Devoran Chronicles: Fire of the Phoenix

The next couple of days were tense.  Although I had most definitely done terrible at my exam, I still hoped that somehow I would be accepted.  Either that, or allowed to retake the examination.  Although I had been completely distraught after my experience in the testing, I still held onto that slight shimmer of hope that I might get another shot to prove myself.  I had invested so much into training for Celestia’s school, I couldn’t fail.  What would I do if I did?  Somehow other ponies at school had learned of my failure as well, which didn’t make thing any better.  Devoran the Incinerator became a sickeningly popular nickname to add insult to injury.

On the third day after my exam, I awoke, per usual, struggling to gain enough reason to climb out of bed.  I walked downstairs to breakfast.

“Apple juice?” my mother asked.  She had avoided engaging me in much conversation lately, but for some reason she seemed a bit more apprehensive today.

“No thank you”.  It was at that moment I saw it.  A white envelope, sealed in a golden film.  And it had my name on it.

“It came this morning,” my mother said, nearly whispering.

My chest tightened once again with anxiety.

“I......I’m not sure I want to open it”.

“Why not, shortcake?”

“Because.......because what if I didn’t make it?  What if they won’t let me retake the test?  I’d almost rather not know”.

“Honey,” she said back to me, her voice laced with a soothing calm, “you can’t avoid it.  No matter what happens, ignoring it isn’t going to make it go away.  Sooner or later, you’d have to face it”.

Of course, she was right.  I was just being stupid.  If I ignored it, I might at least be able to hang onto my little hope I had, but that was all I would ever have.  I reached out with a hoof, grasping the perfectly folded envelope.  My mother handed me a mail cutter, and I sliced the top of the envelope with a precise cut.  I pulled out the letter gingerly, as if it would fall apart from too much handling and began to read:

From the Desk of her Highest Princess Celestia

Dear Mr. Devoran Snapcaster,

We have received and processed your evaluation conducted by our testing staff and at this time we would like to inform you of the results of our decision for your acceptance.  First, we would like to commend all of our applicants for their exceptional performances and very capable skills.  However, your application for the Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns has been, unfortunately, denied at this time for the following reasons:

Testing applicant was unable to complete the requested task

Under normal circumstances, we would recommend that you file for a re-take of our testing examination.  Unfortunately, however, we are unable to accept any re-applications at this time due to a higher than expected number of applicants this year.  As such, our school is currently at capacity.  We encourage you to apply again next solar cycle and we look forward to seeing you next year at our annual application period.  Have a wonderful day.

Signed,

The Desk of Princess Celestia, High Princess of the Realm of Equestria

Upon reading the last sentence, my flank sank into my chair.  Blinking a few more times and re-reading it in disbelief didn’t change what I had just read and with it, the flicker of foolish hope burned itself out.  I laid the letter down on the table and, with my mother watching my every move, I walked upstairs to my room and shut the door, laying down on my bed and staring up at the ceiling.  I had expected that if this moment had come, I would have cried, yelled, or something equally distraught.  However, the truth was, I was so wrenched up inside, I couldn’t tell if I was depressed, angry, or disappointed in myself.

From downstairs, I could hear my parents talking softly to each other.  Although I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, I knew what it was anyway.  Still, I was curious, and I put my ear to the floor of my room to listen.

“What are we going to do about this?” my mother asked.

“I’m not sure.  I know Dev could have passed that test, but he simply got too nervous and made some mistakes.  I wish we could give him another chance next year, but we spent all of our education fund for him on this.  It took 5 years to put that kind of money together.  It isn’t right that Celestia charges so much to get into her danged school”.

“Now, now, honey.  You know that without Princess Celestia, you wouldn’t have a job.  She’s done well by our family”.

“I know, sweetheart, but it doesn’t make it any easier what we have to tell Dev now.  I wish I had the money to give him everything, but I just don’t”.

“I know, honey.  We’ll go tell him together”.

Great.  Not only had I screwed up, but there wasn’t even the possibility of taking the test next year.  My parents had sacrificed for half a decade just to pay for my entrance fee.  How could I possibly get into the school now?  It wasn’t fair, I told myself.  I had worked so hard.  I deserved this.

And then, an idea hit me.  A horrible, horrible idea.  In a selfish fit, I hopped from my bed and walked with light steps into my father’s study.  I reached out with my magic toward the small wooden chest that my father had placed up high on top of his bookshelves.  Trying to pry it open, I realized it was magically sealed.  So, with an angry snap, I hit the lock with a fierce and powerful spell that broke the lock.  I pulled the Desire Stone out and ran back to my room after placing the broken chest back on the shelf.

Shortly afterward, I heard hoofsteps coming up the stairs, eight in total.  Grabbing my pillow on my bed, I buried my head into it.  I didn’t want to talk to them.  The guilt was unbearable and speaking with both of them was only going to make it worse.  I heard my door creak open and I could feel two pairs of eyes, staring at me from the doorway.

“Shortcake?  Your father and I would like to talk to you a bit”.

“You don’t have to.  I heard what you both said downstairs”.

“Dev, you really shouldn’t be listening to conversations your mother and I have like that.  It’s.....”

“It doesn’t matter!” I said as I cut my father off sharply, “I already figured out what I’m going to do to fix it”.

I pulled the stone out of my pocket in my cloak.  Its soft glow and relaxing hum was soothing to me.  It took only a moment before my father realized what it was I had done.

“Son.......you don’t want to do this.  Give me the stone”.

“No!  I earned this.  Its not fair!  I’m going to be the greatest wizard in Equestria.  One way or another”.

My father’s face grew paler and paler with each word.  When he realized I had set my mind to it, he quickly tried to retrieve the stone by levitating it away from me, but I quickly countered his spell and cut them off with a small barrier between us.

“I wish to be the strongest wizard in Equestria...” I whispered to the stone.

“NO!” my father shrieked in horror.

The room began to shake and the stone whizzed into the air above my head, spinning faster and faster.  It began to emit a scratching sort of sound and a small orb began to form around it.

“What’s happening?  I don’t understand.....” I asked, bewildered.

As the glowing became brighter, my parents, who now looked horrified, began to back away.

“Devvie!  You have to stop it!” my mother shrieked.

“I don’t know how!  I don’t know what is.......” but before I could finish the sentence, my whole body was enveloped in the glow and it sprang forward in an explosive, uncontrollable wave that lifted me off the ground a few inches.  I watched in horror as it expanded.  Everything it touched began to turn to a sort of cobblestone and then disintegrate into dust.  My parents tried to flee, but it was too late.  The magical sphere enveloped the floorboards beneath me, and the floor from the second story gave away, crashing into the kitchen.  Both my parents looked up, after regaining their footing from the fall, but by that time they had, the sphere had grabbed them both with bolts of energy.  My mother screamed a blood chilling sound and I watched as both my parents began to slowly turn to stone, as the bubble pulsed, cracking and rippling their skin until their skin was cracked and broken into what looked like broken statues.  Then, when the field collapsed, everything inside of it turned to stone dust, my parents included.  I plummeted to the first floor from the floating position I had maintained, landing hard on my legs, which immediately gave away.  My side slammed into the ground and I could feel a sudden surge of excruciating pain course through my whole body, knocking the wind out of my lungs.  I opened my eyes as the room went from pulsating and spinning to sudden rest.

This couldn’t be happening.  I had to be dreaming.  The house that I lived in was scorched with burns from whatever it was that spawned from inside me.  My parents laid in two neat piles on the floor, along with various other items from the home.  Surely I would wake up from this nightmare and my mother would make me oatmeal and toast like she always did.  No.  This wasn’t happening.  It couldn’t be.  I blinked several times, clenching my eyelids closed for a split second before reopening them, but no relief came.  This was no dream.  I killed my parents.  I destroyed my home.  And I was alone.