Embers of The Past

Chapters

Prologue: Mercy
Cake Time!
Forbidden Knowledge
The Burned Ones

Prologue: Mercy

He was dragged up the stairs, face covered in a hood. He knew of course that this hood was not to conceal the location of where he was going, he knew very well where he was going. Unthar, son of Inthar was dragged into the large, chiseled, stone temple in the heart of the city. He had seen it many times before, a few times even being curious as to what it was like inside, but he never wished to actually be there, let alone bound and carried by two burned guards. As he was dragged through the open hallways of the great temple, he was pushed onto his knees, the hood tugged from his face, and a strong hoof pushing his head down, forcing him to look to the ground. Another black garb covered him, this time his eyes only. His brow and face dripped with sweat, the pony panting from exhaustion from the terrible heat of the room he found himself in. As he knelt there, face to the ground he heard heavy hoofsteps coming from further way. They trotted one after another, slowly and in such a foreboding matter that it made young Unthar tremble, made all the more fearful by his lack of being able to see anything. The burned guard yanked him back up.

An eerie whispering was heard, in an unknown language.

Afterwards, another pony spoke out, in a loud, yet raspy, cruel voice, “To all those who hear, let it be known that we disturb her greatness this day to bear witness to the guilt to the one who stands before us!” The Hooded pony, whose face could not be seen pointed a hoof towards Unthar, who was helpless to react. The voice was scornful, but it spoke more plainly next, “Who stands before us Caniff?” he asked.

A different hooded pony strided up to him quickly, handing a crudely written parchment. He looked towards the blinded pony with a scowl, “Bear witness, Unthar, son of Inthar, a THIEF who sees himself fit to steal from the servants of her greatness,” The speaker walked closer to Unthar, “Such cowards deserves only the swiftest of punishments, of the most ill of nature!” he said with his lips curled as he leaned down to him. The hooded figure leaned back up, and softened his tone slightly, “Alas, it is not for us, even the burned ones, to deliver judgement. Perhaps you have something to say in your defense, Thief? Hmm? Do you wish to address the great one? Speak if you will…” he said, first putting a hoof on his shoulder before stepping back. The hooded pony stepped to the side of the room, looking towards the black throne in the center of the room.

Unthar was silent, still quivering, and sweating from his brown, still in shock that he would be allowed to speak at all. Peeved, the burned guard behind him nudged him with the butt of his spear, making him jump slightly. He looked forward, the most painful spot to keep his closed eyes.

He took a deep breath, his words barely stuttering out of his lips, “I-it is true… I did t-take food from the watch barracks… I had no other options y-your greatness… the land is hot… a-and most things will not grow… the soil simply turns to dust… I… I do not have the talents required by her greatness to work… p-pease your greatness… I am sorry, I am so sorry, I was… I was just hungry…” with a squeak of fear, Unthar bowed his head again, bringing himself low to the ground.

The raspy, hooded pony stepped between the throne and Unthar again, “So, it does seem that her greatness gives you a chance to speak. What do you do with this chance? You spit in her face… you call her lands unfit! You speak ill of her kingdom!” he stomped towards Unthar, speaking just inches from his face, “You most insolent one! You do not even deserve to stay in her presence… if you would even…” he was cut off by a whisper, in a different language. As he heard this he bowed his head, backing up. He came to the side of the black throne, leaning in to the figure that sat upon it. It spoke to him, whispering in the terrible language that it did. Unthar could hear each whisper. Although he did not know what they meant, each word pained his ears, poking at his ear drums, like the flames of a candle licking at his brain.

The dark figure listened for a moment before he stepped towards Unthar again. Through his hood, he smiled, and he smoke in as pleasant a tone as he could, “This, is a most fortunate day for you, Unthar son of Inthar,” the hooded pony said as he knelt down, setting a hoof on his shoulder, “Her greatness has decided that she will show you mercy,” he said in a comforting tone.

Unthar looked up, gasping some, a small smile forming at his lips, “She… she has?” he couldn’t believe it, but he didn’t want to push his luck, “She… oh, great one thank you… thank you!” before he could continue his praises and thanks, the hooded pony spoke again.

“Her greatness has seen the impurities of theft, and lack of devotion in you, however, she has seen you fit to be purified and cleansed through her most righteous and holy flames!” he said smiling.

At these words, Unthar’s smile quickly disappeared, “Through f-f… wait… wait what does that mean… wait!” he said as he tried to protest. Even as he did, two burned guards picked him up, moving him further towards the black throne, “No no NO WAIT! PLEASE!” he shouted out, struggling fruitlessly against their hold on him.

Unthar’s struggles were in vain. The burned guards turned his head forward and quickly removed the blindfold from his eyes. In a great flash of light, Unthar saw the tall, imposing pony that stood on the throne before him. The mare, with a mane of fire, and a coat that glowed like red-hot coals stared at him. He only had a few seconds to stare back into those eyes before he felt his own eyes begin to boil. He screamed in agony as they boiled themselves right out of his skull. In the next moment, his entire body was engulfed in flame, burning with such intensity that it took less than a minute for his form to turn into dusk. Unthar son of Inthar, had been purified. A most merciful judgement, from the great, the terrible, the ever burning Solar Flare.

Cake Time!

Chapter one: Cake Time!

“Please sister, try to take just ONE piece at a time…” said Princess Luna as she walked past the three layer cake that was special delivered to her sister from Sugar Cube Corner.

Princess Celestia blushed, letting out a giggle, “No promises Luna!” she said with a wink, scooping a spoonful of it into her mouth.

Luna rolled her eyes, trotting towards the door, “Well, perhaps thou could at least save me a piece? Surely you do not want Equestria praising her princess of the sun’s belly…”

Celestia was in the midst of scarfing down another large spoonful, swallowing before she gasped at Luna, “Luna! That’s hardly a thing to say about your sister!” she grinned as Luna trotted away, flinging a scoop of frosting across the room before she left, spattering her right on her flank before she did.

Luna gasped in return, she turned around, looking at the mark before looking at her sister, “And THAT is surely no way for a princess to behave!” she said glaring at her. She wiped away the frosting with her magic, and flung it back at Celestia, retaliating and splatting her square in the face. She suspected that that would teach her her lesson, “Now you see how childish and immature that is? Now how about…” she was cut off.

The entire top layer of the cake was being flung across the room, catching Luna off guard before it splattered into her face, covering a good portion of her with cake and frosting, this of course was sending Celestia into a giggling fit, “Perhaps it is now, for a princess of cake?” she managed out through her chuckles.

Luna steamed before she charged up to her sister, pushing her back and making them both topple into the cake, “Ah HA! See who’s the princess of cake now!” she called out as her older sister sunk in cake, of course at this she couldn’t keep from smiling herself.

Princess Celestia rolled her over, pushing her hooves, wiping cake into her sister's face as she laughed, the two now engaged in a minor wrestling match, trying to get the over covered in more cake, although they were both pretty well covered in cake, the platter it sat on, and the table and table cloth both strewn across the room. Meanwhile the pair of royal guards that stood at the door watched, awkwardly trying to keep as straight of a face as possible, which was very difficult considering the situation. Across the hall a catering pony walked with several carts full of dessert entrees. Princess Luna quickly flew up into the air and took a pile of elegant desserts with her, flinging them in an aerial barrage to Celestia. Celestia of course, managed to catch more than one in her mouth, gulping down the tasty treats, before one impaled itself on her horn.

The caterer looked on at the situation with perplextion, thinking he should do something. He opened his mouth to speak, but a guard simply shook his head at him, letting him out of the room with a sigh.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna engaged in their fearsome battle of deserts and left-over cake frosting for the better part of five minutes, they eventually stopped once they realized that the room was nearly covered in the aftermath of their sugary battle. Both sisters looked at each other with a shock, before bursting out into laughter, Luna spoke first, “I suppose I still need some work on, behaving like a princess…” she said hiding a smile.

Princess Celestia leaned in to hug her younger sister, “Oh Luna, I wouldn’t have you behaving any other way,” she said tenderly as she pulled away, giving her little sister a kiss on her forehead, managing to get some cake on her nose, making her go crosseyed and giggle at herself.

Luna shook her head at her sister, covering her face to avoid laughing again, “We’ve made quite a mess… we’d better clean this up,” she said, right before there was a knock at the door.

A royal guard entered followed by a certain purple princess, “May I present, Princess!...” he paused for a moment as he opened his eyes, shocked by the mess, “...Twilight…”

Twilight Sparkle looked on the scene, mouth agape, before she rushed forward looking at the two, “Oh my gosh, what happened here?” she said with surprise.

With a small bit of panic Celestia and Luna looked at each other. They stuttered for a moment trying to think of an answer. While they struggled, a royal guard rolled his eyes, strutting forward as she spoke up, “There was an… accident with the dessert entrees, your majesty, we’ll make sure to get it cleaned up right away…” he intervened, sounding quite convincing at it too.

Both Celestia and Luna looked to the guard, then to Twilight, giving her a simultaneous nod. Twilight spoke, “Oh dear, I hope everyone is alright… we’d better get you two getting cleaned up, I don’t think ponies would take too kindly to seeing their favorite princesses covered in cake!” she said, trying not to laugh at their ordeal.

Celestia chuckled as Twilight lead them both out, “That certainly would be awkward wouldn’t it!” she said as she and Luna secretly shared a wink. As they were led out of the room Celestia looked at the Royal guard who saved them from embarrassment, he blinked at her, keeping his stern, blank expression as most guards could. Eventually though he gave her a wink, and she smiled almost foalishly at him mouthing a “thank you” with her lips. She gave his shoulder a pat before she caught up to the other princesses ahead.

Luna and Celestia idly brushed themselves off of cake while Twilight led them away, another pony quickly trotting up to them with a hoof-ful of towels. Luna made her way towards her own quarters, giving Twilight a bow before she left. As she did Celestia spoke, “I must admit I was not expecting you today Twilight Sparkle, not that I’m not happy to see you of course!” She was a BIT unhappy to be found in such an immature situation.

Twilight was wearing her old book saddle, and she pulled out a very old book, paging through it with her magic, she seemed to want to speak, but withheld herself before Princess Celestia spoke, “...was there something you wanted to tell me, Twilight?” she asked curiously.

Twilight hid herself behind her book with her ears splayed, in truth, although her curiosity was egging at her, she was considering putting it aside, as she did not want to upset the princess. Eventually curiosity got the best of her, “Well… yes, but it’s something that um… may not be a very comfortable subject…” she said quietly.

Celestia smiled at her, “Princess Twilight, I have much in my years. If you consider something to be important, then I am more than willing to discuss it with you. You may place my discomfort of an issue aside, Princess.” She said giving Twilight a gentle pat with her wings.

Princess Twilight gulped before she stood up straight, looking at her mentor confidently, even though her words came out a bit more meek than she intended, “Princess Celestia, I wanted to talk to you about… Nightmare Moon…”

Forbidden Knowledge

In a single moment, the cheerful demeanor of the princess disappeared as she suddenly became sullen, “...Perhaps… that is something you should not ask me about, Twilight Sparkle,” she said looking towards a bookshelf, as if to distract herself from the miserable thought.

Twilight Sparkle was not so easily dissuaded, she took a deep breath before continuing, in a softer tone, “I do realize that given what’s happened in the past, this may be an uncomfortable subject… but…” she was interrupted.

“But what has happened has happened, it is in the past now, it does not need to be further discussed, Twilight…” she said, doing her best not sound too coarse. At that, Princess Celestia began to slowly trot back away from the bookshelf and down the hall.

Showing a bit more determination, Twilight stepped in front of Celestia, blocking her path. She looked at her firmly, “I love your sister, and so do you, don’t we owe it to her to learn everything we can about what happened? Imagine what we could learn, the ponies we could help?”

Almost casually, Princess Celestia stepped aside from her, continuing walking down the hall, “There is nothing you can learn from that, my dear student. You should heed my advice and perhaps find a different area of study,” she said calmly.

This time, Princess Twilight teleported herself in front of Celestia, looking very confident, “I am no longer your student, I am a Princess of Equestria,” she took a stride forward, “It is my duty to protect it, and to do that, I need to know what threatens it,” she said with a firm nod.

Princess Celestia finally furrowed her brow, at this point she looked upset, “You don’t know what sort of knowledge you’re delving into, Twilight. It is already too much for me to bear, I do not wish for you to bear such a burden!” she said, clearly holding back her emotions.

Twilight did not change her gaze, “I accepted that burden when I became a princess, when I became a leader of Equestria.”

Celestia closed her eyes, shaking her head, “I don’t want to see my sister like that again… I won’t… I will NOT go back there!” a tear came from her eye as she opened her wings, taking off in the air and darting past Twilight down the hall. Twilight called after her, but it was in vain, for the princess had already dashed into her quarters, the heavy metal doors slamming behind her.

This had shocked Twilight. In all her years of knowing Princess Celestia, she had never seen her have such an outburst of her emotions. At least not since the vision she had had of her, when the Kingdom was under threat from the plunderseeds. She knew that it would be uncomfortable to discuss… but it was so long ago, and her and her sister had already shared so many good memories since Princess Luna had returned. Did the memory of that time still haunt the back of her mind? Perhaps she could prod more, but she could not, she would not. She loved her teacher too much to dare upset her like that again. She would have to get answers to the mystery of Nightmare Moon elsewhere.

Princess Twilight walked onto the balcony of her old study just as the moon began to rise, the light of it shining over the city of Canterlot. She sighed as she gazed out at it, lost in her thoughts, trying to solve and unknowable puzzle. Coming down from high in the night sky, Princess Luna lowered herself to the balcony, gently landing next to Twilight.

The princess had a calm look on her face as she spoke, “It seems that you had a bit of a confrontation with my sister, Princess Twilight. Before my duty, I went to her side to console her. Know that she is not upset with you, she will be fine in the morning,” she said with a sage nod.

Twilight looked over to Luna, giving her a thankful smile, “Thank you, Princess Luna. I didn’t mean to upset her, I suppose I just…” she let out a sigh, not finishing her sentence.

Princess Luna sat down gently as she looked up to the stars, before turning to Twilight, “I must ask though, why did you not come to me first on such a matter?” she asked curiously.

Twilight looked to her in surprise, before turning her head to the ground, “Given… all that you’ve been through, and what happened with the tantalus… I didn’t want to upset you more,” she looked at Princess Luna with concern, “You’ve been through so much, I guess I thought it would be more painful to talk to you about it, than it would have talking to Princess Celestia.”

Princess Luna gave Twilight a small smile as she rested a hoof on her shoulder, “I am pleased that you would think of my feelings Twilight. If you would have asked me this just a few months ago, I would probably have to agree with you,” she let out a deep breath, “It has been very difficult for me in these days since that… incident, but,” she looked over to Twilight again with a caring smile, “I have had the help of friends to help me through this time, and I could not be more grateful for that,” she leaned down giving a gentle nuzzle on the smaller, Princess Twilight, “I have since learned… that since other ponies were so loving, and willing to forgive me… that I must forgive myself as well.”

She smiled, leaning over and hugging Princess Luna, “I’m happy that you are able to let that burden go, but Princess Celestia..?” she asked curiously.

Luna sighed as she let go of Twilight, “My sister has largely kept her feelings about that to herself. She has not let out how she truly feels to most. While I did think of all the ponies that I hurt through my actions, I did not hurt more than my own sister. Sometimes I imagined… just how painful it would have been to have to banish her sister, the only family she’s ever known. It must have been horrible for her…” she said with a sullen expression.

A moment of silence was held between the two Alicorns before eventually, Princess Luna spoke again, “What is it you wish to know about Nightmare Moon?” she asked ominously.

Twilight gulped as she ran through her mind to find exactly the right question, “I suppose, the most obviously question I should ask how did it happen? I mean… I know the story… the story that…” she looked at Luna with concern, but she beckoned her to continue, “... that Princess Luna, you, grew sad because the ponies of Equestria played and enjoyed Celestia’s days, but slept through, and didn’t enjoy your beautiful nights,” she brought a hoof to her chin, looking into the stars quizzically, “But… HOW did it happen, exactly? I told you about when I took the magic potion from Zecora and saw it for myself, but even then I couldn’t see how it happened. Is there some outside force that caused you to do it, is it simply the way jealousy can manifest itself in a powerful Alicorn, is it some kind of illness?” she asked as she ran through the possibilities. This was one of the great mysteries that still plagued her mind. There was worry behind her expression, and Luna could sense it.

“Perhaps, it could be any of those. But it DID happen long ago, why do you concern yourself with it?” Luna asked, trying to pry her true worry out of her.

Twilight took a deep breath as she looked to the ground, taking a few steps away from Princess Luna, “It wasn’t so long ago that I became an Alicorn. I won’t lie, it’s something that even after all this time, I STILL haven’t really gotten used to. After my battle with Tirek, I realized that there are truly awesome powers within Alicorns, within myself,” she turned to look at Princess Luna with worry, “If turning into a nightmare is something that can just… just happen in any Alicorn, what if it happends to me? What if I end up hurting my friends? Or Equestria, or you or…” she was cut off.

Princess Luna raised a hoof to interrupt her, a calm smile coming across her face, “Something like that cannot happen to you, Twilight Sparkle,” she trotted forward and place a hoof on her shoulder, “You have something that I did not, when I came to my time of struggle. You have your friends! They have all taught you, and even me about friendship. When I was feeling disheartened from my subjects, I did not have the friendship that you have to help me along the way,” she leaned down, giving Twilight another gentle hug, “That is why, neither you, nor I ever have to worry about such a fate.”

Twilight Sparkle smiled, returning the hug to the elder princess, “I really have learned a lot from them… even in times when I wasn’t sure, when I was lost, or scared…” she continued.

“And I know that your friends would never stand idly by while something like that happened to you, they would be there to listen to you, to love you, and to offer you guidance, and support every step of the way,” interjected Luna.

Twilight gave the princess another hug, her wings furrowing out with joy, “I really am blessed to have such friends. And to have two great mentors as well… Do you think Princess Celestia would mind if I… joined her in raising the sun?” asked Twilight.

Princess Luna chucked, giving her a nod, “I think she’d like that very much. But… if you’re going to get up early, you’d best get to bed right away!” she said with a giggle.

While Princess Twilight didn’t truly get a straight answer, she felt that her fear of the nightmare was put to rest. She was simply far too happy now to think of such a thing. Her mind was only full of the thoughts of the two loving sisters and of the friends she was so fortunate to have. Her dreams would be soft and sweet knowing that neither herself, nor Princess Luna was threatened with becoming a nightmare, blissfully unaware that her worries were placed on the wrong ponies.

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Chapter 3: The Burned Ones

The Burned Ones

“We do so wander the lands since the days of old. We yearn to feel the warmth of our mother, the loving glow of her bosom, but the ground is cold, the air is cold, and our hearts are cold. Yet we still carry the light of the matron, the words of fire. This is what keeps us moving, this is why we will continue to search. Every day the light rises and falls, and as we travel on, we can feel it coming closer, and closer. On this promised day, after so much searching, we will meet our mother again, and spread her word of flame across the land.”

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Princess Twilight walked across the hallway, enjoying her time, however brief, but very uplifting from her dearest Celestia. She was near the castle entrance where she overheard two royal guards talking.

“Have they left yet?” one of them said quietly.

“No they haven’t, I don’t think they’re going anywhere until they get what they want…” said the other.

“Can’t we just have them arrested for bothering royalty?” inquired the first one.

The second one sighed, “We can’t arrest citizens for simply wanting to see the Princess, what sort of message would that send?”

At this point, Princess Twilight interveined. She walked up to them and they stopped their banter, each of them acknowledging Twilight and giving a swift bow, “Is there something the matter?” she asked them.

The first looked at her confidently, “We’re having a bit of trouble deciding what the protocol is for some suspicious ponies that are at the castle gate,”

Twilight looked surprised by this as she inquired further, “Suspicious ponies? What’s going on?”

The second guard finished, “Some ponies in rather odd garments, and that posses an… unsavory smell are at the gate. They asked to see Princess Celestia, only they referred to her as… “the goddess of the sun” whatever that means. We interrogated further, and they said that they were not only expected, but that they were servants of Celestia. We have been given no such orders to expect guests of the princess…”

Twilight finally interrupted them, “I will have to look into myself, thank you sirs, please inform Princess Celestia of these ponies, I will greet them at the gate,” she said with a kind but commanding hand.

The two guard ponies saluted her, and quickly galloped off to her duties. Twilight Sparkle found this to be a very strange thing indeed. Why did the guards feel the need to mention their… smell, of all things? As she made her way to the castle gate, the best explanation she could think of was perhaps a few homeless ponies who hadn’t the best of hygiene, that were perhaps using an old word for Celestia. The poor ponies were probably thinking that they owed the Princess some sort of tax, or servitude. Twilight felt better as she opened the gate, to the outer wall, knowing that she could put these gentle ponies minds to rest.

Standing, almost statue like in front of the outer gate was a group of nearly a dozen ponies, all of them covered in tattered brown cloaks. Twilight seemed to be correct in identifying them as older ponies, as what showed of their muzzles were wrinkled, perhaps a bit too much so. As she walked closer, she realized why the guards had mentioned the smell. It was not that of unwashed pony, but instead resembled something that had burnt, perhaps rotten, or perhaps a combination of both.

Twilight held her breath, not wanting to offend or turn her head away as she smiled, clearly these ponies had fallen on hard times, “Greetings! I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and I’d like to welcome you to Canterlot! I understand you’re looking for Princess Celestia, she’s a bit tired after myself and her rose the sun this morning and isn’t available right now… but I’d be more than happy to help you, if I could!” she said cheerfully.

When Twilight finished, the hooded ponies shared glances with each other. One of the ponies stepped forward and pulled his hood back slightly. From this Twilight could guess what the reason for the particular smell of the ponies was. This pony, obviously male, now that she looked closer did not look too terribly old. The actual skin she saw that she thought was wrinkled was actually terribly burnt, some of the skin, black, red, and distorted and warped on his face. There were even bits of flesh here and there hanging off, that hadn’t healed properly. Any fur that was left on his face at all was burnt black, including his eyebrows. His mane, which was only a few wispy strands, was long on the back of his head, was a mixture of jet black with streaks of white. Needless to say, he was not a very pleasant figure to look at and Twilight doubted that the others bore a softer appearance.

Perhaps the most striking feature about him was his eyes. They were an opaque white, obscuring the lines between his irises, and his pupils. It looked as if he were blind, but he could clearly see, as he followed the guards, and Twilight’s movement well.

He opened his mouth to speak, doing so with a raspy voice, as if he had been a chimney sweep his whole life… perhaps that would explain his appearance, “Raised the sun... you have assisted the Almighty Celestia with raising the sun?”

Twilight smiled, doing her best to ignore the wretched appearance of the ponies before her, “Yes! Well… sort of. I’m no where NEAR strong enough to do anything like that myself, to be honest I did little more than offer her encouragement…. but she did seem to like having her student at her side for the event!” she said with a nod.

The exposed pony widened his eyes, and the other hooded ponies looked at each other again. With this, the forward pony gave… what he could, a smile to Twilight Sparkle, and he along with the others gave a slight bow of their heads to her, “We are also pupils of her greatness! I am Ignitor Terminus,” he motioned a hoof to the others behind him, “We are the followers of the flame… the burned ones!” he said jovially, raising his hooves in the air.

At all of this new language, Twilight was a bit confused. She paused for a moment, trying to think of anything she might of read, or skimmed across that would have mentioned anything about them. Of course she would not think of anything, as nothing about them would be written in any such books, “It’s uh… good to meet you, all! Ahem, sorry. As I’ve said before, all ponies are welcome here in Canterlot, and you’re more than welcome to uh, enjoy all we have to offer you! Food, places to stay, the best garments…” she sighed as she tried to think of the best way to hint at their condition, “...some of the best care and hospitals in Equestria is also right here in Canterlot!” she said with a nervous smile.

None of the ponies seemed to be interested in this, prompting Ignitor Terminus to continue, “We have traveled the land for ages, scouring across deserts, cold and barren lands, ever seeking the warmth of the divine sun goddess. Now that we have finally found her… we can return to our rightful place at her side! To serve her as she sees fit!” his raspy voice rose higher in his joy, sounding almost fanatical to Twilight.

This of course only further confused Twilight. These ponies seemed so clearly to know Celestia, but they used such strange words for her. It was clear they weren’t old, not THAT old, and Princess Celestia has been called by her own name for as long as Twilight can remember, and as long as she can ever remember reading in any book. Maybe they were thinking of someone else?

“The… ‘Divine Sun Goddess’, you mean Princess Celestia, right? The… pony with wings, and a horn who can raise the sun?” she prodded nervously, not sure if suggesting such a thing would be met with violence by them.

Ignitor Terminus nodded his head firmly with a smile, “Yes, yes! Hers is the only one with the power of the the sun, the brightest star!”

As Terminus started to jump joyously with the other hooded figures, he suddenly stopped, lifting his hood back on his head and taking a more serious stone. His joyful tone was replaced with a more plain one, “This… is a most wondrous of occasions and preparations must be met. Thank you for meeting with us, Student Twilight Sparkle, we will meet again when we are more… properly suited to meet her excellency,” with that, the hooded ponies bowed slightly to Twilight, and stepped back, slinking back away from the walls of the Canterlot Castle, and into the streets.

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“After all these years, I am reunited with the matron of fire, witness your chosen one, the Immolator.”

Chapter 4: High Immolator and The Sickness