Disclaimer – I don't own MLP:FiM
A/N: So I somehow stumbled onto to ponies this summer and I watched part of an episode. It wasn't stunning. I was preoccupied at the time and went back to whatever I was doing. I decided to try again a month later and was hooked. So I now await every new episode with glee. A Rarity figure now sits next to Bowser and Kuroneko on my desk. Hooray for harmony!
R/R please :)
Sun Burn
Chapter 1: What's a pony popsicle?
.
.
Once upon a time, in the magical
land of Equestria,
there were two regal sisters who
ruled together and created harmony
for all the land.
.
To do this, the younger raised the
moon on her wings at sunset.
The eldest brought out the
sun to begin the day.
.
Thus, the two sisters maintained
balance for their kingdom and their
subjects; all the different types
of ponies.
.
As time went on, the elder sister
became corrupted.
.
Though the ponies relished and
played in the day she brought
forth, she became dissatisfied with her duty.
.
With each passing night, her annoyance
at the ponies below boiled within.
.
One fateful day, the elder
unicorn refused to lower the sun
to make way for dusk.
.
The younger sister tried to reason
with her…
…but the anger in the elder
one's heart had transformed her
into a wicked mare of solar flame:
Catastrophe Blaze!
.
She vowed she would ignite the land
in her everlasting reign of daylight.
Courageously, the younger sister
fought against the elder.
.
In the following struggle,
Catastrophe Blaze lit the world on fire.
.
With her last bit of strength,
the younger sister called upon powers
beyond what she alone was capable
of: the Elements of Harmony!
.
Using the magic of the Elements of
Harmony, she defeated her elder
sister and banished her permanently
to the sun.
.
But it was not enough.
.
With each new rise of the sun, Catastrophe Blaze
directed her fury upon all ponydom.
Orchards withered in the heat and the
ponies suffered.
.
In a last ditch effort, the younger sister took the few
surviving ponykind deep within the earth.
Out of reach of her elder's scorching anger.
.
Under the rule of the wise Princess Luna,
Equestria has thrived underground,
in the gentle moonlamps maintained by magic.
.
The ponies adapted to this new way of life quickly,
and for centuries nopony has felt the
ire of Catastrophe Blaze.
.
"The Elements of Harmony? I know I've heard of those before, but where?" Twilight Sparkle muttered to herself in the pale green light emitted by the moonlamp above her desk. She absently kicked a hoof against the stone legs of her desk.
The lavender pony's eyes roved around the room as she tried to jog her memory of its mention in past lessons or books that she had read. The polished marble top that her open copy of "history of Equestria" rested upon reflected the glow of the magic fueled lamp overhead. A pile of pressed and felted wool sat in a tidy pile on the edge of the desk, the top page slightly askew as if waiting to be written upon.
Around the room, shelves embedded in the stone walls of the cavern overflowed with books and loose yellowed paper. Book covers embossed with lustrous metals shinned in the pale lamps that were common in the underlands. The scent of mint and chamomile tinged the air from loose sachets of dried herbs in the corners; an attempt to make the room smell as Twilight imagined the lands above once did. The room appeared pristine, and if it wasn't for the bed in one corner it would be nothing but an extra room filled with treasures few would ever see. Twilight concealed a small shudder of pure glee at the number of books and wood based products she was privileged to have as a royal apprentice of magic.
That or being the Princess's fosterling. Twilight wrinkled her muzzle and flicked one ear.
She preferred to believe it was the merit on her own doings than by who had raised her from young fillyhood to pony. That said, Princess Luna went out of her way to make sure that all of Twilight's needs were taken care of.
Twilight chewed a bit on her lip and let out a disappointed sigh. Her brow wrinkled as she focused on the orb of magic she felt deep within herself. A string of power coiled upwards and she cast it forward. The top piece of wool wavered on its pile as if moved by wind – the edges outlined in magic and it lifted. It moved over a few feet before dropping neatly in front of her. Another string of magic levitated a quill laden with ink over to the blank page. With the movements of an experienced hoof, the quill ghosted over the page leaving behind a trail of perfect penmanship.
'Element's of Harmony, pg 17 – cross reference with the Meaning of Harmony, First Herd, and Movement of Light'
The clear and legible writing tugged at Twilight from deep within, and she couldn't blame this on the use of her magical core. It was perfect. Every other pony studying the ways of magic would have said so. Twilight practiced hard and often. But her record was still marred and remembered by everypony.
Though Twilight had more than gained the right to be considered a student of the magical arts, many recalled the fact that by route she should not have been taught by the royal academy teachers at all.
She had failed the entrance exam after all, and everypony in her class knew it. Amber Bale was one of the few that tended to be particularly nasty about it. The goldenrod pony with a comet cutie mark had poked Twilight one too many times about being the 'failure ward of the Princess' that Twilight had gone straight to Princess Luna to ask for a task she could help with for the thousandth annual Moon Night celebration coming up.
The Princess' clear blue eyes had widened at the sight of her ward bowed on the softmoss carpet below her throne. The winged unicorn had smiled down at her young ward and told her to wait till the next day, sure that she could 'come up with something'.
Twilight snorted softly. No matter. The Princess won't give me a task she doesn't think I can handle. Stupid Amber Bale, who needs jerks when I… when I have so many books!
Twilight took a deep breath of air. The scents of ink pigments, chamomile, and the exotic smell of pulp paper created from rare timber wood curled within her nostrils. Trees didn't like to grow underground very well, and all lumber resources shipped directly to the castle. Valuable trees were grown behind the castle on the outskirts of New Canterlot, where the massive dried lava dome became a maze of tunnels and caves.
Once, while walking through the cobblestone streets of New Canterlot on an out-of-the-blue shopping trip, in search for new pigments to use as ink, the lavender pony had overheard a group of young fillies whispering in amazement that Princess Luna had a room made entirely with wood!
Twilight had to laugh at that. Those ponies must have been from a neighboring township and had yet to meet the Princess. Twilight 's foster parent seldom took something only for herself when it could benefit others. Princess Luna had all wood pulped and used for paper– no exceptions. Even if Twilight hadn't have known about the wood usage of Equestria, she could still say that Luna had no room formed from wood. The lavender pony would have found it if it had existed on one of her many romps through the castle as a young filly.
A 'clip clop' resonated through her chamber startling Twilight from her aimless thoughts. She folded the piece of felted wool and used it as a book maker.
"Yes?" Twilight asked when she had budged the iron swinging door open.
"Twilight, dearie. I've brought some snacks and that crazy monster you call a 'pet'." An older pink mare with her white mane done up in a bun stood in the door way with a push cart.
"Niffers! What were you doing out there? Digging again?" The lavender pony asked unhappily while staring at the small mole-like creature hiding behind the hooves of the other pony. The animal folded its blue claws over its head and skulked embarrassedly into the room.
"I hope he didn't bother you Mrs. Jam," Twilight said.
"It was no problem dearie. No problem at all." The older earth pony said as she pushed a cart into the room. Once inside, she removed the top on the platter, revealing a delicious raspberry torte.
Twilight inhaled the wonderful scent mouthwatering and tummy rumbling. "Thank you so much, that looks so tasty!"
"It's your big day sweetie; the entire staff is rooting for you."
Twilight's teeth clicked shut an inch away from her torte. Her ears flicked upward as she canted her head toward the older mare. "Big day?"
"Why yes!" Strawberry Jam neighed cheerfully, "We all know that you are to be given a big task for the upcoming festival! Oh, that's just like you Twilight, attempting to help out the good princess. Why I remember when you were just the cutest little thing and–"
"Everyone knows?" The lavender pony shouted with a breaking voice.
"Your little classmate Amber Bale has been spreading it around."
Twilight smacked her head lightly into the cart, eyes tightly shut. "No… it was supposed to be just between the three of us." The lavender pony moaned in despair as she dropped to the ground, legs splayed out in all directions.
The pink mare placed a hoof under the younger pony's chin. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. Everyone will know that you are worthy of being the princess' ward. Just like I've always believed" Strawberry Jam removed the platter and placed it on the clean desk next to the closed book.
"Now eat up. The princess could summon you at anytime." Strawberry Jam nosed the cart back through the door, and with a farewell 'good luck' the door clicked shut.
"Oh, brony. I better not mess this one up." Twilight said to herself as she swayed her head back and forth. The lavender pony rested her face in front of the dessert-like snack, contemplating her future failure. She bucked forward and took a large bite of the cake chewing slowly and savoring the sweet flavor.
.
"Apprentice Sparkle, your presence is required in the throne room! Something terrible has happened." The door slammed open, scattering dancing motes through the air. In the entry way stood one of the Princess' palace guards clad in dark armor. One of the elite guard.
At the sound of his familiar voice Twilight looked up, startled, "Buckwheat? What is it?"
"Twilight, you must come quickly! Something horrible has happened in the throne room! Everypony is frozen, and I don't understand!" The young stallion quivered slightly, wide eyes unfocused.
"Frozen? They can't be. Why didn't you get frozen?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I just got on shift, when I pushed open the door a gust of icy wind poured out and they were frozen! Hurry!" Buckwheat moved back a pace and began to tromp down the tunnel to the throne room. The lavender pony darted out of her book filled room and took off after him.
"Did you summon anyone else?" Twilight shouted at the newest of the elite guard as they galloped full speed to their destination.
"No! You're the only one I could think of! The master mages are out of the castle preparing for the festival." The armor clad buck replied, metal plates clinking lightly as they darted through hallways of empty tunnel.
"Begin your defensive paces," Twilight said in a steady voice when they arrived in front of the giant bronze doors standing between them and whatever had happened on the other side. The artistic ponies carved on the arch way were covered in glitter that had never been there before. Twilight got up on her hind legs to take a closer look. The warm breath from her muzzle melted the glitter revealing layers of frost. Behind her, Buckwheat chanted in a slow and deep voice, the air around him hummed with magic. Small bits of rock and pebble from the tunnel walls began to swirl toward him and fill the weak points of his armor.
"Okay." Twilight said as she squared her confidence. She turned her head toward the guard. "Are you ready?" The unicorn steed beneath the armor was completely covered in a conglomerate armor of metal and spiked rock. He took a step forward, dust kicked up from the weight of his single hoof. Twilight nodded at the pony and her gaze hardened at the door.
"Here…we… go." She said. Her horn brimmed with magic as she lowered her head.
The doors slowly creaked open. A blast of cold air flowed through the hairs of her coat. She gave an involuntary shudder at the feeling and the pit of her stomach dropped. Visible mist clawed out from the room along the floor, frost patches growing underneath it.
Twilight gulped as she carefully strode deeper into the darkness of the royal throne room. A quick spell had her horn glowing just enough for her to see by. Ice crystals grew upwards from the floor, and icicles, thick as boulders hung from the high ceiling in patches. The lavender pony moved forward one hoof at a time, her head twisting this way and that.
A crash sounded from her left. Her blood pulsed and she jumped toward the sound. It was beyond her sight. A cold breeze wafted around her muzzle and Twilight took a step back. Another noise. Twilight turned quickly. In front of her stood a block of ice a shape stuck within.
"Commander Feldspar!" Twilight shouted.
She rushed over to the first familiar pony frozen in ice. The Captain of the elite palace guard was frozen in mid-charge. She moved closer to him, forgetting the earlier sound. His brilliant white coat was tinted blue within the ice.
Twilight held her breath and focused. A brilliant flash of light ejected from her horn lighting up the area. Blocks of ice illuminated in the brief flash. Each one filled with a pony frozen in fear.
" Buckwheat, you're right! Something's turned them all into pony popsicles!" She said loudly toward the door. The light burst fizzled with a pop, and Twilight was left with nothing but the light glowing from her horn.
The floor shook. Icicles up above shattered as small bits rained down. The sound of an object hitting metal echoed behind her. A gust of frozen air blew by, causing her teeth to chatter.
"Buckwheat?" She tentatively said in the following silence. She licked her lips and began to move back toward the door.
"Buckwheat?" She asked louder.
A panicked bellow from the doorway cut off midway.
"Buckwheat? Buckwheat!" Twilight shouted, galloping in his direction.
Her right hoof hit a chunk of ice and she tripped forward. Her chin landed on something hard. Twilight picked herself up quickly and blinked at the pain. She rubbed lightly at her jaw and winced. A bruise for sure. Her eyes drifted downward and the lavender pony gasped in horror. A broken piece of Buckwheat's armor rested in front of her.
The sounds of ice cracking came from above. She rolled forward just in time. A large chuck of ice crashed into the place she had been standing. Spread eagled on her back, Twilight sighed in relief at her close call.
Krick-thunk!
"Ack!" Twilight exclaimed with widened eyes on the on the icicle above. She scooted backward quickly. The ice fell. It collided with the ground just missing her tail. The force of the blow sent her flying backwards.
Twilight grunted when the back of her head impacted something hard and cold. She looked up over her shoulder. In the horn illuminated light, she found herself face to terror filled face with Buckwheat, frozen in ice.
"Noo!" Twilight quickly flipped back to her hooves and galloped toward the doors.
A few more hoofbeats to the door and I can get help!
The heavy bronze doors shut just as she reached it.
Feminine laughter echoed through the room. "My, my, my. What have I got here? A little pony, come to challenge me?" A familiar voice asked.
"Pri-princess?" Twilight whispered in astonishment.
"Your Princess exists no longer! Now fight or freeze!" The voice called out as the lights turned up to a dim luminescence. Just beyond the numerous frozen blocks of ice containing ponies, a dark shape stood on the throne.
The pony bucked forward, wings flared and horn glowing; icicles aimed toward Twilight manifested in thin air.
Twilight eyed the frozen hovering needles, before turning back toward the dark concealed pony standing on the throne. She squinted and was just able to make out starlight glowing in the mane and tail of the dark figure. A nightmare to be sure.
The lavender pony laughed nervously and gulped. "Haha ha. That's really funny Princess Luna. You know you don't have to–" The icicles picked up speed and accelerated toward Twilight's body.
Fetlocks.
Twilight's horn glowed stronger as she rolled forward to fight.
...TBC