//------------------------------// // Chapter four // Story: The Elements of Chaos // by CarmenColor //------------------------------// Twilight searched high and low for Backfire and her friends, but couldn't find them. She wondered if they lived in the Everfree, but she figured that wouldn't be plausible. No pony lived in the Everfree, except Zecora, but she's a zebra, not a pony. The sky soon grew dark as Luna's night approached, and Twilight had started home at a slow trot. The wind howled as it blew through the streets. It nearly toppled Twilight over. She finished her trip home at a faster gallop, running in through the front door as fast as her legs could carry her. Spike came running down the stairs, looking relieved. "Twilight! Where were you? I've been waiting for hours!" He ran over and threw a blanket over Twilight. "It's freezing out there! You'll be lucky if you don't catch a cold or something!" Twilight pushed the baby dragon away from her with her magic and threw the blanket off of herself. "Spike! I'm fine. I was just looking for someone," she insisted. Spike picked the blanket off of the ground. "Who?" "What?" "Who were you looking for?" "Oh, I was looking for those new ponies. I have no idea where they're staying." Spike took a look out the window. "Well, I hope it's somewhere warm. I'd hate for Backfire to get sick." Twilight gave the purple dragon a quizzical and slightly amused look. Spike blushed a bit before adding, "You know, because of her...magic problem..." Twilight laughed. "I'm sure she would have a way of stopping it if she had a cold or something, Spike. I mean, it's not like she's never been sick before, right?" "Yeah," Spike said, uneasily, "That'd be...ridiculous..." He looked at Twilight, and she stared back. She was no longer laughing. She wasn't smiling in the slightest. "I...hope..." - - - - - Backfire woke up in the middle of the night. Cold winds blew into their secret hiding place, and her blanket had gotten blow right off of her. She stood, shivering, and tried to locate it, but failed. Where could it have gone? She paused at the entrance to their 'home' for a moment before stepping out into the gale-like winds that were signaling how close to winter it was. She needed to find someplace warm. After a long while of struggling against the winds, Backfire stopped by a building and huddled by the wall to shield herself from the winds. She shivered and sniffled a little as she looked around. It was almost too dark to see, but she made out the shape of the library. She galloped towards it, desperate for a warm place to sleep. She got inside, quickly pulling the door shut behind her, and collapsed on the floor. She panted, unable to breathe through her snout. She sniffled. Why did her nose feel so clogged? Backfire trotted into the main room and curled up on the floor, quickly falling asleep. A certain baby dragon had heard the door slam and was groggily coming down the stairs when the sight of the unicorn stopped him dead. What was she doing here? He heard a quiet sniffle come from her and feared for the worst. Twilight would kill her if she accidentally destroyed the books again, but he couldn't kick her out. Twilight would never make him kick out Backfire, would she? Especially not if she was as sick as she looked. Her cheeks and snout were a bright pink. Spike grabbed a blanket and laid it gently on the yellow unicorn. He looked around the room to see if anyone was watching before planting a soft kiss on her forehead. She stirred slightly and the little dragon ran off back up the stairs. He snuggled back into his bed, a small giggle escaping from him. Twilight turned over on the bed, but didn't make any move to suggest that she'd heard or seen anything. Spike closed his eyes and fell asleep. - - - - - When Muddy awoke and saw that Backfire was missing, she panicked. In a rush, she woke the others by pulling the blankets off of them. They groaned and picked themselves up off the cold ground. "What was that for, Muddy?" Laze asked, yawning, "Give us our blankets back. It's freezing." As if to prove her point, a gust of wind howled through the alley. "Backfire's gone!" Muddy exclaimed, "She didn't tell any of you where she went, did she?" They all shook their heads. "Well, where is she? What if those harmony ponies got her? We gotta find her before our cover is blown and we have this whole town after us!" The black unicorn put on her saddle bag. "Come on!" They rushed out into the streets. Luckily, no pony was outside at the time, or the whole thing would've looked pretty odd. "Split up," Soar Brash commanded, "We gotta find her fast!" The five ponies all went separate ways. - - - - - "Spike! Get up!" Twilight shouted, pulling the dragon out of bed with her magic. He gasped and stood up. "What? What's wrong?" he asked with a yawn. He remembered the events of the night before. "Oh, have you been downstairs?" "Huh? No. Why?" Twilight asked, walking towards the stairs. Spike ran in front of her, racing down the stairs before she could protest. She followed quickly, wondering what had gotten into her baby dragon. "Spike? What is it?" She stopped at the sight of Backfire, who was still sleeping, and gave Spike a quizzical look. He nudged the unicorn gently, trying to rouse her. "Backfire. Backfire, wake up." The yellow unicorn's eyelashes fluttered and her eyes opened slowly. "Spike? Where am I?" She asked in a slightly congested voice. Spike put his hand on the unicorn's forehead. "Backfire, are you feeling alright? You don't look too good." It was true. She looked positively ill. Her cheeks had a red tint to them, and her nose had the same hue. She sniffled softly. "I'mb fide." Twilight scoffed as she head this. The powerful unicorn floated a bottle towards Backfire. She yellow mare watched it drop to the ground. "What's this stduff?" she asked blankly. Twilight sighed. "It's called medicine. You sound as if you've never been ill before." Twilight cocked an eyebrow as the same blank stare came from Backfire. She lifted both eyebrows in shock. "Wait, you've really never been sick?" "We'll, I felt a bit odd on the traid ride to Ponyville, but other thad that, no. I guess I haven't." Twilight and Spike shared a look of horror. "What?" "Backfire. How have you gone your entire life without getting sick? Wait, that's not even our main problem, is it? What if you start sneezing? My whole library will go up in flames! If the explosions even have flames, that is. I'll need to do my restoration spells all over again!" Backfire mumbled something and covered her head with the blanket. "Oh, sorry..." "Twilight, couldn't you cast a spell on the books and walls and stuff to keep them safe?" Spike asked, "We really can't let Backfire leave, can we? I mean, she's sick and doesn't have any idea how to deal with it." "I suppose your right, Spike. I think I do have a spell that could work. Just a moment." A purple aura enveloped the room for a second, before disappearing. Twilight smiled. "That should do it...I think...oh, wait, I know!" The walls glowed with the purple aura again, and then it faded, just like the time before. "There, now your sneezing won't scare anypony. I've put a silencing charm on the walls." It seemed that Twilight had put the enchantment in place not a moment too soon, because a rather loud sneeze and a louder explosion came from the place where Backfire had been sitting. When the dust had cleared, everyone looked and the walls, and, to Twilight's delight, the books were perfectly fine. They breathed a collective sigh of relief. Twilight turned to Backfire. "You should take that medicine. I need to head over to Fluttershy's to help her with the animals, but I'll be back. Spike can keep you company. I know he'll enjoy spending time with you." And with that, she left the library. Backfire sneezed again. "Bless you, Backfire," Spike said. He picked up the medicine bottle off of the ground. "Come on, you need water for this." He helped her up and they walked to the bathroom, where, after a long talk about using medicine, Spike finally got Backfire to take it. She didn't know how anything that tasted so horrible could be helpful in any way, and what's more, she still couldn't breathe through her nose, and her throat still hurt, and not to mention that constant itchy feeling in her snout. This was going to be a long day.