//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: Conflagration Cluster 
// Story: Elements of Honor 
// by SpitFlame 
//------------------------------//

On the next day, the blizzard from beyond the Crystal Empire had lowered to a calm snow. Packing their luggage and preparing for a trip was the most time-consuming task as Corvo and the ponies settled in the locomotive towards Canterlot.

"So Twilight," said Pinkie, "are we going to Canterlot to find more of those stone thingies?"

"Well…" Twilight pondered, tapping a hoof to her chin. "We will need to follow Corvo’s instructions to see any results."

"Of course my plan will work," said Corvo confidently. "I always think ahead of time."

"Don’t get too cocky there, partner," said Applejack as she raised an eyebrow towards the assassin. "That’s Rainbow’s job."

Rainbow, meanwhile, rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I can’t help it," she chuckled. "I am awesome, and Corvo’s probably just gonna be incompetent."

Corvo, on the other hand, had made a mental note to ignore the pegasus’ blind insults days ago. But he couldn't help but answer, and he stared at the pegasus with a near-clouded face.

"At least I have made progress," he said. "I have formed a plan and am thinking in advance. I am also considering every possibility and am creating an alternate plan for each outcome. But all you can do is rest with a lazy attitude—you cannot even be productive."

Everyone’s eyes became round; none could mutter a clear response. Rainbow creased her eyebrows and groaned with hot eyes. The moment she opened her mouth to give out a comeback, Twilight blocked her voice with a quick hoof.

"No need for an argument," she said. "Rainbow, please behave yourself."

Rainbow Dash fell to her seat as a figurative storm cloud emerged from above her head, with crossed arms and an unsatisfied frown. Corvo let it be and rested against his own seat.

"Ahem, Corvo," said Rarity, interrupting the silence. "I must comment on your face: not to seem rude, but I expected you to be much more, err, scary, than what you are right now. Your mask certainly could have been an accessory for Nightmare Night, even."

"Ah personally like this look much better than yer other one," Applejack added.

"Thank you for your words," said Corvo. "I have to agree; I too like this look, much more so than my mask."

"Then why do you wear your mask?” asked a whispering voice. Corvo looked towards Fluttershy, noticing her for the first time. He never had time to pay attention to her, mostly because she was always hiding from him.

"It used to be my job," he said. He couldn't tell them about his role as an assassin so early—if not, at all. He told Luna, but she was the only one who knew, and she was sure to tell Celestia. He would hold on to the truth for now. "But let us not talk about that. Tell me about yourselves."

For the rest of the six-hour ride, the ponies and Corvo had a comforting conversation. They each told him about their jobs and what they liked to do. They even explained to him what a cutie mark was. Even Rainbow Dash said she worked for the weather patrol and told him about the Sonic Rainboom.

As time went by, each of their hearts opened up to Corvo, little by little. Fluttershy, especially, enjoyed talking with Corvo, to her surprise.


* * *


"Have yah ever worked on a farm before?" inquired Applejack with eager eyes towards Corvo.

"I had my fair share of working on agricultural fields in the past," he said. "I used to do so with my parents back when I was a child. We did not have a lot to work with, so I at least helped my father with his job."

"But you never told us about your job," said Pinkie, tilting her body closer to the assassin.

"I can tell you about it..." he trailed off into a blank stare through the nearby window. He watched with low eyes as green hills, high and low, lush and arid, seamlessly passed by his sight. The land was wandering further away from him as the dirt on the ground turned into arrayed roads, and misty mountains began to close in on their train. "But we shall leave it for another day," he said monotonously. "I was simply a regular person with high expectations."

Each pony scratched their heads and hummed in thought, but managed to pass it off as another future conversation.

"You know, Corvo," said Rainbow Dash with a smirk, "if you're so tough and all, maybe we should have a little competition to see who the real hero is. That is, if you're up to it."

"Some form of sparring match you say?" said Corvo as his back straightened. "We must leave that as a side-thought, but I promise to get back to you on in."

"Tell me, Corvo," said Twilight as she began to inspect his physique. "Do you ever study science or magic?"

"I have my knowledge of chemistry and physics. And about your magic: maybe you would like to show me someday. Perhaps you have some kind of—"

"A book!" Twilight blurted out, but a crimson blush appeared on her face the second after. "Oops, sorry about that."

"Err, yes," said Corvo, slightly confused by her outburst. "I take it that you like to read?"

"Twilight here?" chuckled Rainbow. "Are you kidding me? She's like the biggest egghead you'll ever meet!"

As Twilight threw an irritated stare at her pegasus friend, Rarity began rubbing her hoof up and down on Corvo's right arm, feeling the fabric and the rips along the way.

"Corvo, you simply must allow me to redo your outfit," she said. "I know the perfect way to improve it, and for my personal opinion, it is a bit, how do I say this... tacky?"

"I would be grateful if you could," said Corvo, "but please do try to keep the original concept. This coat is special to me."

Before anyone could continue their talk, the train came to an instant stop. Everypony came flying from their seats, screaming, considering they were going breakneck speed just seconds ago. Applejack managed to catch Twilight and Rarity, guiding them to the head of a seat. Rainbow caught Fluttershy as they both slid against the very side-walls, smacking at the end-door. Pinkie Pie was thrown to Corvo's back, who coughed as he grinded his arm on the floor, while using the other to hit the row of seats, slowing them down.

Everypony, including Corvo, were thrust at the end of the cart. Each of them moaned in pain as they tried to regain their composure.

The locomotive itself slowly flipped to its side, dropping the ponies another few meters down. That was when a flash of gold hugged each of them, and they all vanished from within the train.

They reappeared on a hard floor, each with dizzy eyes and some with lolling tongues.

Twilight was the first to notice Celestia in front of her, but her demeanor was far worse than serious. Celestia looked to be aghast, and if anything else, incredibly cross.

"Twilight and friends!" Celestia came rushing to them. Each pony stood with shaky heads.

"Whoa," said Pinkie pie, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. "What just happened?"

"I'm sorry to trouble you girls," said Celestia, "but there is a crisis on our hooves. I am in luck to have come at this hour."

Corvo walked lopsided to the princess, then bending down to his knees, he said: "W-what is... what is g-going on here?" he stuttered from the pain in his rib-cage.

"Applejack!" Twilight called out. "Can you escort all of our friends to safety?"

"Yes ma'am," the farm pony reassured as she supported Fluttershy to her legs, while Pinkie helped Rarity up.

"I need you to get all of our friends out of here," said Twilight. She then turned to Celestia and Corvo. "Us three should take care of this situation."

"Wait a minute!" said Rainbow Dash as she jumped in front of her lavender friend. "If you're going, I'm coming with you."

"Rainbow, please," said Twilight with a plea. "We can't get you—"

"Let her come," said Corvo with a thick tone. Celestia raised an eyebrow at his response. "We will need all the help we can get." He then turned to Celestia. "So what seems to be the problem?"


* * *


Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Celestia, and Corvo all ran down the Canterlot lane, passing by many deserted buildings. The sky was cloudless, yet remained strangely grey.

"We have everypony evacuated from Canterlot," panted Celestia.

"Princess?" said Twilight with concern in her voice. She was the closest to the princess. "You seem hurt. What's going on here?"

"Canterlot in under attack by timberwolves!" Her voice was so sudden that it nearly caught all three of them off guard. "Rainbow Dash, I would recommend you to stay with your other friends, but if you wish to come, it's better than nothing."

"Wait a minute, Princess," said Rainbow Dash, "you mean to tell us that Canterlot is under attack by timberwolves, yet there's nothing you or the royal guards can do?"

Celestia remained silent, keeping her hard eyes up ahead. The buildings passed by as they halted to the end of a large circular balcony. Twilight and Rainbow's eyes turned round as Corvo's pupils shrunk. His eyes were dancing to every corner with an overwhelming number of creatures.

Beyond him was the supposedly forlorn city of Canterlot. A sea of rippling wood—moving like a group of ants—engulfed the entire area. Literally hundreds of timberwolves were running wildly throughout every building and road.

"We weren't strong enough to hold this down," said Celestia with a ragged voice. "By the time we cut most of them down, another horde appeared out of nowhere."

"Maybe I can help," said Corvo suddenly.

"What!" cried Rainbow. "How in Equestria are you going to take these things on, and how—"

"Watch out!" clamored a voice from behind them. They all turned to see a timberwolf, in the air with its claws imminent; but a blue light outlined the creature, becoming brighter before a magical blast whistled over their heads, vaporizing the wolf into smoke. But as soon as it was destroyed, a second emerged from behind the balcony. It grabbed onto Corvo's coat and pulled him down. Right before he dropped down, Twilight flew and grabbed him with both hooves, throwing him back up to the balcony grounds. His coat, however, was ripped from his body, and it dropped down with all of his equipment.

Luna dropped down with a heavy smack. Her eyes were deadly as she approached Celestia. "Dear sister," she said, "you have come here just in time. The numbers seemed to stop growing, but there are much too many for us to hold off any longer. The number of injured guards are higher than ever!"

Corvo, on the other hand, lay on his knees, using an arm to support himself back to his feet. But the sound of an explosion was faintly heard from below them where the second timberwolf came.

"What was that?" said Luna sternly.

"That creature most likely set off my bombs," replied Corvo as he tightened his jaws. His hands were visibly shaking. "Now, unfortunately, all my belongings are gone. Still, I should not fret in this situation."

Celestia bit her lip, but narrowed her eyes to Corvo as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Can you get me a torch?" he inquired.

"Huh?" said Twilight. "A torch? Why would you—"

"A heat of some kind!" said Corvo once again. "Any type of fire will do." It is the only thing I can get considering I have lost all my fire sources. I was carrying two bombs, and now they are gone. Then Corvo noticed he still bore his leather belt, and a single folding sword hung on his right. At least I kept this.

"Listen to me, Corvo," said Luna as she hardened her look, "these wolves are weak to fire due to them being made of dry wood, but we do not have enough to take them all down."

"Luna is right," said Celestia. "Even with all of our magic, we would be drained by the time we got to half of these timberwolves. Just what are you getting at?"

"Just trust me!" said Corvo as quickly as he could; but a plethora of timberwolves emerged from the buildings behind them. They each jumped down the balcony, falling fast to the ground below. Twilight and Rainbow Dash flew to both of Corvo's sides, grabbing him, sliding through the air and placed him on his feet.

Celestia and Luna flew down with terminal velocity as they each shot blasts of magic upwards as the wooden creatures fell. Whenever they destroyed one, two more attacked from the corner of their eyes.

As the two princesses caught up with the ponies and Corvo, they began to run down the grey road as a sea of timberwolves flooded their escape.

Looking ahead, Corvo spotted a moving bole hedge drawing closer to them. "There will be more of these creatures ahead!" he yelled. "I need that torch as soon as convenient!"

"I will see to that!" said Luna as she flew into the air and was gone within seconds.

The group halted at a wide circular area, surrounded by buildings. Each side of the circle had one path of tall structures leading down into more timberwolves, resulting in four openings, all of which were blocked.

"You still haven't told us what you'll be doing with that torch," said Twilight.

"You shall see," said Corvo. "If these creatures are made of dry wood"— he then looked to Celestia who nodded in approval —"then I am able to annihilate them all."

Before a response could be muttered, a rough howling boomed over the air as multiple timberwolves charged at the group. Corvo whipped out his folding blade, sliding to his back as a timberwolf began to gnaw and bite at his sword. Twilight and Celestia were both separated from their group as most timberwolves went after them. They each shot magical beams or used their telekinesis to push back the wooden creatures. Rainbow flew at high speeds, smacking down any timberwolf she could come close to.

As Twilight continued her magical assault, one timberwolf tackled her to the ground, knocking her focus off her course. She screamed in a struggle, but a golden light blew past her vision, and many of the nearby timberwolves were thrown across the sky.

"Princess!" cried Twilight as she ran to Celestia.

"Stay back-to-back, Twilight," said Celestia. The two alicorns stood behind each other with lit horns. More and more were coming, and even Celestia could feel her magic draining quickly.

On the other side of the circle, Corvo ran with timberwolves hot on his trail. He looked up, spotting several more wolves jumping, ready to tackle him. With the flick of his wrist, he blew a wind blast and rammed the timberwolves against the brick walls. He turned round to see more sprinting towards him; but Rainbow Dash swooped in and bucked two of them in their wooden jaws, knocking their heads clean off.

"I got your back, and—" said Rainbow with a grin, but was interrupted as Corvo through his sword past her, impaling a timberwolf in the middle of its head. Rainbow quickly turned to see in terror a dead wooden wolf mere inches from her.

"Do not get distracted!" Corvo yelled; however, as Rainbow remained with a worried grin, Corvo never broke from his gritted teeth.

He teleported past Rainbow, tearing out his sword from the dead wood. "We must be careful!" he said. "Back up to the center of the circle—timberwolves can attack from the rooftops!"

As the fight raged on, Celestia eyed Luna from up above the sky. In her magical grasp was the flickering of a red fire, rippling and roaring against the sprinting wind.

"Corvo!" cried Luna towards the assassin. "I have obtained a torch!"

As Corvo ran to meet Celestia and Twilight, with Rainbow following, he called back: "Are all the ponies evacuated from this city! Even the guards!"

"Yes!" But then a timberwolf latched onto her back. She spun round, throwing the wolf off course. The torch was freed from her grasp, and was blown into the buildings.

"I got it!" Rainbow yelled as she flew down to the red fire.

Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Corvo all walked back-to-back. The assassin continued his wind blasts as the three alicorns did with their magic.

Then, from the horizon of the buildings, flew Rainbow Dash with the torch in her mouth. It was nearly put out—only emitting a dim fire—from the constant wind in the air.

"Rainbow Dash!" cried Corvo. "I sort of really need that torch!"

"You still haven't told us what you plan to do with it!" said Twilight, followed by another blast to a timberwolf.

"Questions shall be answered later!" yelled Corvo louder than before.

But a timberwolf, jumping off from the closest building, gripped onto Rainbow Dash's wing. Corvo quickly ran forth, jumping on a timberwolf's head and teleported in mid-air. Luna shot a magical beam, throwing the timberwolf which held Rainbow Dash off to the ground.

Corvo grabbed Rainbow, pressing her to his chest, and snagged the torch. Time seemed to slow down as Corvo teleported back to the ground, sliding on his back, bumping against Celestia's hooves.

Luna and Celestia resumed their firing as Twilight ran to her friend. Corvo held his right arm to his now broken rig-cage with the torch in his hands.

He forcefully rose to his feet, and what he did next shocked the rest of the ponies: he through the dim-red torch as far as he could, past the sea of timberwolves. He raised his left arm, his fingers bending with his palm outwards as his mark glowed brightly—brighter than usual.

In this situation, things went by in a blink. Luna and Celestia's horn burned from the constant use, and they fell to their haunches. Both of their eyes were locked onto Corvo and what he had just done. After all the screaming for the torch, he tossed it to flood in the sea of timberwolves. Sweat formed on their foreheads as the wolves closed in on them.

Twilight tried to light her horn as she held the unconscious Rainbow Dash to the floor, but it was in vain. She managed to fire one more blast before the horde of timberwolves jumped for the attack.

Corvo's eyes were narrowed to the falling torch. As the red fire waved to the back of the wooden creatures, he outstretched his fingers and quickly leaned forward. A thin, blue strand of electricity quickly ran from his hand, up to the flickering fire.

Suddenly, an immense explosion of red and white fire flashed before their very eyes. As fast as lightning, they were all trapped in a room of circulating fire.

Dancing black silhouettes were all they could witness before the burning shadows turned grey, then vanished. A screech, too, blasted through the flames and into their ears. Each of the ponies shut their eyes and grinded their teeth with vigor as the ear-piercing sound subsided.

Corvo's Mark began to reduce its glow as the circulating fire round them vanished. Tiny explosions were flashing throughout the entire section of the city, burning group after group of timberwolves into piles of black ash who dared to get too close.

After several minutes went by, Corvo's mark went black as the fires all vaporized into the air. The ponies watched with round eyes, shifting their gaze from Corvo to the ash-filled city and back. Several buildings obtained burn marks and physical destruction, but it was nothing compared to the army of timberwolves.

"It is done!" said Corvo, louder than he needed to, followed by a heavy gasp. He fell to his back, panting and sweating. "If I were to point out the obvious, they have all been disintegrated into ash." The assassin then slowly rose to his feet, wandering to the ponies. "I assume many timberwolves retreated, back to wherever they came."

"Corvo..." muttered Celestia.

"Princess!" cried Twilight. "Rainbow isn't waking up! We need to get her to a hospital."

"I will aid you with that," said Luna. She wrapped a wing over Twilight, bringing her to her hooves. The princess then lowered down, and grabbing Rainbow with her magic, placed her gently on her back. Then they were off.

Celestia seemed to be distracted by the event and what they said. She looked over at Corvo and cleared her dry throat. "Ahem, Corvo, I will be bringing back the guards from outside the city. But what you did... that was—err, Corvo?"

Corvo appeared to be sleeping, pressing his back on her fore-hoof. Celestia only scoffed as she raised him with her telekinesis, placing him on her back and wandered off to the castle.


* * *


Thump, thump! Thump, thump! Thump, thump! Thump, thump...

Corvo instantly shot straight up, his back perpendicular to whatever he was seated on. His eyes danced round the room he was in: white walls, pale wooden stools, piles of sheets and papers. He was in a hospital.

Again with this? he thought. I cannot let myself become unconscious so easily. Still, at least Canterlot is safe from those wooden creatures. Let me see where—

This whole time, Corvo didn't notice Celestia at his side. He fully rotated his eyes, looking up and down the alicorn. Her demeanor wasn't dark, but it wasn't friendly either.

"Good to see you're awake, Corvo?" she said. "Now tell me what happened. Back then, that fire. Can you explain?"

"Well, I can..." Corvo muttered as he looked down to his hands. He slowly turned his left where he bore his mark, but something he noticed was off. Instead of the mark being black when unused, its shade was a dark grey. His vision became cloudier the longer he stared. Then unexpectedly his energy was back. Despite being in a bed, Corvo felt all of his stamina and strength return; and despite he had just awoken mere seconds ago, he felt as if he could do anything as fast as he dared.

The assassin rapidly breathed in and out three times, then turned to face Celestia.

"Hydrogen ignition," he said at length, turning to face her.

"What?" said Celestia as she furrowed her brow.

"When I placed that stone into that tree back at the Crystal Empire, I seemed to obtain a new power. Well, I was not sure, but I experimented. You see, back in my room, I was able to control the fire frequency from a single placed candle. It is all about chemistry."

"I... huh?" What can he possibly be getting at? She then sighed. "Corvo, explain this... chemistry."

Corvo moved his hip until he was seated at the very edge of the bed, leaning closer to Celestia. "Well," he started, "the air round us is mostly made of nitrogen, partially made of oxygen, and has a very small percentage of argon and carbon dioxide. Apparently, I am able to alter the chemical bonds of each element into that of hydrogen, which is incredibly flammable."

Celestia's jaw was hung open. One of her eyes were round while the other creased downwards. She coughed and said, "Yes, well, quite interesting. Thanks to you, you have saved Canterlot; and while you did cause much property damage, we have had our engineer ponies take care of it. This city should be back to its hooves soon enough. I also bear good news, you see." That was when her face brightened, and Corvo couldn't help but smile. "We have compared the statistics of these disastrous events from today to the one two days ago, back in the Crystal Empire. I know you have said to wait a full week, but there appears to be a significant downgrade, which is good! The reports of these problems have gone down by fourteen-point-twenty-eight percent."

"That is good to hear," said Corvo. He lowered himself to the ground, standing naturally on his feet. "Come, we should meet the others, should we not?"

"Yes, we should," said Celestia as they both walked out the room and into a white hallway. "All of Twilight's friends are okay and are back in Ponyville. What shall you do now?" In her mind, Celestia was surprised at how fast Corvo was moving. She thought he would remain weary for at least another hour, but he walked and talked as if it were the middle of the day.

"I supposed I could spend some time with them," he said. "It would be smart to get to know them better; and be sure to let me know if you find anymore stones."

After many minutes of chatter, Celestia and Corvo split their paths. To the alicorn, Corvo seemed cheerful. He spoke less darkly than how he spoke several days ago. She eyed him one last time before she was off. To save Equestria would be to find these stones, but where they came from, where that tree came from, were all questions she hoped to be answered soon.

Corvo, on the other hand, was still concerned about his Mark's shade of color. But that was a worry he would leave for later thinking.