//------------------------------// // The Inferno // Story: The Secret of Equestria // by Xinamar //------------------------------// Chapter 4-The Inferno Panting uncontrollably, with Twilight a few yards ahead of me, my legs give way from exhaustion. Twilight turns her head back to me shouting, “Come on! We’re almost there!” She's said that about three times now. It’s so difficult to keep up with her being a horse and all. I simply just can’t match her speed. I take in as many deep breathes as I can before forcing myself back up, and afterward what comes before my eyes is a miasma of crimson flames erupting from behind Twilight. “Let’s go we need to hurry!” She exclaims, but her voice is masked by the screams of ponies in the distance as they run about frantically trying to escape the flames. I push myself to jog the rest of the way until the town is in complete view. “Everypony! Everypony remain calm!” Twilight shouts, but it’s no use. They’re all in too much of a panic to listen, as they run past us nudging us against each other a familiar face shows. “Twilight!” “Rainbow Dash? Rainbow Dash is that you!?” Twilight asks. The Rainbow pony bursts through the crowd, and once she meets with Twilight they embrace each other. “I’m glad to see you’re safe! Where is everypony else?” “I don’t know, I haven’t seen them! Hey, what’s he doing here?” “Princess Celestia sent him with me to try and get everypony to safety, and we’re going to need your help too.” “Alright I’m in!” “Perfect, alright here’s the plan. We need to split up so we can cover as much ground as possible. Rainbow Dash you take the north end, I’ll take the west end, and Aireal you take the east end. Is that clear?” “I’m on it!” Rainbow Dash replies blasting off towards the inferno that was once Ponyville. “Aireal do you understand?” My body feels frozen, that feeling is finding its way back. I watch as ponies bolt past me with their faces full of distress. Some covered in ash, and some covered in burns. I can’t help but ask myself, “Why? Why is this happening?” “Aireal what are you doing? Snap out of it!” I shake myself awake as Twilight shoves me with her hoof. “We’re running out of time! Go on and search your end!” With that Twilight takes off into the town leaving behind only a cloud of dust. Something is wrong, why am I still just standing around? I don’t feel any sense of urgency, and for the first time my breathing has calmed down. I don’t feel like I should be doing this. I don’t have the ability to do it, so why should I? I’m not obligated to just run in there and risk my own safety. I’m probably better off just leaving this place. This. . . This feels so strange. No, what am I doing? I can’t just sit here and watch. I need to follow Twilight’s instructions and do everything I can to help. What was I thinking? Without any further thought I sprint down the path. Passing by so many buildings, all covered in a hellish blaze of crimson and orange. I see ponies dangling from their second story windows trying to escape. As lower windows burst open with a firey explosion. A loud crash followed by a sharp scream erupts from one of the cottages. It’s covered in a blanket of flames including the door. Not a single pony is around here to try and help whoever is in there. They have all fled to the outskirts of the town, so it’s just me. My mind is going out of control with thoughts. If I go in there there’s no guarantee I’ll make it out, and therefore the both of us will be dead. It would be a vain attempt at a rescue. Should I really try and risk my life for this pony? I reach into my pocket and bring out the wand. It feels so cold to the touch, it’s comforting. If going in there means giving her a chance to live, then I’m doing it. I grip tightly onto the wand, and point it out to the flaming door. If I don’t make it out, at least I won’t have to bear the guilt of leaving this poor soul to the monster that is enveloping her home, so that she will become ashes with it. I will not let that happen. With this sense of renewed confidence, I can feel wind gathering around the wand, blasting outwards breaking apart the door. The screaming continues but now sounds like a whisper compared to before. She has little time left, and with that knowledge I run inside looking in all directions for a sign of life. “Help! (Cough) (Cough). . . Somepony! Anypony!” The voice appears to be getting weaker. Turning to my left I spot a doorway, and as I walk in I find myself in a kitchen. There are cookie sheets and bowls scattered all over the floor, while flames cover the walls. Then I see her, a greyish pony with curly sky blue hair lying in the corner of the kitchen with her hooves over her head. Just as I’m about to reach out to her an oven begins to rumble, and it’s door flies open as flames shoot out from it separating the pony and I. Falling back from the explosion I try to keep a safe distance from the flames as I crawl backwards. The wall of fire is so thick there’s no way I can pass through. Twilight said that magic will not have an effect on the flames, so trying to use this wand would be pointless. I can see the pony cowering on the other side as all hope vanishes from her eyes. I hurry to my feet trying desperately to find a way around this fire, but not an opening in sight. The pony continues violently coughing and I can feel sweat run down my neck as I force myself to find a way around this. But the reality is inevitable, there isn’t a way. I fall to my knees staring deep into the pulsating fire, and the wand slips out from my hand as all my poise dwindles down to nothing. The sound of the wand hitting the wooden floor is like how my heart has sunk down. I lower my head for I do not want to see what happens next. I wasn’t fast enough, and it’s all because I spent too much time telling myself I couldn’t do it. Now there’s no way I can do it. I don’t want to see this pony endure the pain she will soon experience, but the very image of it is plaguing my mind. I failed . . . and nothing can change that. Suddenly, the hot sweat that was running down my neck has cooled. A chill runs through the air breaking the seemingly everlasting heat. I curiously raise my head and the flames have changed. Instead of crimson they have altered to this smooth neon blue. Instead of maintaining their jagged shape they are now flowing very fluid-like. Almost like strokes of a paint being glided by a gentle brush. I cautiously reach out to the flames expecting to feel heat, but instead, it feels ice cold. I pick back up the wand and slowly rise to my feet, and step by step I traverse the neon blue flames without a single burn or shock of pain. In fact it felt relaxing, as if I had passed through a wall of winter air. The pony is barely keeping conscious, so with all my strength I lift her up from the ground, as she is not the lightest thing in the world, and cradle her in my arms. I take my time to walk back through the flames and relax my mind, so that I can endure the first moment of peace of have felt in quite some time. As soon as we are both completely out of the cottage the blue aura created by the flames explodes back to their thick orange. Looking down at the pony her eyes are shut, and I can hear her gentle breathing. I don’t understand what happened back there, but I feel like there is a reason behind it. What made the flames change like that? Was it the wand? Maybe I should just stop the questions, and be grateful that I am able to bring this pony out of the danger. I bring her closer, and guard her with my arms afraid that something might happen, as I carry her away from the burning buildings. I meet up with groups upon groups of frantic ponies as I carefully lay her down on a patch of grass outside of the town. Her eyes slowly open up, “W-who . . .? Who are you? What. . .” Looking at her she’s covered in ash and soot. With one last kind gesture I wipe some of the soot off her cheek. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now.” I whisper. Her eyes then close as she falls to sleep from her heavy exhaustion. Maybe if things were different I would’ve tried to actually stay and try to comfort her, but I know I am needed elsewhere. So I stand back up, take one last glance back, and take off back to the town. I keep my eyes and ears open for any other pony that could be in danger, but I don’t hear anything other than the crackling and hissing of the burning cottages. Perhaps the all have gotten out safely. But behind all the noise I think I hear what I think is a muffled voice. I stand still carefully listening for that sound again. “Help. . . Please.” A voice from down the path desperately tries to cry out. Without a second thought, wand gripped tightly in hand, I run towards the voice. I soon find myself in a thick smog of smoke it irritates my eyes. I try to wave my hand past my face to swat away the smoke, but it’s pointless. It feels like is goes on forever as I cannot see outside the smog. Then I spot something sticking out from the smoke. It’s an orange color, and I soon realize it’s a pony lying on the ground, she looks injured and out of breath. She has a short messy blonde mane and a burnt brown cowgirl hat. I quickly run over to her trying to think of what to do. “Huh . . .? Who’s there . . .?” She utters. “Applejack!” I hear a voice shout from behind me. Turning my head I see Twilight breaking through the smoke trotting towards us. She bends down to try and help the orange pony stand up. I do the same as we grab her waist and with all our effort try to pull her up. “Applejack can you hear me?” Twilight asks in concern, but the orange pony just mumbles. “Come on we need to get her out of here.” The both of us do the best we can to lead her through the smoke, but she keeps stumbling over rocks and shattered pieces of wood from the neighboring buildings that have combusted. “W-What’s goin’ on? . . . Twilight? . . .” “Applejack! Oh you had me worried. How are you feeling?” “Ugh . . . I feel pretty laid up. All of a sudden the barn just caught fire. Weird, we weren’t even cookin’ or anythin’. I made sure that my family got out first. I told them to hurry on out of here. Then I realized all of Ponyville was in flames. I-I’ve been tryin’ to help any other pony I came across. W-What about Rainbow and the rest?” “So far they’ve made it out okay. Rainbow said she was going to fly over to Fluttershy’s house to make sure she made it out, but I haven’t heard from her yet. I’m getting worried.” Just then the orange pony’s head drops down. “Applejack? Applejack wake up!” But she doesn’t she only murmurs and mumbles. “Guys!” a voice calls from above us. Rainbow Dash then lands right in front of us blowing around some loose soil from the dirt road below her. She appears to be a little injured along with being covered in ash. I wonder how she could’ve ended up this way. Until I see she’s holding a bruised young filly in her hooves. It hurts to see this young pony in such a condition. If it wasn’t for her she probably wouldn’t even be here right now. I now look at Rainbow Dash as something spectacular, something I could never be. “Fluttershy’s in trouble. (Huff) (Huff)… She’s trapped in her house. I couldn’t get to her; the flames were blocking the doors and windows.” “What?! Rainbow you need to take Applejack out of here!” “Gotcha, don’t worry AJ you’ll be just fine.” On that last note Rainbow Dash grabs hold of Applejack and takes off out of the town along with the little filly. She must be a very strong pony if she’s able to carry both of them. “Aireal come with me. One of my friends is in deep trouble, so we need to move quickly.” Twilight then darts away and I follow suit. As we run down through the town. I notice buildings are starting to crumble, most only having a wall or two left standing. However, the flames only seem to be growing more ferocious. Up ahead is a field of grass and flowers, except they too are being engulfed by flames. We follow a small bridge over a creek, and to a little burning cottage on top of hill. So many animals are scampering around it including deer, squirrels, rabbits and so much more. I thought that they would be running away from the fire not to it. Why are they staying near the building? “There! Come on hurry!” Twilight shouts. We make our way around the animals and are nearing the front door, but it explodes with large flames. Twilight tries to approach them but the heat is so intense that it forces her to keep her distance. “Ah! No! There’s no way we can get through. Oh what to do what to do. . .” Twilight says. She nervously paces back and forth with her hoof on her head trying to come up with a solution. “Oh come on. . . Think, think, think. . . (Gasp) I’ve got an idea!” She exclaims. “Aireal I need you to stay still for a moment.” Twilight’s horn begins to glow, and I wait for whatever she’s planning and then a small beam of light shoots from her horn to my body. I feel a chill run across the entirety of me. Something begins to envelop my body coating me with some sort of blue light. The light dissipates and I look down at myself. My body is covered in a thin layer of water. I touch it, expecting my finger to go right through, but the water is solid. Ripples do form, but it’s as hard as stone. “Now here is what you’re going to do. This spell will protect you from all the flames and heat, but it’s only temporary. It will last you exactly six minutes and thirty-two seconds, so you may want to hurry. If it were up to me I would have casted this spell on myself, but I can only cast it on others. . . Go on, you’re running out of time.” I cautiously walk up to the doorway face to face with the fire, but yet I don’t feel any heat. I raise my hand and carefully stick it through the flames, and again nothing. “Aireal.” I look back at Twilight. “Just. . . Be careful.” Turning back towards the door I brace myself for another life to try and rescue, but. . . Will I be so lucky this time? I clench the wand tightly, and with a deep breath I walk through the flames unharmed. I can barely see anything. There’s so much smoke and fire it’s hard to tell where I am. Screams erupt from up above me. The one I’m searching for must be on the upper level. I try to wave the smoke away from my eyes as I desperately search around for some stairs. Then I stumble on something, and as I feel around I realize I have actually run into a set of stairs. I grasp the banister as I hurry up the steps, they sound like they’re about to give way beneath me. I can hear the whole house creaking once I reach the top. I feel like this spell is going to wear off at any moment now, and I need to act quickly if I’m going to save this “Fluttershy” and get out alive. Through the crackling of flames I hear the sound of soft crying behind a closed door. I desperately try to turn the knob, but it’s stuck. Out of frustration I start banging on the door. I hold out the wand and just like before wind gathers around it and blasts the door open, but I am met with a powerful burst of flames. I throw my arms up as fast as I can, but it’s no use. The force of the burst throws me back onto the floor. Come on, I need to get up quick. I feel so tired that I’m struggling to even try and sit up. Whatever has been keeping me going feels as though it was knocked out of me with that burst of fire along with my breath. With one last surge of energy I force myself up. Running off adrenaline now I hurry back to the doorway and lean against it with my hand on my back trying to ignore the pain. As I scan the room I can see that it’s a bedroom, and the bed is covered in flames. I look up and see the wooden beams that hold up the ceiling. Most are already completely charred while others still seem to be holding a flame. On the floor is a burnt rug, multiple cracked picture frames, and a burning bird house hanging above. The rope holding it to the wooden beam snaps and smashes on the floor breaking into pieces. With what little strength I have I manage to get my body off the door frame and inside. After a few steps I think I can see something behind the smoke. Focusing my eyes I can see a pony huddled in the corner. It’s a butterscotch yellow pony with a long pink mane. That must be Fluttershy who’s shaking and hiding her face beneath her hooves. I limp towards her, but I freeze as soon as I hear the floor creak. Just then Twilight’s water spell evaporates off my body and I can feel the temperature rising. Now defenseless I need to act quickly. As I carefully try to take another step the creaking gets even louder and deeper. Fluttershy peaks out towards me startled by the noise. I motion my arms for her to keep calm. I try to take one step closer, but the floor begins to shake, and Fluttershy hides her face again. Suddenly the boards underneath me break apart and I fall with them, and Fluttershy screams at the top of her lungs overtaking my stressed shouting. But I’m able to grab hold of the edge of the floor, but at the cost of dropping my wand. I hold on so desperately, and as I look below there is a pool of flames waiting for me. I don’t have the strength to pull myself up, and the only one that can help me is Fluttershy. I try to reach out to her for help, but still she cowers in the corner. I can feel myself slipping and Fluttershy still refuses to even look my way. I take another look down as my fiery grave roars waiting to consume me. My grip continues to lessen, and my arms lose all feeling. I close my eyes ready to accept my fate, but suddenly I stop. I look up, and Fluttershy is gripping my sleeve with her teeth. She starts tugging and tugging frantically trying to pull me up. I get my hand back on the edge of the wood, and she manages to pull me all the way back up. I lay back onto the floor as I try to regain my breath. Fluttershy just stares at me. I can tell she’s confused by me. I begin breathing heavily trying to calm myself down until I’m able to push myself up, because I know that this house is going to collapse at any minute. I turn back to the gaping hole in the floor and hug the wall as I beckon Fluttershy to follow. Ever so slowly I move around the hole, but Fluttershy decides to just fly over it. . . Lucky. I motion her to follow me and the both of us carefully make our way back down the stairs. Now back in the living room large pieces of wood and embers fall from the ceiling. I kneel down to the floor trying to find the wand. In a second I spot it in an open space on the floor. Overcome by the feeling of safety I reach out to it, but a large beam from the ceiling disconnects and falls. The only thought that comes to my mind is to face down and cover my head with my hands. I can hear the sound of it crashing, but I’m still alive. I peak out and I realize that the beam is leaning against the wall. My hands shaking I quickly grab the wand and move out from under the beam. I look back at Fluttershy and she is frozen with a look of distress. I can’t even believe I survived. I can see the doorway out, but the flames are still blocking the way. There has to be a safer way, but the more I stand and think the less time I have to escape. The roof could collapse at any moment. I turn back at Fluttershy, and she begins to cry. I can tell that she believes there is no way we’ll make it out of here, but I won’t let that happen. I walk over to her and kneel down by her. She tries to hold back her crying as she looks at me with her watery eyes. The sound of more creaking from the ceiling and burnt pieces of wood and ash falling alerts me to the fact that time is up, and it’s either we die here or we try one last time at an escape. As I look at her, I begin to feel something inside. Something is telling me that we can get out of this. I wrap my arms around Fluttershy, and just like the other pony I helped escape, I cradle her in my arms. Holding her close to my chest I cover her with my arms. Using any bit of strength I have left I dash for the door. I make one big leap towards the flaming doorway, and suddenly I begin to get that feeling again. Everything feels as though it’s moving at an impeccably slow rate, as if time itself has slowed down. I shut my eyes and hide my face from the flames. We break through the blanket of flames and roll onto the ground as I embrace Fluttershy even tighter than before. We stop and all my strength is gone and my head starts to ache. My arms unfold as the sound of hooves trotting fills my ears. “Fluttershy! You’re okay!” I hear Twilight’s voice shout with glee. I can see Twilight and Rainbow Dash running towards us. I can feel my eye lids growing heavy, but I still can’t believe we escaped. Laying in the cool tall grass is so soothing that my body just wants to shut down on me, but my mind is still uneasy with it all. After everything that’s happened today I know none of it was because of me. If it wasn’t for Fluttershy I wouldn’t even be here. But I feel like someone else was there with me, looking over my shoulder. Especially in that other house where those flames turned blue and harmless. Someone or something is watching over me. I can feel it.