//------------------------------// // Burning questions // Story: Hearts, Home, and Dragons // by Dragonzero77 //------------------------------// As Wildfire's magical journey through the castle came to an end, he saw the Princess standing there with a happy smile on her face. At first Wildfire didn't know what to think of her as he had never been in the company of an actual Princess before. So, this is a princess huh? She seems like a decent enough pony to be around, Wildfire thought to himself while looking at Twilight. Wildfire reoriented himself as the spell wore off allowing him to freely move once more. “Hi there! I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle. I heard you’re here for one the rooms for rent?” she said with welcoming tones in her voice. Wildfire nodded. Twilight then smiled and put her hands together. “Perfect! The castle still feels empty with just me and Spike here,” she finished with a small sliver of sadness in her voice. She then spoke again. “Before we go any further I'd like to ask a few questions if that's okay?” she asked, shedding a small smile from her lavender muzzle. “Umm... sure, I can answer a few,” Wildfire replied with slight hesitation in his voice as he ruffled his metal gray mane in response. Twilight pulled out a quill and a scroll before speaking again. “Excellent! Okay first question right off the bat: what is your name?” she then waited patiently for his response. Wildfire spoke up in an awkward tone immediately. “Wildfire,” he said. “Okay Wildfire how old are you?” she asked in a polite tone. “Honestly, I've lost track,” Wildfire replied while shrugging his shoulders. Twilight furrowed her brow in confusion. “Lost track? How do you lose track of your own age? The only ones I know who do that but look young are Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence, but they’re both in quadruple digits, so that’s understandable. Just when were you born, anyway?” Wildfire looked away for a brief moment trying to find the right words. Eventually, he responded with, “What I mean Princess is that I do not look my age. After a while the years feel like nothing to me after all of the things I’ve seen. I’m just glad to be alive, let alone count how long, but if you truly seek some sort of figure then it would probably shock you” he said in an slightly melancholy tone. Twilight frowned as she took notes. While it was an emotional answer, it didn’t provide her with the specifics she desired. “Alright. So then...where are you from, originally?” she asked, seeking a hopefully less painful ‘get to know you’ topic. “It’s a far away place that you may, or may not have heard of depending on who you’re asking. Whenever I tell anypony that, they never believe me,” Wildfire said with a light hearted chuckle as he tried to hide his discomfort on the subject. “Really?” Twilight asked curiously, her eyes shining with eagerness. “Can you tell me which direction? North of here? South? East? West? Are you from space, or the core of the planet?” It was plain her credulity did not need to stretch much to conceive all sorts of possibilities at this point. Wildfire smiled seeing Twilight’s eagerness and curiosity. Afterwards he responded, “North, past the boundaries of the kingdom.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Further north than the Crystal Empire? Is there anything further north than that? Cadence hadn’t mentioned anything of that since she and Shining Armor took over running the Empire.” Wildfire had a confused look upon his face. He ruffled his mane trying to think what he said that could have suggested he came from that far north. “The only thing past the empire is the glacial badlands which is the lowest tip of the northernmost polar region. I wouldn’t be able to live out that far, too cold for me,” Wildfire said whilst rubbing his arms at the mere thought of frost and ice. Twilight tilted her head. “But the only settlement of any size north of the traditional boundaries of Equestria is the Crystal Empire, and it only returned this year.” Wildfire’s eyes popped open in surprise. ”The Crystal Empire has returned?” He said in complete shock and astonishment. Twilight smiled widely. “Yes, just a few months ago. Spike and I were actually there, and played a pivotal part in freeing it from Sombra’s reign. They actually hail Spike as a hero there now.” She paused, her thoughts catching up to her. “Wait...how could you know about the Crystal Empire, but not know about its return? Princess Celestia said nearly all the details about the Empire were lost to history!” Wildfire gave a slightly pain filled chuckle. He then looked at her and began to explain. “I’ve been on the road for a very long time Princess. I havent had a real place to call home since mother and I left that place oh so long ago… I’ve been running ever since,” Wildfire said as he tried to hold in his emotions. Twilight stared in shock. “But...but the Crystal Empire’s been gone for over a thousand years! Ponies don’t live that long unless they’re alicorns.” Her eyes widen as she gasps aloud. “Are you an alicorn? Celestia didn’t say there were male alicorns! Are you a Prince? What are you a prince of? Where are your wings?” “ No Princess I’m not an alicorn, far from it to tell the truth. I hold no rank, and I hold no title whatsoever,” Wildfire began to shift his vest revealing his wings. “Do I look like an alicorn to you?” He said with a bitter sound to his voice. Twilight examined his wings closely. “Well, I have met some thestrals before - pegasi who have bat wings instead of avian - and similar nocturnal variations of unicorns and earth ponies in Luna’s Night Guard. You could be a night variant alicorn…” She leaned over for a closer examination of his wings. Wildfire spread his wings so she could get a closer look as a glimmer of scales from on top of the wing become visible. He then gave a light hearted laugh, smiled, and said, “Imagine that. Your the first pony ever to not be terrified just by looking at me. Usually they think I'm a freak, or some other kind of nonsense.”. Twilight gasped loudly as she spied the scales. “You aren’t an alicorn at all! These aren’t bat wings, they’re dragon wings! You’re a dragon/pony hybrid, aren’t you?” Wildfire nodded in response. Twilight squealed happily. “Oh my gosh, this is so exciting! I didn’t even know pony/dragon hybrids were possible! Tell me everything! Which parent was the dragon? How does your mixed heritage effect your magic? How about the effect of emotional surges, like greed growth? Do you experience those? Did you hatch from an egg or were you live born? Do you ha-” “Woah, woah, woah slow down! One question at a time please,” Wildfire pleaded as he tried to comprehend all of the Princess’s questions. Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. I tend to get a bit excited when I discover something new to learn.” She gathered her thoughts. “Alright. So...how far back in your ancestry does your dragon blood come?” Wildfire sighed slightly. “Not far, so to answer your question it is one generation back,” he said giving a light chuckle at the Princess’s curiosity. Twilight’s smile widened as she started taking notes. “So which parent was the dragon? And were you hatched from an egg or live born?” “Let’s see, mother was the dragon, and I was born from an egg or so I have been told. Anything else?” He asked in a slight witty retort. Twilight smiles. “Have you undergone any unusual magical transformations from your dragon side? Like greed growth?” “No, The magic in my body doesn’t act that way. At least from what I’ve experienced,” Wildfire said with an informative tone in his voice. “Really?” Twilight asked curiously. “And what exactly have you experienced as far as the draconic side of your magic is concerned?” “Well, breathing fire for one. Having a tougher hide than most ponies but no where near the toughness of my mother’s scales. Lastly, enhanced strength. All of these come in very handy for my talent and profession,” Wildfire said with a gleam of pride. “Really?” Twilight asks, intrigued. “What talent and profession is that?” Wildfire smiled then pulled out what looked like a blacksmith’s hammer out of his travel bag. “This, Princess, is what I use for part of my trade. My talent is working with metal.” He then pointed to the crest on his hammer. The insignia was an image of a hammer crossed with a stream of flame like a dragon’s breath. Twilight leaned in close to examine the insignia. “Is that your Cutie Mark?” she asked curiously. She knew that many Tradesponies marked the tools of their trade with their Cutie Marks. “Indeed it is, as I use my own flame for shaping and tempering the metal,” he said with a small, prideful smirk. “I would love to watch you work sometime,” Twilight breathed. “I’d read about dragonfire forging, but I never thought I’d get to see it happen.” “As you wish, it’s always heartening when another takes interest in the craft,” he said, a pleased look touching his face. Twilight smiled widely. “Alright, just one more question: a matter of biological curiosity given the differences between dragon and pony anatomy. One or two?” “What do you mean by one or two?”Wildfire asked with a rather odd expression on his face. Twilight’s cheeks became slightly tinged with pink. “Do you have one like a stallion...or two like a dragon?” she clarified, hopping against hope she wouldn’t have to get any more specific. Wildfire blinked for several moments trying to understand the meaning of the question. Wildfire blushed when he realized what she meant and held up his index finger in response. Twilight sighed in relief, glad to get past that slight faux pas, not having realized how awkward it would be. She managed an eager smile before changing the subject. “Okay, there’s an empty room you can use for a workshop right next to my laboratory,” Twilight began. “That just about covers all of the questions I have for now, so let me show you the room,” she offered with a gentle welcoming tone in her voice, turning to lead him downstairs. Wildfire followed her, eager to escape the former awkward conversation, although confusion and worry still plagued his thoughts. Finally, he forced himself to ask a question of his own, “Umm, what about the terms for rent?” he asked, holding up his rather large and heavy looking satchel. Twilight gave a small chuckle under her breath. “Hmm... tell you what; I’ll let you stay here rent free on one condition.” Twilight gave a slightly mischievous grin as she spoke. Wildfire’s eyebrows peeked in intrigue as he asked, “Oh, and what would that be Princess?” As he spoke, he kept his gaze fixed on her violet eyes. “The terms are simple. You get to stay here rent free if you help me with my research regarding dragon/pony hybrids. Every once in a while I’ll collect some samples from you, and run some tests on you every now and again. Samples like saliva,skin, hair, and maybe blood. Is...is that alright?” Twilight asked, her voice beginning to stammer slightly in sheer nervousness while waiting for Wildfire’s answer, realizing too late that this might not entirely be socially acceptable. Wildfire scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Sure, I’m perfectly fine in doing some tests and giving samples,” he replied nervously. Wildfire paused for a brief moment and continued with, “Whatever that means.” Twilight’s eyes brightened. “Wonderful! Well there’s really only one thing left to say,” she said as a smile crossed her muzzle once more. “Welcome home, Wildfire.”