Wildfire

by redactedandredacted

Prologue I

Wildfire

A Story by ReasonandRhyme

Prologue - I

Celestia’s sun hung low in the sky, watching over a tiny trading camp called Appaloosa. The tiny town had an air of anticipation about it. A small crowd was gathered on the edge of town, and the hushed sounds of excited conversation permeated the air.

Standing on the back of a large, canvas-covered caravan was a beige earth pony with a red and orange mane. His name was Chase Sunsets, explorer pony.

As Chase stared out over the little assembly, a great wave of satisfaction came over him. He and Wild Heart, his foal, were about to embark on a frontier-pushing journey to explore deeper into the wilderness, and drive the Equestrian border even further away from its epicentre. His thoughts were hopeful today, he wasn’t afraid to dream big. One day, a settlement that he created could be the next Manehatten or Fillydelphia, and he would be remembered as its founder!

He whistled for the crowd's attention, and began to speak to them in a voice filled with country-pony pride.

"My friends, I'd really like to thank y'all for coming here today to see us off."

His words were met by whoops and cheers from the gathered ponies.

"It’s a great day for me and my boy here. I ain’t exactly sure what lies ahead for us, but I do know that we're gonna succeed because of the support you've shown us!"

More cheers and stomping.

Chase looked up at the sun, and saw it was beginning its descent to the horizon. He and his little colt needed to get moving. He looked out once more over the ponies and the tiny desert community, starting to get quite emotional. He knew it would be a very long time before he saw them again, if he ever did. However, as he looked out towards the sun and the distant horizon, he knew that he would likely be too busy to reminisce. He had already said his goodbyes, there was no turning back. So after a few parting words to the crowd (accompanied, of course, by even more cheering), he trotted around to the front of the carriage and hooked himself up to the yoke.

One slow, deep breath.

This is it. From now on, life moves onward. Enough o’ this wishy-washy regret and livin’ in the past.

Over his shoulder, he viewed his little colt, nestled among some of the softer materials packed in the caravan. His name was Wild Heart, and he was just six months old. His mother, Scarlet Skies, had died giving birth to him. At the thought, Chase immediately felt the familiar sting of self-pity returning once again, but he quickly shoved it from his mind. He’d already spent far too much time dwelling on things he couldn't change.

His friends had been concerned about moving away to start a new life with such a young foal, but Chase had great conviction that life on the road would shape his colt into a fine stallion. He knew that he couldn't stay. Not here, with the painful memories of his wife's death surrounding him. Many expected that he would leave after Scarlet died, she was really the only thing that kept him in one place. They said that exploring and pushing boundaries were in his blood. No measure of reason could stop him.

Chase gave a lengthy exhale. All seemed well. With the cheers of his friends behind him, he set his sights on a point far on the horizon and started trotting.

|{WF}|

As the little family moved through the wilderness, the scenery changed. Sparse desert shrubs became bushes. The thirsty, hard-packed earth turned into grass, which grew in height until the cart's wheels were half-submerged in waves of yellow-gold vegetation. The area had clearly not seen much rain in the past weeks, which made Chase nervous about where they would find water when their cache ran out. But he pressed on, knowing that the only way to solve that predicament would be to find a source. Besides, his whole life had been spent wandering about the lesser-known parts of Equestria and beyond. Thirst was no stranger to him. He did worry about Wild, however. Whatever happened, he would never be able to forgive himself if he let his foal down.

As he walked, he thought back to when Wild Heart was first born. It had been just a few months after Chase and Scarlet Skies had helped to construct and settle Appaloosa. Chase had once been a famous explorer, but Scarlet had convinced him to settle down and start a family. So he became a local workstallion, assisting anyone who needed help in exchange for a few bits. When it came time to give birth, Scarlet fell mysteriously ill. In spite of the best efforts of the Appaloosa doctor, she just couldn’t take the stress of birthing a foal. Chase had never felt so horrible in his life. He had spent many days searching his soul for hope and a reason to continue. He had almost run out of reasons to live when he began to think about exploring once again. It might have been selfish, and he might have been a damned fool, but there was very little else that truly made his heart race anymore, other than the thought of the unknown and the unexplored. He had decided to name his colt Wild Heart, in the hopes that he would never lose hope the way Chase did.

Once again, he looked back at his foal. Wild Heart's mane was bright yellow streaked with orange, and his body was a sooty shade of gray. His mane and tail were both messy and unkempt, just like his father, Chase noted with fondness. He would never forget how much he had loved his wife, but he would never regret the birth of his child. Right now, Wild Heart slept on a sack of flour, and grasped in his tiny hooves was a curious object — Chase's tinderbox.

Days passed.

At the end of their third long day in uncharted territory, the father and son came across an expanse of dark and sinister-looking wood, bordering the grasslands to their north. The sun was just being pulled beneath the horizon beyond the great fields to the west. There was also a fast and powerful river running out of the forest, where they could refill their water barrels. Chase proceeded to make camp by the tree line and refresh himself.

After replenishing their stores, he was tired and needed rest. In his exhausted state, he failed to discern a pair of eyes watching him from within the tall grass across the river. He clambered into the wagon and laid a thin cot out on the stiff wooden floor. He held his tiny colt close to him, and fell quickly into a deep sleep...

|{WF}|

A tremendous crash jolted Chase awake. He jumped up from his makeshift bedding and discovered a thick, dark smoke filling the inside of the wagon. The smoke attacked his eyes and nostrils like a rabid animal, and he immediately began to cough and wheeze. A cacophony of loud snaps, pops, and sizzles invaded the wagon, disorientating him further. Panicking, he gathered up his foal (who, remarkably, was still snoozing) and leapt out of the wagon. Landing on the dirt outside, his jaw dropped when he saw the source of the commotion: the entire forest to the north was on fire, and trees were falling as their trunks were eaten by flames.

With horror, he saw that the fire had begun to spread across the grassland at an alarming pace. It quickly encircled their camp, and Chase feared that even if he could escape the fire immediately surrounding him, he would have to outrun the fire as it raced across the dry fields, something he knew he couldn't keep up very long with his son held in his teeth.

Looking around desperately, he tried to maintain a clear head just long enough to escape this situation.

The river!

He rushed to the edge of the channel and glanced around for an escape route. Then he heard a shout from across the river.

"Hey, pony! Over here!"

Chase looked up to see a single young buffalo female standing across the river, on a rocky ledge protruding over the current.

"Throw your young one to me, and then jump!"

Chase looked behind him to his caravan consumed by flames.

This is NOT a good idea...

But he saw no alternative. He held his colt close to him and prayed to Celestia he would be safe. He stole one last apprehensive glance at the rocks below, and the white water rushing by. He took a few steps back, and held his colt in his teeth. He swung him back and forth... And threw him. The young colt tumbled through the air... over the hungry, leaping water… and into the arms of the waiting buffalo calf.

“Now you must jump, earth pony!” the buffalo called to Chase.

The fire was quickly advancing on what little ground remained between it and the river, so without hesitation, Chase stepped back and sprinted at the edge of the river. He leapt off the edge, and instantly saw with dread that he lacked the height to catch the opposite edge. He braced himself mentally and physically for impact with the face of the opposite bank. His last thought was of his child, and his final hope was that the young thing would be treated fairly by the buffalo who had saved him.

He heard one last panicked scream from the buffalo calf as his hoof fell short of hers.

He hit the wall of rock with a sickening crack, blacking out as his body fell into the cold current and was sucked under.

|{WF}|

Comments

[Sorren]

This is very good. I am going to have to favorite this, and I rarely favorite a story.

[The Scrap]

Hands...I believe you mean hooves.

[redactedandredacted]

1285891 Thank you, thank you. That was part of a last minute edit that didn't get proofread... My bad.