//------------------------------// // The Most Dangerous Flame // Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S6 // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// In a mountain range in the middle of nowhere, a large group of ponies were busy using power tools or their own magic in order to dig into a rock face. It was a mining operation, looking for any valuable building materials. Metal ore, diamonds and other rocks were the main objective, digging for every bit they could find while trying to leave the land as untarnished as possible. "Come on ponies!" The foremen yelled as the unicorns lifted piles of large rocks while the earth ponies shattered theirs into smaller ones that the pegasi could carry away. "I have to support a wife and three kids working with you bozos! So let's get it right already!" The ponies barked back in agreement, continuing their work as a pegasus brought a jackhammer over to a large rock. However, as he pounded away at the rock, the stone surface would not break. "Come on..." he moaned, pushing down on the machine. But as he did this, the rock would not budge, making him sigh, "Hey! We got a rock over here that needs heating!" The foreman nodded before turning to a unicorn with a fire cutie mark. "You heard the pony. Get going." "Right," the unicorn replied before moving over to the rock. His horn began to glow, firing a beam of heat at the rock. It was a simple procedure done hundreds of times, super-heating a rock in order to make it easier to break. However, as he did this, he didn't know this would be different. On the other side of that rock was a small space, one filled with something breathing at a slow rate. It was in a hibernative state, only for the heat to flow through the rocks and go into the space. The being inside felt the heat, its breathing increasing to a steady rate as its entire curled up body began to grow. While this happened, the unicorn's horn stopped shining as he turned to the pegasus. "Alright, you're good to go!" The pegasus nodded, putting the jackhammer on it. But as he put the tool down, the rock began to shake. "What the-" He asked while pulling the machine away, only to see cracks now appearing on the boulder, "What in the-what did you do?" "Nothing," the unicorn responded, "At least...I don't think I did anything." "What's going on?" The foreman asked as he walked up to them, only to see the rock's crack to start going beyond the boulder...and up the rock wall. "That's not good." He then let out a yell, "EVERYPONY MOVE!" And in that moment, the rock shattered, a flurry of flames pouring out of the rock wall. The workers quickly began to run away, all gasping as they saw the wall fall apart. As this happened, a pair of blazing red eyes came out of the fire, rage igniting in those eyes. "RUN!" The foreman yelled before the ponies of the mine ran as fast as they could, their ears now hearing a mighty roar from the creature as a burst of fire exploded from its mouth, turning everything into a sea of flames. Two weeks later... The town of Ponyville was enjoying yet another stint of peace, no big threats or terrifying situations in the usual chaotic town. The only event of note was the buckball game between Ponyville's Pinkie, Fluttershy and Snails and Appaloosa's own team. Luckily, Ponyville had won, the town celebrating their victory. Now, everypony was simply enjoying their day to day activities. But as they did this, a certain visitor made them all stare and flinch. It was a light blue unicorn with a snow white mane and tail, a small trail of ice following him. A low glare was on his face, not concerned by the stares he was getting. Frustration on his face as he walked through the place, his eyes darting around as he tried to find a certain somepony. And as he trotted down another street, the air around him dropped ten degrees, causing those around him to shiver at the chill. "Cold Steel?" called out a pony, the knight spinning around. The sight made the pony flinch, backpedaling as she saw the anger on the knight's face. As for him, he barely recognized the yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane and tail that had called out to him. "Who are you?" Cold grumbled, "You look familiar...you're one of Flash's friends, right? Flutter...jack?" "Shy," she replied with a blush. "Fluttershy. And yes, I am one of Flash's friends." She let out a small gulp, the knight's glare not going away as she tried to ask, "Um...w-w-what are you doing here?" "I'm here on business. A citizen like you shouldn't be concerned." He turned back around, Fluttershy speaking up, "B-b-but um...maybe I could help you? You uh...look a little...lost." The knight slowly glanced back at her, seeing her flinch at his glare again. "Do you know where Grand Hoof is?" Fluttershy showed a small smile at this, barely nodding, "Oh yes. He and the rest of the defenders are at the Ponyville Day Spa." "Day spa?" "Ahhh!" Flash, Grand, Lightning, Springer and Iron sighed together, the group all in the spa's hot tub. "I'm so glad you talked me into this," Iron moaned as he leaned back. "We've been working and training so hard, my joints felt like they were gonna rip apart." "You don't even know the half of it," Grand responded, "Try being my age. If I don't soak in something really hot every other day, I'm gonna turn into one of those old stallions constantly complaining about my hip and the terrible music kids listen to today." "Speaking of kids," Flash turned to the side of the tub, seeing Fire Heart sitting n the room's corner, "You sure you don't want in? The water's nice." "Um...no thank you," Heart replied, "Hot or cold, I ain't getting in any type of water I don't need to get into." The older ponies frowned at this before Lightning leaned over to Flash, "He's been taking baths, right? Or at least a shower." No answer came from Flash as he turned back to Heart, "At least do us a favor and heat the water up a little more." Heart nodding, slowly lighting his hoof ablaze before shooting out a weak but sustained stream of fire that struck the water. The defenders let out a sigh of relief as the water bubbled around them. "You're getting good at that," Springer added, "Looks like all that training's paying off." "Thanks," Heart replied before laying back, all staring up at the ceiling. The remaining defenders continued to revel in their hot tub. That is, till the doors of the spa opened, a freezing chill flowing into the room as the heat vanished, making everypony shiver. "What the heck?!" Flash yelped before turning to the door, now seeing a certain pony, "Cold?! What are you doing here?!" "And why are you freezing everything?!" Iron barked as most of the group started to get out of the tub. "Some of us actually work for a living," Cold hissed, walking up to the tub as Fluttershy appeared behind him. The knight then trotted up to Grand, "I need your help Grand." "Oh?" Grand asked with a raised eyebrow, "What's up?" "Twenty years ago, you battled a creature that was causing havoc all across Equestria. You chased it for a week before finally losing it in a mountain range. The reports said you spent tree days tracking it, but couldn't find any clue to where it had gone." A long frown appeared on Grand's face, "Been a long time since I heard that story...the fire salamander." Cold nodded back, "Yes. An Equestria mining company accidentally found one and now I've been charged with stopping it. I came to you because you know how I operate." "You want any piece of information you can get before engaging the monster." Grand replied as he took a towel off a rack. "Alright, what do you want to know?" "Everything." Grand opened his mouth to respond, only for Heart to walk up and ask, "What's a fire salamander?" The others turned to him, Lightning speaking up, "Kinda obvious kiddo. It's a salamander that's on fire." "It also eats and spits fire." Grand added before sighing as he began to recap, "The last time one appeared in Equestria, it burned down three villages before I arrived. They're rare, so not much is known about them besides their love for setting things aflame." "Which is exactly why we need to stop it before it does that," Cold responded, "So Grand, what say you? Care to join me on this hunt?" Grand shook his head, "As much as I'd love to settle an old score, monster hunting isn't exactly something I'm skilled at in my old age. I could barely keep up with the creature when I was in my prime. I'd likely just slow you down more than be of any actual help to you." That statement made Heart go wide-eyed, remembering how fast Grand had been during their sparring match. That is, till he thought about a quick burst of speed compared to a marathon of fighting a monster. As he did this, Cold let out a groan, "So I made this trip for nothing." "Now hold on there. I didn't say I wouldn't go with you," Grand instantly replied, "I'll be happy to join you on this quest, but you'll have to do most of the heavy lifting. However, I think there might be somepony else in this room that could help you better than me." The ponies raised an eyebrow at this, the group turning their heads to Flash, "Nope." They then turned to Lightning, "Getting colder." Then Iron, "Freezing." They finally got to Heart, making Grand shake his head again, "Don't be ridiculous. If the salamander saw his fire form, he'd be a full-course meal for him." Heart gulped at this, the group then turning to the only other pony in the room. Fluttershy spun around, only to see nopony was behind her before looking back and pointing to herself, "ME?!" "Of course," Grand nodded, "You're an expert on creatures of all shapes and sizes. If you can stop a raging manticore, snoring dragon and petrifying cockatrice, I don't see why a fire salamander would be any different." "He has a point," Flash added, "And Cold will be there to protect you if things get too dangerous." Fluttershy blinked at this, turning to Cold as he just glared at her. She let out a small 'eep' as he continued to stare, seeing the judgement in his eyes. He spun around at this, giving the others a 'seriously' look. But as he opened his mouth, Springer chimed in, "Don't underestimate her. She may look small and harmless, but she conceals within her a dark side that's truly terrifying if you get on the wrong side of her." The ponies and jakhowl shivered at the horrifying memory, making Cold raise an eyebrow before slowly turning to pegasi, "Right...so, are you coming or not?" Fluttershy turned to the others, seeing the looks of approval on their faces before glancing over at Grand, "It's your choice." He said as her eyes went back to Iron, seeing a nod from him. She then took a deep breath, slowly looking back at Cold. "Alright, I'm in." Cold was about to reply, only to get interrupted again. "I'm going too," Iron said, "It's about time I got to see some action around here. This might actually be a challenge." Cold's eyes shifted between the three, eventually letting out a sigh, "Very well. Be ready to leave in an hour." With that, he left the spa, Iron, Grand and Fluttershy following him. And as they left the building, Fluttershy muttered to herself, "What did I just get myself into?" And as she asked this, the three went home and gathered what they needed before meeting Cold at the train station. With the suddenness of their departure, only Flash, Springer, Lightning, Heart and Twilight were there to say goodbye before the train arrived. Soon enough, the four were in a carriage being pulled down the tracks. As they sat down in the car, Cold turned to Grand, "So what's the plan?" "First thing's first, tell me where we're actually heading. I'll be able to plan better if I have a sense of the environment we'll be facing it in." "Got it. This is latest information I have." Cold replied while taking out a map, unfurling it to show a zoomed in section of Equestria. "Here. The salamander has been sighted in this area." They saw it was mountain-like area, Iron pointing to a town on the map, "What's that place?" "Trakeyser. It was first built around ten years ago, and is a well known tourist destination due to a nearby volcano." "Volcano?!" Fluttershy gasped, only to see Cold glance up at her with a low stare. "Relax. It's mostly dormant, but the heat from it causes the ground to heat up. And what really gives it its fame is the streams that flows through the area, pooling to become small ponds that creates a series of natural hot-springs." "Hot-springs?" Grand asked, a big grin appearing on his face. "I know what I'm doing once we catch this thing." "This isn't a vacation Grand, its business." "I know." Grand replying, shrugging. Cold then pointed to another part of the map, "Now, there's also a forest to the east of the town, and on the other side of it are the mountain ranges where the salamander was reported to be. And since it likes fire, it'll go right through that forest before getting to the town." "And then it'll burn both places down." Iron grumbled with crossed hooves. "A place filled with steaming hot baths..." Grand sighed, "The kinda place will be paradise for a fire creature." "That's why we need to stop it," Cold finished before leaning back, the knight glancing over to Grand. "What's the plan?" Grand showed a small frown before turning to the non-knight of the group. "Fluttershy, before I start, do you have any suggestions? You are the animal expert." "I've...never encountered a creature like this before," Fluttershy replied, her eyes slightly looking away, "I won't be able to suggest anything until I've seen how it acts. I'm not even sure I'll be able to understand what it says." She took out a book on rare creatures, opening it to show a bare bones drawing of a lizard on fire. "There's barely any information on them. Only their name and where they're likely to call home." "Then that's our first objective," Grand responded, "Slow it down and maybe even stop it. All the while, Fluttershy will study it's actions and try to determine a way to stop it. Hopefully, we can find a way to stop it without causing it too much harm and before it can do any damage to Trakeyser." The three nodded at this, continuing their strategy meeting as the train continued down the track. It began with Grand going into detail his previous encounter. Fluttershy felt her heart sink as she was told the beast Grand fought was the size of a house, going on a rampage that Grand could only slightly stop. Their battle lead them to a mountain range, Grand pushing the flaming beast into the rocky terrain...only to suddenly vanish. He then told them he had a team search the mountains for a few days, only to find nothing. "So...it just vanished?" Iron asked with a raised eyebrow. Grand nodded back, "Yes. I never figured out how. I thought I had the advantage, as I started a rock slide on top of the beast. I was sure I had him...but it suddenly disappeared." "You didn't...kill it, did you?" Fluttershy muttered out, only to see the knight shake his head. "We never found any evidence of that. No body or anything." "Guess we'll have to make sure this one doesn't get away." Cold commented just as the train's whistle sounded out. "Looks like we're here." They walked onto the platform, now seeing the train station was located on the edge of a cliff that looked down on a large town, close to being a city, which had several rivers running through it. Each of those rivers was giving off a lot of steam, Cold gesturing them to follow down a path as he said, "Welcome to Trakeyser, hot-spring capital of Equestria." "I think I'm in heaven," Grand sighed as they entered the town, Fluttershy giggling at his reaction. They soon saw the ponies walking through the place, all showing looks of relaxation while some of the older ponies looked ten years younger then they should have. It was here they headed down a street with a river flowing through it, which had several bridges that went to some buildings advertising themselves as bath-houses. "Why are so many bath-houses so close to one another?" Fluttershy asked, "Isn't that bad for business?" "You might want to take a closer look at each of the signs," Grand chimed in as Fluttershy and Iron stared at the buildings, seeing a bunch of different signs. "Scolding bath?" Fluttershy read. "Electric bath," Iron continued. "Mineral bath." "Waterfall bath." "Sulphur bath?" Fluttershy added with a raised eyebrow, "I had no idea there were so many different types of baths." "Everypony has their own preferred way of relaxing," Grand responded, "Some like it blazing hot, others like the smell of sulphur and so on. With all the hot water flowing through here, it's no wonder this place is seen as the perfect place for so many hot-springs." "Milk here!" They heard a vendor yell, "Get your ice cold milk! The perfect refreshment to have after a steaming hot bath!" Grand shined a big grin at this, only for Cold to walk in front of them, "Come on, we're wasting time." He trotted down the street, the three following as he commented, "It doesn't look like the salamander's been here, so let's go to the forest." "Now hang on, it might be a good idea to ask around," Iron chimed in, "It's possible the salamander came and chose not to go into town." "I don't know about that," Grand responded before moving over to the milk stand. "Hello there, we're wondering if you've seen anything peculiar." "Depends what you mean by peculiar," the milk vendor replied, "The only peculiar thing I see is a group of ponies who aren't going into or coming out of a bath-house." "I meant have you noticed any strange animals passing by. Maybe a lizard of some kind." "Lots of lizards show up around here," the vendor added, shrugging, "They're cold blooded, so of course they like being someplace warm." "But have any of those lizards been on fire?" The vendor gave him a deadpan stare, "Buddy, I stand in this very same spot, eight hours a day, seven days a week. You're asking the wrong pony if anything weird has been happening around here." Grand let out a sigh at this, Cold then stomping up, "I suggest you stop telling jokes. We're trying to save your town from getting burnt to cinders." "Sure you are," the pony interrupted. Cold's eyes narrowed at this, his horn about to spark, only to feel a hoof on his shoulder. He turned to the touch, now seeing Fluttershy, "Can I?" He glared at her for a second before stepping aside, Fluttershy giving the vendor a small smile, "Hello. Can I have a milk please?" "Of course," he gave her a bottle while she gave him a bit. She quickly removed the top and took a drink, sighing at the refreshing taste. "It's really nice." "Sent straight here from a local farm. Not even a day old." Fluttershy nodded back before asking, "I don't suppose there's...anything you could tell us that might help our quest? We really just want to help you." The vendor raised an eyebrow at this, making Fluttershy look away, "This place is so peaceful. You must love it here." "Indeed," the vendor replied, "No matter how bad things get, a simple bath can make all the problems in the world just vanish." "Well those baths may vanish if we don't find what we came here to find." She looked back at the vendor, giving him a long yet cute frown, "Please help us save them." The vendor flinched at this, shaking in his booth before sighing, "Oh, alright. I might have heard some news." The statement made Cold go wide-eyed as the vendor continued, "Some ponies who like to go to some natural hot-springs in the forest were complaining that the baths aren't as warm as they usually are." "That's it?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, those pools don't have a direct line to the volcanic vents that heat the water around here. They normally stay the same temperature, but the ponies that went to one of them found 'em ice cold, like the heat was sucked out. Though an hour later, it heated back up again." "I see. And where are these pools?" "In the forest. There's a path that'll lead you straight to them." "Thank you," Fluttershy nodded before turning back to the others. "Not bad," Grand chuckled, "Not bad at all." "What are you talking about?!" Cold barked, "That gives us nothing!" Grand shook his head. "Not true. It gave us a location to investigate. That's better than wildly searching the forest." He pointed to the forest, "Let's get going." The four soon left the town, getting the forest as they found the path Fluttershy had been told about. They soon were trotting deep into the woods, now noticing the air was growing much cooler. "Anypony else getting a weird feeling?" Iron asked as they passed a strangely shaped mushroom. "Like something's gonna leap out at you any second?" Grand asked, getting a nod from Iron and Fluttershy. "You're all just letting our imaginations get to you," Cold replied, rolling his eyes, "If there was anything out here, we'd sense it." Grand sighed at this, "Weren't you supposed to have mellowed out?" Cold spun around with a glare, only to see Grand crossing his hooves, "You seemed to become more open during your time in the lost city, but now you're back to being the same old grumpy pants." "I'm not a grumpy pants," Cold growled. "And I have taken what I've learnt during the war to heart. I came to ask for help, didn't I?!" "I guess...but you could be a little more cheery about it." "Grand....this is a job. I don't have time to be cheery." Cold sighed as he turned back around, "You're just like Sentry, you need to take this more seriously-WHOA!" the knight yelped as he pushed through some tall grass, only to suddenly find the ground beneath his hooves vanishing, a loud splashing following this. The others ran up and pulled the grass apart, allowing them to find a large shallow pond. Cold ascended from the water, letting out a puff of breath to get the wet mane out of his eyes before glaring at the others, seeing Grand opening his mouth before saying, "Not a word." "I was just gonna say-" "Not...a word!" Fluttershy held back a giggle before putting her hoof into the water, only to look up at the knight, "That's cold. Did you use your magic on the water?" "No..." Cold replied as Iron and Grand dipped a hoof in the water. "I don't see what that has to do-" He stopped when he suddenly felt the water start to heat up, making him look down to see several tiny bubbles. He then reached down, touching the bottom of the pond, feeling a very hot spot that was heating the pool. "He was right. There's a small heat source." "How hot is it?" Grand asked. "Very," Cold grumbled, "Give it an hour or two and the pool will be boiling hot." He then pulled himself out of the water as Fluttershy hummed, "It's just like he said. It's like the heat was completely sucked out of the water." "But how can heat be sucked out?" Iron asked, the others shrugging before Cold turned to see several footprints in the muddy ground around the spring. "Look." The others glanced at the prints, seeing they belonged to some kind of reptile that had to have five toes which bulged at the end of them. They followed the footprints, leaving the muddy area before vanishing a few feet away, "It must be this way." "Then let's get going," Grand, Iron and Cold were about to run, only to come to a stop as they noticed one member of their group wasn't moving. They looked back at Fluttershy, the pony staring at the tracks. "Hey! Let's go already!" Cold yelled, but the pegasi just ignored him, making him stomp up and growl at her, "What are you doing?!" Fluttershy turned to him with a small frown, "I'm trying to figure out how big the salamander is," she replied while gesturing at the print, "Based on the size of the footprints and how far they're spaced apart, I'd say it's about the size of a pony. Maybe a little smaller." "So its small. Nice." Grand responded while nudging Cold, "Now we know what we're up again." Cold rolled his eyes at this, the group now going through the forest again. As they did this, Fluttershy quickly found the trail, following after her as they trotted through the area. But as they did this, they soon found themselves surrounded by bugs. "Are we sure the salamander is around here?" Iron asked as he started swatting them away, "I thought lizard were supposed to eat insects." "Maybe these aren't the kind of insects it likes," Cold added, only to feel one bite into him, hissing as he tried to swat it, only for it fly away, "You'd think a place known for being hot would have less bugs." But as he said this, the group looked up to see a cloud of smoke rising up from behind the treeline. They all gasped before running toward the smoke, the sound of cracking fire catching their ears as they drew closer. And as they got there, they found a section of the forest that had been set ablaze. "Oh my," Fluttershy whispered while trying to not think of what animals were likely in this section of the woods. Cold quickly lit his horn, unleashing a wave of frost in every direction, putting out the flames and freezing the half burnt trees into place. "This has to be the salamander's doing," he sighed while staring at the area, "Any sign of where it might have gone?" "None that I can see," Grand replied, only to quickly get into a defensive stance. His reflexes kicked in as he felt something coming, a fireball suddenly flying out of the trees. He leapt out of the way of the flaming attack, Grand and Iron now pulling their Celestic Gear off their backs. And as they glared at where the fireball had come from, they saw the culprit standing on the log of a fallen tree. It was a mostly red lizard with a yellow underbelly and under-tail, with claws that were a darker red. On its forehead was a round orange gem that seemed to glow, while a fin made entirely of fire flowed through the back of its head, down its neck and back before heading before its tail. The tail had a short dark red spike on the end of it, and just as Fluttershy had predicted, it was around the size of a pony. "Salamander..." Cold growled. "We've finally found it." "Looks like Fluttershy was right about its size," Grand added, "Shouldn't be too much trouble stopping it." But as he said this, the salamander stared at the old knight, a long glare appearing on its face. It began to growl, its eyes narrowing at Grand. "Is it just me or does that thing look mad?" Iron asked while Cold scoffed. "We just stopped its forest fire, of course it would be angry. Now come on, let's stop this thing before it tries to start another one." He charged at this, forming a sword made entirely of ice. "Cold Saber!" As he got closer, the salamander hissed before launching several fireballs. Cold quickly deflected them, only to notice a few were also heading for Grand. "Whoa!" Grand yelped as he swung his hammer around, knocking them back. Cold then reached the creature, swinging his sword down, only for the salamander to jump back before hopping onto one of the unfrozen trees. Cold galloped over, slashing his sword through the trunk, making the salamander jump off and onto another tree that was soon cut down, then another and another. "Cold!" Iron yelled, "We're supposed to stop it, not help it wreck the place!" It was then that the salamander jumped off another tree before unleashing a wave of fire...that flew past Cold and went straight for Grand. "Hey!" Grand slammed his hammer into the ground, causing a wall of rocks to shoot up and block the flames. And as the fire struck, the knight felt nothing but slight singes on his fur tips, "Why's it keep firing at me?" While he asked this, Fluttershy had been hiding behind one of the trees, her eyes glancing between Grand and the salamander. She blinked at the sight, going over the information Grand had given her while watching the creature dodge Cold. "Grand?" He turned to Fluttershy, "Where did you originally fight the salamander all those years ago?" "What?!" Grand asked. "Do you think it could have been in the mountain range beyond this forest?" Grand blinked at her question, now feeling another fireball hit the rock wall he had created. "Um...well..." A memory or two flowed through his head, only to remember that Cold had said Trakeyser had only been built ten years ago. "It's...possible." He muttered out, now remembering seeing a forest on the map he had originally used to get to the mountains, as well as an inactive volcano. "Yes, I think you're right. The mountains beyond this area are the ones I fought the original salamander in." "So what?" Iron asked, "This place is a hotbed for salamander breeding." Fluttershy shook her head at this, the salamander dodging Cold again. "No, I think this salamander is the same one he fought all those years ago." This statement made all three go wide-eyed, the stallions coming to a stop before staring at the creature. "What?!" Cold yelped. "No way," Iron added. "That's impossible," Grand finished, "The one I fought was the size of a house. This one's not even a tenth of that size." "But the way it's looking at you, glaring and firing at you, it's the only reason I can think of as to why it does that is if it had a grudge against you." To confirm her theory, the salamander leapt into the air and bit the end of its tail. It then began rolling, morphing into a flaming wheel that headed in Grand's direction. The attack smashed through the rock wall, making Grand backpedal. "Gyah!" Grand yelled before hitting the ground with his hammer, creating a ramp that the salamander rolled off of, sending it flying over them. "I think Fluttershy might be right." "But if that's the salamander you fought, how'd it get so small?!" Iron said as the salamander broke out of its flame wheel, turning around and scuttling past Fluttershy. As it did this, the pegasi squinted her eyes as she noticed...it was smaller. "How did it-" "Cold Force!" Cold yelled as he unleashed a tornado of frozen wind at the beast, the salamander responding by opening its mouth, firing a flamethrower that met the ice attack. The two attacks pushed at one another in a stalemate, Fluttershy watching the salamander from behind. And as she did this, she noticed it very slowly shrinking. "That's it." As this happened, Cold and the salamander stopped their attacks, both now panting. The salamander then hissed as the three knights now slowly moving up to it, the flame on its back suddenly growing stronger. And before anypony could do anything, the flames exploded off his back, creating a plume of smoke. The dark fog covered the knights, a round of coughing happening next as they swatted the smoke away. And when the smoke cleared, the salamander was gone. "What the hay?!" Cold barked, "Where'd it go?!" "Don't get angry. It couldn't have gotten that far in such a short amount of time," Iron yelled, "Let's spread out and-" "Wait. You're not gonna catch it that way." They turned to Fluttershy as she flew out from behind the tree. "Its much smaller than what it was." "What are you talking about?" Cold asked. "During the fight, I noticed the salamander was getting smaller." The three raised eyebrows at this, making her shake her head, "It did. It was almost half the size it was when it disappeared." "So?" "So what if the salamander can change its size, just like me?! It would explain how the creature Grand fought all those years ago could be the same one you just fought, despite being smaller." "And it would explain how it escaped me last time," Grand added while rubbing his chin in thought, "It just shrank down until I couldn't notice it." "Wait...so it used the smokescreen as cover to shrink down and get away?" Iron asked, Fluttershy nodding. "Huh. Talk about a clever defense." "So what do we do?" Cold chimed in, "How do we find that lizard if it can shrink to the size of a...lizard?" "That's a good question," Grand replied, "If we can't think of a way to contain it, it'll just keep escaping. Either it'll shrink down and crawl through the bars of whatever cage we throw it in, or it'll grow large enough to just bust out of it. And that's not even taking into account whatever fire it uses." "Then we have no choice," Cold created a sword. "We take it down before it can hurt anypony." "No!" Fluttershy cried. "That's not fair! It has as much right to live as anypony else." "Even though it caused part of this forest to burn, and would have burned the rest down if we hadn't come here?!" "We don't know that's what happened," Fluttershy responded, walking up to the stallion while giving him the first glare she had given him from the start. Iron couldn't help but smile at this as she continued, "We didn't see how the fire started. The salamander could have done it on accident when it was scaring off a predator." "That doesn't change the fact that it's dangerous and we need to stop it. Pony lives matter more than one lizard." "And who are you to decide that?!" Fluttershy asked, "We don't know what this creature wants. For all you know, it wants to be left alone and find a place it can live without being bothered." "Oh please. And I'm sure that's the perfect excuse to the ponies of Trakeyser when their houses are burned down!" "ENOUGH!" Both flinched as they turned to Grand, "I admit you both have a point. We should give the salamander a chance to explain itself, but we should also be ready encase it plans to attack." "So what do we do?" Cold asked, "Invite it to a dinner party and ask it to kindly to stop burning places down?!" Grand shook his head. "We'll split up. You and Fluttershy will track down the creature, and Fluttershy will attempt to communicate with it, asking what it wants and if there's a way to get it to stop. If she can't establish a dialogue, then you're free to do whatever is necessary to stop it." The ponies shared a glance before sighing and nodding, "Meanwhile, Iron and I will return to Trakeyser. I get the feeling having me there will only anger the creature, so we'll begin warning ponies about the salamander and telling them to be ready to evacuate if it shows up." "Alright," Iron replied before turning back to Fluttershy, "Be careful." "I will," Fluttershy nodded before the two groups headed off in different direction, Cold and Fluttershy into the forest while Iron and Grand began to make their way back to Trakeyser. Meanwhile... The salamander was scuttling along the floor, now the size of a normal lizard, no bigger than a hamster. The flame on its back was also very small, looking like it was going to go out at any second. It crawled up to the trunk of a tree, soon getting on a top branch as it started moving sluggishly. It turned to see a large cloud of steam off in the distance. Trakeyser. However, there was another cloud of steam that was much closer then the town. The lizard shuffled down to a lower branch, crossing it until it got to another tree, then went into another and another while heading for the steam cloud. After several minutes, it arrived at the source of the steam, another small pool of heated water. But the salamander wasn't moving as fast as it was before. Instead, it was barely moving at all. The flame on its back was seconds away from going out, causing the salamander to slump over. It stopped on the branch that was hanging right over the water, but the flame on its back went out, the salamander losing consciousness. It was lifeless at this, laid out on the branch until a strong gust of wind hit it. The branch began to shake, making the lizard slide off the twig before falling into the pool. A tiny splash came next, the lizard sinking down into the liquid. Steam coming from the water began to decrease at this, the bubbles vanishing. And after a minute, the salamander leapt out of the pool. Its body was about the size of a cat, the fire on its back now ablaze again. Taking a deep breath, it began to scuttle through the forest once more, heading to where large cloud of steam was coming from. Cold ran as fast as he could through the forest, Fluttershy barely able to keep up as she flew behind him. The knight's eyes darted around, scanning every direction as he tried to find any ounce of a trail. As he did this, Fluttershy was absentmindedly following him, her mind focusing on something else just as she flew into a tree, stopping just in time with a cry of surprise. The sound made Cold spin around, sighing at the sight. "Would you please focus?! We need to find this thing and fast." "I know," she replied she flew up to him, "Its just...there's something I can't figure out." "Which is?" "Why didn't it grow larger?" Cold raised an eyebrow at this. "If the salamander can grow as big as Grand said it could, then why didn't it do that when you were fighting it. Lots of animals try to make themselves look bigger to scare off predators, so why didn't it actually grow bigger when you attacked it?" "Who knows," Cold scoffed, "It's a dumb animal. It probably didn't think of that." "I'd hardly call it dumb. It was smart enough to use that smokescreen to escape you." Fluttershy barked back before crossing her hooves, "There has to be a reason it didn't grow bigger when it had the chance." But as she said this, a new sound caught their attention. The noise of running water, which Cold cut into a sprint. Fluttershy followed after him, the two then finding a large river that was flowing in the direction of the town. "This must be one of the rivers that feed the town's hot-springs," Cold put his hoof in the water, hissing at the heat. "You think the salamander might use it to head to the town?" Fluttershy asked, Cold shaking his head. "I doubt it. It probably wants to stay as far away from the water as possible since it might be able to put its flame out." But as he said that, he noticed that the steam from the river suddenly vanish. He raised an eyebrow and tried the water again, feeling it was ice cold. "What?" He ran upstream at this, Fluttershy following him again. And after a minute or so of running, they both came to a stop, now seeing a certain creature that was standing in the river. The salamander had grown back to the size of a pony, looking back to see Cold and Fluttershy. It hissed while preparing to launch a fire blast, Cold forming a sword. "Wait!" Fluttershy's voice cried out, making Cold and it turn to her. "Grand said I have to try and talk to it." "Are you nuts?!" Cold asked as she moved past him, "That thing could roast you alive." "I have to at least try." Fluttershy responded, flying in front of him, flaring her wings. Cold growled at her, clutching his sword before the pegasi leaned up to his face. She began to use The Stare, the gesture making him flinch for just a split second, only to glare back at her. Despite this, she said, "Put the sword away and let me try it my way." Cold stared at her, gritting his teeth before desummoning the blade, "Fine." "Good." She spun around and flew up to the lizard, "Hello there, I'm Fluttershy." The salamander hissed at her, fire smoking out of his mouth, only to see the pegasi lean down with giant kind grin, "I know my friends probably scared you, but there's no reason to fear me. I won't hurt you." The salamander remained silent, its body slowly growing as Fluttershy continued, "Please tell me why you keep setting the place on fire." This made the salamander hiss, Fluttershy understanding every word it was say, "I didn't want to. It was just a sneeze and I set the tree on fire. Then those other furry things attacked me." "I thought so," Fluttershy replied, "Well, I'll be sure tell the others and they'll apologize for what they did." Cold raised an eyebrow at this, "But you can't stay here. You might set the forest on fire again. Why not come with me and I'll find a place for you to stay that's not so flammable." The salamander shook its head. "No. I need fire. I need burning. I...need heat." "Heat?" Fluttershy asked before noticing just how big the salamander had gotten, now twice the size it was when they first arrived. "I can smell it," the salamander responded, "So much heat. Enough to feed me for so long." Fluttershy was now putting the pieces together, the mare looking down at the single foot the salamander had in flowing water. And as a light-bulb went off in her head, the lizard turned around, staring at the town in the distance. "Wait!" Fluttershy cried as the lizard began to run away. "That's it!" Cold created a sword again, charging at the salamander. The lizard spun around, unleashing a burst for fire. Cold slashed the fire with his freezing blade, somehow cutting it in half. "Cold Eagles!" He yelled he swung his sword, creating a flock of ice birds that shot right into the fire lizard, slamming into its body. The beast roared before unleashing a burst of heat from its back, causing it to shrink slightly as the heatwave struck Cold and Fluttershy. Both ponies hissed at the heat it was giving off, the salamander putting its foot back in the water. Seconds later, the lizard began to grow again. Fluttershy gasped at the sight, barely able to see it as she covered her face with her wings. She peeked out through the gaps, now seeing the salamander grow even more before taking a deep breath, "Look out!" Cold yelled as he tackled her, helping her dodge a giant stream of fire that burnt the grass around them. As this happened, Cold pushed himself back up before sparking his horn, creating a sphere of ice around the two. And as he did this, the salamander growled before spinning around and slamming the sphere with its tail. Both ponies felt the blow, the ball now being sent flying into the some trees and out of sight. And as the ice sphere disappeared, the salamander turned back to the town, continuing its journey while keeping its foot in the river as it kept growing. "RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Cold and Fluttershy screamed as they felt the sphere fly through the air, Fluttershy quickly clenching her eyes as she began to grow her body. Once big enough, she broke through the ice, grabbing Cold and spreading her wings. The ice hit the ground and shattered, the two gliding down to a soft land. But despite this, Cold swatted Fluttershy's hoof away as she shrank down. "I knew this was a waste of time," Cold hissed as he began to march away, "And I knew bringing you here was completely useless." He summoned another ice blade, growling as Fluttershy just stood still and stared at him. "You should be glad I'm here," she yelled as she got back to her normal size, the statement making Cold spin around with a glare on his face. "And why is that?! What could you possibly do to help me with that thing?!" "Because it was me who realized the salamander could shift its size, and it was me who realized it was the same salamander Grand fought." "That doesn't matter. That won't help us stop it!" "It will when I tell you this." She walked up to him at this, leaning up to his face, "I know why the salamander grows and shrinks the way it does." "What?!" "I know now why the salamander grows because it told me." She tapped his chest with his hoof, "It can't do it at will like me. It's the heat." Cold raised an eyebrow at this, "Heat?" "The reason the water was cold was because the salamander absorbed the heat. And whenever it absorbs heat, it grows. And whenever it loses heat, it shrinks. That's why it had a foot in the river. That's why it's heading for Trakeyser." "That...what?!" Cold replied, his brain now catching up, "So it's like a hot air balloon?" Fluttershy nodded at this, "Yes. And I'm willing to bet that if it runs out of heat, it won't be able to make any fire, and it'll shrink down so we can catch it." Cold's glare slightly vanished, his stare still there as he replied, "Okay...let's say you're right. What does that change with fighting that thing?" Fluttershy crossed her hooves at this. "Simple. I have an idea, but you have to do exactly what I tell you to do." Cold's glare started to return at this, making her sigh, "Listen, I know you don't think I'm any use, but I want to help save the town...and the salamander." Cold's eyes narrowed at this, "Cold...its not its fault it has to do this. We don't know enough about it to judge it yet. For all we know, heat is like food to it. Even if its causing problems, we shouldn't let it starve." She stared at him now, steely determination on her face, "I want to help both it and the ponies of Trakeyser." "Why?" "Because that's who I am. I'll always try to find a way to help everypony, because it's the right thing to do. It's right, and it's decent. And above all...it's kind. And a little kindness can do amazing things. Things that other ponies would think is impossible." Cold glared at her, but a small ray of understanding twinkled in his eye. "Alright...maybe you're right," he sighed, "Force doesn't seem to work. Grand tried force and all it did was delay the problem. Maybe...maybe we can try doing this the kind way." Fluttershy shined a small smile at this, Cold then asking, "What's the plan?" Back at Trakeyser, Iron and Grand had managed to spread the word about the possible creature attack. Many ponies thought they were nuts, but agreed to be ready in case it happened. Now the two earth ponies were running out of the nearest bath houses, meeting up at the edge of the town. "That's everypony," Grand announced while taking a drink from a bottle of milk that had been given to him. "Now if they'll only listen..." "Don't worry," Grand responded while putting the half-full bottle down. "Even if they don't think it'll actually happen, I doubt they'll ignore the warnings of a royal knight." And as he said this, their ears pricked up at a sound. It was a deep thumping sound, the noise repeating as they heard it get louder and louder. The earth ponies exchanged a glance, the thumping then being met with another sound. A dripping sound. They looked down, seeing it was the milk, which vibrated on each thump. They glanced back up, turning to the forest. The ground then began shaking as the cause finally appeared from out of the trees, a giant salamander the size of a building. Its head broke out from the canopy, staring at the town while looking down at the two royal knights. And before either of them could do anything, a loud scream filled the air. That scream came from a mare that had stepped outside the bath-house, now spotting the salamander's head. Her scream made other ponies look outside, now seeing the lizard before more screams rang out. The entire town was soon in a panic as the salamander walked out of the woods, still heading for Trakeyser. "We can't let it get close to town!" Grand yelled as he and Iron charged. "I got this!" Iron thrust his spear into the ground, a line of spikes shooting out of the floor and creating a sharp wall that blocked the giant lizard. "That'll stop ya!" Iron smirked while the salamander stared at the wall, the flame on its back glowing bright as it took a deep breath before unleashing a continuous stream of fire. The flames struck the wall, the metal slowly melting as the attack began to make a gap in the wall that went all the way to the ground. "Oh..." Iron pulled his weapon out of the ground while the salamander walked through the gap, his body slightly shrinking to fit through. "Alright, let's try this!" Grand slammed his hammer into the ground, causing it to shake before a fissure opened up beneath the lizard's left side feet. Both fell into the gap before Grand closed it, trapping the lizards appendages there. "That should hold you!" But as he said this, the salamander's back flame grew hotter as he expelled a great burst of heat. The flames made both knights flinch and backpedal, the lizard shrinking at this until his legs were small enough to pull its feet free. "Dang it! Looks like Fluttershy was right about it changing sizes." "That doesn't tell us how to beat it though!" Iron yelled as the salamander continued to charge, unleashing another streak of fire in their direction. "MOVE!" The two leapt back, dodgin the flames as one of the lizard's feet landed in one of the town's rivers. The two went wide-eyed as they saw it grow larger, making Grand growl, "Its getting bigger! We gotta stop it now!" He slammed his hammer down, a barrage of large chunks of rock now exploding out of the ground. "Grand Impact!" With a swing of his weapon, the rocks were sent flying at the beast. The salamander unleashed another burst of heat from its body, making the rocks melt before they even got close to the lizard. Iron was about to unleash his own ranged attack, only to stop himself, "There's no way to stop this thing. He'll just melt any metal attack I send at him." "There's gotta be a way. We can't let him into the town." Grand added as the salamander put another foot into another river. The two ponies were slowly moving back, seeing it continue to grow. But as they did this, a pair of ice dragons exploded out of the ground, both beginning to wrap around the creature's stomach. It roared while unleashing a burst of heat, slowly melting the living statues. At the same time, Cold appeared in front of the earth ponies. "Cold!" Grand gasped, "You're alright!" "Where's Shy!?" Iron asked next. "If something happened to her-" "She's fine," Cold interrupted, "She's just implementing her half of the plan." "Plan?!" "Whatever happens, don't let that thing get its feet into the water. We can't let it near any source of extreme heat." The ponies blinked at this, only to hear the salamander roar as it broke off the ice dragons. As it did this, Cold's horn sparked, "Get ready!" Meanwhile... Fluttershy's hooves twiddled around, now finishing typing up a rope around the tail of the salamander. Once the knot was tight enough, she grabbed the end, looking up to see the ice dragons fall apart. "Here goes," she whispered before she started growing. The increase in height was spotted by the knights, the salamander still oblivious. And as she grew, she flew up as she reached her full size. She began to tug on the rope, her size allowing her to jerk the unsuspecting salamander back before it could notice her, the suddenly reversal in direction causing its feet to be pulled free of the hot water. Iron was quick to stab his spear into the ground, covering the river with metal coverings while Grand raised several stone pillars up between the lizard and the water. The salamander looked back and now saw Fluttershy, the lizard unleashing a burst of heat that set the rope on fire, quickly burning it to a crisp. "Eep!" Fluttershy cried as she was sent flying back, having lost her grip. "Now Cold!" The unicorn teleported onto one of the stone pillars as the salamander looked back at the knights, "This...ends...NOW!" With that, he unleashed the most powerful Cold Force right at the salamander. The lizard countered by firing its own elemental attack, the fire and ice connecting and cancelling each other out. The battle of wills continued as the two kept unleashing their attacks at their highest levels, both refusing to give in. But as they did this, Grand and Iron gasped as they saw the salamander's fire begin to grow weaker, the creature shrinking as Fluttershy flew back to the scene. "You okay?" Iron asked while looking up at her, the pegasi nodding back before they saw the salamander shrink down before being slowly encased within a tomb of ice that took the shape of its own body. And as this happened, Cold cut the flow of his magic, feeling himself go limp as he fell off the stone pillar. Fluttershy then caught him in her oversized tail before putting him down. At the same time, Grand and Iron walked around the pillars, now seeing the ice that held their foe. "Won't it just break out?" Iron asked as Cold picked himself up. "It can't," he replied, "The thing uses heat as food and to grow. Whenever it uses its heat, liking spitting fire, it shrinks." "So you encased it in ice so it couldn't absorb any more heat," Grand added, "Great idea Cold!" Cold actually smiled as he looked up at the giant mare, "It was Fluttershy's idea. She's the one who figured it out." Grand and Iron smiled up at the mare, who was staring at the ice lizard with a long frown on her face. Then, she raised her giant hoof and hit the head of the sculpture, breaking it off. The stallions gasped at this before Fluttershy shrank back to her normal size, flying to the neck hole. A second later, she glided down out of the hole, carefully putting down the now very tiny salamander. The creature had shrunk back to its base size while the flame on its back had gone out, its eyes closed and its breath shallow. "Is it alive?" Iron asked. "Yes," Fluttershy replied, nodding, "It's almost like it's hibernating." "That must be what happens when its body heat hits zero," Grand commented, "That must have been what happened to it last time. It went cold and fell unconscious until something heated it back up." "What do we do with it then?" Cold chimed in, almost feeling sorry for the creature. That is, till Fluttershy stood up and picked up a milk bottle that had been dropped on the ground and moved over to the river. She filled the bottle and returned, Cold asking, "What are you doing?" Her answer was to tip the bottle so a splash of the hot water fell out, hitting the salamander, causing its body to glow and grow a few inches. As it did this, its eyes opened, now seeing the four staring at it. But as it saw this, he clenched up as he tried to summon some flames, only for nothing to come out. "We need to talk," Fluttershy told it. "You need to be near heat in order to survive, don't you?" It slowly nodded its head, already starting to lose consciousness when it tried to use some flames. Its body's glow began to fade, the lizard shrinking before Fluttershy tipped some more water onto it, making it grow. At the same time, the ponies that had run away from the salamander were slowly leaving their houses, making their way over to them. "You deserve to live your life, but we can't have you causing forest fires and growing huge." Fluttershy mumbled out, the group all exchanging frowns at the statement. But as this happened, a certain bulb went off in Cold's head. He turned to one of the ponies and asked, "Are there any hot springs around that aren't fed by your river?" The ponies blinked at him before giving their answer. And so, the four ponies and the salamander made their way back into the forest. Following the ponies' directions, they soon arrived at a clearing on the far side of the forest. There they found what they had been looking for, a hot spring. This one was being fed by a stream that didn't connect to the river flowing through the town. What's more, the clearing was completely covered in rocks. It was like a cobbled street, with no tree or plant within fifty feet of the pool. "It's perfect," Fluttershy whispered before flying over to the pool, sitting the salamander down next to it. "Go on. This is all yours." The salamander smiled before diving into the water, soaking up the heat. It swam through the water as it grew larger and larger, eventually growing to the size of a pony by the time the hot-spring went cold. It then leapt back out of the water, Fluttershy smiling as she put her hoof into the hot spring, feeling the heat that it had. "By the time you shrink back to your normal size, the cold water will have washed away and be replaced by this hot water. Then you can do it all over again." Grand nodded at this, "And with the rocks around here, you won't have to worry about accidently setting anything on fire. It'll be your own little private hot spring." "And we'll make sure it stays private," Cold added, "I'm sure Celestia will be happy to make this area a nature preserve, so nopony will come and disturb you." The salamander didn't understand what he meant, only for Fluttershy to translate a simpler version. After this, she pulled the lizard into a hug, being careful of its flame, then pulled away. "You'll be safe here." The salamander nodded and turned back to the hot-spring, diving into it to simply enjoy a nice swim. At the same time, the ponies spun around, walking away as they hoped this would be the last time they ever had to worry about it causing problems. The threat of the salamander passed, allowing the four to return to Trakeyser as the ponies there worked to fix the minor bits of damage done. They agreed to help, and within no time at all, the tourist town was back to normal. The ponies there also offered the four a free night's stay at any of the inns, the four deciding to take the offer and chose to stay at the waterfall bath. "Well done everypony," Grand sighed as eh slumped over in the springs, "We were able to save the town from destruction, and find the salamander the home it needed." They all nodded as Fluttershy spoke up, "And with everything we've learned about fire salamanders, ponies shouldn't have any issue dealing with any future problems." Iron chuckled at this, "You should contact the ponies that published the book you read about them and let them know. Then they could publish a remastered version of it. Maybe you should write the salamander section and get and author's credit." The two stallions laughed at this, seeing Fluttershy blush as Cold turned to the mare. "Thank you. Because of you, I was able to complete my mission and I didn't have to hurt the salamander to do it." Fluttershy nodded back, "I'm glad I could help. And I'm proud of you for finding a way to help the salamander have the life it deserves." "I guess there's more then one way of solving a situation then by force," Cold replied, "Is this what it's like to be kind?" The three nodded, "Huh...I kinda like it. I'll be sure to remember it the next time I have a problem." "Good for you," Grand chuckled, patting Cold's shoulder, "But for now, let's just relax and let the warm water melt away all our troubles." They all replied by doing this, Fluttershy leaning against Iron as she let out a sigh. They would have a lot to do tomorrow, heading to Canterlot and giving Princess Celestia their report and possibly contacting somepony about a revised animal book. But for now, they would enjoy the calming atmosphere of the hot-spring town, forgetting their troubles until later.