Flame of the Sun

Canterlot, Solar Empire | November 4, 1502 | 11:00

The soft sounds of slow hoofsteps bounced across the great halls of the capital building as Sunrise made her way towards the throne room to speak to Empress Daybreaker. She was about five hours ahead of schedule, but she was likewise aware that when speaking of personal matters, earlier is better. She neglected to pay mind to any of the improvements to the city's architecture, nor to speak to anypony else who happened to be around. She already avoided explaining her nightmare to Flash, and she knew he would eventually pry out of concern. She hadn't a clue what to say, nor what to do, but she knew who she could confide in to give her advice.

She lifted her hoof to knock on the throneroom door, but to her surprise it opened before she could even touch it. She cleared her throat as quietly as possible before walking in as the doors closed behind her. The Empress sat comfortably upon her throne as if she were waiting for her Inquisitor to arrive, which gave Sunrise a sense of paranoid discomfort.

"Flash told me you would come," Daybreaker said, "come, tell me of this nightmare."

"How did he. . ." Sunrise pondered aloud, before being softly interrupted by the Empress.

"He knows you well enough to know who you confide in when all else fails," Daybreaker said, "anyone could see that kind of loyalty."

"Of course, that makes sense," Sunrise said, shaking her head, "the nightmare, it was of my friends—well, former friends. They saved me from an Ursa Major, but against my will I started to kill them. I couldn't control myself, I couldn't explain what was going on. I didn't want to do it, but they kept saying that I—"

". . .can't have both," Daybreaker finished. Sunrise looked up with an expression of shock before Daybreaker continued, "I know. I had the same visions when I embraced the Solar Blood. Of the same nature, at least. It's the next phase of your learning to harness the Solar Blood. There is much sacrifice to be made, and you do not believe Flash would have an admiration for the necessary actions you took against the former Field Marshal and Crystal Princess. That ideation has caused you to question whether or not those decisions were right, hmm?"

Sunrise slowly nodded, looking down. The Empress stepped from her throne and walked towards Sunrise, lifting her face with a gentle hoof.

"Look at me, Sunrise," the Empress said, "I am not asking you to do the impossible. This path, it causes you pain. That pain shapes you into a creature worthy and capable of leading the Empire. As leaders, we do what commoners cannot. We endure the nightmares that would drive them mad, we make the decisions that would tear open their hearts, and we live with the consequences that would force them to drive a nail through their own brains. The equines are our people, our kind, but we are better. That is why they look up to us as leaders, and we must hold ourselves to that. We can never say that we are better simply because of our favorable predispositions of race and birthright, lest we become as Taurus or Chrysalis. We must always strive to be better, to protect those underneath us. It is our duty. So know this, whatever choice you make, whatever action you take, and whatever consequence you face, you do so with the Empire in mind. You do so knowing that if paradise comes not on this day, it shall be rewarded to you tenfold the next. I would not have selected you all of those years ago if I were not certain you could handle the greatest of strife and difficulty, I believe in you."

Sunrise smiled, giving the Empress a hug who quickly returned it. As they were wrapped in one another's embrace, the Empress gave a soft sigh.

"One day, you will take my place as the leader of this Empire. I am certain that I will see death in the far future, and when I do I wish to be able to confidently welcome him with an open heart," Daybreaker said, "I can do that knowing that you would be the one to lead my empire."

The Inquisitor had no idea what to say. To hear this side of Daybreaker now was almost heartbreaking to her, but it strengthened her loyalty all the more.

"Then I will tell Flash the truth," Sunrise said as she leaned away from the hug, "regardless of the consequences, it is most important that I leave not a wound to fester."

"My star pupil," Daybreaker said endearingly as she gave Sunrise a gentle kiss upon the forehead, "you will do many great things in my name."

"As is my purpose."

Hall of Unity, Mount Metazoa | November 4, 1502 | 12:22

"I believe I've already said this, but I'll reiterate for sake of clarity," Discord said condescendingly to an angry Sunset Shimmer, "chaos magic is on par with Alicorn magic, not Primordial magic and definitely not two Primordial entities with an addition of Hive Magic. As much as I'd love to snap everything away, that doesn't quite make for a good story—AND IT'S IMPOSSIBLE. . .I can draw you a chart if you'd like."

A whiteboard appeared beside him with a graph in red marker reading "possible (by percent)" with a steep decline to -43.539%. Sunset was not amused, blasting it away with magic as it turned into dust. Discord made an exaggerated frown.

"You still didn't have to lie to us about being here!" Sunset shouted, "the amount of time we wasted—"

"—is nothing compared to the amount of time you're wasting arguing about it," Discord finished, "now if you'd like, we can work together to solve this issue or you can at least find somebody to properly host this grade-school debate club meeting. Personally, I vote for the former."

"He's right," Nova said reluctantly, "though he might be an asshole, there's no point in arguing about what we already know for certain."

"Well I wouldn't quite put it that way," Discord muttered as Nova continued.

"Let's just get an idea of where the state of warfare is at and see where we can intervene," the gryphon continued, "we need a map, a table, some chairs, and as much intel as we can find."

As she listed those things off, Discord snapped to make them appear. The intel, of course, was several thousands of documents surrounding them. The group gave an unamused look as Discord simply huffed, snapping them into a neater set of thirteen piles.

"Done!" he said confidently, "I'll provide you the information you need and the transportation you need. Disclaimer, however, I will not provide any reality-ending events nor assassinations."

"Of course not," Applejack said with a sigh, "nopony wanted assassinations."

"Speak for yourself," Gilda said with a snort as she elbowed Rainbow Dash who simply rolled her eyes.

Sunset and Nova quickly took charge after this, delegating tasks to the different equines and putting together a diplomatic strategy by which they could expand harmonist influence. The simplicity of rainbow lasers was unfortunately a thing of the past, and it was time to think of new solutions for peace. Sunset realized the fault of harmonist monarchy because of Daybreaker, it didn't take much discussion to convince the others to reach the same conclusion. After a few hours of organizing the information Discord effortlessly gathered and getting everyone up-to-date on the situation across the continents, they were ready to begin their plan to expand the Hall of Unity throughout the mountains of Metazoa and, under Discord's protection, provide a safe haven for the remaining true harmonists.

It's still possible, Sunset thought to herself, Harmony can still exist.

Sweet Acorn Orchard, Solar Empire Outskirts | November 5, 1502 | 16:22

A couple of days had passed since Thorax had began to integrate with the village that provided his refuge. While his worries were still strong, they slowly began to fade as he adjusted to his new life in the Orchard. He had asked Barn if it would be best to use his magic to disguise himself, but Barn insisted he remain a Changeling to allow the citizens to adjust to what would hopefully become a "new normal". That hope that Barn had was a mystery to Thorax, who knew only fear under the Queen's rule. This feeling, however, was rejuvenating. It gave him life.

This morning, he was working alongside some rougher stallions in the fields to prepare the crops for winter. They were physically far stronger than him, but while difficult to get along with at first, eventually came to admire the changeling's durability. As it turned out, his exoskeleton was capable of taking more damage than the stallion's skin, which made him phenomenally efficient in his workflow. Thorax was becoming confident in his ability, working through breaks, working early, and working late. He wanted to impress, and he did, as sometimes the stallions would sit back and watch his tireless efforts producing more progress in an hour than they could in a day.

"Damn," a stallion said, "you ever get tired, Thorax?"

"I do get tired, Spring," Thorax replied as he continued, "but I was trained to get over it or else."

"You know you aren't going to get beat or anything here, right?" Spring said with a tone of concern, Thorax turned his head slightly as he paused from his work for a second.

"They didn't beat us," he said calmly, "when you have an army that is raised in batches of the ten thousands, you just exterminate the inadequate elements."

He continued his work as an awkward silence followed for a moment. Spring cleared his throat.

"Well, we're not gonna exterminate you," he said, "you can rest if you like."

"Thank you for your. . .concern. . ." Thorax said, giving a grunt of effort as he continued to work, "but I get plenty of rest at night in that lovely bed; I will be fine."

"If you insist," Spring said, going back to work himself.

"Hey, what are you doin'?" another stallion said, "break's not over for another fifteen minutes."

"Following the good example, Haze," Spring replied with a laugh, "hell, this guy makes me want to work."

Thorax's wings fluttered a bit. A weird feeling swirled in his stomach from the idea of providing someone motivation. It was a good feeling, however—a powerful feeling—as it drove him to work even faster. After the fifteen minutes of break had passed, the others returned to working for another hour before it was time to leave. Thorax continued working of course, until Barn himself walked up to him.

"I appreciate your work," Barn said, "but even if you're not tired, leisure is good for your mind. My wife is cooking a fine meal tonight, why don't you stop by and eat with us?"

"Damn!" Spring exclaimed, earning the attention of Barn and Thorax. Thorax seemed concerned, but Barn had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"What's wrong Spring?" he asked, "you miss the apple pie?"

"Oh fuck you, Barn," Spring said as Barn gave a hearty chuckle. Spring turned to Thorax, "you're a lucky-ass stallion, that mare can cook—and I mean cook a meal. Not a pony in this town can match her skills with the oven."

Thorax gave a slight chuckle, seeing that Spring was simply joking.

"It's worse than I can't even eat equine food," Thorax said. Spring quirked a brow.

"I'll eat his portion!" Haze exclaimed with a grin.

"Like hell you will!" Spring said, throwing a small pebble at Haze who gave a laugh before beginning to walk away.

Thorax smiled to himself as he looked at the two. While their words were somewhat harsh and their jeering was unrelenting, he could tell they were all good friends. In fact, everyone in the town shared that same friendliness towards one another. It was nice to see emotion so free, and it was at that moment that Thorax realized he had more in common with the equines than the changelings. His thought was interrupted, however, as Spring started to run in his direction.

"BARN!" he shouted.

Crystal Capital, Crystal Empire | November 5, 1502 | 13:02

Sunrise opened the door to her living quarters once more, walking towards her bedroom and sitting on the bed. It didn't take long for Flash to detect her presence, walking into the room as well.

"Everything go well with the Empress?" he asked, somewhat shyly. Sunrise gave him a slight glare.

"Are you asking that because you told her I was coming?" she said. Flash winced a bit as he shifted his gaze to the side.

"Mmmaybe."

Sunrise rolled her eyes as Flash approached her for a hug. She returned it gladly, but Flash knew something was off. He leaned away from the hug before sitting on the bed next to her.

"The nightmare I had," she said. Flash was silent, showing a more serious expression as he listened, "it was about my former friends."

"The ones you had to leave to rule the Crystal Empire?" he said. She nodded.

"Yes, but that wasn't quite the reason," she explained. Flash quirked a brow before she continued, "they saved me from an Ursa Major in the dream, and I wasn't able to move. After they did, I killed them. Against my will, and their corpses spoke to me. They said, I couldn't "have both"."

"That's what you said this morning before you left," Flash said, "why do you think you'd have a dream like that? What can't you have both of?"

Sunrise turned to face Flash with an expression of piercing sorrow. He was stricken by the look immediately as if taking a nail to his heart. Her expression wasn't just of sadness, but of regret and shame. Somewhere within it, however, lingered a tinge of hatred and wrath. Malice unyielding. This was not the Sunrise, nor the Twilight he was familiar with.

"I cannot have the joy you give me," she said weakly, "while I play this part in the world. I didn't leave them because of the Crystal Empire, they left me because I told them we would have to execute Starlight Glimmer for her treason."

"Well, I mean. . ." Flash pondered for a moment, "execution has become pretty standard now, but I suppose the Element Bearers don't really want to do the difficult stuff. No need to feel bad about it."

"There's something else I haven't told you."

"What would that be?"

"Cadence did not kill herself, and Shining Armor didn't die on a failed diplomatic mission."

Flash paused for a moment, his expression more confused than anything as he turned to the side for a moment before looking back at Sunrise and leaning closer.

"Did. . .did the enemy kill them?" he asked, "I can order a hunt, we can find them right now and have them held accountable, I can even—"

"No, Flash," Sunrise said sternly as she closed her eyes, "I killed them."

Flash was awestruck for a moment. He shook his head.

"Under the Empress' orders, I'm sure," he said, making an attempt to reason. His heart dropped as Sunrise shook her head.

"By my own volition," she said quietly, "I killed Cadence first so that Shining Armor would know his mistake in committing treason. I made sure it was the last thing he saw before he died."

Silence. Flash was hardly breathing loud enough to hear as he tried to process the thought. Sunrise, meanwhile, was strangely calm about it. Getting such a thing off her chest gave her confidence. It gave her strength. She looked up at him with the soulless eyes she gave to Shining Armor.

"I carried out their execution in the dungeon," she said sternly, "I condemned them to death for blasphemy. I broke their will afront them and drug their feeling to naught. I did that."

Sunrise stood up, turning to stare into Flash's shock-struck eyes.

"I did exactly what I was destined to do," she continued, "and by the will of the Empress I usurped their throne to provide a prosperity to the Crystal Equines like none they have ever seen. I believe I did right, and I know now that it is best this way. Furthermore, I am prepared to face the consequences if such an array of facts causes you grief."

She kept her eyes on Flash for five solid minutes. They stood in absolute silence for that time. Not a movement, not a word, hardly even a blink. Finally, Flash closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I looked up to Shining Armor," he said quietly, "but I expected better than treason from him."

He opened his eyes, getting up and walking to her before giving her a quick kiss.

"Your eyes are fearsome, Sunrise," he said, "but I still love them."

He turned away and left, going to catch some fresh air as Sunrise stood looking towards the window in a cesspool of emotional confusion. She turned to the door.

"Huh?"

Sweet Acorn Orchard, Solar Empire Outskirts | November 5, 1502 | 15:43

"BARN!"

Thorax turned to see that Barn was on the ground, staring up the sky with an expression of terror. Spring fell to the ground trying to check for a pulse as Haze and the other two stallions ran back as well.

"I think it was a heart attack," Spring said quickly, "Haze, get some help here NOW!"

Haze quickly began to trot in the opposite direction, shouting for help as he bolted for the town center. Thorax was frozen in place. Why now? Why would this have to happen now?!

"No," Thorax said softly. Spring looked up at him with confusion, "no more death."

"We're doing everything we can, but—" Spring said, before Thorax walked up and pushed him off, "Hey, what the Hell Thorax?!"

Thorax lit his horn, his eyes glowing for a moment as his spell allowed him to see through the body's outer layers. A spell typically used for combat to target vital organs. However, Thorax was able to see not only the heart, but the blood as well. Living organs were glowing, but some of the glows began to fade. He placed a hoof on Barn's chest directly above the heart, and began to thrust downward.

"We need a medical expert on standby," Thorax said, focusing on Barn, "you did good to call for help, but I've seen how your magic works."

"Thorax, we're earth ponies, we—"

"Your friendship, Spring," Thorax interrupted, "his wife needs to be here for this to work."

Spring turned to one of the other stallions and nodded as the stallion ran to fetch her. He turned back to Thorax.

"I hope to the Sun you know what you're doing."

"Me too," Thorax said, pumping again. The blood was moving, but the heart hadn't caught back up yet. Thorax sighed, lighting his horn again as he stepped away. With a quick zap, the entirety of Barn's body jerked. Spring was confused as he stood back, but had faith that Thorax wasn't trying to kill the stallion. Thorax continued to compress his chest. It didn't take long for the village doctor to arrive alongside Barn's wife, who immediately began to weep at the sight of her husband on the ground.

"Father?" Drizzlepop said softly, leaning out from behind Barn's wife. Thorax paused, making eye contact with Drizzlepop who had tears in her eyes already. He turned to the ground, gritting his teeth before looking back at Drizzlepop.

"I won't let him die," Thorax said, standing back and lighting his horn again causing the body to jolt. The equines stood back a bit further as he returned, applying a few more thrusts to the stallion's chest, "wake up, damnit! Your family still needs you!"

The doctor stood by, shaking his head as he attempted to console the wife. The other stallions turned away as Drizzle looked on in fear. Thorax felt their love, their anguish, their friendship. While he did not consume it, he felt a strange power within him because of it. As if he were reversing the flow, not taking their love to eat, but returning it to them. Returning it to Barn who needed it most.

"YOU DON'T GET TO LEAVE YET," Thorax shouted, giving a final thrust before looking down and seeing the blood in his body move. The heartbeat was faint, but it was there, and slowly dying out again. Thorax closed his eyes.

Please, if just one more time, let me be a healer.

After a quick prayer to his gods, he spread his wings, opening his forelegs as his heart began to glow. In that moment, more of the village's citizens came to see what was going on. They gathered in a crowd as the changeling started to shine brightly before a beam of magic left his body and entered Barn's. The aura wasn't green, however, it was rather a light blue. Barn opened his eyes widely and gasped as the energy allowed him to breathe again. He held his chest for a moment, before turning to see the awe-stricken faces of his citizens, who began to cheer. Drizzlepop ran up to him, giving him a hug as his wife did the same. After a brief moment of joy, they turned to thank Thorax, but where he once stood there was now a cocoon lying on the ground.

Barn got up, coughing briefly as he lifted a hoof to it.

"Everypony stand back," he warned. The ponies were hesitant, seeing that he was just brought to life and now seemingly risking it again. However, he turned to them more sternly, "NOW."

They listened. Barn gently touched the cocoon, causing it to glow and open like a flower. Thorax no longer bore his black shell, but was now filled with vibrant colors and bore remarkable horns. The crowd was speechless, looking on with awe and confusion with the exception of Drizzlepop, who was smiling bright enough to light the eternal night.

Thorax opened his eyes, seeing the crowd gaze upon him with their shocked expressions as he looked down to see himself. Taller, more colorful, more powerful. He looked up at Barn, who smirked.

"Save a stallion's life and make a show out of it, huh?" he jeered. Thorax immediately expressed worry.

"I didn't know, I mean I—I'm not sure how—"

"By the gods, boy, I was joking," Barn said, waving a dismissive hoof before turning to face him with a smile, "how does it feel?"

"I. . .I feel stronger," Thorax said, "I feel. . .brighter. I feel. . .hungry for some apple pie."

Barn gave a long and hearty laugh, turning to his citizens with a bright smile.

"Everypony, fix your best plates, we celebrate in the hall tonight!" he shouted. The crowd cheered as they departed immediately to their homes to prepare some food.

Drizzlepop walked up to Thorax, giving him a hug. Thorax gladly returned it, turning to see both the wife and Doctor looking at him with joy and appreciation.

"You're a hero, Thorax," Drizzle said, "I hope you get to stay here forever!"

"Well now, Drizzle, he might be a hero to the world, too," Barn pointed out. Drizzle gave a pout as she kept hugging Thorax.

"Well then he can be a hero from here! Or I'll go with him!" she said defiantly. Barn and his wife both chuckled.

"Maybe we could travel the world some day when you're all grown up," Thorax said kindly, "we'll just have to wait and see."

"Yaaay!" Drizzle cheered, letting go and hopping around. She turned suddenly to Barn, "Ooh ooh ooh! We're having apple pie tonight aren't we? Is it almost ready?"

Barn shook his head with a soft laugh, "patience little filly, the longer you wait the better it'll taste."

"That's good because it always takes FOREVER!" Drizzle said, earning a laugh from all of them.

Giving love, it's so much more fulfilling than taking it all away.

Hall of Unity, Mount Metazoa | November 5, 1502 | 18:03

Sunset sat at a desk quietly as she sighed to herself. A lot of planning and paperwork was done today, and that was mostly Twilight's thing. She missed Twilight; Twilight was such a great friend to her before all of this nonsense happened. Now, however, wasn't the time to think about the losses they had already suffered and dealt with. Tomorrow, they planned to begin their first trip to the Solar Empire to gather potential harmonists. She had to be prepared, which meant she had to rest.

She closed her notebook and tucked the many papers away into a drawer as she started to get up, before she heard a knocking on the door. She turned to face it, before she heard a quiet whisper.

"Not that door."

She turned to see a door sitting in the middle of the room. With a roll of her eyes, she gave a huff.

"Come in, Discord."

The door opened to reveal Discord walking out from a whimsical void. As he stepped out, he closed the door before picking it up and folding it like paper and stuffing it into a pocket that didn't quite exist.

"You know, I'm not often serious so cherish it while you can," he said with a posh expression before handing her a document. She lit her horn to levitate it before opening it up and looking inside. The text was normal, but the pictures moved. She quirked a brow.

"What is this?"

"A changeling conversion," he said, putting on a pair of reading glasses as a book appeared in his hand. He blew an impossible amount of dust off of it before opening it and showing her the archaic text, "one that hasn't happened in well over four thousand years."

Sunset studied the book closely before looking back at the document.

"The Sweet Acorn Orchard, I've heard of this place," Sunset mused, "it must have grown into a village during the war. If they let a changeling in, they have to be harmonists."

"Oh, listen to you!" Discord said with a frown, "politicking your way to a new world, my goodness it's like watching a Ted Talk with you sometimes, Sunset Shimmer."

"What is a Ted Ta—"

"No matter!" Discord interrupted, "think a bit bigger than your fancy terminology. A changeling conversion happening in a time like this means hope for everyone, a way to end the war! After all, how can Daybreaker possibly wage a war against victimized, beautiful changelings?"

"That's actually right," Sunset said with a sense of excitement, "if this information is spread, it could turn the hearts of ponies in an instant!"

"Well, not quite," Discord retorted, "with only one changeling having been converted now, Daybreaker might just try to kill him to keep the war going. However, that doesn't mean we can't secretly extend our gratitude."

"And how do you suppose we will do that?" Sunset said with a smirk, "sending you as our ambassador?"

The two were silent for a moment as Discord gave a nervous smile. Sunset's expression dropped to an irritated one.

"Absolutely not," she said. Discord gave a pout.

"Oh, come on," Discord said, snapping as he appeared on the other side of her with a suit and tie along with a briefcase, "my middle name is diplomacy! Why would you possibly think I could mess it up?"

"I don't know," Sunset said sarcastically, "maybe because the way to peace doesn't involve floating islands and turning equines into bunnies!"

"I've never turned an equine into a bunny," Discord protested as he looked away. After a moment of silence, he darted an eye towards her before offering a frown, "I've never done it two times."

"See? That's my point exactly," Sunset said, "you can't take things seriously."

"On the contrary, I take these things very seriously," Discord retorted once more, "you just seem to take them too seriously. As if the joys of the world could be drawn from sappy, sobby friendship lectures."

"You know what," Sunset proposed, "why don't we all talk about it tomorrow and see who we should send?"

"That's an excellent idea Sunset, a perfect leader you are," Discord replied, putting a #1 ribbon on her chest, "a lovely replacement for Twilight as well. THIS IS DEMOCRACY MANIFEST~!"

Before she could reply, he vanished into thin air. She gave a grunt as she turned to look at the file again. How curious of such a thing to happen at such a time, she thought. Hope was ever-growing.

Sweet Acorn Orchard, Solar Empire Outskirts | November 5, 1502 | 23:43

Thorax lay in his bed quietly after a great night of festivity and food. It was the first time he found himself capable of eating equine food—not that he had particularly tried before but every now and again he thought about it. With a full stomach, however, and a tired body, he knew it was definitely time to rest. Just as he began to drift away, however, he heard a strange sound of portal magic behind him. Not normal portal magic however, this sounded more—

"Chaotic!" Discord said happily as Thorax spun around and lit his horn in a battle stance. Discord gave a frown, "now now, that's no way to treat a guest."

"What do you want, God of Chaos?" Thorax said sternly, "I have no time for your jeering!"

"Calm down, I'm here on behalf of the Elements of Harmony," Discord said holding up an ID badge that seemed very obviously homemade, "oh, sans Twilight Sparkle, of course. Though, I'm sure you're aware of that fandango."

"What does a God of Chaos have to do with restoring harmony?" Thorax asked with a quirked brow, Discord gave a soft chuckle.

"You stroke my ego too much, Thorax," Discord said, "but in actuality I do value harmony as chaos is meaningless without it. I'd rather not get into the philosophical details of it, so let's just leave it at the fact that I'm on the side of anyone wanting to stop this war that's destroying the world."

"Right," Thorax said slowly.

This was going to be a long night.