In Which the Cutie Mark Crusaders Share the Hot Seat
“So, nothing to say? Or has Trixie’s mere presence left you all bedazzled?”
The defining silence, broken only by the lapping of water against the hull of the ship, lasted for one uncomfortable moment after another. A range of emotions played across the ponies, zebra, dragon, and esper that stood on the docks.
One voice dared break the tableau. “Hey, weren’t you the one we accidentally fell on at the opera?”
That wiped the satisfied smirk from Trixie’s muzzle. She turned to the speaker, Apple Bloom, her eyes narrowing to thin slits. “You three…” she hissed.
“Yeah, hey, sorry about that,” Scootaloo said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.
“But we did get our cutie marks!” Sweetie Belle swiveled, showing off her brand new fanny marking for all to see.
“And now the mood has officially been lost,” Trixie said. Shaking her head she reared up, standing on her hind legs as her forelegs raised to the sky. “Listen well, because Trixie will not explain herself a second time. I did what I did because it was the only way to save your sorry lives. Hate me if you want because after this little peacekeeping mission of yours is over, we can all go on our separate ways.”
Falling back to all fours, Trixie gave a sniff and then trotted down the plank, right through the middle of the group. By unspoken agreement, everyone parted away, allowing her to continue unchallenged. Turning her head but never slowing down, Trixie said, “See you all in the morning.”
She didn’t make it another step as a blue blur swooped down and barred her path. Rainbow Dash pushed her nose right into Trixie’s, forcing the general to tilt back her head but not lose a step. “You got a lot of nerve showing up again, after what you pulled.”
Trixie scowled and pushed back, putting the two on an even level. “And you have a lot of nerve thinking you have any chance of succeeding without me. Trixie’s surprised you’re still alive.”
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t slit your throat right here.”
Smiling, Trixie raised a hoof and patted Rainbow Dash on the head. “There’s that killer instinct. Trixie was wondering if you still had it in you.”
In one smooth motion, Rainbow Dash hopped back, drew Thunder Blade, and held it at the ready. “I mean it, Trixie!”
Seemingly unconcerned with the threat against her life, Trixie brushed back her mane, her smile never leaving her lips. “I’m here on Blueblood’s behalf. If you have a problem with that, take it up with him. If you are concerned that I’m going to mess up your little esper mission, you shouldn’t be. There’s nothing for me to gain by making even more of them mad at me.
“Now, it’s late and we all need a good night’s sleep. We have a long boat ride ahead of us tomorrow.” With that, she sauntered past Rainbow Dash, whose murderous gaze never left Trixie, but didn’t make a move to stop her. Trixie continued on her way until she reached a row of buildings next to the docks and passed out of sight.
Grimacing, Rainbow Dash slowly placed Thunder Blade back in its sheath. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. When she looked up, many anxious faces stared back at her. She closed her eyes, blocking out the sight. “Let’s get some sleep. We’re gonna need it.”
The pitter patter of little claws could be heard, stopping right in front of her. “Are you serious, Rainbow?” came Spike’s voice. “We can’t have her come with us.”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I know.”
“She betrayed us.”
“I know.”
“She nearly killed Twilight!”
“I know!” Rainbow Dash whirled, putting her back to him. “Look. Ah… I’ll… I’ll deal with it. I’ll keep her in line.”
“We could kill her now, she can’t take—”
A buck to the chest sent him flying back. “NO!” Rainbow Dash twisted, facing the others again. Her face fell as she saw Spike gasping and clutching his chest.
Luckily, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Sweetie Belle acted quickly, pouring their magic over his body and healing his wounds in seconds. Spike let out a long, relaxed sigh.
Rainbow Dash was at his side in an instant and helped him to his feet. “Spike, dude, I’m so sorry. I… I…”
Spike frowned and held up a claw, forestalling any further talk. “Save it. If you want to handle Trixie, fine. I don’t want anything to do with her. But if she pulls a stunt like she did back there again, she’s dead meat. Got it?”
Head hung low and eyes tightly shut, Rainbow Dash gave a tiny nod. “Got it.”
Zecora chose that time to walk over and patted both Rainbow Dash and Spike on the shoulders. “Be at ease, my friends. It is not always easy to make amends. I will watch over Trixie too, to help share the burden with all of you.”
“That’s right,” Twilight said, giving a sharp nod. “We’ll all do our part to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
“I suggest we all get some rest. That way tomorrow we will all be at our best.”
A chorus of agreements followed her statement. Zecora briefly talked with the Imperials on the boat, then led the group back into town. Soon they entered the nearest inn, whose proprietor recognized Zecora instantly. He wasted no time checking them in and getting them settled into rooms. He made no comment about the large esper accompanying them. After the long day of traveling, it didn’t take long for everyone to climb into bed and fall asleep.
.o.O.o.
Rainbow Dash blearily blinked her eyes open, moaned, then turned over in her bed. After a few minutes she turned again and pulled her pillow over her head. Another minute went by, at which point she tossed her pillow away and sat up. “Great, can’t sleep.”
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she hopped out of bed and trotted over to the window. She pushed it open and looked out at the night sky. Judging by the position of the moon, she figured she’d been asleep for only a few hours. Sighing, she made to close the window but a patch of white against the dark streets below caught her gaze. Blinking, Rainbow Dash quickly made out the form of a cloak draped over the shape of a pony. Her weariness forgotten, she jumped out the window, landed a few hooves away from the figure, and began walking towards it.
Rainbow Dash didn’t need a second look to identify Trixie leaning against a rail looking over a street below. The moonlight displayed the former general, turned Returner, turned traitor in perfect view. Trixie didn’t look her way, seemingly not aware that she was no longer alone, while she rocked something back and forth on the railing. Getting closer, Rainbow Dash identified the object as the unmistakable form of magicite.
“I see you haven’t bonded with that yet.”
Trixie started, nearly dropping the magicite off the railing. She fumbled with it for a second before stuffing the magicite under her cloak. Turning away from the pegasus, Trixie lifted her nose to the air. “As if you’re one to talk. You don’t have any magic.”
“Haven’t needed it,” Rainbow Dash replied, stopping only a few hooves away. She swallowed, working her mouth to form words but no sound coming out.
Trixie’s voice was sharp and quick. “What do you want? You should be in bed.”
Clenching her teeth, Rainbow Dash made a frustrated grunt. “I… just want things to go back to the way they were.”
“What, with us on the run? The Empire breathing down our necks every second? Trixie doesn’t find those things to be worth the nostalgia.”
“Trusting you!” Rainbow Dash blurted out. “You know how hard it was for me to accept you as one of us? I put up with you, defended you, and then you go and throw it all in my face!” She panted, her chest heaving.
Trixie closed her eyes and shook her head. “You are such a fool, Dash.” Not looking back, Trixie trotted down a set of stairs, disappearing from sight.
It would be easy to catch up with her. All Rainbow Dash had to do was spread her wings and take flight. But she didn’t. She remained in place, hearing Trixie’s hoofsteps grow more distant until they faded completely.
Rainbow Dash slumped against the railing, feeling her body give out. Moments later she rubbed at the wetness that had gathered in her eyes. How long she remained there, she didn’t know.
.o.O.o.
Dawn came hours later. Rainbow Dash awoke in her bed, the covers wrapped tight around her. Squinting against the light peeking in through the window drapes, she began struggling to unbind herself from the bed. Her struggles ceased when a yellow wing draped itself over her withers.
“Easy there, let me help,” came the soft voice of Fluttershy. She stood at the end of the bed, out of Rainbow Dash’s line of sight. With dexterous hooves, Fluttershy began to unwind the other pegasus from her snug confines. Once free, Rainbow Dash groaned and flopped out of the bed, barely landing on her hooves.
“Let me guess, you got me and put me here,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Um, yes. I had a feeling somepony was hurt and came out to find you outside. Maybe… it’s that esper magic I have now?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, and you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but what were you doing out there?”
Sighing and shaking her head, Rainbow Dash headed for the door. “Dealing with Trixie’s usual crap. C’mon, let’s get some food before we head for the boat.”
“Oh. Um, okay.” With a frown on her muzzle, Fluttershy followed, leaving behind a messy bed.
.o.O.o.
Breakfast was a quiet affair, with everyone content to eat and indulge in some small talk from time to time. Once finished, the group headed back to the boat and found Zecora already there and waiting for them.
“Are you ready to leave and with nothing more to retrieve?” she said at the top of the boarding plank.
Rainbow Dash waved her off as she walked by. “Yeah, we’re good.”
“I will let the crew know we are ready to go. Beds and food can be found below.” Zecora nodded and walked off towards the rear of the boat.
Heading below deck, the Returners found the beds and stores of food just at Zecora had said. There was no sign of Trixie, but Rainbow Dash felt certain the unicorn was around somewhere. Minutes later, the boat jerked and a fog horn sounded. Slowly, the boat pulled out of the docks of Albuck and headed out into the wide open ocean.
Scootaloo looked from one side of the cabin to the other, her face settling on a grimace. “So… now what? How long is it going to take us to get there?”
The older ponies shuffled their hooves, Rainbow Dash simply shrugging. “Don’t know. Probably a day at least.” She nodded her head towards the beds. “Might as well sleep, I guess.”
“But I just woke up! Are we seriously going to just sit around the whole time?”
“Little one, over here,” came Maduin’s voice. He had found a space large enough for him to sit down cross legged and patted his knee. “Let’s use this time to see how well you all have come along with your magic.”
“Good idea!” Sweetie Belle said. She hurried over to join him, followed closely by Apple Bloom.
“Now then, show me what you got.”
.o.O.o.
“All systems are a-o-k, ma’am!” a crewpony said, saluting at Zecora.
The boat suddenly rocked and the sound of a muffled explosion could be heard from below deck.
“Um, everything except whatever that was,” he amended.
.o.O.o.
Maduin blinked and coughed as his hair smoked. When he spoke, a small smoke ring floated out of his mouth. “Perhaps we should take this outside.”
.o.O.o.
Later in the day, just as the sun began to sink below the horizon, Twilight Sparkle stood at the bow of the ship. Despite the moderate size of the vessel, the crew and Returners found spots of their own to be alone if needed. Right now the breeze against her muzzle as it whipped by her and fluttered her mane felt serene. For now, at this moment, all her cares and worries washed away, leaving only contentment for her to feel.
The feeling ended as she heard hoofsteps coming up from behind. She turned and opened her eyes, seeing Zecora stop only a few hooves away.
“Sorry to intrude while you are in bliss,” Zecora said, averting her eyes. “I can come back later when it’s not so amiss.”
Twilight shook her head. “No, it’s alright. It’s just the first time I can remember being on a boat like this. I guess Pinkie Pie’s airship sorta counts, but the way the boat moves in the water feels different.” She smiled and cocked her head. “Was there something you needed?”
Zecora frowned and looked away. “I came to apologize.”
Quirking an eyebrow, Twilight waited for the zebra to finish the rhyme. Seconds passed, followed by more seconds and silence. Twilight stepped back, staring wide eyed. “Oh. Well, I can honestly say I never expected that from you. What are you apologizing for?”
Lowering herself to a sitting position, Zecora took a deep breath. “Even before Blueblood put the crown atop my head, I knew you were being used and yet I looked away instead. I was blinded by the Empire’s promise of a world without strife, thinking it would be worth it even at the cost of a life. By the time I decided to act it was too late and had already sealed our fate.”
Twilight stared at the zebra, the only sound the gentle crash of the water against the hull. She looked down, giving a small nod. “We make a pair, don’t we? Used by the Empire to take over the world and now working together to save it.
“Zecora, I accept your apology, but I don’t think I deserve it. I’ve got blood on my hooves too.”
She felt a hoof lift her chin, raising her head until she met Zecora’s cyan eyes. “Then let us make sure our mission is a success so that we can finally put all our troubles at rest.”
Smiling, Twilight nodded. “Yes, let’s.”
Nodding herself, Zecora bowed and trotted away, heading down into the cabin. Moments passed before Maduin walked from the stern, looking weary. He came up to Twilight and plopped down in front of her in an ungraceful heap. “Those fillies are… lively.”
Twilight couldn’t control herself. She snorted with laughter.
Maduin huffed but was unable to keep a smile from his face. “I think now would be a good time to go over those documents we were given.”
“Oh! Good idea!” With a wave of her horn, Twilight opened her saddlebags and pulled out the scrolls given to her by the Emperor. She sat down next to her father, levitating the papers in front of them. “So, how should we start?”
Maduin plucked out one of the papers with a claw and held it before him. “Hmm, this writing is from the War of the Magi alright. Too bad Ramuh isn’t here. He would have liked working on something like this.”
“Can you understand any of it?”
“Perhaps, but it will take time.”
Twilight smiled and leaned up against the large esper. “Good thing we have plenty of that.”
Reaching down, Maduin wrapped a muscled arm around her. “Then let’s make the most of it.”
.o.O.o.
The dawn of the second day since the start of their voyage came, and with it the distant sight of land.
A unicorn crewpony lowered a telescope from his eye and called out, “Land ho! Crescent Island dead ahead. We should arrive in a few hours.”
Next to him, Rainbow Dash lifted her head up from where it had been hanging over the side. Her face a sickly shade of green, she said, “Thank all that’s good and holy—HURK!” The pegasus slapped a hoof to her mouth and quickly lowered her head back over the side.
Zecora, ignoring the retching coming from nearby, called out, “Everyone, let’s have a meeting so that we can discuss our esper greeting.”
The others gathered around, Rainbow Dash wiping her mouth and plodding over as well. “We will split into groups and search around. Be sure to look in the woods, sky, and ground.” A trio of raised hooves caught her eye. She turned to the three fillies and gestured for them to speak.
“Can we head to our hometown first?” asked Apple Bloom. “I can’t wait to show everypony there our new cutie marks!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodded in agreement, large grins splitting their faces.
Zecora smiled and nodded. “Go to Themaresa, but I have one thing to ask. When you show off your marks, bring up the espers; that will be your task.”
“You got it, lady!” Scootaloo said with a salute.
Rarity chose that moment to stand beside the fillies, patting Sweetie Belle on the head. “I suppose if they are heading there, Fluttershy and myself should go as well. We’ll ask around ourselves to see if any of the ponies there have seen anything strange.” She regarded Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash, and Maduin. “Would you all like to come? It’s a charming little village.”
Twilight and Spike shared a glance, shrugged, and nodded. “Sure, it sounds lovely.”
“That makes for a very large group though,” Maduin pointed out. “Who else did you have in mind for the second party, Zecora?”
Rather than speak, Zecora pointed at the far end of the ship. Trixie stood there, gazing out at the island and ignoring everyone behind her. “She and I will go as a pair. With all the trouble she’s caused for you, I believe that’s fair.”
“I’ll go with you as well.”
Twilight looked up sharply at her father. “What? But why?”
“If Zecora and Trixie manage to find the espers, they’ll need someone like me to talk to them,” Maduin said. “The other group will have you, Twilight. Being half esper should at least get them to listen.”
“Well, I guess that makes sense, but…” Twilight trailed off, frowning.
Reaching down, Maduin stroked his daughter’s head. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
“Now that we know who is with who, go and prepare for what we must do,” Zecora said. With that, she headed for the stairs leading down.
With only minutes before landfall, the Returners followed and made ready for Crescent Island.
.o.O.o.
The ship came to a stop next to a rocky shore. The unicorn crew of the ship levitated out several ropes that wrapped around large boulders scattered across the shore. Soon, the ship was pulled in close enough that the gangplank could reach the land and the party from the Empire disembarked. Giving final instructions to report back here should the espers be found, Zecora bid farewell to Twilight and the others as they headed north towards Themaresa. Once the larger group was well on their way, Zecora turned to her own comrades.
“Let’s not delay and be on our way. I think it best if we head west.”
“Agreed,” Maduin rumbled.
Trixie held up a hoof, drawing attention her way. “Just one thing before we leave.” She looked at Maduin with narrowed eyes. “Were you telling the truth about your reason to come with us?”
“Yes, of course. But this would be a good time to have a talk with you.”
“Trixie knew it! This was all just a scheme so you could threaten me about staying away from Twilight. Well, Trixie isn’t going to hear of—hey! That’s mine!” She swiped her hooves at the magicite floating out of her cloak, but was too late to grab it. The magicite levitated away, only stopping when Maduin took it in his claw.
The esper gazed into the deep red core of the magicite, the rock emitting a soft, pale light. “Shiva,” he said with a sigh. He glanced down at the unicorn glaring up at him. “So it’s true, you’ve only partially bonded with her.”
“Yeah, so? Give it back!”
Maduin knelt down and held out Shiva’s magicite. Trixie quickly grabbed it with her magic and stuffed it back into her cloak. She then resumed her stare of death at the large esper. “What was that all about? You shouldn’t take what isn’t yours.”
“Shiva isn’t yours either,” Maduin countered. “Not yet. You haven’t been deemed worthy by her to receive the rest of her power.”
“And I’m sure you have some sage advice as to why that is?”
Maduin shrugged. “Don’t be such a jerk would be my guess.”
Scoffing, Trixie marched past him. “Whatever. Let’s just get this whole thing over with and then we’ll never have to deal with each other again.”
Maduin and Zecora watched her go, sharing a sideways look. Sighing, Maduin followed after the cloaked unicorn, Zecora taking up position behind him.
.o.O.o.
“I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces!” Sweetie Belle squealed, giving a little hop.
“I know right?” Scootaloo said, walking beside her. “Nopony ever believed us when we said that cutie marks exist, and now we’ve got them!”
Apple Bloom nodded, smiling the widest of all. “We’re going to be the most popular foals ever!”
Trotting at a more leisurely pace, Twilight Sparkle said, “So what’s this town like? I’ve heard you all talk about it before, but I don’t know much about it.”
“Oh, it’s, um, just a little out-of-the-way place,” Fluttershy spoke. “The ponies there are really nice, but they like being isolated. It took a while for them to warm up to me and the girls when we first moved there, but after a while they welcomed us as if we had lived there forever.”
“Sounds nice. I look forward to seeing it.”
“Yes, this will be my first time there too,” Rarity said, taking a moment to check her hair in a floating mirror carried in her magic. “Hopefully, they won’t be too upset with so many new guests dropping in.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, I’m sure they won’t mind.”
“So tell me,” Rainbow Dash said, flying overhead. “Do you guys usually have big bonfires in the middle of town?”
Tilting her head in confusion, Fluttershy said, “No, not really.”
Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at the horizon. “Then I think we have a problem.”
All eyes followed her hoof. A round of gasps quickly followed. In the distance, a column of smoke rose into the sky.
“Oh, dear,” was all Fluttershy managed to say.
“Don’t just stand there, move!” With that, Rainbow Dash flew off at top speed.
Rarity stuffed her mirror away and charged forward. “You heard her, move!”
“Wait up!” came Sweetie Belle’s desperate cry. She moved her tiny legs as fast as she could but wasn’t a match for the older ponies. She needn’t have worried as a magenta aura scooped her up and held her in the air. Startled, she whipped her head around, catching sight of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo in the same situation.
“Don’t worry, I’ve gotcha!” Twilight said as she galloped with the fillies in her magical grasp. On her back, Spike clung to Twilight’s mane.
The ponies rushed down the grassy field they had been traveling on. Soon, they came to a narrow stretch of land jutting out into the ocean. The raised peninsula continued for a mile before widening out, forming a patch of land large enough for a small village to comfortably fit within it. It was here that Themaresa lay, a settlement with less than a dozen wooden houses no larger than a story each. One of those houses was consumed in flames.
“Oh my gosh, that’s Pipsqueak’s house!” Apple Bloom cried out.
Putting on an extra burst of speed, the ponies reached the village within minutes. Rainbow Dash was already there, flying back and forth between the house and a nearby well, dumping buckets of water on every pass. The local pony folk did the same, but their efforts were for naught as the fire only seemed to grow bigger.
“Spike, quick, us your ice breath!” Twilight said as she stopped as close as she could against the intense heat.
“On it!” He hopped down from her back and rushed up to the flaming house. One deep breath later, he exhaled a huge gust of freezing air, coating the home completely. Steam and mist obscured the structure and everypony backed off. Seconds passed but the roar of the flames did not recede. A gust of wind blew away the mist, revealing the fire still burning and stronger than ever.
Twilight gulped and backed away. “Oh dear.”
“Forget it!” Rainbow Dash said as she flew down. “Just let it burn.”
One of the townsponies ran up, a desperate look on her face. “We can’t! Pipsqueak’s still in there!”
“What?!” came three indignant cries.
The local blinked, spotting three fillies levitating before her. “Girls, when did you get back?”
With a burst of magic, Sweetie Belle broke free of Twilight’s grip and plopped to the ground. “No time to explain. Somepony’s got to go in and get him.”
“Yeah, let’s go!” Scootaloo said, her wings buzzing.
“Girls… not so fast,” Fluttershy warned, gasping for breath after the long run. She took a deep breath before continuing. “First of all, how are you going to even get in there without burning up?”
Next to Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle tapped her chin then went wide eyed. She licked her lips then concentrated. Pearls of white magic appeared around her horn, followed by a light green sheen wrapping around the fillies. “This will protect us from the heat. Let’s go!”
“Oh, wait!” Fluttershy’s warning came too late as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo charged for the burning house.
“I got ‘em!” Rainbow Dash sprang up, ready to intercept them, but a sudden rush of wind sent a lick of flame towards her, forcing her to stop short. She watched helplessly as the Cutie Mark Crusaders barged down the door and entered the raging inferno.
.o.O.o.
The shell of magic used to protect them worked to perfection. What Sweetie Belle hadn’t counted on was the roar of the fire surrounding them on all sides. “Pipsqueak!” she called but her voice was drowned out. She could barely hear herself think.
“Check the rooms!” Scootaloo said.
“What?”
“I said check the rooms!”
“What?!”
Groaning, Scootaloo pushed her friends towards the nearest entryway that wasn’t obscured by burning debris. “Look around!” she shouted as loudly as she could.
Finally getting the idea, the other two darted from one end of the room to the other, pushing aside smoldering furniture and checking in every closet. Seconds passed but there was no sign of the missing colt.
“This whole place will go down before we find him!” Scootaloo said right next to Apple Bloom’s ear.
“I know!” Apple Bloom bucked down a dresser, the burnt piece of furniture crumbling to the floor. “If only Spotter were here, he could—” She stopped herself, her eyes widening. Digging into her bag, she pulled out a pair of brown goggles and strapped it to her face. “This will do it!” She tapped the side of the goggles and a yellow glow covered the lenses. Apple Bloom swivelled her head from one side of the room to the other, then looked upwards. Mere seconds later, she thrust a hoof towards the ceiling. “There he is!” Not wasting any time, she rushed out of the room and towards a flight of stairs, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle right behind her.
With the goggles leading the way, the fillies ran up another flight of stairs, jumping over a fallen, flaming beam. Once they reached the top, Apple Bloom ran down a hallway that ended in a closed door. “Knock it down!” she shouted, picking up speed. All three impacted the door, sending it crashing to the floor. The moment Apple Bloom looked up, she found a brown and white spotted colt huddling on the far side of the room.
She wasn’t expecting to find a pulsing ball of flame hovering in the center of the room.
“What the hay is that?!” Scootaloo said, recoiling from the unnatural sight.
Apple Bloom picked up her jaw and shook her head. “Don’t know, but it’s between us and Pip!” Stuffing her goggles away, she raised up on her hind legs while her forelegs glowed with red magic. “Outta the way!” With that, she pointed a hoof at the floating fireball, a stream of green bubbles forming before her and impacting against it.
The fireball staggered back, its flames receding. However, it quickly floated back into position and pulsed. Tongues of flames reached out for the fillies, causing them to cry out and leap out of the way.
“Great, now we made it mad,” Scootaloo grumbled. She zipped to the side, her own magic gathering within her wings. Presenting her back to the living fireball, she buzzed her tiny wings, letting loose a flurry of electrified feathers. The magical projectiles struck against the blazing corona, crystallizing bits of it that dropped to the floor.
“You’re doing it!” Sweetie Belle cheered.
With one last grunt of effort, Scootaloo ceased her attack and slumped against the wall. “Yeah, but not for long.”
“Whatever, it’s smaller,” Apple Bloom said. “Magic seems to be working. Sweetie, heal her up so she can do that again. I’ll keep it busy.”
No sooner had she said that, than the fireball dropped to the floor with enough force to send a tremor throughout the room. The fillies lost their footing for a few crucial seconds as the fireball sent tendrils of flame to lash out at them. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were struck in the chest, knocking them against opposite sides of the wall. A third tendril thrust against Sweetie Belle's unprotected side.
There came the chime of magic and the tendril splash against a green barrier.
“You jerk!” Sweetie Belle screeched. “You hurt my friends! Dispel!”
Her muzzle contorting in an ugly visage, Sweetie Belle’s horn blazed green and shot out a pale glyph that wrapped itself around the floating flame. The fireball pulsed against its confines but no fire managed to escape. Pouring more magic into her spell, the glyph shrank, forcing the fireball into a tighter space. Smaller and smaller the magical prison became, the fireball inside pulsing faster and faster to try to break free. With one final grunt of exertion, the glyph winked out of existence, taking the living fire with it.
Sweetie Belle sagged to the floor, completely spent.
Moaning in pain and clutching her chest, Apple Bloom crawled over to where Sweetie Belle lay and checked her over. Breathing a sigh of relief that everything seemed alright, she began to head over to Scootaloo only to see Pipsqueak get to her first. “Hey, can you carry her?” Apple Bloom called to him. “We need to get out—”
That’s when the house, still burning around them, began to collapse. A support beam for the room fell from above, landing right next to Apple Bloom’s head.
“Out! Out! Out!”
Bending down, Apple Bloom heaved Sweetie Belle over her back, but the extra weight pinned her to the floor. More pieces of the home fell all around her until a large brick landed on her tail. Completely immobile, Apple Bloom could only watch as the flames grew closer. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for the end to come.
She missed the puff of smoke from the far end of the room appearing out of nowhere and the pony that emerged from within it.
.o.O.o.
Apple Bloom wearily cracked open her eyes. Everything appeared blurry in the haze of wakefulness, so she closed them and rubbed at her lids. When she reopened them she managed to make out a room filled with beds. Somehow, it looked familiar. Carefully, slowly, she propped herself up, realizing she was in a bed herself. Glancing to side to side, Apple Bloom found Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in beds themselves on either side of her, sound asleep. Closing her eyes and sinking back into her bed, Apple Bloom let out a long sigh. “We did it.”
“Barely, you totally irresponsible… filly!”
Apple Bloom jerked back up, spotting Rarity sitting on the opposite end of the room. Another pony was in the room but Rarity had Apple Bloom’s full attention. The unicorn had such a look of rage that Apple Bloom “eeped!” and hid under the covers. “I’m sorry!”
“Sorry won’t cut it, young lady,” Rarity said, trotting over to the end of her bed. “If Rainbow Dash hadn’t dropped me in from the roof, I wouldn’t have found you at all. You were lucky.”
Apple Bloom peeked out from her covers, giving a sheepish grin. “But… but we all got out, right? Even Pip?”
“Yes, your colt friend is fine. Well, perhaps a little weak from smoke inhalation, but the healers are working on that.”
“I can help!” Apple Bloom jumped to the edge of her bed. “Stardust and I figured out this really cool cure-all called a remedy. It can fix anything!”
Rarity bopped the filly on the nose with a hoof. Apple Bloom swayed as though drunk then fell on her side. “Worry about fixing yourself up first. Twilight said you three used up a lot of magic, which means lots of bed rest for a while.”
“Worth it,” Apple Bloom slurred.
Shaking her head, Rarity began heading for the door. She nodded at a white earth pony with a pink mane as she passed by. “I’ll be by to check up on you all later. If I catch you out of that bed when I get back, then there will be consequences.” With that, she left, closing the door behind her.
“Well, that is one way to make a return to town,” said the earth pony as she walked up to the bed. She helped Apple Bloom back under the covers and get into a comfortable position.
“Thanks, Nurse Redheart,” Apple Bloom said once she was tucked in.
“Think nothing of it. Despite what she said, Rarity is just glad you are all safe.”
Apple Bloom yawned and snuggled up to her pillow. “That’s good.” Her eyelids drooped but she forced them open to look at Nurse Redheart. “Hey, how did the fire start anyway? We had to fight off this weird floating fire thing when we found Pip.”
“Well, the others are still looking into it, but from what I’ve heard the home stocked a lot of fire rods. One of them must have gone off. The fire got so big that we think the magic that set it off became sentient.”
Apple Bloom blinked and cocked her head. “Fire rods? What are those?”
Nurse Redheart looked away, frowning. Taking a breath, she said, “There are going to be a lot of things we’ll need to discuss when you’re feeling better. The townponies noticed your new cutie marks.”
“Heh, yeah. We told you those existed and now we got proof!”
Nurse Redheart shook her head. Reaching back with a hoof, she rubbed at her flank. White flakes of paint began to run down her thigh, peeling away to reveal a red cross emblazoned on her behind. “Little one, we already knew.”
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Yaaay
6658258
Gilda was a contentious choice for Kefka, to be sure. Just to let you know how far back this story goes, Discord hadn't even been introduced into the series yet when this started.
BUT, we have plans that I think will make readers happy. We just ask to be patient.
I think you'll like what we did for Trixie.
6658341 Heheh, you already made Trixie Celes, so like I said earlier, all is right with the world...
A FAVORITE!!!!! 
But wait... If Discord hadn't been introduced when this story started, then that means this came before Pony Fantasy VI. In other words... they're ripping off you, not the other way around.
Well, congrats, I've successfully caught up and you've held my interest up to this point. Do you know what this means?!?
6663578
Rarity was actually our first choice for Celes, but our planning determined that Trixie fit the role better. Especially with some of the plot changes we made.
Heh, I doubt the Pony Fantasy VI modders even know this story exists.
Glad you liked it! More to come as it's written.
6663865 They do, if only because when they had announced the mod, I had e-mailed the modder, saying I was looking forward to playing it, and said we would do our best not to steal any ideas from them without permission. X3 Not sure they ever read it, but they know it exists, at the very least.
DUN DUN DUN
Man that really hurts Rainbow dash actually really trusted Trixie even telling her about Spitfire and that's kind of personal for her but somewhere deep inside Rainbow really wanted to trust Trixie she just doesn't know how earning that trust takes a long time
Yeah maybe you should have thought of that first lol 😆 that was funny
Corona Yikes 😥
Wow that was something it looks like Trixie really did come back after all but unfortunately not everybody was so thrilled to see her again specialy spike which I really don't blame them they put their trust in her and then she betrays them Rainbow dash really wanted to give her so much benefit of the doubt sometimes learning trust is really hard later that day they finally got to the boat and set sail to The Island Twilight and Zecora having a little moment with each other Maduin teaching the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Rainbow having sea sick lol but once they got to the island they're on the way to the town but unfortunately the big house was on fire the others was trying to go inside but the Cutie Mark Crusaders beat them to it and they saw the bomb hovering over pipsqueak I bought it looks like they finally defeated the bomb but the house is about to collapse and you need to get out luckily Rarity save them just in time but it looks like the whole town had their little secrets they also have their own cutie mark as well I wonder how