With a snap, the three found themselves back in the middle of the village the next morning. The ground was drier than Twilight had expected, indicating that the storm had passed entirely in the night. Patches of earth sloshed beneath their feet, holding them down with every step they took. Her nose wrinkled at the putrid, though faint, stench of drowned soil lingering in the air. Luckily, there were few clouds left in the sky, allowing the sun to shine unopposed as a cool breeze blew across the plain.
A commotion could be heard from a gathering of several dozen ponies at the edge of the village. Fire Flame emerged from the forest to their backs, still carrying the branch in her mouth. Though its fire had gone out, her spirits were undampened. She burst into the center of the crowd and set the branch down. "Mom! Dad! You'll never believe what I found, it's incredible!"
"Fire Flame!"
A yellow mare, whose mane had the appearance of mangled clumps of short saffron twine, broke from the crowd and embraced her. Fire Flame tried to break free as her mother kissed her, but it was a futile effort. "She's alive! My daughter's alive! I thought that... We thought..." She stopped to look the filly over. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"Mom, I'm fine!" She finally managed to pull herself away. "I went into the woods to count the apples, but I got lost in the storm. Then I was attacked by timberwolves, and that’s when-"
"Timberwolves? How did you escape?" A large orange stallion waded through the sea of ponies and emerged before her. From the look of his faded mane and coat, greying orange eyes, and slightly rugged appearance, he had seen his share of travels. All eyes were now on the three of them.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you, dad! I didn't escape, they ran away-" she picked up the branch in her mouth, "-fruh thith!" Her father took the branch in his hoof and examined the charred ashen bark. "There was this bolt of lightning, and it hit the branch, and then there was this light on the end! I hit the big one with it, and the light ate him!"
"The light... ate him?" Her mother raised a baffled eyebrow. "How is that even possible?"
"I don't know, but it did! I hit him with it, and the light covered him and he fell apart! The others ran away, they were all scared of it!"
A white colt approached her from the edge of the crowd. His eyes, mane, and tail were all dark blue. "What did the light look like? What did it do?"
"It looked like me, sort of. It was warm, it hurt to touch, and it kinda danced around, like this!" She jumped back, stood on her hind legs, and started to spin slowly as she shook her hooves around in the air. After a few seconds, she lost her balance and fell on her back. The colt laughed, and the crowd joined in. Even her parents couldn't help smiling at her.
"You hear that, Rue?" her father laughed, ruffling her mane after she had rolled over. "A hot light that destroys timberwolves! Your little fantasies just get better and better."
"It wasn't a dream!" she protested in a stern voice as she got back on her hooves. "I didn't fall asleep once!"
"Fire Flame! Do not raise your voice at your father! You know I love hearing about your imagination, but I have to agree with him. You might have fallen asleep and not known it."
Fire Flame started to raise her hoof. "But what about-"
"That's enough, sweetie. You can tell us more later, but right now we're in the middle of something.
"I guess this means we won't be needing the search party then, Citrus?" came a sarcastic voice from the crowd.
"Heh, guess not…" Citrus replied as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. Realization hit him just as a figure emerged from the procession. "Oh right, I’d almost forgotten! Everypony, may I have your attention please…"
His voice trailed off as Fire Flame slipped away, seeming to catch even Discord off-guard. As soon as she was certain they couldn't see her, she galloped back into the woods, following her hoofprints to the clearing.
"She was a persistent one!" said Discord as she disappeared into the trees. "Most ponies would have given up right there. Of course, she wasn't most ponies. After the night she'd had, she knew it was her destiny to bring fire to the village. Now then, back to the forest! And yes, we’ll be doing this a lot." He snapped his fingers and brought them back to the clearing from the night before. Fire Flame soon emerged from the dense green underbrush, muttering to herself.
"It did too happen! I'll show them, I just need to recreate it somehow." She looked around for the branch, before realizing it was still back at the village. "Oh great" -she threw her hooves in the air- "now I have to get another one!"
She grabbed either side of the trunk and tried to climb up, only to find herself lying on her back on the ground. Then she tried shaking the tree, but to no avail. There weren't even any pine cones or stones she could use to knock one down. After many failed attempts, she finally sat down and stared at her hooves as she tried to figure something out. Discord pulled a pocket watch from behind his ear and removed its gears. "One… two… three… four should do it."
"Hey, I found you!" The voice caused her to look up, and she squinted her eyes against the sun. Descending towards her was the same colt from earlier. Sunlight shone around him, so she didn't see him clearly until his hooves were on the ground. He was white, with dark blue hooves that matched his mane, tail, and eyes. The colt looked like he was about her age, but one particular thing about him stood out: he had wings.
The filly stared at him in disbelief. Two extraordinary sights in so short a time! "What... are you?" she asked in a shy voice.
"What am I?" He looked at her back, and realized what she meant. "Oh, that! I'm a pegasus. You know, a pony with wings? Traveling the skies, moving from place to place as the weather changes?" He held out his hoof. "Cold Front, by the way. And you are?"
"I'm... Fire Flame," she said, slowly taking his hoof and shaking it while still staring wide-eyed at his wings. "Can you really fly?"
"Of course I can fly! How do you think I got here? Haven't you heard of pegasi before?"
"Only in the legends. The elders have told us stories about you," she started to walk around him, looking him over, "a race of ponies that can fly away from the dangers here on the ground, but I've never seen one until now." She stopped in front of him and wrapped her hooves around his neck to ruffle his wings, resting her head against him. She could feel his warmth against her. He broke free and stepped back, confused.
"You're real. This is incredible!" she said as she bounced excitedly. "Are there more of you?"
"Yeah..." he said, a little confused as to what had just happened. "My dad’s actually the leader of our herd. His name’s Lightning Strike, and he comes from a long line of great fliers. Some of the best in our history, in fact!" He noticed with a raised brow that she had yet to blink. "So… was that stallion, uh..." -he rotated his hoof as he tried to recall his name- "Citrus, wasn’t it? He’s your leader?"
"Yep, and father!" she said proudly, finally taking her eyes off his wings. "My parents are sort of the same way, except they lead together. It’s pretty cool most of the time, but they can be kind of… strict," she said at last.
"You too, huh?" he said, grinning. "To be honest, I’m amazed he can even find the time to be with me, what with being busy training the guards and scouting and planning and whatnot." He gave a small shrug. "But here I am, out of his sight only after asking if I could stay behind to meet some of the other kids, and after promising him at least a dozen times that your folks could keep an eye on me."
Fire Flame finally looked him in the eye, her eyebrows raised. "But… they don’t even know where I am?"
He grinned sheepishly. "Whoops."
"You cheeky rascal!" she laughed, giving him a playful shove. "What were they talking about earlier, anyway? I didn’t hear."
"Not surprising, since you didn’t stick around for it." She shoved him again, slightly harder than before. "They said it was some sort of deal between our herds. We haven’t had much luck finding food lately, and because of that we’re not exactly good at gathering it. There seems to be more than enough here, and you guys seem to know what you’re doing, so I guess they figured you guys could gather while we stand watch from the sky."
"That could be fun, if it means more of you around here." Her eyes returned to his wings. "What's flying like, anyway? It sounds wonderful, passing through clouds, grabbing food off the trees whenever you get hungry, never having to worry about the monsters down here..."
"There are plenty of dangers up there too, you know. One of the first things we learn is that ‘the wrong kind of weather can tear up your feathers!’ Even then, in some places the skies are more dangerous than the ground. If you want to stay out of the belly of a beast, you’ve got to ‘know where you are, and never fly far,’ at least when you’re on your own." Fire Flames eyes widened, unblinking.
"But when you’re with the herd, it’s something else. The world stretches endlessly every way beneath you as the skies open above. You can’t look anywhere without seeing an old friend or a family member…" by this point, he had joined her in a dreamy skyward gaze. "The best is when we fly over a lake. When you see the sun stretched out in the rippling water… yeah, it’s pretty amazing." They both let out a yearnful sigh.
But apparently" -he lowered his head and looked at her with interest- "I'm not the only interesting thing that's happened here. What were you talking about earlier, something about warm light?"
She suddenly grew angry, looking him right in the eyes. "What, aren't you finished laughing?"
"I wasn't laughing at you," he said defensively, "I was laughing at your dance, you silly filly! It was hilarious!"
Fire Flame chuckled. "Yeah, that was kind of silly. But that's exactly what it did! It looked like me, it was warm, it hurt to touch, and-"
"...and it kinda danced around, like this!" said Cold Front as he stood on his hind legs and shook, trying to exaggerate her dance.
"Oh, shut up!" But she couldn't help herself, he looked so funny! She giggled as he wobbled around, before losing his balance and falling over laughing. Before he had the chance to get up, she jumped on him. They rolled around the clearing as they wrestled. His wing feathers tickled them both, making them laugh even harder, until tears rolled from their eyes. When they finally stopped, they lay side by side on their backs, gasping for air. When they had caught their breath, they rolled themselves over so they were lying on their hooves.
"So why are you here?" she asked as she pulled a twig from his feathers.
"I was going to ask you the same thing." He brushed some grass from her mane.
"I have to bring the light back to the village. Something's telling me I have to, like it's my destiny or something. I need to recreate it somehow."
"I don't know about destiny, but I came along because I was curious. Whatever this light is, it sounds like a sight to see! But I’ve learned not to believe it until I see it. The calmest clouds can build up to some of the worst storms, after all. Trust me, I know! So you gotta prove that you’re not making it up, alright?
She thought for a moment, then stood up and showed him the underside of her hoof. "When I touched it, this happened." It was slightly red now, and a little sore, but still okay.
"Aw, geez, it really did that?" He stood up, held her hoof close with his own, and examined it. "Yes sir, just as I thought. It's not too bad, but it's real. The same thing happened to me when I tripped over a lightning cloud."
"You can touch clouds?"
He smiled. "Yep, all pegasi can do it! I’ve even seen a few herds sleeping on clouds during the winter. Helps keep off the snow, you know?" He set her hoof down. "You'll be alright, but this is proof enough that you're on to something. So let's do this as a team, what do ya say! Is there anything I can do?"
"Well, I accidentally left the branch I had back at the village, and these branches are too high for me to reach."
He spread his wings and smiled. "Say no more, leave it to me!" In a few seconds, he had flown up, broken one of the branches off, and brought it down to her. "Anything else?"
"Well, the old one was a little sharper at the end."
He tapped his chin with his hoof as he thought for a minute. "Try scraping it against the tree, maybe? I've seen some ponies do it before." She started on her task, rapidly moving the edge against the trunk as Cold Front watched with interest. "So how are you going to do it?"
"I don't really know," she said out of the corner of her mouth. "I just know I will."
"Are you sure sharpening the stick will help?"
"I'm not taking any chances, Cold Front. It's got to be as close as possible." She noticed after awhile that the branch wasn't getting much sharper, and shut her eyes as she began to move aggressively, determined to make it just right. "Haushe hit luhing? Cull Fuhn?"
"Uh, Fire Flame?" said Cold Front with confusion in his voice.
She stopped and looked at him. "What? I need to get this done!"
"It's smoking!"
"Wait, what?"
He quickly motioned towards the branch, his eyes as wide as his hooves. She followed his stare to the end of the branch, and sure enough, he was right! A long, steady wisp of white and grey smoke was coming from the end of it. "That's it!" she shouted as she jumped with excitement. "Just like last night! We're close! Grab another branch, hurry!"
He pulled another down, and they rubbed the branches together furiously. The smoke grew thicker every second, making them work even faster. Then without warning, the end of the first branch burst into flames, causing them both to jump back. Their eyes widened as they gazed at the magnificent sight.
"We did it! WE DID IT!" Fire Flame squealed as she bounced with joy.
"No, we didn't do it." said Cold Front with a smile. "You did it! I just helped a little."
"I couldn't have done it without you," she said as she set the burning branch in the partially charred pile of wood from the night before. She then walked over and wrapped her front hooves around him. "Thank you so much!" She squeezed him tight. To her surprise, he did the same.
Not breaking apart, they turned and watched as the pile ignited, captivated by the dancing flames as they turned the dried wood to black ash. Small wisps of grey drifted up into the air to be carried away by the chilly winds that rustled some of the leaves from the thick canopy surrounding them, as the soft red embers flickered in the shadows of the pile.
"You were right about everything," he whispered, as if words would ruin the experience. "It really does look like you; it's so beautiful..." He suddenly realized what he had said, and they pulled away from each other. Both of them were blushing.
"We... we'd better get the light back to the village." she said at last.
"Uh, right. How are we going to do that?"
"Last night I carried it from here through the forest, and then back to the village. It took awhile though, so-" she took his branch, let the tip ignite in the flames, and offered it to him "-you take this one, and tell them I'm on my way."
He stared at the branch with a raised eyebrow. "And leave you on your own? Are you crazy?"
"I'll be fine, I promise. You need to bring the light to the herd."
"No, I don't." He looked her in the eye, paralyzing her with his stare. "You do. Like you said, it's your destiny to bring the light to our herd. Maybe I didn't believe in destiny before, but after this I can believe a lot. And I honestly believe that you were right, Fire Flame. You have to be the one who delivers it, not me."
"But we're a team, like you said!"
"And teams always stick together. I'm not going to leave you out here, no matter what!"
She stared at him in stunned silence. "Th- thank you," she said. "I guess we'd better get walking, then. We've got to get there before nightfall, that's when the wolves come out."
Cold Front thought for a moment. "Have you ever wanted to fly, Fire Flame?" Discord snapped his fingers before Twilight could hear her response.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"She was right there! How could I lose her again, wasn't once enough?" Rue was galloping frantically through every corner of the village when they returned, with her husband close behind her. Several other ponies, young and old, scoured the tents as well. Her mane had somehow become more disheveled than before, and her voice trembled with every word. "She was right there! What’s wrong with me?!"
"How couldn’t we lose her? She’s the only one in the herd who doesn’t even try hiding her fur, she can be seen for miles. Of course we’d lose SON OF A-" He suddenly turned over a makeshift table, sending the baskets of apples flying.
"That’s one way to show off a surplus." Lightning Strike landed before them, amused at his outburst. "The herd has arrived, Citrus. I thought we agreed we would gather at the same place as earlier?"
"Lightning!" Citrus sighed with relief. "I'm sorry, we've been trying to find Fire Flame."
"The bright one?" he said, a hint of concern in his voice.
"Yes," said Rue. "She must have gone back into the woods when we weren’t looking!"
"Cold Front said he was going to stay with her..." Lightning’s voice shook before he slowly took a deep breath, shutting his eyes.
Citrus raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Cold Front? You know-" his now bloodshot eyes flew open "-MY SON!" He thrust his hoof into the ground. "MY ONLY CHILD, THE PRIDE OF MY LIFE, THAT COLD FRONT!"
They stared in stupefied silence, standing still as the night and hardly daring to breathe.
"I should have known there would be a catch, and here it is!" He held his hoof out towards them. "Somehow, years of experience and Spirits know how many ‘wise elders’ aren’t enough to keep track of one filly! Who, might I add, is not only the only one in your entire herd that sticks out like a sore feather, but also happens to be your own daughter? If you’re so busy that you can’t handle leading and parenting, I can understand that. But I will not have you endangering my son with your incompetence!"
"JUST A BUCKING MINUTE!" Citrus finally found his voice and pierced the air with his stare, his eyes flashing furiously. "Just because you happened to catch us in the only two days we haven’t had full control of things, DOES NOT mean you can just canter on in here with your high-and-mighty attitude and act like you’re so superior! I’ll have you know we are more than capable of handling ourselves without you!
"Don’t make me laugh! If you can’t even keep your eye on a filly like Fire, much less raise her properly, how can we trust your leadership? Not to mention what little food you can gather isn’t safe from this shameless, idiotic waste-"
"You’re wasting time, you simple-minded sky-fearing-"
Lightning flared his wings, Citrus ducked his head beneath his shoulders. Neither took their eyes off the other or blinked as they dug at the dusty ground. Steam flared from their nostrils.
"AERO SQUADRON!"
Five blue pegasi of various shades landed behind him within seconds. "Yessir!"
"My son is in the woods somewhere," he said without taking his eyes off of Citrus, "and there is a good chance that he is with an orange and yellow filly. They are to be found and returned here immediately, do you understand?!"
"Thought your were calling for help there," snarled Citrus. "I was worried we’d have to make you all swallow your own rotting teeth."
"I wouldn’t think to waste their time with the likes of you, especially not when I could take you with both my wings broken!"
"That can be arranged!"
"BOYS, please!" shouted Rue, jumping between them. "If you’d rather bicker like a couple of poorly-bred colts than find my daughter or your son, fine! But right now there are two children out there who could be in grave danger, and I’m going to find them, with or without you!"
A muffled scream suddenly filled the air. Rue and Citrus’ ears perked up at the sound of their daughter, and they glanced around in frantic search of her.
"Sir? We found them…" muttered one of the pegasi. He pointed to the sky above the woods, and their jaws dropped as they all stared in wide-eyed disbelief at the sight before them. Though he was struggling to stay level, Cold Front was carrying Fire Flame by the torso as she carried the burning branch in her mouth with a huge smile on her face. Even after the duo landed smoothly on the ground before them, the adults were still standing in dumbstruck awe.
"Moh! Dah! Looh! Looh!" she shouted, struggling to hold the branch as she bounced with glee. "We dih ih!"
"Fire… Flame?" whispered her mother cautiously. "Wha-what is that?"
"The light!" said Cold Front, collapsing on his stomach and gasping for breath.
Lightning was on him in a second, telling him to breathe slowly and tell him where the pain was, how many pinions did he have, what this move was and what that formation meant. Some of the things he said probably would have confused even Rainbow Dash.
"I’m fine. Dad, I’m- I’M FINE, father!" Cold Front gasped, finally managing to stand. "For crying out loud, pay attention to something that doesn’t have wings!" Waving away any further examinations, he motioned toward the branch, which Fire Flame had rested on the ground.
As he drew near, the heat became more than he could bear, and he slowed his pace until it was within reach. "Impossible…" he whispered as he paced around it, squinting his eyes while keeping them fixed on the spectacle before them.
"You’re being dramatic again, dad," sighed Cold Front. "I just flew in carrying a filly my height, and probably my weight. No offense." He looked at Fire Flame, who just beamed at him. "This is the first herd that hasn’t attacked us on sight in two years. Most of them didn’t even know pegasi existed until yesterday. I think this should be at least-"
"But it defies everything we know!" snapped his father. "Ever since I first left the ground, I learned that the world grows colder the closer you are to the sun. There’s no heat in light, just from it. And yet here we are, with something that could very well be a second sun, and it’s almost too hot for even me to handle!"
"Mr. Lightning?" Fire Flame held up her hoof, and Cold Front did the same. Their fathers struggled to process what they meant.
"It’s the exact same thing that happened to me last year. When I tripped over the storm cloud, remember?"
"Lightning," said Citrus.
"Yes?"
"No, I meant was it lightning?"
"Yes."
"So that means…" began Citrus.
"… it’s nothing like we’ve ever seen before." added Rue.
"The Sun and Storm, right at our hooves," finished Lightning. "But if that’s the case, how were you able to touch it?"
"We just said it’s not the same thing. You can touch it, see?" In a moment, he had spitefully thrust his hoof into the light, and pulled it back as he shouted in agony. "It’s fine…" he muttered, suppressing himself. "I’m fine, don’t worry." Fire Flame hurried to him, despite his insistence. Rue brought a hoof to her face.
"Not the wisest move, Citrus," said Lightning, putting his own hoof forward. Don’t you think it makes more sense that a pony who can already touch clouds with his bare hooves would be able to do the same for- GAAAH!" Cold Front ran to his side as he reeled in pain.
Rue sat in the dirt and brought another hoof to her face. "You’re both idiots," she sighed, exasperated.
Both idiots sat on either side of the branch, first exchanging hostile stares, then embarrassed looks, and finally awkward glances. "Well, I guess this means we won't have to worry about winter anymore. We can just stay here," said Rue, finally breaking the silence. "If you’re both still willing, of course," she added.
The stallions looked at their hooves in thought. "It gets cold this time of year," Lightning muttered grudgingly, raising his head. "Striking off on our own probably isn’t the wisest move, even if we can sleep on the clouds when it snows. Where else will we find enough food to waste?"
"It helps if you’ve spent your life learning how to gather down here, instead of keeping your head in the clouds," said Citrus, stubbornly making eye contact with him. Then he slowly closed his eyes, and let out a long, gentle sigh. "Still, it’d be nice to have some eyes in the sky just to be safe I suppose..."
Fire Flame spoke up. "But it'll go away soon if we don't get some more branches, just like last night. Can you guys help us?"
Lightning nodded at Cold Front, who spread his wings as he spoke to the pegasi. "Well, you heard the lady; we need those branches yesterday, let's go!" Within seconds they were off, scouring the tree tops at unbelievable speeds.
"I'll go gather the others, meet me at the edge of the village." Citrus started off, but stopped long enough to hug his family. "I love you guys!"
Twilight and Spike jumped when Discord spoke, having almost forgotten he was there. "I'm getting a bit bored with all of this. Let's skip ahead to the interesting part!" With a snap, everything sped up to a vague blur. Fire Flame, Cold Front, and Rue headed to the meeting place, Citrus gathered up the two herds, and Lightning Strike's team returned with mouthfuls of branches, all in mere seconds. With another snap, things returned to normal, and Twilight and Spike followed their guide to join the crowd that had gathered around a small group.
Rue and Citrus stood on either side of their daughter, who held the burning branch in her teeth. To Citrus' other side stood Lightning Strike, and Cold Front stood beside him. In front of them was a large pile of the gathered wood.
Citrus spoke first. "My ponies, yesterday we received a proposal from pegasi commander Lightning Strike, whom I’m sure has made his presence known, to establish a deal for the mutual prosperity of our two herds. In exchange for a share of our bountiful food supply, the pegasi will agree to help protect us from any potential threat. This will mean that-"
Lightning Strike cut him off. "It means that today we cast off our fears, of hunger, of predators, and of frostbite. Today, comrades, we pegasi create our new home with you trotters, keeping watch in the air and on the ground. This agreement will only bring prosperity for all of us, as will a recent discovery made by-"
"Secondly," interjected Citrus, "to seal the agreement, there is something else we’d like to present. By now, you’ve all probably at least heard the rumors, and it is with great joy in that I say, they are indeed true!" He paused to let the hushed whispers die down. "Earlier today, my daughter and Lightning's son traveled into the woods and created something that will change the way ponies live forever!" The crowd listened attentively. "They have managed to create a warm light like that of the sun above us! With it, the timberwolves won't dare attack. With it, we can see even at night. With it, we can stay warm in the winter. My fellow ponies, there will be no migration this year!" Thunderous hoofbeats greeted this announcement, shaking the ground beneath them. When they finally resided, Lightning spoke once more.
"These two have shown what we can accomplish by working together. On the day they met, they did something that will change the world. Just imagine, if these two can do this-" he gestured towards the light "-in one day, what can we, and will we, all do in a few years? Starting today, our new herd shall create legends! With the lighting of the pile before us, we shall be joined as one grand herd, as one family!" The cheers were so loud, Twilight was certain she'd be deaf for weeks. "And we have decided, who better to light the pile and present us all with the warmth, strength, and guidance than the two little ponies who discovered it, Fire Flame and Cold Front!"
Cold Front now stepped forward. "Dad, is it alright if I say something?"
"Of course, son; both of you deserve it!"
He took a deep breath. "Thank you, but I don't deserve any of this. Fire Flame was the one who discovered the light and recreated it, not me. I just loaned a helping hoof here and there."
"But we're a team!" she said, giving the branch to her father. "Without your 'here and there,' I wouldn't have made it here!"
"But you would have! If it had been me, I would've quit as soon as nopony believed me. You went ahead anyway, despite everything. I didn't decide to sharpen the branch, you did. As soon as you saw the smoke, you figured it out, not me. It's your destiny to bring the light to ponydom, not mine!"
She thought for a moment. "Will you at least name it for me?"
"What? Why?"
She put a hoof around him. "We're a team! I made it, you should at least name it! I won't take no for an answer." She whispered into his ear, "Besides, I'm not good at coming up with names!"
He thought for a moment, then he smiled. "Alright, I've got it."
She took the branch in her mouth and, as the crowd looked on in silent anticipation, set it against the wood. Immediately it started to consume the wood, growing in size and strength until it could be seen and felt by all. Puffs of black ash rose into the air, occasionally tossing about in a slight cross breeze. When the flames were towering over her, she looked over to Cold Front. "You're up!"
The ponies quieted down once again as Cold Front stood behind the pyre. "Let it be known that on this day, I officially give this warm light the name of... Fire! And from this day forward, we shall gather around its Flames as a single herd, forever free from hunger, forever free from fear, ever free from cold, and ever free from darkness, all because of the filly who discovered it!" Thunderous shouts and laughter greeted this announcement as he pointed to the namesake filly. Twilight could see many of the ponies jumping about, even hugging. Lightning Strike looked proudly to the sky as Citrus struggled not to fall over from his wife’s embrace, liquid pride streaming from all their eyes.
Cold Front met Fire Flame’s shocked gaze with a smile. "I figured something as incredible as this deserves a name like yours." She blushed and looked away, trying to suppress a flattered grin. He suddenly realized what he said, and covered his face with his hoof as the smile vanished. "Why does that keep happening?" he muttered.
"He's just not good at this," groaned Spike, rolling his eyes and covering his face.
"Look who's talking," Discord retorted. "How is Ms. Rarity doing?" The dragon scowled, but resigned in defeated silence.
Cold Front recovered. "What I'm saying is that this is your moment, and you deserve it all. And who knows? Some day, maybe it'll be my moment. But right now, you're possibly the greatest pony who ever lived-" his warm expression returned "-and it's enough for me to be your friend."
She turned back to him with her eyes half-open and an eyebrow raised. "You know what I think?"
"What?"
"I think you're just as bad at coming up with names as I am!" She prodded him with her hoof, and they both laughed.
Everypony stopped suddenly as a light started to shine from Fire Flame's flank. Twilight leaned in excitedly, knowing what was about to happen. The two didn't notice it until a flash blinded them both for several seconds. When it cleared, they all stared in silent awe. A small image of a flame had appeared, surrounded by a circle made of several beams of orange and yellow light, evenly spaced from each other. The beam on the bottom was a light brown torch. "What is this thing?" she asked with a shaky voice as she spun around, trying to get a better look. "Get it off! Get it off!"
Cold Front stopped her, and brushed at her flank several times. I can’t! It's... part of you. I guess it was your destiny after all, Fire Flame!"
The celebration continued, stronger than before, as Discord picked Twilight up under his arm and held Spike with his tail. He snapped his fingers, and they slowly rose into the air as the world around them changed rapidly. "She would be the first of many over the next few months to earn her cutie mark," he said as wooden houses took the places of tents. "Soon after, they learned such skills as fruit bucking and tool-making, which in itself led to construction. They began building the first houses shortly after they learned how to plant. Not long after they learned how to control the weather, they were joined by a herd of skilled unicorns. The harvest was plentiful that year, providing enough food to hold them through winter for the first time." By the time he said this, they could see for miles in every direction.
"The village became the Town of Everfree, the first town on the continent, named for Cold Front’s slip of the tongue. Several groups of ponies set out to spread the fire across the land, leading to the birth of many new towns." Several buildings started to appear all across the land. "In exchange for the fire, the other herds gave them new kinds of seeds, new ways of planting, new flight tactics, and new weather tactics. They quickly learned that they could trade these things too, in addition to their crafts, and they became the first traders. Yet with all this happening, nopony ever forgot that they had Fire Flame of Everfree to thank for it all, and the Fire of Everfree never stopped burning. It burned when Cold Front became the second pony to earn his cutie mark. It burned when Fire Flame’s parents earned theirs. It burned when the unicorns joined the herd. It burned when Fire Flame gave birth to a daughter many years later. It burns across the land to this very day, just like her legacy, the first two things to ever unite all of ponykind."
Twilight smiled as tears came to her eyes. "That... was... beautiful! Thank you so much!" Spike groaned as he rolled his eyes, looking nauseated from the sappiness.
Everything started to move in reverse, faster than it had progressed, and they plummeted towards the ground. Twilight and Spike screamed, but Discord remained the way he was, looking bored as usual as the sky shot past them. Right before they hit, he came to an abrupt stop, hovered for a moment, and then touched down. He then set them both on the ground before him. "But first, a dragon attacked the village!"
"Wait, what?!" Sure enough, several of the villagers pointed and screamed. The earth ponies scattered in all directions as a massive dragon flew overhead.