//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The Fire Within // by Black Hailstorm //------------------------------// Mane 6 Spike now paced the front door of Rarity’s Boutique. It had been at least an hour since Zuko had awoken and after they had gotten him a salad to eat, the young drake and Rarity left him alone in the Boutique to get the others. Rarity still hadn’t returned yet, but Spike had been able to get Pinkie Pie. Applejack, and Twilight. Now all they needed was Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity herself, before they would go back inside and meet their new friend, or at least the drake hoped he was their friend. He didn’t really seem to say much when he offered his friendship earlier, heck to Spike it looked like he almost found it to be a nuisance. “Spike” Twilight said grabbing the baby dragon’s attention. Spike looked up a worried look on his face. “Why exactly are we standing outside Rarity’s boutique and not going in to meet this new fella you mentioned?” AJ asked. “Because, I don’t think we should all go at different times. All of us going in together at once would be better” Spike explained as he continued to pace in front of Rarity’s door. “And why exactly are you so concerned about us not going in right now?” Twilight asked. “Because, this guy doesn’t look like the type who enjoys getting multiple visitors!” he said with some annoyance. “Oh c’mon Spike aren’t you being a bit overexaggerative?” Pinkie said with a smile as she moved towards the door. “I’m sure this guy won’t be mad or anything if we just go and see what he’s doing, besides I have to thank him for saving you” she said as she moved towards the door. Spike however wasn’t so willingly about to let his friend get in over her head like she usually did whenever someone new came to Ponyville, so running behind Pinkie the dragon grabbed her puffy tail and pulled, yanking her back and away from the door. Pinkie looked back at Spike slightly surprised before she saw the serious look in his eye that said “Don’t.” Puffing her cheeks out in a pouty manner she mumbled “Fine” before turning around and standing beside Twilight and AJ. Spike nodded feeling a bit better and more content that they’d listened to him. “So what’s this pony like?” Applejack asked as she fixed her stetson. “You said he helped save you from a timberwolf and all and even got hurt protecting ya, a pony like that’s gotta be mighty kind to risk his life for a complete stranger, right?” Spike nodded. Now that he actually thought about it Zuko had risked his life for him, when he clearly didn’t need to. So yeah, in the drake’s eyes the boy with the scar seemed like a pretty cool guy, so he told them so. “Well that’s good to hear. I can’t wait to throw him a Welcome to Ponyville and Thank You for Saving Spike Party!!” Pinkie said bouncing in bubbly glee. “How bout we get to see what this pony was doing out in the Everfree Forest first before we get down to throwing parties, okay?” Twilight asked. Pinkie nodded, but remained energetic. “So when’s Rarity supposed to get here?” AJ asked after a few seconds of silence. “We’re here!” they turned to hear Rarity’s voice call as she made her way with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash towards the others. “Sorry it took so long, but Fluttershy had trouble waking this one up” she said pointing a thumb in Dash’s direction. “Hey!” the pegasus in the blue shirt and jeans exclaimed defensively. “I like my afternoon naps. Now can we meet this guy already so I can get back to sleep.” “Rainbow Dash simmer down” Applejack stated, the cyan pegasus merely huffed. “Alright Spike we’re all here, go ahead and introduce us to your friend.” Spike nodded, turning towards Rarity’s door and opening it. The group found Zuko meditating in silence. Patience. One of the things uncle said I really need to work on if I ever plan on capturing the Avatar. And since I’m alone now’s the best time for me to be working on it. Zuko took slow and steady breathes. His heart rate relaxing to a steady beat with every breath he took. The confusion, the frustration he felt upon being attacked by those beasts when he arrived here all fading away. And the brief moment of excitement he felt upon finally beginning his journey to discover the correct path he needed to take in order to regain redemption receding to nothing. Zuko’s eyebrow raised when he heard the door creak open. He did his best not to scowl and lash out at the group who he’d been able to hear the entire time he had meditated. On several occasions he had nearly opened the door and ordered them to be quiet but thought better of it, considering one of the voices had saved him and nursed him back to health. The very least he could do was try his best not to lash out in blinding fury. So there he sat. On Rarity’s fainting couch, his hands on his crossed legs, his swords beside him with his eyes closed, and the only thing that wasn’t on him right now was the tattered remains of his shirt, which Rarity had said she would fix for him. The clicking of hooves on the ground was what made the human slowly open one eye and look in the direction of the door. There he saw five other mares next to the drake and poshly dressed unicorn that had helped him. “Zuko, I’d like you to meet my friends. This is Princess Twilight Sparkle” Rarity said pointing to the lavender alicorn in the buttoned blue shirt and purple jeans. “She’s Equestria’s newest princess” the unicorn said with a smug smile. Twilight blushed, Zuko merely nodded his head in her direction before the mare moved on to the next equine. “This is Applejack, she and her family are in charge of Sweet Apple Acres, one of Ponyville’s finest food manufacturers.” The orange mare in shorts and white shirt nodded her head in Zuko’s direction. “Howdy?” Zuko once again said nothing but merely stared and nodded. Rarity this time obviously looked a bit worried by the lack of enthusiasm the human displayed. She moved on. “This is Fluttershy, our animal caretaker. She takes care of most of the animals in the forest.” At this Zuko scowled. Getting up and staring at Fluttershy, the mare actually cringed back by the glare she received from him. “Hold on now what’s goin’ on?” Applejack said stepping in front of the yellow pegasus. Zuko pointed to the only bandaged part of his body: his abdomen. “You’re telling me that she’s in charge of the pets in the forest?” he questioned. Everyone nodded. “Then why wasn’t she making sure the things that attacked me in the forest were fed?! I nearly died in there twice when I got to that forest, solely because those things were hungry and looking for a meal!” “Hold on!” Rainbow Dash said floating up to the exiled prince. “Fluttershy’s in charge of our normal forest animals. She’s not in charge of the Everfree Forest, so back” she prodded his chest with a finger. “Off!” she said jabbing him with it. Zuko’s scowl only grew as the cyan pegasus continued to keep her finger firmly poked into his bare chest, both glaring at each other menacingly. “Okay” Twilight said, her horn glowing and wrapping around the athlete firmly yanking her away from Zuko who now looked ready to kill. “I think we should all calm down and relax okay? Okay” she said with a nervous smile. It took a few seconds but eventually the burning tension in the air calmed and Zuko sighed. He looked up at the yellow pegasus to see her ears were wilted and a sad expression in her eye, Dash and AJ comforting her, both rubbing her shoulders for support. The cyan pegasus shot Zuko a glare, Zuko shot one back, before he turned his attention to the yellow pegasus and dramatically sighed once more. “Look I’m sorry I lost my temper, I'm just a bit antsy because I just got here and then I got attacked and all. It’s not your fault I just lost my nerve, I apologize.” Fluttershy nodded, a small smile of acceptance crossing her face showing she understood. “I-It’s fine. I guess I’d be mad also if I just came to a new town and got attacked by scary animals.” “Well then, now that that’s settled” Rarity said wrapping the human’s shirt in her magic. “I’m going to go work on fixing up his shirt. In the meantime Zuko please wear this” she said handing him a blood red shirt, with yellow stripes on the sleeves. Zuko stared at it like this wasn’t something he’d wear, but upon glancing over to Rarity and seeing her expectant look he put it on with reluctance. “Ohh” she cooed. “Fits you perfectly. Right then, I’m off girls and Rainbow Dash please don’t fight with our guest it’s uncouth to do so to a visitor” she stated before walking off to her work space. Zuko’s eyes quickly glanced over to the rainbow maned girl who merely grumbled in silent anger before shooting him another glare. AJ cleared her throat grabbing everyone’s attention. “So, misunderstandings aside Zuko what are you? And where exactly are ya from? Not everyday we get a visitor of your caliber in our town.” Zuko turned his attention to the orange mare and sat up contemplating what he should say. His desire to quickly get through this journey so he could return home would only go faster if he told them the truth. But that didn’t mean he’d need to tell them everything or his true cause for coming here. “First of all” he said after a few seconds of pensive thought. “I’m a human. I come a far off nation. A great and powerful nation, and certain events have led me to leave my home and journey out here. I have a mission to fulfill.” “Oh! Oh! Like a spy or secret agent!??!” Pinkie said suddenly appearing in front of the human, leaning in rather too close for comfort. “I uh, suppose if you want to put it that way” he replied gently pushing the bubblegum colored girl back. “And what exactly is the name of this great nation that we’ve never heard of” Rainbow Dash said curtly. Zuko’s glare, made Twilight and Fluttershy who were both sitting beside her, elbow the girl in the ribs rather roughly. “Don’t mind her. She gets cranky when she doesn’t get her afternoon nap” Twilight said with a dismissive chuckle, ignoring the look Dash shot at her. “Please continue, we’re all interested in hearing where you’re from.” He nodded, taking his swords and stuffing them in his belt, Zuko continued. “Where I am from is a land of power, courage, and a strong will that burns like the uncontrollable flames of a fire.” “Interesting” Twilight said obviously intrigued. “I’ve never heard of a place like this before. What’s it called?” “The Fire Nation” Zuko responded with a smile that beamed with a brilliance he hadn’t been able to make in quite sometime. “Oh, sounds mysterious” Fluttershy said. “Why’s it called that?” “Well it’s obvious!” Spike replied with a grin before Zuko could respond. “They obviously can control fire, so they named it the Fire Nation.” All five mares gave their dragon friend a doubtful stare. “C’mon Spike, when you said he used fire to protect you and face off against a timberwolf I let it slide because I thought you were joking, but really you’re taking this whole thing a bit too far” Twilight stated with a frown. “I am not lying” Spike stated firmly, turning his attention to Zuko. “Dude, c’mon help me out here. Show them I’m not lying.” Zuko raised a brow with some confusion. True he had used bending to fend off the timberwolf and the others he had faced in the forest but the fact that these creatures knew nothing of bending in general told him that he really was in a completely different world altogether. Looking back at Spike who now held pleading puppy dog eyes he sighed and got up from his seat. “Before I use my bending what is the dominant form of protection that you all use here?” he asked, not really referring to a specific mare but any of them really. “Protection?” Fluttershy asked. “I mean like Rarity, her horn glows and she’s able to lift multiple things up. Is that some form of telekinesis or something?” Everyone in the room completely froze. Rainbow Dash who’d been glaring at the boy the entire time even looked surprised at the question he’d just thrown at them all. It was Spike who moved forward and waved his claw close to Zuko, signaling for him to come closer. Once the exiled prince did so, Spike whispered: “Uh Zuko, I don’t know where you’re from. But in our world we use magic. You know, spells and all that jazz so uh yeah.” Oh he thought, looking up at the rest of the mares, Zuko could see they were still staring at him. Now feeling embarrassed, slightly irritated that he’d just trapped himself in this situation, and wondering when Rarity would get his shirt finished Zuko quickly looked around the room and at the others trying to figure out what exactly he could use to change the topic. Then he saw it. Pinkie Pie’s cutie mark, when she shifted in her seat. It was one of the things he’d noticed first when the group of humanoid horse like beings walked in. How all their clothings had holes large enough to display a image of sorts on their rumps. Zuko thought it was just a fashion sense of sorts that some had, much like how in his nation there were few who had tattooed the Fire Nation’s symbol on their bodies, or greatly valued their battle scars. But upon recalling how Rarity’s had been different when she had came to check on him earlier the boy now could no longer contain his curiosity as he looked up at the pink mare who simply smiled at him brightly. “Yeeeess Zukey?” the pink mare sang with a dumb grin. Zukey? he thought with some annoyance. “First of all, don’t call me ‘Zukey’ second. What are those things on your...ahem, your sides, you know” he said struggling to find the right word so he wouldn’t sound like a pervert. “Your, flanks, why do all of you have those tattoos?” Instantly each mare looked down to the spots indicated and looked a little surprised once more. However Spike reminding them that Zuko wasn’t around from here cleared up their aghast states immediately. Pinkie hopped up onto her hooves and practically flew over to Zuko’s side, landing in the seat next to him with a loud plop into the cushions before she wrapped her arm around him, and pulled him back down into the couch. “You see these- what did you say they were again?” “Tattoos?” Zuko said trying to peel the mare’s strong arm away from him. “These tattoos are, our cutie marks.” The pained expression on Zuko’s face was not lost on the others. “What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked. “Is Pinkie hugging you too hard, she tends to do that when she’s excited.” Zuko shook his head. “That’s not it, it’s just the name of those marks are.” His face contorted into one of disappoint and slight disgust. “So...bizarre.” “What cutie marks?” AJ asked, this time Zuko did his best to hide the mental wound the word put on his ears. “Anyway” he said changing the topic and finally managing to pry Pinkie’s strong arm off his shoulders. “What do they symbolize. Are they for different forms of social standing? Do you have a hierarchy of sorts here even in this small town?” “Well no, nothing like that” Spike explained then looked up at Twilight to continue. “Cutie marks are more of what define what our interest is in life. What we want to do with our lives and onward. They appear when we find what is that interests us most and then it’s our job to build upon and expound on that interest to form our own path.” At this Zuko gave them his full attention. “Show me” he said firmly. The sudden look of intensity in his eyes stunned the five mares and dragon till Rarity walked back in with Zuko’s shirt looking good as new. “What’s going on?” she asked as she moved towards the boy and Pinkie who sat next to him. “Something happen while I was away?” “No, nothing like that sugar. Just finding out that your friend here doesn’t know a lot about our world here, guess it’s expected since it doesn’t seem like he’s from around here.” “Hm, well it looks like we’ve got quite some explaining to do don’t we?” she said with a smile as Zuko switched shirts. Once he was done Rarity’s horn glowed and with the glow came a mirror that she held up to Zuko. “What do you think?” she asked. Zuko stood up and stared at his figure. Hm he thought with genuine interest. The shirt’s design had been completely changed from the normal red and gray style that was common with a few locals of the Fire empire, and had been changed to a blood red color that stopped at the shoulders. Black covering as the shoulder pads, with faint hints of grey. And at Zuko’s chest was the Fire Nation symbol in all it’s glory displayed in gold. “Well?” he heard Rarity’s voice ask with some concern now. He looked up at the designer to see she was really worried now. Most likely because she thought he didn’t like the design, but in all honesty this was probably one of the best things he’d worn since him and his uncle became fugitives. “It’s...really good” he said dismissively as he looked at his reflection then looked away. “Thanks, I appreciate it.” Rarity and the others smiled. “Thank you darling, now let’s see what we can do about those ruined rags you call pants.” Wait what? Zuko thought his face clearly expressing confoundment. But the young ruler didn’t have time to react. The next thing he knew, were strong yet slim pink arms wrap around his body from behind. He glanced back to see Pinkie smiling at him innocently. Looking up at the rest of the mares he could see Fluttershy had lifted a wing up to cover her face, the tips of her ears turning red. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight had all averted their gaze, awkwardness clearly expressed on their faces. Spike had simply just tilted his head to stare at the ground. Zuko was able to catch the faint words that came out of the drake’s mouth before he felt his travelling pants get ripped off him and replaced with other clothes. “Sorry bout this Zuko, but when Rarity gets into the mood. There’s no stopping her.” The next few minutes consisted of Zuko frantically struggling to keep his pants on as Rarity kept explaining to him that nothing bad was going to happen, she simply wanted to fix his ruined pants, despite the only thing wrong with them was the rather small claw marks that had been made by the timberwolf. That however didn’t seem to stop Rarity. Never before had Zuko ever experienced a woman, or rather in her case a mare so fervently have the desire to fix his clothes. Aside from his mother, but that only brought up sad feelings, right now he wasn’t feeling sad. He was feeling disturbed. After what took more than half an hour of struggling, and with Pinkie’s help the posh fashion designer was finally able to rip off the prince’s clothing and give him a replacement till she was done fixing (and completely altering his pants). When Rarity left Zuko ordered all the mares, especially Pinkie not to say a single word to him till he regained his clothing. They all agreed, not a single one arguing. Spike having enough smarts not to say a word simply sat beside his new friend in silence, the clock above the door ticking in consecutive rhythm as they heard Rarity get to work along with her humming. Minutes soon passed as Zuko and the others waited in silence. Zuko obstinately refusing to look at any of the others, Pinkie especially for not trying to help him when he was being manhandled. If Rainbow Dash cared, she obviously didn’t show it, as the only thing she did was every now and then cast a glance at the boy’s scar something which she’d noticed immediately, but had decided not to ask on. Pinkie however, who was now itching for a reason to talk to Zuko once more decided to bring this issue up. “So Zuko, what’s with that scar on your face?” the mare asked rather bluntly. If there were ever a time where the sun had died and the world froze over. That exact moment. That exact time, was when it happened. Zuko snapped his attention in Pinkie’s direction, the anger in his eyes. The hostility and belligerence his body language gave, immediately wiped away any smile or nervous smile the bubbly mare had into a slightly frightened one. “What did you say?” he intoned, every word however dripping with venom. “I-I uh” she stammered. “I was just-” four hands appeared in front of the mare’s muzzle and firmly clamped it shut. Rainbow Dash floated over in front of her friend blocking the party planner’s view of Zuko’s fiery glare as sweat began to form on her own brow. “Pinkie” Dash whispered harshly through grit teeth. “Shut UP!” Applejack, Fluttershy and Twilight were now flashing somewhat warm smiles, that clearly displayed the levels of nervousness each mare felt under the human's glare. “She was saying that your scar looks good on you!” Fluttershy stated kindly. And for a second it looked like her words had worked. Zuko’s angered expression had calmed, his shoulders no longer tensed, and his body no longer conveyed the message of murder. Then again that only lasted one second. Getting up, his breath growing heavy as he fixed his gaze on the ground, all five mares and the dragon watched with growing anxiety as he walked towards them, passed, then opened Rarity’s door before slamming it behind him. Three seconds passed before all five mares and the dragon exchanged quick worried looks then quickly scrambled out of their seats and rushed outside. Spike being the first to open the door and rush out, immediately backed up and held his friends back from moving any further as they all emerged from the door. Rarity oblivious to all that was happening outside her front door. At this point in time, the previous ponies that had all fled during the attack were now moving and bustling about on the streets of Ponyville, only did a few stop to stare at Zuko and his scar, as he breathed heavily his eyes still fixed on the ground. Twilight spoke next, but cautiously so as not to anger him any further. “Z-Zuko are you alright?” A snort of smoke, escaped his nose and rose into the air. “M-Maybe not” the young alicorn said in a lower tone. “I’m sorry if I offended you in anyway” Fluttershy squeaked “I was only trying to make things better.” “Yeah and Pinkie’s sorry to! Aren’t you Pinkie?” Dash said nudging her friend roughly. The pink mare winced nodding with the same shared nervous smile as the rest of her friends. A few more seconds passed. Zuko said nothing, his breathing now less heavy than before. Now he’d drawn a few other eyes in his direction, but all of which were ignored. Taking in a deep breath Zuko looked up into the sky and breathed out a fiery smoke, that cascaded into the air. Spike and the rest of the group along with any nearby coughing in the process. “Well at least we know you weren’t lying about the fire thing Spike” Applejack said in between coughs once the air had cleared. Zuko maintained his distance from the others, shooting a glare at some of the civilians that had been staring at him after his display of smoke works, those ponies scurried off to their homes or whatever business they wanted to attend to. It wasn’t until Rarity’s voice called that she was done did the group head back inside, giving Zuko as much space as possible to enter. Pinkie whispered to Spike as they followed Zuko from a distance into the boutique, “Why did he get so mad when I asked about his scar?” Spike shrugged, watching Zuko take his seat once more as Rarity came downstairs with Zuko’s new pants. “I don’t know Pinkie” he said watching Zuko with curious eyes. “I really don’t know.” “So!” Rarity said clapping her hands together with a pleasant smile. “What did I miss?” The five mares and dragon shifted uncomfortably, Zuko had changed into his new pants and now kept his eyes closed not bothering to look at anyone with his arms crossed. “Um...not much Rare” Rainbow Dash replied. “Are you sure? Pinkie?” she asked the mare who had wilted ears now and didn’t really try looking at Zuko’s direction as Rarity had taken a seat beside him. “No” she muttered. “Nothing really.” Silence. “Hm” Rarity said with watchful eyes on her friends. “I see” she said standing. “Well then I’ll just-” Spike’s eyes widened. “Rarity, your cutie mark!” he said pointing to it. The unicorn glanced down to the three diamonds on her flank, Zuko’s eyes now opening as well. “Not just hers” he said, pointing to the others. “All of their marks are glowing.” Each mare looked at her own cutie mark to see all six mare’s were indeed being summoned by the Cutie Map. Spike rose from his seat as he rushed to quickly open the door, watching his friends get up as well. “Let’s go see what it is this time.” They all nodded, and in doing so the images of all six mares marks flew into the air heading towards Twilight’s castle. Zuko now stood, ready to follow the others as they all began exiting Rarity’s boutique. “What’s going on?” he said asking Twilight. “It’s our cutie marks, whenever they glow like that it means there’s a friendship problem that needs to be solved.” “A friendship problem?” Zuko asked clearly baffled, by this absurdity. All six and dragon nodded in unison. “We’re heading to my castle to see what’s the problem right now. This is the first time in a long time that all six of us are being summoned at the same time.” “Hm. I see” Zuko said placing his swords on his back now. “Lead the way.”