The Tree of Harmony
Chapter 1
The Tree of Harmony
As the six 'ponies' arrived back at the tree they saw a mare laying down at the base of the tree. Her coat, while dull, was a striking mix of red, orange and yellow. They were sure that if this mare's coat was made clean it would look like a dazzling fire. Looking closer they saw her cutie mark. It symbolized something that none of the ponies recognized save Twilight Sparkle, the new Princess of Equestria. The horse's cutie mark was a fire encircled by what appeared to be a crown of some sort. Twilight came closer and spotted the crimson horn on top of the mare's forehead. Twilight Sparkle recalled one of Celestia's history lessons of the past.
She was an Alicorn! A natural one too. Twilight Sparkle was pretty sure that her name was . . . Suddenly the mare stood up and opened her strangely golden eyes. She gazed coldly at the earth ponies, unicorns, and pegusi in front of her. She turned around and took note of the two mounds of Everfree Forest weeds. She turned back to the ponies and questioned harshly, "And you are?" They all gulped and glanced at one another wondering what to say. Twilight Sparkle swallowed loudly but was cut off by the mare,
"You. With the purple horn, purple coat, purple wings, crown, and star cutie mark. Aren't you the new Princess, Celestia was talking about? Princess of Magic if I recall it right? Hmph! You don't look like much. I'm Flame Striker the last of the natural Alicorns. I'm the Alicorn of Fire and Life. After finding me, Celestia and Luna ordered me to guard the Tree of Harmony. I did what I could to stop Discord's seeds but that didn't do much. Those things really don't burn up." Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened, so she had been right! This was Flame Striker, one of the last living natural Alicorns! She had survived the plague of darkness, similar to the way that Celestia and Luna did... Flame Striker's eyes narrowed and she glared at Twilight Sparkle,
"Now don't get the wrong idea youngster. I participated in the war the way every adult Alicorn was supposed to. I'm also part of the royal family. Our family's job was to protect all living creatures. We were the ones who gave life to the ponies. We were the ones who created the sun and moon. On the other hand Celestia and Luna's parents rose and set the Sun and Moon that my family created." Flame Striker scowled, "In fact, I'd say Celestia and Luna are afraid of me taking over their kingdom. I am after all their superior." Flame Striker scoffed. Twilight Sparkle could tell that Flame Striker wasn't impressed with either of Equestrian Princesses. Flame Striker eyed the ponies necks and informed them,
"If you want to save Equestria from this, you have to give up your Elements." Twilight Sparkle accepted this easily. She had suspected as much from the look of things and the memories she had seen. While the Tree was powerful without the Elements it needed them now because the Tree's magic was running out and it needed the Elements of Harmony to sustain it. The other ponies, however protested thinking that it was the Elements that held them together. Flame Striker snorted at that as well and asked them cruelly,
"Then what? You are willing to let Equestria be taken over by weeds just so you can stay connected by the Elements? You sure sound selfish." Apple Jack looked taken aback by Flame Striker's words but Twilight Sparkle wasn't. She told the, that they didn't have a choice and that they were connected by friendship, not the elements. Finally all the ponies decided to give up their elements.
Flame Striker watched them. Elements of Harmony her ass. More like the Elements of a True Friendship. She had been there when the elements were created. In fact she had helped create almost all of them. Loyalty, it was one of the things she was famous for. She would never abandon any pony she loved. Generosity, if a pony was in need they knew they could come to her regardless of her views on them. Honesty, at best Flame Striker was rather blunt. She didn't care if she hurt others in the process. She told the truth. Kindness... That was something about Flame Striker that was questionable. She could be kind, yes. Was she always? No. It wasn't part of her personality. Laughter. That was something that Flame Striker could accomplish. It wasn't always on purpose but if need be, Flame Striker could cheer you up. Flame Striker paused. Magic. The last element and the main one. Of all the unicorns and Alicorns she was the most powerful. Reason being? She was the oldest Alicorn and so therefore the most powerful. Flame Striker smiled, she and Celestia had dueled a long time ago. Poor Celestia had tried so hard but was still beaten. That's what happened when you went against one of the original Alicorns. Flame Striker was around twenty thousand years old while Celestia and Luna were only around seven thousand.