Chapter 1: Howl of the Inferno
Chapter 1: Howl of the Inferno
When he woke he knew nothing but his name and a few scraps of memory, blurry images and broken segments of thought. He was called Vanquish—he was? Who called him that? Was that his name? It had to have been. It sounded familiar, as if the name were a long-lost friend whom he had reunited with. He rose and shook his mane free of the dust that had settled in overnight. It was cold, and the night sky was pitch-black as though some giant being had spilled ink all over it. There was no moon to provide comforting light, no stars to guide his way. He took a step forward and felt his hoof go through water, before realizing that a glassy pond lay before him, its mirror surface disturbed by the intruder. He waited for the water to settle, then peered over the edge. What sort of trickery was this? What kind of water shone so brilliantly when there was no moonshine? Then he realized that it wasn’t the water that was behaving oddly. He could see in the darkness, needing neither moon nor starlight to illuminate his surroundings. The dark forest that encircled him held no secrets from his prying eyes, though its maw was still blacker than the night. He knew he was alone, that there were no animals or ponies around. Looking up, he could see the faintest outlines of the stars through the clouds. When he stared back at the puddle, it shone as though a lamp had been lit over his head.
A pegasus stared back at him, with skin the same color as the night, blacker than black, like coal. His eyes were the color of embers, and his mane, red-and-black, was short and clipped. His tail hung lazily behind him, colored the same was as his mane. His wings were black, red-tipped, and feathery. There were two jagged red marks on both of his flanks. His cutie mark? What did it mean?
He peered into the pond.
“Vanquish,” he uttered in a voice that was soothing but firm. “Your—no, my—my name is Vanquish. But—what is this? Where am I? What am I doing here?”
He looked around and saw only dark forest. A dirt path lay to the right of the pond, spanning from north to south. Or east to west, it was impossible to tell with no moon. Vanquish stepped away from the pond and approached the path, treating it as a cautious passerby would treat a growling animal. It was just a road, so why was it so unsettling?
A road…there was a road in his dream…or was it his memory? It was hard to distinguish between the two, as so few of either existed in his brain that one could have been the other, and vice versa. He couldn’t decide what scrap of thought was a recollection or a bit of fantasy.
But there was a road in one thought, one that came back to him and left as quickly as it had arrived. He’d been on the road with others, fleeing some horrid beast that chased them mercilessly.
There was something else…fire…there was fire and smoke and…
There was nothing. He wracked his mind, even whacking himself on the side of his head with his hoof in order to get the blood flowing, in hopes that the blood would nourish his brain and allow the memories to surface. But he had no such luck, as his mind remained empty as the road he stood upon.
He tried to extend his wings, but suddenly terrible pain tore through his body. He cringed and cried out, collapsing to the dirt. The pain had come from his left wing, and when he turned to look he saw that it was bent at a very unnatural angle. The feathers were dirty and coated in what appeared to be flecks of ash. He tried to move it but only succeeded in doubling the pain. He writhed in agony, tears forming at the edge of his eyes. He remembered pain. How could he forget such a terrible, life-draining feeling?
Vanquish stood up shakily, gasping for air as the tears flowed freely from his eyes. The pain from his broken wing was unbearable, and he had to drag it along as he walked uneasily down the road, calling out for help with faint hope that somepony would hear him.
It went on like that for an hour, and the pain from his broken wing grew and grew until it became unbearable. He collapsed to the ground, bawling uncontrollably. He had never been in this much pain. Had he? He couldn’t even remember. He couldn’t move. Tears streamed down his face as he called out for somepony, anypony. Why hadn’t he felt the pain before? It was more than just a broken wing; his whole body was on fire, and he wanted to writhe and scream on the ground but knew that his efforts would only increase his suffering. This couldn’t have been from the wing alone. Something else was hurting him. Had he broken more bones? He was fine a minute ago. What had happened?
A name came to him, the only other name in his mind.
“Ebony,” he cried, half-blind from tears. “Ebony, help me!”
Who was Ebony? What was Ebony? Thoughts swirled around in his mind, and the pain continued to grow. Finally, he could bear it no more. His mind winked out as if it were water flowing down a drain, each thought shutting down until all that was left was the pain…and then nothing.
Silence. The night was still young, as young as the broken pegasus in the middle of the road.
“…get him on the bed…”
...something out there…
“…he gonna be alright?”
…a town. A jumble of buildings. All aflame…
“…wing looks pretty bad. Get Redheart…”
…a black pony. Black as the smoke that rises from the buildings…
“…who is he?”
…everything...everything…vanquished…
“He’s comin’ to. Hey, buddy, don’t be scared. We ain’t gonna hurt ya.”
Vanquish really wanted to believe that. He had regained consciousness and that was the first thing he had heard, and he seriously wanted to believe it. But after the pain he had experienced, it seemed that everything and everypony wanted to hurt him.
“…uuuhhh…”
“Hey, hey, easy there, partner,” said the voice. “Ain’t gonna do ya no good t’move around. Yer bones are still settin’.”
“Is he gonna open his eyes are what? HEY, DUDE, CAN YOU HEAR US?”
Vanquish cringed at the louder voice, which was immediately shushed by the first voice.
“C’mon, Rainbow Dash! That won’t do ‘im any good.”
At that moment, he decided to open his eyes.
He was in a hospital, surrounded by six ponies, all mares and all with confused looks on their faces. Two pegasi, two unicorns, and two earth ponies. He tried to move, but couldn’t. A numb jolt poked at his back, as if there should have been a sharp pain there, but it was dulled by something, probably morphine. He noticed his wing was in a cast, and that his body felt tingly as though someone had just tickled him.
“Where…am I?”
One of the unicorns, a purple pony with a starburst cutie mark, cleared her throat. “You’re in a hospital, mister. You’re in Ponyville. Where are you from?”
Vanquish vaguely tried to recall where he had come from, but the morphine was dulling his mind. “Uh…uh, I don’t know.”
“Well, what’s your name?”
“V…Vanquish.”
“Vanquish?” said one of the pegasi, a sky-blue rainbow-maned mare. “Why does that sound familiar?”
“You know this stallion, Rainbow Dash?” said the white unicorn with the dark purple mane.
“I mean, the name sounds familiar. But I’ve never seen him before.”
The purple unicorn cleared her throat again. “Well, Vanquish, I’m Twilight Sparkle. And this is Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash.”
Vanquish tried to be polite and say hello, but he was getting loopier by the second.
“Uggh…”
“He’s getting all weird again.”
“Nurse Redheart?” called Twilight Sparkle. “I think he’s getting too much morphine.”
That was the last thing he heard before he slipped into unconsciousness.
He walks calmly through the inferno. Why does he not fear the flames that leap higher than he had ever flown? Why does he not cringe in terror as innocent creatures all around him die brutally, their skin melting and their screams being swallowed up by the roar of the fire?
He wants one thing and one thing only. The black unicorn.
Black skin, black eyes, black mane. Even the mark on her flank is a black diamond. She stands on a hilltop above the chaos, watching calmly as the flames consume everything. He approaches her slowly. Is it out of suspicion that he slows his approach? He cannot fathom how the unicorn can be so calm in the midst of such destruction, such horror.
Then she turns to look at him with dark coals for eyes, glittering like embers in the light of the fire. Her lips move, but he cannot hear her voice. The howl of the inferno is deafening, and it grows with every passing second. She keeps speaking, but he can no longer hear anything except the screaming flames, the shrieks of the dying. Then the smoke swallows him, clouding his vision, choking his lungs. He gags and falls back into smoke. The ground dissipates. He falls through smoke and fire. Embers, fallen souls of the damned, occasionally twirl like leaves into the nothingness before they wink out of existence.
Light momentarily blinded Vanquish as he opened his eyes. It wasn’t harsh firelight but rather the warm, pleasant rays of the morning sun. His eyelids were heavy and dry, but he managed to open them all the way.
A nurse sat in the corner, filling out paperwork. When Vanquish groaned, she looked up.
“Ah, you’re awake.”
“Wha…what happened?”
“Don’t quite know,” the nurse said. “The ponies that brought you in were eager to find that out as well. They found you on the road to the Everfree Forest. You were in a bad way.”
“My wing…”
“It wasn’t just your wing, sir. You had about twenty broken bones in your body, most in your chest and back. By the looks of it they were all cracked or broken, and I imagine that you tried to extend your wings, which shifted all of the bones out of place and probably caused a great deal of pain.”
“Why are you…telling me this?”
She smiled. “It’s my job. I’m Nurse Redheart. I help around with the unicorn doctors. Speaking of which…”
She went over to a speaker box on the wall and pushed a button. “Doctor Grayhorn to Room 212. Doctor Grayhorn, Room 212.”
Vanquish laid back on the pillow, breathing lightly. “How long…was I out?”
“Three days,” said Nurse Redheart. “You’re probably hungry and thirsty. We had to…”
“The others,” interrupted Vanquish. “Those other ponies. Where’d they go?”
“Actually, you just missed them. They’ve been in here to see how you were doing every day since they brought you in. They were quite concerned about you.”
“Wait…” Vanquish tried to move his wing. It was numb, but it didn’t hurt. He could just barely move it under the covers of his bed.
“You said I had broken bones. How…?”
At that moment, a gray unicorn in a lab coat walked in. He was bald, wore glasses, and had a short brown goatee.
“Ah, hello, Mister…” He looked at the clipboard in his hooves. “…Vanquish. Is that your full name?”
Vanquish sat up, rubbing his eyes. “I believe so. Who are you?”
“Dr. Flipperbus J. Grayhorn, at your service. We were unable to find any medical records of you from here or anywhere near here, Vanquish. So perhaps before we go any further, you can fill us in a little.”
“About what?”
“Well, about who you are, of course!”
Vanquish adjusted himself in his bed. “I…I don’t really remember anything, Doctor. I woke up on a path in the middle of the forest. I tried to use my wings but then there was…pain. Horrible pain. I don’t remember anything after that, or before that.”
“How strange,” Dr. Grayhorn said, going over the clipboard. “Let’s see…fractured vertebrae, cracked ribs, compound wing fracture, and yet…”
He trailed off, looking up at Vanquish, who said, “And yet what?”
Dr. Grayhorn looked at his chart again. “Nurse Redheart, is this correct?”
She nodded. “I’ve noticed it too.”
“Remarkable. That fast?”
“What?” Vanquish asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing’s wrong, lad. Quite the opposite, in fact. It’s just that…nurse, are you sure this is correct?”
“Doctor, the patient is confused. Can we just tell him? He was about to ask before you came in.”
“Oh, alright!” the doctor said, looking huffy. “Well, Vanquish…it seems that your bones have healed…extraordinarily fast. Even with medical magic, an injury of your sorts normally takes a few weeks to completely heal. And yet…”
The doctor trailed off again, so Nurse Redheart stepped in. “It’s very strange, Mr. Vanquish. I didn’t want to bring it up immediately after you had woken because I didn’t want to startle you. It’s just that…”
“Just that what? What are you not telling me?”
Dr. Grayhorn sighed. “Vanquish, I performed an X-ray yesterday. Your bones have no signs of scarring. They’re completely, 100 percent healed.”
Vanquish stared at the doctor and nurse. His eyes were wide as dinner plates. “But, but…”
“Remarkable,” Dr. Grayhorn said, as if he were studying a test subject in a laboratory. “Simply remarkable. Are you sure you cannot recall any anything more from the night you were brought in?”
Vanquish shook his head. Grayhorn chuckled.
“Just goes to show what unicorn magic can do, eh?”
Nurse Redheart then turned back to Vanquish.
“Well, I don’t see why we need to keep you here if you’re all better. Don’t you agree, Doctor?”
Grayhorn looked ready to protest, but after a stern look from Redheart, he backed down. “Yes, very well, I suppose. At least be sure to contact us if you have any questions or if anything seems amiss. Do you have a place to stay, Mr. Vanquish?”
“He can stay with me,” said a voice in the doorway. Grayhorn moved out of the way to reveal the purple unicorn from the previous night, Twilight Sparkle. She smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry if I’m interrupting. I came back to get my bag and I couldn’t help but overhear.”
“How much did you…oh, never mind,” said Grayhorn. “You say you will house him?”
She smiled again. “If that’s alright with him.”
She looked at Vanquish with her brilliant purple eyes, and he felt relaxed and safe as he stared back. He knew that this was a pony he could trust.
“Yes,” he said. “Of course.”
“Then it’s settled,” Nurse Redheart said. “I’ll fetch you a wheelchair. Just take it easy with your wing. It may have healed, but we can’t be fully sure there aren’t any lasting effects. Okay?”
Vanquish nodded. Dr. Grayhorn grumbled about something and left the room with Nurse Redheart. There was silence for the longest time, until Twilight cleared her throat and approached the bed.
“Well, um…hi.”
Vanquish smiled. “Hi.”
“I’m Twi—oh wait, you already know me.” She chuckled awkwardly. “Well, um…how are you feeling?”
Vanquish stretched his neck and slowly sat up and coaxed out his wings. The muscles were still numb, but the blinding pain that had plagued him three nights before was gone. It felt good to stretch them, even if his left wing and part of his back were still bandaged.
“It’ll be good to fly again,” he said. Twilight Sparkle smiled again.
“I suppose so. I wouldn’t know, because I’ve never had wings.”
“It’s quite an experience,” Vanquish replied, cracking a smile of his own. “Although I have always admired unicorn magic, and would give my right hoof just to harness it for one day.”
“I don’t think you need to be in the hospital for anything else, Vanquish,” Twilight mused. They shared a laugh, both smiling warmly. Twilight then looked away for a moment, then back into his red eyes.
“Um, about the night we found you…well, can you remember anything?”
Vanquish’s grin faded. “No, I don’t. I only remember waking up on the side of the road, then passing out from the pain. It was awful. I…”
He trailed off as he stared into Twilight’s eyes, and she stared back as if entranced. Suddenly she blinked and blushed.
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just that…well, your eyes are very beautiful. They remind me of a campfire. And I’ve only rarely seen a black-skinned stallion. You must have been very popular from wherever you came.”
Vanquish smiled again. “Yes, but I just wish I could remember. I…wait!”
He sat up, startling Twilight.
“I remember a name. Ebony. I cried out for somepony named Ebony.”
“Ebony? Who’s that?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, looking around as if the answer lay on his bed. “But it was somepony that I knew before. Somepony that I trusted. He or she meant something to me, something important. Otherwise I wouldn’t have shouted out the name. I knew Ebony, but I know nothing about him now. Or her. Or what. I can’t even say if it’s a pony. It could be a rock for all I know!”
Twilight placed her hoof on his chest, slowly pushing him down into the bed. “Easy there, Vanquish. Just relax.”
At that moment, Nurse Redheart pushed a wheelchair through the door. “Here we are! Now, I’ll just have you check out and you’ll be on your way.”
“Thank you, Miss Redheart,” said Vanquish.
After carefully removing the bandages from his back, Twilight and Nurse Redheart wheeled Vanquish to the elevator and down to the lobby. Finally he breathed fresh air, and it came rushing into his lungs like cool water. The midmorning sun peeked out from behind the clouds as he finally got out of the wheelchair. He was shaky on his hooves at first, his body still a bit numb from the stay in the hospital, but he soon steadied himself. Twilight smiled.
“Need any help?”
“I think I’m good,” said Vanquish. “Probably shouldn’t fly though. Not yet.”
Twilight nodded. “Well, I’ll take you to my house. It’s a library in a tree.”
“No kidding?”
“Not at all.”
They chatted away as they walked down the path from the hospital to the town, unaware that somepony was watching them.
“You didn’t ask him about the ash.”
Dr. Grayhorn and Nurse Redheart were looking out a second-floor window, following the pair of ponies with their eyes. Grayhorn had a look of frustration on his face, with his mouth in a tight frown and his brow furrowed deeply.
“Should I have asked?”
“What pony comes in with a broken back, broken wings, and ash all over him?”
They were in an empty room. The door was closed so that no one could hear them.
“I thought the fact that his bones mended themselves in three days was of much greater importance than the fact that he had a little soot on him.”
“A little? His whole back was covered in it! And he smelled of smoke.”
“Yes,” Grayhorn said, pondering. “Yes he did.”
Nurse Redheart looked away, instead staring at the opposite wall with worry and a hint of apprehension.
“So it’s true then. There was no unicorn magic. We lied to him.”
Grayhorn remained silent for a few moments, then said: “Yes we did.”
“Because?”
“He was on his way out, Redheart. He had internal bleeding, brain damage. He should have been paralyzed. No, he should have died.”
“But he still woke up on the first night when those girls brought him in,” said the nurse. “He even spoke. Was he dying then?”
“Don’t be coy. You know as well as I do that there was nothing we could have done. That’s why we kicked those girls out. That’s why we left him.”
“To die.”
The doctor hung his head and sighed. “Yes. To die.”
“And yet he lived.”
Grayhorn backed away from the window and sat down in a chair. “Therein lies the mystery, Nurse Redheart. We left him to die because we knew he wouldn’t last a single night, and yet he fully recovered.”
“A miracle?”
“A mystery,” he said again. “We took the tests after the first night. Many of us were surprised that he was still alive. By then…well, by then his spine had healed completely. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.”
“And you told the rest of the staff not to do anything.”
“Yes,” the doctor replied, hanging his head absentmindedly. “I took some tests. There was nothing in his blood work that suggested anything out of the ordinary. And yet he continued to heal until he woke up an hour ago, fully healed.”
“You know, I had you figured for a doctor, not an actor.”
He stared at her. “What in Equestria is that supposed to mean?”
“You lied to that poor pegasus, and you never answered why.”
“Why? I’ll tell you why.” He rose from the chair. “Because I give as much a damn for a patient’s well-being as I do for their physical health. You really believe that Vanquish needed to know what had happened? He already suffered enough, just let him be!”
Nurse Redheart was taken aback. “I…I didn’t mean…”
“I apologize,” the doctor said, sitting back down. “I just didn’t think he needed to know. I didn’t want to put any additional stress on him. He believes it was unicorn magic, and I hope it stays like that. We will run the tests tomorrow.”
The two sat in silence, neither looking at the other, as the sun continued to rise.
Meanwhile, Twilight and Vanquish were halfway to the tree house as the town began to wake up around them.
“This is Ponyville?”
“Yep!” Twilight said brightly. “I’m not actually from Ponyville, I’m from Canterlot. I was sent here by Princess Celestia to learn about the magic of friendship, and I’ve been here ever since!”
Vanquish gave her a quizzical look. “The magic of friendship? Really? No offense, but that seems a little…contrived.”
“What do you mean?” asked Twilight, cocking her head a little.
“Well, I guess I don’t see how friendship is magical. I mean, how many times has friendship really helped you?”
He regretted asking that almost immediately. Twilight launched into an epic story about all her escapades with her friends, talking the whole way through Ponyville. As the unicorn went on and on, Vanquish found his mind drifting to other thoughts. There was something not quite right about the town. It seemed…familiar. Maybe he had passed through here some time in the past. Oh, what he would have given to have his memory back!
“…and then we all got treated for burns and Rainbow Dash had to dig a spike out of her nose, but it all turned out well in the end.”
“Yes, yes, very good. Er, Twilight? I have the strangest feeling like I’ve been here before.”
She stopped. “What? Is your memory coming back?”
“No, not quite,” he replied. He pawed at the ground, his mind wrapped in thought. “There’s just something about this place that seems really familiar. I…”
Suddenly, from out of nowhere there came a cry of “Heads up!” and before Vanquish could do anything, a rainbow blur raced past him, nearly knocking him over.
“What the…”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled, stamping her hoof. “Watch where you’re going!”
The rainbow blur turned around and slowed, and from the blur came a cyan pegasus with a multicolored mane, the same one he had seen at the hospital when he had first woken. She hovered in the air above them, shaking her mane and smiling.
“Sorry about that, Twilight. I was racing Applejack, and I don’t think I need to tell you who the winner is.” She smiled and kicked the air in triumph. Twilight’s brow went flat.
“Wonderful. Do you mind not running into ponies that just got out of the hospital?”
“Out of the…oh, hey!” Rainbow Dash swooped down and grabbed Vanquish’s hoof, shaking it. “I’m Rainbow Dash. We kinda sorta met in the hospital. Good to see you got out of there! It’s always good to see another pegasus around here.”
“Pleasure’s all mine,” Vanquish said gingerly, giving an awkward smile. He didn’t know what to think of a pony shaking his hand who had just nearly ran him over. Rainbow Dash was oblivious to his discomfort, however. Suddenly another pony ran up to them, an orange mare with a cowboy hat, out of breath and sweaty.
“Gosh darn it, Rainbow Dash, ya know ah can’t keep up when ya take off like that!”
“Sorry, Applejack,” Rainbow Dash said, although Vanquish wasn’t sure if she was actually sorry. “I like to go fast. It’s my nature, and it’s not something I can help.”
“Well, then maybe you should—oh, hey there, fella!” Applejack said, tipping her hat to Vanquish. “Good t’see yer finally outta the hospital. Ah’m Applejack. Good to finally meet ya.”
“You were at the hospital with Twilight and the others,” Vanquish said, shaking her hoof. She nodded.
“Ah was. We found ya on the road to Everfree Forest, comin’ back from Zecora’s house. You were passed out ‘n looked like you were in a lot of pain. So we all took ya to the hospital, and ah can see they fixed you up real nice!”
She let loose a breath and wiped her brow. “Well, darn it. Ah’m plum tuckered out. Ah suppose Big Macintosh can help me git back t’ the farm when we’re done shoppin’. Been meanin’ to pick up some extra hay an’ some more seeds an’…”
Rainbow Dash made a dismissive noise. “C’mon, Applejack. You’re boring us to death. Hey, Vanquish! What’s your cutie mark?”
Everypony turned to look at Vanquish’s flank and saw the two jagged marks that were the color of blood.
“What are they, Vanquish?” Twilight asked curiously. “Fangs? Claws? They look like claws. Or maybe red tornadoes?”
“Red tornadoes?” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Yeah, right.”
“Ah can’t even guess what it is. Vanquish?”
He looked uncomfortable. “Um, I really don’t know. I mean, they’re just marks. I don’t know what they mean or what my special talent is.”
“Maybe it’s surviving,” Rainbow Dash noted. “After all, the doctors said you probably weren’t going to last long. And here you are!”
“Did they say that?” Vanquish said indignantly, but before he could go any further, another voice met his ears.
“AJ? Where’d ya run off to?”
“Over here, brother!” Applejack called, waving to somepony. Vanquish turned around. Behind him was a big red stallion with a green apple on his flank, eyes whose color matched his cutie mark, and a straw-colored mane. He was very big and well built. Vanquish reasoned that he was a hard-working pony, and when he noticed the wooden work harness around the pony’s neck, he knew for sure.
Big Macintosh approached at a leisurely pace. He was smiling, but he looked bored. Or maybe it was just an easygoing look, it was difficult for Vanquish to tell. When the stallion spoke, his voice was low and slow.
“There ya are, AJ. C’mon, we gotta go get…”
Suddenly he froze. His eyes went wide, and he took a step back. Applejack frowned.
“Big Macintosh? What’s wrong?”
He said nothing, but continued to stare. The other ponies followed his gaze, and then they saw what Big Macintosh was staring at.
Vanquish.
The pegasus was suddenly uncomfortable. Why was the big red stallion looking at him as if he had three eyes? Big Macintosh was staring at him in shock, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“You…”
“Brother, why are ya starin’ at Vanquish?”
“Vanquish…” Big Macintosh said, his eyes fixated on the black pegasus. “No. It can’t be…”
He stepped forward, blinking once. Applejack’s brow was furrowed with worry.
“Brother, what’s wrong?”
“I…”
He shifted his gaze back to Vanquish, who looked away. At that moment, he wanted to hide. He didn’t like the way Big Macintosh was staring at him. It made him feel guilty, as though he had done something wrong.
“…can’t be…it can't be...”
“Big Macintosh, c’mon now. What’s goin’ on with ya?”
“It’s him…”
He pointed at Vanquish, whose heart quickened. Something was wrong. Why was he looking at him like that? Why? Did he do something to offend him? What?
Finally Big Macintosh spoke, and his words left everypony stunned.
“Ah know you. Yer…Yer from mah dream.”
