Rise from the Ashes: Book 1 - Canterlot

by Sparklecat

Fire in Canterlot

In the kingdom of Canterlot, fires were springing up all over. The thief, Firebelt, was lying on his back, watching from a rooftop as multiple ponies scrambled to put the fires out over town. “These fires keep popping out all over the place, what sort of pony can start all this so fast?” he thought calmly to himself. However, Lightning was running up right behind him.

“An old enemy has returned from the past you could say.” she said as she trotted up to him. Firebelt raised an eyebrow at this new bit of information, wondering what sort of villain this was.

“Hm, well that’s interesting. Also I take it Luna is still pissed at me?” he asked as he got back on his hooves. Lightning gave a stone cold glare and gritted her teeth.

“Of course she is you nit wit! You’re always way in over your head with most heists you’ve pulled off, but stealing from Luna is suicide! Why do you keep doing this?!” she scolded him with a hateful look. Firebelt despite all that was happening around him and his cousin’s scornful attitude remained calm.

“Because there is no other way for me to live around here. When I tried to act normal and try to fit in, ponies came running in for my head.” he said. Lightning hit him on the head out of frustration and anger.

“Because you were too uncaring to clean up your name! You have no idea how much trouble you have put me in for saving your sorry ass!” she shouted at him. Firebelt rubbed his forehead which now had a bump on it, he was now a bit angry for his cousin’s abuse.

“And you think I haven’t tried that? I got several other bumps from other civilians too you know.” he said with a bit of rasp in his voice. Despite Firebelt’s words, Lightning’s attitude towards her cousin hasn’t changed.

“I’m just one hair away from getting found out. They know somepony is helping you out and if they find it is me, I am getting imprisoned for life with you! Unfortunately for you, I can’t help you out anymore. If you get in trouble, you are officially on your own!” she let out one last shout at him. Firebelt did remain quiet a bit, but then suddenly Scorchhop came up from behind the two.

“Fire Imps are all over the place! They must’ve been what started the fires!” she said, gasping a bit from running all over the place to find them. Lightning gave a look at Scorchhop, not in doubt but more in confusion.

“But Fire Imps never come this close to Canterlot…” she said a bit confused by this. She then gave one look at Firebelt again and put a hoof on his shoulder, “Maybe if you help put out the fires you can get a better name for yourself.” she said calmly. Firebelt looked up at her and nodded, recovered from his cousin’s scorn.

“Scorchhop, lets give them a hoof. I’ll handle the fire around Apple Acres and you handle around the streets here.” he ordered before beginning to gallop off. Lightning quickly halted him and gave him and Scorchhop hoods.

“Here, these will help you keep your identities concealed.” she said before going off to help put out the other fires. Firebelt and Scorchhop nodded and the three of them split apart. Down at Apple Acres, Firebelt was racing over to where multiple ponies were splashing water from buckets on the fire. Leading the ponies was an orange mare, he could easily recognize her as the Element of Honesty; Applejack.

“Okay ponies! Get that water on th’ barn! We need to save as much food as possible! Defeat as many Fire Imps as possible!” she shouted out to the mob to which they instantly obeyed. Applejack then noticed Firebelt standing there though was unable to recognize him. “You there! Stop yer daydreaming and help me keep these Fire Imps from spreading more fires!” she ordered him. Firebelt not wanting to give himself away just nodded in response and spotted Fire Imps on the streets. He raced towards them and gave a nasty kick in the face, but then saw that the Fire Imp vanished into dark smoke. He looked puzzled for a moment before attacking a few other Imps along with Applejack at his side. Applejack easily bashed two imps aside and swung around giving a nasty kick in the back to both of them. Firebelt then looked at the villagers starting to run with less and less buckets.

“Applejack! I think they’re starting to run out of water!” he said adding a bit of a deep tone to his voice as he threw another Imp through a window. Applejack looked back at him to see the villagers were starting to run out of water.

“Sugarcube, could you hold off these Fire Imps for a’ while until I get more water?!” she asked before knocking another one aside.

“I’ve got it! Ju-” he quickly stopped himself before trying add a bit of deepness in his voice, “Just go!” he rashly said. Applejack raised an eyebrow at Firebelt’s voice; she knew she recognized it but couldn’t be bothered with it at the moment and raced off. Firebelt let off a sigh that Applejack couldn’t bother to tell if she recognized him as the thief that pissed off Luna, but he quickly went back to work. He whipped out his sword which extended on a chain and took out a few more Fire Imps with them fading into black smoke. He continue to hack away at the Fire Imps, which there seemed no end to how many there were. “How on earth did all of these Fire Imps get in here unnoticed?!” he thought to himself angrily as he cut them up more.

Inside the walls of the castle, two guards which were part of the handful that were assigned to finding out who was the one pony responsible for Firebelt’s escape. One of the guards searched around the armory which holstered spears and weapons of all sizes, and the armor of all the guards in Canterlot. Lightning was secretly spying on the two from around the corner and observed them searching the armory. Due to all the guards being out at the moment putting out the fires, most of the armor wasn’t there. Lightning could overhear the guards speaking to each other, “So we know without a doubt the traitor is a mare. The voice was definitely female as the guards said and she was quite skilled with a spear to act so quickly.” one of them said.

“And not to mention she only saved Firebelt when there were dozens of prisoners there. If the traitor wanted to break anypony out it was Firebelt.” the other said. Lightning couldn’t help but feel her heart beat faster, the more the two talked the more guilty she appeared. One of the guards raised an ear and looked around with Lightning quickly hiding again. The guard looked around and the other looked at him, “What’s wrong?”

“I just thought I heard somepony.” he said before facing back at him. “Say…Lightning’s party was knocked out too with her included. Maybe we might want to ask them some questions.” one of them said, and the other one nodded in agreement. To this, Lightning’s heart sank and she ran for it; she lied about being with the others that were knocked out and knew they would point it out. However one of the guards heard her hoofsteps as she ran.

“Hey! Somepony’s been watching us!” he shouted and ran out the hall and used magic to grab a spear. Then when they looked down the hallway they saw Lightning running, “It’s Lightning! Notify the other guards immediately!” he shouted as the guard ran after her. The other guard ran down towards Luna’s hall to notify her immediately. Lightning couldn’t believe this was happening, her heart felt like it was in her mouth and choking her slowly. “Get back here and face your crimes like a proud mare you traitor!” the guard shouted angrily at her as she ran. Lightning saw the entrance in front of her, and she busted through it and ran off into the streets for her life amidst the chaos.

“I have to get to Firebelt and Scorchhop then get out of here! We’re no longer safe here!” she thought to herself in panic. Meanwhile, Firebelt was still fighting off Imps while Applejack was getting water for the townsfolk. One of the Fire Imps burped a fire from behind, Firebelt swiftly back flipped over it but it wasn’t swift enough for the hood to avoid as it caught ablaze. “Shit shit shit!” he shouted as he slashed the back of the Imp’s neck and it vanished into a black smoke. Firebelt threw off the hood and tried to put it out as he batted it repeatedly with his hoof. After it was put out he threw it back on, only to realize the hood and cape was burnt off. “My only disguise has quite a big hole in it...not good.” he thought angrily only to his misfortune to see that Applejack was returning. Firebelt ran off as she approached, only for her to see him. Applejack as she ran in saw him flee.

“Where the hay is he goin’?” she thought to herself and quickly went after him, though still unaware of the stallion’s identity. Firebelt quickly ran into an alley and scaled the wall of a building before leaping over it, as Applejack turned the corner she saw his tail before he ran on the rooftops. “Son of a gun…” she thought to herself and quickly wall jumped on the sides of the buildings in the alley swiftly and quietly after Firebelt.

“Firebelt!” Somepony shouted out, Applejack paused and hide behind a chimney as somepony called Firebelt out. Firebelt whipped around and saw Lightning on the empty streets fly up to Firebelt. “We have to go, I’ve been found out!” she said in panic. Applejack blinked in surprise and observed Lightning approach her cousin.

“So, she’s the one who helped him out. Cousin’s love ah suppose…” she thought to herself quietly however then noticed something odd. Firebelt was an earth pony while Lightning was a pegasus, “Well that’s strange…” she then looked at Firebelt’s jacket and it’s ridiculously big pockets on both sides. “Could he be hidin’...?” she thought as Lightning opened up her wings.

“Jump on!” Lightning ordered her cousin with him leaping on his back and flying off. Applejack snapped back to reality and grabbed her lasso.

“Like it or not he’s a criminal…” she did feel sentimental about the family relation the two had, and what the war had taken from her. Back with Lightning and Firebelt, Lightning was flying as fast as she could toward the city walls.

“Sheesh have you gained weight or something?!” she shouted at him, Firebelt huffed a bit but didn’t respond since now was not the time for a family argument. Just as the two were about to reach the walls, something wrapped around Lightning’s back leg. “Oh no…” she went and the two were yanked down with them both crashing into a rooftop and then hit the street with a thud. Lightning screeched in pain as they hit the ground, peering over her shoulder to see she had a broken wing. Firebelt looked up in anger as the object that wrapped around Lightning’s ankle was a rope to which somepony lasso’d them; it was Applejack who was standing on a rooftop.

“Ya’ll got guts for trying to fly like that…” she said with a glare. Firebelt growled and pulled out his dagger-like sword; prepared for a fight. Applejack leaped down and landed on a tree and then jumped on the ground. “If ya’ll surrender quietly we won’t have to this...ah admit I am touched of yer love for your cousin, but a crime is a crime.” she said with a fierce glare.

“Oh and let the varmint who hurt my cousin walk away unharmed? Ungrateful that I helped with the fires to protect this damn town? I think I’ll pass.” he said mocking her accent. Applejack then got reminded that he was the one who helped out in the fires, and how she heard about some of the good deeds he tried to do in the past she couldn’t bring herself to hurt him.

“But, ah see that you tried to help with the fires. If you were as evil as Luna told me, ah wouldn’t be doin’ this.” she said and put her lasso away. Firebelt raised an eyebrow before she spoke up again, “Mah pride is highly against putting a stallion who did some good to his death. Ah hope you start getting yer act together.” she said with a fierce glare. Firebelt was surprised of this, she was letting him go despite the stuff he stole but then again he never really brutally hurt or killed anyone in the process. Despite his anger towards her how she hurt Lightning, now was the time to run. He was about to pick up his cousin and leave but then they all heard the sounds of hooves clapping.

“Well well Applejack, letting a criminal go? Are you trying to get yourself thrown behind bars?”

Author's Note:

I'm not the greatest in grammar, if you pick out any errors in this chapter please point them out to me! Thank you. :)

Comments

[PaulAsaran]

Okay, time to go into my plot critique mode for this chapter, just to show you how people like me tend to examine stories. Good luck.

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Hold on, she tells them to help with the fires to improve their image, and then tells them to conceal their identities so that the whole idea is pointless?

Also, you expect me to believe that Sweet Apple Acres can be reached from Canterlot within a matter of a few minutes? You do realize they typically have to take a train to get there, right?

How the heck would Applejack recognize his voice? Is he from Ponyville? Does his thieving forrays regular involve the long trip between Canterlot and Ponyville?

After all that detail in the first chapter, it now dawns on me that not once have you mentioned just how much time has passed between the show and this story. Obviously it's been at least five years, but beyond that? How are we supposed to get a handle on Applejack's age?

Also, nobody knows what a fire imp looks like, because you haven't told us.

Seriously? Fire Imps have all but invaded Equestria and these two guys are looking to find out who is helping Firebelt? And Lightning's spying on them? Talk about wanting to be caught. Talk about blatant misallocation of resources and time.

Fires are raging all across Canterlot. These two guards see Lightning running away and immediately assume that she's the one helping Firebelt? They don't suspect that she could be, oh, I dunno, trying to help put out the fires? Like they should be doing?

“Shit shit shit!”

Any and every elite writer on FIMFiction will tell you to never, ever use actual swear words in a MLP fanfiction. I think they're being ridiculous, but just thought I'd point it out.

she thought to herself and quickly wall jumped on the sides of the buildings

Applejack apparently took ninja lessons sometime in the past few years, eh? I guarantee you, any serious writer/review will balk at this.

So fighting a few imps and being cousins automatically disqualifies Firebelt and Lightning from all punishment? Their sins are justified? This doesn't sound like Applejack at all. I'm willing to grant that years have passed and she could have changed her outlook, but you've not given us enough time to even come close to making this believable.