The Fire Within

by Black Hailstorm

Chapter 3

Fillydelphia

Zuko wasn’t sure what to think of at this exact moment. When he’d been sent to this world, he had expected it to be full of other...humans, bender's of different types even. But since he ended up here in this world of anthropomorphic beings he’d simply just have to get used to certain things and expect anything to happen.

He hadn’t expected Twilight’s castle.

Granted the palace was nowhere near as large as the Fire Nation’s Royal Palace. There was something else about it that just seemed to catch Zuko’s eyes.

If there were ever a strange yet more beautiful castle in the whole world, Twilight’s castle took that award. It was...almost breathtaking. Made not out of iron or steel like his palace or the Fire Nation’s capital, this was made of pure crystal.

Crystals that glistened beautifully in the sun as he, the six other mares and the dragon made their way inside the castle, climbed the stairs and entered the common room.

It was quite the sight he had to admit. But there was no way he would ever show such an expression of utter amazement in front of these seven. So he simply wiped away any trace of utter confoundment, and followed them as they all took their seats in designated crystalline chairs.

Chairs, Zuko noted, that had each mare’s tattoo on it- as he would now be calling them since the words “cutie mark” simply did not sound right to him.

Standing in the back and watching, Zuko saw each chair light up at the base of its tattoo, then shoot a ray of light out at the center of where the chairs had gathered.

He cocked a brow at what was happening.

In a matter of seconds though, the whole room began to shake as crystals began to shoot out around each chair and gather at the center of the space. Before Zuko could ask what was going on, all seven crystals met at the center of the room, collided and created a table made out of a light blue crystal structure.

Zuko merely stared with slightly wide eyes at what he had just seen. “...Was that a form of earth bending?” he asked skeptically, moving towards them.

Twilight stared at him with a confused look, while the pink mare known as Pinkie Pie merely giggled before responding “There’s no earthbending here silly. That was us just activating the Cutie Map’s mechanism is all.”

Zuko simply looked at the map, looked at the chairs then nodded. I guess I’ll have to pay extra attention now that I’m in a weird world like this.

The map instantly turned on and in a matter of seconds the six tattoos that were on each mare’s rumps glowed and their images flew off each mare’s side, floating towards the map.

Zuko moved towards the map that now displayed all of Equestria. He studied it with silence ignoring the floating symbols as each one moved to a designated place, before a voice broke his careful observation.

“Oh my” Fluttershy said to Zuko’s left. “It looks like we’re supposed to head to Tall Tale Town, Applejack, Dash.”

“Sure looks like it” said the orange one in the buttoned white shirt and stetson. “Looks like Pinkie Pie, Twilight and Rarity are supposed to head to Fillydelphia.”

Twilight’s sudden squeal made Zuko cover his ears, then glare at her in annoyance.

“Heh, heh. Sorry. I’m just glad I get to go to Fillydelphia” she said with an apologetic smile to Zuko.

“What’s so great about Fillydelphia?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Isn’t it just another metropolitan city?”

“Wha- What’s at?! WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT FILLYDELPHIA?!” she asked clearly exasperated.

Rarity stared at Twilight with a look that asked “Was that really necessary”, Twilight however didn’t seem to pay any mind as she quickly got up and moved over to a shelf of books. Grabbing one she quickly made her way back to Zuko and the others.

Throwing the book down on the table and with her magic flipping to a page, she opened a spot that said “Fillydelphia.”

“Oh no” Spike groaned.

Zuko looked at him, then asked “What?”

“She’s about to go on her lecture spree again” Spike explained. “This may take a while.”

Twilight shot her assistant a look before beginning her lengthy long, possibly unnecessary lecture since they would be going to the city to begin with. “Fillydelphia is not just any city, but a city, one of the first cities in Equestria, that has dragon and pony cohesion. Ponies and dragons living together!” she said with a grin.

Zuko looked at Spike with a raised brow. “Wasn’t that long now was it?”

Spike grinned sheepishly, then turned his attention to Twilight his ears slightly twitching when he heard “Ponies and dragons living together.”

Jumping up from his seat Spike hopped onto the map and looked down at Fillydelphia with excitement in his eyes. “Ponies and other dragons live together in harmony?” he said with glee. “So that means I’m really not the only dragon that knows how to coexist with ponies” he said clapping his hands together.

“Now hold on there” Applejack said. Twilight and Spike looked at her, both sharing the same excited look.

“Ah’ve delivered to Fillydelphia a few times, and while there are dragons and ponies living in the city. There’s more of a slight division between those that live with dragons, and those that don’t” she said with a slight frown.

Both alicorn and dragon’s ears fell slightly, but the excitement on their faces didn’t fade completely. “Well then that’s what I’m here for right?” Twilight said with a confident smile, her ears perking up again.

“Yeah Applejack don’t worry, with Twilight here we should be able to solve the whole schism between both parties no problem.”

AJ smiled, “Ah know ya can sugar. It’s just you guys should be a bit careful. I haven’t gone there recently in a long time. But my brother Big Mac has said that some things have changed in the past year or so.”

“Don’t worry dear. I’m sure things will go fine...eventually” Rarity said with a small smile.

“So when do we leave?” Zuko asked.

A awkward silence almost instantly fell on the room. Zuko stared silently waiting. None of them said anything, Rarity smiled at him with an understanding look one he simply ignored. He wasn’t going to understand anything unless words were used. So he continued to look from mare to mare waiting.

Finally Rainbow Dash spoke, “Look scar boy I-”

The glare in Zuko’s eyes cut her off. His arms now moved up and crossed over his chest just in front of the fire symbol, his glare not fading.

“Do not call me that ever again. If you want to keep those wings of yours I suggest you stop calling me names and answer my question. When. Do. We. Leave?” he said in a slightly calm tone.

Spike coughed awkwardly and took a step forward, slightly stepping on the holographic image of Ponyville in the process.

“Look uh Zuko, the Cutie Map doesn’t really call for uh, um” Spike glanced at Twilight with a look that screamed: “Explain this to him!

Twilight cleared her throat, her horn glowing and picking up the book on the table placing it back on its shelf. Once done she turned her attention to Zuko who’s less steel gaze was staring at her.

She flinched slightly, the look of determination yet pain in his eyes slightly throwing her off what she was about to say. Rarity luckily was the one who saved them all from anymore awkwardness.

“Zuko, darling. You see the Cutie Map only calls for well us and us alone to go on these friendship missions. We would take you but it’s just- I don’t know it’s complicated” she said. “But you understand don’t you?”

Zuko said nothing. His eyes now moving to scan the others.

Pinkie Pie smiled sheepishly and waved, his eyes passed over her to Fluttershy who merely hid behind her mane and offered the same kind smile in return. Moving on to Applejack, the mare merely shrugged with a blank expression, one corner of her lips curved upward, the rest a straight line.

Then to Twilight, who’s wings twitched slightly behind her, she seemed slightly uncomfortable by all of this, especially the growing tension since he had not responded to Rarity’s question yet.

He didn’t bother to look at Rainbow Dash, better judgement told him not to. Glancing over at Spike who was now moving around the map trying not to step on countries Zuko waited for the baby drake to stop.

Spike did, but only after nearly a minute had passed. He looked up at Zuko, stopped his tap dancing on the magical map, jumped down and stared. “Do you uh want to say something?”

“What do you think?” Zuko said.

“What do you mean?”

“About this. Your friends leaving you alone all the time to go on these ‘missions’. Have they ever taken you once since they started going on these -he paused- ‘friendship missions’?”

Spike frowned. “No” he said honestly.

Zuko looked back at the mares. Allowing a second of silence to pass before he spoke. “I’m going” he declared.

“But you don’t understand the Map” Twilight started only to be cut off with Zuko looking at her.

“I. Don’t. Care. I didn’t come all this way just to be stopped by some magic map. Especially one that works in ways you guys yourselves don’t seem to fully understand. The map may have picked you to take on this mission, but that doesn’t mean it can stop me from going.”

The flap of wings as Rainbow Dash hovered into the air and floated in front of Zuko, made the banished prince raise a quizzical brow.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Stopping you.”

Zuko stared, then shook his head. “You’re not stopping me.”

“Yes, yes I am. You’re not coming with us. We just met you, I don’t see why we should allow a complete stranger to come with us, especially one who seems to flip a lid so easily” she said with her own glare.

“Oh yeah?” Zuko said slightly surprised with the irony at this. Taking a step forward his face inches from the pegasus, own he let a sly smile cross his face as he stared her at her with a less harsh glare. “I’d like to see you try and stop me.”

“Alright alright everypony and body cool down” Rarity said separating the two with her magic.

“Yeah let’s just take it easy now. Alright?” AJ said, loosening the grip on her lasso.

Zuko, backed away from the pegasus and turned his back to the others leaving the room. “Where are you going?” Spike called.

Zuko didn’t reply.

“Zuko! Zuko wait!” Pinkie called.

He didn’t, he closed the common room doors behind him and simply stayed a good few feet away from it.

With a frustrated sigh, Zuko placed both hands on his waist, looked up at the ceiling, then sighed once more. A second later, he punched the air letting a stream of fire leave his fist.

---

“Rainbow Dash what the hay was that about?!” Applejack asked the pegasus.

“What do you mean what was that about? I’m just making sure we don’t let some stranger, one we don’t even know enough on a mission that’s supposed to help Equestria. We don’t know anything about this guy and we met him like an hour ago. Now we’re just supposed to let him come with one of us on a friendship mission when we’ve never even let Spike here come once?!”

“Well he does have a point” Fluttershy said.

All eyes turned on her and she slightly cringed, but once silence ensued and the others waited for her to continue the mare spoke.

“We don’t really know everything about this Map, and it doesn’t really make much sense if you think about it refusing to let him go just because the Map didn’t mention him.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie said. “Plus if you guys are going to Fillydelphia, a place where dragons and ponies intermingle then why not take Spike? He is a dragon after all. Maybe taking Spike could help?”

Spike looked up at Twilight hopefully. “Please Twilight, please!” he said sliding to her side on his knees. “This could be my chance to meet dragons that are actually just as civil as I am! Remember my trip to Dragon Mountain? That was a disaster, but this could be different!”

Twilight bit her lip. Zuko did have a point. They generally didn’t know much about the map except that it gave them missions. But could taking one, maybe two more members and adding them to their party change that much?

“Twilight think about this” Rainbow Dash said. “We don’t know anything about him. Plus he gets really defensive if you say anything about the scar. Who knows what’ll happen at Fillydelphia!”

“I say we give him a chance” Rarity said with a flip of her mane. “Besides, even if we said no I don’t think Zuko would just nod his head and say “okay”. He’d probably just follow us anyway. So I say let him come.”

Twilight glanced over to Applejack and Fluttershy, “What about you two?”

Applejack shrugged. “I say let him come. Can’t be that big of a difference will it. Plus it’s not like he said he’d help right? If that’s his purpose we can just talk to him.”

“Fluttershy?”

The pegasus smiled, “I don’t have a problem with Zuko coming.”

Twilight, remained silent for a few seconds before looking back at Spike who was still on his knees practically begging with his hands clasped together in plea.

She sighed. “Alright, he can come.”

“Twilight!” Dash began, Twilight merely raised a hand to stop her.

“Dash, I get you’re worried but if we’re going to be friends with him, we have to at least put some trust in him” she explained with a smile.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and sighed, sitting back in her seat.

Rarity spoke up after a few seconds of silence. “Besides, he did have a right to be mad at you earlier. Whatever gave him that scar’s a personal matter, and you calling him ‘scar boy’ was quite uncouth.”

“It slipped out!” she protested.

“Well then make sure it doesn’t slip out again” Rarity chided.

Dash huffed, blowing her mane out of her face. “Right, fine” she said. “Let’s go get him.”

“I think I’ll go get him” Spike said getting back on to his feet.

Twilight nodded, then looked at the others. “Alright girls, get your things. We’ll meet at the train and part ways afterwards.”

“Wait a second!” Pinkie said.

Everyone stopped including Spike who was about to reach for the door handle.

“What’s wrong Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked.

“Which group does he go with?”

“I think we should let him decide that” Rarity said, nodding back to Spike who had turned his attention back to the door handle.

Spike opened the door and peeked outside the common room. He had expected to see Zuko possibly leaning against the wall but instead, there was no Zuko. But there was one small scorch mark against one of the crystals.

“Guys?” Spike called back after a few seconds of searching.

“What’s up Spike?” Twilight asked from her seat.

“Zuko’s uh...Zuko’s not here.”

---

Steady breaths. A practice Uncle Iroh had taught him whenever he felt like he was about to lose it.

Zuko now sat outside just a few feet away from Twilight’s front door, taking in steady breaths. His brows slightly furrowed though as he heard a commotion coming from within the castle. Yells most likely from the others on who knows what.

The sound of doors being thrown wide open rather abruptly though, then the sudden feeling of someone on his back surprised the prince as he jumped up, reaching to draw his blades only to freeze when he looked down and saw pink arms.

“Pinkie Pie” he said with a sigh.

“Correct!” the mare said loudly in his ear, Zuko winced, Pinkie noticed this and released her grip on him. The others coming out of Twilight’s castle as well.

Backing up and releasing his grip on his weapons Zuko stared at them as they all came outside towards him.

“Have you decided?” he asked, not that he really cared. He would still have gone regardless.

“We have” Twilight nodded, ignoring Rainbow Dash’s extended huff. “You can come with us, well whichever group you decide to go with. Pinkie, Rarity, Spike and I are headed to Fillydelphia in a few minutes once we’ve packed and are ready. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash are going to Tall Tale Town.

“We might leave at different times but, I don’t think it’ll matter much since we’re going on almost opposite ends of Equestria.”

Zuko nodded, not saying anything else since that was all he really wanted to know. There was an awkward silence between him and the six girls before Spike broke it.

“So...packing?”

“Right, right packing. Twilight, Spike, Pinkie, possibly Zuko, I’ll see you four in a bit” turning to Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack the white unicorn exchanged brief hugs with her three other friends before they all said goodbye and went their separate ways to prepare.

Fluttershy saying she had to make sure the critters were fed properly and had enough food in case this turned out to be a longer trip. Rainbow Dash heading back up to Cloudsdale as soon as Rarity, her, AJ and Fluttershy had said their goodbyes to the rest of the group.

Zuko noted the pegasus didn’t look at him when she said her goodbye, then again he could say for a fact he didn’t care. Her nickname for him earlier still left a bad impression of her in his mind.

“So” Twilight said drawing his attention towards her. “Which group are you going with?”

“I’ll come with you three to Fillydelphia” he said as they began heading back into the castle.

Twilight nodded with a smile. “I can’t wait to go. The chance to find a whole different culture and any other co-cultures in it, is going to be fascinating” she said with joy.

Zuko glanced down at Spike and whispered. “Is she always like this?”

“Which this are you talking about. She’s got multiple” Spike said as the followed Twilight through the common room, through a door and towards the rooms.

“Nerdy, would be the best way to describe it.”

Spike snorted. “She’s always, like this.”

Hooves stopping and sudden movement made them look up at their guide who was now standing in front of her door with slightly red cheeks. “I am not nerdy.”

Spike merely smiled apologetically and said “We know Twilight we’re just messing around.”

Zuko shrugged, but upon seeing her scowl he nodded smiling also. “You’re not nerdy.”

She smiled, calming down before opening the door for him and Spike to enter. “At least not much” Zuko muttered.

---

Location: Fillydelphia; ???

In a building, a rather large tower slightly separated from the rest of town. Was a unicorn. This unicorn stared outside the window of a luxurious office in silence contemplating things.

The sound of a door creaking made the unicorn’s ear twitch slightly as he continued to stare outside the streets of the city, watching ponies of all three races going back home or heading back to work after a long day’s work.

“Saber Tooth sir? It’s about the meeting with one of the leading ponies against dragons staying in our town. She wants to talk to you, she’s waiting down stairs.”

The fiery orange unicorn grinned, a pleasant idea coming to mind. If all went as planned he’d be able to gain the dragon’s trust well enough that they’d be willing to help him with his own plans.

“Urgent, please tell her to wait” he said to his secretary. “I’ll be there in a few minutes” the stallion said looking over his shoulder.

Urgent nodded and gently shut the mayor’s door.

Saber Tooth grinned. “Soon enough I’ll show you how far one can get, with enough power and influence, you’ll see just how better it is to use one’s strength to the fullest. Celestia.”

Comments

[flyingtigers40]

oh joy zuko gets to run into what probably is the pony version of his father

[jjrock7H]

as much as i dislike it dash is right they shouldn't let someone they just met come with them, especially someone with that short a temper. and ad a dash to the growing pony pyre.