> Heartfire's Tale: Flashbacks and Nightmares (Part 1)
>  by HeartfireBurn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
It was a dark, moonless night, and Heartfire had just taken the last swig of his whiskey. It was a common thing, stumbling through the dark alleyways of Cloudsdale, trying to drink away the memories. He slammed the empty bottle against the dark, grey storm cloud wall. The glass shattered, cutting the flesh around his hooves and embedding glass in his fur. He looked up and saw where he was. He was outside the exterior wall of the Factory, the dark grey walls glowering down at him like leering faces.

"Wha da fuk ish yous lookin' at!?" he shouted at the walls, slamming his fist into the wall. "This ish all yours faults!" He winced as the memories flooded into his head, buzzing through his mind like a swarm of bees. "AAAGGGHHH!!!" He screamed, the horror of those memories causing him agony. He saw flashes of an orange mare with a violet mane, saving him from the clutches of a terrible cyan pegasus, sacrificing herself to save him. As the memories continued to flood in, they became clearer, and he groaned with despair. No matter how much he drank, he always ended up here, outside these walls, reliving the memories of that day.

...

"Hey, Heartfire!"
He turned to see the orange pegasus flying up to him, a giant grin plastered onto her face.
"What is it Scoots?" They had been friends since the first day of Flight Academy, and they were almost never apart. "What's the massive grin for? What'd you do this time?"
She pouted. "Now, why would you assume such a thing of innocent old me? Don't you trust me?" Ever since they had become best friends, she had become a massive teaser, and Heartfire accepted this. It was what made their time together interesting. She smiled again, this time bigger than before. "I didn't do anything. I'm just excited for tomorrow!"
He was confused. "What's tomorrow?"
She giggled. "Why, the final flight exam, dork!" She gave him a playful push on the shoulder. "How could you have forgotten?"
He laughed. "I don't know, but I bet you that at least three people fail!"
She glared at him. "Don't joke about that. You remember the stories of what they do to flunkees?"
"What, that they get de-ported? Come on, that's just a myth. Your friend Fluttershy never passed her flight test, and look at her, happily going along her own merry way."
"Still, you don't know what happens afterwards."
"Oh, it can't be that bad. Stop being such a worry-wart."
Scootaloo sighed. "I guess you're right. If Fluttershy is safe, anyone who fails must be too, right?"
Heartfire smiled. "Right!"
They flew towards the parade grounds, where the instructor was lining up a set of young colts for their first flight test.
"Now, you maggots, you are here to learn how to fly for the pride of Cloudsdale. I am going to teach you everything you need to know in order to fly with the grace and pride of a Cloudsdale Pegasus. Are you ready!?"
The answer was, as per usual, a unanimous "Sir, yes Mr. Lancelot, sir!"
The only problem was, one pony didn't answer.
"I can't hear all of you!" The instructor trotted up to the small pegasus. She was a grey pony, with a dark rose colored mane. She had a streak of light blue running through the flowing locks. "What is your name, filly!?"
The small pony hesitated, obviously frightened by the large stallion.
"I said, what is your name!?"
She flinched at the booming tone. "Sh-shutterbug, sir!"
"What was that!?"
She stopped shaking. "Shutterbug, sir!"
"Do you want to disgrace Cloudsdale, disgrace your parents? Do you want to be sent off with the rest of the ponies that don't graduate!?" He was right in the filly's face, and his menacing threat sent shivers down Heartfire's spine.
"No sir!" She stood her ground, glaring straight ahead now, seemingly more confident than before.
"Then buck up, filly! This ain't no cake walk! Now pay attention!" He addressed the rest of the group, putting them through the maneuvers and flight patterns that they had to learn. He demonstrated the first one, a basic loop. "Now who thinks that they can pull that off?"
A hoof at the beginning of the line was raised. "I can do it!" He was a young, forest green colt, with blue eyes and a green and yellow mane styled backwards. He stood there with an air of confidence, proudly raising his hoof. "I got this."
He strutted out in front of the line, planted a hoof at the line the instructor had marked off, and got into position. The instructor looked at him, more than a little surprised. "You ready?" The green pony nodded his head. "Well then, go!"
The colt bolted off, arcing upwards into the loop. He was doing great, until he got cocky. He started spinning in the loop, trying to show off, when he veered off course and crashed into a passing pony.
"OW! Hey, watch it!"
Heartfire recognized that voice. He hurried over to the mare's side, when he realized who it was.
"Aurora! What are you doing here?"
He helped the yellow pegasus up, who in turn winced in pain.
"I just got back from the hospital. The doctor said I should be okay to fly, as long as nothing impacts it. But now," she looked at her now bruised wing. "Now I don't know if I'll pass the final exam."
He gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll do great! You were better than any of us, at least before the crash."
She winced at the thought of the incident. The crash was not her fault. It was because of a strange green streak crossing her path, confusing her and causing her to veer off course. She had crashed into a fountain, breaking a wing. She went to the hospital, was fixed up, and sent on her way. Now, she was returning home to recuperate for the day before the final flight exam.
"Are you sure?" She had a genuine look of worry in her eyes.
He gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm positive. You'll pass with no problem!"
She was convinced. Giving him a smile, she trotted home.
"Now, to deal with you." He glared down at the still dazed colt. He picked up the pegasus by the nape of the neck, bringing him to eye level. "What do you think you were doing? What did I teach you about show boating, Tom?"
The green colt's eyes stopped rolling around in his head. He looked at Heartfire sheepishly. "I was only trying to impress a filly. I mean come on, you can't say you've never done it!"
Heartfire dropped the green colt on his rump. "I have, but not when I was within sight of the instructor. Do that at the finals in a few years, and you're toast."
Tom huffed. "Fine. I'm sorry. I'll do better next time, promise."
"And?" Heartfire raised an eyebrow at the colt.
Tom sighed. "No more show boating."
Heartfire grinned. "Alright. Now get back to the instructor. Don't want points docked off of your grade for going missing during training."
Tom beamed, happy to be let off the hook. "Thanks Heartfire! Later!" And he was off.
"Are we done here?"
Heartfire turned to see the orange pegasus pouting behind him. He laughed.
"Yeah, we're done. Let's get to the arena. We need to catch the instructor's final briefing."
Scootaloo let out an exasperated sigh. "Finally! I thought you were going to console your girlfriend for forever!"
Heartfire shot her a look. "She's not my girlfriend, and you know that."
The orange mare laughed. "I know, I'm just giving you shit. Let's go before we're late."
And at that, they flew off to their final briefing.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	He stumbled around a bit longer, fighting back the tears that came with the memory of the orange pegasus.
"Why did shey have to takes you? Why!?"
Heartfire tripped over something and fell, landing in the gutter. He propped himself up, sitting in the gutter, sobbing. As he looked down at the stagnant rain water, he stared at the pony he no longer recognized. His mane was unkempt and matted, his eyes and cheeks puffy from crying. He had bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep, and his eyes were red and watery. He was a mess.
"Heartfire?"
He turned to see a purple pegasus with flaming purple and pink hair standing behind him. He blinked at her, recognizing the voice, but only vaguely.
"Celestia, what happened to you?"
Again he blinked, confused.
"Come on," said the purple pony, "Let's get you home." She lifted him up and draped him over her back.
As they trotted towards Heartfire's home, another memory sent a jolt of pain through his body, causing him to whimper.
The purple pony gave him a concerned look, then went back to her thoughts of a blue earth stallion.

...

"Alright! You are here because you have trained to be the pride and joy of Cloudsdale! Tomorrow is your final flight exam, before you're sent off to represent this floating city in the best way possible!"
Heartfire stood at attention, his hooves planted firmly in the clouds. He looked straight ahead as the instructor paced back and forth in front of the line of pegasi.
"You all know the drill: Clear, fly, fall, complete. Go home, get some rest, and be ready for tomorrow. Make me proud." And at that, he dismissed the ponies.
Heartfire relaxed and turned towards home.
"Heartfire!" He heard a call behind him. He turned to see a small grey pegasus with blonde hair flying towards him at full speed. Heartfire shut his eyes and braced himself for impact, waiting for the attack. When nothing happened, he opened his eyes to see the filly sitting on the cloud in front of him, looking up at him. He relaxed, lowering his guard.
"Hi Overl-"
"GLOMP!" She tackled him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a big hug. Heartfire flailed his legs, but to no avail. He was pinned onto his back.
Overlap, the small grey pony now sitting on his chest, just smiled at him, barely containing herself.
"Oh my Celestia! Heartfire! You looked great! How do you think you'll do tomorrow?"
Heartfire just lay there, still dazed from the tackle/hug. He looked at the filly on his chest and smiled. "Oh, hi there Overlap. How are you?"
Overlap beamed. "I'm doing great! I just learned how to loop the loop!"
"That's awesome! Show me sometime, okay? I kinda gotta get home and rest for the exam tomorrow."
The filly frowned. "Aw, come on! Lemme show you! Just a small one. Please?"
He laughed. "Alright, alright, fine. Let's see this."
She squealed. "Yay! Okay, now, sit right here. I'm gonna go get ready." She flew off of Heartfire, allowing him to get up, and landed a couple of feet in front of him. She stretched her legs, flexed her wings, and took off.
She flew forward rather shakily for a bit, but then righted herself in mid flight. As she reached the end of the cloud, she arced upwards, pulling backwards into a loop. As she reached the apex of her flight she looked up, or rather, down, and saw how far she was from the ground. She became frightened, and lost control. She veered off course, heading for the ground, and Heartfire. 
"Heartfire! Move!" She shouted, knowing she was going to crash.
Heartfire just stood there, seemingly frozen in shock. Overlap braced for impact, as Heartfire spread his forelegs apart to catch her.
> Chapter 3
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	Heartfire woke up several hours later, the light of dawn slowly breaking the horizon. He sat up, rubbing his head, the hangover starting to kick in. It felt as if Rainbow Dash was kicking thunder clouds in his head, and it was splitting his skull. He looked around the room, and to his surprise, saw five different ponies sleeping in his room. He recognized the blue pony with lemonade yellow hair, laying on the love-seat with his fillyfriend. She was tan, with a thick, midnight black mane. She looked up at Heartfire as he looked over the room and gave him a smile. 
He remembered Joanna, the purple pegasus who had carried him home. He gave her a weak smile, then realized she was still asleep. It was hard to tell with her goggles on. As he continued to look around, he noticed the pony in the bed next to him, and smiled. She was a sky blue pegasus, with a dark brown mane that flowed gracefully down the side of her face. It had a streak of bright blue that ran through it, bringing bright color to the chocolate brown mane.
As he got up, he almost tripped over the last pony, though there was no way he could have missed him. He was a large, tan, bulky pony. No, pony wasn't the word. Stallion was more the word. He was huge, almost as tall as Heartfire, and bulky. He looked like he ate iron for breakfast, whole. As he neared the door, he looked back at the ponies in the room with a confused look on his face. Why were they here? How did they get here? Three of them weren't even pegasi, and even Heartfire couldn't lift Iron Coat's bulk. He trotted down the hall, pondering the situation, until he reached the living room. He looked up, and knew how they had gotten there. On the couch sat a worried princess.
"L-Luna!?"
The princess jumped at the sound of his voice, then rushed over to him.
"Oh my goodness! Are you alright? Joanna came and got me the second she had found you, and I gathered your friends!" She hugged him, squeezing the air out of him. He hugged her back just so she'd let go.
"Fucking... hell... Luna... take it easy!" he gasped, catching his breath. "I'm fine, I just..." he hesitated, searching for the words, "I just went for a walk last night."
Luna looked at him with a worrisome look on her face. "Joanna said she found you covered in scratches, with your leg cut to pieces." She looked down at his bandaged leg, and so did he. Only now did he notice the throbbing.
"Yeah, I'm fine, really."
"Did you..." She hesitated, "Did you go back there?"
He looked down at his hooves, a sorrowful look on his face.
"Yeah, I did."

...


Heartfire hurried onward, carrying the injured filly on his back.
"Dammit Over-Lap! You should have gotten more practice before trying to show off! You're just like Tom!"
He rushed the unconscious filly to the local infirmary. As he entered the doors, the nurses hurriedly took Over-Lap from him.
"What happened!" came a cry from behind him. He turned to see Scootaloo standing behind him, a worried look darkening her features.
"She was trying to show me a loop, but she flew out of control. She crashed into me. I came out fine, but as for her..." he tossed the filly a sorrowful look. "Not so much."
"Well, hopefully the damage isn't too extensive. I'd hate to see her sent to the surface permanently."
Heartfire shuddered. "Yeah..."

They waited for the nurse to come to them.
"Nurse Redheart! How is she?"
The nurse smiled at his concern. "She's fine, she just suffered a broken wing. She'll be out in a week."
Heartfire relaxed, and Scootaloo turned him towards the door. "Let's go," she said, "she'll be fine. There's nothing more we can do. You did great," she reassured him with a smile, "if I ever get hurt, I hope you're around, ya big softie!"
He gave her a smile. "Thanks Scoots. I'm glad I got her here. I freaked out when she was knocked unconscious. I thought the worst."
"Well, thankfully it didn't come to that."
"Yeah..."
"Alright, now, let's get you home. You need to rest up for tomorrow, and I know the best way to help you relax."
They trotted toward Heartfire's place, because neither of them felt like flying at that moment.

...


Heartfire sat on his living room couch, alone, as his friends woke up and came into the room. Luna had left hours ago due to her royal duties, so Heartfire made himself some tea and sat alone in the living room, sifting through his thoughts. 
The first one to enter the room was Silent Song. She gave him a smile as she drifted in, her wings lightly fluttering. He offered her a mug of tea, and when she declined, a mug of cocoa. She happily took the cocoa, sitting down near him and sipping happily.
Next were Artsy and Joe, who trotted into the room together. Ever since he had met them, he knew they'd be together, but only recently had they made it official. They always looked so cute together, always by each other's sides. They weren't the mushy type either, which is probably why Heartfire never minded hanging out with them.
About thirty minutes later, in trotted Iron Coat with Joanna on his back. She had removed her goggles and was rubbing her eyes, having just woken up. Iron Coat didn't even seem to notice she was on his back, even though she kept shifting around. He plopped down on the floor next to Heartfire, and Joanna slid off onto the carpet.
"Alright, now, why are you all here?" Heartfire looked around the room, receiving looks from everypony there.
"Isn't it obvious?" Artsy spoke up first, "We're worried about you. When Joanna and Luna told Joe and I that they had found you cut up, passed out drunk in a gutter, I demanded we were brought here. Iron saw us and demanded to come too, and Silent was already on her way here. She seems to just know when you're in distress." She smiled at Silent, who blushed in return.
"Yeah, scrawny. What's been going on with you lately? Last time I saw you like this, I had to save you from a drunk unicorn with a broken bottle."
Everypony looked at Heartfire, who thought out his next words carefully.
"My past has been haunting me recently. I..." He hesitated. "I thought I could fight it back by drinking it away, but it still seems to burn itself into my memory. I think... I think it's trying to tell me something, like SHE is trying to tell me something."
Joe looked at him. "Who?"
"Scootaloo." It came from Silent, who was staring at the ground. "His fillyfriend." She spat out the last word, looking at him.
He met her look with a glare. "She's not my fillyfriend. Never was. We were just... close." He looked down at his hooves, the memories of the orange mare flooding into his mind. "I think... I think she knew something, and left me clues in our time together. That's why my memories are fighting my actions. No matter what I do, no matter how much I drink, I can't fight them back. I have to find out what it means."
Everypony just looked at him, until a voice spoke up from behind Iron Coat. "We're with you." Iron Coat stood up and moved, revealing a now standing Joanna. "You're our friend. I may believe the idea of Scoots leaving hints behind to be ridiculous, but there's definitely something there. We're your friends, and we're going to help you figure this out, together." The other ponies nodded their agreement, and Joanna trotted over to Heartfire, holding out a hoof. Heartfire smiled took her hoof, standing up. "Thanks guys."
Joe patted him on the back, grinning widely. "Of course. We're your friends!"
Artsy came around Joe and poked Heartfire in the side. "Aren't we?"
Heartfire couldn't help but smile wider. "Absolutely! I love you guys!" He turned to Silent, who was still sitting where she was before. She looked at him and nodded in agreement. "We're with you. I'm with you. We'll do this, together." Heartfire smiled.
Downing the rest of his tea, he looked to Joanna. "Where do we start?"
She walked over to him and placed a hoof on his forehead. "Here."
And at that, another memory surged into his mind, burning into his thoughts.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Hey, get up! We're gonna be late!"
Scootaloo was trying to wake up Heartfire. It was the day: final exams. This day determined whether or not they were to live proudly as pegasi of Cloudsdale.
Heartfire groaned. "Three more minutes. It's only the final exam..."
"ONLY the final exam!? Heartfire, you'd sleep in on the apocalypse," she huffed. She stomped a hoof on the ground. "Fine, be late. I'm not going to fail because of your laziness." And at that, she left the room. 
Heartfire sat up groggily. It was her fault he was tired in the first place. If she hadn't kept him up all night... He smiled. She had been right about one thing. She did know how to relax him, and it always worked.
He hopped out of bed and fluttered his wings. His legs were a little stiff, but otherwise, he should be able to fly just fine. He surveyed the room. The blanket was on the floor, pillows were piled into one corner of the bed, and the sheets were crumpled up into weird shapes on the bed, all evidence of the previous night's... activities. Heartfire grinned, the memories of last night dancing into his head. He turned toward the window. It was time to leave for the exam. He couldn't fail. He flew out the window and headed for the Parade Grounds.

As he neared the Grounds, the instructor was giving his instructions to the line of ponies ready for the exam. Since he had arrived last, he took his position at the end of the line. As the instructor neared him, he stood at attention.
"Clear, fly, fall, complete. That is how you pass this final," He put his face right in Heartfire's. "Got it?"
"Sir, yes sir!" Heartfire responded, as if on instinct. As the instructor trotted away, he caught Scootaloo's glance. She was smiling. He smiled back, and mouthed the words, "Are you ready?" She mouthed back, "Fuck yeah!" He grinned, and turned his attention back to the instructor. He listened as ponies' names were called, and watched as they completed their routines. It seemed simple enough. Clear the clouds, fly through the rings, and fly upwards, pull in your wings, and fall 20 feet, pulling up right before impact. Simple enough. 
The other ponies did fine, until he called her up.
"Aurora! Get up here."
The yellow pony took her place at the starting line, full confidence taking over her expressions. He smiled, knowing that she'd pass, no problem. The instructor blew his whistle, and she took off. She cleared the clouds with ease, and flew through the rings like they weren't there. She then flew upwards, pulled in her wings, and fell. As she opened her wings to stop her fall, there was a loud SNAP! She fell the rest of the way, landing in the clouds. All three judges pointed down; she had failed.
No one else seemed to care, and he watched as she got up and started limping away.
The next pony went through his routine flawlessly, and the next, and the next. Heartfire flew through his routine flawlessly, bringing a gust of wind with him as he fell. He opened his broad, grey wings, and was finished. Then up came a tall, brown pegasus. He recognized the pony right away. It was Orion. If he had seen what happened to Aurora, then Heartfire knew that this wouldn't end well.
He watched as Orion flew straight towards Aurora, landed on the cloud next to her, and glared at the judges. They weren't fazed. They just pointed downwards, failing him.
"Scootaloo. Clear, fly, fall, complete." Heartfire watched as she nodded and took off. She cleared the clouds expertly and with ease, but as she was flying through the rings, he saw her look at Orion, and he smiled weakly back to her.
She tripped.
In the middle of her routine, she got distracted, and she tripped.
Heartfire watched in horror as she tumbled into the clouds at the same time that the judges pointed their damned hooves downward. She looked at him, smiled feebly, and walked away, with Orion and a broken Aurora.

...


Heartfire awoke with a start. The other ponies in the room were looking at him.
"Wha- what happened?" He sat up, head still throbbing. It felt like he hit his head on something, and when he rubbed his hoof through his mane, he felt a bump on the back of his head. He winced at the touch.
Silent helped him up. "After we all agreed to help you, you passed out, hitting your head on the wall. We tried to wake you up, but you kept shouting. When we asked him what was happening, he said you were remembering."
Heartfire looked at her, confused. "Who said that?"
She pointed behind him. "He did."
He turned to see a tall, grey pony standing behind him. He had a curly mane, but it seemed to straighten out and darken at the tips. He was a unicorn, but his horn seemed to be sprouting another, smaller horn from it. Heartfire stood up and gave him a light punch in the chest. "What are you doing here, Dominic?"
Dominic pointed at Joanna. "She called me, told me you needed help. What's going on?"
Silent spoke up. "He needs our help with his past." When Dominic just stared at her, she elaborated. "He thinks there are clues in his memories."
"Clues to what?" He looked at Heartfire, and so did everypony else. Heartfire looked around the room, at the looks from his friends, then dropped his head.
"Something big," he said, "Something important. It feels like I'm being warned about something, the way the memories burn themselves into my mind. I don't know what it is yet, but I feel that I need to find out."
Dominic nodded. "Then I'm in. I'll help you figure it out, and whatever this is leading to, I'll help you."
Heartfire smiled. "Thanks, stallion." He turned to his friends. "Thank you all. Without you, I'd still be in those streets, drunk, ignoring what was going on in my head. Without you guys, I'd never have discovered the few clues that we have now. I'd still be lost. Thank you."
Silent fluttered up to him, leaning up against him. "You've always got me here for you. Remember that." At that, she hugged him and moved away, allowing Iron Coat to pass by. 
"We need to get your scrawny ass ready for the upcoming shit storm." He punched Heartfire's shoulder. "Got that, soldier?"
"Got it, Cap'n," Heartfire said, rubbing his shoulder where the buff pony had punched him. Iron Coat leaned forward, and Joanna hopped off his back.
"Well, you ready to figure this shit out? We got your back." The other ponies nodded in agreement. "How about it, stallion? You ready?"
Heartfire nodded his head, then turned towards Joe and Artsy, who had been listening.
"Joe, you talk to almost everypony. Can you find out some information for me?"
Joe nodded in response, though the look on his face was of confusion. Heartfire trotted up to him and whispered in his ear. When he was finished, Joe just looked at Heartfire. He nodded, then looked at Artsy. She smiled at him, and he smiled in return. Joe stood up with Artsy, turned, and headed out the door. Artsy followed closely behind. When Joe whistled, Iron Coat jumped up and headed towards the door. 
"I forgot, they're my ride!" He caught up to the couple as the chariot arrived, and with the quiet flapping of wings, they were gone, on their ways home.
Heartfire hovered in the middle of the room for a bit, then slowly descended back to the floor. He looked towards the  stitched doll in the corner of the room. "Spectra, I know you've been listening. You can come out now."
The doll sprang to life, standing up in it's own. It's mouth didn't move, but a voice could still be heard from it.
"Of course I was here. You expected otherwise?" The doll moved across the room and jumped onto Joanna's back. "Hey Joanna, long time no see!"
Joanna smiled at the doll. "Good to see you Spectra. How've you been?"
"Fine enough. Living in Heartfire's house is interesting enough, that is, when he's not gone, drunk in the streets." The pony doll moved across the room, towards Heartfire. "I'm with you too. I'm not sure how much a ghost posessing a pony doll can do, but I'll do what I can!"
Heartfire picked up the doll and hugged it. "Thanks. I'll need all the help I can get." He released the doll, who did a fake 'gasping for air' thing. Heartfire smiled, then turned to Dominic. "Are you okay?"
Dominic was staring at the doll with an awe-struck look on his face. "H-how... how is that possible?"
Joanna stepped in. "That's right, you didn't know! Well, I think you deserve to know about this." She sat Dominic down and went through the story as Spectra lay in front of Dominic.
"A couple of years ago, I had a friend named Spectra Enlighten. She was a green pegasus with a long, flowing, purple mane. We were best friends. We would spent every day together, hanging out, talking about colts and about things we wanted to do once we left Canterlot. She wanted to be a medium, channeling the dead through her to find out people's fortunes or fates. She practiced every day, speaking to all kinds of spirits, learning many things about the world, some that she didn't want to know." She smiled weakly at the doll, which seemed to be asleep. "But one day something went wrong. She was digging for information on a particular client, one who's fat was becoming harder and harder to read. She searched deeper and deeper into the nether world, scraped until she thought she had found what she needed. As she subconsciously pulled the spirit closer, she realized what it was, only too late: a demon. Before she knew it, the demon had taken her over, burning her from the inside." Tears began to well up in Joanna's eyes, and she had to stop. Heartfire trotted over and placed a hoof on her shoulder as she sobbed. He looked to Dominic, a sorrowful look on his face. "The fire station was too late to intercede. By the time that they arrived, the tent that Spectra did her readings in had burned to ashes, along with her and all of her stuff. The only thing left was this doll. Joanna took the doll, and shortly after, we discovered that Spectra had moved her consciousness into the doll, protecting herself from the fire and the nether realm."
Dominic looked at the doll in front of him, amazed. "She really went through all that?"
Heartfire nodded. Dominic trotted over to Joanna and hugged her. "I'm sorry for what happened. At least she's still here, right?"
Joanna looked at him, her eyes puffy from crying. "Yeah, I guess, but it still sucks."
"Yeah, I know, but look at her. Do you think she wants you to be crying like this?"
"No. Not really."
"Well then, stop crying. We need you strong to help Heartfire. Even Spectra wants to help. That sounds good, yes?"
She nodded her head, smiling a bit. "Yeah, it does. Besides," she said, slyly looking at Heartfire, "I don't need another doll walking around!"
Heartfire smiled, then winced in pain as a memory burned into his mind, bringing him to his knees.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heartfire flew for hours, following no trail, guided by only fury and anguish. He flew until he could fly no longer, and even then, he ran into the night, until his hooves ached and his legs threatened to give out. After traveling an unknown distance, blinded by his emotions, he finally collapsed, unable to carry himself any further. He fell into a bramble bush, and there he slept until morning.

...

He awoke to the bright light of the morning sun burning into his eyes. He stung all over from the scratches he received from the brambles, and every muscle in his body was screaming at him. He could move to shield his eyes from the sun, but even that required great effort. He was beaten. He managed to flop his arm down in the right way to close the curtain. As he relaxed under the sheets out of the sun, he realized; He was inside someone's house!
At the sound of singing, he looked to the door. There was someone else in the house. The singing grew louder as the pony singing came closer to the door. The singing stopped just outside of the door, and the door opened. In walked in a tan pony with a brown, shaggy mane. When he saw Heartfire, his eyes lit up.
"Ah, you're awake! How are you feeling?"
Heartfire just stared at him, confused. "Where am I? Who the hell are you?"
The other pony stopped smiling. "Oh, that's right, I found you unconscious. Well, you see," He said, sitting in a chair next to the bed, "I was about to go to bed last night when I heard a loud crash outside. I stepped out to see you passed out in a bramble bush. I couldn't just leave you out there, bleeding, so I brought you in here, dressed up your wounds, and laid you down." He smiled and stood up, heading towards the door. "I'll bring you some food. You look like you need it."
Heartfire painfully raised a hoof. "What's your name?" He asked.
The other stallion smiled. "Mando. My name's Mando." And at that, he left the room.

...

Days had passed, and Heartfire was feeling much better. His scratches and cuts were scarring over, and his muscles were no longer screaming at him. It had to have had something to do with Mando's singing. Whenever Heartfire wasn't asleep or talking to him, he could always be heard singing one song or another. Whenever he was singing, Heartfire's pain seemed to ease and he felt like he could take on the world.
One day, another pony flew into the home.
"Joanna! Where have you been! I haven't seen you in days!"
The purple pegasus set down on the hard wood floor and folded in her wings. "I've been busy, Mando! You know the Wonderbolts rarely have any off time!" She looked through the open door at Heartfire. "Who's this?"
Mando guided her into the room. "This is Heartfire. He wound up here after a long journey, wounded. I took him in for a couple of days."
Joanna walked around to Heartfire's side of the bed and offered her hoof. "I'm Joanna, Heartfire. It's nice to meet you!"
Heartfire shook her hoof. "Glad to finally meet you. Mando always takes an opportunity to talk about his Wonderbolt friend."
She looked at Mando. "He's strong, even while bed-ridden." She turned back to Heartfire. "Well, you seem like a good pony, Heartfire. I think we're gonna be good friends." 
Heartfire smiled, and remained smiling until they had left the room and closed the door. The second the door clicked shut, Heartfire passed out.

...


"Heartfire? Hey, Heartfire! You okay?"
He woke up to see a pair of golden-orange eyes in his face.
"Gaah!" He jumped backwards, startled. "S-skittle?"
Skittle looked at him and smiled. "The one and only!"
Heartfire couldn't contain his excitement. He hadn't seen Skittle since their separation after flight school. He ran up to the colt and hugged him.
"I missed you so much! Where have you been!?"
"Oh you know," Skittle said with a smirk, "here and there."
Heartfire just accepted this. It was typical Skittle. He acts bold sometimes, but typically, he's a shy colt. And Heartfire loved him for it.
"So, I hear you've been having... flashbacks."
Heartfire cringed. He hated remembering the past. It was full of painful memories. "Yeah... flashbacks..."
Skittle trotted up to Heartfire, nuzzling his neck. "Hey, take it easy, okay? I'm here now. Everything'll be alright."
Heartfire smiled and nuzzled him back. "Thanks Skittle, I appreciate you being here."
All of a sudden, there was a crash in the kitchen. Everyone jumped. Heartfire looked towards the sound. "What the fuck was that!?" 
Everyone headed towards the kitchen, looking through the doorway as Heartfire investigated. He looked at the shattered window, and saw a trail of broken glass. He followed the trail to see a bundled ball of blue fur and feathers. He grinned as the ball shouted, "Goddamn wings, not wanting to go where I tell them!"
"Kat, dropping in for a visit, huh?" He grinned at her as she unfurled herself. She looked into his cyan eyes and blushed.
"S-sorry about your window. Damn wings don't follow orders well." She stood up and looked at the ponies giggling in the doorway. "What're you guys laughing at!?" Their faces flushed and the doorway cleared.
Heartfire laughed. "Kat, it's good to see you, though you're a bit late for the party. Get lost on the way here?"
She rolled her eyes. "What's that, another Northern Pony joke? Seriously, Heartfire, those are getting old." She shot him a sly grin.
"Hey, the jokes wouldn't be so common if you didn't make them so easy." He smiled at her again, making her blush, again.
She quickly changed the subject. "So, who else is here?"
At that, the front door opened and closed. "Well," Heartfire wondered, "who could that be?"
They trotted into the living room to see a dark green pony with a blue mane mewing and batting at Silent's nose.
"Deep, stop it!" Silent said, playfully. She covered Deep's mouth with her hooves. Deep then proceeded to lick her hooves, an action Silent wasn't exactly happy with. "Eww!" Heartfire walked out of the room as Silent wiped her hooves clean on Deep's coat.
He walked into his bedroom and flopped onto his bed. It was a long day, and all this excitement tired him out. He figured a quick nap wouldn't hurt.
He heard Silent shrieking in disgust from the living room. He smiled and fell asleep.


...


A pair of yellow eyes, glaring from the dark. An evil, maniacal laugh. Then the words. "Heartfire, my son, wake up. You must sow chaos in my absence. It is your destiny as my son." Then an image. A tall figure, walking into a clearing, the ground crumbling behind him, trees dying at his touch. Rocks turn to dust in his presence. He's the image of chaos, a monster from a bad horror movie. His very presence brings darkness to the eyes of onlookers. The weather changes erratically in his presence. It is storming as he approaches the mare in labor. He delivers the foal, the newborn hidden by his figure. His voice moves mountains into villages. "I will call you... Heartfire." The image of the foal appears, a small, grey and maroon pegasus with bright cyan eyes. "You will reap chaos in my absence" Heartfire screams, the monster laughs, and then, darkness and silence reign.


...


Heartfire jolted awake, the laugh still ringing in his ears. His friends were crowded around him.
"What was it, Heartfire?" Silent asked, "another flashback?"
"No," he said, shivering, "it was a dream... no, a nightmare."