Chapters Ember's Endeavors: Apocalypse
Ember’s Endeavor
Mending
Some think Queen Chrysalis evil. Others follow her every command. All I can say is that I know what she’s been through, and have felt similar pains.
Ten weeks it had been since the events during Princess Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding took place, and nine since I had dispelled a second attack on Canterlot. Very little happened between then. I expected the wait, and so took the time to create my HQ. It was beautiful. A square ivory building emblazoned with golden statues depicting recent history: The return of Nightmare Moon, Discord’s escape from his stone prison and the chaos that ensued, and the aforementioned Canterlot catastrophe.
A large bell toned from somewhere above my head, signaling company. Despite it’s deafening ringing, I stayed still in my quarters. It rang a total of fifteen times. On the thirteenth, I finally lifted my head off the velvet pillow. I could hear muffled voices from far below, somewhere beyond the main doors. I walked quickly, not wanting to displease my guest.
The door opened before it was within my reach.
“Ember? Ember Matriax?” a familiar voice asked from outside. “Are you there? Princess Celestia asked me to visit.”
“I know why you’re here, Queen Chrysalis,” I replied. I looked directly into her eyes. My Empathy activated, and I could hear her every thought: “How does he know? Did she tell her already? He’s staring at me. Why?” Dozens flicked into her mind and through mine before I dared to move my gaze. “You are here to seek counseling , I can feel it. Also, no, Celestia didn’t give me notice. Come with me.”
I flicked my tail over my head like a scorpion’s. It wrapped around her, stretching and swirling around to balance her weight on it. It quickly retracted, drawing her into my hand-crafted hall. I shook my head and mane, looping a small strand around the large blue stone door, and pulled it back, slamming it shut.
“We’re going to the highest room, to the housing quarters,” I informed her. A look of shock flashed briefly over her eyes.
“We... are?” She seemed confused. I looked into her eyes again, and my Empathy began to draw information from her. Once again, thoughts began to wash over me.
“He must like me. Why? No one ever liked me.” I could feel her emotions as clear as I could see her face. She felt afraid. Trapped. However, I could also feel her desire to belong, so much like so many before. And I felt her fear. Oh, she was afraid. Too afraid. I began to sift through each thought, each feeling, and found... something. It might have been anger, or protectiveness. I could see her past. She had been through so many trials, rejected by so many, harmed and fought by so many more. I didn’t know how, but I knew. I knew she was feared, loathed, by all who met her. All but two: one, Discord; He was trapped in stone, yet I could feel she felt his presence, and she knew I knew. The other, Me. I am the second to know her pain. How sad.
“Your past is marred with chaos, fury, rage, fear, and pain, Chrysalis. I know this because I can see your past,” I finally said after a few minutes. She had never moved her eyes away, nor turned her head to escape the fear she felt looking at me. She was still afraid, more confused. “Young one, do not fear me, I know all too well how you feel. Now come, you need to see your quarters.” I began to walk towards the large staircase.
We were traveling through the numerous corridors that connected every part of the building to one another. Static began to hiss in my Comm. for the first time since I had began building. I flicked it off.
“Her past is scarred with pain, I had said. It seemed like she had known of Discord before he started his chaos. Strange, I seem to remember reading an incredible fanfiction similar to what I saw... who was the author again? YouJellyFish... yes, that’s his name. How ironic, how beautifully quaint,” I thought. YouJellyFish, a name I remembered then and now; he was an author on Equestria Daily, who wrote ‘Beneath the Skin of Monsters.’ I had read some of the stories on that website from my Internet connection, which led to my discovery of sentient premonitions just days before. I had spent over an hour sifting through works both poor and incredible. I had read My Little Dashie, which which my Commanding Officer had de-briefed me on when and where it’s timeline would happen. I read it, and honestly spent the next thirty minutes struggling with emotions, crying all the way.
I pushed open a smaller wooden door, and held it in place to let the Queen through. She stopped, then reluctantly trotted in, hole-ridden hooves tapping softly against the alpine floorboards.
“How much do you know?” She asked me.
“I know you knew Discord as a youth. I know you spent your time around Ponyville while the princesses were fillies. I also know just how the alicorns, Celestia and Luna, imprisoned Discord. I will free him, but I will also maintain the world as you saw it. You and Discord will protect this realm alongside me, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, and the mane 6.”
“Why do you know so much? How will you keep him from returning the world to the way it was before? Will you stop the strife that occurs even now between me and my subjects?” Her questions came in a torrent, and I answered as calmly and evenly as I had before. She wanted to know everything. She needed to know. Even without my Empathy technique, I knew. She was lost in that day that Celestia and Luna triumphed, just as her friend was lost in a stone prison. She felt that pain.
I looked at the blanket on the cherrywood bed, and commanded it to lift itself into a fold.
“Rest, Queen Chrysalis. I will endow you with peaceful dreams,” I bade her. She obeyed without question, sliding under the fabric. It was not long before she closed her eyes, drifting into the realm which my father’s brother, Abysstura, preserved. I whispered a word of prayer, and left.
The trip to Canterlot’s garden was incredibly short. With my preparations, it only took three minutes. I could’ve made a sandwich in that time. When I arrived, I could see the intricate hedges cut into wonderful shapes: rectangles, cubes, spheres, pyramids, and many different animals; flowers dotting their surface. At the center sat a granite statue of a Draconequis. Discord.
At once after landing, I vigorously began working at the barrier between him and the outside world. I could feel the sheer power emanating from it, and realized it was the Elements of Harmony.
“Intriguing. So this is the power the Elements of Harmony possess?” I chuckled. “I’m sorry Twilight, but this is something I have to do.” I hardened my features and braced my emotions, then began to focus. A sharp pain tore through my mind as I began to pierce the magical wall.
“Discord, Lord of Chaos, hear me. I am Ember Matriax. I have come to free you, under one condition,” I thought, sending the words through the gap. I could feel a reply widening the weakened portion.
“Ember Matriax. Quite quaint. What do you seek of me?” Discord thought back.
“I have found your old friend. What you did was not ethical, but neither was what Celestia and Luna attempted. Return to the world of ponies. Right wrongs from ages passed.”
“You found Chrysalis? How? Why? Do you think she is a monster?”
I chuckled to him. “Ah, such questioning thoughts I have seen in her. Yes, I found her. She attempted to conquer Canterlot, twice. The second attempt I stopped singlehandedly, and now she sleeps in my guest quarters, somehow waiting for you, if that answers your questions.”
“You... how have you done such?” His confusion shone bright as the sun when his questions reached me. My Empathy told me his story as well, Discord had been born of earth and water. He had found who he was days before finding Chrysalis, and just like his long-lost friend, Discord felt the pain of losing a beloved person.
“My true form is that of a Phoenix deity, do not doubt me.”
My mane flashed like a red whip, smashing the solid granite prison to dust while I mentally held Discord to my mind. When his body fell to the ground in a heap, I let my mind blossom around his, my memories becoming a part of his. He could see my beginning. He saw the Great War my father had fought, and felt the pain I felt on the front lines. He saw my men fall to swords and axes, fists and stones. He felt every waking moment of my suffering, and for once, someone other than myself knew. I was here for one thing: to save him and his friend from a torment worse than life in hell.
“Now you know. Before we return to my headquarters, we must meet Celestia and set things right. Just know that thievery is a crime I disdainfully will punish, and one that set the series of actions that occurred so long ago in motion. Now, awake!”
I retracted my mind from his, letting him slowly rise.
He groggily began to slur out a couple of incoherent words, then finally managed to form a complete sentence.
“Climb-b on my b-back, I’ll teleport us there.” Before I had time to say anything, he forced my flank onto his back, just below his wings, and unleashed his magic. I could feel a tingling sensation as his energies washed over us.
In a split second, a blinding white flash appeared then faded, leaving the image of a royal bedroom. We had teleported to one side of the circular room. It had one window with gold and silver trim, covered with purple velvet curtains wrapped around a golden post decorated with spires at the ends. Across the room was a large wooden door with handles in the shape of lion heads. The walls were purple, the floor pink. In the center of a circular indent sat a purple-and-gold mattress, curved to fit the middle of the bowl-like floor. Around it was a transparent violet veil. Under this veil was a sleeping, 16 hand white alicorn with a four-color mane.
I gingerly stepped up, careful not to make too loud a sound. I brushed her flowing mane aside with a deep red-brown hoof, and leaned in to whisper “Wachen” in her ear. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing sea-green eyes.
“E-ember? Discord?”
“Yes, ma'am,” Discord quietly replied.
“Why are you here? Wouldn’t my castle be made of chocolate pudding or something?”
“We’re here to make amends and to get an apology, Princess,” I said, slowly nodding my head to calm her. “Discord is here to get an apology for your harsh treatment and hasty judgements when the lot of you were young; however, he’s also here to give one right back for his display of chaos.”
“I’m sorry, Princess, but we couldn’t get any food for our own.” He wrapped his scaled and hairy arms around her, pulling her tightly into a hug.
“I... I’m sorry too. We should’ve treated you better. The only problem is that we didn’t know you had no food, and you wouldn’t tell us. We would’ve understood,” she said, returning the gesture.
“If I may interject, we need to get Queenie awake, my spell won’t end until I break it myself, and we’ll have to go quickly to avoid her sinking into a coma,” I said loudly. Grabbing them both, I singled one image in my mind; the image of Chrysalis asleep in the guest bed. Wisps of energy began to swirl around us, forming a cone of pure energy. In a few seconds, the maelstrom of magic reached from the floor to the ceiling.
“Go!” I yelled to the deafening wind. It created a hole above us, and a great suction sucked all of us into the room where a pony slept soundly. “Pull her out of the covers, this spell is full-body, and I can’t use it fast enough when a large portion is covered,” I ordered.
Discord grabbed Queen Chrysalis by the hoo, while Celestia flung off the blanket. As soon as I had a good view of her entire body, I closed my eyes and channeled my magic into her. Although I couldn’t see her, Queen Chrysalis glowed a dark red, an indication that my magic was working.
“She has three seconds! Celestia, Discord, let her go. Your touch inhibits my magic’s efficiency,” I shouted, not opening my eyes. They dropped her on the bed. I couldn’t feel a response. I was losing her!
“NO! NOT AGAIN!!” I screamed silently. With all the power I could muster, I commanded her to wake up. My power surged forth, striking the spell that held her captive, then waned to a faint spark unfit to light a box. I felt my blue eyes glitter then dim to a navy blue. I, a being of incredible power, had failed.
I fell, defeated.
“She... She isn’t going to make it much longer,” I said sadly, not raising my head.
“But you said... No... No! I am NOT going to let her die!” Discord bellowed. He grabbed the still Queen by her middle and pressed her close. I could feel hot, salty tears building in my eyes. I sighed and rose, turning towards the two lovers locked in a tight, one-sided embrace. I could barely hear her heartbeat. Discord began sobbing, the reality of it sinking in. Celestia softly moved toward them, tears also welling.
“Discord... I’m so sorry. I wish... I wish there was something I could do...” Celestia said, voice cracking with every pause.
He slowly set her limp body on the bed and started after Celestia. He wrapped his long arms around her. He fell, sliding to the ground.
A soft moaning emanated from the bed, barely audible. “Dis...discord...”
I turned. Chrysalis’ eyes slowly opened, as if it hurt to open them any faster.
“Discord... Discord! Get Chrysalis!” I yelled to him, my voice suddenly full of vigor. His head snapped up.
“Is she... awake?”
“Yes! Go, hold her up while she’s recuperating.” I turned toward Princess Celestia. “You may go now, or explore my domain if you so please.”
“Okay, Ember. Discord... take care of her,” was all she said, turning out into the hall.
“Hey, Discord.”
“Yes, Ember? What do you want to say?” he asked, his voice soft but firm.
“I’ll let you two stay here with me, if you want, at least until her castle is complete. Or you can stay here where things are nice and calm, yet still chaotic. Your choice.”
Discord and Chrysalis looked at me, then to each other, and back to me.
“We’ll stay,” they said in unison.
“So be it, I will leave you two to your own devices. Enjoy your stay,” I replied, shutting the door behind with my tail. I returned to my own quarters, listening to the muffled sounds of two long-lost friends deep in conversation, and smiled.
“I did it...” I thought, tears once again welling above my melancholy smile. I pushed open my door, walked over to my hammock, and laid myself face down once again.
Ember's Endeavors: Apocalypse
The Ender: PART 1
“For millenia, we have protected the Omniverse from the monster lurking within Riftspace. Now, after so many lost realms, we must do all that we can to preserve that which we know. It is now time, my son. Go, enter the magical realm of Equestria. Monitor it. This is your ultimate goal: whatever the cost, maintain peace all throughout, do not let it’s fate be so much like so many others.”
I woke with a start. Around me, all curtains were closed. It was absolutely dark, yet it looked like the walls were under a lamp.
“Discord, Chrysalis! Are you there?“ I shouted through the wall.
“We are, what’s the matter?” Chrysalis replied.
“I had a dream. My father was talking to me, before I came here. He told me about something dangerous, but I don’t know what he meant. I think it might be why I’m here in the first place. You can come in, you two.”
The door slid open, revealing the worried faces of a serpentine chimaera and a changeling.
“I’m fine, honest.”
“You don’t look like you are, come on, let’s get you some nutrition,” Discord replied, blinking as if to make a point.
I climbed out of bed, flipping a corner out of my way. My tail automatically flicked back, expertly pressing the blanket back into it’s normal configuration, then retracted and settled. I began slowly making my way to the door’s entrance.
“Are you really okay? You’re sweating,” Chrysalis asked again.
“I told you, I’m fi-” My voice cut out as every muscle in my body locked up, and I hit the ground. Dark thoughts began to enter my head. Thoughts filled with disaster: smoking ruins, wilted orchards, fractured shorelines, all being consumed by a blackness deeper than the darkest shadow. My breath came out in short, raspy bursts. My lungs began to burn.
“It... it’s...” Was all I was able to gasp out before I passed out.
Inside my unconscious mind, I could feel a large blob of nothing floating inches from my beak.
“Hunger...” It hissed, blowing a faint stream of energy at my mind. It stank of rotting flesh and burning greenery. It swirled itself around my true form, enclosing me in a tight shroud. “I have found you... and I am coming...”
I began to squirm, flailing my arms as fast as I could, but to no avail. My arms passed through the black mist, even while it compressed my very being. The only thing I could see, a pit ontop of black, became fuzzy. It was an unstoppable force, a wall I could overcome. I was losing.
Suddenly, a fierce blast of pure red tore through the shadowy cocoon. It ripped through, leaving gaping holes. I took the opportunity and flapped my wings, pushing myself through the energy-bound world into a glowing orb.
“Ah, my son, there you are. As I cannot destroy it now, I will hold it off for as long as I can, make your escape to your conscious existence. Tell them,” a beautiful voice chimed. I felt a hand on my head. It rubbed back and forth, tousling my crest. I smiled.
A force of incredible power sucked my body into a rift I hadn’t seen before.
“...not joking around, we need to take him to the Hospital, Discord!” Queen Chrysalis’ voice slowly focused in my mind.
I groaned. “Ugh... Pick me up, I still can’t move my legs,” I cut in. “I have to tell you something, but it’ll be in Canterlot, with the Princesses.”
They gasped simultaneously.
“We thought you were dying, Ember.”
“I was, but you can’t expect me to...” Fear began to encircle my mind again. “No...no no no. Come on, we have to get to the Princess.”
“Okay, but hold on,” Discord said while grabbing me, flinging me over his shoulder like a sack of flour, and walked down the staircase and out into the sunlight. He snapped his fingers, letting his power flow. In a split second, he, Chrysalis and I were before the regal forms of Celestia and Luna.
“What are you doing here?” they both asked.
“We’re here on business. The kind that might just stop the apocalypse,” Discord replied for me, shifting me about.
They looked surprised, so I looked into their eyes. Instantly, our minds were connected.
“The world you know is in grave danger. In aproximately three months, a monstrous entity will consume your entire realm, destroying everything and empowering it at the same time. It’s a blob of sentient shadows we call the Ender. It feeds off of the energies of universes, and actively seeking them. Only our reigning deities can stop it, but they control and protect other worlds, leaving all others vulnerable. An attack of sufficient power can severely damage it, but only one thing can destroy it entirely; holy fire. Unfortunately, I’m too weak. Even at full power, I can do little more than annoy it. Nothing I can do will slow it, much less stop it,” I empathized.
“You tell us of an impending apocalypse that can be stopped, and you have the gall to tell us we’re doomed?”
“Yes, I am sorry.”
“Ember Matriax, you are the most powerful of us all, and you have protected us many times. We have seen you perform the impossible, and now you do nothing? Unthinkable. Even though you will not be able to stop the destruction of our world alone, we will do anything and everything we can to stop this... thing from destroying our only home.”
“How? None of my bretheren have done what you intend, we’re all doomed!” Fear welled in my mind for the third time, while tears appeared, unbeknownst to me.
“We may be doomed, but we will go out fighting,” Luna finally said. Her words strummed at me like a musician to a lyre.
“Fine, you’ll find some way to annoy it more while we wait.” I blinked, breaking the link.
Discord set me down after he felt the pulse from the Empathy-link breaking and said; “Ember, what if we gather as much energy as we can from every unicorn, and you use it to attack that thing. We may win if we do it.”
“You heard? How?“ I asked, surprised at the creature who belonged with so many and none at all.
“I figured out the names and talents of each of the Mane 6 by reading their minds, and I did roughly the same thing here.“
I stared at him in wonder for well over a minute, until Chrysalis broke in.
“If it’ll help any, I’ll send my subjects out to get energy from the earth ponies and pegasus ponies.”
“I... I didn’t think of that. My fear was blinding me,” I replied to her sheepishly.
“It’s nothing, just give that bulemic world-swallower something to chew on.”
She smiled, we all laughed. Little did they know it would be one of the last times they would laugh in a long while....
Ember's Endeavors: Apocalypse
The Ender 2/3, Uncovering Secrets 1/3
~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.
“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
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.
“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.
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...”