Rise of the High Bloods

.....................(((...)))....................

(""""Below Titan Moon..."""")

("Celestia, can I ask you something?")

("Sure, Stella, what is it?")

("Why do you call us your..."siblings"?")

("Oh...Why do you ask?")

("Because “siblings” is a word that only the humans use. It implies that we were "born" into this world, which isn't the case for us.")

("I just would like to believe that we all have a bond with each other that extends our similarities beyond the obvious; that we all came from the same parents, and therefore, one way or another, we all have something in common.")

("But, Celestia...")

("Yeah, Stella?")

("... that's not true.")

("What...?")

("We were created. Not begotten. That means that we are all a separate vessel of ourselves.")

("We also have spent our entire lives being raised by the same people who created us. That alone should make us brothers and sisters, Stella.")

("But we weren't born, Celestia. The blood running through your veins is not the same as mine at all.")

("I apologize if you don't like it, Stella, but I wish to consider that you are of the same flesh and blood as the rest of us, High Bloods and Humans.")

("...Don't say that, Celestia. Never say that again. Do not ever, ever,  compare me to the Humans.")

("... Why...?")

("Because, Celestia. I despise humans.")

..............................................................

Her golden eyes opened into darkness. She hasn't awakened since... well... it must have been about a year, but she couldn't even remember for sure. Time had lost meaning to her long ago.

Clunck

Into the trash it went.

Useless in the cold, dry enclosure of the moon around her. Along with food. And air. And water.

Clunck

Clunck

Clunck

Her body never needed any of those things even when she WAS on Earth, but she truly did miss those things. The sweet juice of freshly picked Ambrosia Apples. The omnipresent feel of freedom that can only be felt from a fresh spring breeze-

"Do not think of those things." She whispered to herself. "That is not why you've awaken."

No, indeed, it was not her thirst nor her hunger that had awoken the slumbering goddess from her purgatorial hibernation. Both now merely reduced to an itch, after eons of surviving without them.

Long ago, what she estimated to be about a thousand years ago, she had felt a presence far beyond the reaches of this forsaken moon. Another High Blood had been banished from the cradle of Earth because of the Elements of Harmony. Whoever was banished meant nothing to her, the only thing that she had noticed was that, when the Elements were used, it opened a crack in her prison small enough for her to catch a glimpse of the Stars above; allowing her to slowly but surely regain some of her abilities.

About year ago, she decided that she had waited long enough and that she had gathered enough of her strength. With the small sum of power that she reclaimed, she devised a plan.

If she could somehow instigate the resurgence of the Elements, then maybe, just maybe, it would weather away at the prison enough for the crack to grow.

Using the little power that she had, she gripped a small cluster of stars and realigned them; freeing the nameless High Blood as a sort of investment and gesture of gratitude. After a short amount of time, an invisible wave of impossible energy passed through the moon, shaking the ground until the crack grew to the size of her palm.

Her investment paid off.

The Elements had returned.

However, another discharge was not what awoke her this time.

It took only eight steps to cross the tiny prison to where the crack was as the dim light from the outside world lightly illuminated the upper portion of her naked body. She had lost her clothing when she lost her staff, which happened when the Elements had banished her. As she was plummeting into the moon in a ball of energy and light; the crust of the moon melted as she hit the surface, forming around her into the prison it is now; she had lost her staff into the writhing abyss of the solidifying moon.

  Now, she was beginning to regain a fraction of her original strength, and even though it was not enough to retract her staff on her own, it didn't matter. She could tell that she had amassed a good amount, too, because as she craned her neck to look through the crack in the planet's crust, she could see that her awakened state was causing a massive disruption in the skies beyond.

"What a mess," she muttered, "I can't see anything."

Raising her hand, she felt the magic within her flow into her arms as she gripped the energy within the thunderstorm and pulled it down below the clouds. Seeping it into herself, she left a small amount of it within her fingertips, and with it, she pushed and tugged away at the now calm yellow clouds; rearranging and shifting them until she finally made a space  in the atmosphere large enough to see through.

Beyond, the expanse of outer space glittered and twinkled with its infinite galaxies and infinite stars. At one point in time, it was her destiny to watch over the stars and control them. Now, she was trapped within a moon millions and millions of miles from her home planet of Earth.

The definition of a great cosmic joke.

'Enough with those thoughts' She mentally scolded herself, 'Your vengeance will have it's time soon enough.' Yes, her time to escape was nigh. Only one or two more Earth days of soaking in the starlight from the tiny crack, and she would then be able to walk upon the surface for the first time.

Then, and only then, could she truly begin to build her strength.

As she looked up through the clearing in the sky, she realized that, far off across the gulf of space, the small blue dot in the distance was, in fact, her ancient cradle of Earth. Looking at it, all of the hatred that she had awoken with simply melted away from her thoughts.

The long cold nights spent practicing on the stars while lying upon the top of the highest cumulonimbus cloud.

The hot summer days of daring Celestia to turn down the Sun's temperature, freaking out their creators into thinking that something was wrong with the Sun.

Terra's peace of mind...

Nebula's unbridled love of raw freedom...

Luna's...

... Wait.

This feeling-

A streak of bright orange screamed into view as the world seemed to slow down to a crawl. Within the streak of light, she felt an ancient memory scratch at her fractured mind.

So. It was you who woke me.

Prometheus.

She couldn't help but sport a wide grin on her face.

"After two thousand years, your penance is over," she whispered, "thanks to the same one who banished you." She pressed her head against the cold rock and closed her eyes in frustration. Gritting her teeth with a boiling rage, she struck the rock with the ball of her palm; causing the prison to shudder under her raw strength.

"And you didn't."

crack.

"EVEN."

CRACK.

"THANK ME!"

With a vicious kick, she blew a crack into the wall; broadening it from just a hand-sized hole to a door-sized one. She didn't bother trying to escape, already the magic sustaining the prison was tracing it's way across the stone; reassembling the broken wall.

"But that's okay," She whispered as she regained her composure, "you've given me a sliver of hope." She walked next to the opening and sat down below where the original crack would be, folding her legs into a meditative form that she learned in her childhood.

"Because if you're able to escape, then that proves my hopes true beyond the slightest shadow of a doubt."

The reconstructing wall stifled the light to her bare upper body as the energies sealing it rushed past her, tossing around her short, golden hair.  Eventually the last pebble slid into place, the wall now completely reconstructed into the status it was in this morning.

"I can escape."

The crack was still there.

"I will escape. Along with all the others."

She couldn't help but grin again, the dim light illuminating a hint of insanity within her ethereal golden eyes as she gazed in great adoration upon her goal: Earth...

"The High Bloods will rise again."

::Buried::

((((((( The Bearer of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash. )))))))

'What the... heck...?'

((((((( The pieces are falling into play. Events are screeching into motion, even as We speak.)))))))

'Who are you?'

(((((( Please. There is no time. The Last One has been freed, that means war is beyond the horizon.)))))))

'What-'

((((((( He is here.)))))))

((((((( Wake up.)))))))

((((((( Wake up. Now.)))))))

Magenta eyes shot open as a girl jolted forward in her bed, smacking her head into the cloud bed's headboard with a dull thud. With a grunt and a pop, she pulled her tangled, rainbow-colored head of short hair out of the cloud headboard, rubbing tenderly the spot where she smacked her head.

"Ow..." she complained, " Who knew a cloud could be so freakin' solid?" Pulling herself upright while still caressing her head, she figured that she must have moved around in her sleep to face the headboard as she turned to her left and kicked the bed with the ball of her right foot.

The willowy seventeen-year old Nephilim had tried to get a good night's sleep after a long day of leading her Training Squadron through a rigorous bout of war games that Commander Spitfire had pulled out of nowhere amongst the class. The fiery-haired officer had simply burst into the cafeteria as they were eating and shouted:

"All-Out War!"

This meant that everyone who wasn't in your squadron?

Yeah, they were your enemy.

Fantastic.

After making a mad dash back to their barracks, grabbing up their bows and quivers of training arrows, with some shouting out "Hurrah!", and outlasting and outmaneuvering the entire class for four hours, Rainbow's squad had come out on top. With the pride of being the victors, they were also allowed amnesty from the next day's activities, in order to rest off the deficit of energy that their adrenaline rush left.

Now, here she was, supposed to be snoozing up a coma on her lucky cloud mattress, McCloud. Instead, she was having weird dreams and bumping her head against headboards.

"No rest for the wicked," she grumbled as she rose to her feet and walked over to her bathroom. "No rest at all."

About a week had passed since her first day of admittance into the prestigious Wonderbolts Academy, and already she had settled into cadet life quite comfortably. Everybody around her contained the same amount of motivational drive, and everybody was very fairly leveled and judged. Except for that one little fiasco on the first day, and even then, she and Lightning Dust had since made up and became well-known frenemies within the academy. All and all, she felt like she was right where she belonged.

And it came with it's own room and board, to boot.

Walking into the bathroom, she took off her sports bra and panties as she walked into the shower, reaching up to the dark cloud roof above her, and pushed on it, emptying it's contents in a slow drizzle.

"Let it go doooown the drain, Dash," She sighed as she flexed out her powerful cyan wings, the cool rainwater trickling down her feathers and then down her slender body. "Today's just gonna be a chill day."

Eventually, the cloud above her was emptied to a pearly white color as she walked out, took a towel, and dried herself off. Putting back on her sports underwear, she walked back to her bedroom as she fluffed out her wings and looked at the clock on the dresser next to McCloud.

14:00 A.M.

She briefly debated with herself whether she should go back to bed, or just stay up because she was already awake. She looked at McCloud, remembered how hard it was for her to go back to sleep after vivid dreams and nightmares, and then out the window to the fresh mountains of cumulonimbus clouds that the night weather team had cooked up.

She came to her conclusion in ten seconds flat.

"Maybe I should go for an early morning jog." She sighed. "Good way to clear the mind."

With her wings now damp, she went into her closet and took out a sweatshirt, a pair of leather pants, a cadet aviator's leather jacket, and a pair of boots. Pulling the sweatshirt over herself, the magic residing in her wings allowed the shirt to pass through the wings as if they were made of thin air. She put on the aviator's jacket in similar fashion, and the pants went on afterward, humorously, in the opposite order that she was trained to dress. Finally, the boots went on, left then right, as she stood up and admired herself in the full-body mirror made of frozen rainwater.

"One piece still missing." She smiled sleepily as she walked up to the mirror and reached up to take down her gold and bronze rimmed aviation goggles. Her lucky goggles.

"Can't possibly fly without these." She muttered as she placed them on her head, pulling the leather belt strap on its back into a snug fit. As she looked at herself once again in the mirror, she couldn't help but release a little shudder of giddiness upon seeing her Leader's badge pinned upon her cadet's jacket. 'I'm exactly where I want to be.' She thought to herself with a proud chest.

"Oh!" She kicked herself, "That reminds me!"

She power-walked to the bathroom and dropped to a knee to the shower floor, now a dark grey color from absorbing the shower water from earlier. With her slender hands, she reached down and  pulled out the grey cloud from the surrounding white ones that made up the floor. Taking it to the bedroom window, she threw it outside and then leaped out after it, landing on it with acrobatic ease.

Immediately, she felt herself be absorbed completely  by the sheer scope of everything around her.

From outside of the cloud fortress of the Wonderbolt Academy, she could see as far off as the mountainous capitol of the Citadel. Everything in between was just a beautiful panoramic canvas of the sleeping world of Equestria. Below her, was the little town that her five friends called home: Ponyville.

Reaching down, she put both her hands into the plush of the dark cloud and began to squeeze the rainwater from the interior of the cloud; the outer curls slowly shedding the grey to a normal pearly white.

"Gosh. I sure hope no one's below me." She blushed, "That would be real embarrassing."

Finally, the cloud was empty, as she could visibly tell by it's snow white color. She leaped off of it, kicking it as her feet left the cloud, and unfurled her wings mid-flip; catching herself with the steady beat of her cyan wings as she floated in midair. The cloud peacefully coasted back through the window and stopped right next to McCloud, just calmly hovering there. She'd put it back later, when she had to take out the top portion of the shower and fill it back up with water.

'But for now,' She thought eagerly to herself as she looked up at the mountains of cumulonimbi.

'I'll indulge myself a little.'

She tucked her wings in, allowing herself to free-fall as she closed her eyes; the wind whipping around her ears like a symphony.

No one ever needed to see a symphony to get lost in it.

The same could be said for Rainbow Dash.

Lower and lower, faster and faster.

Lower and lower, faster and faster.

Until...

'Now.'

Her eyes shot open as she opened her wings, catching the air beneath her as she banked backwards, using her momentum to fly horizontally at first, then she flapped her wings in order to further bank backwards and took herself vertical.

Beating her wings to add to her already dizzying speed, she ascended the cloud mountains with great pace as she flew higher and higher into the lithosphere.

One moment, the distant academy was nearby, the next, it was simply an ant sized cloud among many others in the lithospheric layer. Rainbow Dash twirled and encircled her flight pattern around the great bodies of air as she flew higher and higher, eventually breaching the stratosphere without her knowing.

The lenses on the goggles didn't freeze, but the gold and bronze rim began to; putting an end to her adrenaline high as she once again clasped her wings and let herself fall.

'Not too high, there, girl,' she thought to herself, 'don't want frostbite, not when you're just hours away from a weekend break with your friends.' She fell about two hundred feet before landing at the peak of what she figured to be a seven hundred foot tall cumulonimbus cloud. She jumped down a couple of layers of the cloud before stopping at one and sitting down; throwing her legs over the edge and getting herself comfortable.

As she moved the belt strap on her goggles to a looser size and lowered them to her neck, a powerful gust of wind rushed past the exterior of the cloud as she began to vigorously shake her head just for the fun of it.

The rush of pure physical freedom that she felt as the wind rushed through every strand of her short, rainbow colored hair made her release a shrill squeal of pure delight unlike any she had released in the past week. When the wind passed, she stifled her voice to a light bout of giggles as she rolled her eyes up to her messy hair and let a great huff of air escape her chest, signaling the ending her brief euphoria.

"Heh, heh, heh..." She chuckled as she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to fix it to the best of her ability. "No wonder I'm always so tired... Heh, heh."

Above her, the clouds drifted lazily across the night sky, allowing her to view the canvas of outer space from the comfort of the softest substance on the planet.

"Wow." Was all that came to mind as she tried to take in the entire scene before her. As a flight cadet, she was trained to learn the different names and formations of constellations in the event of losing track of your immediate position.

And here it all was, right in front of her.

Not as a test, but this time as an art gallery of sorts.

  So she immediately knew that something was wrong when she first saw the little orange speck out beyond the pitch black New Moon.

"Huh," She pondered, "what is that, I wonder?" Before she could see anything else, though, a herd of massive cumulonimbus clouds floated by and slowly began to obstruct her view.

The last thing that she saw, however, gave her chills.

The orange speck seemed to illuminate some of the dark moon...

... which meant that it had just passed by the Moon...

'What the... heck?' She thought to herself as she pulled her feet back from the edge and stood up on the cushiony ledge. 'Was that a meteor? Or an asteroid? Or... Something?'

  If she wanted to see it again, then all she had to do was to fly up beyond the stratospheric clouds for the briefest of moments, and then just go back down before her body temperature dropped too low. It sounded so very easy once she put it together in her head in that way, but for the life of her, she couldn't bring herself to actually follow through and make the motions necessary to fly, or to even unfurl her wings.

This was not fear.

This was something that she felt from deep within her blood that she must avoid.

She was so wrapped up in trying to name the feeling that when she heard a noise behind her, she nearly jumped out of her skin, and off of the ledge. Whipping around, she turned to see a blackbird flapping its wings, navigating the winds surrounding the cloud with incredible focus while crisply singing out tunes into the open night. Upon sight, Rainbow Dash let out a long sigh, allowing her worried mind to ease.

"Just a Blackbird trying to find it's way." She chimed to the bird as it flew on past her in the direction of the stratospheric clouds.

At that moment...

((((((( ...Blackbird, singing in the dead of night...))))))

The song came from nowhere, nor had she ever heard of it in her entire life; but the voice...

It was the voice from her dreams.

((((((( ... Take these broken wings and learn to fly...)))))))

The song was incredibly beautiful to Rainbow Dash, but she was slowly becoming unnerved at the same time. Above her, she could see a small orange hue emanating from behind the stratospheric clouds. Something was very wrong. She could feel it.

((((((( ... All your life...)))))))

A massive crack of energy discharged from behind the clouds, making Rainbow Dash jump and painting an electric blue color around the brightening orange light in the cloud. The meteor must have entered the Earth's atmosphere.

((((((( ... You were only waiting...)))))))

'It's going to crash in Ponyville.' She realized as she looked down to the town below, trying to quickly gauge about how long it would take to reach the ground and warn the residents of Ponyville.

((((((( ... For this moment...)))))))

Three loud cracks of energy from behind her quickly reminded her that she wouldn't have any time at all. That didn't stop her from leaping off the cloud and diving down into the night air, angling her descent correctly for optimal speed and momentum. She at least had to try and make it.

((((((( ... To...)))))))

The rush of wind and speed did nothing to drown out the song in her head, but it did give her motivation to focus on her decent to the surface.

She had only just passed the lithospheric layer and the academy, when...

((((((( ... Arrive.)))))))

SHRAAAAAZZK!!!!!!

She screamed out loud as the orange comet streaked past her, throwing her off course and into a hopeless tailspin. As she span out of control, losing some of her momentum in the process, the meteor lost a bit of its speed as it curved to a more horizontal flight, zooming just above the sleepy town and past Sweet Apple Acres, careening into the Everfree forest.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was trying to pull herself out of her tailspin as quickly as she could, so that she could see if the meteor had caused the town any damage.

"Get... A... Grip!!!" She screamed out just as she broke out of her tailspin and balanced herself to a light hover.

Right as she saw that the town was untouched, a colossal explosion came from the direction of the Everfree forest, sending a small shock wave through the town.

From the direction of Fluttershy's house.

She whipped her head around immediately to see if the little cottage was not the source of the explosion.

To her relief, it was not.

To her horror, she discovered that the Everfree was.

The inferno caused from the meteor's impact illuminated the darkness of night as it spread to more and more of the forest, like an infection. From what Rainbow Dash could tell, if they didn't do anything about this meteorite's mess soon, the flames might very well take the entire forest.

((((((( That is no meteorite.)))))))

She once again heard the voice as she looked around frantically to see where it came from.

"Then what is it?! Why can't I see you?! How do you know what it is?!" She yelled out in vain as it once again entered her head. The sheer amount of confusion was starting to frustrate the young flier.

((((((( Look down into the town. You will find that they are all awake.)))))))

She looked across the town and to it's outer reaches. She saw nobody.

"I don't see anyone...stupid voice." She spat the last word vehemently as she once again tried to look around for the Echo's source. "Why is nobody awake?!"

((((((( The Second One has cast a spell over the town. She does not want anyone normal to discover The Last One.)))))))

"'Anyone normal'?" She asked.

((((((( Look again.)))))))

And so she did, harder this time, as the Echo requested.

Near the Library entrance, she could see Pinkie and Rarity talking through the door to somebody intensely, she figured it to be Twilight.

Anyone "Normal"

Ah.

The Echoes spoke to her again as she saw her friends below her stop what they were doing, looking as if they were listening also to a voice from nowhere. Probably each one hearing something different.

((((((( Bearer of loyalty, Rainbow Dash, this will be the last time you hear from us. So listen now, and listen well.)))))))

"Okay." She replied shakily. "What is it you wanted to tell me?"

((((((( The Human races are about to be hunted down without remorse or prejudice by beings far beyond their current capabilities. The First One, The Second One, and The Begotten One will do all in their power to protect them, but it will not be enough. The Elements must now find their last purpose of being. The Last One will train you and aid you in finding that purpose, but heed our words now very carefully...)))))))

" ... Alright..."

((((((( ... The Elements will NOT aid you until that purpose is realized by all of the Bearers.  This you must search for individually, but find collectively. Do you understand?)))))))

"No. What are the first and second ones? What is the last one?" She asked frantically.

((((((( We wish that we could aid you further, but The Continuity would surely fall apart if we were to strain it any further, rendering all of our efforts fruitless. We can only be heard by many during times of great change and temporal resonance. Our time is drawing to a close, Rainbow Dash. Remember what we've taught you.)))))))

She looked back down to the Library to see that Pinkie had spotted her, and was now waving at her to join them at the entrance.

"Alright," She muttered. "I will."

((((((( One final note.)))))))

"Yes?"

((((((( Keep faith in humanity. She can be easily frightened, and sometimes can get lost along the way, but in the end, she is always worth fighting for. And trust The Observers. They doesn't always make sense sometimes, but it all adds up in the end, trust us.)))))))

She wanted to protest and ask as to what this all meant again, but the cracking of burning pines suddenly became louder, as if to remind her of the dire situation before her.

"Alright." She sighed. "I'll just add that to the list."

((((((( Godspeed, Bearer. Godspeed.)))))))

And just like that, she felt the empty presence exit her mind, leaving her only with the eerie crackling of fire left to listen to.

"HEY RAINBOW DASH!!!!!! COME DOWN HERE!!!!!!! WE WANNA TALK TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!"

And the impossibly loud noise of Pinkie Pie's voice blasted through a megaphone that she seemingly pulled from thin air.

As she quickly descended to the Library below, she let out a heavy sigh of regret.

"So much for a chill day."

.........................................................

(Twilight's POV)

("""" Earlier that morning, in the Ponyville Library..."""")

((((((( He is here, Bearer of Magic, you must awaken from your slumber.)))))))

((((((( The Last One has returned home.)))))))

((((((( Wake up.)))))))

((((((( Wake up now.)))))))

The last word was said just as what she thought was a massive thunderclap crashed outside, kick-starting her alertness of her surroundings. She quickly found out that she was not the only one who was startled, because as she looked over the side of her bed, she saw the fourteen-year-old dragon, Spike, on the floor next to his trusty mattress, grasping his chest in shock.

"Was that lightning?" He gasped as he picked himself from off of the ground and stood up, cautiously watching the outside of the window the whole time. "It sure seemed too bright for it to be that." Quickly, Twilight pushed the bed comforter off of her as she slid her legs over the side of the bed and stood up; another flash of bright electric blue light startling her as she did so.

"I've never seen an electrical discharge quite like that in the natural world." She observed as the boom of the thunder finally caught up with the strike, making them all flinch as it rattled the window pane. "I've only ever seen electricity like this when it is magically made. And even then..."

"So it isn't lightning then." Spike asked again.

"Well, I don't know, Spike, I just woke up!" She rebuked.

"Was it the lightning that woke you up, Twi?" Spike asked suspiciously. At this, Twilight turned from looking at the window to the adolescent dragon next to her, his impossibly emerald eyes glistening in the dim light of night.

"What do you mean, Spike?" She whispered.

"... Did you hear them? The voices?" He asked cautiously. From Twilight's wide-eyed expression, Spike figured that was a 'yes'.

"By Celestia, did you hear them too...?" She gasped.

He nodded.

And then his eyes rolled up into his head as he passed out and fell to the floor, Twilight barely catching him before he hit the ground.

"Spike!" She yelled to her conscience assistant, shaking him repeatedly in an attempt to awaken him.

((((((( The Second One has cast a spell over the village, it will lift when the Sun does.)))))))

"What? Who is The Second One? And why is Spike unconscious?!?" She yelled out to the Echoes, summoning her enchanted garments just in case this night got any weirder.

((((((( She is the one who amplified this night so that no one normal would discover the one she wishes to call 'brother'.)))))))

'The one who amplified the night'? Princess Luna? And... the one she wishes to call brother...?

Another High Blood...

She reached for the air around her with her gloves and confirmed what the Echoes had told her about the spell.

It was a powerful incantation unlike anything that she had been taught by Celestia, or read about in any archive.

Luna had manipulated the natural forces of the night to keep this High Blood unseen, but why?

((((((( You care for that dragon very dearly, we know. But the time is drawing ever nearer. You must leave the house. Now. )))))))

At that moment, a cataclysmic crescendo of thunder erupted from far beyond the dimly lit bedroom as she saw an electric blue flash from behind the clouds in the night sky, then noticing another object, giving off an orange light, descending at a rapid rate from where the energy was discharged.

"By Celestia, it's going to crash right in the middle of Ponyville!!!" She cried out as she quickly but carefully laid Spike's head and ran out of the room. As she burst through the door and entered the main Library room, she jumped over the second level ledge and, using her magic, teleported to the front door, shoving the door knob down and yanking the door open.

Right as she walked out into the open night, the bright orange object screamed past the Library's tree branches, the heat emanating from it singing her eyes and lightly setting one of the branches on fire, before curving upwards past Sweet Apple Acres and finally careening into the Everfree forest, illuminating the once dark forest as it flew deeper and deeper into the thick flora and fauna.

All of this happened within the span of a few moments, but for Twilight, she still felt as if she had frozen when the High Blood had passed right over her.

From within the bright orange glow, she had seen... a figure...

"Twilight!"

The voice snapped her out of it as she turned to see that her friends, Pinkie and Rarity, had awakened as well; and were now riding on Rarity's horse, Amethyst, who was galloping as quickly as she could in order get to Twilight's Library as quickly as possible. The looks of exhaustion on their faces told Twilight immediately that they, too had been awakened thanks to the Echoes.

"You too?" She yelled out to them.

"I was about to say the same thing to you, darling, did you see what just went by?" The nineteen-year-old fashionista said in a proper Citadelian accent as she rode up to the Library entrance, her flowing, curly hair bobbing gracefully as she dismounted Amethyst.

"Yeah! Man, did you see it, or did you see it? Yeah, all of the thunder strikes going all like POW!! KSHOW!!! CRACK!!! SHOOM!!! How awesome was that?!? And then the way it curved just above the town but it was still so freakin' close, man, the Wonderbolts can go freakin' suck it!!! That was just the coolest freaking thing that I've seen all day! When it went all like KAVWOOOOOOSHHH!!!!" The hyperactive pink haired sixteen-year-old illustrated by stretching her arm as far back as she could as she bent into a back-flip off the mare's back and then onto her own two feet. Rarity simply gave her a dry look in response to her grand spectacle.

"Pinkie, that's the only thing you've seen all day besides me." Rarity pointed out.

"Yeah, I know." Pinkie replied bluntly as she stood herself upright and scratched the tip of her nose. "'Still the coolest."

Before they could say anything else, an earth-shattering implosion arose from the direction of the Everfree forest, the sending a small shock wave coursing through the town as it rattled windows and whipped around the girls' pajamas. When they turned to look for the source, they saw a massive fireball rising from deep within the forest where Twilight guessed the High Blood finally crashed. Rarity stared at the fire holocaust in utter amazement and shock. Pinkie, however, seemed to be relatively entertained by the whole thing.

"HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Pinkie cooed. "What a scorcher!"

"Twilight," Rarity shakily asked, "do you have any idea as to what that object could have been?"

Before Twilight could answer herself, the Echoes' voices entered all of their minds at once.

((((((( It is a High Blood. The Last One, to be exact.)))))))

"A High Blood? Huh, that sounds important. What is a High Blood, Mr. Echo man?" Pinkie Pie asked, not appearing even the slightest bit unnerved by the fact that they were all hearing the same disembodied voice inside of their heads.

In fact, she seemed to be acting as if she had been through something like this before.

((((((( We think that it would be best explained... if the Bearer of Magic indulged her knowledge of the subject...)))))))

The two girls turned to look at Twilight, making her feel uncomfortably put on the spot.

Introvert problems.

"Well, uhhhhh... Geez, how do I start...? You know the Princesses, right? Celestia, Luna, and Cadance?" She started, using her hands as a visual aid.

"Well, yes, of course we know who the Princesses are, why would we not?" Rarity acknowledged in a sarcastic as-a-matter-of-fact tone that Twilight became slightly annoyed with, but ignored for the sake of time, because of how they were running out of it.

"The term "High Blood" is the name of their race. The very first race on this Earth." She explained quickly. "Now," She pointed at the glowing inferno in the Everfree. "another one has found its way to Earth, apparently, and it's currently burning up in the middle of the Everfree forest." She hadn't meant to come off that snarky at all, but from the wide eyed expression from them both, (well, as for Pinkie, she couldn't speak for.), the point seemed to thankfully come across to them.

((((((( Yes, it is as Twilight has said. The First Race have worn down the confines of their prisons and are planning to return to The Cradle, and the High Blood in that forest is the only one who can train you for the oncoming storm.))))))

A strange sound filled their ears, not like the crackling of burning pines in the distance or the rustling of the night wind, but more as if those noises had bent together, making a noise that made Twilight and Rarity cringe. Pinkie had merely scratched her ears with slight annoyance when she had heard it.

((((((( The Continuity is closing around us, our time is drawing to a close, Bearers. Bearer of Laughter, if you look up to your right, you will find the Bearer of Loyalty. We have been speaking to her as well. You know what to do. Call her down.)))))))

"Okie-dokie-lokie!" She crisply complied as she looked up to see Rainbow Dash in the distance in her cadet's uniform, hovering above the town and looking at the inferno in the distance. As Pinkie began trying to wave down Rainbow Dash, The Echoes isolated their voice to the two mages: Twilight and Rarity.

((((((( A war is on the horizon, Bearers. A being of unbridled insanity is going to rekindle the flames of war and will hunt down the humans without remorse or prejudice. The First One, The Second One, and The Begotten One will do all in their power to protect their subjects, but it will not be enough. The Elements must now find their last reason of being. The Last One will train you and aid you in finding that purpose, but heed our words now very carefully,  Mages. This is a crucial detail.)))))))

Twilight and Rarity looked at each other before nodding in understanding.

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

((((((( Until that purpose is realized by  the Bearers of Harmony, the Elements will NOT allow you to use them. These purposes must be searched for individually, but found collectively. Do you understand the riddle given before you?)))))))

"I would naturally protest and question, but it appears that the situation has not allowed us that luxury." Rarity answered, her gaze still fixed on the growing forest fire.

"Yes, we understand." Twilight finished.

((((((( Very well, then. The Continuity is closing around Us. As a sign of good faith, We have lifted the spell for your dragon friend. You will find that We have brought him up to speed with the situation.)))))))

Hearing a loud grunt and moan from inside of the Library, Twilight was relieved to confirm what the Echoes had told her, as he saw Spike's head peek from the bedroom door, awake and unharmed.

"Thank you for that," Twilight whispered to the Echoes. "We will probably need him with us where we're going tonight."

((((((( One last note. Keep faith in your race. She might not be the most fearless one, nor the strongest, and she might even get lost down the wrong path from time to time. But in the end, she is always worth fighting for.)))))))

"Okay, we won't forget it." Twilight replied strongly, her confidence now boosted thanks to what the Echo said.

"HEY RAINBOW DASH!!!!!! COME DOWN HERE!!!!!!! WE WANNA TALK TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!" Pinkie Pie screamed through a megaphone that no one knew she had on her.

'That girl, sometimes.' Twilight thought to herself, still coiled up from surprise. 'Sometimes, I just don't know about her.'

((((((( Oh, while you're still thinking of the Bearer of Laughter, one final note. Trust in The Observers. They may not always make sense sometimes, but their actions always come together in the end.)))))))

"Observer? What's an Observer? And what's that got to do with anything "Pinkie Pie" related?" Twilight asked, having put aside her confusion for long enough for the Echoes to finish speaking. She had never heard once the name "Observers" come up in any of her studies, and she always got frustrated by things that she didn't fully understand. However, that sound of feedback once again entered their ears.

((((((( Our time is up, now. But yours has only just begun. Complete what The First One started. Complete the Elements. Godspeed, Bearers. Godspeed.)))))))

And with that final note, the empty presence seemed to exit their minds as the sounds of the distant fire once again filled the night sky.

"Did it stop talking to you to?" Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew down and hit the ground; falling into a kneel, and then pushing herself back up while tucking in her powerful cyan wings.

"Yeah, just now, actually." Twilight replied as she felt Spike's hand sleepily grasp at her shoulder as he lumbered next to her.

"Hi, Spike." Pinkie said. In response, Spike just groggily threw his right arm up in what was supposed to be a greeting gesture but ended up looking like he was trying to swat away a fly.

"Spikey-wikey, are you quite all right?" Rarity asked in a genuinely worried tone as Spike grinned.

"Don't you worry, I'm... *Yaaaaaawn* ... not actually this tired. My mind's just... ugh... more awake than my body is right now." Spike smiled as his eyes fluttered between sleep and exhaustion. "I'm already... ... ... brought up to speed, thanks to... *Yaaaaaaaaaaaaawn* ... the voices. Don't bother explaining... anything."

"You sure that you're up for it, Spike? You seem..." Twilight gave Spike a once over and didn't like what she saw. "... Out of it."

"Well, he'd better darn well be ready fer it," A voice with a familiar southern drawl came from up on the road. " where we're headed, I reckon that we'll need somebody with skin as thick as yours."

Applejack quickly walked with Fluttershy in tow to the party of five, with Big Macintosh's tall, lean figure in between the two. The size of the twenty and eighteen year old brother and sister almost made the demure seventeen year old Nephilim look dwarfed while standing next to them. However, Applejack’s hair wasn’t in a ponytail as it usually was, and her long, flowing blond hair was slightly off-putting to them, especially without her lucky cowgirl hat.

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash cried out before running up to the pink-haired girl and scooping her up in a bear hug. "Oh, Celestia, you have NO idea how worried I was when I saw that thing go by your house! Oh, I'm so glad you aren't hurt!"

"T-thank you Rainbow Dash, but I was really just really s-s-scared." Fluttershy replied softly as she returned the hug full on. "Right after that t-thing crashed into the forest, Big Macintosh ran up here to see if I was okay. If you want to thank anybody, you should thank him."

At this, the two blushed and looked away from each other, both feeling bashful about tonight's heroics.

"No need t' thank me at all, Miss Dash. Was jus' worried 'bout Miss Fluttershy, was all." Big Mac humbly replied, scratching his short, dirty-blonde hair. Regardless of his humility, Rainbow Dash ran up to him anyway and gave him a big hug.

"I don't care. Fluttershy thinks you need to be thanked, so you're getting a thanks." Rainbow Dash said stubbornly as she gave him a pat on the shoulder before running back to Fluttershy, unbeknownst to her that the two were stealing glances at each other when the other wasn't looking.

"I'm gonna go on a limb and guess that the voices spoke to you two as well?" Twilight asked as Fluttershy and Applejack both stopped what they were doing and turned to face Twilight.

"Y-yes." Fluttershy meekly replied.

"Yeah, Fluttershy and me both. It woke us all up, includin' Big Mac over here." Applejack replied heartily, patting Big Mac on the shoulder.

"Well, that, and I was worried 'bout you two." Big Mac said as he waved his index to his sister and Fluttershy. Rarity, however, picked up on the strangeness of his tale.

"So you heard the voices as well, Big Macintosh?" Rarity asked carefully.

"Eeyup." He answered.

"And they woke you up?"

"Eeyup, but it was kind of difficult fer some reason. It felt... well, I felt kinda like Spike's feelin' right now. Granted, I did shake myself out've it." Everyone looked at Spike, who was now leaning against the door frame, looking vastly more awake than he did only a couple of seconds ago.

"Yeah, Big Mac's right, I'm kinda beginning to snap out of it." Spike said as he closed his hand and then snapped it open, hearing a sharp noise as he summoned his claws, and then closed his hand again, sheathing them. "I think I'll be okay if we go now. Applejack was right, you guys will need skin as strong as mine if you plan on just waltzing in there with trees burning and falling down all around you."

"Well you're better than okay, I hope you're ready." Twilight said as she walked out to the road, still gazing at the burning wildfire in the distance. "Because something tells me that this is going to be a long night..."

With a wave of her arm, the party of eight made off to the raging inferno beyond, not once questioning if it was a good idea or not.

Because , unbeknownst to them, the fire was not of natural origin...

... it was power being shed from the nameless High Blood's body...

... power that he hadn't used eons...

... power that was dangerous...

... power that he might not be able to control...