//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: The Archetypist // by Cold in Gardez //------------------------------// The farmhouse was easy to see, even at night. And not because of my newly gifted eyesight. It was just on fire. It’s amazing how much smoke a burning structure can produce. Academically this made sense to me – in the burning process a home or a family is converted into an equivalent mass of hot gasses mixed with microscopic particles of soot. All that material has to go somewhere, after all. My old library had filled the sky with smoke when it burned, and it had rained down enough ash to stain the rest of the town gray for days. A charnel, billowing tower rose from Sweet Apple Acres, lit from beneath by a sickly, inconsistent orange glow. Embers drifted from the conflagration in waving streams, joining the stars and outshining them for brief moments before going dark. I wasn’t a fast flyer back then. Not really, not compared with Rainbow Dash or any other natural-born pegasus. But when I saw the smoke rising from Sweet Apple Acres, and the bright burning light at its base, and when I smelled the sickly sweet acrid scent of applewood ash, I flew faster than I’ve ever flown in my life. I think I might have given Rainbow a run for her money; my heart would have exploded if I’d had to fly more than the bare mile between my castle and the edge of the orchard. But even at that insane speed it took too long; an eternity passed while I flew, and in every one of those moments my mind was fixed horribly on the image of my friend and her family trapped in the burning house, entombed beneath fallen timbers, screaming, dying inch-by-inch as the flames travelled up their coats and into their— The whipping leaves and branches of the orchard broke through my fears. I crashed through the trees and skidded to a stop at the patio. Even a dozen feet away the raging fire shriveled the hairs of my coat, and I stumbled away, my wings up to shelter my face. My lips cracked. I took in a deep breath to call for my friend and choked on the searing air. I doubled over, hacking, and would have collapsed if a pair of strong hooves hadn’t grabbed me and dragged me back. I fought weakly, but I had no strength left. “Stop!” a deep voice shouted right in my ear. I felt the shape of the word on his lips more than I heard it over the roaring fire. “There’s nopony in there! There’s nopony to save!” I stumbled out of his grip. Big Mac stood behind me, his red coat streaked with sweat. He wasn’t hurt that I could see – no burns or missing hair or streaks of soot in mane. He was probably in better shape than I was, and that realization knocked my senses for a loop. “What… Are you okay?” I asked. “Is everypony okay? Where is Apple Bloom! Is she okay?!” “She’s fine! She and Granny are fine!” He gestured at the fence behind him, and I followed to see the Apple matriarch leaning against the rails, her knees shaking and her white mane down from its normal bun for sleep. Her lips were set in a grim line, and she held a struggling Apple Bloom against her chest. The panic in my heart eased a bit, but then it burst back into the fore. Applejack! Where was Applejack? I spun back toward the fire. The heat pouring out of it struck my face like a hammer. I didn’t know any spells to put out fires but I could tear the ruins apart better than anypony. My horn flushed with light and power, and I reached out to the flames with my magic to— Big Mac’s teeth closed on my tail and yanked me back before I could do anything stupid. “Stop! She ain’t in there either! Nopony’s in there. Just… just let it burn.” I fell on my haunches. My dock stung from the tug, and I’d probably lost a few tail hairs, but I barely felt it. “We can save it! We can get the fire brigade, or, or I can get some water!” There was a cow pond on the Apple property. Lifting water was tough – it tried to drip through the magic field – but surely there was enough there to put this blaze out. I tried to orient myself to the rest of the orchard, but so much was wrong: the fire, the darkness, the tower of smoke overhead concealing the stars. I barely knew which direction the town was in. A new feeling began to creep into my heart, replacing the shock and the fear and the adrenaline. Helplessness. I was one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria, but I could not unburn a house. My eyes, already watering from the searing air and fumes, blinded by the brilliance of the fire, began to run with a stream of tears. Granny said something. Even just a few feet away, she was drowned out by the roaring blaze. But Apple Bloom stopped struggling and slumped against the fence with her. Big Mac gave me another look, then walked over to them and draped a hoof over his little sister’s withers. For all the terrible heat of the fire washing over us, I felt cold. Nopony to hold the Princess of Friendship, a voice sneered in the back of my head. I sat there, trembling, wishing Starlight Glimmer or anypony else would come. Starlight arrived with the fire brigade. By the time they reached us it was clear the house was a lost cause. Rather than turn their hoses on it, they aimed them at the nearby trees and barn, to keep them from catching fire as well. Starlight followed them around at first, but soon she realized she was just getting in the way, and she trotted over toward us. Big Mac had a few quiet words with her, then pointed at me. She sat beside me. The dry, seared grass crunched beneath her rump. She pawed at it with her hooves for a moment, then pulled me into a half-embrace with her leg. “You okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” I shook my head. “No. I’m fine. Everypony’s fine.” “Well, that’s what matters. Things can be replaced, but ponies can’t. That’s, uh, that’s how the saying goes, right?” “Yeah.” I swallowed. My throat burned from an hour of breathing the hot air and harsh fumes. “It’s wrong, though. Things can’t all be replaced. Sometimes when there’s a fire...” I waved my hoof in a nonsense gesture. “Things are gone forever.” I hadn’t cried over the memory of my tree and all the things I lost in it for years. Sometimes entire weeks went by and I wouldn’t even think of it. And lately, when I did remember the warm, living wood and the enormous canopy that rustled in the breeze at all hours, I just smiled. But for an instant, sitting there with Starlight and watching the Apple family home vanish, a pang of loss so fresh I could taste it like blood stabbed through my heart. In that moment I would have given back everything – the wings, the castle, even the Elements themselves – just to have my tree again. I must’ve made some sound, because Starlight squeezed me tighter. I buried my face in her mane and took a breath, desperate to smell something other than smoke, but her scent of bed linens and sweat and candle wicks was obliterated by the fire. I guess she didn’t know what to say, because she just held me. I tuned out everything else – the crackle of breaking wood, the fire brigade, the clamor as more ponies from the town arrived to help in any way they could. I focused on the beat of Starlight’s heart and tried to forget my old home all over again. She didn’t mind the snotty mess I was making of her mane, which just showed how much better of a friend she was than I deserved. But after a minute she jerked and pulled away. I looked up and wiped my eyes with my fetlock. “What?” I had to cough out the word. Starlight didn’t respond. She just motioned with her muzzle off toward the orchard. Huh. I squinted at the shadows. My eyes were irritated from the fumes, but even so I could see an orange shape sitting among the trees. An orange shape with a stetson hat and wings. Starlight didn’t object as I stood. I started at a walk, but by the time I reached Applejack I was galloping, panting all over again. She watched me approach and gave me a little nod. “Princess.” “Applejack!” I gasped and spent a few second catching my breath. “Oh, it’s good to see you. You’re not hurt, are you? Big Mac said everypony was okay but I didn’t see you and the fire was just so big and—” “I’m fine.” She rolled her shoulders. The tips of her new pinions dragged on the grass. Mine had done that at first as well, until Rainbow Dash showed me the proper way to hold them when sitting. “Everything’s fine. No need to get all worked up.” “But…” I swallowed and started over. “Look, I know how hard this is. I know exactly what you’re feeling. And the important thing to remember is that we’re all here for you. We’ll find a place… no, with me! You can all stay in the castle! And we’ll build a new house out here, just as good as the old! I bet we could have it done by the Running of the Leaves if we start tomorrow!” “Eh.” She shrugged again. “I’ll pass.” I stared at her. It took several seconds to process that. “What?” “I’ll pass. The others might take you up on it, though. ‘Specially Apple Bloom.” “What…” I fumbled for words. “What about you?” “I’ll be fine.” She looked up at the sky. The tower of smoke had flattened, forming a pall that drifted slowly east. The faint light of the sun, still below the horizon, painted its edges rose. “I’m feeling great, in fact.” “You’re in shock,” I said. It made sense. I should’ve seen it right away. For a pony like Applejack, losing her family home must’ve been an even more terrible blow than the loss of my old library. “Look, don’t… just remember that we’re here for you, okay? I know how you feel.” “Yeah?” She cocked her head. “How do I feel, Twilight?” “Lost.” I closed my eyes, and for a moment I was back in Ponyville, the memory as fresh in my mind as the day it happened. The charred bark turned to dust as I walked on it. Millions of pages covered the square, some still smoldering, others little more than ash. The great hollow walls still stood, but blasted and lifeless. “Lost. Adrift. Like the only anchor you had is suddenly gone, and there’s nothing to stop you from just floating away.” Applejack nodded slowly as I spoke. “Yeah. That’s about right.” She took a long breath, then smiled. “It’s wonderful.” The world seemed to recede from me. Like I was watching it through a window. Sounds were muffled. My heart faltered. It took me a minute to speak. “No.” I shook my head. “No. Applejack, tell me you didn’t…” “I had to, sugar. It’s just like you said. Like the anchor is suddenly gone.” She took a deep breath, let it out, and smiled. “Amazing what a little kerosene can do, huh? Best choice I ever made.” My heart returned, pounding now. My breath shuddered in my chest. I started to judge the distance between us and how fast I could cross it. “You could’ve hurt somepony. Your own family! You could have killed them!” “Naw.” She flicked her hoof. “I got them out first. Told ‘em all I loved them, all that sappy stuff. Then I started it.” “I could have you arrested. I-I should have you arrested!” “I reckon you could.” Applejack looked me up and down. “Well?” My horn glowed again. It would be so easy – as strong as Applejack might be, she was still just an earth pony. I could hold her down. I could carry her to the jail myself. And if she struggled, I could hurt her. It would be as easy as tearing the wings off a fly. I squeezed my eyes shut. My horn flickered and died. This wasn’t her fault – this was all Discord’s doing. He was the one we had to punish. Applejack was a victim just as much as anypony else. “Hm.” Applejack grunted, and I heard a quiet rustle on the grass in front of me. I opened my eyes to see her stetson lying there. “Give that to Apple Bloom for me, ‘kay?” I didn’t answer. Perhaps Applejack didn’t expect one, because she didn’t wait. She turned, flapped her still-clumsy wings, and rose into the night. Applejack nodded slowly as I spoke. “Yeah. That’s about right.” She took a long breath, then smiled. “It’s wonderful.”