> Conflagration
>  by JC Borch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Conflagration
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the strangest thing. Sweet Apple Acres was filled with noise and life, but it was in the middle of the night. Applejack was plumb tuckered after a hard day and woke begrudgingly to take a gander at the farm grounds below her with sleepy eyes. She stared for a moment into the darkness, trying to get her eyes used to the night. Judging by the sounds, perhaps the pigs had escaped their pens or even apple rustlers had snuck unto the premises, but no. It was just too bizarre to express in words, so Applejack did the only thing she could think of.

She rushed through the house, checking that Apple Bloom was still snoozing, before checking in on Big Mac. As expected, her red big brother was still out, clutching a doll that unmistakably looked like Smarty Pants. She decided to focus on the most imperative at the moment and shook him awake.

“Big Macintosh! Wake up, Big Mac, we’ve got trouble”

She only stayed long enough to know he was waking, too wound up to stay with him. He could escort himself downstairs, more importantly now was getting outside and get a handle on the situation. She still couldn’t believe it and hoped as she finally got outside that it was all a dream, just something she imagined, but she was not that lucky. In fact, it looked even worse up close. The entire farm was thick with creatures of all kinds, some of which she had only ever heard of in stories. It was beasts from the Everfree Forest, running loose and wreaking havoc. She looked at the scene unfolding before her in a stupor, unable to comprehend any of it.

Big Macintosh came up next to her with his usual expression of quiet observation but he could offer little more advice on this subject. It came as no surprise to them that Granny Smith was already out and quicker to take action than her grandchildren. The old mare was busy shouting at all the creatures to return to the forest, but none of them appeared to be particularly talkative. “Gosh darn tooting”, she yelled at the creatures, unable to fully express her ire. It was a circus of wild and monstrous creatures, a truly astounding sight to behold.

It never got truly dark in Equestria as the skies were usually illuminated by the twinkling stars, but tonight it was overcast and gloomy: the pegasuses were probably preparing for it to rain soon. Slowly her eyes got used to the darkness, she spotted manticores and basilisks and jackalopes, but also another, more familiar, form. It couldn’t be! She squinted in the semi-darkness, but sure enough.

“Come on, now, keep moving, everyone, we can’t stop here”, Fluttershy said in cheery mood, like she was helping an old lady over the road.
“Fluttershy?” Applejack asked in disbelief.
“Oh hey Applejack. What are you doing here?” the yellow pegasus replied and stopped up.
“This is Sweet Apple Acres, sugar cube; I should be the one asking you”
“Oh my. I’m so sorry; I was just trying to get all these animals away from town. I must have completely forgotten my surroundings”
“Well, need some help?” Applejack said and entered her fighting stance.
“Yes, please, but be careful. They are very spooked at the moment”, Fluttershy said, like she was talking about her bunnies, not bestial monsters from the Everfree Forest.
“Ain’t nothing we can’t handle. Come on, Big Mac, let’s get these critters back into the Everfree where they belong”
“Eee-yup”, he answered, but Fluttershy stopped them before they could even begin.
“No, no, the forest isn’t safe for them anymore. We need to get them outside of town, into the grasslands”, Fluttershy said.
“Well, you heard her”, Applejack said.

Big Mac raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but she knew better than to not trust the advice of a friend. There was no time to waste on discussing the matter either since the creatures were busy tearing up the grounds. Most of them were small and looked rather harmless, others were strange combinations of two or more animals while some where just plain big and frightening. Fortunately, they only needed a little nudge to move as whatever had them spooked had also given them some kind of group mentality. They were no longer individual animals, but a big, scary mass of monsters that were more than happy to get as far away from the forest as possibly.

Granny Smith took on the role of observing and heckling the beasts and allowed AJ and Big Mac to do their job, while Fluttershy contributed mostly with advices. “Don’t look into the eyes of that one” and “Close your ears to the scream of this one” and eventually, all the creatures were marching away from the farm and Ponyville, out towards the hills north of town. It was hard work and it felt like it took forever, but was still early night and somewhat dark when they finally finished and regrouped back by Apple farmhouse.   The damage was fortunately relatively minor, but there would be some cleaning up to do for later. Right now, there were other things to discuss. Such as:

“What in the hay was that all about?” Applejack asked.
“Oh it’s terrible! A fire broke out in the forest and all the creatures living there simply got so scared that they started running wildly”, Fluttershy replied and hovered slightly above ground with a concerned look on her face.
“A fire in the Everfree Forest? Well at least nopony lives there or anything”, Applejack replied.
“Well uhm... actually”, Fluttershy started and looked away.
“.... Oh horse apples”, AJ said in a defeated manner. It took her a moment to realise that somepony had indeed moved into the forest not too long ago. “Big Mac, you stay here and clean up the farm and send Apple Bloom back to bed if she wakes up”
“You’re not thinking of going into the forest?” Fluttershy asked, obviously very frightened.
“’Corse Ah’m gonna go into the forest! Ah cain’t just leave Zecora to burn, can Ah?” AJ replied. She didn’t mean to snap at the meek pegasus like that, but now there were suddenly things to be done.
“I’m sure she must have already heard the commotion and is on her way out”, Fluttershy said, trying to reassure her light orange friend.
“Coulda, shoulda, woulda, Fluttershy. Listen, don’t worry about me, Ah’ll be fine and if the weather pegasuses ain’t already on it, wake ‘em up and tell ‘em to get their flanks in gear”
“But...”

Applejack didn’t listen. She was stubborn and she trusted, no, she knew that Zecora would do the same thing for her. It’s true that she might already have vacated the forest, but Applejack couldn’t take that chance. Big Mac had learned a long time ago there was no stopping his little sister once she got going, so he, along with Granny Smith, started to clean up the worst of the mess left by the rampaging hordes. Fluttershy gave a small gulp before setting off on her task as well.

The closer Applejack got to the forest, the clearer the signs became. It wasn’t much to look at from the farm and probably not from town either, but she began to notice the thick cloud of smoke bellowing up from somewhere in the middle of the widespread forest. It was a good thing most of the animals were gone; either flown away or charging wildly to all sides. Some of them had threatened Ponyville but Fluttershy had luckily been quick to deflect them. No sense telling what damage they could have done to the town.

Zecora’s hut was close to the centre where the fire seemed to originate, but hopefully she wasn’t too late already. She was a good runner with an amazing stamina and endurance and tore easily through the forest, avoiding the various obstacles in forms of fallen logs, stones, depressions and such. Nothing could deter her and the only thing she could think of her was helping the zebra with little regards to her own life. Applejack was courageous and stubborn almost to a fault; but sometimes, the world just needed these kinds of ponies.

Thankfully, the fire hadn’t reached the hut yet, but she could feel the heat close by. It wouldn’t take long before the all-consuming beast would pass here on its way out, so every second counted. Applejack rapped on the door violently, not taking any time to be polite. Zecora emerged, looking like she had just been awoken, with her mane sticking out to all sides.

“Well if it isn’t Applejack with a coat of orange”, Zecora said and paused for a moment. “Aw damn”
“There ain’t no time for your fancy rhymes, Zecora, the forest is on fire!”
The zebra took a moment to look out of her windows and saw the orange hue behind her. “A most serious matter, Applejack. Please wait here while I start to pack”
“We need to be going now!”
“Please calm down, no need to hurry. Leaving these things would only cause me worry”

The dark and light gray zebra always seemed calm, an attribute quite in contrast with another of Applejack’s friends who always seemed to be over the top. Even as fire was threatening her existence, Zecora simply took two bags and started to pace around her small dwelling, taking down masks and potions and ingredients into them while Applejack nervously tripped around outside and waited for her to finish. It seemed to take forever and the heat from the flames made sweat drip from her brow, but at last, Zecora finished and gave Applejack one of the bags.

“Ah’m taking ya back ta town, if that’s all right with you?”
“I don’t mind, not at all. Please lead the way, Miss strong and tall”

They exited the forest not ten minutes later to a town in a state of uproar. Most of the ponies had gathered in the town square and was discussing the fire feverishly while the mayor tried to calm the residents. The troubling news had spread like wildfire and planted the seeds of worry within the town, but none more worried than the four ponies waiting for Applejack to return just outside the throng.

“Twalight, Pinkie... Rarity? Whatcha’ll doing here?” Applejack asked in puzzlement at seeing all her friends waiting for her just inside town.
“We were most concerned about you when Fluttershy told us you had gone into the forest on your own”, Rarity replied with a troubled look on her face, while Fluttershy silently nodded.
“Worried? What for?” Applejack asked ironically. 
“Well, because the forest is on fire, silly! Ah duh!” Pinkie replied, showcasing a few of the many expressions she in repertoire.
“At least you managed to escort Zecora safely out”, Twilight said relieved, before turning to the zebra in question. “How are you?”
“Thanks for asking, I am just fine. Thanks to this pony, I saved most of what is mine”. Twilight began inquiring about the status of the forest and how things looked, while Fluttershy, with an even more worried tone than the others, asked:
“Are you all right?”
“Ah’m just a little tuckered from all the running is all”, Applejack replied and sat down on the ground.

Applejack was finally able to take a rest. It wasn’t that she had run for longer than she was used to, but the terrain of the forest was very uneven and could be difficult to traverse in the length, not to mention the constant fear of the fire pressing on her. But it was over now, wasn’t it? The ponies in charge of the weather were all busy somewhere over the forest where the smoke seemed to be coming from.

“So how’s the fire coming?” Applejack asked, while still looking out over the forest.
“Rainbow Dash and a whole bunch of other ponies just zoomed past clutching a whole lot of rainclouds!” Pinkie answered excitedly and began to jump and recreate the scene.

Applejack could see them, working hard to wrench every last drop of water out over the woods, to stop the fire from spreading and hopefully to extinguish it. She allowed herself a breather and aired her head with her hat. Her friends joined her on the ground and watched as the Everfree Forest was going up in smoke and the pegasuses tried desperately to quell it. The other ponies also noticed and quieted down considerably as they all calmed down, united in their hope that this would succeed.

A smell of burning wood slowly sneaked its way into town and intermingled with the nervous dread; the prospect of the fire reaching town. Nopony wanted to think about it, but it was painted on everypony’s face. Even Derpy stood in the background and looked on in worry with Dinky next to her.

It seemed to take weather ponies forever to put out the fire. What was going on? No matter how long they kept at it, the fire only seemed to grow. Anxious whispers broke out in the crowd as the realisation struck them... this fire was not going out. Even the hard-working pegasuses came to this conclusion and eventually had to retreat as they ran out of rainclouds.

“Now, calm down everypony”, the mayor said to little effect, probably because the fear was obvious in her too. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for this”
One of the pegasuses, a yellow mare with a thundercloud on her flank, was the one designated by the group to bear the news. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing we could do. And what’s worse, the whole forest will be consumed in a matter of hours. It will reach Ponyville probably around daybreak”
“Now, no need to panic, everypony, we can wait in the hills for the fire to die out on its own”
“Well, actually”, Fluttershy said, but her timid voice was drowned by a loud outcry. Applejack knew what she wanted to say; after all, she had been there with her and understood.
“We can’t”, she shouted over the crowd, and all the ponies focused on her.
“What do you mean we can’t?” the mayor asked concernedly.
“The creatures from the forest already made their escape into the hills”, Applejack explained.
“So we’re trapped between a magical fire and dangerous beasts? I never asked for this”, one of the ponies said in a dejected manner. “The horror, THE HORROR!” another exclaimed and with that, the residents of Ponyville understood the severity of the situation they were in and began to panic, despite the mayor insisting on the opposite.

“Hmm... the fire IS magical, isn’t it?” Twilight asked, more to herself than her friends around her. Her horn glowed as a book flew out of her saddlebags and laid it down in front of her. Never leave home unprepared. A sooty Rainbow Dash also returned at this point and her friends gathered around her.
“Is it... really true?” Rarity asked, afraid that she already knew the answer.
“Yeah. I mean, I emptied three clouds’ worth of rain! Believe me, the fire is completely un-put-out-able”, Rainbow Dash replied, angry at fire.
“Oh my”, Fluttershy said and put a hoof in front of her mouth in shock.
“St. Elmo’s fire!” Twilight said triumphantly and poked her book.
“No thanks, I just ate”, Pinkie said. Twilight gave her an incredulous look, but Pinkie just smiled back.

“St. Elmo’s fire is an umbrella term for any fire of magical origin that cannot be put out by conventional means”, Twilight continued.
“But we already know that” Rarity said and looked at Twilight in disbelief for stating the obvious.
“Not necessarily”, Twilight answered and slammed the book shut, stuffing it back in her saddle pouches. She was excited and could barely contain it. It was almost like a backdrop would appear behind her and a fan would make her mane flicker. “Listen, if you five are willing to help me, it can be done! It will be extremely dangerous, though”
“Not like we have much choice, sugar cube”, Applejack said in a cheery voice.
“Yeah, anything’s better than sit here and get roasted!” Pinkie chimed in.
“We’re with you all the way”, Rainbow Dash said enthusiastically.
“I simply couldn’t bear the thought of Ponyville going up in ashes”, Rarity said as well like a cheery excuse to cover how fearful she actually was.
“Of course”, Fluttershy said, a tad lower than usual. She was visibly frightened, but like the rest, she trusted Twilight with her life.

“Then it’s settled”, Twilight said and sent a magical burst shooting from her horn that exploded up in the air. The ponies settled down for a moment in bewilderment to see the cause of this sudden clamour, fearing that things were getting worse. Twilight used this moment to get their attention. “Listen up, everypony. We don’t have much time left, but I will try my best to put out this fire”
“Who is that?” somepony asked.
“Isn’t that the princess’s student?” another said.
“Please... anything”, the mayor said desperately after several minutes of trying to quieten things down. “You would do the town a big favour”
“And if we’re not back before daybreak”, Applejack added seriously, “then try to escape into the hills”

This calmed the inhabitants down somewhat, most of them thanking the six at least for wanting to try. Twilight was determined, but also nervous, yet this was nothing compared to the other adventures they had had so far. Both Nightmare Moon and Discord had wielded powers that would threaten all of Equestria, whereas this little fire only threatened Ponyville. At least that’s what she told herself. It would calm her if she could keep Spike close to her, but it was better this way, leaving him in the library to sleep. This was not a situation for a dragon his size.

“Ah sure hope ya know what yer doing, Twalight. Ah would feel bad if we just gave all those ponies unfounded hope”, Applejack said as they had walked out of sight of town.
“Yeah, how exactly do you plan to put out that fire?” Rainbow Dash said a tad sceptical from her position above the small group.
“Don’t worry, girls. St. Elmo’s fire can be extinguished either by removing the source that’s feeding the flames or by assaulting it with counteractive magic”, Twilight said.
“That sounds fancy and all, but what does it mean?” Rainbow Dash asked again perhaps a little too heatedly.
“It means we need to go inside the fire itself”, Twilight said matter-of-factly.
The other ponies gave a little gasp as they hadn’t up until this point been informed of the strategy Twilight had in mind.
“But darling, how are we supposed to get inside the fire?” Rarity asked, like what Twilight said must have been a joke.
“A simply little spell of fire shield should do the trick”, Twilight replied to try and cheer up her friends.

The mane six walked on through the forest, wary of the plants and trees growing here, Fluttershy especially who clung to the middle of the group, surrounded by Pinkie on her right and Rarity on her left, while Applejack and Twilight headed the group with Rainbow Dash hovering above them. The shadows dancing on ground and trees only served to enhance the sinister atmosphere of the place. The fire was still a good distance away as it moved only slowly ahead, like it was taking its time to savour the taste of the forest.

It was strange walking in the Everfree Forest like this. They had all done it on one or more occasion, but that was nothing compared to now. It was silent with not a single animal chirping, howling or groaning, just the crackle of burning wood. The once musty-smelling forest, like an old attic, now smelled of campfire. Embers carried by the wind spread far away from the source, but had trouble igniting the mostly humid forest floor.

They walked on in silence, each preparing herself mentally for the challenge ahead, perhaps wishing they were somewhere, anywhere, else, but they all knew what was at stake and that they would be the only ones with any hope of succeeding. The fire was now just ahead of them and the group stopped to take in their adversary, standing with some distance to the intense heat.

“That sure ain’t no ordinary forest fire”, Applejack said, completely taken aback.
“You can say that again”, Rainbow Dash and landed next to her on the ground.
“That sure ain’t no ordinary forest fire”, Pinkie replied and tried to emulate Applejack’s manner of speech while looking at the fire quite seriously. The two ponies simply stared at her. “What?”

Applejack was right, it was definitely no ordinary fire. They had probably expected it to be an inferno of some sort, crawling along the ground and licking the trees as it rapidly exploded through the forest, but no. The fire was a tall wall, like a massive bulwark surrounding a fortress of flames. It looked mostly like a hot yellow and red cylinder slowly expanding its mass, throbbing like it was breathing.

“All right girls, this is it”, Twilight said. “I hope you’re ready, for I need all of you if I’m going to do this. Gather around”

The other five surrounded Twilight in a little circle, none of them willing to back down. They were here for her, for themselves and for all of Ponyville. They could not fail now. Whatever plan their egghead friend had, they were supporting it with all of their heart. Once again, Twilight’s horn began to glow from her effort to create a new spell, one that encased all of them individually in a red, see-through bubble. It was easier if she could cast the spell only once since she needed all the energy she could muster for what was to come. No telling what awaited them in there.

It was cold inside the bubble and they only now remembered that it was supposed to be in the middle of the night in late fall, not a warm summer day.

“We’re going to have a hard time seeing inside the fire, so everyone, grab a tail and follow me”

Rarity grabbed Fluttershy’s who grabbed Pinkie’s who grabbed Applejack’s who grabbed Rainbow Dash’s who grabbed Twilight’s, and the strange, multi-coloured snake started gliding slowly inside the fire. As Twilight had predicted, the visibility was near zero and the almost deafening roar of the flames made it impossible to communicate. Perhaps they should have asked what they were looking for before clenching their teeth around a tail, but chances are, they wouldn’t be able to see it either way. Hopefully Twilight wouldn’t get them lost, but judging by the faint flicker of her horn just visible in the distance, she was starting to home in on something.

The ground was ash underneath their hooves and they made sure to tread carefully. The bubble surrounding them would protect them against heat, but anything sharp sticking out would be difficult to make out. What’s worse is, they probably wouldn’t discover any holes in the terrain until they were just in front of it, and stopping abruptly like this could prove to be problematic. Most likely also the cause for their slow tempo. It would be reckless to charge ahead at their previous speed with such low visibility.

They trod on carefully for what seemed like hours. All sense of time was lost in here as all they could see were flames and more flames. It could be pitch black outside or daylight outside and they would not notice it, but they tried not to think about it as they went ahead. They would do this and make sure their town was safe. Perhaps this fire wouldn’t even reach Ponyville. It was magical, after all, who knows what its intentions were. Yet if this fire burned so intently regardless of kindle, what would stop it from destroying just Ponyville? No, they couldn’t think that, there was no way they could fail.

“Who are you that walk the path of flames at this late hour?”

The deep, male voice that suddenly rang out made them all stop up, more than Twilight halting. They all released their grip and looked around wildly to find the source of speech, but to their surprise didn’t find any.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, sir. Who are you?” she replied and tried to keep her nervousness to a minimum.
“It’s been... so long that I have forgot. I was once somepony, but now... I am just a fire”, the voice replied. The reply was drawn-out, as if the voice was trying to remember something painful.
“Who made you?” Twilight asked again.
“I did... myself... I think”

The ponies huddled together not to lose themselves in the impenetrable flames and listened to the voice that came from all around them, unbound by direction. The fire here was quiet and allowed them perfect opportunity to strike a conversation with a disembodied voice.

“May I ask... why you have come here?” the voice asked.
“We’re here to stop you, you big mean meany Mr Mean”, Pinkie said in her most serious tone.
“Tell us, why are you burning this forest?” Twilight asked, her curiosity getting the better of her apprehension.
“Why does a fire burn?” the voice asked. “Fire, you see, is the incarnation of destruction. The Everfree Forest has a life of its own, yet the cycle has been broken. The forest stagnates and the trees and plants cry out to me in pain. Nothing new can come out of the old, so I must burn the trees so that out of the ashes can grow the buds”
“So yer not trying to burn Ponyville?” Applejack asked confusedly. The voice was unresponsive for a moment.

“Ponyville... Pony.... ville”, the fire said, again trying to gather its thoughts. “I rememmmmmmber. I once lived in a town called Ponyville, but that place is.... long gone. I destroyed it, it seems”
“So... you ARE going to destroy Ponyville?” Rainbow Dash asked, puzzled. Seriously, this was making less and less sense by the minute.
“Hmmmmm.... perhaps I am... I seem.... to have forgotten”
“But...” Fluttershy said, the consequences of his actions were he not stopped weighing heavily on her gentle mind. “Y-you can’t burn Ponyville! We take care of things there ourselves. Ponyville is always changing, little by little, it doesn’t -”
“Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Hmmmmmmmm”. Fluttershy gave a meek little squeak as the fire suddenly began to hum loudly. “Is that.... really true? Can you honestly tell me.... that things there aren’t the same.... as they have always been? I rememmmmmmmmmmmmmmmber. Thatched overhanging roofs and timbered framing?” The ponies looked at each other nervously, afraid to reply.

“Y-yes”, Twilight answered, some of her previous concern sneaking back.
“Fear not, little ponies. Although your bodies are mortal, your soulllllllllllllllllllls are eternal. Although Ponyville will be eaten by my flames, the residents and you included will be born anew”
“You can’t do that!” Rarity said angrily. “I simply won’t allow it!”
“And how... would you stop me? I am the strongest of the four natural element, the element... of fire, after all”
“It is true that the four natural elements are strong in their own rights”, Twilight said, encouraged by Rarity’s stand, “but they wane against the combined elements of harmony”
“The elements of harmony... are but a myth”
“No”, Twilight said and shook her head. “The elements are real and its wielders are all gathered here. It’s true that we don’t have the elements with us, but with the imponyments beside me, lending me their power, I, the element of magic, will vanquish you”
“You... would not dare”
“And why is that?” Applejack asked. “What Twalight said is true, we don’t need the elements with us, we have -”, but the fire interrupted her again with a long sigh that made the flames dance like waves on the ocean.

“I rememmmmmber... a long time ago... my name is... my name was... Greycolt. Ponyville had been a beautiful place for many hundreds of years when I settled there, but we were always in danger of the Everfree Forest catching fire. I realised that because the ponies extinguished all the fires, the forest grew only drier and drier. If I hadn’t told them to burn the forest, it would have gotten to a point where the fire would get out of hoof. But ponies do not live forever. They would not remember when the time would come next”

“But what did I do next? .... It’s been so... so very long.... Ah yes... yes, I rememmmmmber.... as if in a dream... I see myself going into the forest... the trunks were standing leafless and lifeless, yet saplings were pushing their way... I had no other choice.... for the sake of Ponyville, where everyone I loved lived, I sacrificed myself. I became an undying spark that would grow as the forest aged. I rememmmmmber... I became... fire for the sake of Ponyville”

The ponies sat silently and listened to the dawdling tale, their hearts conflicted with what they heard. His ageless voice was suddenly filled with melancholy, the sorrow of ancient regret.
“But you burned the town down when it was time to purge the forest”, Twilight said. “Why?”
“Diiiiiiiiiiiiiid... I?”
“Ya said it yerself! And besides, the current town was founded only a hundred years ago by mah great grandparents”, Applejack said.
“Aaaaaah yessss. It seems that I did not become fire, the fire became me. For hundreds of years have I lived here, yet this will be only my second time. It feeeeeeels... so refreshing to see the town again.... everything is.... as I remember it”
“W-what do you mean by that?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I can see.... the town just ahead.... how I have longed... to return.... I never got to tell.... Sunset Celebration.... how much I love her after all... I hope you are not mad at me”
“Twilight, we can’t wait any longer, you must do your thing now! You must!” Rarity said and tried to shake some sense into her lavender-coloured friend.
“I...” Twilight stammered. She was of two minds about this whole thing. On one hand, the fire was needed to cleanse the forest, but on the other, the whole of Ponyville was at stake here.
“Twalight, please?”

She looked around her and saw her friends all looking at her pleadingly. The fire was at the edge of town already and it was them who had encouraged the pony folk to stay as they tried to come up with a solution. No, she couldn’t let herself get dissuaded by that story. Greycolt was no longer in his right mind, and although his intention had been justifiable, his actions were inexcusable. He had already destroyed one town in the past, he would not claim this one too.

She felt the trust of her friends and their powers, the elements of honesty, of kindness, laughter, generosity and loyalty, flowing through her and combining with the element of her own. A powerful, pure white jet of light shot through Twilight’s horn and dispelled the flames as it moved straight up into the air. The beam broke off as it emerged from the dense flames and covered the whole wriggling, writhing, flaming entity with its light.

“No, you don’t know what you’re doing!” Greycolt said. “Without destruction, there can be no creation”

His pleas went unheard as he began to dissolve, like orange curtains being ripped and torn apart, like mud diluting in water. He cried in agony as his flames shrank, of size and density, faster and faster, compressing in on its own until there was nothing left but a small spark of fire hovering before them.

“Thank you”, it whispered before this little ember too gave a small crackle and died off. The beam subsided as well and disappeared and left Twilight exhausted and panting, but all of them alive. The red shield protecting them was gone and it was just the six of them in the charred remains of the Everfree Forest, lone trunks protruding from the ashes here and there.

“Was it... the right thing to do?” Twilight asked, trying to catch her breath.
“Ya’d rather have the whole town burned down?” Applejack asked.
“Yeah, you were great!” Pinkie said and began to dance around and mimic her words with various gestures. “I thought for a moment you wouldn’t do it, and then I felt all tingly and I couldn’t help but laugh and then you did do it and then a giant beam burst out of your horn and I was all “Wow!” and you were all “hnnng” and the fire was all like “Aaaaah!””
“You did wonderful”, Rarity said and rubbed up against Twilight. “I’m proud to be your friend”
“We all are!” Fluttershy said and the group commenced to have a big hug that drove away all sense of failure in her.
“Thank you, girls, I don’t know what I would do without you... I really don’t. How about we check on the town?”

It was still dark outside, so the fire must have been faster than they could have expected, but they had won. Soon, the seeds of new would grow and the forest would be reborn, but until then, it would look like a bleak wasteland. The important thing was that the town was safe.

POST SCRIPT
The girls returned to Ponyville amidst cheers and hollering. The ponies were happy to have avoided a sure death in the flames of a bitter spirit and though they couldn’t know what had transpired in the forest, they didn’t need to. Sure they were curious, but for now, it only mattered that they were safe.

This wasn’t the first time the mane six had been the centre of attention like this, but it was an overwhelming experience nonetheless. They were surrounded by jubilant faces on both sides and the way closed behind them so that they could only walk forward to the mayor, waiting for them in the middle of town before the town hall.

“You did it, by Celestia, you did it”, the mayor said eagerly. “I can never thank you enough for saving us, but I hope our eternal gratitude is enough”

The six ponies were speechless at the reception, but they did not have much time to think of something to say either. Dawn broke just then with the first rays of light announced by an illuminated figure that descended down into crowd, landing behind the mayor.

“P-princess”, Twilight said. Celestia gave her a little smile before addressing the crowd in a more serious tone.
“Residents of Ponyville, I am deeply sorry for allowing this transgression to occur for a second time. It would seem that losing my sister has put me out of touch with goings-on in the night. But I was right in trusting my most faithful student, just like you all did. Had Twilight not reacted as she had, I myself would have to intervene and you wouldn’t have learned an important lesson”
“An important lesson, your highness?” the mayor asked puzzled.
“I trust you all learned something important today?” Celestia asked to Twilight and her friends.
“Yes princess”, Twilight answered. “I learned that good intentions aren’t always enough, and that if you experiment with unknown magic, disaster is rarely far away”
“Good, but I think you already knew that”, Celestia said. “Did you learn something else as well?”
“Well”, Twilight said, not sure how to word it.

“We learned that when you intervene with nature, you better know the consequences”, Applejack said.
“If you remove a tree, be sure to replace it with a new sapling”, Fluttershy added. 
“And most importantly, there’s always meaning behind nature, even if we ponies can’t immediately see it”, Rainbow Dash said.
“The old must make way for the new. To rebuild, you most first tear down”, Rarity said.
“You know what this calls for?” Pinkie asked. “A PARTY!”

POST SCRIPT ADDENDUM
“Twilight, there’s something I would like to know”, Celestia said and slurped from her goblet of punch.
“Yes, princess?”
“You wouldn’t happen to have met a pony by the name of Greycolt inside the flames?”
“Yes, we did... sort of. How did you know?”
“Well”, Celestia answered and pondered the correct way to say. It was still only early morning, but the light of a new day shone brightly down upon a town that had been given a new chance. The ponies celebrated this in the only way they knew; Pinkie style. It didn’t take long before the whole town was covered in streamers with balloons and banners everywhere. The streets overflowed with food and drinks aplenty and it seemed that the festivities would never end with the intensity of it at the moment.

“Greycolt was once a student under me like you, Twilight, more than six hundred years ago. He was a powerful wizard, but also rather naive, so I send him here to Ponyville to help out the earth ponies in any way he could and hopefully get some experiences. I hoped the tranquil surroundings would give him the peace and quiet he needed to further his studies. I was distraught when I learned of his decision, but it was too late then”

“When all of Ponyville disappeared a few hundred years later, I couldn’t help but feel that it must have been related to him. When I assigned this plot of land to the Apple family a hundred years ago, I had hoped they wouldn’t settle so close to the forest, but they did. I feared that the mysterious disappearance would happen again, so I told my sister, after you released her, to keep a sharp eye on you”

“Thank you”, Twilight said and cuddled up against the princess. “I can see why Greycolt did it and were it not for my friends, I would have sympathised with him as well. But what will happen now? Without the fire, how will the Everfree Forest be renewed?”
“What’s going to happen is what Greycolt should have done from the beginning; consulting me. I will make sure that as long as my rays warm the land that his actions will not be forgotten. He was posthumously dubbed Greycolt the Great for his sacrifice... no one should ever again forget why”

It was another day in Equestria and ponies elsewhere wouldn’t know until later, if they even cared, what had happened in a small town on the edge of Everfree Forest, but for Twilight and all her friends, it was a day they would always remember. Much work still lay ahead of them as the creatures of the forest needed to be shepherded back, but for now, they could rest and let others handle the work. Applejack had already fallen fast asleep with Rainbow Dash across her back and Rarity and Fluttershy had also found a corner to snooze in; only Pinkie it seemed was able to handle the pace and strutted around to make sure that no one would frown on this joyous day. Ponyville had averted another crisis and their heroes now deserved a break.