Chapters "A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something greater than themselves" - Joesph Campell
He sat in a small dark room, alone. The room was lit by a single small candle, which shone like the hope in the world, bright, but in a world of darkness it was but a glimmer. In front of him was a small rectangular wooden table. Upon the table was a map of the known world. To the north was the great empire, which now covered half of the map. To the southeast was a large forest, which was in real life a large forest of young trees, but him and others took solace in the fact that they could call it home. There were small villages that dotted the map here and there, to the west and south, and a couple within the forest. Upon the map were small pieces like that of a board game, but rather than being simple pawns or knights, they stood for earth pony battalions, pegasi flight squadrons, and unicorn mages. There were fives pieces that marked his own generals, his friends which he held dear. There was a large red piece that adorned the place of the empire that represented his enemy, Kaorn.
There was a small box to the left side of the map that held six pieces in it. His eyes trailed from the map to the small box that stood beside it. The pieces inside stood for the Great Alicorns, creators of the world around him, and were his family. The alicorns had charged the empire to end the fight, but the master of chaos had other ideas. Beings of chaos stormed through the front doors of the black castle, their chaotic forms propelling them towards their enemies. Once they had reached them, the soldiers let loose a magic that altered the very fabric of the universe itself. Him and the others fought their enemies through time and space, through fire and ice, and found themselves fighting on water and through land. They battled through the chaos to find their enemy standing ready for them. His magic had separated the other alicorns from him and hurricane, and he was forced to watch as he....
"Fury......... Fury...." came a small voice from the dark.
Fury Flight lifted his head and realized that he had begun to cry. Three drops had made their way down his muzzle and fell to their demise on the map, forever staining it with their water.
"Fury?..." came the voice again. The Voice sounded like that of a young filly foal. "Are you in here Fury?" Came the voice with fear rising, beginning to be afraid of the answer she was going to eventually get.
"Yes Luna, I'm in here," Fury answered, "I'm in here..." He said again barely above a whisper.
The small red door behind him opened to show a small purple filly walking through. She carried a small stuffed opossum with her. The young alicorn filly had just received her cutie mark the week before, and now a brilliant white crescent moon adorned her flank. The young filly took careful steps towards the other alicorn in the room.
"Big brother? why are you crying?" Luna asked as another tear made it's lonely trail down Fury's face.
He began to smile as he turned his face away from the table and the sadness that it had brought him to the young filly at his side.
"I'm... I'm not crying Luna," Fury said as he wiped away from his eyes, "See?"
"Fury, your crying," Luna said as she leaned against Fury's side. "Have you seen mommy, she was gonna tell me a bedtime story tonight, she promised me she would!" Luna said excited, not noticing the well of tears in Fury's eyes.
He hadn't told them yet, that mother and father were never coming back. He tried to gulp down the lump in his throat that wouldn't go away. He looked down to the filly and made one of the toughest decisions he would ever make.
"Luna," Fury started, but he couldn't continue. "How about I read you a story tonight?" Fury said as he looked down to the young filly.
"Ok Fury, but what about mommy, where is she?" Luna asked, a border of fear in her voice.
"I'll tell you in the morning Luna, alright?" he said, hoping she would buy his white lie.
"Ok brother, come on, let me show you the story," Luna said as she grabbed Fury's hoof with her own and began tugging on the alicorn.
"I'm coming Luna, I'm coming," Fury said as he rose to his hooves and followed her out of the room.
He heard a creak of the floor as he and Luna walked out of the room and found Celestia standing beside the door, obviously not eavesdropping in any way. When the door opened, Celestia jumped back nearly ten feet with her wings flared.
"Anything interesting?" Fury asked sarcastically as he passed the young white alicorn.
"What!" Celestia yelped, trying not to act suspicious.
"Oh come on Tia, I heard you a mile away," Fury said as he smiled.
"Ok," She started, "I heard you talking about mom Fury, and I wanted to know if she was alright?"
Fury hung his head, this wasn't going to wait until the morning. "Follow me Tia, we'll talk in a bit," Fury said as he led the two fillies into their room. He then tucked each of them into their bed, and then sat down beside them. The bed was huge, much to big for the two young ponies, but they didn't mind at all. The covers that covered them were thick and protected them from the cold and the shadows of the night. It was decorated to show the stars, and to one side shown the sun falling to the night, slowly giving in to the temptation of rest. The rest of the room followed suit in Decorations, revealing a room that covered the night sky.
Fury used his magic to light a large candle by their bed. "Do you remember what mom and dad used to tell us, about a place we all most go one day, when we are called?" Fury asked after the candle flame flickered and began to burn bright against the night, banishing the shadows from the room, and illuminating the entire room.
"Uh huh," Luna said, looking confused at the alicorn.
"Well," Fury began slowly, looking to his hooves before returning to the two fillies, "Mom and dad went there yesterday," he said slowly, letting his voice slip.
"What, and they didn't take us too?" Luna said, looking even more confused than before.
"No Luna, they didn't," Fury said, tears starting to roll off his cheeks, diving to the floor where they met the ground with a graceful splat.
"When are they coming back?" she asked again.
"They..... they..... won't be...." Fury choked out.
"WHAT!!" Luna screamed as tears gathered in her eyes, "Why not ?!"
Fury thought hard about the next words that he would say to the young filly. What would he tell her, what should he tell her? "They... They..... have to... get your room ready there.." Fury said, trying to be as sweet and kind as he could.
"They are? When will they be done?" Luna asked with teary stars in her eyes.
"I... I don't know Luna, but let's wipe those tears away and try to get some rest for tomorrow," Fury said as he wiped away the last of the tears away from the young alicorn's eyes.
"Will they make a room for Tiberius?" Luna asked, holding up the stuffed animal up with her magic.
"Yes Luna," Fury said, kneeling down to hug his younger sister, "They'll have one ready for Tiberius," Fury said before rising and blowing out the candle. Luna, satisfied with the answer, laid her head down upon the soft pillow and let herself be immersed in a world of imagination. Fury began to walk around the bed when he heard a small sniffle coming from the other side of the bed. He had spent all of his attention on trying to calm Luna down that he had forgotten about Celestia.
She was wiping her eyes when he called upon his magic and let his horn alight a soft blue. He made his way back over to the other side of the bed where the white teenage alicorn laid, beginning to cry.
He brought a hoof to her shoulder and spoke softly to his sister, "What's wrong Tia?"
"Is mom really gone forever Fury? please, tell me," Celestia said as she took a rag that Fury produced with his magic. "I'm older than Luna, and I know that we're in a war and I know what death is brother, please tell me!" she said, sniffling.
Fury lowered his head and his voice before speaking. "Come on Tia, we'll talk out here," Fury said, gesturing to the sleeping filly beside her.
Celestia crawled out from under her covers and followed the older alicorn out of the room to the long hallway that connected to the room. Fury slowly closed the door behind Celestia, the door silently creaking with his magic. After the door closed, he turned to speak to her, "So...., what do you want to know?" he asked in a low voice.
"Is it true brother, is she really dead?" Celestia asked, sadness and fear beginning to overwhelm her.
"Yes Celestia,...... it's true," Fury said barely above a whisper. "Both of our parents are gone,"
The horror in Celestia's eyes began to manifest itself as the young alicorn began to break down. She began to shudder as the tears of a thousand alicorns rolled down her cheeks and the sadness rocked her body. Fury placed a hoof on her shoulder and soothed her the best that he could, even though he wasn't the right pony for the job. That pony had died, and it was his fault. He had always been the one that had supported her from behind the scenes.
The tears began to die down from her eyes until Celestia was able to wipe them away. She still shuddered, but the initial pain was washing away like the stream. "So what happens now Fury, now that they're gone?" she asked as a hiccup came over her.
"We move on Tia. Hard as it is, we must move forward and stand against the evil before us," Fury said, trying his best to hold a straight face. "Mom and dad would want us to move on, and remember them as they were Tia," he answered again. He wanted so badly to hold Celestia and cry with her until the pain finally ended, but that wouldn't save them.
"So...," Celestia started, "Does that make you the new king?" Celestia asked, the last of her tears making their way down her cheeks, and falling to the floor with grace.
"No Tia..." Fury answered, "I will not be king, but another will take their place upon the throne."
"Who?" Celestia asked, looking at him with both interest and confusion.
"You and Luna will take up their place of course," Fury said, pointing to the young white alicorn.
"WHAT!!... ME!!" Celestia yelled, "But why me brother, couldn't you pick another, I've never lead anypony before like this!" she shouted.
Fury placed a hoof to his lips, reminding her that her sister was sleeping before speaking. "When you are old enough to take the throne, you will, and you will never have to worry about being alone or afraid," Fury said, cheering her up, "Because just as the sun can rely on the moon to light up the night sky when it lowers to rest, you can rely on our sister in times of hardship and need," Fury said, calming down the young princess. "Why don't you get some sleep and talk more in the morning about it," Fury said as he used his magic to open the door to the bedroom as silently as he had closed it earlier, gesturing with his head to go in and get some rest.
Celestia smiled a small smile before walking in and crawled back under her covers and let sleep wash over her like the sea. Fury gently closed the door, hearing a small click as the door shut. He then turned to walk away when a small whisper stopped him.
The voice was weak, and sounded like that of a mare, soft and delicate. "Fury Flight, the time has come......"
Fury looked around to find the owner of the voice, but found nopony near him. He changed his mind about walking back to the war room and called upon his magic. The air around him began to electrify as he cast the spell for teleportation. A white light then began to cover his vision as his spell progressed. He closed his eyes and felt a jerk as he left the ground and reappeared. He opened his eyes to see that he had teleported out of the castle to the bridge that crossed over a deep crevice in the earth. He walked to the side of the bridge where a single stairway lead down to the bottom of the ravine. He called upon his magic yet again and teleported down the stairs to the bottom.
As he began walking forward through the canyon floor, a cave came into sight, but he felt as though he wasn't alone. He called upon his magic and his horn began to light up a soft blue, and from his horn were sent sparks that sparkled and fizzed around. From the shadows came five others like him, five alicorns that he could call his family, his friends.
Their names were all to familiar to him, as they were like family to him. To his left was Grog, son of Palladia, the Wise, he was a brown stocky stallion with a straight cut black mane. Beside Grog was his sister, Star Shine. She was a graceful white mare with a long silver-grey mane. To the side of her was Silvertail, a blue mare with a sparkling silver mane and tail. She was the daughter of the great time pony, Kronos.
To his right was Serenity, she was a magenta mare with a brilliant blue mane. She was daughter of Pike, the Sturdy. The last was Hurricane, the daughter of Zephira, a blue mare with a mane to match every color of the rainbow. She was his most trusted and oldest friend, the two being older than the rest by a couple years.
They were the next generation in the line of great alicorns, a light in a time of darkness, leaders in a new day. They reached the cave and began to walk into the large opening, which was full of life. They walked into the cave in silence, and gave each other nods of approval before beginning their meeting.
"Hello guys, it's good to see all of you again," Fury started, his voice leaving a slight echo in the massive cave. "Grog, my brother in arms, how fairs the west and the lands beyond?" he asked his companion.
"Fury Flight," came the deep masculine voice of Grog, "I am sad to say that the west has fallen to his control. His alicorn army ran over our forces and we were lucky to escape with our lives," he finished, gesturing to himself and his sister who had traveled with him.
"And to the south?" Fury said, looking to his friends while losing hope, Silvertail and Serenity.
"No better Fury, the draconiquis overran us with their chaos magic," Silver Tail stated in a look of fear upon her as her mind relived the battle.
"What of the north Fury, and our parents?" came the shy voice of Serenity. Fury let his gaze travel towards the floor, he had failed them all.
"Kaorn still holds control of the north, and as for our parents," Hurricane said, looking to Fury with sympathy, "They have crossed over,"
The other four alicorns gasped in shock at the horrible news. How could six of the most powerful alicorns in existence be defeated by one tyrant?
The voice Fury had heard earlier returned and began to whisper in his ear again, "Come and find me Fury Flight, and gain powers like none other..."
"What powers?" Fury asked telepathically to the frail voice.
"A way to end the war and to heal the land...... come find me...." The voice trailed.
"Where are you?" Fury asked again telepathically.
"I am in the forest, where life began, hurry, for I haven't much time..."
Fury's mind brought him back to the cave where the other five had started arguing after Fury had went silent.
"GUYS!" Fury yelled. At this, the five stopped and looked to their friend. "I have an idea of what we should do,"
"What is it?" they all five said in unison.
"Somewhere in the forest is a power like none other that we could to defeat Kaorn and heal the land," Fury said, pointing his hoof towards the young but large forest outside.
"So your saying we abandon out duties as war generals to go in search of a mythical power our parents used to tell us about?" Silver Tail said with a questioning gaze.
"You have a better idea?" Fury said in a monotone.
She looked her head and began to follow Fury and the others out of the cave in search of the mythical life that their parents had told them of old.
"Born from fire and ice, come forth to me thrice, Feed from the hatred of the world and bring forth a winter from which they'll never return............ Hahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa
He sat upon his dark crystal throne in the Empire of Chaos. The normally blue crystal was a perverted black and had a reddish tint, his throne glowing at the center, as the center of the Empire's power. His royal guards stood at either side of him, both ready to fight to the death for a reason they believed in, or were made to believe in. Kaorn's soldiers had all been brainwashed and their minds erased so that he could mold them into perfect soldiers, and perfect soldiers obey..... no matter what. An army sat ready at his command just outside of his castle, all ready to die for their master. His greatest foes, The great Alicorns, taken from the world by his own hoof now adorned his courtyard as nothing but statues.
He had gained all the power he needed to tear this world apart, but in the great forest to the south, a power still remained that could defeat him. The lone alicorn that walked the forest, the very same alicorn that he and the others had helped defend this world from the old gods that had terrorized this world.
He had all the power he could ever need, but if she was to join the fray, it would be all lost. He had watched her first hoof do the impossible and drag the old gods into a different dimension. Her power was great, and so he had sent his greatest general into the forest to flush her out, but her power had driven him insane. He had been forced to lock him away, and now Discord stood among his enemies as a statue, the only way to keep him from destroying the castle.
He felt a massive shockwave as a guard was hurled inside the castle from an outside force into the throne room. The wave itself felt magical in nature, and one unlike any he had felt before.
"Master!" the fallen guard managed to speak.
"Get on with it!" came the deep malefic voice of Kaorn.
"Six alicorns, they stormed the west..... west gate," the guard choked out. "Have jewel weapons..." he managed to get out before collapsing.
"Get this filth out of my sight!" Kaorn snapped as he cast the guard mercilessly from him with his dark magic.
"Yes your majesty," the two guards said monotone as carried out their master's orders.
"It's time I teach those children a new lesson," Kaorn said as he called upon his dark magic. Dull grey, nearly black body armor began to materialize upon his body. He then brought forth a metal mask upon his head. The mask was black with two vertical slits that opened for his eyes, and a small square hole that opened for his mouth and nose.
Kaorn took a deep breath, inhaling the thick dark air before calling upon his magic and teleporting. He opened his eyes to see the west gate. The gate had been reduced to scrap metal, bent and creased into a ball. He then looked to the six responsible for the destruction.
"Here to avenge your parents I see," Kaorn said as he began to circle his enemies. "You will meet the same end as your parents, take my advice and leave this place, this isn't your war," Kaorn said as he prepared his magic. something was different about them, a power that was familiar, but unknown to him.
"YOU MADE IT OUR WAR!!" Hurricane Yelled as she charged the dark god.
Kaorn's magic sprang to life as his spell to take their magic began. The spell left his horn, but before it hit it's target, a shield of magic sprang up to stop it. His magic struck the shield and bounced off the barrier.
"Impossible, no magic can stand next to mine!" Kaorn yelled as he brought another spell to mind. Fire erupted from his horn and blasted towards the other alicorns.
The jewels that the guard had spoke of lifted from small satchels on their saddles and their eyes began to turn white as they produced a light from their horns and met Kaorn's magic. He increased his fire, but to no avail. Their magic increased as they pushed Kaorn's magic back.
"NOOOOO!!!!!!" Kaorn screamed as his fire began to creep back to him. He cut off his fire and teleported away. "You six may have won this fight," he said breathing in heavily, "But I will win the WAR!" He yelled as he teleported away, back to his castle.
"Come on, we got him on the run!" Hurricane yelled as she began to take flight.
"NO!" Fury yelled as he caught her with his magic. "That's what he wants us to do, to follow him into the castle, so he can overwhelm us with his chaos soldiers, like he did our parents!"
"Or is it you just lack courage and don't want to see this through!" Hurricane yelled as she broke Fury's spell. "Shall I show you what true strength is!" she yelled again as she brought forth a blue sphere with her magic. She sent the magic forth, towards Fury who brought up a shield to protect himself. The other four stepped back from this, not wanting to get involved in the matter.
The magic struck Fury's shield and began to deflect towards the empire. "Look at what you are doing Huri! your going to give away our position!" he yelled, but Hurricane simply purged more magic into her spell. Fury was running out of options, he was going to have to let his shield down sooner or later, but he didn't want to have to hurt Huri. Fury tried one more time to reason with her, to stop the madness before she got them discovered by the chaos soldiers. "Huri, think of your mother, would she want you to charge mindlessly into battle, and die the same way she did when there are other ways?!" he yelled.
This seemed to get her attention, but her magic faltered for only a second before increasing in it's power. "MY MOTHER WOULD BE PROUD THAT I STOOD UP FOR WHAT I BELIEVED IN, JUST LIKE SHE DID! BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR PARENTS FURY FLIGHT!? WOULD THEY BE PROUD THAT YOU DIDN'T TAKE THE CHANCE AND DESTROY KAORN WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE!!!" Hurricane screamed as she pushed all of her magic at Fury, whose shield was beginning to crack.
"You bring this upon yourself Huri," Fury said softly as he redirected his magic and teleported. He appeared behind Hurricane, who didn't see him move, blinded by rage. Fury called upon his magic and hit her with a concussion spell, knocking her out. Her body began to fall to the ground, but Fury caught her and brought her gently to the ground.
"Come on guy's," Fury said softly with sadness and pain in his voice, "Let's go home and regroup." He placed Hurricane upon his back with his magic and began to envision the castle back in the forest. His magic began to crackle as he closed his eyes and teleported all of him but a single tear.
Kaorn stormed back into the castle, his anger seething through his mask. They had defeated him, HIM, He was unstoppable, how could they beat him?! Their power had matched his own, it wasn't possible, even they couldn't reach powers that high unless, unless they had found her. Those jewels were magical in design and they seemed to draw power from them. The lone alicorn's magic was based upon Harmony, could the jewels be based on the same. He knew one way he could test it, a project he had been working on for a while, a back up plan so to speak. He had started the project to break the spirit of his enemies if things had gone badly for him.
He walked down the long hallway of the corrupted palace, every step he took upon the crystal floor sounding like thunder. He reached a stairwell at the end of the hallway that went up, to the top of the tower. He walked up the stairs to a small room a couple hundred stairs up or so, the room was lit by a single torch, but the torch lit the entire room. Inside the room was a single shelf upon one wall, where a few leather bound books sat, waiting for someone to take them down and read their foul text.
In the center of the room was a large cauldron, fuming with a light blue smoke. Kaorn smiled as he entered the room, even letting out a cackle. "Hahahaha, now my enemies will tear themselves apart," he said as he stopped in front of the cauldron and took a deep inhale of the fumes. "Ahhh, they are fully mature...."
"Born from fire and ice, come forth to me thrice," he spoke. The cauldron began to boil as the blue smoke began to overflow and run to the ground. Three shadowy figures began to rise from the cauldron, their white eyes piercing the darkness, the smoke beginning to form the bodies of half horse, half magical cloud. "Feed from the hatred and greed of the world, and bring forth a winter that will never come to an end!!" he yelled as the three creatures began to take flight and circle the room. "Go now! and feed my creatures!" he called out as the three beings circle the room one more time before fading through the walls into the open world.
"Now let us see if your magic can hold up, great Faustica, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!" Kaorn laughed as began to let himself turn into shadow.
"From the coldest of winters a fire would be kindled and the flame of friendship and hope would burn bright against the night......"
"Remembrance is a strange thing, with love it's pain is bearable, with bitterness it simply destroys" ~ Elaine Di Rollo
The door opened as a yellow alicorn walked through into the War room. The room was aglow as the mare began to pace around the table of pieces in the center of the room. Her flowing luminescent blue and white mane brightened up the otherwise dark room. Her Cutie mark, a blazing sun not only adorned her flank, but moved on it's own and added it's own light to the room. She was pacing the room trying to find words to say to her two young daughters. Tonight would be the last night she would see them for a long time.
Kaorn, once her brother in arms, had betrayed all of them and declared war on them and the world. She had once thought him kind, but now could only see a monster.
The door softly creaked open as a young stallion walked through into the room. She jumped at the noise and looked to see Fury, her son, looking at her with the same look of shock.
"Sorry mother, I didn't expect to see you in here," Fury said, apologizing to the startled alicorn.
"I didn't expect myself to be in here either," Paramour said as she began to look across the room, taking in the blank black interior walls that surrounded them. "Your father always hated this room. He said that it reminded him of the world he left behind before coming here...." she said as she trailed off. Memories of her old life, before coming to this world flooded her mind. Memories of war and destruction that eventually consumed the world, a war against the starmakers which lasted so long that the fought only for the hatred of fighting.
Her mind brought her back to the world she now called home, earth, a world she helped create.
"Mother?" Fury said, looking to the yellow alicorn, who had been staring at the wall for a few minutes. "Mother??" he asked again, beginning to worry.
Paramour slowly looked over to Fury before answering, "Yes my son?" she said slowly.
"Why are you in here anyways?" Fury asked, a look of concern upon his face.
"Oh my dear Fury Flight, how I am going to miss you," Paramour said with tears beginning to form. "Tomorrow I will join your father and the others in a final charge of the black castle..." she said in a hollow voice.
"MOTHER!! Are you insane!!!" Fury yelled. "Kaorn's too powerful, and his fortress well guarded by his chaos soldiers.... To charge it would be suicide!" he yelled, fear rising in his voice.
"Fury, this war has been lost for a while now," Paramour began, "Look at our resistance, if you can call it that.. Our pegasi have either seen too many moons or haven't seen enough. Our earth pony warriors have seen too many harvests, and our unicorn have never cast powerful battle magic, so we will lead the final charge of the alicorns upon the castle of death..." Paramour said, hope leaving her voice.
"He will kill you, and..." Fury began.
"The war will be over one way or another tomorrow," she said, her voice fading out at the last few words, "And that brings us to you," she said with a somber tone.
"Me!?" Fury asked, confused.
"In our absence, the throne of ponies will be taken up...... by you.." she said, without emotion.
Fury's expression changed as his mind processed the information given to him. "ME!?! " he shouted. "I can't lead them."
"Who else will lead them if not you my son? Are you not Our successor?" Paramour asked, sadness building in her voice. "You would give up everything we raised you for Fury?" she asked again.
"Mother...." he began. "I am no king, I'm a soldier, a........ a guardian. I would rather protect the throne than rule upon it," he said softly, his voice beginning to tremble.
"Then who would rule in your place, who would take on that great burden my son if not you?" she asked, disappointed that fury would not take their place.
"Why not my sisters? Are they not just as fit to rule as I?" Fury asked, watching his mother begin to cringe.
"Your sisters are too young Fury, to place a burden of that size upon them now...."
"When Celestia is old enough," Fury said slowly, interrupting his mother. "When she comes of age, I will step down as Stewart to the throne."
"It could work, but if the war would go ill..."
"Then there would be no need for a ruler, for Kaorn will destroy the world."
"Then it is settled then... Celestia and Luna will carry the crowns and rule in our stead," Paramour said as a lonely tear began to fall, joined by another. "My daughters face the world alone while my son fights in a war and dies against my once called brother."
"They'll rule together mom, one always there for the other, like you and dad... only apart now because you have to be," he said as he walked over to Paramour and embraced the great alicorn. "It's gonna be a rough start..." Fury said as he felt himself begin to cry, "But we'll manage until we can meet again mother..." he sad as his mother tightened her grip on him.
"I know son, I know..." she said, beginning to cry herself. "But know that me and your father will always be here, until the end of time.... in here" she said as she pointed her hoof towards his heart.
"I know mother..." Fury said as he buried his tears deep inside, beginning a life of holding back pain that would tear him apart later in life. He broke apart from the embrace and began to walk out of the room. "I'll let you get back to you thinking mother, besides, I have to talk to Hurricane about something," he said as he opened the door of the war room with his magic.
Paramour stood alone a moment before walking out herself. She walked out of the room to find the hallway alight with torches. She walked down the massive hallway to the fillies bedroom, which was about four doors down from the room she had just left. She heard the sound of laughter and looked through the slightly opened door.
Luna was running around the room with her little Tiberius, laughing a laugh that was nearly contagious. Celestia was setting on the massive bed, writing in what appeared to be a diary. Paramour didn't realize that she had begun to cry. She wanted to walk away, and not trouble the two young ponies with this grieving news when the door cracked open a little, and before she knew it, the two fillies were at the door.
"Hi Mommy," Luna said, smiling as she finished opening the door.
"Why hello Sweetheart," Paramour said as she began to walk into the room. This wasn't going to be easy. "Come on girls, let's get you two tucked in," she said as she walked toward the bed. The two young fillies followed and sprang up onto the bed where she brought the covers up around them and proceeded to tuck them in.
"Look mommy look!" Luna sang as her horn lit up. Her magic cradled her opossum and had him dance around.
"That's good Luna!" Paramour said as she kissed the young pony's forehead. She then walked around the bed and did the same to Celestia, who squirmed a little. Before setting down, she took a deep breath and spoke, "Girls, Do you remember when your father left?" she asked the young ponies.
"Uh-huh,"
"Well, tomorrow I have to leave.... and I don't know when I'll be back.." she said slowly, hiding away tears that were just at the edge of her eyes.
"What!? What do you mean mom!?" Celestia said as she sprang up.
"Well my dear, there comes a time in every pony's life when we must go on a journey, and tomorrow will be the start of mine..." she said, letting a tear drop from her muzzle. "Now your brother will still be here to watch over you, but I have to go for a while.."
"How long will you be gone mommy? " Luna asked, beginning to get teary eyed.
"I don't know Luna... I don't know...." she said as her voice trailed off. "Now let's get you two to sleep, tomorrow brings fun and joy," she lied as she stood back up, calling upon her magic and extinguishing the lights in the room, allowing the natural light of the night sky to illuminate the room. "Goodnight my dears..... and goodbye..." she whispered as she brought the door to a close gently. she turned from the door and began to walk farther down the hallway, to a large mural at the end of the hall.
The mural was huge, taking the whole wall, and portrayed the beginning. It showed one of their greatest creations, the world she stood upon. at the top it showed her as she had cleansed the dead planet in fire, erasing the evil left behind by the old gods. Then the mural shown Palladia as he brought forth a sea of water to cool the top of the glowing world and carve out streams and mighty oceans. The next section saw Pike as he called mountains from the new land and cut valleys. The fourth pony on the mural, Zephira, had brought air and other elements to make an atmosphere and the wind, making way for life to take hold. The next on the mural was Galaxo, as it shown him bringing stars to life in the pitch black sky, bringing life to the night. Then it portrayed him as he brought forth a large asteroid from space and crafted it with his magic until it was circular. He set it orbiting the world to give the world a partner as it danced across the galaxy. The next scene shown Paramour as she used her fire and light to create a ball of fire, closer than the stars that would bring warmth and light to the planet. After the planet had been made suitable for life, they had all put there magic together and created a separate dimension, a paradise. It was here that Kronos, the sixth pony, Created a great clock with his magic. When he wound up the great clock, the world began to turn and time began upon their new world. The final scene on the Mural shown a white alicorn with a flowing red mane, brought life into the world, from the tiniest of bugs to the largest Dragon.
Her eyes drifted from the mural to see a small shadow upon the floor. She smiled as she turned to see an alicorn stallion behind her. "Oh Galaxo, you've returned!" Paramour cried as she rushed to him. Galaxo was colored like the night sky, even sparkling. His mane was straight, in a two tone Mohawk, a gray and white mix.
He looked into her eyes like that of a love struck colt. They had been apart now for a year, when the war had begun, he had sent her and their three children away while he stayed and fought Kaorn. "It's good to see you my dear, even if this is our last night on this plane," Galaxo said with a tender voice.
They locked in a lover's embrace for a few moments. She broke away as she heard a small scream outside the castle. "What was that!?" she asked, looking to the north, where the sound had originated.
"There was no sound Paramour," Galaxo said, a little confused.
"Well, maybe I'm just scared ya know, marching to our...."
"Paramour, I'll never let that happen, never," Galaxo said as he interrupted her. He had a stern look to his face, but it softened back to a relaxed state. "Come my dear, let's walk this old castle one more time.." he said, before lifting a hoof to gesture to his wife. They walked the halls one more time, talking about days of old, before they had to fight an enemy that they had once called brother...
Through the shards of defeat are planted the seeds of hope, and if given love and determination, will grow into the tree of victory, but if given hate, will give us the roots of destruction...
~ Fury Flight
He opened his eyes and slowly looked around at his surroundings. The little light given off by the moon illuminated the cave that he had taken refuge in for the night. The walls were damp and gave off a slight musty smell. He had slept there for the night as he wandered the forest, looking for something that wasn't there. He had searched the forest over and over for nearly three years now. After their attempt to destroy Kaorn that had in turn torn them apart even more, Hurricane had left for the Pegasi nations where she took command after general Fluff passed away at the beginning of the winter. The winter, he couldn't call it a winter, because winters end, and this has went on for nearly three years now. It started like any other winter, but then began to get colder and colder. As it got colder, their relationships had gotten worse. After Hurricane left, Grog was next, leaving for what he thought was the only way to save the world. After Grog left, they fell apart, the brave alicorns that were able to stand up against the forces of Kaorn were no more.
He had been the last one to leave, leaving his sisters behind, but not before leaving them in the hoofs of a trusted friend. He had began searching for the one place in the forest that he could find answers, the spot of creation, where he and his friends had found the great creator, who had brought them the jewels that she had called elements...
They approached the circle in the forest slowly. In front of them was a white alicorn, laying inside the circle. She was very weak and seemed to be fading in and out of existence. She looked up at them with a look of fear.
"Who... who are you?..." the being asked as she looked to the six alicorns approaching her. "What do you want from me?..." she asked again.
"Please," Fury began, "We don't want any trouble, we want a way to find peace," he said as he stopped the others and approached alone.
"Peace?......... Peace? You and your kind have destroyed this land and killed thousands, Why would any of you want peace, when you have killed just as much as that monster has..."
"I know, Great Creator, but all we want is this war to end, to bring peace to our world, to save what life remains..." Hurricane said as she stepped towards the alicorn.
"No hope...... no hope....... He has already begun..., He sent his general to.. to... kill me, b.. bu...but he failed..." she said softly, her voice fading as her body began to fade out again.
"There is hope, creator.... There is always hope, we just need to believe in ourselves, and hope will always come when we need it.... There is always hope...." Fury said to the alicorn as he finally approached her. He placed his hoof on hers, looking to the distraught eyes of the creator in front of him.
"Hope ... If you are to bring hope to the world, you will first need to have harmony amongst yourselves before you can bring harmony to the world... I can give you that harmony, with these..." she said as her horn lit up a bright green. Six jewels appeared before her, each perfect in their own way. Each with perfect faucets and glowing different colors. The jewels then began to raise into the sky before making their way to one of the six before her. "Use their power well, and harmony will.... follow you...... any... anywhere..." she said as her head dropped and her body finally faded out of existence.
His thoughts broke away from the memory as a large pile of snow fell from the treetops and landed on top of him. Annoyed, he shook off the clod snow before looking to the forest again.
"Why can't I find it, I've looked everywhere!" he said aloud, hoping for an answer from the universe or something along the lines of.
"You will never find what you are looking for here young hero, for it is no longer on this plane" came a voice from the winds, soft and sweet.
"What do you mean, where could it have gone?!" he asked the voice as he stood and looked around.
"It or rather I, have returned to the great beyond, where life began and it must ultimately return" the voice responded as Fury looked around in a small panic. Had he wasted the last three years of his life, of this war, for nothing?
"I wish to speak to the creator, whoever you are, and seek answers that only she carries!" Fury announced to the world and the voice, wherever it may be.
"You seek a way to end the war, and to ultimately make peace and balance in the world..." the voice began. "I already gave you the answer young warrior, to make harmony, you must have harmony within..."
"Creator...." he began. "Your here, but why can I not see you?"
"Because you are not looking in the right places.... You still look for what you can see with your eyes, and not your soul..."
"Enough riddles, please.... I want to bring this world to order, if for no other reason... than to leave it.." He said softly.
"And why, mighty hero... would you leave a world that your family has worked so hard to defend.... When you yourself have put so much into this world?" The voice asked, intrigued.
"My family, the Great Alicorns, we failed our purpose... and I would see this world spared from more bloodshed from our mistakes..." he said with tears forming in his eyes.
"Yes... The great ones failed.... But you are the next generation, a new seed planted in garden that needs to be cultivated... Your parents gave you the throne, but you refused... and now you are in control of the greatest power in the world, and you are ready to throw it away..." the voice said, disappointed.
"Great power, we had no advantage over Kaorn then, and we have none now.."
"You have no Advantage because you scattered like children in the night, frightened by their own shadow, instead of sticking together and finding peace in each other's souls..." the voice snapped, rage beginning to show.
Fury began to cower from the voice, wherever it might be, and screamed out in pain. "Yes!, we ran away... We lost our parents and all hope of defeating Kaorn..."
At this, the voice came back calmly and coolly, "My young hero, it is at this time that you and your friends weakened your power, and held the same as your opponent... But when you come together and let your differences aid you... You will find a power that is stronger than that of any foe... The same power that I bestowed upon you and your friends before..."
"How am I even to speak to them, after the last battle, we all went our separate ways and then the winter set in..." he said as he began to see a figure before him.
"As the son of the king you are destined for great power, even if it is not from the throne... Your father was not only king of the land, but a special warrior... a guardian." the apparition said as it took more physical form before him.
"Your... Your coming to my world.."
"No, young Fury Flight, you are just finally beginning to see with your soul..." The creator said as she lightly touched down on the green earth. "Your greatest power has always been in your magic, but it has always seemed held back, hasn't it?" She asked as her body took the form of a small filly.
"Y.. yes... How did you know this?" Fury asked with fear and curiosity in his voice.
"I have watched over you as I have every living thing young hero, and I have seen you become quite the mage along with your sword skills... And along with this I seen a gift in you, one that could be harnessed with the power of a great guardian..."
"Guardian... My father used to tell me tales of a great warrior who rose from the ranks of his army and brought peace with a great power that drove back the evil and brought light to the world... He had always told me that one day I would do great things, but we all got told that..." he said as memories of his father crawled back to him.
"The power your father spoke of... It exists... In the"
"Cave that is not a cave, where the great eye watches over all with it's unblinking gaze, and only those chosen can find the entrance" Fury finished the legend. "The Eternal Cave... But it's just an old Mare's tail, isn't it?" he asked.
"The Eternal cave doesn't exist on this world, but yet you can reach it... it's mouth is closed to all who don't know the way... Only the chosen can navigate the paths that lead to the cave itself..."
"Your words... they are true... My father spoke of other worlds upon our own, that only certain ponies could see... The cave would be in one of those worlds... and maybe.."
"Maybe..."
"Maybe a way to defeat Kaorn without killing him..."
"Your soul is beginning to find it's way to harmony young hero, but I am afraid that it is time for me to leave this plane... So I leave you with this advice and counsel... Look where others do not, find what cannot be seen with naked eyes, and peace and harmony you will find..." The pony said as her form collapsed into a sphere and shot towards the sky.
"Thank you... thank you..." he whispered to the sphere as it began to rise. Fury turned his attention to the road, and began to let his soul lead him to the one cave in the world that could not be found by mortal means...
Hope, a small flicker within us all, and if given the right stick, can produce the flame of victory ~ Fury Flight