//------------------------------// // Chapter 1, The Fire Inside // Story: The Elements of Nature, Book 1: 火 & 水 (Fire & Water) // by Superior-Doc-Fossil //------------------------------// The Elements of Nature Book 1: 火 & 水 (Fire & Water) Chapter 1, The Fire Inside Fire, Lightning, Air, Water, Earth Long ago, before the regal wing unicorn sisters were born, the world was protected by a powerful being called the Avatar. The Avatar was the only one able to control all the Elements of Harmony at once, but he is also able to control their counterparts, the Elements of Nature. Only five of the Elements of Nature are known, the known ones are fire, water, earth, lighting, and air. Like the Elements of Harmony, the Elements of Nature have physical form, but they are also part of the Avatar’s soul. Because of this, he or she is able to control each element with relative ease, even if they are thousands of miles apart. The Avatar is also the only one who can communicate to the Spirit World, listening to the Spirits’ guidance to keep balance in the world. Whenever the Avatar dies, his or her soul is reincarnated into a new body. Each time he is reincarnated he becomes one of the 4 types of ponies in a cycle in this order: Unicorn, Earth Pony, Pegasus, and Alicorn. Then one day, for no clear reason, the last Avatar, an Alicorn named Roku, the father of Celestia and Luna, vanished. No one knows what happened to him. An ancient prophecy states the will return, but in five different bodies, each representing a different element. Most have considered the Avatar and benders, ponies who are able to control one of the elements only, as a bedtime story, but some believe he will return one day to return balance, and that day has finally come. In the Ponyville library, Twilight Sparkle is busy reading about a new spell. “Lets see, ‘To cast the shape shifting spell, one must imagine what he or she wants to become.’ Easy as pie.” She tries it, but she only changes the color of her coat from lavender to red. Spike walks in and sees what happen and laughs until he runs out of breath. The spell soon wears off and she turns back to normal. “Well, that didn't work.” It had been a few months since the changelings tried to invade Equestria. Twilight became curious about how they were able to disguise themselves, so she read every book she could find in the library about shapeshifting. “Lets try this again.” “You want me to take notes about how funny you looked?” Spike then laughs. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash comes in. “Twilight, you are not gonna believe this. There's a new unicorn in town from a place called Abysus!” “So?” “So? He can make fire do whatever he wants. He can actually be in an inferno and not even get signed.” Rainbow said, impressed by the newcomers abilities. “OK, now I'm interested. Come on Spike.” Twilight, Rainbow, and Spike then head to the outdoor theater. They're soon joined by Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Almost every other pony in Ponyville is also there waiting for the show to start. “So, y’all know who this colt is?” Applejack ask. Rarity then takes a look at the poster. “According to the poster his name is Firebrand the Firebender. Huh, catchy.” “Oh, I bet he’s Spitfire’s cousin.” Pinkie said in her own crazy way. “I don’t think Spitfire has a cousin from a country called Abysus.” “Rainbow has a point there.” They all turn around and see that the Wonderbolts are standing right behind them, Spitfire among them. “Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!” Rainbow said before fainting. “What are y’all doing here in little o’ Ponyville” Apple Bloom asked. “We were flying nearby when we heard about the show and decided to check it out.” Sorin' said. “Hey, everypony!” Sweetie Belle cried out “The show is about to start!” Soon all the ponies in the area turn toward the stage. Rainbow gets up just in time to see what's going on. On the stage, fire begins to envelop it but it suddenly disperses revealing a stallion unicorn, at least a year older than Twilight, with a flame red coat, his mane and tail are orange and charcoal black eyes. His cutie mark is a ball of fire. “Mares and gentlecolts, I am Firebrand, the Firebender. For my first act, I will need a volunteer.” The ponies in the crowd are arguing whether they should volunteer or not. “Well, if one won't step forward, I will have to pick one instead.” He looks around in the crowd and sees Twilight and smiles. “Lets have this young unicorn with the star cutie mark over there.” Realizing he means her, Twilight nervously walks up onto the stage. Her friends are worried for her safety. “What's your name?” “Twilight Sparkle.” “Well, Twilight Sparkle, are you ready?” She nervously nodded yes. “Good.” Firebrand then uses his telekinesis to bring over a white cotton blanket and gently places it over Twilight. The blanket and his magic have a red-orange glow to it. “No magic and no screaming.” He told her. “Why?” “You’ll see.” He then drops the blanket over her and it covers her head to hoof. “Do not be alarmed by what I'm about to say, but the blanket over Twilight here will soon burst into flames.” “What?!” Spike cried. “Calm yourself young dragon. I will control or “bend” the fire so that your friend here will be unharmed. She will still feel the heat and is welcomed to ask me to stop anytime she wants.” Upon hearing that, Twilight wanted to stop right then and there, but due to her skeptical nature she believed he is going to cast a spell that will protect her. So she said nothing. Soon Firebrand got some smoking straw and levitated a small pice of ash, but his horn wasn't glowing for some reason. He puts the piece of ash on the blanket and it quickly catches on fire. Everypony in the crowd gasp in shock as they see that the fire is spreading faster than they thought and soon the entire blanket was in flames. Firebrand said nothing as he concentrated on making sure the fire doesn't hurt Twilight. “Twilight is going to be toast if we don’t do something.” Rainbow said as the fire began to glow brighter. “Oh, I wonder what she'll task like?” The others then yelled at her for being Pinkie again. “PINKIE PIE!” Inside the fire, Twilight is so scared that she can’t open her eyes at first. When she finally open them she saw that the fire wasn't touching her at all. In fact she used a spell to see if magic was involved, but found none. She couldn't understand what was going on. The fire soon begins to lessen and she realizes that it was dying. When the fire disappeared altogether she saw that the fire consumed the blanket but not her. "How did he do that?" She thought. She then hears the crowd cheering for him and he helps her up. “How ... how did..?” “A grate unicorn never reveals his secrets.” Twilight then heads back down to the crowd where her friends were waiting. “What happen there Twilight?” “Are you hurt?” “Are you going again?” “I don’t know Rainbow. I’m not hurt AJ. And I'm not going again PINKIE!” Scootaloo then reminds them about the show. A few hours later after dusk, Firebrand finishes his performance with taking some fire and shooting them up at the sky making fireworks. “And thats all folks.” ================================================================== Later at Sugarcube Corner, the main 6 and the CMC are having dinner (on Pinkie’s treat while she's working) when Firebrand comes in. “Hot chocolate please.” “Coming right up.” Two-seconds later, Pinkie has a cup of steaming hot chocolate in her hoof and places it on the counter. “3 bits please” He pays and heads outside. Twilight then gets up. “I’m gonna go ask him a few questions.” “Yeah,” Rainbow replied “like what, 'do you want to be my boyfriend?'” “Rainbow! I do not, repeat, do not like him what so ever. I just want to know how he did that is all.” Twilight then walks away to follow him. When Twilight is outside, Rainbow says “She likes him.” The others soon laugh about the thought. Outside near the stage, Twilight sees Firebrand drinking his cup of hot chocolate. Suddenly Snips calls out “Oh oh, mister Brand.” This startles Firebrand into dropping his hot cocoa on himself. “Can you teach us about that fire bending?” Snails asked. When Firebrand turns around and they see that not only is he angry but also they made him spill is coco on him. “Uh, never mind. Lets go Snails.” The two soon run. “Uh, great, now that was a wast of time.” Twilight then walks up. “Are you alright?” “Yeah, I’m fine.” Firebrand answered. “But you got hot chocolate all over you. You need to see a doctor.” “Calm down, I've been in a volcano before and I didn't get burned.” “OK, anyway, can you tell me about your firebending? Is that how you put it?” He then sighs. “You're not gonna leave me alone or let me leave Ponyville until you get an answer, huh?” “Yep.” “All right. Is there someplace we can talk in private?” Firebrand asked, getting a nod from Twilight. ================================================================== Later at the library, Twilight is getting some water for herself and Firebrand. She heads toward the living room and sits down on a pillow next to him. Some candles are lit, making the scene kinda romantic. “So, mister Brand” “Please, call me Fire.'” “OK, Fire,’ tell me about yourself. “Isn’t much to tell really.” He goes to a flashback. ================================================================== “You see when I was only a baby, my mom died a couple of days after I was born. My family lived in a small town in Abysus called Bellwood. My parents were both blacksmiths who lived in the forged. When I was born, my parents intended to name me after my father, but something came over them and they decided to call me Firebrand. When I was only 3, I fell into a small fire, but instead of being heavily burned, I came out without a single burn. When I was 6, I became fascinated with fire. I wanted to know everything I could about it. Eventually, I discovered that I can actually control fire just by concentrating and moving my limbs. Then my cutie mark showed up the next day. Eventually the village elders discovered what I can do and called my father to a meeting. I wanted to know what they were talking about, so I went to a window and listened to what they were saying." "Firebrand needs to have freedom and fun. He needs to grow up as a normal colt." Firebrands father augured. "He needs to be taken to the capital so we can know if he's a danger or not." Another, older Unicorn said. "Calm, Phoenix, you to Garth." The village elder said. "I agree with both of you. But Phoenix, I know you mean well, but you are letting your affection for the colt cloud your judgment." "All I want is what is best for him. He's my only son, and all the family I had left." Phoenix said, nearly on the verge of tears. "I’m sorry, but you and Firebrand must be separated! The colt will be sent away to the capital to see if he's a threat." The elder firmly said. Firebrand, who was watching and hearing the whole thing, is shocked at the news that he just heard. ================================================================== “That's awful, Fire.' I don't know what to say.” Twilight replied. “I couldn't believe it either.” He then stands up and turns around. “How could they do that to me?! They wanted to take away everything I knew and everypony I loved!” The candles then become extremely intense and Twilight nearly catches on fire. “Whoa! Hot cinders!” Twilight said as some cinders nearly hit her. “I'm sorry I got so mad.” Fire' said. “You have the right to be angry after the elders sent you away like that.” Twilight said, trying to comfort him. “Well, that's not exactly what happened.” ================================================================== The flashback starts again, showing Firebrand looking out the window of his bedroom. “I was afraid, confused. I didn't know what to do.” Later, Phoenix is walking to Firebrands bedroom and opens the door with his magic. “Fire,' I'm not going to let them take you away from me. Firebrand?” Phoenix opens the door more, then he spots a scroll. He opens it up. The scroll says, “Father, I’m sick of being treated like a threat.” He then gasps, and sees a storm coming outside the window. In a nearby forest, Firebrand is running toward a train and gets on before it gets too fast while the rain pours. “I never saw him alive again. After a whole year, I returned home out of guilt. But when I got there, everything was in ashes. I searched for somepony I knew, but I only found bones. I went back to the forged. It look like it was ransacked. When I went to my father's room, I found his body. I found his diary and went to the last entry. A month before I went back, everypony in town got a strange black letter. It said to turn over the firebender. Then a few days later a small army arrived and destroyed everything in its path. My father’s last entry was to me. It said that he was proud of what I am, and told me that with great power comes great responsibility.” ================================================================== “Eventually I became a sideshow going to different countries and kingdoms. I adopted the name Firebender because it seemed to fit. While I was in a country called Hoenn, I was informed that Abysus, my home, was destroyed by the Fire Nation. I realized that they must be looking for me.” “Wait, does that mean you're the last of your kind?” “In a sense, yes. I am the last pony from Abysus.” “What about your firebending? Can you tell me how it works?” “Sorry, but that's just as much of a mystery to me just as much as its to you.” “You don’t know how it works, despite the fact you had it for your whole life.” “I know its hard to explain, but I just know when I'm using it and when I'm not.” He then begins to cry. “Are you alright?” Twilight asked. “No. You don’t know what's it like for me. Can you even imagine what's it like to be a freak! To know that your whole family is dead! I don't even know who or what I am, Twilight! I never have.” “I can help you figure that out.” “You ... you can?” “Yeah, I mean I do run the library around here. So, what do you say.” “All right. Lets get started.” ================================================================== The next morning, neither Twilight nor Fire' have found any information on firebending. “200 book, 20 scrolls, 12 manuscripts and not a single one has anything about firebending.” He then sighs from both exhaustion and disappointment. “Don’t worry, I have access to the royal archives in Canterlot.” “Really?” “Yes, In fact. I am Princess Celestia’s star pupil.” “OK. But I’ve never been to a big city before.” “Don’t worry your pretty little ... uh I mean don’t worry. I've used to live there so I know my way around. But if we're going we better tell my friends.” “Why?” “Because they're going to think your my boyfriend if we go alone.” “I understand. Wait. Earlier you said I was pretty, did you-” “My tongue got tied OK!” “OK. But if you're gonna tell your friends, it might be best to tell them the story.” “All right.” “Good, but promise me that they won’t tell anyone else.” “Why?” “Because I think that the fewer that know, the better.” “All right. I’ll Pinkie Promise them not to tell anyone else.” “What's a Pinkie Promise?” “Its a promise my friend Pinkie Pie has, and apparently when you break one you’ll have to deal with a very angry Pinkie.” “OK, so Pinkie Promise me that you will tell only your friends and that they won't tell anyone else.” “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Twilight rattled off. A bit confused about what happened, it took Firebrand a second to process the random movements and words. “I have seen plenty of strange and messed up things during my travels.” “How does that rank up?” “Its up there.” ================================================================== An hour later at Sugarcube Corner, Twilight is telling her friends what Firebrand told her. “So let me get this straight. His family is dead, he doesn't use magic to firebend, he doesn't know who or what he is, and you're going to help him.” Rainbow said. “Basically.” “You must really like him if you're going to help him.” Applejack said in a mocking tone. “AJ, I don’t like him, I mean he set a blanket on fire while I was under it.” “Well, if you're going to Canterlot, were going with you.” “All right Rarity, but you all have to Pinkie Promise me not to tell anyone else about his past until we know what he is. I mean, I actually Pinkie Promise him to tell only you gays and to make sure that you won’t tell anyone else.” Pinkie then stared mercilessly at the others. “All right, if it make y’all feel better, then I cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye to keep this a secret.” “We all do.” Pinkie’s intense stare dies down and she returns to her old bubble self. “Okey-dokey-lokey.” “Thanks girls, this means a lot to him and me.” “Gee, Twilight, what did you mean ‘me’?” Twilight then blushes out of embarrassment, the others soon laugh. Unfortunately, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were listening to them. “That is not good.” Scootaloo said. “If they find out we know they'll kill us.” “I’m not sure about Fluttershy and Rarity, but yeah, I’ll have to agree with you on that.” “Y’all both have a point. I say we go with them at the last-minute and tell them that we heard them talking.” “I hope your right Apple Bloom.” All three then have one of their moments, “Cutie Mark Crusaders Mystery Solvers, YAY!” ================================================================== At the train station, Fire, Pinkie, Spike, Twilight, and Fluttershy are waiting for the others. “Where are they?” Spike asked. Firebrand is the only one who answered. “There probably taking their time. I’m sure there be here soon.” Sure enough Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack arrived accompanied by Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. “Why are they here?” Twilight asked with annoyance in her voice. “They kind of heard us at Sugarcube Corner earlier and they wanted to come along.” Rainbow replied. “They want to come. I think they might be a big help.” “All right, but make sure they don’t wander off somewhere.” Rainbow, Rarity, AJ, ant the CMC all said the same thing. “Gotcha.” There train soon arrives and they bored. The train soon departs and they begin to head to Canterlot. “Finally,” Firebrand thought to himself. “I’m getting some answers.”