"Maybe this isn't a great idea, Apple Bloom." Scootaloo suggested.
"Yeah, I mean even if we find out where this big meanie is hiding, what are we supposed to do then?" Sweetie Belle added.
"We'll run right back to Ponyville and let everypony know where he is, duh." Apple Bloom replied, rolling her eyes.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders cautiously walked down a dirt road. They were headed in the direction they saw Scorn fly, hoping to track down where the stallion was hiding.
"I don't think Thomas would want us coming out here by ourselves." Scootaloo said, fearfully surveying their surroundings.
"I know Thomas wouldn't want us out here, but we're the reason he's knocked out in the library right now. He got hurt protectin us because we got in the way. I can't just sit in town and wait like a helpless little filly." Apple Bloom defended.
"But we are helpless little fillies!" Sweetie Belle countered.
"If you two wanna go back and hide under your beds then fine, but I aint goin back until I have somethin worth goin back with." Apple Bloom declared.
The other two crusaders exchanged worried looks, but didn't leave the determined filly's side. They continued to walk along the pathway until it led to the base of a large mountain.
"Oh well, looks like a dead end. Better get back to Ponyville!" Scootaloo suggested.
Suddenly, a loud growl could be heard coming from a large cave at the mountain's base.
"Shhh, quiet." Apple Bloom instructed, raising a hoof. The three quickly got behind some nearby bushes, peaking out to investigate the noise. The low growl could still be heard from inside the cave. The fillies watched the cave opening, looking for any kind of movement.
"This is stupid, it's probably just a bear or something." Sweetie Belle whispered, still trying to convince Apple Bloom to go back to town. To her dismay, a large flame spawn walked out of the cave. It looked around the area, scanning for any intruders before turning and going back inside.
"That was one of those monsters from earlier!" Apple Bloom excitedly whispered, pointing out the obvious.
"Great, can we go back now?" Scootaloo asked hopefully.
"Just a minute, did you two notice something weird about that one?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Aside from the fact that it's a giant burning monster thing?" Sweetie Belle retorted, quickly earning her a nasty look from the yellow filly.
"No I mean, it looked different from the ones that were in the field today. It's almost like they're gettin tougher or somethin, I don't know."
"How very observant of you." a voice hissed from behind.
The startled crusaders jumped out of the bush, turning and coming face to face with Scorn himself. The stallion was mere feet away from the fillies, a flame spawn standing at either side of him.
"Yes, I believe I'm getting better at conjuring these magnificent creatures." he continued. "I dare say, when the outlander arrives, he might not even make it to the cave entrance."
The flaming pony cracked his neck, causing bits of ash to sprinkle down to the ground.
"And that would be most unfortunate, because I want so badly to be the one to end his miserable existence." Scorn laughed.
"Yeah right! Thomas would mop the floor with you, no matter how many monsters you make." Scootaloo defended.
"Yeah, he won't come here without backup, then you'll be sorry!" Sweetie Belle added. This made the stallion laugh even more.
"Perhaps you'd be right, but I have a feeling that in his haste to find you three, he won't be thinking very logically. Indeed, you fools have just handed victory over to me on a silver platter. All I have to do is wait for the outlander to come running, then I will kill him slowly, painfully, while you three watch." he said menacingly.
The three fillies started running to the left, but were instantly cut off by a flame spawn, several of the creatures now had them surrounded.
"Nice try, but you aren't getting away that easily." Scorn said, stomping on the ground. A large fiery cage suddenly formed around the crusaders. "Now move!"
The cage started moving toward the cave opening, forcing the fillies to walk with it under threat of being burned.
"It seems appropriate that his is how it ends." the stallion thought out loud to himself. "You were the ones who allowed me to almost kill him earlier today, and it seems fate is not without a sense of irony, as you will be helping me finish the job." he mused.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the cave with Scorn and his flame spawns following close behind. They disappeared into the darkness as thunder roared in the distance.
* * *
"When was the last time anyone saw them?" Thomas asked as Twilight led him and Luna to the town hall.
"After I put you in the library, I told the girls that you were going to be fine. After that they vanished." the alicorn replied.
The Fireman cursed under his breath. He knew what they were probably doing.
The three arrived at the town hall, just as several pegasi were taking off. The town was swarming with guards, all of whom were outfitted with heavy combat armor and weapons.
"I see you decided to bolster the ranks while I was out cold." Thomas said, impressed.
"Now that we know what we're dealing with, we aren't taking any chances." he heard a voice say. The Fireman saw Celestia exiting the town hall. She had a serious look on her face and he could tell she was worried.
"I'm glad to see you're back on your feet, Thomas. I also must thank you for your quick thinking and bravery in that last battle. Rallying the guards and fighting back those creatures was an amazing example of valor and leadership."
"Don't mention it. Are you searching for the missing fillies?" he asked.
"Of course, we have several search parties out looking for them right now, including their siblings." she replied.
"Good." he said, then turned to Twilight. "There's something you should know. That thing you saved me from, it was actually the pony who drank the Devil's Kiss."
"What?" she gasped. "But how is that possible? How were his powers heightened so dramatically?"
"I'm still trying to figure that one out." he admitted. "Any ideas?"
"Just one." Celestia chimed in. "It's possible that his consumption of the strange liquid you speak of has interacted with his life force in a way that has corrupted him. Upon death, some ponies that practice the forbidden art of necromancy are able to return to the realm of the living, but with new found powers. These powers are used at the expense of their very life essence, and the more they use this power, the more powerful and decayed they become. I've never seen this happen in my life, only reading of it in ancient tomes."
"Wait, you're saying this guy is a necromancer?" Thomas asked skeptically.
The princess shook her head. "No, but its possible that when he drank the potion, his powers were enhanced by his own life force. When he uses his power, his being is consumed by dark magic which then strengthens his growing abilities in a perpetual cycle."
Thomas thought back to their fight. Could the reason why that stallion didn't need salts be because he wasn't using the vigor in the traditional sense, because he wasn't using Devil's Kiss the way it was intended? Was he substituting salts for his very life force? It all sounded very far fetched to the Fireman, but this wasn't really his field of expertise and he couldn't come up with a better explanation.
Suddenly, a large column of flames shot out of the ground in front of town hall. Many of the guards backed away and shielded their eyes from the intense heat and brightness. Through the flames, Scorn's face was clearly visible.
"Ah, I'm glad to see you're doing well, outlander. I hope I didn't harm you too badly during our last encounter."
Thomas clenched his fists, not giving the stallion the satisfaction of a response.
"Anyway, I just thought you'd like to see what I found outside a little while ago." his image was replaced with a large cage of flames. Inside, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo were huddled together, trying to get as far away from the burning bars as they could.
"You monster!" Celestia shouted. Scorn merely snickered and then readdressed Thomas.
"If you want to see these brats alive again, then you will travel west out of Ponyville and follow the dirt path until you reach a mountain. I'm located right inside a cave at the base of this mountain."
The flaming stallion identified the onlooking guards. "And make sure you come alone, outlander. Otherwise...."
He slammed a claw on the ground, causing the cage to shrink slightly. The fillies screamed as the flames got closer and Scorn laughed.
"I'll be waiting." he said as the column of flames quickly extinguished, leaving nothing but a scorch mark in the earth.
After a moment of shock induced silence, Twilight quickly gathered herself.
"Thomas, this is obviously a trap. We're going to have to think this through....." she turned to where the Fireman had been standing, but he was already gone.
* * *
Thomas never ran so fast in his life. He didn't even stop to catch his breath, but kept sprinting down the dirt path. The Fireman saw the mountain growing larger in the distance. His mind was thinking a million things at once, but the one thing that stood out was getting to Scorn's lair and saving the children. Getting back to Columbia would have to be set on the back burner for now. That damned stallion was a pain in his ass that he didn't want to have to worry about anymore.
However, he was troubled by what Celestia had said. Thomas still had an abundance of salts, but the supply was still limited. Plus if this pony really did get stronger the more he used his powers, then the Fireman would have to take him out fast and dirty, otherwise he was in for a very annoying and drawn out fight. Of course, the two really couldn't use their powers against each other anyway, so a hand to hand brawl was pretty much inevitable.
Shit, I should have grabbed a weapon before leaving. The Fireman thought, realizing he was running into this fight unarmed.
The base of the mountain was clearly visible now, as was the army of flame spawns that were standing around it. Thomas stopped in his tracks. He knew what if he took that many on at once, he would get cut down before long. The Fireman needed to save the fillies, but he couldn't do that if he was dead. He had to stop and think.
Looking around, the Fireman realized he was near the place where he had first landed in Equestria. It was where he first met Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, where he fried those timberwolves and defeated the.......
"That's it!" Thomas shouted, getting an idea. He quickly ran off the trail and into the nearby forest.
"Come on, come on, where are you, you big bastard?" he whispered to himself, breathing heavily. He ran past the trees, keeping an eye out for the den or cave he was looking for and hoping he was in the right place. Soon the Fireman spotted a large cavern opening in a small clearing. He ran inside the cave, lighting one of his hands so he could see in the utter blackness. The cavern itself was massive. Water eerily dripped off of stalactites as Thomas walked deeper into the den. Soon he could hear crunching and clinking as he walked and looked down to see gold and gems covering the cave floor. He looked up to see piles and piles of treasure, almost reaching the ceiling.
"Come on out, let's not waste time here." he shouted.
A low growl could be heard throughout the cavern. Thomas saw a large mass of treasure shift and move as the creature that had been sleeping beneath it awoke and sat up. Its long spiky neck connected the large black body to the red eyed head. Gems and gold coins slid down the piles as the enormous dragon sat fully upright, staring at the Fireman with hateful annoyance.
"Listen I know......" Thomas started, but before he could continue, the dragon inhaled and let loose a breath of fire that scorched everything around the Fireman. Once the dragon finished its attack, it stared at Thomas, confused at first but then remembering their last encounter.
"I know you can talk." Thomas continued, thinking back to Spike. "So what do you say we cut the bullshit and you listen to what I have to say?"
The dragon continued to stare him down, its anger rising as it stood up in the cavern, barely able to accomplish this with its large stature.
"What do you want?" it bellowed angrily.
"I need your help." the Fireman admitted. This got a loud chuckle from the beast.
"Is that so? And what would a 'great warrior' such as yourself need with the help of a dragon?" it inquired.
"There is a threat that looms over this land. A pony has gained powers and abilities, and plans to use them to enslave or destroy this world and all of its inhabitants. He's going to burn down everything he sees and kill countless creatures. Dragons won't be exempt from that list." Thomas explained.
The dragon laughed again. "You must take me to be some kind of fool, if you thought I would be fearful of a pony. The very thought disgusts me." the dragon hissed.
"If you don't help me now, then you'll have to deal with the shame of being defeated by that pony, right before he mounts your head on a spike." the Fireman warned.
The dragon stopped laughing and began considering his options. "What would you have me do?"
"Fly me over to where the pony is hiding, then distract the creatures guarding the entrance. I'll take care of the rest."
The beast thought for a moment. "And what do I get in return for my service?"
"Besides my everlasting love and admiration?" the Fireman teased. "Your reward will be your survival. I promise you that if left unchecked, this pony will come after your kind eventually, and it wont be pretty."
It grunted as it mulled over Thomas' proposal.
"Answer me something first." the large beast requested. "I have watched many decades go by. I have seen all manner of creatures, but never once have I laid eyes upon something like you. I don't care what you are, where you came from, or even why you're here, but answer me this. Why are you risking your life for these ponies? You have no connection to this world, yet still you meddle in its affairs. Why?"
Thomas thought about the question, realizing he didn't know the answer. Celestia had already admitted that she didn't know how to send him home. His only reason for sticking around and helping the ponies in the first place was to get back to Columbia. Now that he knew it was a dead end, why didn't he just move on? Surely there were other beings here that could offer more insight. Why was he still here?
"I don't know the answer to that." he admitted, both to the dragon and to himself. "Maybe I'm just getting soft, maybe I feel responsible for this stallion becoming a threat, or maybe I think there's still some chance these ponies can help me get home. Whatever the reason, I'm going to fight. They consider me a friend. They trust me and I might just feel obligated to show them that their trust wasn't misplaced."
The beast nodded its head, apparently satisfied with the answer. It stood quietly for a few more moments before reaching a decision.
"Very well, I will fly you to this cave and provide a distraction." it finally decided. Lowering its neck and allowing Thomas to climb up. "Just remember, when our business is concluded, this alliance will be too."
When the Fireman nodded and mounted the dragon, which then exited its den.
"Okay, let's just take this nice and slow and......" Thomas couldn't finish as the dragon spread its wings and took off at breakneck speed, heading straight up into the sky with the Fireman screaming on its back.