//------------------------------// // II - Sparks // Story: My Little Inferno // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// “Delivery!” Derpy the mailmare yelled. The grand doors of Twilight’s castle slid open, the princess herself standing in the arches. She beamed when she saw the pony-sized package in Derpy’s wagon. “Ooh! Thank you for bringing it so quickly!” Twilight said, barely containing her excitement. “You’re welcome! Sign here please.” Twilight signed and quickly levitated her package inside, waving goodbye to Derpy as she did so. Then Twilight shut the doors, her grin unfaltering as she examined the package. “What is it?” Starlight asked as she came down the staircase. “This…” Twilight said, putting her hoof on top of the box. “Is the newest addition to the lab.” “What is it this time?” “A thermal experimentation chamber!” Starlight blinked. “Wait. It burns stuff?” A smirk spread across her face. “I think I might like this one…” “You’re welcome to try it out with me.” Twilight offered, heading for the lab with the box in tow behind her. Starlight shrugged. “I don’t really have anything better to do…” Spike poked his head out of a nearby door. “You could always go for another friendshi-” “Like I said. Nothing better to do.” Starlight said matter-of-factly. Spike rolled his eyes. Then his eyes fell on the box. “Okay, I’ll bite, what’s in the giant box?” “A thermal experimentation chamber!” The two mares said in unison. “...Are you trying to put me out of a job or something?” Spike questioned. “Spike, you are more than just a lighter.” Twilight said. “Yeah! You also send letters!” Starlight added. Twilight facehooved. “I was going to say ‘you are my number one assistant’ but okay.” Starlight shrugged. “Eh, I like my encouragement better.” “I don’t…” Spike muttered. Nopony responded. Twilight flung open the doors of her lab, revealing several countertops filled with unusual magitech devices. Her gigantic blocky computer sat at the far wall, continually printing out results from all the experiments on a long sheet of paper. Most of the tests were inactive at the moment. However, the Fignewton’s Cradle was moving, the plasma ball was active, and Tribbles the hamster looked bored out of his gourd - all three tests still going strong. Owlowiscious was sitting in the middle of the room, sleeping on his perch. “Ookay…” Twilight said, setting the box next to an empty wall. “How to do this…” “The box literally says ‘place next to an external wall and pull this tab.’” Spike observed. “Oh.” Twilight blushed. She reached for the tab and gave it a yank. The cardboard fell apart instantly, revealing a cubic block made of bricks. It vibrated for a moment before shooting a channel out of its top - forming a chimney. The smokestack in question drove itself through the wall, protruding outside about a foot. Then the front face of the block opened, revealing an interior identical in most ways to Scootaloo’s Fireplace - save a distinct lack of soot. Inside were a few things - some terms and conditions, a letter, and a fat bookmarked ‘catalog.’ Spike recoiled a back at the face inside. “Man that’s creepy.” Starlight levitated the items out. Since she wasn’t careful she actually lit them on fire for a fraction of a second, but they extinguished the moment they left the enclosure. Spike found the sudden rush of heat startling - Starlight didn’t even flinch. She just looked at the texts. “Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace?” She read aloud. “You got a toy?” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “It may be marketed as a toy, but it is a very resilient piece of magitech machinery.” “How do you know? You just got it.” “Well I was at Scootaloo’s and she had one…” Starlight smirked. “So it is a toy.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Just watch.” She lifted a beaker off a nearby countertop and put it inside the Fireplace. Then she touched it with her hoof, lighting the limb on fire. Slowly, but surely, the glass began to liquefy. “...Okay that’s pretty cool.” Starlight admitted. Spike blinked. “You know you always tell me not to play with fire…” Twilight looked at the terms and conditions - most was boring legalese, but there were a few guidelines. She looked at Spike and cleared her throat. “Fire is dangerous and should not be played with outside the confines of Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. Do not put artificial limbs inside Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. Do not tamper or attempt to dispel Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. Do not pry at the Core. Use in a well ventilated area and make sure the chimney is unobstructed before use.” Spike shuddered. “That face is still creepy…” “I don’t know Spike…” Starlight said. “I think it’s kinda cute!” Twilight blinked. “Were you even listening to me?” “Yeah, don’t be stupid, basically.” Starlight said dismissively. She grabbed the terms and conditions and threw them in, lighting them up with a spark. She smiled. “I can see why this would appeal to foals.” Twilight sighed, directing her gaze at the letter. Dear Valued Customer Thank you for your purchase of the one-of-a-kind Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace, a chamber that allows for the normally dangerous features of fire to be played with just like any other toy. In fact, I encourage you to test some of your old toys inside the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace, just to see what happens. Absolutely anything smaller than the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace elcosure can be placed inside and subjected to intense heat, controlled by you and your friends. Real wars can be fought in the fiery confines, old toys and memories can get one last hurrah, and things you never thought to burn can easily be placed in at your whim. Though by no means is the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace just a toy - it is also a fully functioning fireplace, perfect to heat your homes with anything you have lying around. The flames can also be used as a perfect accent to a room’s composition, really tying the place together. And, of course, professionals can test their materials and spells inside the confines of the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. But don’t forget, even if you use the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace in a way I haven’t thought of, please, from time to time, just throw something random in and enjoy the result. Now have fun and stay warm! P.S. If you have a hard time thinking of cool and/or unusual things to burn, check out the catalog. It has over a hundred objects designed specifically for use within the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. -Soot, Inventor of Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace and CEO of Soot Inc. At the bottom of the letter was a little image of a black dragon wearing a monocle. He had one of those ‘sophisticated’ expressions that Twilight was used to seeing on the ponies of Canterlot. “Huh. Dragon.” Spike said. “Neat.” He glaced at the Core again. “Though why did he have to give it a face?” “It’s not like you’re burning it or anything.” Starlight said, her nose deep in the catalog. “Though a lot of the things in here have faces.” “Anything interesting?” Twilight asked. “Insane rabbit plushie, more than a few bombs, mushrooms, a human doll, video game systems, gravity charms, a chainsaw-thing, a camera, and…” She blinked. “A cup of coffee…?” Twilight pondered this for a moment. “Those gravity charms sound interesting. I’ll have to look at it later. Until then… Time for science!” She clapped her hooves. “Now I can finally safely test the explosive properties of neutron rubies!” “Yaaaaaay.” Starlight said, still flipping through the catalog. “This has a lot of weird stuff in it…” “Mhm.” Twilight said, delicately setting the orange-red form of a neutron ruby in a cup and sliding it into the fireplace. It glowed an intense warm light. “What the heck is a Transequinist robot?” Starlight wondered aloud. Twilight set up several walls of metal inside the fireplace, surrounding the ruby in a bit of a blast shield. Seh put a complex scanner inside as well. “You know, I’m going to watch from… Over here.” Spike said, backing to the far end of the lab. Twilight nodded towards Spike, but most of her attention was on the Little Inferno. She sparked a flame and touched it to the neutron ruby. For a second, nothing happened. Then the entire fireplace was engulfed in a neon orange flash. The readings went off the charts as everything was vaporized instantly. Twilight smirked. “Neutron ruby plus heat equals utter annihilation.” “Good to know…” Spike shuddered. “Can we stop playing with fire now?” “Nope.” Starlight said. “Time to order some special stuff!” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Starlight, I have hundreds of interesting things to burn in this giant castle. Do you really need-” “Do you have a flaming juicer!?” Starlight asked, shouting for no apparent reason. “Er… no?” “Then we’re ordering one. And I’m also getting the pixels. Because pretty.” Twilight shrugged. “If you really want to…” Starlight grinned. “Oh I do.” “Well order them. I have some more experimenting to perform.” Spike left the room, nervous. “Why do I have a really bad feeling about this?” Outside, the first snowfall of winter began - mixed with the upward drafts of smoke from a couple chimneys, the trails stretching far into the sky…