Chapter 13: Singebringer's Fall

Ash had pulled out the Blade of Courage to fend off Tirek and the Storm King to save Twilight and her friends. Before Ash came to Ponyville, let alone attempted to pull the sword out, every colt in Equestria tried to pull the Blade of Courage out but failed to budge it. Ash pulled it out to stop the two who attacked Ponyville when he and Pikachu were returning from a stint with Zecora. Now, every filly has Ash on their minds as he began to run from a herd of fillies across Ponyville. Pinkie was also in the stampede. "Stay with us!" cried one filly.

"We need a hero like you!" another filly hoped. Ash had the Blade of Courage in a leather sheath to his back while he galloped frantically from the stampede.

"Man, I didn't think stopping those two was that big!" he gawked. He turned to circle a building where more fillies waited. He turned to where the fillies herded and gasp before running again. Pinkie was able to be side-by-side with the sword's new owner.

"This is exciting to have one be your Special Somepony, huh!?" she teased.

"Why not ask me if I wanted the sword in the first place!?" snapped Ash.

"Not our fault you drew the Blade of Courage!"

"Not the point!"

"And what point would you be talk-" Out of nowhere, Pinkie crashed into a wagon and was buried in the hay. Other fillies raced pass her and still after Ash. She emerged from the hay, several straws stuck on her snout and got upset. "Hey! Don't run off while I'm talking!" No matter where Ash had run to, fillies were everywhere.

"Ash!" sounded a colt. Ash saw a white unicorn horn and ran in the house after. The fillies came charging after… but stopped when they hit… something invisible. The stampede continued to strike the invisible wall, nothing giving way. Inside the house, Ash huddled with Twilight's brother, Shining Armor. "Sweet Celestia, is this because you pulled the sword out?" Ash could only shake his head.

"Somehow, I think it's more than the sword," he gasped, trying to catch his breath. They hid in the house.

"This house has a backdoor!" one shouted outside. Ash peeked out as everyone had gone around the house. To Shining Armor, this was their opportunity.

"Let's go!" he pushed. Ash nodded before they dashed out of the house. As they ran, Pinkie rejoined.

"Next time, Ash!" she huffed. "You might wanna wheel me if I get into a wagon!" Ash blinked, confused to Pinkie's words.

"Let's get to my sister's castle for an explanation!" argued Shining Armor. It didn't take long as Applejack and Rainbow opened the doors. Ash, Pinkie and Shining Armor entered before the ponies closed the doors. Rainbow flew back in from outside. Ash stumbled a bit before Applejack helped him stand.

"Ease up, Ash," she ordered. "Yer safe." Ash took a deep breath before straightening out. Twilight came into the room with Starlight.

"Are you okay!?" asked Twilight. Ash began to nod.

"I will be soon," he trusted. Twilight wanted to believe him.

"When I first saw you, no way in Equestria would I believe you'd be the one pulling out the Blade of Courage," Starlight brought up.

"Everypony in the Crystal Empire would argue that, Starlight," Shining Armor pondered. Twilight nodded to Shining Armor's mention.

"Equestria is losing their collective mind as they're learning about Ash being the one with the Blade of Courage," she warned.

"Can't be that bad," Pinkie scoffed. "I lose my mind a lot!" Applejack shook her head.

"Sometimes, we wonder if ya lose it on purpose to give the rest of us ponies a hard time," she complained. "Besides, we pony folk are still itchin' our heads as to why Tirek isn't in Tartarus, let alone how the Storm King is alive." Ash stood forward hearing Applejack.

"There's already a lot of questions that need answers and I feel that I should know about them," he wished. Starlight agreed to Ash's need for information.

"Let's gather in the table room and get down to business," she suggested. "Princesses Celestia and Luna would want to know of the details." Without an objection, everyone headed further inside the castle, but not before Twilight confronted Shining Armor.

"Thanks for finding and getting Ash here, Shining Armor," she praised.

"Sis, come on," Shining Armor hushed. "I was in the right place at the right time. After all, I wanted to ask about what to do with the Blade of Courage before Ash pulled it out." Twilight had an idea about what his question would be. Rather than ask, she followed her brother to the table room. There, Pikachu greeted Ash by mounting his head. Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, Tempest, Sunburst, Celestia and Luna were in attendance.

"Chosen One, we are glad you're safe," Sunburst greeted before he and Tempest bowed.

"Sunburst, Tempest, it's all good," Ash assured. "You can stand." Complying, Sunburst and Tempest stood.

"Ash, I can understand how overwhelming it is for you now that you have the Blade of Courage," Celestia acknowledged. "The Blade of Courage was placed in stone long after it was forged from Singebringer, the First Dragon." Sunburst cleared his throat.

"Luckily, somepony has detail about Singebringer," he brought up. Entering was a light gray unicorn with a mix of white and light gray for a mane and a white long beard. It wore a midnight blue cape and witch's hat, both with stars and moons on it. Twilight balked at the new pony.

"Star Swirl the Bearded?" she identified.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Twilight Sparkle," Star Swirl scoffed. "Though, the feeling isn't mutual, especially under these circumstances."

"Indeed, Star Swirl," Luna agreed. "The Blade of Courage, Lord Tirek, the Storm King…" Star Swirl sighed to the names.

"The hounds in Tartarus need to be replaced," he mulled. "But you want to know about the First Dragon and the Blade of Courage, correct?"

"We do," Twilight answered. "Tirek destroyed my books which may have had that history when he reigned chaos before and destroyed my treehouse." Star Swirl shook his head.

"Despite this, would the legend of Singebringer be inside?"

"With the amount of books I had, there's a good chance it was." It wouldn't have mattered as Star Swirl moved ahead.

"Regardless, let me tell you the story of Singebringer." It made Fluttershy clutch Pikachu. "Thousands of years ago, Equestria was under the rule of Queen Earthena. She oversaw all creatures from mice to dragons as there was peace, but all of that changed upon the rage that is Singebringer. A scaleless behemoth known to fly for days on end, a fire that engulfs creatures in the blink of an eye… she became the bane of Equestria. Earthena had warned Singebringer, who was rumored to have bore many children, that consequences would come if she continued her rampage. The warning was returned with a direct attack that left Earthena weakened. Then came a young knight who protected the queen. He was not afraid of Singebringer and the flames she could breathe. He braved the fire and after an exhausting battle, the knight slew the dragon, but tragically, it came at a high price. The knight had been gravely injured. Before he could try to make his way to the castle, with a sliver of life remaining, Singebringer complimented the knight for braving her inferno and to be known across Equestria as the Knight of Courage. After Singebringer was soundly gone, the knight took a fang from the fallen First Dragon as proof of the dragon's defeat. Thus, Queen Earthena had a sword forged after the knight passed away. She dedicated the sword from the fang of Singebringer to the Knight of Courage, thus it became the Blade of Courage."

The ponies, Spike and Pikachu awed the story. There was a lot of detail in it, questions began to be answered. Other questions had arose. "So, the Blade of Courage was a memorial to honor the knight that fell," Celestia reviewed. "Did Queen Earthena seal the power?"

"No doubt," Sunburst cut in. "The name 'Earthena' had us all believing she was an Earth Pony like Applejack and Pinkie… but she was more like you, Luna and Twilight." This made the latter note the queen's form.

"Alicorn…" she lisped.

"Indeed," Star Swirl confirmed. "Though Alicorn, Earthena never wanted to use her powers as a means to feel equal to her supporters." Twilight and her friends turned to Starlight, who felt a little cornered.

"I mean, I wanted everypony to feel equal!" she claimed. "Who wouldn't!?" Pikachu heard Star Swirl's story but felt answers were not met.

("I've got a few questions about the sword,") he squeaked. Except for Fluttershy, nopony understood the Mouse Pokémon.

"Pikachu's got a few questions if I can translate," she offered. Celestia and Luna had no objection.

"If we allow Pikachu to ask and Fluttershy translate," Luna clarified. Star Swirl and Sunburst nodded.

"What's on your mind, Pikachu?" asked Star Swirl. Pikachu began to squeak for Fluttershy to understand and replay to the rest.

"Pikachu's asking about why the Blade of Courage allowed Ash to pull it out when Twilight claimed nopony could?" she relayed.

"I was going to imply about that," Star Swirl offered. "Queen Earthena put a spell onto the Blade of Courage and cast it beneath the surface before she wished that the sword could only be granted to a chosen colt, one beholding essence of a dragon's flame, like the knight before." That's when Ash recalled something. His gasp caught the attention of everypony.

"Ash?" called out Rarity.

"Of course!" realized Ash. "The Prayer Flame in the Dragone Shrine in the Dragon Holy Land near Blackthorn City!" Everypony blinked in confusion, except for Fluttershy who began to backpedal.

"D-Dragon… Holy… Land!?" she stuttered.

"There's an old Dragonite that protects the Land near Blackthorn City and that Blackthorn Gym Leader Clair knows well," Ash started. "Pikachu and I remember since we had to deal with one of many antics Team Rocket did during all of our adventures. They spilled the Prayer Flame after tricking the Dragonite to befriend them and nearly ruined the Land and burned the Pokémon alive. Thanks to my friends, we all saved the Dragon Holy Land from burning completely and replaced the Prayer Flame." This made Star Swirl and Sunburst believe Ash was onto a discovery.

"Star Swirl, do you think this… Prayer Flame that Ash describes be the essence of dragon's flame that gave Ash the ability of removing the Blade of Courage?" asked Sunburst. Star Swirl pondered for a little bit.

"It's possible…" he thought. "But if it is, this essence may be as potent as the flame of legend that Singebringer breathed." Applejack felt needed to speak up about the other problem.

"The other thing buggin' mah apples is the ordeals with Tirek and the Storm King," she voiced. "We saw Tirek emerge from there Tartarus, but it don't explain why Storm King's alive. We beat him, he turned to stone and bashed 'im to many pieces!" Tempest sighed.

"My old master has come back," she moaned. "It was a matter of time before realizing how he still lives." Twilight recalled the item on Tirek's neck.

"I want to know how Tirek got the Alicorn Amulet," she pointed out. "After we used our magic to send him back to Tartarus without any strength, we were sure he'd be locked away for at least a thousand years." Out of nowhere, there was a groan.

"Okay, Ash and Pikachu appearing in Ponyville," Rainbow began to list. "Tirek escaping Tartarus, then reviving the Storm King, then Ash getting the Blade of Courage… It's so exhausting!"

"You're not the only one who has difficulty staying on course," Rarity shared. As the ponies began discussions, Ash had something else in mind.

"If anything, I need to train for the next time I see those two!" he announced. Celestia and Luna had an idea.

"The training grounds in Canterlot will be ideal for it," Celestia provided. Ash and Pikachu nodded to the offer. Twilight wanted to give Ash something before he and Pikachu left.

"Can I speak to you?" she asked Ash. "In private?" Ash blinked before replying.

"Sure, Twilight," he agreed. The two exited the tabled room to a library. "What's up?" After a few seconds, Twilight was ready.

"I just…" She took a deep breath. "I just wanted to say… well…" She let out a sigh. "Thank you… for saving me from Tirek." While puzzled, Ash shook off the praise.

"Oh, that? Really, it was nothing!"

"No, it wasn't nothing! If you didn't attack Tirek, I probably wouldn't have lived through that! You saved my life and I doubt any of our friends would know what to do without me. So, thank you, Ash… from the bottom of my heart." She then reached Ash and kissed his cheek. It made Ash blush, a little flustered. Celestia and Luna sneaked to the private meeting and saw the kiss. It took a moment for Ash to recover.

"Yo-you're welcome, Twilight." The reaction made Twilight giggle while the elder princesses smile at the sight. Ash reestablish himself. "Anyways, I gotta go."

"Right… We don't want to keep Princess Celestia and your newfound training waiting now, do we?"

"Nope! Well, I'll catch you and the rest later. Bye!" With that, Ash galloped off to join Celestia and Luna.

"Bye!" Little did they know, Celestia and Luna were listening in from a different room. After Ash left, Twilight felt an ache. She felt her heart beating hard and pressed a hoof to her chest. 'My heart! It's… beating so fast… and hard.' It took a moment for Twilight to regain her composure. She looked to where Ash dashed off to. 'Could I… Could I be… falling for Ash?' Realizing her thoughts, she shook her head. 'No, it's too early to conclude that thought. I might want to spend more time, just between the two of us. It could help determine if Ash is my… Special Somepony.' Arriving in Canterlot, Ash began training with the Royal Guards for the battle with Tirek and the Storm King. Hours had gone by since the start of training where Ash helped with posture and the guards helped with attacking. Celestia and Luna watched on, concern growing that Ash may not be able to do what the knight before did. Luna had reached the ledge and lowered the sun and risen the moon. As she finished raising the moon, she sees Ash about to buckle and flew to his side.

"Ash!" she called out as Ash regained his balance. He's wiped out, but still refused to stay down.

"I can keep going!" he huffed.

"You don't have to overwork yourself in one day. After what happened with Tirek and the Storm King, they're licking their wounds and it may take a while for them to come back. I'm sure you can resume tomorrow." Ash felt his legs losing strength. He finally plopped on the ground.

"But, I'm the Chosen One." He gathered his strength again. "If I don't stay focused, Equestria won't stand." He got the sword and leaped for one attack. However, he tripped. Falling over, Ash was spent, but Luna swooped in and caught Ash on the downfall.

"The Chosen One also needs to be in peak shape. Come on, I'll escort you to bed." She carried Ash to the bed he slept on when he first stayed in Canterlot. She tucked Ash under a blanket and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, Ash." She turned to leave, but glanced over to the tuckered Ash. She saw his face, no fear, no crying, no anything. Even Celestia, who have Pikachu on her head, saw the peace of sleeping Ash. "It's absolutely amazing. Just before, Ash fought both Tirek and the Storm King like the knight before. Now look at him, sleeping as if he's the most precious foal you'd ever see."

"How true, sister," Celestia giggled. "How is it that Ash could be so innocent and fearless at the same time, it's a mystery on its own." Tranquility appeared, and Luna felt the need to stay.

"I can't help but want to stay with him." That made Celestia raise an eyebrow. "What? You had times to sleep with him. Why can't I?" Celestia sighed.

"I won't tell you no, Luna." Celestia left with Pikachu as Luna came to Ash's bed. She nudged Ash over and joined him in bed and hugged him in her hooves and nuzzling his face. She closed her eyes before singing a song, soothing over the sleeping boy. After the song, Luna gave Ash one more kiss before she fell asleep herself. There's a lot of work for Ash and it continues tomorrow.

TO BE CONTINUED...