Ember's Destiny Chapter 1: A New Awakening

Deep within the Everfree Forest, in a small grove that nopony had ever before explored, a pony lie sleeping on a small bed of flowers. Ember, the pony of the First Epoch. When the invisible force from the elements swept over her lifeless body, her eyes fluttered open for the first time in four-thousand years. Ember lifted her head slowly and gazed around the grove. She had no idea how long she had been asleep. Nor did she know of what events took place in the world during her absence. She stood up, wobbly in the knees. After all, she hadn't stood up in eons. Making her way from the forest she came upon a barnyard with a beautiful apple orchard. She was hungry and decided to make the most of this discovery. She never remembered this orchard before, but then again, she was far from Dream Valley.
Ember found a fallen apple and began to munch hungrily at it. She observed the world around her. Things seemed peaceful. There was no chaos. Perhaps Discord had been defeated, but just how long had it been? Ember finished off the apple and made her way toward the barn. Perhaps somepony there could tell her what was going on. As she came close, she spotted an orange pony working near the barn. It was Applejack. Ember felt a fluttering in her heart. It looked just like the Applejack of the First Epoch. But was it really her? After all, she had disappeared before Ember left for help. But this pony was the spitting image of her old friend from the color of her coat and mane, to the symbol on her flank. Ember couldn't contain her excitement. She dashed toward Applejack, calling out to her as she did.
"Applejack! Applejack, I can't believe it! It's really you!"
Applejack spun around in shock as the mare galloped toward her. "What in tarnation?!" Applejack was completely confused. She had never seen this pony before. She took a step back in slight fear as the pony met her face to face, leaping up and down in excitement.
"Oh, Applejack! I thought I would never see you again! I can't believe it's really you!"
"Now calm down, there, Sugarcube." Applejack raised a hoof at the mare to calm her a bit. "You mind refreshin' mah memory as to who you are?"
Ember stared at Applejack in disbelief. How could she not know who she was?
"Applejack...it's me...Ember."
"Ember? A-ahm sorry, darlin', but ah don't know any Ember."
Ember's eyes began to tear up, slightly. She didn't know what to say. Her heart sunk low as Applejack continued to stare at Ember, confused.
"Strange..." Applejack became even more confused. "Ah've never seen a mare without a cutie mark."
"Mare? But...I'm just a filly..." Now Ember was just as confused.
"Filly?! No offense, sugarcube, but did you hit your head?"
Ember just stared in disbelief. She turned around and spotted a well nearby. Glancing down into it, she saw her reflection and drew back in shock."
"I-I've grown up! B-but how long was I asleep?!" Ember grew afraid.
Applejack looked on at the mare. She saw how terrified Ember was and felt pity for her deep in her heart, but knew that something was strange about the situation.
"Come on, Ember. Ah think we need to take you to go see Twilight."
"T-Twilight..." Ember's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the name. Could it be the same Twilight that she knew as a child. The very same pony who Ember used to cuddle close to in the grass in the afternoon, posing questions to. The very same Twilight who promised her that she would grow up to be a very special little pony? But Applejack didn't remember her. Perhaps this wasn't the same Applejack. So maybe it wouldn't be the same Twilight. But Ember nodded in agreement to go visit her. Perhaps she could help, even if she wasn't the same pony from her childhood.

Ember had never seen a city like Ponyville. There were never many buildings like this in Dream Valley. She felt as though all eyes were on her as she walked through the town. She felt so out of place here, but she continued to follow closely behind Applejack as she led her to the library. She was feeling a bit anxious and nervous about meeting Twilight, but a bit uncertain as well. Applejack banged her hoof on the door.
"Twilight! Twilight, you in there? Ah got someone out here you need to meet!"
Ember stood completely still as the door opened. The young Alicorn stepped out from the library door. She looked similar to the Twilight she remembered as a filly, but she was different. It couldn't be the same Twilight.
"Applejack? What's going on? Who's this?" Twilight cocked her head a bit at the strange pony.
"This is Ember. And ah think you really need to talk with her." Applejack replied anxiously.
"Okay, okay. Come inside, but calm down. You look like you've seen a ghost!"
Ember made her way into the library behind Applejack, staring in awe at all the books. She had never seen a library this large before. She didn't even know that this many books existed in Equestria.
"Okay, now what is this all about?" Twilight asked.
"This little pony knew who I was, Twilight. But ah ain't never seen her before in mah life. She also thought she was just a filly. And look!" Applejack turned Ember a bit to show Twilight her blank flank. "She ain't got no cutie mark, neither!"
"Huh...that's strange. I've never seen a full grown mare with no cutie mark! I've never read anything about it in any of my books, either!" Twilight began pulling books from her shelves, flipping through pages in hopes of finding something. "Spike, can you please assist me? I need a book on cutie marks."
The purple, baby dragon came down the stairs and waved to Twilight. "Sure thing, Twilight! I'll see what I can find!"
"Spi..." Ember whispered, but cut herself off. The baby dragon resembled a dragon who protected her during her time in Tirek's dungeon. But just like Applejack and Twilight, he couldn't be the same baby dragon. But there must have been some tie between the ponies and dragons. Perhaps that was why Ember was drawn to them.
Some time passed before Twilight finally put the books up. "I can't find anything on this. I don't understand why a mare would have no cutie mark...or who she even is!"
"Of course you wouldn't know me. I'm from Dream Valley. I traveled a long way to get here." Ember replied.
"Dream Valley? I...I've never heard of Dream Valley." Twilight began flipping through her books again. "Ember...you really are an enigma. There is nothing in any of my history books or maps about Dream Valley."
"But it's my home! Twilight...if you've never heard of it...then...how will I ever get home? I have to know where it is! I don't even know which direction I came from. I've been asleep for so long...I just don't know how long..."
"Asleep? What do you mean?"
"That's right!" Applejack spoke up, "She did say somethin' bout being asleep for a while."
"Tell me what happened, Ember."
"I was looking for help from the chaotic tyranny. Discord..."
"DISCORD!" Twilight drew back in shock at the mention of his name. "Discord's tyranny?!"
Now Ember was shocked by Twilight's reaction. "Y-yes...Discord was in power. He's the one who put me to sleep because I was trying to stop him. But it looks like he's already been stopped. It's so peaceful here..."
Twilight blinked a bit, "D-Discord hasn't ruled Equestria in two-thousand years...his rule only lasted two-thousand years before he was defeated..."
Ember's eyes grew wide with shock as she dropped her flank to the ground. She couldn't move. She didn't even know what to say. Four-thousand years? She had been asleep for four millenia? No wonder things had changed so dramatically.
"F-four..."
Twilight approached the shocked pony. "Ember...I'm so sorry. I understand this must be such a shock to you! He must have cursed you to sleep for this long."
"B-but...if you don't know anything about Dream Valley...it must have been lost to time, Twilight. How will I ever get home...Dream Valley is gone...every single pony I ever knew...all my friends..." Ember's eyes welled up with tears...
"Don't cry, Ember. We'll help you, somehow!" Twilight patted Ember's back and looked up at Applejack. "Applejack, go get the girls. This little pony is going to need all the help she can get."
"Ah'm on it!" Applejack said as she took off out the door.
"Come on, Ember. Let's go get some fresh air. It will do you some good."

Ember could do nothing but cry. The world around her had changed so drastically. She had never even found her destiny as Twilight had promised so long ago. Four-thousand years. How could this have happened to her?
It wasn't long before Applejack returned with their four friends. Fluttershy, seeing the brokenhearted pony, was the first to approach her.
"You poor thing!" Fluttershy, laid her wing around Ember. "You must be terribly frightened."
Ember glanced up at Fluttershy, sniffling lightly, tears still in her eyes as Pinkie Pie dashed up to her, bounding up and down.
"Oh oh! I know what will cheer you up! You should come down to Sugarcube Corner and I'll throw you a huge party with balloons and streamers and a big cake and cupcakes and lots of tasty treats and we'll play games and..."
As Pinkie rambled on, Rarity and Rainbow Dash approached Ember as well.
"Don't worry, dear. We'll do whatever it takes to make you feel at ease." Rarity said, "You're amongst friends here."
"You sure are!" Rainbow Dash smiled proudly at Ember. "Wanna see something cool that might cheer you up? Check this out!" Rainbow Dash flew up into the clouds and began performing many stunts, flying swiftly through the sky. Ember watched in awe and then glanced at the rest of the ponies.
"You all are too kind." she said. "But I can't help feeling like I know you. You all remind me of my friends in Dream Vally." She glanced and Fluttershy who was smiling lovingly at her. "You remind me of my friend Posey. She was very kind. She looked after all of the fillies and colts. You even look just like her. Except she was an earth pony like me."
"Oh my, really?" Fluttershy was impressed, "She sounds very sweet! I'm honored to know that I remind you of her."
"And you..." Ember said, looking up at Pinkie Pie who was still bounding about while rambling about the party."You remind me of Surprise. She was a Pegasus, but she loved throwing parties for everypony. You don't look exactly like her, but your cutie marks almost match! And Rarity reminds me of Sparkler."
"Sparkler?" Rarity's interest grew.
"Sparkler was a fantastic artist and loved fashion, but she was very nice."
"My, it's very interesting that we all remind you of somepony from your past!"
Rainbow Dash landed in front of Ember, panting a bit from her stunts. "What about me? Do I remind you of anypony?"
Ember nodded. "You remind me of Firefly. She was the coolest Pegasus in Dream Valley. She was a fast flyer and always performing stunts. She was very loyal, too. She was the one who rescued us all from a Centaur named Tirek. Your cutie marks are similar too. I always wished I could fly just like her."
Rainbow Dash puffed her chest out with pride. "Too cool! It's so awesome to be compared to someone that extreme!"
"And Twilight...I used to know a Unicorn with the same name. She looked very similar to you, as well. I used to lay with her in the grass in the afternoons and we would talk about my possible future. She always promised me I would grow up to be a very special pony." Ember's eyes began to tear up again and Twilight put her hoof on her back.
"I may not be the same Twilight you remember from your past, but I know that you are a special pony. You've already endured quite a hardship."
Applejack tilted her head a bit, "And you seemed to know who ah was, Ember. Does that mean you knew another Applejack in your past?"
Ember nodded, "You are the only pony here who actually looks exactly like one of my old friends and shares her name."
"Could it be possible," Twilight said, "that we may be related to these ponies...their descendents, perhaps?"
Ember looked at Twilight in awe, "That may be. You all resemble my friends in so many ways. They must be your ancestors."
"That would explain why ah would look exactly like your old friend." said Applejack. "Genetics and all."
"Twilight..." Ember hung her head slightly, "I know there's not much that can be done, but...I would really like to put my mind at ease...you know...have some closure. If we can find it, will you take me to Dream Valley so that I may have a final farewell?"
Twilight smiled a bit at Ember. "Of course, Ember. We will take you there. Right, girls?"
"But, how will we find it if nopony has ever even heard of it?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, it's not in your maps or any books." Applejack added.
"Completely lost to time!" Pinkie shouted.
"Well...we may not know where Dream Valley is." Twilight said nervously, "But I do know someone who might..."