//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Avoiding History // Story: Rise of Char // by Turtlehaus //------------------------------// Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were escorted back to the Main Hall by Wingston, Alex Papyrus, Tiff Pitchstone, and Burning Sand. Tiff spent much of his time asking Applejack several questions concerning the irrigation of her own farm and if it would be possible to replicate it on a much larger scale. Applejack was kind enough to answer the questions she could, but couldn't promise him anything until she saw what she had to work with. "I will take my leave here, ponies of Ponyville." Wingston said aloud sliding off Twilight's back and dropping to the floor. "Where are you going?" Twilight asked curiously. "There should be a King, fast asleep in his room right now and I will make sure he stays that way." Wingston explained pointing to the other corridor. It seemed the perfect time for every pony to split up and get to work. Twilight Sparkle wished every pony luck before following Alex Papyrus down into the dungeons. Several Flame Ponies were diligently scraping the ground with flat stone shovels, attempting to remove the scorched black soot that lingered; trying their best to clean up what they could. It wasn't until Twilight grew closer did the Flame Ponies notice her; more specific her shades of purple. Twilight was met with smiles and several compliments about the color of her mane. She tried to thank every pony before quickly stepping over the scorch marks and descending the stairs into the dungeon with Alex. "Those Flame Ponies were very complimentary." Twilight said looking over her shoulder. "It is the first time for some seeing the color purple." Alex explained to her. "What about you?" Twilight asked curiously. "I've been lucky enough to see a multitude of colors down here. Granted none are so vibrant like you or your friends but it was enough for me to appreciate what so many could not." Alex explained, his fiery mane leading the way. "Is not every Flame Pony allowed to come down here?" Twilight asked curiously. "Well, no, any Flame Pony interested can simply ask. I suppose it's a lack of interest to what's down here." Alex said having to think about it. "I guess you're the only Flame Pony curious about your own history, huh?" Twilight asked. "I've tried to raise interest in what I do among other Flame Ponies, but I have had too little return on their part that I've stopped all together. I decided that my time would be better suited down here working and this is where I have been these days." Alex confessed. The dungeon walls slowly but surely started to show wear and age the further Alex brought Twilight. From what Twilight could remember, when they were forced to make an escape through the dungeons, and had a rather difficult time trying to navigate their way towards the mines. Although, Twilight was taking some mental notes during their brief time down here and knew that the turn they took, where the etching she had discovered, was several corridors back, but Alex continued to press forward. On more than one occasion Alex had pushed up against a stone wall and much to Twilight's surprise watched it slide open. "Are there any ancient Flame Pony traps down here?" Twilight asked sounding slightly concerned. "I haven't come across any yet, but keep an eye out just in case." Alex said calmly. Eventually, Alex stopped down a corridor that had no discern-able doors or pathways. Alex stepped to the side of the dungeon to allow Twilight to pass. "It must get lonely being down here all alone." Twilight commented standing next to the stone wall that Alex had stopped beside. "My work keeps me busy." Alex replied looking none too worried about it. Alex placed his hoof upon a stone brick near him and pressed against it. The stone brick gave way sliding inside the wall and causing a hidden stone door to slide open. "Do all the doors down here do that?" Twilight asked looking amused. "You'd be surprise." Alex replied motioning for her to follow him. The flames from Alex's mane gave off substantial light within the dark room they entered. Alex approached small basins of oil set up around the room and dabbed his hoof in each one to ignite them; offering even more light. Several wooden boxes lined the walls, and several tarps were draped over large objects dotting the room. "What is this place?" Twilight asked brushing dust off the box closest to her. "Before the Madness of the King, several scholarly ponies took precautions to save as much of our history as they possibly could and stored it within rooms like these. I have located several other rooms, but this particular room holds many items I cannot lay a hoof on." Alex explained raising his flame covered hooves to her. "So you want me to help you unpack all of these?" Twilight asked curiously looking around the room. "I want you to help me understand the reason why these are here, Ms. Sparkle." Alex said earnestly. "What do you mean?" Twilight asked. "I have discovered jewelry, tomes, statues, engravings and many more things that are closely related to Flame Pony history, but this room contains items better suited for regular ponies. The ponies that stored these items long ago were not Flame Ponies, but trusted us to keep whatever these items are safe." Alex said looking anxiously at the boxes. "You seem kind of excited about all this." Twilight mentioned. "I have spent many years down here going over my findings with Wingston, trying to map out these corridors and find similar rooms. Unfortunately, Wingston is better suited for matters of the mind rather than physical labor. I finally have this chance to see what lies within these boxes." Alex explained. "Well why don't we start unboxing some of these?" Twilight asked cheerfully. With her magic, Twilight was easily able to pry the lid from the box and watched the entire dust slide off to the floor with a plume. Alex raised his hoof over the box like a torch to get a better look at what was inside for Twilight and himself. Twilight looked quite surprised at the contents but Alex seemed bewildered. "They're hats." Twilight said simply picking up a fedora. "It's nothing but hats!" Alex said in surprise watching Twilight pull more and more out from the box. "This one is cute." Twilight remarked withdrawing a sun hat from the box. "Why would any pony keep hats down here?" Alex asked aloud peering into the box. "Perhaps a pony that was using it for storage, and was planning on coming back to sell the rest of his inventory." Twilight said turning the sun hat over and under. "Please, Ms. Sparkle, open another one and let us hope that it something less disappointing." Alex said sounding very disappointed. Twilight placed the sun hat back into the crate and followed Alex to another wooden box. Twilight's magic once again prying the box open and the lid clattering to the floor. Much to Alex's surprise this too was filled with more hats. "I don't understand." Alex said looking at the hats in disbelief. "There are quite a few hats in here." Twilight said rummaging through the box. "This is some pony's junk, a literal closet with a fancy door to simply keep a collection of hats!" Alex said aloud looking miserable. "There are still more boxes to check." Twilight said encouragingly. "I fear that disappointment awaits me in each and every one." Alex replied shaking his head. Alex's fears came true when Twilight opened three more boxes all containing hats. Twilight had many ideas of what these hats could have been for but wondered what Rarity would have said seeing these. Trying on a few hats to see how they would fit, Twilight did not notice that Alex was slowly knocking his head against the stone wall until the thuds became more pronounced. "Are you alright?" Twilight asked sounding worried. "I would have thought that this room contained some sort of old texts or perhaps some royal jewels, but it is merely the backwash of a vendor's surplus inventory." Alex remarked hanging his head. "What about the tarps? Maybe they have something you'll find interesting." Twilight suggested. "Perhaps you're right, Ms. Sparkle. They could be old artwork done by prestigious Flame Ponies or something." Alex said with his spirit lifted once more. Twilight pulled the tarp off the stack of canvases to reveal portraits, well technically caricatures, of a young Flame Pony. Some were quite funny to look at, but Twilight could see Alex was not in a laughing mood. "This whole thing has been folly." Alex said heaving a large sigh. "It must have belonged to the Flame Pony whose in these pictures." Twilight said looking at them one by one. "Fantastic, we can tell him he owes back payments on his storage unit." Alex said sarcastically. "I'm sorry that this wasn't the treasure trove you were hoping for." Twilight said sympathetically. "It is quite alright, Ms. Sparkle. I thank you for humoring me with this little endeavor, but I must swallow my pride and carry on." Alex said taking a deep breath. "What are you going to do with all these hats?" Twilight asked curiously picking up the sun hat once more; hoping to keep it. "The hats have been well preserved. I could probably allow a vendor pony the chance to sell these for a couple of bits." Alex said looking them over. "You don't think the pony in the pictures will come looking for them?" Twilight asked fiddling with the hat. "I wouldn't think so, I'm sure the pony who left this down here is long gone by now." Alex said taking notice of Twilight's interest in the hat. "It was such a long time ago." Twilight said slowly agreeing with him. "Feel free to keep a hat if you like, Ms. Sparkle. I'm sure the previous owner would want these to be used as they were intended." Alex said. "You wouldn't mind?" Twilight asked, her face brimming with excitement. "I believe it would suit you quite well, Ms. Sparkle. Unlike this old thing." Alex insisted, picking up an older weathered cap from the box. Much to both of their surprise, the hat did not catch fire from Alex's hoof. Alex examined it closer looking quite puzzled by it. "These must have been made for Flame Ponies!" Twilight said leaning over into the box to get a better look at the rest of them. "It is quite remarkable how far we've fallen, the material used in this hat seems no different then what normal ponies wear, but yet somehow it resists bursting into flames." Alex said looking it over. "I'm sure Rarity would love to see these, as well as the other Flame Ponies who are interested in making clothes." Twilight said using her magic to place a pirate hat upon Alex's head. "I will make note of this and inform Rarity at the next meeting. For now I will fetch some Flame Ponies to come collect the hats and bring them upstairs. Seeing as they are fire proof, there shouldn't be any trouble." Alex said looking uncomfortable wearing the hat. Alex tossed the pirate hat back into the box before making his way towards the door. "I will be right back, Ms. Sparkle. I would very much like to see those etchings you spoke of earlier." Alex said from the threshold of the door. "Of course." Twilight replied watching Alex nod before stepping out into the corridor. Twilight was still curious about the Flame Pony in the pictures, wondering if there was some way to find out who it was. The pictures depicted several different locations, one with the pony in Ponyville, while another was near a large bridge, but each picture had the same pony. It was very strange to Twilight why any pony would have more than one caricature of themselves. The portraits were drawn by a non-Flame Pony, that much Twilight could figure out, but the pony that drew them did even leave a name. Twilight believed that the pony wasn't too famous or attached to his or her work but was at least making good money of this particular pony. The more Twilight looked over the portraits the more she felt like she overlooking something. The backgrounds themselves were drawn at random, one depicted a beach, while another was forest and so and there forth. Twilight got to the bottom of the stack and realized what she had been missing. "How long does it take to scrape a floor?" Alex whispered to himself; his voice echoing from the corridor Alex looked around the room wondering where Twilight had gone before noticing her near the pictures. "Everything all right, Ms. Sparkle?" Alex asked curiously. Twilight was leaning the portraits one by one against the wall, side by side in an order that Alex could not figure out. Having placed at least fifteen portraits, of the several that were still left, Twilight made her way back down to the first portrait. "Ms. Sparkle?" Alex asked sounding confused by her actions. "The Flame Pony had his picture drawn over the years." Twilight replied walking down the line of portraits. "I don't quite follow." Alex said tilting his head looking at the portraits. "The closer to the bottom of the stacks I got, the younger the Flame Pony seemed to get. So I lined them all up to get a better look at each one." Twilight explained placing more portraits down before hitting the corner of the room and then turning. "I see what you mean, Ms. Sparkle, but we've already seen the presumably last portrait at the top. What difference does it make?" Alex asked curiously walking down the row of portraits. "There are significantly more hats than portraits in here, which means that the artist who drew these was a traveling pony." Twilight remarked laying out the last few. "I'm not following." Alex said looking rather perplexed by her logic. "Think of it this way, when would a pony want to get a caricature?" Twilight asked putting it simply. "I would say at some sort of festival?" Alex asked. "We can only speculate at this point, but it would be a good bet. So this pony must have come to this same artist every year to get his picture drawn." Twilight said pointing to each portrait. "Alright, then what?" Alex asked waiting for the next part of Twilight's explanation. "If you had one of these done of you what would you have in the background?" Twilight asked. "I'm not sure, I suppose it would be of the Ashen Fields or of Castle Char." Alex said scratching his head. "That's what the first two are, Castle Char and the Ashen Fields." Twilight said pointing them out. "Well it would seem only proper." Alex replied. "So you are this Flame Pony, coming back for a picture every year, but you don't want the same background, what do you have him or her draw?" Twilight asked keeping her thought process moving. Alex took a deep breath before slowly expelling the air from his cheeks thinking hard about it. "I suppose these dungeons? I would be familiar with those." Alex said looking to Twilight. "Right again. The next portrait is of a beach. It would be a bitter sweet thing to a Flame Pony, but it is a memory he would not want to forget." Twilight said pointing to the next one. "That is a rather large stretch Twilight. It could very well be just the artist filling in space with whatever came to mind." Alex said looking unconvinced. "That's what I thought too, but every single portrait has a different background. Would it not be easier to simply draw a beach over and over again? Unless the pony buying the picture specifically asked for them." Twilight said seeming to enthrall Alex with her thought process. "So the Flame Pony chose a place that he wanted to remember from that year." Alex said starting to get on board. "Right! So I'm guessing the forest in this picture was of the Dark Marsh." Twilight said picking up the portrait. "It would be a wise guess, it must have been his first time in the marsh or perhaps an event that he wished to remember." Alex said looking over Twilight's shoulder. "The Crystal Empire, Manehatten, Canterlot, and even Ponyville are in these backgrounds." Twilight said walking down the aisle of portraits once more. "This would mean that the Flame Pony traveled quite a bit from the Ashen Fields, which could mean this Flame Pony was part of a merchant family. Which would explain all the hats, but that just leads us right back to where we started. It was just a vendor and his wares." Alex said looking quite surprised coming to the same conclusion as before. "That's where you're wrong." Twilight said looking quite pleased with herself. "What do you mean?" Alex asked looking curious. "No two hats are the same. A vendor would have several of the same hats to sell. So what we have here is a collection of hats that the Flame Pony bought for himself." Twilight explained. "So what does it all mean, Ms. Sparkle?" Alex asked glancing at the portraits and the hats. "It means I know who the Flame Pony in the portraits is, but I just don't know why he did it." Twilight said looking a little annoyed. "You know who this Flame Pony is? How can that be?" Alex asked in disbelief. Using her magic, Twilight lifted a portrait to Alex pointing at the background with her hoof. Alex looked closely at it. It was several well-crafted stone buildings side by side with unintelligible signs in the back, all but one was Alex able to read. "Hot and Smolder Choices?" Alex said aloud reading it. "Who's the only pony we know that's named Smolder?" Twilight asked with a smile. "Well that would be our King of course, but-" Alex stopped mid-sentence. Alex stood frozen. His eyes in a hundred yard stare unable to comprehend what he had just realized. "These…" Alex asked slowly pointing at the portraits along the wall. "Mhm." Twilight replied. "Smolder…" Alex mumbled looking at the portrait Twilight was holding. "Yup." Twilight said. "It is the young Prince Scorch?" Alex asked slowly with a look of pure shock. Slapping his hoof to his head, Alex stepped back to let it sink in while Twilight put down the portrait. "It still doesn't explain the hats." Alex said still in awe. "I'm guessing the young prince liked hats." Twilight said shrugging. "It's unfortunate that this will never see the light of day." Alex said with a sigh. "Yeah, it must be-wait what?" Twilight asked, this time she was surprised. "I'm sure Wingston could confirm this for himself, along with General Hearth, but if this is the young Prince Scorch, no Flame Pony will care to see it." Alex explained heaving a sigh. "But… this is before he became the Mad King, wouldn't this be useful as some sort of historical reference of how even good ponies go bad?" Twilight asked watching Alex head for the door. "The Mad King is all these Flame Ponies can remember." Alex said somberly. Twilight, with her sun hat in hoof, stepped out of the room and watched Alex press the stone block. The stone door slid closed in front of them and Alex began to scrape his hoof across the door; making an x. "You wanted to know more about Flame Pony history, this is the best chance you have of learning what the Mad King was like as a foal." Twilight said in protest. "A monster is a monster no matter the size or age. It just takes time to realize that it's a monster." Alex said decisively. Alex glanced over at Twilight who seemed rather upset with his decision while clutching the sun hat in her hooves. "You may not like my decision Ms. Sparkle, but the Flame Ponies here would rather have the Mad King become a distant memory as quickly as possible." Alex explained. "Are you at least going to tell Smolder?" Twilight asked pouting. "I will inform Wingston of what the contents of the room are and have him make that decision. Now, if you would be so kind as to show me where you found those etchings I will be most appreciative." Alex said holding out his hoof for her to lead the way. Twilight narrowed her eyes at him. "What else are you hiding down here?" Twilight asked suspiciously. "Sorry?" Alex replied looking a bit unsure. "Like you said, you're the only one down here. What other things have you found that you're keeping a secret from every pony?" Twilight asked. Alex's mane flared at these words. It was enough to let Twilight know she struck a nerve with him. "I do what I believe is best for the Flame Ponies of the Ashen Fields, Ms. Sparkle. Some things are best left forgotten." Alex stated. Twilight slowly put the sun hat on top of her head. Her eyes still narrowed, looking him over, as if trying to see under lying motive. "Everything will one day come to light, Ms. Sparkle, but there is a time and place for everything." Alex continued trying to reassure her that his intentions were good. "The etchings were back this way." Twilight said motioning back down the corridor. The corridors seemed almost like a maze to Twilight, being led through it was simple enough but having to back track was nearly impossible for her. Luckily though, Alex decided to take point and lead Twilight far back enough to get her familiar with the surroundings once more. It turned out that it wasn't so much Twilight's memory that seemed to kick in but the smell of sulfur that lingered within one of the corridors that got Twilight's attention. "It's down this way." Twilight said pointing down path. "Lead on, Ms. Sparkle." Alex replied looking excited once more to see these etchings. Twilight was leading once more. Bits of ash were kicked up by her hooves. The light from Alex's flames illuminated the scorched hoof prints the Mad King had left behind. Once or twice Twilight placed her hoof over the Mad King's to compare the size and was surprised each time how much larger it was when compared to hers. It had become a simple matter of retracing the Mad King's hoofsteps at this point. Alex would simply draw an arrow onto a wall whenever there was a turn and a second arrow to point them back to the way they came. Just to be safe. After passing several rooms that had Alex craning his neck to take a peek in, Twilight finally rediscovered the etching she had seen when she and every pony else came down here. "This is it!" Twilight said feeling some excitement herself. "Real Flame Pony etchings! Remarkable!" Alex said examining the etchings very closely. "Can you read them?" Twilight asked. "Well, that is where things become difficult." Alex said slowly wiping away the soot from the walls. "What do you mean?" Twilight asked looking skeptical. "This is a very old Flame Pony etching, no letters or symbols were used at such a time. It was merely murals that were drawn to represent a specific moment in Flame Pony history." Alex explained wiping away more soot. "So it's a drawing?" Twilight asked. "A crude drawing, but yes, a drawing none the less." Alex replied stepping back and raising his hoof to bring more light to the etching. The etchings had several large gashes that stemmed from a single large circle that resided within the center of the piece. Several small flames dotted around the circle and near the center while a building could be seen within the interior of the circle. "It looks like something is coming out of that circle, maybe it's a map of some kind?" Twilight pondered aloud. "The etching lacks any real landmark other than the castle that resides in the center." Alex pointed out. "How do you know it's a castle?" Twilight asked. "It would seem appropriate, considering that we are under one." Alex said with a shrug. "So you think it's Castle Char?" Twilight asked. "The flames that are around it do seem to suggest that idea. What I can't seem to figure out is the deep gashes that seem to be coming out of it." Alex said sounding unsure. "Maybe they're heading towards the castle." Twilight suggested. "Towards the castle?" Alex questioned stepping back again. "Maybe we should look around to see if there are any more etchings nearby." Twilight said looking back down the corridor. "Splendid idea." Alex agreed. While Twilight and Alex left the etching in search of more clues to help enlighten them to what the etching is trying to depict, a broken mirror in the Royal Chamber was giggling quietly to itself.