we were only to be given scraps of food and water to survive. It was pure torture. Then… one day… I snapped………” For a moment, Ember stopped talking. Celestia thought that it was because she couldn’t bear to continue about the subject. However, it wasn’t like that. “Were you ever told how the Badlands were formed?”

Celestia shook her head. “All I was told was that it was because of a massive explosion.”

Ember gritted her teeth. “That’s the thing… I was that explosion. When I snapped, I unleashed a wave of fire that consumed all the ponies that treated us like trash. Those that were put through the same pain I had to deal with had the flames restore them to proper strength while those who were giving us that pain were turned to ash that was carried away with the wind. That was when I realized how powerful I was and how I needed to control what I was capable of. That way, it would never happen again. I had been a wanderer for years. I’ve known love, loss, and what it feels like to be part of a family even though before I came here, my life was a wreck. My experiences though made me the person that I am and the hardships that I’ve been put through have only made me stronger. Philomena though, was the reason I kept on fighting. To be able to see her again. Now, I am happy.”

Ember snapped her fingers for a moment as a small bit of fire formed around her hands, letting it dance around her fingers as it flowed around with ease. Celestia though, was stunned. She couldn’t believe that her own kind would commit such atrocities. In her kingdom no less. “I-i’m sorry about everything you had to go through. If I’d had known, I would’ve done something.”

“We can’t move forward if he have our heads stuck in the past. We’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes of the past if we do.” Ember said, almost like a philosopher.

“That is… very wise of you to say.” Celestia complimented. “You should come with me back to Canterlot. You have quite a wonderful story and I believe that with all the years you were on your own, that some rest would be much deserved.”

“Thank you for your generosity. Can I just do one thing first?”

“Certainly-.”

Before the Alicorn could say any other words, the three of them were soon teleported to the Badlands. Philomena stood idly in the air by Celestia’s side, watching as Ember walked up to what looked like a stone. But to her shock, it wasn’t a stone.

It was a grave marker.

‘Here lies the body of Red Apple. A true friend and guide in the toughest of times. You will be missed forever.’

“Thank you for helping me when I needed it the most… I’m sorry that I was never able to help you in return, old friend…” Ember spoke, a tear in her eyes as she formed a small feather of fire in her hands and placed it on the ground.

“Who was he?” The Alicorn asked.

“A dear friend. He helped me survive the slave camps. But then, he was also the reason why I snapped.”

“The…… reason?”

“The slave owners in charge killed him in front of me… to teach me a lesson. But instead…… the opposite happened.” Ember swallowed as she sighed. “You probably might know the rest. Fortunately… his brother, Golden Apple, lived on. I even helped him construct a barn in memory of him. I haven’t been back there in centuries.”

“He was important to you?” Celestia then asked, wanting to know more.

“Yes. He and his brother even accepted me as family. Something I never thought would happen…” Ember said as she turned back around to face both Philomena and Celestia. “I’m ready to go when you two are.”

Nodding, Celestia Horn lit up, whisking them away from the barren wastes of the Badlands. Returning them to the comfortable castle of Canterlot and the Hall of Elements. Where her sister was there with Discord, the Spirit of Chaos.

“Welcome back-! Sister, who is this?”

“My apologies… Ember, this is my sister Luna and this is-.”

“Discord.” Ember interjected. “Trust me. We’ve met before.”

“We have? I don’t quite remember seeing you before……” The Chaos spirit scratched his chin, looking at the girl and trying to jog his memory. Then, he got it. “Oh, NOW I remember!! You were the girl who created the badlands.” The spirit remembered that memory. “I was about to brighten up their day then you ended the fun so I went up north instead.” Discord said.

“Brighten their day? Do you even know what hell everypony down there was going through? While you were trying to have “Fun” and sit comfortably in the place you considered home, slave handlers tortured us and made us work in the mines. They even killed my best friend until I snapped.”

Luna herself was now shocked. So was Discord. He never realized how bad things actually were. “Oh… well, I’m truly sorry to hear that, Ms. Ember.”

“It’s a thing in the past now…”

“Just out of curiosity, how did Celestia find you-?”

“I didn’t find her.” the Alicorn interjected the Draconequus mid sentence. “Philomena did.”

“She did?”

“Exactly. Before Philomena was founded by Celestia, I raised her as a promise to her dying father. But with the events of late, I’m worried about something. But for you to understand, you both must know her story.”

In the shadows of a forest, a tree slowly froze. “So… the hatchling still lives.” A claw like Philomena’s fathers cut right through the tree as it froze right into the trunk. “Oh this would been fun.”

A crystal made from the heart of the Wendigo king was infused into its body, with another piece in its very head. “I guess I’ll you have a bit of mercy... For when I’m done, the Alicorn and your caretaker will be dead.” He was no fool. The Spirit of Chaos was too much to take on. Plus he had respect for Nightmare Moon, so he'll let the moon princess live.

But for now, he had other tasks to attend to. Before he went back to the focus of exterminating what remained of the Phoenix’s…

For when there was no more fire to warm their hearts… they will fear the chill that comes with a cold death. They WILL fear…… Anivia.

End Chapter 1

Author's Note

I want to thank NewUnitedEmpire for assisting me a LOT with this chapter and also providing me motivation and inspiration for different parts. This story was mostly done because I wanted to try something new with some original characters I've created instead of doing them based off of something like with Nicko and Lance. Plus, Philomena needs a lot more love and attention around this site.

Ember won't be available for Crossing Over just yet. I still need to prepare a few things for her first beforehand.

And for those who don't know already, her Powers are Fire based with a few tricks that she picked up from the knowledge that Phyrron passed down to her.

2- Canterlot Calamities

The flames of a phoenix- Canterlot Calamities

Things were going alright for Prince Blueblood on this beautiful sunny day, courtesy of his dear Auntie; Princess Celestia. He had enjoyed a rather delicate morning in the gardens with Mr. Fancy Pants and his wife, Fleur De Lis as they had a properly cooked breakfast. It felt good to be treated with respect like how he believed that Nobles were suppose to be treated. He despised of being treated anything lower than that.

However, as he returned back to the castle so he could check in on Princess Celestia, he could hear a new voice coming from the hall. A female voice that sounded like she had a lot of power and passion. For a moment, the stallion thought that the voice belonged to a mare. But when he opened the door, The Unicorn was greeted to a very… Different sight.

“Hello Auntie-. What the? Who… is this?”

The person that Blueblood was referring to was Ember. She stood in the room with her back facing towards him and had turned around at the sound of the new voice.

Celestia was the next one to speak. “Blueblood. This is Ember Valkyr. She will be our guest for the time being…”

“Ember? Is that right? I really like your name. It’s really beautiful.”

For a moment, Blueblood felt like he was going to win her over the same way he did to Rarity at the last Grand Galloping Gala before it turned into a complete Disaster. However, what he got in return was a lot different than what he expected as he trotted closer.

“Is that so…?”

*SMACK!!!!*

Ember rammed her fist into the side of Blueblood’s head, knocking him out of the hallways and sending him flying twenty or so feet. “Sorry about that. It happens to a lot of people who get in my personal space.”

“How big is this personal space of yours?” Discord then asked, rubbing his chin.

“About a three foot radius on all sides. Plus, this also commonly happens when I believe that someone is trying to seduce me. Case in point, Mr. BlueBroke.” She said, cracking her knuckles. “It’s a good thing I didn’t use any of my Life Force energy or else his mane and fur would catch on fire.”

“Well, he was always one for toasted marshmallows.” Luna sighed as she trotted over to where her sister was. “Come on, why don’t I give you a tour of Canterlot? It’ll give Celestia some time to send a letter to the elements.”

“Pardon me, but what are these elements that you are referring too?”

Celestia and Luna looked at Ember with surprised expressions. “You don’t know of the Elements of Harmony?”

“Only heard about them once or twice. I don’t exactly know who or what they are.” Ember answered honestly. She had been all over the country, but had only heard bits and pieces of words on different subjects. Nothing to really put together. It was like a Jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces.

“The Elements of Harmony are a collection of Artifacts that have been used countless times to save Equestria from Peril. The wielders of those artifacts are the Mane Six, Six ponies that live in Ponyville and also are like daughters to Princess Celestia and I.” Luna explained. “In fact, one of them is a princess like Celestia and I. Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and something tells me she would have a lot to ask you.”

‘Sounds like a reporter wanting to interview me… Fan-freaking-tastic.’ Ember mentally sighed. “Well Luna, where should we begin with the tour?”

“Follow me, right this way.” Luna told Ember as they passed by the shocked body of Prince Blueblood that was still on the floor. Trying to think about what just happened as Celestia facehooved herself.

“You should’ve given her some space, Blueblood.”

“Auntie!!!”

Ember and Luna were beginning to go through the halls of Canterlot as The Alicorn gave the human a tour of the castle. All the ponies that were there for Day court and also all the guards on duty stopped and stared at Ember as she walked through the main hallway to the garden. The hedges themselves have been given a bit of a “makeover” from Discord so they would resemble Celestia and Luna as well as the Royal Couple of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. The Human was cautious though not to touch any of the plant life in hopes of not accidently setting anything ablaze. Despite her best intentions though, a leaf falling on her arm evaporated into cinders and almost caught an oak tree on fire if Ember didn’t dismiss the flames.

“Wow… that is quite some talented magic you have there.” Luna complimented Ember as she dismissed the fire with a finger snap.

“You mean my control over fire. It’s not magic. It’s life force energy. There’s a difference between the two.” The human explained. “Life Force is the union of your stamina and the strength of your soul. It can be easy to conjure, control and use; but hard to master. I only know all of these abilities because of what Philomena’s father passed down to me. But I’m still finding new ways to use my powers everyday.”

“Interesting. But how is magic so different from it?”

“Magic is like air. You breath it in and breath it out as well as use it for multiple purposes. It’s all around you even though you can’t normally see it.”

“That… is a valid comparison.” Luna complimented. The Two of them continued to move on as they now had reached the Barracks. Where the two of them found something very… surprising.

Guards were fighting against each other with armor and swords for sparring purposes. But instead of the normal one against one ruling, it was one against all. A single unicorn stallion in the middle of the arena was holding a spear with his magic while many others around him came at him from all directions. With a few swift motions, the stallion was able to quickly disarm the other guards and have them fall to the floor in defeat.

“Now, do you yield?” He asked them. All of them said the exact same answer as they returned to the bleachers.

“Who is that?” Ember asked, watching as a few more recruits entered the ring.

“That is Shining Armor. Princess Sparkle’s older brother.”

“He’s quite skilled in combat.” The human girl smiled, soaking it all in as she watched with awe. As he finished up the next few rounds, she heard the stallion boast a new question.

“Anypony else want to spar before we conclude this training exercise?”

That was Ember’s chance as she stepped forward, Luna alongside her. “Is that a challenge I hear, Captain?”

Shining Armor looked confused as he looked at the Princess that was by her side. “Princess Luna, who is this girl?”

“She is Ember Valkyr. She’s only staying for a little while, but that’s not important. What is important is that I believe Ember wants to challenge you. And it is not polite to keep a lady waiting.”

“If your friend thinks she’s up for it, then be my guest.” The Guard captain said as he levitated a towel to wipe the sweat off of his forehead and face. “It’ll be a nice change of pace.”

Ember smiled as she hopped into the training grounds. “You’re too kind.”

“Choose a weapon. You wouldn’t want to face an opponent unarmed.” Shining suggested to her, pointing his spear at the nearby weapon’s rack. The others watched as she inspected each of them, carefully looking at the craftsmanship of each of the weapons that were available. But, what she said next surprised all of them.

“Thanks for the offer, but I believe I’ll let my fists do the talking.”

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow as he looked back at Luna. “Are you sure about that?”

“Positive. I just might surprise you of what I’m capable of, Shiny.”

Shining Armor grinned. He honestly did not expect to be called “Shiny” by anypony else other than his wife or his sister. The Stallion made the first move as he went forth in a sideways motion to strike Ember. The human dodge it effortlessly as she did the one thing the Captain never expected.

Grab hold of the spear and yank it towards her, causing him to fall forward.

“Woah-!!” Once the stallion was close enough, Ember hit him with a forward palm strike in the face, causing Shining Armor to lose focus and drop his spear.

“Too slow.”

Ember was already at the next step in her attack as she struck Shining in the chest while he was on his hind legs. Anything harder and the stallion would have a few cracked ribs. The Stallion fell backwards into the weapons rack as Ember snapped the spear he was using in half like a Twig.

“Anything else?”

Shining Armor charged again, this time with Dual swords as he tried to focus his strikes. However, Ember was quick on her feet and dodging the Captains intended strikes, making him swing aimlessly. At one point, the human even was able to disarm the unicorn, leaving it to where they blocked and parried each other’s sword attacks with their own counters. Both of them were evenly matched. But Ember still had a few surprises for him. Especially when with the next sword strike, she followed it up with a powerful roundhouse kick filled with Fire energy that launched the captain through the wooden door of the training grounds.

“A good display, but you must remember that there are no rules when it comes to combat. You must expect the unexpected. Foresee the Unforeseen. Predict the unpredictable.” Ember told Shining Armor as she helped the Stallion get back on his hooves.

“You, my friend, are quite skilled.” Shining Armor told her as they walked on back inside.

“Why thank you, sir. I appreciate the compliment.” The human girl replied as they made their way to Princess Luna. “You’re not half bad yourself.”

Shining Armor twitched a little once he heard the comment. “H-half bad? I graduated at the top of my class when I was in the Royal Academy, with outstanding marks in weapons training about five years ago.”

“Well, I’ve been around this world for about a thousands years, give or take so…… yeah, there’s that.”

Shining Armor now just stared at Ember, eyes widening… trying to understand if he heard that right. However, it was too much to comprehend as he soon passed out on the floor.

“Is… he going to be okay?”

“I hope so. Otherwise, we’ll need a replacement captain.” Luna replied as they walked out of the barracks and back onto the main street of the city. Both the Princess and the Mancer continued to walk throughout the city, introducing Ember to every nook and cranny of what was within the castle’s walls. She previously never had the chance to visit Canterlot, unlike other towns and cities, because of some of the new defenses to the city that would dismiss illusion based disguises. A precaution against future changeling attacks, but also a problem for the human since it would cause her pony disguise to fade away into a puff of smoke and ash. Some places were also not seen by the human due to other constraints.

Countries that were across the sea would be exhausting to travel to, even if she did try to fly there because her Life Force energy could only carry her so far. Plus, the higher she flew, the more energy she would drain. It was something she called The Icarus Factor based off of the legend of one man who made wings out of wax so he could fly, but when he went too close to the sun, his wings burned up and he went crashing to the ground. In Ember’s case, her Life Force energy would burn up and she would pass out mid flight before reaching wherever she intended to go. Also, those who decided to travel by boat had to go through a check in process that was long and excruciating. It made her think of when she was back on earth and there was something called “TSA screenings” in order to get on a plane.

Over the few centuries she had been alive, Ember had visited a lot of cities inside Equestria. Vanhoover, Applewood, Las Pegasus, Ponyville, Manehattan, Pie-ami. You name it, she would remember her brief time there. However, there were some places she had never been too besides Canterlot. For example, The Crystal Empire had only been saved a few years back and Ember had not heard about it being freed til almost a year later when she had heard about the Equestria Games being hosted there. Another example would be Cloudsdale since the Mancer did not know any powers that would allow her to walk on clouds so she couldn’t fall through them. Then there was the mentioning of the village referred to as “Our Town” by Princess Luna. It was a strange name and for a moment, given the description of the Geographical location, Ember thought that the town resembled Dodge City. A small desert town to the East of Appleloosa. Either somepony rose to power since the last time she had been to the sandy area nearby the San Palomino Desert… Or this was a new town she had not visited in general that flew under her radar.

Out of all the places she had been too before though, only a few of them she would consider as her favorite. One place was a woodland area named Hollow Shades to the northeast of Canterlot. It was a quiet forest with a beautiful ecosystem. In addition, the wildlife there took a liking to her after she saved them from a forest fire fifteen years ago. She thought that the pony that Luna described as “Fluttershy” would be interested in going with her to there sometime so she could meet some of the species that called those woodlands home.

Soon, the two of them returned back to the castle, where Celestia and Philomena were waiting for their return inside the hall of elements. The Alicorn that was described to Ember as Princess Cadance was also there too. “Welcome back Sister. Did you two had a nice walk around the city?”

“Yes we did.” Ember replied. “Is Prince Blueberry okay? I hope I didn’t hit him too hard earlier.”

“He’s retired to his quarters to rest. You do not need to worry about him.” Celestia answered the Mancer’s question with a small chuckle as she turned her head towards Cadance. “Ember, I would like you to meet my niece. Princess Mi Amora Cadenza, the Princess of Love.”

“Please Tia, Cadance is fine.” The Pink Alicorn insisted as Ember shook her hoof with an outstretched hand. “I’ve heard quite a lot about you, Ember. Even my husband had high praise for you earlier when you faced him earlier today. If I wasn’t so busy, I would’ve come on over to watch you face him.”

“It’s quite alright actually. To be fair, and don’t tell him I said this, but I was going easy on him.” The Mancer told her. “If I was fighting seriously, then a lot of bits would have to be used to fix any damage to surrounding property and I rather not have that happen. Besides, I can control more than fire.”

That caught the princesses and Philomena off guard for a moment. “You can?”

“Yeah. I’m not quite skilled with it, but with the amount of time I spent at the Smokey Mountains, I’ve slowly begun to learn how to conjure, control and bend Magma.”

“Magma? Isn’t that Earth related magic?”

Ember shook her head. “You must be thinking about Lava, which is the combination of Magma and heat from the planet's core and earthen rock that’s formed as a Molten Soup. Magma is just the molten liquid itself. I’ve only begun to learn the basics though. Do you think there’s a chance I might find what I’m looking for in the royal library?”

‘Possibly.’ Philomena told her. Cadence only heard a small chirp as she stared at Ember in confusion. She seemed to understand the bird, but didn’t know why.

“Oh I almost forgot… Here.”

Ember placed her finger at the base of Cadence's horn; where it met her forehead and a small spark occurred. “There we go. Done.”

“What was that all about?” Cadence asked.

“That was so you can hear Philomena. Did Celestia mention to you about how only a few individuals could only hear phoenix speak mentally?”

“I was going to, but that was when you and Luna came through the door.” Celestia answered the Mancer’s question. “As for your question Ember, it could be possible. I recommend you check the Advanced Magic section of the Library and see if you can find anything that can help you.”

“Thank you kindly, Princess.” Ember told her. She remembered where to go after going through the entire city. The Mancer’s mind was like a big storage bin and her eyes were like the lenses of a camera. Almost every time she blinked, a photo of a location or place was saved inside her memory. But only when she converted the Life Force needed to make a snapshot a permanent imprint in her memory.

After about three minutes, she entered the library and moved up to the almost empty second floor. Looking at the section numbers, she remembered the location of the section Celestia told her from looking at the Directory as she walked in.

“Let’s see… Row numbers… 400 through 500…” Ember spoke to herself as she looked up. Soon, she came across the right row and began to look some more. “Here we go. Now… Starswirl’s guide to Advanced Sorcery.” She cracked open the book and flipped to the table of contents, looking for any clues on the studies that she wanted to look at. However, something else caught her attention.

Ember…

The Mancer stopped looking in the book and stood up, looking around her. She had just heard a voice that the girl had not heard in over a thousand years.

“P-phyrron?”

Behind you, child.

Ember turned around to see a red and orange bird that looked very much like a ghost as she heard it speak to her. Do not be alarmed. This is only a mere message that I have left behind for you. I would’ve told you when you were with me, but my priorities were the safety of my daughter instead of my own. You are one of many that have arrived in Equis under different circumstances. In different versions of Equestria, each one far more different than the last. You are only getting this message right now because you found what I had left behind for you inside that book.

Ember looked downward, realizing that there was a feather of a phoenix in the book. The section of the book being The Theory of Clover the Clever. The only theory in the book was one called The Displaced Theory, which had the exact same details as the spirit had described.

This may be hard for you to take in all at once, but soon, you will encounter someone that had entered under the same circumstances. You will recognize her when you see her use a strange form of powers that are not the same as your life force. Thank you for helping Philomena. I am proud of you, Ember.

The spirit faded as the feather grew warmly inside the girl’s hands. Taking a red ribbon she had as a spare hair tie, Ember tied the ribbon across it and then inscribed a message into it using her powers.

I am Ember Valkyr, the Tortured Phoenix. If you are in need of help, call upon me and my pain and rage will turn your enemies to ash.

Then, she spilt the feather into multiple feathers and tossed them into the air, each one disintegrating into nothingness while one remained for her to keep. She closed the book. There was no need to try and find the Magma section of the book. She thought it would be better for her to go back to the castle. It was about time she got some rest. Because something told her that tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Especially when Celestia told her that they were going to meet her student in Ponyville. And one of them happened to be part of the Apple family… Which meant the one thing that she would personally wasn’t prepared for was going to happen.

She was going to return to the barn the Mancer built for Golden Apple and his daughter… Granny Smith.

End Chapter 2

Author's Note

Blueblood own count: 1

I used this map to reference the towns and cities while others I came up with such as Pie-ami, the Equivilant of Miami down in Florida.
http://www.deviantart.com/art/HD-Map-of-Equestria-Official-319045269

Now then...... Let the games begin. I know you're out there somewhere Gilgamesh.

3- Sweet Apple Surprises

The flames of a phoenix- Sweet Apple Surprises

It was a little before sunrise when Ember woke up from her slumber. The sound of hooves in the early morning being the sound that caused her to rise. From the guest bedroom that Ember was in, she could hear Celestia calmly trotting to the Balcony as the mancer hopped out of her bed and exited her room. She, like any other night, would sleep in her clothes since they were the only ones she had. So she didn’t have to deal with changing clothes, doing her hair or putting on makeup and all the glamour crap like most of the women do back home.

By the time she entered, Celestia was just about done with letting the Sun rise and having it’s light awaken all the sleeping souls in the land. Philomena was the first to notice her human caretaker as she lightly walked into the room, surprised that her leather sandals didn’t make any loud sounds across the floor. ‘Good morning, Ember.’

“Good morning Philomena. Good morning to you too, Princess.”

“Good Morning, Ms. Ember. How did you sleep?” The White Alicorn asked.

“Alright. It felt good to sleep on a bed. It’s been years since I’ve slept on one that felt just as good as the one in the guest room.” The mancer told her. “Hey, Can I ask you something-.”

“Princess!!” One of the guards outside caught the attention of the individuals in the room. “Princess Luna requested me to come get you so she could talk to you about today’s case in Day Court.”

“Just a moment.” Celestia said. “What was it that you wanted to ask me?”

“Can we hold off on meeting the Elements? Luna told me that they had just come back from Our Town and I think they would need some time to recover. Plus, I got somewhere I need to go today.”

Celestia scratched her chin with her hoof, thinking through for the proper answer to tell her. “I’ll be okay with that. Just on one condition though. I do not want any trouble to occur while you’re there. Understand?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Celestia just smirked a little. She didn’t think that Ember would know that. But then again, she was just as old as her and Philomena. Give or take a few years. “Very well then. I’ll hold off on our get together until the girls are properly rested. Before you leave though, are you familiar with how to send letters by Dragonfire? It’s a form of communication that I use to stay in contact with Twilight and her assistant, Spike back in Ponyville. It would be helpful for you to know it as well so you can contact me if anything occurs.”

“I don’t exactly know that. But I can talk telepathically with Philomena. If anything happens, I can have her tell you until I learn how to do that spell.”

“That would be a reasonable alternative.” The Alicorn said. With that, she trotted off, following the guards as Ember walked to the balcony.

‘So, what do you plan on doing today?’ Philomena asked out of curiosity.

“Remember when I mentioned that I helped Golden Apple build a barn? I was going to go visit.”

‘But that was a LONG time ago. Wouldn’t the place be abandoned or run down to the ground?’

“Not exactly. Even though Golden has passed on, his daughter still lives there. I just hope that I don’t give her a heart attack. It’s been 50 years since I last saw her.” With that, Ember disappeared in a quick shimmer of flames, leaving Philomena on her perch as she looked over the city below her.

Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville

Seconds after leaving the castle, Ember found herself in the far out fields of the Ponyville Countryside. Surrounded by lots of Apple Trees that were normally attended to on a regular basis. Earth ponies could not perform any magic, but it made them excellent with farm work and work in the fields either with growing crops or just nature in general. However, the one earth pony that Ember was looking for was not in the fields tending to crops. The pony she was looking for was in the barn at the back of the Farmland estate.

Ember remembered when she helped construct the barn. It was a lot smaller than. Now, it was three times as big. It got a new coat of paint that was a bright red and had a new coat of white across the beams and also a newly planted fence that went across the plot of land. She still remembered the day they built it like it was yesterday.

“There we go… All done.”

“Great job, Ember!! We couldn’t have done it without your help.”

“Aww thanks, Golden. It was nothing really. I’m glad to help you guys out.”

“Thank you so much, Emmy!!” Ember hear a young green filly say as she went down to her level to hug the earth pony. “You’re always welcome in our home. Now, all it needs is a name. What do you think we should call it?”

“Hmm… What about-?”

“-Sweet Apple Acres.” Ember said, taking in the sight as she began to walk closer to the property. However, as she got closer, she saw a figure moving through the trees. It looked like a stallion by appearance. But… something about it did not feel right to her. She saw the figure move again and now ember could tell that it was apple bucking the trees that had ripe fruit ready to be picked. But something seemed too… familiar with this figure… It’s mane and tail were short and orange, but it’s fur was… “Red?”

Ember blinked twice, trying to make sure that she wasn’t seeing things. The pony that she knew so long ago was dead. But… why did this one look… so similar? She was going to take a closer look at the stallion…… until he found her first.

“What the-? Hey!”

“Easy there, big guy…” Embers memories of her friend were beginning to return to her as she watched this Stallion. The resemblance was uncanny, but she knew for sure it wasn’t him. After all, the cutie marks weren’t the same.

“Who are you?” It asked.

“My name is Ember… You remind me of a friend of mine…”

“Ah… Do?”

“Yeah. His name was Red Apple. He looked a lot like you actually.”

The Red Stallion looked at the human, stunned and in disbelief. “Y-you knew mah Great Uncle?”

“I knew him, yes. I didn’t know he was your uncle until you told me just now… Come to think of it, what’s your name? I told you mine and it’s only polite if you do the same.” The mancer got the earth pony at that part. He knew that it would be disrespectful to ignore a lady. Even if it’s a weird one like this… individual.

“Big Macintosh, but mah family refer to me as Big Mac.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Big Mac.” Ember replied casually, trying not to laugh since hearing the name reminded her of the McDonald's sandwich. “Can I ask you something real quick? Do you know anypony that lives here that goes by the name of Granny Smith?”

“You know Granny?”

“You can say that. It’s a long story.”

“Ah got time…” Big Mac snorted, not moving anywhere. “Ah’ve been working all day and could use a chance for a break.”

“Not if you need to get those back to the farmstead first.” Ember said, pointing to the cart filled with a dozen baskets of apples of all varieties. “First rule of Applebucking is to bring your take back to the farm so it can be counted and that’s before you get a break. Trust me, I’ve helped pitch in myself back in the day.”

Big Mac was speechless. She was right. “Well, Shoot. You got me there.”

“I can lend you a hand though. Help carry the cart back to the barn for you. Afterwards, may I see Granny?”

The Stallion though, needed a little bit of convincing that Ember had indeed knew about the rules of Applebucking and in the countryside, you needed to prove your claims. “See that tree over there? Get a bucket and buck that tree. If ya prove to me that ya know how things work during the Harvest, then I can be able to trust ya.”

‘Just like Red when I first met him… Just with bucking stones from the mines instead of trees.’ Ember thought to herself. Walking up to the tree, she grabbed a basket and set it down. Calmly, but composed, she slammed the tree with a jab kick using her right leg. Soon, enough apples were beginning to fall to fill not just one basket, but two.

“Impressed?” Ember asked.

“Eeyup.” Was the only reply she heard as the two of them began to go back to the barn. Ember helped Big Macintosh a little bit more by pulling the cart the last leg of the trot back and helped unload the payload of apples.

“Thank ya. Now… To count all of these…”

“Hmm…” Ember thought to herself. “How much do you put in each bucket?”

“Use ta be ten. Now it’s twenty due to the increased population in town.”

The girl now began to make some mental calculations inside her head. A few math problems later and she got the number. “280.”

“I beg ya pardon?”

“There’s around 280 apples here.”

“Ya kidding? We haven’t even counted them and ya assume it’s that many?”

“It wasn’t an assumption. It was a calculated answer.” Ember explained, taking a stick and drawing out the problem in the dirt below them. “There’s fourteen buckets and based on what you said, there’s roughly twenty apples in each basket. Twenty times seven is 140 and what’s that number times two?”

“ …… 280. Wow… How did ya do that?”

“Just simple arithmetic.” Ember said, chuckling a little as she ruffled up Big Mac’s mane. However, before they could bring the buckets inside, a new voice came from the porch as the door opened.

“Big Mac? Yer back a little early-.”

Coming outside was an light green elderly earth pony that looked like a green apple. The elderly pony stepped out from the porch as Ember got down on one of her knees. The Mare’s eyes widened.

“E-emmy? I-is that you?”

All Ember did was silently nod her head as the Elderly mare got closer. She thought that Granny Smith would be angry at her for not being able to be there anytime when she was younger. When the Earth Pony really needed the support and attention. But instead, she received an unexpected hug.

“Y-ya look like ya haven’t aged a day… I missed you so much…”

“I’m sorry, Granny-.”

“What is there to be sorry for?” She told the Mancer. Unknowingly though, Ember still answered. “All that matters is that you’re here now. Besides, I believe there’s something we need to talk about inside. You too, Big Mac. This is important.”

Big Mac and Ember looked at each other with confused expressions. Why did this conversation now involve the both of them? There was no point in asking though because Granny Smith was being persistent about them coming inside since it was an important family conversation.

“Granny, should we wait for AJ an’-?”

“We can tell them once they get home. Right now though, this is important.” The Mare told her. “Ember, do you remember…… Golden Apple? Ya know… Papa?” Ember just nodded her head silently. However, she felt bad now. Given the amount of time that had passed over the years that she had been alive, the brother of Red Apple and the Earth Pony that referred to her as The sister he wish he had must’ve passed away. After all, unless you’re immortal or stuck in the same scenario as her, nopony lives forever.

“Yes. You’re father was very kind and treated me like a sibling.”

“Well, he was always one to show his kindness. However, it did not stop there though. Ya see, on his will, Papa had asked for something to be done for you.”

“For… me?”

The Elder mare nodded, grabbing a series of papers from out of the nearby drawer that had a small lock on it. They looked a lot like… legal documents? Ember tried to understand it, but when it came to writing, trying to understand earth pony writing was like trying to read chicken scratch. Really Illegible and hard to understand unless you were the one writing it.

“He asked for the legal documents here to be verified for you to be his legal sibling. In other words, he wanted to make you an official member of the Apple Family.”

Both Big Mac and Ember were shocked and surprised by what Granny Smith just said and seeing the documents have a big red Approved stamp at the bottom of the page. Even Ember couldn’t quite exactly wrap her head around what just happened. “I-i’m…… what?”

Granny Smith sighed. “Let me make this simple for ya… Big Mac here…… He’s ya nephew. You’re his Great Aunt, Emmy.”

“Wait… I’m… your aunt?” Ember said, turning to face Big Mac.

“Yes, you are, Ember.” The Elderly Earth Pony told her, calling her by her actual name. “Papa felt sorry for ya when ya told him that you were traveling all across Equestria and how you had been taken from your home. So, he wanted ya to feel like this was your home as well since you helped build it all those years ago. In fact, we had a room locked up on the second floor because it was suppose to be your room. He was going to tell you about it the day after you built the farm with us, but by then, you were gone.”

“Wow…… I… don’t know what to say…… Thank you.” Ember said, trying to hold back some emotions. This was the most surprising…… and the most grateful gift she had ever received in a long time. Other than when Phyrron gave her Philomena and her powers. “This… Really means a lot to me.”

“It’s the least that Papa wanted to do.” Granny Smith continued as she set a hoof on Embers shoulder from across the table. “He told me that even though ya might not be able to go back to ya old life… You can start a new one here. With the four of us.”

Ember herself now raised an eyebrow, confused by what the elderly mare just told her. “Wait…… us? What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Along with Mac, ya have two nieces. Both of them younger than him, but just as talented and hard working. They should probably be back by sundown.” Granny Smith now turned towards Big Mac. “In the meantime, how ‘bout Big Mac show you around the Orchard?”

Big Mac nodded his head, followed by a simple gesture that had Ember following the Red Stallion outside. He showed her around the barn, the orchard and where exactly everything was from the carts to the cider making equipment. After some time though, the human noticed the Earth Pony being a little nervous. Curious, Ember tried to play along a little.

“Is something on your mind, Big Mac?” she asked him. At first, he didn’t say anything. But then, he sighed. His silent and stoic self couldn’t really hold in what he wanted to ask her. The Grand Aunt that he recently found out about.

“Ya. Um…… Where are ya from, Aunt Embah?” He asked. “I haven’t seen anypony like ya before. Or at all for that matter.”

“That… is a lot to explain Mac. You’re fine if I call you that right?” She asked. His only response was a nod as she continued to talk.

“Eeyup.”

“Okay. Now, as I was going to explain, my world is a lot different from this one. But one thing remains the same. Both of them have their legends and mysteries that can’t exactly be solved. How I got here is a mystery, but I haven’t let that affect me over the time I’ve been here. In fact, when I came here, I obtained gifts that I would only dream of being able to have.” Ember showed what exactly she meant by creating a small flower of fire in her hands to show him.

Big Macintosh was amazed. The Fire flower looked so… lively. This wasn’t like any magic he had seen before. Almost every time, it was… different. He wasn’t an expert, but he didn’t think it would take on the form of an actual element. “What kind of magic is that-?”

“Magic? Oh boy Mac, you have a lot to learn. What I just did was with my Life Force energy. The energy of all living beings that only the strongest of heart can control. I used the energy of my stamina and soul to create a physical form. One of a few things you pick up from traveling across Equestria for over a thousand years.”

“A-a… thousand… years? H-how?”

“Well, one of the effects of coming here was that I can’t age properly. Even though I look like I’m a young adult, I’m just as old as Philomena.”

“The Princesses pet?” Mac asked, wondering about what the phoenix had to do with his Grand Aunt. “Forgive me Aunt Embah, but how does that relate to you though? I know ya have fire abilities, but I’m still confused on why ya mentioned it.”

“It’s because I raised her since she was a hatchling for the first five years of my new life here and her dying father was the one who gave me my powers.” She sighed a little, now holding one end of the scarf around her neck. “A dying phoenix gave me powers shortly after I arrived because of this. It had only been yesterday that I had reunited with Philomena and now, I feel grateful to meet the descendant of Red Apple. You’re a good pony, Mac. Strong. A brave heart. Willing to help others see right from wrong. Even though we just met, I want to let you know that I’m proud of you.”

Before Ember could say anything else though, she felt a tingling sensation down her spine. It was a disturbance in energy. And it was coming from Canterlot. “I’m sorry for having to do this so abruptly, but I have to go. I’m feeling a disturbance in Canterlot that I need to investigate.”

“Alright…” Big Mac told her. “Ah’ll tell granny that you'll be back by Sundown.”

“Thank you, Mac.”

“Oh, uh… Can ah ask you something before ya go?” The Stallion said as Ember turned around to face him. “Remember when ya said about Life Force and it being used by the strong of heart?”

“Yes?”

“Well… Is it possible if you can teach me how to do it? Ah want to be able to help mah family in times of need and protect them if they’re in danger.” The Earth Pony said, his tone being one of a determined trainee. The encounters that Ponyville had with Lord Tirek taught him that he needed to be ready to assist the family if another Crisis was going to occur.

“It is… But you need to put in as much determination in it as you do with everything else in your life. But that’s only after the Element your Life Force represents accepts you. I promise to explain it tomorrow.” With that, Ember was gone in a small burst of flames that simmered out quickly in the dirt that was in front of Big Mac.

Canterlot

“Wub a dub dub motherbuckers!” Yelled the Unicorn named Vinyl Scratch as she fired another beam of Electronic wubs at the royal guards. “Geez, and here I thought we would of gotten out of here without drawing the guards out.”

“Well, it’s not like blasting Luna and Rainbow Dash in the face with wubs helped us.” Said the human named Erica; who was firing a barrage of sorcery bullets at the last remaining guards. “I think that’s all of them-.”

Before Erica could breath a sigh of relief, she turned to see a hand grab her in the face and ram her into a nearby building. That hand being from the closed eyed Pyromancer that grabbed her. She had felt the shift in Life Force and feeling none from the unconscious guards that were scattered across the Plaza and used her powers to narrow in on the assailant’s location and give them a surprise attack. However, opening her eyes now, she let go of the girl she grabbed hold of and stepped backwards.

She was looking at another human. The last time she saw another one was before she arrived here and that was over a thousand years ago. “Holy sh*t…”

“HEY! HANDS OFF ERICA, JERK!” Vinyl yelled as she fired at Ember. To her sudden surprise though, she blocked the blast with a thick wall of flames.

“Would you care to explain who you are and why you were attacking the guards?” Ember said, looking at the blue haired girl. Noticing Vinyl with her weapon, she turned her head to face her for a moment. “Oh… and may I remind you that I’ve lived long enough to know when ponies such as yourself will try to attack me from my blind spot so I recommend you stay out of this.”

“Ok. One, don’t tell me what to do. I get that a lot from the royal guards when they arrested me from time to time. And second, we were sent to the Canterlot dungeon because Princess Moonbutt sent Erica to jail for no reason.” She said still pointing her gun at Ember.

Ember sighed. “Typical for one to not think first before they act. The city’s tensions are already running high due to what happened in Tartarus and what you two are doing is adding fuel to that fire. If you let me help you, I’ll make sure you don’t receive any time behind bars. But… if you even think about pulling that trigger…” The Mancer picked up a pipe on the ground, using her powers to melt it into a molten pile of hot liquid. “Then your toy will have the same fate as that pipe.”

When it came to situations like these, Ember was firm with her tone and speech. Any sign of weakness would show to them that she wasn’t saying the truth. The Pyromancer was trying to show that she meant business. Soon, Princess Luna was arriving around the corner as she began to screech to a halt.

“I found you fiends-!! Wait… Ember? What are you doing here?”

“I felt a disturbance in Life Force energy and came to investigate. From what I know so far, this seems to be a simple misunderstanding given their stories.”

“But the pony that called the guards said that this girl was taking hostages-!”

“Yes and almost all of the citizens in the city are still in a emotional state of fear after Tirek penetrated through the castle walls. Did you consider that? Also, I don’t feel any negative force from them.”

What Ember meant just now was in relation to Life Force energy. There were both positive and negative types of this energy and it all focused on personality, emotions, and behaviors. After hearing Vinyl’s story, Ember felt both the Unicorn and the girl’s Life Force being positive. Therefore, she could tell that they were telling the truth.

“How should we deal with this then?” The Princess asked. “If what you say is true, then how can they prove it?”

“Did you ask possible witnesses?” Ember asked.

The thought just went across the Princesses mind, remembering the talk she had with two of the Witnesses inside the cafe they were in. Two friends named Lyra and BonBon. “We did… and given Ms. Scratch’s story…… They’re all the same.”

She turned towards the Unicorn as Ember helped Erica get up on her feet, apologizing for her actions that she took against them. “What should they do now, Ember?”

“Well, If Vinyl has a place to stay, then Erica should stay with her.”

“H-hey!! Don’t I get a say in this!?!”

“I think you would prefer the bed in a guest room than a guard's cell.” Ember told the human. “Still though, when you get a bit familiar with your surroundings, come find me at Sweet Apple Acres. I would like to talk to you when you have the opportunity.”

Erica just nodded her head as Ember walked away, disappearing in a shift of flames. Vinyl had only one response to what just happened though.

“Okay, who the buck was that!?!”

“That, my little pony, was Ember Valkyr.” Luna told them. “The Tortured Phoenix.”

“Huh… eh. What eve’s just tell us where the guest room is so I can relax for a bit.”

Luna sighed. “I think when she meant guest room… she meant your friends guest room.”

The only thing that could be heard for miles was the outcry of agony from Vinyl Scratch that could be heard for miles. “NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!”

Back at Sweet Apple Acres…

When Ember returned from Canterlot, she was greeted with a surprise. Big Mac was there with two other mares, who she had found out were his little sisters. Both of them were surprised to find out that the mancer was actually their great Aunt and the filly had a lot of questions for her. Mostly related to if she had a cutie mark. The older one of the two was surprised to know that everything that Ember told them was actually the truth.

The human later found out the names of the two mares. Applejack and Applebloom. She also was surprised to find out that Applejack was one of the Elements of Harmony that Luna and Celestia had explained to her the night before. Quite an accomplishment if she thought so herself.

Later though, as the sun fell and the moon rose, Ember and her newfound family had finished eating dinner and Ember was just stargazing out on the Orchard. She liked to do so in order for her to clear her mind and stay focused. But, to her surprise, she wasn’t alone.

“Heyah Embah.” She rose up from the ground to find Applejack standing right in front of her. “Mind if I join ya?”

Ember nodded, offering her a spot to sit on the grassy hillside. After sitting down though, Applejack began to speak again. “Ya know… I wanted to ask ya something. Something that has been bothering me a little.”

The Mancer raised an eyebrow. “Bothering you?”

“Yeah. Big Mac said that ya knew Great Uncle Red, but ya also knew Granny Smith when she was a filly. Ah don’t know the slightest about Magic, but from what ah know, there’s a severe gap in how far apart those are time wise if ya know what I mean.”

Ember sighed. She never thought anypony would bring that up. “And you want to know how that’s possible?”

“Eeyup.”

“...... It all started with when I met Red and his brother a long time ago. The three of us were forced into a labor camp to mine for gems and coal along with hundreds of others. At one point though, when I refused to kill a buffalo that tried to steal food from the camp, the pony in charge decided to kill Red instead. That made me snap and in a split second, my rage caused the creation of the Badlands. But it didn’t stop there. When the Badlands were formed, something else was created. Something that I honestly never expected was possible. For when I save Golden again, it was over nine hundred years later. As it turns out, when he was trying to seek shelter from a raging dust storm, he entered an enchanted cave called the Tunnel of Time. In there, the flow of time was much faster than in the real world. Twenty four seconds in there was twenty four years out in the real world. He had only spent almost ten minutes in there and when he came out, nine centuries had passed in the blink of an eye. I was lucky enough to find him then and help him block off the entrance to the cave so nopony else could enter it, but after that, I helped him over the next few months in being able to turn his life around and get it back on track. I helped him start a family again, built a home for him and helped him take care of Granny before I moved on. But the one thing I regret the most from this, Applejack, is that I never got the chance to say goodbye to him.”

Applejack was speechless. Despite how crazy this whole thing sounded like, she did not feel anything that would make her think that she was lying. This whole thing was all true. But still, something else didn’t add up. “What about you though? How long have you been around?”

“Over a thousand years. In a way, I can’t age. I don’t know if it’s because of me coming here or if it’s because of the powers I inherited, but I have learned many things over the years that I’ve been here. I’ve helped many ponies like you. Now… I want to do what I can to help you and your family AJ. For my sake… as well as Golden and Reds. I feel like I owe it to them to help your family as much as possible.”

The Element of Honesty did not know what to say. But then, actions always speak louder than words. With that, Applejack surprised Ember by hugging her in a warm embrace. The human was wondering why she was doing it… until she heard Applejack say something to her.

“Thank you……” The Mare told her. “Thank you for helping mah family grow and thrive to what it has become today. Welcome home, Aunt Ember. Welcome to the family.”

Ember didn’t know what to say. Instead, she returned AJ’s hug with one of her own. “You’re welcome, AJ. I’m glad to have found a place that I could call home.”

End Chapter 3

Author's Note

This took some time to think about given comments about the pacing of the story. So, I wanted to make sure I wrote this in a way that it made sense. Also, the sequence in Canterlot involved Erica, one of my friend ElementBrigade's characters. I hope I did this right and I thank all of you for the faves and support.

Oh and here's a little art I did on Ember. Yeah, I'm a pixel artist, but who really cares? This is based off of the scene in this chapter when she defended herself from Vinyl's Wubstep blast where she uses her defensive capabilities

What do you think?

4- Stoneskin

Author's Note

Heads up, this chapter contains the first crossover for Ember. For this chapter, She meets Ultron from Displaced: Age of Ultron. Also, thank you to NewUnitedEmpire for writing with me. It was fun and you always help me get new ideas. Especially with the ending of this chapter.
-Frost

4- Stoneskin

The Flames of a Phoenix- Stoneskin

Sweet Apple Acres

That night, Big Mac felt restless. It wasn’t because of fear or excitement. Actually, he didn’t know why he was like this. Maybe it was because he was scared. Scared of what though? Maybe it was because of not knowing what to expect. It was around an hour or so til the sun came up and he couldn’t sleep anymore. Turns out though, the stallion wasn’t the only one who was wide awake.

From his bedroom window, he saw his Aunt, The human named Ember Valkyr; on the front porch. She was playing around with her “fingers” and creating small balls of flame that would disappear seconds later. Seeing that there wasn’t a need for him to be sitting around in his room like this, the stallion walked down to the porch and joined her. “Mornin’.”

“Ah, Hello there Mac. Couldn’t sleep?”

“Eeyup.”

“Happens to me as well.” The human told him. “I sleep for a long time, but I always happen to wake up an hour or so before Celestia raises the sun.”

“Y’know Celestia?” Big Mac asked at the mentioning of the Alicorn.

“Only met her recently after I reunited with Philomena only two days ago. Besides that, I had only heard bits and pieces of information here and there.” Ember said. “Hey… since we are up, maybe we can get started.”

Big Mac raised an eyebrow, puzzled. “Started on what?”

“Figuring out your Life Force. You asked me if it was possible that you could have the capabilities of controlling Life Force, so it’s time to test you.”

The Red Stallion gulped. “T-test me?”

“Yeah, but it’s a simple one.” Ember said as she took out two pieces of paper, setting one by Mac’s hoof and holding the other one. “This paper is helping us with the first step. It’s enchanted to where it’ll react to you and tell what you can possibly control.”

“What are the possibilities?”

“There are five in total.” Ember said, holding her paper until it burned up to ashes. “If you control fire, the paper will burn. Those that control water will soak the paper. Wind users cause the paper to cut in half. Lightning users would cause the paper to crinkle up and earth users would make the paper crumble away. Put your hoof on the paper and close your eyes, then open them when I tell you too.”

Following her instructions, Mac did so. Placing his hoof on the paper. It felt weird at first, but then, after a few seconds, it felt like he was standing on normal ground again.

“Now, open your eyes.”

He did so. The stallion could not see anything in the minimal light that was cast upon the setting. “Ah don’t think it worked. Ah don’t see anything.”

“Actually, it did.” Ember told him. She brushed up some of the dirt under his hoof to see scraps of the fibers that made up the material. “It crumbled underneath your hooves. You have a powerful Life Force Mac and we just figured out what it is. You are an Earth user. What I would call a “Stoneskin”.”

Around now though, Ember was beginning to feel something course through her. She felt a pulling sensation along with a small headache as she dropped to a knee. Big Mac himself was a little worried about his Aunt, but became a little more concerned as she was pulled by an unknown force and disappeared in a brief flash. All that he heard next was only a few words.

Don’t worry… She’ll be back soon.

The Forge (Ultron’s Equestria)

“I can’t believe how much this place was destroyed.” Luna said as she picked something made of metal up. The mane six had came with by Luna’s request to Ultron forge and now were helping him clean it up.

“Well, I kinda had to fight my prototypes after all.” The metal man said. Pinkie Pie pulled out a old box and almost fell over from it. A feather was seen flying out from it. Ultron saw it as it landed.

“What’s that? It looks like a Phoenix feather.” Twilight said. Ultron scanners picked up similar anomalies in the feather as the fang and the black orb.

“I think I may know what it could be. Give me a moment.” He said as he walked into another room. The tokens recording then was heard on his ears.

I am Ember Valkyr, The Tortured Phoenix. Call upon me and my pain and rage will turn your enemies to ash.

It wasn’t until long that Pinkie herself, since she found the feather in the box, got closer to it and the feather tickled her nose. Her nose began to twitch a little.

“Aaaaah… ACHOO!!”

That single sneeze caused the feather to glow an almost fire like color inside the room Ultron was in along with the pony who sneaked in.

Ultron glared at the Pink Anthro pony. ‘Note to self: proof my forge against her.’

The feather soon gave way to a fiery vortex. Ultron took the time to study it for all it was worth. Even the shortest of scan would be most helpful for him. A figure came out the vortex and landed right in front of him. “What is it?” Pinkie asked.

Ultron knew what it was but didn’t think it was possible. “A human.”

The human that was on the floor slowly began to wake up. Ember was unsure of what just happened. For one thing, the Life Force energies in the room weren’t normal. For one thing, the signatures they were giving off were similar in rhythm, but the pacing was different. Her eyes opened up. The first thing that he saw was feet.

Metallic feet. Like a machine or robot.

“What the f-?”

Standing there was a machine or robot who was looking down at her. It looked human in designed. It was tall easily taller than any human could ever be. The biggest thing about it was its Life Force. It actually had life force. Its life force was almost human yet was so off it might have well been alien for all she knew. The machine opened his mouth. “Hello, I am Ultron.” Ultron answered.

Ember’s first reaction was to move backwards and create some distance between this Ultron and her as Fire formed from her hands. “Okay, what kind of messed up dream is this? Because the last I remembered, Ponies don’t walk on two hooves.”

Ultron turned to Pinkie Pie. “Get out of here.” He said, Pinkie nodded and leaved..

Ultron turned to her with his hands raised he used magic to pull out the black orb and fang. Ember eyes had widened, this machine was using magic? “I believe it's not a dream, this is very much real.” He turned to her. “Have you ever heard of Multiverse theory? The theory states that there are possibly other universes-.”

“I know what the hell that is-! It’s something that’s part of some Displaced crap or something along those lines.” Ember’s flames were now getting hotter, now conjuring magma. “Now, I want answers or I’ll melt your heart!!”

Ultron rolled his eyes. He gave a quick scan of her body and make up. “If you do that the Magic reactor will explode with enough force to rip your cells apart.”

“So what? I’m over a thousand years old and my rage created the badlands!! You think your threats are going to intimidate me!?!” Ultron blinked.

“That wasn’t a threat, the reactor literally would kill you.” Ultron decided that this wasn’t going to get him anywhere. He sent a sign to have something ready if this gets ugly.

“Look lets calm down-.”

In front of Ember, something drifted between her eyes. The Phoenix feather that brought her here. Her eyes widened upon seeing it. The flames she conjured were soon dispersed as she caught it. “P-phyrron?” She spoke softly.

Ultron was confused. He pulled up his files on that name. A old memory in his data banks. He remember Phyrron. “I’m get the feeling something else is different about our realities.” He knew Phyrron was still alive as his satellites picked up the Phoenix colony had grown under his leadership.

“What is that suppose to mean?”

“By your shock, I get the feeling Phyrron is dead in your reality. In mine he is leader of the Phoenix colony.”

“Phyrron is the reason for my powers. He had me inherit them and raise Philomena as he was dying. That’s how come I’ve been alive so long.”

Ultron found that both fascinating and sad. “So the flames you are using is Phoenix flames?” Ultron asked, his forge use to have Phoenix fire to melt the metal. “So, you say you are a thousand year old as well?’

Ember nodded. “Trust me, you don’t want to hear my tale. There’s a reason that I’m called The Tortured Phoenix.” She was flexing her hands, having fire come out of them every few minutes or so. “Because it wasn’t until just now that I felt like I was putting my life back together.”

Ultron decided he’ll be first with introductions. “Well I’ll go first. I am Ultron and alongside my friends, Celestia and Luna; we once wield the Elements of harmony against a mad god called Discord.” That was strangely familiar. “However I been kind of in a coma for a thousand years, I tried to talk my Luna out of becoming Nightmare Moon, she destroyed my old body and now.” Ultron finished. “I was awakened just after Discord was re imprisoned. you?”

Ember sighed. “For the first five years of my new life in Equestria, I had raised Philomena. But then, in the San Palomino Desert, I was captured by Bandits when they wanted to get the phoenix since their feathers make a fortune on the black market. I was forced to work in a coal and gem mine for years alongside two other ponies who were captured. Red and Golden Apple. However, when I refused to kill a young Buffalo who stole food from the camp, the head stallion in charged killed Red in cold blood. That… was when my rage went off. Burning everypony that was torturing us and turning the peaceful lands that we were once in into the Badlands. As time passed, more events played on, but over nine hundred years later, I was personally shocked to find that Golden Apple… was alive. He had stumbled upon a place called the Tunnel of Time, where every twenty four seconds in there was twenty four years out here. Nine centuries went by in a matter of minutes. So, I helped him turn his life around and it wasn’t until recently, that I found out that Golden Apples dying wish was for me to be part of the family. Now, his daughter; Granny Smith, helps me raise my Nephew and two nieces. Big Mac, Applejack. and Applebloom. Not to mention that I found Philomena again.”

Ultron realized she had a hard life. He saw a ball the old prototype heart in his hands. “Here if you need any help just call.” He said handing her his orb. She nodded, taking the orb for her to hold. Soon, the fiery vortex that was how she originally arrived formed again. She began to walk towards it, but then turned around. Looking at Ultron and Applejack, who Ultron had not seen walk into the room. “Ember. Ember Valkyr. That’s my name. I’m a Valkyrie. Use the feather to call upon me when you need me. Thanks by the way.” Ultron nodded and waved good bye.

“Thanks for having me see things clearly. Now, I need to return to Applejack and the others. Don’t want my niece back in my world to freak out about me going missing.”

With that, she went into the vortex as the churning pathway closed. Ultron himself felt relieved for a minute. Until he heard something behind him.

“Now, What’s this about me being her Niece?”

Damn it… He hated it when having to explain these things.

Sweet Apple Acres (Ember’s world)

By the time Ember came back, it was still partially dark and Big Mac was still on the porch. She caught the stallion by surprise as the Mancer emerged. “Sorry for Startling you.”

“Startlin’ me? Yah scared me to death with that Vanishing Act of yours!” The Stallion told her. “Matter of fact, what the hay was that?” Ember sighed. She had a big explanation ahead of her and it might be a bit much for her niece to handle. But he seemed to be the guy to take these kind of things well. Guess there was no other choice at this rate.

“I was summoned.”

“S-summoned?” Big Mac asked, confused.

“Yes. There are others who got brought to their own versions of Equestria who can summon each other using tokens.” She showed her phoenix feather just to demonstrate. “I don’t know much about them, but I believe both of us will learn more about it over time. Right now though, let’s keep this as a secret between the both of us. Okay?”

The Red Stallion nodded his head in agreement as the Mancer smiled. “Alright. Now, lets continue on where we were before that.”

“Right, somethin’ about bein a Stoneskin?” Big Mac asked. Ember nodded her head as she sat down on the ground.

“That’s right. An Earth User. Or what I would call a Terramancer.”

“Terror?” He responded, a little concern in his voice.

“No, not Terror. Terra… with an A. It’s a word that means Land. Your abilities reflect the Land around you and the ground you trot on. You can move the earth with your hooves and bend it to your will. Your strength has been enhanced too. A Terramancer use their skills in Offense and Defense even though most of their skills are used to form protective walls and barriers. As for myself, I’m what you may call a Pyromancer since I can control fire.”

“What are you capable of, Aunt Embah?” Big Mac then asked her, curious to find out his Aunt’s reply.

“Well, what I can do is mostly Offensive. But it doesn’t mean I can’t take a few pointers from the other elements. A thick wall of fire is just as effective of a defense as a Barrier of Rock. My abilities are more offensive though and I’ve had years to practice. Even though I’ve been figuring out new ways to control them recently. I would say that you are a balance between offense and defense and with practice, you can be just as strong as me.”

The light of Dawn was beginning to shine upon them as Ember dismissed her flames and the two of them began to watch the beautiful rising of the sun. Applejack was soon up as she joined the two of them for breakfast. Applejack was wanting to have breakfast early since she wanted to take the opportunity for Ember to meet her friends this morning. Applebloom herself was sleeping over with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo back at their clubhouse.

The hard part though for Ember was when she was walking through Ponyville. The whole time she was walking through the Town, she received nothing but deadpanned stairs. Mostly because it seemed that most of the Townsfolk was afraid of her. Given what happened with the Tirek Incident, Ember should’ve expected something like this.

“Here we are. Welcome to the Castle.” Applejack said as she trotted inside.

“Wow… It’s a lot bigger than I thought it would be.” Ember said as she followed the element of honesty.

“Wait til ya see what’s on the inside.” Applejack chuckled as the two of them entered the door. Immediately, they were greeted by the Chandelier that loomed overhead that was made of tree roots. Ember saw the Crystals hanging amongst the branches and was amazed to see that they were Crystalline Memories. Only a Unicorn advanced in Gem based Magic could create something like this.

“Good morning, Appleja-.” Came another voice, that was soon interrupted when it laid eyes on Ember. It was a Lavender Alicorn with a Purple mane that had two stripes of Pink going through it. “Oh… I did not expect any guests this morning.”

“My Apologies, Sugarcube. Mac hasn’t had a chance to see the Castle yet and I also wanted to introduce you to my Grand Aunt, Ember.”

“Ember, you say? You mean as in Philomena’s caretaker?”

Before Applejack could say anything, Ember then began to speak. “Yes, that is correct. My name is Ember Valkyr and I knew Philomena when she was a hatchling. In fact, I helped raise her for the first few years of her life.” She then looked up towards a nearby window on one of the upper floors and smiled. “Well, speak of the devil, here she is now.”

From the windowsill, Philomena swooped down majestically and landed on her shoulder, nuzzling her face into Embers neck. “Hehe… Looks like somebirdy is a bit playful this morning.” That’s when the Mancer turned towards the three of them and sighed. Quickly and lightly, Ember did the same procedure that she had done before with the Princesses and the Spirit of Chaos. Just a finger to the forehead is all that was needed.

“There we go. Sorry about this being so sudden, but it’s the only way that you can hear Philomena.”

“Wait a second, Sugarcube… Hear… Philomena?”

‘Greetings to you as well, Element of Honesty.’

Everypony in the room was shocked to hear that. “D-did she just-?”

‘Indeed, I did speak. Only certain gifted individuals like Ember and the Element of Kindness can hear me talk to them. But Ember has allowed you to hear my voice and also talk to me. I’m very appreciative to have the opportunity to talk to all of you.’ The Phoenix told them, showing her appreciation by landing nearby each of the three ponies in the room and nuzzling her head against their manes.

“Well… That’s a lot to take in… First, to find out that Ember is Applejack’s aunt and now she allowed us to talk to a phoenix… And I thought I had crazier mornings.”

The firebird now looked puzzled. The Pyromancer sighed, explaining to not just her, but also to the Princess the same thing that Granny Smith told her, AJ, Applebloom and Big Mac yesterday. In addition, she added on the explanation on how she was Philomena’s caretaker. That way, everypony knew her story. The story of The Tortured Phoenix.

“Wow…… I’m sorry you had to go through all of that hardship and pain.”

“It’s fine really,” Ember said in response to Twilight. “An old saying back from my home is What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. For me, I’ve learned from all of those experiences and they made me into the person that I am.”

“I’m concerned about one thing though,” Twilight continued. “What happened to Anivia? Matter of fact, how come she exists? I thought all phoenix’s were firebirds.”

‘Not quite, young Spark. You see, when the world was first formed, the planet was almost uninhabitable. The winters were below freezing and the summers were scorching hot, burning up any chance of nature to even exist. That’s when two creatures decided to do something about it. The Phoenix’s made sure to control the warmth of the sun while the Wendigo’s made sure to control the winters. However, with this position of Power, the Wendigo king was overcome by greed and wanted Equis in a neverending winter. Therefore, he was sealed off and the heart of the King was used to keep the season’s in check…… Tell me, are you familiar with the Mirror of the Crystal empire?’

Twilight and Applejack nodded while Big Mac just let the bird continue. ‘Well, the Mirror was once used for a different purpose. King Sombra had originally intended to use the mirror to draw out the darkness in the hearts of those who looked into it and have those shadows take form and be under his command. Like a copy of your negative self. The first one he tried it on was actually my mother, Phyrra. From her, a phoenix of Ice was formed from the mirror with one set goal in mind and it was not to serve under Sombra. Instead, her goals were to eliminate every phoenix in the world. A massive genocide. I had thought that she had faded away after the night she snapped my mothers neck and my father sacrificed himself to protect me. But… something makes me feel like Anivia is watching me… Waiting for herself to get stronger so she could finish the job.’

And waited I have, Spawn of Phyrron.

The hairs on Ember’s neck began to stand on end as she turned around. Up above her, on the ledge by the Chandelier was the Cryophoenix. Her wings were crystalline and the surface that she had used as a perch was slowly beginning to freeze. A horn like crystal and a crystal around her neck hummed with Magic as she looked down on the five of them.

“It has been far too long since I had last quenched the thirst I get from killing one of your kind. But, with the newfound power I gained, it would be far too easy to do so.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

The Phoenix just laughed as she pointed at the crystal on her head and around her neck. “See these? They were two out of three crystals that I had infused into myself that came from the heart of the Wendigo king. The third was taken from me, but it doesn’t really matter now does it? You should be thankful that I’m letting you live, but I’ll be leaving you with a grim reminder of what I’m truly capable of.”

With that, the Cryophoenix took off from the ledge and disappeared, dropping something onto a cushion that was in the room. It was something encased in Ice, but it wasn’t until Twilight went over there and saw what was frozen there that she began to panic.

“SPIKE!!!”

End Chapter 4

5- Bring me to life

The Flames of a Phoenix- Bring me back to life

Castle of Friendship

“SPIKE!!!”

Both the Alicorn and the two earth ponies scrambled to the side of the baby dragon in order to try and help him. He was encased in a tomb of solid ice, frozen alive by the Cryophoenix that slipped in here undetected by anypony inside or outside the castle. Twilight herself tried to use her own magic, only to get bounced backwards and into a wall of the castle. Applejack herself was going to try and break it with her hooves, but stopped when Ember put her hand right in front of it.

“Stop, That’s not going to work!!”

“Well, Ah can’t just stand here and do nothin’!!” Applejack shot back.

“Then help me then.” Ember told her niece as she began to surround the icicle in a warm flame. Slowly, the fire was able to do something that Twilights magic could not. The Fire began to slowly melt the ice away, thawing the baby Dragon that was inside. “Even though my fire can melt the ice, I need something to get his body temperature back up. Princess, do you have any gems on you?”

“Y-yeah but-.”

“Well, I need them now. Gems to a dragon are like logs to a campfire. He needs to have them if you want him to survive.”

Twilight herself was surprised. She did not know about that. But now was not the time to ponder on newly discovered information. The Princess needed to do this if she wanted her Assistant to be okay. Swiftly, she teleported into the castle’s kitchen and grabbed the sack of gems in the cabinet. Flying back with her wings, she tossed them to Ember, who caught them with one hand. Spike was fully thawed out of the ice, but now came the hard part of this emergency operation. Ember had to have the Dragon digest the gems, which meant she had to move his jaw to simulate a chewing motion as she fed him a Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald and a Topaz to finish it off.

After a few minutes, Spikes closed eyes sprang open as he rose upward, coughing a little. “W-what? What…… happened?”

“Oh Spike!!” Twilight was so relieved that she tightly gave Spike a hug that would resemble a hug from Pinkie Pie. She had been worried for the past ten minutes if he was okay, but now, she was beyond relieved. “Y-you scared me!”

“S-scared you? But I was only taking a nap upstairs. Matter of fact, why am I wet?” The little dragon looked around a little, confused before walking back upstairs to go dry off and return to reading the unfinished Power Ponies Issue he had upstairs. Now, Applejack and Big Mac were looking towards Ember, who had Philomena on her shoulders.

“One moment, he’s Frozen in ice and the next moment, he can’t remember a thing? What in tarnations is that all about?”

‘My guess is that Anivia erased any memories of his encounter with her so that way nopony could follow her trail. Which means, we don’t have any clues on where she could possibly be or what she’s doing.’

“Actually, I think I have an answer for the last part.” Ember said as the ponies looked at her. “She said that she had infused herself with two pieces of the Wendigo heart. Which means that she’s looking for whoever has the final piece she needs.”

“But what’s tha big deal with this Wendigo Heart or whatever it’s called?” Applejack asked.

‘Clearly, you didn’t remember my explanation from before, but let me make this simple. Whoever controls the heart can have the power to turn the world into the literal definition of the Phrase ‘Hell has Frozen Over’.' Philomena explained again. ‘It was the reason why the heart was broken into three pieces. Because of how powerful the artifact was.’

Now that was a big deal. Especially after the fiasco that happened at the last Winter Wrap up. Nopony would want the world to become frozen over. “Where do you think the piece could be?”

‘When it was split up, the three pieces were sent to the coldest regions in the world. The First was Cantartica at the southern Hemisphere. The Second was the region of Neighpal in the southeast. The Last one was said to be deep within the caves of the Crystal Empire. Possibly near the Equator. But given the defeat of Sombra, the circumstances might change.’

Philomena was right. Due to the dark king’s defeat, a lot of Tectonic activity occurred in the days that followed. Everything these days was calm, but it was unknown if that last piece was somehow coughed up during those days.

“We should prepare ahead just in case.” Ember said. “Philomena, return to Celestia and informed her of what occurred. Twilight, can you send a letter to Princess Cadence requesting me to meet her? Something tells me that we have a trip to the Crystal Empire in our future. Plus, Big Mac, follow me please. We’re going to get a head start-.”

Philomena herself left while Twilight was preparing a letter to send, but the Alicorn stopped once Ember began to speak about Big Mac. “Wait… Forgive me for being so abrupt, but what do you mean about getting a head start?”

“With Training of course. Mac here is strong enough like me to control a force in nature using Life Force energy. However, his element is Earth and we just discovered it this morning. If Anivia is planning to do something, and I believe she is, then ALL of us need to be ready.” Ember told her as they walked outside. However, what they found outside was not exactly what any of them would expect.

Ember was looking at the same girl who she saw in Canterlot yesterday tear apart a metal suit of armor to shreds with her Cloth turned weapon.

“That’s what you get for trying to hurt my friends, tin man!!!”

Ember sighed, facepalming herself. “Well, looks like we meet again, Ms. Erica.”

The Blue hair girl now turned around to face the Mancer, the Princess and the Two earth ponies. “Oh……oops.”

“What took you idiots so long to get here?” Said Vinyl, who jumped off of Erica’s back. “I’m surprise you didn’t hear the gunshots and cannon fire tin man over here fired off.” She said as she spat up some of her own blood onto the remains of The Captain of the Knights. “Figures whenever something like this happens you Princesses are late to the party.”

“Ember, how do you know this girl?” Twilight then asked the Mancer as the girl sighed.

“Yesterday, they caused a ruckus in Canterlot because some Townsfolk that were still fearful of what happened with Lord Tirek thought that Erica was holding ponies hostage when she was only talking to them inside a Cafe. If I hadn’t shown up, the list of charges against them would’ve grown much bigger.”

“Oh really? List them then!!” Vinyl retorted.

Ember stretched her back muscles as he named them off one by one. “Property Damage, Assault with a deadly weapon, multiple noise complaints, bunch of innocent bystanders and lastly…… Sexual Harassment.”

“...... I’m not apologizing.”

Ember rolled her eyes as she looked at the two of them. “To put it lightly, you two would’ve been locked up in the Canterlot Dungeon if I weren’t there to help clear things up. Which means two things… One, you owe me an apology and two, you better thank me for saving both of your flanks.”

“Hey! I didn’t ask for you to save us! And for the record, we were doing just fine on our own in Canterlot that day-.”

“Should I remind you of the fact that you blasted Princess Luna in the Face with your Toy, Ms. Scratch?”

“It’s not a toy you jerk! And it her fault for locking us up just because of that scared pony. I mean who does that just because of the way Erica looks?”

“Anypony who is still afraid. Besides her, I’m the only other human here. So with that in mind, I’ll leave you two to get a lecture from Princess Sparkle. In the meantime, I need to be able to help train my nephew. Come on, Big Mac.”

“Coming, Aunt Embah!”

“How pathetic.” Said the Armor knight. “To think humans like yourselves would serve the-.”

Before the knight could say anything else, Ember melted the suit of metal with her Magma abilities til it was nothing more than just a core. “I hate it when people are trying to monologue before they are defeated.”

“.......You idiot.” Said Erica. “We could of figure out who sent him, and why he was after me.”

“I know exactly who from the looks of it. The Crystals that are in the Armors eye sockets explain everything. It was Anivia’s doing so she could test you. Now, I believe that core is somehow familiar to you, so I’ll leave the princess to you while I attend to something with my family members.”

“Wait so this Anivia guy is working with the Mad Queen as well?” Asked Vinyl. “Cause I don’t know who they both are, but tin man here kept on say ‘for the glory of the mad queen’... a lot.”

“Two things. One, Anivia is a girl. A female Cryophoenix for that matter. Two, It could be a simple case of Mind Control.” Twilight replied as Ember left the scene with Applejack and Big Mac. “Come inside and I’ll catch you two up to speed on everything so far.”

“Great…..why do I get the feeling she’s going to ask me a lot of questions?” Asked Erica.

“You should’ve seen the question list she had for me when she found my wubstep gun.”

Crystal Empire (Unknown Location)

He felt exhausted. His hands were worn down to the bone as he was panting for air. The garments he use to have along his upper body were taken from him along with his other possessions like the shoes on his feet. Like the other children who were taken to work as slaves for an Illegal Mining Operation in the Town of Coalson, this being was forced to work alongside them. To serve as an example for what happens if you misbehave or disrespect the Stallion in charge. It was easy to do that with a figure that had resemblances to a Diamond Dog, but wasn’t completely one.

But today, things were different for the Wolf Excedian that was in the cave. A small discovery that he personally made helped restore hope to his soul. Made him think that he could be free. But if he were to be free, then all the other Colts, Fillies, and younglings that were taken from their homes must be freed too. It would be painful and also cruel to leave them behind. But, for this to work, he needed to break himself free of his restraints.

His hands and feet were chained up in a special kind of restraint that the handlers would normally put on Unicorns. So that way it would prevent them from casting Magic. For him, it just limited him from using his full strength. However, if he were to give these Criminals a true taste of the pain they caused, he needed to break free.

Outside, he heard a few of the Stallions out there talking amongst one another. “Hey Onyx. You left the Mutt inside the cave again.”

“Seriously? Why is it my turn to go get him!?”

“Because Eride and I already had to deal with him for the past two weeks and you know the bosses rules. A new pony tends to him every week.”

“Ugh, Fine… He’s probably passed out on the ground anyways.” The other stallion grunted as he was heard trotting towards the cave the wolf was in. He got himself in position. Lying against the cave walls like he was passed out. The black crystalline pony trotted in, saddle bag in tow. He grunted in disbelief, cursing to himself as he tried to nudge the wolf awake with a hoof. That single motion was what the Wolf needed to spring a trap on him, taking the chains on his hands and wrapping them around the pony’s neck. After a few seconds, “Onyx” passed out on the ground.

One down, seven to go.

Moving quickly, The Wolf went to the stallions saddlebag and opened it up. He was relieved to see a keyring inside the bag and after some trial and error, he freed himself from his restraints. He could feel his energy flowing through him like water as he opened the other side of the saddlebag. To his surprise, he found his garments inside the bag. A sleeveless cyan shirt and a Sleeveless Turquoise jacket. Nothing much, but it does help keep his fur protected from the brutal cold of the Blizzards that occur here. Speaking of which, one was occurring right now. A perfect way for him to catch them by surprise.

Putting the crystal pony in a Ice like Cocoon, the wolf stepped out of the cave. He was Bipedal in appearance, had two hands, feet, was about a little below 5ft 10in in height and had a set of Quills on the front and back of his head. His front set consisted of three spikes that were in between his Ice like eyes and the back set had two top quills pointing straight behind him, another two pointing up at the first set and the last set pointing straight down at the ground. The Back quills also had bits of fur that resembled snow.

“Hey, Where’s Onyx? He should be back by now!”

“Crap.” The Wolf cursed. He could feel the presence of the others in the camp heading towards him. But this also served as a perfect chance to knock all of them out at once. Clapping his hands together, he slammed his right hand into the ground and a Runic Sigil began to glow underneath him. Seconds later, A barrage of Frozen Spikes formed from underneath each of the incoming slave handlers and froze them in place. They had no idea what was coming at them.

Seeing that all his opponents as of right now were all unconscious, it meant that one more enemy remained. The one guarding the other workers. The Wolf began to run on all fours to increase his speed, using his sense of smell to track their location. Finally, when he found the last one, the Excedian sprung forth and tackled them to the ground. Startling the Stallion.

“Y-your the Wolf-!! What the hay did you-?”

The Excedian froze the pony’s mouth and sighed. “Your comrades are all unconscious and will soon be facing the same punishment that you will face for the Crimes you have committed.” With that, he knocked him out with a fist to the face. Grabbing the Keyring from his saddlebag, Frost unlocked the door to the house the final stallion was guarding. After looking around a little and finding the place where these ponies had stored all of their important supplies, he used the same key again to open up the door to the basement. Where he found all the Children that the Slave handlers had foalnapped over the course of three long months.

“W-who are you-?” One of them shrieked as they stared at him.

“It’s okay… I mean no harm. The ones that took you away from your homes are knocked out and I plan to bring them to the Crystal Guard so they can be locked up for the crimes they’ve committed. Is everypony okay?”

Most of them said yes, but Frost could tell otherwise. The conditions in this place were horrible. Barely any food or water, no clothes or blankets to keep them warm, and some looked like they were on the brink of death. “Anypony who is strong enough to stand on their own hooves, come follow me. Bring everypony up here too. Your foalnappers have Medical supplies, food and water up here in the kitchen and there’s wood in the fireplace to warm yourselves up with. Once everypony is able to move, we’ll make our way to the Crystal Empire as soon as possible.”

Everypony in the room soon began to scramble upstairs in a mad dash as they raided the shelves for whatever supplies they could find. One of the older mares in the camp named Pearl and a colt named Valiance soon trotted up alongside the wolf. “Thank you…… I don’t know what we could’ve done without you.”

“One of us had to stand up for everypony else.”

“True… Oh, that reminds me, you never told us your name. What is it?”

The wolf smiled a little as he looked at the colt that asked the question to him. “Frost. My name is Frost Shinekuya.”

“Mr. Frost, why is it that you decided to help us all out?” Valiance asked.

“We all deserve the chance to be free. Otherwise, we’re all like a bunch of puppets. Tangled in the strings that bind us. Now that we’re free, they’re no more strings on us.”

Pearl smiled and Valiance happily hugged the wolf. Frost felt glad to be helping these ponies. Nopony had to go through this kind of suffering. Over the course of the day as they waited for the blizzard to die down, the children helped each other, played together, ate together and sang as a way to thank their savior. As night fell though, all of them were now standing outside. Their captives were on a frozen sleigh that Frost had conjured using his powers. The trek to the crystal empire was going to be a long one…

So why not get a head start? They have a long journey ahead of them after all. Things don’t come to those who wait, but instead come to those who take action and priority. Right now, Frost, Pearl, Valiance and the others behind them were going to travel to the Empire to reunite the ponies with their families.

The march of the children had begun. The march to return them home.

End Chapter 5

Author's Note

Song: Evanescence- Bring me to life

Equestrian Definition for Excedian: A race of Bipedal creatures that have the genetics and physical traits of different animal species while also containing the intellectual and social capabilities of a normal pony. Many of them are attuned to different special abilities and traits like how a Unicorn cast use Magic and Pegasi can fly. However, it is very rare to see these creatures in the flesh.

Frost Reference

So now, there are three Mancers. Ember is Fire, Big Mac is Earth and Frost is Ice/Water. Three times the mayhem.

6- Friendly Advice

The Flames of a Phoenix- Friendly Advice

Sweet Apple Acres

It was the morning of a new day as Ember was up bright and early with Big Macintosh in order to help him with his Mancer training. It had been a couple of days since when they first began and with Applejack, Applebloom and her Friends down in Appleloosa to help with the Rodeo that was there, it gave the two of them some extra time to practice. For Ember, her biggest challenge was helping Mac get started with controlling his powers before going into any advanced teachings. Elements to Mancers were like colors on a color wheel. Besides the primary colors, two of them can form complementary colors and so on.

The same thing occurred with Elements. Control over Earth and Fire could lead to controlling Lava or Magma. Wind and Lightning along with Water can allow a Mancer to manipulate the weather like a Pegasus. Ice and Fire could lead to the creation of a blue flame called Cryofire, which contained the properties of both elements that the user can switch between at will, but it required years of experience in order to master. Same went for seeing the earthen minerals inside of metallic surfaces like Steel, Gold and Silver

But right now, the basics was all that was needed for a pony like Big Mac. They could get into the Advanced sections later when the time was needed. As of right now, the current test that Ember was having the Stallion perform was for him to concentrate and be in tune with his element. Which of course, was no easy task. He had to feel the energy of the earth underneath him in order for him to pull it off successfully. Now though, as he slowly moved his hoof onto the ground like he was stomping it, a earthen pillar was formed on his left hoof side.

Ember clapped her hands, congratulating him. “Well done, Mac. You’re getting the hang of this for being a beginner.”

“Thanks, Aunt Embah.” Big Mac sighed a bit, relieved. “But ah have a question for you…”

“Well shoot, go ahead and ask then.” Ember told him. “No need to be shy.”

“How were you able to make that flower with ya flames two day ago?” The Stallion asked. “Something like that ain’t going to be easy to create.”

“You’re right. But there’s a small trick that I’ve learned while controlling my powers that has helped me learn to do those kind of things. In fact, a certain Draconequus might see it as similar to how his Chaos Magic works. Try to picture what you want in your mind before expending the Life Force needed to make your object out of stone. You're only limited by your imagination, your Life Force, and the amount of Focus you put into it.” Ember demonstrated what she meant by putting her hands together and soon forming a replica of Applejack’s cutie mark out of her flames. With all three apples burning brightly before she dismissed it a few seconds later.

“See what I mean?”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded.

“Now, can you apply what I just said to what you already know?” The Pyromancer then asked him. The Stallion nodded, adding on with a simple “I can try” to add onto it. She was quite impressed when he was able to Form a dome around himself using his training after a few minutes.

“Impressive. But there's one thing I believe we can work on.”

“What’s that?”

“Timing. You need to be quick on your hooves when using Life Force. Nopony is going to wait around while you try to attack them with something. We need to quicken the pace and have it to where you don’t need to wait as long in order for you to attack with your abilities. This… also gives me an idea.”

“An idea?”

“Try focusing your Life force into the same motions you use when Applebucking. Maybe that’ll help.”

“That… is actually clever. Give me a sec.” Big Mac soon prepared himself, arching his back legs and stretching them out. He then concentrated his Life Force into his Back legs and A pillar that resembled a closed hoof surged from the ground at a diagonal angle instead of straight up like before. To add onto it, the stallion slammed his back hooves into the ground, making the surrounding area shake as more of those hooves emerged in a rising motion.

“There we go! Somepony is getting the hang of it!! Great job, Mac!”

“Thanks!” Was all Big Mac could say before he got back to practicing a little more. Still, the racket from outside attracted the attention of Granny Smith, who wanted Big Mac to quit fooling around and to get back to work on attending the crops on the farm. Ember herself chuckled as she saw the Stallion put his head down like a disappointed schoolfilly and trotted over to the apple trees. However, the Stallion now had an idea. One that Ember didn’t pay attention to. For she was on a walk towards the Everfree forest.

The Everfree forest was always a place that allowed Ember to calm herself when she needed to spend time to close her eyes and Meditate. Back home, she wouldn’t think that the practice would help her at all. But, as it turns out, meditation allowed for the Mancer to attune herself to nature and the elements around her. However, she wasn’t quite able to do that today because she met an unexpected individual on her walk over there. Specifically, in front of Fluttershy’s college.

“Well, Isn’t it the Girl on Fire. You look a little… warm today.”

It was Discord. Avatar of Chaos and master at making horrible jokes. “Very funny Discord… What brings you to this neck of the woods?” Ember asked, trying to return the joke with another joke of her own based on their location.

“ … Very clever, I have to admit. You know… You’re just the being that I need to talk to.” Ember herself was quite surprised with what he said. In fact, she thought that he was joking.

“Me? Why do you need to talk to me? I assumed that you live with Fluttershy based on what Philomena told me.”

“Well, you see, that’s the thing…… Have you ever heard of the Grand Galloping Gala?”

“Other than it being a sore example of Repetition, then no.” Ember answered, shaking her head. “It sounds like a celebration though.”

“It is… Hosted at the end of every year in Canterlot to celebrate the end of this year and the start of the next one. I was invited. But, when I was going to ask Fluttershy about if she wanted to come with me, she tells me that she was going with a new friend of hers that she made this week called… Tree Hugger? I think that was her name… Either that or Treesmok-.”

“Can you get to the point?” Ember asked, a little irritated by the Lord of Chaos’ rambling.

“Well… I’m starting to think that Tree Hugger is trying to take Fluttershy away from me. Something with her Medical procedures involving burning leaves or something-. Anyways, my point is that I’m concerned that she is trying to take away my only friend.”

At first, Ember raised an eyebrow, followed by a small series of chuckles as she looked at him. “Oh goddess, this is comical…”

“What’s so funny? Can’t you see that I’m in a real personal Dilemma here-!!”

“No… You’re not. I’m guessing you’re new to the whole thing involving friendship?”

“Been in reform for almost two years now.” He replied, lighting a #2 candle on top of a cupcake he conjured out of nothingness.

“Well, let me give you an extra lesson.” Ember sighed as she put her hands in her pockets. “Theres an old saying back where I’m from. It’s make new friends, but keep the old. Which means that anypony can have more than one friend, but it doesn’t mean that they’re replacing you. They’re just getting the chance to meet new people. Heck, you may become friends with them eventually.”

Discord scratched his chin, taking the thought into consideration. “You may be right, but I’m not sure… Something about her to me seems… off. Either that or it’s just my head being affected by that smell she reeked of earlier.”

“Suit yourself. Don’t be surprised if what I told you will come back to haunt you.”

“Heh… yeah right. I just need a good wingman… And I have just the perfect idea in mind.”

“And that’s my cue to leave. See you around, Dissy.” Ember teased as she walked back towards Sweet Apple Acres. Discord was surprised that the Mancer called him by a nickname. Could it be possible for him to become friends with her?

Meanwhile, for the Mancer, she had a few other things on her mind. One being a strange presence from the Everfree Forest. For now, she decided to ignore it. Because she had other priorities that were more important as she began to see flakes of snow begin to sprinkle from the clouds above her.

Winter had come… and with a family… comes Heart’s Warming… and Damn it all to hell, she didn’t have anything for the family that gladly accepted her as one of their own. She needed something spellbinding, but personal. That’s when she came across Twilight and another white Unicorn, who was using a spell that involved… gemstones?

“Hello Ember!” Twilight called out as the Mancer approached them.

“Good morning. How are you?”

“Okay, just scrambling a little with two days before Heart’s Warming. Oh, Rarity, I almost forgot. This is AJ’s Aunt I was telling you about earlier.”

“So you’re Ember? My my, your scarf is just so… Magnificent!!”

“Why thank you, I’m flattered.” Ember replied. “Actually, I was wondering if I could ask for your help Twilight. It’s about Heart’s Warming.”

“Really? What about it?”

“Well, since Applejack and Big Mac have accepted me into the family, I want to get them a gift that shows how much I appreciate their generosity. But I’m running thin on ideas. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Well, that depends really. What did you have in mind?” The Alicorn asked her.

“Well, I wanted it to be something that came from the heart and also be something they will cherish for years to come. Show them that I really care for them. They’re my nieces and Mac is my nephew for crying out loud. I don’t want to give them something cheap.”

“I agree. Something poorly made would just be disastrous!” Rarity boasted, using a levitation spell to move some gems into a different Saddlebag she had on her. Then… an Idea came to her.

“Ms. Rarity. Can I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

“I saw you using your magic with those gems of yours and I just had a crazy idea for a Heart's Warming gift. Do you know what a Firestone is?” A firestone was known as a very special gem that was made to look like living fire was trapped inside of it.

“My word!” Rarity exclaimed. “Why do you need such a beautiful gem such as that for!? It’s very rare to come across and almost impossible to make. Plus, I don’t think you would want to travel all the way to the Crystal Empire to find a jewelcrafter that can make that for you.”

“Well, I was remembering the Gems that were on the chandelier inside the castle and I was thinking of having something like that, but more focused on Applejack’s family. I was thinking a Firestone to be formed in the shape of an apple and have some kind of picture or something inside it that shows itself when the light reflects on it. If you have the crystals, I can provide the fire.”

“That… is just plain wonderful, darling! I am quite impressed by your ideas. Very well. I can help make that for you.” The Unicorn proclaimed. Using a spell, she formed several transparent Selenite Crystals to form the shape of an apple. “Now darling, can you please provide your flame?”

Ember nodded, snapping her finger and a small controlled flame began to form at the end of her finger. Using another spell, Rarity let the crystal form around the flame and encase it inside. The color began to change in the form of the rich red that Ember wanted. Now came the final part. The Picture. It was hard for her to think of one. But she decided to imagine the Applejack, Applebloom, Big Mac and Granny Smith standing outside Sweet Apple Acres.

“Have you thought about what you wanted to put in there, Ember?”

“Yeah. What happens next?”

“Well, you might want to close your eyes for this part.” She warned. Her Horn soon began to flash and a few seconds later, what Ember thought about was encased inside the Crystalline Fruit that the two of them have created.

“What do you think?”

“It’s… Beautiful. Oh Applejack and the others are going to love this!” Ember said. “Thank you so much for your help.”

“Anytime, Darling. Come by the Carousel Boutique if you need my help with anything else.” Rarity told her as she trotted off. Ember herself now faced Twilight as she placed the gift inside her pocket.

“Your friend is quite imaginative.” She told the princess.

“Well, when she gets inspiration, she tries to use it anyways that she could. Of course, that’s lead to some trouble a few times. But generally, its for a good cause. Oh and I just got a letter from Princess Cadence a little while ago. She wants us to come to the Crystal Empire.”

“The Crystal Empire?”

“Yeah, her kingdom to the north. Why? Have you been there before?”

“No. I’ve stayed clear of it because I thought Sombra still lingered there. I didn’t know it was freed until I heard about it being the place to host the Equestria Games a few months ago.” Ember said. “After what happened to Philomena’s mother, I didn’t want the same thing to happen to me and give birth to something even more crueler than Anivia.”

“I see what you mean. Speaking of Anivia, that’s the reason why Cadence wants to talk. Her and her husband want to talk about the possibility of it being a security concern for the Empire. Given the time right now if we took the train, we would only be able to arrive tomorrow morning.”

“What? You can’t teleport us there?” Ember asked, shocked by what she said.

“No, it would use up all of my strength to teleport the both of us. If it were just me, then it would be easier. The quickest method for us to reach there is to go by train. If we tried to go by carriage, then the Pegasi pulling it would tire out too quickly. “

“Damn… Alright, let me go tell Granny Smith and Big Mac about it first and find a gift box to place this in before we leave.” Ember told them. Something about the Crystal Empire made her think that she was going to get a little more than what she bargained for.

The Crystal Empire (Train Ride; the next day)

The ride to the Crystal Empire was a little unnerving for the Mancer as she traveled with the princess. She had not ridden a train at all ever since coming to Equus and she wasn’t sure what were the appropriate customs for riding inside one. Additionally, riding the train with a Princess meant that the two of them would be sitting in Royal Class. Which was guarded by the best of the Royal guard. However, the sight of those guards and the fact that Ember wasn’t a Pony made her feel like this was some sort of prison transfer instead of a friendly visit.

“Ember?”

The single word from the Princess of Friendship snapped Ember out of her self inflicted trance and had her look at Twilight. “Yes, Princess?”

“There isn’t a need to call me that, Twilight is fine.” She giggled as she cleared her throat.

“I apologize. I thought there were certain customs that came with traveling with a Princess such as yourself.”

“It’s okay really. Despite my title, I still wanted to be treated like everypony else. I don’t wanted to be treated differently just because of my status.” Twilight made a very good point. But it felt a little difficult for that same logic to be applied to Ember. She was human after all and Twilight wasn’t. They would see her differently… maybe be scared of her.

“I understand. I’m just nervous, that’s all.”

“Nervous?”

“Yeah, I don’t want to do anything that would screw anything up. I’m new to this and I haven’t met Cadences husband yet. I’m not quite sure what he’ll think of me.”

“Don’t worry about it. Shiny’s a good pony.”

“Wait… Shiny?”

“His name is Shining Armor. He’s my older brother. Speaking of family, do you have any siblings?”

Now, Ember grimaced. “No. No, I don’t.”

“What about family?”

She gritted her teeth. “I rather not talk about it. I preferred my life here over the life I had in the world I was born in. My parents argued anytime something wasn’t done properly, they pushed me to my breaking point when it came to school and on the day that I ended up here, my father and mother were at the courthouse filing for a divorce. They didn’t even get the chance to run it by me first at all. They just thought I would understand by leaving a damned note on the kitchen table. Philomena was more like family to me and Applejack’s family is better than the two of them could ever be.”

Twilight herself was shocked. She never thought that this would have occurred to other species. But then… she heard something.

“Emma…”

“What?”

“That was my name back where I’m from. When I came here, I changed it to Ember because I wanted to forget about my past. In a way, being with Philomena and being in Equestria allowed for me to have a chance to start my life over. I’m thankful for that chance.” The Mancer said. “I wanted to find a place where I would belong and despite the amount of pain I was put through, I feel like I found myself a home in this world.”

Twilight smiled. “Well, I’m glad you did-.”

“Now arriving at: Sapphire Station”

“Well, that’s our stop.” Twilight told the Mancer as the two of them began to leave the train car. The eyes of all the ponies that were also on the train were immediately set on the two of them as they walked out of the station and continued to go through the streets. From Children to commoners, they stared at her. Even talking about her like she couldn’t hear them.

“What is that creature?”

“Why would it be with Princess Sparkle?”

“Is it a monster from Tartarus?”

Ember herself sighed deeply as she continued to walk. Twilight noticed this and then asked her something. “Are you okay? You seem stressed.”

“I’m fine. It’s just that everypony here has been talking about me ever since we started walking. Talking behind my back. It just irritates me.”

“Don’t worry, were almost there. The entrance to the palace is just over there.” The Alicorn said as the set of doors blocking the way opened for them. The guards that followed them soon left to return to their post and as Ember and Twilight reached the center of the room, two other figures entered. One new and One familiar.

“Twily!!”

“Shiny!!” Twilight cried, wrapping herself around the White Unicorn Stallion that entered the room alongside Cadence. Ember assumed that this was Shining Armor as she looked at Cadence.

“It’s good to see you again, Ms. Cadence.” Ember greeted the Alicorn, shaking her hoof.

“You too. Ember.”

“Ah yes. It’s nice to be able to finally meet you again despite everything that’s been going on in the Empire as of late.”

Ember herself, raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean?”

Shining sighed, looking at his wife before looking back at the Mancer. “We’ve been having a lot of trouble as of late. Many ponies are scared because of the amount of children that had been abducted over the last three months. Our guards are working around the clock in order to try to keep the peace within our walls, but to also find the ones responsible for these abductions. So far, we haven’t had any success.”

‘Must’ve been the reason for all the rhetoric being said behind my back.’ Ember thought to herself.

“So… what else brings you to the Crystal Empire? I don’t think you’re exactly here for sightseeing.”

“You’re right on that part. Cadence, did Philomena ever tell you about a Cryophoenix named Anivia?”

“Yes? What about it?”

“Well, she got the jump on us yesterday and froze Spike. I thawed him out, but from we found out, she has two pieces of the Wendigo heart.” The name of the object alone had stunned both Shining Armor and Cadence.

“You mean THE Wendigo heart?” Both Mancer and Princess nodded their heads. “Oh dear… But that means…”

“That she’s in the Crystal empire somewhere looking for the final piece. We wanted to know if their was anything that could possibly help us stay one step ahead of her.”

“Possibly. But we should talk about this over dinner. It is getting late after all.” Cadence told them. The conversation continued in the dining hall as the four of them ate and had a wonderful meal. The only possible chances for something that Ember could use as a lead though went up in smoke when some records about the heart were one of a few documents that were sabotaged when the wing that they were held in at the Archives caught fire. Something else was on Ember’s mind though. Anytime that Shining and Cadence mentioned the missing children, a look of dismay ran across their faces. Something that she thought was off.

“Cadence… Are you okay?”

“W-why yes dear, why do you ask?”

“Well, anytime the conversation mentioned the missing foals and fillies from the abductions, you two look at each other in sadness. Is something wrong?”

The Princess of Love sighed. “Well…… How should I put this? …… Shining Armor and I a month ago decided to consider adopting somepony. We went to the Orphanage, looked around, saw a pair of twins that we liked. But when we went back the next day, they were the next two victims to be abducted.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Milady!!!”

One of the guards, a Black Crystalline Pegasus opened the door and barged in. “We got a situation. A pair of frozen train tracks just appeared that lead all the way to the main square!”

Ember herself was caught off guard by this along with the other few ponies in the room. “Did you try to remove them?” Shining Armor asked.

“We did. But our mages said that the rails are made of something other than magic!!”

“Life Force.” Ember said, looking at Twilight and Cadence. “We got a Mancer coming.”

“Is it… her?”

“Only way to tell is if I go have a look for myself. If anypony wants to come along, now’s your chance.” The Mancer told her as she walked past the doors and went outside. Twilight soon chased after her along with the others as they reached the sight that the guard was talking about. Rails of Snow and Ice had emerged from the cracks in the ground, going straight towards the center of the Crystal Empire.

Ember got down on her knees, looking closely at the track that was made. Twilight stood behind her, nervously. “Is it-?”

“No. It’s not Anivia. It’s somepony else. Who though, I don’t know.”

“How can you tell?”

“Life Force sometimes gives off a feeling that can define whether it’s positive or negative. Positive Force makes you feel like you’re in a warm hug while negative gives you a chill down your spine. Looking at the tracks, it’s made with a LOT of positive force. Three times more than any being could actually have at once.”

Before anypony else could react, the guards were yelling for all the civilians to stay off of the streets as a Cold Train came through the front gates. It was the literal definition of a Polar Express based on appearance. But as the train got closer to the center, it actually began to slow down. Which was surprising to almost everypony present. Ember herself used one of her hands to conjure a small burning blade the size of a combat knife and hold it in reverse. You can’t be too prepared given the current situation.

As the train rolled to a stop though, something surprising happened. A loud whistle went off and the doors of the train opened. Within seconds, a swarm of Foals, fillies and Colts barreled out of the train and jumped into the shocked and surprised arms of their parents. Shining Armor was also surprised. All of these ponies were the missing children from the abduction cases. But soon, a personal miracle happened for both him and his Wife.

“Cadence!!! Shining!!”

Both of them turned around; their eyes widening as their jaws dropped. “Oh my stars!! Pearl!!! Valiance!!”

Both of the children that Cadence and Shining Armor wanted to adopt leaped into their hooves in a warm embrace. The Royal couple had missed them as much as the two children had missed them. “We thought we weren’t going to see you again!! What happened!?”

“Frost saved all of us!!”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “Wait… Who’s Frost?”

“That would be me.” A new voice echoed as one last figure stepped out before having the train and tracks fade away. A bipedal wolf with Dark Blue fur, turquoise vest, black pants with turquoise cuffs on the bottom, grey hands and a light blue shirt. Behind him, he dragged a sled with seven unconscious bodies.

“These seven are responsible for the abduction of these children. They forced them to work in the mines in the abandoned town of Coalson along with myself. However, I made sure that all of them could be brought to justice. They’ll wake within an hour so please make sure that they’re locked up before then.”

Shining himself was quite surprised. This… Wolf… was able to not only bring everypony home safely, but capture all the ones responsible. That, in itself, is no small feat. He issued an order to the guards to take all seven of them to the dungeons to lock them up. But, one thing came out from Ember that nopony ever expected.

“You’re an Excedian…”

“Yep. That’s me alright. Not a lot of my kind left, but I’m thankful for the friends I do make. Pearl and Valiance were a big help as well.”

Ember looked at the wolf from head to toe, thinking that something was somehow… off with him. “May I see something real quick?”

“Uh, sure-?”

Before the wolf could say anything more, Ember put her hand on his shoulder and focused. The Mancer was trying to see his Life Force, but what she found was surprisingly different. Even to her. Something was surging inside of him where his heart would be. What it was caused Ember to back up and let go of his shoulder.

“Holy sh*t…”

“Ember, what’s wrong?”

“I…… found the final piece…… It’s fused with Frost’s soul.”

End Chapter 6

Author's Note

Every time I think of the Grand Galloping Gala, I think of it as a new years eve party and with Tanks for the Memories involving winter, it makes me think of hearts warming. So yeah. Not only that, but I added some rich plot development. Hope this helps!

-Frost

7- What happens when Numbskulls play with Fire

Author's Note

For the Laughs.

Anyways, this crossover is with Theyellowninja13 and his story, Equestria's Ginyu Force. Plus, it leads up to the next chapter, where Heart's Warming is just around the corner. Enjoy!
-Frost

Now... Only one thing left to do...

7- What happens when Numbskulls play with Fire

The Flames of a Phoenix-

What happens when Numbskulls play with Fire

Crystal Empire

“Wait… What the hell are you talking about?” were the first words to come out of Frost’s mouth upon hearing Ember speak again. Many things were going through his head right now and all of them were focused on his next question. “What do you mean by Final piece?”

“Twilight… Can I please talk with Frost… alone? I might need some time to tell him what’s going on.” The Mancer asked. The Princess of Friendship nodded along with Cadence and Shining Armor, allowing her to go inside the palace of the Crystal Empire and use one of the guest rooms so the two of them can talk. “I believe you have a lot of questions to ask me.”

“I honestly don’t even know where to begin.” The Wolf asked, folding his arms. “You haven’t even told me your name for starters and now you are talking about me like I’m some kind of public concern.”

“Well Frost, my name is Ember. Like you, I’m a Mancer, a being that has control of a kind of Elemental Power. For me, It’s fire. For you, it seemed to be Ice, given your name and everything.”

“Yeah. I’ve had my ice powers ever since I was a young pup. Almost froze the entire home that I use to live in one time. Still though, how does this relate to the conversation?” Frost then asked as he took a seat on a nearby couch. Ember sighed. This was going to be a while. But… if he had his powers before… then why the sudden change in what he was capable of?

“Well… Have you felt anything… Different recently?”

“Sort of. Before I freed everypony from the camp, I felt like I was bone dry from all the work they forced me to do. But then, I came across a gemstone that was warm to the touch. I was a little bit cold, so I placed it near my heart in order to keep myself warm and after a few seconds, I felt my strength return to me and then some. In a way, it restored my will and helped me keep fighting.”

‘So THAT’S how he found it.’ Ember thought to herself upon hearing the Wolf’s story. “Well, that Gem is only one piece of something far greater. Have you heard of an artifact called the Wendigo Heart?”

“Pearl and Valiance had told me about the Crystal heart, but nothing called that.”

“Well, the Wendigo Heart is a very powerful artifact that contains the power that was left behind by the King of the Wendigos. Hence, the name. It was so powerful that it was said that anypony who came across it had the power to have this world go into an Ice Age. That’s why it was split into three pieces. So that nopony else could be able to restore it and unlock it’s true power.”

“But when you said final…… Does that mean that somebody else already found the first two?” The Wolf then asked, his tail twitching a little.

“Very perceptive… Indeed it does. A powerful enemy that calls herself Anivia has already obtained the first two pieces of the heart. Which means that she would be coming for you if she found out about you being the third piece.”

“I can take her-.”

“No you can’t. She’s just as strong as either of us. On top of that, she is a Cryophoenix.”

“A what-?”

“The opposite of a phoenix. Phoenix’s are birds of fire, Anivia is a Phoenix of Ice whose goal is to exterminate every living phoenix in existence and then collect the pieces of the Wendigo heart. It is unsure though her reason why for doing this though.” Ember told the wolf. “Whatever the case may be, you aren’t safe on your own-.”

“What am I to you? A foal? I don’t need bodyguards!!”

“I never said that you needed them. I was going to suggest for you to stay with me.” Ember suggested. “With your capabilities, you can help out with the ponies in Ponyville and help me train my Nephew in controlling his powers.”

Now this sounded intriguing to the Wolf. However, he needed some more details. “What is he capable of?”

“He controls Earth.”

“A Stonemancer? Must have a very strong heart if they’re able to control something like that.”

Ember was quite surprised by the Wolf’s response. “Wait… Why does it feel like I’m missing out on something here?”

“You seem surprised.” Frost said. “Excedians have a lot of knowledge on controlling the elements. In fact, back when there were more of us, our kind use to be the generation that gave birth to the practice. However, with so few of us left, it’s rare to see an Excedian who is alive that has control of an element. Most of my kind that are still alive have moved on to where they have control of Magic or something else entirely.” Ember was personally surprised to hear this new information surface to life. There were other Mancer’s before her, but now Frost was one of them. She had more questions for them, but had to save them for another time. One where the two of them would have more time to conversate.

“So… I guess I’m coming with you then?”

Ember nodded her head, using her hand to mess with the Fur on Frost’s head. “Yeah… Geez, it feels like I’m adopting a child.”

“I’m not a child!! I’m twenty years old!!”

“Well, I’m over a thousand years old so give it a rest.” Ember joked with the wolf. “Before we go though, I need to let you know of something. From time to time, I will be summoned by other individuals who would need my help and to an extent, I can summon them too. They’re known as Displaced and for summoning them, you need a token. In that case, take this.”

In Frost’s hands now laid the Phoenix Feather that was her token. He looked at it for a few moments before putting it in his pocket. “What’s this?”

“It’s my token. So if I’m away and you need my help, summon me and I’ll come.” Ember told her. “There’s also another reason why I told you this…”

“Oh really? Do tell.”

“I’m getting summoned right now. So instead of resisting it, bringing them here and causing a commotion, I’m going over there. We’ll have to keep this between us for now, so cover me while I’m gone.” With that, Ember left, leaving Frost by himself as he walked outside the room. When Twilight asked about her whereabouts, the wolf said only one thing.

“She told me that she was going out for a walk…”

Meanwhile…… (Ginyu Force’s Equestria)

“Come on Jeice! You can do this!” Ginyu yelled as they watched their friend try to control his attack again.

“Crusher Ball!” Jeice yelled, as he stayed floating in the air, before lifting his hand up near his head, and tried channeling his ki into his hand, where an unstable orange ball appeared, looking as if it was about to blow up. Jeice removed his hand from underneath it, before bringing it up behind the ball of energy, and moving to slap it down. But the second he touched it, the ball blew up in his face. “Darn it!”

“Better luck next time Jeice!” Burter yelled out, as his friend slowly descended back into the small grotto in the Everfree Forest, where the Ginyu Force was currently training. After some previous… misadventures, the five of them were currently inside the forest since it was considered as a “Safe Place” by their friend, Surprise. Who happened to be watching them from afar.

“You can do it Jeice! Just believe in yourself!” Surprise yelled, jumping up and down, while holding a foam glove in her hooves that looked like a human hand with one finger pointing up. Soon though, something fell on top of Surprise’s nose as it tickled her. A strange feather that represented the color of fire and looked like a phoenix feather. With a small twitch, it flew downward and landed on top of Jeice’s white hair.

“What’s this then?” Jeice asked, as he lifted his hand to his head, and gently grabbed the feather, before holding it in front of his face. He lightly twirled it in between his fingers, before speaking out to his friends, who were busy talking to each other. “Hey guys! Check this out!”

The remaining four Ginyu Force members all walked over, before Jeice showed them the feather. “What do you think it is, Jeice?” Recoome asked.

“It looks like a feather.” Jeice responded.

“It reminds me of a phoenix feather.” Ginyu added, causing everyone present to look at him funny. “I read.” Everyone ‘oohed’ at that response.

“Hey, why is it glowing?” Surprise then asked as she came closer to them, pointing at the feather with a hoof.

“Hunh?” Guldo reacted, as he noticed the feather glowed even brighter, before setting Jeice’s gloved hand on fire. “Jeice! Your hand’s on fire!”

Jeice quickly patted out the fire, before inspecting the burnt glove, happy that it didn’t seem to be damaged much. He looked at the ground, noticing the burning feather gently landed on the ground. Soon, the small flame grew forth to where it looked like a doorway was created. Soon, a new individual that once appeared like a fire-like bird stood a few feet away from the force. A woman… One with a red scarf and wore a dark grey shirt, dark navy jeans, sandals and tied up dark brown hair. She then turned around, only noticing Surprise at that current moment. She was a human. The first one that the Ginyu Force had personally seen at all ever since becoming the Ginyu Force.

“Hunh? A pony?” Was her first reaction. She didn’t notice Ginyu and the others until Jeice was the first one to speak.

“Who are you supposed to be?” Jeice asked, confused why a feather summoned a human.

“I’m Ember Valkyr.” She replied, noticing the feather. “And it seems like you…… guys came across my summoning token.”

“Summoning token?” Ginyu asked, before remembering something. “Oh, you’re a Displaced aren’t you?”

“Yes I am.” Ember said. She now noticed the surrounding area and saw some of the craters in the ground. “What the hell happened that caused all of this?”

“Well, we’re trying to train, and get used to our new powers.” Ginyu explained. “You see, we’re a group of fighters, or at least that’s what we dressed up as. And we have the ability to call upon our body’s natural energy to help us with fighting, or healing, or even flying.”

“Sounds similar to Life Force. Either that or something you might refer to as Chi.” Ember pointed out. “What seems to be the problem? Can’t control it?”

“Well, we call it ki, but it has been known by different names. But yeah, we can fly somewhat, but when trying to use energy attacks, we seem to mess up.” Ginyu said, and lifted his hand, before creating an unstable ball of purple energy in it. It blew up a second later, and Ginyu wiped the soot off his face. “That keeps on happening.”

“Hmm… it seems like you aren’t fully focusing on what you are trying to do.” Ember said, demonstrating by forming a flame in her hands. “Something like this is broken down into a series of steps. You five seem to have the energy to do so and can picture your attacks quite well, but you’re not focusing hard enough.”

“See! I told you guys we need to focus more!” Guldo exclaimed.

“No you didn’t.” The rest of the Ginyu Force replied, causing Guldo to roll all four of his eyes, before grumbling softly.

Ember sighed. “Well, it’s not just the energy you’re using, it’s also your stamina… Tell you what, maybe it’ll be best if I show you what I mean. Who here is up for a bit of sparring?” For a moment, the Ginyu Force thought that this girl was crazy. Even Guldo didn’t see a point to it. But then, Ember let her Life Force surge forth, rising high on the ki sensing abilities each Ginyu Force member could feel.

“So, who's going to fight?” Ginyu said, causing his men to look at each other, their competitiveness showing. “Rock Paper Scissors, aye?”

Ginyu’s men got in position, and started doing one of their favorite ways to determine who gets to fight. “ROCK PAPER SCISSORS!”

“ROCK PAPER SCISSORS!”

“ROCK PAPER SCISSORS!”

“ROCK PAPER SCISSORS!”

“ROCK PAPER SCISSORS!”

“Yes! I win!” Burter exclaimed, as he walked forward, before stretching. “Don’t think I won't go easy on you just because you’re worth two and a half Raditzs.”

“I don’t understand who you are referring too, but to make it simple and not kill any of you, I’m only using ten percent of my total strength.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll just have to use even less, just to make sure you don’t die prematurely. You see, while it might require concentration for energy attacks, it doesn’t for meleeing. I’m as strong as the Burter I’m based off of, and as fast too, so don’t expect to hit me.”

“Right…… Let me ask you something though… How old do you think I am?”

“Probably somewhere around ten thousand. They’re usually around that age when they ask you that question.”

“Good guess.” In a quick instant, Ember appeared behind Burter and gave him a quick jab kick to the back, inches from the spine. “But no. Too high up.”

But what shocked Ember was when Burter disappeared in front of her, before reappearing across the small grotto they’re in. “Figures. It’s never exactly ten thousand. And what did you think of my after image ability?”

“Neat trick, but you can’t just use it to run all over the place.” Ember smirked. “Now… speaking of which… Heads up.”

Quickly, Ember fired off a blast of Fire energy that went at Burter like an armed warhead.

“Too slow.” Burter said, and as time seemed to slow down, he dodged the fire as if it were a leaf, and delivered a swift punch to Ember’s stomach. However, Ember dispersed into flames and was behind Burter now. Holding out her hand in a fist, the Warhead from before was moving faster, but Ember had a new trick up her sleeve.

“Disperse.”

Opening her hand caused the one rocket to split into a barrage of homing blasts. All aimed at Burter. Burter quickly flew into the air, and shouted, as he fired several rapid blasts of unstable ki at the area below, destroying each of the projectiles, and seemingly hitting Ember.

“Scatter beam attack!”

Before the attack could be pulled off, Ember moved his fingers in an upward motion. One thing about the Mancer was that the last place where she placed her hands, the handprint could be used as a trigger for an explosion. For Burter, as he looked down, two of her hands from when she struck him in the back lit up as it caught the Blue Hurricane in a massive explosion. It didn’t kill him, but it at least was able to teach him not to let his guard down.

“You must be aware of the possibility that your opponent can attack from all angles. Be lucky that I’m only using ten percent. Because the last time I was at one hundred percent, my anger and rage created the badlands back in my world.”

But what surprised Ember, was when the smoke cleared, and Burter hardly looked damaged at all, and flew down to the ground. “You’re pretty strong, and I definitely didn’t see that attack coming. So, for the sake of the entire forest being burned down, let’s just call it a draw.” Burter held out his hand in a peaceful motion.

“Good idea. Because trust me… I know more than fire abilities. What I caught you off guard with was a taste of me controlling Magma.”

“Yeah, I got some abilities I didn’t use too. Everyone on the planet is lucky I didn’t try to use a kamehameha up there, or the world and the moon would have been destroyed. Because my unstable energy attacks are a lot stronger, but aren’t controlled at all.”

“Heh… I have something like what you just mentioned… Just a lot more powerful to the point where it might decimate a mountain range if left unchecked. But there is one thing I would like to test.” Without warning, Ember’s energy flung out and caught on to Burter like a lasso as it pulled him onto the ground. Then, she dispersed it. “Good, I’m not rusty with Whiplash. Haven’t used that technique in ages.”

“Lucky for you, I could tell that wasn’t an attack. Because if it was, I would have accidently used super explosive wave, and blown us all up. And the surrounding area wouldn’t exist anymore. Including you. It would kill the Captain over there, who is much stronger than I am, and could beat you.”

“I wouldn’t say that Burter!” Ginyu yelled from the sidelines. “A good captain lets his men attack first, and then uses the body swap technique to leave his enemy in a dying body.”

“Right… presuming the fact that you think you can kill me.”

“Pretty sure we could. I just noticed Guldo used his time stopping abilities five times while you were speaking. You didn’t notice what he did at all, and would probably not want to.”

Ember just facepalmed. “You’re not getting what I mean, are you? Maybe your captain knows.”

“Just leave her alone Burter! We could easily take her on as a unit, but that’s not how we roll. And besides…”

“Dear Celestia… None of you get it at all. You CAN’T kill me… I’m immortal. The reason for my powers was because they were given to me by a DYING PHOENIX and with that, comes immortality.”

“Well, Captain Ginyu could easily swap bodies with you, and have his body be dying when your in it, so you wouldn’t really be immortal anymore, and could die.”

“It’s not that either. Even your body fades away, my SOUL still lives on and Phoenix’s come back to life. Which means if you did try to kill me, I would still live on…… But immortality is not always a good thing.” Ember now reached up to her head and did something that would scare most fillies and colts.

She took out her own eyeball and crushed it, the object fading to dust. A new eye formed in Ember’s head, but the dust had a different effect on the five of them. As they breathed it in, they saw visions… Which turned out to be Ember’s memories.

‘Get up, you filthy primate. Do as you were told and kill this thief!!’

The image shown was of Ember in what looked like a mountain area diverse with trees. A young buffalo was chained up, looking at her in fear. Ember shook her head.

‘No. I won’t do it.’

‘Grr…… You know, I think it’s about time you learned your place. An eye for an eye. A life for a life.’

Soon, a red earth pony was brought out, forced to lie on the ground. The Griffon that was in charge, despite Ember’s plea’s, slit her friends throat and followed that up by snapping his neck. Anger and Rage coursed through her as the Mancer let it all out, burning all the killers, slave handlers and murderers that were there in a volcanic uproar that could be seen from all the way in the Crystal Empire to the north. When the dust settled, all that was left was her and the few survivors that she was able to save.

‘I’m sorry Red… I never wanted this to happen… It should have been me...’

“Do you understand now?” Ember asked as the Ginyu Force snapped back to reality.

“While it did look traumatizing, we’ve had worse.” Then, before Ember could even blink, Ginyu put his fingers against her head, showing her an image that would be forever ingrained into her skull.

All that Ember saw was something black, with two souless white eyes, with lifeless black pupils, and a red mouth similar to a clown. But if that didn’t scare her enough, what it said did. “Pecking order!”

Ember though, didn’t move. “Meh… Popo right?”

The entire Ginyu Force gasped at that. “No! Don’t call him that! It’s Mister Popo! He’ll destroy you if he hears you failing to refer to him by his title!” Just then, the entire planet shook, as a single voice was heard in the distance.

“That’s right, maggots.”

“Okay, MR. Popo then. My apologies.” Ember sighed. “Next time we meet, I want to get the chance to meet him in person. I think he and I can strike up a nice conversation about you guys.” The last bit about the conversation was to be sarcastic.

“Well, Mr. Popo is right behind you.” When Ember turned around, she did indeed see Mr. Popo right behind her, standing on a magic carpet.

“Did I hear that you thought you could strike up a conversation with me?” Mr. Popo started laughing. “You must remember the pecking order. In case you forgot, it’s you, the dirt, the worms living inside the dirt, Popo’s stool, Kami, and then Popo.”

“Right… Something tells me that there’s one thing these five aren’t going to be after I leave… Safe.”

“No, they did everything correct, so they will receive maximum punishment. But you on the other hand, disrespected me, so I will show you TOTAL CRUEL UNJUST FOR LIVING BEINGS PUNISHMENT-!”

“Mr. Popo… I apologize for my rudeness. I was unaware about your title or position. In exchange for allowing me to leave and return to my family for heart's warming, I’ll place this in your care.” Ember told Mr. Popo, giving him an Identical phoenix feather. “You may use it to summon me whenever you believe it is necessary.”

Then, before Mr. Popo could react, Captain Ginyu spoke up. “Umm, here you go.” He handed her the Ginyu Force’s token, before moving away quickly. “You may leave now. Our contract is complete.”

“Thank you, Mr. Ginyu. It’s been a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially you, Mr. Popo.” She replied as she conjured a portal of flames and stepped through, disappearing through the gateway before the flames died down and faded away.

Mr. Popo slowly turns to look at the Ginyu Force. “You didn’t let me exact my punishment Maggots!”

The rest of the day was filled with the Ginyu Force receiving punishment.

“Aww man guys, I just realized something.” Recoome said as he was getting punished.

“Oh yeah? What Recoome?” Jeice asked.

“We never got to introduce ourselves.” And when Recoome said that, the entire Ginyu Force screamed, as that was more punishment than whatever Mr. Popo could give them.

And if you listen closely, you could hear the maniacal laughter of Mr. Popo as he continued his punishment on the Ginyu Force.

Back at the Crystal Empire…

Ember’s return back to her world did not go unnoticed. She arrived back in the guest room, where both Frost and Twilight were waiting for her patiently. However, the Alicorn had a BUNCH of questions for her in regards to what she just did and where she was. Ember though, avoided answering the questions since she thought that trying to explain the whole Displaced theory would cause her mind to explode. Instead, the three of them hurried to make sure to catch the train to Ponyville so that way they could get back to the town before morning came.

Because Ember did not want to miss her first Heart’s Warming with her new family.

In the Distance though, Someone was watching them as they left. However, she believed that their search was to no avail as she continued to look for the last thing she needed to become whole. To become complete… To become… Perfect.

End Chapter 7

8- Dreams

The Flames of a Phoenix- Dreams

Sweet Apple Acres

By the time Ember got back to her room, it was close to midnight. Frost had agreed to stay with Twilight in order to not cause a commotion back at the barn for when she came home. By the time she got to her bedroom, the mancer almost just passed out on the bed and fell asleep. But somepony else was still awake as she drifted away into a state of slumber. Somepony who was curious enough to see what exactly did the mancer dream about when she was asleep.

That pony was Princess Luna, Alicorn of the Night and sister of Princess Celestia. It was only two days ago that she had met the caretaker of Philomena and in doing so, got very curious about what she would find inside her sleep. She had traversed through the dreams of many ponies before, but not anypony like Ember. Curiosity was the primary reason why Luna wanted to see Ember’s dreams in the Dreamscape. That way, she could possibly learn more about her like where she was from and what her life was like. However, upon entering the dream, she heard a different voice and saw something… Different.

The first thing she saw was a girl, like Ember, but she seemed excited. She had opened a parcel and had received the scarf that the Lunar Princess had seen before. But that smile soon faded away. She Angrily tossed a note to the ground in a rage and went into her room. The note dropped down to Luna’s hooves as she read the message.

“Emma honey. I’m sorry for telling you this now, but we’re not here this morning because your father and I are heading to the courthouse. It may be hard to take in, but we’re splitting up. Remember though, no matter what happens though, we still love you.”

-Mom

She was surprised at seeing this. Who was this “Emma” that the note referred to? Before she could find out, a bright flash happened and the location of the dream changed. It was now a cold forest. But she didn’t know what was going on. She watched as the events played out, but couldn’t exactly hear the girl talk to the phoenix in front of her. But, at one point, she did hear her speak to the bird. Shortly after the phoenix asked for her name.

“Emma Valkyr. But you may call me Ember.”

‘So this was Ember back then…’ Luna wondered as she continued to watch. Surprisingly though, The area around her soon faded away. It was now a darkened night sky as Ember could now be seen looking at Luna in front of her. Her arms were folded and she was standing in front of her.

“Good evening, Luna.” She asked. Luna, for one, was quite surprised that Ember was actually talking to her. They were in her dreams and it would take onepony quite a while to realize that she was visiting them. She saw this as the case with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, but what made her so different.

“H-how did you know that-?”

“You were here? Well, these dreams that you see are my memories. And they’re a LOT different from dreams. So you won’t be able to find any dreams here, Princess.”

“Oh?” Luna said, a little puzzled by her answer. “Are you saying that what I saw wasn’t dreams?”

“In a way… That’s one of the things that’s a backlash when it comes to immortality for me. I can’t dream. All I can do is look back on my memories. Even the painful ones at times. But it helps me remember what is important and the choices I made. Because there are always consequences for your actions and the choices that you make.” Luna herself was quite stunned by what Ember had to say. So stunned in fact, that she had to say something herself.

“I believe I know what it’s like to face consequences.”

“You do?” Ember asked. “What do you mean?”

“Have you ever heard of Nightmare Moon?”

“Yes, but I was told that it was only a children’s tale.” Ember replied. “Is there something I don’t know?”

Luna nodded. “Well, you see, I was Nightmare Moon. But not by choice. My anger and jealousy took control of me, having me become something I’m not. In the end, I was banished for 1000 years on the moon. To this day, I still feel that some ponies are afraid of me because of who I once was. That nopony appreciates the moon or the night.”

“I do.”

Luna looked at Ember with a surprised expression. “What?”

“I enjoy the night and the light that the moon brings. It, to me, is beautiful and serves as a guide for me when I travel during the evening. You are the one who raises the moon, so in the end, I must thank you for being the deity of the moon and it’s light that helps guide me during the toughest of times. It was the first thing I looked up to after I lost a dear friend of mine long ago. For that, I am grateful.”

“I-i… I don’t know what to say… Thank you Ember.” Luna said as she trotted to her and hugged her using one of her hooves. “That really meant a lot to me. Mostly, I thought that everypony would ignore the fact of what I’m responsible for. But now… I know otherwise.” The area around them began to shimmer as Luna looked around and then back at Ember. “Morning draws closer. I must go.”

“Okay then. Happy Hearth’s warming Luna.”

The princess smiled as she looked back at the Mancer. “You too, guardian of the Phoenix.”

Sweet Apple Acres (Next Morning)

As the morning sun rose, Ember rose along with it. The sounds of tiny hooves also rushing down the flight of stairs also woke her up also with everypony else in the household as she left the the door to her room to see Applejack and Big Mac standing in the hallway.

“Let me guess, Applebloom is downstair?”

“Eeyup.”

“Figures. Oh, and Happy Hearth’s Warming.” Ember told the two of them, greeting them with a warm hug. “Should we wait on Granny Smith or-.”

“Granny told me that we could get started if she wasn’t immediately up around the same time we were.” Applejack informed Ember of what she was told last night. “Besides, she told us that you had a gift for all of us.”

Ember chuckled. “Indeed. Let me show you.” The three of them walked downstairs to find Applebloom anxiously waiting for the chance to open her presents while wearing her traditional Apple Family scarf. She, along with her older siblings soon opened their gifts and were very thankful for the members that gave them their things. Afterwards, they turned to Ember, who was holding the box that had her gift in it. She soon opened it and presented the gem that she and Rarity crafted for them. At first, they seemed confused, but upon further inspection and seeing the images of them in there, their faces lit up with pure joy. Enough to the point where Applebloom felt sorry that they weren’t able to get a gift for Ember in time.

“I wanted to be able to show how much all of you meant to me.” Ember told them. “All of you are a blessing to have and the greatest gift I could ever ask for. Being with you right now is your gift to me and that I am thankful for.” With that, the three ponies all trotted over and hugged their Auntie. Because for her right now, she felt comfortable.

She was home.

End Chapter 8

Author's Note

A short non-crossover chapter to move things along. Short and Simple. Enjoy.

More awesome action and what-not to come later on. Right now, I'm exhausted after todays conundrums.
-Frost

9- The Wolf and the Spark

Author's Note

WARNING!! This chapter contains Cuteness. Please look away if you must. Also, it's a crossover with The Lone Spark by Fictional Fanatic since Caesar is in Ember's universe. Thanks for letting me write with you!

So... Who's excited about the Hype from E3?

9- The Wolf and the Spark

The Flames of a Phoenix- The Wolf and the Spark

Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse

Scootaloo was like most other fillies who had nothing to do on a long weekend like today. Bored out of her mind. Her Idol, Rainbow Dash, had left with Pinkie Pie earlier today to go to a griffon city called Griffonstone. It was only the day after the Grand Galloping Gala and the apparent ‘Disaster’ that Discord had accidently caused because he thought that another pony named Tree Hugger was taking his only friend away from him and a week after heart's warming and right now; she was waiting on her friends. Applebloom had probably been stuck at the farm doing chores and Sweetie Belle was probably having to deal with one of her sisters “meltdowns” that happened occasionally. The Filly sighed, climbing out of the wooden house, but found something soft on the ground as she stepped on it with her hooves.

What it was looked like some kind of plush like tail. A Blue sapphire like tail that looked like a fun toy to play with. So, being the curious soul that she was, Scootaloo began to cuddle, hug and also lightly chew at the fur. However, she soon realized that the tail wasn’t exactly plushie as she heard a voice calling to her.

“What the heck?”

Scootaloo looked up, realizing that the tail actually belonged to something. It looked like a bipedal wolf. But still, it seemed quite… friendly.

“Hello. What did you find there, little rascal?” It asked, petting Scootaloo on the head and rubbing her ears. No matter how hard it was to resist, she found the motions… comforting.

“I-i’m not a rascal! M-my name is Scootaloo?”

“Scootaloo? So you’re one of the fillies that Ember mentioned?”

“Ember? Who’s she?” The filly asked, confused. Frost sighed. He knew that this wasn’t going to get anywhere at this rate.

“Never mind, I’ll introduce her to you once at Sweet Apple Acres.” The Wolf then picked up the filly and put her on his shoulders along where his neck would be. “You better hang on.”

“Wait what-!?” were the only words the filly could say before Frost began to sprint at full speed. She was holding on for dear life as the Wolf used the trees as ways to quicken his travels. It reminded Scootaloo of the forest chase scene in Mare Wars Episode VI: Return of the Pon-I. Where Luke Skytrotter and the Princess of the destroyed planet, Stalldaron, were being chased by soldiers of the Imperial Empire called Stromtrotters. She could feel the wind flow through her mane as she flapped her wings like she was really flying. Scootaloo didn’t need her scooter for this kind of fun. The wolf was already doing that for her and she was enjoying it. She couldn’t wait to tell Rainbow Dash about all of this later.

Sweet Apple Acres

“Okay Mac, you’re doing good. Now, lets try that exercise again.”

The Pyromancer named Ember had been using the past week to help her Nephew, Big Macintosh, learn how to control his newfound elemental powers. He was what Ember would call a “Terramancer”, or one that was able to control the earth around them. With the proper training, anything from stones to boulders or even the ground the earth pony walked on could become a fatal weapon for him to use. However, the past few days have not shown much progress and the stallion was becoming a little frustrated because of it. This was shown again when he tried to lift up a small boulder with his hoof, only for it to crumble as it ascended into the air.

“Darnit!! Not again!” The Earth pony snapped, letting off a little steam by stomping his hooves into the ground.

“Easy there, Mac. Nopony told you that this would be easy. Hell, it’s been a few months for me and I’m still having trouble trying to learn how to conjure Magma.” His teacher told him, demonstrating by having a ball of Magma appear in her hands, only to disintegrate seconds later.

“Ah know. But ah really thought that ah had everything under control that time!” The Stallion replied, sighing a little. “Guess ah still got a long way to go…”

“Don’t say that. You’re doing pretty well for somepony like you. If a Mancer tries to teach a Unicorn or a Pegasus how to do it, it might interfere with their capabilities in magic. So they need to learn how to switch between their magic and their other abilities. Trust me, I know firsthand about this.”

“You do?” Big Mac asked, a little surprised.

“Yeah. About five years ago, I met a young pegasus named Swift Ace. He was raised in a family of master thieves that stole only from other thieves. When his home was destroyed and was left on his own to fend for himself, I taught him how to harness the winds around him to help him with his combat skills and mobility. For him, it took me almost a few months to help him master it. For you, you’re doing just as well as him and it’s only been two weeks.”

Big Mac didn’t even have the words to say anything. He was completely surprised by what he just heard. But also, he was completely surprised to see what was coming towards the Orchard as he heard the silly cries of one of Applebloom’s friends enjoying herself while riding the back of… a wolf? Did it come to harm them? The Stallion took a defensive stance and snorted, catching Ember’s attention as she turned around to see what he was looking at. Afterwards, she just laughed a little as Applebloom and Applejack were coming out of the barn to see how they are doing.

“What in tarnations is that!?” Applejack asked the moment she saw Frost.

“That… is my friend, Frost. He’s a Cryomancer and it seems like he’s made a friend.” Ember smiled as Frost came to a halt right in front of her.

“Good morning Ember. How are you?” The Excedian asked, noticing the ponies that were behind her. “Oh… am I interrupting anything?”

“No actually. In fact, I think it’s time to get the introductions out of the way. Frost, This is Applejack, Applebloom and Big Macintosh. Everypony, this here is Frost Shinekuya. He’s an Excedian.”

“And what the hay is that suppose to mean?” Applejack replied.

“Basically, I’m a bipedal creature with features of both an animal while being able to speak and talk to others like a normal pony would.” The Wolf explained. “Which reminds me, Scootaloo here seems to like cuddling with my tail.”

“Oh? How did she find you?”

“Turns out, I was meditating under her clubhouse.”

“Well, that explains a lot.” Ember replied back.

“Wait… Aunt Embah said you were a Mancer right?” Big Macintosh interjected. Frost’s only reply was a nod, answering the earth pony’s question. “What can you do exactly?”

“Well, I’m a conjurer of Ice. As in my name, I can form anything inside my head using my energy.” The Wolf said, pointing to his head with his left index finger. “Even if something happened, I can still fight because up here is where Mission Control is. Why do you ask?”

“Well… Ah’ve been trying to learn how to control Earth recently, but ah feel like ah haven’t been doing well.”

“You can say that again.” Frost sighed. For a moment, he thought that the Wolf was taunting him. However, he was surprised to hear what came next. “You have closed gates along your lifestream.”

“Mah what?”

Ember sighed. “The Lifestream is what you rely on in order for you to control your powers and exists along your nervous system inside your body. The gates that Frost mentioned are referring to important parts along the neural network where the most amount of energy flows through. Mostly being where the joints connect with your forelegs. But that makes me wonder… how can you tell that Mac’s Lifestream was blocked?”

“My eyes can see sources of Life force energy.” Frost commented. “Now, why don’t we unlock those closed gates and see what happens.”

Big Macintosh gulped. “This isn’t going to hurt now, is it?”

“For a little. Just stand still and suck it up.”

“Wait wha-?” Before Mac could say anything else, Frost placed his energy on his fingertips and jabbed his shoulders and the back of his kneecaps along with his forehead. The pain was brief, but afterwards, the stallion felt something… New. The energy he felt before when trying to bend the earth was now flowing through him like the morning breeze. he even felt like he could split a mountain in half if he wanted to.

“There we go. That should clear things up… Now Mac?”

“Yes?”

“Try controlling the earth now that your energy has been unlocked.” Frost instructed him. The Earth Pony complied, doing as he was told and stunning everypony when a simple stomp of his hoof caused stone spikes to emerge from the ground below him.

“Congratulations. Your powers seems to be working well. Now you just need to practice them.” The Excedian told him, clapping his hands. “Now, that’s one thing that’s taken care of.”

“One thing?” Ember asked, confused by the wolf’s comment.

“I’ve been feeling a weird energy surge in the forest that’s nearby Ponyville. Personally, I would go myself, but I was thinking of sticking around and helping out your nephew.”

“Well, I don’t have that much to do anyways.” Ember shrugged her shoulders. “Go easy on him though, alright?” Frost nodded, letting the Pyromancer leave the orchard as he prepared his training with Big Macintosh.

Fluttershy’s Cottage

Discord had a lot on his mind recently. Especially after having to make amends at the grand galloping gala and apologize to Tree Hugger for the way he was acting. Now though, he was trying to help out around the cottage while Fluttershy was with Rarity for a spa day at the Lotus Twins Spa in Ponyville. He was just finished with sweeping the porch by the time that he noticed a familiar face approach the cottage. Looking up, the avatar of chaos saw Ember walking towards him.

“Hello, Dissy.”

“Hello to you too Ember.” Discord replied with a bit of cheer in his voice. “How have you been recently? I didn’t see you attend the Grand Galloping Gala last night.”

“I felt like Applejack should spend time with her friends and not have somepony like her aunt appear to be watching over her.” She replied. “Which reminds me… Remember when you asked me that question a week ago?”

Discord gulped. He personally wanted to avoid this conversation. “Yes?”

“And remember the advice I gave you and you just said that you needed a wingman? How did that work out for you?”

“…… Not as well as I intended.” Discord shamefully admitted to the Mancer. “You were right you know. Fluttershy was telling me the same thing you told me on the train ride back to the cottage.”

“I have been living for over a thousand years, Discord. Maybe next time you should take my advice?” Ember insisted, folding her arms and nudging the Draconequus in the chest with her elbow, tickling him a little. The Spirit chuckled a little, trying to keep himself together. “Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I’ve been feeling something strange inside the forest that I need to investigate.”

“The Forest you say?” Discord asked. “And what kind of strange?”

“Like that surge you feel when you get shocked by lightning.” Ember replied. “I felt it go off a few times earlier today and it’s been driving my senses nuts.”

“Well, maybe you should go see Zecora. She’s a zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest and makes potions from the herbs that she finds.”

“You mean she’s an Alchemist?” Ember wondered.

“Many have called her that, but she doesn’t see herself as one. More of a shaman if you ask her. Oh and one other thing, she’s a bit of a poet with her speech so expect her to rhyme… quite often.”

“Okay, thanks for the tips. I’ll see you later!” Ember soon was on her own, using a small glowing ball of flame as a source of light as she made her way through the bushes and branches. The animals around her did not try to run or harm her, but instead greeted her warmly. For being one that had life force meant that you were attuned with nature and all the beings that called nature their home. Your force demonstrated your physical strength and how well you were. However, things like sickness and both physical and emotional trauma can cause it to alter and become distorted. That was the feeling that Ember was getting the more she moved inward.

When the Mancer came across a portion of the forest where sunlight was peeking through the dense ceiling of leaves, Ember dismissed her flame and looked around. She focused on attuning her hearing to any sounds that seemed… unordinary. One thing that stood out was a clinking sound. A sound commonly made for when you wore a multitude of metal rings along one another like a tribal priest. That along with the sound of hooves making contact with the ground made Ember think that this could be the Zecora that Discord had previously mentioned. However, it could be just as much a traveler with a saddlebag full of equipment and trinkets. So, the Mancer had to let the being come to her instead of going to it. Patiently, she sat down and waited.

Then, the moment arrived where the figure arrived. It indeed was a Zebra and the clinks were from her golden tribal accessories that were across her body. For a zebra, she had a lot of stripes and was also quite surprised to see that she had a mohawk like mane. “Oh my. I never thought another creature like yourself would be nearby.”

Another… creature? What the hell did she mean? She ignored that thought and instead decided to make sure that this truly was the one Discord had told her about.

“You must be Zecora, am I right?” She asked. “I was told that you lived here in these woods.”

“Indeed, I do. Though, who are you?” came the Zebra’s next question in the fashion of a rhyme.

“My name is Ember. I’m a Mancer and one that can control fire. I wonder though, what do you mean by another creature?” She asked, cautious by the words she chose. Zecora sighed a little to herself before clearing her throat. This was going to be hard to explain to her with the current circumstance.

“I found one, younger than you and with a strong will. However, right now, he grows quite ill.” The Zebra spoke. “The child has come down with a fever. If I don’t hurry, it might be too late for Caesar.”

Caesar? That must’ve been the boy’s name. “Let me help you then. Where is he?”

“He is laying down back at my home. I fear his condition has only worsened since I have left him alone.” The Zebra then ushered Ember to hurry and follow her. When the Mancer arrived at the shaman’s hut, Zecora quickly opened the door. What she found though caught her off guard. The boy laying down in the back of the makeshift home had the ears and tail of a Pikachu. She could even see the electricity short circuiting from his cheeks every time he coughed.

Quickly, she went over and placed a hand on his forehead. “Dear ancients, he’s burning up.” She gently placed her other hand on other parts of the young boys body. Mostly the stomach and upper chest. Unlike the forehead, those areas felt Ice Cold. Ember was beginning to worry the young boy now. “He’s got a bad cold. We need to treat him quickly before his immune system shuts down.”

“I will hurry and brew something as fast as I can. Please help me so he can be well again.” Ember nodded, applying a small amount of heat to the areas that were previously cold. After five minutes, Zecora had a small mixture inside a wooden bowl and handed it over to her. “Be careful, this might taste bitter, but I have faith in the youngling; he isn’t a quitter.”

Slowly, Ember had the liquid go down the throat of the young boy. At first, the medicine didn’t show any signs of it working, but then the boy’s eyes began to slowly open. A sign that he was feeling alive and well.

“Wha- W-where am I?” Caesar asked as he began to wake up from his fever induced sleep.

“Calm down, kid.” Ember hushed, trying to ease the startled boy. “You were having a severe fever, so Zecora and I brought you in here to help cure you.” She waited a few moments for the boy to take in his surroundings before speaking again. “My name is Ember. You must be Caesar, right?”

Caesar nodded. “Yeah. So you found me? Will I be able to see my mom soon?” Caesar asked.

Ember looked at him, with a surprised expression. “Umm… Caesar…… do you have any idea where you are?”

“I say. Is he okay?”

Zecora’s words soon caught the boy’s attention and startled him. Caesar now a bit more aware of his surroundings now saw Zecora. Not expecting to see a Zebra he almost jumped out of the bed.

“W-what?” He asked, unable to fully comprehend the talking Zebra even though it wasn’t the weirdest thing to happen to him the past days.

Ember sighed. “Caesar… If you think you are on earth, then you’re WAY off. You got Displaced like me and now on a world called Equus.”

“Equus? But… what do you mean not on Earth? How can I not be on Earth?” The young boy asked with panic creeping into his voice.

Ember took a moment to think it through, then responded. “Because back home, you wouldn’t have the abilities of a Pikachu and I wouldn’t be able to do this.” Opening her hand, she created a small bird of fire and let it drift towards Caesar.

He swiftly responded by fainting on the spot from the combination of the information and his still raging fever. Before he hit the ground, Ember caught him and set him down on the floor. “This… might take a while.”

After an hour or so later, Caesar once again awoke. Remembering what happened before he blacked out and the truth of his situation revealed to him he began to cry. However, as he was trying to act grown up he turned away trying to conceal his tears and trying to muffle his cries as he tried to accept the situation.

“You okay?” Ember said, sitting down by his side, trying to comfort him. Caesar first tensed up as she sat down next to him, but did nothing to prevent her from sitting next to him. It took him a while to respond. But once he finally did he had almost stopped crying. Wiping the last of his tears he turned towards Ember and nodded. Not entirely trusting his voice at the moment.

“It’s okay. When I was first here, I was a little scared too. But then… I was able to adjust to everything around me. I can help you if you need me too.”

“I-I’d like that. Thank you Miss Ember. And you to Zecora.” Caesar said as he thanked them both for caring for him.

“It’s nothing really. Being as old as I am, I have seen a lot of things, but nothing quite like you. You are unique, that’s for sure. Wait til you meet Applebloom.”

Caesar was about to ask Ember how old she was, but remembered something about how it was rude to ask a lady her age or something like that. He had heard it from his mother at some social gathering. Instead he chose another question.

“Um… Zecora. if you don’t mind me asking… What are you?” He asked. Unsure if he offended her. “And… who is Applebloom?” He asked Ember, his quriosity showing through his ears that were now standing on end.

“I am a Zebra, Caesar. My next question though is for Ember. Though it may seem silly, how exactly do you know the filly?”

Before Ember could answer that question, the three of them soon heard a song like tune as the sound of hooves came closer. Soon though, the exact pony they were talking about. “Howdy, Zecora! Oh hi there, Aunt Embah. Didn’t expect to see ya.”

Caesar instantly noticed that Applebloom was far smaller in size then Zecora, and that she didn’t look much like a Zebra, or at least didn’t have the same resemblance as Zecora had to the ones he was familiar with. However, the sudden encounter was still something he was unable to process as his fever had yet to fully calm down.

“Um…” Was just about the best response he could manage.

“Oh my… Who’s this little Fella?” The filly asked, trotting towards him.

“Easy there, Applebloom. Caesar here is still recovering from a bad cold. Not only that, but he’s a bit…… Timid.”

“Oh… You mean like Fluttershy?”

Ember nodded her head. “Caesar, this is Applebloom. She is the youngest of two nieces that I’m keeping an eye on.”

Caesar looked at Ember with a confused look. “Niece? But you’re a human, and she’s a…” Caesar trailed off realizing he didn’t really know what Applebloom was exactly, his closest guess would be pony, considering her size. but the resemblance between her and Zecora who was a zebra made him hesitate as he was unsure how many other races could be similar Also, ponies usually didn’t come in red and yellow colors. But then again, zebras didn’t usually talk. So Caesar was at a loss.

“It’s a bit complex to explain, sugarcube.” Applebloom said. “She helped out one of our relatives and they wanted to repay her for everything she did, so he completed a few legal documents that allowed her to be part of the family now. Yeah, basically adult stuff.”

“You mean like an adoption or somethin?” Caesar asked, curious about Embers age once more.

“Sort of.” Ember said, smiling a little, watching both Caesar and Applebloom. Then, it hit her. Caesar had nowhere else to go and was all on his own. He needed friends, family, people to support him, people that can help him stay strong. That’s when she sighed.

“Applebloom, can I ask you something?”

The young earth pony turned around, puzzled a bit. “Yes Aunt Embah, what is it?”

Ember paused for a bit… Wanting to think the next words through carefully. She thought that the filly was around ten years old in age. Caesar looked about nine or so. Who knows? But the Mancer sighed. “Caesar was taken from his home and brought here against his will… So, I want to offer him a place to stay, but that also means I need to ask you something… Do you think you responsible enough……… to have a little brother?”

Caesar was surprised at Embers suggestion. He wasn’t sure if he liked the idea or not. He had just woken up, found out he was no longer on Earth and wouldn’t be able to see his parents.

“Can I think about this?” Caesar asked her.

Ember nodded her head, but was soon swamped when Applebloom caught Caesar in a diving hug, snuggling him a little. “Of course!!!”

As the hug caught Caesar by surprise, he was not to blame for the shock that Applebloom received when his cheeks sparked with electrical energy.

“Ahhahaha!! That Tickles!!” She laughed, not realizing that the tickling sensation was actually lightning. Or the fact that her fur was standing on end as well as her mane.

“Sorry, you caught me by surprise… Um… I hope your ha- I mean mane won’t stay like that, it looks a little weird…” Caesar said as Applebloom reminded him of the crazy scientist look.

“What do mean it looks weird?”

“Well… It kinda went... poof?” Caesar said, trying to empathize his point by gesturing with his hands.

“Yes indeed, you mane is in mane product need.” Zecora confirmed.

Applebloom blinked a little, looking at herself in the mirror. “Aww man!! I didn’t get the cutie mark for being SO FLUFFY!!!”

“Cutie mark?” Caesar asked, confused by her statement.

“It’s a mark that represents a pony’s special talents.”

“Mark… like a tattoo? Mom always said they were a bad thing and that I should never get one.” Caesar said. Not sure why someone as young as Applebloom was so eager to get one. As far as he knew they were only painful to get and didn’t look good anyway.

“No… Not like that… It’s something having to do with magic.” Ember tried to help, but was a bit puzzled as well. “It’s complicated.”

“I see… I guess there is someone else who could explain it better then?” Caesar asked.

“Maybe Twilight can help!” Applebloom cheerfully replied.

“Careful Applebloom…… she might have a lot on her plate given that she’s an Alicorn Princess.” Ember reminded her, making sure that her niece wasn’t being hasty. “Tell you what, let’s take Caesar back to Sweet Apple Acres and work our way from there.”

“Am I really good enough to be moving around yet?” Caesar asked, turning towards Zecora.

“I see no bad alignments as of yet, but I wouldn’t take such a bet. Drink some tea and rest my dear, or it might get worse I fear.” Zecora replied.

“Okay, then why don’t we let him rest here until he can walk and then we’ll come back to get him?” Ember suggested. “Would that be good with you, Zecora?”

Zecora nodded in responce and went over to bring Caesar some tea.

“I guess I’ll be staying for a little while longer, sorry.” Caesar said apologetically.

“Yah don’t need tah be sorry! Don’t wantcha to be sick when you meet the family!” Applebloom squeed.

“Actually, speaking about resting… I really should have thought of this sooner.” Caesar said as he once again laid down. “Rest” he said as he suddenly closed his eyes and he began breathing calm breaths just like he was asleep.

“Well, I guess my tea he did not take, for his sleep could not let him stay awake.” Zecora said as she returned with a few cups of tea, offering it to both Ember and Applebloom.

“Indeed… At least he isn’t alone anymore.” Ember smiled, raising a cup. “To Caesar?”

“To brother!” Applebloom exclaimed, giggling to herself before sipping her tea.

End Chapter 9

10- Renegade

Author's Note

HEADS UP!! This chapter contains content from ElementBrigade's former story, The Renegades of Equestria. Otherwise, enjoy!

10- Renegade

The Flames of a Phoenix- Renegade

Next Morning

Like most mornings, Ember was an early riser. Unlike the last few times though, everypony else she knew though was just asleep. Big Mac and Frost both tired themselves out with the amount of training that they were doing and were asleep in the barn, Applebloom was having a Sleepover at the Carousel Boutique and Caesar was still in recovery back at Zecora’s hut. She wanted to just watch the sunrise that morning, but life had other plans for her as she felt a familiar tug that the Pyromancer had felt two times already. Ember looked at the Grandfather clock in the Kitchen as it read 4:30am on the dot.

“Pfft. Should be simple enough. I’ll be back in time for when I introduce Caesar to everypony else.”

With that, Ember disappeared with a quick flicker of fire, leaving nothing behind except for ashes and cinders.

Meanwhile…

The Renegades. That’s what they called themselves. Four friends who ended up in Equestria and decided to live by their own set of rules. Especially since how they got there was almost like what happened when you reach 88 miles per hour in Back to the Future. On their journey, they made some friends along the way. Including a Shifter named Kat and a robotic filly that went by the name “SweetieBot”. They had been on the run for the past couple of days after a simple misunderstanding went completely south and now, they were seen as Fugitives just because they fought back against the Royal guards that tried to wrongfully imprison them.

“Tch, I can’t believe we’re labeled criminals just because we defended ourselves from Sunbutt.” Said the Gravity shifter named Kat, as she levitated the car that her and a few other friends that she was with into the air. “I mean really? You expect us to just surrender and go to jail?”

“Well, you did crush Celestia with your gravity powers.” SweetieBot replied. “That’s pretty much frowned upon in Equestria.”

“Don’t forget hitting Blueblood with the car.”

“Shut up, Mike.”

“That’s Dusty to you sis, and you pretty much made things worse for us.” The cat meowed back, rolling his starry eyes.

“Look whatever, let’s just get in the car and leave this place so we can.” Before Daidouji was able to finish speaking, something peculiar had landed on the windshield. It looked like a burning feather and the looks of it caught the attention of the starry feline.

“Hey guys, any idea what this looks like?”

“It looks like a feather.” Said Kumatora. “A very pretty feather if I do say so myself. Hey Dusty, can you get that and bring it over here so I can take a closer look?”

“Give me a second.” He said as he levitated the feather from outside, into the car. “Think it belongs to a bird?”

“I don’t know. I mean, what bird looks like a burning fire?” Daidouji asked. However, something else was beginning to happen as Dusty’s nose began to twitch. “Uh oh…”

“Ah… ah… CHOO!!!”

“Eww!! Not on my clothes!!” Daidouji complained. “Don’t you have any manners at all, stupid cat!?!”

“Uhh… I don’t think that should be our major concern.” Came the reply from the Filly robot in the back seat as the feather began to go up in a spiral of fire. As the shifter was about to get on the Starry Cat’s case for causing the feather to disappear, something else crashed on the hood of the car, causing the airbags to deploy and smack Kat and Kumatora in the face.

“DAMN IT!!! Now I need to call my State Farm Agent!!!”

“I don’t think that works here-.”

“SCREW THE RULES, I HAVE SUPERPOWERS DAMMIT!!!”

“Um not to get off topic or anything, but I think someone or something hit us?”

“No Sh*t!!” Dusty cursed. That was… Until he realized something. “Hey, who’s the chick on the hood of the car?”

“Don’t know, don’t care. What I do know is that she better have money on her to pay for the damage she caused to my sweet ride.”

“You mean the car that bought from you uncle for $25?” Asked Kumatora.

Around now though was when the smoke began to clear up and the new arrival can see all of them. It was another girl with a long red scarf, Grey t-shirt and jeans with sandals. But also, this was when they saw the extent of the damage of the car. Where the complete front end of it was totaled and machine parts were scattered everywhere. She looked up, now seeing the group of renegades. “So… which one of you summoned me and what the hell is going on?”

“Oh nice going Dusty. You summoned a Displaced by accident, not only that but she totaled our ride.” Kat snarled at Dusty, personally ticked at the cat.

“Excuse you?” Ember retorted, personally confused on what was happening.

“What? Never heard of a car before lady?”

“I have. But for being immortal, I haven’t seen one in over one thousand years. Which reminds me, does anyone smell… burning oil?”

“Uh oh.” Daidouji stated. “EVERYONE OUT OF THE CAR NOW!”

Ember herself dashed off of the vehicle in a burst of ash as she reformed next to where Sweetie Bot was and was soon followed by Dusty. Kumatora, Daidouji, and Kat also got away just in time as the automobile exploded, becoming nothing more that burnt metal and car parts. One of the doors from the car even flew open and landed by Daidouji, which Kumatora snickered and told her that she won “The Door Prize”.

“MY CAR! I ONLY HAD ONE MORE PAYMENT ON THAT!” Yelled Kat, as she focus her attention towards the Displaced Human. “YOU! You better have money or something to repair or replace our ride.”

“Uhh… I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I see anything close to a repair shop around here. Which makes me wonder, can’t you just use your powers to just fly over somewhere or something? You do look like that one chick from Gravity Rush.” Ember did not play a lot of games when she was back home on Earth, but she did see a LOT of gameplay videos and watched her classmates play different games. So she did kind of recognized who Kat was based off of. As for Daidouji, all she saw her to be was a Genderbent Jotaro Kujo.

“Okay one I prefer not to waste energy on doing something like, especially when Sunbutt is after us. Two, that car was the only mean of transportation without us having to spend money on a train ride. Which I might add would of gotten us in trouble with the royal guards.”

“We’re kind of already in trouble-.”

“SHUT UP, DUSTY!!!”

All Ember did was sigh. “Okay, what did you do to get on Tia’s bad side?”

“We ran over Prince Blueblood, beat the living hell out of the Elements of harmony along with stealing them so we wouldn’t be turn to stone. Froze, burn, and/or shocked a few royal guards, and freed Sweetie Bot from her stone imprisonment in the Castle of the royal sisters.” Said Kumatora.

“Well crap, you definitely had to piss her off.” Ember sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Understatement of the f***ing millennium lady, now are you paying, fixing, or repairing the damage you caused to my car?” Asked Kat who was tapping her foot in anger.

“You do realize that I have no bits on me and just some other Displaced’s tokens right?”

“I don’t care if you were hobo, either you’re gonna pay for this or else.” Kat snarled as Ember facepalmed herself.

“And just when I thought that Applejack’s temper during the harvest was bad enough-.”

“Stasis Field.” Kat said as she caught Ember in her field of gravity. Ember’s first reaction to this with the floating debris around her was to use the biggest piece of metal as a launch pad. What Kat had in powers, she had in experience and also speed. With a simple push, she accelerated forward and behind the Shifter, striking her with a burning Roundhouse Kick.

“If that’s all you got, then I’m disappointed.” Ember retorted, spitting at the ground by her own feet.

“In case you haven’t notice you’re dealing with a gravity user remember? Which means I can DO THIS!” Kat’s body turn red as she forced Ember onto the ground. Slamming her down though did something the Shifter never expected. Where the Mancer turned into flames that moved with the wind as she reappeared behind her and grabbed her face.

“I am more than a fire user. I am fire itself. These flames are the flames of a phoenix and can not be dispersed so easily. You seem to only have your powers for a few days. I’ve have over a few generations to master mine. Your arrogance affects your judgement.” When she finished, Ember threw her forward, having Kat land into Dusty.

“......Dusty.”

“Yes sis?”

“Mind making a gravitaional field for the rest of the team?”

“Can’t we just talk this out?”

“..........”

“Fine, I always hate it when you get like this.” Dusty levitated next to Kumatora, Daidouji, and Sweetie Bot and created a field of gravity around them.

“Now then.” Kat cracks her neck then her knuckles. “Let’s see how good you are.”

Ember sighed. “A fool’s mistake is to get their friends involved when they rather stay OUT of the conflict that YOU started. Maybe you should actually listen to your Feline Friend. He actually looks a lot smarter than you when it comes to decision making.”

“The only time I’ll listen to my brother is when sh*t hits the fan, other than that I tend to see how things turn out.” Kat started to stretch her leg muscles. “Plus after what we did to Celestia’s royal guards, and being on the road for the past few days. I’m pretty much bored and I need something to do, and you pretty much-.”

She wasn’t able to finish her sentence when a stretched out arm of fire grabbed her and threw her down against the ground, making her lose her concentration on the gravity field. Next up, The Pyromancer focused on the other two as Kumatora tried to hit her with PK fire. But as in the saying goes, all the PSI youth did was add fuel to the fire as Ember caught her flame and threw it back at her. Lastly, there was Daidouji as she tried to attack with a flurry of punches and kicks. Ember stayed on her feet and used her speed to dodge her attacks and get behind her. Using her reflexes, she used her leg to grab her from behind and throw her down.

Now she turned towards Dusty. “So… now that the unnecessary fight is over, mind if we talk about this like normal people?”

“Normally I would say yes, but something tells me that my sister says otherwise.” Dusty said as he pointed to his sister smashing a green crystal in her hand along with her friends. “Little bit of advice, this is just like a ff13 battle system…..somewhat.”

“Hey Dusty, you can use your powers to hold them down right? Like how she tried to do it to me earlier?”

“I’m a NPC that only gives out advice. Sorry lady.”

“Says the fact that you’re with a group that says “Screw The Rules” as their slogan.”

“Well it’s better than the last slogan we had.”

“Let me take a guess.” Ember said, folding her arms. “Renegades for life?”

“No, but that would be a good slogan. Our last slogan was F**k you that’s how.”

“And now they’re starting to mess with the wrong Mancer. I basically formed the badlands when my rage erupted back home. But now, I’m part of the Apple Family. You guys met Applejack?”

“Just be grateful I didn’t activate the battle stage. Oh and yes we… met her.”

“She’s my niece back where I’m from. Also, mind if I let you on a little secret? I’ve only been using like fifteen percent of my total strength.” Ember whispered the last part. “Oh and I met Mr. Popo.”

“Cheeky little minx. That would explain why you’re at lvl 100 in this world.”

“Not to mention that I can basically cause Magma to surge from under their feet if I wanted too.” Ember sighed, snapping a finger and having a spout of Magma surge from under Daidouji’s feet.

“Elemental rings, a gift that Spike gave them that nullifies any to all types of elemental magic.” Dusty replied.

“Who said I was using magic?” Ember told her

“IT BURNS!!!!!!”

“You can’t die Daidouji. Remember? Battle stage have been activated the moment she did that.”

“Oh… still, it burns.”

“Big boobed idiot. I’m surprise she haven’t killed or knocked any guy out with those.”

“Sexist.” Ember shot back at Dusty. “Besides, consider this like a training exercise or a Tutorial stage because I’m not planning on killing anyone.”

“Battle stage is set up like a double edge sword.” The Starry Feline told Ember as she looked at the party in front of her. “Both sides are evenly match depending on what level the person is and the conditions of the battle location. Right now, it just one of those tutorial stages seeing how you’re level 100 and these three are only level 10.”

“Right… So what exactly am I teaching them?” The Fire Mancer asked the cat. “Team coordination or working together as a group?”

“No, it’s pretty much item using and accessory boosts. We did the whole team coordination with the Elements of Harmony.”

“Hmm… Should I do something that almost kills them, but teaches them how to use healing items? If so, I got just the thing that I kind of picked up when I met the Ginyu Force.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. See the speech bubble above them?” Ember looked and nodded her head, only seeing it partially. “That pretty much will explain to them how to use items in battle.”

Then, one second later, the bubble disappeared and Ember used it as her cue to blast them with a burst of Flames. “Wildfire” was the name of the attack, but it significantly reduced their health down to size in a raging inferno. “Did that work?”

Dusty looked at his friends as Kat pulled out a green crystal and smashed it onto the ground. Engulfing the three in a mist a green energy. The mist vanished as the three fighters rose back to their feet, with all their wounds healed. “Does that answer your question?”

“Yeah, it does. Now, isn’t this a two part tutorial?” Ember asked. “You did say that the other half of the tutorial was focused on accesories or whatever the hell the second part was.”

“They can equip or switch between whatever gear they have, it’ll help when dealing with those that use elemental, magic, or physical attack. Not only that, but sometimes an item may allow them to use a spell or two.”

“Like in the Golden Sun games with Djinn?” Ember asked. She remembered finishing Golden Sun: Dark Dawn and how she could use Different kinds of Djinn to perform special abilities and summon various creatures.

“Something like that yes, but that’s with the tokens they have. Let’s just hope they don’t summon Guardian or you’ll be K.O. in one hit.”

“Yeah… Something tells me that they might now listen to you.”

“Maybe, but then again Kat is hard headed at times. Not to mention you wrecked her car so I think she won’t be listening to either of us.”

“Technically, one of you did summon me so you know the location of where you do it determines where the Displaced will land.”

“Yet you couldn’t move out of the way or turn to flames when you were being summoned?”

“One, I was walking through a bright portal and I couldn’t see a damn thing. Two, the moment I could see, I was already on top of the car. and three-.” Before Ember could say three, Kat could be seen channeling a LOT of power around her. “-Is that what you were talking about?”

“No, but I think she figure out how to make a micro black hole.”

“You mean mini?”

“No micro. If she made a mini black hole, then you wouldn’t be here and be sent to lord knows where…… that or kill you just like that manticore they fought when they found Sweetie Bot.”

“Noted. So I’m guessing were almost done?”

“Yeah pretty much.” Dusty told her. “I’m going to turn off the battle system now that we finished with the tutorial.”

“Fine by me. I think I might need to go soon, but I do have a good suggestion for you dealing with the car trouble.” Ember told the cat while the other three girls were walking towards her. “Have you heard of Discord?”

“Don’t you mean Eris? Goddess of Chaos and Discord?”

“Something along those lines.” Ember said. “The point being that since she is a Draconequus and uses Chaos Magic, there’s no limits to what she can do. So basically, if you get on her good side, she can conjure a new car for you guys. Maybe a Porsche if you’re lucky.”

“Kinda hard to get in contact with her when she pretty much trying to keep under the radar from Celestia.”

“Hmm… Then why don’t you try to go to a place where only she would know about. Like the castle of the twin sisters in the Everfree forest?”

“We just came from the Everfree.”

“Huh… If that’s the case, then try going north to Vanhoover or the Crystal Empire. Somewhere where the weather might play a crucial factor to her search efforts.” Ember said, seeing that Dusty was once again holding her summoning token. “Oh and do you guys happen to have a summoning token on you?”

“Yeah we do.” Dusty levitated three tokens. One was a purple crystal, a Mr. Saturn that didn’t seem to be alive to what Ember could tell, and a bento box. “Here you go.”

“Thanks. Oh and please stay safe. All of you seriously got guts to be making Celestia mad. I just hope you three don’t get sent to the sun for your actions.” With that, Ember disappeared in another pillar of fire, leaving behind a burnt patch of ground as she returned to her own world and back to the apple farm that she called home. That’s was when though… Kat could be heard yelling in response to the last statement

“WAIT, WE CAN GET BANISHED TO THE SUN!?! HOW THE HELL IS THAT POSSIBLE?!!”

End Chapter 10

11- Stay Strong

The Flames of a Phoenix- Stay strong

Zecora’s Hut (Caesar)

Ember had just returned again from meeting another Displaced and now, she was heading towards the hut of Zecora; the Zebra that lived in the Everfree Forest, to check on Caesar.

As she neared Zecora’s hut however, she noticed that both Zecora and Caesar were out and about in the small clearing around the hut. Zecora was standing close to the hut itself, while Caesar was running about doing some kind of spinning motion. But it didn’t look like he was simply fooling around as he had a serious face on and seemed frustrated about something. Presumably something to do with all the spinning.

“You okay there, Caesar?”

Caesar stopped and turned around to face Ember. As he realized it was her, he smiled.

“Yeah, just a bit excited. I managed to do ‘Defense curl’ in my sleep! So I was trying to do it again and see if I could learn it properly and maybe learn some other transfer-only moves.” He said happily. But right after saying that he suddenly sat down on the ground.

“Heh, guess I got to work on it some more, getting really dizzy…” He said, trying to keep the world around him from spinning.

While Caesar was recovering, Zecora came up to Ember to greet her.

“Good day Ember, You have come for Caesar as I remember. Caesar is so much better today, I don’t think he has any reason to stay.” Zecora said looking back at Caesar as he was getting back up.

“All this talk about his ‘moves’, at first I thought they were just a ruse. But alas I was wrong, this boy is quite strong.” Zecora said with a small smile.

“I can tell.” Ember smiled happily. “You look like you’re getting the hang of your abilities.”

“Yeah. I discovered early on that I can use any moves a Pikachu can learn. But it seems that the transfer-only moves are a bit more tricky. But I guess that makes sense, some of the moves don’t really fit a Pikachu. But I would still love to learn them… if it’s possible that is.” Caesar explained with a somewhat dreamy expression.

“Right… I’m starting to think that you don’t want to see Applebloom and the rest of your new family, do you?” Ember asked, folding her arms for a brief moment as her words caught Caesar’s attention. It made his ears twitch and his cheeks spark a little. “Applebloom is excited to show her new little brother to the rest of her siblings.”

“Oh, no. Of course I do! I was just so excited to learn about transfer only moves that I… forgot. Sorry.” Caesar said looking a bit embarrassed about having done so.

“It’s alright, little guy. You’ll have enough time to learn your moves afterwards, I promise.” Ember chuckled, offering the pikachu boy a place on her back to crawl on. “Ready to go?”

Caesar smiled and nodded once before jumping up onto her back before turning around while still holding onto Ember with one hand and waved towards Zecora.

“Goodbye Zecora. Thanks for taking care of me.” He said waving goodbye with his free hand.

“Bye Zecora. Thank you so much all of your help!”

“I guess there’s no reason being late, the time spent with you has been great.” Zecora responded while waving her own hoof at them until they were out of sight.

“So… um… how is Applebloom’s family? I mean, I’ve met Applebloom, but I don’t really know anything about her family…” Caesar asked, breaking the silence that had been since they left Zecora’s.

“You mean what are they like?” Ember asked. “Well, she has two older siblings. A sister and a brother and besides me, she also has a grandmother.”

Caesar nodded. “Yes, I think it would be good to know a little about them before I meet them, but I also think I should know more about… ponies in general. I mean, the only one I’ve met is Applebloom and she is only about my age. And I really don’t want to do something inappropriate or embarrassing only because I don’t understand something.” Caesar explained.

“Well, it’s kind of complicated if you ask me. But let me try to help,” Ember said, her flames taking the form of three kinds of ponies. “Applebloom herself is an earth pony. A pony that is one with the land. Therefore, they have a lot of talents that involve hard work and strength. There are only two other normal kinds of ponies. Unicorns that have horns and can control Magic and Pegasi that have a pair of wings and can control the weather in the sky.”

“Wait, magic?” Caesar asked, his eyes going wide.

“Yeah. Like mine, but different.” Ember said, pointing out her flames. “Think like when an Alakazam picks something up with Telekinesis or when Mewtwo teleports.”

“Oh, I think I get it… is it very specific in what it can do, like pokémon moves or can it do a lot of different stuff beyond what you mentioned?” Caesar asked, thinking about the possibilities involving magic.

“Yeah, but it varies depending on who uses it and how much power they have. Unicorns and Alicorns, a species of ponies only found in royalty, can control magic, but it is limited by certain guidelines. Like you can only use certain moves out of combat for you like Flash or Strength. However, another species called Draconequus though, that’s a whole different story.”

Caesar rubbed the side of his head. “That is quite a lot to think about… but… isn’t it unfair?”

“Well, it really focuses on you and your strengths. Draconequus like Discord though,” Ember said, showing a fiery projection of the Spirit, “-are masters of Chaos Magic. Almost like a legendary Pokemon. They can learn any move and master it with ease depending on the guidelines they follow.”

“Reminds me of a move that allows a pokémon to learn a move it observes permanently, don’t remember what it’s called though… But I was more hinting towards the fact that Unicorns and… Alicorns you said? - well, while they get to use magic, pegasi are limited to flying and earth ponies have a connection to nature? Isn’t that like… far less possibilities for them?” Caesar asked while looking at Ember with a frown.

“Honestly, it depends on that ponies talent. There Cutie Mark on their flank that they earn tells a Pony what they’re skilled at and how they could help others. As for the Pegasi, they can control the weather and are responsible for the rainy seasons in Equestria while Earth Ponies are the only ones capable of growing food.” Ember finished for a moment… before speaking again. “It’s like a cycle. Are you familiar with the Pokemon of Alpha, Omega and Delta?”

“You mean the ruby, sapphire and emerald remakes that came out on Nintendo 3DS?”

“Yeah. Groudon represents the Land. Kyogre represents the Sea and Rayquaza represents the sky. Now… think about that and then think about this. Earth Ponies represent the Land, Unicorns represent the magic that flows through this land like the waves of the sea and the Pegasi represent the weather and the sky. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, I think I understand… wait a sec,” Caesar suddenly began to search for something in his pocket and quickly got a 3DS XL out. It was black and had a golden motif of a Pikachu on it. He quickly opened it up and began writing everything Ember told him on virtual notes with the little stylus that came with the small handheld gaming device. “There, now I won’t forget and… what? how come it’s charging?” Caesar asked, completely baffled and glad at the same time that he wouldn’t have to worry about charging his gaming device. Not noticing that his cheeks were buzzing slightly with electricity.

“Seems like your cheeks react to electrical devices. Since Pikachu’s are electric types.”

Caesar quickly put a hand to his cheek and felt that they truly were reacting to something. Looking down to the device in his hand he frowned.

“That doesn’t make much sense… I mean, you can’t just carelessly charge something by using a random power source, you have to take into account the stuff like watt, ohm and things like that. Otherwise it could break!” As soon as he said that Caesar seemed to realize exactly what he said and immediately let go of the DS, afraid of breaking it. The DS fell to the ground which fortunately consisted of soft dirt. Looking at the DS Caesar saw that the small light indicating that the device was charging had turned off and that his cheeks had stopped reacting him holding the DS.

“I… I guess I’ll have to be careful with it. Think they possibly have regular DS chargers for sale somewhere around here?” Caesar asked, already suspecting the answer to be no.

“Yeah. You kind of are a human light socket.”

At that Caesar suddenly grew sad and and his eyes began to fill with tears.

“Y-you mean I won’t be able to play on my DS, ever?” Caesar asked with a trembling voice.

“I never said that. What I was trying to tell you is that over time, if you control your powers, then you can play your DS without damaging it.”

With hope returning, Caesar sighed and jumped of Ember’s back to pick up his DS and quickly shoved it into his pocket. Looking around some Caesar tried to judge the distance they had already traveled during their conversation.

“How far is it until we’re there? Maybe I could walk rest of the way? I don’t want to be an inconvenience…” Caesar said, realizing he should probably have said something about that earlier.

“Actually,” Ember replied as the two of them soon reached a clearing. “We’re here.”

“Oh.” Caesar simply replied as he took in the sights of Sweet Apple Acres. Everything from the Massive trees to the bright red barn. Outside the barn, Caesar could see a huge red stallion and a orange mare. Both of them earth ponies. Then, Applebloom came out, turning around to see both him and Ember, filled with Joy and Glee.

“Oh. Hi Applebloom nice to-” was all Caesar managed to say before Applebloom tackled him with a hug, making him fall over from the sudden “tackle”.

“Looks like somepony’s excited to see you.” Ember giggled.

“App-Applebloom, Air!” Caesar managed to squeeze out as he was suffocating from the highly effective assault.

“Aunt Embah, who is this little Critter?” Applejack asked as she trotted over to the both of them. “And why is Applebloom hugging him like tha?”

“Applejack. Big Mac. I would like the two of you to meet Caesar. He’s a lot younger than me, but came to Equestria the same way I did. Since he’s around Appleblooms age, I thought we would let him stay here for the time being and let him have fun with Applebloom and her friends. Plus, it’ll be good to have extra hands-er I mean hooves on deck for when Zap Apple season is coming.”

“Zap Apples? What’s that?” Caesar asked, his curiosity overwinning his confusion about Ember’s use of the word hooves when he clearly had hands.

“They’re special apples that only come around during the spring.” Ember first said. “But I believe Applebloom can explain more about them.”

“Yah, ah reckon ah can do dat,” Applebloom stated with a smile. “Come on Caesar, Ah show ya where tah trees are.” With that, the Filly and the Young Boy were soon walking over that direction. With it though, Applejack now looked at her Aunt with a raised eyebrow.

“Is there somethin’ we need ta know about him? Because he looks a bit… different than you or Frost and it isn’t like ya to just bring a youngsta home like a stray kitten. Ah know you want ta help tha boy, but we need ta talk about this as ah family first.”

“Applejack, when I found him, he was dying of a common cold from sleeping a night in the Everfree forest. He’s scared and with abilities that he doesn’t know about. If Zecora and I didn’t find him when he did, he would be a goner. I owe it to him to help him feel comfortable and have a family here he could call home.”

Instantly, Applejack donned a face of worry.

“Ah goner? You mean he’h be … dead. Goshdarnit, I guess it was a good thing ya found him… He’s gonna be alright, ain’t he?” Applejack looked towards the acres that contained the currently completely naked Zap Apple trees where the youngsters had gone.

“I found him only yesterday and he’s had some time to rest, so he should be fine. If anything does occur though, I can go back to Zecora’s and see what’s wrong. He’s quite the curious soul despite being timid at times. Almost makes me think of Fluttershy.”

“Really now... “ Applejack frowned a little. “Ya said yesterday, didn’t ya? So how come he’s already out and about, Ah reckoned he’d be restin’ still?”

“Well, I found him yesterday. Zecora might’ve tended to him for a while before I showed up.”

“That must be it… So, does he… ya know, eat the same as you?” Applejack asked Ember with an awkward look on her face.

“I’m an Omnivore and rely on meats, fruits and vegetables to stay healthy. Caesar might be the same, but something tells me that it might be different. We’ll just have to wait and see. Plus, Apple Bloom gets to see what it’s like to take care of a little brother.” Ember smiled, watching as she saw the filly interact with the youngster. During this though, she felt a familiar tug and realized that she was being called upon.

“Hey Mac, Mind watchin everypony for a little while. I gotta go somewhere real quick.”

“Really, go where?” Applejack asked.

“That part doesn’t matter. But what you should know is,” Ember looked back at her family and smiled. “I’ll be back.”

Before Applejack could even ask about it, Ember disappeared in a small plume of flames, slightly burning the ground beneath where she was standing.

Elsewhere…

“Hey, Moondancer.”

“Yes Kaoru?”

“Why do you have a feather in your mane?” Kaoru asked as she pointed at the brightly colored feather that was in her hair.

“Sonata gave this to me, something about it being a good luck charm or something.” Moondancer said as she levitated the feather toward Kaoru, allowing her to look at it a little more closely.

“You think she got it from a store or something?”

“Highly doubt it,” the Unicorn replied back. “The Feather is a rare phoenix feather. You can’t find these in stores now-a-days because of the limited amount of them that are around. My guess is either she found this lying around… or she did something dumb and bought it off the black market in exchange for tacos.”

“I’m gonna go with the taco one.” Kaoru said as she tossed the feather aside. However, in doing so, the small feather began to glow brighter than it once did as a flame began to flicker. “Oh crap! Quick get something to put the flames out!” The two of them didn’t have the time to react properly as a figure emerged from the flames. A woman who appeared to be just as old as Kaoru in it with a burgundy scarf, gray shirt and dark blue jeans.

She soon looked up, looking around the room. “Hello.”

“Great, more Displaced… Can’t I ever get a moment of peace for once in this messed up world?” Kaoru said as she hid under the covers with Moondancer.

“Well, hello to you too.” she replied sarcastically. “I’m going to go out on a whim here and say that you two are ghouls.”

“Moondancer is, I’m not anymore.”

“Your tone doesn’t match your words.” The woman told her, noticing how the voices weren’t in synch. “Besides… it’s surprising for me to meet someone like you. I’ve already met a few other Displaced… Well, most of them were morons and one of them was… something else. I didn’t think you two would find my token.”

“That was Sonata that found it.”

“Yet, it only reacts to other Displaced… Trust me… I’ve been around over 1500 years and-.”

“Woopty fricken doo, your old big deal.”

“No, you don’t because you cut me off. I am immortal… A tortured Phoenix.” Ember told her. “And I can tell that you are in pain.”

“If you’re here to try to cheer me up, then good luck with that. Because the last displaced didn’t help, and he was annoying to the point where I wanted to gut him.”

“Unlike him, I can actually do something.” Ember told her. “But it requires you to trust me. All people have good intentions, but our opinions at times clouds our vision to where we only see the negative side of things.” She then sighed, looking back at Moondancer before looking at Kaoru again. “Now… do you trust me?”

“....Fine I’ll trust you, but if you do anything I don’t like then I’ll have Moondancer or Sonata throw stuff at you.”

“Fair enough,” Ember replied, softly touching her forehead just once. Kaoru might not have been able to see anything happen on the outside, but what was going on was on the inside. That single touch on her forehead had a massive wave of Life Force flow through her body, acting as white blood cells to fight against bacteria. Burning away any remnants of Carnage Kabuto and the bands that bound her. Allowing her body to return to normal. “There… done. Your body should mostly be back to normal. My energy is the same powers as a phoenix when it dies and is reborn from the ashes. The circumstances that held your body down are now different. Your will is what you need to have you become a ghoul. Not a material object… Also, you gained another… interesting ability.”

“What ability?” Moondancer snarled, thinking that Ember did something to her.

“Easy there, I didn’t harm her. Since the energy I gave you is not going to disappear anytime soon, you can split it into multiple selves.” Looking at Kaoru, she sighed before giving her a simplified explanation. “Think Agent Smith from the Matrix.”

Kaoru looked at Moondancer, before looking at the Pyromancer again. She only had one thing to say in response. “Oh, F*** the hell yes!!”

“So how many can she make of herself?” Moondancer asked.

“That… depends on the amount of energy she uses. She may have a lot of energy, but each clone takes a small amount for her to control. Also, she can mentally command them and they’re linked with the original body. Which means if the clones get hurt, the original host feels the same pain. So I say that two should be your limit now until you learn how to control it and make more.” She told them, explaining it step by step. “However, remember, the same energy that allows you this ability is linked to what’s healing your body. Which means the more clones you have, the slower your body heals.”

“So I have to be more careful than how I was before. Damn, and I was so enjoying the quick healing factor.”

“Your healing though should have your body be back to normal in about four hours.” Ember advised them, looking back at Moondancer before telling Kaoru something else. “But I think there’s one other thing that you’re overlooking regarding yourself, Kaoru. Remember what I first said before Moondancer asked about the clone ability?”

“I get the feeling they’ll have different personalities of their own I take it?” Kaoru asked.

“Well, that’s the thing. You wanted to stay human correct?”

“Technically I’m half, just without the darkness around my one eye or kagune.”

Ember sighed, looking back at Kaoru. “Maybe it’ll be best if you try your abilities now. That way you can see for yourself.”

“And how do I do that fire lady?”

“Just think of it in your head. Your brain is a canvas and you are the brush. Whatever you think of will be created.” She replied.

“.........”

“Just snap your fingers, Kaoru.” Moondancer said.

“Oh okay.” With a snap of a finger, two different versions of herself appeared next to her and Moondancer. “Well…… this is interesting to say the least.”

“Since you are half human and half ghoul, the two clones you made represent that,” The Pyromancer explained, pointing at them. “The one on your left is the human you. The one on the right is the ghoul you.”

“Naw really? I couldn’t tell.” Kaoru ghoul side said sarcastically.

“Sarcasm is not your best trait.” Ember deadpanned. “Plus, I’ve been patient with you. I don’t think you really want me to demonstrate what I’m fully capable of. In my world, my rage is the reason why the badlands were created.”

“Lady, I’m friends with a Displaced who can simply change a world with just a simple thought. Compare to you he’s scarier.”

With a snap of her fingers, a bright and blinding ball of fire that was a miniature sun appeared in her hands. “Oh trust me, one who imagines things to happen is ineffective if you don’t believe in his tricks. Where is your friend anyways?” She asked, standing up and walking towards the door.

“Outside talking to his breezie friend, why?”

“I was just curious.” She replied. “From the way you described it, he seems to be just as strong as I am.” Opening the door, she noticed the small charm hanging on the door and turned it around, seeing the notice from the previous visitor Kaoru had. Taking it off the store, she stored it in her pocket before turning around to notice another pony seeing her. One who was carrying an entire rack of tacos.

“What is this, Taco Tuesday?”

“Well it is Tuesday silly… Wait a minute, you’re not Kaoru!”

“No, but I did heal her-.”

“Chrysalis we have an intruder in our base!” Sonata yelled as she pressed the alarm button on her communicator watch.

“Oh come on! Seriously!?!” Ember yelled, turning to the Displaced and her Unicorn friend. “Kaoru, get out here and calm down your friend. She thinks I’m an intruder and-. Oh, for phyrron's sake, STOP SCREAMING ALREADY!!!”

“Quick get the guns we gotta protect the tacos!” Sonata said as she held a lifebar in her hooves. “I’ll deal with her. The rest of you get the boss.” The pony soon got her weapons and tried to hit Ember by firing a barrage of bullets. Only for a purple screen to pull up in front of Ember, labeled “IMMORTAL OBJECT” like the command in Sword Art Online.

“No fair! That’s cheating!”

Ember sighed, facepalming to herself. “It isn’t cheating if it’s true…”

“Hacks! I call hacks!”

“YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH, TACO LADY!!!”

“IT’S STILL HACKS YOU CHICKEN LADY-!!!” The moment that Sonata tried to fire again, Ember held up her hand and a small wave of heat had her guns turn into piles of Ash on the floor.

“I’m called the Tortured Phoenix for a reason. It’s not a title. It’s what I am.”

“Don’t care.” Sonata said as she pulled out a rocket launcher. That caused Ember to flinch a little, wondering where the hell does she keep all these things before having another wave of fire knock Sonata backwards.

“To be fair… You almost had a point. But let me fill you in on something… I’ve been alive for 1500 years, I hate everyone equally when they have the nerve to piss me off, and no one gives a damn about who the hell I am…”

“Oh cry me a river chicken lady.” Sonata said as she unpinned a grenade and dropped near her.

“Call me a chicken again and I will have half a mind to leave you kentucky fried. Besides… you do realize that you are just destroying your own base right?” With that, Ember used her abilities and energy to teleport herself to where she was outside the door. “So… jokes on you.”

“Please this is a normal thing for me.” Sonata said as she appeared next to Ember. “We can patch this place up in no time.”

“Yes, but how are you going to explain to your boss, who I believe is standing right behind you, all the property damage you caused?” Ember said, pointing a finger behind her. “Because I only came here because Kaoru summoned me. Not to cause any trouble whatsoever.”

“Oh… well why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“YOU WERE FIRING GUNS AT ME WHEN I WAS TRYING TO CALM YOU DOWN!!!” Ember shot back.

“You could’ve just made a barrier around yourself and said it while I kept attacking you.”

“To be fair, I use violence as a last resort… Also, I’m being serious about your boss being behind you… Is your boss a changeling?”

“That’s Queen of the Changelings to you, human.” Chrysalis said before patting Sonata’s head. “Good job Sonata at attacking somepony in our base.”

“You do realize I’m the reason why Kaoru is back on her feet, right? She’s herself again and can clone herself.” Ember told them. “Also, Sonata here tried to blow up your base with a rocket launcher.”

“To be fair this is pretty much a normal thing for us when she does that.”

“Not really considering the fact that I’m not normal. Sonata can tell you that.”

“The part about you being immortal, yeah I overheard the conversation you had over her communicator. Which I’m not impressing seeing how we meet certain void dwellers that can deal with those that are immortal.”

Ember sighed, looking back at Chrysalis. She seemed just as stubborn as Applejack back home. “Yes, I’m well aware of that, but I’m a different case. Nevermind that, I was in your hideout here because Kaoru summoned me.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, looking at Sonata before looking back at Ember. Unconvinced. “And how did that happen?”

“My token was the phoenix feather Moondancer was wearing.” She sighed, showing them an example before having it turn into flames. “Anyways, you may be relieved to hear that I helped mend her back to full health. Whoever tried helping her really needs to obtain a medical degree first before trying to help anymore patients because they screwed up with Kaoru big time. Also, she has some new perks that you might want to pay attention too.”

“Well sorry if I don’t have the proper equipment like most hospitals do.” said Adagio glaring at Ember. “You try patching her up without the use of your fancy displaced powers, and equipment that’s made from spare parts from the junkyard. This league isn’t funded by anyone, so don’t mock my abilities as a doctor seeing how you never had to operate on somepony without the use of magic or displaced powers.”

Ember sighed a little, looking back at Adagio. “You didn’t hear the last part of my sentence did you?”

“I did, but you also mocked my medical skill. Something that no one should mock especially from a displaced who never operated on somepony without the use of her powers.”

“My intention was never to mock. To phrase it differently, I’m sometimes brutally honest.” The Pyromancer apologized to Adagio as she continued. “The trace of both the bands that were holding her in place and the poison in her body has been removed and her body is back to normal. Give her a few hours and she’ll be back to normal. Also, don’t be surprised when you see three of her walking around the place.”

“Great, as if one of her was enough.” Adagio said annoyingly.

“The thing is, right now, Kaoru is half human, half ghoul. The two clones of her are based on her human and ghoul side and she has control over them. But still, Kaoru told me something… interesting. Something of another Displaced here besides the last one that came here. I believed he was known as The Visionary.”

“If you’re looking for Gremmy, he’s outside on the roof.”

“Gremmy?” Ember replied, chuckling to herself for a minute. “Sorry, I just thought you said Gummy for a minute.”

“No, she said Gremmy.” Gremmy said appearing next to Ember.

“Why this is a surprise,” The Pyromancer turned around, looking at the visionary. Seeing the look on his face and his blondish hair definitely surprised her because Gremmy was not like who she assumed for him to be. “When I first heard of this visionary, I expected you to be…… older.”

“1,599 years old, the reason why I look young is because I don’t age.”

“Welcome to the club. Same here. 1500 years and counting.” She told him. “I’m going to take a guess that you either imagined yourself to live this long or is it something else?”

“I’m imagination incarnation, can’t die until the end of time.”

“That sucks. I’m the tortured phoenix, reincarnated. My powers and my immortality were given to me from a dying phoenix. If you were to kill me, I’ll just rise from the ashes again.”

“So you’re pretty much just one of those kind of Displaced.”

Ember raised an eyebrow when she heard Gremmy refer to her as kind. “I’m not quite sure what you mean by kind, but power wise, my rage is the reason why the badlands were created back home.” That response got Chrysalis and Sonata to look at her in shock. Eyes wide open as they stared at her.

“And I meet a Displaced who can destroy a world with the power of gravity, your point?”

“Not trying to prove anything. You’re actually the first Displaced that actually took my interest. The others I met were a bunch of renegades who blamed me for destroying their car, a bunch of idiots as the Ginyu Force that were being trained by Mr. Popo and some guy as Ultron. So, you and Kaoru are actually the ones that I like better than those guys. Most of them except for Ultron act like idiots at times.”

“You tend to get use to it from time to time when meeting other Displaced.” Ember nodded her head in agreement, looking around them and realizing just how much of an open space they were in. If she wanted, she could challenge Gremmy in a fight. However, her concern was that it would track unnecessary attention. Especially since these guys were vigilantes.

“I’m going to assume you overheard me talking about Kaoru?”

“It’s not that hard to hear or feel your presence in this world.”

“So you already know about her new abilities. Expected… But what about your… other companion. I heard Moondancer refer to her as Lotus?” Ember asked, mentioning the name of the breezie. She had heard of them before, but never saw one in the flesh.

“Over here chicken lady.” Lotus said munching on a piece of gummy worm.

“ … I’m letting that slide, but just like I told Sonata, I have half a mind to leave someone kentucky fried if they call me that again.”

“You and I both know that you would be in trouble with Gremmy here if you even think about trying that.”

“ … Fair enough. Besides, you should be thanking me for helping Kaoru.” Ember told the Breezie. “She’s back on her feet again and now has two of herself like if it’s Agent Smith from the Matrix.”

“Just like Arima, but different.”

“Quite…” Ember sighed, “So, what else is there that you need me for. Because I’m being tempted to start calling Sonata Police Girl right around now… I am curious though as to see how Gremmy’s powers serve him…… in combat.”

“You really think you can beat Gremmy, Master of Imagination?” Lotus asked while laughing.

“Not exactly beat… I just want to get a chance to unwind. I haven’t been able to use all of my strength in such a long time that I have been itching for a fight. Plus… I believe you can’t imagine something in which I can’t destroy.”

“Wanna bet, because you’re the fifth Displaced that said something like that.” Ember smirked, her eyes giving off a fierce predatory glance as a golden fire like aura around her. The second she saw Gremmy blink, she blazed forth a trail behind her before grabbing Gremmy’s face and setting off an explosion.

“I can only use my full strength for two to three minutes, but it makes my flames as hot as a thousand suns. So… let’s make this fight worth it!!!”

“*sigh* And here I thought I could relax for a while, but it seems I have no choice but to fight.” Gremmy said as he dust himself off and pulled out four keys. “Unlock code 2345.” He said as the keys broke into pieces. “Over confidence will get you killed.”

“Thanks for the tip.” She replied, adopting a low combat stance as her legs got into a crouch. “Remember though, this is only lasting for a limited amount of time. This is technically how I relax.”

Just don’t blame me if you get wrecked.”

“Same here.” Ember grinned. The Fires around her began to rage as they burned the ground by her feet. With a snap of her finger, Molten flames burst forth from her, heading towards Gremmy from all sides in front of him. She watched as he easily swerved to the right to avoid all the flames entirely, but the Pyromancer had more tricks up her sleeve with the next blast she fired as it grabbed onto Gremmy’s wrist.

“Get OVER HERE!!” She yelled, trying to yank Gremmy off of his feet. Only problem though was that we wasn’t budging.

“What part of imagination did you not understand?” Gremmy said as he made the fire like rope disappeared from his wrist. “I can imagine anything that you would think of, for example.” Gremmy snapped his fingers as Ember heard a snapping sound coming from her right leg. She instantly fell on one knee as she placed a hand on the ground. “I can imagine your bones to be a brittle as a cookie.”

“Heh… true… But… it puts me in a position I wanted to be in.” She snickered, her energy forming around her hand. What happened next was a molten fist emerging from behind Gremmy, smacking him forward. “The first few attacks were to observe your moves. Now… I know how exactly in order to proceed.” The Pyromancer now began to stand again, using an ability she had called Remedy. It allowed her to divert a significant amount of her energy to reinforce the bones in her body. “I haven’t fought like this in centuries… Let’s have some fun!”

“This should be interesting.” Gremmy said with a smile on his face. “But even I know you can’t keep healing your body forever.” The Visionary point his finger at Ember’s right shoulder. “Let’s see how good you are when I imagine your healing factor slowing down.” with that a hole about the size of a water pipe appeared on Ember’s right shoulder. Ember’s first reaction was forcing her flames onto the hole, burning her in the process, but using the method to close the hole. Fighting through the pain, she twisted her wrist, which in turn caused Magma to erupt from below Gremmy’s feet in a fiery upward blast. Almost like a volcano erupting.

“Did you really think that move would work?” Gremmy said walking out of the Volcanic eruption. “It’s not that hard to figure out most of your moves seeing how they fire based attacks.”

“If you think my fire is ordinary, then that is your first mistake.” With that, Ember released another plume of flames. However, this time, it actually burned his sleeve. Another plume burned the edge of his hood as he slid backwards. But another thing caught his attention when she quickened her reflexes, surprising him with a newfound boost of speed as a hand of burning heat tried to tear off his jacket.

“Huh. It’s a good thing I had made a copy of myself during that little fire show of yours.” Gremmy said appearing on the sidelines with a drink in hand. “Little bit of advice Ember, never think that you’re fight the real person or enemy sometimes. Because they can pretty much get a lot of info on you just by watching you.” He said as he made the imagination clone of himself disappeared. “Interesting way of using your life force to increase your attack power, but you’ll have to do better than that if you’re even able to stand up against someone as strong as me.” Gremmy said as he flicked his finger sending Ember through an abandoned building nearby. “Now that I know that little trick of yours, I’ll have no problem defending myself from that.”

“Touche’. But you’re forgetting one thing. Your time is almost up.” She reminded him. “I only said three minutes.”

“For person who’s supposed to be strong, you really are a disappointment.”

“Yet, this isn’t my world. I would have enough power to burn down the entire world, but with great power comes great responsibility. I don’t use it to play games or have fun. Mine comes with a purpose… You can’t imagine anything if you can’t use your brain. Now, if you would excuse me, I’m going to say my goodbyes to Kaoru.” With that, the Pyromancer walked back on inside, passing Sonata on the way in along with a stunned Lotus. Soon, she arrived back at Kaoru’s door and knocked on it briefly.

“Ha! Jokes on you I can…..wait are you calling me an idiot?”

“Kaoru, it’s Ember. I wanted to make sure I said goodbye to you and Moondancer before I go back to my world.” She told her. Soon, the door slowly crept open, with Moondancer on the other side of it.

“So how the fight go with Gremmy?” asked Moondancer.

“I got a good few hits in, however, I put myself on a timer since I need to get back to my family at Sweet Apple Acres.” Ember replied back to the Unicorn. “Otherwise… He was… well… I don’t normally say this, but he was kind of boring.”

“Said the girl who put herself on a time, what do you expect when you do something like that?”

“Honestly, I thought he would show a little more effort. All he used his powers for just made me think he was trying to run away from conflict instead of actually fighting. He tried slowing me down, preventing my healing abilities, and teleportation. I first expected him to have actual combat maneuvers rather than just dodging and weaving. He seriously needs to learn responsibility.” Ember told the Unicorn as she closed the door behind her.

“One, he did the dodging and weaving to get info on you. Second, unless you can actually go all out on him then he’ll go all out on you. Third, you think those are the only moves he know? If you haven’t notice he’s pretty much a god like being, minus the abuse of power and stuff. Be grateful that you didn’t piss him off like the last pony did.”

“I get that. The entire thing was like the beginning of a game of chess,” She said, comparing the board game to their tactics. “Early on, both sides would be hesitant to take a move. I was ironically doing the same thing with all three of the points you said. I was trying to see how Gremmy would act and respond and he was doing the same to me… However, I wonder one thing now…”

“And that is?” Kaoru asked.

“What if there’s a backlash to his abuse in power? Something he never saw coming. You don’t know that you would have Cancer until the doctor finds out and when they do find out, it might be too late for them… I just wonder what would Gremmy do when he begins to feel backlash.”

“That might be hard for him to feel that seeing how he has no physical body. And even if that did you need something that can actually do that to him. But I’m sure somewhere in his life something like that happen and he made himself immune to something like that.”

“You’re not far off” Gremmy said catching Moondancer and Kaoru off guard.

“Heh… thought you would be there listening in.”

“When someone is talking about me I listen in. To answer your question I had a backlash once a few years ago. So, to prevent that from happening again, Lotus gave me a labodyme.”

“Interesting… do go on.” Ember insisted, letting him continue.

“That and she had me keep my brain hidden.” Gremmy said as he open his head like a can. “Empty like the vacuum of space.”

“Strangely enough,” Ember mentioned, “There are similarities between us. Just that the circumstances are different. My backlash was… my rage. My anger and fury created the badlands after a group of hunters snapped the neck of my friend in cold blood after I refused to kill a young buffalo that stole food from them. It was then that I realized I needed to learn how to control my abilities more and not let them control me. I spent over 1000 years mastering it so an event like such would not happen again.”

“Well better late than never. Lord knows you don’t to wait too long before you did something like that in the later future.”

“Actually… the friend who died… His brother lived on. I helped him start his family… and he included me in it.” Ember told them as she looked back at Gremmy and Kaoru.”

“Let me guess, someone from the apple family?”

“Golden Apple. His brother’s name was Red Apple and his Daughter was named Granny Smith.” The Pyromancer recalled. “Now, I have two nieces and a nephew to add onto that. With one of them being extremely desperate along with her friends to get her cutie mark.”

“Oh, the cutie mark crusaders.”

“Yep. Well, I need to get back.” Ember told them. “It’s been fun, but Applebloom is now trying to help a young boy I found who basically is a living Pikachu, so I better get back before his lightning sparks a forest fire. Kaoru, it’s been a pleasure meeting you. Stay safe.”

“Yeah, you too.” said Kaoru waving good-bye to Ember. This was before she disappeared in a small column of flame and was no longer in the room. However, seconds later, Sonata came rushing in with a bucket of water and accidently splashed Gremmy.

“Oh, Sorry! I thought there was a fire in here! I could smell the smoke from the-.”

FWOOSH!

“-Kitchen.”

“SONATA!!!”

By the time Ember returned home, the sun had begun to set. She felt bad for being gone too long. The Mancer though was soon told otherwise when she felt something jump onto her shoulder.

“Aunt Embah!!”

“Hey there, my little bloom.” Ember greeted, nudging her for a little bit. She felt glad that she finally got the chance to come home. “How is everything?”

The Apple filly just smiled, letting Ember inside as she decided to rejoin her family. In the distance though, from the mountain cliffs, a pair of sinister eyes were soon locked on to Ember from a distance.

“So… this is the family that you care for so much…” She sinisterly spoke as Anivia was about to fade away with the darkness that was setting. “Enjoy them while you can, Tortured Phoenix… But let me assure you… Anyone who dares try to stop me… they only have one fate. And that fate… is death.”

End Chapter 11

Author's Note

Crossover with Maretropolis GHoul and Masters of Imagination. Both stories done by the awesome ElementBrigade. Enjoy.

(Sorry about the long wait. My original plan for the chapter I had to put on hold, so instead, I came with this. Thanks EB for all your help and all the silliness along the way!! Have a Sonatapool!)

-Frost

12- Be Free

The Flames of a Phoenix- Be Free

Sweet Apple Acres (Next Morning)

The morning sunlight began to breach through the curtains the moment Ember first began to open her eyes. The air was slightly cool, but nothing too cold for anypony. In fact, Ember could never actually be cold. Her powers would passively keep her warm no matter what the weather was like outside. Rain or shine, Snow or not, she still remained warm. It was one thing that at times she liked. Back in her old world, her room was always freezing at night and the house she lived in did not have any heating for the winter days or air conditioning for brutal summers.

Not the case for her now. But one thing she did find that was quite… odd was that she woke up to Applebloom snuggling against her arms… and good lord, was she cute. The Filly wasn’t even aware that Ember was actually awake. Right now, she was curled up in a ball and purring like a cat that was relaxing in their favorite spot on the couch. Turns out, that spot was on top of her and the look on her face made Ember think that Applebloom wasn’t just a pony, but also weaponized cuteness that can melt someone’s face off. Of course, if there were such a thing, she would use to defeat Anivia. However, that would just sound too simple. And in her long immortal life, nothing like that could ever be simple.

It was then though that she heard a small knock. A knock that would wake up the filly sleeping on Ember. “Uh… What t-time is it?”

“Good Morning Applebloom.” Ember told her.

“M-morning Aunt Embah… What time is it?”

“Well…” Again, she heard a faint knock. “Judging from that, something tells me your sister is at the door telling us about breakfast.”

“Ah’ll get it.” She cheerfully replied, leaping up to go for the door and opening it, only to not see her sister there. “Oh, well good morning Caesar.” She spoke to the boy at the door, who was waiting on the two of them as Ember began to rise from her position on the couch that she fell asleep on.

“G-good morning. Applejack said to see if you two were awake and to wake you if you weren’t. She want’s us helping out with breakfast.” Caesar explained.

“Well, your knock did just the trick.” Ember explained as Applebloom zipped past Caesar and zoomed downstairs. The pyromancer was lucky that Applebloom didn’t trip and tumble down the stairwell. Bumping her head would not be a good way to start her day. “So… How was your first night?” Ember asked him as she closed the door behind her. “Comfortable?”

“It was nice actually. I don’t usually dream, but I had a nice one about my family… Then there’s always that weird feeling when you wake up in a new place.” Caesar explained, looking a bit downcast at the mention of his own family.

“Hey, it’s alright. You’ll grow accustomed to everything here soon. It just takes time.”

Caesar mumbled something in response. Causing Ember to look back at him with a curious glance. “Could you speak up please? I didn’t quite catch that.”

Caesar shook his head a little before responding, “It was nothing important. Sorry. Let’s go and get breakfast.” Caesar said before turning away and going down towards the voices coming from the kitchen.

“That was… odd.” The mancer thought to herself. “I’ve only seen him be happy so far around Applebloom and the others. Plus, AJ was telling me that Caesar had a chance to meet Applebloom’s friends. What could possibly be bothering him?” Then she realized something. Maybe this had to do with the mentioning of his family. He did look a bit upset and distracted about it. If so, then maybe she’ll have to find a way to help him open up a little.

Because from what she remembered, bottled up emotions were like when you shake a soda can. At the moment you open it, everything just hits you directly in the face.

With that, she made her way downstairs, adjusting her scarf as she found AJ’s dog at the bottom of the stairs, wagging her tail eagerly and barking a little. Possibly her way of saying “Good morning!” as she turned to see Applebloom and Caesar in the kitchen.

“Mornin’ Sugarcube!” Ember heard from behind her as she turned around to see Applejack trotting into the room. “Guessing Caesar got your attention?”

“Sure did.” Ember replied. “What’s he helping out with in the kitchen?”

“Well, Big Mac is getting some Apples from around back and bringin’ them here so these two young’uns can help start with making some Apple Pancakes.” The Earth Pony replied, just as a small stone pillar with a basket of fresh apples appeared right next to them. “And speaking of which, there he is.”

“Mornin’,” The Stallion spoke as AJ took the basket over to Applebloom. He soon dismissed the Earth Pillar as he trotted over to Ember. “Thought ah get the chance to practice my abilities while helping out the family.”

“So you kill two birds with one stone. Nice job… and no, that was not a pun on your powers, Mac.” Ember chuckled.

“Ah was aware of that.” He replied. “Hey, has anypony seen Granny Smith this morning?”

“Ah’m comin! Ah’m comin!” They heard her shout from upstairs as she slowly walked on down. “Ponies these days…”

“So, what are we to do with the apples next?” Caesar asked, apparently never having baked before.

“Well, first we wash ‘em and then from there, we peel the skins off before we cut them to slices.” Applejack replied, showing her working with the mixing bowl for a bit. “Big Mac, please help them with the cutting part. Ah swear that they might cut themselves if they aren’t careful.”

“Eeyup...” Big Mac replied, nodding his head trotting on over to where Applebloom and Caesar was and lending the two of them a helping hoof.

“Hey Applejack?” Ember interjected. “If the kids are doing the peeling, I can help with the cutting afterwards. That way it doesn’t look like I’m not helping out around here.” The earth pony thought about it for a minute before nodding her head in agreement.

“Ah like that. Change of plans Mac. Ember’s helping with cutting the apples once you’re done peeling ‘em.” The mare said, her brother just simply nodding her head as they all pitched in on helping each other out with breakfast. At one point though, after Ember had noticed that one of the knives that she would have used for slicing the apples was dirty, she got out another one. But this knife in particular wasn’t really… ordinary.

For one thing, the knife was made out of a black metal that Ember didn’t recognize. The handle was a wooden red and it was the same color as the edge of the blade. There was a runic marking on the sides of it, almost resembling a cutie mark. But what really surprised her was that this knife… had a message go off inside her head. “To those that have found my weapon. I ask of you to help me in my quest. Call me, let me come to your world and find my sister, let me warn her and my previous tormentor of what my world brought me. Let me help them and prevent disaster. To those of you who let me do such, I offer you my help. Be it a threat from an unimaginable evil, or a simple need to talk, I would love to help. Call me, Blood Cleaver, and I will appear."

Ember thought for a moment on the predicaments of the fact that this wasn’t just a knife, but a summoning token. Just how in the world did it exactly get in the Apple Family’s kitchen? That was something she wouldn’t have to think about right now, but instead, just used the knife to cut the apple that was on the cutting board. Only to realize that it also cut straight through the board. Cutting it in half and almost leaving a dent on the counter.

“Whoops.” She thought to herself. Thankfully, she got rid of it before Applejack noticed and by the time she was done with the apple slicing, breakfast was almost done. The family decided to take some time to eat a full meal first before working out on the farm for Zap Apple season, but to Ember, the thought of the Knife was still fresh inside her mind. After finishing her food, she stepped outside along the back of the barn with the token in her hand. Ember was going to summon this “Blood Cleaver” so she could take to her. But, it seemed like she would have to hold off on that given how busy the family was today.

She soon noticed Applebloom racing out of the barn in an eager sprint. “Come on, Caesar!! Let’s go get some Zap Apples!!!”

“Alright, alright. I’m coming. I’m not as fast as you…” Ember saw Caesar following her, seemingly already being strained from trying to keep up with her. “Or as in shape as you are, geez.”

She just chuckled, watching as Applebloom tried to slow down so the young boy stood a chance when it came to catching up with her. It might not look like it from her position, but she was able to see the two of them go over to where the trees were in the distance and prepare to pick them now before they were fully ripe. She needed to talk to Applejack though.

Yesterday, when Ember was with Caesar and Applebloom, the Mancer saw a note on the fridge that caught her attention. This though, was followed by a brief conversation with her before the mare had to run out the door that left her with more questions than answers. But it wasn’t what had the pyromancer worried. Overnight, she felt a massive surge of negative life force that alarmed her. Almost making her think that Anivia was up to no good again. She needed to talk to Applejack and find out what happened.

Looking over by the barn, she noticed the farm mare by herself organizing the baskets needed for the harvest. But as she was carrying them over, the Mancer soon spoke up. “Applejack, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Aunt Embah? I honestly didn’t expect ya here. What’s on your mind?”

“What were you and your friends doing the other night?” She asked, folding her arms. The earth pony right now, felt like she was caught doing something wrong. “And don’t say nothing because I felt a surge of negative life force throughout the whole town.”

“Ya felt the Tantabus?” She asked. “That nightmare varmint was causing trouble all over the darned place.” Ember though, was familiar with the name. She had heard tales of it, but not actually seen anything like it in person. As Applejack kept talking about it, Ember kept thinking on something else though.

“All and all, ah don’t think we have any repercussions if everything's all normal right now right?” Applejack asked, causing Ember to shake her head.

“You said that it affected everyone in Ponyville, including at the orchard?”

“Yeah, but you don’t seemed phased to it. Now that ah think ‘bout it, ah didn’t see ya in that shared dream.” The pony replied

“I can’t dream Applejack… It’s a price for my immortality. But you’re forgetting somepony else that can.” It was then that Applejack’s eyes widened, realizing who she was referring to.

“Caesar…”

“Exactly-.” Before saying anything else, Ember turned around to see Applebloom by herself. Outside the barn and alone for that matter. “Hey, Applebloom, where is Caesar? I thought you were eager to get started with the harvest.”

“We are,” Caesar responded from behind them. “We just thought it would be best to take a few extra baskets, you know, since I can carry more.” Caesar explained.

“So, why are you here, you wanted something from us before we head out?” He asked.

“Well… I just thought it was off that you weren’t next to Applebloom and went to look for baskets on your own.” Ember mentioned, “You could've just told Applejack and she would’ve been more than willing to help get them for you.”

“You two seemed busy, and it’s not like I couldn’t do it myself.” Caesar said shrugging.

Applejack though, looked at Ember before looking back at Caesar. “Anything else besides… baskets?”

“Well… I guess I also wanted to see the barn? I didn’t get a chance to do that yesterday.” He said.

Applejack just sighed, looking back at Ember again before speaking. “Caesar… Can Ember and ah talk to ya for a minute… in private?”

“I guess,” Caesar responded before turning to Applebloom. “I’ll be with you in a minute then, you get started without me and we’ll be done faster, alright?” Caesar asked, at which Applebloom saluted and galloped off towards the Zap apple orchard.

Shortly after that, when Ember and Applejack were with Caesar by themselves around the opposite end of the barn, Caesar was the first one to speak.

“Soooo… what is it? It must be important if we’re taking time off harvesting Zap apples, when they only grow once a year like this.” He pointed out.

Ember sighed, looking back at him. “Caesar, from what Applejack was telling me, her and her friends the other night were dealing with something very… important last night. Did last night feel strange to you in any way? Like after you went to bed?” The mancer tried her best to be discreet, but didn’t want Caesar to be asking her and Applejack too many questions since it would be taking time away from the harvest.

“You mean besides everyone having one big dream altogether yesterday where everyone in town were more or less battling some kind of smoke monster that tried to escape into the real world?” Caesar asked.

Applejack herself, just stared at the young boy. Surprised. Ember though, nodded her head. “Yeah, that’s right. We’re only asking you this because we wanted to make sure you were okay. That’s all.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It was actually fun, and I think I got something cool out of it as well.” Caesar said with a smile.

“Cool you say?” The pyromancer replied. “What was it?”

“Well, it’s kind of meant to be a surprise, but I haven’t found it yet. I think it’s somewhere in the orchard though. Me and Applebloom were going to keep an eye out for it while we did our chores and helped out with the harvest. It’s supposed to look like a black box with yellow lightnings on it. Could you give it to me if you find it?” Caesar asked.

“Sure. In fact, we can take some more time after the harvest to look for it if you want. That way, you aren’t distracted with keeping an eye out for it while we’re getting Zap Apples.” Ember offered, causing the young boy’s face to light up like a christmas tree.

“Eh, yeah. That does sound better. But if you find it by coincidence, tell me. I think it could help us harvest faster.” Caesar said while scratching the back of his head a bit in embarrassment. All Ember did was smile, scratching Caesar by his newfound ears before letting him go and rejoin Applebloom. Shortly afterwards was when Applejack spoke again.

“Yellow lightnings?”

“I think he means bolts. Like Lightning bolts,” Ember chuckled, looking back at Caesar as he and Applebloom went to join Big Mac out on the orchard. “Ready to work? I’ll try to be careful. I rather not burn the whole orchard down by accident.” She said, just as a leaf fell on her arm before turning into cinders a few seconds later. Shortly before they caught up with Caesar and the others out on the orchard.

“Alright, I think I can use Agility to make myself faster, and Strength to help with getting the Apples down easier. But I don’t know how long they’ll last or how many times I can use them before I’ll have to rest.” Caesar explained his plan to Applebloom.

“That’s alright. If you need to rest, we can switch. It is your first harvest.” The filly assured him.

Caesar nodded. “Yeah, you’ll show me the ropes then, right?” Applebloom nodded, taking her time to explain to the boy what he needed to do for the harvest, step by step before finishing it up. Like with most farmers, the Apple Family used raw strength and power to shake the trees, but controlled their strength to where their strikes would only shake the apples off instead of uproot the tree. It was a matter of force. The force you release… and the force you restrain.

“Does that make sense?” She asked, once Applebloom was done with explaining.

“Yeah. My normal strength would most likely not be able to even make one of the apples drop, but strength should be enough to make it work. I’m roughly estimating, but I don’t think I would be able to uproot a tree like the Zap apple trees, even if I wanted too. But I’ll hold back at my first tries, just to be sure.” Caesar said.

“Whatever works for ya, sugarcube.” Applebloom smiled, stepping back as she watched Caesar prepare himself.

“Agility!” Caesar first called out, before taking a deep breath and once again calling a second move. “Strength!” He shouted before looking around.

“Where should I start?” He asked.

“Near the center of the tree. The force of the strike will vibrate to everywhere else.” Applebloom told him, not noticing that Ember was watching the two of them as Caesar got himself ready.

He smirked before he drew back his arm and suddenly took off towards the tree, stopping himself next to the nearest tree, sending up a lot of dust. Before he could slow down completely, he drew his fist forward, hitting the tree hard, canceling his own momentum. The apples fell like intended, but brought with them a lot of the leaves as well.

“Oops.” Caesar said, his cheek sparking in response.

“That was a good try, Caesar.” Ember said from behind them. “The leaves you don’t need to worry about. They’ll grow back with time.”

“Same here. Now… to the next tree!” Applebloom gleefully cried out, racing towards the next one like she was trying to play a game with Caesar and see how many Apples they could collect. This continued on for awhile, but after thirty trees, Caesar felt like he was beat. However, it was in the thirty-first tree that Ember noticed something. It was a black box with yellow lightning bolts.

What Caesar was looking for.

Surprising the two youngsters, Ember walked past them as she rolled up her sleeves. Surprising them when she kicked the tree with a forward jab. She wasn’t using her powers for extra force, but instead, used a normal kick to catch what fell out of the tree and into her right hand. “Caesar, would this happen to be the box you’re looking for?”

“Yeah! That’s it right there. Wow, I didn’t even notice it.” He confirmed her suspicion.

“You were exhausted a bit, so I can understand that,” She said, handing it to him. “What I’m curious about is what’s inside.”

Caesar smiled as he was handed the box and gave it a quick taze, the locks on the sides instantly popping open with loud clicks.

“When we were in that dream, and the cloud thing was trying to escape, I got an idea. If it is possible for it to leave the dream world, what would stop anything else from doing the same? Since the rift was already open, all I had to do was imagine this, and throw it through the rift. And voila!” Caesar explained as he took the cover off the box to reveal its content.

Inside were three items. The first one, looked much like a red tile with rounded edges and a transparent middle.

The second item, looked much like a small yellow marble.

The third and last item, was a transparent green stone with a lightning bolt running through it, although there was a crack running through it.

“Woah… So you had all three in there… as a test?” Ember asked him.

“Well, I wasn’t sure if I would ever get another chance. So I aimed high and went right for the bullseye.” Caesar explained. Ember herself though, thought that this was interesting to a much different degree. This wasn’t no small feat. This was something much more. So, she asked Applebloom to give them a minute to themselves. Once the filly left with a couple of the baskets they had, Ember then looked at Caesar.

“That was a very smart trick… I think it’s time I told you something that I wanted to wait for until you settled in, but it seems that right now will do.” She said, almost confusing him.

“Um, what do you mean?” He asked.

“Well… how should I put this… you remember when you first arrived here and found out you were part Pikachu?” She asked, just to start. “Well… you and I aren’t the only ones that this has happened to.” Taking a moment, she pulled out a phoenix feather and handed it to him. She had a feeling that he would hear her voice speak out to him and probably proceed to ask what it is.

Taking the feather, Caesar’s eyes widened as he heard the message from it. “I am Ember Valkyr, the heart of the phoenix. Call my name and I will let my flames help you anyway I can.”. Looking back at Ember with a confused look.

“Do you want me to tell you what that is?” She asked him kindly.

“Um… I’m guessing ‘a feather’ isn’t what you’re after, right?” Caesar asked.

“It was a trick question, Caesar,” She chuckled. “This is my summoning token. As I was saying before, we aren’t the only ones who ended up in Equestria. However, all these other people ended up as different people or characters in their own Equestria’s. Summoning tokens are a way for us to have other people come see us or have us come see them. Because you and I are what’s called a Displaced.” She said, having Caesar stay there for a minute as she ran into the house. When she came back out, Ember was holding the knife that she found this morning. “Now tell me… what do you notice is off about this on first glance?”

“Um… that strange mark on the side of the blade?” Caesar asked unsure if he got it right.

“That’s one thing. The thing with tokens is that they come in many forms. Mine is a feather, yet this Displaced had her’s resemble a knife.” Ember explained. “Now, it’s when you have someone else’s token that you can summon them. If you want to of course. There’s not really a specific reason for summoning one. Sometimes, you need someone to talk too or someone to help turn the tides of battle. This case though, it’s so we can help introduce you to the concept… You still with me so far?” She asked, thinking that she was boring Caesar because of her constant talking.

“I think I understand… But, if they are in different Equestrias, and are able to come here with the help of their token, couldn’t they go back home, to Earth with the tokens?” Caesar asked, a glint of hope lighting in his eyes.

“Actually… I haven’t really thought about it like that before… Tell you what, when I summon this Displaced, maybe she might have the answers you’re looking for.” Ember replied back, setting the knife down before placing a hand over it. “Blood Cleaver, if you can hear my call, I would like to meet you in person.”

“And I answer your summon.” A female voice rang out before a hole, seemingly made out of many black particles having come together appeared out of nowhere. An adult woman, with long, straight, black hair stepped out, clothed in a black, long sleeved shirt with pink stripes going down the sides, black, long legged pants and black boots.

“So, any particular reason for summoning me?” She asked as she stepped out from the black portal and it closed behind her.

“I was just curious to know who you are,” Ember replied to the woman. “Not only that, but I’m introducing my friend Caesar here to the Displaced, so I thought him meeting one could be useful for him.” With it, Ember motioned her head to where Caesar was, allowing for Blood Cleaver to see him.

“Well then. Nice to meet you then. I’m Blood Cleaver. I’m part Sayian and part Solid Class human. My special talent is blood magic, and the blood rune on my token is also my cutie mark.” She said, bowing slightly.

“Ember Valkyr. Caretaker of Philomena and Pyromancer. This is Caesar and he’s part Pikachu.”

“Nice to meet you.” Caesar said.

“Well, I guess that’s the introductions out of the way. So, you guys have tokens on your own?” Blood Cleaver asked them.

“I do, but Caesar does not. He’s… new to this.” Ember replied to her as she handed her feather to her. “I was thinking that maybe you can help Caesar with getting his token out there and answering any questions he might have… If that’s okay with you, of course.”

“Of course. Helping others is my thing. So ask away, and if you wish to make a token, I can help you send it out.” She assured.

“Go ahead, Caesar. Tell her what you told me.” The Mancer encouraged the young boy, who looked a bit nervous at first.

Steeling himself, Caesar decided to ask what he thought to be the most important question of them all. “Is it possible to get back home?”

Sighing, Blood Cleaver seemed reluctant to answer at first. Making Caesar look down at his feet as he felt his hopes being dashed, before Blood Cleaver spoke up again.

“Yes, it is possible. But I would not recommend pursuing a goal like that. The Void is a near infinite, if not infinite place. And to get home, you would first need to find your home. And before that, you would also have to learn to safely navigate the Void. The Void is what the name implies, a place devoid of all things, an empty space between universes. The tokens, are the safest way to traverse the void without even touching it, as they work like direct routes to where you’re going.

The only way to find your way in the ever changing Void, is if you have trained yourself specifically for that purpose. The power required, just to slip into the void itself, can be more than some ever manage to gain during their lives, And after that one would have to adapt to the Void’s madness without going crazy, as I’ve already mentioned.” Blood Cleaver explained. Caesar’s mood dropping even further.

“But there are also other ways. There are beings known as the Void walkers. One of them, is most likely the reason for you being here, but some, are not like that. There is one that I know went by the name Essence. She has helped many Displaced find their way home, if you ever stumble upon her, she should be able to help you. So don’t lose hope kiddo.” She said, smiling at him kindly.

“Thanks for the help, Cleaver…”

“Yeah, this is all heartwarming and all, but Aunt Embah, who is the new pony?” Ember turned around, noticing that Applejack and Applebloom had been standing there for a while. How long? She wasn’t sure. But that didn’t really matter right now.

“Aunt?” Blood Cleaver asked with curiosity.

“Long story. It’s complicated.” She sighed. “A final wish of a dying friend had me be with his daughter and help raise Applejack, Applebloom and Big Mac. Hell, I just found out about this a month ago.”

“Well, we Displaced do tend to find ourselves in the most unique of situations. I once almost got stuck in an Equestria that didn’t have any Elements of Harmony. I was only able to escape because someone else summoned me before Nightmare Moon’s return.” Blood Cleaver said with a chuckle.

“Heh… Tell me about it.” Ember said as she got up, offering a hand to help Caesar up. “I was summoned by a group of guys that were… I think it was the Ginyu Force. Very… interesting characters if I do say so myself.”

“Wait. They’re Dragonball Z characters, right? Do you have their token?” Blood Cleaver asked.

“Back in my room at the barn, wanna follow me?” Ember offered. “I have their token and a couple of others if you want to see them.”

“Yes, please. I’d love to have a copy of their token if you could. I’ve been looking for Dragonball Displaced for a long time. My teacher wasn’t able to teach me everything. She had to figure them out herself, meaning I never learned Instant transmission or such.” Blood Cleaver explained.

Ember smiled. With that, she guided her over to the barn and upstairs. On a bookshelf, she had a few tokens from previous endeavours. Including the braincase from Gremmy, the metal heart from Ultron, and some other ones. “Now where did I place the token of those numbskulls… Ah, here we are.” She said, handing a badge that resembled the insignia of the Ginyu Force. “I haven’t met much Displaced, but some of them have weird tokens if I do say so myself.”

“Tell me about it. But I think I got you beat, I helped make a token out of a cutie mark once. Made it into a bouncy ball.” Blood Cleaver shuckled before looking around at the shelves containing tokens. “Ember, do you have a pocket space, hammer space or inventory screen of some kind?” She asked.

“Not really. Most things I have I either carry with me or conjure. Since I’m a Mancer, I basically have control over all things fire… And my anger made the badlands… I… rather not discuss about that.”

“I hear ya sister. I’ve had my own rampage, sure, it was before I became a Displaced, and I didn’t hurt anyone. But there is a reason I’m accused of attempted murder, treason against the crown and deemed insane by court back home. We all make mistakes, but we learn from them and become better people.” Blood Cleaver said before taking hold of the Ginyu Force’s token with both hands, before splitting it into two tokens, giving one back to Ember.

“Now, let’s go back. I’m sure Caesar has thought of more questions for me, and that our little break has only added onto the workload of your family. So, I’ll offer to help out some if you wish.” Blood Cleaver reminded Ember before jumping out a hatch in the barn wall that wasn’t there a second ago. The hatch closing behind her and leaving a completely intact wall behind. A small paper note taped to the wall with the words “Race ya!” Signed by Blood Cleaver.

Ember just grinned, using the chance to run down the stairwell and catch up with Blood Cleaver and Caesar, who was right now with Applejack, Big Mac and Applebloom outside.

“So, you have an idea for a token yet, champ?” Blood Cleaver could be heard asking Caesar.

“Yeah… but I don’t actually wish to lose it. I just got these, to use one of them up…” Caesar said unenthusiastically.

“Don’t worry about it. You could always keep the original. You don’t have to absolutely part with the template for a token.” Blood Cleaver explained.

“Really?” Caesar asked.

“Of course. As long as you grab it before it falls into the void, you’re able to keep it. You just have to let it divide itself first.” She explained.

“So, have you thought of what to say?” She asked, making Caesar furrow his brows.

“No. I don’t actually know what kind of message to send out.” Caesar admitted. “Um, can we do this a little bit later?” Caesar asked.

“Whenever you think is the right time, Caesar.” Ember spoke as she looked at both the boy and the displaced. “So, are you ready to help with bucking a few more trees Caesar? We still got a lot of ground to cover.”

Caesar began nodding eagerly. “Yeah, I’ve even got an idea on how I can do it better. Watch this!” He exclaimed.

“Strength! Agility!” He quickly shouted in rapid succession while smiling.

Looking back at the others, his smile got bigger before he sprinted off towards the nearest Zap apple tree that still had fruit on it. As he was closing in, he didn’t slow down as expected, but instead jumped into the air, launching himself, legs first, into the tree trunk. As he impacted, he bent his knees and pushed off of the tree, landing in a sprint, already running towards the next tree as the rainbow fruits fell down into and filled the baskets up by the roots of the tree.

“Well… Something tells me we might be done a bit sooner than expected.” Applejack replied, watching as Caesar was zipping out from tree to tree.

“Well, we won’t let him outdo us, will we?” Asked Blood Cleaver before seemingly disappearing, only to re-appear next to one of the trees, lightly tap it, and be gone again as the fruits simply fell off of the the completely undisturbed branches. Blood Cleaver having already tapped the next tree, disappearing and appearing at the next one before the fruit had hit the baskets.

“Heh… That’s one way of doing it.” Ember chuckled, looking at Blood Cleaver for a second. “Something tells me though that Caesar will tire out soon. Wanna pitch in and help him if he crashes?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep him from doing anything stupid.” Blood Cleave responded while continuing with her self appointed task of clearing trees of apples, faster than one could say “Apple”.

“Alright,” The Mancer replied, turning around to see that Applejack and Big Mac were working on the trees on the opposite side of the orchard before looking back at Blood Cleaver and Caesar. “If Caesar does pass out, I can do some trees in his place so we can give him some time to rest.”

“Why would he pass out?” Cleaver asked, pausing in her chore to look at Ember.

“He’s still recovering from being sick a few days ago. Zecora found him in the forest with a high fever and freezing to death. Even though he’s doing better, his body might still be trying to recover from a lot of… recent changes that have been happening to him.” She explained, pointing as Caesar as his newfound Pokemon ears twitched a little.

Blood Cleaver frowned looking at Caesar. “You know who his Displacer is?” She asked.

“No actually… All I know is that he arrived here part Pikachu and that he really wants to get home. Something tells him being Displaced separated him from his parents because he thought I knew his mother and that I could help take him home.”

“Dammit. That only makes it less likely for him to ever get back.” Blood Cleaver whispered to Ember before sighing.

“You know, the Displacers and the universe has a real sick idea of humor… None of us Displaced seem to ever catch a break, sooner or later, something happens that turns everything upside down, and all we can do is keep going. Never to return home, for whatever reason we have.” Blood Cleaver spoke with sadness in her voice.

Ember understood what she meant, but as she replied, what she told her was a bit… surprising. “Honestly… I wouldn’t have wanted to go back. My life before now was a living hell. Parents kept on fighting and I felt like I was the reason to blame. I was the outcast and felt as if I had no sense of purpose. Then…” She took a moment to put her hands on the scarf that she had on her. “... When I got this, I found myself on a cold night and right in front of a dying phoenix. Instead of leaving him like he wanted, I stayed with Phyrron in his final moments. From there, he gave me his powers and also put Philomena in my care. That’s when I felt like my life had purpose. Like I had a reason to live. Now I just want to help Caesar however I can… because in a way… he’s like a little brother to me.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to say I’m happy for you. If only other Displaced could find themselves in favourable situations like you… I myself don’t really have any Equestria to call my home. I travel the Void into any other Equestria I find… Speaking off, is it alright if I go and visit your Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie after we’re done here?” Blood Cleaver asked suddenly. “I have something I would like to make sure of.” She stated.

“Sure… oh and Blood… I’ll be more than happy to allow you to call this Equestria your home.” She said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Thank you. But I already have an Equestria I intend to return to after I retire from my work. I simply can’t stay long in one world, knowing that every moment, another might fall to a terrible fate if I am not there to prevent it.” Blood Cleaver explained, shaking her head while smiling. “But I do appreciate the offer.” She said, looking at Ember.

“Ah alright. I have a busy role myself so I understand what you mean.” She replied.

“Now, let’s get these Apples down!” Blood Cleaver cheered, before once again seemingly disappear, followed by loud taps on wood in quick succession and apples hitting baskets.

Ember chuckled, watching as Cleaver and Caesar kept knocking down apples, nonstop. Filling up the baskets in quick succession. “Something tells me that we’re going to need more baskets.”

Some time later…

By the time they were done, Caesar was already lying asleep on top of some hay bales, while Blood Cleaver was having fun watching the others gawk at how many baskets of apples she could carry at once, without using magic.

The unharvested Zap apples never had a chance to disappear, since before the time had come, they had managed to collect all of them. Making this year’s haul the biggest yet for Zap apples.

As Caesar was lying on the bale of hay, he soon had someone looking over him and noticing his tired self. That was Ember and she noticed the little one while watching Cleaver mess around. The little one had worked real hard like the rest to make this year’s harvest the best there was. Now he was just flat out asleep.

Turning to Cleaver, Ember smiled. “Well… now comes the question of what we’re gonna do with all these Zap Apples. Any suggestions?”

“Why not do what the apple family always does, make Zap Apple jam and sell it of course!” Blood Cleaver said, setting down the last few baskets.

“Heh… you got me there.” Ember nodded her head, chuckling to herself. “Hey… thanks for all your help. You know… with Caesar and the harvest.”

“It’s no trouble, I’m happy to help. After all, it’s kind of the reason I’m traveling the Void.” Blood Cleaver responded.

“I see. Well, with what’s going on lately, I’ve been a bit lucky to get some help with Caesar because of the circumstances… Honestly, I never thought someone as young as him would end up as a Displaced.” She said, “Not to mention that with his lightning abilities, that will make it another Mancer I need to teach.”

“The old generation teaching the new one?” Blood Cleaver asked.

“Sort of… it’s a bit… different than what you would think…” Turning around, she nodded her head in the direction where Big Macintosh was, the stallion working with his abilities as he slammed his hooves in the ground to form a few stone pillars. Before having them bend around and to return back to earth from where it once came from. “In this world, all living beings have a form of energy called Life Force. We breath it in and out every day like air. But some beings like Mac here can control one of five main elements with the life force they have and a strong will. The same goes for me.” With that, Ember showed Blood Cleaver an example when she conjured a powerful flame that resembled a rose in her hand. “I’m just trying to teach Mac and Caesar to control their newfound gifts… Trust me… It’s a bit difficult.”

“But they’re both willing to learn, aren’t they? I’m sure it’s easier with eager students, is it not?” Blood Cleaver asked before taking on a thoughtful expression. “You know what, I’ve heard there is some kind of academy that will be teaching and helping Displaced. Perhaps there could be something for Caesar?” Blood Cleaver asked.

That caught Ember’s attention. “That… may work. Though, I might need to find out a little bit of information on it first before making any decisions… Do you know the Displaced who set the academy up? Or was it just something you heard in the Void?”

Blood Cleave paused for a moment before responding. “Yeah, Sun Wukong is the name of the guy who had the idea. It will apparently be open to ponies, as well as Displaced. But other than that, I don’t really know. I guess we’ll have to look out for his token.” Blood Cleaver said.

Ember nodded her head, “Alright. If anything changes, let me know okay? And if you do find his token first, can you send a copy my way?”

“Sure thing. Helping out is my thing.” Blood Cleaver said with a smile before chuckling. Ember smiled as well, but soon looked around a little and was confused on something. Looking back at Mac, she then had a question for the Stallion.

“Hey Mac! Have you seen Frost anywhere!?”

“Can’t say that ah have, Ember. Haven’t seen him since early this morning.”

Ember then grumbled a bit, followed by facepalming herself. “Uh figures… Looks like I have one other person to look for now.”

“It seems that way. Hey, Ember. I would love to stay, but I still have a duty, and I’ve already helped out here. As soon as I’ve helped Caesar with making a token, I’ll be going. Just a heads up.” Blood Cleaver told her.

“Sure thing. I’m not so much worried about what Frost might be up too… however, I am concerned of what might be after him. But that’s on a personal note.” Ember sighed. “Guess I’ll let you keep an eye on Caesar for a bit?”

“Sure. We’ll be here. But once he wakes up, we’ll begin with making a token. If you’re not back by the time I’m leaving, I’ll escort him back to the farmhouse first.” Blood Cleaver assured Ember.

The mancer nodded, walking inside while thinking something over. After today, she felt like she needed to change something. More importantly, the message on her token. Keeping the feather in one hand, she channeled her energy into is as she said the same phrase that she said before. A new one.

She may still be a tortured phoenix… but her heart was not anymore. Now... her heart was free.

End Chapter 12

Author's Note

Like with Ember, Caesar and Applebloom, young hearts gotta be free! Thank you Fictional Fanatic with all the help for this chapter.

13.5- Nine Lives

Author's Note

Something in the meantime... I’m wanting to bring this story back, but right now, I got this for you. Thank you and have a good night.
-Frost

P.S. Where did the G-Doc importer go? Did it get disabled with FimFiction 4.0?

13.5- Nine Lives

The same evening...

The night was long and cold as the ponies who worked for the stallion named Dr. Caballeron patrolled the personal ship that had several artifacts onboard that were raided from numerous different ancient ruins. The boat itself was on course to the doctor’s personal mansion to be stored away before any treasure hunters like that of Daring Do would take anything on board away from them. Despite being a doctor, when it came to ancient treasures, Caballeron preferred the old saying… “finders keepers” and did not see the point to museums or having these artifacts being on display.

Yet, the talk amongst the ponies on board was not of Caballeron, but of something else that the ponies on board heard. A rumor that spread like wildfire throughout the Horseshoe Bay and now was the talk amongst the crew members. “I don’t believe it. It’s sounds like a bunch of bullcrap!”

“No, it’s true! The barkeep in port told me that many ponies, griffons and a bunch of other people have all encountered this Black Cat thief. Rumor is, anypony who’s encountered her has had more than their bits stolen… but has been left having nightmares for days. It’s supposed to be even faster than a pegasus.”

“I would only believe if I see that for myself, Starboard.” Another pony spoke up, looking back at the stallion as they spoke. “Speaking of which, it’s time to change shifts. You’re supposed to take over Calm Shore’s place for Nightwatch.”

“Okay, but if the rumors are true, don’t say I told you so.” The earth pony named Starboard grumbled before he stepped out and slammed the door behind him. He was frustrated at more than one thing. First, there was the fact that the ponies that he was paired up with were drinking on the job while they were supposed to be guarding all this treasure for their client. Second, because of all the others being in some kind of drunken stupor, if something were to happen, their client would be furious if something were to happen to what they were suppose to guard. Third… and probably the most important right now… he can’t happen to find any signs of where the other sober pony on this boat, Calm Shores, would be.

Then… out of nowhere… he heard a creak in the wooden boards of the deck, causing him to turn around and see if he heard anything. He had a crossbow in case of emergencies, but when the stallion turn around, he saw nothing anywhere. It had the stallion be on edge… and made him want to hurry and find Calm Shores.

A few moments after beginning his search though… he did not find his colleague anywhere. Which, had his fur stand up on edge as the stallion continued to look around frantically as he tried to calm himself… Only to hear something fall nearby. He turned around rather quickly… only to find a gold coin in the middle of the deck where he was standing…

And an unknown figure perched up above him nearby. It donned a navy cloak, black wraps around what looked like something that minotaurs would call ‘hands’, and darkened trousers from the waist down. Certain features on the figures clothes matched the color of the figures mane along with the glow that was radiated from the evening moon and it’s azure eyes. It was then that something clicked in the stallion's head… which soon had every part of his body tremble in fear.

This figure… was the same thief he heard about in the harbor… The black cat. Before he could speak, it was when the figure leaped down, picked up the coin… and placed one of it’s fingers to his mouth. “Ah ah ah… No talking… only listening…”

“Wha-”

“No talking,” The figure spoke, a young female voice coming from her. “You had a friend, yes? The mare that was here earlier…” All Starboard could do is nod as the girl continued to speak, a bit scared of what was going to happen… and if something happened to Calm Shores. “Easy there, I’m not going to hurt you. Your friend is fine… In fact, she’s on the lifeboat on the water outside the ship. There’s another one with your name on it if you go now…”

Hearing that made Starboard relieved… for only a moment. But it was then that a new thought emerged inside his head… What was she doing… and why? “I only harm those that try to attack me first… and since you two are the only ones who haven’t tried to put a crossbow bolt in my back, I’m letting you get out of here while you still can.”

“W-why-?”

That had the girl glare directly at the stallion… shortly before repeating what he said. “Why? I’ll tell you why… Because there’s something on this ship I want… and I’m giving you the option to get out of here on your own before things… well… go overboard.” At the last part, she chuckled a bit before tilting her head in a certain direction. “All I ask is that you leave the key for the cellar… I know you have it because Calm told me.”

Listening to what he said, the stallion dropped the key, allowing for the thief he was talking to the chance to pick it up and store it in a satchel on her waist. But as he left for the lifeboat, he only had one question for the girl… “W-who are you?”

The girl had only one word to say in response as the stallion. “Maeve.” That… was followed by her throwing a dagger that curved like a boomerang as it cut the ropes holding up the lifeboat and letting it drop to the water below.

Below Deck

“Uh… Mates, something doesn’t seem right…” One of the shipmates below the main deck spoke up as everypony on board looked towards them. “Is it just me… or are those our lifeboats drifting away from the ship?” That single question… immediately had the entire crew on edge as they all immediately drifted to the side of the side. Seeing the same exact thing that the same pony had described.

“...... Everypony, get off your asses and get topside NOW!!” The deckhand of the ship, One-Eye, snapped as everypony dropped their food and beverage to pick up their crossbow’s and blades. But just as they were about to head outside, the door soon immediately snapped open… and the resulting gush of wind blew out every lit candle they once had.

“Starboard, what the bloody hell is going on-?!”

“Sorry boys… But I’m not him.” They heard, seeing a new figure in the door’s entryway as it was holding a pair of daggers in it’s hands. But when she said two words… everything soon changed instantly as the figure began twirling both of her daggers and a magenta like glow illuminated from the weapons.

“Good night…”

Instantly, for all the ponies in the room. Everything went pitch black. None of them could see a thing, even though they can hear each other freaking out over what was going on. Some of them attacking each other in the panic and paranoia. “What are you fools doing!? She’s just one girl! Catch her already!!!”

“S-she’s too fast!!” One of the other crew members shouted, before dropping to the floor seconds later after failing to shoot their crossbow and hitting a wall instead. Which, to Maeve, was a good thing. The quicker she was, the likelier that these drunken sailors would knock themselves out before even touching her.

Yet, the moment she thought that though… was when things did not go as well as she thought it would. “I see her!!”

“Whoops…” She sighed, looking back at the ponies that were still standing. Out of the five of them that she originally saw in the room, only two of them were unconscious and on the floor as she looked back at the three others that were about to attack her. Firing their crossbows at her, only to miss her arm and neck by bare inches. “That was too close…”

Reaching to the sides of her cloak, she soon got another pair of throwing daggers in her hands as she glared at the remaining guards in the room. “Well… what doesn’t kill me… better start running.” In a flash, Maeve lunged forward at the pony that was closest to her, slamming his head into the ground and knocking the stallion out cold. Then, before one of the two remaining guards could fire off his crossbow, Maeve hurled another two daggers at the second one. The first of the two striking the weapon… while the other one struck alongside the head of the pony who was wielding it as they soon dropped to the ground.

Now, only one pony remained… and he was just as terrified as he was defiant. “W-what the hell are you!?” The only response from the girl originally… was a flick of the knife that was in her left hand as a brief turquoise glow could be seen. Shortly before the girl soon appeared behind him… and with one of her daggers to the stallions throat.

“Someone that had something stolen from me by your employer… and I came to get it back,” The thief said with a sinister edge to her tone. “Now, I hate to rush things, but let’s make a deal… You show me where the cellar for your treasure is… and I’ll make sure to not stab you in the back.”

“You crazy bi-!” Before the stallion could fully insult the girl, the knife on the stallion’s throat went a bit closer to his neck as he could feel the cold. “Okay, okay okay… O-other end of the s-ship… main door… silver lock… There, I told you… what happens now-” As he said that, the girl then struck him in the face with a curled up fist as he laid there unconscious. All before chuckling.

“Oh, I forgot to mention… When I said ‘stab in the back’, I meant that literally.” She chuckled before taking a moment to tie up all of the crew, pilfer them of their belongings, and leave them knocked out on the main deck. As for her though, what Maeve was looking for was something rather… precious to her. And it was the first thing she found upon busting the lock to the treasure room and having the door swing open.

It was a magenta colored gem. One that was similar to the features on the back and front of her cloak as she took it and placed it in her pocket. The room was filled with other treasures too, but none of which she really needed even though it was tempting to have them. She had gotten what she wanted… and now, there was only one other thing left to do.

When Daring Do had arrived in Horseshoe Bay this morning, there were some things that she did not expect upon landing in the port city. She was originally here because of a rumor that she overheard where some ancient treasure was stolen by thugs who were hired by her nemesis, Dr. Caballeron. But upon landing this morning, she was rather shocked to find a lifeboat come into the shore… with a rather big chest of gold and treasure inside it along with a mark of what looked like a pawprint on the side of the boat.

The second thing she didn’t expect… was the first thing she heard about upon the locals in the harbor recognizing the mark. “The Black Cat… that’s her mark.”

“What’s the mark of a thief and a pickpocket doing on there?” The pegasus heard another one say before the shoreline was beginning to fill up with lots of the locals. Causing Daring Do to leave so she wasn’t spotted and having the scene be escalated further. But it was in during this that she happened to overhear more about this… Black Cat. How the thief wasn’t an equine at all… and was something called a ‘human’. That any encounter with her lead to the victim having nightmares for the next few days… But most importantly, being able to see an image of the supposed thief on a wanted poster.

That was… before it was taken down just a moment after Daring noticed it. Ripped off the town’s bulletin board by a bipedal figure before they proceeded down an alleyway. The pegasus at this point was rather curious about who it was… and therefore, decided to pursue the figure down the alley. Yet, when she turned a corner, the whole alleyway was empty… with nopony in sight.

Or at least… that’s what she thought. “You know it’s rather rude to follow someone like that, kitten.” Daring immediately turned around, only to see the same bipedal figure sitting on a stack of crates as she looked at the pegasus while messing up the wanted poster in her hands before taking a chance to throw it away in a nearby trashcan. “Hmm… You’re not the same as the other kittens… who are you?”

Daring herself raised an eyebrow in response. For one thing, why did she address her and other ponies as kittens? Nevertheless, after a bit, she then answered the question. “Daring Do, Explorer and Archeologist…” Then… something began to click as she looked back at the youngling. “Are you… the Black Cat?”

“Do I look like a cat to you, kitten?” she said, before giggling a bit. “It’s just an Alias, even though some ponies think I am a cat because of how I speak around others… but if you are asking about the thief, then I can only say yes. Yet, that’s only my occupation, Ms. Do.”

“Then let me ask you the same question you asked me,” The pegasus replied, which had the girl tilt her head to the left in curiosity as Daring then asked her question. “Who are you?”

“Originally, I was known by a different name, but that’s a thing in the past, kitten. You may call me Maeve. Treasure Hunter, thief and thrill seeker… Yet, I’m not like most thieves.”

“Could you clarify on that?” Daring Do then asked, rather puzzled by that last statement.

“Even though I do like treasure, I have some personal rules, but there are two main ones.” She said, holding up two fingers in the air. “First off, I only steal from other thieves. Secondly, and most important, I only harm others if they try to harm me first as an act of self defense.” To Daring, that was rather surprising. Most treasure hunters and thieves she encountered were only focused on their personal greed. But Maeve… seemed different. Kind hearted, yet cunning. It was a… different kind of twist to what she normally expected. “Now, Kitten. Since I answered two of your questions, it would be fair if you can answer one for me.”

The Pegasus, seeing this as fair to her, nodded her head as she looked back at Maeve. “Alright, what’s on your mind?”

“Well… I’m trying to find more people like me and the last thing I heard on the streets here was that there’s two of them in a place called… Ponyville I think. Would you happen to know anything about this?” She asked the adventurer.

“I have heard of it, but haven’t met them personally. I only read about it in this newspaper from the last town I was in.” The pegasus replied, only to extend her wing and hand Maeve the article with a picture above it.

However, once she saw the picture, she felt as if her heart skipped a beat. Her face losing the carefree expression that she had earlier as she now looked like she saw a ghost. For a couple of moments, she was silent. But then asked something off the top of her head. “Can I keep this?”

“Yeah, I don’t need it for anything…” She said as she Daring looked behind her for a moment in order to make sure she still had her stuff and closed the flap of her saddlebag. “So what are-”

Before the adventurer could add onto what she was trying to say… Maeve was gone. Nowhere in sight. Vanished without a trace and the same paper she just handed her by her hooves… with the picture missing.

For Maeve though, as she ran into the jungle and away from the port… The adventurer did more than help her… she gave her hope. Because in the image… was something that she thought she lost long ago. The picture itself was of one particular human. A woman, with brown hair tied in a ponytail, crimson wristbands and scarf, jeans and a grey t-shirt with two earth ponies next to her. It even got to the point that it made the girl cry a little.

“I f-found you…” she said to herself, before pocketing the picture away in her coat. “I finally found you...... Emmy.”

14- The Heart of the Forest

Author's Note

Now for some storytelling from a different perspective. I've had this on the backburner for a long while, but I felt that now we're in 2018, we finally get this one out of the way.

Some of the inspiration from this, as well as a new antagonist, came from the indie Smash Bros themed title called 'Rivals of Aether'. Given how Mancers here are elemental based (And so of the fighters), I thought this would work out perfectly. Another scene was also based on the Warhammer 40K parody called 'If the Emperor had a text to speech device' (Introduced to me by this guy).

Anyways, next chapter will require a LOT of explaining... I think by the end though, you'll see why. In the meantime, I want to thank everyone for being patient with me so far and I hope you like it.
-Frost

14- The Heart of the Forest

The Flames of the Phoenix- The Heart of the Forest

When Big Mac had finally returned back to Sweet Apple Acres shortly after helping Aunt Ember and two strangers fend off an attack from that of the Cryophoenix named Anivia, he thought that he would be able to finally get some much deserved rest. But when he opened his eyes again, he did not find himself in the comforts of his own room, but rather in the middle of the Everfree Forest. But… it was rather calm and no creatures seemed to be running around. Something that made him feel rather uncomfortable.

However, what really did not settle right with him was that as he was looking around and moved his head to the left… that was when he laid eyes on something that caught him off guard. “Granny, tell us a story!”

“W-what?” He asked himself. Because when he fully turned himself in the direction of the voice, that was when he found himself looking at what seemed like a memory. A time when he and his sister were a lot younger. Before Applebloom was even born. It was when his parents were out of town meeting some of their friends and they were being watched over by Granny Smith, who was sitting in her rocking chair with a book on her lap.

“Oh, come on now you two. It’s too late to for that.” He heard Granny Smith tell both of them. But it didn’t stop his sister from being persistent.

“Come on, Granny. Can we listen to one story? Please?” Applejack asked her. At first, the elderly mare was rather insistent on not doing it… but after a while, she let out a deep sigh and gave in.

“Alright… But I’ll be the one to pick the story… You always choose the ones that you like, so you two young’uns are going to be listening to something new tonight,” He heard her say as he felt a small breeze flow past him as Big Mac looked all around him. It was as he heard Granny Smith speak though that the forest around him began to change. “You two both know that it’s dangerous to go into the Everfree… but to know the true reason for why it is a dangerous place, you must know how it came to be.”

Immediately, everything around Big Mac suddenly began to change. As he moved through the forest, he began to see that many of the most dangerous hazards that were in this place… were not even there. The Froggy Bottom Bog was not there either and instead… when he got to the edge of the forest, all that Mac saw was… pure green. An endless meadow of grass, flowers and the spare trees. It looked like it would reach to the badlands.

Wait…… The… badlands? “Once, the Everfree was a much more beautiful place. An endless plain of green and life. One where many of the inhabitants loves to have called it their home…” At this point, Mac froze. The air suddenly became dry and the earth around him began to disintegrate right before his very eyes. “Then… came the burning. A vast wave of heat and fire began to rapidly spread throughout the Everfree. Scorching everything that stood in its path.”

“A-aunt Embah…” Mac gasped, just as he was finding himself immediately turned around and facing what looked to be the center of the Everfree.

“It was as the flames approached the center of this vast green… that the heart of the forest awoke… and the Everfree raged,” All around him, Big Mac heard what sounded like the clashing of weapons and the burning sounds of crackling fire as he still heard Granny Smith speak. “It fought back against Fire… and it fought back against those who dared tried to invade the forest. But this heart grew cancerous.” Now, he was seeing the trees decay and the ground below him change. Becoming more of the kind of forest that many would think of when they hear the Everfree.

“It tried to dwell into territory that it was not allowed to go into… but, it was pushed back. Many think that it is gone. Some ponies assume that the Timberwolves first originated from this single heart, but there are many things that we do not know… It is the reason why most ponies stay away from the forest and everything that’s inside.”

Though, it was around then though that Big Mac… heard his younger self speak. “But Granny, didn’t you go in there when you were younger?”

“Ah only was there when I came across Zap Apples for the first time… but that is a story to be told another night,” Granny told both of them, before closing the book as Big Mac heard the sounds of them trotting upstairs. “It’s time to get some sleep you two…”

“But Granny… what about the heart? What happened to it?” The moment that he heard that question, a chilling wind blew over Big Mac as the stallion noticed several barbed vines circling around the trees and in the ground. Some even passing over his hooves, which immediately made him flinch as he turned to see where they were coming from.

Only for him to be met with a pair of dark red eyes that stared directly back at him. The sound of growling in the distance. “Well now, sugarcube… according to the stories… you can still hear the winds say it’s name to this very day.”

Then, Big Mac felt not just something move from under his hooves… but over them. He looked down to see that the grass he was standing on was now coming over his hooves. Almost as if it was dragging him into the ground like quicksand as he looked up at what was in front of him. Only for him to come face to face with the figure he was looking at.

It was a timberwolf… but one with a black head, almost as if it was burned. It had a mane of grass similar to that of a lion and the timber that was on the front of its body looked to have been old and worn. But what was most noticeable was that there were three flower buds on this timberwolf. One on the end of the tail and two were on the peaks of it’s shoulders. But as the end of the tail was faced towards Big Mac, the flower opened up and turned into the jaws of a ferocious beast.

But the most chilling part of all was something that he was never prepared for. This timberwolf… spoke to him. “Who DARES invade the domain of Sylvanos!!?!”

“Gah!!” Big Mac immediately shot up and started to look around him, only to realize that he was immediately back in his room. For a moment, he didn’t know if this place was truly real. But hearing some of his family members downstairs soon lead him to realize that he wasn’t in a dream at all.

However… what he experienced just now… That definitely felt real to him. “Mac, ya okay in there?”

Hearing the voice of his sister had the stallion stumble out of there before looking towards the door. “Y-yeah, ah am. Why?”

“Aunt Ember asked me to check on ya. Ya missed breakfast this morning,” Hearing that from AJ had Mac shudder for a moment, before he looked at the clock that was on the wall and realized that it had been almost two hours before the sun came up. “Are ya sure your okay? Ya sound sick.”

“Nah, nah, ah’m fine…” Mac told her in response. Even though it wasn’t a lie, part of him was telling himself that it was. “Just overslept. That’s all.”

“Uh huh…… If ya say so,” Applejack replied back to her. “Mac, if ya like, ah can be able to help Aunt Ember on the farm today. She told me about what occurred last night and ah think ya just need some rest.”

“Nah, ah’m fine AJ… Really, ah am.” Big Mac insisted, going as far as getting up and going to open the door to his room in order to see her face to face. “Besides, it’s mah responsibility to take care of the orchard no matter how ah’m feeling.”

His sister began to think it over for a moment, before an idea came to her mind as she looked back at him. “Well, if ya insist… Ah need some apples delivered to Twilight’s castle today. Ya think you can do that?”

With that thought in mind, all Big Mac did was nod to his sister. “Sure thing.”

“You… want to know about Timberwolves?” A confused Twilight asked. Big Macintosh had just arrived a few moments ago, delivering the apples from the orchard that she had asked for. But instead of taking his leave so soon, the stallion had asked her a question that seemed… rather bizarre. “Zap Apple Season’s already passed though.”

“Ah know and we didn’t have any Timberwolves come by the orchard thankfully…” He let out a sigh of relief. “However… last night, ah had some trouble sleeping and-”

“Wait… are you sure that this isn’t something from the Tantabus incident?”

“The Tanta-what now?” Mac asked, sounding confused for a moment before Twilight shook her head and insisted for him to keep going. “Well, last night ah had a… weird dream and ah was wondering if you had some kind of book that talked about the ecosystem of the Everfree.” Almost as instantly as he said that, the princess teleported out of the room… before coming back a few seconds later with a rather large book that she cracked open and laid out on the crystalline table.

“You said it was Timberwolves right?” A single nod from the Earth Pony had Twilight’s horn light up as it immediately had her turn to somewhere in the back of the book before stopping. “Alright… What was it that you wanted to ask about them?”

“Well… Ah’m not sure if this was because of what ah saw in mah dream or something else,” The stallion stated as he looked at the book for a brief moment, before saying something that Twilight did not anticipate. “But the one ah saw was a lot different and… it actually spoke.”

“…… Come again?”

“Ah’m being serious,” The earth pony was telling her, trying to not sound like he was insane. “At first, ah was remembering a story that Granny Smith told AJ and I when we were young and the next thing ah know, ah see this Timberwolf covered in thorned bramble and had a leaf like mane similar to a chimera glare at me. He even seemed to have a name.”

Now that had Twilight raise an eyebrow for a moment. “A… name?”

Man nodded his head and took a deep breath as he looked back at her first before telling her his answer. “Yes. This… timberwolf called himself Sylvanos.”

Now though was when both of them heard a completely different voice enter the room as the spirit of chaos, Discord, emerged from hiding as a chair that was behind the two of them. “Oh… now this has just gotten a lot more interesting.”

“Discord!!” Twilight gasped. “What was that for?! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“I just thought I would listen in for a little bit to see how things were going,” Discord replied, before looking back at Big Mac now. “But the moment that I heard him mention that name, I thought that it would be the perfect time to come in. Besides, I think I can be able to help answer both of your questions.”

Both ponies now looked at one another in complete and utter confusion, before they said one simultaneous response. “How?”

“Well… the initial question that I’ll answer for you is not a what… but who. Because on the surface, Sylvanos may just seem like a timberwolf with an interest in carnivorous plants… but it’s a lot more important than that,” He replied back to them. “In fact, Sylvanos, in many ways, has some similarities to both myself and the phoenix girl, Ember.” That just confused Big Mac even more. Mostly because he had no idea as to what could he exactly mean by ‘similarities’. If anything, it seemed like there were more differences than that.

“What exactly do you mean by that, Discord?” Twilight then asked him.

“Well, think of it like this…” Discord said as he looked at both ponies and with a snap of his talon, he had a golden coin appear in his hands. “Myself, Ember and Sylvanos are all beings that have on for a rather long time, and in our own way, we reflect the thoughts and emotions that creatures all across the world feel on a daily basis. Both good,” On one side of the coin, it showed the faces of a calm Discord, Ember and Sylvanos. But upon immediately flipping the coin, it was the exact opposite. It was… “bad and downright ugly. For example, you may not fully believe me on this, but I would almost be seen as a force of change.”

“Excuse you?” Twilight asked, blinking in response to the draconequus’ statement. “How exactly can you… You… be a force of change? That’s like asking Pinkie Pie to get into politics…”

“Ah yes… but perhaps it would be best explained through an example,” Discord said, creating something that would replicate what looked like a puppet theater as he had different drawings of ponies emerge on stage. All while they were taped onto what looked like wooden popsicle sticks. “For starters, I might be seen as a devious trickster by some ponies, but I can also be a sign of progress and a beacon of hope. Like how I gave you the last key in order to unlock the Rainbow Power needed to defeat Lord Tirek. The whole thing with this is that it wraps around change. True, without change there would be nopony to plot evil schemes, but it would also mean that there would be nopony smart enough in order to outsmart those schemes.”

“... B-but that would mean… Nothing would ever get done. Society would just be in a standstill.”

“Exactly,” Discord replied back. “We would be stuck in a state of Static karma… and speaking of which,” At that moment was when Discord threw away the stage puppet of himself as it blew up in pink smoke. “That leads directly to what Sylvanos represents. What happens when there’s a complete lack of change. Cycles of Decay and Renewal that are inevitable. It’s the reason why the Everfree Forest is the way that it is because unlike Equestria and the places where Ponies now reside, the Everfree Forest has not changed at all.”

That… left Mac with a question though. “Wait a second… if what ya say is true…”

“Which it is…” Discord added on.

“And ya say that they’re a representation of all emotions… what good thing does he actually represent?” The farmer asked. To which, the spirit of chaos picked up right where he left off.

“The good traits that Sylvanos represents is that he represents the resolve and will in order to face such inevitabilities. Meaning that without him, there would not be any consistency or safety in living and dying… in fact, there would be no consistency at all,” But the next thing that the spirit of chaos told them definitely threw both of them off guard. “Sylvanos is technically nature incarnate.”

Twilight, at this point, didn’t even realize that one of her eyes was twitching as she looked back at Discord. “Is… all of this true?”

Mac himself wanted to know the answer to the same exact question as well… despite the fact that he was confused as to how this really applies to everything. After all, he just wanted to find out more about Sylvanos after what he had seen in his dreams.

“To be honest… even though this sounds as crazy as a pair of sisters being able to move celestial objects around the planet, what I’m telling you is actually correct…” Discord told them before letting out a deep breath. “Sylvanos is still a pain in the ass though. Gets completely defensive over who enters ‘his domain’.”

“Um… can ah ask a question?” Mac spoke up, before Discord nodded his head. “Ah know this sounds a bit crazy to understand, but if you’re change and Sylvanos is nature, then what is my aunt supposed to represent?”

“Well, for Ember, she may be seen as someone who’s rage and anger needs to be kept in check because of what she did in the past, but she could also pass for another trait that a lot of us represent. That being Survival of the Fittest,” Discord told both of them, throwing away his old props and having them explode as he solely focused on Ember now. “Strength and Skill can be represented through her actions, but she is also one that wouldn’t try to trick you and stab you in the back for it. Making her seem like a representation of traits like justice, vengeance, honour, honesty, loyalty and the strength to stand up to and fight against injustice. Like how the villagers in that one town of equality stood up to the towns mayor even though she had the upper hoof and you & your friends hostage.”

“What-?” Big Mac asked, looking towards the Princess of Friendship.

“It’s a long story…” Twilight hastily replied to him for a moment. “Though… that was rather… informative. You happen to know a lot of information on this subject Discord.”

By the time he was finished, Discord had his entire prop set dissipate into pink smoke as he looked back at Twilight. “That I do… however, the one this I don’t know is why I’m hearing all this stuff about Sylvanos now…”

“Perhaps all this conflict going on right now with Anivia has gotten his attention?” Twilight hypothesized.

“Maybe… but Sylvanos normally doesn’t get himself involved unless it directly involves him. Like if you happen to walk into his territory…” Discord then replied back. “I don’t know what might be the cause of something like this unfortunately… but one thing I do know for a fact is that whatever you do… do NOT tell Ember about this.”

“What? Why?” Both Mac and Twilight simultaneously asked, while also being caught off guard by saying that statement at the same time.

“Let me put it to you simply then…” The next thing he said though was what caused some chills go down both of their spines. “Her rage… was the reason why Sylvanos woke all those years ago.”

Meanwhile

In Ponyville’s marketplace, many tradesponies and merchants were making the rounds as they were all trying to sell their wares, whether they were specialty goods or just household items. The one common thing though was that right now, most of the carts that those merchants had used to carry their goods were all in the same place.

And for the thief that hitched a ride on one of these carts from Horseshoe Bay… she saw this as open season. Especially after being in the back of a cramped car carrying tropical fruits and produce for the last few hours. But for Maeve, despite the fact that she was able to pickpocket as much as her cloak can hold… there was one thing that she wasn’t a fan of. “Wow… I honestly did not think that my search would have me end up in the middle of the sticks…”

Normally, she would prefer to try and keep herself hidden from view in a dark alley or under the cover of night. However, she also learned that most ponies don’t normally stay in town and close up their shops after sundown. And since it was only a couple of hours away, Maeve saw that it would be a better time to do that now instead of wait for too long and miss her window of opportunity.

After sneaking out of the cart she was hiding and pickpocketing some food and bits from the two carts right next to it though, that was when she happened to overhear something not far from where she was at as she proceeded to a nearby alley and hid close to the wall. From her position, she peaked around the corner and happened to notice what appeared to be a red stallion emerging from a crystalline tree while he was talking to a… pony with a horn and wings? “That’s… a new one.”

“Thanks for coming over Mac,” She heard that winged pony say to the stallion. “And thank you for the apples. Tell Ember I said hello.” That immediately had the hairs on the back of Maeve’s neck stand up as she looked back at both of them. She did not know about who this… Ember was, but the name… sounded rather close to the name of someone else she was looking for. And it was the only lead that she had at this point.

“Well, let’s see what this big kitten can lead me too.” She grinned, before beginning to run up the side of the alleyway and follow the stallion from the rooftops. When they left town, Maeve proceeded to follow him by hiding along the side of the road and also in the trees. Staying out of sight to not catch the stallions attention and have him think somepony was following him.

The more that she continued to follow him though, the more that she was personally tempted to try and steal from him. Causing Maeve to stop moving for a moment and try to get her to snap out of it. “Come on, stop thinking that. You’ll give your position away to the big kitten if you try to rob him now!”

Yet, it was as she was thinking this, Maeve realized that the pony she was pursuing was now really close to what looked like an orchard. And with it, there was somepony else waiting for him. An orange pony with a blond mane & tail who was wearing what looked like an old stetson hat. She tried to listen in on them, but it was when she got closer and decided to hide in one of the trees that she happened to notice an apple right in front of her. And that the tree she was hiding in was an apple tree.

“Well, I haven’t really had the chance to eat anything since I got out… Guess it’s fine for me to have a bite. Five finger discount after all,” She said, grabbing an apple and yanking it off of the branch before beginning to eat it. It was as she was eating it though that she noticed that the orange pony was… walking over to the tree with what looked like some kind of basket. Before setting it down at the base of the tree. “Now why would she do that-?”

Then, she felt the tree shake. And with it, all the apples immediately fell out of the tree. And Maeve lost her grip on the apple she had just finished eating. “Alright, ah’m all done here-” And just as the earth pony was speaking up, that apple core that Maeve had accidentally let go of hit the pony in the head… and landed right in the basket.

“Now, what in the hay-?” Was the only thing that the mare could say… before she immediately lifted her head up and spotted the thief in the trees.

To which, Maeve only had one thing to say. “Um… Hi-?”

“Mac, get out here!! We got a thieving varmint-!!” On instinct, Maeve immediately dashed out of the trees, knocking the mare to the ground as she began to run. Racing through the trees and thinking that there was a new place she could hide.

Unfortunately though, just as she thought she was about to get away, a giant stone wall emerged in front of the burglar. Causing her to stop in her tracks. “What the-?!” Just as she backed up though and turned around, she felt a lasso wrap around her as she found herself looking directly back at both the mare and stallion she had seen just moments ago, letting out a deep sigh. “… Okay, this sucks!”

“Sis, is this… really the thief? She looks… rather small.” She heard the stallion speak up.

“Darn right! Ah found her in the trees and she dropped an apple core on my head!” The mare snapped, before turning her gaze to Maeve. “Now, what do you got to say for yourself?!”

“Well…” She grinned, remembering something as she had one of her knives appear in her hands very close to where the lasso was holding her. “It’s not really easy to catch me, kitten. Now if you excuse me… I need to cut loose.” Just before they could ask, Maeve cut through her restraints and made a break for it. Startling both of them as they were now chasing her through the back of the orchard.

“Haha!! You can’t catch me!” Maeve taunted, gaining the upper hand. But just like before, something had the chase reach a dramatic hault. But instead of a stone wall this time… it was a fireball to the face. “Ow! Ow! OW!!”

“Okay, just what in the world is going on out here?” That voice, had Maeve immediately lift her head up. Only to see the last thing that she was expecting. What she saw was a human, grey shirt, blue jeans, sandals, crimson scarf and brown hair tied back in a ponytail with dark red eyes.

“Aunt Ember!”

The human, now addressed by her name, looked back towards Maeve… who was personally caught off guard by everything that was transpiring. Which only had her say one word.

“E-emmy?”

Ember herself though, raised an eyebrow. “I…… have not heard that since I had originally come here… And only one person ever called me that-” Now, things were clicking inside her head… just as the two ponies from before were attempting to restrain Maeve in her current state.

“Agh! Hey, what gives?!” The thief shouted, before the farm pony glared at her.

“You were the one who ate one of the apples on the orchard and try to get away with it! You think you can just swipe something that isn’t yours and-”

“Applejack, let her go…” Both of them turned towards Ember, surprised by what she had to say. Personally, Applejack didn’t want to let her go, but after a little bit, she shook her head and let her free.

“Why are you telling me to let her go, aunt Ember?” Applejack asked.

“Because I want to ask her a question…” The pyromancer told her. “Back home, there was only one person in my family that ever called me by that name… So let me ask her something,” Then, she turned to Maeve, who was finally able to get up on her own as she looked back at Ember with a shocked face. “Is that you… Mom?”

That… caused tears to run down the burglar’s face as she walked up to where her daughter was and embraced her in a hug. Trying to hold back her joyful tears as she said something that answered Ember’s question. “I finally found you…”

End Chapter 14

15- Truth

The Flames of the Phoenix- Truth

In Applejack’s mind right now, there were so many questions that she had regarding what was currently playing out just steps from the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. It was only a few moments earlier though that Applejack had come face to face with a bipedal pink maned bandit that was able to free herself out of her lasso and the next moment, they found out that this… thief was somehow Ember’s mother. If anything, there were still several questions that Applejack had on her mind regarding the situation. And some that needed immediate answers.

Though, before she could say anything… she noticed something in particular with her aunt that she had not seen before up until now. And that was the fact that she… was crying. Not tears of sorrow, but tears of happiness. Small ones, but tears all the same. Even Big Mac himself was a little bit puzzled by what was going on along with that of Applebloom. Though, it was the latter of the three ponies that actually decided to speak up on the matter. “Um… not to sound rude, but can somepony explain what the hay is going on?”

That question from the filly had Ember stop for a moment as she used her scarf to wipe the tears off her face. The one that the ponies called ‘mom’ also did the same, just with her jacket this time as she let Ember speak. “That… is something that might not be so easy to explain.”

“How exactly, Aunt Embah?” Applebloom asked, tilting her head again.

“Well…” Ember said, letting out a sigh. “Back before ever meeting you… or Golden Apple… or anypony in Equestria, I was once just a normal girl named Emma in a place called Earth. I didn’t have powers or anything like that… but what I did have was family. That was… until my parents left me a note on one fateful day saying that they wanted to split. After that, I just put on my scarf, fell asleep and… well, ended up here.”

That even had the little burglar that was sitting next to her look rather shocked for a moment. Before smiling a bit. “Well, at least I’ve found you now, Emmy…” Again, all three ponies looked back at her for a moment, looking confused by what she just said. Until the thief then explained what she was referring too. “Oh… right. Emmy was always the nickname I used for her when I was raising her. Short for Emma.”

“Okay… but what is your name exactly?” Big Mac then asked her.

“Well, where we used to be from, my first name was Mae,” She explained to her. “And I used to be just as tall as my daughter. However, ever since coming here, I’m now known as Maeve and I’ve shrunk in size to the point where I look like a young child. Does that answer your question, kitten?” Big Mac almost twitched at being called that, while Applebloom just chuckled as she looked back at her brother. Even going as far as pretending that she was purring like a cat to make the fur of her brother stand up on his neck.

“Ah think that’s a yes.” Applebloom then replied back with a smile on her face.

“Heehee…” Maeve grinned a little bit, before looking back to Ember. It was in this moment that Ember felt inclined to ask her something as she turned to face Maeve directly.

“Mom… can I ask you something?” The pyromancer spoke up as the thief nodded her head. “How… did you even get here?”

“Could you be a bit more specific?” Maeve responded back with a question as Ember took a small sigh. “Do you mean get here to this town? Or are you thinking bigger then that?”

“I mean this world…” Ember clarified. “Like how did you arrive here?”

“Well… that is something I don’t really remember… my brain’s still a bit fuzzy on that subject.” The thief frowned, scratching the back of her head. It didn’t help any at all that after she scratched the back of her head was when they heard a loud rumbling as everypony stared at her.

“Was that… your stomach?”

“Um… yeah?” Maeve told them, before following up on that with another thing she said. “What? A few hours ago, I was hiding inside the back of a trading wagon bound for this town from Horseshoe Bay and aside from that apple I had just now and small crumbs of bread, I haven’t eaten anything in almost two days.”

That almost threw Applejack and the others off guard as she looked back at the rogue. “Well, why didn’t you say so!? If you would’ve told us that and not gone on to try and steal from our crop, we would’ve gladly gave you something to eat.”

“You didn’t know who I was until just now. How would you know that I wasn’t trying to lie and steal something from you?” Maeve then asked her.

“Applejack can tell if somepony’s being truthful or not,” Applebloom then chimed in. “If you would’ve told her that from the beginning, then she would’ve listen to you… kind of.”

That had Maeve raise an eyebrow for a moment as Applejack turned around to look back at the filly. “What do you mean by ‘kind of’, sugarcube?”

“Don’t you remember what happened when you and the girls first met Zecora?” Apple Bloom asked, before looking back at her. “You thought she was an evil enchantress that lived in the Everfree before you shrank because of poison joke. And she was the one that was brewing the cure for it, but you were too stubborn to hear her out.”

Ember herself raised an eyebrow at that, before chuckling. “You thought she was an evil enchantress?”

“And why didn’t you tell me this?” Big Mac then added alongside what Ember asked.

“Well… to be fair, Pinkie Pie started with that and then everypony else still went along with it. It’s something that I still regret to this day,” Applejack sighed, before looking back at Big Mac and Ember. “And this happened when you were Granny Smith back in Appleloosa a long time ago. You weren’t even at the Orchard when this occurred.”

“It’s funny you say that because when you were little, you said you were going to ‘tell Big Macintosh on me’ when ah ran to go help Zecora.” Applebloom chuckled as Applejack face-hooved herself, adding a small groan while looking back at them.

“Alright, ah think ah get the point…” Applejack then spoke up, removing her hoof from her face as she looked back towards Ember and Maeve now. “Besides, it’s getting real close to lunch. If you want to lend a hoof with preparations, then we can let you join us and give you something to eat as well.”

“Why thank you for that,” Maeve replied as she got up off the porch and followed Applejack and Applebloom towards the kitchen. The rogue soon noticed that the filly had placed a basket of apples by the kitchen sink, which… had her grin a little bit as she took out one of the knives that was originally on her coat and began twirling it around her finger as she asked another question to the farm pony. “Can I help with peeling the apples? These blades are made for slicing, after all…”

Both Applejack and Applebloom looked at one another for a moment, before Applejack then said something. “As long as you wash your… uh...”

“Hands.” Ember then added to Applejack’s sentence in order to help her.

“Right… As long as you wash your hands first, then we’re okay with some extra help.” Applejack then responded, allowing Maeve to come over, wash her hands and use some of her knives to peel the apple skins off first before cutting them into slices. Originally, Applejack herself thought that she would need some help with that… but after watching Maeve cleanly peel away the skin of one of the apples and then cut the first apple down into a series of freshly divided slices, it made her think otherwise.

Especially since she was able to cleanly cut away the skin of the apples and divide them into slices… in half the time it usually would take them to do the same thing. Cutting enough pieces for not just apple slices, but also letting Big Mac use some of the apples that she peeled to make some fresh apple juice. As for Applejack, she asked Applebloom to get out the frying pan because she was going to start cooking some Apple Dumplings.

Only to run into one particular problem as she was trying to get it started. “Dang nabbit!”

“Is something wrong, Applejack?” Ember asked.

“Darn stove isn't lighting the gas… Been meaning to have somepony to come take a look at it, but with all that has been happening recently, I just haven’t had the time-” The farm pony stopped speaking though the moment that Ember walked over and lifted her right hand over the stove. Snapping the fingers as a small flame was conjured and the gas was lit, causing Applejack’s hat to fly backwards and for her mane to be sticking up a bit. “Oh… right. Thanks, Ember.”

Maeve herself though, had just turned around when she watched her daughter light the stove with the snap of a finger. And she was rather surprised by what she had just witnessed. “Emmy… How are you able to do that?”

“That… is a lot to explain,” She explained to her, before walking over to another cupboard and getting out some plates to set on the table. “If you would like, I can tell you about it after lunch. We should be ready soon once Applejack is done with the Apple Dumplings.”

“That seems fair, kitten.” Maeve responded back as she also decided to lend a hand with setting up the table as well, going as far as to set up the table, pour drinks and even set out a bowl of apple slices to serve as an appetizer. Which provided enough time in order for Applejack to be able to finish the first batch of dumplings as prepare a second one just in case anypony wanted seconds.

Eventually, they were able to finish cooking and had everything set up on the table for them to eat. But there was one thing that was missing as Applebloom soon wandered off into the next door room. “Granny, it’s time for lunch! We made Apple Dumplings!”

That… had Maeve look back at Ember and the others and raise an eyebrow. “Granny?”

“Ah coming, ah’m coming!!” The sound of Granny Smith’s voice spoke up as she entered the room on her walker alongside Applebloom. “Well done, everypony. All of this smells delicious-” Of course, it was also then that she happened to notice Maeve as she was taking a seat next to where Ember was sitting. “Ember dear… who is this?”

That had the mancer turned her head to look at the rogue for a short moment, before saying something. “Granny Smith… I would like for you to meet Maeve. We just met her a couple minutes ago.”

“Really now? Is she a friend of yours?” Granny then asked as she took up a seat next to Applejack.

“Not… exactly,” Maeve spoke up, before looking back at the elderly earth pony as she reached for an apple slice on the table. “You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Ah come on, ah’ve seen many things in my life… Ah’m sure this isn’t any different.” That… made the Rogue grin a little as she fumbled something out of her coat pocket before looking back at her. When Ember looked to see what she was getting out, the mancer happened to notice that what Maeve was holding onto right now was some kind of photograph. One that was of the both of them when… well, before being separated.

“Well… this is a picture of Emmy and I from a long time ago. Back where we used to call home,” She said, sliding it across the table as she looked back at her. “I know that I look different in this picture, but I do believe the relationship is the same, kitten.”

That… had Granny be a little bit puzzled as she looked at the photograph. Going as far as putting on her reading glasses in order to look at it clearly. It took her a few minutes in order to try and figure it out, but… unfortunately, it was someone else who happened to spoil the surprise. “Wow, your mother looks much different in that picture, Aunt Embah!”

“Applebloom!!”

“What? Isn’t that a compliment?” The filly asked her sister, all while Granny Smith was trying to wrap her head around what she just heard.

And she still seemed to be rather puzzled by this revelation as she was trying to form a question in her head. “Wait… if yer her ma, then why do ya look so…?”

“Young?” Maeve asked.

“Ah was going to say small, but yeah… Why do ya look like that?” Granny then asked as Applejack began to place a few dumplings on each one of their plates.

“Well, that is something I’m still trying to wrap my head around…” The rogue sighed as she set down the rest of the apple slice that she was having. “It happened when I was invited to a special event back where Emmy and I were originally from. I was meeting a few friends and… well, while we were at that event, I got roped into a contest. When I won, they gave me this jacket as a prize, complete with fake knives as props and I fell asleep with it on. Next thing I know, I woke up to being smaller that normal, my hair was changed to pink, my voice was a lot different and I found myself in the middle of Horseshoe Bay. That and the knives that I thought were props turned out to be real. Even cut myself one of my fingers on accident.”

“Wait a minute… Horseshoe Bay?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow upon hearing that name. “You mean that cove filled with pirates, cutthroats and thieves?”

“Yeah, not the best kind of situation that you would want to wake up in…” Maeve sighed. “Course, it did help me learn a bit about how to survive along with some of the new… abilities I can do. But the moment I heard about another human being in this place, I was quick to pounce out of there… How do you know about that place though?”

“A while back, we were helping Fluttershy return a fish that she nursed back to health, only to end up getting captured by some crazy pirate named Hoofbeard. It’s a long story.” Applejack answered as she noticed Maeve chuckle a little.

“Ah that guy… He was the first pony I was able to successfully rob while trying to survive that place,” That had everyone, including Ember, just stare at her with a look of shock and surprise on her face. All before she just looked back at them with a shrug. “What? I needed the bits for some food and he was drunk out of his mind when it happened. Probably had too much Apple Cider.”

That… had Granny Smith then turn to Ember as she asked her something. “Are ya sure that she’s not going to cause ya any trouble?”

“Hopefully…” Ember sighed, just as she was about to eat one of the dumplings that was on her plate before assuring her something. “But I will be keeping my eye on her.”

After having lunch, the rest of the day was rather quiet and calm given how Applejack, Applebloom and Big Mac already had harvested the apples from the trees and now brought them into the barn to sort. Of course, Ember wanted to help them, but Granny Smith insisted that she should be able to spend some time with her mother and leave the work to AJ and the others. This… also provided the chance for Ember to have the first ever conversation that she had with her mother in a long time. One where it was just between the two of them and with no one, or nopony else interfering.

Of course, it was over the course of their conversation that a single question began to burn in the back of her mind. At first, it was nothing… but the longer the conversation with Maeve went on and the more that she told her about the things that happened to her over the years that she had been in Equestria, the more and more that it began to irritate her to the point where it was driving her crazy. Until at one point… she decided to ask. “Hey mom… there was something I wanted to ask you… and I’m sorry if this sounds a little too personal.”

“Hmm? What is it, Kitten?” Maeve asked her, a little puzzled by what Ember was asking. However, Ember had a bit of trouble trying to say the words for it at first. But after letting out a deep sigh, she then began to speak.

“When I originally came here to Equestria, it was after I found out about what was going on with you and dad…” The mancer explained, before adding in the question. “But why did you two decide to split up?”

Maeve herself sighed, before straightening herself up as she looked back at Ember. “You know… I have been waiting for you to ask that for the longest of times now. And I think now’s the best time for you to know what happened.”

Personally, Ember was not prepared to hear that specific answer. “R-really? You… actually want to talk about it?”

“Yeah I mean… What do you think I was going to do? Tell you no after learning how my daughter is immortal and been around for over a thousand years. That would just be cruel and unusual punishment,” The rogue told her, before stretching out her hands as she leaned up against the side of the barn while the two of them were sitting on the patio. “So why would I make you wait any longer?”

Ember had to admit, that was a valid point. She didn’t want to wait any more, nor did she want anyone to hide the truth. Back home, her father always said that the fights that he and her mother had were just minor… yet, someone wouldn’t want to have a divorce after a small fight. That’s like saying you want to fire your agent because of a small disagreement. “So… Why did you and dad want to split…”

“Well… the main reason for that is simple. When you were six, your father was on a business trip and during that time… he had an affair with another woman,” The Rogue began to tell her, and right out the gate, Ember was shocked by this. “He kept the whole thing a secret for twelve years… many of the times that he was out in the same area on a ‘business trip’ he was seeing her. And not just for getting together…”

That part puzzled Ember for a moment as he looked back at her. “What do you mean?”

“Emmy…” Maeve let out a small breath, before speaking. Because what she said next was something that the pyromancer was not prepared for. “You have a little brother. Step brother, to be more specific.”

At first, Ember did not understand what she meant. But slowly, the pieces were coming together. “Wait… you mean…” Her question was met by a small nod, to which, made Ember ask a quick follow up question. “But if that were true… how did you find out?”

“When you went on that field trip and I was running errands, your father brought her to the house because she needed to talk to him badly. When I got home early, I overheard the entire conversation and also overheard that their son… the one that is your little step brother now, had gone missing… disappeared without a trace in the middle of a toy store,” The rogue said as she continued on. “At the time I heard this though, I saw this as a big betrayal of trust. Twelve years… twelve years that I thought that I was happy and that he would not do anything to hurt me turned out to be a lie. So, after learning the truth, I did not hesitate in order to separate from him. Because I wanted a better future… for both of us.”

However, when she finished that statement, Maeve looked away for a moment as she tried to restrain herself from crying. “B-but I did not think that I would lose you too… just like that boy.”

Ember herself, looked back at Maeve and placed a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her from any pain. “I-i’m sorry to hear that…” She replied back, before thinking of something. “Um… I’m not sure if it’s too much for me to ask… but what happened after I was gone?”

“To simply put it, I started looking for you. At the time, I thought that you were kidnapped just like the boy that’s your little brother. I was once a detective for the police, I couldn’t just sit around and wait for something to come up on it’s own. However, when I couldn’t find any leads, I decided to take a break and visit my family in Atlanta. Possibly ask them for advice,” Maeve told her, while also commenting on the fact that it was ironic that she was once someone who caught criminals, but now is a criminal causing trouble. “And the first thing they taught me was to try and forgive… I mean, it wasn’t that other woman’s fault that this whole fiasco happened-”

“Hold up a minute,” Ember blinked, before looking back at her. “You actually reached out to the woman who had an affair with dad? How?”

“Actually, she reached out to me instead. Told me that on the original night that he and your father met, he said he was not married,” She replied back to her daughter. “We talked for a bit and she… well, she invited me to her home up in Baltimore. We had the chance to talk and told me more about her son. Or your brother for that matter.”

That part had the mancer curious as she talked a bit more about him for a few more moments, before asking a question. “Did you get his name?”

“Yeah I did actually,” Maeve said before the sun began to start setting. “Your father had him keep our last name… but he let his mother choose his first name. It’s-”

Around now though was when the window along the side of the barn opened up and with it, Applejack stook out her head. “Hey… Sorry for interrupting yer talk, but supper’s almost ready. Come on in before it gets cold.”

“We’ll be there in a moment,” Ember assured her, which had Applejack nod as she returned back inside before looking back at Maeve and beginning to walk back inside. “So… as you were saying?”

“Ah right…” Maeve smiled, just before the rogue told her what she was going to say before they went inside for supper. After she was time the name, it had been stuck inside her head for some time, getting to the point where she could not be able to get any rest.

So, in the late hours of the night… she got up from her bed and opened the window. Taking out one of the phoenix feathers that she had as her token and replicating it as she opened a small pocket of the void and let it drift inside. Followed by a brief and simple prayer.

“I hope this finds you wherever you are… Calvin.”

End Chapter 15

Author's Note

So... I'm sure that a LOT of you might have some question about what exactly you just read. Well, for this, I thought I would have the chapter specifically be focused around Ember and Maeve given that the two of them have finally reunited after so long. But given how Ember never truly knew what drove her parents apart, I thought she would be able to finally get an answer as to why.

As for the ending... Well, let's just say that is something that I wanted to do for a long time, but I haven't really thought of how to do it until thinking things through last week. So I hope that this will provide a new angle into some of these characters I'm bringing into this world and how they connect to some other stories I have.

For now though, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and look forward to what else I have going on in the future.
-Frost

16- Familiar Flame

Author's Note

So... where do I begin with this one...

I had ideas for how to continue on this one for a LONG while now... but after a while, I decided to fully go with this one. We're picking things up from where we left off to where its now the beginning of Season six and with it, new characters are introduced. And fair warning, its going to be rather... detail oriented.

Part of me feels that I should've added more or had the ending turn out differently, but that'll depend on what you guys think. Tell me your thoughts and I'll see if I can do something about it. Also, now adding the 'sex' tag for... implications alongside 'violence' because of the earlier fights from previous chapters. Not fully bringing this back yet, but I felt that I needed to do something and not make you guys wait any longer than you already are.

Until next time.
-Frost

16- Familiar Flame

The Flames of the Phoenix- Familiar Flame

It had been a few months after the night where Ember had reunited with her mother, Maeve and now, things had been rather calm and steady around Ponyville despite several key differences. For one thing, Ember had found out that after a string of confusing events regarding magic, time travel and what not, Twilight Sparkle had taken up an apprentice of sorts by the name of Starlight Glimmer. A unicorn who was skilled in magic just as she was, but only had recently learned what the true meaning of friendship was and with it, wished to learn more.

Yet, this wasn’t a primary concern for the mancer. In fact, after some time, she had found it easier to not have herself ‘step in’ and take part in day-to-day duties that the princess or her friends would have to undertake. Instead though, she would spend her time more with helping out around Sweet Apple Acres and cover in Applejack’s place whenever she had to leave to go for some important friendship business.

Such was the case today. Twilight was bringing Starlight to the crystal empire alongside her friends for her first ‘lesson’ in friendship during the crystalling, a special ceremony that takes place there. Even though a part of Ember would’ve wanted for her to go, she had to accept the fact that since Twilight’s friends were going too, she had to cover Applejack’s shift on the farm today.

Yet, her job was mostly working with the stuff in the barn. For the one who was primarily doing most of the applebucking today was Big Mac. Apple Bloom was working on finishing her chores, Granny was inside and Ember was with Maeve to help wash and sort the buckets that were brought in. And after a while, Big Mac had almost bucked all the trees in the orchard and brought them back to the barn.

“Mac, come in! Time for lunch!” He heard Granny Smith’s voice echo from inside as he looked to the door. Organizing the last of the buckets as he turned around and trotted to the door. However, just as he was about to push it open with a hoof, that was when he heard something.

“Excuse me?”

When he turned around, what Mac saw almost made his heart skip a beat. There was a pony standing at the front of the barn, but it had eyes and wings similar to that of a ‘changeling’ like the ones that his sister told him about before. However, it was taller than that of Applejack, the body was white with the eyes colored pink and a red mane and tail. That and there were no ‘holes’ like the ones that her sister had told him about before.

Before Mac could say anything though, the figure spoke again. Her voice sounding calm. “Would this happen to be Sweet Apple Acres? I’m… looking for somep-pony that lives here.”

In the stallion’s mind, he thought two things. One, she could be looking for Applejack, who wasn’t here. Or two, this mare could be looking for Ember, who was busy at the moment. Just in case though, he put a small amount of energy into bending the ground by one of his hooves. “Yes… who’s askin’?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I haven’t even gotten the chance to introduce myself. Silly me. I have a habit of forgetting things like that,” She giggled, putting a hoof to her chin for a moment. “My name’s-”

“Mac, is everything going alright out there?” They both heard the voice of Granny Smith calling out from inside the barn. Something that caught the stallion off guard when he realized that he had not returned inside yet, but he kept himself calm as he looked back to the pony out front.

“Granny, there’s somepony here that’s lookin’ fer somepony.” Mac called out in response, saying it loud enough so that she could hear him while also keeping an eye on the stranger in front of the barn.

“Is she lookin’ fer Applejack?” The elderly mare replied back, which had the mare out front shake her head in response to the question.

“Nah, she isn’t.”

“Really? Well, then maybe she’s one of her friends or something,” Granny replied back, sounding as if she wanted to have Big Mac hurry up and get inside. Possibly because if they were cooking something, they would want for him to have it before it gets cold. “Have her tell us her name and then she could leave a message for her-”

“Actually, if I may interject,” The stranger now spoke up. “I was looking for someone in particular. Wears a red scarf, walks on two legs?” Hearing that had the fur on the back of the stallions neck begin to stand up. He was realizing that she was not looking for that of her sister, but instead looking for Ember. And the last time that something was looking for Ember was when they encountered Anivia when those two critters named Marty and Lee were here. So in Mac’s mind, he thought that this pony was coming to try and harm his aunt.

“Who are you?” He now asked sternly.

“Oh right, my name! You did ask me earlier, so let me answer that for you,” She replied back, realizing that she almost forgot about that and lightly giggled again. “My name is Amaryllis.”

Almost immediately after she said that, Big Mac heard a chair immediately slide across the floor and somepony getting up and heading towards the door behind him. Before he could do anything, the door immediately slammed open behind the stallion as Ember stepped out. What surprised him the most though was that when she looked at Amaryllis, her eyes were not expressing any form of anger. In fact, they were expressing joy with a side of disbelief. Like if you met a close family member that you have not seen in ages. “A-ama? Y-you actually came-?”

“Why of course,” She smiled, trotting closer to the mancer. “I didn’t want to wait in order to come see you again, my dear.”

Now it was Mac who was beginning to stare in disbelief. Not only did this ‘Amaryllis’ figure actually know his aunt, but from how they acted, they seemed to have a lot closer of a relationship than he thought. Which was expressed not only when the two of them hugged each other, but also by when his aunt actually kissed her on the lips.

By that time though, that was when a couple others from inside came out through the door and spoke up. “Woah, woah woah… what in the hay is going on?” The two of them heard Granny Smith speak up as both Amaryllis and Ember turned to see her by the door alongside Maeve before pointing a hoof towards the two of them. “And who’s she?”

“She has a name, Granny,” Ember told her. “Her name’s Amaryllis. And she’s… well, how should I put this?” The mancer pondered what to say next, but it was during this that the stallion noticed a slight blush on her face while she was thinking of it.

“Don’t you still have the bangle, dear?” Amaryllis then asked. Which had the mancer realize what she meant as she moved back one of the cloth wristbands on her right arm to show what looked to be a gold bangle underneath.

“Ooh, shiny.” Maeve giggled, shortly before getting glared at by Granny. “What? I happen to like things that are pretty, kitten.”

“That’s not an ordinary trinket, sugarcube,” Granny Smith told her, who took a moment to try and find a way to best summarize it before explaining it to her fully, “That’s what ya see couples wear after they tie the knot.”

That was met only with a brief silence at first but as soon as she began to realize the gravity of what she meant, Maeve was not entirely excited by what she heard. “My daughter’s married!?!!” That was a bit of a shock to pretty much everypony else, but to Amaryllis, she just seemed more puzzled than anything else.

“Why did the little one call you her daughter?” Amaryllis now asked.

All that did was have Ember let out a deep sigh, shortly before looking back and then suggesting something to Granny, Mac and Maeve. “How about we take this inside? I think it would be easier for everyone if we did this calmly without shouting out loud and attracting the attention of everypony that could possibly walk by.”

Upon going inside and getting seated at the table in the dining room, Ember first took the time to explain how she had found Mac and the others was taken in as part of the Apple Family to Amaryllis. That was shortly followed up by Maeve giving a short summary of how Ember is her daughter and how that, through unforeseen circumstances, lead to her ending up in the body of a child while also knowing to steal whatever suited her fancy.

“Alright, so now that we’ve said our piece, ah think it's time ya answer a few questions that we have,” Granny then spoke up, to which Amaryllis nodded her head as she looked back at the elderly earth pony. “First, what exactly are ya? We haven’t seen anypony like ya trot around these parts before.”

“Well, that’s easy, I’m a changeling,” She responded back, noticing how the two ponies in front of her almost flinched when she said the last part before continuing. “Though, please don’t be alarmed. As you can probably see, I look rather different from most. And there is a reason for that.”

“Really? Cause all ah think of when ah hear the word ‘changeling’ is those two-bit bugs who-”

“Granny, watch it,” Ember interjected, glaring back at the elderly earth pony. “I advise you actually hear her out before you say anything. If Applejack were here, she would want to hear her say the whole story first before saying anything like that.” That had Granny stop speaking, shortly before looking back at Amaryllis and apologizing for what she said. “Go ahead, Ama.”

“R-right,” When she said that, she almost came off like Fluttershy for a brief moment, before continuing where she left off. “A-as you can see, I-i’m not like most changelings. That’s because instead of taking love away from somebuggy, I actually gave it to somebuggy freely instead. And that was Ember.”

“For a long time, I was out there by myself. But after I found Amaryllis, we’ve been getting to know each other for a long time. She gave me her love because she told me that she believed it was a sign that she was committed to staying with me,” The mancer now picked up where she left off. “Yet, it also meant though that she could not go back to where the other changelings stayed. Everything over in their kingdom is all about personal greed, jealousy and taking things from others. They saw what Amaryllis had as like a ‘defect’ and have her be an outcast. Leaving her stranded in the badlands to fend for herself.”

That immediately had Big Mac and Granny look back at the changeling with much different expressions than the ones that she had before. Instead of caution and concern, they now looked shocked and stunned. Especially as Ember explained all the hardships that she had to go through in their time together. There were even instances that, if Ember weren’t there for her, Amaryllis wouldn’t have been able to survive on her own. Though, a new question now surfaced in Big Mac’s head as he waited for a pause in the conversation first before asking. “H-how long have ya been together for?”

“If I really had to take a guess,” Ember scratched her chin, looking towards the changeling as she tried to recall how long it would be. “I would say that we’ve known each other for a rather long time. Yet, if you’re asking how long we’ve been a couple… that would put us close to five years. Trust me, it’s been a while and since changelings aren’t entirely seen as the ‘friendly’. Back when we first started our relationship, if you told somepony that you were in love with a changeling, you would have a mob of ponies with torches and pitchforks at your door within a matter of hours.”

That was a lot to take in. Not just the imagery with the torches and pitchforks, but the whole thing about the two of them being together for around five years or even longer than that. But with this, one of them happened to have a new question. “So kitten,” Maeve now spoke up. “Why did you decide to come looking for Emmy?”

“Well, originally, Ember told me that she had to take care of a few things that were personal to her, so I was waiting for her to finish… but then after a while, I thought that instead of sitting around and just waiting for her to come back to me when everything was all said and done, I thought it would be easier to come find her instead,” She replied back. “I mean, I can be able to feel her emotions.”

“Hang on… feel emotions?” Mac now asked, looking back at his aunt with a puzzled expression on his face. “Did ah hear that right?”

“Changelings can feel all forms of emotions, whether good or bad. It's natural to them like how Earth Ponies are with nature, Unicorns when it comes to magic and Pegasi with the weather,” Ember now took the moment to explain further. “Of course, unlike all changelings, Amaryllis can use her power to locate individuals she cares for and be able to use that as a way to locate them. No matter how far away they might be. Just… trust me on that one.”

“Can ya give us an example? Because ah rather see it with mah own eyes just to be sure.” Granny then asked.

“Sure, though, I’m gonna need one of you to do something for this to work,” Amaryllis told them, which was followed by Big Mac raising a hoof and offering to volunteer. “Alright, now, I want for you to think of something. Anything that comes to mind that would in turn set off an emotional response,” At first, the stallion just raised an eyebrow. But before he could even think of something, Amaryllis began to sense it. “Hmm… small sense of doubt, but I’ll not count that one.”

Just from that alone, the stallion was surprised by how quickly she caught on. But he wasn’t quite done just yet. He now began to think of something else. Something that did not have to do with what was going on in that present moment. A memory of his from when he was just a colt. One that made him feel a couple of things. And not long after thinking of them, Amaryllis caught on. “Hmm… I feel three things right now. One part is happiness and joy. The second part is sadness and grief. But the third… the third is curiosity.”

At first, Ember and Maeve looked back at Mac, wondering what exactly was he thinking about that could trigger all three of those things. Granny though, remained unfazed. As if she knew what it was. “Were ya thinking about them, Mac?”

All that did was cause the stallion to nod his head in response, before Granny let out a sigh. Patting him on the shoulder with a hoof before excusing herself to the patio and closing the door behind her. Which, in turn, had Ember look back towards where Granny went off too. She had never seen her do that before. The Granny Smith that she remembered would always do what she could to comfort others if they felt hurt. So why wasn’t she here to comfort her own grandson?

“Um… sorry if I am speaking out of turn, but who’s ‘them’, kitten?” They heard Maeve now ask. Which had Mac look back at them as he let out a sigh.

“Mah parents,” He spoke, “They always cared for AJ, Bloom and ah when we were little, but both of them passed away when we were young. Died in an accident when visiting relatives in Dodge Junction.”

“Oh… I-i’m so sorry, I didn’t know-” Maeve attempted to apologize, before watching the stallion wave it off with a hoof.

“It’s alright. It’s a thing in the past,” He assured her. “Though, ah wish ah had the chance to know more about them. But anytime ah ask Granny about it, she just doesn’t want to talk about it. Not sure why though.”

It’s fine, dear,” Amaryllis now spoke up, sounding as if she was taking responsibility for what she just did. “I was just asking in order to show what I could do. I didn’t mean that to have you go through any unsettling memories.”

“Ya don’t have to apologize. After all, ya just asked me to think of something,” Mac assured her as the stallion looked back at everyone that was presently in the room. “Ah chose to think of them because ah wondered if ya can feel it and ya did. Ah’m surprised by that.”

“Oh, I can feel a lot of things,” Amaryllis replied back. “For instance, I can feel that aside from the joy of seeing me and her being calm that Ember feels a bit of uncertainty.” Now they looked back towards her as the mancer had to take a moment to explain what was on her mind.

“That might be because either I was uncertain of how everypony would react to finding out about our relationship. That and for some reason, I can’t shake off the feeling that Discord’s trying to hide something. He’s been acting different around me the last few days.”

In the middle of Fluttershy’s cottage, Discord’s ears immediately shot straight up as he dropped the cup of tea that he was holding, moving around for two seconds as if his ears were antennas for a radio. He was drinking tea in the middle of a room while reading a book that he happened to find. “My plot device sense’s tingling…” Two seconds later though, his eyes widened and his pupils began to shrink. “Oh no, she’s catching on!”

With a snap of his fingers, he had the entire tea set that he was using immediately get washed up and put away in the sink before lifting up the rug. A pair of stairs emerged out of nowhere as he hopped inside, locking the door as if he just entered a bomb shelter. All while Fluttershy’s animals looked back at where the draconequus once was, beyond puzzled by what just happened.

“Eh, it’s probably no big deal.” The mancer shrugged as she looked back towards everyone else. “So, is there anything else that you would like to ask about Amaryllis?”

The changeling thought it over for a moment, but then decided to shake her head. “Nope. Though, I think I want to have some time to just ourselves now~” She cooed, before nudging her head against Ember’s shoulder.

“Well, if that’s the case…” She said, before looking back at both Maeve and Mac. “If it’s okay with you guys, I’ll be taking the rest of the shift off.” There really wasn’t much time for either the stallion or the thief to properly respond because after only a few moments, the two of them went upstairs and closed the door to her room.

All of which left Maeve to sigh as she looked back at the stallion. “Well, let’s just leave them be, Kitten. I think they rather have some time alone now.”

“You mean to catch up?”

“If anything… they might be doing much more than that, kitten.” She cooed, poking Big Mac on the nose before walking outside. Leaving a bewildered stallion to try and understand what exactly he just heard.

“W-what the hay is that supposed to mean?!”

“Really now? You’re not sure what that’s supposed to imply?” All that did was cause Big Mac in order to shake his head as she looked back at her. “Let’s just say that whatever your thinking that’s supposed to look like right now… isn’t what it looks like.”

That though… did not help any at all. “Then what does it look like!?”

At that response, all Maeve did was just hit her head against one of the support beams on the porch. This was going to be a long afternoon.

End Chapter 16

17- Settling in... almost

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18- Two Sides

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19- An Old Friend

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20- No such thing as ordinary

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21- To Where Now?

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22- And Back Again

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23- The Second Reunion

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24- Aftermath

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25- Feed the Wolf

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26- Pyrite

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27.1- Every End...

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27.2- ... is a New Beginning

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13- Firestorm

Author's Note

Crossover with Marty and Lee from The Jokes on Equestria by Shagohad12 (Thanks a million! Sorry this took so long xP). Wanted to finally work on this and now it seems like it might be a while before the next update. See you then!
-Frost

Song I honestly was listening to when thinking of a new chapter for Ember

13- Firestorm

The Flames of the Phoenix- Firestorm

Sweet Apple Acres

Another long day of work and helping out at the farm for the Apple family soon lead to the evening itself being very calm and soothing. The same could be said for Ember, who only a few hours ago, had met Blood Cleaver and tried her best to help her and Caesar, the other displaced that was with her at the time. Now though, it had been a few hours since them and almost everyone was asleep… Except for her. The mancer never found a point to sleeping in the first place. Because of the immortality that was bestowed upon her from Pyrrhon all those years ago, she found that she could not dream like how others could. Instead, anytime she tried to close her eyes and sleep, all that met her was a black and empty void. Soulless she would call it, but that was just one way of describing it.

But tonight was a little different. Around ten minutes til midnight, she had felt a familiar sensation through her body. One that comes with being summoned as a Displaced. She did not expect to be summoned so soon in the middle of the night, but felt that whoever was summoning her must’ve needed her help or something else.

Before she left the orchard, Ember took a few moments to write a note and place it on the table in the kitchen, allowing for the possibility that she might not be back when morning comes. Once that was done, she stepped outside of the barn and walked off of the orchard. Once she was far enough away, she sighed to herself, using a hand to pull at whoever was trying to summon her… and bring them to her world instead. She couldn’t risk Anivia trying to unleash chaos while she was out helping others. So instead, Ember decided to bring them to her instead.

However, what exactly she brought through the void… was another story.

A swirling vortex appeared in the sky, spewing streams of data into the air. The streams collapsed, forming into a blue, bipedal dog wearing boxing gloves and a small upright orange lizard. But that wasn’t the weirdest part about it though. The weirdest part… was when she heard them speak.

“Now I know what an e-mail feels like...” the dinosaur groaned, getting to his feet.

“At least we didn’t get sent to the deletion bin,” the dog replied, shaking his head, “Okay, we’re at AJ’s farm, I think.”

Ember just watched the two for a little bit. Seeing how they could see the barn was one thing, but since it was the middle of the night, they were probably not going to be able to see her unless there was any actual light. So, forming a bit of fire in her right hand, she soon spoke up. “You would be right… And just who are you two?”

“The guys who just got sucked through a portal after touching a feather.” the dinosaur responded, looking her over. That answered one of the questions in Ember’s head, revolving around who found her token… but didn’t exactly get the answer she was intending.

“I meant your names.” She sighed for a moment, letting that sink in a little.

“Oh yeah, sorry,” the dinosaur laughed sheepishly, “I’m Marty and that's Lee.”

“Yo.” Lee waved.

“Nice to meet you two. I’m Ember,” The pyromancer introduced herself, taking a moment to form the next question in her head before she spoke again. “Now, just out of curiosity… what exactly are you two? I haven’t seen anyone like you before… Then again, I’ve only met a few displaced.”

“We’re both digimon,” Lee answered. “More specifically I’m a Gaomon and Marty’s a GeoAgumon. Pleasure to meet you.”

“I’ll be honest, I thought we were summoning you,” Marty muttered, causing Ember to chuckle a little.

“Summoning works both ways. Think about it like pulling something with a magnet. Either you bring someone to you… or with enough force, that someone brings you to them.” Ember told them as she dismissed the fire in her hands. “Does that make sense?”

“About as much as anything else in our situation,” Marty said, rubbing the top of his head. Ember chuckled a little in response as she looked back at the two of them.

“Well what do you know. First Caesar and now you guys… One of my nieces is really going to get a kick out of seeing you two when morning comes along.” However, what she said only confused both Marty and Lee as they looked at one another and tilted their heads to the side.

“You talking about one of the girls?” Marty asked, “I mean, we are on Applejack’s farm.”

“Yeah, Apple Bloom.” The mancer explained. “It’s a long story, but to simplify things, I’m basically Apple Bloom’s aunt. Same goes for AJ and Big Mac. Heck, a long time ago, I helped build that barn that you’re seeing right now.”

“Sounds like you’re pretty close to the Apples,” Lee noted.

“Yeah… comes with living around here for over a thousand years.” However, what she said just caused the two rookie level digimon to stare at her in disbelief. Making her worried that she might’ve messed up in what she was saying.

“Not to be offensive or anything here… But you don’t look like you’re over a thousand years old,” Marty said, still blinking.

“Neither do we Marty,” Lee reminded, socking him in the arm.

“Oh right… Yeah, I should’ve told you this first off, but I’m immortal,” Ember explained. “When I was originally displaced, I met a dying phoenix who gave me control of his flames as a final gift before he passed on. That’s why I’m known as The Heart of the Phoenix since I gained my powers from one…” She noticed the confusion between the two and then sighed. “How about this… I’ll answer your questions if you can answer some of mine in exchange. Does that seem okay to you two?”

“Works for me,” Lee nodded. “Ask away.”

“Well, for one thing, you said that you two were sent here by a feather,” She said, holding up the Phoenix feather that was her token in one of her hands. “Would it happen to look like this by any chance?”

“Yeah that's the one,” Marty agreed, “We found it in Rarity’s house.”

“Well, congratulations. You happened to find my token,” Ember said to them, surprising them for a minute and giving herself time to think inside her head. “What was it doing in Rarity’s house though? Was Opal trying to play around with it?” However, before any of them could answer, a cold deep gust of wind brushed over the three of them, making some of the strands of grass nearby partially freeze as all three of them felt the chilling wind just now.

“Okay, why are we popsicles?” Marty asked, his teeth chattering. Ember gritted her teeth, using her fire to warm the two of them as she looked in the distance. Noticing something, she turned to both of them and then asked something.

“This is not good… Do you two know how to fight?” She asked them, her tone getting more serious now than before. “I’m going to need your help. I’m worried that a friend of mine is in danger right now…”

“Yeah we can fight,” Lee said, getting into a fighting stance.

“Follow me then, I’ll explain on the way,” She said before she started to run in the direction where she felt the energy surge from. “The reason for the ice and you two almost freezing is because of a Cryophoenix named Anivia. Unlike phoenix’s, which are birds of fire and represent good, cryophonix’s are the exact opposite and are their natural enemy… He’s a bird of ice that was almost successful in killing all of the phoenix’s in this world.”

“Isn’t Anivia the name of a champion from League of Legends?” Marty asked. “And wasn’t he a cryophoenix too?”

“He was… but this one is different,” Ember informed them. “His intent is to try and turn all of Equestria into a frozen hell because she believed that the lifeforms here were unfit for living here. Phyrron, the dying phoenix I met, thought otherwise and the result was the almost complete genocide of them… Philomena is the only one left.”

“Wow… sounds like we’re in for a rough fight.” Lee said, tapping his fists together.

“We can deal with it.” Marty assured, snorting loudly. This caused Ember to smirk at their optimism, but sigh to herself.

“My main concern though is something else… In order for Anivia to become strong enough to carry out her plan, he needs to complete an artifact that he stole called the Wendigo Heart. The heart is split into three pieces and he has two,” The pyromancer began to explain. “My friend Frost, a wolf excedian, has the third piece, but it’s fused with his soul. Which means that if he wants it… the only way he could obtain it is by killing him. Frost is strong on his own, but at times, he’s also reckless…”

“Heh, reckless is something we do best,” Marty said with a chuckle. “Isn’t that right, Lee?”

“Well, as the saying goes, fools go where angels dare to tread.” Ember thought to herself. “Hopefully, we can reach him just in time. They’re getting closer now. I can feel their energy just over that ledge up ahead.” She told them, pointing at the location so the others could see for themselves.

“Then I guess we should put on our game face on,” Lee commented. “You ready to digivolve, Marty?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Marty nodded, cracking his neck. “GeoAgumon digivolve to! GeoGreymon!”

While the two digimon took the chance provided for them to change forms, Ember herself dashed forward, her fire in the form of a phoenix as she landed in the ravine. At first glance, the mountain basin that they were on looked awfully familiar to her… but then she realized what it was… and the old memories it brought were painful for her to have.

They were by the badlands, along the edge of it as the group noticed the wolf excedian running and dodging the attacks that Anivia was launching out at him. Turning her feathers into projectiles as one of them almost shanked him in the arm.

“Frost!!”

“Well, look who we have here…” Anivia menacingly cackled. “The cavalry and her strange assortments of overgrown pets… who would’ve thought you would raise more then that despicable hatchling, Ember…”

“Hey, I’m no one’s pet!” Marty roared, snorting out a plume of smoke. “Say that again and I’ll turn you into fried chicken!”

“Oh and an anger management problem… I seem to be finding all sorts of strange figures… However, I would like you freaks to step aside. My business is with the wolf, not with your puppydog and an extinct reptile, firebird.”

“You want him, you need to get through us!” Ember snapped, growling a little as fire formed from her hands. “I’m not letting you lay a single talon on him-!!”

“Bold words coming from the same mancer who was unable to save a dear friend of hers thousands of years ago in the exact same spot where we are now…” Anivia’s comments were sharp like knives right now… and what she said was really beginning to have her anger boil.

“Whatever happened here before won’t happen again,” Lee cut in, crouching and getting into a ready stance. “I wouldn’t take us lightly.”

“Fine then… Whenever you’re ready… coward.” He taunted, trying to provoke them into attacking her recklessly without any sort of plan in place.

“And this is the one time I wish Willy had been with us,” Marty commented, growling. The Cryophoenix waited for one of them to make the first move. Patiently waiting for the right opportunity to strike as she looked at both digimon.

“Well this is awkward,” Lee spoke, staring back at Anvia.

“Yeah, we’re all just waiting for someone to crack,” Marty agreed. “Hey Ice Chicken, wanna start us off? I wanna kick your ass before lunch.”

Anivia laughed, looking back at them with a menacing glare. “I believe I already have started.” She said, pointing behind them to the ice that was expanding over the GeoGreymon’s tail and the back paws of the Gaogamon before releasing a blast of ice in between them.

“Mega Burst!” Marty roared, unleashing a torrent of flames from his mouth, melting most of the ice. The flames though soon died down as Anivia put up a wall of crystallized shards to block the rest of the attack. Followed by the rain of shards that were trying to pelt the two digimon’s defenses. Ember herself tried to assist in the attack against Anivia, but it lead to the phoenix only sustaining minimal damage from the blow.

“I got an idea,” Lee said. “Marty, let out another mega flame.”

“What is that going to do to help?” Frost asked, confused by who they were and what kind of strategy they were trying to pull off.

“Mega Flame!!”

“Spiral Blow!” Lee shouted directly after, the gust of wind combining with the flame, causing it to grow and burn hotter. Anivia herself channeled a high amount of power with her next attack as it met the blast head on. But with the explosion, she also sent out a spear of ice that struck Lee in the forepaw. Lee cried out, glaring up at the cryophoenix.

“Okay, that hurt.”

“That is only the beginning… Now to have your friend join you.” He said, having a spear stab Marty in the tail as it pinned him to a nearby tree. “And with that… the true fun begins…”

“What are you going to do to them!?” Ember yelled, Frost being right next to her.

“Simple… I’m going to do whatever it takes to make you break… After all… your rage created the badlands… and I have been waiting TOO long for a real challenge…” Anivia snickered, setting a claw on Lee’s head, the talons scraping along the sides. Ember wanted to stop her, but attacking headfirst was not going to help her in this case. However, just before she could do anything, a giant stone boulder soon crashed along her face, making her lose her focus and drop her grip on Lee.

“AGH!! WHO DARES-!?” Ember wondered that herself, but soon saw who exactly it was on the opposite side of the cryophoenix as she noticed a familiar red stallion with a short orange mane and tail channel the earth with his hooves.

“Mac!!”

“...Is that AppleJack’s brother doing something awesome?” Marty asked, blinking in shock.

“So… we have ourselves a Geomancer… Never thought I’d see one in the flesh…” Anivia replied.

“Say somethin’ like that again… Ah dare you.” He growled, staring down the cryophoenix.

“Well, looks like I got myself an interesting collection of opponents,” Anivia smiled, her gaze unchanging. “So, who’s first-.”

“Spiral Blow!!” Lee shouted, aiming at her head. The attack barely affected the phoenix as he looked back with a “Oh good… a volunteer.” With a menacing glare in the phoenix’s eye, Anivia quickly struck and used its claws to wound Lee and throw him into the wolf that was trying to stand.

“LEE!!” Ember growled, the flames around her hands burning brighter than before with the more rage she let on, staring down Anivia. “You BASTARD!!!”

“Oooh, come on now… It’s been ages since I ever had a real challenge… and it looks like your two overgrown pups are at their limit.” The cryophoenix smirked as the ice around Anivia began to solidify as it was launched forward. “Now do me a favor and PLAY DEAD!!”

“Screw you lady!” Marty growled. “GeoGreymon digivolve to! RizeGreymon!” He doubled in size, taking on a more human stance. His torso gained red metallic armor, his right arm being replaced entirely. His forearm was now a huge revolver, its cylinder spinning. Two massive artifical wings sprouted from his back, his head armor and the tip of his tail being replaced with metal. “Trident Revolver!” he roared, firing off a trio of shots at Anivia.

Ember watched as the digimon blasted the phoenix with enough force to cause the entire ground to quake as she tried to hold her ground. The phoenix herself just growled as she looked back at Ember. “This isn’t over… I will have that last piece and make sure to kill you while I’m at it… Tortured Phoenix.” With that, the cryophoenix flew off as the pyromancer soon watched Frost pass out on the ground.

“Crap… We need to treat their wounds quickly… Mac, get us back to the Orchard as quickly as you can!” The Earth Pony nodded, slamming his hooves as he made the ground underneath them move like they were surfing on the earthen terrain itself. With this, they were back shortly before the sun began to rise… and Marty was a LOT smaller than he was a few moments ago.

“I really, really, really hate that...” Marty complained, being reduced to a small pink blob with rabbit like ears.

“Aunt Ember… who’s the little puffball?” Mac asked as he used a hoof to poke at Marty’s head.

“I am not a puffball!” Marty growled. “I’m a Koromon! And it’s not like I wanna be like this.”

“A koro… what?” Big Mac questioned before shaking his head. “You know what, nevermind. I’m getting the first aid kit… And Ember, you might want to look out. I think we just caught Twilight’s attention.” He said, pointing a hoof in the distance as the group saw the Alicorn Princess and a couple other ponies racing on over to where they were.

“Hey Twi, howya doin’?” Marty asked as the Twilight came into earshot.

“What happened?!” Twilight said, shortly before being interrupted by a certain pink earth pony appearing out of nowhere.

“Yeah, we woke up this morning to the sound of EXPLOSIONS!?!?!!” Pinkie said as she noticed Marty. “Hey look! A weird beachball!!”

“I am not a beach ball!!” Marty snapped. “I’m a Koromon and my name is Marty. Now can you please get my friend some help? I don’t have hands at the moment.” However, even though they were tending to Lee in that present moment… Pinkie’s priorities involved picking up Marty with her front hooves and snuggling him like he was a plushie.

“It even talks!! Twilight, can I keep him? Can I!? He would be a perfect playmate for Gummy!!” She squeaked, almost ignoring Marty’s desperate pleas for help.

“Pinkie Pie, I swear by everything holy, I will bite you.” That was when Pinkie Pie did drop him… if you consider drop being shaking her head from side to side really fast and letting him go shortly afterwards, causing him to fly into Ember and catching him.

“Twilight, the beach ball knows my name!! BEST DAY EVER!!!” The party pony shouted, causing Ember to sigh as she looked at Twilight.

“Yeah… to answer your question Twilight; Anivia attacked us, Frost almost got hurt and two other Displaced here tried to fight her. The one I’m holding is Marty and the one that we’re trying to give medical attention too is Lee…”

“Interesting… So are they like Caesar or something different?” Twilight then asked the pyromancer as she analyzed the Koromon from all angles, having Ember answer by shaking her head and confusing Marty unintentionally in the process.

“I'm a digimon,” Marty sighed, exasperated.

“Yeah Twilight, these guys are different. For one thing, they aren’t humanized forms of what they were displaced as. They’re the actual thing-.” Ember explained, shortly before Marty interrupted her.

“Again, I'm a digimon.”

“Yes, but Twilight is referring to another displaced that is staying with me who is currently asleep,” The mancer explained. “Unlike you though, he’s a humanized version of a Pokemon. Pikachu to be more specific… can even do the moves right.”

“Fun.” He sighed for a moment before Ember asked him a new question.

“Would you like me to set you down? You’re kind of moving around in my arms and I’m thinking that if you digivolve, Pinkie will stop calling you a beachball.”

“Unless you got some food, I ain't digivolving.” Marty sternly complained as Ember then walked him inside where the others were. Leaving Twilight to try and calm down an over excited Pinkie Pie as the mancer thought of the quickest thing to feed the Koromon off of the top of her head… But then stopped to ask if it was okay with him first.

“Does an apple work? We have some in the kitchen.” She offered, bringing the in training digimon inside and setting him on the counter… shortly before another voice was heard as it was coming down the stairs.

“What in tarnations is with all this racket-!?!” A particular earth pony said before looking back at everything that was going on… specifically at Marty and Lee. “Aunt Embah, what are these two critters doing in the barn?”

“Yeah no man. I mean like three course meal.” Marty looked over at the mare. “Sup Bloom?”

“Uhh… Marty… That’s Applejack.” Ember pointed out to him. “Give me a sec to find something for you…” She said as she looked around to see if there was anything that could feel Marty while Applejack now trotted in. Seeing Mac tending to Frost and Lee while also looking at Marty.

“Is this thing some overgrown Parasprite?” She asked, causing Ember to facepalm herself for a moment.

“No AJ, he’s a digimon… Trust me, I know it might sound weird but-” That was when they heard a loud rumble, which definitely sounded like it came from Marty’s stomach. “... Yeah. This guy’s hungry.”

“Beach Ball is Hungry!? This is UNACCEPTABLE AND MUST BE FIXED!!!” Pinkie declared before galloping out of there before Marty even had the chance to shout back at her for calling him that name again. Only causing Twilight to groan a little as she trotted in.

“I got a feeling that Sugarcube Corner is going to be opening extremely early today.”

“What was your first guess?” The mancer sighed, looking to the Koromon on the counter. “Hey Marty, come with me for a sec. Since it’s a likely possibility that you and Lee are going to be given an entire breakfast buffet from Pinkie, we should check up on your friend first and make sure he’s okay.”

“Yeah,” Marty agreed, “He got hit pretty hard.”

“If there is anything serious, I think I can lend a hand in the healing process. But right now, let’s see what Mac has to say on his condition.” With that, Ember lead the Digimon out to where they would keep the harvest in the outer section of the barn as they saw Mac just closing up the first aid kit. “How are they doing, Mac?”

“Bruised, but not broken.” Mac simply replied. “Frost’s wounds are healing quickly, but Lee’s pretty banged up. He’s breathing though, which is good… But has a lot of injuries to overcome before he can be able to fight again.”

“It's a good thing digimon don't have bones,” Marty commented, hopping up next to Lee.

“I’ll let you two be here for now, but let him get his rest. I’ll explain to sis and her friends what happened in the meantime,” He told them before picking up the first aid kit with his teeth and trotting inside. Leaving Ember and Marty with Lee while Frost was in another corner at the other end of the room. However, it was then though that a personal thought of his was going through his mind and driving him crazy.

That it was his fault that Lee got hurt… If he would’ve been able to do something… if he would’ve been able to help them fight, Lee would not be in the state that he was in right now. Just the sheer thought of it was driving him mad as he sulked in the corner. Not even looking at Ember, Marty or Lee.

That was until he got up and began to walk, catching Ember’s attention. “Frost, where are you going?”

“Anywhere that’s not here… I’ve caused too much trouble here and you would be better off without me being here.” He said coldly, not even looking at Ember or Marty in the process.

“Eh, don't worry about it, we’ve had worse beatings. Boxing gloves here will be fine,” Marty assured him

“Yes, but if I was able to actually do something, your friend would’ve not been hurt in the first place… Throughout my life, everything that had happened to me happened because I wasn’t able to help anyone… Not even help my parents before they died at the hands of cold hearted savages… It’s happened over and over again for me and now… I feel as if I risk everyone else’s safety if I stay here.”

“Dude, don't worry about it. Digimon can't die in the first place.”

“Yes, but others can…” Frost snapped back. “I’ve been trying to help others, but with Anivia hunting me specifically, that cryophoenix will not stop at anything in order to get to me or Ember and she knows exactly what I am talking about. I just need some time… alone.” Without Ember getting the chance to say anything, the wolf disappeared, using his powers to form wings of ice as he darted off and disappeared without a trace. The only thing left behind was the cold snow on the trees that were nearby him as he disappeared.

“When I have hands again, remind me to slap the self pity out if that guy.”

“Noted… Though, he is right on one thing,” Ember sighed as she looked back at Marty. “I do know exactly what he was talking about… About how some ponies will try to do anything, even push you as far as hurting somepony you care for to get what you want.” She tried her best to not remember it, but couldn’t as she said one other thing. “It happened to me…”

“And you think it hasn't to me?” He asked, raising his head eyebrow.

“No, it’s not like that…” The pyromancer sighed. “Do you remember what Anivia called me earlier before she retreated?” The name burned into her mind and was one that she wanted to forget. Ever since meeting Caesar, she wanted to change herself… Be known as The Heart of the Phoenix. But there was one other thing she was referred to as… and that was The Tortured Phoenix. “Well, there's a reason for it… Tell me, back in your world, do you know of the Badlands?”

“Yeah, it was created during the final battle between Lucemon and the 10 legendary warriors.”

Ember sighed, looking at the Digimon for a moment before speaking again. “Well here… I was the reason for its creation. Over 1000 years ago, I was thrown into a slave camp with a bunch of other ponies. I met one named Red Apple, who helped me survive. However, when a young Buffalo calf tried to steal food and I refused to kill it, the head of the slave camps tried to teach me a lesson… and killed Red. Next thing I knew, I snapped and my power was released everywhere, creating the badlands everypony knows now… That’s why I was known as the tortured phoenix.”

“We've all done things we’re not proud of,” he assured her, averting his gaze.

“Yes, but sometimes, no matter how many times you try to move on, something always comes back to haunt you,” She sighed, looking back at Marty. “I’m glad you two did help though. Without you… things might’ve been a lot worse.”

“You think I don't know what that's like?” Marty asked, frowning. “I spent god knows how long as Sombra's pet enforcer. I don't even want to think about what I did...”

“I wasn’t thinking that… I was just saying that I was grateful that you and Lee were here to help. I really appreciate it,” She replied, rubbing Marty’s head a little. “You are pretty strong and I am quite impressed with both of your guys’ level of skill.”

“Digimon are rather OP.” He chuckled, looking up at her.

“I can tell… Hey, just out of curiosity… How many of you guys are in your world? … displaced wise.” She asked, curious to hear Marty’s response to her question as Ember looked at him. “Because I have a small hunch that you and Lee aren’t the only Displaced in your world.”

“There are about eight of us. We were our colleges anime club.” Ember honestly did not expect to hear that as an answer. She had met a couple other displaced where they were by themselves or with one or two others, but a total of eight? That was new to her. Before she could say something though, both of them heard a familiar humming tune and saw a blur of pink as Pinkie Pie came zooming in with an entire three course breakfast. Complete with Pancakes, eggs, waffles, oatmeal and apples before topping it off with Maple Syrup and butter. Anything else and the meal would've looked like it came from the heart attack section at a state fair.

“Holy crap!” Marty shouted, his eyes going wide as he stared at the plate.

“That’s Pinkie for you… She must’ve heard you needed a three course meal and literally prepared one for you,” She chuckled. “You think that would be enough to fill up your stomach?”

“Everything I eat or drink is automatically converted into data, so... yeah.”

“Well, you better dig in before the food gets cold.” She advised him, watching as the Koromon was preparing himself to consume the meal in front of him. He licked his lips, starting to devour everything. Not even realizing the strands of food that landed on Ember’s face in the process until after he finished the entirety of his meal.

“Warn me next time before you dive head first into that.” Ember jokingly told Marty, trying to get the stray bits of pancakes that was on her face as she looked back at the Digimon. “How was it?”

“Amazing!”

“Glad to hear it. You’re going to have to make sure and thank Pinkie Pie before you two go back.” The mancer reminded him as she looked back at the in-training digimon. Ember took a moment to bring the dishes that were licked clean by the Koromon into the kitchen so they could be washed in the sink. As she returned though, that was when she saw Marty digivolve back into his Rookie form now that he had a full stomach.

“Koromon digivolve to! GeoAgumon!”

“Well, it seems like you’re back to normal again. You won’t have to worry about Pinkie calling you a beachball anytime soon.” Ember chuckled for a moment before looking back at the dinosaur digimon and stopped laughing to herself. “No offense…”

“Eh don't worry about it, Pinkie lavishes everyone like that. You should see how she treats Hackmon.”

“Another friend of yours?”

“Yeah, he's Pinkie's Digimon partner.” Now that got the mancer curious about something as she looked back at them.

“You guys have partners? Like fight as a team?” She asked. “I thought your friends can fight on your own like with you and Lee.”

“Hackmon isn't a displaced, he's a true blooded Digimon.”

“Ah. I guess he has to play by a different set of rules?” Ember then asked, wanting to inquire a little bit more information.

“Nah. He just draws energy from Pinkie, otherwise we’re exactly the same.”

“I see,” She replied shortly after the GeoAgumon answered her question. “Well, unless there is anything you want to ask me, you should be free to head back to your world once your friend is awake. Rather not keep you here for too long if you know what I mean.”

“That'll be for the best, god knows what Piedmon could be doing back home.” The Digimon replied as Ember looked to his friend. The good news was that he was breathing steadily now. But he had yet to wake up from his slumber after getting knocked out by Anivia.

“How long does Lee normally sleep?” She then asked out of curiosity.

“That really depends on how badly we get beaten.”

“So with the case of Anivia… It may be a while?” Ember then asked, leading to the digimon nodding his head and her sighing afterwards. “Would it be possible for me to still send you back? I think it’ll be easier for Lee if he wakes up in someplace that he’s a little more… familiar with.” She suggested. The mancer wanted to make things easier for the two of them and with hearing Marty’s concerns about this Piedmon figure, Ember thought that the sooner she would get them back to their world, the better.

“I don't see why not.” He nodded, looking at her.

“Do you happen to have a token? If so, I can use it to send you two back.” She told him.

“It's a digivice.”

“May I see it then?” Ember asked, not bothering to ask about what a digivice was or ask about the details as she held out a hand for Marty to place the token on. Once it was handed to her, she channeled some of her life force into the device and used it to channel a simple, yet effective doorway that would help get the two of them back home. “There we go. One portal back to your world done. I think you’ll need me to return this before you go back right?” She said to Marty, handing the digivice back to him.

“Why are you handing this to me?” He raised his eyebrows. “I'm...not even sure why you opened the portal. You could have just sent us back by saying 'our contract is complete.’”

“Don’t want you ending up in the middle of nowhere on accident now. Plus, most of the time, it’s me going to other worlds instead of bringing guests here.” She replied, taking a deep breath and closing the portal before looking back at them. “But, if you insist… I guess the second option could be better. Marty, Lee, our contract is complete.”

“Cya.” Marty waved, tossing her the digivice, the two of them vanishing in a flurry of fractal code. Ember herself caught the device and smirked. It was something to add to what she had already and another token to put on the shelf in her room. Yet, as she was walking back inside, she had a feeling that things were… going to change in the near future. Anivia was stepping up her game, that was one thing. But her concern was Frost. He may have needed time to be back on the right track, but it also left him exposed. Making him a potential target for the cryophoenix.

She decided to set that aside though, focusing instead on something else as she placed the device on her shelf and walked to the door across the hall, softly knocking it. “Caesar? You up buddy? You’re going to miss breakfast.”

End Chapter 13