Of Purpose... and Vengeance
Hi, I’m Rei Sonkei. I’m a Pegasus colt who calls Canterlot home. My coat is dark green, and my mane is light green with a gold stripe down the middle. My eyes seem as bright as Celestia’s sun. If you don’t know me (and many don’t) I always have a happy and cheerful attitude. But this little colt has a dark and devastating past...
When I was very young, my house was set on fire. I tried flying out but there was too much smoke in the air, so I ran for it. The ceiling and walls were falling down all around me, but that didn’t stop me from running. I had just barely made it out when the house collapsed. I stared on in horror because I didn’t see my parents get out. I was so sad and angry when I heard a low chuckle behind me. I turned around to find the arsonist. His name was Silver Blaze, a unicorn with a silver coat, dark and evil eyes, and a fire-orange mane. I would find out later that he was a powerful crime boss in the town we lived in. I wasn’t very strong back then, but I was so overcome with rage, that my body seemed to charge at him on its own. Before I knew what happened, he had sent me to the ground covered in burns. I was in so much pain that I couldn’t move. He just stared down at me for a few moments. I stared back in anger, but at the same time fear. I had never seen magic as powerful and fast as his. I was sure he was going to kill me right then and there, but he just grunted and trotted away. Then I realized what had happened. He wasn’t going to kill me; he was just leaving me for dead! I lay there for the longest time in agonizing pain. I stared up at the full moon in the middle of the night sky. I found myself pleading for my life with it as though it would do anything. Suddenly, I felt it shine directly on me. The light from it was cold, but somehow soothing. It seemed to tell me, “You must not die. When you discover your destiny, you will find the water to douse the flames of the past.” Then, I knew nothing but darkness. A couple days later, I woke up in the Canterlot ER, not knowing what had happened.
So here I am today, roaming these royal streets, not sure what path to take, but knowing where it should lead. Suddenly, I heard a loud boom. I looked to the source of the explosion to find an amazing sight. A rainbow pointing to a small town called Ponyville. I had looked down on this town for most of my life, but this time, it was like something was guiding me to it. So I ran back home to my empty house. (My foster parents were working all the time, so I was alone most of the time.) I gathered what I would need and headed off to the train station where I bought a ticket for the next train to Ponyville, the place where I would soon discover my destiny.
When I finally got to Ponyville, I was amazed. The setting was so… strange. I was so used to the dignified and shiny scene of Canterlot. But I didn’t have time for sightseeing. There was a reason I was there and I wasn’t going to waste any time finding out what that reason was. I met several ponies to ask them about Silver Blaze. Many of them had never heard of him, and others just seemed too distracted to pay any attention. One particular pink earth pony with a strangely curly mane even pulled me into a three-hour party and insisted on being my friend. I wanted to leave at my first opportunity, but then I realized something. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday! The only problem was the pink one ran the only restaurant in the town. So I asked her for my favorite food, a taco. But when I asked her for it, she just stared at me with confusion.
“What’s a taco?” she asked me. “It sounds good but I have no idea what it is.”
I was almost appalled. “You don’t know what a taco is? Don’t worry; I know how to make them. I’ll need some tortillas, lettuce, cheese, and ground meat.” She seemed much more confused, now.
Two hours of explaining and gathering rare materials later…
“At last,” I said, “you can finally discover what a taco is.” I proceeded to create the taco before the pink pony’s wide and interested eyes. It was rather difficult with hooves rather than fingers, but it was always worth it. After five short minutes, I had finally completed my taco. “Here,” I said handing it to the pink pony. “Believe me when I say when you eat it, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.”
“Um… thanks,” she said, curious but obviously that little bit of scared you always get when you’re about to try something new. She held it in front of her face and stared at it for the longest time. Then she opened her mouth and moved the taco slowly into her mouth. She bit down on it cautiously and started chewing. Suddenly her expression changed from curious to stunned, and it was right then that I had known that the taco had worked its magic on her. She seemed so happy to eat the taco, that she shoved the rest of it in her mouth, chewed it slowly, then literally rocketed up through the roof into the sky above (apparently, she does stuff like that all the time). When she fell back to the ground, she hugged me so tightly, that I could have sworn I was getting sandwiched by elephants. She then began thanking me hundreds of times per second. After thirty seconds I was sure I would suffocate, so I broke out of the hug and gasped for air heavily.
“I’m glad you like the taco so much,” I told her, still out of breath. “I need to get going now. It’s getting late.”
“Oh, you can stay here for the night,” she said. “The guest room is always open for a filly as nice as you.”
“I’m a colt, but thank you”
“But before I lead you there,” she told me, indicating my flank, “there’s something you need to know.”
I wasn’t sure what she was talking about. In ten years of my life I hadn’t had a cutie mark. But then I looked over to find that it was there! I got my cutie mark! I had discovered my purpose in life! It was simply a taco, but I was proud of it. It meant I was meant to spread the joy tacos brought to the rest of Equestria. I was so overjoyed when this happened. “Thank you for helping me get my cutie mark… what was your name again?”
“Oh, my name’s Pinkie Pie.”
“Thank you, Pinkie Pie. My name is Rei, Rei Sonkei.”
“I’m happy to help a friend in need. Now, let me show you to the guest room.”
That night, I slept soundly. I had dreamt I was helping with the weather and causing it to rain tacos. At least until the cloudy setting faded and I was back on the ground in front of my old house with Silver Blaze standing over me. It was an awful nightmare until I saw the dark figure and heard its voice again. But it didn’t feel like I was still dreaming. It took me awhile to realize that standing in front of my bed was none other than Princess Luna, guardian of the night. I was just plain amazed. Her flowing mane resembled the night sky, and the rest of her coat was as dark as space itself. Her cutie mark was a black splotch with a crescent moon in the middle of it. I had idolized her for as long as I could remember, but to see her standing right in front of me…
“Hello again, Rei Sonkei,” she said with her usual loud voice. She knew my name. I was almost amazed enough to faint. But I was still wondering how she knew my name.
“Again?” I asked. “What do you mean by that?” I was a little confused.
“You do not remember us from when you were younger? It was we who saved you from the brink of death so you could seek revenge on Silver Blaze. And now that you have discovered your destiny, we are here to help you.”
At that moment, everything hit me. The moon shining on me, the dark figure, why I idolized Luna, everything made sense in that one moment! “Thank you,” I told her. Then, an idea popped into my mind. “Hey, Luna... can I ask you a favor?”
The next morning
I woke the next morning ready to execute my plan. Despite being woken up in the middle of the night, I felt very refreshed. I thanked Pinkie Pie for letting me stay, left the taco recipe for her, and headed off to the train station to catch the next train to my childhood hometown. The moon was just setting, and I stared at it for the longest time. “Thanks, Luna,” I said.
“Hey, kid!” I heard a loud voice behind me. “What part of ‘all aboard’ don’t you understand?”
“I’m sorry sir,” I said as I rushed onto the train.
The ride was long and fairly tedious. I didn’t feel like eating anything they had served on the train. I only wanted to return and face Silver Blaze.
As the train pulled to a stop, I was the first one to fly out. It had been a long time since I actually used my wings. I felt good to feel the wind in my face. But I had to stay focused on where I was going. I was going to an abandoned barn. Under that was Silver’s hideout.
Silver Blaze was in front of what seemed like a map when I snuck in. I tried sneaking as close as possible for a better look without revealing my position. He was putting together a plan to burn half of Equestria in one fell swoop. I had no idea why he would do such a horrible thing, but I knew I couldn’t just wait around while this was happening. But I had to. I had to get out of there without being seen or my whole plan would fall apart. So I flew out as fast as I could. However, I made enough noise to get Silver’s attention, so he followed me out.
I had finally gotten out, but at that moment, I realized Silver had followed me. So I flew up and hid on the roof of the barn. When he came out, half of the Canterlot royal guard stood before him. Then, Princess Luna came down from above. “Silver Blaze,” she bellowed, “for multiple crimes of arson and attempted arson across Equestria, you are under arrest.”
About an hour later, after they hauled Silver off, I came down to thank Luna, but she had disappeared. Despite that, I looked up and thanked the sky above, and thanked it. And that’s the story of how the discovery of the future healed the scars of the past.
