Sunset awoke, sweating from the dream. Did that all really happen? Could she really use her own kind of magic now? She already knew the answer to the second question. As promised by the voice of her magic, she received a basic knowledge on how to summon her new power, which was very much like using her mana as a Unicorn.

Phoenix Magic. Which kind of possibilities were available? Could she fly now? Maybe. She always wondered how it was to fly like a Pegasus.

Speaking of Pegasi, Sunset remembered fondly her time as a filly, when she devoured the books about the magic of the three tribes. Four if one included the Thestrali.

Earth Ponies, although known for their great physical strength and endurance, also had a sixth sense for the land. Seismic Shock as it was known gave them many abilities finding nutrients in the soil, to guiding them directly to the plants, sensing good land to farm plants or rocks. Much to Sunset’s disappointment, little was known about these abilities as few had considered them worth studying. Lastly, they had the greatest flexibility with their manes and tails from all tribes, if they desired, much like Pegasi could use their wings as two more appendages.

Pegasi, could use their magic in a more overt manner, from forming clouds out of any water at hoof or even just the humidity in the air, creating snowflakes or rainbows, even guiding the wind and lightning. While those last two were a lost art for most pegasi, cloud building was not, from personal homes, factories, even whole cities. Pegasi could fly, even when their wings were small, because their magic concentrated mostly in their feathers. Princess Twilight told her about Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom. She wondered how this was possible. Maybe the Pegasus version of Rainbow Dash could in some way direct more magic from herself into her wings, but that was just her theory.

Unicorns though had the most grasp of magic. Using their horn as a focal point, they had their entire mana pool at their disposal, limited by only their imagination. Horns were made of the mysterious material, called alicorn. On a side note, that always had annoyed Sunset. Whoever named the material her horn was made of after the racial name of the princess deserved to get kicked in the flank.

They could pull off great feats, too. Levitation was the standard spell a Unicorn learned in magic kindergarten. When your talent in magic was greater, you could command it in many different areas the arcane energy had to offer. The problem in her opinion was that many Unicorns were fine with levitation alone and rarely tried to dig deeper into the arts of magic.

Thestrals or Thestrali, as they called themselves, she had to search a long time for accurate information on. Most of them still lived in their kingdom, Thestrylvania. Some of them returned to Equestria after Princess Luna's return in order to serve her once again. They were typically active at night and had excellent senses adapted for their nocturnal lifestyle, especially their slit pupil eyes and tall tufted ears. Thestrali were divided into clans and led by the Parish Council, consisting of so called ‘Pure Bloods’. This Pony tribe was very traditional in their beliefs with only a few exceptions, as far as she was aware of.

Not much was known about their magical abilities, but she found out that they had the ability to understand animals on a higher level and they had an ocular ability to paralyze their opponents. The Pony version of Fluttershy had that abilities, too, from what Twilight told her in her writings. Maybe she had Thestral blood in her family tree? But she still looked like a Pegasus.

Half breeds were very frowned upon in their society.

Sunset Shimmer glanced at the clock. 1 AM? The Apples started their day only in four more hours, but she was too excited to sleep now. Gone was her tiredness from yesterday. She wanted to test her new abilities. But where? From what she knew, her magic was based on the element of fire, in the bigger part, and she couldn't just burn something down on Applejack's property for the sake of her curiosity.

Luckily, Sunset had slept downstairs. She was alone in a guestroom, because her friends decided she should rest undisturbed for some reason. Well, she was kind of down, but her talk with her other self made the young woman understand that she couldn't change the past and she had to try to move on. Besides, some students were still very angry at her and the others thought this place would be the safest, especially, because Spike and Shining Armor decided to guard her door and to camp in front of it. She was really touched by this gesture.

Time to go.

As a second safety measure, Vice-Principal Luna punished all students who tried to attack Sunset by assigning them to sleep in a nearby barn with their camping equipment.

Sunset climbed out of the window, looked around and saw the wide spread orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, illuminated by the light of the moon. The one in Equestria was much better, in her opinion, same with the night sky.

Suddenly she heard a familiar tweet behind her and turned around to face the being they encountered in the Everfree Forest that led them to the chimera's cave; the phoenix. Sunset was confused. Why did it-no, she come back? Well, Fluttershy always said you could communicate with animals, if you showed them kindness. Sunset decided to try it. Nobody would see and hear her anyway.

She felt stupid. It wasn’t like she suddenly could understand animals like Fluttershy.

"Hey, it's... very nice to see you again. I wanted to thank you for helping us yesterday, Mrs. Phoenix. My name is Sunset Shimmer," she introduced herself to the flaming bird happily. "Great, I'm talking to an animal, good job Sunset," the Unicorn-turned-human muttered to herself, embarrassed.

"No need to thank me, I did that on my own accord and I wanted to see you, Sunset Shimmer. My name is Amara. Nice to meet you again," the phoenix replied in an ethereal, motherly voice.

Sunset just gaped with open mouth at Mrs. Pho-Amara and wondered if her dream gave her some sort of brain damage. Her mind needed a reboot.

"Y-you can talk?!" Sunset asked louder than intended. She scolded herself for her loud outburst, "But... how?"

"Why shouldn't I? Humans are not the only beings with a language, you know? They are simply not able to understand us. The only exception was your pink-haired friend, which I must say truly surprised me. But that is not important. I wanted to help a fellow phoenix, because I sensed your distress. I came as fast as I could," Amara explained calmly, as if that was enough to understand her reasons.

"What? That makes no sense! I'm not a phoenix, I just-" at last the penny dropped. Of course! Her new Phoenix Magic must be the reason for her to be able to understand Amara suddenly. Sunset shared her thoughts with her feathered companion.

The phoenix thought about it, "That certainly makes more sense. I felt that you weren't fully a phoenix, but I sensed the magic of a phoenix inside of you. I guess it gave you the ability to communicate with other phoenixes, but no other animals, I fear."

"That's OK. Talking with animals is more Fluttershy's thing anyway," Sunset reassured her new friend, "So you came because you felt my despair while I was dreaming? How?"

"It is an ability we all share. We are able to sense the distress of another phoenix, when he or she is near to us. I'm not sure if you are able to do it, because you are not a real phoenix," Amara mused.

"Then another question. I wanted to try out my new magic and since you are a phoenix yourself, could you help me? Please?" Sunset really wanted to understand her magic badly. She didn't feel this excited about new knowledge since her time in Canterlot Castle.

Amara approved Sunset's request and she led the girl to an open field, south of Sweet Apple Acres. Sunset asked Amara why she didn't tell Fluttershy her name and just accepted being called 'Mrs. Phoenix'. The majestic hen simply stated that the animal lover never asked, so she corrected Fluttershy on her gender only.

Sunset facepalmed.

The field itself appeared calm and full of flowers of blue, red and orange colors. On its north side was a small lake, mirroring the moon and the stars; the ideal place to test a little fire.

"OK, Sunset. Show me what you know about our magic," the phoenix instructed kindly.

She concentrated and searched for her inner mana, like she always did as a Unicorn. She found her new magic quickly. It was incredible. Her Unicorn magic always felt so, she couldn't explain it otherwise, calm. Waiting patiently, like a obedient familiar.

But her Phoenix Magic felt wild, untamed and powerful, like a storm. She had no horn in this moment, like in her transformed state in the Friendship Games. But even there she could use magic with her hands, so she knew where she wanted to focus it.

Sunset's palms caught fire. It was in the same colors of gold and red like in her dream, but this fire had a light brilliant opal outline at its ends. Her unicorn magic's color, she recognized, "It looks so beautiful," Sunset whispered in awe.

Indeed, she felt a little honored that this magic was hers now, but had to stop herself before she drooled in front of her teacher.

"Very good, for a start. Now, lead your fire. Let it know your will and move it accordingly with the help of your mind," Amara advised in a teacher-like tone.

The young amber woman focused on the flames which flew around and between her fingers. She let them dance in circular movements above her head, mesmerized by her own magic. That was nice and all, but Sunset wanted to see what she would be capable of and concentrated phoenix fire in greater amounts in her right hand. The flames assembled themselves in her palm in the form of a basketball. She sent it in the direction of the lake before it landed in the water and exploded on contact.

"Woohoo! I did it! Did you see that Amara?! Wasn't that great?!” Sunset asked excitedly.

In response, the phoenix looked at her with what could be interpreted as a smug grin. She flew high over the lake and shot a beam of her own purple fire into the lake, causing a much bigger explosion than her pupil. After this little show, she returned to Sunset's side.

"I've seen better,” was all Amara had to say and looked with false mockery into Sunset's eyes. She declared war.

"OK, Ms. Super Phoenix. We will see who can do better!" Sunset already knew she couldn't outmatch her friend, but she had too much fun to care.

This time, she formed fireballs in both of her hands and shot them into the lake, followed by a deep breath. A blazing magic circle appeared, in the coloration of her flames, in front of her mouth. She breathed her own stream of fire in a beautiful combination of its three colors, which met the surface of the water body explosively, setting a small section of the lake ablaze in fiery splendor.

Sunset looked in Amara's direction and saw her surprised expression, "What?" She was sincerely confused.

"Didn't you see what you just did?" the phoenix asked patiently.

The new magician gasped in astonishment, "By Celestia's giant flank-"

"Who is Celestia and why would you look at her flank?" Amara was perplexed.

Sunset coughed, feeling awkward that she said something like that. She hoped her former mentor would never find out, "Never mind, I was so excited that I didn't even notice what I did! This. Is. So. Awesome!"

Back in the Apple household, Rainbow Dash woke up, drooling because of her sleepiness. She blinked a few times, confused why she awoke at that ungodly hour and went back to sleep instantly.

The girl wondered why she felt the sudden urge to hit Sunset.

Sunset Shimmer felt like Rainbow Dash at a Daring Do convention. This was great! She could not only manipulate her flames like her Unicorn magic, but even concentrate them in her mouth and hands. She tried the feet, it didn't work. Well, better than nothing.

Afterwards, she and Amara talked about things that a phoenix could do, but they had no time or possibilities to test them out. Sunset saw the coming dawn and decided to return before her friends would send a search party, "That was amazing, Amara. Thank you so much. I think I have a much better idea now of how to use my magic. But I have to return to the farm, or my friends will go crazy."

Sunset put a hand on Amara's shoulder, having forgotten about her ability to see into the minds of others when her geode was activated. What was the case, thanks to her magical display.

Her vision went white. She at least got the confirmation that she indeed could look into a non-human being's mind.

Sunset saw through her friend's eyes, how she transformed slowly into a phoenix, followed by the strong desire to explore the world. She saw the things Amara witnessed in little scenes. Burning villages, mutated animals and plants, dead humans, changing landscapes, floating pieces of earth, newly created waterfalls, burning forests, oceans filled by multiple hurricanes and plains, tormented by furious thunder.

The most important information for her was shown in between. Memories, implanted in Amara's mind by her own magic. It was like the dragon said; some beings were naturally better connected to the mechanisms of the world and knew some things.

First there were the elementals. Not only fire, but other elementals, too. She saw beings of water, earth, lightning and air over the entire world as they awoke, too.

A second memory: Some other beings the memory didn't show the full appearance of. They wore some unholy looking black cloaks, standing in a group of six to ten within great, ice blue circles, filled with malicious intent. These beings looked like humans, but were bigger and much broader in their body mass. They used a kind of magic she didn't see before and they tried to summon something. Something big, something very dangerous, but she didn't see what; the memory faded too fast.

Humans didn't stay humans everywhere. In some countries they changed in species. She read of some of them from fantasy books. Iit was a secret passion of hers. She couldn't use magic any longer in this world, so she compensated with a lot of non-scientific books. Something that was unthinkable during her days as a Unicorn.

Some seemed to have changed into trolls, dwarves, giants, some kind of elves and races she didn't know about. However, others were known from Equus like Diamond Dogs or minotaurs. But she didn't see any humans who transformed into Equestrian Ponies or Gryphons for example. Maybe the transformations only changed them into other bipedal beings. It would make sense.

Humans were the dominant species upon this world. The magic wanted to even the odds for others, to give birth to a new era. To accomplish that, it erased many creations of human society out of existence. For example, the greatest weapons of mankind, atomic bombs, H-bombs, biological weapons, chemical weapons, long-range missile, medium-range bombers, tanks, EMPs and the knowledge from libraries to recreate them, too. She saw the despair of humans who couldn't stop the unseen foe. Sunset didn't know what the magic left behind to use at their disposal, but as Sunny Flare and Dean Cadence already explained, normal weapons wouldn't work against elementals and their efficacy against other beings needed to be seen.

It made kind of sense. Magic seemed to change everything on the world, so it erased accomplishments of the ‘old world’ it deemed unimportant. Did the magic of Equestria take a part in that, or was it just the magic of this world? Perhaps both? Maybe she could find an answer somewhere.

Without a warning her vision flashed white once again and their connection ended.

Sunset was irritated by the memories and surprises. Terra changed everywhere and the magic created new rules of survival.

Did those cloaked creatures use Dark magic? She was sure that they were nothing she read about before.

Well, that surely answered the group's question. Why they didn't hear in the news about greater military actions against mythological creatures or something like that. All countries had to understand what changes were upon them or to defend themselves from the local flora and fauna in some way. They had no time to help others in the moment. Who knew what the magic of Terra gave them as basics to start their ‘new culture'?

Magic could only be defeated by magic. And the humans, and now many other races, too, just learned to discover it very slowly. Even then, most of them would have no idea how to use it without any proper guidance.

For example, this country, the United States of Amareica, USA for short. The actual leader of this country, President Fancy Pants, clearly had his hands full. His strongest political enemy, Senator Blueblood, always tried to gain power for himself and made things more difficult.

Sunset remembered his pony counterpart, one of the few respectable nobles who didn't only care for himself.

She looked questioningly at Amara. The phoenix knew what she would ask, "I don't know what these memories mean, Sunset. In the moment I fully transformed into a phoenix I merely saw them, like you, before they were in my mind. I feel a great danger approaching. You should return now and report your findings to your allies. May we meet again, Sunset Shimmer." Amara flew high in the sky and disappeared into the horizon.

"I have to tell the others!" Sunset exclaimed to herself and ran back to Sweet Apple Acres.

As the house came into view, Sunset saw how Big Mac and Apple Bloom left the door. "Guys-" Sunset was out of breath from her run to the farm, "-are the others *gasp* awake already?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac simply stated.

"Where were ya? Applejack wanted to wake ya up, but ya weren't there. Now everyone's in the livin'-room and they're tryin' ta build search parties," Apple Bloom explained with rolling eyeballs.

“Well, called that one,” Sunset thought to herself.

"Th-thanks for telling me Apple Bloom. I should go in and make myself known. Bye!" she stammered nervously. Sunset didn't want to spread panic everywhere outside of their inner group and went in quickly.

The siblings just looked at each other in confusion and shrugged.

"Land sakes, gal! Where were ya? We were worried sick!" Applejack demanded to know.

Indeed, all were assembled in the living-room. Her friends, the Shadowbolts, the former principals, Cadence and Shining Armor. Spike slept peacefully in a basket he stole from a very annoyed Winona, the Apple's border collie.

They wondered why the girl was out of breath. It looked like she ran a long distance without a break.

Before someone could ask further questions, Sunset answered emotionally, "I'msorryApplejackIcouldn'tsleepandIfound-"

Pinkie Pie, of all people, put a hand on her mouth and said with a smile, "Silly Shimmy! You shouldn't talk so fast. How should we understand you then?" Everyone deadpanned at the pink girl.

Commander Raga was a patient leader. At least he saw himself as exactly that. How else would it be possible to be the commander of the Infernal Guard without going crazy because the lesser fire elementals were so stupid?

"No, the orders were only to destroy this human town, search for any survivors and finish them off. And if you don't find any more of these humans, then we will return to the Burning Mountains. Now go!"

Sometimes this patience was tested. Lesser elementals couldn't talk, but they could still communicate by emotional states, which were readable when you learned how. In the moment the massacre was mostly over, the elementals reported back to him and wanted to know if they could leave the city in order to burn other places down. Seriously, what were they, pyromaniacs? The commander only wanted them to burn down Canterlot, nothing more. It was time to return home, soon.

Raga wondered if someday he could do the same to the mirror-version of this city; the capital of the Ponies from Equestria. On the other side, he heard, they would surrender even faster, if the Changeling invasion was anything to go by. It would bring him no pleasure at all. Truly, worthy opponents were hard to find these days.

Another of many fire elementals, who was ordered to scout the outer districts and the land around the ruins of Canterlot City, came into his view and reported to him about its findings. He was ready to dismiss it, like every other report. Then it gave him much, much more interesting information. Raga ordered his scouts only to search and report before they attacked. He wanted to have everything planned out before they engaged.

"So you found a human hideout in the rural areas. A farm, you say? What did you see, exactly? Report," he ordered his soldier.

Maybe he still could have some fun before he had to return after all. Oh, how he wished he could face a worthy opponent.

Sunset told the group about her experiences and what Amara's memories showed her. Nobody dared to interrupt her. After she was finished, the group pondered about the new information they received.

"So you have now another sort of magic?" Sunny Flare asked her, very curious.

"Yes." To prove her point, Sunset summoned her flames which surrounded her right hand.

"It looks just marvelous! Be careful that you don't burn down the entire farm!" Sour Sweet warned.

"I must say Darling, your ability is simply beautiful. Worthy of a beautiful lady like yourself," Rarity complimented her friend. Sunset blushed.

"It looks very interesting, I concur. But we have more important matters to discuss, namely the implications of the memories you saw," Cadence said seriously. Celestia, Luna and Shining Armor nodded their heads in support.

The former police captain continued, "She is right. All these changes and the implications... it is very disturbing."

It was a great understatement.

"Hmm... I would like to know more about those mysterious summoners Sunset Shimmer saw. They sound like a real danger," Luna shared her thoughts, made nervous by this potential threat.

"I agree, but what we do know is that the changes are happening on a fundamental level. Magic is recreating the foundation of our world. We already found out about some things that are happening everywhere, but never about the extent," Celestia spoke about the greatest concern of the group: the unknown dangers which would await them.

Sugarcoat had enough and counted the immediate problems, because nobody else wanted to do it, "OK, to sum it up: Our former principal is in an alliance with some fire elementals and we don't know anything about their true plans, only guesses. Solely Principal Cele-"

Celestia interrupted her, "You can call me Ms. Celestia, if you want, or only Celestia. And I'm sure Luna feels the name," Her sister nodded in response, "Our jobs as principals are in the past. Besides, I fear Canterlot High burned down to the ground, too." Dark humor laced her words, "I am certain that our school’s insurance won't cover for 'damage from living flames' and that's if it is even still possible to simply call someone who knows what is happening in our country right now."

"Yes, my title as dean outlived its purpose as well. My full name is Mi Amore de Cadenza, but I prefer Cadence for short," she said, smiling at the group.

Sugarcoat harrumphed, "As I said, only Celestia, Luna and now Sunset Shimmer have their own effective form of magic of this outfit. They are our sword and shield against threats, but they can't protect everyone 24/7 here on the farm.”

A few motions of agreement made the round.

She already continued, “From what I understood yesterday evening from other conversations, Applejack has major strength. Rainbow Dash high speed. Rarity can create shields. Twilight can levitate things. Pinkie Pie can explode sprinkles, or anything with sugar in it and Fluttershy can talk with animals. Only a few abilities are truly useful in a fight.”

“Spill it! What are you trying to tell us?” Rainbow Dash asked with losing patience.

“You girls won't be able to use your friendship-laser, because it needs time and the enemy won't just watch and give you that. One lost second of concentration and it's over for you.” Sugarcoat gestured to her friends, “Lemon, Indigo, Sunny, Sour and I have no magic at all, so we can't really help that much.”

“Dude, don’t be such a buzzkill. We will totally rock it,” Lemon Zest assured positively.

The lady of bluntness rolled with her eyes, “Shining Armor and Cadence have no magic either, only handguns from the police station.”

The former dean chuckled nervously, “I never used a weapon in my life though.”

Sugar walked up and down, meanwhile crossing her arms behind her back, “And the other students in the barn? They are more or less against Sunset and magic in general, because they make both out to be responsible for their loss. They can't defend themselves either and will most likely be easy victims.”

“Well, the farm is a safe place for now,” Twilight reminded firmly.

The glasses wearing teenager shook her head, “No, the last and most important point is that we are hiding here from the fire elementals, but sooner or later they will find us and we will suffer losses, because they are many and could attack from everywhere. That being said, we have to move on. We can't live off the Apples forever. We need to search for another place to live and build some kind of base. Maybe we will find another city or village.”

“You say that as if it would be easy. I’m not sure if we simply find another place to stay,” Sunny Flare gave to consider.

Sugarcoat switched her attention to the young farmer, “It would be better for your family to come with us, Applejack. We all know that wild animals or elementals will come to this place and you must leave the farm behind. I know that Sweet Apple Acres is your home, but you have no real chance to survive otherwise," Sugarcoat ended stoically.

"Wow. I know you can be blunt, but that is new, even for you," Lemon Zest commented in surprise.

"Yes, you're right. She sure didn't... sugarcoat the issue," Pinkie agreed with a light giggle. She earned herself a glare from the girl in question for her pun.

"Now, ya wait a cotton pickin' minute! We Apples would never abandon our livelihood! And besides, Granny Sm-" Applejack couldn't finish her lecture, because someone put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around just to face the very woman she wanted to talk about, Granny Smith.

"My dear, there is somethin' we hafta discuss with the entire family," the elderly woman said to her granddaughter with an odd combination of emotions in her eyes, Applejack never saw her like this before. Nostalgia, sadness and courage. The older woman spoke softly to their guests, "Please. Y’all should regain yer strength with a mighty fine breakfast. Wait on further plannin' until we had our family meetin'." That being said, Granny Smith led Applejack out of the living-room and together they went upstairs.

The awkward silence was broken by Celestia, "I call dibs on the Apple Fritters."

Luna wanted to facepalm at her sister's antics, but decided against it.

Applejack was led into Big Mac's room. She had so many questions for her Granny, but she had the feeling she wouldn't like what the matriarch of the family had to say. In the room, already waiting, sat a confused Apple Bloom and a calm, but concerned Big Macintosh.

"Granny? Why did ya want to have a family meetin’?" Apple Bloom asked in sincere curiosity.

"Ah want to know that, too. Ah know ya heard what Sugarcoat said and Ah know ya don't want to leave," Applejack said in an apologetic tone.

She thought Granny would be furious about the mere thought of leaving the farm behind. The young woman never thought in her life that her grandmother would tell them the following words, with a sigh, "Ah made a decision. We have to leave Sweet Apple Acres."

Before any of her grandchildren could voice their shock about her plan, she silenced them with a pointed look, "Ah'm old. Ah saw many things in ma' life. But ya know what made me the happiest farmer in the world? Yer parents and y’all.” She looked at her youngest granddaughter, “Apple Bloom, y'were too youn’ to remember, but yer older siblings lived through the pain of loss." Granny briefly stopped, nostalgia returning to her eyes, "Yer parents died in a car accident. It made ma' heart break to lose ma' son and ma' daughter-in-law, but Ah couldn't despair. Ah needed to go on. And ya know why? Ah had three young 'uns to care for. Y’all were ma' one and all from that point and Ah wanted to give ya a good and honest life.”

Applejack covered her face with her hat, “Granny…”

The grandmother had a knowing glint in her eyes, “Yes, the farm is important, but Ah witnessed many talks of ya and our guests, Jackie, and Ah had to face the truth. Ah had to be honest with m'self. Yer ma and pa would have wanted to protect ya from everythin', even when it meant to give up on somethin' else. A farm can be rebuilt. Crops can grow anew. Barns be raised and new land can be found. But family? Kin is irreplaceable and Ah would be damned before Ah would let ya come into harm's way, y'hear? Those varmints will come to the farm. Ah know that. And when they come, they'll burn down this place and everyone here with it."

Apple Bloom started to cry and her siblings comforted her. She still made little sobbing noises. They were distraught, but knew in the back in their minds that it would be necessary to leave the farm, still, it was their home. The stubbornness of an Apple showed in their eyes, refusing to acknowledge the hard decision, which still had to be made.

Granny Smith continued now with teary eyes herself, but with her mind set on saving her family, "Ya're ma' kin. Ah won't letcha die, so Ah decided to leave the farm. We have to go."

Suddenly, they heard a burning voice.

The rest of the group ate breakfast and enjoyed the peace and quiet, waiting for the Apples' return.

"So..." Indigo started, curious, "What do you think they're talking about?"

"I think Granny Smith knew the whole time that they couldn't stay here. Now she wants to talk with Applejack about it, I think. The poor dear," Rarity answered Indigo's question with sympathy in her voice.

Celestia nodded, "Indeed, Granny Smith worked many years as a cook for CHS and this woman knows exactly what she wants and what needs to be done. Her grandchildren will refuse at first, but she will handle that. She once told me that the stubbornness of an Apple could only be outmatched by the stubbornness of another one." Celestia snickered.

This woman was a walking enigma. Sometimes she behaved like a woman her age and needed to rest spirit and body and sometimes she shared wisdom that matched an elder. Sometimes she worked just as hard as any diligent person.

The group sat in their places and continued to rest, then an unfamiliar, foreboding voice could be heard. But they all knew one thing: The fire elementals, who annihilated Canterlot City, had finally found them.

"Humans! Come out and face me! I know you are in there! You surely want to avenge your fallen city and fellow humans, don't you? I, Commander Raga, leader of the Infernal Guard, will give you a fair chance! I won't just burn down this house with you in it. No, I seek a worthy challenge. No human had remotely the abilities to give me even a warm-up. So I decided to give you the honor of relieving me of my boredom before I leave this place. Ashes or otherwise. Decide wisely. I will give you five minutes to come to a decision!" the voice shouted mercilessly.

The reactions were mixed. Some felt great fear now, others were just very nervous. But a few of them were determined, Rarity fainted right on the couch and Fluttershy was under the table, shaking like a leaf. They had to run and hide since this all started, but now they could give their enemies a blow, if they could take out this ‘commander’. It was time for a very much needed plan of attack. They would show the elementals that they weren't easily to defeat.

"Guys, we can't trust this fire elemental. It could be a trap!" Sunny Flare started the discussion.

At this very moment, the entire Apple Family, even Granny Smith, ran into the living room at high speed, "Ya hear that?! This varmint wants to kill us on our property!" Applejack was furious, her sister scared and her brother had a rare expression of righteous anger upon his face.

Granny Smith gazed concernedly in the direction of the door. She hoped that she could prevent her grandchildren from getting killed because of their shared stubborn streak.

Twilight spoke up, "Calm down, Applejack! We all know that you would never leave your home and family hanging, but we are at kind of a disadvantage here. Yes, we all possess abilities of our own. I could maybe levitate some rocks, Rarity could shield us and Pinkie could maybe, but I doubt it, damage them with huge explosions... made from sprinkles. You and Rainbow Dash are strong and fast, but you can't attack them directly. Their fire would kill you. Fluttershy, well-" before Twilight could say more, the pink-haired girl interrupted her, a very rare event.

"It's ok, Twilight. I know I can't be a big help. I can talk to animals, yes, but that won't bring us much and I really don't want to send the poor little critters to their deaths just because I can't fight on my own. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror anymore if I did something cruel like that. I still want to support you on my own. That is... if you don't mind." Fluttershy's response was very mature and surprised some of her friends, who knew her for a long time.

Not because she didn't want to sacrifice animals, but for the first time they witnessed how their shy friend accepted one of her weaknesses without being ashamed of it or trying to constantly apologize for her shortcomings.

"Well, OK. Thank you Fluttershy. But I just wanted to say that we have to make a plan. We can't just storm out of the front door, in case it is an ambush." The others listened to Twilight's suggestion and thought about it.

"Alright everybody, listen, I will face this Raga on my own. And before you say anything, please let me explain. Time is of the essence," Sunset advised and explained her idea to the others shortly, before the time limit ended.

With faith, she took her first step out of the door.

Raga was bored. Maybe he shouldn't have given them time and just demanded that they had to come out immediately. He stood in front of the house, alone. He always could summon his guards at will. Besides, they didn't really care about collateral damages; that was the reason he ordered his soldiers to stay back in what was once Canterlot City.

Every elemental could keep its power in check. For a fire elemental like himself it meant that he could prevent his flames from burning and melting everything around him when he didn't want it. Otherwise everything would be destroyed wherever they went.

Sadly, the lesser elementals had an equally smaller intellect and they just let the heat of their bodies devour everything. The former city was in large parts nothing more than molten ruins by now.

The moment he set a foot on the farm, some humans saw him and ran away in terror like headless chickens. What cowardice. Others ran into a nearby barn and thought they could hide themselves from him. He ignored them. They looked weak and would be no challenge for him.

The front door opened and a young woman with yellow and red hair stepped out to defy him, trying to look unimpressed by his stature, or so he thought. This human radiated power and clearly had already unlocked her inner magic. Maybe it was worth paying this place a visit after all.

Sunset would never show it, but she was nervous and a little bit terrified. This elemental in front of her was a giant. He looked like a dangerous warrior with a body made of indigo colored flames, navy blue eyes and, like Rainbow Dash would say, a ‘badass sword’. She hoped she would survive this encounter. But to Sunset's surprise, he really was alone. They hadn’t been sure if they would have been walking into a deathtrap, but to be fair, this wasn't a much better situation.

She calmed down and started to talk, "So. You are Commander Raga?" Sunset asked calmly.

"Indeed, brave human. My scouts have told me about this place and I am seeking a worthy challenge since I came to this plane, sadly I was disappointed. I hope you are better than the rest of your kind I encountered"

His voice unnerved Sunset. He sounded so calculating and controlled in this moment, like he already knew her every move. Hopefully, the others could escape through the back entrance unnoticed. She needed to ask him for information; maybe she could find out more about him and their motives.

"I must say, I expected an ambush. How do I know that you didn't hide your soldiers somewhere?" Sunset regretted her question instantly, because the knight looked enraged.

"You DARE question my honor, human?! I ordered my guard to stay back in the city so I can face you alone. Besides, I already felt your allies a long time ago, because you radiate your magic freely.” He chuckled mockingly, “But I should be thankful for your lack of control, otherwise I would have had to search for you. Such is the reason our surroundings aren't ablaze already, because I can control my power." The Commander sounded proud, "So you can signal your allies that it is futile to hide. I already found you all, even those weaklings in the barn there. But I have no interest in them. At least... not yet," Raga laughed darkly.

"I see..."

Sunset signaled the others and they came out from behind a nearby wall of hay bales. Some looked still fearful and nervous, but most were angry, even livid. The whole group stood now around Sunset, except Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Granny Smith, who tried to reach the barn undetected in order to help the other students.

"Sorry guys, but he knew from the beginning," Sunset started to apologize, but Luna calmed her down.

"Don't worry. We heard everything. We really need to learn to control our magic better in the future," she said, annoyed that they were discovered from the start.

"Ah, the cavalry. Tell me, are you here to defy me as well? Some of you may have magic, but the outcome will be the same for all of you." Raga taunted the group.

A plan Shining Armor found out quickly; discipline was important in his job, after all, "Don't listen to him. He just wants to make you angry and to force you into doing something stupid," he warned

"Oh, someone has a brain. Congratulations," Raga said with a smug smile under his helmet.

"Stop this bullshit! Tell us, why did you attack our home?" Sour Sweet demanded answers this time.

He sighed in boredom, "I think I could humor you a little more before you die. Orders," he simply stated, much to their anger, "My superiors ordered the destruction of your city, that is all you need to know." Not that Raga knew the true motives of his masters anyway. He didn't need to. He wanted to be a proud soldier of their army; Raga didn't need to involve himself in politics.

"So you won't talk with us about anything involving your motives and plans of you or your leaders. But tell me, did Abacus Cinch order this attack?" Celestia inquired in a very diplomatic tone.

"Maybe, maybe not. Who knows? As I said, I won't tell you anything." In reality the commander had no idea who this ‘Abacus Cinch’ even was. It certainly was no name for an elemental.

The High Recruiter gave him the orders in person and that was enough for Raga. But if he was being honest... Igniticious scared him. Every of his instincts as a soldier told him to avoid his attention, especially in a negative way.

"The time to talk is over. You will pay for the lives you took, Commander Raga," Luna declared, focused and ready to avenge the fallen.

His blazing eyes tried to look into their very souls, "So be it! Prepare yourselves!"

Immediately, Sunset and her friends took on the forms granted by the geodes' magic. The Shadowbolts, Big Mac, Cadence and Shining Armor kept a safe distance and Luna and Celestia summoned their armor with their weapons in hands. Nearly one moment too late.

Raga charged them in a very high speed for a being his height and swung his big bastard sword in a horizontal motion at the girls and former principals. Celestia positioned herself between them and his sword, using her shield to stop the attack.

It wasn’t as effective as they thought and hoped. Yes, Celestia blocked his attack with success, but the mere power behind it pushed her a few feet back, nearly taking Fluttershy with her. It would have, had Pinkie Pie not pulled the stunned girl aside in time.

Luna used Raga’s momentum and attacked him with her twin swords, but she didn't expect his flexibility and reaction time. He blocked both her weapons with his own and that all with the left hand, literally. He concentrated his flames in the palm of his right hand and nearly burned Luna alive. Luckily for her, Rarity summoned a shield in front of her former vice-principal’s face and the fireball reflected into the direction of the sky. She jumped back to gain more distance between them, but the commander had other plans. He charged Luna once again and struck at her. She barely dodged in time.

Twilight closed her eyes, concentrated herself and tried to disarm the elemental, a purple color appeared in an outline around the broad sword, but Raga just grunted, annoyed about this petty excuse of an attack and charged at the teenager. Rainbow Dash, unable to attack Raga directly, used her speed to bring her friend to safety. The sudden movement broke Twilight's concentration.

"Rainbow Dash! What are you doing?!" The scholar was annoyed. She was sure she could have disarmed him.

"Relax, Egghead. I just saved you with my awesomeness. You should open your eyes the next time. This guy nearly cut you in two." Rainbow Dash smiled smugly at her friend.

"Oh..." was everything Twilight could say in response.

Celestia recovered fast from the recoil and summoned her Solar Magic in the hand she wore the shield before and tried to copy Sunset's descriptions earlier. The young woman told them about the fireballs she shot in her short training with Amara. But to no avail.

Then she saw how her sister nearly got killed, now she was furious.

Before her hand appeared a golden magic circle, not only a mere sphere, in the colors of the burning sun. With a war-cry, she shot a bright, strong beam of sunlight in Raga's direction.

The fire elemental just swung his sword at Twilight, but he missed the girl because of her friend. It angered him. Always when he thought he got one of them, another saved his target. Suddenly he heard someone scream and looked to his right... just to get a full blast of Celestia's attack to his chest. The resulting explosion catapulted him into the hay bales.

The others, in the meantime, congratulated Celestia after Raga was sent flying.

"Great shot, sister!" Luna complimented proudly.

"Wonderful, Darling!" Rarity voiced her opinion in joy.

"That'll teach this varmint a lesson!" Applejack commented with a laugh.

From the distance the others cheered them on, but Sunset wasn't this optimistic. No, the fight had just begun. They heard an angry outcry and turned to face the direction of the commander. A giant pillar of fire loomed over them, the hay bales and everything in his proximity got burned to ashes. After the pillar disappeared, Raga stood in its former center, unharmed, much to the humans shock. And he was livid.

"Raaaahhhh!" Raga felt only fury, these pesky little humans made a fool out of him. He would destroy them. He would give them a sample of his power. He would show them why his flames were famous in his ranks.

"Enough of this farce! I will end you!" Raga returned his sword to his back and crossed his arms in front of his chest. A with runes filled fresco as big as him, drawn in indigo flames, appeared in front of the fire elemental, "Incineration!" he shouted. A stream, much broader than Celestia's, made of his flames flew in the direction of his enemies.

"Scatter!" Luna ordered in a panicked voice.

Everybody tried to dodge. Rainbow Dash used her wings to fly away. But one girl stumbled because of her footwear: Rarity.

She instantly tried to stand up, but couldn't, "Ahhh! I sprained my ankle! Help!" Rarity looked on in the direction of her incoming demise with a horrified expression.

They all heard the call of the teenager and were terrified for her, but before the oncoming conflagration reached her, someone shouted, "You won't take one of my friends!"

Deeply shocked stares were directed at the person in question, because one of their own jumped between their troubled friend and the attack. As they recognized who it was, and the attack hit its target full blast, they thought their hearts had just stopped beating.

One name was cried out in this moment, "Sunset!"

Sunset Shimmer saw how her friend fell. Even before Rarity tried to stand up, she already knew that the girl had at least sprained her ankle, maybe even broke it. She heard the cracking sound.

Then she remembered something Amara talked about earlier, as her phoenix friend told her about a few abilities of a phoenix.

"A phoenix will fade to ashes and from the ashes we will return anew, a never ending circle of rebirth. I don't think you can do that, because you are not a real phoenix in body."

The new magician couldn’t deny that such an ability sounded amazing and imagined herself using such a neat trick. But she digressed

Amara flew closely to Sunset’s head, drawing her attention, “Next is the ability to absorb flames. Normally, even when your affinity as a mage lies in fire, much stronger beings still can hurt you with their own flames, even kill you. But not a phoenix. Our bodies are made of fire, in a sense, so we can absorb them, no matter how strong. Though even when a flame could take our lives... we would just return.”

“So a phoenix is as good as fireproof? Do you believe I have this ability, too?” the Unicorn-turned-human asked in great interest.

Her new friend rolled her eyes in amusement, “Your Phoenix Magic surely gave you some abilities unknown to you. But if I were you, I wouldn't try to test out if I can survive the heat. You have still the body of a human, from what I can see."

Sunset's thoughts were interrupted by her friend's pained scream. She made a decision, hopefully not her last one.

She jumped in front of Rarity and closed her eyes before the raging flames of Raga consumed her. She could hear the horrified outcries of everyone.

Where was the agonizing pain? The torment of being burned alive? The earth-shattering explosion? Well, if Raga's attack would even do something like that, the last point was debatable. Sunset could feel the heat of the flames, but it wasn't hot enough to be considered painful to her. She opened her eyes again. What she saw wasn't really something she expected.

Her own flames surrounded her entire body like a cocoon. A blazing cocoon. The flames around her got smaller and smaller with every passing second until she stood there, unharmed. The others were very much dumbfounded, but unbelievably happy. They cheered for Sunset.

Commander Raga took the events in front of him differently, "Impossible! How could you survive?! My flames burn down everything!"

This girl survived. Not only that, but she was unharmed. What was this fire around her body? Could it be the reason the human was still alive? Raga needed answers on that, "What are these flames?"

Sunset thought about lying to him. It would be to her advantage to keep her magic a secret from him. He had no idea, it seemed.

But on the other side, Raga never betrayed them, never broke his promise that he would face them alone. He showed honor and kept his word. Besides, he never made a secret of the ability of his flames to burn everything to ashes, as the commander mentioned in his shocked state. No, even though he was her opponent, he acted with honor and she wanted to at least show him a basic level of respect in return.

Sunset erased the flames around her body and responded truthfully, "Perhaps you remember the flames of a phoenix? Their natural ability to absorb fire?" He nodded in response, every fire elemental knew what a phoenix was, "I seem to have the same ability. My magic is called Phoenix Magic."

Sunset let loose a fireball the size of her head. She didn't expect her fire to hurt a fire elemental, but it was enough for a demonstration. Like she anticipated, Raga just held his hand out, grabbed the spell and crushed Sunset's ‘attack’ into nothing.

"How very interesting indeed.” He was aware that every human could gain an own form of magic, though this was truly something else. However, he saw that her magic had to protect its wielder’s body, which meant that this woman was still made of flesh and blood. “Nevertheless, I shall end our little squabble, but be aware that you were the first and only opponent who wasn't an fire elemental and survived my attack unscathed. For this feat, I won't forget you."

Commander Raga was impressed by this young woman. She survived one of his strongest attacks, magic or not. But orders were orders and he had to kill every mortal he would encounter in the duration of the invasion.

He used his flames to create a plateau made of them, under himself. It flew high in the sky, at least 30 meters. Then he took his bastard sword and held it upright above his head. Raga concentrated and his entire body started to glow in a sinister shade of indigo. He saw the facial expressions of the humans.

At first there was caution, but after they realized and felt the amount of power he concentrated in himself, waiting to be unleashed, their faces turned from confusion to sheer horror. Yes, it was their end and they knew it. He would finish it, once and for all. Suddenly, Raga heard a voice in his mind. It made him most terrified.

"My servant, hear the words of Everflame." This voice, it made him feel like a newborn fire elemental.

"I watched your quarrel with these mortals, but enough is enough. Do not harm them any further. They have important roles to play in the upcoming events. Return to the Burning Mountains, order the Infernal Guard to retreat immediately and report anything you think of importance to your superiors about your encounter with the group of humans. Afterwards, speak to Pontiff Infernus. He will convey your words to me. You have your orders, commander."

First Raga was confused, but then he recognized the name and he felt very, very unworthy. That a normal commander like him would receive the ultimate honor to hear from him. Raga tried very hard not to fall to one knee in a respectful gesture in front of the humans. They would never understand, because they couldn't hear this conversation.

In the Burning Mountains were a few holy places for fire elementals. One of them was the training ground for the strongest of them and special cases, the Temple of Cinder.

He once had to report there to his superior and he overheard two priests of the Eternal Flame talking about something an elemental of his rank would never know about otherwise. The highest structures of command in their society and especially their army.

The leaders of every elemental, no matter, whether fire, water, air, lightning or earth. The five 'Chosen', as they were called by them, their highest council.

Lady Ano'yil, of the Relentless Air.

Lady Aquaz, of the Unyielding Water.

Lord Imperion, of the Unforgiving Thunder.

Lord Granrok, of the Unbending Earth.

And finally, Lord Everflame, of the Everlasting Fire.

He just had one desire in this very moment, to follow his highest master's every word, "At your command, Milord!" Raga answered in his mind, reverently.

He canceled his planned attack, much to the major confusion of the humans below him, ordered his plateau to bring him back to the ground and canceled the flames which created it, too.

Commander Raga still had his pride. He couldn't run away in record time just because he wanted to please his master, so he thought of an excuse, "Mortals, I have decided you are not worthy to witness my greatest ability. I'm bored of this game. You can't harm me, you are untrained and weak in your performance. I have more important matters to attend to than wasting my time with pathetic creatures like you."

The three magic casters were fuming at him. Good, it worked. Raga guessed they thought that he was arrogant and saw them as beneath him, but he couldn't care less at the moment.

A portal back to the Burning Mountains opened. Over a mental connection he had with his Infernal Guards, he ordered them to return in an instant and they did without a question, like they always did. Now he had to write the most important report of his entire career.

Before he stepped through the portal, he turned around one last time, in order to look directly into the eyes of the one human who survived his attack. She looked back at him, "Tell me, young magician. What is your name?"

"Sunset Shimmer," she replied without moving an inch.

"I will remember you. Maybe one day we will meet again. Until then, get stronger." Those were Commander Raga's last words, before he faced the gateway again and returned home.

In the Burning Mountains, Abacus Cinch, the Blazing Inquisitress, stood in front of a truly breathtaking building. It made her feel small and insignificant. She looked to her side and faced High Recruiter Igniticious, "What is this place, Milord?"

The high recruiter chuckled at his Scion’s awestruck expression, "Welcome to your new training location and your new home, my Scion. Welcome to the Temple of Cinder."

Author's Notes:

Edited version uploaded: 06/03/19
Proofread by: Javarod

Greetings my avid readers!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

They were found out! Run for the hills! But then again... the Apples have a nice farm.

Thank you very much for reading and stay tuned!