Playing With Fire

by Orion97

The Fall

Anders

I had just watched James fall to his death...I just...I WATCHED. That was all I did! I should have been faster. I should have stayed closer. We should have stayed with Nova until the storm passed.

A feeling of self-loathing and horror swirled relentlessly in my gut, the incident having occurred only a moment ago and yet it feels like I had spent an eternity with my hand stretched out over the edge of the abyss. It was still pitch black and the storm picked up a new wrath and pelted my back with rain drops that fell like tiny blades. The lightning was moving away fortunately enough but it became no less dark.

I knew I had a gut-wrenching decision to make. I could go down and trying to save him...assuming he was still alive and assuming I would make it myself. The other option was to get help from Fleetfoot and the others or try to make it back to Nova, she would no doubt be able to find him.

I slammed my fists into the rock I knelt on in frustration. To my surprise the rock shattered.

Nova had told me that magically ability had a tendency to surge when influenced by strong emotions, similar to how adrenaline made you more resistant to pain and sharpened your senses I supposed.

This was hardly the first time I surprised myself, a few days after I first started training with Nova I accidentally set a tree on fire while we were outside. She was showing me how to hold dozens of leaves at once using levitation. It took an amount of focus that I couldn't muster at the time, so I got frustrated and I barely noticed that I started a fire on one of the branches that singed the upper half of the tree.

As much as I desperately wanted to go straight after him I knew I'd never find him on my own tonight. I turned and began to take off back to Nova's cave, my eyes fixed on the slope that always lay below.

When I reached the cave again I found her quietly reading a book. My expression must have told her everything she knew in a single glance, along with the fact that I was alone.

"What happened!?"

"James...the storm only became more violent and he...he fell. I don't know if he's hurt or even a-"

"Then why are you wasting time!?" She snapped. In a blur she closed the book, snatched a set of robes from a nearby wardrobe and rushed outside. I was right behind her.

"Hold my robes." She said, thrusting them into my arms. "We'll move faster if you climb on." She gestured to her back.

"Hold on around my neck but mind the wings." She said as she tapped a paw impatiently while I climbed on.

The very second I was in place Nova surged out of the cave and spread her great feathery wings and I held on for dear life.

The howling wind and rain assaulted my ears but even more present was Nova's voice. "Where did he fall?"

"Down there! By the broken up road and disturbed earth!" I cupped a hand around my mouth and shouted through the fierce wind to her ear. She turned immediately to where I had directed and hovered. She craned her neck and examined the path where he would have fallen while I looked for signs of broken foliage.

"Shit! We need to hurry!" In a rush Nova dove down to the wooded area where he would have stopped rolling. Rain pelted my cheeks as my hands tightly gripped her scales. My feet lost contact and I began to desperately hope she would slow down soon.

"What's so bad about that spot!? And please slow down!"

"There's no time! I can catch you if you fall but he won't last long!" She called back to me as she hastily set down in a small clearing and rolled me off of her back unceremoniously. She wasted no time in changing to human form though she still sported a pair of blue wings, albeit smaller ones. She conjured a bright light in one hand and took off running.

"Do you want the robes? What lives down here!?" I shouted as I tried to catch up with her. With remarkable control she swiveled around on one foot mid-stride and put both hands on my shoulders.

"Now is not the time for modesty. The robes are in case James is injured or freezing and this is a manticore hunting ground! If he's bleeding badly the smell can attract them and if so he probably will be in no condition to run. Thus, get your ass in gear!"

"Aren't you cold?"

"I'm freezing my ass off! All the more reason to shut up and look for him!" She shouted with a commanding edge in her tone.

I was thankful at least that James was carrying the mace when he fell. At least he wouldn't be helpless. I let my hopes rise a little higher, until a trail of blood became illuminated by Nova's light.

Nova knelt down and touched it with two fingers. She brought it to her face and sniffed.

"That's James's blood alright and...something else. He's being hunted by something but...wow this is strange...I can't even tell what is hunting him. Some of this blood is his but not all of it."

"How can you tell?"

"I'm a dragon. Also, everyone has their own distinct smell, and I can tell if it's the blood of someone I know. You usually smell like blacksmith forge for some reason and he, cool mountain air."

"That's incredible!"

"I have to say it is...unless you know someone that doesn't shower." She raised a swift hand to cut off my response. "No more distractions. This blood is very fresh. He can't be far."

We found more blood a short distance away and it led into a small trail but then all traces of a struggle abruptly stopped. We searched for hours and became increasingly frantic. It was a painful decision, no doubt, but Nova eventually suggested we go to Canterlot and return in the morning with a proper search party...and informing Fleetfoot.

---

I pushed open the door to Vinyl's home with Nova right behind me, after we stopped looking for James she at last put the robes on but even so she was shivering in the cold rain.

"Hey Anders! Who's that with you?" Vinyl asked in a cheerful tone.

"I'm Nova. I'm the one Anders and James have been training with."

"Hey, Nova. It's nice to see you." Fleetfoot asked, peeking out from behind Vinyl. "Hey...where is James?"

Vinyl was the first to sense something was truly off. "Where is James..." She tried peeking behind us.

"He's...gone." I confessed in a quiet tone

"What?" She asked almost inaudibly.

"We were on the way back when the storm turned violent...he was knocked down the mountain...we found blood but nothing more..." In the blink of an eye Fleetfoot had her hooves in my shoulders and pinned me to the wall. Hard.

"Then what in the hell are you DOING HERE! She shouted in my face.

"Fleetfoot, relax! Get off Anders!" Vinyl wrapped her hooves around Fleetfoot's abdomen and pulled her off even as she continued to glare at me.

"We need to be out there looking for him!"

"We tried that! It's too dark! We need to alert the guard. Try to get a search party organized. That's his best hope of being found." I told her.

"He could be dead by then!"

"Fleetfoot, have faith in him." Nova put a hand on her shoulder. "James is stronger than you know. He will be okay on his own but even so the sooner we get a search party organized the better. No one is at fault. If you really care, come with us to alert the guard."

"Fine...but I...let's hurry." Without wasting another moment we ventured outside and straight to the nearest guard station.

Please let us find him in time...

Author's Note:

A bit of a short chapter but not much I could do. I'm already working on the next chapter which I'd like to say will include the twist this story has been needing. Oh and as for the others...buckle up for one hell of a twist in the near future.

Oh and please feel free to comment on how crappy my grammar might be. (I can write faster and get the real ideas out that you guys wanna see or I can slow it down some and write more seriously. Kinda like a games's graphics, you'll pretty much get the same content but if it takes longer you'll probably get something that looks nicer.)

Comments

[djponyfl]

another great chapter you have here, and i can't wait to read more of it.

[Orion97]

5410221 Thank you! This one was a little short so I plan on having the next one pretty soon.

[neznamkaksa]

Holy shit man!Nice fic!I read it all and its as addicting as Dash of humanity.Keep the good work up and UPDATE!

[Orion97]

5417766 Hmm, careful, I'd imagine a pony your size can kick pretty hard. Everyone has their cranky days.

5416548 Thanks! Haha I love Dash of Humanity, though speaking of which...just wait for Discord...(he might not be evil in mine but he's just...just wait and see)

[Dustchu]

Well damn, this escalated quickly 8'D

Nicely done once again~

[Spartan III]

Holy shit, this story is fantastic

[GoodwinGamerJack]

I think the reason humans can preform magic in their world is that the lack of magic in ours causes their bodies to be like magic batteries that are charged by ambient magic.