As Ponyville rapidly became encased in an orange blanket of flames, house after house catching it like a horrible plague, six ponies sat upon a hilltop a safe distance away, watching the fiasco unfold. Not a single one had a dry eye as they watched their home, livelihood, and the past year and a half of their life burn away. There was no stopping it now, not even Celestia or Luna’s magic could quell the horrid flames that spread to everything flammable, collapsing everything in its destructive path. The plethora of flames had already damned most of Ponyville to an inevitable fate. Fluttershy’s home was the first to go, being closest to the forest where the fire had unfortunately begun. Then went Twilight’s, followed by Rarity’s and the sweet shop Pinkie Pie called home. Applejack’s was the worst overall; the trees in the orchard stood no chance what so ever against the fast fire. Rainbow Dash’s was still up, but it wouldn’t be long until the destruction overran it as well.
Their sobs were not the only ones however. Everypony who managed to survive was gathered around them now, tears flowing freely from their eyes as they held onto close friends and family. Nopony uttered a word, all of their eyes fixed on the horrendous scene playing out before them. Tiny foals and fillies stayed close to their mothers, watching with fearful and damp eyes. The mothers did their best to comfort the young ones; even those who succeeded couldn’t manage to stop their own tears of pain. Nopony knew where they were going to go or what they were going to do; what was there to do? It would take months, maybe even years to repair the damages the fire will bring. And the worst part, it wasn’t even finished yet! There was still more buildings to be burned, more tears to be shed, and more worries to be had.
All six mares in front lay on the soft grass below them, tearful eyes looking on. Usually it would be nice to lie on this hill, to watch the whole city from a far away view and take in all of its glory. But now it was a nightmare, a nightmare nopony had seen coming, one nopony ever prepared for. The sadness of the moment radiated from them as they watched. Twilight was thinking out loud about every possible way they could still fix it and how it wasn’t too bad. Pinkie Pie’s mane lay flat against her face, she stayed quiet as tears slowly escaped her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Rainbow Dash was pounding on the ground with her hooves, complaining about how she should have been more loyal some how, should have ended the fire before it began. Rarity was frantically trying to come up with a way she could overcome such a financial loss in dresses and fabric. Applejack was cursing everything in nature, especially fire. And Fluttershy was cowering at the sight of the flames, wondering aloud if her animal friends were going to be alright.
“Ugh. Rainbow Dash, look, there wasn’t anything you could do about it! You’re just one Pegasus, the fire was already in town by the time anypony found out about it.” Twilight said in an annoyed tone.
“Easy for you to say Twilight, you’re not the element of loyalty. This is in my blood, to be loyal, to be there for everypony. And I let everypony down because I was napping on a cloud when I found out our home was burning to the ground!” Rainbow Dash spat back.
“Loyalty Shmoyalty, you couldn’t control it Rainbow, It wasn’t your fault. Besides, we have much bigger problems then blamin’ ourselves. Just look at my orchard! Do you know how many bits worth of apples that is!? All of it, burnin’ to the ground!” Applejack angrily retorted.
“And my dresses! I was busy filling an order for a very important client! Not to mention all the mannequins, silk, ensembles, outfits, and everything else I had in there! I may never be able to work in the fashion business again!” Rarity added.
“Don’t forget the thousands of books in my library! I was lucky enough to get Spike out of there in time as it is!” Twilight commented, pulling the baby dragon closer to her. Spike let a tear fall from his eyes upon the mention of all of the lost literature.
“All those sweets… cupcakes, cakes, pies, candy, taffy… all gone…” Pinkie Pie mentioned, a heavy deal of sadness in her voice.
“What about my animal friends? Oh, I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for not being able to save their home.” Fluttershy held Angel bunny close to her, several tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I lost something too! Have you seen my cloud house guys?! That wasn’t a cheap place to live in! Especially with all of the Wonderbolts memorabilia I bought! All of it is gone! But you don’t see me crying about it, do you?” Rainbow Dash argued.
“That’s because a bunch of stupid toys and pictures ain’t worth nothin’ compared to a whole orchard of trees!”
“They’re not just a bunch of stupid toys and pictures! And besides, I’m still loosing my home too!”
“We all are!”
“GIRLS!” Spike shouted, causing all six ponies to stop talking in shock. He stood up and crossed his arms, looking at all the ponies with serious and sad eyes. “This is not the time to be arguing! The town is burning down and everypony is loosing something! Some more than others. Arguing isn’t going to help anypony! It’s just going to create more problems.”
All six ponies look guiltily towards the ground, after a quick apology from everypony their focus was turn back to the matter at hoof.
“I still can’t believe our entire town is gone… We may never be able to get it back.” Twilight said gloomily, chocking back a sob.
“I know…It’s gonna be tough livin’ from now on” Applejack replied sorrowfully.
“What confuses me is how this fire even started. I mean, I know it came from the Everfree forest because my house went first but… How did it start there?” Fluttershy chimed in.
“That is odd… The Everfree forest might be a weird place but fires don’t start in there by themselves, ever.” Twilight replied, pondering the situation.
“What if somepony else started it?” Applejack asked quizzically. All six of them stopped, the thought forming in there mind as they stared at each other in horror.
“You don’t think…” Rainbow Dash began. All of the ponies continued to stare at each other, they’re pupils growing small.
“No…it can’t be… it just doesn’t make sense!” Twilight retorted, looking stressed.
“But… What if it is…?” Fluttershy inquired. Twilight pondered this, hitting herself on the head with a hoof as she looked back to the burning Ponyville. The fire had enveloped most of the town by now, flames rising to high lengths, curling and twisting at the top as if they were performing some sort of ancient, rhythmic dance.
Twilight felt a tear escape her eye and run down her cheek. It’s warm texture leaving a burn on her cheek against the cold wind of the night. Ponyville was doomed now, nothing or nopony could save it. And worst of all, she might be to blame for all of it…
***
“I’m sick and tired of this! You all do NOTHING but treat me like a retard!” Ditzy Doo shouted at the group of mares who had stopped to point and laugh at her. She was trying to enjoy her day out in public. Something, given her lazy eyes and speech impediment, she never got to do. She was at a restaurant, eating a nice leaf sandwich under the protective umbrella which shaded her from the ultra-violet rays of the sun. The umbrella was mainly to block her eyes from any unknowing citizens however, so she could avoid prosecution and ridicule. But to anypony who knew that trademarked bubble cutie mark and her yellow mane and grey coat, it was obvious they were looking at Ponyville’s “Resident Retard”. The group of mares giggled and trotted away, going about their business. No matter what Ditzy said or did, it was always portrayed as a “Stupid” or “Derpy” action to other citizens. Something that had gotten her the infamous nick name “Derpy Hooves”. Not matter what she did nopony would ever believe what she could be capable of in the smarts department; she was able to write astonishing stories that had always stunned her teachers and elders. She wasn’t too bad at math either, and she was also an amazing poet. But, should she ever dare to try and prove this to other ponies, there was no way under Celestia’s sun and Luna’s moon that she could ever get them to believe her.
Ditzy sighed and rested her head on the restaurant’s table, closing her eyes tightly. Tears began to stream down her face, leaving a heat behind as they dripped off and fell to the table below, making a miniature puddle wherever they landed. She hated this life and town. She hated this whole country, continent; hay, she hated this whole, cruel world. Nopony ever befriended her; she was just considered a waste of time to them, all of them. Even her own parents abandoned her as a filly! She had to raise herself, feed herself, and scrape together a living by becoming the mailmare. She just wished she could go blind… just go blind, deaf, and loose her ability to speak. That way, she would be free from the world, free from the pain it brought her. No matter how many ponies laughed at her, called her names, pushed her around it wouldn’t matter. She would be completely invincible. Completely free from the horrors she experienced on a day to day basis.
She hated them… She hated all of them. They were cruel, sick, manipulative scumbags. And not just the snobby ones who looked like they belonged at a Canterlot wine tasting party either. No, everypony was awful, dark and horrible to the very core in their own, twisted way. Nopony was perfect, nopony was even close to being perfect. Yet, they all held themselves above her, taunting her with their games and cruel name-calling. Ever since she was young enough to start preschool it had been that way. Fillies and Foals were cruel, Mares and Stallions were cruel. They all were…
The group of mares turned back around to look at the sad creature once more. After a fit of giggles and some whispers from her friends, the pony that seemed to lead the group came forward to Ditzy.
All of this rage… All of this rage building up inside of her just didn’t seem right. It just didn’t seem like it was her, she always tried to be a forgiving and understanding pony. But years upon years of abuse had crafted her into the angry and vengeful soul she was today. It had reached its boiling point, like a thermometer full of mercury ready to burst and spray its contents everywhere, a volcano ready to launch its lava and molten rock onto the earth’s surface, a fire ready to begin…
Hah… This would make a wonderful poem… Too bad nopony would ever bother to read it, they’d just assumed I’d scribbled on a piece of paper like some kinder-care foal and was excited to show it to them.
“Aww… Why so glum Depz, What ever could be the matter” She coolly started “I know what would cheer you right up! How bout a wave a muffin in front of you, you’d like that, wouldn’t you retard.”
One of her giggling friends trotted up next to her, eager to follow up on the mean joke. “You know what, just get a muffin, put it on a stick, and hang it in front of her. Then she’d actually be able to keep herself on track when delivering mail. Mrs. I’m-too-stupid-to-look-out-for-a-poll-after-the-tenth-time-I’ve-hit-it.” She ended with a fit of laughter. The rest of the friends began breaking out in hysterical laughter, walking away from the table.
That was it, the final straw, the final sever in her usually kind nature. She had tolerated it long enough; it was time for her revenge. An awfully wonderful plan began to form in her mind, and it was a good one. Oh, she would write that poem alright. She would write it and everypony would see it, everypony would cry and blame themselves and want to befriend her. Nopony would have a dry eye…
It was going to be perfect…
***
Ditzy Doo walked around the small confines of her cloud home, taking paces back and forth. Every now and again she’d stop to take a look at her clock and stare outside her porcelain window, one of the few nice things she owned in this life. She’d study the outside town, not far from her home. All of the ponies walking about, meddling with their own agendas, too busy to care for anypony else besides themselves and their giggling and laughing friends that surrounded them. Pathetic…Pathetic foals who are tied into their little safety nets of friends and family; networks that this society has seemed to set up amongst themselves this day and age.
None of them were ever alone or hurt. And even if they did get hurt, they had somepony to help them through it; somepony to wipe away their tears and hold them close. They never had to go through the scarring, painful and terrifying process of always being hazed, laughed at, and made fun of…
Ditzy made a small “Pfft” at their happiness, soon enough it would be no more. Only to be replaced by worry, pain, and many, many tears. They would all feel what she felt throughout her entire life; pure pain that will root itself deep into their hearts and minds, leaving an imprinted memory of who they all shunned and tore apart.
That’s when they would hear it…
That’s when they’d hear the poem she had made, right in the heat of their terror it would touch them and pull at their heart-strings, like she was plucking the cords of a magnificent instrument with every word she spoke. It wouldn’t matter about her speech impediment then. It wouldn’t matter about her lazy eyes, or idiotic way her mane and coat were styled. Though on any other day she’d look silly, on this night she’d look terrifying.
Ditzy stopped for a second and looked to the floor; part of her didn’t like these thoughts, this thinking. It wasn’t right to stoop to their level and play their game. She was better than them.
But on the other hoof… Whoever is better didn’t matter, they would never like her, and they would never befriend her. They would only continue to shun and hurt her. They deserved this… It was a necessary punishment. Necessary for the years and years and years of abuse she suffered. Curling up in the corner of a gutter, trying to hold all of her warmth in as she’d cry herself to sleep. Cry away all of her pains, hoping for somepony to notice and comfort her. But all her crying ever seemed to gain her was strange and sad looks from pony’s eyes. Maybe they’d be tempted to help, showing this by a hesitant hoof held back as if they are planning to step forward. But they wouldn’t, they never would, as soon as they saw her lazy eyes they would stray away and hope for the best. Everypony seemed to be judgmental, even to the point where they couldn’t help a “special” filly crying her eyes out in an alleyway.
Ditzy began to feel more warm tears grace her cheek as she shuddered; the painfulness and reality of those moments hitting her harder than an open book. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, beat after beat after beat. But none of them were happy or joy filled, each singular breath she took shuddered, every time her heart beated she could feel it cracking, and her tears were far pass the point of staining her coat. The spots the left behind making it look as if she had brown spots on her fur when she looked in the mirror.
Ditzy’s pain quickly turned to pure animosity as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Those dumb crossed eyes, that retched yellow mane of hers, the dull grey coat, the foal-like bubble cutie mark. She was a monstrosity, she was a sore sight for eyes, and she was nothing but a plain, common, retard.
That last word hung in her mind, wrapping itself around her brain like a wet cloth. The anger seeped away only to be replaced by melancholic depression once more. Was that really the only thing others thought of when looking at her? Sure she lacked some common sense, spoke like a babbling idiot, had an odd obsession with muffins, and had her crossed eyes. But was that all she was ever thought of…? Had nopony ever even token one iota of time to consider she might just be as smart, if not smarter, then themselves? That she might be capable of doing anything other than ‘derping’ around, eating food, going to sleep, and delivering mail?
Ditzy’s eyes narrowed at the reflection in the mirror, she could almost hear all of the mares that ever made fun of her in her head; their hostile insults, their cruel nick names, their cackling sneaking its way into her mind and bouncing back and forth like a rubber ball.
“ARRRGH!” Ditzy screamed, punching the mirror as hard as she could with her hoof. Shards of glass erupted from the seems of the reflecting object flying in every which way across the room. Some flew out other windows, whereas others just landed on the floor, laying there in a scattered pattern.
Ditzy pulled her hoof back, looking at the damage she had done to it and the mirror. Her hoof had a few shards of glass wedged into it, blood running down its front and continuing to stream down her foreleg. It started to uncontrollably shake a bit, along with her breathing; partly due to physical and mental pain, and partly due to the sheer adrenaline and anger pumping through her veins.
The mirror was her mother’s, left with Ditzy after she passed on. It was a very nice and expensive mirror, the boarders trimmed with gold lining, the rest of it filled with silver. The glass itself was as pristine and fancy as glass could come. It was able to clearly show anything or anypony, when she stilled lived with her parents Ditzy could remember her mother always joking about how that mirror could make anypony look good, even her.
Ditzy felt her heart ache and her stomach churn again, thinking about her mother and family always made her hurt deeply. Those nice memories, every time she’d be able to come home to a loving family and feel like she belonged there. Being able to talk and cry about all the mean fillies and foals at school, all the while her mother holding her in a tight embrace and her father speaking calming words to her. Ditzy looked to the mirror again, tears flowing freely from her eyes now.
Why mom…? Why did you and dad go away that one day and never come back? Why did you abandon me..?
Ditzy was sure her hoof was going to get infected if she let the glass shards in it sit there any longer. But she didn’t care, all she wanted was somepony to hold her, caress her mane and tell her it’d all be alright. Tell her not to worry, not to listen to those hateful words, and to tell them all about it. She felt more tears stream down her cheek and fall to the cloud floor below. They seeped through the cloud and disappeared out of sight.
Ditzy sighed heavily, heading upstairs to her bathroom so she could hopefully treat the wound. She slowly opened up the bathroom door, walking inside and examining her hoof. There was one major piece stuck in the middle combined with a few smaller pieces scattered across the rest of it. She quickly removed the shards and treated the wound with disinfectant, afterwards tightly wrapping it in gauze; something that, given she was a Pegasus and had not yet mastered the ancient art of holding something in mid air with hoofekinises, was very difficult to do. As if her impaired vision hadn’t already made it hard enough to do what she needed to.
After she was done she took a quick look outside the bathroom window. It wasn’t going to be much longer until Celestia’s bright and luscious sun would set and make way for Luna’s glorious and cloaking moon. Ditzy walked to the window and poked her head outside, the cool air’s breeze brushing across her face and tickling her nose, making her squint to hold back a sneeze. The grass was being slightly pushed along, bending back and yielding to the wind’s forceful nature.
Everything in nature seems to have a cruel metaphor, doesn’t it…
Ditzy closed the window and shut the hatch, walking back downstairs and staring at the living room. She walked along all of her shelves and prized memories, whatever ones she had, that was. She cherished every smiling photo, every silly moment, and every lovely photo she ever had been able to keep. She stopped at the last framed photo, standing tall on the small cloud shelf.
It was a photo of her as a filly, standing the middle between her two proud parents. Her dad’s hoof playfully messing up her hair as her mother looked down at her and smiled warmly. It was one of the few photos in existence where her eyes weren’t crossed or lazy, but perfect. In the right position, exactly where they should be. Ditzy smiled as tears came to her eyes again; those were the days. Those were the best moments of her life, the moments where she actually felt…normal.
Ditzy pushed the photo down, a small cloud of dust rising from the shelf when she did. She looked outside once more; it was still daylight out, and ponies were still out, milling the streets. The grey mare decided she might as well have one last stroll among the peaceful city to see if anypony will stop and care about her for once. The final walk, amongst the final times she’d be seen as just a stupid pony to the citizens of Ponyville.
Ditzy reached for her saddlebags, opening them to ensure she had everything she would need for the events that would inevitably take place later that night. After a quick check and a smile of satisfaction the yellow maned Pegasus closed the bags, picked them up, and hitched them on her back.
She slowly walked towards her door, opened it, and shut the light off behind her. With a shut of a door and a small click she began her serene journey towards the buzzing village with a small canter.
***
“What the hay Twilight?! You don’t like Hay-Fries?!” Rainbow Dash asked in angry shock, eyeing her friend with annoyance.
“No I can’t say that I’ve ever really been one for them; the sheer amount of them that Spike already eats is disgusting for me” Twilight calmly replied, folding her menu and telekinetically resting it on the table. Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs in frustration, looking away from the purple mare. Applejack shook her head, resting her own menu down, ready to order.
“I personally think that Hay-Fries are revolting myself; they’re just so greasy, icky, and… eww!” Rarity commented in a frilly matter, resting her menu down as well as she shuddered, obviously disturbed.
“What are you guys talking about; Hay-Fries are so yummy! The way they sprinkle them with just enough salt and make them just crunchy enough. But not too crunchy, or not too much or too little salt or ketchup or else it’s ruined. I really love them, I mean come on! They’re Hay-Fries!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed with glee, sloppily throwing her menu on top of the others. Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes as Rarity cringed in disturbance once more.
“Lets…um…lets stop fighting please…” Fluttershy shyly inserted, gracefully and tenderly resting her menu on the top of the stack. Rainbow Dash turned to face Fluttershy with a stare of frustration.
“We’re not fighting Fluttershy! We’re debating! And it’s obvious Pinkie and I have won this debate.” Rainbow Dash commented with frustration in her tone, eying the other 2 mares in front of her. She then turned her attention back to Fluttershy “Do you even like Hay-Fries Fluttershy?”
“Well…um…I’m not really a hay-fry pony but…um… They’re not too good. I mean, they’re alright, but-” Fluttershy shyly stammered before being cut off by Rainbow Dash.
“For the love of Celestia would you stop the “um’s” and speak up for once?!” She said angrily, eyeing the yellow pony. Fluttershy cringed and contemplated saying sorry or not.
“Enough gals, the waiter’s here, lets order are food; without arguing.” Twilight said, giving a stare of disapproval to the rainbow-maned pony. Rainbow Dash sighed and passed it off with a casual wave of the hoof as she too turned her attention to the waiter that had now arrived at their table.
“May I take your orders madams” The Waiter said in a calm and professional sounding voice, as if he really didn’t care about what they wanted unless he was going to get payed.
The six ponies quickly ordered their food; Twilight and Rarity going for a nice salad, Fluttershy wanting a vegetable plate, Applejack asking for an apple pie and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash deciding to share a big plate of Hay-Fries.
“You really shouldn’t eat those unhealthy fries if you want to keep being Equestria’s self-proclaimed ‘Fastest Flyer’” Rarity advised, looking at Rainbow Dash with a bit of concern.
“Pfft. They won’t hurt me, I got a big metabolism” Rainbow Dash in a relaxed tone as she tapped her belly.
“I just cannot wait to see the day you get all fat and flabby” Rarity replied, stifling her laughter.
“Hey! Wait for just a minute! Just because I-” Rainbow Dash was arguing in an angry voice before a loud crash stopped her. All six ponies stopped their bickering to turn their attention to the source of the noise. Immediately Rainbow was struggling to contain her laughter, almost loosing it when she looked back to the scene again.
“Rainbow Dash! That’s not funny!” Twilight chastised.
“Common guys, it’s always funny to see Derpy fall over! It’s like that pony’s got two left hooves.” Rainbow Dash replied, holding her sides as she began to crack up in laughter. Pinkie Pie joined in, holding her stomach as she keeled over in a fit of laughter.
“Pinkie Pie! Not you too!” Twilight exclaimed, looking thoroughly disappointed.
“I’m so super sorry Twilight, but whenever somepony else is laughing I can’t help myself” Pinkie said between rushed giggles. Rarity couldn’t help herself as she softly giggled, soon joined by a smile from Fluttershy and hysterical laughter from Applejack.
“Really guys! It’s mean to laugh at anypony falling over, even her!” Twilight criticized, trying to stifle her own laughter. It was like a contagious disease, spreading from pony to pony. Soon all of them were uncontrollably laughing, tears leaking from their eyes.
Ditzy slowly picked herself up, brushing the dust and gravel out of her coat and mane. She shook her hair, turning her head to the outside table that contained six ponies laughing as hard as ponily possible. She snorted out of anger, marching up to the table with intent to let those six foals know it’s not nice to laugh.
Rainbow Dash stopped laughing, propping herself back up and wiping a tear from her eye. She then noticed the angry crossed-eyed mare walking up to their table with a purpose. She quickly turned to her other friends and motioned for them to calm down, pointing to the yellow-maned pony that was quickly approaching. The rest of the ponies stopped laughing, attempting to get a hold of themselves and look serious. Twilight was already composing an apology in her mind and let the others know with a narrowed stare saying “You better follow along and apologize with me”.
Ditzy finally reached the table, her lazy eyes looking madder then ever as she raised a hoof, about ready to begin her angry lecture.
Before she could even begin Rainbow Dash began to break out into laughter once more, obviously taking Ditzy’s attempt to be angry and rational as a joke.
“Rainbow Dash! Calm down!” Twilight scolded at the sky-blue Pegasus. Rainbow Dash continued to relentlessly laugh, the laughter soon once again passing to everypony else.
“I-I’m sorry, I just cannot take her seriously with those eyes!” She said, putting her hooves up in defense. Soon enough everypony was laughing their souls out once more, even Twilight (Reluctantly so). Ditzy could feel herself getting madder and madder by each second; she’d make sure these fillies would be the first to pay after the forest.
“You mares are being mean! It’s not nice to laugh at anypony falling over, especially one with impaired eyesight! You’ll regret this… You all will, just wait until tonight!” Ditzy said violently, eyeing the ponies that stopped laughing upon her threat one last time before galloping away. All of them nervously eyed each other, silently wondering if they should be worried or not.
“What do you think she meant by dat?” Applejack asked in a semi-worried tone.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think she meant well by it. We should all keep one eye open tonight, thanks to somepony” Twilight said as she eyed Rainbow Dash once again.
“Hey, I wasn’t the only one that laughed! Besides, what can a retard be capable of? Hitting our windows with muffins? Misdelivering our mail? ” Rainbow argued in an annoyed tone.
“Yes, but you were the one that got all of us laughing. And besides, she didn’t sound like any retard to me if she knew the meaning of big words like ‘Impaired’” Rarity commented, calmly looking at Rainbow. Rainbow Dash shrugged and got up from her chair, walking away.
“Where are you going? What about your Hay-Fries?” Twilight curiously asked. Rainbow Dash turned back around and shrugged, yawning heavily.
“I’m too tired at the moment, I’ll get something to eat later, and right now I’m going to go nap on a cloud” Rainbow said with a satisfied smile. Twilight once again rolled her eyes, Pinkie Pie had busied herself in playing with the napkin container, Fluttershy was laying back with her eyes closed, Applejack was leaning back in her chair, her legs crossed and resting on the table, Rarity was doing the same, but in what she called a more “Graceful” way.
With a wave of a hoof, Rainbow Dash took to the skies in search for a comfortable cloud to sleep on. Twilight looked on after her, worry plaguing her eyes as she watched the rainbow maned Pegasus fly off.
“I sure hope you’re right about what you said Rainbow Dash, or else we’re all in some big trouble.” Twilight said nervously, her voice cracking a bit.
***
Ditzy began her descent into the dark Everfree Forest, taking her steps in pride, letting the forest and its inhabitants know she wasn’t intimated by them. There were a few critters buzzing about, attempting to hide from the new figure that had entered their habitat. Ditzy could hear them, rustling in the bushes and disturbing the many leaves in the trees. But it wasn’t them she cared about; sure, they would be a causality too, but a necessary one; Necessary for her plan to work without a hitch.
Ditzy was part-way into the forest by now, the entrance to it had disappeared behind a wall of darkness which she found herself enveloped in. This was a tad unsettling to the grey mare, considering the fact that she had always been afraid of the dark as a filly. After a quick shake of her head and a deep breath she pressed on, she wasn’t far enough yet. She needed to go deeper in so what she had plan would be as effective as possible.
The Pegasus’s once proud strides into the force quickly began shorter and hurried, the fear of the sounds and darkness of the forest began to seep into Ditzy’s heart, making her even more nervous than she had been before. But it was too late now; her only option was to move forward. She hadn’t spent all that time planning this to have it go to waste; it was the perfect revenge plan, and she would enact it, no matter what stood in her way. Be it fierce predators, a scary forest, Small critters chirping about, or… the dark.
Ditzy stopped once more, shuddering a bit from the cold and her fright. She began to tremble, her steps becoming more hasted as she moved forward. She didn’t wish to stay in this place much longer, it’s best that she gets what she needs to done and moves back to town to watch the fireworks unfold. She could do this; she was strong, smart, and capable. The dark couldn’t scare her; she was too mature at this age. The yellow-maned mare shook her head once more, getting her wits about her again as she took off, this time in a gallop instead of a nervous trot.
After awhile she finally reached her destination, a major clearing the center of the forest that would be perfect for her purposes. The mare smiled in satisfaction, giving herself a pat on the bag as she took off her saddle bags, resting them on the hard earth below. She eagerly opened the cover, skimming through the contents with her hooves.
“No…No… No, that’s not it, No…No… Why did I even pack that…? Oh, here we are!” Ditzy exclaimed as she found the tool she was frantically searching for. She reached in with her mouth, grasping the object in a tight grip before raising it out of the bags. She spat it out, allowing it to rest on her hoof as she stared at it with glee.
“Oh, this is going to be great!” The grey Pegasus said in utter joy, carefully opening the box of matches she had brought with her. After the flap was open, she allowed the contents of the box to spill to the ground below. She gingerly picked the first one into vision off of the ground and rubbed it against the coarse edge of the matchbox, meant for igniting the one thing that would seal hers and all of Ponyville’s fate. The first attempt was a dud, much to the mare’s dissatisfaction. She tried again, once again receiving no response but sparks flying off into the distance. After three more failed attempts, Ditzy screamed in frustration and threw the match back to the ground, reaching for another one. This one was a dud as well, followed by the next, and the next, and the next.
Ditzy cursed her horrible luck, throwing the box on the ground in frustration. Not only had her plan been ruined, but she had wasted all that time premeditating it for nothing! The grey mare groaned in anger, kicking the box once more, as if to let it know how displeased with it she was. She sighed, disheveled as she half-heartily reached for her saddle bags, placing them once again on her back. She should have brought a more reliable method than an old box of matches she found lying around the house.
Just as fate had seemed to punch Ditzy enough in the gut she glanced back to the ground, eyeing all of the dead matches that would never light. Her eyes screened the contents, one particular match standing out amongst the rest. Was that… One last chance! One last match!
Ditzy clapped her hooves together in joy before reaching for the final match and the box. With one flick of her mouth the match came to life, fire burning lively on its end. Ditzy thanked Celestia and Luna for this moment of luck as she moved forward, carrying on with her plan. She went from tree to tree, holding the match close enough to it for it to start burning. After she had set most of the trees in the clearing on fire she threw the match to the ground, running off in the direction of Ponyville.
She had to be quick, soon enough the fire would spread like crazy throughout the whole forest. Even though this was her plan, Ditzy didn’t quite feel like dying with the forest; if she did, how else would she be able to fulfill the final part of her act?
Nearly reaching the entrance Ditzy squeed with happiness, breaking through the barrier and running back towards the village. She stopped and turned back to the forest, the flames were rapidly spreading, reaching the entrance with her. She thanked her luck once more; she had gotten out just in time. The flames had covered a good portion of the forest by now, quickly reaching the fields outside the house of her first target, Fluttershy.
Ditzy once again cheered in joy, clapping her hooves together as she took off towards Ponyville, begging to escape the inevitable fate that awaited it. Before she reached the entrance to town a scream of a familiar voice filled her ears, she smiled and continued on the path towards the town proper.
***
Twilight paced around her library, too worried and lost in her thoughts to be able to sleep. She walked back and forth, each one of her hoofsteps making the wood floor beneath her creak. The main room’s light was turned on; Twilight had tried to be polite and use only the fireplace as a light source but soon stopped, not being able to see much around the room. Things like lack of sight or light sometimes irritated Twilight, unless she was working in a very concentrated mindset.
As she was circling her room deep in thought an irritated baby dragon walked down to the floor, yawning deeply. He stopped at the end of the stairs, staring at the stressed mare in front of him. The green dragon sighed deeply, knowing what was coming from Twilight acting this way.
“What’s the matter Twilight? Why are you up so late?” Spike asked curiously, yawning as he stepped out onto the main floor to greet her. It was clear that she had been up all night long, worrying or stressing over something. Probably something small, like she always did.
No response
Spike sighed and asked again; receiving no response once more but the clamoring of hoofs and the muttering of the purple mare. After awhile Spike had had enough of this game, and stopped Twilight in her tracks, snapping his claws in front of her face. The Purple mare shook her head violently, as if she was just breaking out of some terrible trance. She then turned her eyes upon the small dragon in front of her, a concerned look plastered on his face.
“Oh…it’s nothing big really; I’m just sweating the small stuff again” Twilight ended with a nervous laugh. Spike rolled his eyes and forced her to sit down, looking into her eyes.
“Tell me what’s wrong Twilight; I can’t sleep with you up and pacing around the house like this.” Spike said worriedly. Twilight shook her head once more, her mane becoming a frazzled mess. After she gathered her wits again she stared spike in the eyes, a frustrated look on her face.
“Look spike, I told you it’s nothing big! I can handle it myself.” Twilight said crisply as she stood back up and walked to the window. She stared out at the darkened town; surely Ditzy wasn’t serious or she would have done something by now, right?
“But Twilight…” Spike said in a nagging voice, walking up to her and tugging on her tail. Twilight turned around and growled, causing the dragon to back up in fright. She stared him down, a serious look on her face.
“Spike, for the last time, I don’t need any-” Twilight began crossly, raising a hoof in anger before she was cut off be her door being slammed open.
“HELP!” Fluttershy shouted as she galloped into the house, skidding to a stop in front of Spike and Twilight. Both of them stared at each other before looking back to the yellow pony in shock. Sweat was beading down her face, her mane was in an awful mess, and she was hugging a very displeased Angel Bunny deathly tight.
“Dear Celestia Fluttershy, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. What could be the matter?” Twilight said, all of her anger melting away only to be replaced be extreme concern for her usually timid friend. Twilight had never seen the yellow mare in this state before; she was usually so laid back and relaxed.
“Well… fire… forest… um… bunnies, and all the other animals, and… help!” Fluttershy stammered, attempting to catch her breath. Twilight shook her head in confusion and walked over to the frantic Pegasus, offering a hoof to help her up. Fluttershy shakily took it, standing up on all four legs before taking in a deep breath.
“Twilight, there’s a huge, terrifying, awful, horrible fire out there!” Fluttershy exclaimed with pure terror in her voice as she pointed outside the door. Twilight galloped outside, poking her head around the corner. There was indeed a fire spreading in Ponyville now, and ponies were already screaming and clamoring out of their homes, trying to escape the horrid flames. From her calculations, Twilight could tell it wasn’t going to be long until the fire inevitably reached her house. Little did she know, Spike had joined her and was busy screaming ‘Save the books! Save the books!’ while she stood still in utter shock.
Twilight came back inside, looking more stressed than she had a minute ago. She contemplated what to do for a moment while Fluttershy and Spike ran around the room, panicking. She cleared her throat, and wrapped it in an aura of purple magic before speaking.
“QUIET!” Twilight shouted in a booming voice, causing Fluttershy and Spike to stop dead center and face her immediately. She coughed lightly, releasing the magic that surrounded her throat before turning back to the two figures before her.
“Now, this is crisis mode people. We need a plan” Twilight spoke seriously, using her magic to levitate all sorts of supplies from drawers and placing them in other places. She quickly turned her attention to Fluttershy and gravely stared her in the eyes.
“Fluttershy, you go out and warn everypony else, sound the alarm and gather them all up at the vantage point north of the village.” Twilight stoically commanded. Fluttershy nodded her head, quickly galloping out of the house and flying off into the distance. After levitating more supplies she began to scribble down a piece of parchment. After she was finished she through the scroll at Spike who nearly lost his balance afterwards.
“Spike, send that letter to Celestia and meet me outside A.S.A.P.” Twilight commanded again, she then galloped out of the house and off into the street. Spike took in a deep breath, and breathed out a small ball of flame which disintegrated the parchment and sent it off through the window. He ran out of the house, just in time before it began to catch fire and began to run off towards the direction Twilight had gone.
One thing was for sure though; this was definitely going to be an interesting night.
***
“Twilight?” Twilight snapped back to reality at the sound of someone saying her name. She shook her head; those memories seemed all too real; then again, they did just happen moments ago. She didn’t know what to think, she didn’t want to believe it, but all of the evidence pointed to Ditzy. She made a threat earlier that day, Fluttershy saw her running out of the forest after it caught on fire, she wasn’t seen when all the ponies were being guided to the vantage point. There was only one option left… unless this whole thing was a huge misunderstanding… Ditzy was the culprit.
“Twilight” Twilight ignored the second calling of her voice, still lost in thought. Maybe it was just a huge misunderstanding. Maybe Ditzy got mad, went home, went to the forest to cry, and took off when something else set it on fire.
But if that was the truth, why wasn’t she seen at the vantage point or anywhere else in town. It seemed like she disappeared when all of the chaos broke loose. And that would mean that she was the one to blame, because if she wasn’t then she would’ve been here with all of the other survivors. But…what if she didn’t feel like she belonged with the survivors, that she’d just be made fun of in a smaller group and blamed for the fire due to the fact that she’s “Derpy”.
“Twilight” But what if that’s why she started the fire; as a revenge scheme to get back at those who shunned her. Then should they forgive her and blame themselves? Or should the Princesses get involved? Twilight sighed, rubbing her head with a hoof, the possibilities were endless; but most of them seemed to point back to the fact that it could have been Ditzy. Fire’s don’t start themselves in the Everfree Forest, meaning somepony else must be to blame. But the only pony who fitted the ticket is one that Twilight thought inept of doing so.
“TWILIGHT!” Twilight broke out of her focus, rapidly turning her head from side to side to find out who needed her. The pony, or rather dragon, that required her attention was standing next to her, arms crossed against his chest. Twilight shook her head once more, feeling very dazed and light-headed.
“Twilight, are you alright? You’ve been staring out to the fire for half an hour now without a word. I’m starting to worry about you.” Spike said in concern, looking Twilight directly in the eyes. Twilight stayed silent for a moment, her brain unable to form a coherent response as she recovered from the shock of her suspicions.
“I…I think I know who started this whole fiasco, as much as I don’t want do believe. All signs point to it.” Twilight said, sounding disconnected from the world. Everypony turned their attention to her, leaning in and waiting for an answer that would surely surprise them as well. Twilight gulped, her eyes bulging in fear as she took in the whole burning town of Ponyville once more. How could anypony be driven to do something this horrible? Twilight felt guilt take control of her heart, making it sink as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her. Were… Were they all to blame? Did they sever Ditzy’s last connection to being of a calm and sane mind?
“Well… would you care to tell us Sugarcube?” Applejack asked impatiently, leaning in closer to the purple mare. Twilight shook her head once more; she seemed to be very distorted all of the sudden. Twilight gulped again, turning her head to the six ponies beside her.
“Ditzy…” Twilight said with fear in her voice. All of the ponies exchanged disbelieving and surprised looks.
“The Ditzy Doo? As in Derpy Hooves?” Rainbow Dash asked, seeming to not believe a word that just came out her friend’s mouth. Twilight slowly nodded her head, trying to understand it herself.
“But how? She’s stupid Twilight, How could she even know how and where to start a fire?” Rainbow continued, shaking her head in disbelief.
“It’s not hard to start a fire Rainbow. All you need is ignition, a fuel source, and a reason” Twilight’s voice hung on that last part. All of them exchanged worried looks again before somepony else spoke.
“Do ya… Do ya think she did cause of us?” Applejack inquired, guilt in her voice.
“No… That wouldn’t have been enough. But you have to imagine, that poor pony must have been through years of abuse to be able to premeditate a plan like this.” Twilight answered, standing up and looking around the group of survivors. Still no Ditzy, she must’ve fled then, not wanting to be jailed or prosecuted for her crime. The other ponies stood up as well, looking around the group for the supposed culprit. There was no sign of the cross-eyed Pegasus, meaning they couldn’t question her as to if and why she did it.
Just as they turned their attention away from the group a louder clutter could be heard, followed by the gasps of many ponies. They quickly jerked their heads back to the group; they had split in half now, leaving a gap in the middle. But that wasn’t the surprising part, no; the surprise was who they had parted for.
There, standing in the middle of the crowd with a black hood on, was none other but the infamous Ditzy Doo. Upon sight of her, Rainbow Dash tried to charge, but was held back by Applejack.
“She burned down Ponyville! She needs to be taught a lesson!” Rainbow Dash yelled, attempting to break free from Applejack’s tight grip. She soon gave up, looking defeated as she restrained herself from going full blast at the Pegasus in front of her. Twilight took a step forward, being the only one to walk up to Ditzy. She took a few more steps further, seeing no sign not too from the grey mare.
“We don’t know dat, for all we know, it could’ve been somepony else” Applejack argued, placing a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder.
“Oh no, it was me” Ditzy said stoically, looking at the shocked faces of everypony as the words left her mouth. Rainbow Dash burned up in anger again, not being able to attack Ditzy due to the orange earth pony holding her back.
“Why Ditzy…? Why did you do it?” Twilight asked, sadness in her voice as tears came to her eyes. Ditzy pushed the hood off of her head, revealing her two crossed eyes. Whereas on any other day everypony would be laughing by now, only silence spread across the crowd. Ditzy took a step forward, narrowing her eyes as she stared Twilight down. This was it, her shinning moment, better not mess it up now.
Those who you misjudge and turn your back to
Are the ones who will betray you
You might not ever think it
But anypony is capable of this
Just push them far enough until they crack
And then you will be taken aback
By the monster you have turned them into
And the only one you have to blame is yourself
How you never let her prove herself
That the cross-eyed pony might be capable
Of deep thought and able
To make a devious plan for revenge
All it took was years of abuse
And now you will loose
The one thing you hold dear to your heart
Burning away, like beautiful art
Ditzy coolly finished her poem, looking from pony to pony as a small smile spread across her face. The moment was just as she imagined it, ponies with tearful eyes looking at her in utter shock and fear. It was worth it, everything was worth it for that moment right then, when she wasn’t seen as just a simple retard. No, she was instead seen as a deeply scarred poet, a smart pony who had been pushed over the edge. The villagers might not befriend her like she wished, but they were crying, they were sad, guilty, and torn apart. Just as she had been all of those lonely years. All she had ever wished for was a friend, but was only met with cruel ponies that made fun of her every waking moment.
“D-Ditzy?” Twilight asked, token aback by the Pegasus’s sudden lapse of intelligence. But… What if it wasn’t a lapse? What if she had really been this smart all along?
“Were…Were mighty sorry…” Applejack earnestly apologized.
“Well… I do agree you had a reason; you were pushed over the edge. But that’s still no excuse for burning down Ponyville!” Rarity argued, staring angrily at the grey pony. Her statement was followed with a bunch of angry “Yeah!”’s from the crowd of ponies.
“Regardless of whether it was or not, you ponies made me crack. Always bullying me, always teasing me. Nopony once took the time to try and talk to me, or listen to what I had to say!” Ditzy retorted, anger flashing in her eyes. “You are all to blame! Every one of you! You make me sick.” Ditzy finished with disgust in her voice. Without warning she took off into the sky, flying away into the distance.
After are departure nopony moved, all of them stood still in shock and disbelief. The one pony they took for granted, the one pony they thought inept of the simplest of tasks, was actually the pony that had outwitted them all. There was a lesson to be learned here, and it was a lesson that had been learned the hard way. With the culprit gone and her reasoning being revealed, nopony knew what to think. Their town lay in ruins, their cherished memories and possessions were no more. As they looked onto the fire spreading about, they had to wonder.
Was there a way to prevent this from happening?
If they could just go back in time, fix their mistakes and wrong doings, would they be in this mess right now? Nopony knew, but all they did know was that this was the result of somepony who had obviously been deeply scarred, to the point where they were capable of arson on such a large scale.
Twilight was certain the princess would find Ditzy and lock her up, maybe even execute her, but that fact didn’t bother the purple mare right now. What did bother her is that over the years, ponies had been so cruel to that poor pony that she had been driven to the point of no return. She never had a friend; she never was liked, only shunned. Even those who had tried to be nice to her never meant it; they never really liked her for who she was. Mainly to those ponies she was just a charity case.
“Spike, take a letter” Twilight said disheveled, looking onto the fire once more. Spike dug into the purple mare’s saddle bags, picking out a piece of parchment and a quill. He ran back to Twilight, holding the two objects and ready to hear his instructions.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today all of Ponyville learned a valuable lesson, but in a very serious way. I am writing to you from beyond the eventide of our once great village, Ponyville. The town is covered in flames now, to the point where not even yours or Princess Luna’s magic could fix the damage. All of it is irreparable, and we will have to find shelter some place else. But, that’s not the surprising part of the matter. The surprise is what caused this horrible event in the first place. Bullying or teasing other ponies will get you no where in life, only to bad places. Years upon years of being shunned and hurt caused one of your young and misguided subjects to commit a terrible crime. Now we know not to judge a book by its cover or a pony by her flaws. When you bully somepony else, you are just as guilty and liable of the actions they take as they themselves are. I wished I knew this earlier, along with the rest of the citizens of Ponyville. If we did, maybe we would have been able to prevent this from happening.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle
Spike claw sped along the paper, finishing the letter. He threw the quill to the ground, rolled up the parchment and blew it away with a ball of flames. The scroll turned to ashes, being carried off into the air in a similar manner to that of the ashes of their village, rising to the sky. The village was gone now, and nopony denied that they wouldn’t be able to undo the damage. They only had themselves to blame, themselves, and their cruel nature.
END