Ember's Endeavors: Apocalypse

~Inferno Agner~

“Ember, I have a question,” Discord said from behind.

“Yes?” I replied.

“When you defeated Chrysalis and released me, you did something. What was it?”

“Oh... I saw the pain you felt, and realized that’s why you attacked the world. I knew you would eventually try it again because of the oath you swore, and so I removed that part of you that held your malice.” My tail flicked and grabbed a nearby bottle of apple juice. “Thank you, Ixzhar.”

It buzzed softly.

“You did what?“

“Paraphrased simply, I healed the pain in your heart, and now you don’t have a reason to take over the world, same as me.”

He looked impressed. He shouldn’t have been.

“We’ll head out for that huge energy spike as soon as I put Ixzhar’s other half on.

I walked over to a small, orange cube that glowed ominously atop a pedestal . It leapt, landing lightly on my head. As it settled, the corners began to melt and smooth, making a sphere that also began to melt. In seconds, a crystal cube had become molten, flowing down my mane like a waterfall. The liquid crystal began to coat each hair in a thin layer, and solidified whenever enough substance covered.

“Amazing, it looks as if your mane is on fire, Ember.” His eyes met mine, and I felt it; a brief spark of fear and wonder, a primitive instinct common among sentience.

“Yes, it does,” I replied as images of a Cellist in performance danced in my eyes. A single word formed. “Who is Octavia, Discord?”

“I don’t know, why do you ask?”

“Premonitions, my friend. Premonitions.” I took a brief glance to read his mind. It was nothing more than a glance, but discovering this Octavia only required a glance. She was a famous musician, one who had encountered the Mane 6. My concentration was broken by a disturbance. “We’ll talk later, for now we have to make haste. I detect something that might help in the fight for this world.”

Despite my best attempts, I could not dislodge Her form from my consciousness. Tentatively, I stepped out of my mahogany-and-lavender home into the warmth and beauty of sunlight.

Discord had joined me a few miles away from the building, chattering about what plans he had for the Day of Dissonance, the one time in the year he could cause total chaos, solely to pass time. Ironically, it happened to be on April 1st, the very same day humans have dedicated to jokes and pranks of comical levels.

“...And when they open the door, their hair’ll be made of wood!” He laughed, nearly tripping over a root.

I exhaled, illuminating the forest with a ghostly glow. Somewhere above, a dragon took several strokes.

“Magnificent creatures, dragons, though it is a bit odd that another migration is happening,” I said finally.

“They are pretty cool, aren’t they? We’d better get the thing before they do though. It might help in the fight against the Ender.”

My mane wrapped itself around the nearest tree, snapping it like a sapling.

“Ix, what’s the matter? Trouble?” I asked.
It hissed and buzzed furiously, swiping at the ground. Slowly, it wrote out a message: O’ blazen one, hear my plea. The artifact you wish to possess is the key; however it’s destruction must be shown, lest you be forever alone.

“What does it mean, Ember? Do you really think it could...” he said, following close behind.

“I don’t quite know, but I know one thing: that thing, whatever it is, won’t be the same way for very much longer.”

Ixzhar hissed again, loud enough to wake up a nearby nest of phoenix hatchlings, which began harrassing the parents for food. The male glared at me, apparently trying to guilt-trip me into giving up a meal. I grabbed particularly large strip of applejerky from my saddlebag and tossed it up into the nest.

“Still a softie, eh?” Discord chided. I told him about my past, about love and heartbreak millenia old, and he thought it best to mess with me about it now.

“You really are a mischevious master, aren’t you?” We both laughed and Ix buzzed rhythmically.

I looked around, realizing we had walked to the base of a large volcano. Discord had stopped while I made my way up the slope. A roar emanated from the lip, no doubt from a dragon. “It might be dangerous for you up there, keep alert,” I shouted to Discord, who was lagging behind.

I took a ginger step to look into the mouth of the crater. Dragons lined the ledges, each brightly colored and content with his or her spot. It was shaped like a can, with a flat bottom and a lava pool. Next to the pool sat juvenile dragons with distended bellies.

“I’m going in, stay here,” I said, unfolding my large wings. With very little effort, I flew right into the thickest group of teenaged dragons, scattering them like pins. Momentum carried me to the far cliff face. I pulled in my wings, and let my hooves collide with the wall and ground, stopping me cold.

“Well, well, well, looks like someone lost their way. What do you think we should do with him, guys?” The lead dragon said. The group of teens laughed, circling around me and blocked any chance of escape.

Any sane pony would have been scared out of her wits at the situation I was now in. Even Celestia would be terrified.

Fortunately, I’m not a pony. I roared, launching three of them into a boulder from the resulting gust. The other seven that were left jumped on me, trying to pin me under their massive weight. I simply shook them off.

One lunged and I dropped my head. I heard his ribs snap as my skull collided with his
chest. Another grabbed my tail and was rewarded with a hearty slap from my mane. Two grabbed me around the torso and squeezed. I laughed. Eventually I stopped waiting for them to come at me and unleashed my combat experience on them.

I grabbed one by his oversized tail and flung him into a brown dragon. They both barely managed to stand up before I smacked their heads together. I could feel a barrel-chested dragon wrap meaty arms around my middle. Again, he squeezed. I bent backwards, grabbing his wings and tugged until I heard the joints dislocate. Immediately, he released me and I fell to a prone position. I could hear him approaching again, so I twisted, sweeping my legs under his. He hit the ground hard, his breathing heavy. I grabbed his tail and threw him clumsily onto the pile, a difficult task because of my hooves. Another one, grey and blue, threw a punch at my head. I ducked, deftly strafing through the rain of blows. He elbowed and I took the blow, keeping my neck rigid. His ulna shattered from the strain, and I threw him among the growing pile of pain-stricken bodies. I flipped backwards, grabbing a draconid by the neck with my legs, and spun him into the pile.

“Ever see what a phoenix can do when they get mad?” I asked the conscious dragons.
Collectively they said “No” while groaning in pain.

“I thought so.”

At the opposite end of the cauldron was a small indent carved into the stone wall. Near the back was a silverish-grey metal box, contrasting against the orange backdrop. I walked over, pondering the lock mechanism.

“I don’t have time for this...” I said, breaking the lock with a swift kick. Inside the box was a small octahedral crystal filled with swirling colors. My tail wrapped around it, setting it into my bag.
Ixzhar began to hum. I turned to leave, when a small gash appeared in the cove’s entrance. Ix cut out another message with it’s tip.

The deed is done, you had your fun. Leave this place, destroy the case. Shards shall fall, by your hand for call. Find your love, says your father above.

“My father? Love? What does it mean, what do you mean?!” Tears welled in my eyes. “Father... do you mean Octavia? Is she my love?” I said, shouting at the sky. My voice echoed in the unnatural calm, settling over me like snow.

“Octavia...”