//------------------------------// // Secret Revealed // Story: Just Another Average Tuesday // by Flamesinger599 //------------------------------// A/N: Oh my God, over ten thousand words!?! How did this chapter get to be that long!?! I really do spoil you guys. So anyway, I'm not gonna apologize for the short delay, because A.) this chapter was yet again a total pain in the ass to write and B.) my life doesn't revolve around getting chapters out as fast as possible. I mean, c'mon guys. I was late a DAY AND A HALF. Deal with it. Anyway, enjoy and all that. This chapter has a bit more plot in it, so a few questions will be answered, and quite a few new ones brought up. Hope you like it. Man, today should go on my calendar. The one day I managed to wake up and not have something strange, stressful, or even mildly annoying happen. Nope, this morning was just that: a morning. A normal, everyday, run-of-the-mill, morning. Wait, what am I saying? OF COURSE IT WASN'T. To start off the non-normal morning, let me fill you in on what Tienn had done to the rest of the house besides the outside and the living room. First and foremost, the whole house had received a major cleaning, so instead of being dusty and rotting everything looked brand new. This included the beds and mattresses, so now I had about four bedrooms with perfectly useable beds in them that I had no idea what to do with (Indoor jacuzzi?). She had also transported the master bed up into the attic, so I was sleeping in full luxury up there. And of course, the walls were covered with the usual assortment of vegetation that seemed to have become Tienn's trademark. So anyway, moving on to what was becoming my average morning in Equestria. I got up, ate a few gems, went back to sleep. The end. Thirty seconds later, Manty threatened me via mindspeech with slow and extremely painful death by decapitation if I didn't move my lazy ass and come down. We really are the best of pals, him and I. “Listen...” I informed him as I descended the stairs. “... I don't know who hired you, but you are henceforth fired from your position as my personal alarm clock.” “Har har. Check the real clock.” I did. It was eleven-twenty. I looked at him questioningly. “Can you even read this?” “Kinda. I know that when both stick-things are near the top, it's wakey-wakey time.” “But both hands aren't near the top.” “I know. That's because I didn't use it.” He turned and headed out through the huge hole he had made in the wall. “Tienn gave me permission to yell at you, so I did. Simple as that.” I watched him go for a few seconds, then addressed the room in general. “Now don't you start!” -Problem?- “Yes, BIG problem! Sleeping in was one of the main reasons I even bought this thing!” -And I have no problem with that. Sleep as late as you want. Just make sure that when you do, you are awake.- “May I inquire as to what the hell that means?” -I draw the line at going right back to bed. You want the fancy house, you get up when you get up.- I considered this. “... Could you repeat that, except make it sound a lot less fair so I can complain about it more easily?” -Why certainly.- She was silent for a minute. -Basically, you do what I say, or I take away everything you hold dear.- “Thanks.” -Anytime.- “Now, on to this complaining...” -You do realize that I can command any one of these branches to punch you, correct?- All of the thin tree branches on the walls came alive and pointed at me, as if to prove her point. “Is that your answer to everything? Beat it with tree branches? That doesn't seem like a healthy life choice to me.” -You really don't understand how annoying you are, do you?- “Oh trust me, I do. And I like myself all the more because of it.” I noticed all the branches in the room start to tense. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm out.” Not a single branch managed to get me. Thank God for teleporting. Now I just need to find a way out of this cave... wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Ah... *snort* heh heh... oh my... that one never ceases to crack me up... Flamesinger, my dear boy, you are truly a dragon after my own heart. That house though... ugh, really Tienn? You never did like change, but it's been over a thousand years! I would assume you would have gained another obsession by now. Then again, you can't really do that, can you? Forever bound to the forest and all that. Not that you seem to mind... Now where was I? Ah yes, the house! Tienn, my dear girl, you really must learn to expand your horizons a little. Vines? Tree branches? SO old school. Now, If I was the designer... let's see... get rid of all the plant life, we certainly don't need that... and instead of the tree branch roof... balloons! Yes! The roof would be made out of balloons... and the whole house would be suspended in midair about ten feet off the ground... the beds would be on the ceiling... it would be snowing in the living room... maybe have a little homemade desert in the kitchen, complete with cacti... a cotton candy cloud in each of the bedrooms, spewing chocolate milk 24/7... … *Sigh* Cotton candy clouds. Now that's one thing I truly miss. Do you even remember me Tienn? Have you spent so much time copped up in that little forest of yours that you've forgotten about little old me? Oh of course you haven't. That would be to much to ask wouldn't it? No, EVERYPONY remembers me. Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony! Not in the technical sense of course, but it does sound pretty flashy, does it not? Practically the entirety of Equestria knows my name, and what do they do when they here it? They tremble. They shake. They fear. They fear the very mention of my name, and for good reason! I was so... SO close... to being ruler of my kingdom once again... but no. Celestia wouldn't have it. Her and those damn Elements of Harmony! Well I say let them them tremble! Let them shake! Let them fear my power! This land was once mine, and it shall be mine again! I vow that soon, oh VERY soon, EQUESTRIA SHALL KNOW MY RULE ONCE AGAIN!!! *pant*... *pant*... Well... I admit... I may have got myself a bit worked up there... but no matter. What I say doesn't count... no one will hear me anyway...not while I'm like this... weak, turned to stone, with only a fraction of my power remaining... and I am getting ahead of myself a tad... after all, before takeover... before world domination comes... the plan. The plan... the plan... what was the plan...Ugh, damn this stone form! It muddles my thinking! Ah yes, now I remember! The plan. The plan that actually WORKS... not like my last one. I got too full of myself last time... let my ego get the best of me... but not this time! This time it's all shadows... tricks in the dark... little slip-ups that nopony will notice... and it all revolves around HIM. Our dear little human-turned dragon. Bringing him here... well I'll admit it was no easy task. It took a while... I don't even know how long, there's no way of keeping the time when you're a statue... First I had to peer into the human world... find a suitable subject that no one would miss... that was the easy part... the hard part was transporting him here, to Equestria, and giving him chaos magic. Changing his form wasn't that hard... I changed ponies into all sorts of things back when I ruled... a human wasn't much different... neither were the little toys I left him... matter is easy for me to create... but the transport spell. Now THAT was, in human terms, a real pisser (I quite like these humans). It left me with barely any energy, only enough to give him the powers I needed him to have. After giving him the remainder of my magic, it took me two-and-a-half days in a near-death state to gather the energy I required to survive. Since then I've been slowly trickling energy into him... making him stronger... using him as a sort of storehouse for my power, so that when the time comes, I'll have enough to do what I need to do. But power won't be enough. Oh no, Celestia made sure of that. The book. The book was key. Part of the little bag of toys I left him. He wonders who put them there... he'll have to wonder for a little while more... A Guide To Dragons... a book lost in time... oh, how Celestia would be sore if she know I had it... she's been hunting for it for years... But you know something? Back in the day... when this book was a famous wealth of knowledge... and scholars young and old studied it every day... if you had asked to see Section 2d of it, they would give you a strange look. “There is no Section 2d. It ends at 2c, then continues on to Section 3. Perhaps you meant one of those?” wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww “Are you sure this is a good idea?” questioned Scootaloo. “Well Ah didn't see you suggestin' somethin' better.” Apple Bloom shot back. “I know, but... a library?” She shuffled her hooves. “Doesn't that kind of make us eggheads?” Apple Bloom shrugged. “Maybe. But where else are we gonna find this stuff?” “Stop arguing you two. This can be solved easily.” Sweetie Bell trotted up to the door and knocked before either of her friends could stop her. The door was opened by Spike, who immediately started reciting a basic welcome verse in a voice that pretty much screamed 'I don't care about your life, please go away and leave me in peace'. “Welcome to the Books and Branches Library, how may I-oh.” He noticed the white filly in front of him, and the level of caring in his voice increased somewhat. “Hey Sweetie Bell.” “Hey Spike. We're here to check out a book. Can we come in?” He blinked. Then he peeked over the filly's shoulder and saw her friends, one looking normal and the other looking bored. He returned his attention to Sweetie and raised an eyebrow. “You want to check out a book?” “Yep!” Apple Bloom's face was the picture of pure innocence. “Isn't that okay?” “Yeah, it's just that you girls... don't really seem like the reading type.” “It's a special occasion.” Scootaloo muttered. “Crusading business.” He shrugged and turned, as if that explained everything. Which it kind of did. “Oh, okay then. C'mon in.” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell high-five'd each other as they walked through the door. Scootaloo sighed and did a quick look-around, making sure nopony was watching, then quickly followed her friends into the library. Books were not her strong point. More like her phobia. “Hey Twilight” Spike called up the stairs. “You got some customers!” “Really!?!” There was a bright flash, and suddenly a very excited Twilight was occupying the room. A very excited Twilight. “Hello and welcome to the Books and Branches library thank you so much for coming I assure you that you will find whatever you're looking for here we have-” She stopped mid-sentence as soon as she caught sight of the girls, and her face fell considerably. “Oh. It's just you then?” Sweetie Bell choose to ignore this comment. “Hello Twilight. We want to check out a book.” Twi perked up. “A book?” She looked closely at the trio. “Really?” “Funny, Spike was like that also.” muttered Apple Bloom. “Sorry, it's just that you fillies didn't strike me as readers...” She furrowed her eyebrows. “... though there was that one time on Hearts and Hooves Day-” “Mooooving on...” Scootaloo quickly tried to regain control of the conversation before it pealed out and died in an explosive ball of fire. “... can you help us?” “What? Oh yes.” Twi shook her head and smiled down at the trio. “What kind of book do you want? Is it for a school assignment? The geography and science textbooks are right over there, though I think they might be a little advanced for you.” “No no, nothing like that.” Sweetie Bell adopted a innocent look. “We want a book about PRANKS!” Twilight's face went blank. “Pranks?” “Yea!” Apple Bloom squeezed in between her two friends. “Y'know, like a book that lists out different pranks, with steps on how to do 'em, that kinda thing!” “It's for our cutie marks!” Scootaloo added to the barrage. “Pleaaaaaaaase?” Now, let's pause time and take a moment to do a brief overview on a certain purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. What would be a few words to describe her? Magical? Yes. Logical? Yes. Smart? Now that one's a biggie. Twilight Sparkle is very smart. She could see right away that a book of pranks in the hands of the Cutie Mark Crusaders was basically a one-way ticket to eternal damnation. And as soon as she figured that out (which took about one-point-five seconds of 'no shit' logic), she started frantically thinking of a way to distract the Crusaders from their intended target. “Oh... uh...” C'mon, think! THINK! “Well... er... you see...” Think or Equestria is doomed! Then, all of a sudden, mind flash! Great idea! Twi immediately grabbed hold of it without caring where it came from and proceeded to fix the situation that had rapidly went downhill. Composing herself, she smiled. “Oh come now, pranks? Haven't you girls tried that before?” “Ummmm...” Apple Bloom scratched her head. “Ah don't think so.” “Besides, it's not technically pranks.” Scootaloo pointed out. “That one guy told us it was-” “I can't help you out with pranks, but if you're looking for something to do in order to earn your cutie marks, I think I can help you there.” Sweetie Bell perked up. “Really? What?” “Well... I just happen to have an old beginner chemistry set down in the basement left over from when I was a filly. It's a bit old, but if you three want to use it, you're more then welcome to.” At the thought of being able to freely experiment with random chemicals, all the members of the CMC grew large grins and any thoughts of the so-called 'pranks' they were going to do went out the window. They jumped into the air and did a three-way-high-five. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, CHEMICAL MIXERS!!! YAAAHH!!!” Twilight tried to hide her grin. “I take it that's a yes?” The fillies bobbed their heads in enthusiastic agreement. “Alright then. Let me go get it and we'll set you up.” As she retrieved the old box from the basement, Spike shook his head. It was apparent to him that this was an even worse idea, but Twilight seemed to know what she was doing, so he didn't question it. Then again, Twi's plans only worked about fifty percent of the time. Maybe he should be worried. Nah. He went back to sorting books. Let her figure this one out. She returned levitating a slightly dusty box over her head, which the fillies tried to grab. She moved it out of their reach, chuckling. “Oh no you don't. You're not working with this in here. I'd rather not have to clean up a huge mess, and this stuff gets everywhere.” “You mean me have to clean up a huge mess.” grumbled Spike. She shot him a dirty look. “Then where do we do it?” Sweetie Bell wanted to know. “Hmmm...” Twi hadn't thought this part out. Then she brightened and turned to Apple Bloom. “Apple Bloom, does your family still have that old shed near the edge of the orchard?” “Yeah.” Then she seemed to understand what Twi was saying. “Hey yeah! We could do it there! That thing hasn't been used in ages! We could make as big a mess as we want!” “Exactly.” Twi levitated the box over to Scootaloo and set it on her back. “Why don't you go over to Applejack and ask her if you can use it? I'm sure she'll say yes.” “That's a great idea! C'mon girls!” Apple Bloom galloped out the door, followed closely by her two friends. They were so excited that anypony in their way was shoved aside by the onslaught. Twi just chuckled and shut the door behind them. Problem solved. Spike waited a few moments before finally speaking his mind. “I'm gonna be honest here, just what are you thinking entrusting a chemical set to the Cutie Mark Crusaders? That won't end well y'know.” She laughed. “Oh trust me Spike, I've used that set hundreds of times. It was built for kids, with absolutely no dangerous chemicals in it. There's even an instruction manual. The most they'll be able to make will be a explosion of goo, and that's only if they put the correct chemicals in the correct order, which I doubt will happen. We have nothing to worry about.” wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Yes. Yes, this is PERFECT! The right time to strike... all I need is a little magic... a few matter changes... maybe some more work once it really gets going... then... yes. Yes, this will work. Nothing to worry about, hmm Twilight Sparkle? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!! If you say so... wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww After getting Applejack's permission to use the shed, the very happy group of fillies set out through the orchard in order to get their cutie marks and generally cause as much destruction as they possibly could. On accident, of course. The shed itself was actually pretty big, with room enough inside to fit about ten ponies. It was positioned near a thin part of the orchard, and was within calling distance of the barn. It had been built with the idea of a storehouse in mind, but the Apple family never seemed to need it. In fact, they were never short on storage. The barn provided all the room they required. And so, it had fell out of use. As they opened the door and trotted inside, the place was suddenly filled with sunlight. Scootaloo headed for the nearest table and brushed it off, creating a cloud of dust before dissipating. Dropping the box onto the table, the eager children quickly opened it and dumped out all the contents. The first thing that fell out was a well-used instruction manual, which Scootaloo took one look at before promptly picking it up and tossing it over her shoulder. It was caught by Sweetie Bell, who looked disapprovingly at her friend before returning it to the table. “We might need that.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes but didn't comment. Also in the box was a beaker, about fifteen smaller vials half-filled with colorful liquids, and four pairs of safety goggles (which were all thrown in the trash, no argument from anypony). “Sooo...” Apple Bloom looked in between her two friends. “What should we make first?” “I'll look through this thing.” Sweetie Bell opened the manual and started cruising, immediately skipping over anything labeled 'Safety'. “Maybe I'll find something.” Scootaloo peeked over her friends shoulder and saw labels such as 'Miniature Volcano' and 'Glow-in-the-Dark Liquid'. She rolled her eyes and made a face. “Skip all that and get to the cool stuff.” “Cool stuff?” “Yeah, y'know! Bombs, liquid fire, potions that give you super powers or that change you into manticores or dragons! The cool stuff!” “Ohhhh...” Sweetie flipped through a couple more pages. “I'm not sure it has that stuff in here.” “Well then forget the book. We'll do this the same way we do everything.” Scootaloo returned her attention to the vials and grabbed the nearest one, which was light blue. “Guess and check.” The idea was agreed upon anonymously, and soon all three fillies were pouring vial after vial of colorful liquid into the beaker. It wasn't long before they ran out. The end result was a full beaker of muddy brown liquid that swirled when ever you touched it... … and other then that did absolutely nothing. “Maybe we have ta drink it.” suggested Apple Bloom. Sweetie Bell made a face. “Eww. I'm not drinking that.” “I will.” declared Scootaloo, who promptly grabbed the beaker and took a quick sip. She sat there, savoring the taste, before turning around and spitting it halfway across the shed. “Belch!” She kept on spitting, trying to get the taste out of her mouth. “I think you may have had a point there Sweetie Bell!” “Feel any different? Stronger or anything?” asked Apple Bloom. Scoots, after dispelling as much of the liquid as she could from her mouth, stood up and walked around. She stopped at a wall and looked at for a few seconds, then punched it as hard as she could. The result was a unaffected wall and a smarting hoof. She limped back to the table. “Nope.” “Hmmm...” Apple Bloom thought about it for a few more seconds. “Hey, maybe you have to charge it with magic or somethin'. Sweetie Bell, how good are you with magic?” “Not that good.” admitted Sweetie Bell. “But I'll try. Just give me room.” Her friends backed away and Sweetie Bell positioned herself in front of the beaker. She lowered her horn and began to strain, trying to summon some magic. After thirty seconds, there was still nothing, but she kept on trying, determined to get out at least a spark. Scoots and Bloom sat in the background, encouraging her with shouts of 'You can do it!' and 'C'mon, just a little more!'. Just as she was about to give up, she felt something. A tiny seed of magic. She seized it and strained even harder, managing to get it into her horn and out into the world. At last, she had performed magic! Now just what was it gonna do? Sweetie Bell sat in front of the beaker, panting. It looked no different then when she had first started. Scoots came up from behind her. “I thought I saw a spark flash, but nothing's happening.” “I... know...” panted Sweetie. “Well... so much... for that...” “Wait girls.” Apple Bloom looked closely at the beaker. “Are you seein' this?” The other two returned their attention to the glass. A small light was forming in the middle of it, shining through the brown, and it was growing brighter by the minute. “Ah think ya did it!” yelled Apple Bloom. “Sweetie Bell, Ah think ya really-” The beaker exploded. It was away from the girls, so none of them were hurt, but that was the least of their problems. The beaker had exploded in a ball of fire, which had impacted with the side of the wall, setting it ablaze. The three fillies started at it for a few seconds. “Huh.” muttered Scootaloo. “Ummm... girls?” Sweetie Bell had regained a bit of her breath. “I'm not sure what I did, but maybe we should leave.” “Yep.” decided Apple Bloom. “Maybe we should.” They quickly set down any vials they had and dashed for the exit, but then the impossible happened. The door closed. Just like that. This was enough to freeze the fillies in their tracks. While logic would say to get away from the fire that was now spreading over one side of the shed, one of the most primal instincts of the young is to not go near anything out of the ordinary. Such as a door that closes by itself. This was all the fire needed. The fire had been spreading at a normal rate, consuming what it touched and behaving like a normal fire, but here's where that ended. The fire began to flow, spreading over the walls at an abnormal pace, surrounding the girls before finally making reaching the other wall and consuming the door. The only exit. And now the girls were completely surrounded, no way out. Scootaloo looked frantically at her friends. “What's happening!?!” “Ah don't know!” shouted Apple Bloom. “But Ah think it's time to panic!!!” It was times like this when the CMC were grateful for their loud voice. “HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!” wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Applejack was having a good day. All the harvesting had been done, all the chores had been completed, she had the rest of the day free, and her little sister and her friends had found a way to entertain themselves thanks to Twilight. You couldn't ask for much more. Speakin' a which, Ah should probably see how they're comin' along. Wouldn't want them ta make too much of a mess. Chuckling to herself, she left the barn and started down the short trek to the shed. On the way there, her nose caught a small whiff of something. She sniffed some more, trying to figure out what it was. Is that smoke? she wondered. She quickened her pace. Then she heard a sound which made her blood run cold. “HEEEEEEEELLLLLPPPPPPP!!!!!” Rounding a bend, she caught sight of the shed... and the flame and smoke coming from it. “Oh dear Celestia.” She broke into a gallop. “Ah'm comin' Apple Bloom!” wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The fire was raging. Upon hearing the frantic shouts from both Applejack and the CMC, Big Mac had run into town to get Twilight. He sure could run fast if he wanted too. When Twi heard the news, she had teleported over and was currently using her magic to protect the fillies from the worst of the flame and heat. Rainbow had been dispatched to alert everypony to the situation, and now the shed was surrounded by a crowd comprised of the Elements of Harmony, Spike, the Apple family and most of Ponyville in general. It goes without saying that the general atmosphere was complete pandemonium. Applejack and Rarity were the worst. It was like they had complete switched personalities. Applejack was hysterical, begging everypony to help and yelling to the fillies that they were gonna be alright. Rarity just sat there, staring into the shed, eyes searching for her little sister. She called out to them whenever she heard them, but other then that stayed silent. Both her and Applejack were crying. Fluttershy and a couple of the other townsfolk had fainted, and the rest were either helping to put out the fire or yelling encouragement to the fillies. The fire though, was proving to be a problem. It just wouldn't. Go. Out. Twilight was a master magician, and most everypony knew it. She knew tons of spells for putting out fires, whether by simply getting rid of it, or smothering it, or starving it of it's fuel, such as wood or oxygen. This was basic science. She should have been able to put out this fire ten minutes ago. But that wasn't the case. You see, the fire simply wouldn't go out. No matter what she tried, summoning a monsoon of water or removing all the oxygen from a space around the wood, it just continued to burn. In fact, she suspected that if she were to pull of a piece of flaming timber and submerge it in a bucket of water, it would still burn bright and steady. Dash and some other pegasi had gathered some rain clouds and dumped their whole contents onto the shed, to no avail. This wood was doing the impossible. Twilight was running out of options. Actually, she had run out of them quite a while ago and was now making them up on the spot, but the rate at which she was able to so was steadily decreasing. Her ideas were running short. Dash landed beside her and looked at her. She looked back hopelessly. “Nothing works! I've tried everything I know and more! Whatever this is, it is not normal fire!” “So do you have any more ideas?” At this Twi collapsed, burying her head in her fore hooves. “NO!” “Well I do.” Twi looked up. She was close to crying, but unlike Applejack and Rarity had not subsumed to them yet. “What?” “Flame.” The normally upbeat pegasus, second in personality only to Pinkie Pie, was dead serious. “One of us has to go get Flamesinger. He's a you-know-what, he can help with this.” Twilight's head shot up. She stood up very quickly, a smile forming on her face despite the situation. “Yes.... yes, yes, YES! THAT'S A PERFECT IDEA!” She turned to Rainbow. “I can't believe I didn't think of it, but yes, that's perfect!” Her face fell. “Except... we don't know where he is. Can you retrace the path back to the clearing?” Before Rainbow could answer, Twilight felt a tapping on her shoulder. “Excuse me?” She turned to see a familiar wall-eyed gray pegasus. “Oh, hey Derpy. Sorry but this isn't really the time-” “I overheard you, I know what you're talking about. This Flamesinger... he's the you-know-what, right?” “What?” Twilight immediately tried to act innocent, convinced that she had just revealed Flame's secret. “I-I don't what you mean...” You wouldn't think a pegasus whose eye's point two different directions would be able to roll them, but Derpy managed it. “The dragon. He's the dragon, right?” Twi, lost for words, was quickly shoved aside by Rainbow Dash. “Yes. Do you know where he is?” “Follow me.” wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww *Pant*.... *pant*.... Wow...*pant*... didn't think that...*pant*... keeping a fire going... *pant*... would cost so much energy... *wheeze*... but it was worth it. Heh heh... they're playing right into my hands... and they don't even know it...not that it will matter much to them now, but in the long run... I may have asserted myself too much... that closing the door... it was a desperate move on my part, the whole plan would have fallen apart otherwise... set me back weeks... But what am I saying? They'll never guess it was me. No, to them I'm safely imprisoned up here in Canterlot... just another statue that can't hurt anyone... Well, we'll see just 'harmless' I can be... won't we? wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Now, I may have been lying when I said it was a boring morning, what with Tienn's threats and me teleporting into some random cave (again) that may or may not have been home to a pack of scorpions (fricking BIG ones too), but I kid you not when I say that come the afternoon, I was in full boredom mode. For the uneducated of you out there, let me give you a quick definition. Boredom mode: a mental state in which the person has been bored out of his mind for at least an hour and has resorted to doing the most random shit in order to become un-bored, which is normally met with negative results. So yeah. Pretty much me until three o'clock. In my defense though, I actually thought of some pretty cool stuff to do. Currently, I was attempting parkour on the outside of my house, which was actually easier then it sounded. I should know, I suck at climbing in general. But all the newly-acquired vines and tree branches on the walls made it super easy. Too easy in fact. I had already been up and down about four times, and was beginning to feel the affects of boredom wash over me again. No! Quick, think of something fun to do! You could do what I'm doing. Manty, you're sleeping. Exactly. I paused for a moment. Good point. I returned to the inside of my house and stretched out on my new sofa. I'll admit the flame design didn't really work with the rest of the house, but then again, I wasn't one for fashion. The couch looked cool, I bought it. End of story. As I relaxed and tried to calm my mind enough to at least take a nap, the tranquility of my living room was shattered. Literally. Rainbow Dash came crashing through one of the windows, throwing glass everywhere and scaring me half out of my mind. I jumped, screamed, and quickly hid behind the couch before my mind registered the rainbow mane and connected it with Dashie. Yeah, thanks a lot dragon instincts. No fear, my ass. Once my mind had come to terms with the fact that it was Dash who had come crashing into my living room, I calmly stood, brushed myself off and strolled over to her. “That, my dear Dash, was a new window.” “Ugh...” She shook her head to try and clear it. Then she looked up at me and her mind seemed to come together. Her eyes widened, and she shot up and started blabbering. “Quick, you gotta come with me, there's a thing- something went wrong- the shed- you gotta-” I held up a clawed hand in the universal sign for 'hold up, I don't know what the hell you're talking about'. “Whoa whoa whoa, slow down, who killed who?” She took a few seconds to regain her breath, then managed to from a coherent sentence. “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell are trapped in a shed and it's on fire and we can't put it out and we need your help!” I blinked. “Wait, WHAT?” “Exactly! Quick, you gotta come with me!” “Sure sure, but wait a sec.” I did some quick thinking. “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell... aren't those the three that call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” “Yes! Now c'mon!” “I'm comin', I'm comin'.” I quickly activated my magic and was surrounded in the usual dark aura. Stepping out as a pegasus, I headed towards the window, rather then use the door. It was quicker and cooler. Don't ask why. “Yo Manty! Crisis imminent, be back in an hour!” “Got it!” I flew out the window, then turned back to Dash who was still sitting there. “So you were in a hurry, yes?” “Oh, yeah!” She shot after me through the window. “Follow me! It's not that far!” As I started after her, I heard another voice beside me. “So she knows you too?” I looked to the side. It was that gray pegasus that had delivered my couch from yesterday. The one with the creepy eyes. She was flying right along side me. “Yeah. More or less.” I looked back ahead. “So, you led her here I suppose?” “Yeah. It's pretty bad. Twilight’s tried everything.” “Has she tried cursing at it and yelling it into submission?” She looked surprised. Wonder why. “No.” “Then she hasn't tried everything.” wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I swear to God, I leave for five minutes and all hell breaks loose around here. Skipping the journey across the Everfree, I was now approaching the shed and was within viewing distance. I was able to see the fire, Applejack and Rarity crying, Twilight sitting there probably doing something important, and of course, the huge group of townsfolk. Oh great, there's an audience. That means if Twi asks me to do something and I screw up, I screw up in front of EVERYONE. Joy. Rainbow led me to Twilight's side, which brought everyone's attention to yours truly. Everyone's attention except Twilight's. I decided to make me presence known through a smart remark, naturally. “Really Twi? I was gone for a DAY.” Yeah, I gotta be me. Even when there's three little kids trapped in a burning building. Speaking of which, I should probably do something about that. “Oh Flame! Thank Celestia you're here!” For the record, Twi looked fricking horrible, with bags under her eyes and a messed up mane. Just thought you should know. “This fire is just out of control!” “Yep, noticed. And while I'm all for getting them out of there as fast as possible...” I looked sideways at her. “... exactly what do you think I can do about it?” “Well, the floor is dirt, so we can be thankful for that, but my magic isn't working on the walls or the ceiling, so-” “Wait, back up. Your magic doesn’t work?” “Nothing works! This fire just keeps on going! Here, I'll show you!” She stepped forward and called out a warning. “Stand back everypony! I'm gonna try it again!” She closed her eyes and her horn glowed. The door glowed as well, and while the fire dimmed a little, it didn't go out. Not even close. The glow vanished from both the door and Twi's horn and she stepped back, panting a little. “I just removed every ounce of oxygen from the air around that door. Again.” She turned to me. “See what I mean? Nothing works!” My mouth was hanging open a little. “'Kay, I'm gonna save the general WTF of what just happened for a later time. So what do you want me to do?” “Well...” She gave a look that told me it should be obvious. “... you're a...” She noticed that we were the center of attention from pretty much everyone there, so she changed what she was about to say. “... you're a you-know-what!” “I literally have no idea how that pertains to this current situation.” “Ugh!” She stomped her hoof in frustration. “THINK Flame! You're a you-know-what! You're fire-proof!” My mouth made a silent 'oh'. Then I facehoofed and rubbed my forehead. “Wait, stop, I think I know where this is going...” “Exactly! You have to go in there and get them!” “Spike's one too! Why not him?” She looked horrified. “He's just a baby! I'm not sending him in there! It could be dangerous!” I deadpanned. “Well thanks for the huge vote of confidence.” “It's just... It's just...” She was starting to cry now. “Please!” “Hey, whoa, I never said I wouldn't do it.” Then I frowned. “Wait a sec, for me to be fire-proof, won't I have to...” “Yes, you will have to transform!” “Twi, are you fricking crazy!?! Practically the whole town's here!!!” “I know... and I know you don't want to give away your secret... but it's for a good cause!” “Aw, for the luvva-” It was then that I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I turned to see Rarity, tears silently streaming down her face, and Applejack, who was crying into her shoulder. “Please.” Rarity whispered. “You can save them. Just... please. Without my Sweetie Bell...” Her grip tightened and her tears increased. I stared back at her for a few seconds. Then sighed. “Eh, I was looking for something to do anyway...” I turned away and took a few steps forward. “Okay, everypony back away! This shit's gettin' heavy and I need some space! Also!” I turned my head to the crowd. “Two things! One, I'll need Spike's help!” Twilight looked like she wanted to protest, but I waved her off. “He'll be fine. He's fireproof too, right?” Spike ran up beside me, looking nervous. “And two!” I grimaced. “Please, PLEASE don't freak out? Please?” “What are you gonna do?” a random stallion called out. “I'm gonna save the kids!” “Fair enough.” The general crowd mumbled in agreement. “Right on.” I turned forward and leaned down to talk to Spike. “Okay, Spike, you cool with this? If you wanna back out, that's fine.” “N-No... just a l-little nervous is all... b-but I'll go with you.” He gave a shaky smile. “Can't leave a fellow dragon hanging, right?” “Good. And don't worry. You're fireproof. No danger whatsoever. Well, unless something collapses, but try not to think about that.” I straightened up. “Let's do this.” I then activated my magic. My body was once again encased in a dark, smokey cocoon of magic, only this time it was in front of everyone. And I mean literally everyone. 'Kay, remind me why I'm doing this? Oh yeah. Sad Rarity and Applejack. Got it. The gasps surprisingly didn't start until the magic dissipated. Thankfully though, there were no screams of terror. Just a ton of gasps. Good. I strode forward. “Now Spike, I feel I should tell you that I'm not completely sure if this fireproof thing works...” “Oh, it does. At least, it has the few times I've been in fire. Still though... let's not stay in there longer then we have too.” “Good plan.” I reached to door and hesitantly reached out toward it. I could feel the heat from the flames, but it wasn't uncomfortable like it should have been this close. I slowly reached out a palm and took a deep breath. “Well, here goes.” I pressed my palm against the flaming door. Nothing. No pain. Aw, thank Christ. I wiggled my claws. “This is so weird.” “Tell me about it.” Now, knowing that I was indeed fireproof, I tried the door. Wouldn't budge. Great. “Hey Apple Bloom! Can you hear me?!” “Y-y-yes...” The voice was shaky. “Good. Are you anywhere near the door?!” “N-n-no...” The voice was still shaky. “T-the door's t-too hot...” “Yeah, that's usually a side effect of fire. Now, in a few seconds this door is going to burst open. Be prepared for that, okay?” “O-o-okay.” “And don't worry. You'll be fine. Trust me.” I backed away from the door slightly. “Hey Spike, have you ever kicked down a door before?” “No.” “Me neither.” And I let lose a good one at it. Dragon muscles must be stronger then human muscles of the same size, because I broke open the door no problem. It brought a few more gasps from the crowd, and a few screams, but whatever. I waved me hand at Spike. “After you.” “Why me?” “Because I'd rather not have to deal with three kids that are terrified of me. You'll make a good impression.” He went without another word. I followed him. Inside, everything was both very smokey and on fire. Both the walls and the ceiling were covered in flame, and looked about ready to collapse any minute. There was a table near the far wall, which was also ablaze. The floor was dirt, like Twi said, which was the only reason the three girls were still alive. Said girls were huddled in the center of the room, hugging each other and looking sacred out of their minds. Spike immediately ran over to them, and when they saw him they leaped up and hugged him, all of them crying. I walked over. “While this is very touching, and I'm more then happy to see it continue, might I suggest we do it outside?” The white one, Sweetie Bell (Yes! I remember it this time!), looked up at me, and her eyes grew wide. “Who are you?” “I wish I could say nobody of importance, but since I'm saving your lives, I really can't. But before you ask anymore questions, let me just say that I will answer nothing until I'm out of this burning building. Just cause I'm fireproof doesn’t mean I like it as much as you do.” I turned towards the exit. “Hey Twi! We got em', safe and sound! We're just gonna leave and this'll all be-” Then again, things are never that simple. At least not for me. The front of the shed collapsed. I scrabbled back with a loud exclamation of “HOLY SHIT!!!”.The door was completely caved in, and when the dust cleared we could see that the space of no fire had been cut in half. We were now trapped, along with the fillies, with no exit. “... over.” I rubbed my forehead. “Of. Fucking. Course.” “Flame! Spike!” I looked up when I heard Twi's voice. “Are you alright!?!” “Yeah, we're fine!” I examined our situation. “Relatively speaking!” “I'll move this wreckage! Just give me a minute!” “That would be great!” There was a faint purple glow through the fire, and one of the pieces of timber started to shift on its own. Then the whole building creaked. “STOP!!!” I threw out my hands and froze. The flames shifted a little, but everything remained stable. “Yeah, hey Twi?! Uh, DON'T do that again!” “But what will you guys do!?!” “Don't worry! I'll think of something!” I lowered my voice and turned around. “I always do.” I crouched in front of Spike and the fillies, who were looking even more terrified then usual, whether from me or the fact that we were basically screwed. “So Spike, got any bright ideas?” He was trying to remain cool, like me, but he wasn't doing it very well. “N-not really...” “Cool. Same here.” I rubbed my forehead. “Naturally.” “Wait. Actually...” His face brightened and he looked at me, suddenly eager. “You have magic, right?” I paused for a moment. “Hmmm...” I held up a finger, then lowered it. “Yes. Yes I do. I just need to think of a way to use it.” I glanced nervously outside, or what I could see of it. Which wasn't much. “And there's also the matter that my magic might not be generally excepted...” Spike gave me a deadpan. “Everypony already knows you're a dragon, plus you're helping to save three fillies. I don't think you need to worry about that.” “Good point.” I scratched my chin. “Well, I could-” “Oh for the love of Celestia!!!” Scootaloo burst out. “Will you two just THINK of something already!?!” “Okay okay, geez, chill.” I looked at Spike. “See? There's gratitude for ya.” I stood up and called out to Twilight. “I got an idea! You can relax now!” “Oh really!?!” Twi sounded sarcastic, even when she was shouting. “That doesn’t reassure me in the least!!!” “I love you too!” I spread out my arms. “Spike, do you see any holes in the wreckage that you could exit through as long as the fire's gone?” He quickly scanned the area, then pointed to an opening. “There! But you can't put out the fire!” Both of my hands turned were surrounded by darkness as I activated my magic. “Who said anything about putting it out?” I focused. I wasn't even sure if what I wanted to do was possible, even with chaos magic, but I had to try. I reached with my magic, feeling the fire around me. Dark tendrils extended from both my hands and weaved about the room. I felt the fire and tried to sort of grab it, which obviously didn't work. You can't just grab fire. So forget that, new idea. Maybe I could create a sort of vacuum, maybe suck all the fire into one place... The tendrils vanished and instead of extending my hands I focused them, bringing them together like I was about to form a fireball in one of those cheesy fantasy movies. A small sphere of dark energy appeared in between them, and as I focused, the fire around me began to lean. As all of this was going on, Spike, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo all watched in fascination. The fire was leaning, bending, being drawn towards the black sphere in my hand. Soon, tendrils of flame began to extend from the wood and collect in the sphere, creating a tiny ball of compressed fire. More tendrils extended, the fire moving off the timber and being gathered in between my claws. The tendrils weren't part of the fire, they were the fire, so when all the flame had been collected from a spot, the tendril disappeared. After about five minutes, all of the flame that had been licking away at the wood was now compressed into a ball between my hands. All of the tendrils were gone. Or, in other words, the building was no longer on fire. “Whoa...” muttered Spike. I relaxed my hands. The ball continued to levitate between them. I let my left arm drop and turned my right palm skyward, and the ball stayed solid above my hand. Or, as solid as a fireball can get. I examined it. “Huh. Didn't expect that to work.” I looked back and saw both Spike and the girls staring at me with open mouths. “That... was...” Apple Bloom stuttered. “AWESOME!!!” Scootaloo shouted. “Why thank you.” I twirled my fingers, and the ball spun in midair. “Now I just need to find a place to put this.” “Yeah, wait until we're outside to do that.” Spike had finally found his normal speaking voice. “Gotcha. Hey, speaking of outside, where should you guys be right now?” That seemed to remind them where they were. “Oh yeah!” They jumped up and sprinted around me, disappearing into the hole one by one. As Sweetie Bell was about to leave, she turned around. “Thanks mister dragon!” “No prob. Now go calm down Rarity, the poor girl's practically in a living coma.” As she left, I sat down in the middle of the half-burned-down shed. I took notice that there were no holes big enough that I could fit through. Great. Mister Dragon. I scratched my chin with my free claw. Catchy. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww It would be safe to say that Rainbow Dash was probably more relieved then she had been in her entire life, though that should not be confused with happiness. The happiest moment in her life went to when she had performed the Sonic Rainboom at the Best Young Flyer's Competition. But this came very close to that. Everything had pretty much been doing downhill. Flame and Spike and went into the building, and not thirty seconds later the whole front had collapsed. When that happened, Rarity had joined Applejack in her state of hysterics, and it was all Big Mac could do to keep the two of them from jumping into the flaming building themselves. Twilight was the only one who was keeping a level head, conversing with Flame through the fire and trying to figure out what to do. Flame, of course, was his usual witty self and didn't seem worried about the fire in the least, though that may have been because he was a dragon and didn't really need to worry. Still, it was weird to hear him sound so calm from in the middle of a burning building. Then, the fire had slowly stopped. It seemed to have been drawn towards a source in the building, and even when the fire was completely out a light still shown between the cracks. A few minutes later, Spike crawled out of a small hole in what was once the front of the shed, soon followed by Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell. This brought a big cheer from the crowd, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell were immediately engulfed in hugs from each of their respective big sisters. Rainbow flew down next to Scootaloo and gave her a bug hug as well. “Hey squirt! Thank Celestia you're alive!” “Yeah!” The filly seemed rather energetic for somepony that had been crying her eyes out and scared half to death not ten minutes ago. “It was AWESOME! The dragon, he like, kicked down the door, then the whole front just collapsed! Then, he did some kind of magic thing, and he sucked all the fire into a ball! It was SO COOL!!!” Rainbow chuckled and ruffled her hair. “Yeah, well just see that you don't get yourself into anymore burning buildings! Can't have my number one fan becoming a cooked crisp!” “Yes sir!” Then she remembered something. “Oh hey! The dragon! He's still in there!” “Aw, I'm sure he's fine.” “Can we go check on him? Pleaaaaase?” “Well, since you asked so nicely...” Rainbow presented her back to the filly. “Hop aboard squirt!” “Yeah!” Scootaloo scrambled onto her back and sat down. “SO COOL!!!” With Scoots in tow, Dash flapped her wings and headed back towards the shed. The thing was basically demolished. The whole front was caved in, and there were tons of holes in the walls and ceiling. Rainbow took advantage of one of these holes to peer inside. Scootaloo hoped onto her head and peered too. Sure enough, inside was Flamesinger, sitting down with his wings folded. On of his arms was raised, and in his hand floated a ball of what looked like fire. He was tapping the ground and staring at the wall. “Hey Flame! You okay?” He looked up and noticed them at the hole. He smiled. “I will be as soon as I get out of here. Do you have any idea how stuffy this place is?” She laughed. “I swear to Celestia, nothing fazes you. How are you so calm about this!?!” He raised an eyebrow. “Calm? Calm!? I'm sitting here in a mostly burnt-down shed with a diminishing air supply thanks to the smoke and a fireball that if I stop concentrating on it, will more then likely explode. HOW am I calm?” “I mean about the fire.” “Oh. That.” He shrugged. “Meh. Wasn't that big. Now how about letting me outta here?” Dash studied the shed. It was absolutely totaled, no doubt about it. “Well...” she said sarcastically. “... you could run blindly screaming at the top of you lungs through one of the walls!” “Hmmm...” He thought about it. Then slowly stood up and stretched. “I've had worse ideas.” Bracing one shoulder in front of him and holding the fireball out behind him, he backed up a few steps and then ran full tilt at the wall, screaming at the top of his lungs. Flawless logic. The wall gave away almost instantly, which also spelled the end for the rest of the building. Without the support of one wall, the ceiling collapsed, leaving two standing walls and a completely annihilated interior. The loud yell and the thunderous boom drew everypony's attention to the side of the wall, so they all had a full view of Flamesinger groaning a little from his position on the ground, then slowly sitting up, shaking any excess pieces of wood off of him. As he rose to a kneeling position, he took notice of all the stares. “What? Rainbow suggested it, don't look at me. And I needed some way out of there, right?” This brought a few laughs, but mostly just stares. No screams or gasps though. He managed to get to his feet, though he was still a little shaky. “Ugh... I do NOT want to do that again...” His eyes blinked a little before resting on Rainbow. “Hey Dashie, do you have any lakes or something that I can dip this into?” He held up the fireball. “Because my house is kind of also made out of wood.” “Yeah, there's a lake not to far from here, just head that way. But first, I think Twi might want to have a look at it...” She glanced around, then frowned. “Strange. I don't see her.” “Then she's missed her chance. I ain't carrying this thing around longer then I have to.” He spread his wings. “Now, I bid you all-” “JUST WAIT ONE DARN PICKIN” MINUTE!!!” The crowd parted to reveal Applejack, face tear-stained, who strode right up to Flame. He winced. “Crap.” She just stood there looking at him. Not saying anything. “Uhhhhh....” He held up a claw, then lowered it. “I'llllllll... explain tomorrow! 'Kay?” Silence. “I can tell you might be a bit angry about something, but I can't read minds yet, so-” Suddenly, She stood back on both hind legs and gave him a big hug, carefully avoiding the fireball in his hand. “Thanks fer saving my sis.” “Oh. You're happy. Good.” He let out a breath. “My pleasure.” She released the hug and returned to all-fours. “But Ah'm expectin' an explanation tomorrow, ya hear?” “Yeah yeah yeah, I'll worry about that later.” He spread his wings again and toke off towards the lake. “I gotta get rid of this thing first.” The crowd stayed silent as he winged off. Rainbow landed and dropped off Scootaloo before trotting over to Applejack. “So...” Applejack muttered. “... he's been a dragon... this entire time?” “Yep.” “Huh.” She sighed. Then she turned around to face the crowd, looking a little sad. “Well ain't that the darndest thing.” “Hey, he's still our friend. Just bigger.” Upon seeing the two mares returning, the crowd was suddenly in an uproar of questions, all focused on them. Looking up, Rainbow facehoofed. Ugh. Just where is Twilight when you need her? wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Perfectly. Everything, went, perfectly. Just the right amount of involvement, just the right amount of tricks, the exact desired outcome. His secret is revealed, and in a good light as well. Now all I have to do is wait... and hope they won't hate him for it. Acceptance is necessary. It keeps suspicion off of him... and off of me. As for the remaining five... the manticore... yes, I can use him... and four others... all I have to do is find them... and lead them to him. The six will come together... no one will be expecting it... not even Celestia... it's such a hair-brained scheme that none would even consider it... None except me. Heh heh heh heh heh... My return to power... will be most glamorous indeed. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Twilight Sparkle was having a bad day. She had slipped away as soon as it was obvious the fillies were fine, and then teleported back to the library once she was fair enough away from the crowd. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed... or more importantly, felt. Of course, it all makes sense! But why him? The source of her anxiety was magic. You see, when Flamesinger had done his little chaos magic trick, Twi had gotten curious and decided a little observing couldn't hurt. She had extended a bit of her magic, just enough to feel any power around her, and used it to study Flame's magic. What she found didn't exactly make her a happy pony. His power felt... like Discord's. Almost exactly like Discord's, with only a faint few differences that only a skilled unicorn such as her could detect. It matched up perfectly with the traces of magic she had felt at the ruined manticore cage, and now the pieces were all coming together. The captured manticore... was Manty! Flame freed him, which is probably how he ended up becoming his friend! But HOW!?! Celestia assured me that the net was invulnerable to all kinds of physical attack and most magical ones? How powerful is Flame!?! This question had been bugging her for a good while, and now that she had discovered this she was overwhelmed. That's it. I'm writing a letter to the Princess. She need's to know about this. Using her magic, she quickly summoned a quill and parchment and began to write. As she wrote, she began to feel rather guilty. She should have written to Princess Celestia long before this. The only reason she hadn't was because she wasn't sure how the Princess would react if she knew there was a dragon living near Ponyville, and she didn't want to get Flame in trouble. But this was too much for her to deal with by herself. As she wrote the last word, double and triple checking it for spelling errors, she realized Spike wasn't there with her. She couldn't send it. Drat! Of all the things- “Hey Twi! Are you in here?!” Silently thanking Celestia, Twilight rolled up the letter and sealed it before trotting down the stairs. “Yes Spike! Sorry for leaving, I just had... er... a few... things... I needed to do!” Spike looked up at her incredulously. “Well c'mon! Flame and I saved the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and now the whole town's going crazy about Flame! We need your help to calm things down!” “Certainly. But first...” She levitated the letter over to him. “Could you please send this? It's for Princess Celestia. A... er... friendship report.” “A friendship report?” Spike scratched his head. “At a time like this?” “C'mon, just send it.” He shrugged. “Whatever you say.” It wasn't the weirdest time she had chosen to send a letter to the princess. As he plucked it out of the air and sent it away in a burst of green fire, Twilight watched it go. Oh, I hope Flame will be alright. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Princess Celestia, I am sorry I haven't written to you in a while. Things have been really crazy down here, and I wanted to be sure of the outcome of recent events before I did. I am writing because of a new friend of mine I have recently made. His name is Flamesinger. He's very nice, if a little carefree. He's always funny and willing to help out when he can. I've only known him for about two weeks, but I can tell we are going to be great friends. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy all like him as well. There's only one thing: he's... a dragon. You remember me telling you about Spike's little journey to the home of the dragons to discover who he really is? We met him there. He protected Spike from a group of bullies and became very good friends with him. I and the other Elements were obviously a little more hesitant, after all dragons have a reputation for being mean and scary, but Flame isn't like other dragons. He's a teenager, so he isn't a huge colossal being yet. And he has visited Ponyville quite a few times since we've met him. And here's were the strange things began. Flame has magic. I haven't had time to question him thoroughly about it, but from the little I've gathered he gained it fairly recently. I've seen it a few times, and I can only describe it as normal magic, albeit dark and smokey in coloration. However, I managed to study him using it a bit more today, and I discovered something rather startling. First off, let me tell you more of recent events, particularly about a certain manticore. About three weeks ago I received your net, which I thank you for yet again, and with it we managed to capture a manticore. I had intended to use it for study, but Spike's little adventure happened and me and my friends had to leave for a few days. When we returned, the manticore was gone, and the net had a huge gash in it. I examined the remains of it, and I detected a few traces of magic. These traces of magic felt like Discord's power, except they weren't quite his. I know what Discord's power feels like, and this was slightly different, if only slightly. A few days ago, I had a small run-in with the same manticore, during which it displayed above-average intelligence for such a creature. Please note that it didn't hurt me in any way, merely made it known to me that he was displeased with being captured in a net. The same day, Flame overheard me saying that I wanted to meet this manticore again, and he volunteered to lead me to him. The next day, He 'introduced' me to the manticore, and acted like he could communicate with it. I'm inclined to believe he can, as the manticore responded to him with grunts and growls that Flame seemed to understand. Today, we had something of an incident. Three fillies, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell were caught in a burning building, and it was only thanks to Flame that they were saved. When he saved them, he used his magic, and I was able to feel it. It matched the traces of magic at the manticore's net, inclining me to conclude that it was Flame who freed him, meaning that he had the power to break your enchantments. What worries me most is the similarity his magic has to Discord's power, and whether that may pose any danger to us. Please understand that I am not suggesting Flame would intentionally hurt us, or anypony for that matter. I trust him completely, maybe even with my life, though that would depend on the situation. I am merely concerned about his magic, and am wondering whether you can pose any insight on this situation. Again, I fully believe nopony in Ponyville is in danger. Me and my friends think of Flame as a friend, and while I don't expect you to, I hope you will take this into account. Your most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle As Princess Celestia's eyes scanned the parchment in front of her, they began to narrow. Halfway through it, they were almost slits. At the bottom of the page, they were beginning to glint. A spark of anger flashed in her eyes, followed quickly by another one... this time one of hate. Deep, ancient, well-rooted, hate. The letter levitated in front of her, before slowly lowering, giving her a good view of Canterlot through her window. “So...” she muttered slowly, her eyes boring through the glass. “... it seems we have a chaos-user in Ponyville.” -End of Chapter 13- A/N: For those of you that didn't get the 'Section 2d' thing, check back at the end of Chapter 4, when Flame's reading the book. Sneaky sneaky Discord. XD