> Rain of Fire
>  by LessThanHuman
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1 - Don't Play With Fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the edge of the Everfree Forest, Apple Bloom, a cream yellow earth pony with a red mane and tail, looked over the objects before her then turned to her fellow crusaders, “Ah don’t know Scootaloo, mah sister said it’s really dangerous to be havin’ fires since there hasn’t been much rain lately.”

Scootaloo, a bright orange pegasus pony with a messy purple mane and tail and hummingbird like wings, rolled her eyes, “Ugh, that’s the point; we start a fire, put it out, and get our cutie marks in firefighting.”

Sweetie Belle, a white unicorn with a purple and pink curly mane and tail, shifted nervously on her hooves, “I don’t know you guys, I’ve never really wanted to be a firepony…”

“You will when you get your cutie mark,” Scootaloo replied.

“Ah don’t know, maybe we should try getting our cutie marks in making balloon animals again,” Apple Bloom suggested.

“You just like how the helium made our voices sound funny,” Scootaloo accused, “besides, the shop owner said we could only go back there to buy party supplies, remember?”

Apple Bloom hung her head in defeat.

“I think we should start focusing on what were already good at. Twilight has been helping me practice with my magic and whenever I mention trying earn my cutie mark she says I should practice what I’m already good at,” Sweetie Belle suggested.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom exchanged glances, “Nah,” they said in unison.

“Ah don’t think it would be that easy,” Apple Bloom said, “Ah mean, mah brother says I’m really good buildin’ things but I still don’t have mah cutie mark in construction or anythin’ like that.”

“Yeah, and I don’t have any idea about what my special talent could be,” Scootaloo added.

“But what about the talent show? You were really good at dancing when you tried teaching Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle said turning her attention to her other friend, “And you knew the right way to paint our props when I didn’t,” she admitted.

Apple Bloom thought for a second, “And you can sing really good,” she added.

Sweetie Bell blushed at the compliment, “Really? Thanks.”

“Ugh, but we still didn’t get our cutie marks!” Scootaloo quickly added.

“Yeah, because we weren’t doing what we are already good at. You were singing when I should have been, Apple Bloom was dancing…. sort of, when you should have been, and I was working on the stage props when Apple Bloom should have been,” Sweetie Belle explained.

Scootaloo stared at her friend with a blank expression for a few seconds before shaking her head, “We’ll try your idea after we try mine. Apple Bloom, get a small fire started,” she instructed tossing a stick to the young yellow earth pony.

“How is she supposed to start a fire with a stick?” Sweetie Belle questioned.

“Don’t you remember when we all went camping together? She twists the stick between her hooves really fast against another piece of wood and makes fire,” Scootaloo quickly explained.

Sweetie Belle blinked a few times, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Scootaloo thought for a second, “You’re right,” she quickly turned her head yelled over her shoulder, “Apple Bloom, go into the forest a little bit, we don’t want anypony to see what we’re doing!”

“But what about timber wolves?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Everypony knows timber wolves are afraid of fire, the quicker you get the fire going the quicker you’ll be safe,” Scootaloo replied.

Apple Bloom thought for a second then shrugged her shoulders, it made sense, timber wolves, fire… she’d eat her pink bow if they weren’t afraid of fire.

The crusaders were about fifty feet within the forest borders huddled around the pile of sticks and leaves which had been condemned to burn. However, ten minutes had passed and there was still no fire. They had each taken a turn attempting to ignite a flame and Apple Bloom was still trying. Sweetie Bell had grown paranoid by every sound she had heard knowing that with three fillies and no fire they had nothing to protect themselves from potential predators. Scootaloo had simply grown annoyed and Apple Bloom was quickly growing tired.

“What’s taking so long?” Scootaloo huffed, “You’d think with how dry everything is and how nervous everypony has been about fires starting we should have gotten a fire started hours ago!”

“Ya only came up with this idea an hour ago, Scootaloo, we’ve only been here a few minutes,” Apple Bloom said annoyed with her friends’ impatience.

“I still don’t think it should be taking this long to get a stupid fire started!” Scootaloo pouted.

Apple Bloom twisted the stick in her hooves furiously as she finally lost her cool. Throwing the stick down she quickly turned to face her friends, “Well I don’t think we should be tryin’ to start a fire at all! Mah sister says the weather ponies are doing everything they can to keep the crops watered and there’s only enough left over for light rain in the afternoon. Everythin’s drier than an overcooked apple pie and you want to try and start a fire?” Apple Bloom exploded.

Her friends stared at her with shocked expressions, but their attention was focused on something just beyond her. Apple Bloom let out a sigh, “the fire started didn’t it?”

Her friends nodded their heads.

“It’s right behind me isn’t it?”

Again, her friends nodded their heads.

“Is my tail on fire?”

Her friends shook their heads.

“I plan on keepin’ it that way,” she said as she stepped away from the small flames and towards her friends.

“Should we put it out now?” Sweetie Belle asked never looking away from the minuscule fire dancing happily before her.

“Of course not!” Scootaloo exclaimed, “There’s barely a fire there at all, if we put it out now it would be like blowing out a few candles, let it get a little bigger before we put it out.”

The trio watched the small fire intently as it grew in front of them very, very slowly. What they didn’t see was the ash of leaves carrying small embers rise above them and then fall around and behind them. It was the additional heat surrounding the crusaders that alerted the ring of flames quickly growing around them and cutting off any hope of escape from the destructive power the once small flames possessed. Without thinking, they quickly grabbed their own bucket of water and attempted to extinguish the fire entirely but only succeeded in wasting their only hope of escape as the fire spread faster and the flames grew hotter and higher.

The three fillies huddled together in the midst of the flames praying in their own way for some form of escape. Scootaloo wished for Rainbow Dash to swoop in and save them all. Apple Bloom hoped that the flames would burn themselves out before they reached her and her friends. Sweetie Belle tried to conjure the teleportation spell Twilight had been trying to teach her so she could save herself and her friends, but she only succeeded in exhausting herself. As the flames closed in on the crusaders they all lost any hope of being saved and accepted their fate, closing their eyes as tears streamed down their cheeks. They knew it would hurt, but by closing their eyes, they hoped it wouldn’t be as painful.

The seconds seemed to drag on but nothing seemed to happen. At the same time they all took a risk to determine about how much longer until they felt the flames burning touch. The flames had encircled them but had ceased approaching the fillies. As they scanned the area around them they noticed a pegasus stallion standing near the border of the Everfree Forest. His eyes were closed and his wings were spread out parallel to the ground beneath him. A small smile spread across his face as the flames burned out in front of him. “You can come out of there now,” he said softly. The crusaders exchanged quick glances but were not about to reject the offer of life. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom rushed out of the semi circle of fire as fast as their hooves could carry them passing by either side of the pegasus.

Scootaloo cautiously made her way out but was stopped at the entrance of her freedom by her curiosity. She steadily reached a hoof towards the flames but immediately stopped when the stallion spoke again. “Please, don’t, I can hold it back for you but I cannot stop it from hurting you if you touch it.”

Scootaloo nodded and made the final few steps to safety. Once she was out of the fire she had time to truly inspect the pegasus who had saved her and her friends lives. The first thing to grip her attention about his appearance was his wings. Unlike a normal pegasus pony, his wings were bat like, with no feathers. His body was ash grey with a jet black tail, his mane was also jet black but it had a streak of gray in it the same shade as his coat. Finally she noticed his cutie mark which was a phoenix proudly spreading its wings as it seemed to fly upwards. His wings seemed like they were glowing as the light from the flames reflected off their leathery surface. He took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled as he slowly lowered his wings tucking them in at his sides as his tattered brown cloak fell over them.

He opened his amber yellow eyes looking directly ahead before shifted his gaze down upon Scootaloo who stood with her mouth agape from the sight before her. The pegasus gave a gentle smile, “we should leave now little one.”

“But what about…” Scootaloo began turning towards the fire only to see it had been extinguished, the charred trees and forest floor being the only evidence of there having been a fire.

Scootaloo jumped when she felt a hoof on her shoulder, she turned to see the stallion smiling at her before he gestured with is hoof towards the entrance of the forest. Scootaloo nodded her head and followed him out of the forest where she found her other fellow crusaders coughing slightly.

“Are you guys okay? I’m so sorry, that was so stupid of me! I almost got us all killed,” Scootaloo said hugging her closest friends, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she apologized over and over again.

The crusader quickly remembered their rescuer and turned to him, though he was looking in the general direction of Ponyville with a concerned expression.

“Thank you for saving us,” Sweetie Belle said drawing the stallions’ attention towards her.

“Yeah, thank you so much,” Apple Bloom chimed in.

“Thank you, for saving me and my friends,” Scootaloo finished.

“I… you’re welcome,” the pegasus said briefly focusing his attention on Ponyville before turning back to the three crusaders. He lay down on his stomach, bringing himself to their level, “but now you must promise me, you will not tell anypony I saved you, what I did in the forest, or that you even saw me, is that understood?”

“What did you do in the forest?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“It was totally awesome; he put the fire out with his mind!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“How could he have done that Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked, “He aint a unicorn!”

“I know,” Scootaloo said excitedly, “That’s what makes it so cool!”

“And that is exactly what I don’t want you telling anypony,” the stallion said hanging his head in defeat knowing they would never be able to keep his secret.

The crusaders exchanged glances and then nodded, silently making a vow of silence. “Don't worry, we won't tell anypony,” Apple Bloom assured him.

“Thank you,” he said before rising to his full height, “Goodbye.”

As he turned back towards the Everfree forest a sudden flash of nearly blinding purple light stopped him. Once he could see again he saw a purple alicorn had appeared where, just a moment earlier, there hadn’t been one. She looked towards the forest noting the remaining traces of smoke rising from now extinguished fire. She quickly turned her attention to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, “Fire? There was a fire? Did you start a fire?” She asked the three fillies. She then noticed the stallion standing beside them, “Was there a fire?” she asked again.

The stallion took a step forward, “Yes, there was a fire, but now there is not, and I must be on my way,” he said calmly before walking towards the forest

“Did you start the fire?” she asked the stallion cutting into his path.

“No,” he answered.

“We started the fire Twilight, we were trying to get our cutie marks in fire fighting” Scootaloo confessed, “but he put it out and saved us!”

“Crap…” the stallion thought.

“You saved them?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, and now that we've gotten that all cleared up, I’m leaving.”

As he trotted towards the forest he intended not to be stopped, however, he hadn’t made it very when a streak of rainbow collided with his being and sent him tumbling out of control. As the stallion recovered from the crash he instinctively spread his wings and shook the dizziness from his head. Once he had cleared his head he froze when he realized he was spreading his bat like wings. He quickly looked to the pony that had collided with him, a blue pegasus mare with a rainbow mane and tail, who was staring at him slack jawed. Before he could speak he felt a powerful burst of magic pass across his body which was strong enough to knock him over. He looked to the alicorn the fillies had called Twilight; her horn was glowing and pointed directly at him.

“What are you? I already know you’re not a changeling because the spell I just used would have rendered you unconscious. I know you’re not one of Princess Luna’s bat ponies because they’re nocturnal, navy blue, have slit pupils, and until her return they were extinct for almost a thousand years so what are you, furthermore, who are you?” Twilight demanded.

The stallion slowly rose to his hooves, removed his cloak, and flared his wings, “What I am is difficult to explain, as for who I am, my name is Firestorm"
> Chapter 2 - Playing With Fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash flew to Firestorms’ side and gently felt his wings in her hooves, “Wow! They’re so soft and no feathers so you don’t have to preen, that’s so awesome!” she said while continuing to stroke the leathery surface.

“Rainbow, get away from him, he could hurt you!” Twilight yelled.

“Awww, lighten up Twilight, I’m sure he wouldn’t hurt anypony, would you?”

Firestorm glanced at Rainbow Dash out of the side of his eye, then the Cutie Mark Crusaders before looking directly ahead to Twilight and answering with a simple, “No.”

Rainbow grinned, “See? He’s friendly. So what’s it like to have bat wings? Can you fly really fast? Do you…”

“Rainbow Dash, get over here, take the girls home, and meet up with me at the library with the rest of our friends! I need to send Princess Celestia a letter,” Twilight instructed.

“Geez Twilight, seriously, lighten up, I’ll take the girls home but why do you need to send Princess Celestia a letter? So you met a bat pony who isn’t knock-turtle, what’s the big deal?” Rainbow asked as she walked away from Firestorm.

“The big deal is, he’s not a bat pony, not entirely, and he has a lot more magic than a pony like him should have,” Twilight said never breaking eye contact with Firestorm.

“Whatever, I’ll be back in a flash,” Rainbow said before picking up the three fillies in her hooves and flying away with them.

“Bye Firestorm,” yelled Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, as they flew off towards town with Rainbow Dash.

Firestorm gave a slight smile, “Cute kids.”

Twilight glared and said, “Let’s go to the library, you lead the way, and I’ll guide you.”

Firestorm nodded, tucked his wings back under his cloak, and began trotting towards Ponyville with Twilight following closely behind him, her horn still glowing.

As they walked Twilight took notice of the way Firestorm walked, his steps were extremely coordinated and smooth which led her to ask, “Are you in The Guard?”

“No, my father was,” Firestorm answered bluntly.

“Who is your father?” Twilight asked.

“Dead”

“Who is your mother?”

“Dead”

“That doesn’t tell me who they are, but I’m sorry just the same.”

“Don’t be, it was a very long time ago and I’m used to losing the ones I love.”

“So can you tell me who they were?”

“How about we just focus on getting to the library, writing your little letter to the Princess, and letting me get on with my miserable life,” Firestorm suggested.

Twilight resisted the urge to zap him for his harsh tone and bit her tongue as well, the last thing she wanted to do was aggravate the pony or whatever the creature in front of her was. Ponies cleared a path for Firestorm and Twilight as they made their way through town. Twilight ignored the hushed whispers of the ponies around them but Firestorms’ sensitive and accurate hearing allowed him to listen in briefly on what other ponies were saying. Some expressed concern that Twilight had gone off the deep end again, others inquired as to whom he was, but when he heard one couple express their concern that he might be a changeling he decided to take action. Firestorm, much to Twilights’ annoyance, stopped walking.

“This is NOT the library,” she pointed out.

“I know. It’s just getting a little too warm for me,” Firestorm said before removing his cloak, stretching his wings for everypony to see, and cracking the bones in his neck, “Much better.”

Twilight looked around at the residents, all of whom were staring at Firestorm with wide eyes. Firestorm looked over his shoulder with a smug grin, “Shall we continue?” he asked before resuming his journey to the library leaving his cloak behind. Twilight looked around and chuckled nervously, “nothing to see here, he’s not a changeling he’s one of Princess Luna’s Night Guards, nothing to worry about,” Twilight chuckled again, “Accept for me possibly killing him,” she muttered to herself.

The rest of the journey was, for the most part, uneventful. With Firestorm showing off his bat wings nopony asked any questions. Finally, they reached their destination, the library. Twilight opened the door and instructed Firestorm to go in first. Once they were inside Twilight called for Spike. Firestorm heard the pitter patter of tiny feet rushing down the stairs, he was only mildly surprised to see a purple dragon appear at the bottom of the stairs. Spike looked at Firestorm and then to Twilight, “I’ll be over at Rarity’s…”

“Spike, this is serious! We need to send Princess Celestia a letter about him!”

“Um Twilight, is everything alright?” Spike asked beginning to understand to severity of the situation.

“No,” Firestorm said earning their attention, “She is concerned about what I am, and she has good reason to be…”

“Right, lets get started,” Twilight said after a moment brief of thought.

“Where should we begin?”

“Well, you can start by telling me who your parents are.”

“I honestly don’t remember.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

“I’m an only child.”

“Do you have any relatives?”

“They’re all dead. Now please, quit staling, what do you really want from me?”

Twilight nodded her head, “Fair enough, how did you put out the fire? Ponyville doesn’t have any water accept for the reserves for crops.”

Fire Storm smiled, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“Very well, I told the fire to calm down and stop before it hurt those fillies.”

“That’s impossible,” Spike scoffed, “ponies can’t control fire.”

Firestorm looked at spike, “Can you breathe fire?”

“Of course I can breathe fire; I’m a dragon after all.”

“Excellent,” Fire Storm said moving to the opposite end of the library, “show me.”

Spike took a breath and exhaled a small flame which quickly burned itself out.

“How long can you sustain the flame?” Firestorm asked sincerely.

“Umm, only about a second or two,” Spike replied.

“Try again please,” Firestorm requested.

Spike nodded, took a breath, and exhaled another small flame. He sustained the small fire for three seconds before running out of breath. After a moment of gasping for air Spike looked up to see his flame still burning, beyond his control.

Twilight and Spike looked over at Firestorm who had his wings flared and his right hoof aimed at the flame. Firestorm smiled as the flame moved toward his hoof. As the fire made contact with his hoof it tenderly wrapped around his wrist, moving up his leg, crossing over his shoulders, traveling down his left front leg, and finally disappeared under his left hoof as it was burned out. He looked up at Twilight, “Well?”

“That’s impossible, I sensed magic but it wasn’t unicorn magic. In fact, it was magic I’ve never sensed before,” Twilight stammered.

“Write your letter,” was all Firestorm said calmly.

Twilight grabbed a quill and some parchment and began writing her letter.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I write you today with a deep concern for the well being of the residents of Ponyville as well as all of Equestria. As you may recall from my previous letters, Ponyville has very limited water available due to the drought we are experiencing. On that note the three little fillies I have mentioned on occasion, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, started a fire in the Everfree Forest to extinguish in an attempt to earn their cutie marks in firefighting. However, the fire grew out of their control. I am happy to report they are alive and unharmed and the fire was extinguished, but how the fire was extinguished is the reason I’m writing to you.

A Stallion by the name of Firestorm extinguished the fire using a form of magic like I have never sensed before. He also demonstrated pyrokinesis in the library despite being a pegasus. What’s more, he appears to be a bat pony; however, the only physical characteristics to suggest this are his wings. He is not hostile or aggressive, though I eagerly await your reply.

Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight levitated the letter over to Spike who took it in his claws, took a deep breath, and then exhaled a magical flame which consumed the letter and carried it away to Canterlot. No sooner had the letter been sent off there was a knock on the front door of the library. Immediately following the knock the door flew open and a pink earth pony with an unreasonably curly pink mane and tail bounded through the door, followed by four other ponies including Rainbow Dash whom Firestorm remembered from earlier. While he didn’t know the others, he had an feeling he soon would.

Twilight closed the door of the now slightly cramped library, “Thank you all for coming, this is Firestorm. Firestorm, this is Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity,” Twilight said gesturing to each corresponding pony, “You already know Rainbow Dash.”

“Sup hot shot, Egghead drive you crazy yet?” Rainbow Dash asked offering a hoof bump which Firestorm happily returned.

His amber eyes met her magenta eyes in a form of unspoken understanding as he shook his head and smirked, “You have no idea.”

“Anyway, I…” Twilight began only to be interrupted by Pinkie Pie who began questioning Fire Storm in her usual manner.

“Wow! So you’re a bat pony? What’s it like? Can you see in the dark? Why is your cutie mark a phoenix? Mine’s balloons because I like to party! Do you like you party? What am I saying, who doesn’t like to party?” Pinkie rambled. The entire time she spoke Pinkie never stopped moving. She bounced, ran, and jumped over and in between her friends. What surprised Twilight was Firestorm’s response to the random outburst of questions, statements, and maneuvering that was Pinkie Pie. What did surprise her was his actions when Pinkie passed by his right side.

As Pinkie grazed his left wing it immediately stretched out and stopped her forward motion while he quickly reached his front right leg around to her chest while his left front leg rested on her lower back. In one swift motion, Firestorm reared up on his hind legs, uncrossed his front legs so Pinkie performed an assisted back flip, and ended with them landing on their hooves face to face.

“You move really fast,” Firestorm said calmly, “I bet moving around like that makes you really tired.”

“Nope!” Pinkie said energetically, “thanks to all the sweets I get at the bakery, I…”

“Oh yeah,” Firestorm interrupted, “Moving around that much must really exhaust your legs. And being an earth pony, that must make the rest of you tired as well. Your legs get tired and heavy, everything seems to get hazy. Like your falling asleep, because that’s what happens when you get tired, you want to sleep.”

The entire time Firestorm spoke Pinkie became noticeably exhausted, she became unbalanced and her head began to bob as she attempted to stay awake.

“You just want to sleep,” Firestorm whispered slowly as Pinkie collapsed, falling asleep when a moment earlier, not even the most gifted unicorn would have dared to challenge her energy. Yet here she was, sleeping soundly on the library floor.

Firestorm looked up to the other ponies occupying the room, “Now that the child is asleep, the adults can talk,” he said with a smile

“Wow, you have got to teach me how to do that!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“How did you make her fall asleep?” Twilight asked, “I know it wasn’t magic.”

“No, it wasn’t magic,” Firestorm answered with a gentle smile, “It was suggestion. If you were paying attention I told her she was feeling tired and wanted to sleep. Now then, please allow me to say it is an honor to meet you all, Twilight has told me nothing about any of you,” he said with a bow.

As Firestorm rose from his bow Rainbow flew over to the sleeping element of laughter, Pinkie Pie, “Seriously, you have gotta teach me how to do that!”

A loud belch startled everypony's attention to spike who was holding a scroll in his claw. He smiled bashfully and handed the letter Twilight and read the letter.

Dear Twilight

First of all, I appreciate your concerns for the citizens of Ponyville. However, I am currently in the griffin kingdom and will not be returning for another week. I am very interested in the pony you told me about. During my absence I ask you and your friends to treat Firestorm as a friend, make him feel welcome. When I return to Canterlot I will arrange for you, your friends, and Firestorm to visit me there. Please make him feel welcome until my return and if he allows it, find out what other forms of magic he is familiar with. I have heard of some unicorns being capable of pyrokinesis but not a pegasus. From what it sounds like, he is a Hybrid, most likely a bat pony/unicorn mix. While I investigate this matter further please treat him with the respect and dignity he rightly deserves.

Your friend, Princess Celestia

> Chapter 3 - Here's The Deal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight finished reading Celestias’ letter and exchanged quick glances with her friends before they all turned their attention to Firestorm who was wearing his best poker face to hide his own surprise at the letters’ contents.

Rarity cleared her throat, “Well, if the princess says we should treat Firestorm as a friend then I for one find it rather rude to leave an awkward silence hanging in the air among friends, so, as you know, I am Rarity, welcome to Ponyville,” Rarity said making her way Firestorm and offering a hoofshake. Firestorm took her hoof in his and said, “Thank you,” while kissing her hoof.

Rarity giggled, “Oh my, what a gentlecolt.”

Applejack made her way to Firestorm and removed her Stetson, “Ah want to thank ya for savin’ mah sister an her friends. I’m still madder than a rattlesnake with no rattle at that little filly for doin’ somethin’ so reckless and stupid, but if you hadn’t come along and saved her and her friends Ah… Ah just don’t know what I’d do,” she said with her voice breaking as tears welled in her eyes.

Firestorm cautiously stepped towards Applejack and offered her a hug which she accepted and returned. Firestorm could feel the tension in Applejack’s muscles and the slight trembling of her body, “Tonight, when you go to sleep, just remember she’s safe, she’s at home, and you have friends that love you and will make sure nothing bad ever happens to her,” he whispered just loud enough for everypony to hear.

As he broke the hug Applejack nodded her head and thanked him again.

Twilight shifted uncomfortably, “Listen, I know we got off on the wrong hoof, but I trust Princess Celestia and her judgment, if she says to treat you like a friend, then I’ll do just that. I know you’re not from around here and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind perhaps staying in Ponyville until we get everything sorted out.”

Firestorm took a deep slow breath, “I appreciate your offer of friendship, but I don’t understand why I can’t just go back to my home in the Everfree Forest?”

Applejack stepped forward, “Well of course not Sugarcube, nopony's makin' ya stay here, right Twi? ...Twi?”

“Firestorms’ biological structure is fused with a form of magic I’m almost certain to be dark magic. I want to run some tests to make sure it isn’t before I let you go your own way. I didn’t say it out loud at first but Princess Celestia told me to keep you here until she returns. How much freedom you have while staying here depends on your willingness to stay.”

Firestorm gave Twilight a smug grin, “friendship is about trust, I’m fine with staying but I need to go to Manehattan to collect some personal things, if Rainbow Dash can keep up with my speed, she’s welcome to come with me.

Rainbow smiled, “Awwww yeah! Race a bat pony?  I’m so up for that!” she said confidently.

“Rainbow, he’s not a bat pony, not entirely, he’s a hybrid,” Twilight quickly explained before looking to Firestorm, “Firestorm, I have no doubt one of your parents was a bat pony, was the other a unicorn?”

Firestorm nodded, “Yes, my father was a bat pony and my mother was a unicorn, why?”

“Because it would explain your pyrokinetical magic, bat ponies have different bone structures which make up their wings. Unlike pegasi wings, bat ponies have phalanges. If his mother was a unicorn, then theoretically he could use the phalanges in his wings like a unicorns’ horn, to focus his magic.”

“Twilight, do you mean to say that Firestorm can control fire, and possibly perform other tasks only a unicorn could, based on the unique wings he was born with and his mother having been a unicorn?” Rarity asked.

“Well, stranger things have happened with genetics, remember the Cake twins? Neither of their…” Twilight stopped when she noticed the books and other objects floating around the library. Knowing she was not the cause she turned to the only other possible source, Firestorm.

Firestorm stood as still as a statue with his eyes closed tightly and his wings flared. The phalanges in his wings were glowing bright red as were all the objects he was levitating, he slowly opened his eyes and grinned menacingly, “Yes, Rarity, that is exactly what Twilight is saying about me. I am a bat pony unicorn hybrid, the first and only one of my kind,” he let the objects drop from his telekinetic grasp as he folded his wings in at his sides. As he slowly approached Twilight she could see tears forming in his eyes, “I was born shortly after Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon and was banished. My parents told me she was the only reason I was alive. I’ve been alive for around one thousand years. I’ve made friends, loved, and watched everypony I ever cared about grow old and die! If you want to know something, anything about me you can’t explain, then that makes two of us,” Firestorm said glaring at Twilight. He finally collapsed on the library floor as the memories of his old friends and loved ones came flooding back to him.

Twilight looked around at her friends; she let everything Firestorm had just said sink in. He was basically an alternative form of an alicorn, he could possibly be immortal, and most importantly, he was alone. Alone, the one thing Twilight could not stop thinking about was how alone Firestorm was, how many friends he watched fade into memories, and why he was living in the Everfree forest. He wanted to distance himself so he wouldn’t have to keep suffering the pain of loss. Before she could act, Fluttershy had moved to Firestorms’ side and began attempting to comfort him.

“There, there, its alright, you’ll see, I know you’ve had a long and painful life, but I’m sure that when Princess Celestia returns, she can make everything right, she cares for everypony,” Fluttershy cooed as she stroked Firestorms’ mane.

Firestorm shook his head and let out a heavy sigh. He looked at Fluttershy, “Thank you.”

Fluttershy nodded and smiled softly.

Firestorm looked around at the other ponies, “I would truly appreciate some answers, and I would enjoy spending time getting to know each of you. I haven’t been around anypony for almost two centuries. If Princess Celestia wants me to stay here until here then I suppose I am your prisoner,” he said with a hint of playfulness in his tone.

Twilight smiled, “I’m sure Princess Celestia will be able to provide you with answers. I can also arrange for you a place to stay if you’d like?”

“No, thank you, when I get back from Manehattan, I’ll find myself a place to stay;” Firestorm glanced over at Rainbow Dash, “Shall we?”

Rainbow nodded and the two made their way to the door. Opening it, Firestorm invited Rainbow to go out first, as he followed he yelled over his shoulder, “Somepony wake Pinkie Pie up and get her up to date on where we are.”

Once a safe distance from the library, Firestorm and Rainbow Dash took off into the sky.

Spike looked at the other ponies sheepishly when his stomach made an obnoxious rumbling sound indicating his hunger. Giggling he took his leave for the kitchen. Twilight looked at her remaining friends, more specifically, the other ponies that weren’t snoring like an asthmatic bulldog sleeping on its back. “Alright, who gets to wake Pinkie Pie?”

Applejack sighed, “Ah got this one girls, but Twilight needs to everything to her once she’s awake.”

Twilight nodded, “Deal.”

Applejack took a breath and made her way towards Pinkie, the closer got, the shorter her steps became. With Pinkie within range of her hoof Applejack took one final breath before crossing the point of no return as she gently nudged Pinkies’ shoulder. Nothing happened.

“Pinkie?” Applejack asked giving her shoulder a firmer nudge. Nothing happened.

“Pinkie, wake up,” Applejack said giving her a firm shake. Nothing happened.

Applejack noticed a glass of water resting peacefully on a nearby desk; she retrieved it, she made her way back to Pinkie Pie, and dumped the water on the slumbering pony’s face. Aside from her mane going flat from the moisture, nothing happened.

“Oh for Pete’s sake!” Applejack yelled. She looked down at Pinkie, rolled her eyes, leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “Cupcakes.”

Pinkie was on her hooves faster than Twilight could teleport across the room, her mane had spontaneously dried and returned to its normal frizzy state.

“Cupcakes? I love cupcakes! Do you want to bake some? Oh, oh, oh, I could bake some for our new friend. Where is he? What was his name again? Strom Flame? Fire Ball? Cloud of Fire?”

“Pinkie!” yelled everypony.

“Yeah?”

“His name is Firestorm, he is going to be staying here in Ponyville until princess Celestia returns to Canterlot, and he left with Rainbow Dash to get some of his things from Manehattan,” Twilight explained calmly.

“Okey dokey loki,” Pinkie said trotting towards the front door.

“Where are you going?” Applejack asked.

“Well duh! I have to get things ready for the “Welcome to and Back to Ponyville Party” for Firestorm,” Pinkie said like it was supposed to naturally make sense.

“Actually Pinkie,” Twilight said stopping her, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea…”

“Why not?” Pinkie asked as her ears folded back.

“Take a seat darling, there are some things we need to talk about before Rainbow Dash and Firestorm return,” Rarity said gesturing to the nearby couch. As they made their way to the couch Fluttershy tapped Twilights shoulder so gently she almost didn’t notice.

“Um, Twilight, I don’t have to be here do I? I mean I can stay if you need me too, but I, um, should really be getting home. Angel bunny is still sick and I really want to be there for him,” Fluttershy stammered.

“He’s still sick?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nodded.

“Has he started eating again?”

Fluttershy shook her head.

“Yes, you can go home, I hope he gets feeling better soon.”

“Oh thank you Twilight, I hope he gets feeling better soon too,” Fluttershy whispered as she left the library.

Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity explained to Pinkie Pie everything that had happened while she was asleep and everything Firestorm had said.

Firestorm flew calmly through the air; Rainbow on the other hoof flew circles around him. Not long after leaving Ponyville Firestorm made the mistake of accepting Rainbows’ challenge to a race. He learned from his mistake the second she handed him his butt on a shiny silver platter. “Your butt sir, slow roasted for several hours over an open fire, seasoned with our chefs finest spices, and served with a side of your pride, enjoy” Firestorm thought to himself.

Rainbow had earned herself the right to show off several of her aerial stunts Firestorm was certain she had patents on before pointing their need to hurry if they wanted to make it back to Ponyville before dark. Rainbow Dash agreed on the term she was allowed to show him the rest of her stunts when they got back. Firestorm was enjoying the simple peace of flying in silence. The same could not be said for Rainbow Dash, if she couldn’t show off her moves she was going to make up for it with chit-chat.

“So, what are we going to Manehattan for?”

“I just need to make a withdrawal from my bank; I can’t stay at my own place in Ponyville if I don’t have the bits now can I?”

“Um, I guess not. So wait, how many bits do you have?”

“I don’t know I set up a savings account when this bank first opened, I set up a business account a few years later… It’s a lot of accounting advice given to me several centuries ago by a friend who was a really good investor.”

“Wait, you don’t know how many bits you have? What if you lost it all or they closed the account?”

“Not likely, I had several accounts; the savings account only ever had money go into it unless I personally took it out. Several others were used for funding big work projects which I would get paid back with interest.”

“Soooooo, how many bits did you start out with?”

“When I opened the account I had one million bits in savings and one million divided amongst five business accounts. I gave a trusted friend and investment banker full access to the accounts so he… why are we talking about this?”

“I don’t know, you wanted to fly like an old mare so I decided I wanted to talk, then you started talking about investment banking and now I want to take a nap.”

“Well, like I said, I don’t know exactly how much I have. I figure I should be sitting on a couple million bits on interest alone. But you know what?” Firestorm asked looking at his wingpony.

“What?” Rainbow asked eagerly.

“We’re about to find out,” he said with a smile as he gestured to a skyscraper which proudly displayed “1st Bank of Manehattan”.

Rainbows’ eyes went wide, “Wait a minute,” she said as she stopped flying and hovered in place, “the 1st Bank of Manehattan is like… the oldest bank in Equestria!”

“I did mention I was born shortly after Princess Luna was banished didn’t I?” Firestorm asked with a smug grin.

“Well… yeah, but…”

“Just come on, this could take a while.”

The two pegasi landed and made their way into the bank. As expected, Firestorm was met with curious glances. However, unlike Ponyville, rich ponies went about their business as if they were the center of the universe. Thanks to a lack of lines they were called to a teller in no time at all. The teller was a young mare, a cream coat, brown mane, and green eyes. Her cutie mark was concealed with the rest of her body by the counter she was sitting at. Firestorm smiled politely, “Hello, I’d like to check my balance please.”

“Of course,” the bank mare said cheerfully passing him a slip of paper, “I just need your account number and the security code.”

Firestorm quickly jotted several rows numbers onto the paper and returned it to the teller. She smiled, “I’ll be right back with your balance.”

Firestorm and Rainbow waited for several minutes before Rainbows’ impatience got the better of her. “What’s taking her so long?”

Firestorm smiled, “I told you this could take a while, haven’t you ever dated a rich pony before and gone to the bank with him?”

“No.” Rainbow snapped, “The richest pony in Ponyville is Filthy Rich and he’s a total snob! You’re actually really cool!”

Firestorm smiled, “Well thank you. What’s he worth anyway?”

“Who?”

“Filthy Rich.”

“Um, a couple million bits I think, but he’s so stuck up, and his daughter is even worse! Why do you ask?”

Firestorm opened his mouth to answer but stopped when he noticed his teller returning.

“I apologize for the wait; it seems your accounts are of utmost importance to the bank and my manager asked me to get him if you were going to be closing your accounts.”

Firestorm smiled, “No, I just want to check my balance and possibly make a withdrawal should the funds be available.”

The teller returned the smile, “Well they most certainly are, here is your balance,” she said offering him a piece of paper.

Firestorms’ eyes went wide when they made contact with the number. He took a deep breath and returned the slip of paper. Would two you please excuse me for a moment? Without waiting for an answer he turned and made his way to the restrooms. Rainbow looked to the teller who offered a nervous smile.

An abrupt, “AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!” echoed through the lobby startling everypony including the two mares Firestorm had last been seen with. A moment later Firestorm exited the restroom and made his way back to his teller and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow gave him a concerned look as his right ear was twitching and his entire body shivering, “Is everything okay?” she asked.

Firestorm took a few steps closer, placed his hooves firmly on her cheeks, and pressed his lips to hers in a celebratory kiss. “What the hay was that?” Rainbow demanded after being released, her cheeks blushing.

Firestorm didn’t answer her but instead turned to the teller who was concealing a smile behind her hoof, “I’d like to make a withdrawal please.”

The teller complied giving him a form which he promptly filled out, returned, and a moment later was given two large saddle bags which were unmistakably filled with bits.

“Would you like your new balance?” the bank teller asked smiling.

“Yes, thank you,” Firestorm said adjusting his saddlebags.

The teller scribbled some numbers on a clean piece of paper which she gave to him along with a pleasant smile, “Thank you, have a nice day.”

Firestorm said the same and turned to Rainbow Dash who was impatiently tapping her hoof while waiting for an explanation for his actions. He smiled, “If a couple million bits makes him “Filthy” Rich, than I own a garbage dump,” Firestorm said as he handed the paper to Rainbow and made his way to the door. Rainbow looked at the paper, her mouth dropping open and her eyes widening at the number.

Twilight moved as fast as she could to the library door, the quicker she answered it the quicker the rapid knocking would stop. “This is a library, Rainbow,” she said once the door was open, “Do you know what that means?”

“Of course I do Twilight, but only you have the answer to something I don’t know.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, “and what would that be?”

Rainbow looked at the paper in her left hoof while counting whatever was written on it with her other hoof. When she was done she looked at her friend and asked, “What is it called when five hundred and eighty six is followed by eight zeros?”

> Chapter 4 - Paperwork and Lodging
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firestorm stood alone in the bank lobby; papers were beginning to settle down as the sudden vortex of air Rainbow Dash had created when she flew out of the bank after she had seen his account balance. Firestorm would swear she broke the sound barrier and the visible light spectrum all at once. With Rainbow gone he returned to his teller and asked to see all transactions. The teller nodded and asked him to follow her. Firestorm was led into a public vault where safety deposit boxes were stored. The teller unlocked his designated box, box number 117. She nodded and left him alone in the vault. Firestorm opened the large metal box and retrieved the intimidating amount of paperwork within. As requested, all transactions within his accounts were stored in his safety deposit box. He flipped through the papers which started out with simple transactions which earned seemingly insignificant amounts of bits. As he continued through the files, the transactions, and amount of bits exchanged increased. He paused, carefully examining and reading over a document and settlement concerning “The Equestria Railway”.

As Firestorm finished going over the business transactions surrounding his accounts he turned his attention to a magically encrypted envelope. Flaring his wings, the envelope began to levitate as it was wrapped in the magic focused through his wings. He carefully set the envelope down and touched his wingtip to the seal. If somepony had made it this far and survived the shock of the underlying defense spell, without the encryption spell, the contents would be illegible. With a surge of magic through his wing the encryption spell dissipated and the envelope opened.

Firestorm took a deep breath before spreading the contents in front of him. He looked over each document, each one bringing back painful memories. Before him lay nine different folders containing birth certificates, death certificates and other documents related to the documented pony. Firestorms sadness melted away into anger; each pony in the folders was different, but at the same time, they were all the same. They were false all the identities of Firestorm.

Firestorm took another deep breath as he opened the earliest and the latest documents at the same time. The earlier of the two had a specific date on the top, two hundred and seventy years after Lunas’ banishment. The last was dated just over five hundred years later. Despite what he had told Rainbow Dash, Firestorm never had anypony working for him, he was in direct control of his account for the past several centuries. Each identity was forged so he could increase his wealth without arousing suspicion of his existence. Instead of one pony controlling the account for hundreds of years, several different ponies had inherited the account over the course of hundreds of years. 

“What’s the point?” Firestorm asked himself, “All the time and planning put into increasing my wealth over the time span of ten lifetimes and for what?”

Firestorm tucked the documents in their envelope, reapplied the encryption spell, and restored all the paperwork to its rightful place in his safety deposit box before locking it and returning it to the place it called home within the vault.

Firestorm flew back to Ponyville at what Rainbow Dash would consider a “lazy pace”. He realized that once he got back to the small town, if nothing else, get some food, get a room, get some sleep, and repeat the process until the Princess returned.

The sun had set by the time Firestorm arrived in Ponyville. He landed in the town center and stopped a young couple to ask for directions to a hotel. The couple stared at him nervously, with a lack of sunlight Firestorms fur was an intimidating black and his amber eyes glowing bright yellow as they reflected light from a nearby shop. Firestorm bowed his head, “My apologies, I did not mean to scare you, I was simply looking for a place to rest.”

The couple looked at each other before more confused now than nervous. They were not wealthy high class ponies nor were they royalty, so why did the bat pony in front of them have reason to bow? The stallion cleared his throat, “No, no I’m sorry it’s just, ummm…. There is a nice bed and breakfast owned by a nice couple down this road,” he said gesturing to a specific street, “just follow this down until you get to the sofas and quills store, turn down the first street on your left and it will be at the end of the street.”

Firestorm looked up at them and smiled, “Thank you, enjoy your evening,” he said before trotting off in the direction he had been advised.

The trip didn’t take any time at all and Firestorm took note of the shops along the way including a new restaurant scheduled to open the next night. Firestorm paused outside of the bed and breakfast to calculate how he should approach the owners. After a minute of thought he reached a decision. He approached the small building and knocked gently. A minute passed before the door was opened by a unicorn mare. She smiled brightly, “Hello, may I help you?”

Firestorm kept his eyes closed, “Yes ma’am, I was told there might be a room available here?”

“Well, yes…” the mare hesitated, “All the rooms are available but I’m not sure you’d enjoy staying here…”

“Oh, may I ask why not?”

Before the mare could answer a loud eruption of low frequency vibrations which quickly shifted to high frequency and low bass vibrations answered his question.

“My daughter is staying with us, and I’m afraid she quite… artistic with her music and while I welcome you to stay, I fear you may not get much sleep… at all…”

Firestorm was at a loss for words, the feeling of the vibrations coursing through his body awoke something dormant within him, he didn’t know what it was but all he could ask was, “How much for the week?”

The mare was shocked by his question, especially after the brief demonstration of her daughters’ “music”. “Twenty bits a night, one hundred and twenty five a week and breakfast is included.”

Firestorm reached into his saddlebag and retrieved one hundred and fifty bits which he presented to the mare.

“I’m sorry; did you say you wanted to stay for the week?” she asked confused by the odd amount.

“Yes, but I feel it would be better if I paid you this amount,” Firestorm replied.

“Why?”

“Well, I, umm…” he struggled before giving up, opening his eyes, and moving into the light so she could see what he really was. He also took the opportunity to see what the mare looked like now that he had his eyes open. The mare was much smaller than he was, her coat was a light brown and her mane and tail were blonde. She had light green eyes and a cutie mark of a house like a child would draw.

“Oh, I see,” she said calmly.

Firestorm looked down, expecting to be turned away. The sound of bits falling to the floor confirmed his suspicion. When he opened his eyes however, only twenty five bits lay at his hooves. He quickly looked up at the mare with confusion.

“I don’t accept bribes,” she said with a smile, “If you’ll follow me, I'll show you to your room.”

Firestorm returned his refunded bits to his saddlebag and stepped inside, “Wait, you’re not… afraid of something like me?”

The mare turned to Firestorm with a polite smile, “You’re not something you’re somepony; my daughter is something else…”

Firestorm took a step back in surprise.

“You must really like her kind of music to be willing to stay here.”

“I’ve never heard anything like that before. I mean, I think I like it because I can actually feel it.”

“Well suit yourself; I can introduce you to her once you get settled in if you'd like...”

“You don’t think she’ll be afraid of me?”

“I think it’s going to be the other way around to be completely honest,” she said with a playful wink, “Oh, by the way my name is Haven. My husband, Homestead is in the kitchen, and our daughter, Vinyl is in her room.”

“My name is Firestorm,” he answered plainly.

“Well, welcome to the Ponyville Bed and Breakfast,” Haven said warmly.

Haven led Firestorm upstairs where she stopped at the end of a hallway which had three doors on either side. The last two at the far end of the hallway were closed, “Each room has its own bed, nightstand, dresser, bathroom, and closet. I have the keys for all the locks and I’ll give you your key when you chose a room you like. They’re all the same; it’s mostly where you’d like to be.”

Firestorm looked to the room on his right; he went inside and looked around. It was exactly how Haven had described; a bed a nightstand, a bathroom, a closet, and a dresser. The room was plain and simple, yet warm and inviting. “This will be perfect,” Firestorm said turning towards Haven who was already holding the key to the room with her magic.

Firestorm extended his wing as he telekinetically took the key with his own magic. Haven simply smiled. Firestorm suddenly realized he was focusing his magic and dropped the key when his concentration was broken. Haven continued to smile, “Don’t worry, Twilight Sparkle already told me to be expecting you. I imagine she told everypony in town who rents rooms about you and your unique position.”

“I’ll have to remember to thank her for that,” Firestorm said as he rolled his eyes before looking away from Haven.

“Yes, I believe you should.”

Firestorm looked at Haven, expressing surprise and confusion.

“When she told me and everypony else about you she took the time to explain how you saved those three little fillies,” Haven clarified before leaving Firestorm to the privacy of his temporary living arrangements.

Firestorm walked to the bed where he fell back on it with a gentle thud. With his wings flared out beneath him, Firestorm took a deep breath and exerted a small magical pulse of energy through his room which bounced off every surface and returned to his wings. He now had an exact layout of the entire room etched into his memory. He took another breath which he quickly let out along with another small pulse of magic which extinguished all the candles which had been illuminating his room.

Firestorm turned to the window which let moonlight flow freely into his room. The moon was almost full and as its power invigorated Firestorm. He rolled out of his bed and approached the window; he could feel the power of the moonlight flowing over his form as he fully exposed his form to it. His eyes reflected the light and his pupils changed from circular to vertical slits. He slowly spread his wings aiming them directly at the moon. His phalanges began to glow red as well as archaic symbols on his wings themselves. Soon he felt power surging into his body, he felt renewed, refreshed, and regenerated. After a moment longer he closed his eyes and folded his wings in at his sides as he let out a satisfied sigh. He trotted into the bathroom and looked at his reflection. His smile quickly faded when he looked into the draconic eyes staring back into his.

The symbols on his wings had completely faded and he knew it wouldn’t be long before his eyes returned to normal as well. Sure enough, in the literal blink of an eye, his pupils reverted back from vertical slits to round. He smiled once again now that he looked as normal as he would consider himself. A gentle knock on the door made his ear twitch and drew his attention. He quickly made his way to the door and opened it without hesitation. A large brown stallion with a light brown mane and tail stood in the doorway. His eyes were green and his cutie mark looked like a house a professional contractor would draw. He smiled warmly, “My name is Homestead,” he said with a deep yet warm voice as he offered his hoof to Firestorm.

“My name is Firestorm,” he said shaking Homesteads’ hoof.

“So you’re the pony brave enough to stay with us while our nightmare of a DJ daughter is visiting from Canterlot?” Homestead asked playfully.

“I heard that!” yelled a voice from down the hall.

“How? With all the thumping and screeching and other noises you make on that turntable of yours I’m surprised you’re not deaf yet!” he yelled back.

“Ich werde euch taub alte Mann!” the voice yelled.

“Don’t you threaten me with that Germane language your girlfriend taught you missy!”

“She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my roommate!” the voice clarified.

“You’re not dating a mare? Oh thank Celestia there’s hope for you yet!”

After a moment of silence Homestead turned back to Firestorm who was completely dumbstruck by the conversation he had just heard. A second passed before Homestead burst into a fit of laughter which resulted in him loosing his balance, falling over, and roll on the floor for the remainder of his laughing fit. He abruptly stopped laughing; his eyes popped open, wide as a realization hit him, before looking up at Firestorm. He quickly got to his hooves, “I’m sorry, but my wife doesn’t approve of me tormenting our daughter like that and when she stays with us nopony else stays here because of her so called music. Could you please help me with something really quick?”

“Umm sure, I guess,” Firestorm said hesitantly as he stepped out of his room.

Homestead looked over his guest noting he was a bat pony, a sinister smile crept across his face, “This is going to be better than I thought!”

He motioned for Firestorm to follow him down the hall where he stopped in front of the only other closed door. He gestured for Firestorm to stand just next to the doorway where he would be out of sight to the pony inside. Once he was situated, Homestead knocked on the door which opened only seconds later.

“Honey, you know I love you no matter who you love and I know that pony Octavia is a great girl, but I am so glad you’re not dating her, which is why I got you this,” Homestead said as he literally pulled Firestorm into his daughters’ field of vision, “I found him walking by outside and he says he’s not married. His name is Fire Shadow or something and he would be happy to take you as his bride even though all I told him is I have a single daughter! Isn’t that great?” he asked with a poker face so straight even Celestia herself couldn’t tell whether or not he was lying.

Firestorm played along and smiled at the mare. She was a white unicorn with bright red eyes, a messy electric blue mane and tail, a musical note for a cutie mark, and a look of horrific shock on her face. After a minute her expression changed as she realized it was another one of her fathers’ cruel jokes.

“That’s it!” she said, “When I get back to Canterlot I’m asking Octavia to marry me, I’m not inviting you to the wedding, and I hate you!” she yelled before slamming the door in the two stallions faces.

Homestead slowly turned to face Firestorm, a trembling smirk on his lips, “that’s never going to happen… she’s afraid of commitment!” he said before falling to the floor and bursting into another fit of laughter.

Eventually, Homestead regained his composure and got back to his hooves again, “Thanks for your help kid, I’ll get you a fresh Sweet Apple Acres pie tomorrow for your help,” he said before trotting off down the hallway. “Dinner should be ready soon,” he called back as he started down the stairs.

Firestorm looked at the closed door; he took a deep breath and knocked on it. The door opened slightly and one very angry unicorn stared at him through the doorway. “Listen, I’m sorry about that, I’m just staying here for the week and your father decided to use me as a pawn in one of his elaborate jokes.” he said sincerely.

The door opened a little more and the unicorn stepped out, checking to see if her father was still around. Once she was sure the coast was clear she turned her attention back to Firestorm, “Name’s Vinyl. And its okay, that makes two of us,” she said before shutting the door.

Firestorm shrugged his shoulders and trotted back to his room. "This is going to be an interesting week," he thought.

> Chapter 5 - Killing Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After enjoying a wonderful morning meal at the Bed and Breakfast with his hosts Firestorm went for a walk through Ponyville. He would stop and browse what ponies had to sell from their carts and window shop but he would never allow himself to venture inside the shops. He had decided before he left that he was not only get a basic idea of his new environment, but he would let ponies get used to being around him in town. Ponies had still stopped to give him a second glance but nopony had murmured anything about him, at least not that he had heard. After he had walked around for a little over an hour and memorizing points of interest for tomorrow he made his way towards the library. As he came closer to the library he noticed an ash grey mailpony with a light blonde mane and tail receiving a signature from Twilight. As Firestorm got closer the mail pony took off into the air, but not before she ran face first in to a low hanging tree branch and calling out, “Oops, my bad…”

Firestorm rolled his eyes and smirked as he shook his head. He knocked on the library door upon his arrival and listened as somepony inside moved frantically through obstacles towards the door. A moment later the door opened to reveal Twilight who was slightly out of breath. “Derpy, I’m fairly certain I have,” she began only to stop when she realized who was really at the door, “Firestorm, what are you doing here?”

Firestorm gave a small smirk, “In which sense, do you mean here as in here at the library or here as in here in Ponyville?”

“Ummm, to be honest, I mean as in here at the library and here in Ponyville.”

Firestorm smiled, “Don’t forget, I want answers just as much as you do.”

“Right, sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, I mean for everything, treating you like I did, basically holding you captive, it wasn’t right of me, and I’m sorry.”

Firestorms’ smile had faded during Twilights’ apology but he nodded when she was done, “It’s alright, I understand actually, it’s your job to protect Ponyville and your friends.”

Twilight opened her mouth to say something but stopped when a loud thud echoed from inside the library, “Spike, be careful, I don’t want any books getting ruined be them new or old!”

“Sorry Twilight, that’s kind of hard to do when Derpy set the boxes all over the place. The one you heard fall was a box she had placed on top of your globe. Don’t ask me how she got it to stay up there, all I know is it’s on the floor now…” Spike groaned.

Twilight also groaned as she looked back at Firestorm who just smiled at her, “I can see you have a long day ahead of you so I’ll leave you to your work,” Firestorm said understandingly.

“Thanks, you could help us if you don’t have anything else to do,” Twilight suggested.

Firestorm gave an evil smirk, “A pyrokinetic bat pony handling books with dust allergies? I think you have enough to worry about with your baby dragon, and I get the feeling you have a certain way you like to organize work that I don’t want to interfere with…”

Twilight chuckled nervously, “Yeah, that might not be such a good idea after all…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to keep myself entertained and I wont hurt anypony in the process,” Firestorm assured Twilight as he trotted off.

Firestorm decided he had made his presence known to the citizens of Ponyville and decided to go somewhere peaceful and secluded. It didn’t take him very long to find such a place near a quiet lake. He looked around the surrounding and noticed nopony else was there. More importantly, there were no ducks. Oh how he hated ducks! Firestorm walked around the lake one time and returned to a particular spot he had determined to be perfect for an afternoon nap. He realized at that moment it was just about noon and just about time for lunch. Despite breakfast being several hours ago he didn’t feel hungry as he spread out across the grass on his back. A normal pony’s stomach would be growling by now, yet Firestorm still felt full from breakfast. “I guess that’s one of the benefits of not being normal,” he reasoned.

Before long his eyes became heave as he surrendered himself to his body’s demand for sleep. Firestorm looked around the empty void he was in which was, and always had been, his dreams. He was simply suspended in darkness. He could think of anything he wanted but nothing about his simulated environment would succumb to his thoughts. His entire life this was all his dreams were, empty space. A small echo within his empty dream made his ear twitch. That never happened. His dreams were always silent and hollow. Another echo made him start looking around frantically. He suddenly realized he was waking up as the echoes became audible words.

“He looks dead, like he fell out of the sky or something,” one voice said

“Well ain’t dead, ah can see him breathin,” said another voice.

“This is so not fair! His wings don’t even have feathers and he can fly!”

“Well, did ya ever see him fly Scootaloo?”

“Well, no, but I’m sure he can!”

“How can you be sure if you’ve never seen him fly before?”

Firestorm threw himself forward with enough force so he was sitting upright on his haunches, “Quit arguing, I can fly!” he said making the three fillies jump at his quick action, “I just can’t sit up that fast…” he concluded as he fell onto his back once again.

After the world and the sky started spinning in the same direction Firestorm slowly sat up again and looked at the fillies, “What are you three doing out here? Not starting more fires I hope.”

“Its Saturday, we always come to the lake on Saturday,” Sweetie Belle said as if it were public knowledge.

“So what kind of trouble do you plan on getting yourselves into today?”

“No trouble, we decided to take the day off after the fire,” Applebloom said with a bright smile.

“You got grounded didn’t you?” Firestorm asked flatly.

“Yes,” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle answered in unison.

“I didn’t!” Scootaloo announced, “I’m just upset none of us got our cutie marks…”

“Never mind the fact that you and your friends almost died in that fire?” Firestorm asked with a raised eyebrow.

Scootaloo chuckled nervously while her orange cheeks turned red.

“How did you put that fire out anyway?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Magic,” Firestorm said plainly.

“Magic?” Scootaloo asked, “But you’re not a unicorn you’re a… you’re a… what kind of pony are you anyway?”

“Twilight Sparkle determined I am a bat pony unicorn hybrid,” he said proudly

“What does that mean?” Applebloom asked.

“I have no idea,” he said slouching. Despite knowing exactly what it meant, Firestorm had no intentions of talking about himself anymore than he needed too.

Scootaloo was about to ask another question but stopped when Firestorm raised his hoof to the fillies. With his ears perked and twitching ever so slightly he determined somepony was coming over the hill towards the lake. His ears twitched again. There were two ponies, small. Firestorm looked at the fillies in front of him, “Pretend I’m not here,” he instructed. Firestorm spread his wings and with a surge of magic he activated an invisibility spell on himself.

The three fillies exchanged confused before they could speak a voice spoke behind them and they knew immediately who it came from.

“Well, well, well Diamond, look at what we have here, three little fireponies,” said a light grey earth pony with glasses, a light grey tail and mane which had been tied into a braid, and a spoon cutie mark on her flank.

“No Silverspoon, that’s not right, they’re just three little blank flanks!” said the other earth pony. She was light pink, her mane and tail being the same color, wearing a tiara on her head, and cutie mark of a tiara on her flank.

“What do you want Diamond Tiara?” Scootaloo asked, “We’re busy.”

“Oh, Silverspoon and I just wanted to congratulate you on your success at setting the Everfree forest on fire, nearly killing yourselves, but most importantly finally getting your cutie marks. Oh wait…”

“You didn’t!” the two fillies said together before laughing maniacally

Scootaloo took a step forward, ready to let her hooves have a nice little conversation with the bullies’ faces but a yellow hoof stopped her advance. She looked over to Applebloom who motioned to where Firestorm had been standing.

Unknown to all five fillies, Firestorm had silently moved from his hiding place to directly behind Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon. Their laughter settled down in preparation for more insults but stopped when a shadow spontaneously appeared over them. The bullies quickly whipped around to face Firestorm.

“Is there a problem here ladies?” he asked calmly.

Completely caught off guard with no idea about how much he had heard Diamond took her chances with lying, “No sir, we were just telling our classmates how relieved we are that they didn’t get hurt in that terrible fire!”

Silverspoon simply nodded.

“That’s not what it sounded like from where I was standing.”

Knowing she was caught, Diamond dropped the cute act, “Well, where were you standing? Somewhere in the shadows watching unsupervised fillies like a pervert?”

“No, just right over there,” he said calmly pointing with his hoof, “In fact I was protecting them. Furthermore…” Firestorm paused, closed his eyes, and flared his wings. A visibly powerful surge of magic flowed through his wings as ring of fire formed around the five fillies, “I’m the pony who saved them from that fire.” Firestorm brought his wing in at his sides, the flames dying as he did so.

The five fillies stared at Firestorm slack jawed. Diamond quickly regained her unpleasant attitude, “I’m going to tell my daddy you tried to set us on fire!”

“I’ll tell your dad the truth and that you like to pick on other ponies and make fun of the when they haven’t yet earned their cutie marks.”

“My daddy trusts me and loved me; he’s never going to believe somepony like you!”

Firestorm cracked his neck, “Somepony like me, what does that mean?”

Silverspoon touched Diamond Tiaras’ shoulder, “Come on Diamond, we should go,” Silverspoon pleaded.

“That means you’re a bat pony freak!” Diamond said ignoring her friends’ plea.

Firestorm gave the spoiled filly a sinister smile, “You say your daddy loves you but I doubt he barley pays any attention to you. You tried to deceive me when I confronted you for picking on these three little fillies," he said gesturing with his hoof to Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, “something I have no reason to doubt works on your father which can only mean he is completely blind to the fact that you are a bully or he doesn’t care about you enough to set you straight. When you first arrived, the cutie mark crusaders knew your presence meant trouble, so I can assume you favor picking on them more than anypony else your age. Now, when I factor in the fact your father doesn’t truly care about you, the most reasonable conclusion I come up with is that you are simply jealous of them. They have ponies who love them and you don’t so you bring them down to your level of misery by taunting them for not having their cutie marks yet…” Firestorm leaned in close to Diamond Tiara who, by this point was fighting back tears, “How’s the freak doing so far?”

Diamond said nothing, the turned and ran as fast as she could, crying openly as she tried to escape the truth. Firestorm looked at Silverspoon, “Go comfort your friend,” he said calmly. Silverspoon nodded and ran after Diamond Tiara.

Firestorm looked back at the cutie mark crusaders and gave them a playfully arrogant smile, “I’m looking forward to speaking to their parents.”

A moment of silence dragged out before curiosity got the better of Scootaloo, “How did you do that with the fire?”

“I suppose you could say it’s my special talent…”

“Is that why you have a phoenix cutie mark?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t really know. So are you going to keep questioning me or are you going to go have some fun like you had planned?”

There was a small blinding explosion of dust as the fillies darted towards the lake. Firestorm turned to go back to his napping place but stopped when he saw Rainbow Dash sitting on her haunches in his place smiling at him, “Nice job handling those spoiled little bullies, I had no idea they were like that!”

Firestorm inched his way closer, “How long have you been here?”

“I saw the ring of fire while I was flying by, I swooped in to investigate but held back when I heard how Diamond Tiara was talking to you.”

“Just promise me you won’t tell Twilight. She’s got enough to worry about with me already and I doubt me handling a couple of young bullies like I did would make things easier for her.”

“Fair enough, just be glad it was me who found you and not Applejack or Pinkie Pie, Applejack couldn’t tell a lie to save her life, and Pinkie would’ve told half of Ponyville by now.”

Firestorm nodded and then looked to the fillies playing in the water, “Maybe you could help me, I can’t quite remember which one is which…”

“Oh, the white unicorn is Sweetie Belle,” Rainbow said pointing her hoof, “The one with the ribbon in her mane is Applebloom, and my personal favorite, SCOOTALOO!” she yelled to draw the fillies attention.

Scootaloo looked over her shoulder in the direction she heard her name called from, her eyes going wide when she saw who had called her, “Rainbow Dash!” She quickly swam to the shore, shook herself dry, and galloped over to her idol embracing her in a loving hug, “Do you want to go swimming with us?”

“Maybe in a minute squirt, I’m having an adult conversation with Firestorm here.”

Scootaloo looked to Firestorm, “Would you like to swim with us too? The water is perfect!”

Firestorm looked uncomfortably at Rainbow Dash who shrugged her shoulders, oblivious to his discomfort, “Maybe later Scootaloo,” he said trying not to hurt her feelings before thinking of something to cheer her up, “Oh, maybe fly a few feet into the air over the water then dropping into a cannon ball,” he suggested.

Scootaloo shifted her weight uncomfortably on her hooves, “Well… I, ummm…”

“I’m still teaching her to fly, her wings aren’t as strong as they should be yet but she’ll be flying in no time!” Dash intervened.

“Crap! Way to save her feelings bat freak!” Firestorm thought to himself.

Scootaloo turned and started back towards the lake.

“Hey, Scootaloo!” Firestorm called out.

Scootaloo looked over her shoulder, her ears perked.

“Rainbow Dash and I will be there in a minute,” Firestorm concluded with a sincere smile.

Scootaloo smiled brightly, “Don’t take too long,” she called as she galloped back into the water, splashing her friends in the process.

Firestorm approached Rainbow Dash, “Considering her age and size if she can’t fly yet, you do realize she may never…”

“I’m teaching her to fly, I know she has it in her,” Rainbow promptly interrupted.

“Just don’t give her false hope; I’ve seen what it can do to a kid her age. And don’t lie to yourself either,” Firestorm said before making his way towards the water.

Over an hour had passed since the so called “adults” had joined the fillies in the refreshing lake and in that time several games of Marco Pollo, water speed tag, water freeze tag, and one game of who could hold their breath the longest. However, in the midst of all the fun, Firestorm couldn’t forget about how he had hurt Scootaloos’ feelings, no matter how brief. Suddenly an idea struck him. He swam over to Scootaloo and wrapped one of his leathery wings around her, “Listen, I wanted to apologize about the flying thing.”

“Its okay, you didn’t know.”

“All the same, I want to make it up to you, and seeing as how you can hold your breath the longest, I’ve come up with something I think you’ll love.”

Scootaloo fluttered her wings at the opportunity to do something fun, “Yeah, okay, what is it?”

“It’s a surprise, just let me clear it with Rainbow Dash first.”

Scootaloo nodded her head and watched Firestorm make his way over to Rainbow Dash, whisper something into her ear, and get an approving nod before he began swimming back to her. “Alright, here’s the deal, I’m going to swim to the farthest side of the lake where it’s at its widest with you on my back,” Firestorm quickly explained.

“A piggyback ride, you had to ask Rainbow Dash permission to give me a piggyback ride?” Scootaloo asked in disbelief

Firestorm smiled, “Just get on my back kid,” he said as he lowered his body so only his head was above the water.

Scootaloo complied, moving herself onto the stallions back and wrapping her hooves around his neck. Once his passenger was secure Firestorm began swimming away from the group. Firestorm paused and looked around; he was at the far end of the widest point of the lake. As he began swimming Scootaloo noticed a difference in how smooth he was swimming. Curious, she looked down at his sides and noticed his legs weren't moving, his wings were. Scootaloo could tell it was a long way to the lake-bed and she instinctively tensed her grip. Firestorm looked over his shoulder, “Take a deep breath.”

Scootaloo obeyed and as soon as Firestorm took his own breath he dove underwater with Scootaloo still firmly secured around his neck. Scootaloo looked up and marveled at how far submerged they were. Firestorm didn't take her out this far for a diving lesson; he began beating his wings as if he were sustaining flight. Scootaloo immediately noticed they were in fact flying underwater. What she didn't notice was how close they had come to the surface. With a few strong beats of his wings, Firestorm and Scootaloo were suddenly airborne. Firestorm flew at a steady incline so as to gain altitude. He glanced over his shoulder to calculate his approximate distance from the lake and then at his passenger, smiling upon seeing how much fun she was having. With a turn of his wingtip he performed a half barrel roll transitioning into a short dive before leveling out on a steady descent back towards the lake.

Scootaloo watched anxiously as the lake grew closer and closer. Firestorm gracefully skimmed across the surface of the water, using his hind legs to provide drag as they cut through the water. Soon enough, they came to a complete stop. Firestorm swam back to the shore where Rainbow Dash was standing with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. He made his way onto dry land and lowered his body so his passenger could safely get off. Scootaloo was standing beside Rainbow Dash by the time Firestorm was standing fully upright.

“That. Was. AWESOME!” they exclaimed together.
> Chapter 6 - Making Reservations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firestorm stood like a soldier, watching over Applebloom and Sweetie as they continued playing while Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo dried their wings behind him.

“You know you can relax right?” Rainbow asked.

“What?” Firestorm asked while looking over his shoulder at Rainbow Dash.

“You can relax, you look tense. If you’re worried about those fillies coming here with their parents to yell at you for telling them off like you did, I’m pretty sure you don’t have to worry about that happening.”

“That’s not what I’m thinking about, but even if it was why shouldn’t I worry?”

“Just trust me, it won’t.”

“Hey Firestorm?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yes?”

“Thanks, for everything I mean. Saving us from the fire, helping us deal with Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon, and that thing with you did with me where we flew right out of the water, it was awesome! Thanks. Do you think you could teach me how to do that trick?”

Firestorm glanced over at Rainbow Dash who gave him a reassuring smile before speaking, “Scootaloo even I could never go from swimming to flying like he did, do you know why?”

Scootaloo shook her head; her face looked like she had just been told Rainbow Dash was actually her mother.

“Look at your wings, what do you see?”

Scootaloo looked at her small wings which were still damp, “My wings are soggy.”

Rainbow Dash smiled, “Mine are too. Now look at Firestorms’ wings.”

Scootaloo leaned over to see past Rainbow Dash to Firestorm who was spreading his wings for her to see, “They’re dry!”

“Exactly, that’s because our wings have feathers. When our feathers get wet they lose their shape and air doesn’t move around them like it should so it’s difficult or impossible to fly,” Rainbow Dash explained. If there was one thing she knew, it was flying.

Firestorm moved closer to add further detail, “My wings don’t have feathers and they don’t let water cling to them, they would stay dry even if I was flying through a storm.”

“That is so cool! I wish I had wings like that…” Scootaloo said as she flapped her wings trying to get them completely dry.

Firestorm felt a stab of pain, just one look at Scootaloo and he knew the young pegasus might never experience the joy of flight on her own. He looked at Rainbow Dash who gave him a knowing look before looking beyond him at Applebloom and Sweetie Belle as they rushed towards them still soaking wet.

“Are ya’ll dry enough to fly yet? Sweetie Belle an Ah are ready to go and Ah still need to get some of mah stuff from the farm for our sleepover at her sisters place tonight,” Applebloom said quickly.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m ready,” Scootaloo said approaching her friends.

“Would you mind walking with us?” Sweetie Belle asked Firestorm, “I don’t like the idea of Diamond Tiara and Sliverspoon seeing us alone after what you said to them.”

“I would, but I have some errands to run,” Firestorm said before looking to Rainbow Dash, "Would you mind escorting the VIPs to a secure location and then getting the rest of your friends, the ones I met the other day, and meeting me at the library around 7?”

“Yeah sure, I can walk with them,” Rainbow said giggling at his playful terminology.

“Thanks. I’ll see you guys later,” he said to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Bye Firestorm,” they said in unison as he flew off.

Firestorm replayed the events of the day play over again in his mind during his short flight back into Ponyville. He dwelt on how much fun he had but he couldn’t get over Scootaloo. He shook the thoughts from his head as he arrived at his destination, the new restaurant which was due to open that evening. Making a quick pass over the establishment, Firestorm could see a delivery cart dropping off produce and other food products for its grand opening before he circled around and landed at the front door. He new they would not be open for at least another few hours but he wanted to see about getting a reservation. He knocked, he waited, and in less than ten seconds the door opened.

“Yes, may I help you?” asked the pony who answered the door. He was obviously a waiter, a unicorn, his short mane and tail were black, though not as intense as Firestorms’, his fur was a pristine white, with light blue eyes, his cutie mark was hidden by his jacket, and had a figure hindering on skinny and scrawny.

“Yes, I was hoping to set a reservation for this evening,” Firestorm answered.

“Please wait here, I’ll have to ask the manager,” the stallion replied.

A minute later a noticeably larger stallion opened the door. His fur was a desert tan color, his mane and tail were only a slightly darker shade of the same color, his eyes were a subtle brown, his cutie mark was also hidden by his jacket, and his figure the polar opposite of the waiter who had originally answered the door. “Ah,” he said with a polite smile, “you are the one my waiter said was asking about setting a reservation for tonight?”

Firestorm opened his mouth to speak but lost the opportunity when the sound of shattering glass made both ponies jump. Firestorm stopped a plate with his hoof as it attempted to roll out the door and past him. When he looked up the manager was gone and the door was wide open. Firestorm quietly made his way inside.

“What happened?” the manager demanded.

“I’m sorry sir, my hoof caught on one of the tables and I dropped the box with the plates,” a unicorn waiter said.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no! What were you doing trying to move a box of two hundred plates all by yourself? You know what, never mind, how many plates survived?”

“At least one,” Firestorm said as he made his way towards the manager and the waiter while balancing the plate on his wing, “What about the rest of them?”

The manager motioned towards the box, he was less concerned about Firestorms’ presence and more about how many plates had survived the fall.

When the waiter opened the box a pile of shattered porcelain plates answered the managers’ question.

“This is a disaster! I was supposed to receive two boxes of these plates but I only received one and now they’ve all been destroyed!”

The manager and the staff were shocked when the pile of broken plates was engulfed in a red aura. The debris slowly warped within the magic until one hundred and ninety nine dinner plates were gently placed on a nearby table. Everypony turned their attention to Firestorm who was sitting on his haunches holding the plate he had retrieved in his hooves. His wings tucked in his sides and his eyes opened along with a smile. “Good as new. Better in fact…”

Firestorm dropped the plate in his hooves which shattered the moment it made contact with the ground. He repaired the plate just like the others and then dropped it again. The plate hit the floor and made a loud clattering sound but failed to shatter or even crack, “…I applied a damage control spell, you could throw these plates off a mountain and they wouldn’t break,” Firestorm said with a content smile.

The manager approached Firestorm, like everypony else in the restaurant he was completely slack jawed until he was right I front of Firestorm, “THANK YOU!” He cried pulling Firestorm into a bone cracking hug. He had no idea how a bat pony had performed a spell but he wasn’t about jinks it by asking, “You said you wanted reservations? Done! How many? Dinner is on the house for you and your guests!” The manager said ecstatically as he released Firestorm from his grip.

Firestorm took several deep breaths, “The reservation would be for me and six others, though I’m not sure if we will all be arriving at the same time, should I give you their names?”

“Yes, yes, of course,” the manager said while retrieving a pencil and notepad.

“Okay, so it will be me, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie,” Firestorm said. He immediately noticed the manager had a surprised look about him, “Is something wrong, did I say their names to fast?”

“No, there is no problem, I’m just surprised. You see Miss Applejack’s farm will be providing my restaurant with apple cider, Miss Rarity tailored the suits my staff and I wear, Miss Dash provided me with a favor of pushing a thunderstorm back a day for my opening night, Miss Pie supplied me with some of her personal patented desert recipes, Miss Fluttershy provided me with some fireflies which should make the evening quite romantic for couples, and I cannot even begin to describe how much help Princess Twilight Sparkle has been! Why, without her, I don’t think my restaurant would be opening up for another month at least! Even in my wildest dreams I never would have thought the Elements of Harmony would play such a large part in the opening of my restaurant. I…”

“Wait, wait, what did you just say, the Elements of Harmony?” Firestorm asked.

“Yes, Princess Celestia sent Miss Sparkle here several years ago when Nightmare Moon returned, she and her friends found and used the elements against her and brought them back along with Princess Luna.” The manager explained before returning to the matter at hoof, “Naturally I have already given them invitations, I could put you all at the same table if you like?”

“Yes, that would be wonderful, thank you.”

“Of course, that will not be a problem. Umm, may I be so bold as to ask how you know them?”

“Well, I didn’t know they were the elements of harmony until just now, I knew Twilight had connections to Princess Celestia because she sent a letter to her regarding me and my… status,” Firestorm said while spreading his wings and releasing a small energy surge of magic to make his point clear, “Princess Celestia instructed her and her friends to befriend me and I figured friendship shouldn’t be one sided so I decided I would treat them to dinner tonight.”

The manager nodded his approval, “Excellent! What time should I expect my guests of honor then?”

“I believe we should be arriving around 8.”

“Wonderful! Dinner at 8 for a party of 7 with the 6 Elements of Harmony and 1 lifesaving stallion,” the manager said gleefully.

As if on cue one of the staff members began banging a dinner plate against a table challenging the strength of Firestorms’ damage control spell.

The manager slowly looked bashfully at Firestorm, “I don’t suppose you could…?”

“Apply the damage control spell to you glasses and soup and salad bowls? Not a problem,” Firestorm said with a knowing smile.

Twilight looked around the room at her friends who had been gathered at the library by orders from Rainbow Dash who gave her no clues as to why they had been gathered there. Before she tried to get an explanation from Rainbow for the umpteenth time there was a knock at the door, right as the town clock tower struck seven o’clock. Twilight opened the door and performed a sloppy reverse somersault when the first thing she saw was Firestorms’ glowing yellow eyes. As Twilight got to her hooves Firestorm entered the library and closed the door behind him, “Where is Fluttershy?”

“She couldn’t make it, her pet rabbit is still sick and she didn’t want to leave him unless it was absolutely necessary,” Rainbow Dash explained.

“I’m sorry to hear that, is everypony else ready to go though?”

“Where are we going anyway?” Twilight asked.

“To dinner, there is a new restaurant opening tonight and when I found out the Elements of Harmony had all contributed to it in some way I knew it would be the perfect place for me to treat you all to dinner, “Firestorm said before making his way towards the door.

Twilight exchanged a nervous glance with each of her friends. Applejack stepped forward, “Uh, Firestorm?”

“Yes?”

“We are the Elements of Harmony.”

Firestorm stopped in the now open doorway and took a deep breath. He looked over his shoulder at Applejack and then Twilight, “Yeah, I know.”
> Chapter 7 - Dinner With Death
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firestorm escorted his friends to the new restaurant, The Salad Garden, arriving promptly at 8 o’clock. The manager had personally showed them to their table where he and Firestorm helped the mares into their seats. Once Firestorm took his seat the manager smiled warmly at all of them, “Where is Miss Fluttershy?”

“I’m afraid she won’t be able to make it tonight, her pet rabbit is sick and she didn’t want to leave him,” Twilight apologized.

“I understand. Could I ask one of you to deliver a salad to her for me when you decide to leave?”

“I would be happy to,” Rarity said.

“Thank you, and thank you all for all the help you’ve provided me. If there are no objections, I have prepared a special meal for you all. A Chefs Special Salad with your choice of dressing, warm garlic buttered bread rolls, celery soup, and for dessert, flaky cinnamon and sugar apple turnovers made with Miss Applejacks’ finest apples.”

Everypony exchanged quick glances before Twilight looked to the manager, “That sounds wonderful.”

“Excellent, I will have a waiter bring you all a glass of water and a bottle of wine from my private collection,” the manager said with a wink, “I cannot express how honored I am to have you all here and I cannot thank you all enough for your help with my restaurant. Please excuse me everypony, enjoy your meals. Oh! And let me know when you are preparing to leave so I remember to prepare and package a meal for Miss Fluttershy.”

Once the manager disappeared into the kitchen a waiter appeared and placed a glass of ice water in front of everypony at the table. He then poured a generous amount of red wine in each wine glass before he left, leaving the wine bottle at the table. Everypony looked at Firestorm as he downed the entire glass of wine.

“So… umm… you just got here and you somehow already helped the manager with his restaurant before it opened, what did you do?” Rainbow Dash asked with no subtlety whatsoever.

Firestorm sipped his wine and once the glass was empty he hit it against the table with full force, though it failed to break, “That’s what I did,” he said with a smile.

Twilight levitated the glass in her magic, “It has a damage control spell on it,” she said before looking around the table, “Every dish and every cup has a damage control spell on it. You did that?”

“Yep,” Firestorm said plainly.

Rainbow Dash tapped Firestorms’ shoulder and leaned next to him, “That little brat you set straight yesterday, her dad is on his way over to our table.”

Firestorm didn’t even flinch he simply smiled and waited.

Filthy Rich cleared his throat as he approached the table where Firestorm and five out of six Elements of Harmony were seated. Everypony accept Firestorm graced him with their attention, “I apologize for interrupting you ladies but I request a word with the stallion at your table.”

“What seems to be the problem?” Twilight asked.

“My apologies Princess Sparkle, but my daughter tells me your guest threatened her the other day, and I would like to clarify with him the events that transpired.”

Firestorm got out of his seat and slowly trotted directly up to Filthy Rich. His approach was obviously meant for intimidation as well as for sizing himself up to Filthy Rich, which wasn’t difficult considering Firestorms’ build was noticeably larger, “We can be civil about this, but lets not ruin the ladies evening, shall we?” Firestorm asked gesturing with his hoof towards the door.

Filthy Rich nodded and made his way towards the door. Firestorm looked at Rainbow Dash, “Tell them about what happened, I’ll be back shortly,” he said before following Filthy Rich.

Firestorm stepped out onto the empty streets; everypony who was going to be eating at the restaurant was already seated inside while everypony else was at Vinyls’ concert on the other side of Ponyville. Firestorm looked to his right where Filthy Rich was waiting for him with a look of hostility on his face.

“How dare you threaten my daughter! I don’t know how you nearly engulfed her in flames but quite frankly I don’t care! If you hurt her or even threaten her again, I won’t waste my money on a lawyer or press charges, I’ll deal with you myself!”

A sinister smile crept across Firestorms’ face and as he cocked his head slightly to the left his eyes began to glow yellow and his wings began glowing red. Before he could even comprehend what was happening, Filthy Rich found himself pinned against the wall, his body engulfed in Firestorms’ red aura.

Firestorm moved closer to the restrained stallion, “Here’s the deal. I was with the fillies known as The Cutie Mark Crusaders when your daughter and her little friend showed up and started picking on them and making fun of them. I bet she forgot to mention that little detail. When I displayed my pyrokinetic abilities to her it was merely to drive home a point when she accused me of being a pervert,” Firestorm dropped Filthy Rich from his telekinetic grasp with an audible thud before he continued, “Go back inside, enjoy your meal with your family, and when you get home, ask your daughter what really happened at the lake. I really don’t have time for this.”

Filthy Rich had a blank expression on before he shook his head clear and then nodded to Firestorm. Firestorm reentered the Salad Garden and returned to his seat. A moment later Filthy Rich trotted past with his tail tucked firmly between his legs as he returned to his own table. Twilight glared at Firestorm who was calmly sipping a freshly poured glass of wine, “What? Push came to shove so I knocked him on his flank…” He explained as if his untold actions were justifiable.

“Rainbow Dash explained to us what you did for Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that again…… ever!” Twilight said diplomatically though firmly.

“I can’t make any promises,” Firestorm replied downing the last of his wine.

Twilight was about to give Firestorm a lecture but stopped when she noticed Rarity subtly shaking her head. Twilight sighed and took a sip of wine from her glass. Applejack seized the moment to convey her own gratitude to Firestorm for standing up for her sister, which led to Rarity doing the same. Lively conversation began among the friends and continued throughout the dinner. About half an hour later, a waiter arrived and delivered dessert to everypony. Rainbow Dash quickly finished her dessert, drank an entire glass of wine in one gulp, and began shifted nervously, “So, do you have a marefriend?”

“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity gasped, “that was bold even by your standards!”

Rainbow blushed, “I was just asking! I mean, he’s great with kids, a good flier… I was just wondering…” Rainbow stammered as her blush grew more intense.

“Not to mention he knows how to treat a lady properly,” Rarity added.

Firestorm smiled and placed his hoof on Rainbow Dash’ shoulder, “No I don’t have a marefriend,” he said with a faint smile, “but I’m not looking for a relationship either,” he finished withdrawing his hoof.

“Oh, may I ask why not?” Rarity asked noticing Rainbows’ disappointment.

Firestorm took a deep breath, “I’ve been in a couple relationships before, and I decided I didn’t want to get that close to a stallion or mare just to outlive them…”

“Wait; did you say mare or STALLION?” Twilight asked.

Firestorm simply nodded.

“Ya roll in the hay both ways there, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“In a matter of speaking,” he answered as he looked at Twilight. In a flash of blue flames Firestorm was still looking at Twilight but now he was a she. Firestorms’ mane had grown longer, his build and facial features loosing much of their masculine traits as they became definitively more feminine. Firestorm looked at Applejack, “My barn door swings both ways just as long as I don’t have the same crops in my cart as the other pony,” She said attempting to mimic Applejack.

Rainbows’ gaze, while still locked on the now female Firestorm, began to drift downward to confirm he really was a she. As her eyes fell on Firestorms’ belly, Rainbows, head was suddenly jerked upwards and turned towards Rarity whose horn was glowing and her head shaking. Rarity released Rainbow and looked at Twilight.

Twilight looked Firestorm over, “That’s changeling magic! Do you know what this means? Twilight asked, almost unable to contain her excitement. Firestorm smiled, “I do. Why don’t you explain to your friends what it means?” Firestorm suggested with a genuine smile on 'her' face.

“Yeah Twi, what does that mean?” Applejack asked.

Twilight cleared her throat, “Well, I had sensed several forms of magic within Firestorm, one being changeling magic. Changelings, as we all know, can take on the form of anypony they choose. What I’ve recently learned though, is that when a changeling mimics another pony they inherit the gender of said pony. While most changeling drones are male, if they mimic a female pony their gender changes in accord. Theoretically, a male changeling mimicking a female pony could conceive, carry, and give birth to a foal as long as they maintained the form of that pony,” Twilights’ eyes suddenly went wide and she turned to Firestorm, “Did you ever…?”

Firestorms’ ears fell back and a sorrowful look mad itself evident as all eyes fell on her, “Once, I had been a mare for twenty four years. I met a stallion, we started dating, we didn’t get married but our close relationship led me to become pregnant. He loved me and I was really excited and nervous about having a foal. I had every intention of having the foal but…” A tear crept down Firestorm’s cheek, “I had a stillbirth.”

Pinkie Pie had been on her best behavior the entire night, not yelling, sitting calmly in her chair, and eating her food with proper table manners as Rarity had pointed out. Though Twilight had her suspicions of Firestorm of using a mild sedation spell on her as his wings had a constant subtle glow to them, but she didn’t say anything as she had enjoyed the peace. However, at the mention of a word she didn’t know regarding foals Pinkie perked up and asked, “What’s a stillbirth?”

Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie, “A stillbirth is when the foal dies before it is born,” she explained as simplistically as possible.

Pinkies’ ears folded back and her now saddened eyes fell on her half eaten dessert, “Oh…”

For the longest time nopony said anything as they each processed the information, Twilight spread a comforting wing over Firestorms’ back, “I’m so sorry.”

“Me too, after that I was so depressed I broke off my relationship with my coltfriend after I told him what happened and tried to get over it, but you never do,” Firestorm explained as she fought back more tears, “Sixty years after that I took on this appearance,” another burst of blue fire and Firestorm reverted back to his male form, “my true form, and pushed anypony away who began getting too close to me. I love children. I wanted one of my own since I was twenty years old, but I found out I couldn’t have one with a mare when I was a stallion, and after I had the stillbirth as a mare I knew I never would…”

“Why couldn’t you have a foal with a mare?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Firestorm simply shrugged his shoulders.

“It’ because his genetic and biological construct is to complex and extensive for any mare to complete,” Twilight began, “Both a stallion and a mare contribute fifty percent of their genetic traits, namely chromosomes, to their foal, Firestorm has an incalculably higher percentage more chromosomes than a typical pony given his hybrid status, biologically integrated magic, and…”

”Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed.

Twilight realized what she had been saying and turned to Firestorm, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be, you’re probably right…”

Pinkie Pie began shaking violently, her ears fell back, her fluffy mane expanded and then seemed to burst and deflate like a balloon. She looked at everypony at the table, “We need to go see Fluttershy, now.”

Twilight called for the manager, everypony thanked him for the wonderful meal, he gave them a to-go box with food for Fluttershy, and they left together for Fluttershys’ cottage.

Pinkie trotted ahead of everypony; she was unusually quiet. Applejack trotted beside Rarity while Rainbow Dash flew overhead. Twilight and Firestorm trotted together a short distance away from the rest of their friends.

Firestorm looked to Twilight after a while of silence, “If my memory serves, a mare has to worry about her mane getting frizzy from humidity, I’ve never seen someponys’ mane spontaneously go flat…”

“Pinkie Pie has a very special ability that even I can’t explain caller her Pinkie sense which can be identified by odd movements and twitches from her body. They’re never wrong.” Twilight explained.

“Why do we need to go to see Fluttershy?”

“I’m not sure if you remember, but her pet rabbit, Angel, is sick, I think it has something to do with that.”

“You’re more certain of it than your letting on Twilight.”

Twilight sighed, “Fluttershy is really good with helping animals, but nopony can help every animal with their every problem. I looked up his symptoms in one of my books, I thing he is suffering from organ failure.”

Firestorm stopped moving and lowered his head. Blue flames slowly licked over his body until he had altered his anatomy to female once again, “If that is the case, Fluttershy is going to need emotional support from her friends. I know she’ll be confused, but trust me, she’ll feel better being comforted by mares. She could misinterpret my condolences for attempting to take advantage of her in her emotionally weak state if I were a stallion,” 'she' explained.

Twilight nodded, “You’re probably right…”

The journey continued in silence until the six mares arrived at the tree that was Fluttershys’ cottage. Twilight made her past her friends and gently knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” asked a weak voice.

“It’s us Fluttershy, your friends, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Firestorm is here too if that’s alright?” Twilight answered.

“Yes, come in.”

Twilight opened the door with her magic which revealed the timid yellow pegasus on the floor with her back to her friends. Everypony made their way inside and found Fluttershy was lying on her stomach with a large pillow beside her. On the pillow was her rabbit, Angel. His breathing was labored and short in breaths, his ribs were visible through his skin as his fur was thinning out, and his eyes seemed to wander from pony to pony. Fluttershy looked at Twilight, her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet from crying, “He hasn’t been eating… I can’t make him… he... he can’t keep down what he does eat” she choked through tears.

“What can we do to help?” Twilight asked lying down beside Fluttershy and draping a warm wing over her back.

“I don’t know; I’ve tried everything I can think of to help him but nothing I do works!”

The other ponies in the room sat down having made a semi-circle around Fluttershy and Angel, with Twilight completing the circle. Everypony knew Fluttershy was unmatched with her fondness of animals, yet given the situation, Twilight dared to ask, “Have you taken him to see a vet?”

Before Fluttershy could answer Firestorm stood up and cleared 'her' throat. Firestorm had been sitting between Rainbow Dash and Applejack but moved herself so she was now beside Angel directly across from Fluttershy. Even though Fluttershy remembered Firestorm being a stallion the last time they met, she recognized the expression on her face, the expression of compassion and wanting to help. From that simple look, how Firestorm had become a mare didn’t matter anymore to Fluttershy. All that mattered was that Firestorm wanted to help. Firestorm turned her gaze to Angel, “You already know what’s wrong, don’t you?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“I know this is painful and difficult for you, isn’t it, to see your friend in so much pain?”

Fluttershy nodded again, more tears began to fall.

“But you have to realize, he is in more pain than you are, he is suffering.”

Fluttershy tightly closed her eyes and nodded, her body starting to shake.

Firestorm took a deep breath, fighting to maintain her strong composure, “I can take the pain away, but he will not get better and it will not prevent what will happen to him. If I take away the pain you’ll prolong your own suffering until his pain ends on its own. Or, I can make his pain stop, I can guarantee it will be soothing, and your suffering will eventually end. I know it’s a difficult choice, but you have to consider what is best for him. No matter what you choose, we, your friends, will all be here for you.”

Fluttershy looked around the room at all her friends, each one nodding in agreement with Firestorms’ assuring word. She looked back at Firestorm, “I don’t want him to suffer anymore…”

Firestorm nodded 'her' head and looked down at Angel. 'She' slowly began to extend her wing.

“Wait!”

Firestorm withdrew 'her' wing slightly and looked at Fluttershy who was fighting back tears with all her strength. She looked down at Angel, “I love you Angel. I don’t want to do this but it’s because I love you that I am. I’m so sorry, can you forgive me?” she asked placing her hoof within reach of Angels’ paw.

Angel looked down at her hoof and rested his paw on it; he looked up at Fluttershy and nodded. Fluttershy looked at Firestorm, who, seeing the look in her eyes, covered Angel with her wing. Only a second passed and she slowly withdrew her wing. Angel lay motionless on the pillow; his eyes were closed and his labored breathing had stopped, his suffering had ended.
> Chapter 8 - Confessions and Burial
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy broke down crying. Her friends began to mourn as well, Rarity sobbed softly while she hugged Pinkie Pie who was crying as if she had just experienced the loss of her pet alligator, Gummy. Rainbow had laid her head on her hooves as a few tears had made their way past her “tough guy” appearance. Applejack had moved so she could embrace Fluttershy as she shed tears of her own. Twilight stood behind Fluttershy gently rubbing the mourning pegasus back with her hoof. Firestorm looked down at Angel and silently apologized before rising to 'her' full height. Fluttershy noticed the movement out of the corner of her eye and broke away from Applejack and Twilight so quickly it startled them. She wrapped her hooves around Firestorm’s neck and cried harder as she mumbled incomprehensible words.

Firestorm sat back on 'her' haunches and returned the hug, wrapping 'her' hooves and wings around Fluttershy’s back. Seconds slipped into minutes as Fluttershy refused to release Firestorm from the hug. Firestorm took a steady breath and channeled a small amount of magic from her wings into Fluttershy who noticeably became more relaxed while her crying also calmed slightly.

Firestorm summoned 'her' changeling magic and moved 'her' left hoof lower down Fluttershy’s back before she scooped her up in her arms and stood up on 'her' hind legs; the changeling magic she had used becoming evident as Firestorms' hind hooves had been replaced with talons. Rainbow Dash caught on to what Firestorm was doing and guided 'her' up the stairs to Fluttershy’s bedroom. Firestorm moved with surprising grace and agility despite walking on 'her' hind legs alone while carrying the full weight of another pony.

Firestorm laid Fluttershy in her bed with Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway. She turned to Fluttershy and softly whispered into her ear, “We’ll all be downstairs if you need us, but right now just rest and remember all the good times you and Angel had together.”

Fluttershy nodded then whispered something into Firestorms’ ear before she wrapped herself in her blankets. Firestorm walked out of the bedroom, still walking on only her hind legs and quietly shut the door. Firestorm came to the threshold of the kitchen where she reverted back to a stallion catching his weight on his front hooves as his talons became hooves when the blue flames passed over them. Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were sitting at the kitchen table in full view of Firestorm’s actions who, by this time, was looking the room around trying to locate Rarity and Pinkie Pie.

Applejack was the first to acknowledge his confused expression, “Rarity took Pinkie Pie home, said it was too much drama for the both of ‘em.”

“Fluttershy asked if we could bury Angel, she said she just can’t do it,” Firestorm said in response.

“I’ll take care of that,” Rainbow offered, “we went to flight school together and I think I know where she’d want him buried. Somewhere far enough away she won’t see where he’s buried and always make her remember he’s gone, but close enough so she doesn’t seem like she’s forgotten him and moved on.”

Everypony was taken aback by Rainbow’s insight.

Rainbow Dash smiled gently, “Don’t worry, I can take care of this, I know I’ll find the perfect place,” she said as she trotted out of the kitchen passing Firestorm. As Rainbow moved past Firestorm, she extended her wing so it touched his. Firestorm even caught himself extending his own wing in an attempt to prolong the sensation. Rainbow went out the front door and shut it as quietly as possible.

“Twilight, would ya’ll mind if Ah went home for a bit? I’ll come right back, Ah just need to let Big Mac know what’s goin’ on seein’ as how Ah left him to watch Applebloom and her friends while Ah went out to dinner with ya’ll. He’s probably wonderin’ what’s taking me so long.”

“Of course Applejack, We’ll be fine here,” Twilight assured.

Applejack made her way past Firestorm, though she simply nodded as she passed by him on her way to the front door. Firestorm returned the nod before looking to Twilight. Once the front door shut signaling Applejack’s departure, Twilight spoke up, “Can we talk?”

Firestorm nodded and took a seat across the table from Twilight. Twilight took a long deep breath as she attempted to collect her thoughts, “Alright, how about we start from the beginning? You are an immortal bat pony with alicorn level magic and the ability to shape shift to the extent you can even alter your gender. By all accounts you shouldn’t exist or even have been conceived.”

“We’re on the same page so far.”

“Alright, I’m just gonna ask, what was it like and why did you decide to be a mare for a lifetime?”

“It was… difficult, pretending to be a mare when you know you’re a stallion. It messes with your mind. As for why I did it,” Firestorm sighed, “I couldn’t get a mare pregnant and I really wanted a foal. I love children. If I was mortal, I would die to save just one. I became a mare, built relationships, and tried to have a foal for years; it wasn’t just the one time. And when I finally did get pregnant, I have a bucking stillbirth. Its like you said, there are several forms of magic integrated into my anatomical structure, and I use all of them.”

“How did you learn to focus your changeling magic?”

“I actually spent time in a hive a few centuries ago. They accepted me, I guess they could sense, or at the very least, smell the changeling in me, and they welcomed me. I provided them with love; they taught me how to focus my changeling magic.”

“Wait exactly how long ago was this?” Twilight asked.

“You’re a sharp one Twilight Sparkle, no doubt about it. It was just after the last of the bat ponies died off, namely my father; my mother had died of illness a few years earlier, and I was all alone,” Firestorm explained, turning away to push back the pain which was tugging at him, “I had been alone for seven years, I didn’t want to seek out a pony village, but I didn’t want to be alone anymore, and eventually I found a changeling hive.”

“And they just let you in?”

A wry smile made itself evident on Firestorms’ face, “Not exactly. I found the hive, but they kept me at bay. I made a camp far enough away from the hive so they wouldn’t consider me a threat, but close enough to where we could still see each other. One evening I was bringing back some fresh firewood to my camp and six changelings surrounded me.”

“What did you do?” Twilight asked her eyes wide with anticipation.

“I surrendered. Not only was I outnumbered but I wanted to be accepted by them. I already knew I had changeling in me from previous instances so I wanted to learn to control it and be around somepony, anypony!”

“I understand, I couldn’t imagine being alone for a year, let alone seven!”

“In either case, after I mastered my changeling magic as best I could I left the hive. I took the appearance of other ponies and lived my life.”

“But it wasn’t your life was it?” Twilight asked knowingly.

“No. It was always the life of the pony I was pretending to be.”

An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment before Twilight decided to move on, “So what about tonight? With Angel I mean, what was that?”

Firestorm gave Twilight a stern look, “Do you really want to know?”

Twilight thought for a minute. She knew Firestorm had used some form of magic to, while out of mercy, kill Angel, but she couldn’t put her hoof on what it was. What she did know, was she wanted to make sure the act itself was merciful. She looked directly at Firestorm, “Yes.”

“Very well, I used my pyrokinesis. It was extremely quick, precise, and completely painless.”

Twilight nodded her understanding. She was about to ask another question but Firestorm spoke up first, “What do you think the deal is with me?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“Bat ponies can’t have foals with any other pony except for another bat pony, so how is it that my mother was a unicorn?”

“Maybe she wasn’t your real mother?” Twilight dared to suggest.

“I thought of that, but my parents told me a very special pony had blessed me with her power so that they could have me.”

“What pony would be powerful enough to influence the conception of a foal between two incompatible ponies?” Twilight asked.

“That’s a good question, but it’s not the one you should be asking.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can name two ponies that have the power necessary to help conceive me…”

“Princess Celestia and Luna!?” Twilight gasped.

“Exactly, and if it was one of them, why did they give me all the other abilities I have? Because the way I see it, pyrokinesis, changeling magic, and bat pony anatomy all make for a highly effective offensive tool in battle.”

“Wait, you think one of them added in all the other magic to make some sort of perfect soldier?”

“Perfect? No, Powerful? Yes. And while it may not have been either of the princesses, I still have a lot of offensive as well as defensive magic which would suggest nothing else. But we still need to ask ourselves, who made me like this, and for what purpose?”

Twilight looked down at the table as she processed all the information she had just received. After a moment she looked up at Firestorm, “I’ve known Princess Celestia for the better part of my entire life, I am almost certain she would never do something like that. I’ll send her a letter in the morning, and when she gets back to Canterlot, we can all go see her and we’ll get you some answers.”

Firestorm nodded and looked at the doorway to the living room. He left his seat and mage his way into the living room where a pillow stood out of place on the floor in the middle of the room with a towel hiding something beneath it. Firestorm approached the pillow and stretched out his wing over it. Twilight entered the living room shortly after, still standing partially in the kitchen, “Have you ever done that before?”

Firestorm’s ear twitched as he turned to look at Twilight out of the corner of his eye, “Done what?”

“Ended an animals’ suffering?”

Firestorm looked at the floor, “Yes, in fact I’ve also ended the suffering of some ponies…”

Twilight swallowed hard and fought back the urge to ask for more details due to the pain carried in Firestorms’ voice.

“I’ve lost count with how many animals’ suffering I’ve ended. You’d think it would get easier but it never does. Even though I’m ending their suffering, it doesn’t make up for taking their life. Ending another pony’s suffering… I’m sorry, I can’t.”

Twilight nodded and too a sharp breath.

The front door slowly opened and Rainbow Dash quietly trotted inside. Her hooves and forelegs were covered with dirt and mud, her mane was messier than usual and matted with sweat, and her eyes appeared tired with dark circles beneath them. Rainbow laid down across from the pillow parallel to Firestorm and extended her wing over his, “I found a good place to bury Angel, should we do it now or wait for the others and Fluttershy?”

Firestorm looked at Twilight who thought for a moment before moving closer to them, “She asked us to bury him, and I don’t think the others will be back very soon, I think it would be best if we buried him now.”

Firestorm and Rainbow Dash nodded and withdrew their wings from over Angel. Firestorm wrapped the towel around Angel and levitated him onto his back before following Rainbow Dash out the door with Twilight behind them. The three arrived at the shallow grave Rainbow Dash had dug; Firestorm proceeded to gently set Angel down within it. Twilight levitated the dirt over top of Angel and sat back beside Rainbow. Firestorm continued standing before the grave.

“Is everything alright?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, it’s just… I told Fluttershy we would be downstairs if she needed us. Rarity and Pinkie are gone for the night, I’m not sure when Applejack will be getting back and we’re all out here…”

“Oh, right! We should be getting back inside.”

Firestorm nodded and began following the two mares back to the cottage when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Just as quickly as the pain had begun it was gone, but it had not gone unnoticed by Twilight or Rainbow when his breathing became short and labored.

“Are you okay?” Rainbow asked flying over to his side and patting his back.

“Yes, but you two will have to excuse me, I need to be alone for a while.”

Before either mare could argue, Firestorm took off with a few powerful beats of his wings towards the Everfree Forest. Rainbow and Twilight exchanged confused and mildly worried glances before making their way back to the cottage.

Firestorm landed deep within the Everfree Forest. His landing itself, while graceful, was noted by any nearby wildlife when he impacted on the ground. The place he had chosen to land in was remarkably tame. It was close to a small body of water which had perfectly smooth surface because of the surrounding trees creating a barrier between it and the cool breeze. The trees themselves lacked any traits which could play tricks on a pony’s eyes as they had no moss and were fully clothed in healthy leaves. Firestorm however, did not take the time to notice the trees as he approached the water. He looked down at his reflection and seeing his face in all its normality he stepped back.

He took several deep breaths and tried to ready himself for what he was about to do. No amount of changeling magic would help him, the pain would be excruciating no matter what. With a final breath, Firestorm reared up on his hind legs. His front hooves became gray dragon claws and his rear hooves became gray talons. Firestorm cried out in pain as the bones in his right front leg followed by his left broke without cause followed by blue flames flowing over them to alter their structure from the front legs of a pony to the arms of a dragon. Soon his entire body was briefly cloaked in blue flames as his body grew and shifted.

As the flames dissipated his new form was revealed. Firestorm was now twice the size of an adult stallion, his front legs had become arms with dragon’s claws, his hind legs were relatively similar with the acceptation of his talons, his muzzle was slightly longer, and his teeth and fangs were noticeably longer and sharper. His eyes had an amber glow which accentuated his vertically slit pupils and his wings were stretched out and behind him to help maintain his balance. Anypony who came across him at that very moment would be scared only for a minute as Firestorm began coughing up blood, loosing his balance, and falling on all fours as he coughed and choked.

When his coughing fit was over, Firestorm approached the water again and looked at his reflection. He wiped the blood off his muzzle with his forearm and continued to stare into the eyes of his reflection. After a moment he turned away and moved on all fours to a tree which he laid back against and stared up at the moon. After all the events of that day only one thing came across his mind, “You’d better have some answers for me Princess…”
> Chapter 9 - Revelation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firestorm’s eyes blinked open as they were assaulted by the sunlight breaching the tree canopy. He tried shielding his eyes with a hoof but froze when he felt the stiffening pain covering his entire body. Slowly he rolled onto his belly before standing up and looked around at his environment which had changed drastically since his arrival the other night. The surrounding forest was burned to such an extent that anything touched by flames was burned out of existence; a perfect sphere was formed within the surrounding tree line. The ground was no longer fertile soil, it was solid glass. Firestorm approached the pond and looked at his reflection, he looked as normal as the day he met the Elements of Harmony.

Judging from the position of the sun it was around 10am. Firestorm felt weak, hungry, and disoriented. Memories of the previous day began returning, before long he remembered he needed to be at Fluttershy’s cottage with the others. Firestorm leaned down and took a drink from the pond, the cool refreshing water running down his throat helped wake him some more. Once he was finished drinking he was reminded of his tense and sore muscles. This wasn’t the first time he had a power flux like the one he experienced last night, they had come before. He never truly learned what they were but he had learned to get as far away from anypony when he felt one approaching. He knew from previous instances the fluctuations caused not only changes to his magic abilities and his pyrokinesis, but his physical appearance as well.

Firestorm took a deep breath and tried to relax as he pushed the thoughts aside. As if on cue, a wave of blue fire washed over his entire body. While his appearance had not changed at all, his tense muscles and aching body became calm and relaxed. He took a final look around him, noting all the destruction he had unintentionally caused, before he was ready to get back to the cottage. He only managed to turn around when he felt something tugging at his mind and his body. In the midst of his most recent power fluctuation, something had been changed. It didn’t take him long to realize a new spell was charging and waiting to be used. He soon realized it was teleportation spell. He considered it odd that he now had control over such a powerful spell but decided to worry about that later; right now he was ready to try it out. From what he understood about teleportation spells, the user could only teleport to a destination they could remember while also taking into consideration the distance to said destination and their own stamina. Too far, and the magic would simply get dispersed and wasted, not enough stamina, and you would likely pass out. All things considered, Firestorm was willing to risk it.

He decided upon teleporting to just outside of the Everfree Forest near where Angel had been buried. His wings curled around his midsection and as he closed his eyes he imagined his target as clearly as he could. A flash of red light startled him into opening his eyes where he noticed he was standing in the exact place he had been envisioning, a stones throw away from Angels grave. Firestorm was relieved to see there was nopony around to have witness his new found magic trick.

Firestorm reached the front door of the cottage and knocked. Much to his surprise the door simply fell down. Inside the cottage everything was floating and five very annoyed ponies turned to look at him. A very strange looking creature was holding Fluttershy. Firestorm walked through the doorway, “Um, what’s up everypony?”

Everypony looked at Firestorm, “Hey Firestorm, this here is Discord, Fluttershy’s friend, and the most crookedist creature in all of Equestria,” Applejack stated dryly.

“You do know “crookedist” is not a real word?” Twilight asked.

“Seein’ as how I’m describin’ Discord, it don’t matter,” Applejack replied.

Discord smiled at Firestorm, “Yes, as Applejack said, I am Discord spirit of chaos.” The moment Discord said chaos all the objects in the room began spinning randomly and shooting off fireworks. Everypony in the cottage accept for Fluttershy had to dodge the flying objects. Firestorm stopped dodging and weaving to stare hatefully at Discord. Seconds passed before a flower vase poured out onto Firestorm, who quickly shook the water from his mane. While Discord was lost in maniacal laughter, lost track of several objects, one object being another vase that collided with Firestorm’s head, knocking him out cold.

Discord laughed harder while Twilight teleported over to Firestorm upon seeing him collapse. Objects continued to fly around the room which angered everypony further, “Discord, put everything down, you might hurt somepony else!” Twilight shouted.

“Twilight Sparkle, these objects simply wanted to explore the room and I granted them the ability to, I don’t have any control over…” Discord stopped speaking out of genuine surprise when everything in the room stopped moving, against his will.

“Thank you, now why you make yourself useful and get me an ice pack?” Twilight demanded more so than asked.

“Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, I didn’t make everything stop,” Discord said, confusion evident in his voice.

Twilight looked around at everypony who seemed to be staring at her, “I didn’t do anything,” she said quickly.

“Uh, darling,” Rarity began, “We know,” she finished pointing her hoof to something behind her. Twilight looked behind her and almost jumped when she saw what everypony else was staring at. Firestorm stood with his wings flared and glowing red, his draconic eyes glowing yellow, and his sharp teeth and fangs bore at Discord, “My name is Firestorm, harbinger of eternal night, and final descendant of the bat ponies.”

As Discord opened his mouth to make a smart comment he suddenly found himself on his back pinned to the floor with Firestorm standing over him with his right dragon claw around Discord’s throat. “Do not speak,” Firestorm said in a deep raspy voice, “Spirit of chaos or not, how can you call yourself a friend when you bring a tornado into a grieving pony’s house?”

Discord’s lion paw tripled in length as it reached up behind Firestorm’s back where it came to rest on his head. Firestorm’s eyes went blank before he passed out, falling heavily on top of Discord who slithered out from underneath his unconscious attacker. Discord curled into a soccer ball and rolled across the room before taking his normal appearance, “Would somepony care to explaining to me what that was?”

“Firestorm is a bat pony unicorn hybrid we met a few days ago, we were going to take him to meet Princess Celestia when she gets back to Canterlot,” Twilight explained.

“And you kept THAT nearby?” Discord asked.

“Well up to this moment, he never displayed such violent behavior.”

“And the whole “Harbinger of eternal night” thing is no never mind?”

“Of course not, even he’s not entirely sure of what he is. That is one of the things we were going to ask Princess Celestia about.”

“Oh yes, because she would love to tell you everything about her ultimate weapon to bring about eternal night,” Discord said sarcastically.

“Princess Celestia would never create a pony like this to bring about eternal…” Twilight slowly stopped speaking as the realization dawned on her.

“Twi, what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Firestorm said he was the harbinger of eternal night. That means he was going to bring about eternal night in accordance to the will of a specific pony.”

“And how many ponies do we know would not only want to bring about eternal night but also have the power to do so?” Discord asked.

“Ooh, ooh, ooh, I know, I know I know,” Pinkie Pie said bouncing, “it’s Princess Luna!”

“No Pinkie, it was Nightmare Moon, a split personality of Princess Luna,” Twilight said.

“But, aren’t they the same pony?”

Before Twilight could explain further, Firestorm groaned as he regained consciousness and tried to get up. Twilight cautiously moved towards him, “Firestorm?”

Firestorm looked over his shoulder at Twilight, “What happened?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Something smashing into my head!”

Twilight looked around at her friends while Firestorm rubbed his head. During the silence everypony noticed quiet sobbing. They quickly located the source which was Fluttershy huddled in a corner. Firestorm glared briefly at Discord before approaching Fluttershy.

“Are you okay?” Firestorm asked softly.

A small “eep” was Fluttershy’s only response.

Firestorm turned to glare at Discord again but realized everypony, for whatever reason, was afraid of him. Firestorm looked around at the fear etched faces of his friends and realized the possibility that he must have done something to cause them such fear. He closed his eyes, “I’m sorry.” When Firestorm opened his eyes he was outside of the bed and breakfast he had rented a room at. He approached the front door and went inside. A note rested on the table beside the front door with his name on it.

Dear Firestorm,

My husband and I went out to run some errands and are unsure of when we will return. Our daughter, Vinyl, sleeps most of the day as she performs late at night. Please be aware of this while staying here, I know you are a nice stallion and would not want to disturb her, thank you for being considerate and quiet.

Firestorm finished reading the note and noticed a second hidden beneath the first.

I don’t know what my wife is talking about being quiet, Vinyl sleeps like a tranquilized rock, the last thing that’s gonna wake her is a little noise, you heard her music…

Firestorm smiled at the conflicting notes, but quietly made his way upstairs just the same. As he reached the top he noticed Vinyl making her way back towards her room with a glass of water held in her magic.

“Hey!” Firestorm called out to her causing Vinyl to jump slightly.

“Dude, not so loud, it’s too early for you to be yelling at me,” Vinyl said half awake.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to apologize again for the other night when your dad played that joke on you,” Firestorm said in a hushed tone.

“It’s not a big deal; he does that all the time.”

“All the same, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Vinyl said eager to get back to bed.

Firestorm turned to go to his room but was stopped by a hoof on his shoulder. He turned around to see Vinyl looking at him.

“I’m not a fillyfooler.”

“What?”

“The other night, Tavi, she’s not my marefriend, she’s just my roommate. Well technically I’m her roommate but that’s it. She even has a coltfriend.”

“I didn’t ask and I don’t judge,” Firestorm said plainly.

“Yeah, well, just settin’ the record,” Vinyl said before returning to her room and quickly shutting the door.

Firestorm shook his head and smiled before entering his own room.


**********


“I’m sorry” was the last thing Twilight had heard Firestorm say before he disappeared. Fluttershys crying was calmed thanks to Rarity and, surprisingly, Discord who were southing her. Pinkie was distracted in the opposite corner thanks to a small chocolate milk storm Discord had formed for her. Twilight discussed the development concerning Firestorm with Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

“What do you think we should do about Firestorm?” Twilight asked.

“What is there to do? Discord technically attacked him!” Rainbow Dash said answered.

“Be that as it may, Firestorm revealed a part of him capable of violence and an instinct to serve Nightmare Moon!”

“So?”

“So, Firestorm is potentially a lot more dangerous than I originally thought.”

Rainbow looked away from her friend, defeat and hurt expressed on her face.

Applejack took notice and spoke up, “Dash, is everything alright?”

“I’m fine it’s just…”

“Rainbow, what is it?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow finally caved, “It’s just that, Firestorm is so cool! He’s a lot like me, he’s… I just don’t want him to be some bad guy we have to use the elements on…”

Applejack put her hoof on Rainbows’ shoulder, “I know ya like him Sugar Cube, and we’ll try to avoid it commin to that but ya gotta realize how little we know about him and we have no idea what he’s capable of.”

“Applejacks right, I’m going to go back to the library and start doing some research on some of the spells I know and suspect help create Firestorm and see if that can tell us more about him. Maybe you could meet up with him and just be a friend.”

Rainbows’ ear twitched and her mood instantly brightened, “Hey, yeah, that’s a great idea Twi! Maybe I’ll invite him to go camping with us.”

“Now hold on just one gosh dang minute there Rainbow, you’re not the only one going camping, the crusaders and I are going too and I’m not sure how I feel about a stallion like him, or any strange stallion for that matter, being that close by in the forest,” Applejack said firmly.

As Applejack finished making her argument Rarity trotted over, “I’m sorry but I have to agree, somewhat, with Applejack, I don’t want to have to hear Sweetie Belle tell me about something he did to her that can’t be undone.”

“You guys seriously think he would do something to foals!? You didn’t see him at the lake with me, he was so careful with them, he looked at me for approval before even picking them up, and he flew with Scootaloo on his back like he was her father! I know after today you might not trust him as much but trust me, but he would never even lay a hoof on any one of them!” Rainbow shot back.

“Be that as it may darling I still don’t-”

“What if I went camping with you?” Twilight asked interrupting Rarity.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity all looked immediately at Twilight in surprise.

“What, I never went camping. I think it would be a good experience for me and I could keep a close watch on Firestorm,” Twilight explained.

Applejack and Rarity looked at each other, nodded, and then turned to Twilight and gave her a nod of approval.

“Aww yeah!” Rainbow let out, “I’m gonna go tell him the good news right now!” With that Rainbow Dash disappeared in a prismatic streak out the front door.

“Twilight, are ya sure you can handle Firestorm should things get outta hoof?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, considering my shield spell is second only to my brothers’, it should be strong enough to contain him if I reversed it.” Twilight said confidently.


**********


Firestorm shut off the water and shook himself dry after his shower. He finished drying himself with a towel before leaving his room and making his way downstairs. When Firestorm saw there was still nopony home aside from Vinyl, he decided to loiter around town for a while. As he opened the front door two pristine white unicorn royal guards stood on the other side with an over confident Filthy Rich standing behind them.

“Firestorm?” asked one of the guards.

Firestorm nodded.

“You are under arrest for the assault of Filthy Rich and the endangerment of his daughter, Diamond Tiara,” announced the other guard.

Firestorm locked eyes with Filthy Rich who grinned proudly in return. His prideful smirk quickly contorted to fear as he was levitated off the ground before he was tossed into a nearby shop with enough force to knock the air from his lungs. At the sight of this, the guards tackled Firestorm and quickly secured a metal band around his wings which was typically used to prevent convicted pegasi from flying off. However, Firestorm was far from a simple pegasus, despite his wings being firmly secured at his sides, Firestorm still had enough control to force the guards a fair distance away from him.

As the guards scrambled to regain their footing, Firestorm inverted his damage control spell on the wing band, shattering it into tiny shards. Noticing they had underestimated their foe, the guards lit their horns, one drawing his sword, the other drawing his spear. Firestorm ignored them as he noticed a cowardly Filthy Rich trying to slip away from the scene. Firestorm stomped his hoof and Filthy Rich collapsed as he seemed to be held down by the full weight of a stallion.

“Surrender or we will have no choice but to use deadly force!” shouted the guard with a sword.

Firestorm grit his teeth applying more weight to the hoof he was using it to hold Filthy Rich down directly. When Filthy let out a pained groan the guard with the sword nodded to the guard with the spear. The guard with the spear rushed towards Firestorm thrusting his spear towards his targets side. Much too both guards surprise, the spear began to generate red ripples as the guard wielding it attempted to force it to so much as break Firestorms’ skin. Firestorm glared at his attacker, “Stand down,” he ordered.

The guard focused harder on his magic and pushed spear harder against Firestorm. Like two magnets repelling each other, the spear was pushed from the guards grasp, away from Firestorm, right towards Rainbow Dash. She only had time to clench her eyes shut before the spear would make contact with her. After a second, Rainbow noticed the lack of a spear penetrating her skull and dared to peek out of one eye. The spear, which had been inadvertently cast towards her face, was suspended less than an inch from her muzzle. It shattered into in-numeral fragments. Beyond that she could see the two royal guards staring fearfully at her and a hate driven Firestorm between them.

Suddenly the remnants of the spear fell to the ground and the guard who had been wielding it turned to see Firestorm reared up on his hind legs before he brought his front hooves down with full force onto the guards’ helmet. The guard immediately blacked out as Firestorm delivered the blow. The first guard seized the opportunity to attack. However, as he swung his sword against the back of Firestorms’ neck, it shattered like ice against a metal pole. Firestorm summersaulted in front of the guard and kicked his left hind leg while he was on his back so his hoof hit the guard in his exposed jaw. As Firestorm completed the summersault the guard fell down beside his comrade as he also lost consciousness.

Filthy Rich had made a clean get away, for the time being, in the midst of the fight, and Rainbow Dash flew as fast as she could to retrieve Twilight. Firestorm stepped between the two guards and spread his wings over them, he focused as hard as he could and soon rays of blue light were descending upon the unconscious guards from his wings. As his power reached its peak Firestorm noticed the arrival of Twilight and Applejack via Twilights’ teleportation spell.

Twilight quickly took in the scene before her, raised her hoof to Firestorm and yelled, “Firestorm, no!”

It was too late, in the suddenly blinding flash of blue light the guards were gone. Firestorm glanced from one mare to the next, his face never changing to the horror spread across theirs.
> Chapter 10 - Wait, What?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack didn’t know what to think of what they had just witnessed, for all they knew, Firestorm had just obliterated two royal guards. Firestorm folded his wings in at his sides.

“They're not dead,” he said calmly.

“What?” Twilight asked.

“That was a transferred teleportation spell, I just sent them home.”

“What did you do last night that got the royal guard called on you?”

“Nothing. Filthy Rich summoned them because I apparently bruised his ego harder than his body the other night at the restaurant.”

“You assaulted him?” Twilight yelled.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack exchanged a quick look before giving each other a hoof bump. Twilight heard the familiar sound and whipped around to face her friends, “What was that? What did you two just do?” Twilight asked, panic and anger mixed in her voice.

“We didn’t do anything,” Rainbow Dash answered coolly.

Twilight turned to Applejack and simply stared at her. Applejack glanced away but every time she looked back at Twilight she felt the truth aching inside her to be set free. Her legs began to tremble and sweat began to bead on her forehead. Twilight smiled inwardly and began a silent countdown in her head, “3…2…1!”

“Filthy Rich is a stuck up snob of a pony who deserved whatever Firestorm did to him the other night, Rainbow and Ah just gave each other a hoof bump because we all know it!” Applejack blurted out.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, “Applejacks’ right Twilight, everypony knows he lives here because if he lived someplace like Manehattan or Canterlot, he’d be just like every other rich pony there. Here he can look down on everypony else because he has money!”

“He lives here because he wants to be close to the business he does at Sweet Apple Acres, he doesn’t look down on everypony else. Even if he did, Firestorm can’t just go and assault him like that without facing the consequences!” Twilight tried to reason.

“Well I feel I handled those so called consequences justifiably,” Firestorm said as he moved towards the mares, “had he kept a tighter leash on his brat of a daughter I wouldn’t have had to defend the Cutie Mark Crusaders, his daughter wouldn’t have lied to him, he wouldn’t have confronted me, I wouldn’t have set him straight, he wouldn’t have summoned the guard, Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have almost died, and now I wouldn’t have to kill him,” Firestorm concluded as he stood right in front of Twilight.

Twilight stared at Firestorm for a minute before taking a deep breath, “You’re not going to kill Filthy Rich.”

A smile slowly crept across Firestorms’ face, “You’re right, I’m not going to kill him…”

Twilight let out a heavy sigh.

“But there is one more thing I have to do,” Firestorm finished. He reared up on his hind legs, pushed off the ground with his wings, and twisted his body as he performed a half turn, kicking out his right hind leg before teleporting away from Twilight and her friends. On the other side of Ponyville Filthy Rich ran as fast and as hard as he could. Being a business pony, he did not possess the stamina and endurance to run this far, but he feared what would happen if he stopped. As he rounded another corner a flash of light made him stop just one split second before something collided with the left side of his face. Filthy Rich rolled over several times before finally coming to a stop. He looked around to find what he ran into but he quickly found what ran into him. Firestorm stood perfectly balanced on his hind legs glaring down at Filthy Rich, “This ends right here, right now. Call two guards, call two hundred guards, it won’t matter to me, they cannot help you. I will let you live so long as you do not press this matter any further…”

Filthy Rich nodded in agreement. Firestorm turned and vanished in a flash of light as he teleported away. Filthy Rich was so shocked by the rage in Firestorms’ draconic eyes he hadn’t noticed the small shape shift his body had undergone. Filthy Rich proceeded to pick himself up off the ground and finish returning home. He was thankful nopony had the pleasure of seeing him so greatly humiliated.

Firestorm rematerialized in front of Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. The three had rearranged themselves to talk during the stallions’ absence and they were slightly surprised at his abrupt return. Firestorms’ talons and claws reverted back to hooves as he lost his balance from standing on his hind legs. He looked at the three mares who all bore identical expressions of concern.

“He’s not dead, I didn’t kill him, I just told him to give up, and he did,” Firestorm said.

“Yeah, like he had a choice!” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically as she flew over and punched Firestorms’ shoulder playfully.

“Firestorm we need to have a talk and I need you to prove to me you didn’t kill those guards,” Twilight said assertively.

Firestorm closed his eyes and raised his wings, soon the blue light they had seen before began to illuminate. Firestorm took a deep breath as the light washed over everypony. As the light faded they noticed they were in the Golden Oaks Library. Firestorm looked at Twilight, “Well?”

Twilight nodded, “Yes that was definitely the same spell you used on the guards. I’m satisfied.”

“Awwww yeah, Firestorm’s going camping!” Rainbow Dash cried out happily.

“Wait, WHAT!?” Firestorm asked bewildered.

“Twi said that if you could prove ya didn’t hurt the guards, she’d be content with you comin’ campin’ with us,” Applejack stated.

“When did that happen?”

“While you were gone kickin’ Filthys’ flank,” said Rainbow Dash.

“What! How long was I gone?”

“About twelve and a half minutes by my count,” Twilight said factually.

“What! How is that possible?”

“I think that if your changeling magic activated during your teleportation it could have distorted the time lapse augmentation part of the spell during your return…” Twilight suggested.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other as they shared the same look of confusion.

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Firestorm replied after a second of thought.

Rainbow Dash’ and Applejacks’ expressions of confusion intensified as they silently asked each other, “Did he actually understand that!?”

“So where did the part come in where I’m involuntarily going camping with you guys?” Firestorm asked.

“Well, we had a couple of reasons, the first is that Rainbow Dash really wants you to come along. The second is you and I could practice with some of your magic somewhere safe and away from a populated area. The third is just for protection, I figured that as it is the everfree forest you would be the suited for personal defense,” Twilight explained.

“You’re a worse liar than Applejack…” Firestorm deadpanned.

“Okay fine, I really want to go camping, Celestia instructed me to keep a close watch on you, and I’m not about to leave you here alone, especially after what I’ve just seen what could happen.”

“……. I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Nope, but you’re gonna love camping with us!” Rainbow Dash exploded.

Firestorm looked at her, “That is optional,” he said with a playful grin.

“Whether or not ya have fun is up to you, but Ah intend to have a good time and Ah want the little ones to as well,” Applejack stated.

Firestorm quickly turned his attention to Applejack, “Little ones?”

“Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle,” Twilight clarified.

Firestorm looked down at the ground and then back up at Twilight. When their eyes met Twilight immediately noticed they had changed into vertical slits. Before she could even think she heard his voice in her head say, “I don’t think that is such a good idea.”

Twilight was startled when she heard Firestorms’ voice but saw that his mouth not even opening. She soon noticed the gentle red glow of his wings indicating he was using a spell, possibly a telepathy spell she concluded.

“Somewhat, more of an isolated changeling hive mind…” she heard Firestorm think.

“What?” Twilight thought.

“The spell I’m using, it’s a mix between a telepathy spell and a changeling hive mind spell I created to bond with the changeling hive I was living with. I can hear your thoughts and you can hear mine, in an advanced state we can even share memories and feelings. But for now, I think it would be a bad idea to have me along on this camping trip,” Firestorm thought.

Firestorm heard everything Twilight truly felt about him camping with herself and her friends, and while some of the thoughts were negative, they were outweighed in Twilights’ mind by the good. Before Twilight had a chance to gather said thoughts Firestorm blinked his eyes, his pupils returned to their normal round shape and said aloud, “So be it…”

Twilight was stunned by the brief use of Firestorms’ magic and mental conversation, which in her opinion was very one sided, and couldn’t think of anything to say. Luckily for Twilight, the ever energetic pegasus beside her did. Leaping into the air with a few powerful beats of her wings she yelled out, “Awww yeah, we’re going camping!”

Firestorm couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. As Rainbow Dash settled back down Firestorm looked at Twilight, “When do we leave?”

“Oh, well, we had actually planned a while back to leave tomorrow, but now with Fluttershy and you I was thinking that maybe we should reschedule…” Twilight explained.

“Just make sure Fluttershy is alright, I’ll be good to go by then.”

Twilight nodded, “I’ll check with Fluttershy and if she says she’ll be alright for us to go I’ll get some maps for us to go over to find the optimal locations to camp. I’ll start a checklist of all the supplies we’ll need to bring. Ooh and –”

“Uh, Twilight,” Applejack interrupted, “How ‘bout you just go check on Fluttershy first?”

“Oh, right, I’ll just go do that,” Twilight said sheepishly as she made her way to the door.

Rainbow Dash flew into the air, "Great, now I’m too excited about going camping, I’ll see you guys later I gotta find something to distract myself with and tire me out so I can get some sleep tonight. Bye!"

Rainbow Dash flew straight out of an open window leaving Applejack and Firestorm in the library. Applejack scraped the floor with her hoof before the awkward silence became too much for her, “Listen, I’m sorry but Ah gotta get back to the farm, I’ll see ya later okay?”

Firestorm smiled softly and nodded moving aside for her to leave. Applejack trotted past him, opened the door, went out, and as she went to close it, she noticed Firestorm had disappeared. She shrugged her shoulder, guessing he left the same way Rainbow Dash had, and shut the door. A moment later Spike poked his head through the doorway into the main room of the library, “Hello, anypony there?” With nopony in sight and no response, Spiked shrugged his shoulders and went back to bed.

Firestorm soared through the air as he flew higher and higher in the noon sky. He looked over his shoulder at Ponyville behind him. He knew he wasn’t about to leave when he was finally so close to the answers he had questions for his entire life and he wasn’t about to let them slip away, even if it meant camping in the everfree forest with three mares and three fillies. He knew that he would never do anything to hurt any of his new friends but he his instincts were something else entirely. While he was in complete control of his sex drive, even during heat season, Firestorm knew his instincts were not to mate, they were to destroy.

He thought back to when he woke up that morning when he woke up in the forest, how everything had been burned, with him in the exact center of it. Firestorm flew harder and faster, trying to physically get himself away from the memory of what he had destroyed. Soon he was tired and out of breath and landed harshly on a cloud to rest. Firestorm was angry with himself, furious that he lacked control over his temper and the destructive power which was unleashed along with it. He looked down at his hooves which had once again shifted into claws and talons, he felt his teeth growing sharper as he clenched his jaw. Before long he was panting heavily, his emotions threatening to tear him apart between aggression and sadness.

“You need to slow your breathing down,” a voice said behind him, “just take slow deep breaths.”

Firestorm looked over his shoulder at the mare who jumped out of fright when his draconic eyes fell on her. She was an ash grey pegasus with a scruffy blonde mane and tail like Rainbow Dash’. Firestorm looked away from her and tried to slow his breathing down. The mare cautiously approached Firestorm and let a hoof rest on his back, “There you go, slow deep breaths,” she cooed.

Firestorm looked over his shoulder at her face, this time he noticed her skewed eyes. Taking a final long breath he asked, “What’s wrong with your eyes?”

A wave of sadness immediately befell the mare, showing in her facial features as she briefly broke eye contact. Firestorm was about to apologize for asking such a personal, and obviously, painful question, one she was probably asked several times a day when she suddenly looked back at him with a perplexed look on her face and said, “I could ask you the same thing…”

Firestorm realized that with how many changes his body had gone through during his momentary rage shift his eyes would have been one of the first. He blinked dumbly, “This is what my eyes look like naturally,” he stated.

“Really!?” the mare asked noticeably excited, “That’s so cool!”

Firestorm gave the mare a smile which she found difficult to understand given the display of his fangs and draconic amber eyes. “So, um, what about the rest of you? Were you in some kind of lab explosion with a dragon or something and you two got fused into… this?” the mare asked surprisingly serious.

Firestorm laughed at the bizarre notion, “No, I was just born this way, but most of the time you can’t tell…”

The pegasus looked at her hooves, “I was born this way too. My eyes, I mean…”

Firestorm sensed an awkward silence creeping in as he didn’t know how to proceed from that point on. Luckily though, his last statement had sparked a new question in the mares’ mind, “What do you mean you can’t tell most of the time?”

“What?” Firestorm asked slightly confused by the question.

“What do you mean I wouldn’t be able you were born the way you are most of the time? You kinda stand out…” The mare clarified.

Firestorm smiled at her statement, “I’ll show you.” Taking long breath, Firestorm let his changeling magic flow over his body, reverting his features to his most naturalistic bat pony form.

“Wow…” the mare said simply, “I only know of one other creature that can change their shape like that but I can’t remember what they’re called…” the pegasus said while scratching her head with a hoof.

“Changelings?” Firestorm suggested.

“Yes, changelings, that’s what they’re called!” she exclaimed happily before her demeanor fell, “Are you a changeling? I thought they were all bad…”

Firestorm smiled, “No, I’m only part changeling.”

“Oh… so what’s the rest of you?”

“Probably a little of everything else…”

The pegasus laughed and then looked up at the sun, “Ooh, I’m gonna be late. I’m sorry I have to go pick up my daughter from school!”

“Alright then, nice talking to you Mrs.…”

“Oh, it’s Miss, actually, but you can call me Derpy, everypony else does.”

“Is that your real name or a nickname?”

“It’s my real name, Derpy Hooves. Umm, what did you say your name was again?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, my name is Firestorm.”

“Cool, Firestorm. Well, see ya!” Derpy said before she dove off the cloud they were sanding on.

Firestorm watched as she flew away, only one thought was going thought his mind…

Twilight had gotten the all clear from Fluttershy to go camping and was in the library, much to Spikes’ annoyance, was composing a checklist of everything she needed to bring. She was about to go over the checklist again when a flash of light announced the arrival of Firestorm. He quickly located the alicorn he was searching for, and approached her before she had time to recover from the shock of his arrival.

“What do you know about Derpy Hooves?” he asked.

“Oh, Derpy? Well, Ummm…” Twilight stuttered as certain memories of falling objects resurfaced.

“Specifically her eyes…” Firestorm clarified.

“Oh, well she approached me to apologize for an accident related to her poor vision which is caused by, well the medical term for it is…”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t care what it is, all I need to know is how to fix it for her.”

Twilight was taken aback, “Wait, when did this all start?”

“She calmed me down from a rage shift and after that we talked. I asked about her eyes and I saw how it hurt her so I want to know if you have any suggestions on how to fix them. Money is not an issue.”

“Well Derpy asked me if I knew any way to fix her eyes and I told her that, because such few ponies suffer from it, it’s not a thoroughly studied topic. I did find one mare who was able to do it perfectly, but that was near the end of her career ten years ago. She actually retired here to Ponyville and when I asked her if she thought she could help she said Derpys’ condition was too advanced for her, especially in her state. She said she could do it, but she doesn't have the strength to perform the spell with the amount needed to help Derpy.”

“Well did you ask her if she could teach it to you?”

“Yes, she explained the spell is very delicate, one mistake could have very serious consequences.”

Firestorm thought for a second before an idea hit him, “What if I supplied the energy for the spell while she performed it?”

“An energy transference spell, like the one you used with your teleportation spell to send the guards back to Canterlot?”

“Yes, she performs the spell while I amplify it.”

Twilight nodded, “That just might work!”

“Great, let’s go ask her what she thinks of the idea, and if she’s okay with it, I’ll tell Derpy, and we can perform the spell tonight!”

“Tonight, why at night?” Twilight asked.

Firestorm was already headed out the door when she asked the question. He slowly looked over his shoulder as he willingly changed the pupil shape of his eye to a slit as he said, “Because that’s when I’m at my strongest…”
> Chapter 11 - Night Vision - Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight trotted beside Firestorm who was maintaining his usual stoic composure as they made their way towards The Ponyville Retirement Village. Twilight had told Spike about their new plans and made a quick stop at the Carousel Boutique where she explained the situation to Rarity, who was thoroughly excited about Firestorms’ determination to help fix Derpys’ eyes. During their brief visit Twilight negotiated to have Spike spend the night at the boutique given they were unsure of how long they would be gone. Spike was thrilled to have an additional night to spend at Raritys’ and was somewhat too eager for Twilight and Firestorm to leave.

The silence was just about to get to Twilight when Firestorm spoke up, “I think it would be best if you did all the talking.”

“Oh, okay. What should I say?”

Firestorm looked into Twilights’ eyes. She watched as the momentarily shifted to their draconic appearance while a surge of energy ran over Firestorms’ body. When the surge ended, his eyes returned to normal and his body appeared like a unicorn with a coat a darker shade of blue than Rainbow Dash’, a light grey mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a lightning bolt. Firestorm smiled seeing the effect his display of magic and new appearance had on Twilight, “Introduce me as Jolt, your cosine of some distant family member, to Iris. Tell her I was visiting and bumped into Derpy and wanted to know if using my special talent, energy transference, could help her perform the spell successfully to help Derpy.”

“Umm, wow, okay I can do that,” Twilight tried to say as she was stunned by how quickly Firestorm had come up with the airtight cover story.

“Good, and if she asks any more questions, just let me handle it, okay?” Firestorm asked looking to his left at Twilight for confirmation.

Twilight froze at what she saw. On the right side of Firestorm, now Jolts’ face, was a scar running just below his right eye, down his cheek to where it stopped where his jaw met his neck.

Firestorm stopped walking and turned to face Twilight, giving her a better view of the scar. “How, umm, why did you give your disguise that scar, don’t you think that’s a bit much?” Twilight asked.

Firestorm looked down at his hooves, “How much do you know about changeling magic?

“Umm not much. Only that they feed on love and can take the appearance of anypony they want.”

“Close, but not exactly. In order for a changeling to take on the appearance of somepony they have to cast an undetectable spell on the pony they want to look like. The spell does two things. One, it builds a three dimensional image in their mind of their target so detailed it detects the smallest imperfection of that ponies’ body. The second part allows them to copy a summary of the ponies’ personality, such as likes and favorite foods to help them blend in better. Once that pony has been scanned the changeling can remember it forever or until it scans another pony.”

“What happens then?”

“The memory of the first pony is completely forgotten from the changelings mind, well, if it’s a worker anyway. Workers can only remember one pony at a time, Drones can remember up to three, and soldiers can remember anywhere from five to eight ponies at a time without getting them confused.”

Twilight thought for a second, savoring the new information she had just been given when a realization hit her. The realization of why Firestorm had just told her all this when all she asked was why his disguise, Jolt, had a scar on his face, “You knew Jolt personally didn’t you!?”

“Yes, he was the pony who taught me the spell I’m going to use on Iris, the energy transfer spell he created. It took me weeks to learn, months to perfect for myself, and years more to combine it with other spells.”

“How, how did Jolt get that scar?”

“He was in the guard when I met him and he already had it, he said he got it during a battle while he was casting his spell on the exhausted unicorn guards to help them fight. He was always so proud of it though…”

“Why?”

“Because he got it from a dragon.”

“What happened to him?”

Firestorms’ smile faded, “He died. He just didn’t wake up one morning and that was it. I attended his funeral with his wife and their foal, he was about the age of the girls I saved from the fire.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“So am I. That’s one of the reasons I want to try to help Derpy.”

“What are the other reasons?”

“Because I have the power to help her and to help myself feel like less of a monster…”

“Firestorm you’re not a monster, you’re just a pony. Granted a different pony but a good pony none the less…”

Firestorm didn’t look convinced, he simply turned and continued towards the retirement home. Twilight followed shortly afterwards. They remained silent the rest of the journey and upon arriving, asked the head nurse where they could find Iris. They were guided outside into the backyard where there was a small fish pond, some court games and an elderly mare watching the sun make its steady journey towards the horizon. The mare had faded pink, almost white, fur with a straight white mane and tail, sky blue eyes and a cutie mark of a dragons’ eye on her flanks.

Twilight carefully made her way into Iris’ field of vision before speaking, “Miss Iris?”

The mare turned her attention to Twilight.

“Hi, you may not remember me, my name is-”

“Twilight Sparkle,” the mare finished with a pleasant smile, “I remember you dear, and please just call me Iris, no need to make me sound older than I feel,” Iris paused to consider her statement than nodded with contentment.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“There’s really no need to apologize dear. I must admit though, I don’t remember you having those beautiful wings,” Iris said playfully, “so what can I do for Equestrias newest princess?”

“Well, it’s in regards to the pegasus mare I talked about the last time I saw you, Derpy Hooves?”

“Oh, yes I remember. I’m sorry but I cannot change my answer based on your new title, I will not endanger her well-being when I know I don’t have the ability to perform the spell with the strength required to correct her eyes. Again I apologize but I’m also still uncomfortable with trying to teach you to perform the spell…”

“That’s actually why I came here today, I still remember and respect your decision on the matter but I came to offer you another option…”

Iris looked up at Twilight, her curiosity peaked.

“This is Jolt, my cousin and a retired royal guard. During his visit with me he, or actually I should say, Derpy ran into him and he wanted to know if there was any way to help her with her eyes. I explained her situation as well as your position concerning it and he asked to meet with you to propose another option.”

“Oh, and what would that be?” Iris asked turning her attention to “Jolt”.

“When I was in the guard I had a special position alongside the field commander of my squad. I was able to give others strength with my magic and a spell I created along as well as amplify the strength of other unicorns spells. I am fully aware of your concerns with helping Miss Hooves, but I wanted to know what you thought of the idea of me simply amplifying your magic while you performed the spell yourself?”

Twilight had to repress the urge to let her jaw drop at Firestorms’ performance while Iris pondered over his proposition.

“You’re spell will only amplify the strength of mine?”

“Yes, and you can still control how powerful the effects of the spell are.”

Iris thought a little longer, “If I do this, you understand any failures will be your own fault, are you prepared to live with that?”

“Yes, if you like, I can demonstrate the spell for you,” Jolt offered.

Iris smiled, “Yes, let me see it. Twilight, would you please place that teacup on the ground in front of me?” Iris asked gesturing with her hoof beyond Twilight. Twilight found the teacup and levitated it to the ground before Iris. Iris focused on the teacup and lit her horn, her light pink aura lifted the teacup and moved it only four hoof lengths away from where it started before her magic could no longer support it and it gently landed on the grass.

Iris let out a heavy sigh, “I never was good at levitation but now I have a baseline to run it against. Twilight, would you please place the teacup where you put it before I moved it?”

Twilight nodded and telekinetically moved the teacup to its starting line.

Iris looked at Jolt, “Whenever you are ready.”

Jolt nodded, closed his eyes, and lit his horn. Iris turned and lit her own horn. Immediately, she felt an untapped reserve of power she felt as if it went on forever. Once again she picked up the teacup with her magic and moved it away until it fell from her grasp. When that time came, nopony was able to see how far it had traveled but Iris was satisfied none the less. She looked at Twilight, “I know I should not ask a princess to do this but, would you please retrieve the teacup and tell me how far it went?”

Twilight smiled, “It would be my pleasure,” she said before flying off.

Iris turned to Jolt, “Yes! Yes, I will help your friend. Please tell her I will be happy to do so. I just need a little time to look over the spell.”

Jolt bowed to Iris, We will return tonight, eat a full meal, have some rest, whatever you need to prepare. We will return at 9 p.m.”

Iris nodded and looked up to see Twilight doing her best to land smoothly. She set the teacup back on the table it had been on originally, “Six hundred hoof lengths, a 200% increase over the first time!”

Iris nearly leapt from her seat and made her way back inside to her room with renewed energy, “Go and tell Derpy, I will see you all here tonight at 9!” she called out.

Jolt smiled at Twilight as he shifted back into his normal bat pony form.

“Let’s go tell Derpy!”

“Lead the way, Twilight.”

A short flight later Twilight and Firestorm arrived the front door of a small earth pony style home. The first thing Firestorm noticed was the distinct smell of freshly baked muffins coming from inside. Twilight knocked on the door. A loud thud came from inside while the door hesitantly opened. Standing in the doorway was a small light grey unicorn filly putting everything she had into opening the door with her magic. When the door was halfway open she looked up at Twilight and Firestorm panting heavily, “H-hi, can…can I… help you?”

“Yes, my name is Twilight Sparkle and this is Firestorm, we are looking for your mother to talk to her.”

The filly had finally caught her breath while Twilight was speaking, “Oh, she walked into a wall trying to answer the door and went to get an ice pack, I’ll go get her for you.” The filly lit her horn and focused as hard as she could on the door. After a few seconds of the door not closing, she smiled sheepishly and politely pushed the door closed with her hoof.

Twilight looked over at Firestorm and was surprised to see him trying not to laugh. Firestorm felt her glare and looked at her, “I’m sorry but that was adorable!”

Twilight rolled her eyes and before she could respond the door opened, this time with much more haste. “Hi, sorry about the wait I… Princess! I’m sorry I… Firestorm? Umm, what… how can I… Hi,” Derpy stuttered as she tried to figure out why she was being visited by these two particular ponies.

“Hi Derpy, Firestorm and I were wondering if we could come in and talk?” Twilight said.

Derpy invited them inside and closed the door. Twilight took the lead in explaining everything to Derpy about the situation. When Derpy had heard the entire plan, having to have some parts explained with more detail, she simply sat on her couch trying to comprehend the opportunity. She finally had a real shot at being normal, being able to see straight, and all thanks to a pony she had just run into. She jumped across the room tackling Firestorm in a hug, “Yes, I would love it if you could help me with my eyes, thank you!”

Firestorm eventually returned the hug and whispered, “You’re welcome.”

Derpy moved off of Firestorm and wiped away some tears, “So what happens now?”

“I need to reserve some energy to help Iris perform the spell and we need to meet up with her at the retirement village at 9 p.m.” Firestorm said.

Derpy nodded and Firestorm left. He looked around outside as the sun finally set and the moon began to rise. He knew it would be at last another hour before he could star absorbing energy from the moonlight and another hour after that before he had to meet up with the others at the retirement village. He decided the best thing to do would be to get something to eat. He stopped off at a nice looking little shop called Sugar Cube Corner. The moment he entered the store, he regretted it.

Pinkie Pie seemed to burst out of nowhere with a small explosion on confetti, “Hi welcome to… Oh, Firelight! How are ya doing?”

“My name is Firestorm, and I’m fine Pinkie. How are you doing?”

“Meh, can’t complain, well I could but that wouldn’t change anything. I mean all it would really do is annoy the ponies I complained to about whatever I was complaining about. Anyway, what can I get for you?”

Firestorm made a mental note to, under any circumstances, never get into an argument with Pinkie Pie. He looked at the wide array of options on the menu before looking at Pinkie, “You wouldn’t happen to know what on your menu has a modest blend of caffeine and protein would you?”

“Sure do,” Pinkie said without a second’s hesitation before, seeming to teleport into the kitchen. Exactly one second later she was behind the counter offering a pink milkshake to Firestorm. The milkshake was the exact same shade of pink as Pinkies’ fur and for a moment Firestorm wondered if it could be one of the ingredients before he dismissed the idea and took the shake and asked how much it was.

Pinkie smiled, “It’s on the house since I never got to throwing you a Welcome to Ponyville Party.”

“Oh, Well thanks” Firestorm said before taking a sip of the shake. His eyes widened and his entire body gave a violent jerk followed by small shivers as he swallowed the shake, “WOW! What’s in that, this, here?”

Pinkie smiled and pulled up the recipe card, “3 cups of strawberry ice cream, 1 cup of milk, 100 grams of protein mix, and 20 grams of pure caffeine powder.”

Firestorms’ right eye twitched, “You might wanna wanna wanna wanna consider reducing those last two measurements…”

“Why? I have one every morning for breakfast!”

Firestorm swallowed the rest of the shake in one gulp and looked at Pinkie, “That would explain explain explain explain so much…”

Firestorm left and began his flight towards the retirement home. His flight consisted of a nearly dear vertical climb followed by gliding to allow his wings maximum moonlight absorbency. With his sugar rush clouding his mind, Firestorm didn’t notice the threat quickly moving in. He arrived at the retirement home just at Twilight and Derpy were. Faster than either mare could comprehend he shape shifted into Jolt for casting the energy transference spell on Iris while she performed her spell on Derpy. Derpy didn’t question his disguise, she just went along with it because she figured he had to be a unicorn to help her fix her eyes. The trio met Iris in the back yard of the retirement home.

Iris did a quick examination of Derpys’ eyes and then directed everypony where to stand with Firestorm in her left, Derpy in front of herself, and Twilight a safe distance away to her right. On her order Firestorm lit his horn and began to feed Iris additional energy as she began her spell. Iris leaned in and touched her horn to Derpys’ forehead and focused her magic.

As Iris continued her spell, Firestorm suddenly felt his power fading. He was experiencing a crash from all the caffeine and sugar from the milkshake Pinkie Pie had given him. He opened his eyes and maintained his focus on supplying Iris with the energy she needed, but at the current rate, it would not last much longer. Firestorm saw what he hoped for, Iris had her eyes closed. He let his disguise as Jolt fall and spread his wings to absorb more energy to transfer to Iris. When he looked up into the sky his jaw dropped. Dark clouds had rolled in from across the everfree forest and blocked the moonlight from reaching Firestorm.

“Jolt, I need you to focus, I’m almost done but I need more energy to finish the spell!” Iris called out.

“I’m trying! My reserve of energy is almost…” Gone. Firestorm didn’t have time to say it before his body collapsed and both his and Iris’ spells failed. Iris looked at Jolt but gasped when she say Firestorm lying in his place. Before she could think or act a voice called everyponies’ attention to it, “Umm, excuse me?”

Everypony froze, Derpy stood in front of them with her eyes opened. They were properly aligned, but they were blank, her pupils and corneas were much lighter than they used to be. Her eyes darted around her, trying to find something to focus on but she couldn’t find anything. “Iris, I know my vision is bad at night but why can’t I see anything?”

Iris glared at Firestorm for a moment before she put a hoof on Derpys’ shoulder, “Derpy? The spell didn’t work. I was able to align your eyes and I was almost done but Jolt ran out of energy just before I could complete the spell. I’m so sorry Derpy, but you are blind now.”

As Iris spoke, tears welled in Derpys’ eyes, and when Iris told her she was blind, the flood gates opened. Derpy collapsed and began sobbing heavily. Iris got down on her belly and held Derpy as she cried and Twilight began to weep softly. Firestorm looked down at Derpy, then to Twilight, then to the damned clouds. He could no longer contain his anger.

“NO!” Firestorm yelled before flying straight up through the cloud cover. Twilight moved closer and rested a hoof on Derpys’ shoulder, “I’m so sorry, Derpy.”

> Chapter 12 - Night Vision - Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It didn’t matter how long or how hard Derpy cried, the pain would not go away. She had been offered the chance to be able to see straight, instead her vision was taken away altogether. Her emotions ran wild as she felt like she was pregnant all over again. The stallion who had promised to be with her forever was gone once he found out and now the stallion who offered to help fix her vision had abandoned her in her darkest hour, literally. Twilights’ heart broke as she listened to Derpy cry and sob incomprehensible words. Iris tried her best to soothe Derpy but she knew her efforts were fruitless.

Eventually Derpys’ crying died down as she exhausted herself and fell asleep. Twilight and Iris whispered their options while Derpy slept when they heard what sounded like a dragon and a bat having a screaming match as a fast moving object approached their position. Twilight lit her horn and projected a faint spotlight on what she recognized to be Firestorm. As he got closer to the trio of mares his hind legs stretched out so his talons made contact with the grass. He leaned forward so his front legs and claws touched the ground and combined with his momentum, he twisted his body so he surfed across the grass, finally coming to a stop facing away from the mares. His wings flared and began to glow a brilliant blue. A low vibration coursed through the mares bodies as the light on Firestorms’ wings became drawn into the primary phalanges of his wings.

At the peak of the vibrations, when the hum generated by them could not get any louder, Firestorm folded his wings halfway and projected two beams of blur light which intersected somewhere in the center of the cloud mass. The light was sustained for almost three seconds before it ceased altogether. One second later an explosion of blue flames burned across the sky in a halo as they simply destroyed the clouds as they came into contact with. As the event ended, the clear sky let the world glow clearly beneath the moonlight.

Firestorm spread his wings and began to absorb the energy from the moonlight and channel it to Iris. He looked over his shoulder at Twilight and Iris through his glowing draconic eyes, “Finish it!” he demanded, his sharp teeth and fangs dripped with saliva as his words dripped with venom.

Iris felt the renewed energy washing over her and got into position while Twilight helped Derpy up and got her position in accordance with Iris. As Twilight moved away she could see the energy radiating from Firestorms’ body, it wasn’t being focused like before. Yet she could tell by Iris concentration she was getting al she needed. Seconds quickly became minutes and the minutes seemed to drag on for hours as Iris not only finished the initial spell but worked to save Derpys’ vision. Finally the time came, Iris horn stopped glowing and she slowly stepped away from Derpy.

“You can open your eyes now Derpy,” Iris whispered.

Very slowly, Derpys’ right eye slowly fluttered open. Iris was pleased to see the coloration in her right eye was back to normal, indicating she could properly see out of it. Derpy blinked both eyes open. She could see, her eyes were lined up properly and she could see. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she looked at the world with her vision clearer than ever. “Thank you,” she sobbed, “thank you so much!”

Derpy turned to Firestorm. As she opened her mouth to speak, Firestorms’ wings flared and began to glow the bright blue when he used whatever offensive combat to dissipate the clouds. The blue light quickly transitioned into red and Firestorm vanished with a crack of thunder. Derpy looked at her hooves and then at Iris and Twilight. Derpy took a few clumsy steps as she began to adjust to her new vision, meaning no linger having to compensate for double vision. As she reached Twilight she pulled her into a hug and through soft sobs whispered, “He didn’t give up, he came back.”

Twilight tightened her grip around Derpy for a moment before she broke the hug and let go. Iris approached Derpy with some medical equipment. She examined Derpys’ eyes and when she was done she moved to Twilight, “Could you hold these up, one in each hoof?” she asked giving Twilight a small flashlight and a magnifying glass

Twilight complied while Iris sat on her haunches beside her and held up a pen in one hoof and nothing in the other, “Derpy, can you tell me how many items we are holding?”

Twilight leaned towards Iris, “What are you doing? There’s no way she could-”

“Three,” Derpy said confidently.

Twilight looked at Derpy, which through the darkness, meant looking at the silhouette of a pony.

“Good,” Iris said, “Who is holding what?”

“You’re holding a pen, Twilight is holding a magnifying glass and your little flashlight,” Derpy answered.

“Good,” Iris said taking the other two objects from Twilight, “I just want to test your hoof eye coordination, Iris said before throwing the objects across the ground between herself and Derpy, “Please collect and return the items as quickly as possible.”

Derpy did as she was instructed, trotting across the grass and retrieving each object before returning them to Iris in about the same amount of time it would have taken her to directly walk to Iris. Iris looked at Twilight, the moonlight revealing the shocked expression on her face.

Derpy looked between the two mares, confused, “What is it?”

“How did she do that?” Twilight asked.

“Do what?” Derpy asked.

“I’ll show you. Derpy, look straight ahead at Twilight, please.”

Derpy complied. Iris shined her flashlight into Derpys’ eye at an angle. Twilight gasped at what she saw, “Eye shine?”

Iris turned off her flashlight, “Yes, both her eyes have tapeta lucidum.”

“What’s that?” Derpy asked.

Iris looked at Derpy, “It means you have night vision Derpy.”


*****


Firestorm materialized at the lake where he had spent the day with Rainbow Dash and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. His mind raced with his blazing anger. Thoughts waged war in his mind as his emotions made him sick. He looked at the water and stood up on his hind legs holding his left arm outstretched towards the water while his right arm was drawn back so it was parallel to his head. His wings drew in the moonlights power as he charged another spell. As the spell reached its peak and was ready to be unleashed Firestorm heard Twilights’ voice in his head, “Haven’t you done enough damage tonight?”

Firestorm clenched his right hand into a fist and the pent up energy for the spell dissipated. He sat on his haunches staring at the reflection of the moon on the waters glassy surface. Firestorm felt himself beginning to calm down. He was that close that close to blinding somepony he had just me while trying to help her. There was no more doubt in his mind, whatever cruel celestial being had created him or allowed him to be born did so with only the intention of him being an implement of destruction. A few swift wing beats drew his attention to an approaching pegasus. Based on her coordination and speed it was definitely not Derpy.

Rainbow Dash skidded to a halt when she realized whatever she was approaching might not be Firestorm. “Uh, Firestorm?”

The creature she had been approaching shifted its gaze, “Yes, Rainbow Dash, it’s me…”

Rainbow Dash inched closer trying to take in the new fearsome characteristics of Firestorms’ body. The most noticeable was his size, he was easily 50% larger than when they had first met. The next thing she noticed were his glowing draconic eyes. Firestorm made his wings begin to glow a gentle blue to illuminate the rest of his body. That was when Rainbow noticed the teeth, talons, and claws, “What happened to you?”

Firestorm looked at her out of the corner of his eye, “I was born.”

“Wait so, this is what you really look like?”

“Maybe, I don’t know for sure, anything beyond this is too painful to try. Even this far is beyond my control and simply instinct.”

“That is so cool!” Rainbow Dash blurted out before clasping her hooves over her mouth.

Firestorm smiled at her outburst, “So what are you doing out here so late?”

“Oh, well I was out doing one of my late night flight sessions when all of a sudden there was this explosion in the clouds and I was trying to see if I could find what caused it.”

Firestorm let out a heavy sigh, “You found it…”

Rainbows’ eyes went wide, “You did that!?”

Firestorm nodded.

“Why, what happened?”

Firestorm explained to Rainbow Dash all the events of the day, holding back nothing. Rainbow would occasionally interrupt to ask a question but for the most part stayed quiet. When Firestorm was done, he was considerably calmer but he had not shifted back into his basic pony form. He looked over the water again while Rainbow Dash processed all the information, “But Derpy can see now, right?”

Firestorm nodded.

“Can she see straight?”

“I think so, once I knew she could see again I didn’t stick around long enough to find out.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because I was upset. All I wanted to do was help her see straight, instead I almost blind her!”

“Well yeah, but you fixed it for her right? You said it yourself, she can see again.”

“Yes, but you don’t know what it’s like to fail somepony like that,” Firestorm looked at Rainbow Dash. He slowly stretched his wing out over her back as it began to glow a subtle red. Rainbow Dash began to feel strange emotions as she continued to look into Firestorms’ draconic eyes. She felt his anger when he failed, she felt his power as he recalled dissipating the clouds with his magic, and she felt his joy when Derpy could see again. Rainbow Dash and Firestorm closed their eyes as they began to share memories and feelings with each other. Firestorm felt Rainbows’ joy and pride when she performed the sonic rainboom and saved the Wonderbolts and her friend. Rainbow felt his pain while Firestorm recalled the day his parents died. Firestorm felt Rainbows’ fear when she realized Scootaloo might never fly. Rainbow felt his relaxed happiness as he basked in the glow of the moonlight on the top of a hill. They shared feelings and memories between each other back and forth for hours.

Eventually Firestorm began to feel Rainbows’ physical exhaustion and withdrew his wing severing their connection. Rainbow Dash was leaning against Firestorm and nearly half asleep when he broke their mental bond. Rainbow Dash groaned and perked up slightly, “Awww, what’d you do that for, I was having fun watching you fight off a hydra from a village in… wherever that was.”

Firestorm smiled, “That was actually Ponyville a long time ago…”

“That’s so cool,” Rainbow Dash said as she started falling asleep.

“The villagers didn’t seem to think so.”

Rainbow giggled in her sleep.

Firestorm touched her head with his wing, “It’s late, I need to get you to bed, where do you live?” he whispered. Firestorm looked up to see a large cloud bed in front of him with a Wonderbolts Bed Spread. He looked around the room observing several Daring Do books lying haphazardly on the cloud floor. On the walls were Wonderbolt posters, one of which being an autographed poster of Spitfire. On the nightstand was a picture of Rainbow Dash as a filly with an older stallion who bore a striking resemblance to her who Firestorm assumed to be her father. Firestorm twisted his body and wrapped his arms around behind Rainbows’ back and lifted her into his arms and carried her to her bed. His wing stretched out over the blankets and with a gentle red glow, drew his wing back and the blankets along with it. Using the precision of a skilled surgeon, Firestorm placed Rainbow Dash in her bed and pulled the covers up over body until they covered her shoulders. 

Firestorm looked down at Rainbow while she peacefully slept. Every fiber of his being screamed not to, but he leaned down and gently kissed Rainbow Dash on her cheek. As he rose back to his full height he took a step back before turning around and making his bed in his room at the Ponyville Bed and Breakfast. He sat down at the foot of his bed and looked out the window, “Goodnight Rainbow Dash, sleep well.”

> Chapter 13 - Camping - Day 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firestorm slowly opened his eyes, wincing as the sunlight made contact with them. He rolled over so the light was behind him and closed his eyes. His ear, the one not currently sandwiched between his head and his pillow flicked towards a sound coming from in the hallway. A sound which stopped at his door. He lifted his wing, the one not currently going numb under his bodyweight, and opened the door with his telekinesis. In the doorway stood Scootaloo holding her hoof up ready to knock. Firestorm looked at her as she trotted into the room with an unusually large smile on her face, “Hey Firestorm are you ready to go… are you alright?”

Firestorm groaned, “Of course I’m alright. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Scootaloo cocked her head, “Well it looks like ya got something growing on your stomach…”

Firestorm immediately rolled over onto his stomach, “That’s… I umm… it’s nothing, I’m just waking up.” Firestorm held his breath hoping the young filly wouldn’t start asking questions which would result in him having to explain to her the difference between mares and stallions.

“Oh, Scootaloo said, “So are you excited about going camping today?”

Apparently I’m excited about something he thought to himself, “A little excited, what time are we leaving?”

“I don’t know, soon, I hope. Rainbow Dash sent me to get you while she packed some stuff at her house.”

“So why didn’t she send Twilight or Applejack, and why didn’t your friends come with you?”

“Everypony is still packing, but I was already packed since last night,” she said proudly. Scootaloo looked around the room, “Umm, where’s your camping stuff?”

Firestorm cracked his neck then flexed his wings, “Got everything I need on me already.”

“Are… are you sure you don’t need to bring anything? What about food?”

Hmmm, birds and the bees, or I can eat meat, fish, and the damn bird getting frisky with the bee? Firestorm thought, “Do you know where I lived before I came to Ponyville?” he asked while stepping out of bed and cracking his spine while he stretched.

Scootaloo shook her head.

I lived in the everfree forest.

“What!?”

“Yep, it’s true. You’ll get to see firsthoof how I survive in the wild,” He said with a playful wink.

“Awesome, than let’s get going!” Scootaloo said as she turned tail and bolted out the door. Firestorm stood motionless as his hoof seemed to absentmindedly came up so it was level with his face before it impacted against his cheek. Quit thinking like that bat freak!

Firestorm shook his head and trotted out of his room and made his way downstairs. He was just about to enter the living room when he heard and listened to what Haven and Homestead were saying to Scootaloo, “You’re sure you have everything you need for the trip?” Haven asked.

“Yes ma’am,” Scootaloo replied.

“You know not to wander off into the forest alone?” Homestead asked.

“Yes sir, it won’t happen again.”

“Alright kiddo. Remember, you got lucky last time, Miss Dash might not be there the next time…”

Scootaloo swallowed hard, she hated it when anypony called Rainbow Dash “Miss Dash” but more importantly, she knew Homestead was right. She was extremely lucky Rainbow Dash had been there to save her the last time she had gone camping, got scared, and nearly went over a waterfall. But there was no telling if she would be as lucky if it happened again. Scootaloo nodded.

“Alright sweetie, have a good time, and be safe,” Haven said giving Scootaloo a small hug.

“Yeah, what my wife said kiddo, just not as sappy,” Homestead said with a wink and a hoof bump.

Firestorm had heard enough. 15 lifetimes had made him very perceptive in listening to the way ponies talked. When Homestead said “His wife” and not something along the lines of “your mother” he knew something was up. He had also seen the hug, and while it was full of affection, it didn’t carry the same amount of love a relative would transfer in the current situation. Firestorm was now mentally alert, calculating the young pegasus living arrangements and family life. Not willing to make assumptions, Firestorm trotted into the living room and stopped at the small group.

“Scootaloo, could you wait for me outside please, I won’t be long,” Firestorm said softly.

Scootaloo looked at Haven then Homestead who both nodded to her. She turned and walked out the door closing it behind her. A surge of magic passed through Firestorms’ wings as he activated a soundproofing spell.

“She can’t hear us. Scootaloo, what’s her situation?” Firestorm asked as politely and professionally as possible. Haven looked at Homestead with the same look Scootaloo had. Homestead nodded to his wife who cleared her throat, “My husband and I are the primary caretakers at the Ponyville Orphanage, Scootaloo has been there since she was a newborn foal.”

Firestorm took a deep breath. His suspicions had been confirmed, “She’s going on a camping trip with her two little friends, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and myself. I know you have her best interests at heart so if you do not want me going with them, I will explain the situation and excuse myself.”

“No,” Haven said, “Scootaloo is very independent, but very sensitive about being an orphan. As far as I know, none of her friends know about it and all we ask is you keep it a secret. Twilight Sparkle explained to us your unique nature, in excruciating detail, and we are content with you going camping with them, on the condition you promise to protect them to the fullest extent of your abilities.”

Firestorm bowed respectfully, “I swear I will protect them, and Scootaloo, with my life.” He stood up and looked out the window to where he could see the purple of Scootaloos’ mane, “And I will keep her secret.”

After what Scootaloo perceived to be forever, Firestorm opened the door and trotted outside. Scootaloo jumped on her scooter and revved her wings. Firestorm slimed at her, “Where are we going again?”

“Twilights’ place at the library. Try to keep up!” Scootaloo shouted as she disappeared in a cloud of dust. Firestorm spread his wings and took off after her. Scootaloo looked over her shoulder and saw nopony was following her. As she turned her head she saw Firestorm flying right beside her. Firestorm gave a devious grin as he began to fly faster. With a smirk of her own, Scootaloo accepted his challenge and began buzzing her wings faster and harder, trying to match her competitors speed. The journey to The Golden Oaks Library was relatively straight shot down Mane Street. Scootaloo focused only on the obstacles which laid ahead of her, dodging and weaving between ponies, jumping over debris, and maintaining a straight course towards her destination. Before she knew it, she was skidding to a halt inches away from the front door.

She looked around and saw no sign of the pony she had been racing. She felt a small sting of disappointment as she assumed Firestorm had beat her there and had already gone inside. She got off her scooter and opened the front door. The first pony she saw was Rainbow Dash flying excitedly through the library while Twilight ran down her checklist. “Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo yelled excitedly.

Rainbow Dash immediately found the source from which her name had been called and swooped down, scooped up the filly, and gave her a tight hug. “You ready to go squirt? Did you get Firestorm?”

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash in confusion, “We raced here, I thought he beat me.”

The front door swung open with a considerable amount of force and an elderly stallion who was the spitting image of Firestorm, accept for a beard as long as his neck, trotted inside on shaky hooves.

He looked around the room with confusion in his eyes until they landed on Scootaloo, “That’s the last time I accept a speed challenge against the fastest ground filly in all of Equeatria!” he said before standing straight up and falling onto his back.

Everypony exchanged glances of confusion before Firestorm brought his hind legs up to his chest, kicked so his entire body came off the ground, threw his front hooves forward, and landed standing upright and with his normal young appearance and a goofy smile on his face. Rainbow Dash broke out into a laughing fit and fell onto her side. Scootaloo simply stood looking at Firestorm with a perplexed look on her face. Twilight simply shook her head and went back to going over her checklist. As Rainbow Dash finally settled down and got back to her hooves Scootaloo took a step forward, “I really beat you?’

Firestorm nodded.

Rainbow Dash picked Scootaloo up and pulled her into a victory hug. Just as she set Scootaloo down, the front door opened and Applejack, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle trotted inside. “Is everypony ready to go?” Applejack asked.

“Yes,” Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Firestorm, and Scootaloo answered in unison.

“Well alright then, let’s get going!”


The sun was beginning to set as the group arrived at their first stop to camp for the night. As Firestorm helped everypony finish setting up their tents Applejack noticed his lack of any such protection. “Uh, Firestorm, did you forget to bring your stuff along?”

Firestorm looked around their campsite and located a tree. He spread his wings and flew towards a thick branch and latched onto it with his talons as his wings folded in at his sides and he fell back so that he was hanging upside-down from the tree branch. Firestorm looked up at the branch he was hanging onto and adjusted his talons grip on the branch. He looked down at his friends, “I didn’t forget what I didn’t need to bring. This will be a perfect place for me to sleep tonight.”

Everypony exchanged glances. “He also said he’s going to show us how he lived out here,” Scootaloo said.

Firestorm released his grip from the tree branch and glided down to the authentic campsite the mares and fillies would be sleeping in. “Need help with the fire?” he asked.

After a brief search everypony returned with dry wood to burn. Firestorm expertly arranged the wood into a pile which allowed air to easily be pulled into the center of the fire and started it with his pyrokinesis. Everypony sat down and shared stories accept for Firestorm who couldn’t stop thinking about Scootaloo and how much it hurt him to think about nopony wanting a wonderful little filly like her. A hoof on his shoulder startled Firestorm from his thoughts and back to reality. He looked to see Rainbow Dash looking back at him, “You okay hot shot? You haven’t said anything and Scootaloo just asked you if you had any camping stories,” Rainbow said.

Firestorm looked at Scootaloo and thought for a second, “Oh yeah, I got one, and it’s true,” he said with a wink.

“Just as long as it’s not too scary,” Scootaloo clarified.

Firestorm thought for a second, flew up into the air, and when he returned, his draconic traits were present. He walked over so the fire was between him and his friends. He flare his wings and began to control the fire so it became images as he told his story of the time Jolt helped the guard fight off the dragon invasion leaving out the more mature content of the story in the process. As he finished the story, everypony was amazed by the story and ready to go to bed. Firestorm calmed the fire so it would stay warm but keep away predators. As everypony went into their tents and said their goodnights, Firestorm quietly made his way away from the campsite.

Scootaloo woke up in the middle of the night. Her crossed hind legs and the slight pain in her stomach reminded her of how much water she had drank before going to sleep and was now feeling the consequences. She quietly slipped out of her sleeping bag and made her way out of the tent. Thanks to the moonlight illuminating the ground and her surroundings, she found a place where she could get some privacy while she relieved herself. While Scootaloo was squatting behind some shrubbery her mind became more aware as she remembered where Firestorm had chosen to sleep. She clenched her legs together and looked at the tree branch where he was supposed to be sleeping. She was both relieved and confused to see he wasn’t there.

Once she was finished, Scootaloo ventured around the campsite trying to find evidence to suggest where Firestorm had gone. Soon enough, she found the very distinct tracks he left leading away from the campsite. Scootaloo began following them and took careful note to make sure she knew how to get back to the campsite. Scootaloo trotted cautiously through the forest searching for another clue about Firestorms’ location after his tracks had disappeared. She knew better than to be wandering around the forest at night, especially after the last time she went camping, but she was compelled to find him. Just as she was ready to give up and return to camp, Scootaloo noticed a hilltop which seemed to be balancing the moon on its peak. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a figure there as well. Slowly and quietly she climbed the hill until she was just beside the figure she had seen. She looked up to the figures face and quietly asked, “Firestorm?”

The eyes of the creature she had addressed opened and immediately found her. Fear held Scootaloo in place as the draconic amber eyes stared at her. The creature quickly shifted its position and the next thing Scootaloo knew, she was on her back being held down by a dragons hand while the other hand came at her face with its claws extended. Scootaloo clenched her eyes shut before she could feel the inevitable pain her manner of death would bring.

Scootaloo felt something shift on her body but it didn’t bring pain, it was the relief of pressure on her chest as the creature removed a significant amount of its weight from off of her. She dared to open her eyes and saw the creature looking down at her.

“Scootaloo?” the creature asked.

“Firestorm?” Scootaloo asked in return, unsure as the creatures’ deep voice sounded alien to her ears.

Firestorm moved his hand off Scootaloos’ chest and slid it under her back and leaned her up and then forward until she was standing upright on her hooves. “My sincerest apologies little one, nopony has ever snuck up on me before, especially in my current state,” Firestorm said as he turned around to once again face the moon.

Scootaloo looked over Firestorms’ draconic body. She remembered the subtle changes which had taken place before he told his story around, and using, the camp fire, but how they were much more defined. She also noticed he was now three times her size as opposed to only twice her size like everypony else. Firestorm sat calmly while Scootaloo let his new appearance settle into her mind. “How do you make yourself look like this?” she asked eventually.

“Since I was about one hundred years old, I have been able to painlessly alter my appearance under the moons light. The moonlight relaxes me and allows me to take this more natural form at night. During the day I can make the subtle changes you saw earlier, but the changes are painful and require a lot of focus on my part to perform them.”

Scootaloo looked over him once more, “So… This is what you normally look like at night?”

Firestorm nodded.

“That is so cool!”

Firestorm smiled as he looked down at the young pegasus. A sudden gust of wind brought an unexpected chill which made Scootaloo shiver. “Are you cold?” Firestorm asked already knowing the answer.

Scootaloo only nodded her head. Firestorm swept his wing over her and brought her body close to his to share his warmth. Scootaloo didn’t object to the sudden contact, she welcomed it. Firestorm sensed her reasons and began to share his thoughts with her through his hive mind spell like he had done with Rainbow Dash the night before but he held back much of what he had shared with her from Scootaloo. He told Scootaloo what he had learned about her and promised to keep her secret. They talked for a long time before exhaustion finally overtook Scootaloo and she fell asleep.

Firestorm severed his mental connection with Scootaloo while she dreamt. He heard frantic wing beats approaching and looked in the direction they were coming from to see Rainbow Dash coming towards him. Rainbow landed and frantically said, “Firestorm, I woke up and Scootaloo wasn’t there, I looked around the campsite and saw you weren’t there so I came looking for you to help me find her because I knew that you-”

“Scootaloo is right here with me,” Firestorm said interrupting Rainbow Dash and directing her attention towards his right wing. Rainbow Dash moved closer and felt her heart flutter at the sight of the young filly sleeping beneath Firestorms’ wing. “Did you wake the others?” Firestorm asked.

“No, I was going to wake them if I couldn’t find you.”

Firestorm smiled and Rainbow Dash recognized the loving kindness behind it. She made her way around to the other side of Firestorm and laid down on the grass beside him. Firestorm spread his wing over her and created a mental bond with her. He told her how Scootaloo had come looking for him and what he told her about his shape shifting. He made sure to leave out the part about Scootaloo being an orphan. Before long, Rainbow Dash also fell asleep and Firestorm followed soon after. Firestorms’ wings remained spread over Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo the whole night.

> Chapter 14 - Camping - Day 2 Morning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firestorm slowly opened his eyes. It was still dark but the sun would be rising soon. He looked under his wings at the sleeping bodies of Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. They were both snuggled up beside him had barely moved since they fell asleep. Firestorm looked behind him at the setting moon and then turned around to where he could see the sunlight starting to reach over the horizon. Despite the beauty Celestia announced each new day with in her sunrises, Firestorm hated them. In his mind, a sunrise meant another day he had to think about everypony he had ever cared about and lost. This thought drew his attention to the mare and filly sleeping beside him. The other night made him realize how much he cared about them. Rainbow Dash was fun, energetic, competitive, and Firestorm could see himself staying in Ponyville even after he got the answers he was looking for his entire life just to be close to her.

Firestorm realized how comfortable she was around him despite how different he was and he really appreciated that. His thoughts about Rainbow Dash progressed until he came to a realization, he really liked her, and he had a sneaking suspicion, she felt the same way about him. Firestorm looked down at Rainbow Dash while she slept next to him under his wing. Very carefully he leaned his head down and kissed Rainbows’ forehead. A sudden tingle on his right side reminded him they were not alone. Firestorm turned his attention to Scootaloo, the orphan. Initially, Firestorm could not understand how somepony could just give up their newborn foal like they had with Scootaloo, but he realized whoever had carried Scootaloo had probably not been ready to properly care for her.

That thought didn’t make him any less upset. Yes, ponies have instincts, but unless they are ready to take care of a foal they need to exercise self-control. Firestorm literally shook the thoughts from his head. What’s done is done. Scootaloo is here now, and that’s all there is to it. He looked down at her again. She was a beautiful little filly, he could see a lot of Rainbow Dash in Scootaloo with her competitiveness and speed. But he wanted more for her, he wanted her to be happy, to have a normal life with a normal family. Everypony deserved at least that much.

Firestorms’ ear twitched in the direction of a sound coming from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Twilight making her way up the hill. She still hadn’t noticed him until Firestorm whispered “good morning” to her. Twilight looked at Firestorm and was about to return his greeting when she noticed he was not alone. A rainbow and purple tail lying parallel to Firestorms’ were her first clue.

“Scootaloo came looking for me, we talked and she fell asleep. I was going to bring her back to camp but Rainbow came looking for her, found me, we talked, she fell asleep, and then I fell asleep,” Firestorm said quietly when Twilight sat down on her haunches beside Scootaloo.

Twilight ran her hoof through Scootaloos’ mane, “I remember what you said about not being able to have foals of your own. But looking at you right now, I know you would make a great father.”

Firestorm swallowed hard and looked straight ahead. Twilight tried to make eye contact with him but he refused. She looked ahead at the sunlight peaking over the hills and soon realized she must have hit a sensitive spot with Firestorm just then.

I think I love them Firestorm thought to Twilight.

Twilight looked at Firestorm, then his glowing wings, then back up at his eyes which were still looking towards the sunrise. You think?

Yes, think. The last time I got this close to somepony was centuries ago. I’m not sure if I like Rainbow Dash because I have feelings for her or if it’s because she was not afraid of me and accepted me. Scootaloo I’m certain of though, she deserves to have somepony love her and I think I can provide it…

Twilight took a deep breath. I understand your concerns for your feelings for Rainbow and honestly, I’m glad…

Firestorm turned his head but still did not look directly at Twilight.

I’m glad because it means you’re afraid you might hurt her. Rainbow is all talk and show on the outside but she has feelings like any other mare, feelings which you considered by wanting to make sure what you felt for her was real.

Firestorm turned back towards the sunrise while Twilights’ insight sank in.

I don’t know what you’re talking about with Scootaloo, she has a home and parents who love her… Twilight thought.

Finally, Firestorm made eye contact with Twilight, but the emotion behind them was almost unreadable. What are her parents’ names?

Twilight hesitated. Haven and Homestead. If I’m not mistaken, you’re staying at the Ponyville Bed and Breakfast which they own.

Firestorm wasn’t sure if he should be offended or impressed with efforts to deceive him but he did know he was ready to call her bluff. As a matter of fact, it is. I even met their daughter, Vinyl Scratch.

Twilight swallowed hard.

Funny thing though, I never saw Scootaloo there. Oh well, maybe she was too busy sleeping over at her friend’s houses or at the orphanage she was dropped off at when she was just a newborn…

Twilights’ eyes went wide when she heard Firestorms’ thoughts. How did-

In addition to Haven and Homestead telling me themselves, I figured it out for myself when I noticed her wings are not properly developed, something which would only come from being denied her mother’s milk.

Twilight jumped up, staring at Firestorm as if he were a monster, and then turned and ran down the hill back towards the camp.

Firestorm looked down at Scootaloo. He pulled her in tighter under his wing and kissed her head and whispered, “Don’t worry baby girl, I’ll find a way to fix this…”

Twilight knew where the camp was, where Firestorm was, and what the truth was. Right now she knew she was off the direct path back to the camp and that was good enough for her. Twilight collapsed and began sobbing. Firestorm knew everything and it was all true. Scootaloo was orphaned at an age where it was curtail for her to receive milk from her mother in order for her to properly develop physically. Now Scootaloos’ wings were not properly developed and she would never fly. Twilight thought of all the nights she had spent trying to find a cure for Scootaloo when she learned the truth but to no avail. Twilight quickly lost track of time but she knew it wouldn’t matter, not right now.

After Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo woke up, Firestorm escorted them back th the campsite where Applejack, her sister, and Sweetie Belle had all finished making breakfast. Applejack was the first to notice their arrival, “Well there ya’ll are, Ah was about to send out a search party for ya but then Ah realized it’s just me and theses two,” Applejack said pointing to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, “Where’d ya’ll go anyhow?”

“I don’t sleep very often at night,” Firestorm started followed by Scootaloo, “And I went looking for him when I noticed he was gone last night,” and ending with Rainbow Dash,” And then I found both of them when I noticed Scootaloo was gone.”

“Well at least ya’ll got your stories straight,” Applejack said, “But where’s Twilight?”

“I’m right here,” Twilight said as she walked up behind Firestorm, Rainbow and Scootaloo.

Everypony noticed the puffiness around her eyes from when she had been crying, especially Applejack. “Twi are you alright? You look like you’ve been crying!”

Twilight wiped an eye with her foreleg, “It’s nothing. I think I might be having an allergic reatction to some of the plant life in this area…”

Being the element of honesty had its advantages and disadvantages, and right now, Applejack was taking advantage of being an organic lie detector.

Firestorm walked over to Twilight and touched his hoof to her chin while he examined her eyes, “Yep, jakausidious, we just need to wash the pollen away from your eyes with water. I think there’s a lake not too far from here…” Firestorm said as he led Twilight away from the camp.

Applejack was beside herself, she was so sure Twilight was lying until Firestorm confirmed it to be true. Applejack shook her head and went to start breaking down her tent.

Once they were a good distance away from the camp Twilight looked at Firestorm, “I studied a considerably amount of botany and I’ve never heard of anything called “jakausidious”.

Firestorm gave Twilight a smirk, “I made it up, and it’s actually the compound of two or three words…”

Twilight began to think and pronounce the one word in broken down forms with her mouth. After a minute her eyes went wide, “Jackass idiots!?”

Firestorm chuckled, “Yep!”

Twilight face hoofed but kept following Firestorm. Eventually they came to a clearing with a small flowing stream. Firestorm laid down on his belly near the water.

Twilight was unsure of what to do now, Firestorm seemed content with just sitting there. “How do you want to proceed?” Firestorm asked.

Twilight looked at him, “What?”

“Scootaloo, as far as we know, we are the only ones who know the truth about her physical and living conditions. How do you suggest we proceed?”

“Well, if Scootaloo wants to keep that a secret from her friends that’s her business and we should respect it. As far as her wings are concerned, I don’t know. I tried looking up spells to try and help correct them, but I found nothing accept articles which stated that at this point the damage is irreparable. Do you have a spell or something you think would help?”

“No. Even if I did, I almost blinded Derpy when I tried to help her and she is a single mother. For all I know, anything I try on Scootaloo could make her wings fall off altogether! She’s had a rough enough life as it is…”

“Firestorm, you did blind Derpy but you fixed it. You have no idea how greatful she was because you left right after Iris corrected and completed the spell. Derpy can not only see, she can see straight, and, for some odd reason, she can see in the dark now too.”

Firestorm looked at Twilight, “WHAT!?”

“It’s true. Apparently some of your magic was transferred over to her and gave her tapeta lucidum, which gave her night vision.”

Firestorm thought for a moment, “That was lucky, but Scootaloo is different, there has to be another way.”

Twilight simply shook her head.

“Then we’re done talking about this. Now, you said you wanted to observe me during this trip, before we go back and move on to our next campsite, let me show you some of the spells I’ve learned and perfected…”

“Um, okay.”

“Can you generate a shield spell?”

Twilight nodded and cast the shield spell around herself. In less than a second, a violet glow protected Twilight from any danger that threatened her. Firestorm looked at his side and levitated a rock as fast and as hard as he could towards Twilight. Her shield deflected the rock with ease. Firestorm got up and moved so he was inches away from the barrier of Twilights’ shield. Firestorm lifted his right front leg, shape shifted it into its form a dragons arm, and drove his hand through the shield, stopping less than an inch from Twilights’ muzzle.

Twilight looked at Firestorms’ hand, which he held with his fingers straight, and then looked at Firestorm as her shield spell failed and collapsed. “How-”

“A basic shield spell can be overridden if what hits it is protected by a damage control spell.”

Twilight simply stared at Firestorm. “When did you cast the damage control spell on yourself?”

“I didn’t, I was born with it. I think it’s what has kept me alive for so long…”

“No, not by itself. You would be able to die of starvation, dehydration, any number of things which a damage control spell wouldn’t be able to protect you against.”

Firestorm nodded in understanding as his arm shape shifted back, “True. Now, let me show you a spell which would protect against anything.” Firestorm reared up on his hind legs, flared his wings, and slammed his front hooves into the ground. Tiny blue diamonds grew up around Firestorm, expanding, connecting, and rising up over Firestorm where they met to complete the shield. Firestorm folded his wings in at his sides, “This is a diamond shield, it protects against any force because unlike a basic shield, it’s made to not let anything pass through it on either side. As you can see, it does better for defense, but unlike your spell, it doesn’t allow for any offense actions on the user’s part. What’s more, nopony can teleport in or out of it.” Firestorm concluded with dropping the diamond shield spell.

Twilight was amazed, “How long does it last?”

“It lasts until I reverse it. Diamond shields are extremely effective because they don’t rely on the caster for power, they use sunlight.”

“What! How many spells does it take to make a diamond shield?”

Firestorm thought for a second, “Here, it’ll be easier if I just showed you…” Firestorm turned his wing so the tip of his primary phalange touched the tip of Twilights’ horn. Twilight felt a surge of magic and the sudden knowledge of how to cast Firestorms’ diamond shield spell.

Twilight was about to comment on the sensation when Rainbow Dash landed beside them as Firestorm withdrew his wing. “You too done washing up yet? Applejacks’ got everything all packed up and is waiting for you guys so we can get going.”

“Yes, sorry, I’m ready if Firestorm is.”

Firestorm nodded and began trotting back towards the camp. Much to Twilights’ surprise, Rainbow Dash ceased flying and wedged herself between Twilight and Firestorm while the made their way back to the camp together. Nopony said anything but Twilight got the hint that Rainbow Dash wanted her to keep her distance from Firestorm. Twilight realized she would have sit down with Rainbow Dash and explain to her that she would need time alone to work with Firestorm until they went to Canterlot to see Celestia and Luna but that she would stay professional during such times.

True to her word, Applejack had everything packed up and ready to go just like Rainbow Dash had said. Once they regrouped, they moved on towards their next campsite.

A two hour hike led the group to another small clearing, this time, by a lake. Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash began setting up their tents while Firestorm was summoned to the water by the ever energetic cutie mark crusaders to play with them. Despite the water being somewhat cold, Firestorm obliged and before long, a thrilling game of Marco Polo was underway. Firestorm was amazed at each of the fillies amazing tactic of finding her friends. Scootaloo would call out Marco, and when her prey called out Polo, she propelled herself forward with her wings in the direction she heard them call out from. Sweetie Belle would call out Marco, and when her friends responded she would splash water towards them and tag whomever she splashed while they were shaking the water out of their mane. However, none compared to the skill Applebloom demonstrated. She would sit perfectly still and call out Marco. When the others called out Polo, she would slowly make her way towards the pony of her choosing. She would listen and follow the sound of the water moving while the pony was seeking tried to make their escape.

Once in a while, Firestorm got tagged but he wasn’t “it” for very long. Using Scootaloo and Appleblooms’ tactics combined, Firestorm used his echolocation abilities to track and powerful wings to attack whomever he was seeking. As the sun perched itself at the peak of the sky, everypony was ready for lunch. As the cutie mark crusaders left the water, Firestorm remembered seeing fish beneath the surface. He took a deep breath and dove underwater. Scootaloo turned to see if he was following but stopped when she didn’t see him at all. “Hey, where’s Firestorm?”

Everypony looked around the campsite, the trees, and the lake but there was no sign of him. Almost a minute past before a fish suddenly leapt a good 4 hoof lengths out of the water. Not even a second later the surface of the water exploded as Firestorm followed the fish into the air, grabbed it in his powerful jaws and sharp teeth, before splashing back down in the water with the entire upper half of his body above the water. Everypony watched slack jawed as Firestorm tossed the fish into the air, caught it head first in his mouth, and then swallowed it whole. Firestorm looked at everypony staring back at him, “What?”

“What the hay was that?” Applejack asked.

“Salmon, I think…” Firestorm said casually.

“You eat fish?” Twilight asked as surprised as she was disgusted at the idea.

“Yup!”

A buzzing sound interrupted any further questions as everyponies attention was drawn to Scootaloo as her wings buzzed erratically, “That was so awesome!”

Firestorms’ smile revealed his sharp curved teeth which only caused Twilight more concern. Bat ponies were more closely related to fruit bats, their diet never consisted of anything other than fruit. Initially, she thought his fangs were a simple byproduct of such, but now all his teeth had the same curved design only seen in carnivorous predators. Firestorm flew up into a nearby tree and latched onto a branch with his talons then allowed himself to fall back until he was upside-down, “Well, enjoy your lunch ponies, I’m gonna catch some Z’s…” Firestorm growled playfully.
> Chapter 15 - Camping - Day 2 Attacked
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firestorm let his eyes slowly open as he woke up. He looked down at his stomach which meant he was looking up into the sky. By his calculations, he had been asleep for roughly two hours. He tried to determine the time based on the suns location, but dark storm clouds hindered his efforts. Firestorm stretched out his front legs, wings, and back all while hanging from the tree. As he finished his stretch, Firestorm heard a subtle snore come from a nearby branch. He looked around at the limbs until he found the source of the snoring. Rainbow Dash was on the branch just beneath his with a pillow and a blanket sleeping peacefully.

Firestorm shook his head and looked straight ahead at the ground beneath him. He released his grip on the tree branch and fell, twisting and turning to avoid branches on his way towards the earth. At the seemingly last possible moment, Firestorm front flipped, flared his wings, and landed on his talons. Firestorm trotted to the campsite and looked around. Nopony was in their tent, there was firewood but no fire, and limited hoof traffic suggested they didn’t stay too long after setting up camp and having lunch. Firestorm looked around for any sign of where they had gone. When he found nothing, he took a battle ready stance, flared his wings, and sent out a wave of blue light in every direction around him. After a few seconds passed the wave returned. Firestorms’ eyes shot open and he took off into the sky.

The cutie mark crusaders darted through the forest with Applejack and Twilight in tow. Twilight had suggested they go for a walk while Firestorm and Rainbow Dash napped and the three fillies were all too excited to comply at the possibility of earning their cutie marks in forest exploration. Applejack loved the fresh air and was enjoying her time away from apple bucking, but she could see something was bothering Twilight, “You alright there Sugar Cube?”

Twilight snapped from her daze, “Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry…”

“Aint nothin’ ya need to apologize there for Twi, ya just seemed a might distracted.”

Twilight looked ahead at the young fillies scampering off into the distance, but not too far to cause any concern, “No, it’s just the weather moved in so quickly, I was thinking we should return to camp before it starts raining.”

Applejack nodded, “Sky did turn shady awful fast, maybe we should turn back…”

Twilight let out a sigh, “I’m sorry Applejack; I know you were enjoying the walk, but I just think it would be safer if we were at the campsite.”

“Well you’re probably right, don’t want to get lost out here at night and in the rain. Applebloom! Get you and yer friends back here, we’re headin' back to camp,” Applejack called out.

Silence

“Applebloom, did ya hear me?”

Silence

Twilight and Applejack exchanged concerned looks. In that same moment, they noticed a complete lack of any sound at all. There were no frogs croaking, no birds chirping, no insects buzzing, even the wind seemed to move silently between the leaves of the surrounding trees. The two mares looked back to where they had last seen the fillies and burst into a full gallop.

“Applebloom!”
“Girls!”

The trail became bottlenecked between two large oak trees and just as Applejack and Twilight came to them, two large timber wolves jumped out from behind either tree. The mares skidded to a stop and turned to see three more timber wolves flanking them. Suddenly the shrieks of the cutie mark crusaders reached the ears of the two mares currently encircled by five snarling timber wolves. Applejack felt as if her heart had been stabbed with a dull knife at the sound of her sister crying out for help while she was powerless to do any such thing. The wolves began to close in and as one made lunged for Applejack it was stopped short by a purple aura surrounding its intended prey. Applejack looked at Twilight who was casting a shield spell, “We need to save my sister and her friends!” Applejack cried.

“If I drop the shield spell the wolves will be on us in seconds,” Twilight argued.

“Twilight, if I lose my sister because I was cowering under a shield while she was torn apart by some damn wolves, I won’t be alive tomorrow to see the sunrise!”

Twilight's eyes widened as tears threatened to paint here cheeks. She knew how serious family was to Applejack and how physically and emotionally strong she was, but if Applebloom died scared and alone, it would be more than enough to push Applejack to suicide. Twilight nodded in understanding, “Alright, we go on “3” when I drop the shield, ready?”

Applejack nodded and turned towards the closest timber wolf orbiting the shield.

“1…” both mares felt their body’s tense, ready to spring into action. “2…” This was it, once the shield fell, Applejack and Twilight would have only seconds to repel the wolves.

“3!”

Twilight and Applejack looked towards the source of the voice who had called “3” and were shocked as the shadowy form of Firestorm brushed past Twilight’s shield. Firestorm grabbed a wolf by the throat and pinned it to a tree. Now that he was standing still, Twilight and Applejack were granted a moment to take truly take in the features of his new form. Only his legs below the knee were visible as his body seemed to be composed of a dense black smoke and 50% larger. His head had changed so that his maw was longer and bore sharp teeth and fangs. Finally, his wings and front legs had merged together which resulted in his wings being three times their original length, with his claws joined at the wrist of his wings.

Firestorm held the timber wolf against the tree with his left hand and then brought his right arm back before delivering a punch to the wolf’s stomach so hard it made the mares watching cringe. Almost immediately Firestorm delivered another equally powerful hit to the wolf’s chest. Firestorm dropped the wolf which gasped aimlessly for air before its body went limp. Firestorm turned around to see another wolf flying towards his face. Without a second of hesitation, Firestorm thrust his right fist down the timber wolf’s throat, twisted his wrist, and watched to wolf hit the ground after his limb seemed to fade through its being.

Two wolves jumped for Firestorm at the same time, both were caught midair by the throat. One was caught in his right talon and forced onto the ground, the other was caught in his left hand before its body was slammed into the ground with enough force to create a small crater. Firestorm twisted his right leg and a loud crack echoed from the wolf’s neck. Firestorm looked at the last timber wolf standing and glared at it. The wolf returned his glare, bore its teeth, and growled before darting towards Firestorm. Firestorm waved his open hand in front of the wolf which exploded in a brilliant flash of blue light and flames.

Firestorm glared at Twilight and Applejack as Twilights shield spell collapsed. “The fillies!” Twilight cried.

Firestorms flared his wings as they became like a shadowy black smoke like the rest of his body. He lifted off the ground and beat his wings just once and he flew off with speed which could easily rival that of Rainbow Dash. All Twilight and Applejack saw take off into the forest was the shadow that was Firestorms body. Applejack and Twilight were about to follow after him when they heard Rainbow Dash overhead call out, “What the hay happened here!?” Before either mare could answer, Rainbow looked around at the dead timber wolves.

“We need to save mah sister n' her friends, Firestorm took off after them…” Applejack said pulling Rainbow Dash out of her shock of the violent scene before her. The three mares took off into a full gallop after the fillies and Firestorm.

The CMC bounced happily through the forest, oblivious to the fact they had lost sight of their guardians or the approaching danger. Hungry wolves watched from a safe distance while they coordinated their attack. A particular wolf moved in on Scootaloo. Just before the wolf was close enough to grab her, a stray twig snapped beneath the weight of the wolf’s paw. Scootaloo loked over her shoulder and screamed at the sight of the timber wolf’s bright yellow eyes. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle screamed when they turned to see what had scared their friend and instinctively took off galloping away from the wolf, deeper into the woods.

Scootaloo was at the last in the line of scared running fillies. As she jumped to clear a fallen tree, an agonizing pain burn in her right hind leg around her knee. She clung to the tree she had tried to jump over when she felt herself start getting pulled backwards by her leg. She glanced over her shoulder to see a timber wolf biting down on her leg. Tears streamed down her cheeks at the sight of the wolf, the pain, and all the blood seeping from her wound. The wolf began to violently shake its head back and forth trying to make Scootaloo release her grip on the tree. Despite the nauseating pain, Scootaloo held tight to the tree as she cried out in pain.

The wolf’s determination ceased as Firestorm flew past it, arcing his wing so it severed the wolf’s head from its body. Firestorm landed in front of Scootaloo and telekinetically pulled her friends back towards him just as three more wolves revealed themselves. Firestorm threw his hands out and pushed them down towards the ground which caused the wolves to collapse under some invisible weight. The wolves yelped in pain but Firestorm clenched his hands into fists as the wolves all burst into flames. Firestorm turned and shifted back to his pony form as Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash arrived at the horrific scene.

Firestorm levitated Applebloom and Sweetie Belle over to Applejack who accepted and hugged them gratefully. She held the fillies close to her form so they couldn't see their friend in such a sickening state. Rainbow Dash herself was fighting nausea and the urge to break down into tears, neither would be in anyway helpful to Scootaloo in her current state. Firestorm moved over to Scootaloo, her screams of pure agony pierced his heart, he turned to Twilight and the others, "We need to get back to the camp, now. Everypony stand around me."

Everypony did as instructed, Applejack having placed her hat upon the uninjured fillies to prevent them from seeing the other. Beneath the visual protection of the hat, Applebloom and Sweetie sobbed at the sounds of Scootaloo crying which the hat could not protect them from. Once in a circle, Firestorm rose up on his hind legs and spread his glowing wings. A flash of intense light momentarily blinded everypony, and when they could see again, they were standing only seconds away from their campsite. Applejack ushered her sister and Sweetie to their tent so she could calm and soothe the traumatized fillies.

Firestorm lifted Scootaloo onto his back and brought her into Twilight's tent. The filly was unable to stop crying but she was slowly exhausting herself. Twilight quickly retrieved her first aid kit and a book regarding severe injuries in the wilderness. After a brief reading she applied a considerable amount of alcohol to the fillies wound which renewed her pain and energy levels for crying. Twilight was about to wrap the wound but quickly read a spell for determining the severity of an injury and, upon finishing, cast the spell on Scootaloo's leg. Twilight knew just by looking the injury was bad but the spell had revealed extensive muscle damage and tearing, heavy blood loss, permanent damage to numerous tendons, which if treated properly and an incredible amount of luck, Scootaloo would be able to keep her leg and walk with a considerable limp, but a full gallop would be impossible, and finally, despite the quick application of alcohol, an infection was already starting to spread.

As her cries echoed throughout the tent, Firestorm could bear no more. He moved over to the broken filly and, shifting his hoof into a dragon hand, inserted a claw into her neck through her mane. Scootaloo quickly stopped crying and her breathing became more steady before she blacked out. The two mares looked at Firestorm, "I just sedated her and injected a neurotoxin to stop the pain, don't worry, it won't have any long term effects, but she will be numb for a good while..."

Twilight looked at her first aid kit, "that's probably better than anything I have in here," she said gesturing to the white plastic box.

"So what do we do now Twilight?" Rainbow asked.

"She has an infection and her leg is... well... there's not much holding it on... I'd like to get her to a hospital but I'm afraid moving her might do more harm than good."

"How much harm?" Rainbow asked.

"She could lose her leg completely..."

Rainbow Dash slowly fell back onto her haunches.

"If we do nothing, she could lose her life. With her sedated though, I think it would be best to observe her condition for the next hour and if it gets worse, we'll need to decide what to do then..."

Rainbow nodded in agreement and curled up around Scootaloo, careful not to come into contact with her damaged leg. Firestorm and Twilight sat in relative silence until the hour was up.

Twilight cast the spell again and felt her heart break at the result. The infection was still spreading and her leg had taken a turn for the worst.

"What is it?" Rainbow asked when she saw Twilight's expression.

"The infection is spreading and her leg is... it's dead..."

"Twilight, what do you mean her leg is dead?"

"We'll need to move quickly to get her to the hospital, Firestorm I want you to carry her, and be careful, I don't want anymore damage than there has to be. Rainbow I want you-"

"What do you mean her leg is dead!?" Rainbow interrupted, her face a mix of anger, fear, and sadness.

"It means exactly what it sounds like, the doctors will be able to safely amputate the infected part of her leg and save her life but only if we get moving, the longer we wait, the farther the infection will spread..."

"No... NO!" Rainbow cried, "We can't let this happen, it's not fair! I... She..."

"Rainbow, I'm sorry but-"

"Hold her down."

Rainbow and Twilight looked at Firestorm, "What?" They asked in unison.

"I said hold her down, I can amputate her leg, cauterize the wound, and destroy the infection all at once but I need you to hold her down while I do..."

"No Firestorm. we need to get her to a hospital and-"

"We won't make it in time, the distance, the rate the infection is spreading, it will take too long. She'll be dead by the time we walk through the front door."

"No, you're wrong, Twilight we-"

"Do as he says Rainbow..."

"What!?"

"He's right, we're out of time, hold her still..."

Rainbow looked between Firestorm, Twilight, and Scootaloo, seconds later she screamed "Damn you," before gently falling over Scootaloo.

Twilight laid down on the other side of Scootaloo and rested her right leg and wing across Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo while her left hoof covered Scttoaloo's mouth.

The two mares looked back at Firestorm. “Keep her still, keep her quiet, and please, don’t look.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash nodded and looked away. Firestorm looked back at Scootaloos leg which was still bleeding, “I’m so sorry.”

Firestorm altered his appearance so he had draconic arms, hands, claws. He placed his right hand on Scootaloos upper thigh and his left hand on her ankle. Taking a deep breath, Firestorm drew his wing across Scootaloos leg between the wound and his hands. Scootaloo began to writhe in pain and scream in her throat as Firestorm severed her leg from her body. Rainbow Dash looked back at Firestorm out of the corner of her eye just as he lifted Scootaloos severed leg away from her body. Again, she resisted the urge to vomit but let her tears flow freely as Scootaloo's ability to walk was completely taken from her.

Firestorm held Stootaloo's leg in his right hand while he continued to hold her thigh in his left. Something tingled in his hands, like an energy between the leg and its owner. Firestorm couldn't explain why it felt right to do what he did but he obeyed his instincts, closed his eyes, and covered the severed, shattered leg in blue flames. As the fire consumed the limb, the flames traveled up his arm, across his shoulders, and down his left arm where the flames began to burn around the location there Scootaloos leg had been amputated. Instead of burning up and destroying anymore flesh though, flesh and bone began to grow and reconstruct her leg. Almost a full minute passed and Firestorm released Scootaloos thigh.

The second Firestorm let go of her, Scootaloo stopped crying. Twilight and Rainbow Dash exchanged glances and then looked at Scootaloo who was breathing heavily with her eyes tightly closed. Twilight released Scootaloos maw and Rainbow Dash got off her back. They both looked down her body until their eyes came to rest on her right leg. There was a black scar of a dragon's palm on her thigh and her entire leg below the knee was charcoal gray, just like Firestorms fur color. They both looked up and were shocked at what they saw staring back at them. Firestorms entire body looked like a dragon, his wings were tattered, there were deep gashes and cuts bleeding all over his body, and half the skin on the right side of his muzzle was altogether gone.

Firestorm looked down at Scootaloo, “I… She had already been through enough in life. I wasn’t about to let her be crippled the rest of her life. She deserves better…” Firestorm got up on all four legs and limped away, favoring his right hind leg. Scootaloo began to regain her senses and shook her head. Rainbow Dash nearly teleported to her side, “Scootaloo, are you okay?”

“I think so, I remember running from the timber wolves but I think I fell and hit my head because I can’t remember anything after that…” Scootaloos eyes went wide, “Where is everypony else, are they okay?”

“They’re fine sweetie, your friends are with Applejack in her tent,” Twilight assured her.

Scootaloo sat back on her haunches and rubbed her head with her hoof. When she opened her eyes she jumped back at the sight of her right leg having turned charcoal gray, “What the hay happened to my leg?!”

Rainbow Dash and Twilight exchanged brief glances, “Sweetie, One of the wolves got ahold of your leg and practically tore it off. Firestorm did something to it and now it’s healed but for whatever reason, it’s now the same color as his fur.”

Scootaloo sat back further on her rump and noticed the claw shaped scar on her high, “What happened there?” she asked pointing to the scar.

Rainbow Dash stepped forward, "Scootaloo, he asked us not to watch what he was doing but I peeked, he had completely cut off your leg.”

All the color drained from Scootaloos face, “What?”

Twilight moved to inspect Scootaloos right leg. Twilight touched the orange fur of Scootaloos leg, “Can you feel that?”

“Yes,” Scootaloo replied.

Twilight touched her leg where the scar was, “Can you feel that?”

Scootaloo nodded.

Twilight touched the gray part of her leg, “Do you feel that?”

“Yes, now what is going on?”

“I have no idea. We need to find Firestorm.”

Firestorm limped until he found a small stream of water. He approached the water’s edge and began drinking. Once he was full he laid out on the bank to rest. He remembered what he had done to Scootaloo, the pain he had caused to save her leg. It was the only thing he knew to do to save her leg but he felt the end didn’t justify the means. The memory of the sound of her screaming made him want to vomit. Firestorm rolled over and sat up on his haunches. Most of his characteristics were once again like that of a pony, but he knew Twilight and Rainbow Dash had seen more of him than he intended and they would have questions he didn’t have the answers to.

Firestorm moved to look at his reflection in a calm spot in the water. By his calculations, his wounds were 90% healed. He would need plenty of rest and food before he cast any of his more powerful spells. His ears twitched at the sound of somepony approaching. “Don’t ask me any questions because I don’t have any answers,” he said bluntly as he closed his eyes.

Firestorm suddenly felt himself forced onto his back and opened his eyes to see Scootaloo hugging his chest. She had tears running down her cheeks but she wasn’t bawling. Firestorm wrapped his hooves around her back and returned her hug, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” he cried softly.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash watched from a distance. Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash, “I’m going to go back to camp and let the others know Scootaloo is okay.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, “What are we gonna tell them when they see Scootaloos legs are two different colors?”

“We’re just going to tell them the truth that we have no idea what Firestorm did but whatever it was, it saved her leg. 

Rainbow Dash nodded again, “Sounds good to me.”

Twilight looked back at Scootaloo and Firestorm once more before teleporting back to camp. Rainbow Dash sat down on her haunches and watched Firestorm hold Scootaloo in his warm apologetic hug.

Scootaloo had been exhausted by the day’s events and had fallen asleep on Firestorms chest during the prolonged hug. Firestorm began to gently stroke her mane and neck while she slept. Eventually he leaned forward and whispered into her ear, “I am so sorry I hurt you. I promise I will never hurt you again, Shadow Light.”
> Chapter 16 - Camping - Day 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firestorm and Rainbow Dash returned to camp trotting beside each other with Scootaloo sleeping soundly on Firestorms back. As they came into view of the camp Scootaloos friends fan over to them calling Scootaloos name and bombarding the two with questions. Rainbow Dash tried to shush the fillies but the damage was already done. Scootaloo let out a yawn and stretched her legs and back all while staying balanced on Firestorms back. When she was done with her stretch, Scootaloo looked at her friends and jump off of Firestorm where she was tackled into a hug.

“We were so worried about you!” Applebloom cried.

“Yeah, Twilight said something happened to your leg, are you alright?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Scootaloo pulled away from the hug as Twilight and Applejack approached the group. “Yeah, I guess a wolf got a hold of my leg and Firestorm used his magic to heal me and, well now…” Scootaloo sat flat on her bottom and stretched out her right led revealing the scar and the new coloration. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle stared slack jawed at the scar. Applejack looked over Scootaloos leg and then turned towards Twilight.

While the fillies began talking about how cool it looked for Scootaloos leg to be two different colors in addition to the fearsome scar, Twilight approached Firestorm, “Can we talk for a moment?”

Firestorm nodded and trotted after the princess without making any sound as he moved. Once they were earshot away from the others Twilight turned around to face Firestorm, “Okay, how did you do that. I looked at her leg and I knew just by looking at it there was no way she would ever walk on it again. Plus, I thought you didn’t know healing magic, if you can amputate a damaged limb, cast a spell and the limb regenerates, why couldn’t you save Fluttershys rabbit, Angel?”

Firestorm took a long deep breath, “A pony’s limb and organ failure are two different things, especially in a rabbit. Plus you’re right, I don’t know healing magic. I used my pyrokinesis and a mild damage control spell to break down, and rematerialized it on her body.”

“How were you able to do that?”

Firestorm held up his hoof which shape shifted into a dragons hand and then back into a hoof, “Marrow and muscular tissue augmentation is sorta my thing.”

“Oh, right,” Twilight said sheepishly.

The sun wouldn’t besetting for another hour or so but Firestorm felt himself becoming drowsy and put a hoof to his head, “Ugh, I don’t suppose you brought an extra tent by chance? Healing Scootaloo like I did really took a lot out of me and I honestly think it would be too dangerous for me to do my hang-from-a-tree-like-a-bat thing…”

Twilight smiled, “You’re in luck I always pack extra everything in case of emergencies.” Twilight went into her tent and returned levitating a small black box. Firestorm cocked an eyebrow. Twilight smiled, “Pinkie Pie gave it to me, she got it from her top supplier of, according to her, everything,” Twilight positioned the box close to the other tents and pushed the little red button near the carrying handle. The box sprung open and a tent spontaneously assembled. Twilight looked back at Firestorm and smiled, “Pinkie said the woodland camo was the only color option they had for this but I’m sure you won’t mind.”

“I’m cool with camo,” Firestorm shrugged.

Twilight opened the tent, “Like Pinkie Pie showed me, it comes with a sleeping bag, a pillow, a first aid kit (which was bigger than the box the tent came in), a deck of playing cards, a bag of trail mix, some bottles of water, and a flashlight.”

Firestorm stood at the opening of the tent with his mouth ajar, “There has gotta be some kind of spell on this stuff…”

“If you find it, let me know what it is,” Twilight said with a smirk, “Sleep well.”

Firestorm entered the tent and looked around, he heard hoof steps approaching and asked, “Did you forget to tell me there’s a shower in here too or something?”

“Um, no…” came the reply from a voice that didn’t belong to Twilight.

Firestorm turned around to see Scootaloo standing in the doorway of the tent shifting nervously. Firestorm swallowed hard, “Hey kiddo, um, what’s up?”

Scootaloo looked at her hooves, “Well, see I was wondering, I heard you say you were getting tired, and the thing is I was also… can I sleep with you in your tent?”

Firestorm looked over her head and saw Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack standing a safe distance from the tent. He looked down at the filly and then back to the three mares who nodded with approval. Firestorm looked back down at Scootaloo, “Yes that will be fine.”

“Thank you!” Scootaloo beaming with joy.

Firestorm laid down on his stomach on the open sleeping bag and much to his surprise, Scootaloo cuddled up right beside him. Firestorm closed the screen part of the tent to keep any bugs out but left the door open for the most part for personal reasons. Scootaloo fidgeted as she seemed to squish herself even further into Firestorms right side before looking up at him with a smile. Firestorm returned the smile but it quickly faded.

Scootaloo looked at him with some confusion, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just…” Firestorm took a deep breath, “Sweetie I am so sorry for what I did to you. I didn’t know what else to do and I knew I couldn’t…” Firestorm was stopped by a small orange hoof on his mouth.

Scootlaoo drew back her hoof, “You did what you had to do to save my leg, I’m glad you did. Besides…” Scootaloo stretched out her right leg and quickly examined it, “I think it looks pretty cool.”

Firestorm looked at her charcoal colored leg until she drew it in under her belly and looked back up at him. Firestorm had so many conflicting emotions about not only what he had done to repair the damage done to her leg, but how he felt about the filly altogether. After a moment of silence, and with sleep threatening to take him at any second, Firestorm decided to act. He leaned his head down and kissed her forehead and then said, “I love you kiddo.”

Scootaloo had begun blushing when Firestorm kissed her forehead but now she was on the verge of tears as she managed to say back, “I love you too.”

Firestorm laid his head down on the sleeping bag and Scootaloo rested her head on Firestorms neck and they both fell asleep almost at the same time.

Twilight had cast an invisibility spell on herself and her friends as they observed the tender moment between Firestorm and Scootaloo. They ushered the fillies away from the tent and answered their questions about the new bond between their friend and Firestorm and explained about Scootaloo being an orphan and why she had never told them. As the night progressed, the mares and fillies ate dinner, sat by the fire, and eventually went to bed. Before she did so, Twilight looked in at the sight of Firestorm and Scootaloo still sleeping soundly. She closed the door of their tent all the way and returned to her own tent and went to sleep.


Applejack was the first to wake up the next morning, as always. She was up before the sunrise but there was just enough light for her to see where she was going around the camp site. After performing her typical morning routing, she decided to check on the others starting with Firestorm and Scootaloo. With a steady hoof which could impress even Rarity, Applejack quietly unzipped the tent door and peered inside. What she saw made her pull away and rust to the neighboring tents to wake Rainbow Dash and Twilight to show them what she had seen. Needless to say, Rainbow Dash was considerably put out about being awoken before the sun had come up. Twilight was already in the process of waking up when Applejack came into her tent to get her.

They followed Applejack to the spare tent Pinkie Pie had provided and looked inside. Firestorm was fully spread out over his sleeping bag with every limb stretched out in every direction underneath him. Scootaloo was laid out upside down on top of his back. The mares tried to contain their laughter at the adorable sight but failed to do so when Firestorms’ eyes blinked open, his amber yellow eyes reflecting the light which was invading his tent. The mares smiled and waved innocently at him and finally gestured to Scootaloo stretched across his back. Scootaloo reached down with her hoof, scratched her belly, and let out a tiny burp which made everypony giggle. Scootaloos’ ear twitched and her eyes shot open. She threw her front hooves upward so they touched the ground. Firestorm quickly stood up as Scootaloos’ hind legs coiled up to her chest and then shot forward launching her into the air with some help from a flap of her wings. She did a midair half twist and landed on her hind legs in a kung fu style battle ready stance on Firestorms’ back.

The mares who had been giggling at an adorable sight now stood in shock at what stood before them. Scootaloos’ magenta eyes were glowing much like Firestorms’ eyes were. She took a few sharp breaths as her heart rate began to slow down before front flipping off of Firestorms’ back and once again landing only on her hind legs. She twisted the upper half of her body making her spine crack. Then she flexed her wings which let out two loud pops as the joints reached their limits. She leaned forward and supported all of her weight on her front hooves while spreading her hind legs until her hips popped. Firestorm looked away as her current stance was quite compromising. Finally Scootaloo arched her back and landed on all four hooves after a front walkover.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack turned their surprised gaze to Twilight. Twilight looked up from Scootaloo to Firestorm, “I think I’m beginning to understand now. Some of the properties of your magic must be infectious. That’s why Derpy had night vision and Scootaloo has… well, whatever that all just was!”

Scootaloo looked up at Firestorm and smiled, “I feel amazing!”

Firestorm returned the smile, leaned down, and kissed her head like he had the night before. He looked up at Twilight, “So what now?”

Twilight thought for a moment, “I have absolutely no idea!”

Scootaloo smiled at Twilight, “Who cares? I want to show Applebloom and Sweetie Belle,” she took a running start and flew out of the tent and clear over Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo stopped midair after clearing her honorary big sister, hovering above the ground as the realization hit her that she was flying. Despite his initial shock, Firestorm shifted into his ghost form, flew through Twilight and Rainbow Dash, shifted into his draconic form, grabbed Scotaloo by her midsection, back flipped, and threw her into the air, “Yeah kiddo, you’re doing it, you’re flying!” Firestorm yelled with unbridled joy.

Scootaloo began to embrace the wonderful feeling of flying and began to test her limits, flying low and maneuvering between trees. In the midst of his excitement, Firestorm had accidently woke up Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. “What in tarnation is going on out here?” Applebloom demanded.

Her answer came in the form of Scootaloo performing a high velocity flyby right in front of them. She quickly turned around and hovered in front of them, “You guys, check it out, I’m flying!”

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other and then let out a joyful shriek before tackling their friend in a celebratory hug. Applejack leaned over to Rainbow Dash, who had never took her eyes off Scootaloo from the moment she flew out of the tent, “Ah thought she was never going to be able to fly like a normal pegasus?” she whispered.

“WHAT!?” Scootaloo called out from beneath her friends.

Everypony turned their attention to her as she quickly freed herself and looked at Rainbow Dash, “You knew?” she asked as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Rainbow Dash looked at Scotaloo and then to Firestorm. Scootaloo pushed her friends away and moved towards Rainbow Dash flaring her wings and lowering her head as she moved closer, “You knew there was something wrong with me and you didn’t tell me?”

Rainbow Dash shifted nervously, “Scoots, I-”

“No! You should have told me! Every pegasus I know my age can fly when I can barely hover, and all this time you knew something was wrong with me and you kept it a secret, trying to teach me how to fly when you knew it was pointless!?”

Rainbow Dash was at a loss for words. After a long silence she finally opene her mouth to speak but Scootaloo wouldn’t hear it. Scootaloo hissed loudly at Rainbow Dash to keep her quiet and then let a growl echo in her throat just before she leapt into the air and flew off.

Rainbow Dash looked around at her friends as tears formed in her eyes, her body began to shake violently, and she began to hyperventilate. In a split second she collapsed crying and swearing at herself for how she had hurt the filly who loved her more than anypony else. Applejack quickly moved in to comfort her friend while Twilight moved towards Applebloom and Sweetie Belle to usher them away from the scene. She glanced over at Firestorm and gave him a knowing nod of approval.

Firestorm shifted into his ghost form as his front hooves became claws and fused with his wings, growing to three times their original length while his body became like shadowy smoke, and his hind legs and hooves became talons before taking off after Scootaloo. Twilight took the remaining two crusaders and made them breakfast and explained everything to them while Applejack calmed Rainbow Dash.

Scootaloo was flying. For the first time in her life, she not only flew on her own, but she understood why pegasi would fly whenever they were emotional. She flew just over the clouds and watched as the sun rose above them. She glanced over her shoulder at Firestorm who was keeping her pace but minding his distance. Scootaloo slowed herself so she was flying parallel with Firestorm.

Firestorm for his part seemed to fly with much more grace than Scootaloo. Because of his larger wingspan, Scootaloo beat her wings 3 to 5 times to match his 1. After about ten minutes Scootaloo broke the silence, “If she knew I couldn’t fly why didn’t she tell me?

Firestorm glanced at Scootaloo out of the corner of his eye, “I believe she was trying to protect you…”

“Protect me, how, by lying to me!?”

“When we were at the lake together, I sensed something was wrong with your wing development, I asked her about it and she said she was going to help you to fly…”

“But what if she hadn’t? What if you hadn’t come along and healed me? What then?”

Firestorm quickly propelled himself forward, rolled over, and back winged so he could look directly at Scootaloo, “If I hadn’t come along, you’d be dead right now along with your friends…”

Scootaloos mind flashed back to the fire, and then again to the wolf attack. She shook the thoughts from her head and looked up at Firestorm.

“We can’t change what has already happened, we just have to accept things as they are and look ahead to what will come next.”

Scootaloo nodded her head after pondering on Firestorms words. Firestorm rolled over and flew correctly besides Scootaloo, “Are you ready to go back to the camp?”

“Can we keep flying a little longer? It’s the first time I ever flew on my own before and it feels amazing!”

Firestorm nodded, “Absolutely kiddo.”





Rainbow Dash felt sick to her stomach. She had let her imagination come up with all kinds of horrible possibilities where Scootaloo had never learned how to fly and left her emotionally shattered. Firestorm was right, she had been giving Scootaloo false hope for so long that even though she could now fly, it was still just as painful when the truth slipped out. She sat in the same place she had been when Scootaloo lashed out at her over an hour ago, never taking her eyes off the sky in anticipation of the young pegasus return.

Twilight approached Rainbow Dash with a paper plate of warm oatmeal, warm applesauce, and a canteen of water. Rainbow Dash thanked her for the food but never looked away from the sky.

“Don’t worry Rainbow Dash, Firestorm is with her.”

“It doesn’t matter Twi, I screwed up…”

“You did what you thought was right, you tried to protect her from the truth, you gave her hope-”

“I lied to her Twilight! I promised her I would teach her how to fly even though I knew there was almost no chance she ever would!”

Twilight thought on her words for a moment, “Well, she can fly now, and you did make her a promise to teach her to fly…”

“What are you saying, Twilight?”

“What I’m saying is you should apologize to her and explain yourself. She might be able to fly but I’m sure there is a lot you can still teach her. She loves you featherbrain, she’ll forgive you, and I’m sure she would love for you to teach her how to fly.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight, “You’re probably right, egghead. But still, how the hay can she fly like that? She couldn’t hover for more than a few seconds yesterday and not she can fly without any assistance?”

Twilight rubbed her chin with her hoof, “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a side effect of Firestorms magic, just like with Derpy and how she has night vision in addition to being able to see straight.”

“Wait, wait, wait, what are you trying to say Twilight?”

Twilight took a deep breath, “I think Firestorm has infectious magic.”

> Chapter 17 - Should Have Seen That Coming...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash stared blankly at Twilight for what seemed like forever. She didn’t have any particular look on her face, her expression was simply blank. After another minute she shook her head and her daze along with it, “What do you mean his magic is infectious?”

Twilight cleared her throat, “Well, When Firestorm used his magic to amplify Iris’ spell she ended up getting night vision in addition to her vision being corrected. Firestorm did much more than amplified a spell the other day when he healed Scootaloos leg. I theorize that whenever Firestorm uses considerable concentrations of magic, some of it bleeds into and fuses with the pony or organism he uses his magic on.”

Rainbow Dash went back to staring at Twilight with a blank expression on her face. Before Twilight could say or do anything their attention was drawn to an orange filly moving at high speed towards them yelling, “INCOMMING!”

There was a mess of limbs, wings, and tails flailing around after the crash as everypony attempted to right themselves. Scootaloo did a quick backflip once she was stable enough while Rainbow Dash and Twilight got to their hooves. Firestorm landed besides Scootaloo who looked up at him. Firestorm leaned down and nuzzled her gently, Twilight would have sworn it almost like a father reassuring his daughter. Scootaloo pulled away and approached Rainbow Dash, “Um… could we talk, you know, alone?”

Rainbow Dash turned towards Twilight who gave her an assuring smile and nod of her head. Rainbow Dash looked back at Scootaloo, “Yeah, do ya wanna walk and talk or do some more flying?”

Scootaloo giggled slightly, “Could we walk? I might have overdone it with the flying already…”

Rainbow Dash smiled, “Sounds good to me kiddo,” she replied trotting off with her young friend and honorary sister as the made amends.

Firestorm looked at Twilight, “Can we talk?” She asked.

Firestorm bowed his head in compliance and followed her away from the camp so they themselves could have their own private conversation. Once she felt they were in a good place, Twilight stopped and turned to face Firestorm, “Okay, I really don’t know what it is with you. The power amplification spell I get, but what you did with Scootaloo? She can fly, has extraordinary coordination and physical abilities, and, if I’m not mistaken, night vision just like Derpy now had. Would you happen to have an explanation for any of that??

Firestorm took a deep breath, “Your theory is most likely correct, the way my magic bleeds into and effects ponies in unintended ways.”

“How-?”

“I heard you talking to Rainbow Dash. But all the same, I think it is a very solid theory. Exactly how and why my magic behaves like that is the real question now, isn’t it?”

Twilight brought her hoof to her chin while she pondered for a moment, “Well, let’s consider what we already know, or at least, what we think we already know. If you were created to be a harbinger of eternal night, why would Nightmare Moon create you with the ability of pyrokenesis, an advanced healing spell, and who knows what else? Furthermore, why would she dedicate so much power into one pony, why not an army?”

Firestorm looked at Twilight trying to come up with an answer he just didn’t have, “Look, how about we make a deal, I use my magic and abilities when it is absolutely necessary, and we hold the questions for when we see the princess?”

Twilight nodded her head, “Agreed. But now that we have that out of the way, I need to talk to you about Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo.”

“What about them?”

“Well, let’s just start with Scootaloo for now.”

“If you think I would ever consider doing something to hurt her in any-”

“Quite the contrary, I think she’s taken to you and I think you’ve taken to her.”

“……………… Huh?”

“Well, take for instance just now. She needed to talk to Rainbow Dash and was obviously nervous about doing so. The way she looked at you and how you encouraged her through physical contact demonstrates a strong emotional bond. Not to mention she slept with you the other night. That is something a filly her age would normally do with a parent or sibling.”

“Wait, what are you saying, she adopted me?”

“Scootaloo did the same thing with Rainbow Dash, she always sought her approval, attention, and affection, and the last time we went camping together, they adopted each other as honorary sisters. Also, I’m almost certain you feel a strong bond with her too. Am I wrong?”

Firestorm let out a deep sigh, “No. what I did to her the other day to save her nearly killed me, emotionally anyway. When she wanted to sleep with me I had to resist the urge of hugging her so tightly it would have possibly crushed her. She is very special, she deserves to be happy. I… I love that filly as if she were my own.”

Twilight smiled.

“You know, I spent an entire day with her, Rainbow Dash, and her little friends at the lake. There was one point where I let her ride on my back while I flew out of the water. In that moment, I could feel the joy, the happiness she was experiencing and it made me happy, to make her happy…”

“Firestorm, can I ask you a very direct question?”

“You can ask, but I may choose not to answer…”

“Fair enough. I know you’ve been alive for a long time, and that you were never able to have foals of your own no matter how hard you tried. But I can still see the love you have for them, the caring affection of a true parent and I was wondering, would you consider adopting Scootaloo as your daughter?”

Firestorm stood stark still. His eyes locked forward, his breathing steady, and his face was emotionless. After a minute Twilight waved her hoof in front of his face. No response. After another minute she was beginning to panic and turned to get help from somepony back at the camp when Firestorms voice stopped her.

“I’ll do it…”

Twilight looked back over her shoulder at Firestorm, “What?”

“I said I’ll do it, I’ll adopt her.”

Twilight had to take a minute to comprehend everything that had just happened and everything up till this moment. She remembered Firestorms unusual abilities and power. The mystery they still had to solve about his true origins, and everything she knew he was capable of and what he yet might be capable of. She thought back to everything she had learned from her teacher and all the lessons she had learned on friendship. She used every ounce of her knowledge and came to this conclusion; Firestorm was almost as old as the legend of The Mare in the Moon, yet with all the power he had already shown he was capable of wielding, he had lived in solitude for the better part of his life and, as far as she knew, never intentionally hurt anypony (timber wolves notwithstanding). He had expressed genuine affection towards Scootaloo and a desire to have a foal of his own and certainly had the knowledge and resources to do so. But most importantly, she was the one who brought it up…

Twilight blinked back to reality, “Really? You would adopt Scootaloo?”

Firestorm nodded his head, “Yes. She needs somepony to truly care about and for her and give her the attention and affection she deserves. I would love the opportunity to adopt her.”

Twilight could not contain her excitement, she flung herself towards Firestorm locking him in a hug. Firestorm was shocked but not enough not to return the hug but only by putting a hoof around Twilights back. Twilight quickly broke the hug attempting to regain her self-control and composure, “I’m sorry it’s just so exciting, she will finally have a real home to come home to!”

Firestorm smiled in understanding, “Shall we begin?”

“Begin? Begin what?”

“The adoption process.”

“You want to start that now?”

Firestorm turned away from Twilight and spread his wings. A navy blue bubble formed in front of him and continued to grow until it was tice his height at which point the sphere collapsed so it seemed to exist only when directly looking at it from where Firestorm was standing, “One thing I’ve learned in my life, there’s no time like the present.”

“Be that as it may, what did you just do?”

Firestorm gestured for Twilight to stand beside him. She complied but all she saw before them was a glowing blue ring outlining a black hole, “I still don’t understand, what is that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, only I can see what’s on the other side, this is a gateway spell, also known as a portal, through it is Ponyville, more specifically, the Ponyville Bed and Breakfast. We can discuss my adoption of Scootaloo with Haven and Homestead as they are her legal guardians…”

“Wait, right now!?”

“Yes, like I said before, there’s no time like the present. Though personally, I feel there is really only the past and the future, we are never really in the present long enough to notice it because it’s already in the past. Besides, how great would it be for us to come back and be able to tell Scootaloo she has a place to call home?”

“Well, that would be amazing, but let’s talk about it with Haven first…”

Firestorm nodded in agreement and walked through the portal. Twilight hesitated but quickly followed. She felt a definite change in her surroundings as she came through the other side. Unlike a teleportation spell, a portal did not seem to disrupt the casters perception of the environment. Twilight shook it off and followed Firestorm towards the place he had been staying before their camping trip began. Firestorm knocked on the door which opened only a few seconds later.

“Firestorm? Oh, Princess Twilight, is the camping trip over already?” Haven asked before looking around, “Where is Scootaloo?”

Twilight spoke up, “Please just call me Twilight, Haven, and that’s why we are here, Firestorm would like to adopt her.”

Havens face lit up, “You want to adopt her? That’s wonderful! Please, come right in!” Haven said before a purple hoof stopped her.

“There are some things you need to hear before we begin…” Twilight said calmly.

Haven looked at Firestorm and then back at Twilight, remembering the calm yet serious tone in her voice.

Haven nodded and invited Twilight and Firestorm inside. They each took a seat in the living room and Firestorm explained the accident with Scootaloo and the wolves. By the end of the story, Haven was unsure of how she felt. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Haven looked at Firestorm, “Scootaloo is safe and that’s all that matters. Thank you for saving her. So, just from that I can see you would make an excellent guardian, but there is some more information I need like housing, your income, and how you would provide for her.”

Firestorm smiled and teleported up to the room he had been staying in, quickly retrieved his bank statement from when he had gone with Rainbow Dash, and teleported back downstairs. He offered the statement to Haven who looked over it. When she saw the balance she looked up at Firestorm with her jaw still slack.

Firestorm smiled, “I’m ten centuries old, retired, and I can buy any property in Ponyville to provide a safe, loving, and caring home for Scootaloo.

“From this bank statement, you could buy all of Ponyville!”

“Perhapse, but I think she would be content in a cloud house if one is on the market.”

“A cloud house? Firestorm, don’t you recall Scootaloo has stunted wings and is incapable of flight beyond hovering for only a few seconds?”

“Not anymore, she has excellent flight skills, if somewhat limited, but she is definitely capable of short to medium range flight which would be enough to get her up to a cloud house.”

“Wait, what do you mean she can fly now?”

“Haven, I believe Firestorm has natural rapid healing abilities. When he used his magic to reattach or regrow or whatever he did to save Scootaloos leg, I believe those healing properties were passed on to her through his magic, along with a few other side effects,” Twilight explained.

“Other side effects, like what?”

“Well, aside from the leg she almost lost now being the same color as Firestorms fur, she also has night vision.”

“Wow, huh…” Haven stammered.

“Haven, if I may, Firestorm has already shown a deep emotional bond with Scootaloo and the natural instinct to ensure her safety as well as the will to provide her affection and love. I personally feel he would make an excellent caretaker for Scootaloo,” Twilight said confidently.

Haven looked at Firestorm and smiled, “Well, with assurance from the princess herself, who am I to deny Scootaloo a loving home of her own?”

Haven practically jumped the couch to get to a drawer in the study where she retrieved the proper adoption forms. She returned and spread them out across the table where both Firestorm and Twilight could look over before Firestorm promptly filled out the form. Haven couldn’t help but watch the two, “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a couple looking to adopt a foal of your own.”

The quill Firestorm was writing with snapped under his magical grip at Havens comment.

Twilight giggled, “Oh no, we’re not a couple. Honestly, I think he and Rainbow Dash would be better together, especially now that he adopted Scootaloo.”

The remnants of the quill suddenly burst into flames.

Haven giggled as Twilight explained, “Trust me, I might not know much about the process of two ponies falling in love, but I know the two of you have grown extremely close…”

Firestorm looked down at the adoption forms before him, with a swift pass of his wing, all the documents were signed and official. “There, done, now I can get away from you two!”

Haven smirked at Twilight, “And get back to your marefriend, Rainbow Dash?”

Firestorm stopped short of the door, he spun around and looked unusually happy, “No, so I can buy Vinyl the biggest, loudest, newest sound system and Spike a gem mine.”

Both mares smiles instantly vanished. “Or,” Firestorm continued, “Twilight and I could go back to the camp site, and make Scootaloo the happiest filly in town, and we forget all about this…”

Haven glanced at the paperwork faster than she could read an individual word, “Everything seems to be in order, congratulations Firestorm, you are not Scootaloos legal guardian and caretaker!”

At the exact same time Twilight made her way towards Firestorm, “We’ve been gone a long time, the others are probably wondering where we are and worried about us!”

Crisis averted.

“Oh, Firestorm,” Haven called out, her serious tone evident. Firestorm looked back at her, “It will take some time but here,” Haven said levitating an official paper to Firestorm, “This states that you are now Scootaloos legal guardian. A permanent document will arrive in your mail, um, when you get a house that is, at which point I will need to inspect the home to ensure it is a safe place for you to raise Scootaloo.”

Firestorm smiled, “How about this, you find me a cloud home for sale that you approve of, one that is spacious but doesn’t scream “I have money” and I’ll give you five thousand bits for your trouble.”

Havens eyes went impossibly wide, “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” Firestorm said with a gentle grin, “Find my a nice cloud house, preferably two story, 3 or 4 bedroom, 2 or 3 bathroom, furnished, and approved by you. I’ll buy it on the spot and give you five thousand bits. If there happens to be anything wrong with the house, I’ll fit it. If it has to be specially ordered from Cloudsdale and shipped here, I’ll pay for it and no matter what, you keep the five thousand bits for whatever you want, deal?”

Haven trotted over to Firestorm, “Sure, but you’d have to pay the money upfront for the house.”

Firestorm smiled, “Everything you’ll need is in my bag in my room. Don’t worry, I don’t mind you going through my stuff. I have nothing to hide and there’s not much there anyway.”

With that, Firestorm trotted out the door and through a waiting portal he had generated while talking to Haven. Once the portal closed, Haven rushed upstairs and into Firestorms room. His saddle bag sat peacefully on his bed. Haven moved across the room, undid the clasp, and looked inside. She was greeted by the sight of hundreds of one thousand bit coins. Haven stared at the bits until she began to feel lightheaded and thereafter, fainted.

Once Twilight was safely through the portal Firestorm closed it and then stopped and looked at the document Haven had given him. He sat down on his haunches and continued to stare at it, reading over it again and again. Twilight moved closer to Firestorm, “Is everything alright?”

Firestorm stared at the paper for a few seconds longer before nodding, “Yeah, it’s just that, I have a daughter.”

Twilight smiled, “Would you like to tell her and everypony the news?”

Firestorm glanced back down at the paper once more. He nodded his head, looke at Twilight, smiled, and said, “Yes.”

Twilight and Firestorm made their way back to the camp, Applejack was the first to notice their return, “There you two are, we were worried sick ‘bout you!”

“I’m sorry Applejack, Firestorm and I had an important matter to attend to regarding Scootaloo.”

“Huh, me?” Scootaloo asked confused, “What did I do?”

Twilight smiled and looked at Firestorm giving him his queue. Firestorm approached Scootaloo, “You were adopted,” Firestorm said offering her the document, “I adopted you.”

Scootaloo looked up at Firestorm in disbelief, she had really been adopted.

“Tell her the other news,” Twilight urged Firestorm.

“Oh yeah, since you can fly now, I commissioned Haven to pick out a cloud house for us in Ponyville.”

Scootaloo was at a loss for words, she had fallen back on her haunches and glanced back between her friends, Firestorm, and the adoption paper. Tears began to well in her eyes and before she could say anything, Rainbow Dash leapt into the air, “Scoots can fly, she got adopted, gets to move into a new cloud house, and she gets to stay in Ponyville? Best. Day. EVER!”

Scootaloo turned her attention back to Firestorm and, without warning, threw herself towards him wrapping her hooves around his neck. “Thank you,” she sobbed, “Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome, sweetie," Firestorm whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too... daddy.”
> Chapter 18 - Chaos Y Casa
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firestorm had no idea how long he held onto Scootaloo, but he planned to hold her in the hug for as long as she wanted. Her crying had died down and eventually she pulled out of the hug and looked up at Firestorm, “I… I don’t know what to say.”

Firestorm leaned in and kissed Scootaloos forehead, “You don’t have to say anything sweetie.”

A sudden burst of light disturbed the touching scene. As the light faded everypony couldn’t help but notice the being standing amongst them.

“Discord,” Twilight said with annoyance and a hint of disgust in her voice, “what do you want?”

“It’s not what I want, Twilight Sparkle, it’s what I need.”

“And just what is it that you need, huh?” Rainbow Dash said pressing her nose to his in a threatening manner. A tap on her flank drew her attention to Discords tail, seeing it had her attention, the tuft of fur at the tip of said tail became a hand pointing in front of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow turned around just in time to see the ground before she collided with it. He shook it off and glared a Discord.

“I need all of your help. You see, Rarity was called away to some big city for some big party planning seminar at the same time Pinkie Pie was offered an important role in some big fashion something-or-other,” Discord explained as he circled the group while moonwalking.

“Ah think you’ve got your story somewhat twisted like a pretzel there Discord, Pinkie’s the party planner, ‘n Rarity’s the fasion…”

“Yes, yes, yes, meaningless details, Applejack. My point is, Fluttershy is all alone and has no one to comfort her. I’ve tried my best, but being new to this hole “having friends” thing.”

“Discord, hole starts with a “w”, and what’s with the caption anyway?” Twilight said rereading her own words floating before her.

Discord snapped his fingers and the words vanished, “Just a little something I wanted to try for next opportunity arises for me to tell somepony to eat their own words. I just need to come up with an appropriate flavor for them, I was thinking something bitter so that…”

“DISCORD! You’re off topic, what were you saying about Fluttershy?”

“Oh, right, apparently she needs some of her closest friends with her while dealing with the death of her hamster, Andrew.”

“It was a rabbit and his name was Angel,” Firestorm corrected.

“Never mind, Fluttershy needs your help, isn’t friendship something about putting your friends before yourself in their times of need?”

“That’s… surprisingly accurate Discord,” Twilight said when she overcame her initial shock. She turned to her friends, “I’m sorry, but we have to cut the trip short, Fluttershy needs us.”

Before anypony could object, support, or even regard Twilights statement they were all at once wrapped tightly within Discords elongated body and released from his grip near the entrance to Fluttershy’s cottage. Discord appeared in front of the door and smiled at his having successfully teleported everypony to his friend’s house without having been granted permission or consent before having done so. He pointed to the door with his claw, “Let’s get in there and cheer up our friend!” he cheered.

Twilight looked around at her friends and the fillies and noticed a crucial detail. She glared at Discord to express her displeasure and mask her concern as she asked him, “Where is Firestorm and Scootaloo?”

Discords eyes shot open, he twisted around trying to locate the two missing ponies. When he failed to find any sign of them he untwisted his body and shrugged his shoulders. Before he could offer an explanation or Twilight could lash out at his carelessness a sound similar to air rushing between a canyon drew their attention to a portal opening. Firestorm and Scootaloo crossed through, both maintaining a stoic stance as they stopped in front of their friends while the portal closed.

“Do you think it’s funny leaving them alone like that!?” Twilight snapped at Discord.

Discord threw up his arms, “I swear to Celestia, Luna, and any other goddess you can think of, I didn’t mean to leave them behind, honest!”

“He’s not lying,” Firestorm said approaching Twilight with Scootaloo in tow.

“Ha! You see? I wasn’t lying!” Discord said crossing his arms triumphantly, “Wait, I wasn’t lying?”

“Correct, in fact, you have absolutely no idea why your magic didn’t affect us,” Firestorm said with a hint of smugness.

Discord's eyes shifted rapidly from one pony to another, “Alright fine, I’m clueless! Can Fluttershy’s other friends just get in there and make her stop crying?” he asked pointing to the door.

Firestorm smiled, “Fine by me, but I’m going to spend some personal time with my daughter,” he looked at Scootaloo as he spread his wings, “Sound good?”

Scootaloo nodded and spread her wings ready to follow Firestorm. Firestorm turned to Twilight, just send Rainbow Dash if you need us.” Not waiting for a reply, Firestorm took off into the sky with Scootaloo directly behind him. Discord watched them take off and noticed the abnormal gray coloration of Scootaloo right leg, “Hold on a second…” he said as his took his eagle talon in his lion paw and swung it like a lasso and roped in Scootaloo by her leg.

Scootaloo shrieked when she felt herself get pulled back towards the earth. Firestorm’s attention was immediately drawn to Scootaloo at her outcry. Discord held Scootaloo by her midsection, “What in Luna’s name happened to your leg?”

Scootaloo attempted to squirm out of Discord’s grasp for only a moment before a wicked grin spread across her face. Her hind legs came up propelling her to do a backflip kicking Discord in the nose in the process. Discord recoiled from the impact while dropping Scootaloo in the process. Scootaloo landed softly on the grass with a few flaps of her wings. Discord was still off balance when something collided with, what anypony else could only assume was his chest, and forced him backwards where he vanished instantly.

Discord tumbled across the darkness of an unseen floor. As quickly as possible he was upright and searching his dark environment for his attacker. Wherever he was, it was dark. Despite the seemingly insignificant light of what appeared to be stars, he could not see the surface he was standing on. He glanced around once more before calling out, “Hello?”

“Hello…” replied a voice from seemingly everywhere.

Discord searched for the source of the voice but he recognized who it belonged to, “Firestorm, where are we?”

Firestorm seemed to materialize a short distance from where discord was, “Just somewhere we can talk without anypony disturbing us…”

Discord looked over Firestorm. He was standing upright on talons, his height close to that of Discord’s own. His wings were spread proudly as his arms rested at his sides. Firestorm glared at Discord through glowing amber draconic eyes.

“Talk…talk about what?” Discord stuttered

Firestorm rushed Discord and punched him square in the nose. Discord fell back and rubbed his tender muzzle before wiping the blood away. Wait, blood? Discord looked at his paw, there was definitely blood on it. Discord felt his heart beat start to race as he looked up at Firestorm.

Firestorm smiled at him, “How long has it been since you’ve bled? I’m guessing a long time judging by the look on your face.”

“That… How… I am the spirit of chaos, no mortal being can cause physical harm to me!”

“Really?” Firestorm thrust his wing out so hit Discord in his exact center. As his wing was withdrawn, Discord noticed a bruise already starting to form. All bets were off, Discord summoned the most sinister chaotic magic he could. Goddesses be damned, Firestorm would pay for his actions by being teleported into space!

………Nothing happened.

Discord looked at Firestorm who smiled with an unsettling smugness, “Your magic cannot affect me, Discord, but you submit to my power!” Firestorm held up his right hand as if he were trying to crush an invisible cup in his hand. Discord felt himself beginning to choke as he was levitated into the air and brought in front of Firestorm.

“This is a warning, for you and anypony else who threatens Shadow Light, keep your talon, paws, claw, and hooves off my daughter!” Firestorm yelled as he cast Discord through a portal where he landed face first on the grass mere inches away from Twilight’s hooves.

Discord looked up into Twilight’s eyes, “I can’t believe I’m saying this but, are you alright?” Twilight asked with genuine concern.

Firestorm crossed through the portal, having reverted back to his pony form. Discord looked at him and then back to Twilight, “I sneezed and accidentally teleported myself and Firestorm to parts unknown.”

“You seem to have sneezed so hard you also gave yourself a nosebleed…” Twilight deadpanned.

Discord’s eyes quickly shifted before he regained his usual composure, “Do not worry about me Twilight Sparkle, worry about our friend, Fluttershy,” Discord said before leaping through Fluttershy’s front door, which was closed.

Firestorm looked at Scootaloo, “Ready to go find a house?”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo cheered as her wings buzzed.

Firestorm took off and Scootaloo followed.

Twilight looked to her friends, “That was weird…”

“With Discord, when isn’t it weird?” Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically as she made her way inside.

Applejack turned to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, “How ‘bout you two run along ‘n keep outta trouble?”

“And here, why don’t you get yourself some treats?” Twilight added while offering them each a few bits. The fillies accepted her offer, took the bits, thanked Twilight, and then scampered off towards town. As the fillies ran off Applejack and Twilight entered the cottage, eager to comfort Fluttershy.





Firestorm flew beside Scootaloo as they flew through the cool sky above Ponyville. He watched her out of the corner and couldn’t help but smile as he watched her fly. Her eyes were closed and she seemed perfectly content with simply feel the air wash over her as she flew. Firestorm was about to compliment her on her powerful down strokes when he hear another pegasus approaching them. He looked in the direction the approaching wing beats were coming from and saw Derpy flying towards them as fast as she possibly could. Firestorm and Scootaloo began to hover while Derpy made her way to them. “Hey Firestorm, hey Scootaloo, I’m so glad I found you guys!”

“Glad we were easy to find, what’s up?” Firestorm asked giving her a pleasant smile.

“Well, Haven bumped into me in town and asked if I could look for you guys when I got done with my delivery route. Since I was already done I decided to find you but I didn’t have to look very far,” Derpy explained concluding with a wink of her eye.

“You’re done with your route already!?” Scootaloo burst out, “Dinky once told me you usually take all day to finish your route!”

Derpy smiled, “Yeah, I used to, but since Firestorm helped fix my eyes it only takes me a few hours, which reminds me…” Derpy quickly moved in and kissed Firestorm on his cheek, “That’s for fixing my eyes,” she said as a blush colored her cheeks.

Firestorm, “You’re welcome” he said with a kind smile, “So, um, why did Haven need you to find us?”

“Hmm? Oh, right! She says she found you and Scootaloo a home, kudos by the way!”

“Thank you, and WHAT, she already found us a house? I only saw her like half an hour ago, if even that!”

Derpy giggled, “You obviously don’t know Haven very well, finding homes for others is her special talent. Why do you think she runs the Bed and Breakfast and an orphanage?”

Firestorm shrugged his shoulders, “Fair enough, where can I find her?”

“She said to meet her at the bed and breakfast.”

“Alright, thanks Derpy, we’ll see you around,” Firestorm said as he flew off towards the Ponyville Bed and Breakfast with Scootaloo hot on his trail.

Derpy waved goodbye then made her way back home, she had a filly of her own after all.





Scootaloo held tightly around Firestorm’s neck and kept her eyes shut. When they had arrived at the Ponyville Bed and Breakfast, Firestorm told her to go find her friends and play with them while he took care of the paperwork with Haven. Scootaloo obliged and spent the entire day with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle until ten minutes ago when Firestorm came to retrieve her. He immediately told her to climb on his back and close her eyes. She obeyed and didn’t peek even once during their flight. Soon enough Scootaloo felt Firestorm touch down and told her she could open her eyes.

The first thing Scootaloo looked at when she opened her eyes was the cloud Firestorm was standing on. She leapt off his back and landed on the soft yet supportive clouds. She looked up and noticed something which pulled at her heart and threatened to make her cry. Not far from where she was standing was a beautiful two story cloud house. Scootaloo looked at Firestorm with wide eyes. Firestorm approached the front door, unlocked it, and then opened it before turning back to Scootaloo, “Would you like the grand tour of our new home?”

Scootaloo followed Firestorm inside and looked around. Upon entering through the front door was the ceiling high living room. A five pony cloud sectional occupied the front right corner with a three pony sofa parallel to the hallway which led towards the rear of the house. To the left was the dining room with a table and chairs to comfortably seat eight. Firestorm guided Scootaloo through the kitchen pointing out the appliances and where the specific dishes, cups, and eating utensils were located.

Beyond the kitchen was a den and a staircase leading to the second story. By the time they had ascended the stairs, Scootaloo was breathing heavily from the emotions she felt as she toured the new home, her home. Firestorm opened a door and showed her a generously sized office. He pointed out a guest bathroom and bedroom which had a dresser and two nightstands on either side of a queen sized cloud bed centered in front of the window. Opening another door he showed Scootaloo his room which had a large king sized, again with two nightstands on either side of it, a dresser, and a large doublewide window. Scootaloo thought the walk-in closet was her room until Firestorm assured her that was the last thing he was going to show her.

Despite the vastness of the closet, Firestorm still felt hurt that Scootaloo would even assume such a comparably small space would be her bedroom, especially considering it had no furnishings, a bed, or even a window. Pushing those feelings aside, Firestorm next showed Scootaloo the master bathroom. Inside was a glass enclosed standalone shower, a his and her sink, and the biggest bathtub Scootaloo had ever seen in her life. The fact it was a jacuzzi tub meant she had never seen one that big. Firestorm chuckled at her astonishment, “Your room has a bathroom too, but not as big as this one. If ever you want to take a bath, or a swim, in here, just let me know and I’ll clear out for you.”

“Clear out? Look at this thing, you could fit three ponies in here with room to spare!”

Firestorm broke out into a laughing fit, Scootaloo had a valid yet amusing point, “I know that sweetie, but I meant for your privacy.”

Scootaloo blushed as the crucial detail was brought to her attention, “Oh, yeah, right…”

“Are you ready to see your room now? I saved the best for last.”

Scootaloo shook her head then followed Firestorm out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, and into the hallway where they stopped at a door which had a plaque with Scootaloo’s name on it. Firestorm stepped aside and allowed her to open the door. Her heart skipped several beats when she saw her room for the first time. The majority of her roof was transparent allowing her to fall asleep under the night sky. The walls were decorated with Wonderbolt posters and other merchandise. A bunk bed was positioned at the far end of the room. A single cloud mattress was positioned lengthwise above the upper half of a twin cloud bed on an elevated frame. On the opposite wall was the closet and full sized bathroom. Scootaloo looked at Firestorm who smiled at her, “What do you think?”

Scootaloo threw herself into his chest locking him in a powerful hug as her body shook from the flood of emotions and gratitude for what she had been given. Instead of a simple bedroom with a small chest to put her few belongings and a bed like she had imagined she would get if she were ever adopted, she had been given her own house by comparison. Tears fell and matted Firestorm’s fur as Scootaloo continued the hug. He leaned down and kissed her head, “I’m glad you like it.”

Scootaloo was just pulling out of the embrace when her stomach growled. She looked up at Firestorm with just as much surprise in her eyes as he had in his. Firestorm cracked another smile, “Tell ya what, how about you take a look around your room, maybe take a nice shower or a bath, whichever you prefer, and I’ll call you down when dinner is ready, okay?”

Scootaloo was still too choked up to speak so she settled with simply nodding her head. Firestorm leaned in and kissed her cheek and before trotting back downstairs whispered, “I love you.”

After dinner was done, Scootaloo, being worn out from the events of the entire day got herself ready for bed as was her custom from living in an orphanage her entire life. When her hooves were clean, her teeth were brushed, and her mane and tail were brushed she emerged from her bathroom. Firestorm was lying on the lower bed waiting for her, “All ready for bed?” he asked.

Scootaloo nodded, approached the bed, and hopped in beside him. Firestorm’s wings emitted a gentle blue glow as a Daring Do book floated up beside him. Still holding the book in his magic, Firestorm began to read the first chapter. Before long, Scootaloo was curled up beside him and shortly afterwards half asleep. Firestorm marked his place and closed the book, Scootaloo’s eyes floated open, “Awww, come on, one more chapter,” she protested.

Firestorm pulled the covers over her body and kissed her cheek, “I didn’t even finish the first chapter. Get some sleep, we’ll finish the first chapter tomorrow.”

Scootaloo groaned but fell asleep before she could agree or protest.

Firestorm shook his head and smiled, “Goodnight Shadow Light, I love you,” he said before kissing her cheek once more before leaving her room and shutting the door.
> Chapter 19 - Nightmares and Reality
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The feeling of sleeping at night was very foreign to Firestorm, ever since he came to Ponyville he felt his sleep cycle becoming ever more distorted. He had been roused from his sleep in the Everfree Forest when he sensed the fillies in danger from their fire and since then, found himself drowsy yet unable to attain to sleep. Tonight he had fallen asleep relatively soon after tucking Scootaloo into bed but now found himself being roused once again from his sleep by his heightened senses.

Something was wrong. Firestorm, with his changeling magic sensed fear, panic, abandonment, and sadness. Firestorm’s amber eyes shot open, “Scootaloo!”

Without even thinking he jumped out of his cloud bed and shifted into his draconic form before flying through his open door, down the hallway, and practically bursting through the door to his daughters room had his magic not opened it. With a swift thrust of his wings, Firestorm stopped beside the lower bed Scootaloo had been sleeping on. Her blankets were wrinkled and twisted from her tossing and turning in her sleep, even now she was still kicking as if trying to escape from something in her dreams.

Firestorm reached down and placed his hand on her back, “Scootaloo, wake up, it’s just a bad dream!” he said while gently nudging her.

Scootaloo woke up and sat upright in her bed and screamed, “NO!”

Firestorm picked her up and placed one hand over her back and the other under her bottom while he pulled her in close to his chest. Scootaloo immediately wrapped her hooves around Firestorm’s neck when she felt her body come into contact with his. Her eyes had been shut the entire time but tears still found a way through. Firestorm held her as she cried, he felt her tears and cold sweat clinging to his fur as her sobbing continued.

Before long, Scootaloo had stopped crying altogether and her admirable grip in Firestorm’s neck loosened. Firestorm brought his entire body down onto the bed as he set her down in the same motion. Scootaloo sat back on her bed and flicked her tail so it wrapped around her side and covered her scared leg. Firestorm sat up and shifted back into his pony form, “Are you alright, Scootaloo?”

“I… I was back in the forest. The wolves were chasing me and… and… I couldn’t get away from them!” Scootaloo choked out.

“Where was I?” Firestorm asked.

“I… I don’t know. I kept calling out for you, for anyone, but I was all alone!”

Firestorm moved closer and nuzzled his cheek against Scootaloos, “It was just a nightmare, I will always be here for you.”

Scootaloo sniffled, “Promise?”

Firestorm got off the bed and stood right in front of Scootaloo, “I will always be here for you, I will always love you no matter what, and I won’t ever let anything bad happen to you ever again, I promise.”

Scoodaloo leapt towards Firestorm and wrapped her hooves around his neck. Firestorm sat back on his haunches and returned the hug. Their embrace did not last as long as when Firestorm roused her from her nightmare but it was just long enough for them both. Scootaloo pulled away from the hug, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome Shad… Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo cocked her head, “Can I ask you something?”

Firestorm perked his ears when he heard the seriousness in her voice, “Sure sweetie, you can ask me anything.”

Scootaloo twiddled her hooves together, “When you healed me in the forest and kissed me goodnight, you called me Shadow Light…”

Firestorm let out a long sigh, “I’m sorry…”

“I’m not saying I don’t like it, it sounds really cool, I was just wondering why you call me that.”

Firestorm took a deep breath, “There was a time when I was going to have a foal of my own, a daughter in fact, I decided before she was born her name would be Shadow Light.”

“You had a daughter?” Scootaloo asked as her wings buzzed in excitement.

“I was going to have a daughter, but she… she was never born…”

A perplexed expression spread across Scootaloos face, “Never born, how can that be?”

Steeling his nerves, Firestorm took another deep breath, “She didn’t survive the pregnancy, she died before she was born.”

Scootaloo felt as if her heart had stopped beating as Firestorm’s words echoed through her ears. Before she could speak, Firestorm continued, “I never met her, but I knew in my heart the kind of pony she would be. She would have been a lot like you. Smart, headstrong, quick thinking, idealistic… When I met you, you reminded me of how I imagined her. I’m sorry I started calling you Shadow Light, I’ll try to stop myself from now on…”

“Actually… I’d be alright if you called me Shadow Light, I mean, it sounds really cool, and honestly, I think it better suits me.”

Firestorm brought his daughter into a warm hug, “Whatever makes you happy Shadow Light.”

After a minute passed, Firestorm broke the hug, “Think you can get back to sleep?”

Shadow Light shook her head. Firestorm smiled and lifted himself off her bed, “Good, get on my back, I want to show you something.”

“Ummm, I could fly myself…”

“Trust me kiddo, you’ll feel better if you let me fly you,” Firestorm assured her as he shifted into his ghost form.

Shadow Light complied and flew off her bed and gently landed on Firestorm’s back. Once she was secure, Firestorm moved to the window, opened it, and flew out into the cool night air. A few silent minutes passed before Shadow Light realized how enjoyable it truly was to be riding on Firestorm’s back while he flew, it was calming. Another minute passed silently by before Shadow Light spoke up, “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular, I just wanted to fly and talk with you.”

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Anything you’d like kiddo.”

Looking back at her wings she asked, “Why did you adopt me?”

“What do you mean why did I adopt you?”

Shadow Light sighed, “When I was at the orphanage, couples would come looking for a foal to adopt when they couldn’t have any of their own. Most unicorn couples adopted unicorn foals and the same with earth ponies. I mean, sure, they would talk to the filly or colt to get an idea about what they were like and would either move on to the next or adopt them. If they had trouble deciding, Haven had a way to determine the best possible match between potential parents and foals. But whenever a pegasus couple came in looking to adopt and saw me, the first thing they did was touch and examine my wings. I know my wings were supposed to be sensitive for when I was flying but I think they could tell they weren’t and knew something was wrong with me so they moved on without even talking to me. I think you knew my wings were messed up too, and I know when you healed my leg you healed, well, changed my wings as well, but would you have still adopted me if you hadn’t healed me?”

Firestorm looked over his shoulder and made sure he made eye contact with Shadow Light, “Absolutely. The reason I adopted you was because I saw a beautiful little filly who deserved a loving home and family. I didn’t care if you couldn’t fly, you deserved to be happy, you deserved so much more.”

As Shadow Light let her guardians words sink in she looked over the body she was riding on, “How do you shape shift?”

“I can change my appearance by remembering the features of anypony or similar and then will those features to become my own. The reason I can do that is because I’m part changeling.”

“Like the changelings that attacked Canterlot during the royal wedding?!” Shadow Light asked with alarm in her voice.

“I guess, I wasn’t there. I suspect they attempted an invasion because of a lack of food, namely love. Don’t worry though, I don’t feed off of the love of others, I just possess their ability to shape shift.”

Shadow Light let out a gentle sigh of relief, “Okay, good. Hey wait a minute! Does that mean I can shape shift too?”

“Hmmm, you do have my DNA in you now, it’s possible you could…” Firestorm banked to his left and began flying towards one of the nearby mountaintops which circled Ponyville.

“Are we going somewhere now?”

“Yes, I’d like to test that theory among other things…”

Firestorm touched down softly on the mountaintop he had selected and knelt down for his daughter to dismount off his back. Once she was clear, Firestorm returned to his pony form and turned to his right to face her, “Let’s start simple, I want you to imagine you look like me.”

Shadow Light looked over Firestorm’s features and then stared into his eyes, trying to imagine she looked like him.

“Close your eyes and remember what I look like, that might make things easier for you…”

Shadow Light did as Firestorm suggested and closed her eyes. Several minutes passed but she felt nothing happen. Firestorm could tell from her expression and the beads of sweat rolling down her face it was not from a lack of trying. Finally Shadow Light opened her eyes and took several deep breaths, “I… I don’t think I can do it. We don’t even know if I can do it at all.”

“Let me try something,” Firestorm said as he took on his draconic appearance while moving so his body was parallel to hers, “Close your eyes and just listen to my voice.”

Shadow Light took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Firestorm did the same and began to speak softly, “There are two of us here, you and me. Two bodies, two minds. But we can focus to move and think as if we were one. Listen to my thoughts and let your body move with mine.”

Firestorm opened his eyes, as did Shadow Light’s. Together they lifted they continued to look forward while they lifted their left hoof off the grass. Their bodies swayed in tandem under Firestorm’s instruction. Together they felt each other’s senses as their own. Firestorm guided them so they were standing upright on their hind legs before settling back down. “I am not controlling you. We are simply moving as one, if you move, I will move with you.”

Shadow Light took a cautious step forward, Firestorm moved with the same hesitation she showed. She extended her wing as did Firestorm. She giggled at the odd sensation of feeling two bodies move under her singular instruction, “Why are we doing this?”

“Because I can determine if you can shape shift like me,” Firestorm said as he closed his eyes. Shadow Light could see the image of Firestorm in his ghost form as he visualized it. After a minute, her eyes opened with Firestorm’s as she looked down at her front legs which had become long arms with her wings merged with them. She looked over to Firestorm who seemed too look away from her but was merely mirroring her actions. Still he could see through her eyes what he looked like from her perspective so he severed their connection to move of his own will and look at her. He smiled warmly at her when their eyes met, with some guidance, she could shape shift. Firestorms smile faded, closing his eyes he reestablished his connection with his daughter and willed her back to her natural pegasus form, wings included. Shadow Light looked up at Firestorm who had taken his basic pony form, his bat like wings folding at his sides.

“Why did you do that?” Shadow Light demanded.

“Because I want you to be able to be normal, something I never got to have. I want you to be able to grow up with your friends, have fun, and do everything I couldn’t because I am different,” Firestorm pointed to Shadow Lights pegasus wings, “I know your friends saw your wings when they looked like mine, I just want to tell them I think it was a side effect of my adrenaline in your veins because your body was not used to my power and has since worn off…”

Shadow Light looked back at her feather covered wings, “Can I still fly?”

“Yes, my healing seems to be permanent in others, I’m sure Twilight would be satisfied with that reasoning…”

Shadow Light plopped down on her rump and extended her leg, “What about this?” she asked pointing her hoof at the discoloration.

Firestorm sighed, “I’m afraid that’s a scar sweetie, because it occurred during my healing you, it is permanent. You might be able to conceal it with your partial changeling magic but you will need to learn more focus and that could take several months, others will have definitely noticed by then.”

Shadow Light shrugged her shoulders, “I’m cool with the scar, but do I really have to hide everything else?”

Firestorm nodded, “Ponies tend to fear what they do not understand, they feared me when I first arrived, and many still do. I’ve lived in a changeling hive for several years and I know what they can really be like, and it’s not the monsters they probably made themselves out to be during the changeling invasion you mentioned. Please, just trust me, it would be better if you looked like a normal pegasus filly. It’d probably be better if I called you Scootaloo when were together in public but when it’s just us or we’re with Twilight and her friends, you’ll always be my Shadow Light.”

Shadow Light thought for a moment, “Can… can I tell my friends if and when I think I can trust them with the secret of what I really am?”

“Absolutely, just make sure they know how important it is to keep it your secret.”

Shadow Light nodded in understanding.

Firestorm leaned in and kissed her cheek, “You ready to go home?”

Shadow Light looked up at the moon looming over them, turning her gaze back to Firestorm she asked, “Can we stay out a little longer?”

Firestorm nodded and laid down on his belly. Shadow Light snuggled up next to him and the two spent several hours together exchanging stories of their adventures, telling jokes, and asking each other questions. Needless to say, Firestorm had a lot more.

Only a few hours remained before the sun was due to rise as Firestorm entered the front door with his daughter on his back. He carefully made his way upstairs and into her room where he deposited her onto her bed. He tucked her in, kissed her cheek, and made his way out of her room before closing the door quietly behind him. He stood by the door for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. Several hours earlier he had asked Scootaloo to hide the very power he had given her. He knew it was for the better, but it didn’t help the sick feeling he had in his stomach. Before moving away from her door he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Firestorm made his way to his own room and flopped onto his bed. He thought about how things might change once he got the answers he had been looking for all his life. He never had anyone to teach him how to use his power since he was the only one of his kind. As he drifted off to sleep he silently prayed one of the princesses would have the answers he so desperately sought after.


Firestorm awoke the next morning with the rising sun, at least, that’s what he thought until he heard a knock at the front door. Firestorm heard the urgency in the frequency of the knocks but it didn’t help his mood. Rolling onto his back, Firestorm let out a groan before he teleported to the first floor just in front of the door, still lying on his back. He rolled over and stood up, checking himself in a nearby mirror to make sure he was in his pony form before opening the door.

Firestorm was greeted by the bright warm smile of Rainbow Dash even as she greeted him with, “Wow, you look terrible! Long night?”

Firestorm nodded.

“Scoots keep ya up?”

Firestorm furrowed his brow, “Yeah, how did you know?”

Rainbow Dash, rubbed a hoof against her chest triumphantly, “Had a hunch, I wouldn’t get much sleep after what she’s been through these past few days, it’s a lot for a kid ya know?”

Firestorm nodded, “So, what brings you by so early?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “Ugh! Well, somepony who shall remain nameless, *cough Thunderlane* had the Ponyville night watch last night to make sure no freaky Everfree Forest weather moved in and fell asleep on the job. I woke up early because of a stray cloud smashing into my cloud house, no major damage thanks for asking, so I cleaned up the mess before everypony else woke up. Well… almost everypony, Twilight apparently doesn’t need sleep anymore so when she was done she called me over and asked me to come you and Scootaloo so she could talk to you about something.”

“It’s so urgent she sent you over to get us at the crack of dawn?”

Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head with her hoof, “Well maybe I was a little eager to see Scootaloo…”

Despite still not being fully awake, Firestorm smiled and invited Rainbow Dash inside, he guided her upstairs and stopped just outside of Scootaloos room, “I’ll be downstairs drinking something with caffeine, I’m sure she would love to be woken up by you, just be gentle with her, she had a long night too…” he said before turning and heading back downstairs.

About ten minutes passed before Rainbow Dash flew down the stairs with Scootaloo wrapped firmly around her neck.

“Morning dad, Rainbow Dash says we’re gonna go see Twilight?”

“Yeah, will you be ready to go in five minutes?”

“I’m ready to go now!”

“What about brushing your mane?”

Scootaloo ran a hoof through her mane and when she was done her mane looked its normal messy style. Firestorm rolled his eyes and smiled before making his way to the front door with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo in tow.

Scootaloo flew between Firestorm and Rainbow Dash as they made their way to Twilights library. Upon arriving, Rainbow Dash took the lead and led them inside. Twilight sat at a desk reading a book, not noticing the presence of her new guests until Rainbow Dash yelled, “HEY TWILIGHT, WE’RE HERE!”

Twilight picked herself up off the floor and shook the dust from her coat and wings, “Thank you Rainbow Dash, I can see that…”

Firestorm took a step towards Twilight, “Rainbow Dash said you wanted to see us?”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, you and Scootaloo, I wanted to see how she was –” Twilight trailed off as she looked over Scootaloo who looked once again looked like a normal pegasus filly. She looked at Firestorm, “First, I’d like to talk to you…” she said as she led Firestorm away from the others. “What happened to Scootaloo? The other day she looked almost exactly like you!”

Firestorm shrugged, “My guess, her momentary shape shifting we saw was simply a result of my adrenaline being introduced into her bloodstream, I haven’t felt my heart beat that fast in centuries!”

Twilight was obviously unconvinced if her deadpan stare was any indication. After another few seconds any suspicion was confirmed, “I can still sense the high concentrations of abnormal magic radiating from BOTH of you, her appearance may have changed but not what’s on the inside…”

Firestorm sighed, “You’re right, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, she’s just like me now but I don’t want her to be treated differently just because of how drastically her body changed or the power she now possesses. Last night we made an agreement that she and I would do everything in our power for her t live the most normal life as possible.”

Twilight looked past Firestorm at Scootaloo, who was laughing at something Rainbow Dash had just told her, and immediately understood what Firestorm was talking about, “Alright, your secret is safe with me, I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

“That makes two of us…”

Before Twilight could speak again Spike came tumbling down the stairs. Once he hit the ground floor, he sat up and held up a scroll in his hand, “Princess Celestia sent you a letter, Twilight.”

Everypony was silent while Twilight read the letter and then reread it, finally she looked up to Rainbow Dash, “Go get the others, tell them to pack and meet back here in two hours.”

Rainbow Dash saluted and flew out an open window. Twilight looked at Firestorm, “We are going to Canterlot, and you are going to meet the princess…”

> Chapter 20 - Making Progress
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally, Firestorm was going to Canterlot where he would be personally escorted to see Princess Celestia and hopefully get some answers regarding who and what he really was. Before the others had packed and returned to the library, Firestorm rushed to the train station where he not only purchased tickets for everypony, he rented an entire First Class Railcar just for the occasion. The initial excitement had since worn off once the train ride began, Firestorm and Scootaloo laid curled up together on one of the benches and had since sound asleep while the others talked quietly amongst themselves. Twilight had sent a letter to Pinkie Pie and Rarity asking them to meet up with them in Canterlot when conveniently possible.

Applejack and Fluttershy had taken a seat near the rear of the car where they talked together and Twilight and Rainbow Dash, who was unusually quiet, sat together. Twilight was the first to break the silence when she noticed Rainbow had mostly just been watching Firestorm and Scootaloo from her seat.

“Rainbow, is everything alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah I’m great. Why?”

“I was just wondering, you don’t exactly seem like your normal self when you’re around those two,” Twilight said gesturing to Firestorm and Scootaloo with a hoof. As if to drive home her point, Firestorm shifted in his sleep so that his foreleg transformed into an arm and hand which gently wrapped itself around Scootaloo and pulled her closer to his chest.

Rainbow Dash opened and closed her mouth several times trying to come up with an answer or an explanation but opted to just sit quietly when she could not come up with any.

Twilight sighed softly, “Rainbow, I know you try to keep up this “tough-guy” appearance all the time but please, telling me what’s wrong won’t make me think any less of you.”

Rainbow Dash shifted uncomfortably in her seat, “Okay look, I’m happy Scootaloo has a home now, I really am, but… I can’t get over this feeling like I missed an opportunity to have something really special with her. I know I’m not the fastest pony to pick up on when somepony is having trouble with something, that’s why I missed the signs Scootaloo needed more than just somepony to look up to or more than just calling me her sister, she needed a home and now she has that and I can’t help but think of what it would have been like if I had adopted her…”

“Rainbow Dash, wanting a relationship with Scootaloo like that doesn’t make me or any of our friends think any less of you, quite the opposite in fact, and I’m sorry you feel the way you do about Firestorm adopting Scootaloo but there’s no reason you can’t still have that relationship with her…”

“How?”

“Well, I’m sure Firestorm wouldn’t mind letting you hang out with Scootaloo, I’m sure he already knows how important you are to each other. In fact, you might even consider spending some time with him too, one on one or with Scootaloo.”

“Wait, you mean like, on a date?”

“Perhaps, or two ponies of the opposite sex socializing publically or privately simply as friends…”

Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight for several seconds with an unreadable expression before finally speaking, “I heard “sex” in there somewhere…”

Twilight rolled her eyes, “Concerning your gender, in which you are female and Firestorm is male and you two meet for lunch or dinner as…” Twilight paused when she saw the perplexed expression on her friends face, “Look, you and I have had lunch together on several occasions, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, are we in a relationship?”

“No, but…”

“Then what I am suggesting is that you simply do the same thing from time to time but with Firestorm, maybe even going out on an actual date as your friendship progresses.”

“But Twi, don’t you remember what he said at the restaurant? He doesn’t want to be in another relationship, he can’t stand the pain of losing somepony close to him.”

Twilight thought for a second, “You won’t know unless you try, remember when I first came to Ponyville, before I learned the true value of friendship? I was so ready to get back home to Canterlot once the Summer Sun Celebration was over, but when it finally was over, I wanted to stay, with my friends. Ponies change Rainbow, and if you don’t ask him, and he does end up falling for another mare, you’ll be right back here where you are with Scootaloo, but it will be over him, somepony you could have loved and who could have loved you.”

Twilight’s last words really struck Rainbow Dash, she looked down at her hooves while she processed the advice she had just received. After several minutes she looked up, turned to Twilight, and…

THUD!

Everypony looked towards the source of the commotion originated from only to see Firestorm lying on his back on the floor after having rolled out of his seat. Scootaloo lay haphazardly across Firestorm’s chest, both still sound asleep. Suppressed giggles filled the railcar, Twilight leaned over to Rainbow Dash and whispered, “I swear, there is definitely chemistry between you three, until now I’ve never seen somepony sleep as hard as you!”

Firestorm slowly stirred from his sleep, taking notice of Scootaloo still slumbering on his chest as well as his new makeshift bed on the floor as he gradually awoke. Using his telekinesis, Firestorm used every ounce of tender care to relocate his adopted daughter from his chest to the cushioned bench to serve as an appropriate resting place for the remainder of her nap. Once Scootaloo had been tucked in under a blanket, Firestorm leaned forward to stretch his legs and back while at the same time, stretch his wings which had spent an untold amount of time beneath his bodyweight in awkward positions. As his stretch reached its peak, Firestorm threw his head back causing what seemed to be every bone in his body to echo with a loud pop.

As the stretch ended, Firestorm yawned and hopped contently onto the bench across from where Scootaloo continued sleeping. He smiled as he watched the blanket covering her small body rise and fall with each breath she took, quickly becoming lost in thought until a blue hoof snapped him back to reality. He looked at the hoof on his shoulder and then to the pony it belonged to. Rainbow Dash smiled warmly as she asked in a hushed tone, “Sleep well?”

Firestorm nodded.

“Mind if I sit with you?”

Firestorm shifted in his seat to make room for Rainbow Dash. Rainbow took her seat beside Firestorm and looked ahead at Scootaloo while she slept. Rainbow struggled to come up with a good conversation starter, eventually settling on, “So, have you ever been to Canterlot before?”

“Never, you?”

“Oh yeah, plenty of times. We were there for the royal wedding between the princess’ niece and Twilight’s brother, Scootaloo was actually a flower girl there…”

“Really? Wow. Hey, maybe you could show me all the best places to avoid everypony,” Firestorm said with a playful wink.

Rainbow Dash giggled, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you maintain your sanity.”

Scootaloo turned over in her sleep, her blanket slipping down below her shoulders. Both Firestorm and Rainbow Dash moved to adjust her blanket but stopped when the noticed the other one moving. Firestorm smiled and motioned towards Scootaloo with his hoof. Rainbow Dash moved to the filly’s side and adjusted her blanket as needed. As she returned to her seat beside Firestorm, she caught him smiling at her. “What is it?” she asked.

“You deeply care for her, almost like a mother.”

“Well… I… Look, last time we went camping things came out and she, we sorta adopted each other as sisters…”

Firestorm smile grew, “There is nothing wrong with that, but I can tell something is bothering you, your fear that my new relationship with her might interfere with yours.”

“How did you know that?”

“Rainbow, we may be going to Canterlot to find out how I came to be, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t already figured some stuff out on my own. I’m part changeling, and as such I can not only shape shift, I can sense love and affection as well, and the love and affection between you two is very strong, I would never wish to break that.”

Rainbow Dash was overcome with joy, she tried to think of a way to thank Firestorm but before she could, a realization hit her, “Wait, you can sense love?”

Firestorm nodded.

“Like, all kinds of love?”

Firestorm nodded again.

“And you can tell who that love is directed at?”

Firestorm hung his head and sighed, there was a brief pause before he turned his head towards Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was startled to find him leaning in towards her, and even more startled that she was moving in in return. Their lips met in a brief but undeniably tender kiss. As Firestorm pulled back he stopped to look Rainbow directly in the eyes, “When this is all over, when you and I both know the truth about me, we’ll see where to go from there…”

Rainbow could feel her heart beating a mile a minute, her thoughts racing just as fast. In the end, the only thing she could say was, “Okay…”

A soft grunt pulled their attention to Scootaloo as she slowly awoke from her long nap. Firestorm smiled at her and levitated her over to him where he rested her head on his shoulder and held her body against his chest like one would with a newborn foal. As Scootaloo was pulled further from her dream state she mumbled, “Are we there yet?”

Firestorm glanced out the window, Canterlot growing ever closer to the point where he could make out individual buildings in the distance, “Soon…”

Gathering their luggage and other belongings, everypony exited the railcar and followed Twilight through the busy streets. The journey to the castle was direct and relatively quiet, the group arriving at the castle gates where they were stopped by the royal guard and processed through. Twilight made a mental note to ask the princess about that, the last time the guard was on alert like they were now, the kingdom was attacked by a changeling army.

Twilight led her friends through the magnificent hallways towards Princess Celestia’s main courtroom. She had memorized the entire layout of the castle during her time studying directly under Celestia herself. Rounding a final corner, the group came to a stop outside of two large double doors. Twilight nodded to the unicorn guards on either side of the doors who bowed in return before opening the massive doors with their magic. Twilight led everyone inside where the doors were promptly shut behind them. Twilight gasped when she saw her mentor and friend, Celestia. She appeared exhausted, distracted, and her flowing mane even seemed to somehow be lacking in its enthusiasm as she read over some scrolls her scribe had presented to her.

The sound of the main doors drew Celestia’s attention to the ponies standing before her which brought a tired smile to her face, “Twilight, it is so wonderful to see you and your friends.”

“Thank you Princess, it is wonderful to see you as well, is - is everything alright?”

Celestia’s smile faded as she leaned her head forward, “Sadly, no. My attempts at peace with the griffon kingdom have thus far failed. An ambassador will be arriving soon to further discuss matters here, but I believe they will be in vain as well…”

“I’m so sorry Princess, is there anything we can do to help?”

Celestia shook her head, “This matter may be out of your hooves. While the griffon king seeks power I do not believe he is enough of a threat to which the Elements of Harmony would be of any use.”

“I understand, please let us know if there is something, anything we can do to help. Perhaps being present for the negotiations with the ambassador would somehow be beneficial?”

Celestia smiled at her former students’ eagerness to prove helpful, “The ambassador is a very dear friend of mine, I have already made the same offer but he respectfully declined, stating he was not worthy to be in my presence alone, much less to dine with the bearers of the elements as well…”

“Very well then, if there is nothing else, this is the pony I spoke to you about in my letters, Firestorm.” Twilight said as she stepped aside.

Firestorm bowed briefly to Princess Celestia, his heart was racing at the realization of how close he was to finally finding out what he was. However, the universe seemed to be stalling as there was a sudden knock on the door and a guard hesitantly poked his head inside, “Um, your highness? We have a situation…”

Celestia hung her head, “What now?”

Before he could answer, the guard was shoved aside as Discord entered with the changeling queen, Chrysalis, who was flanked by two of her guards with Celestia’s personal guard surrounding them altogether. Discord gestured to the changeling, “Is that really the attitude of the great and powerful princess Celestia when a ruler of a neighboring nation wishes to make peace?”

Celestia facehoofed. Taking a deep breath she turned her attention to the changeling queen, “Is this true?”

The queen took a cautious step forward, “Here’s the deal, Discord showed up in my hive and asked if I’d like to go for a walk, I hesitantly agreed, and the next thing I know I’m in your palace with him talking about making amends and guards glaring daggers and pointing spears at me and…” the queen sniffed at the air, “It appears I am not the only changeling here…”

Firestorm turned to face the queen but momentarily locked eyes with Discord first. Discord’s expression was neutral as he simply addressed Firestorm, “Rug burn.”

“Paracord,” Firestorm returned calmly.

Chrysalis completely ignored everypony else as she approached Firestorm who, much to the surprise of all in the room, bowed to the changeling queen. Chrysalis circled Firestorm, seeming to inspect every inch of his being. When she had gone full circle around him she softly said, “Rise.”

Firestorm obeyed and looked ahead with the blank expression typically found on any guard’s face. Chrysalis leaned in and smelled the back of Firestorm’s neck. As she pulled away, her guards screeched in objection. Chrysalis gave a smirk, “Be that as it may, he does outrank you…”

The queen’s guards exchanged confused looks before looking at Firestorm and bowing to him. Twilight approached Firestorm, “What is she talking about, you outranking them?”

“Do you recall when I said I lived in a changeling hive for a time, to learn to better control my shape shifting abilities?”

“Yes?”

Firestorm looked to Chrysalis as if asking for confirmation.

“Go ahead, I would very much like to see your true form as well…”

Firestorm closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, blue flames formed around his hooves and quickly spread across his entire body. When they faded, a large midnight black changeling stood before the queen. However, unlike any changeling anypony had seen before, the changeling version of Firestorm was remarkably different; unlike the changelings which had attacked Canterlot, Firestorm had no insect like traits. Instead, his body was coated with an almost iridescent dermis, his wings retained their original bat like frame, but the most noticeable difference was his facial features. While the queen and her two guards both had a singular horn protruding from their forehead like a unicorn would, Firestorm had two horns jetting out from the base of his skull where his ears would be. His mouth was filled, front to back, with pointed canine teeth, and fangs on his upper and lower jaw towards the front of his mouth. At first it seemed as if he were bearing his teeth, but it quickly became evident that in this form, he simply didn’t have lips at all. Two large slits ran parallel down either of his cheeks from just below his eyes to just above his mouth. When he opened his eyes, his pupils were black slits surrounded by red. His talons and hands clenched, digging his claws into the marble he stood on.

Firestorm opted not to make eye contact with anypony as he sensed the fear his natural changeling state was producing in everypony. In time, Chrysalis smiled, “So, you have changeling autonomy from the Western kingdoms, how interesting…”

Firestorm looked around the grand hall. If he had to guess, his poor vision was a trait of his full changeling form. While he could still make out shapes and gauge the distance to objects, everything seemed blurry, no colors or sharp edges were visible. The queen took notice of his dilemma as he tried focusing his vision by squinting, “That won’t help you I’m afraid.”

Firestorm looked at Chrysalis, thought he was mostly just looking in her direction, “From what I understand about changelings from the Western kingdoms, they have extremely poor eyesight during the day, it will be virtually nonexistent as the sun begins to set, but at night, you will have the sharpest contrast of night vision of any creature known to Equestria.”

Firestorm shifted back to his pony form, blinking his eyes as they readjusted. Once he could see the queen clearly she continued, “The slits on your face are what made changelings of the Western kingdoms the most powerful trackers of love. Love causes the body to produce a specific scent, no doubt you sensed all the love in this very room no matter how minute it may have been. Where it came from, who it was directed towards…”

Firestorm thought back to the moment earlier, remembering all the love he had sensed, Chrysalis was right.

“What did you mean he outranks your guards?” Twilight asked.

A changeling soldier has a scent unique to his rank which comes from the venom of the queen being injected on the back of the neck, The higher the rank, the more venom injected, the stronger the scent. Only the queen can envenomate her soldiers but they can all smell it and distinguish ranks. Your friend here is a Commander.”

“My brother is a Captain, I’m sure you know all about that,” Twilight said harshly.

“Be that as it may, from what I recall, the Western kingdoms had a different ranking system. A Commander was equal to if not higher ranking than a Captain of the Royal Guard.”

“Oh come on, you’re just making that up to try and tick me off!”

Firestorm turned to Twilight and shook his head.

“Really!?”

Firestorm nodded.

Chrysalis addressed Firestorm again, “I’m surprised you lasted this long, I was under the impression your kind all died off after the war between the kingdoms which led my hive to the predicament it finds itself in now…”

“I am just the child of at least two extinct species your highness, I’m just here trying to find out what I still don’t know about myself,” Firestorm said softly with his head bowed.

Celastia spoke up, “I will be happy to help you find those answers in any way I can, Firestorm, but the fact remains, the queen of a nation who waged war on my own finds herself in my court, I must deal with her first…”

Firestorm bowed to Celestia and took his place beside Scootaloo. Celestia looked directly into the queens emerald eyes, “You waged war against a peaceful neighboring nation who would have been willing to aid you in your time of need. If you wish to make peace, make it be known, otherwise I want you out of my castle and out of my kingdom faster than Rainbow Dash can fly.”

Everypony was shocked by the stern tone Celestia had just used in addressing Chrysalis, but nopony was more surprised than the queen herself. She had faced down Celestia before at the wedding during her initial invasion attack, and won. But now she was in Celestia’s court, nose to nose with Celestia herself, and no army or upper hoof advantage to back her up. Granted, if the situation in her hive had become desperate enough, she might have considered this option, but that decision was made for her and one wrong move could cost her that necessary option. With one final consideration, she made her choice. Surrendering all her pride, power, and appearance, she fell to the floor and bowed her head, “I wish to negotiate peace with Canterlot.

Celestia nodded with approval, “Then you shall remain a guest in my castle until negotiations can be made. Canterlot is already in the midst of negotiations with the Griffon Kingdom, which requires my full attention.”

Chrysalis nodded her head in understanding. Celestia extended her hoof into the queen’s field of vision which she hesitantly accepted before being helped to her hooves. The doors to the courtroom burst open, nearly knocked off their hinges as Pinkie Pie burst through them carrying Rarity in her front hooves like a groom carrying his new bride. Rarity was clinging to Pinkie for dear life as were all the bags impossibly secured to the party pony’s back, her mane and tail were a windblown tangled mess. Once the feeling of forward motion ceased, Rarity released her grip and practically teleported to the nearest pony to her who wasn’t Pinkie Pie. The unfortunate pony to be within Rarity’s immediate vicinity happened to be Applejack, whom she clung to with admirable force. Rarity caught sight of a clock in the courtroom, her words were trembling and shaky as she spoke, “I was in Manehattan. No literally, I was in Manehattan 8 seconds ago before Pinkie appeared in my room stating we needed to be in Canterlot. Here we are. She carried us here. Me here. She ran all the way here, with me in her arms!” Rarity finished before fainting.

“You’re such a drama queen, Rarity, always so over dramatic. Yes, I carried you here all the way from Manehattan but I’m fine. I got there really cool pills from another party planning pony, heh, try saying that three times fast!
Party Planning Pony!
Party Planning Pony!
Party Planning Pony!
Meh, I guess it’s not as hard as I thought. But anyway I think they really helped, good thing I bought two hundred bottles because it took ten just to get us here in the time it took for us to get here! The best part is, there are no side effec…” 
THUD!

Pinkie collapsed before she could finish her sentence, everything she already said only took 1/16 of a second to do so and went completely over everypony’s heads, Discord included.

Celestia turned Pinkie onto her back and listened for her heartbeat. Her heart was beating, but almost incomprehendibly fast. She summoned two confused guards over to herself and Pinkie, “You, take her to the medical wing, get her on an IV and have the doctors give her a sedative… a strong one. You, go through her bags and confiscate any pills you find.” Celestia ordered. The guard ordered to search Pinkie’s bags helped the other guard first get Pinkie onto his back before they both left at relatively the same time.

Just before the doors were able to fully shut, they were knocked open again as Princess Luna strode in, “Sister, this is an outrage, you have guests and we hear it from the guards and staff before we hear it from you? Explain!”

She scanned the room making eye contact on everypony the fell upon until they fell on something which caused her pupils to shrink, her heart to stop beating, and her blood run icy cold. With the sharp vision of her blue eyes, Luna observed all the traits of one particular stallion as he made his way into the exact center of the room, his amber eyes as they became draconic, his bat like wings as they were lowered until they touched the ground as a sign of utmost respect, the phoenix cutie mark adorning his flanks, and finally his hooves as they shifted into hands and talons before he bowed to her.

“Princess,” Firestorm said in almost a whisper.

Luna was shocked, she stammered and shifted her weight from hoof to hoof. Soon enough, she found the right words, “No…. You can’t…That’s… NOOOOO!”

Luna’s horn began glow with a bright blue aura. Twilight could feel the power radiating from Luna as she charged what was undeniably a very powerful offense spell. Firestorm felt it as too, knowing full well what would come next. Standing upright he spread his wings, held his arms out at his sides, and turned his palms towards his soon to be attacker, Luna, “So be it…”
> Chapter 21 - The Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is a point where pain becomes so intense, that the nerves of the being sustaining the pain, can no longer comprehend it, and everything feels numb. As Firestorm flew backwards, blasting through the stone wall, which less than a second earlier lay a fair distance behind him, he felt only a lingering tingle in his chest where Luna’s powerful spell had initially struck him. A second wall stopped his brief and violently fast journey, his consciousness instantly slipping away.

“Luna, what have you done!?” Celestia demanded, her voice a mixture of anger, fear, and confusion.

Luna didn’t respond, she stared into the hole with her horn still glowing faintly. Celestia approached her sister and rested a hoof on her shoulder. Luna snapped her attention to Celestia in surprise, as if she were expecting somepony else. Celestia looked into Luna’s tear filled eyes and saw only one thing, pure fear. Celestia moved her body so it was parallel to Luna’s and draped her left wing over her back, “Luna, what’s going on?”

Before she could explain her actions, Scootaloo skidded to a stop directly in front of her, “Why did you attack my daddy!?”

The color drained from Luna’s face at the filly’s question, “D-Dad?”

“Firestorm has been living in Ponyville with us for the past few weeks, he adopted Scootaloo,” explained Twilight.

“Living in… Adopt… Quickly, describe his actions and personality traits” Luna demanded.

“Umm, okay well, he is very calm for the most part, helpful, caring, friendly, social… Oh! He also used his magic to amplify the spell of another pony to correct the vision of a Ponyville resident, Derpy Hooves. Granted it didn’t go too well in the start, but the end result was even better than expected.”

“Don’t forget ‘bout the time he socialized with Filthy Rich,” Applejack added.

“Prey tell, what happened?” Luna asked.

“Well, he uh, kinda…” Twilight spoke trying to find the right words.

“Whooped that stuck up stallions flank!” Rainbow Dash said interrupting Twilight.

“Thanks Rainbow…” Twilight said sarcastically.

“Why did you attack him anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked Luna.

How did he execute the stallion, Filthy Rich was it?” Luna asked completely ignoring Rainbow’s question.

“Execute!? Princess, Firestorm didn’t kill anypony. Assault maybe, but nothing more than a few insignificant bruises!” Twilight quickly explained.

“Yeah, and a major bruise to his ego!” Rainbow Dash added.

“Not helping Rainbow…” Twilight said in a hushed tone.

“A few bruises, that’s all? Curious.” Luna replied.

“Luna, what is going on? That combat spell you used would have passed right through a pony, killing them instantly, not sending them hurtling through a wall! Who is he and what made you attack him?” Celestia asked.

“He came here looking for answers about himself, the ones he doesn’t already have,” Twilight added.

“Hmm, it does not surprise me there would be memories missing, though I am surprised his mind did not simply deteriorate after as long as it’s been…”

“Luna you’re stalling, explain to us right now what you know about Firestorm,” Celestia said sternly.

Luna’s ears folded back and she turned away in shame, “Let us wait a little while longer, he will be awake soon and I would very much like to only have to explain this once.”

Celestia could detect something in her sister’s voice which she just couldn’t put her hoof on but one thing was for sure, Firestorm’s presence was causing her a great deal of distress. A mere nod of her head signified she would honor Luna’s request to wait.

Firestorm slowly regained consciousness, his aching body pleading with him to relieve the pain in his left arm and wing. He tried to stand up but found himself wedged against a wall and beneath a concrete pillar. He assessed his body had sustained and determined a short range teleportation would successfully help free himself. He also determined, in his current state, it would hurt… a lot.

With no other options available, Firestorm began to charge the spell. As the spell neared its peak, he looked over his shoulder at his right wing. Under normal circumstances, both wings would be glowing during the use of any form of magic. This time however, the glow in his right wing stopped about halfway down, leaving the rest of his wing lying limp and useless behind him. With only his left wing glowing completely, the effect of a teleportation spell being used would have the same effect as a unicorn having only half of their horn to focus their magic with. Not that there was ever any such documented case but Firestorm had a relative idea of what he was in for.

Sure enough, as the spell completed, Firestorm found himself falling backwards for what he calculated to be two if not three seconds, a significant height if ever there was one. With only half of his magic thoroughly focused, the spell was unable to account for precise elevation, directionality, and tilt. As his body made contact with the marble flooring, the first thing he landed on was his already broken wing, which made getting the air knocked out of him when his back hit the ground feel like a pat on the back.

Firestorm wanted to cry out as the sharp pain reverberated throughout his body, but not having air in one’s lungs makes that an understandably difficult task. By the time Firestorm was able to catch his breath and breathe normally again, he had lost his urge to scream. Firestorm rolled over onto his left side, opting that rolling over a broken arm would hurt a lot less than rolling over what he now assumed to be a multi-fractured wing. He couldn’t be sure, but once he was on his stomach, it didn’t matter. Slowly and painfully he got to his talons and stood upright. Still in his draconic form, he took hold of his left wrist in his right hand. Looking up and to his right, Firestorm quickly pulled his broken arm downwards, the sound of bones and joints resetting echoed throughout the room. Firestorm clenched his jaw and took deep sharp breaths between his teeth.

Everypony watched in stunned silence as Firestorm’s arm corrected itself the rest of the way and instantly healed. Once that was done, Firestorm lifted his right arm above his head and stretched his right wing around to his side. Any pegasus seeing a wing broken as badly as Firestorm’s would lose their lunch or whatever meal they had eaten prior to seeing a wing in such bad shape. Luckily, Rainbow Dash had a strong stomach for such sights as being captain of the Ponyville Weather Patrol meant seeing such injuries whenever storms broke out of control. Unfortunately, one of the pegasus guards present didn’t share her strong stomach and ended up refunding the remnants of his breakfast to the corner he had been standing in at the time. Fluttershy had fainted when Luna blasted Firestorm with her magic and had yet to recover.

Firestorm’s wing was broken primarily at the forearm, the hum was intact but the all the phalanges in his right wing were broken somewhere. Firestorm took hold of his wing on the forearm with one hand on either side of the compound fracture. Without a second thought, Firestorm pulled his hands apart, straightening his wing, and correcting the fracture. The sickening pop of the bone was followed by a sharp cry of pain.

Firestorm stood motionless for several long minutes before releasing his grip on his wing. No sooner had he done so, the phalanges all cracked and popped as they corrected themselves followed by a flash of red, then, blue, then green light throughout the bones of his wing as his magic recovered its strongest path of focus. Firestorm released a content sigh and looked towards everypony else. Each had their own look of fear, shock, concern, or straight up horror accept for Princess Luna, who completely avoided eye contact.

Firestorm got down onto all fours and moved towards her with his head bowed, everypony accept for her took several cautious steps back. Firestorm stopped at Luna’s hooves and bowed completely, shifting back into his pony form in the process.

“Well Luna, explain,” Celestia said sternly.

“Twilight Sparkle” Luna said plainly, “What is your theory of the origins of the pony known as Firestorm?”

Twilight looked to Celestia out of confusion. Celestia merely shrugged her shoulders and nodded giving Twilight permission to proceed. Twilight cleared her throat, “Well, my first assumption would be that he is a hybrid, coming from a bat pony and unicorn mother and father.”

“That would be correct, his father was a bat pony, his mother a unicorn. Both were very dear friends of mine,” Luna stated, “However, your theory fails to explain his ability to shapeshift.”

“Yes, I knew that a bat pony could not produce a foal with any other pony outside of another bat pony because they have a much more complex genetic blueprint. I decided that perhaps if changeling DNA were somehow combined with the father's’ sperm and the mother's’ egg, it might naturally adapt and compensate for the missing chromosomes of the mother. But the chances of that successfully occurring are-”

“We know the odds, but that does not explain his lifespan.”

“I know it doesn’t but…” Twilight was cut off by a white hoof resting on her shoulder. She looked up to see Celestia smiling down at her before her smile faded and she turned to face Luna.

“Luna, I have no doubt in Twilight’s abilities to eventually uncover the truth about Firestorm but my patience is fading. You already have the answers and I want you to explain them to us now!” The strict tone carried by Celestia’s tone was strong enough to startle everypony in the room.

Luna took a deep breath and then released it, “Twilight referred to Firestorm as a hybrid but that is a gross understatement. Genetically engineered complex organism is much more appropriate…”

“Engineered?” Firestorm asked, “That’s impossible, I was born. I had a mother and a father. I remember-”

“You remember only what happened after you were born, nothing before or during. Twilight was on the right path, your mother was a unicorn and your father was a bat pony. Changeling DNA was added to stabilize the fetus and the fetus itself was merely a stable base!

“A stable base for what?” Celestia asked, “What aren’t you telling us, what was the primary genetic donor you used to create him?”

Luna looked at Celestia with tears in her eyes, “I used anoptryx DNA…”

“You WHAT!?” Celestia shouted, causing several stain glass windows to crack and a slowly recovering Fluttershy to faint once again.

Luna shut her eyes tightly as her body trembled. Twilight approached Celestia, “Princess what’s wrong, what is an anoptryx?”

“An anoptryx is a dragon species which went extinct over eight hundred years ago.”

“I’ve never heard of them before or came across them in The Big Book of Dragons when I read it to spike when he first started learning how to speak.”

“You wouldn’t find any information on the anoptryx species in any books or even the Canterlot Archives, Twilight, I destroyed all traces of their existence when I caused their extinction.”

“You… you what? You wiped out an entire species?” Twilight asked as tears welled in her eyes.

“Yes, the anoptryx were the most powerful and most dangerous of the dragon species. I created them to help ponykind grow and thrive. They were intelligent and had the comprehension and dexterity to support it. They even helped build this castle, but they became aggressive. Each generation became more hostile towards ponies and any other species as time went on. Eventually they waged war, and I was given only one option. I withheld the sunlight and froze our world during winter, warning only my subjects before the event so they could take shelter and store provisions.” Celestia explained. She turned her gaze to Luna, “Even you knew how dangerous they could be, so why did you use their DNA to create Firestorm!?” she asked Luna.

“Because he is a war relic,” Luna answered. Celestia felt her heart skip a beat as the realization dawned on her. “Nightmare Moon created him to help me overthrow you!”

Queen Chrysalis leaned in and nudged Discord who was sitting in a theater seat eating a bucket of popcorn, “Does this happen a lot around here?”

“You mean all of us coming together on the same day at the same place or everything happening right now, because they’re both somewhat rare but I’m loving every minute of it! Popcorn?”

> Chapter 22 - The Problem With Amulets...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everypony turned to look at Firestorm. He switched his gaze from one pony to another, his face expressed anger, but his eyes showed pain as he fought back tears. Soon enough, Firestorm’s gaze fell on Luna, “So… I’m just a weapon?”

Luna opened her mouth to speak but was stopped as Firestorm continued, “I guess you never considered the psychological consequences, huh? How long was I supposed to last? I can’t imagine you’d want something as dangerous as me standing by your side after I did your bidding. What did you expect when you made me, was I even supposed to develop a personality? Does that make your weapon flawed, defective?”

“I…” Luna started only to be cut off again by Firestorm shifting into his draconic form and forcing out a telekinetic shockwave in every direction, forcing everypony back or knocking them down. As everypony struggled to regain their footing, Firestorm teleported out of the castle. Luna looked around and assessed the damage. Several guards had been forced into the surrounding walls, some massaging fresh bruises and minor cuts, Twilight and her friends were getting back to their hooves, Celestia seemed to be doing the same as Luna, Chrysalis was waiving off her guards as they tried to help her back up, and Discord was nowhere to be seen.

Luna turned again to see Celestia looking at her, the look in her eyes told Luna everything. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she ran out through the doors calling out, “I’m sorry!”

Celestia took a calming breath as a guard approached her. “Princess, should we send scouts to locate the… um…”

“No. If he, Firestorm, returns, do not engage him, keep a fair distance and allow him to move freely through the castle.” 

“I… as you wish,” the guard concluded with a salute and left to spread the message.

Celestia took another calming breath, this time, Twilight approached her from the side, “Celestia?”

“Are you and your friends alright?”

“Y-yes, most of them are…”

“I’m so sorry for putting you in danger like that, Twilight, I was so focused on my dealings with the griffon king that I overlooked signs of danger surrounding Firestorm and put you and your friends in harm’s way.”

“It’s not your fault, you had to do what’s best for Equestria.”

“What I had to do to ensure the safety of Equestira and my little ponies is the very thing I didn’t do. If Firestorm had known what he was, if his intentions were hostile, I put him right with you and the other elements of harmony,” Celestia explained, her voice breaking several times throughout her explination.

“You can’t focus on what bad could have happened when nothing did…”

Celestia released a heavy sigh, “Tend to your friends. I will assign rooms for each of you later, for now I must make arrangements for Chrysalis and her guards to stay here. Then I will speak with my sister.”

As Celestia left, taking the changelings with her, Twilight couldn’t help but notice the way she addressed Luna simply as her sister, not by name. She brushed the thought off and approached her friends. With some help from additional guards, Twilight led her friends to the castle library, where she essentially lived before she moved to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash hesitated to enter, Twilight noticed immediately and approached her pegasus friend, “Rainbow, is everything alright?”

“I… Y-yeah… No, everything is not alright, this has been like the weirdest day ever, even worse than when we faced Discord!” I… I need to think,” Rainbow Dash stammered before flying out an open window. Without anytime to respond, all Twilight could do was watch her friend fly off.

By her nature, Rainbow Dash would fly as fast as she possibly could and then tried to go even faster. She hated traveling with others because it meant her needing to greatly reduce her speed to nothing more than a hover, assuming she chose to fly at all. Right now though, she was flying so slow that Fluttershy would have a fighting chance at winning had they been in a race. Rainbow Dash couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation. Finding her mind too clouded to even fly straight, Rainbow flew to the peak of the mountain upon which Canterlot Castle was built, and settled down onto the grass. She looked out across Equestria, her mind and heart eventually calming down. As she released another heavy sigh, her ear twitched, not from a sound coming from behind her, but the silence which lingered there.

Beyond her control, tears welled in Rainbow’s eyes as they fell on Firestorm who was sitting on his haunches. He was simply sitting on the grass with his eyes closed and angled so his side was to Rainbow.

“Firestorm?”

Firestorm’s eyes slowly opened, looking straight ahead. His gaze shifted and his head slowly turned to Face Rainbow Dash who gasped when their eyes met. Despite having seen Firestorm’s draconic yellow eyes before, they were noticeably different. Despite the glare, they were bloodshot and puffy, obvious signs he had been crying. A silence between them lingered before Firestorm broke it.

“Well this sucks!”

Rainbow Dash snorted as she attempted to suppress laughing at his statement.

Firestorm didn’t laugh, he merely continued staring off into the distance, “I-I’m really sorry about all of this…”

“Why are you apologizing?” Rainbow asked, “It’s not like this is something you could control.”

Firestorm turned his head to Rainbow Dash, his eyes a mixture of fear, confusion, and anger, “Why aren’t you afraid of me? You just heard what I am.”

Rainbow Dash got up and made her way to Firestorm, “Yeah, I heard what Princess Luna said you are, but that has nothing to do with or change who you are.”

“Who am I to you?”

“Somepony with a heart. Somepony who adopted an orphan pegasus just because he wanted her to have a good life. Somepony who never left when he had almost no reason to stay…”

“And now… now that I have the answer to the question I spent a thousand years asking?”

“Well, what reason do you have for leaving?”

Firestorm dwelt on Rainbow’s question for a moment, “Well, I guess I don’t really have any reason to leave. I have several reasons to stay though. Plus, what would be the point of running away from something you can’t change, especially when it’s yourself?”

Rainbow Dash smiled, “Looks like you’re stuck with us then huh?” she asked with a playful nudge.

“Hmm, yeah, the element bearers of harmony and the bat freak, sounds like a metal band.”

“Don’t forget about Spike and Scootalight or whatever you’ve decided to call her.”

Firestorm smiled softly, “Shadow Light,” he corrected, and I didn’t forget about them.

Rainbow Dash gave a smirk, “So then, where is she now?”

Firestorm closed his eyes and focused his thoughts on Canterlot Castle, his magic reaching out and searched for his adopted daughter throughout the halls until he sensed her. In the process however, he sensed he was not the only pony looking for her and that she was in trouble. His eyes shot open and his pony-like body shifted so it boasted his ghostly traits, “Climb on, I might need your help…”

Fearing something might have happened to Scootaloo, Rainbow complied without question. Once her hooves were firmly wrapped around Firestorm’s neck she felt the rush of him taking off, doubling back towards the castle, and diving straight for it. She hadn’t ridden on another pony's back since she was a filly, but she had no time to savor the forgotten feeling, Firestorm was moving too quickly and the castle was only getting closer. Putting her complete trust in Firestorm, Rainbow Dash held on as the white stone wall seemed to rush towards them. Still, Firestorm did not slow down, turn, or even flinch. Instead, his body along with Rainbow’s passed through the outer wall as if it were a thin cirrostratus. Another wall, followed by another, then a floor/ceiling before Firestorm came to an abrupt stop, carefully dismounting Rainbow Dash, and then crouching behind a nearby wall, turning his head around the corner.

By the time Rainbow’s mind caught up with her body she found herself standing behind a royal guard as he spied on somepony around the corner. Rainbow gulped and nervously spoke, “Um, excuse me…”

The guard looked at Rainbow Dash out of the corner of his eye. When Rainbow say the yellow draconic eye looking at her she heard Firestorm think, “Shhh, Rainbow, they’ll hear you!”

“Who will hear me?” Rainbow thought.

Firestorm looked around the corner and down the hallway again, not answering Rainbow’s question.

Firestorm, in the form of a white pegasus royal guard watched Scootaloo from behind as she trotted nervously down the hallway. She had lost count of how many hallways she had passed through after leaving the little fillies room and was worried that she had already been down this very hall at least once before if not twice. Without warning, a door opened and she collided with the pony who had come out through said door.

The feeling of somepony softly impacting on his side caused Prince Blueblood to lose focus on his already weak magic and spill several drops of his imported tea onto his pristine fur and jacket. He glared down at Scootaloo, “Look what you did peasant! Do you have any idea how much this jacket costs? How did you even get in here? Did you wander away from your parents? They are going to be so upset with you when they find out what it’s going to cost them to clean the stains from this jacket,” Blueblood looked around before calling out, “Guards! Guards!”

Firestorm bared his razor teeth in a sinister smile before he trotted across the hall as if he were a guard passing by on patrol. Blueblood caught sight of him and called out again, “Guard!”

Firestorm stopped and, turning towards Blueblood, saluted him with, “Sir!”

“Guard, this whelp wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and spilled tea all over me!”

Scootaloo turned around, tears in her eyes, and tried to plead her case, “No, it was an accident, I didn’t-”

“Quiet! Guard, I want you to take her and find her family and then bring them to me in my study.”

Firestorm approached the two, looking down at Scootaloo, he graced her with a smile, “Are you alright little one?”

Scootaloo’s ears perked up at the question, recognition apparent in her eyes at Firestorm’s tone.

“Guard! Don’t ask her stupid questions when I gave you orders on how to deal with her!”

Firestorm looked up to Blueblood, “All due respect sir, she is terrified, and you calling her names, yelling at her, and talking down to her isn’t helping the situation.”

“Excuse me! You don’t tell me what I can and cannot do. You are sworn to Celestia and must obey orders given to you by any royalty living in the castle or are of noble descent!”

“Geez, who did your mother have to screw to get into the royal bed and end up giving birth to you? She must have had quite a few assets working for her if you didn’t get your charming personality from your father…”

Scootaloo fell over laughing but stopped when Blueblood hit her with the back of his hoof, “Shut up you miserable mistake of a foal!”

Firestorm knocked Blueblood back and stood over Scootaloo with his pegasus wings flared as Scootaloo massaged her stinging cheek beneath him. “Apologize!” Firestorm demanded.

“How dare you! Laying a hoof on me, insulting me, and now telling me what to do! I should-”

“You should do as I say and apologize to the girl!”

“I’ll see to it that you are stripped of your rank and-”

Firestorm began a predatory stalk forward, his pegasus guard disguise fading into his draconic form, “Go ahead, I’m not even a guard, but I am her father, and if you ever lay another hoof on her, I’ll shatter every bone in your legs!”

Blueblood turned tail and ran but Firestorm teleported in front of him, gripped his throat in his claws, and spun him around to face Scootaloo, “Apologize to her!”

Celestia, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and four royal guard unicorns burst through the doorway at the far end of the hallway. “Firestorm, release him!” Celestia ordered.

“Apologize,” Firestorm whispered into Blueblood's ear.

Luna appeared Firestorm and the others, “Firestorm, stand down!”

Firestorm tightened his grip on Blueblood's throat and growled.

The doorway at the opposite end of the hallway burst open and Discord moon-walked through the doors, “Not to worry everypony! I have what Princess Luna needs to control her monster right here,” he said holding up the alicorn amulet.

“Discord, no! You don’t know what you’re doing!” Luna pleaded.

“Quite the contrary my dear, the magic in the alicorn amulet and the magic in Firestorm are on and the same. The amulet allows you to control him to do your will. You can thank me later, just get a leash on your dog, here!” Discord said throwing the alicorn amulet frisbee style to Luna.

The amulet flew through the air but instead of landing on Luna’s neck as Discord had intended, the amulet took a detour and latched itself to Firestorm’s neck. Firestorm dropped Blueblood as the amulet poured its magic into Firestorm, his magic, the missing half of his being and power.

Firestorm screamed out as his body was quickly overwhelmed and began behaving erratically. Different parts of his body shape shifted at random, lacerations appeared all over his body as it grew, and after less than a minute of agony, a dragon, three times the size of Celestia lay passed out and covered in its own blood as its wounds slowly healed.

Blueblood had run off at the opportunity while everypony else cautiously approached the dragon which had previously been Firestorm. The alicorn amulet lay beside him cracked and devoid of its power.

Discord looked at the useless amulet, then Firestorm, then the amulet again, and then Luna, “Well… I guess it didn’t do what I thought it did…”
> Chapter 23 - More Good News...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firestorm slowly felt himself growing conscious. His entire body felt like it had fallen out of the sky. The fact that whatever he was lying on was cold and hard didn’t help either. As his eyes slowly drifted open he heard a gruff voice say, “he’s waking up, go inform the princess…”

After that, all Firestorm heard was hoof beats running away, down a tight corridor from the sound of the echo. As his eyes opened completely and his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was the stony ceiling. Rolling onto his belly he felt something was indeed wrong. His body felt like it weighed half a ton, and his limbs didn’t flow with his desired movements, he felt bulky and uncoordinated. Glancing down at himself he immediately determined the problem, this wasn’t his body, it couldn’t be.

Firestorm had three primary forms if he wasn’t impersonating somepony. There was his pony form; his most basic appearance which made him look like any other pony save for his bat like wings. His ghost form; which meant a mouth full of razor sharp back turned teeth, draconic eyes, hands, talons, and some bizarre mix of a black aura membrane which made up his wings and coated his body. Finally there was his draconic form; while the physical traits were still pony in majority, his hooves were replaced by draconic hands in front and talons in back, draconic eyes, teeth, and heightened senses.

This new form he was in was completely foreign. The first problem was that his body was easily three times the size of Celestia’s. The second was the way his wings were joined to his arms which gave him a more legitimate bat/dragon appearance. Thirdly was the feeling of newfound power surging through him. He had spent decades learning to control his abundant power when he was younger but now he felt his magic reaching out and exploring his surroundings against his will. As his magic reported back its findings, Firestorm came to the realization he was not in just a stony room, he was in a prison cell, and there was a pony on the other side of the bars watching him.

Firestorm turned his gaze to the guard. Despite the stoic appearance of the guard, Firestorm still heard him swallow hard. “Where am I, why was I brought here?” Firestorm’s voice sounded as alien to him as his body. The pitch of his voice was low at the same time scratchy with a significant increase in bass, assuming the walls weren’t somehow responsible for that…

“You’re in the Canterlot Castle Detention Facility, brought here under Princess Celestia’s orders. We had to knock down three walls just to fit you in here.”

Firestorm stood up in his cell, his back scraping the ceiling, “I appreciate your concern for my comfort. Where is the princess now?”

“Her highness is in the throne room, but she will be down shortly to interview you and release you should she deem it safe to do so.”

“Or, you could release me, I could see her myself, and you could get back to doing whatever it was you were doing before you were assigned to babysit me…”

“The princess will arrive when she sees fit.”

“Well, I tried asking nicely…” Firestorm said before pushing on the cell door only to have it forced back by a very powerful shield spell when he made contact.

“Princess Celestia will release you if she determines it is safe to do so,” the guard repeated.

Firestorm, not one to be denied freedom by a simple shield spell, drew back his right hand and slashed his claws across the shield spell and bars. The guard himself winced at the sight of Firestorm losing several inches of his claws to the shield spell. What he didn’t see was the gashes cut clean through the cell bars Firestorm’s claws had made. Firestorm however, did see the cuts in the metal, as well as the shield healing it's tears from his claws. Firestorm brought his hand to his face and examined what remained of his claws. Glancing back at the cell bars and the invisible shield protecting it, Firestorm focused and regrew his claws to their original length.

Taking both hands, with his fingers and claws interlocked, Firestorm thrust his hands between the bars and penetrated the shield. Focusing his magic, the bars began to melt as the shield was torn farther apart until he was able to, while not very gracefully, pass through it. Once he was free he looked at the guard who stood his ground but did not engage or give any reason to provoke Firestorm. Firestorm grinned, “I’ll tell Celestia you put up an honorable fight,” Firestorm said before spreading his wings and taking off, passing through the ceiling without causing any damage. The guard stood motionless for several minutes before turning and trotting out of the detention facility and returning to his post.

Celestia rubbed her head with her hoof, the pain having been caused by Firestorm forcing his way through her shield spell. As the pain subsided she looked to everypony in the room with her and simply mumbled, “Ow…”

No sooner had she said that, the dragon embodied Firestorm rose through the stone floor of the throne room, landed on all fours, and opened his jaws to release a powerful roar which shook the stain glass windows, some to the point of cracking. Having gotten that out of his system, Firestorm closed his mouth and glared at everypony in the room. Blueblood, Fluttershy, and Rarity, who had regained consciousness moments earlier, all fainted at Firestorm’s entrance. Everypony who was still conscious looked over Firestorm’s draconic body in pure terror.

Because Firestorm had looked over himself while lying on his stomach, he had missed what everypony else was currently seeing. The skin, more so than scales, on his chest was completely transparent. The muscle tissue beneath that, which there was an abundance of, was semi-transparent. Through both shown his ribs and internal organs, more specifically, his lungs as they fluctuated size with each breath he took, and his heart beating with a steady rhythm. Firestorm’s head boasted no physical traits of a pony. His mouth was long and filled with sharp interlocking teeth, his ears were more canine in their shape, being triangular, and his mane was completely absent. The only thing about his facial features that remained somewhat similar were his eyes, yellow irises with vertically slit pupils, but they were different, they showed only aggression and hatred.

Luna approached Firestorm, whose glare immediately fell upon. Sensing his aggression and understanding it, Luna softly spoke, “Stand down.”

A low growl gradually grew in volume from Firestorm’s throat. “Stand down,” Luna repeated.

Firestorm opened and snapped his jaws shut, echoing something of a bark and the sound of his teeth clicking together. Luna summoned a book, ancient in appearance, and flipped through the pages. Eventually she settled on a page and briefly reading some text to herself. Firestorm looked on with mild curiosity. Finally Luna teleported the book away and said again, “Stand Down.”

Firestorm reared up, flared his wings, and roared in a fierce display of power. Luna stood her ground, “Firestorm, the night fall upon a crippled star. Stand. Down!”

Firestorm separated his wings from his arms which folded in at his sides while his arms supported his weight as he came back down onto all fours, and lowered his head in submission. Everypony gawked at what they saw, seconds earlier, Firestorm seemed like an unstoppable force. But now, after a few words and a stern order, he was completely under Luna’s control.

“Luna, how did you do that?” Twilight asked.

Luna summoned her book once more, “Owner’s manual. You didn’t think I’d make a biological super weapon and not have a way of controlling and disarming it, did you?”

“Him,” Rainbow Dash said flatly.

“Excuse me?” Luna asked.

“Him, Firestorm, you called him “it”,” Rainbow Dash clarified.

Firestorm raised his head and turned towards Rainbow who cautiously approached him. Firestorm watched her for every step she took until she was right in front of him. With a genuine smile she said, “Yeah, this sucks a little bit, but you look pretty awesome.”

Firestorm moved his head closer to Rainbow Dash and nuzzled her affectionately, his cheek rubbing against her entire face while his nose was dangerously close to getting tickled by the feathers on her wings. As he pulled back Rainbow Dash moved further beneath him, Firestorm rising higher so she wouldn’t have to crouch or even duck down. With his chest fully displayed, Rainbow reached up and placed a hoof over his visibly beating heart, “You can’t call something with a heart an “it”,” Rainbow said directly to Princess Luna whose jaw hung open.

Had Rainbow been paying explicit attention to Luna, she would have seen her jaw hit the floor the moment Firestorm nuzzled her.

Luna approached Firestorm, “I… I’m sorry.”

Rainbow Dash moved back over to her friends, all of whom were shocked by her actions. Luna approached Firestorm, “How do you feel?”

“Like I had a mountain dropped on me,” Firestorm said in his deep draconic tone.

“Your mother was a unicorn mare, Charm, she carried you for at least a full year. During her pregnancy, she wore the alicorn amulet constantly while it stripped off part of your full magical abilities as well as divided parts of your physiology so you both wouldn’t die when she gave birth. When Discord retrieved the alicorn amulet, you two were drawn to each other, it was desperate to return your power to you.”

“I remember when Trixie used the alicorn amulet in Ponyville, it practically turned her evil!” Twilight said.

“Understandable.” Luna said unfazed, “The amulet was part of and meant for Firestorm. It would certainly share its power with a unicorn but definitely corrupt them in the process. When the amulet was reunited with its true owner, it had fulfilled its purpose. Thus, it is no longer a threat.”

“So Firestorm won’t display the same response as Trixie from what Twilight reported to me in her letters?” Celestia asked.

“Nay. Furthermore, in this time of crisis, I believe Firestorm would be a powerful asset against the griffons, now that he is back to full strength, and was initially designed for this purpose…”

“No Luna, I will be discussing this matter with an ambassador shortly over lunch, I’m sure we can reach a mutual agreement, without the call for war.” Celestia said calmly.

“And should the negotiations fail?” Luna asked sincerely.

Firestorm had been looking back and forth between the princesses, though more so up and down given his height and Celestia’s position on her thrown, throughout their discussion and at Luna’s question, all eyes fell on Celestia.

Celestia looked at Firestorm and then back down to Luna, “First let me ask you this, given all the magic and genetic samples you put into making Firestorm, is this how he is going to look now that his power and, I suppose, full anatomy have been restored?”

“Only as long as he wishes to remain in that form, he still possesses his shape shifting abilities,” Luna said before turning on her heels to face Firestorm, “Including this one, you have four primary forms. Shift from this one to the next one down and end by reverting to your pony form.”

By this time, anypony who had fainted had since recovered and watched on expectantly, especially Chrysalis and her guards. Firestorm hesitated, remembering how painful it was to get in this purely draconic form, but eventually obeyed the instruction. Unlike every other time he had shape shifted, no flames washed over his body, and he wasn’t subjected to excruciating pain. Instead, his skin seemed to fragment into a super fine black mist which compressed and reshaped itself into smaller limbs and body. As the mist settled into a definitive shape, the significantly smaller if Firestorm stood before Luna in his ghostly form boasting an expression of shock.

“Are you alright?” Luna asked.

“I… it… it didn’t hurt.” Firestorm stammered.

“What didn’t hurt?”

“Shape shifting. Normally it’s the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced in my life but that time… it didn’t hurt!”

“Being whole, thing’s you were once unable to do, or found painful to do will no longer be a factor. Your shape shifting will also be far less limited. Next form please.”

Firestorm complied, shifting again into his draconic form and then again at Luna’s request into his most basic pony form. Everypony looked on with equal fascination including Discord and Chrysalis.

The double doors leading into the throne room suddenly swung open and a guard stood at the threshold having brought his hoof to his head in a salute. “Your highness, the ambassador to the griffin kingdom has arrived,” the guard announced.

Celestia let out a sigh, “Thank you, escort him to the dignitaries dining hall, I will be along shortly.”

The guard saluted again and then left. Celestia released another sigh, “This matter concerning Firestorm will have to wait. Luna, I do not wish to leave Twilight or her friends in the midst of their visit but I’m afraid this takes precedence over all else, please join them for lunch, anywhere you deem appropriate. Discord, take the queen and her guards for a walk through the royal gardens, I have no fear of any of you getting lost, much less trapped in there. Firestorm, I would like for you and Prince Blueblood to join me for lunch with the ambassador.”

“What!? I understand the importance of my being present for the ambassador’s visit, but why does HE have to be there?” Blueblood whined.

"Because I knew it would piss you off," Celestia thought. “Because I must keep a close eye on somepony as unique as Firestorm. Also, he may prove useful in this situation should things take a turn for the worse…”

“Sister, are you honestly considering using Firestorm as weapon against the griffons?”

Celestia shook her head, “Despite the fact you created him as Nightmare Moon to overthrow me, you still only see him as a weapon. You need to accept the fact that Firestorm is a pony. A very unique pony who greatly stretches the definition as one, but a pony none the less. And, should negotiations fail, I honestly think it would be best if Firestorm were on the battlefront, as my personal guard perhaps…”

“But sister, do you even reali-”

“This is not up for debate, Luna,” Celestia said rising from her throne, “my decision is final. Now please, do as I requested, and I will see you all later.”

Celestia left the throne room with Blueblood and Firestorm in tow.

Luna watched as her sister left before she felt a hoof touch her shoulder. She looked down to see Twilight giving her a soft smile, “She’s just under a lot of stress. She’ll come around when this is all over.”

“But how long will that be Twilight Sparkle?”


Celestia stopped halfway through the doorway to the dining hall, holding up a hoof to signal to Blueblood and Firestorm to stop. She glanced up towards the rafters then ducked down to look under the table, nothing, the room was completely empty. Guards would have been present had the ambassador not yet arrived, but their absence told Celestia he was here, somewhere…

She took a cautious step further into the dining hall and glanced towards the doors leading to the kitchen, too easy. She looked towards the grand fireplace at the opposite side of the hall which was parallel to the table, he never hides in the same place twice. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, the doors were open when she arrived. Celestia looked around the door to her right and then the door to her left. As she pulled away from looking behind the left door, she came face to face with a griffon pulling open his eyelids with his beak open and his tongue hanging out all while cross-eyed.

Celestia screamed and fell to the floor, the griffon burst out laughing. Celestia glared at him, “Cody you lousy, ooh!”

The griffon clutched his sides as his laughter finally died down enough to offer a talon to help Celestia up, “Oh come on Sunny, it only took me sixteen years to finally get the drop on you, I totally earned that!” The griffon retorted.

Celestia accepted his offer and was quickly back on her hooves, “Very well, but if you tell anypony I screamed like a filly, I’ll tell Luna you got drunk and spanked me…”

“Ha! I knew you sent the little scary one to do you dirty work! Not this arrogant little prick,” Cody said gesturing to Blueblood.

“Hey, I’m right here!” Blueblood whined.

“Don’t care!” Celestia and Cody said in perfect unison before bursting out laughing.

Cody looked back at Blueblood and then noticed the dark batpony standing beside him, “Cody Got-a-last-name-you’re-never-going-to-know, nice to meet you…?”

“Firestorm No-last-name, a pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Got-a-last-name-you’re-never-going-to-know, mind if I call you Cody?”

Cody burst out in another fit of laughter, “I love it!” turning to Celestia he asked, “Where did you find this stallion?”

“It’s a long story,” Celestia answered while shaking her head, “Perhaps I will tell you about it some other time, I’m sure you must be exhausted and hungry from you trip,” Celestia said as the group made their way to the table.

“Ah, trying to fatten me up so I can’t escape when you try to seduce me, princess. Your crafty ways will not work, I will die an honorable death before I let you have your way with me!” Cody said giggling.

“No, I just wanted to get some food in your beak so you’d shut up,” Celestia said with a wink before the chef appeared to take everypony and griffon’s order.

Everypony requested their meal and now it was down to Firestorm. Cody had ordered a wild caught salmon with lemon and spices the chef swore he would reveal only to Celestia on his deathbed. Firestorm truly preferred fish over the soups and salads Celestia and Blueblood had ordered, but wasn’t sure about ordering the fish for himself, or any other meat for that matter.

His hesitation went unnoticed by Celestia who touched her wingtip on Firestorm’s shoulder, immediately receiving his attention, “Have whatever tastes good to you,” she said with a kind smile.

Firestorm nodded and looked to the chef, “I’ll have the salmon as well,” a low rumble from his stomach echoed throughout the dining hall, “or two…”

“Very well, I shall have your meals prepared shortly!” the chef said before excusing himself.

Cody looked at Firestorm once the chef had departed, “Pardon me for asking, but I thought bat ponies being carnivorous was a misconception, I was told their diet is more similar to fruit bats.”

Firestorm turned to Celestia who nodded with approval for him to answer appropriately. Firestorm looked back at Cody and brought his hooves up and placed him on the table, “No, you’re right. Bat ponies do eat primarily fruit. However,” Firestorm said as his hooves shifted into claws, “that’s only a purebred bat pony, I’m a hybrid,” he concluded with a smile.

“Oh, WOW!” Cody exclaimed, “That is fantastic! A hybrid of what if you do not mind my asking?”

“Pony dragon mix primarily, there’s actually a little more to it than that, but you’d have to ask my creator for the full list,” Firestorm said nonchalantly.

“I-I’m sorry, your creator?” Cody asked.

Firestorm turned back to Celestia who nodded and took the lead, “Yes, Firestorm was engineered by my sister, Luna. But that was over one thousand years ago when she became Nightmare Moon.”

“Incredible, I assume then that you have a few surprises?”

Firestorm took hold of his glass of water and looked at it for a moment, “Indeed, even a few I didn’t know about,” he said before taking a sip. As he set down his glass, the chef and a few other staff ponies wheeled out carts at his announcing lunch was served. Conversation shifted constantly throughout lunch, Firestorm remaining quiet for the most part. Prince Blueblood putting in his two bits whenever he saw fit. Celestia needed to remind herself time and again he was only there because of his excellent abilities to negotiate and might prove beneficial.

As all the meals were finished and the plates removed, Celestia spoke up, “Cody, may I ask you in regards the peace treaty you came here to negotiate?”

The entire room fell silent as Cody’s smile vanished almost instantly, “Yes, I’m afraid it’s quite simple, my king wants… he wants you to… he wants to be crowned supreme ruler of all Equestria.”

Celestia could barely speak, “I… he doesn’t… um…”

“He says if you don’t crown him willingly, he will take Equestria by force…”

Blueblood, outraged, lashed out at the ambassador, Celestia didn’t hear what he was saying but she was no longer in the mood to tolerate him. “Leave us,” she said flatly.

All eyes fell on Celestia. “What?” Blueblood asked.

“I said, leave us,” she said looking directly at Blueblood.

“I really think that I sho-”

“Did I stutter? I told you to leave, now.”

Blueblood remained seated, seemingly incapable of comprehending the simple instruction he had just been given. Celestia, trying to maintain her composure looked over to Firestorm, “I know you can hear me,” she thought, “I don't want him here anymore.”

Firestorm got up from his seat and thrust out his open palm towards Blueblood who flew back out the door, still clinging to his seat. Once he was through, Firestorm clapped his hands together, shutting the door with his telekinesis. Firestorm walked around so he was standing behind Celestia as one of her personal guards would, save for the fact he was standing upright on his hind legs. Celestia rose from her seat and made her way over to Cody, who looked equally distressed.

She sat down on the floor beside Cody, “How did this happen? We’ve lived in peace for centuries…”

“The king is convinced griffons are superior, that he should rule over all the species. He is determined and will not stop. I know you won’t give into his completely unreasonable demands, so I’m afraid that…”

“War…” Celestia concluded.

Cody merely nodded.

“It would seem that negotiations have failed…”

“My king is unreasonable and power hungry, but there are many of us, myself included, who are completely against him. One of his superior officers wanted me to tell you, when he invades, he will be moving in from the North heading South over Neighagra Falls to attack Canterlot head on. The information is good, I trust him.”

“I’ll move troops into position for a counter attack, away from civilization. Thank you.”

Cody looked to Firestorm, “I wish I could have gotten to know him a little better, but from what I’ve seen, you’ll want him on the frontline at your side.”

Celestia nodded, fighting back tears, “I’ll definitely consider it,” she said as she got to her hooves.

“Oh, one more thing,” Cody said as he rose from his seat.

“Yes?” Celestia asked.

Cody stood up on his hind legs, placed one talon on Celestia’s shoulder and the other on her cheek, leaned in, and gently kissed her lips. Celestia’s eyes slowly closed but the kiss ended all too soon for her. Before Cody backed away he pulled her into a hug and whispered, “I hope when this is all over, we can still remain friends…”

“You will always be welcome here.”

Cody kissed Celestia’s cheek and then departed, nodding farewell to Firestorm on his way out.

Celestia’s breathing became shaky and tears welled in her eyes. Only seconds later she collapsed, crying without any concern of who saw her.

Firestorm slowly approached her, shifting his form so he was an anoptryx when he reached her. Ever so carefully, he reached out with his magic and lifted Celestia’s weeping form onto his back. His wings covered over her and he made his way out of the dining hall. Two guards were standing outside the door and noticed Celestia’s tail and mane slipping beneath Firestorm’s wing. They nodded and escorted him through the castle to Celestia’s bed chamber. Once there, the guards took their post on either side of the doors to her room, allowing Firestorm to proceed inside and deposit Celestia onto her bed. As if she were his own foal, Firestorm pulled the covers up over her body, tucking her in as she continued to cry softly.”

As the anoptryx left her room, Celestia said in a hushed tone, “Firestorm? Thank you.”

Firestorm left in silence, the guards closing the doors behind him. He shifted into his draconic form and made his way to the library, his magic having already reached out and mapped the entire castle. There he would wait for his friends to return, and tell Luna the events which had taken place…

> Chapter 24 - As Read By...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	This will be my final entry, the final piece on the board has been set in motion. The magic has stabilized and is ready to be fused to a suitable host, I already have the perfect couple in mind, Midnight Storm and his mate, Charm. Both are perfect as Midnight Storm is the bat pony commander of my lunar guard and his mate, and personal friend of mine, Charm, a beautiful and powerful unicorn mare. I suppose this could be classified as a win win situation. I will not deny my sorrow for them when they admitted to me their eagerness and difficulty to conceive a foal. Though I already knew such a possibility was, well, there was no possibility at all, not without my help that is.

Charm sadly suffered a miscarriage. I remember holding her that entire night, as she wept, exhausted herself, slept, suffered nausea and vomiting, and then repeated the process all over again. Midnight Storm seemed to take it better than she, that is, however, until I saw the training grounds the next morning and my guard passed out and covered in blood and tears. I digress, they would not be able to conceive without my help, being the princess of the night after all has its benefits. By fusing the magic with Charm’s egg as it becomes fertilized, as I have carefully calculated and planned, the magic will bond properly and alter the fetus to ensure its survival.

I will then instruct Charm to wear the Alicorn Amulet to ensure her survival during the pregnancy and birth, gently siphoning off magic from the fetus so it will not grow beyond the mother’s limits and tolerance. I have assured their foal to be male, as it will be able to breed and produce offspring with any healthy mare of proper breeding age once the male itself is fully developed. On that note, I have ensured the chances of successful impregnation to be extremely low, to reduce the risk of over population of the new hybrid species. This is a trait all later generations will, admittedly, suffer from.

I am truly pleased with the results which have exceeded not only my expectations but the promises of my numerous research teams as well. Combining so much magical potential, physical capabilities, and biological matter into one being is no easy task. Yet their persistence and good communication yielded marvelous results. Charm will begin her heat cycle in summer, as all mares do, and I have instructed Midnight Storm inform me when she begins and then lay with her, wearing the Alicorn Amulet throughout the duration and thereafter to ensure conception. The signs Charm is pregnant should come quickly and will be undeniable.

Charm will carry for a standard term of one year and will birth a hybrid, unique in the sense it will carry the physical traits of the father and some natural magical abilities of the mother. I will let them have their foal, but when he comes of age or should Celestia find out, I will restore his power through the Alicorn Amulet and use his strength to swiftly overthrow my sister and bring about eternal night. I have calculated such a failure from every possible angle, even if I am defeated, Midnight Storm has orders to destroy all evidence and flee with his mate and the others. I will use Celestia’s weakness against her, knowing she will not pursue my army, as they’ll have no leader, the foal will be able to grow in every way possible safely in secret.

As I dwell on this I must be honest, it truly saddens me what precautions needed to be taken to ensure the hybrid would not turn on me. Once the Amulet restores his power, he will not survive without my aid. If he attempts to turn on me, I will simply have to wait until the power kills him, how long that will take, I am not sure of, but no more than five years at most, and that’s assuming excellent conditions in his favor, otherwise it will be significantly less. If he proves himself my loyal servant, as should be the case, I will simply apply the final spell to the Alicorn Amulet, and then transfer it to him, ensuring a long and prosperous life under my guidance. Psychological issues may be present or later become present and should be observed closely at all times.

I cannot begin to describe my joy and pleasure regarding all of this, so many problems solved, so much pain soothed away. I feel like a foalish schoolfilly with a new doll. Celestia and her army will be no match for the hybrid’s offensive and defensive magic and skills. Diamond shield defense spell, ghosting abilities, portal generation, oh, and my personal favorite, the firestorm attack spell. Less than a year of planning and everything has come together better than I could have possibly dreamed. Who knows, perhaps the hybrid will one day dominate and rule the anoptryx dragon species he was based off of…

It will not be long now, Nightmare Moon

Luna suddenly jumped when she felt a hoof come to rest on her shoulder. She looked at the hoof’s owner to see Twilight giving her a noticeably concerned smile. “Luna, are you alright? You’ve barely touched your lunch…”

Luna dismissed her book and looked across the table to see the other bearers of the elements as well as Spike and Scootaloo making lively conversation, having finished their meals some time ago.

“All is well, Twilight Sparkle, just…” Luna stopped.

“Just what?”

Luna looked up to make sure only that Twilight was the only one paying her any attention before she spoke in a somewhat hushed tone, “This is all so sudden, Firestorm returning, adopting the filly, forming unique attachments with you and your friends, and even now he is joining the ranks of my sister’s army!”

“Luna, Celestia asked Firestorm to sit in with her so she could keep a close watch on him.”

“Actually no, initially that was her motive, but now she wants to use him as the weapon he is to defeat the griffon army.”

“I… would she really do that? I’ve never known Celestia to use violence to resolve an issue.”

“Only when the situation cannot be resolved by any other means, you may recall the event concerning King Sombra?”

“Not in great detail, but yes, I understand you both led an assault on the Crystal Empire in order to overthrow him?”

“Indeed, however our efforts and victory were quite costly…”

“Yes, I remember,” A silence fell upon the two mares until Twilight remembered something, “Luna, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“That book you read, the one you used to regain control of Firestorm when he regained his full power, what is it?”

Luna lit her horn and pushed her lunch bearing flatware away before the book materialized on the table. She slid it over to Twilight who looked at the title with confusion, “Luna, I can’t read this, what dialect was it written in?”

Luna looked down at the book, “Oh! Apologies, that is a dialect used by an ancient Zebra tribe which I learned and taught my staff in order to keep this work secret from Celestia,” Luna explained as a blush crept across her face, “Here, I will translate it for you…”

Luna took the book and after touching her horn to the title, returned it to Twilight, “There, every page has been translated into modern Equestrian, to the best of my abilities anyway…”

Twilight took the book and read the title, Project: Excalibur. She looked up at Luna, this is the user manual you referred to earlier, isn’t it?”

“More than that, there are also research reports regarding his physical abilities and prediction models from before he was complete. I-” Luna fell silent, her memory drifting back to the last page she had read before Twilight approached her, “learn well Twilight Sparkle, there is much you must know…”
> Chapter 25 - Battle Ready
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“NO, THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!”

“I understand how this can be difficult for you, Luna, but you have to realize –”

“NO! You do not understand, sister! The griffon king cannot simply declare war for such pathetic reasons…”

“Luna…”

“…and you cannot honestly in good conscious use Firestorm for his intended purpose as an active weapon…”

“Luna…”

“…in all honesty, I do not know for certain how he would respond psychologically, accurately, and tactfully if put in such a situation, not after centuries of inactive use…”

“Luna…”

“…for all I know, his original psychotic programming could resurface and he could turn on –”

“SISTER!”

Luna and everypony else in the throne room jumped at Celestia’s sudden outburst to halt Luna’s ranting. The bearers of the elements stood against a wall having taken their places around Firestorm who lay prone in his full dragon form with Scootaloo laying on his head. After returning from lunch, Firestorm explained the situation to everypony. Luna had gone to comfort Celestia but was instructed to meet in the throne room with the others. There, Celestia revealed her plan for a counterattack led by herself with the assistance of Firestorm. At the mention of using Firestorm as a primary asset in a warzone, Luna objected.

“Luna, I understand and appreciate your concerns, but this is necessary…”

“You mustn’t, surely your Solar Guard can –”

“The Solar no longer exists, Luna. After you were banished as Nightmare Moon, your Lunar Guard and my Solar Guard slowly faded out of existence until only the modern Royal Guard remained, and they cannot honestly be considered a military force.”

A sickening silence hung as Luna stared at Celestia studying her features before her neutral expression faded into a glare, “I will expect some truth on your part after this…,” Luna said before looking over her shoulder, “Firestorm, form on me…”

Firestorm laid his head down allowing Scootaloo to quickly scramble off and take her spot beside Rainbow Dash. Firestorm moved in and flanked Luna on her Left.

“Firestorm, Triple A CF.”

Firestorm’s body seemed to respond more so than he did, as a ghostly darkness reshaped his body from a full-sized quadrupedal dragon to a bipedal dragon which stood as tall as Discord. Firestorm’s body was coated in a metallic black armor which both fused with his skin and allowed a full range of motion. His draconic wings stretched then settled against his back. His head was covered with a helmet that left only his lower jaw and ears exposed. Taking in several deep breaths, Firestorm regained his self-control before folding his arms behind his back and standing motionless beside Luna.

“There, this is Firestorm’s Active Armor Advanced Combat Form. You want a weapon, you’ve got it!” Luna said angrily.

Celestia remained calm, “Luna, how many other forms does he have?”

“Essentially he has five. His basic pony form, draconic pony form, ghost form, dragon form, and advanced form.”

“Well, should there be a need for Firestorm’s combative abilities, I would like him on the frontline at my side, as my personal guard,” Celestia stated firmly.

“Sister, would not he serve better as my personal guard?”

“No, Luna, I need you here…”

“Unacceptable! The Firestorm is my creation! He should serve me on the battlefront!”

“Luna, no. I need you here. Should I fail, should I fall, I would need you to protect our subjects and rule over them.”

“What are you saying sister, you would fight the griffon army just you, Firestorm and a hoof full of guards!? Surely thou are not so foolish! You would stand a much better chance, if not certain victory, with me fighting along your side! Has thou forgotten our battle against Sombra? My -”

“I have forgotten nothing about your skills in combat magic or as a strategist! I know how strong you are on your own and that is why I need you to stay behind. One target instead of two!”

“So that is your plan!? Parade yourself before the griffon king and his army as bait, maybe take as many with you as you can!?” Luna screamed as tears ran down her face.

That was it, her facade fell. Celestia embraced her younger sister, “I know you are scared. I’m scared too. But I have no army, and even if I did, I would want this to end with as little blood shed as possible…”

“Yet you requested the presence of Firestorm,” Luna choked between sobs, “He could kill them all!”

Everypony exchanged concerned glances at Luna’s statement, Firestorm maintained a stoic gaze.

“I have no doubt of that, Luna, but if anyone truly has to fall, it must be me, and Firestorm must stop the griffon king, and you must continue to rule Equestria with Twilight by your side…”

“Princess?” Twilight interrupted, “Why me?”

Celestia broke the embrace with her sister and turned to Twilight, “One thing my long life has taught me is that peace does not last forever. From the day I met you I knew you were destined for greatness. The Princess of Friendship. The Element of Magic. My sister has the knowledge and power to rule Equestria, but she lacks understanding of modern culture and customs. Many, if not all, of which you have an understanding.”

Twilight could only nod her head in understanding, tears threatening to streak down her face.

“Ooh ooh ooh! What if you did have an army!?” Pinkie Pie suddenly exclaimed.

“Pinkie, ya can’t just grow an army overnight,” Applejack tried to reason.

“Maybe you can’t, but I might have a way to…” Pinkie replied.

“And just how would you propose to do that?” Rarity asked.

“Haven’t you silly fillies ever heard of the mirror pool!? Princess Celestia just chooses her best pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony guards and the three go into the mirror pool. Three go in, six come out, then twelve, then twenty four, then forty eight, then ninety six, then a hundred and ninety two, then three hundred and eighty four, then seven hundred and sixty eight, then one thousand five hundred and thirty six, then three thousand and seventy two, then six thousand one hundred and forty four, then twelve thousand two hundred and eighty eight, and BOOM! Instant army!" Pinkie explained.

Everyone present stared at her in disbelief. Pinkie looked, "What, if you don't believe me, I'll show you! I have a pretty good idea where it is..." she said speeding towards the door.

Firestorm faded into a shadow on the castle floor and rose again with his hoof extended so it landed squarely on Pinkie's chest, stopping her instantly.

"Hey Firestorm, can't show you the mirror pool if you don't lemme show you..." Pinkie said, her hooves still spinning in circles as scorch marks formed on the floor beneath her and the smell of burning rubber filled the air.

"Stop."

Pinkie stopped her renegade gallop. Firestorm turned to Celestia and Luna, "If what she says is true, we should at the very least consider it. From a strategic standpoint, the mere show of a military force could sway your enemies inclination to attack a peaceful kingdom."

"He is right, sister," Luna stated, "Military power could force the griffon king to cease his attack..."

"A show of force could also negatively sway the thinking of peaceful neighboring kingdoms as well..." Celestia said flatly.

"Perhaps a balance then?" Firestorm offered, "Enough to show we are not weak, but not large enough to seem like a threat. Enough only to hold the griffin army back. Whatever is left of the enemy, I can eliminate."

"I do not want any loss of life, pony or griffin-"

"Well technically the ponies that come out of the mirror pool are magically replicated intelligent organisms with identical physical and mental traits so as long as you don't send the original three into battle you really don't lose anypony because they were never really there," Pinkie reasoned.

"And what about the griffons?" Celestia asked. "Their army is-"

Firestorm shadow shifted across the room so he was standing face to face with Celestia in his advanced form, "Their army is following the orders of a king who has waged war against Equestria! He has waged war because he wishes to bring death! Your lack of action will bring just that, death! To all your subjects because you     wanted     to     hold     BACK!"

"Firestorm, stand down!" Luna ordered.

Celestia took a deep breath, "Yes, I am holding back. In our youth, Luna and I were always ready to fight for Equestria. When we were the only force that could stop king Sombra, our swiftness to action resulted in the thousand year loss of the crystal empire. Shortly thereafter, I lost my sister to darkness because of the error of my ways. So yes, I am holding back. I am not going to be responsible for the death of countless griffons who are simply following the leadership of a foolish king!"

Firestorm never stopped glaring into Celestia's eyes. When she finished speaking, Firestorm merely cocked his head and mumbled, "Hmmm..." before returning to Pinkie's side.

"Celestia if I may?" Discord said breaking the sudden tension that had fallen upon the room, "I understand your wanting to keep the changeling queen out of this little matter and I completely respect your decision to preserve life. I myself could never bring myself to kill anypony! No matter how much I hate them..." Discord mumbled while looking at Firestorm, "That being said, how about a compromise? You and Firestorm get your army, and I arm them with silly string, party cannons, basically turn the whole messy war into one big poorly delivered joke."

Firestorm growled, "That has got to be the stupidest thi-"

"Brilliant!" Celestia and Luna exclaimed in unison.

Everypony did a double take.

"If we form a military force and Discord swaps the weapons of both armies with gags..." Luna began.

"Then we would prove we can defend ourselves and not appear hostile to neighboring kingdoms!" Celsetia concluded.

"Yeah, great idea," Firestorm said disgusted, "And I suppose with their expertise you would want to make Discord a general over an army of Pinkie Pies..."

"NO!" exclaimed everypony else in the room.

"Discord is right, we need an actual military force, but not one that would appear threatening," Luna explained.

"Not to mention the chaos that could come about from having hundreds if not thousands of Pinkie Pie clones," Celestia added, "Honestly, could you even imagine?"

"I'd rather not," Rarity said.

"All things considered, I still want you here, Luna, and I want you with me, Firestorm," Celestia said with a calm tone, "Should things take a turn for the worse, I want you there to resolve any issue, even if it requires extreme measures. Pinkie Pie, I will chose my best guards of the pegasus, unicorn and earth pony ranks. I will need you to guide us to the mirror pool."

"You got it, Princess," Pinkie Pie said cheerily.

Firestorm Rolled his eyes and growled, "This is gonna suck!"


*****


Dear Cadence and Shining Armor,
I am sorry to report that negotiations with the griffon king have failed. War is imminent. This is just the icing on the cake however...

It seems that in days prior, a thestreal hybrid by the name of Firestorm has befriended Twilight and her friends, even adopting an orphan filly, Scootaloo. Reports from Twilight have led me to suspect he has feelings for Rainbow Dash. I would like you to assess this to confirm the solidarity of their feelings for one another, Firestorm has changeling DNA and I fear he may be manipulating her for some currently unknown reason.

All that aside, I will soon be sending you a battalion of royal guards. It may or may not come as a surprise to you, but Pinkie Pie believes she knows the location of a mirror pool, which essentially clones the pony who enters it... I would have preferred not to take such drastic measures, but I cannot allow Equestria to fall because of my restraint to engage in combat. I also cannot allow such high casualties from either side. The guards I send you will be battle ready but only as a precautionary measure. Cody told me what he believed he knew about the griffon's attack strategy but strategies change...

Discord will be on the frontline with me to make the battle a little more interesting and certainly less violent. Should that fail...
Firestorm will be there to level the battlegrounds. He was created by Nightmare Moon and has recently had his full power restored. Since then, I have noticed significantly higher levels of aggression. I realize this is happening very fast, and I apologize, but at the same time, we should be grateful, we aren't always so lucky to have so much time to prepare...

There is much more we must discuss later, but everything which has been said stands as the most important. I'm sorry to end this letter so abruptly, but time is not a luxury we can afford right now...

Princess Celestia

Celestia and Luna rode on their respected royal chariots while Twilight and her friends were passengers aboard Firestorm's back. Because of his size, Scootaloo was able to ride on his head. Firestorm followed behind and between the royal chariots, his wings making seemingly effortless strokes through the air to maintain his momentum and lift. The journey was, for the most part, quiet, save for when Pinkie called out directions when her Pinkie sense told them to change course.

Rainbow Dash was growing anxious, aside from the fact she was not used to being a passenger while flying, she wanted to talk to Firestorm privately since his full power was restored, but had never gotten the chance, not until now. Beating her wings, she matched Firestorm's speed as she lifted off of his back. She accelerated and then flew alongside Firestorm's face, his head roughly half her body length made things only mildly awkward. When their eye(s), singular in Firestorm's position, he established a telepathic link to Rainbow Dash, "Tired of being a backseat flier?" he thought.

"Sorta," Rainbow Dash thought back, "But... I was kinda hopin' we could... um..."

"Talk?" Firestorm thought.

"Heh, yeah talk," Rainbow thought.

"Not exactly the same thing when the talking is done without words..." Firestorm thought playfully, he got a genuine laugh from Rainbow Dash. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Well I just... I... we're cool right?" Rainbow thought nervously.

"Cool, by which you mean am I still going to take you out on a date even though I'm essentially the culmination of every evil specie fused together with dark magic?" Firestorm thought. "Yeah, we're cool. You thought about a place you wanna go yet for our first date?"

"Wait, seriously? You still wanna take me out on a date!?"

"I made you a promise..."

Rainbow blushed, "Um, well no, not really, I mean, not like anything fancy or... GAH! I don't know, I've never been on a date with somepony... I mean, I've gone on dates with my dad, but that wasn't like a date date, I mean a romantic date, it was just us-" Rainbow stopped her thoughts when she realized how nervous it made her sound, she looked at Firestorm who was looking straight ahead with a smirk on his face.

" Rainbow, I get it," Firestorm thought, "I completely understand how a first real date with anypony can be scary, especially with me..."

"hmph, don't act like you're all that," Rainbow thought.

"Oh I know I'm all that..." Firestorm thought, "Money, power, freakishly good looks..."

"Ya got the freak part down..." Rainbow thought.

"HA! See? The reality is it's just us together right now. It'll be just like that on our date accept your friends won't be riding on my back..."

"Heh, okay, I get it... Maybe we could just go somewhere nice and quiet, have a romantic dinner... Not too romantic though! Somepony might recognize me..."

"Okay, romantic, but not sappy. Maybe a nice trot around a pond afterwards, does that sound good?"

"Yeah, that soun-"

"Guys, we're here! The mirror pool is right down there!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed!

Firestorm looked to where Pinkie was pointing and banked to his right before accelerating into a steep dive. The princesses chariots adjusted course and followed, but had no hope of keeping pace with Firestorm. Rainbow Dash began her deceleration before Firestorm, knowing he would need a lot more clearance to slow down and land. Sure enough, the moment Rainbow adjusted her pitch, Firestorm did the same, his momentum slowed by the broad surface of his underside and fully extended wings. Rainbow had to compensate for huge amounts of turbulence generated by Firestorm's powerful wingbeats. Finally he touched down, allowing everypony riding on him to safely dismount before he shifted down into his pony form. Celestia, Luna, and the three guards chosen to enter the mirror pool arrived shortly thereafter and followed Pinkie to a small cave which concealed the mirror pool.

"Okay everypony," Pinkie said estatically, "this is it! Who gets to go first!?"