//------------------------------// // The Fire // Story: The More Things Change // by The Crane //------------------------------// For the most part, this land is rather peaceful and serene. The citizens are more kind and caring than people from our own world can be. Perhaps the lack of most technology that humans have has contributed to the positive atmosphere of this place. That is not to say that there isn't the occasional hoodlum that tries to cause an uproar. One pony named Trixie on two visits tried to assert her authority. Both times she was shot down. One of the princesses ran wild before having to be dealt with. The shapeshifting queen wasn't all that fun, either. Or a resurrected tyrant from days of long ago eager to rebuild his empire of darkness. And then there's Discord. And that's all we're saying on that one. A Q-uandary that one is. But, things still happen to disrupt the peace and reinforce the idea that things are fragile. Despite the seemingly immortal positive atmosphere, lessons can still be learned. While darkness fills the night sky, a bright light in the distance attracts a lot of attention. On the black canvas of sky, a fire burns and lights things up once more. In town, ponies look at the growing blaze with worry and awe. A great many start galloping towards the source out of concern. When they reach the great fire in the background, they find a large barn ablaze. The entrance has already been blocked by falling beams, preventing any from entering. An older green pony, a large red horse, and a smaller orange pony look at the destruction with horror. The orange one tries to go in, but is stopped by the red horse. Screams for help can be heard from within. After each one, the distraught orange pony tries to break free and gallop in. "We can't leave them in there!!!" "You'll never make it!!" he says in a thunderous voice. The pegasi are coming in with rainclouds!!" "But--" As all this is playing out, a pony gallops in from the distance. She gallops hard towards the blaze and leaps over the gathered Equestrians. She runs so fast that some only catch a glimpse while others don't see anything at all. Without even stopping, she bounds towards the blaze and leaps through a hole in the burning blockage. "HEEELLLPPPP!!!" a very young filly shouts from the back of the barn. "WE'RE TRAPPED!!" The mysterious pony moves quickly towards the voices she heard. She slides to a stop and kicks away some burning debris. She stands before three small ponies and turns her back towards them. "Get on! Hurry!!" While a little confused, the three little ones do as they're told and climb onto her back. She even helps one to get situated. She taps a red earring which glows for a second. As it does, a red cloth wraps around all of them to protect them from further harm. As it appears around them, she looks around the burning barn for a proper escape. "Hang on tight!!" she commands while running off. Her way in would be too small for the group, so she jumps on a crate and then quickly onto a ledge. She bounds off the platform before it collapses. From point to point, she bounces up towards the top. When she finds the top floor, she gallops hard. The burning floor gives way as she moves. Every hard step sends burning planks to the ground. As she runs, she sees an archway in the distance. Apparently it's a doorway to toss haybales down to the ground. While in its prime, it would be a perfect escape. But, as it burns it becomes smaller as boards already start to block the way. Without a thought, she jumps out of the door and knocks the debris away with her head to keep her charges from being hit themselves. And for a moment, she floats in the air. Three little ponies on her back grip tighter with muffled screams. They can see what's coming and brace for the worst. Their savior hits the ground and sends them flying forward into the crowd. At first, they are flung with the red wrap, but are soon released from it. They roll to a stop near each other. They may need a little bit of care, but are fine otherwise. The gathered citizens of the town converge around the children before turning towards their hero. But, she's already gone. In the few seconds that their attention was diverted, she disappeared into the darkness. The entire group is surprised that she had so quickly left. But, even that thought is washed away as rain from above starts to come down. Several winged ponies had brought clouds over the barn and started to buck them into causing a downpour. In time, the pegasus-inspired rainstorm puts out the fire. The children were tended to. And many wonder who saved them. And nary a thought as to what caused the fire in the first place. ==-==-== The next day, when the sun is high in the sky, the aftermath starts. Four ponies of differing sizes and ages stare at the deep-fried barn. After the rain put out the fire, it continued to smoke and smolder. An orange pony with a blonde mane looks up with bewildered green eyes. "Ah guess this means we need a new barn." She wears a cowboy hat, but takes it off momentarily in rememberance. "Eey-up," another says sorrowfully. The taller red horse isn't usually one for words. It can easily be said that what he lacks in words he makes up for in muscle. "We j'st put up that b'rn last year." She's a much older member of the family with green coat, white mane and all the aches and pains of a long life of hard work. The last of the group has the red cloth wrapped around her small body. She has a yellow coat and red mane. She wears a bow on the back of her head that at the right angle looks like cat ears. "Coulda been worse. We just cleared out all them apples. At least we didn't lose all them." "Eey-up." "I'm g'ttin' too old f'r all this," she mutters to herself. The youngest one turns and walks away from the burnt out husk of a barn. As it stands, she sees nothing left but a few black planks sticking up from the ground. Sooner or later, one of the other three will tell her to go and play anyway. ==-==-== She eventually comes to a nearby river. She often comes here to relax and swim. But, as she enters the area she notices something different. She looks about and finds a red pony resting on her side near the shore. Curious, she looks at the sleeping one and is quick to notice a few black marks around her body. "It doesn't hurt," she says without opening her eyes. Although startled for a moment, she looks at the newcomer for a short time. "Ah haven't seen ya around here before. Where ya from?" "Not here," she answers while continuing to keep her eyes closed. "Kinda tired," she adds. "Had a long night." "Ah know." She uses her teeth to toss the red cloth across her new friend and it acts as a blanket of sorts. "Ah'm Apple Bloom. What's yer name?" "Casie." "Ar' ya hurt?" "I've had worse," she replies. "Fire doesn't bother me. Neither does cold." "But ya still feel it, don't ya?" "Feel it? Yeah. Doesn't hurt, though." Despite her exhaustion, she rolls to her belly and stands up. Her mane is a cinnamon color, short on top. She opens her blue eyes and looks at her little rescuee. She stretches out her front and back legs for a long moment before starting to walk away. As she does, Apple Bloom notices a flame as her mark. "Where ya goin'?" Apple Bloom asks as she walks with her. The red cloth around Casie fades away as her red earring glows again. "Thought I'd head into town. I have friends I'd like to find."