//------------------------------//
// Fire 
// Story: Puzzle 
// by memecat101 
//------------------------------//

	Gira was startled by the ruffling of sheets. He glanced at the heart monitor. Still a flat line. He perked his ears and turned his attention to the bed. Puzzle was twitching, her eyes opening for only a moment before shutting again. Gira was so startled that he fell out of his chair on to the cold floor. Puzzle sat up, releasing a small sigh as she did so. Her chest leaned forward as she breathed in, a small red wisp making it's way into her mouth. She opened her eyes as she breathed out, her body becoming increasingly frail.

Gira rushed forward to catch her as she crumbled. She shook her head and looked up at him with weary eyes. "Did I fall asleep during our meetings again?" she asked, yawning. Gira was smiling wildly, pulling Puzzle into a big hug as she remained oblivious. "Welcome back, Kid." he said, happy tears streaking down his face.

They were just pulling away when the door was thrown open. Three guards ran in, all standing sloppily in a small half-circle. A scientist walked in behind them, grimacing at Gira and Puzzle. "Ah, Sir," Gira said happily, standing up and walking towards him. "Isn't it wonderful!? Puzzle's back! She actually just woke up,so if you want to talk to her, feel fr-" Gira was cut off by the scientist. "Kill him."

Gira's expression fell. "W-what?" he asked, the guards closing in on him. "You have come in contact with Subject #9, not a very good idea." the scientist went on. One on the guards raised his weapon, bringing it down hard on Gira's head. He fell, holding his head as the other guards tried desperately to pull his arms away from his face. The biggest, the one that hit him, was yelling at the others to keep his still and keep his arms away from his face, so he could get a clear shot.

Puzzle was watching the entire scene in shock. During all the commotion, the scientist walked up to Puzzle. "Hey, let him go! Stop it, he can't fight back!" she leaned over next to the scientist to try and reach them, but fell and hit the floor. From there,she started to sob. "Quit it! Stop! Noooo!" she screamed as the two smaller guards grabbed Gira's hooves and held them down, with the biggest ramming his gun onto Gira's head. Gira stopped moving. As did Puzzle. She curled up into a small ball on the floor, crying.

Puzzle's mane was un-kept, yet silky soft. "Oh, don't worry, Princess." the scientist said, grabbing a hoof-ful of Puzzle's hair so he could see her tear stained face. "I've got a nice, white room for you to stay in. You'll never have meet anypony else ever again!" 'Why me?' Puzzle thought, pulling her head away from the stallion's hoof and placing it in her hooves.

'What did I do?'

"You did nothing...they did..." A voice said, echoing into the far reaches of Puzzle's mind. Puzzle snapped her head up, and her eyes flashed red for a second. "Let me teach them a lesson..."

She shook her head, trying to get rid of that stupid voice. "Go away!" she screamed, burying her face in her hooves. The scientist and the guards turned their heads toward her. The scientist walked up to Puzzle, shaking her lightly. A guard walked over and tried to pick her up, only to be thrown back by an invisible force.

Puzzle stood up, her eyes closed firmly. Her horn glowed brightly, only her blue magic, was now red. Eyes shut tightly, the red magic shot out in tendrils from her horn. Her eyes opened, and the magical tendrils wrapped around the guard closest to her. "Don't just stand there, you idiots!" The scientist said, his face red. "Shoot her!"

Guns raised, the remaining two guards released a rain of bullets on Puzzle. The guards that had been caught in the magical tendrils was used as a shield, and his body was torn and broken before the other guards even realized that they weren't hitting her. "You idiots!" The scientist yelled, running over and pushing the guards towards Puzzle.

'You...' a voice said softly, which caught the attention of both the guards and the scientist. The dead guard was thrown aside, and Puzzle's eyes were shown to be leaking red flames. She bared her teeth at them. 'You...you who hurts the friends of mine are misguided...' Her voice echoed in her throat. As she took a step forwards, and her foreleg was consumed by red flames. 

'You...who have broken and hurt me, in the name of your so called 'progress'...' Another step forwards, and Puzzle's front half was eaten by the flame. 'You...you are the meaning of the word evil!' the voice rose to a scream. Puzzle threw her head back, and her magic blinded the three stallions, before the walls of the room burst into flame.

The scientist screamed, running around as his coat caught on fire. The biggest guard came over to help him put it out, only to be hit in the face by his superiors flailing hooves. "Help me! Help me! I'm roasting!" The scientist cried, as the guard ripped off his coat, and threw it into the flame. The two made their way towards the door.

"Bruce, wait!"The other guard cried, stuck under a beam that had fallen on him. "We're buds! Help!" Bruce just glanced at his friend, and walked out of the room. 

Puzzle walked over to Gira's unconscious body, the only thing spared by the flames. Puzzle's flame died down, and she lifted him up with her magic. Gira didn't stir in the slightest as Puzzle's red magic swirled around him, lifting him above the flames and out the window, slowly setting him down outside in the outdoor garden.

Puzzle smiled to herself as she walked out, only to fall unconscious. The last remaining guard, Bruce, shot her with his tranquilizer gun. The scientist glared at Puzzle's unconscious form, as other work-ponies rushed about, trying to calm the flames. "What would you like to do with her, sir?" Bruce asked the scientist.

The scientist adjusted his glasses, and looked calmly into Bruce's eyes. "I want her put under constant surveillance, with a magic lock in her room. Also, make sure you find that Gira fellow." Bruce nodded, and walked over to a small group of guards. Slowly, the flames died, and Puzzle was moved even deeper into the facility. In a new room, she smiled in her sleep.