Sun Magic
Written by Sapphire Quill
~~<>~~
The sun glared down upon a group of zebra, who had gathered on a grassy field deep within the Everfree Forest. Fires flickered on the edges of the field, creating the illusion there was a forest fire, hopefully warding off any curious creatures or ponies. A large fire flickered in the middle of the field, but no smoke appeared over it. Several zebra were mixing some powder together into several bowls, and others were placing them in a circle around the fire. Each had a distinct tint to it, and each had a shape etched into the dust.
A zebra parted from the rest of the crowd, heading towards a small cave hidden under some bushes and vines. Her mane was in a ponytail, which was quite different from the rest, who all had their own mane down. She entered the cave, parting a few vines, to see her sister, head bowed over a small statue of the sun. Her stripes curled into the shape of a sun, upon her flank. While most Zebra had to get the symbol tattooed upon their flank, the mare in front of the statue was born with hers. "Zecora!" The smaller zebra called out, flicking her tail in impatience. "It's time for the ceremony! And you better not rhyme. It takes too much time!" Her sister glanced behind her.
"And yet you have rhymed a rhyme, Njagi." Zecora gently teased, then got up. "But yes, you are right. Rhyming will take up too much time for this, since we only have a few minutes. Now cut my long mane into a Mohawk.” Zecora instructed, handing her younger sister a knife and a bowl. “Place the hairs into this bowl afterwards.” Njagi nodded, and grasped the knife with her teeth. She pulled at Zecora's mane, and shaved the left side and the right side, leaving a long tuft of a black and white mane trailing down Zecora's back. Njagi then pulled harder at the mane, and sliced it, leaving four inches of mane, limp across Zecora's head and neck. Spitting the knife out of her mouth, Njagi grabbed a pot with a clear liquid inside. It was a liquid harvested from Poison Joke that stuck fibers together. When used with the actual Poison Joke plant, the effects could only be reversed by washing it off. However, by itself, it was actually harmless, and was often used in Hair Gels. Njagi rubbed the liquid over her sister's hair in an upwards motion, and the hair was stuck up into a Mohawk.
"Thank you, Njagi. Now, let me do yours." Zecora offered, but Njagi shook her head.
"I have no major part in the ceremony, besides making sure that the Dragon doesn't wake up." Njagi bowed her head, and went outside of the cave. Zecora watched her leave, before turning to the Sun Statue. She took several Sun Feathers from the bowl in front of the statue, and fixed them to various parts of her mane, creating the illusion her mane was on fire. She took in a deep breath, then grabbed a jar full of white powder. "Corona, don't let your pride get in the way of our ceremony again," Zecora muttered, walking out of the cave. "This is our last jar of your magical residue."
Zecora walked into the field, her mane rustling slightly in the wind. Clouds were blowing in, but that wouldn't stop the power of the Sun from reaching the ceremony.
Zecora stepped into a ring of white paint, which began glowing once she stepped inside. She cast her gaze across the bowls of powder, each tinted a different color. Grey, Teal, Yellow, Purple, Orange, and Blue, each color gathered from the magical residue leftover from the Elements of Harmony. She held the jar she had been carrying up. "Queen Celestia's Magical Residue, harvested from the shreds left behind when she was attacked by the corrupted Elements of Harmony. When combined with the Residue of the Elements of Harmony, it will be able to strengthen Cor- Queen Celestia's power!" Zecora began pouring a little bit of the powder into the bowls with the multi colored powder. Immediately, they burst into flames, each the color of the powder in it's bowl. Zecora scooped each bowl, and poured the burning powder into the the smokeless fire. It flared up, and turned white, blinding all of the zebra for a moment. The white subsided, revealing a blazing fire, with white smoke curling off of it. A flaming orange orb was starting to form above the fire, sucking all of the magic out of the air.
The zebra began to cheer, and Zecora smiled faintly. For once, things were going right.
Crash! A large bolt fire scattered the zebra, and a glowing figure descended upon the field, flames spreading everywhere.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Corona's voice echoed across the field. The zebra gazed up upon the figure with awe, and knelt, their eyes focused upon the glowing figure.
“Please forgive me, your Majesty. We did not mean for this to be a travesty.” Zecora slipped into her rhyming tongue, her head held high. “We only meant to restore your power, you have no need to be so dour.” Corona’s mane flared, and she lowered her head, her eyes meeting Zecora’s.
“What my sister means, is that this is to enhance your power, not-” Njagi ran forward, her eyes shining with awe, and a little fear. Corona whipped her head around, and looked Njagi in the eye.
“Our little pony,” Corona began, her voice softer than normal. She smiled faintly, and stood up taller. “We see that you are trying hard to keep your sister out of trouble.” She gazed at the gathered zebra, then nodded.
“You all may stand, now.” Corona commanded, before turning to Zecora and Njagi. “So, you say that this is either meant to restore my power, or enhance it?” Njagi and Zecora nodded, then shook their heads, then shrugged.
“You seem to be all powerful now, so maybe your power is just enhanced?: Njagi wondered, her gaze focusing on Zecora. Zecora shrugged, then turned to Corona.
“Your Highness, we meant no disrespect. You will understand, if you stop and reflect.” Zecora declared, her head held high.
While negotiations continued, a little filly crept from underneath the ashes of the fire, and crawled quickly to the cave, which lay a few feet away. Her pink eyes darted around the cave, before sighing. She curled up underneath a statue a few feet away, and fell swiftly asleep.
Corona lifted her large, swan-like wings. She gazed at the assembled zebra, before nodding. “We have never experienced such unconditional loyalty before. The ponies could learn a thing or two from you.” The corners of her mouth lifted in a dry grin, before resuming. “However, you all should flee these woods soon. The ‘forest fire’ you have created may have drawn unwanted attention.” At these words, a rumble of thunder sounded from the gathered clouds, and rain began falling upon the gathered zebra. Some of the zebra’s striped began to blur with the white paint, and soon several ponies were exposed. Each of them had a sun-related cutie mark, Corona noticed. “Ah, so ‘tis not just the zebra who follow us, but our little ponies as well.” She remarked. She spread her wings, and took off from the ground, her blank eyes studying the assembled ponies/zebra as she flew away.
Chapter 1; The Filly in the Woods
Dear Miss Lulamoon,
It has come to my attention that there was a forest fire near Ponyville. As the Representative of the Night Court in Ponyville, it is your duty to investigate, and make sure that the forest fire is out. If you don't believe me, look it up in the new book of Equestrian Law, section b-3, paragraph 5. I wish you a safe journey into the Everfree Forest. By the way, I still haven't forgiven you for what you did to my daughter.
Sincerely,
Viscount Nightlight Sparkle of the Sparkle Family
Trixie growled, crumbling up the paper in her magical grasp, and hurled it at the window. Viscount Sparkle... I bet you wrote that law just because you hate me! She picked up a large book out from her bookshelves, that new-book smell still clinging to it. It was delivered to her house a few days ago, and as she flipped through, her guesses were confirmed. The laws were the same, and there was only that one new one addes. Trixie slammed the book shut, her pink eyes narrowed in frustration. She stomped towards the door, grabbing her saddlebags with her magic. Thrusting the door open with her magic, she startled a few birds and ponies, and she began running to the Everfree. Stupid Viscount Sparkle. Stupid new law. Stupid Wildfire!!!!! She thought, charging down a dusty path. She dodged Big Mac as he pulled his cart down the same path, not noticing his surprised face. Grrr... Stupid Twilight too. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have to check EVERY. SINGLE. WILDFIRE in this town! She leaped over the fence surrounding the Everfree Forest, and charged down the path. Animals leaped out of her way, and it seemed like the plants receded as well.
It appeared the Everfree Forest seemed to know not to get in her way when Trixie was mad.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My Little Pony, My Little Pony,
Ahh ahh ahh ahhh
My Little Pony
Friendship never meant that much to me
My Little Pony
But you're all here and now I can see
Stormy weather; Lots to share
A musical bond; With love and care
Teaching laughter; it's an easy feat,
And magic makes it all complete!
You have My Little Ponies
How'd I ever make so many true friends?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Trixie finally slowed down when she began to feel tired and sore. The Everfree forest seemed a bit darker than usual, so Trixie tried to light up her horn.
Nothing.
Trixie stopped being mad, and began to panic. Why couldn't she call on her magic? The only time it won't happen is if there wasn't any magic, and that was silly. The Everfree Forest was filled with natural magic...
For the first time, Trixie looked closely at her surroundings. All of the plants were wilted, and there weren't any animals as well. The forest was dead silent, and Trixie could actually see the clouds blowing in. She began to walk quickly again, wishing she had brought her cape and hat with her, instead of storming out without thinking. Trixie quickly found herself in a burnt clearing, with bowls and pots scattered everywhere. A large pile of firewood lay in the center, slightly burnt, with broken shards and a glittering powder spread all around it. A small cave sat at the end of the clearing.
It was right then that the clouds decided to pour all the water in them down on Trixie. Trixie yelped, and ran to the cave as fast as she could, water already dripping off of her mane and coat. She shivered a little bit in the entrance of the cave, and lit her horn. She smiled widely as her horn glowed, meaning there was magic left in the cave. She used a spell to dry herself off, before trotting to the back of the cave. There was a small statue of a sun sitting right in front of her, and it seemed to be giving off some waves of magic. Trixie backed away slightly, bumping into something soft. She yelped, and dashed back to the statue, horn glowing. She glanced around wildly, looking for the thing she bumped into, her pink eyes wide. There, at the mouth of the cave, was a filly, who by the looks of things had the same reaction as Trixie. Her horn was glowing a pale gold, and her pink mane was limp against her neck. She had pink eyes, narrowed to slits, and the filly's wings were stretched out. For a moment, they stared at each other, until the little filly collapsed, shivering. Trixie, for some inexplicable reason, galloped to the filly, and dragged her over to the sun statue. Trixie recognized the filly, but from where?
Then, it clicked. She looked just like Corona, when she had been blasted with the Elements of Harmony. Trixie's eye twitched. How could that be? Corona was still around, being completely annoying by not attacking directly, but rather from the shadows, so how was she a filly? Did Corona make herself a little filly, to sneak into the heart of Ponyville, and completely destroy the town? To trick Trixie onto being on her side? The questions ran around and around in Trixie's mind, as she gazed down at the filly. Should I confront her when she wakes up? Should I leave her here? Trixie sat near the filly, looking down on her. I'll stay. If she's innocent, I'll take her in. If she's Corona in disguise, however, then... Trixie didn't finish her thought, as the filly began to wake up. She let out a small groan, and sat up, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. However, when she locked eyes with Trixie, she dropped the cute act, and got up on all four hooves, glaring. Trixie raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you're in a good position to fight me. After all, until this storm passes, we're stuck in here." Trixie pointed out, as the filly set her horn in her golden glow again. The filly huffed, and sat down. She eyed Trixie carefully, fluttering her wings slightly. She let out a small "Hmph." and turned her head. Trixie rolled her eyes, and cast a small spell. A few spheres of light floated out of her horn, and became bigger, lighting up the cave. In a small niche were a few bottles and bowls, with odd swirls and symbols on them. Near the entrance of the cave were some black and white strips, which on closer inspection looked like chunks of hair. Trixie gagged, and walked back to the filly, who was reaching up to the bottles. Trixie tugged the filly away, and the filly stuck her tongue out at her. Trixie stuck her tongue out at the filly at the same time, and "Hmphed".
"This cave is icky! When will the storm be over, so I can get away from this icky cave, and you?" The filly spoke for the first time that evening, and Trixie gasped.
"Hey! I am not icky, and if anypony wants to get away from anypony, it would be me wanting to get away from you!" The filly's lower lip trembled slightly, and she turned her head away. Trixie felt a slight pang of guilt, but before she could say anything, the filly got up and nuzzled her leg. Trixie's eye twitched. The filly was... being affectionate? She was being extremely rude just seconds ago, and now she was being nice?! Trixie looked down at the filly, and blinked. The filly looked up at Trixie with big eyes, and tilted her head. The filly proceeded to burst out laughing, falling to the floor, giggling. "Yo-Your face! You should've seen your face! It was hilarious! Hahahaha!" The filly stopped laughing, and got up. "But, in all seriousness, I'm sorry. I've been such a brat the last few minutes, and you were so civil! I should've known you would lash out with some hateful words if I pushed you hard enough." Trixie blinked, trying to process what the filly said. No filly she knew spoke so... maturely. Trixie flinched when the filly started laughing again. "HA! Got you, AGAIN! You're a laugh!" The filly giggled. Trixie pretended to look offended.
"Moi? I am not a laugh, I do not preform for laughs, I preform for excitement!" Trixie spread her hooves out, like she did when she preformed. The filly giggled a little bit, and asked her to preform something. For the next half hour, Trixie did magic tricks that didn't need magic, as well as magical tricks she had learned over the years. Something clicked between the filly and the mare, and there was something different about them afterwards. Trixie liked the little filly, a lot, and she discovered that over the last hour, she began to care for this little filly.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"So, what's your name?" Trixie asked casually, leaning against a cave wall. The filly looked up from where she was practicing the magic tricks Trixie taught her, and shrugged.
"Erm... not sure." Trixie felt something tug at her heart.
"Well..." Trixie began cautiously. "Would you like to come back with me to Ponyville? You can stay at my place for a little while, if you'd like. I mean, we would have to disguise your wings, since everypony would be wondering what an alicorn would be doing there, but-"
"Yes!" The filly shrieked. "PLEASE! This forest is SCARY, and I have been living here the last couple of days. It's the only source of magic, and I really, REALLY, want to get out of this icky cave!" Trixie raised an eyebrow.
"OK then. Since I don't know when the storm will stop, we should get back to Ponyville." Trixie said, already using her magic to create a small force-field between her and the storm. "Maybe you should get on my back. That way I don't have to use up too much magic. I'm basically running on empty, and if the magic here hasn't been restored yet, the spell won't last long." The filly nodded, and leaped onto Trixie's back, using her wings to steady herself. Trixie galloped out of the cave, and towards the trees. The filly clung to her neck, shivering slightly from the cold. Her magic sputtered, but Trixie had reached the trees before the spell failed, and they were galloping underneath the leaves of the trees, the rain not falling as hard there, the two barely getting wet. Trixie smiled at the filly, and the filly smiled back.
Yep, Trixie really liked this little filly.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"TRIXIE? TRIXIE!" A voice called out, and the filly stiffened. They had been walking for fifteen minutes, and Trixie had heard a good friend of hers calling out her name.
"Don't worry," Trixie assured the filly. "It's just Carrot Top. She's a very good friend of mine. CARROT TOP! OVER HERE!" Trixie called out, galloping in the general direction she heard Carrot's voice.
"TRIXIE!" Carrot Top yelled, and the two mares smashed into each other, skidding in the mud. Carrot Top's eyes widened when she saw the filly, and looked at Trixie, confused.
"I'll explain when we get out of here." Trixie offered, and Carrot Top shrugged.
"Come on, my house isn't far from here." The two mares began trotting down a dirt path, and the trees began to recede.
"You live closer to the Everfree than I thought." Trixie commented, glancing back at the filly on her back. Carrot Top shook her head.
"No, the Everfree forest has been growing faster than usual. The Apple Trust and I have been doing more weeding and chopping, rather than actually farming, because it grows so quickly. I think it might be because of that wildfire a few days ago. I went down to check it out, and the area is completely dry of magic. It might be prompting the forest to grow even more, to make up for that lost patch of wildlife." Carrot Top explained. Trixie just smiled and nodded, not really listening, because her focus was mainly on the filly on her back. The little filly had fallen asleep, her pink mane falling in front of her eyes, and her pink eyes shut tight. Again, Trixie felt something tug at her heart, but she couldn't quite place it.
"Trixie? Trixie, are you listening to me?!" Carrot Top shouted, snapping Trixie back to reality. Carrot Top's house was a few yards away, and Carrot Top was standing in front of Trixie, eyes slightly narrowed. "Trixie, we're here. Now, can you explain to me WHY AN ALICORN FILLY IS ON YOUR BACK THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE CORONA FROM WHEN WE BLASTED HER WITH THAT RAINBOW STUFF?!?!?!" Carrot Top shouted at the top of her lungs, shaking the trees. Miraculously, the filly didn't wake up and start sassing Carrot Top about waking her up.
"I... uh..." Trixie stammered. "Can we just get inside? I'm freezing!" Carrot Top rolled her eyes, but smiled.
"All right. Come on in." Carrot Top lead Trixie inside, and Trixie eased the filly on her back onto an armchair. She smiled a little bit, at how the filly's mane fell in front of her eyes, no matter what position she was sleeping in. Carrot Top left Trixie and the little filly in the living room, while she went into the kitchen to fix up some hot herbal tea.
"Trixie!" Carrot Top called out from inside the kitchen. "How do you want your tea? We have mint, peach, berry, and chai, and honey and sugar for sweetener."
"Do you have any whipped cream, and peanut butter?" Trixie called out.
"Err... yeah."
"I'd like some mint tea with whipped cream and peanut butter for sweetener." Trixie responded, glancing down at the filly. "And maybe some peach tea with chocolate for the little filly."
"Yeah, I'm just gonna give her peach with honey. Not everyone shares your... unusual food tastes."
Trixie shrugged, wrapping herself in her own blanket. She sat near the filly, close enough to know if she was sleeping or awake, but far enough to give the filly her space. Carrot Top came in with three mugs, and Trixie accepted the one offered to her. She took a sip, the whipped cream covering her nose, and the peanut butter sticking to the roof of her mouth. Mmm, just perfect. Carrot Top gagged when Trixie took a large gulp, swallowing with gusto.
"You are one weird mare." Carrot Top shook her head, sighing. Trixie raised an eyebrow, but before she could say anything, a large 'Ahem' from the little filly distracted her. The filly was sitting up straight, her eyes wide open, with a slight demanding look on her face.
"Where's mine?" The little filly asked, a little rudely. Trixie smiled, and levitated the filly's cup over to her. The filly took a slight sip, then spat it out. "EW! Tastes gross! What is this?" The filly demanded, dropping the cup. Trixie caught it with her magic before it hit the floor, and narrowed her eyes at the filly.
"Hey! Carrot Top fixed it just for you, so you shouldn't be rude like that!" Trixie scolded, her magic flaring a little in frustration. Carrot Top shrugged, and took the cup from Trixie's magical grasp.
"Trixie, it's all right. Not everyone likes herbal tea, especially young fillies. Also, Trixie? Are you okay? You seem different. You aren't boasting about how good you are at something for once, and you are also... well..."
"Well what?"
"You're acting like a mother. You aren't being as rude as you can be, and you just scolded a young filly for not liking her tea, just like a mother would. Are you okay?" Carrot Top repeated the question, concern written all over her face. Trixie's eyes widened.
"Uh... I... No! Nuh uh, no way," Trixie became red in the face. "I must look tame to how this filly acts, and I do not care for her like a mother! Nuh uh, no way, nope, nada, zilch, zip! I am not cut out to be a mother!" Carrot Top smiled knowingly.
"You need to talk to Ditzy. She'll give you tips on raising a foal." Carrot Top suggested, sipping her tea. Trixie found herself nodding, then shook her head.
"I said, I'm not cut out to be a mother!" Trixie held her cup in her magic as she threw her hooves into the air. The filly giggled, and Trixie felt slightly warm and fuzzy inside. Carrot Top watched with amusement as Trixie tickled the filly, the two rolling on the floor. Laughter filled Carrot Top's house, and Carrot Top herself felt like laughing. The evening was happy, and spent peacefully as the three exchanged stories, played games, and watched Trixie preform a short magic show.
Trixie smiled, and looked down at the filly right before tucking her in. "Would you... would you let me give you a name?" Trixie offered, folding the blanket over the filly. The filly tilted her head a little bit, like she always did when she was thinking, Trixie noticed.
"Yes, please." The filly finally answered. Trixie smiled again, and curled up next to the filly, contemplating a name for her. She had a sunny personality when she wasn't being rude, and she was definitely not shy. She looked like Corona when she was blasted with the Elements, and she was a little filly alicorn.
"I know. How about Sunrise? Sunrise... Shine." Trixie offered. She gave a basic magical name, implying that she was good at magic, which had been proven a few hours ago. It fit her origins, even if Trixie felt uncomfortable with them, and her mane was the shade of pink you get on a Sunrise. The filly smiled, and nodded.
"That settles it. Your name is now Sunrise Shine." Trixie paused, then smiled. "Welcome to the family, Sunrise." The filly giggled, again.
Carrot Top smiled from the doorway. Trixie finally softened her proud heart, to let the little filly in. She had a feeling that Trixie would be way different from now on.