//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 - Fire in the Skies 
// Story: Irreplaceable 
// by La Barata 
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Irreplaceable 
Chapter 8 - Fire in the Skies


The five friends took off in the direction of Ponyville as fast as their legs could carry them. The closer they got, the stronger the acrid smell of smoke became. Running harder than they’d ever run before, they broke through the treeline and into Ponyville. Chaos. That was the only word suitable to describe the scene spread before them. Ponyville was in ruins. Most of the fires had been extinguished, the pegasus ponies having brought rainclouds from miles around, until only smouldering embers remained. Cries of ponies looking for missing loved ones filled the air amid a mix of screams and moans of pain. Stunned, the friends could only stare. As they stood there in silent shock, the Mayor limped towards them, part of her side severely burnt. “Girls! It’s good to see you safe, especially after what happened to the library. Has anyone filled you in on what’s happened yet?” The friends were utterly frozen. They couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't think. They were, quite simply, unable to grasp what they were seeing. “We were attacked. A dragon. It flew in, and it just started burning, and smashing, and...” The Mayor paused, closing her eyes briefly. “We were able to get most of the ponies out before it got here, a pegasus pony spotted it before it arrived, Celestia bless him. I shudder to think of what would have happened had he not. Not everyone made it out in time, though...” The mayor closed her eyes for a moment, pained, before she continued. “As well, many ponies were severely injured dealing with the fires. Please, I understand that you’re shocked, we’re all rather shaken after this, but we need your help. We need to finish dealing with the fires, and we need to continue looking for survivors”. As the friends stood, taking in the scene, the Mayor turned, moving to help a yellow earth pony carry a pegasus towards a medical tent. “Whenever you’re ready”. Applejack was the first to come to her senses. Chasing after the Mayor, she called out to her.
“Did the dragon make it to Sweet Apple Acres?” The Mayor shook her head.
“No, and thank Celestia for that. That’s where we were staging the evacuation, not to mention the town’s main food supply. In addition I spoke with your brother. He is allowing any ponies whose homes were destroyed to stay in your home and barn until repairs have been made. I hope you don’t mind.” Applejack let out a small sigh, her relief immediately replaced with guilt at doing so in the wake of so much destruction.
“‘Course I don’t mind. They can stay as long as they need”. Applejack returned to her friends, all of whom had snapped out of their trances and began to spread out silently, moving to help those in need. The sole exception to this was Twilight, who was still standing stock still, staring at a small, still burning flame a short distance away, transfixed by the flames. Applejack began to approach her, but a wing sprang up in front of her, blocking her path. Applejack looked at Fluttershy in surprise, who shook her head.
“It’s best we leave her alone for a few minutes.” The timid pegasus looked over her shoulder at her shaken friend, then back to Applejack with an expression of pure hurt on her face.
“Look, Shy. I know this is a lot to take in, but she needs to-” Applejack paused, suddenly realizing why her friend still stared and why Fluttershy was so determined to ensure that she was left alone. The small flame that had stolen the attention of the purple mare, the same flame that had scorched Ponyville, nearly burning it to the ground, was a vibrant shade of emerald green. The wing retreated back to its owner’s side.
“I’m not saying it’s...that it was Spike that did this, but...”Fluttershy looked away and began to paw at the ground “Green fire is pretty rare for a dragon... I... I know it doesn’t seem possible that, well that this could have been caused by our little guy but... I mean, I AM sure Twilight knows Spike couldn't be responsible, it’s just that...” 
“Must be kinda hard to convince yourself your friend ain't responsible for something horrible when he leaves behind a pretty distinct callin’ card”. Fluttershy looked back to Applejack and gave her a weak smile before flying off to help the other pegasi collect rain clouds. The orange pony looked back to Twilight. What must be running through her head? Surely, such a logical pony couldn't think for a second that Spike was the dragon that did all this. Deciding it was best to listen to Fluttershy and leave Twilight alone for now, She trotted off to help a group of earth ponies clear debris from the streets. She did this for some time, trying her best not to stray too far from her friend. It was clear that the others had the same idea because every so often Pinkie Pie or Rarity would show up, as if just to keep an eye on her. After about an hour, Nurse Hart stopped by to speak with Applejack. Rarity had told her about Rainbow Dash’s predicament, and had left straight away. Thankfully, Dash was in much better condition than she looked. With a bit of healing magic to help the process, along with some medicine to take the pain away and help her sleep, she was well on her way to recovery. She assured Applejack that, while she was on the way to recovery, she shouldn't be moved for at least a week. Zecora would have no problem  looking after her for that time, and had assured Nurse Hart that she was more than willing. Before returning to the hospital, she gave Applejack a prescription for Dash’s medicine in case the pain became too much or she couldn't sleep. Placing the paper into her hat for safekeeping, she took a moment to simply stop and take in the destruction around her. In reality, it wasn’t all that bad, considering a dragon had chosen it as a good place for a rampage. She hadn’t had either time nor opportunity to ask anypony what exactly had happened, but from the looks of it, the dragon wasn’t quite sure what it was doing. It was as if he’d simply attacked buildings at random. Next to the town hall (which had its first and second floors violently merged), the library had sustained the most damage. There was a lot of damage, but most of it could be repaired with a few months of hard work. It could have been much worse if they hadn’t managed to get the fires out as quickly as they had; with all of the flammable debris scattered over the town, the blaze could have quickly spread all over town and become an uncontrollable conflagration. Applejack looked over to where Twilight had been standing to see that she was slowly making her way towards the nearest pony, a green unicorn attempting to pull a wagon full of burnt wood. Applejack trotted over, curious to see what was going on. 
“Um, excuse me, sir...” Twilight said meekly “Are you at all able to describe the dragon?” The colt finished his work and turned to face her.
“Oh, Twilight! It’s you, excellent! We haven't been able to get a letter out, all of the pegasus ponies are still in search of as many rainclouds as possible, for obvious reasons. Please, you need to send a message to Celestia as soon as possible. We can’t handle this on our own”.
“Of course, I’ll do that immediately. In my report, though, I would like to include a description of the dragon“. The colt seemed to think about this for a minute.
“Good idea. That way, they can start looking for the monster as soon as possible. I didn’t see it, myself, but I talked with a few ponies who had. By all accounts, it was covered with purple scales, and it had green spines lining the length of its body. Now, hurry up and write that letter. The mayor established a base of operations in Carousel Boutique. It was the only building big enough that didn’t sustain heavy damage. You should be able to find what you need there”. Twilight nodded to him, heading towards Carousel Boutique at a quick trot. Applejack followed close behind, lost in thought. A purple dragon with green spines that spits green fire... The pieces fit perfectly, but she knew it wasn't Spike. It COULDN’T be. It simply wasn’t possible. Spike was smaller then Apple Bloom, for Celestia’s sake, and whatever dragon had done this had been a darn sight bigger. 


The boutique was bustling, busier than she’d ever seen it. Ponies rushed back and forth, each with an agenda. Bypassing them all, Twilight made her way inside. Applejack watched as her friend wrote what appeared to be a very detailed letter. When she was done she rolled it up and began to concentrate, pulling energy into her horn, which began glowing a bright purple. Seconds later, the letter and the glow vanished with a loud shing. As Twilight left the dress shop and began walking towards her library, Applejack noticed her friend shaking.
“I haven’t had to send a letter to the princess like that in years. I hope it arrived”.
“Twi, are you-”
“He burned it, Applejack. The library. He... He burned it”.
Applejack remained silent. What could she say to that? All she could think of to say was
“I know, sugarcube. I know”.
Thankfully,  the library was in better shape than expected. The canopy of the great tree was black, almost entirely gone, as was the door. Several books were charred beyond all recognition, but most all of them had survived intact, and that, at least, was something. Applejack stayed with Twilight, sitting in silence in the burned husk of her friend’s home, until a letter from Celestia magicked itself into existence. Quickly, Twilight read the letter. Then, passing it to Applejack, she asked her to deliver it the Mayor at once. Applejack didn’t want to leave her side, not at a time like this. The girl was one smart filly, but she just had so much to deal with all at once. There was no doubt in her mind that Twilight somehow thought this was all Spike’s doing, no matter how implausible it seemed. Reluctantly, Applejack took the letter and left the blackened shell of her friend’s home.

Applejack was entirely correct in figuring that Twilight blamed Spike, and by extension herself, for the destruction. Twilight was far more familiar with magic than the earth pony, and knew that it was entirely possible to age a dragon magically. However, it wasn't her knowledge of magic, the colt’s description of the dragon or even her own general intuition that had convince her. Above the spot Twilight had stood was a rather large hole in the tree roof, most likely caused by the fist of the dragon so that he could rain ruin upon the inside. The walls and floor were covered in deep gouges, as if the dragon had been groping about inside for something. One area caught her eye, though. An area of damaged floor seemed more... deliberate, more structured than simply clawing at the inside could cause. Twilight had stared at those gouges when she first entered her home, and continued to stare long after Applejack left. To anypony else, with the exception of Princess Celestia, they would seem simply vicious claw marks, left in rage by a senseless killing machine. Twilight and Celestia, though, the two ponies who were all too familiar with a certain dragon’s scratchy penmanship, were able to see a simple and saddening message. After what seemed like hours, the purple mare was finally able to tear her eyes away from the floor. She turned and fled, heading towards the Everfree forest, with darkness in her soul.

Not long after, Applejack returned.
“Sugarcube? You in here?”. When Twilight didn’t respond, she did a quick search of the remaining rooms of the library without any success. “Well, maybe she’s decided to start helpin’”. As she turned to leave, something caught her eye. It was the strange markings on the ground, the ones that had kept Twilight’s attention for so long. She wasn't so sure why those particular marks where so special. The whole place was covered in them. She walked to what was left of the door and put her hoof on the handle. Sighing, turned back. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her yet again, she just had to know what was so special. She looked at them from every conceivable angle, even trying to stand exactly where Twilight had been. Not yielding any luck she gave up and left the library, looking for her friend. If she had only thought to climb to the second floor and look down, she may have been able to read the message, even despite the near illegibility of the writing. She would have been able to see what Twilight saw, three words engraved into the floor.
I loved you.


TO BE CONTINUED