“What do you mean ‘I can’t perform’!?” Pyromanecer said in disbelief. Fumbling with his mask and starting to get choked up. He sat down on an empty crate and looked downwards to the floorboards of Trixie’s Caravan.
Trixie sighed and rolled her eyes and tugged onto her cape. “What Trixie means, Pyro. Is that Trixie doesn’t want you burning everything and especially not her adoring fans.”
Pyro looked up and stare into her eyes with his partially orange eyes. He sighed and frowned.
“Come on, Trixe. I need this. I need to perform….Be up on a stage…Make ponies feel excited and amazed.” Trixie just turned.
“Trixe said no and that’s final.” She said as she harrumphed and turned her head, flicking her hair.
Pyromanecer gave up on trying to persuade Trixie. “Alright…If you ever change your mind…” Trixie turned her head ever so slightly towards Pyromanecer. But her hair was concealing her expressions of guilt as Pyromanecer walked out of the ‘theatre-van’.
When Pyro was out of earsot from the van he kicked the dust, sending dust scattered with ember into the air. He took off his mask and held it out before him and sighed.
“What am I going to do Cinder?”
“You could always go into the firefighter pegasi team. They’d be insane not to let you into that.” She said half-heartedly. Pyromanecer just sighed.
“No….I don’t think they’d let me in since you know….I’m a wanted criminal.”
“Oh….right…” Cinder said in deep thought. There was silence for quite some time as the pair tried to think of ideas to gain money for Pyro and his family.
“Awwww is big brother Igneous talking to his imaginary friends again?” Came the unmistakable mocking tone of a certain aqua Pegasus. Pyromanecer turned around to see none other than her more successful sibling with an expression that insulted him just by staring into his own.
“I told you never to call me by that name, Lightning.” Pyromanecer said as he simply rolled his eyes in annoyance.
“And I told you to stop being such a downer.” Lightning Dust retorted. She walked up to Pyro and gave him a light hoof-punch on the shoulder, which made Pyro clutch his shoulder in slight pain and Lightning to chuckle in response. “Have you found a job yet, or are you still performing in the streets?” She said only slightly more serious.
“No….I guess being a criminal restricts your way of living…”
“Well I’m not the one who used forbidden magic…Speaking of bringing back the dead how is Cinder?” She said as she stretched out her wings. Pyro couldn’t tell if she was bored, which explains her annoying him, or if she was legitimately interested in his life.
“Still dead.” Cinder simply stated. Cinder didn’t really like Lightning’s ‘company’. She didn’t like ponies in general.
“Why are you here Lightning?”
“Can’t I just have a chat with my favourite brother?” Pyromanecer just stared blankly and raised his eyebrow.
“Okay, okay. You caught me. I was kicked out of the Wonderbolts….” She said bashfully looking down. Pyromanecer’s eyes widened.
“You were what!? Why!? How!? Who’s going to support the family now?” Pyromanecer paced from side running his hoof through his mane. He looked to Lightning Dust who was sitting their idly, her eyes tracing him with genuine sorrow.
“What am I going to do?” She said, her voice choking up and her face beginning to fluster.
“…I don’t know….I was thinking of turning to street performing and busking….but it’s too risky for me and you can’t play any instruments…” The air was the only thing that broke the silence as the two stood.
“I got it! You could become a mailmare….or a personal messenger.” Pyromanecer said as he pulled her up onto her hooves. He brushed the dirt off her coat and shook her so she was listening.
“Tomorrow go to Ditzy Doo and tell her that you are looking for a position and that Pyromanecer sent you here. Hopefully she will give you a job….just make sure you don’t say anything offensive to her, do you understand?”
“But Derpy is such a klutz.” Lightning said as she rolled her eyes. Pyromanecer punched her shoulder slightly harder than what Lightning did. “Ow!”
“I thought I said nothing offensive!” He said with a hard glare.
“Alright, Alright! Fine geez. Don’t have to be such a tight flank about it.” She said as she rubbed her aching shoulder.
“Goodbye Lightning.” He said as he turned, putting on his mask and walking off.
“What are you going to do!?” She whined.
“I’ll think of something!” He said running into the shrubbery of the Everfree, the sun beginning to rise.
~
Fluttershy, being a nurturer of animals, was always ever so busy when it came to animals and thus she needed many forms of medication from chemical to herbal. And that’s where Pyromanecer came in. Fluttershy was one of Pyromanecer’s frequent clients for his herbal and medical supplies, Fluttershy also being Pyromanecer’s only client. This was a special order for a complex medical remedy which is commonly administered to snake bites. Unfortunately the hospital didn’t have any that was suitable for her animals, so she asked Pyromanecer, admittedly very quietly and shyly, for him to make a home brew. Pyromaneecr easily knew how to make snake anti-venom since he frequently encountered the odd snake or two on his travels.
It was a dew lined morn as Pyromanecer walked up to her cottage and knocked on the door gently, scared of scratching the paint. Pyromanecer had a fear of mares that weren’t related to him. He didn’t know what it was. Eventually he knew he had to confront a mare and create a connection with one but he was too shy around them and was afraid to get on their bad side.
“H-Hello?” Came the unmistakeable voice of Fluttershy behind the door.
“Um…Hey Fluttershy…It’s me…Pyromanecer. I have the antidote” Pyromanecer said timidly.
“Oh. Hello…P-Pyro…” Fluttershy still had her fear of Pyromanecer, which he felt sorry for since he hates seeing ponies’ fear him. Maybe he shouldn’t wear a dragon skull as a mask.
“Well…Um…I have your medical supplies.” He pointed to his satchel. “Do you want me to leave them here?”
“Um…actually…could you come inside?” Fluttershy said visibly shaking and her voice wavering. Usually Pyromanecer would be high tailing out of there and find a corner to cower in. But there was something that intrigued Pyromanecer. Something….off. He nodded his head and slowly walked in, trying not to be intimidating, that and Pyro was kind of scared of Fluttershy.
Pyromanecer went around looking at all the animals, all giving him hard glares, especially that bear and bunny. Strangely Pyromanecer was scared more of the bunny than he was of the bear. He saw Fluttershy was sitting down at the table and looking at with eyes that almost asked him to sit down. Fluttershy was a strange person and ever since she has been housing the Spirit of Chaos things have gotten stranger, and not necessarily with her.
“Pyromanecer…Don’t you live in the Everfree?”
“Yeah…” He said shamefully. Pyromanecer lived in a pitiful tent in a safe-ish part of the Everfree. Because no pony with even half their sanity goes into there. Not even Royal Guards. Thankfully Pyromanecer learned how to live in the Everfree from Zecora and other people who have travelled through that treacherous place.
“Have you noticed anything….strange happening in it?”
“The…Everfree? The Everfree is always…strange.” Pyromanecer said intrigued. “Why?....”
“Oh…It’s nothing….really…” She didn’t sound too confident…well….confident as she could get.
“Fluttershy?...” She paused for a moment looking out to the window where there was a crowd of trees creating the edge of the Everfree.
“Three days ago…I saw eyes, staring at the cottage from the trees…The animals have been acting very strange…like the Everfree.” Pyromanecer looked at her with wide eyes and took off his mask and leaned in towards Fluttershy, her pupils dilating in response.
“Fluttershy….I need you to…t-tell me everything you’ve seen related to the eyes and the Everfree. Let’s start it off….What c-colour were the eyes?” Pyromanecer had never said so much to a mare before. And it shook him to his core and took all the courage he could muster just to say it. But he needed to know. What was wrong with the Everfree?
“Y-yellow….I think….I think I saw teeth too….sharp…” She said with a whimper. As she did Pyromanecer immediately knew the monsters which she spoke of. Timberwolves. If what Fluttershy saw was true, then that would mean Fluttershy is in grave, nearing danger. Timberwolves were known infamously for being in packs and being decisive and cunning. It would be possible that they were raising some form of horde to invade ponyville. But it would be more likely, well…hopefully, that it’s just some stray Timberwolves being too interested.
“What time of day was it?”
“Around midday….” Pyromanecer nodded, trying to conceal his shyness. He stood there for a moment his eyes laid unmoving staring at the table through his mask. It wasn’t until Fluttershy asked if he was okay that he removed himself from his trance like meditative state.
“I’m sure it’s nothing Fluttershy. It’s probably some….Monitor Lizards…or Salamanders…So I’d best just leave them alone.” He lied through his most reassuring expression. But thankfully it couldn’t be seen through his mask. He glanced from Fluttershy, then to her animals, and then back to Fluttershy. Pyromanecer stood up and walked to the door, opening it.
“W-Where are you going?” Fluttershy asked, hair waving in the door’s draft caused by the morning breeze.
“I’m…I’m just going to collect some more herbs and make some more medicine. Who knows? Maybe I might discover a new medicine.’ But this was not Pyromanecer’s true intentions. He knew what he had to do. For the good of pony kind, he had to desolate another species, Timberwolves.
“O-Okay.” She said. Pyromanecer walked through the door and stopped as he was halted by the voice of the yellow mare. “Stay safe okay?” She said in a maternal tone. Pyromanecer chuckled lightly and close the door behind him as he left.
“There’s nothing safe about fire.” Pyromanecer muttered as he stormed off towards the Everfree. Eradicating a species wasn’t punished by anything Pyromanecer could imagine. Surely he would be captured and imprisoned, no doubt, but it’s what comes after is what scared him. In order to save ponies from meeting a similar fate to Cinder he had to do the unspeakable. Something only he could do. Something only he would do.
“I know what you’re planning” Cinder whispered as Pyromanecer walked underneath the cloud-shrouded sunlight towards the Everfree entrance. “And it’s crazy, insane even.”
“I thought you said you liked the crazy ones.” Pyromanecer simply stated looking upon the arching canopy and branches swallowing all life into its open void.
“I can’t believe we’re going to do this. You’re going to end up at me at the rat you’re going!”
“Hush love. I didn’t need you to remind me that it’s one street performer going against the whole population of Timberwolves.”
“You don’t need to do this!”
“I have to!” Pyromanecer bickered
“…You’re not being serious are you!?”
“Of course not!” Pyromanecer said as he walked into the treacherous forest with all kinds of dangers lurking about.
“You’re the worst liar and I hate you if I was still alive, I’d hit you.”
“I love you too, Cinder.” He said as he tapped her skull gaining a little ‘Hey!’ from Cinder. Pyro then heard the faint noise of growling and barking in the distance. He put a hoof to his ear and began to impersonate Trixie.
“My fans call for me.” He said in a mocking, prissy tone. Cinder just sighed as Pyro chuckled and ran to the grinding of bark and oak. Pyro secretly prayed for the Timberwolves to be made of oak, not pine. That way they, smelt nice and fresh as they turned to smouldering ash. Pyromanecer thought of it not as their judgement day. But their baptism by fire.