A few moments after takeoff, the dragon leveled off and began flying smoothly just below the cloud line. Thomas quickly caught his breath after the screaming session, not knowing how he managed to hang on to the beast. Now the Fireman looked at the ground below. They were flying over the forest, but he could see Ponyville in the distance. Thomas wondered what Twilight was doing. He hadn't seen any guards, which likely meant they were still coming up with some plan of attack. Thomas hoped he could take care of this before they were needed.
"Where is this cave you spoke of?" the dragon asked, interrupting his thoughts. The Fireman scanned the ground below, following the dirt road to the mountainside and easily spotting the flame spawns standing near the cave entrance.
"There, just to your left. See them?"
The dragon nodded and made a quick course correction. Thomas noticed that the flame spawns were growing more numerous. There were even more now then when he first spotted the cave earlier.
"You gonna be able to handle them?" The Fireman asked.
The dragon laughed. "Yes, I believe I can handle a few Sanverni."
"Sanverni?" Thomas asked, confused.
The dragon eyed him curiously. "You are not aware of what those creatures are?"
"Well no, all I know is that our mutual enemy can summon those things like there's no tomorrow." he replied.
"Sanverni are also known as Ash Warriors due to their origins. They are born of ash and fire, and are rumored to be fallen warriors of ancient times. Many believe they come from the sunless abyss known as Tartarus, but that is mere speculation."
The dragon began descending more quickly as they approached the cave. "I will land you as close to the entrance as I can and provide the necessary distraction. The rest will be up to you."
"Got it, and thanks." the Fireman responded.
The flame spawns didn't notice the dragon until it made a hard landing near the cave, sending dirt up into the air and temporarily providing cover. Thomas used the cover to jump off the beast and run toward the cave, but before he could reach the entrance, several of the Ash Warriors blocked his path.
Up close, Thomas could see that they were much stronger than those he had fought back in Ponyville. They were bigger, tougher, and had crudely formed weapons for arms. The Fireman was about to attack, but remembered he had no weapon to fight with.
This isn't gonna be easy. Something tells me fisticuffs won't do much against these things. he thought.
The Sanverni approached the Fireman with lethal intent. Weapons at the ready, they began surrounding him as he backed away, trying to think of something. One of the flame spawns almost got within striking distance, but was suddenly pulverized into ash by a large black object.
Thomas looked up to see the dragon's large tail separating him and the other spawns.
"Distracting them is my job, you go and stop the leader." it reminded him. The Fireman nodded and headed for the cave.
The Sanverni quickly regrouped and attacked the dragon in unison, pouncing on the creature and striking it with their appendages. After a roar of anger, the dragon whipped its tail around, causing most of the flame spawns to fall away. The few that remained were quickly grabbed by the dragon's large claws and pounded into dust and ash.
Thomas stopped to look back at the dragon, who was now on the offensive. It began steam rolling several of the creatures as more Sanverni grouped around it. The Fireman quickly headed inside the cave, lighting a small flame in his palm so he could see into the darkening chamber.
* * *
Twilight quickly flew from the library back to the town hall while using her magic to carry the chest containing the Elements of Harmony. She elegantly landed on the ground next to Luna and Celestia, who were going over possible attack strategies with several officers of the guard.
"Do you really think the elements will do any good?" Twilight asked, addressing Celestia. The white alicorn merely shook her head with uncertainty.
"I'm not sure, but I feel it would be better to have them on hand, just in case we need a fallback strategy."
Twilight felt a shiver go up her spine. She was so used to using the Elements of Harmony as a first line of defense, that having to rely on them as a contingency filled her with worry.
"Twilight!"
The princess turned to see her friends sprinting in her direction.
"What's going on? Some guards told us they knew where the fillies were and to find you right away." Applejack said, a little out of breath.
"Are they here? Are they alright!?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Oh please tell me their safe." Rarity pleaded.
Twilight looked at them with heartache.
"I'm so sorry, the pony that attacked us earlier is holding them prisoner." she informed, the grief in her face quickly being reflected by theirs.
Rarity instantly burst into tears at the news. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy quickly tried to calm her down while Applejack and Rainbow Dash approached Twilight.
"Do you know where they are?" Rainbow Dash asked hopefully.
"Yes, but there's a complication." Twilight replied.
"What sorta complication?" Applejack demanded.
Twilight looked down. "The pony challenged Thomas to go and face him alone. If anypony else goes to help, he'll harm the fillies."
Applejack looked around. "Well where is he?"
"As soon as he found out where the young ones were, he quickly made haste to the fiend's lair in an attempt to rescue them." Princess Luna chimed in.
"Well we gotta go help him out!" Rainbow shouted, ready to fly.
"Wait Rainbow Dash, we can't just go blundering into a trap. He said that Thomas needed to go alone. If we're spotted near the cave, we'll be putting the fillies at risk." Twilight pointed out.
"But if Thomas already went to challenge him, then I only see two possible outcomes." Celestia countered. "Either he's successfully defeated the flaming stallion, or he hasn't and needs our help. Either way, I feel it's wise to go there ourselves."
She turned to Luna. "Get a battalion of guards ready. We're going to the cave."
Her sister nodded and promptly flew off to get the most decorated soldiers she could find.
"Do you think he's alright princess?" Fluttershy squeaked.
"For the sake of Equestria, I hope so." Celestia responded, watching in the distance as lightning cracked down from an approaching storm.
* * *
Thomas cautiously walked down the corridor, much like the dragon's den, all that could be heard aside from the Fireman's footsteps was the faint dripping of water as it fell from stalactites hanging overhead. So far he had been lucky, running into nothing since entering the cave. He would have thought the stallion would post guards here and there, but much to his surprise, it was eerily quiet.
Suddenly, the Fireman noticed light coming from the next bend. He quickly rounded the corner and walked into a large cavern, even bigger than the dragon's had been. In the middle of the seemingly empty cavern; Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were huddled together inside the burning cage.
"Girls!" Thomas shouted, running toward the cage with renewed enthusiasm. Before he could reach the cage though, a large pillar of fire erupted from the floor and inside stood Scorn, standing ready for their last fight.
"I'm glad you made it in one piece, outlander. I have to say I'm impressed with you. The dragon was unexpected, yet very cunning. However did you get it to work with you?" he inquired.
"Enough talk!" the Fireman spat. "Let's finish this."
Scorn grinned as the flames around him died down.
"As you wish."
With that, he stomped on the ground with such power and intensity that the entire cave shook violently, threatening to collapse. Thomas was barely able to keep on his feet, but that was the least of his worries. He stood in shock as Sanverni began climbing out of holes in the floor. Everywhere the Fireman looked, the flame spawns were crawling out of the pits from whatever hell they called home. He could only watch as the Ash Warriors continued to poor into the cavern, making it seem much smaller. Soon they numbered into the hundreds, completely surrounding Thomas and Scorn.
"You've been busy." the Fireman remarked as the last of the creatures fell into place.
"My power never falters, I only grow stronger each time I exert my strength, and so do my minions." he gestured to the trapped fillies. "Now, in their last moments of life, they get to watch as their 'hero' is ripped apart."
"The only thing they're going to see is my foot shoved neatly up your ass." Thomas retorted.
The stallion's fiery eyes narrowed. "We shall see."
Scorn backed up as his flame spawns charged in, the first reaching Thomas in mere seconds. Without another thought, he grabbed a nearby stalagmite and ripped it from the ground, almost pulling a muscle in the process. The first beast to reach him quickly brought down a crudely formed battle ax, which the Fireman was just barely able to block. He swiftly re-angled the stone spike and shoved it through the flame spawn's mid section. As it fell to ashes, two more Sanverni moved in to attack.
Thomas dodged one strike while blocking the other, quickly grabbing one creature's arm and stabbing it through the other one. He tore through the other with his own weapon, causing both to explode into ashes. He barely recovered before five more spawns took their place. The Fireman was able to defeat three more before the stalagmite was knocked out of his hand. Using his fists, he punched a creature several times in the stomach, but caused no damage. The Sanverni back handed Thomas, sending him flying into more creatures.
They piled on top of the downed Fireman, stabbing and slashing with viscous determination. Many spawns were killed by their own, who were blindly assaulting Thomas, but he was getting his fair share of hits. Several weapons were thrust into his armor, which did a good job at keeping them from puncturing, but the Fireman could still feel every jab. One of the clawed Sanverni ripped at his armor, breaking off pieces which fell to the floor.
Thomas was soon missing a shoulder pad, shin guard, gauntlet, and most of the machinery that used to surround his suit. The Fireman fought to get to the center of the cavern, where the fillies were still trapped, but every monster he knocked away would be replaced by eight more. He could barely be seen in the massive pile of demons that now tore at his body. His armor quickly gave way, exposing parts of flesh that became instant targets for the spawns' attacks.
Thomas could feel the open wounds along his arms, chest, back, and legs, but he continued to force his way to the burning cage. However, the beasts became too much for him, and the Fireman collapsed mere feet from the enclosure. The Sanverni saw their opportunity and got ready to finish him, but were called off by Scorn who now stood next to the wounded Fireman.
"Let me end this." the stallion said to his minions, who obediently stood down. Thomas looked up at the three fillies, who all had tears in their eyes. They had a hard time looking directly at their bloodied and broken friend as he lay slumped on the ground.
"Look at them, outlander. Look at what you died for." the stallion had a menacing grin on his face.
"I want you to look into their eyes before you die, then their deaths will follow." Scorn kicked Thomas hard in the side, causing him to roll over onto his back. He now stared up at the ceiling, his broken welder's mask still covering half his face. Soon the pony stepped into his field of vision once more. He held his claw up, not wanting to delay the inevitable any further.
"Once again, your love and compassion has failed you. This world will now suffer dearly for the mistake of thinking that anything but raw, merciless power could dominate and conquer. My armies will sweep over the land like a plague, and you will mark the first of many to fall before me." he held his claw up higher, this time there would be no interruptions.
"Thank you for your gift, outlander. You can rest easy knowing it will be put to good use." Scorn laughed, plunging his claw into the Fireman's heart. The fillies screamed as Thomas let out one last breath, then let his chest fall a final time.
* * *
Tommy? Tommy are you there?
Yeah mom, I'm here.
Oh good..........good I wanted to talk with you again before the surgery.
Mom......I.........I'm.......
It's okay Thomas, you don't have to say anything.
But I can't save you mom! I can't do anything to help. I'm useless, there's nothing I can......
You are NOT useless Thomas Miller. You are here. Your brother's not, your father's not, but you are. That's the most I could ever ask for. To be with my son. Remember that story I told you?
You mean El Bombero?
That's right. You aren't going to lose me Thomas. I will always be with you. That flame will never go out, so long as you have love in your heart. One day you'll pass that flame on to others. People who have come to love you as much as I do. People who you will come to love as well. You will pass your flame onto them as I'm passing mine onto you. Okay Tommy?..........Tommy are you there?
Yeah I'm here mom.
So am I Thomas......and no matter what happens.......that's not going to change.
He saw a light. He didn't know what to make of it at first, but he knew he'd felt it before. The calmness in his mind, all of his inner conflicts washed away, leaving only an inner peace. It felt good. He didn't want it to end.
Thomas!
Who was that? The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Get up Thomas!
Was it his mother? It couldn't be. That just wasn't possible.
Thomas, please!
No. Not his mother. But the love he felt for this voice was just as strong. The feeling of calmness, he realized, wasn't coming from the light, it was fueling the light. It was bringing out the power he felt in the bandit camp. He knew what it meant now. Those three fillies, everyone else back in town. That's how it was accessed, that's how it was used.
He reached out with a hand that wasn't there, touching the ball of light. It exploded, but he didn't hear it. All he heard were the voices of three crusaders that still needed his help, and he wasn't going to let them down.
* * *
Scorn removed his claw from the fallen Fireman, shaking the excess blood from its digits. He looked up at the fillies who were still uselessly calling the outlander's name.
"Enough!" he said, silencing the weeping ponies. "Your usefulness has expired." he pointed a claw at the ponies, charging it up. "Give my regards to the outlander." he mused, ready to release his strike.
"What!?"
He soon found his claw gripped by a hand. It was a bluish white color and it radiated energy.
"What is this?" Scorn asked in shock. He looked down to see Thomas, completely covered in the white veil.
"But......how?"
The Fireman responded by throwing the surprised stallion across the cavern. He slammed into the cave wall and as the dust cleared, a large hole was all that could be seen.
Thomas didn't waste time, and quickly went to the cage. He grabbed the bars, which instantly dissipated, and then pointed to the cave exit.
"Go!" he ordered the fillies.
"But what about you?" Apple Bloom asked fearfully.
"I'll be fine, now move! Go!"
The crusaders ran to the exit, but were instantly cut off by the flame spawns. Thomas charged up and shot through the creatures like a cannon, clearing a wide path for the ponies to escape.
Once they were clear, he refocused on the Sanverni. They didn't wait for their master's order and instead all began running at the Fireman at the same time. Thomas made quick work of the advancing warriors, using his power to cut through them like a sword of pure energy.
The creatures began bursting into ash as the Fireman passed, leaving none standing in his wake. Once the last few of them fell, the cave floor was covered in several inches of ash and dust. The cave was quiet, with not even the falling water able to make splashes on the ash covered floor.
A large chunk of rock suddenly crashed through the cave wall. Scorn appeared, covered in a large fiery aura that could only be brought about by his rage.
"You think you can defeat me? You can kill off all of my beasts, but you can't kill me. I'll rip you to shreds for causing me this much grief. You won't live to see tomorrow. There's no way you're leaving this cave alive!" the stallion shouted, flames erupting from his body.
"Then you will share my fate!" the Fireman shouted back.
Without another word, Thomas rocketed toward the flaming stallion, grabbing onto him as he charged what remained of his suit. The familiar whistling began as the tank on his back overloaded and the pressure became too great. The stallion tried to free himself, but Thomas held on with every ounce of strength he had left.
"Release me!" Scorn screamed with all of his anger and hatred.
"My thoughts exactly." the Fireman said, smiling and closing his eyes.
Suddenly an explosion of pure energy and fire tore through the mountain's very foundation, causing the entire cave to collapse in on itself. The mountain shook at the sudden surge of power, barely able to contain the massive blast.
* * *
Twilight led the large group of ponies to the cave entrance. They were all ready and willing to fight. Twilight was followed by Celestia and Luna who were followed by the other Elements of Harmony as well as a large group of armed guards.
They approached a black dragon just as it finished tearing apart a final flame spawn.
"What are you doing here?" Celestia inquired, keeping her distance.
"Finishing my end of the deal." the dragon replied, opening its wings and flying away. "Tell the Fire Warrior he can come and thank me later." it yelled before disappearing from view.
As it left, the Cutie Mark Crusaders cautiously exited the cave.
"Look!" Applejack shouted. She, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash rushed over to the young fillies. As they were bombarded with hugs and kisses from their older siblings, Twilight looked inside the cave.
"Where's Thomas?" the alicorn asked.
Before the fillies could answer, a large explosion ripped through the crowd, sending everypony to their knees. Dust and debris poured out of the cave. When Twilight got back to her feet and looked at the entrance, she gasped. The whole thing had collapsed and large boulders were blocking the entrance.
"NO!!" the princess screamed as she began lifting rocks with her magic, desperately trying to clear the way. Celestia quickly ran over to the purple pony.
"Twilight."
She kept lifting more rocks, throwing them to the side before getting more.
"Twilight!" the white alicorn said, louder this time. She put a wing over her former student, keeping her from collapsing.
Twilight stopped lifting rocks and buried her face in the princess' side, crying loudly. Her friends stood by her, most of them crying as well.
The storm finally released its contents and rain began to pour down, mixing in with the tears. Thunder roared as the ponies remained standing at the now quiet mountain.
Three weeks later....
Twilight stood at the cave entrance in silence. She hadn't been back to the mountainside since the day she was practically dragged away by Celestia and her friends. Spike stood by the path to Ponyville, waiting patiently. Having already payed his respects, the small dragon simply waited for his friend to finish paying hers.
There was a memorial service held in Ponyville once things calmed down the cycle of daily life was restored in the small town. It didn't take too long for normalcy to seep back into everypony's life, but that didn't make the loss any easier, especially for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sorrow and remorse have a way of maintaining a stubborn presence in the minds of young fillies. Twilight knew it would be some time before they learned to stop blaming themselves. Even she hadn't reached that stage yet.
"I wish you were here right now." she said softly. "I wish we could have found a way to send you home, back to your brother, your family and friends. No one should have to die in a world that isn't even theirs." tears began to fall on the ground.
"I want you to know how many lives you saved, and to know how grateful I am. We would have been lost without you, but your light brought us out of a darkness that would surely have swallowed Equestria. We all owe you a debt, a debt that all of us will pay forward as we go on with our lives. I hope you can rest with that knowledge." she put a hoof up to the plaque that had been placed in front of the cave. Etched into the plaque were a few words written by Princess Luna herself.
In memory of Thomas Miller.
His is a flame that shall never go out,
for we are its bearers.
Forever loved and eternally missed.
Twilight turned to Spike, who gave her a reassuring smile. She did her best to return it. Walking over to her assistant; the two slowly made their way back to Ponyville, their thoughts constantly returning to the memories of the Fireman who had saved their lives and filled their hearts with an undying flame.