//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: The Darkest Fire 
// by Magnum the Critic 
//------------------------------//

Fluttershy’s eyes remained fixated on the mysterious figure in Zecora’s book. It was completely alien in every sense of the word. The fact that some parts of it had faded into obscurity through the years only heightened her curiosity of what it truly looked like. And yet, even though it was merely a drawing, the strange way it was depicted hovering over the Zebras as they knelt in reverence sent shivers down her spine. She swallowed the rising lump in her throat and turned her head to Zecora. 

“Do we really need this creature’s help?” She asked, fear creeping into her voice. 

Zecora nodded. “This creature is the only one that knows the way to enter the world where spirits lay.”

Fluttershy’s thoughts drifted back to Berry. If she had to face this creature to see Berry again, then she would. She looked out into space and heard her subconscious trying to boost her spirits. 

Be brave, Fluttershy. Fluttershy’s bold nature spoke up from the depths of her heart. You faced down tougher things than some spooky spirit and lived!  

“Yes, but all those times I had my friends with me. I don’t know if I can do this on my own.” She replied meekly to her inner conscious. 

What about that cockatrice? You were all alone then! 

“Yes, but Twilight and those children were in direct danger! I just…lost control of myself. That wasn’t bravery, that was luck.” Fluttershy said as she felt her confidence reach an all-time low. Her counterpart continued undaunted.        

You have to stop doubting yourself so! You can do this! I know you can! Besides, if you want to say goodbye to Berry, you’re going to have to face that thing. What would your friends tell you? 

Fluttershy thought about that for a long time. What would her friends tell her to do? Well, Rainbow Dash would probably tell her to face her fears head on. Pinkie would tell her to…

“I just have to giggle at the ghostie.” Fluttershy whispered as she stared at the ancient picture. “Yes, that’s all I need to do. Just giggle at the ghostie and everything will be all right. I can do this.” Her confidence came back to her like a rush of wind, rekindling her spirit. She inhaled deeply through her nose, held it for a few seconds and exhaled through her mouth, relaxing her tense muscles. Fluttershy then turned her head back to her caretaker. “All right, Zecora. What do we need to do to summon this thing?”

Zecora placed a black hoof on the text and began following the words silently. She came to the spot she was looking for and said, “To perform this ritual, Fluttershy, the moon must be at its peak in the sky.” 

“So all we have to do is wait until midnight? That should be fine. It’s not like we can do much else in the meantime.” She said with a low sigh. 

Zecora continued reading until she came across another requirement. She pointed Fluttershy’s attention to the circular pattern underneath the Zebras in the ancient picture. “The circle here, we must retrace. But it is quite large; we will need plenty of space.” 

Fluttershy placed one hoof under her chin and propped her elbow up on her other arm as she thought. The two mares bounced ideas back and forth for a time, trying to find an ideal location for the ritual. 

The ritual ground needed to be in a flat, open space where the moon could be seen and the transmutation circle could be drawn. The obvious answer then, was to perform it out in the open fields near Ponyville. There was one problem that was made immediately clear, however. They couldn’t leave the forest, not until Fluttershy’s leg healed enough. But that would take at least two weeks, and Fluttershy could not bear to wait that long. The two sat in silence, struggling to think of a suitable location, when Fluttershy felt her fur on the back of her neck stand on end as the realization crept into her mind. 

“The clearing.” 

Fluttershy’s miniscule voice was barely audible at all, but Zecora’s highly tuned ears picked it up anyway. She turned to face Fluttershy with heightened eyebrows, waiting for her guest to repeat herself. 

“The clearing where I was attacked would be perfect. I could easily see the moon from there, and it was quite spacious. There should be plenty of room to trace this circle.” Zecora’s face lit up with joy, but Fluttershy’s hoof stopped her from speaking. “Unfortunately, I don’t remember how to get there. I had no idea where I was before that Timberwolf appeared, and I was unconscious afterwards. How can we use the clearing if we can’t even get there?” 

Fluttershy’s face drooped gloomily and she stared at the blankets covering her hind legs. Zecora grinned warmly and put a hoof under the pegasus’ chin, bringing it up so they made eye contact. Fluttershy’s watery eyes soon dried when she saw the warmth of Zecora’s smile. It wasn’t a big, toothy grin like Pinkie always had. It was a smaller, less noticeable display of happiness, but Fluttershy felt it all the same.  

“I know a friend who can help us here, and make this problem not so severe.” Zecora said as she removed her hoof from under Fluttershy’s chin and closed the book, placing it on a nearby shelf. She rose from her seat and left the room. Fluttershy leaned forward as she heard some slight clamor from somewhere else in the hut. Zecora returned after a minute with a jar of some strange, syrupy liquid. 

Fluttershy’s curiosity took hold as she asked, “What is that for?” 

Zecora opened the jar, letting the relaxing fragrance filter through the air and arrive at Fluttershy’s nose. She inhaled the rich scent deeply, trying to figure out just what this solution was. 

“Oh my, that smells wonderful. Could you tell me what it is?” Zecora scooped out a dollop of the sappy liquid and smeared it around the window near Fluttershy’s bed. 

“The aroma from this jar will call my friend be he near or far.” Zecora called back as she put away the jar and cleaned off her hoof with a cloth. Zecora trotted back over to Fluttershy’s bed and sat down beside her. 

“What can your friend do? Is he another forest cri-AAAH!” Fluttershy cried out as the pain in her leg flared unexpectedly. She bit her lip and whimpered softly until the pain faded into a dull throb. Zecora rubbed her back and shoulders in a motherly way until the pegasus regained her composure. 

When the pain had subsided, Zecora released her and replied, “You will like him, just wait and see. He is small and furry and cute as can be!” 

Fluttershy smiled as the last comment reminded her of her sweet Angel. Fluttershy closed her eyes and pressed her head back onto her pillow, a sigh of content escaping her lips as she did. 

Zecora silently rose from her seat once more and returned with some more food and water. She opened her mouth to speak, but Fluttershy was already fast asleep. She placed the food and water beside the bed and watched over her in silence. Zecora couldn’t help but notice the way Fluttershy rested there; eyes closed, her chest slowly rising and falling with each soft breath, it was…mesmerizing. The zebra felt an urge to slide next to the yellow mare and rest with her, but she fought it down. Too much contact with the burn would prolong the healing process, and Fluttershy would not be pleased with that. Without making a sound, she returned to the center of her hut, where she began preparing the powder that they would trace the transmutation circle with. 

****

Fluttershy was floating on a cloud of pure bliss. The scent of the syrup over her head had sent her body into such a deep sleep that she had completely forgotten about the pain in her leg. She yawned and stretched her sleepy limbs, careful not to move her leg too much. She drearily wondered how long she had been asleep, and if Zecora’s friend had arrived yet, but those thoughts soon vanished as the syrup’s scent came back to her again. Loving the fragrance, she took another deep breath, her body almost melting as she sank even deeper into relaxation. She almost felt herself falling back asleep when she felt something hot push against her face; like somepony was breathing right in front of her. 

She tried several times to open her eyes, but her eyelids were still very heavy. She felt another gust of hot air blow past her face and she finally managed to pry open her eyes, blinking several times as she tried to register the world around her. Still mostly asleep, it took Fluttershy a good minute to realize that her view of the ceiling was blocked by Houndoom standing over her. 

She blinked several times as her brain started turning its gears, processing the creature inches away from her face. Still uncertain if she was hallucinating, she blinked again. Sure enough, the black dog was still there, panting with its tongue rolling out of its mouth. Right as she opened her mouth to scream in terror, the Houndoom lowered its muzzle onto her face and gave her a big lick. Fluttershy was caught completely off guard by the hell hound’s sudden display of affection, and could not move an inch when he began licking her face relentlessly. Against her better judgment, the dog’s hot tongue tickled her fur, and she started laughing. 

“Hehe, sto-stop it, please, that ticklessss-hehehe.” Fluttershy coughed and sputtered to get the dog saliva out of her mouth. “Okay boy- *bleh*, that’s enou-*cough* Stop i- *sputter* Down boy, DOWN!” She moved her hooves to push the dog away from her face. Moving its head up, it looked her straight in the eyes.

“WOOF!” He called, and hopped off of the still-giggling mare. It walked to the side of her bed, sat on its rump and began waving his pointed tail back and forth like Winona does when she wants to go for a walk. It barked again as Fluttershy regained control of her giggling. She wiped the dog spit off of her face as Zecora walked in with a saddle bag that was stocked with the supplies they would need for the ritual.

“It seems the syrup’s smell was stronger than I thought, for an extra guest its scent has brought.” Zecora said as a tiny animal wriggled its way between her legs and began moving around the room with its nose always pressed into the ground. It would move for a few seconds, find something, eye it curiously, sniff it, then it would move away to find something else.

Fluttershy followed its movements with confusion; everywhere it went, it moved in a zigzag pattern. It never moved in a curve, it was always short, sharp turns. Fluttershy noticed its fur and tail also had a peculiar pattern to it. It alternated with white and brown layers of bristly fur. Because the layers ended with jagged edges, it looked very much like the zigzag pattern it moved in. Fluttershy desperately fought the urge to swoop down and cuddle the cute little raccoon into submission. She turned to face Zecora, who was rubbing the tiny raccoon’s head with her hoof.   

“Is this the friend you were talking about Zecora?” Fluttershy asked. “The one with the strong sense of smell?”  

Zecora nodded and walked into the room. As she moved past the Houndoom, it stopped panting, perked its ears up and eyed her as though it was expecting something. Zecora walked over to a nearby shelf, retrieved a dried bone, and walked back to the dog. She lowered her hoof down to the dog’s muzzle to offer it the bone. Houndoom sniffed it cautiously, before taking it in his mouth and moving to another room of the shack. With the Houndoom out of the way, the two ponies could finally talk in peace. 

“This raccoon we must follow, if the forest clearing is where you still want to go.” Zecora said.

“Of course I still want to go!” Fluttershy shouted as loud as her quiet voice would allow. Upon hearing the shout, Houndoom rushed back into the room with the half chewed bone in his jaws. Fluttershy took a deep breath to calm down before continuing. “I still want to go, but how will you get me there? I still can’t walk.” 

Fluttershy felt a soft push on her arm and turned her head to see Houndoom; his eyes burning with determination. The two looked on at each other for a while before Fluttershy gasped softly. 

“Do you want to carry me there like you brought me here?” Fluttershy asked, surprised.

Houndoom nodded his head in affirmation. Zecora and Fluttershy exchanged glances and nodded. Zecora asked if she was absolutely ready, and made sure Fluttershy was aware that once they left her shack, there would be no turning back. Fluttershy did not dwell on the question for very long. The zebra walked beside Fluttershy and removed the blanket from the bed entirely. Afterwards, Fluttershy braced herself as Zecora, with effort, lifted the pegasus and placed her as gently as she could on Houndoom’s back. Fluttershy whimpered as the pain in her leg surged. Houndoom craned his neck to look back at her, and Fluttershy meekly told him that she was just fine. 

The raccoon, Zecora and Houndoom all left the hut together. Once outside the house, Zecora asked the raccoon to guide them to the clearing. The raccoon nodded happily, and set to work. He sniffed at Fluttershy’s mane to familiarize himself with her particular aroma, and then he pressed his nose into the ground. He walked all across the forest floor in that peculiar zigzag pattern until he found her trail. When he did, he yipped in a sharp voice to the other two, and they followed him into the forest, leaving the hut farther and farther behind them as they were swallowed up in the murky darkness of Everfree.


****

Though the setting sun barely illuminated the dense forest, it provided enough light for Zecora to follow the white fur of the zigzagging raccoon. The tiny animal scurried left and right underneath thick plant leaves and through tangled tree roots as it guided Zecora and Houndoom through the forest. Fluttershy tried her hardest to stay awake; but she was still very sleepy, and the gentle rocking of Houndoom’s body soon forced her to nod off into slumber. The rest of the group continued on in silence as best they could in an attempt to not wake her. 

The zigzagging raccoon suddenly stopped in the middle of its tracks. It stood on its two back legs, and it, along with Houndoom, perked their ears up and listened intently to the sounds of the forest. Crickets were chirping rather loudly, so Zecora figured that the moon had replaced the sun in the sky. They had not been walking for so long that it would be too late to start the ritual, but they still had to hurry. The raccoon sniffed at the ground again and darted through a pack of dense bushes, leaving Zecora and Houndoom all alone. 

Zecora pushed her way through the thick tangle of branches, leaving her with several cuts when she exited. Houndoom followed shortly after, having erected another field to protect Fluttershy from the sharp branches. Zecora began walking forward again when something caught her eye. She turned to the right and noticed a tree stump. Unlike the rest of the fallen trees that she had seen over the years, this one did not appear to be suffering from termites or some other fungus. This tree had been burned down. 

Houndoom pushed past the zebra and took the lead as the two walked through the increasing number of charred plants and burned trees. Zecora looked at the woods around them in shock; how could the fire of this one creature do so much damage? Before long, they passed through two trees that were so burnt they might as well have been thirty foot tall pieces of charcoal, and arrived at the clearing. 

Compared to what the clearing looked like before, it was not much different now. The trees still tightly surrounded the perimeter of the clearing, and the steep cliff was still there. The only real differences were the grass—what remained of it—was dried out and crumbled to dust underneath the zebra’s hooves. Houndoom brought its stomach to the ground so Zecora could lift Fluttershy off and place her on her side. 

As Fluttershy was being jostled around, her eyes opened slightly and she called out in a weak, tired voice, “Zecora? Did…did we make it on time?” 

Zecora looked directly up at the sky; the moon had not risen above the high tree line yet, so there was plenty of time to start the ritual. She looked back at the sleepy mare and said quietly, “We made it here with time to spare, and now for the ritual we must prepare.” 

Fluttershy smiled at the good news and let her head rest on the ground until she could clear the grogginess out of her mind. Zecora stood up and moved to the center of the clearing. There she removed three things; the ancient book, a jar full of white powder, and a smaller bag that contained five candles. 

Flipping open the book, she arrived at the instructions for tracing out the transmutation circle. Using the stars to read the book, she calculated how large it would be. After deciding on an appropriate size, she began slowly tracing out the pattern with her hoof. She walked backwards, dragging her hoof to make the grooves in the ground, and then sprinkling it with the powder. At certain spots on the circle, she would make an indent in the soil, place a candle down, and surround it with some powder. She planted the last candle as she connected the two ends of the circle. Having finished the perimeter, she returned to the ancient book in the very center. She scanned the pages several times to make sure she did not mistranslate some of the text. 

Zecora turned away from the book and drew a smaller circle around it, making sure it was large enough for Fluttershy to lie down in. Afterwards, she made a straight line from each of the candles to the inner circle. When she finished that, she reread the final steps of the circle’s formation. 

There was a cryptic phrase written in an ancient Zebra language that needed to be repeated all along the outside of the larger circle and the inside of the smaller circle. Zecora set to work, chanting the ancient words as she drew them out in the dirt and sprinkled them with powder. By the time she had finished, the moon had almost reached its peak and she had used up every last speck of the ceremonial powder. 

Zecora walked back over to Fluttershy, who had woken up and watched as Zecora created the summoning circle. Fluttershy shakily rose to her feet and took a step forward to meet the zebra halfway, but she placed too much pressure on her leg and collapsed. Zecora and Houndoom each stood by her side and helped her along as she limped to the center of the circle. They were careful to not step on the painstakingly drawn lines as they came to the center. Zecora let Fluttershy down in front of the open book and gave her a reassuring pat on the back. 

“Fluttershy, from here on out, my guidance you must go without.” Fluttershy said nothing in response; merely watching on as the zebra crossed the edge of the circle. 

Zecora began walking around the circle, taking a match and lighting up each candle. It did not really help Fluttershy see any better in the dark, the flames were so small, but they were necessary for the ritual. After she lit the last candle, Zecora stood still at the edge for a moment before turning around and leaving the clearing through a pair of charred trees.   

Fluttershy looked to her left and saw Houndoom sitting silently beside her, gazing intently at the Cliffside. Fluttershy looked up at the night sky, noticing how close the moon was to being at its peak. Whatever was going to happen, it would happen very soon. 

Fluttershy took this moment to talk to Houndoom. She turned her head to face him and said, “I just wanted to thank you again. You saved my life, and even though I don’t know why you did, I am still grateful.” She draped a wing over Houndoom’s back and tried to pull him closer. Houndoom offered no resistance and happily sidled next to the Pegasus, the fire burning inside him warming her body. 

“Hold on Berry, I’m coming for you.” Fluttershy said quietly. She looked up at the moon and waited as it slowly inched its way up the sky. She gritted her teeth and steeled her nerves as the moon finally reached its peak. 

As soon as the moonbeams hit the summoning circle at just the right angle, the ancient book began glowing with a mysterious black aura that flowed freely from its pages and across the clearing. The dark fog reached up to the five candles and snuffed the red flames atop each one, turning the entire clearing pitch black. Fluttershy started to panic, for not even the stars in the sky were visible anymore. Fluttershy saw a glimpse of light out of the corner of her eye, and looked down at the ground beneath her in awe. 

The runes Zecora had traced around the inner circle had started glowing, the white powder magnifying the shine a hundredfold. After the letters were illuminated, the actual circle itself became bright, with the glow moving its way from the inner circle to the candles and then to the outer circle, the glow intensifying as it progressed. As the entire transmutation circle lit up, it became so bright that Fluttershy had to shield her eyes. 

After a while, the light dimmed enough for her to see what was happening outside the circle. She could feel the glow of the runes getting fainter and fainter, and when she looked down she realized why. 

The runes were fading from the circle beneath her and reappearing on the cliff wall. Fluttershy shook her head in confusion as an exact replica of the summoning circle appeared on the slab of rock in front of her. Each character was removed from the clearing floor until Fluttershy was left standing in the bare circle. 

The ancient words on the cliff wall began glowing brighter as the rest of the circle vanished from the ground and reappeared on the wall. The replica summoning circle illuminated the entire cliff side with its mysterious glow. The outer circle maintained its brightness as the inner circle began to fade, leaving a visible outline of a black void. 

Fluttershy stared with a mixture of confusion and fear at the void in the wall. It was perfectly smooth, unlike the craggy rock that was there moments ago. She felt her fur stand on end as the pool of darkness began rippling. 

A small wave moved from the center of the portal and outward until it reached the edge, where it bounced back with less force and did not quite make it back to the center. Then another wave appeared, and another, and another, each one getting faster and larger than the ones before it, until the black portal was constantly undulating. Fluttershy shook in horror as she wondered why it was moving so much. Her question was answered when she saw something move inside the portal. 

A single menacing, red eye suddenly appeared in the center of the rippling portal. It moved left and right across the clearing, scanning the area before falling on Fluttershy herself. As its gaze fell on her, the timid pegasus felt her breath leave her lungs as she froze in absolute terror. The red eye dilated and constricted several times before blinking. Once it blinked, the portal stopped undulating and became perfectly still. 

“For what reason do you seek to disturb the souls of the dead?” The eye’s voice shocked Fluttershy out of her state of fear. Its voice was deep and powerful, rumbling across the clearing as it spoke.  

Fluttershy truly defied her name as she looked right at the red eye and boldly proclaimed, “I want to see Berry again.” She held her ground, holding her head high and throwing her fears to the wind.

The red eye constricted and squinted curiously at her. “Berry? That is an unusual name for a pony.” The voice chuckled softly before continuing, “Was this Berry a friend?” He asked almost condescendingly, “Or a relative perhaps?” 

Fluttershy shook her head before answering the creature’s question. “No, Berry was not a pony. She was a grey squirrel. I would like to see here one last time so I can say goodbye.” She stood bravely under the creature’s gaze as she waited for it to speak again. 

The red eye narrowed its gaze on the yellow pegasus as it processed this information. She seemed absolutely sincere in her claims, as unusual as they were. 

“You interrupted me in the middle of my duties for this?” The eye grew increasingly frustrated as it spoke. “Do you know who I am? Have you even the slightest idea of how important my time is? I am the sole being responsible for the shepherding of souls to the afterlife. Do you know what happens to souls when I am unable to bring them to their eternal resting place?” 

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, sir, I don’t.” 

“They sit in PURGATORY!” The voice roared, startling the poor mare. “Hundreds of creatures die on this planet every second. That means thousands of souls that deserve their peace are being deprived of it because you called me out here to have me open the gates to the spirit world just to say farewell TO A SQUIRELL?!” The entire forest seemed to shake as his booming voice crashed around the clearing.  

Fluttershy looked directly into the monster’s soul-piercing eye and said, “Yes.” 

“…..”

“…..” 

“…..” 

“Very well then.” The voice called out. 

“Huh?” Fluttershy found herself at a loss for words as the red eye disappeared from the portal. She turned to show her look of confusion to Houndoom, who did not respond. Seconds later the portal began rippling as fiercely as before, and Fluttershy felt her heart leap into her throat as something emerged from the portal. 

A large, grey hand began reaching out of the portal, followed shortly after by the creature’s head. It slowly oozed its way out of the portal before floating down to hover above the ground. In all of Fluttershy’s life, she had never seen anything that could compare to the eldritch monstrosity that was floating in front of her. 

This creature had a strange genie like tail at the bottom of its ghostly body. Its chest had a yellow zigzag pattern with two almond shaped “eyes” above it. Its head was shaped like a cylinder with a yellow protrusion at the top and had no facial features save for its single, unwavering, blood red eye. 

It broadened its shoulders, spreading its arms clenching its hands into fists. “Prepare yourselves.” It called out. 

“Yourselves?” Fluttershy sputtered, “But I’m the only one that wanted to-” 

*click* 

The yellow zigzag on the creature’s chest suddenly snapped open like a jaw, revealing a dark void. Before Fluttershy could blink, she felt a horribly strong force rip her off the ground and suck her into the creature’s gaping maw.