Princess Celestia had arranged for me to remain in the Royal Castle for the next couple of days. To accommodate me properly, without burning any of the beds, I was to sleep in the Infirmary on the slab of granite. Princess Celestia escorted me to the Infirmary before informing me that Rarity would be arriving the very next morning, and that in the meantime I should let the nurse pony take a look at me. The light green nurse pony was less than thrilled to see me again.
"Here." The light green nurse pony said coldly.
She proceeded to thrust a thermometer into my mouth, before writing down on her clipboard 'flight risk'. I felt bad for running out on her, I was nervous being here, but that didn't have anything to do with her. The nagging feeling of knowing that the Elements of Harmony were in this very castle made everything so real now. I wanted to run away, get far away from the Royal Castle so I wouldn't be tempted to look for them, but I was to be a guest for the next few days.
"Alright, let's have it." The light green nurse pony said holding out her hoof for the thermometer.
I leaned over to feel it snatched from my mouth. She looked at it and recorded the abnormally high temperature down on her clipboard.
"I'm sorry." I said feeling guilty.
"You should be! I've never had a patient run out on me before!" The light green pony scolded; as I hid behind my hooves.
The light green nurse pony went back to writing things down on her clipboard; giving me the chance to lower my defense.
"Name?" The light green nurse pony demanded with a bark.
"Smolder of the Ashen Fields." I said promptly.
"I don't have enough room on my clipboard for that. I'll just put down Smolder." The light green nurse pony replied.
"What's yours?" I asked curiously.
"Please don't flirt with the nurse ponies." The light green nurse pony said flatly.
"I w-w-wasn't-" I began stammering, feeling my mane flare.
"Age, gender, location, allergies, date of birth, next of kin, and my name is Tea Herbal." The light green nurse pony stated.
I blinked a few times.
"Herbal Tea?" I asked curiously.
"No! Tea Herbal!" Tea shouted blushing slightly.
"Sorry!" I shouted back recoiling.
I found myself awkwardly sitting there wishing I had not run out on her in the first place to avoid this whole uncomfortable encounter.
"Well?" Tea snapped at me.
"I'm seventeen, a colt, I don't like water, I don't know when my birthday is, and my next of kin is Wick or Pyre." I answered quickly.
"How do you not know when your birthday is?" Tea asked rolling her eyes at me.
"No pony kept track of it." I told her.
"What about your mom, wouldn't she know?" Tea asked.
"I never met my mom." I replied.
Tea looked up from her clipboard. She seemed embarrassed about what she had said.
"Sorry, I didn't know." Tea apologized.
"Do you have a mom?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, she lives in Manehattan with my father." Tea answered quickly.
"Is she nice?" I asked.
"Very." Tea said with a smile.
"I like to think my mom is very nice." I said smiling at the thought.
"I'm sure she was- is! Is very nice!" Tea said trying to correct herself; flushing from embarrassment.
"Thanks." I said with a smile.
"Well, if you start to feel any discomfort or if you need anything in particular just let me know." Tea said signing off on her clipboard.
"Thanks, goodnight." I replied, watching her return to the nursing station.
That very next morning I stood near the train station with an escort of two Royal Guards from Canterlot. With dozens of fancy ponies taking notice of me, asking me several complicated questions about hoof lotion I used and who was my mane stylist. I wasn't able to give them much in terms of an answer, but they seemed satisfied that I took the time to try. Eventually, the train rolled into the station and among the crowds of ponies stepping off the train was Rarity. She strode out looking magnificent as she normally did.
"Darling! I'm so glad to see you!" Rarity squealed in delight, approaching me.
"Hello Rarity." I said with a smile.
"How are you, darling? Zecora told us all about those nasty old spiders and how you handled them like a true champion." Rarity asked, sounding concerned.
"Zecora might have exaggerated the details. She was the one with the bottle of dragon powder. All I did was blow it up." I confessed, feeling like I wasn't worth this sort of praise.
"Nonsense darling, you came to Zecora's rescue just like when you came to Mayflower's. It may not seem like much to you, but it means a great deal to those you've helped." Rarity insisted.
My mane flared a bit while I tried to hide my embarrassment.
"Now in keeping with the spirit of helping other ponies I will need your vast knowledge of Flame Pony culture and traditions if I am ever to finish my line of clothing for the Next Big Thing event." Rarity said trotting off towards the Royal Castle.
I watched the two Royal Guard ponies stare, mouth a gape, at the amount of luggage Rarity had packed being wheeled out by some of the conductor ponies. For the first time, since arriving at Ponyville, I felt glad that I couldn't help with carrying that up to the Royal Castle.
Upon reaching the castle, there were more Royal Guard ponies waiting to receive and welcome Rarity, offering to usher her to her room where she would be able to work and sleep during her stay in Canterlot. Once more I made my way carefully through the halls, walking along side the carpet.
Rarity had a large room to herself, all of her materials, designs, and patterns were already being strewn about. Rarity seemed to flourish in this sort of chaotic mess, hemming dresses, sewing stitches and chalking out dotted lines to cut on large sheets of fabric.
The corner of the room was where I was meant to be, silently posing whenever Rarity asked it of me, but also due to the fact that every other inch of the floor had bits of cloth or reams of ribbon left about; any step would certainly lead to a fire hazard.
"Smolder, darling. What do you think of this?" Rarity asked holding up a black swatch.
"It's… nice?" I replied feeling unsure.
"And what about this?" Rarity asked again holding up what seemed to be the same swatch in her other hoof.
"The first one?" I guessed, seeing little difference.
"Quite right." Rarity said returning to her work.
Almost two hours went by without my needing to there, Rarity seemed to be lost in her own little world, but I stood diligently in the corner. Replying yes or no to simple questions Rarity posed to me every so often. Every now and again she would glance at me with eyes so piercing I felt like I was under a microscope, but she then would return to her work without skipping a beat.
"You've been very quiet, Smolder." Rarity pointed out after a while.
"I don't want to disturb you." I replied.
"Perish the thought, darling; you've been most helpful." Rarity replied measuring out some thread.
"Really?" I asked in surprise.
"You've stood so quietly and patiently for so long I was able work it into my designs." Rarity stated holding up a piece of parchment with several shapes and measurements drawn about it.
"You're welcome?" I said unsure of what she meant.
"Come here darling and I'll show you." Rarity said.
Her horn began to glow. The room seemed to spring to life, the clutter upon the floor flew up into the air and settled itself in neat stacks on the bed. I made my way over to Rarity who had her sewing mannequin propped up with her Flame Pony inspired pieces adorning it.
"As you can see the black you had chosen was matte, or less shiny if that helps you to understand. I've decided to go with a thick material to better capture the rough hide of a Flame Pony, no offense intended dear. I've laid in some intricate designs of gold leaf to help make the black stand out. For the hooves I've decided to go with a darker orange with highlights of red to better imitate the look of fire." Rarity explained to me.
Never before had I seen such amazing details put into something Flame Ponies found so trivial. Clothing was once a luxury for Flame Ponies, we once had material that wouldn't burn to our touch, but in these dark years we have learned to lived without it completely. I could see the allure of wearing such fashion, to present oneself as an established pony without having to utter a single word.
"Do you not like it?" Rarity asked, sounding a bit worried.
"What? No! I think it's fantastic!" I said aloud.
"Do you really?" Rarity asked excitedly.
"How did you draw little flames with that gold stuff?" I asked curiously squinting at the design.
Rarity went on to explain her methods, describing her approach and detailing the finer points of her design. For the first time in a long time I was the one asking questions and some other pony was giving me answers. Unfortunately for me, most of what Rarity explained to me didn't make much sense, but I felt like I was learning things here and there. It was just nice to speak about something other then myself or Flame Ponies for once.
"Well then, I think I got the mock-ups done and I can move on to making the real thing." Rarity said with a triumphant sigh.
"Wait, what?" I asked feeling confused.
"Something wrong, darling?" Rarity asked curiously.
"Aren't you done?" I asked, looking towards the thing she called a mock-up.
"Sweet Celestia, no! These are just the mock-ups; the real thing will be much more spectacular. It would be horribly dreadful presenting these as the finished product." Rarity said dismissively.
"But-but-but-" I stammered quickly unable to believe that there was more to be done.
"That's all for tonight, darling, thank you for all you help. If you would be so kind to come around tomorrow to share some more input I would really appreciate it." Rarity said packing up her things.
"Sure." I said slowly, amazed at the amount of effort that went into making clothes.
I bid Rarity a good night and made my way down the side of the hallway back towards the Infirmary; stupid rugs. Once more working with Rarity had eaten up the whole day and saw that night had already fallen. I felt myself walking slowly, peeking into doors that were left open to have a quick look around. All the while wondering if I'd just accidentally happen upon the Elements of Harmony just left out on the counter. What I found were large empty bedrooms, storage areas and what appeared to be the kitchen.
Deciding that I had searched hard enough, I left my searching for another day; if ever. To my surprise, I rounded a corner and came to a sudden dead end. I examined the wall trying to remember if I had taken a wrong turn at some junction and upon turning around I discovered that there was yet another dead end. I was boxed in.
"Ummm." I said to myself looking back and forth at the walls.
The walls began to slide towards me, realizing that I was going to turned into a Flame Pony pancake, and that's when I decided it was a good time to panic. At first I ran back and forth as if I was going to find some magical door that would lead me out, but no luck. So I decided that I might burn or blast my way through and spat fire towards the wall.
"Leaping lizards!" Discord's voice rang out from the walls.
The wall formed a hole that allowed my flames to shoot though. Discord's head emerged from one of the walls looking none to pleased at my attempt to burn him. The rest of his body slithered through as the wall seemed to come with him forming the rest of his body.
"Well I wasn't expecting that." Discord said disappointingly.
"Discord?" I asked sounding annoyed and surprised at the same time.
"Yes, Discord. Master of almost being burned by a Flame Pony." Discord said hotly; if not hurt.
"I thought you weren't hurt by my fire?" I asked feeling confused.
"Only physically, not emotionally. To think that you would try to hurt poor old Discord." Discord said, pretending to weep openly.
Rolling my eyes I left him weeping in the hallway, heading back towards the Infirmary, and hoping that I wouldn't be caught up in another one of Discord's shenanigans.
"Now hang on a second!" Discord said picking me up by the nape of my neck.
"What?" I asked bluntly, being lifted right up to his face.
"Is that anyway to talk to a friend?" Discord asked, placing his paw over his chest.
"We're friends now?" I asked, surprised by this notion.
"Oh come now Mr. Flame Pony, I kept your secret about having such an awful father." Discord pointed out.
"How is having a mean father a secret?" I asked feeling annoyed.
"When he happens to be the Mad King Scorch." Discord said in a matter of fact tone.
If I could see myself I would have been able to see all the color draining from my face. I could feel my stomach tying up in knots and my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest. Some pony had found out my secret.
"Isn't that right, Prince Smolder?" Discord asked in a deep voice.
"Discord… I… the others… they can't…" I stammered too afraid to speak.
"I'm not sure what little game you're playing at, Flame Pony, but I can tell that you're not the one pulling the strings." Discord said dropping me.
I fell for a moment before I felt sudden stop as Discord had me dangling like a puppet from his claws.
"Poor little Flame Pony, caught between disobeying his father and letting down his new friends. Woe is he. Woe is he." Discord mocked me jerking on the strings and making me dance.
The strings snapped letting me fall to the ground but the ground never came. I kept falling, slipping into a pit of darkness and then the floor caught up to me. I felt myself slam hard against the ground. Groaning, I got to my hooves as I tried to find something to get my hoof under but the walls of this pit were slick.
"You've dug yourself in deep little Prince, desperately struggling to find a way out of this mess." Discord's voice echoed all around me. "To disobey your Father, or steal from your new found friends."
The floor beneath me crumbled away. I dragged my hooves against the wall grasping the edge of the hole before slipping through. I looked down to see an ocean of fire below me, funnels of fire snaking up into the air trying to grasp at me. From the fires below a massive flame rose up, taking the form of a fiery stallion as large as a mountain. Eyes piercing red, its roar shook the world under me and scared me to my very core.
"You hang on to this fleeting hope that these ponies can save you." Discord's voice whispered in my ear. "That by playing the victim you will not be held responsible for your actions."
Looking up I could see Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Zecora, Hotshot, Mayflower, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna standing around the edge of the pit.
"You may not have lied to them, but you are keeping secrets from them. So many secrets." Discord's voice whispered.
"Discord..." I mumbled, feeling terror from the fiery stallion below.
"Well, I'm not going to let you put Fluttershy in any danger. Maybe Celestia or Twilight, but that's beside the point." Discord said as the ponies disappeared from sight.
The pit began to dissolve away, my grip was slipping, and I tried desperately to pull myself up. The mountainous fiery stallion roared, spewing fire in all directions.
"Before you go, I'd like to know something." Discord spoke up. "Was it worth it? Deceiving every pony? Well, I suppose it's like father like son and all that jazz; toodles!"
The pit vanished and I felt myself fall. The flames surrounded me pulling me down towards the fiery stallion. Rearing back to consume me, the fiery stallion opened its jaws.
I'm not sure if my life flashed before my eyes, or if Discord was just playing them back for me. I saw myself trying the Flash Step for the first time, Wingston teaching me to read, General Hearth teaching me to break up stones, the Twins playing keep away with my rock. I saw my first day in Ponyville, the party they threw for me, running the big race, swimming in the water, building my wall near the river, fighting the Queen spider.
I saw the jaws of the fiery stallion close around me. I could feel my heart skip a beat when I heard those words again.
"Wake up, Sweetheart."
The mountainous fiery stallion exploded from existence. The world of fire became the hallway again, I felt myself drop the the floor, as I laid on my back against the tile. My heart was still racing, eyes wide with fear, my breaths were shallow and my body still shaking when Discord stepped into view above me.
"I never would have imagined it, but I think I understand you now, Flame Pony." Discord said picking me up by my hoof and placing me right side up.
"What I perceived to be a selfish Prince seeking power just like his father, was in fact, just a little Flame Pony trying to save his mother." Discord said softly.
My legs shook something awful, that experience had felt so real I couldn't look up at Discord or move at all.
"Why not simply tell Princess Celestia about this? Why all the secrets?" Discord asked curiously sitting down next to me.
"He'll… hurt…" I struggled to get the words out.
I felt Discord's paw on my back, as if trying to comfort me.
"He'll hurt... my brothers." I choked out.
"You mean those twin Flame Ponies that took your rock and played keep away with it? They don't seem like very nice ponies." Discord said disapproving of them.
"They are... all I... have... left." I stammered, feeling a swell of emotions.
"But your father is trapped in the Void." Discord reassured me.
My breaths were short and shallow now, I tried to say the words that were caught in my throat but I couldn't get them out.
"Or is he?" Discord asked in no more than a whisper.
"There's a mirror... to the Void. He's feeding... off our Flame Ponies... fire. Soon he'll have... the strength to break... the barrier." I choked between breaths.
"If your father gets free it will put all of Equestria in danger once again. We have to tell Princess Celestia." Discord insisted.
"If she finds out... she'll try to destroy the mirror... and... and ... and..." I whimpered. "I'll lose my mom... forever."
"Your mother is trapped in the Void as well?" Discord asked in surprise.
"I don't know, Wingston said... I don't… I just can't… I…" I couldn't find the words.
Flame Ponies are not able to cry. We just react the same way without the tears. That's what I ended up doing, sobbing quietly to myself. I sat in the middle of the corridor, quietly sobbing, feeling my world crash down around me. Not wanting to think of what was to come next.
I felt Discord's paw squeeze my back, and I felt myself squeak like a rubber dog toy. I was so surprised by this I immediately stopped sobbing. He squeezed me a few more times as I squeaked out loud. I turned to look up at him to see a large grin on his face.
"We'll keep this between us, for now." Discord said zipping his mouth shut.
"But you said-" I began.
"This is one of those things that you'll have to decide for yourself little Flame Pony. To do the right thing, which ever that ends up being. I normally ignore those kinds of moments and let them just walk right on by, but I feel that Fluttershy would agree with me on this. You have to make a decision and no other pony can make it for you." Discord explained raising his claw up to make a point.
We sat in silence for a moment. Discord may have found out my secret, but for me to tell some other pony or creature about it took an enormous weight off my chest. Even if it had been Discord.
"I guess we really are friends now." I said, with a small smile.
"That remains to be seen. I'm still on the fence about us." Discord said snapping his claw for a white picket fence to spring between us.
"Although I will say that I had misjudged you Flame Pony. Therefore you win this game... for now. I look forward to seeing how you work this out." Discord said melting into the floor and disappearing.
I waited in the hallway for quite some time, thinking about the choices I had before me and how none of them seemed to work out so far. After a time I found strength in my legs again, trying to clear my throat to make sure I didn't sound hoarse, and made my way back to the Infirmary where Tea Herbal was sitting at the nursing station.
"Did you get lost?" Tea asked curiously.
"Something like that." I replied.
"Is everything okay?" Tea asked sounding worried.
"What? Yeah, why do you ask?" I asked her.
"You look like you've been crying." Tea said with concern.
"What? Me? No! No, of course not! Flame Ponies can't cry, even if we get hit by a… rock! We just shrug it off and uh… hit other stuff." I said with a hard pressed smile.
Tea stared at me. One of those stares that knew I was lying, but understood I wasn't in the mood to talk about it.
"Sometimes pain can be on the inside, most ponies can't see it unless they've been through it too." Tea explained to me.
My mane flickered.
"Does… the pain ever go away?" I asked.
"Only if you want it to." Tea replied.
"You've got work to do and it's late-" I started.
I watched Tea put down her clipboard and scoot her chair in. She leaned forward to me and smiled.
"I've got time." Tea reassured me.
Tea and I spent part of the night talking. I didn't mention anything about my father being the Mad King or the bits about the Elements of Harmony but other things that bothered me. I spoke of the mother I never knew, the older brothers that picked on me, my best friend Wingston, my loneliness growing up, how nervous I was about the Summit, and even my lack of a cutie mark.
For the most part Tea just listened, even at times where I felt like I was merely rambling she urged me to continue. When I felt that I had said all that I could she didn't offer me any advice, nor did she try and question the things that I had said. She excused herself for a moment and brought back some green tea. I was careful not to make a connection about her name and drink. I sipped it with her in silence.
"Goodnight Smolder." Tea had said finishing her drink. Sliding off her chair and making her way to the exit.
"G-Goodnight." I said feeling a bit awkward.
I went to my slab of granite and before I knew it I was fast asleep.