The quiet of Manehattan was an uncommon occurrence, the city that never slowed or slept, had a moment of peace and quiet now and again. These moments usually held a certain vibe to the ponies of Manehattan, that all was right with the city, no strife, no space bears nothing to plague the citizens in the town. This was not the case for one pegasus mare though, the quiet atmosphere just built upon the feeling of tension as an earth stallion stared at her.
The stallion's cobalt eyes gazed at the mare, his annoyance rising with each second she wasted staring at the building. "Golden Night, are you doing this or not?"
"Yeah, I got this, its just a little spooky that's all." The mare quietly spoke up as she stared at the front door, mustering up the courage to walk forward and begin the job she was paid to do.
"Then get going, the contractor's are waiting for you to do a thorough sweep, get rid of any squatter's and then I'll call the demolition team to destroy this building and everypony's happy."
Her eyes took in the first hallway of the abandoned building, the stained walls, putrid smell and whatever that lingering feeling in the air was, did little to give this place the proper feel that somepony could live here. Golden was sure that the poor upkeep of this was the apartment complex's downfall, or the owner didn't care at all, whatever the reason that wasn't why she was here. She was here to scare, reason or forcibly remove any squatters end of story.
Her search would begin with the first of what was going to be plenty of apartments.
Minutes passed the mare slowly exited the first apartment proud of how thorough her search had been by so far. Though despite the apartments horrible condition the mare found no signs of lingering ponies or any creature for that matter. "Well a disgusting start, but an easy one at that."
Two hours the mare took going through apartment after apartment, finding no signs of life or any signs of squatters recently staying here. Slowly her hooves reached the final step to the last floor of the building, only five more rooms to go and she'd be on her way to collect the glittering bits. Her eyes gazed upwards, the last floor vastly different from the ones below.
The first thing their was no doors and most of the walls that connected the hallway had large holes in them, some large enough that it could fit any of Manehattan's residents through them. "I guess I need to tell them about this, but on the bright side it makes my job easier." Quickly she entered the first room, everything seemed right, the stale smell, mold on the walls nothing out of the ordinary, concerning what she was to expect.
The pace continued as she walked or flew through the holes unaffected by the destruction, finding the destruction of this floor preferable to using the a key to open whatever door.
Time and again she'd listened to find that tiny shred of life scurrying somewhere else to hide. When a minute of silence would pass her search would continue, knowing those short moments would ultimately help end her sweep of the building.
Golden smiled exiting the last apartment, her eyes beamed at a job well done and paid to boot. Slowly she entered the hallway if you call it that, her eyes drifted upwards pausing on a very peculiar sight, a large scorch mark plagued the ceiling an odd sight but it was of little concern to the mare. It was most likely some vandal or vagrant having some fun at no expense to them.
As quick as she could the mare began to leave the building swooping down the stairs as she landed her wings pressed against her body, and her hove trotting as quick as they could to report a job well done.
"Finished!" Her voice called out as she stared at the stallion standing outside the building. "Where's my sixty bits?"
The stallion stared back at her questioning if the mare put in the full effort of sweeping the building, finding the amount of time she spent in their a little less than satisfactory. "Did you check everywhere, because it's on your head if you missed something."
"I'm absolutely positive that their is no pony, griffon or whatever you want me to say in that building. The only weird thing about that place was the top floor, there was a bunch of destroyed walls and no doors too be found. Its like something went nuts up there or something like that." She smiled as the stallion rubbed his chin obviously contemplating her well deserved raise or maybe it was what she just told, she preferred the former though.
"Alright that's good enough for me, go back to the lot and fill out the necessary paperwork and they'll handle the rest, including your payment." He watched her stand idly in front of him, possibly expecting work or something of the sort.
"You can go, if we have any other work that we need you for Golden, I'll be sure to message you right away, but for now I have work to do." The pegasus grinned the small amount of bits already dancing in her head as she imagined what to buy with the money she was about to receive, leaving the stallion alone to think on the building at hand.
He headed to the nearest payphone sighing to himself as he called his boss. "Yeah,.... you were right nothing's in there. Any squatters I expected to be living in there must be living in one of these other building's, but we'll find them. So bring Dext and those other two griffons down here, they can start the demolishing this stupid thing, once the last of the paperwork's filled out." The stallion continued his call unaware of a yellow eyed figure listening in on his conversation.
The figure stared at the stallion finding its goal now compromised by him and whoever he was working for. It was sure that regardless of what it did staying here was out of the question. Which meant that fires needed to be made.
My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh…
(My Little Pony)
I used to wonder what friendship could be
(My Little Pony)
Until you all shared its magic with me
Great discoveries!
Tricks galore!
A rich slice of life,
And a heartfelt score.
Budding courage
It's an easy feat
And magic makes it all complete!
You have my little ponies
Do you know you're all my very best friends?
A week later
Ponies frantically ran back and forth desperately trying to put out a building set ablaze, an aged earth pony yelled orders trying to regain control of the ponies he had with him. He glanced at the pegasi, some desperately flying around trying to figure a way to put a cloud inside the burning building, while others threw half filled buckets of water into an open window. The earth ponies murmured something to each other as they prepped themselves at the fire wagon, to enter the building in search of any living being trapped in the building. The aged stallion grimaced as the only unicorn he had was hyperventilating at the sight of the fire in front of him.
It didn't take long before the fire spread to the building's roof, it swayed back and forth as a gust of wind passed bye. Everything seemed to slow down as the fire lurched to the left, its flames almost spreading to the next building, only to have a gentle gust blow it back towards its starting point.
"Stop running around like your the ones on fire." He yelled at his inexperienced crew hoping to rally them or find something that would change this chaotic mess they made to something slightly more organized, and like a prayer to Celestia they all stopped all eyes on him well above to be honest.
Flapping above him was the key to their success, volunteer Blossomforth with the hose that somepony had forgotten to put on the wagon in the first place, his guess would be the hyperventilating unicorn.
The frantic mood seemed to change after a few quick orders, the earth ponies hooked the hose up to the hydrant, the spray of water arcing into one of the open windows. The pegasi quickly hovering rain clouds over the top of the building as the added rain water, helped turn the tide. Even the unicorn that seemed ready to keel over from fright regained his backbone, slowly lifted the hose with his magic giving the earth ponies incentive to search the building albeit cautiously.
Minutes passed as the fire seemed to dwell down into a controllable state. The fire chief let a thankful sigh, the fire all but snuffed out, no reports of any bodies found in the smoking building and the fire hadn't spread despite the countless set backs. Despite the positive news and overall cheer the volunteer crew exuded it still did little to bring a smile to his face.
"Something bothering you, Chief?" His head craned upwards as the mare of the hour floated down in front of him, Blossomforth landed a few feet away smiling contently at the job well done.
"Nothing to concern yourself about Blossomforth."
"I guess not, but it doesn't hurt to ask." Her eyes flickered with curiosity at what had her temporary boss so down in the dumps, they had a job well done what more could he ask for.
"Blossomforth, when did you volunteer to help us?"
"Three days ago." She responded, blinking on occasion at the question, it wasn't something she was entirely expecting from the fire chief.
"And how many fires have you put out in those three days?"
"Seven or eight I think." She tilted her head not entirely sure where this train of questions was headed.
"That's quite a lot of fires for just three days don't you think?" He received a small nod as the mare looked at him to continue with his line of reason. "I've seen in this week twenty-four fires, Blossomforth." Her eyes widened at the number of fires he stated, it was rather disheartening to say the least. "The department has seen over thirty fires this week." He let the gravity of his words sink in as Blossomforth looked at him.
"That's a lot of fires." He nodded finding the simplicity of her statement much nicer than the choice words concerning the number of fires.
"And we still don't have a clue on who or what's causing these fires, so I hope you will be ready for the next fire that is going to inevitably spring up. So while you prepare yourself I'm going to let go of the ponies who did more harm than good." Slowly the chief trotted off leaving the mare to think on the subject.
'We still don't have a clue on who or what's causing these fires' replayed in her mind over and over again. Blossomforth liked helping the fire department finding that if she spaced out for a few seconds, she'd get a quick jolt back to reality by some pony. The thoughts of work eventually trailed back to her original job; weather patrol. It was a much safer job, and one that had fewer risks of being set on fire from what the mare had seen so far, not to mention the enjoyment she got out of working with the weather.
It wasn't long before the mare slowly realized what she had to do, catch the fire starter(s) so Manehattan would be safer. A small problem that arose from that line of thought was Blossomforth didn't know how exactly to go about catching the target, but she knew some ponies that could help, her friends to be specific.
Teal eyes blinked as they stared at a white wooden door, slowly she sighed as the early morning ritual of getting her daughter to go to school was about to begin once again. The earth mare debated whether she should have gotten her husband to do the deed, but knowing him, she would have been allowed to sleep in.
"Firecracker, wake up~!" Quick Quill shouted out as her hoof banged on the filly's door, warmth was held in the tone as her hoof pushed open the door revealing her daughter still asleep. While Quick Quill found the ash coated filly adorable as she slept, her eyes ventured towards the room, various splotches of paint and burn marks littered the wall, an obvious sign that her daughter was practicing something, what the filly was practicing, was another mystery in itself.
The mare gazed at the look of contentment on her daughter's face, the filly's nose twitching on occasion. "I know your faking, now get up, you have to go to school." What was once a gentle and caring tone became sharp and quick demanding no quarter and no argument, the filly's blanket quickly found itself on top of her face an obvious sign of victory in the mother's favor.
"Yes, mom." Quickly the filly got up, leaving to head towards the nearest bathroom, hoping to lock herself away until tomorrow, and the next day until her mother finally caved in, on her being taught at home. Stealthily she closed the door, the only sound missing to the filly's ears was the click that the door was shut properly. Hazel eyes looked around finding the doorknob completely missing.
"Mom the doorknob's missing." A Bronx like voice called out as she propped herself against the door.
"I know dear, I'm replacing those with a much nicer looking set." The mare smiled as she heard the dull thump of the filly's head bang against the door.
"Again?" Firecracker's eyes closed as silence echoed through their little home, finding her mother's habits on having specific doorknobs for the house a tad annoying.
"Yes again, now get yourself ready for school or I'll have to come in there and do it for you." She didn't need to be near her to know that her daughter shuddered at the thought of being groomed by her mother for the first day of school again.
"FINE!" Hazel eyes shut as she began her morning ritual of cleaning herself up and making herself seem presentable for the day ahead.
Minutes later the filly found herself staring at her reflection, Hazel eyes stared back as the ash colored coat now brushed, her sky blue mane which was usually a mess to begin with, now controlled as a few strands wrapped around her neck.
Slowly she inched out of the bathroom heading down the stairs, her eyes going over various species in Equestria, some seen with her very own eyes, while others she couldn't comprehend existing. The moments of wonder faded as she entered the kitchen greeted by a sight she wasn't expecting.
"Glad to see your up, I'd hate to be the reason your late on your first day of school." Hazel eyes stared at her father slowly sipping the morning coffee, his eyes sparkling with mischief as though goading his daughter into asking why he was here.
"Its not like mom would let me stay home anyways." She replied ignoring the smirk written across her fathers face,.
"Well regardless, you look wonderful and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful day at school." Cue awkward stare and silence.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure it will."
"It will be better than the last school, I promise." Card Trick's eyes twinkled again, this time she couldn't recognize what her father was thinking at that moment of time, whatever it was gave her the smallest sense of foreboding.
"I'll do it, but its not like I have much of a choice anyways." She slumped as she plopped herself at the table, resigning herself to accept that this was the way things are. Biting into the daisy sandwich set before her, the three ponies ate in silence.
After she finished the meal, she hefted her satchel on her back, one side obviously heavier than the other as the right dipped to the ground. The three heading towards the door, silence filling the air as they left the building ready to head toward Firecracker's newest school.
Card Trick quickly parted form the two calling for a taxi, leaving the both of them in an uncomfortable silence. The filly's eyes traveling upwards, finding the morning sky more entertaining than the ponies walking down the street. She watched closely as an orange bird passed by her, it pausing mid-flight staring off at the big city and promptly flying off towards an unknown part of the city.
"How about we go out later today, I heard that mare that defeated the Ursa is doing a performance for ponies in the park, I'm sure you'd like to meet a real hero huh." Quick Quill She watched as the filly slowly nodded, obviously not into the whole idea of going to a performance out in public, finding the sky a tad more interesting than speaking with her at the moment.
Firecracker said nothing as the taxi pulled up, her eyes still fixated on the sky as she blinked expecting the orange bird to appear again. Her parents pushing her towards the taxi, her eyes shifting to the wagon slowly making her way up the steps deciding that she imagined the weird bird.
Author's Note
So this is my first contriubution to any universe, I'd like to say this story should have been out a lot sooner but complications came up as in I've been computer-less since September and each attempt at getting it fixed or a new one has been met with another problem. Hopefully this is a better version of the previous chapter, as I'm still in the looks for a proof-reader at this moment in time, until then thanks for the views and comments.
Blossomforth bit into her haywich, the grilled hay was a poor way to drop the sudden request on Twilight. The reason was because after her first drink of carrot juice, she went into a lengthy explanation of what was happening. She started with he fire station recruiting ponies and others alike to help combat a widespread of fires that had been downplayed so far. It wasn't soon after that she brought up the exhaustion and tired looks she got, including today's incident with the missing fire hose. The occasional gasp for air or drink of her carrot juice was the only thing that deterred her from finishing her story.
So when she asked for help finding the culprit(s) after she finished, she imagined Twilight standing up at the end of her rant, donning a bowler hat pulling a bubble pipe from nowhere with her magic and taking the case that very instant, but unfortunately that wasn't what she got. Instead, Twilight then stared at her like if she grew another head.
"Blossomforth you want me to do what now? I'm pretty sure I misheard you somewhere in your explanation." Said a confused Twilight
Twilight looked at the pegasus with disbelief, this wasn't exactly something she believed her friend would say.
"I want you to help me find the one starting the fires." Said Blossomforth.
She honestly thought Twilight would be willing to help, as she was always willing to help in some way or form. This was apparently not one of those days.
"Don't you think the police and fire department should handle this Blossomfoth?" Says Twilight.
The pegasus already told Twilight of how well they had a grasp on things, she wanted to tell her what she believed the fire chief thought, how Manehattan's finest were slowly unraveling with these fires. They need a beacon of hope, and if they couldn't be that beacon, then they'd surely help them.
"I do, but we could help even if its just a little Twilight." Says a persuasive Blossomforth.
Blossomforth knew the studious unicorn was the best choice, Daring was a good second and Trixie third because of their obvious talents, but Twilight is her best bet if she was going to find a whatever is causing these fires. Twilight had an answer or idea for just about everything, so by that logic Twilight had already caught the culprit or the very least was right on their tail in Blossomforth's eyes to say the least..
"Blossomforth doesn't this seem a little dangerous to you?" Twilights said worriedly.
Twilight hoped to dissuade her friend from well this sort of thinking, it wasn't the best of plans, but it was a far cry from some of the things they've done while here. Nightmare Moon was pretty big on the idea scale of this was dangerous and why are we doing this, besides to save Equestria?
"I understand that you want to help, but I don't think this is the best way too help, maybe I could volunteer with you? I mean if there are unicorns freezing up like you said then this would be the perfect thing to help out." Twilight Explained.
"I guess, I just don't think you being there would be more helpful then both of us catching the fire starter." She didn't want to tell Twilight this but if the book-smart mare wasn't going to assist the junior weather cadet, she'd go to the next pony on her list and so on until she ran out of a list.
""It might be, but I think we should help put out the fires...see like that one." Twilight's eyes peered at the column of black smoke, four or five blocks away. Twilight rose to her hooves quickly, Blossomforth and herself sharing a quick glance before both heading off towards the newest fire in Manehattan. Twilight's thoughts pertained to how swiftly she and Blossomforth could put out the fire, perhaps that would get her friends mind off catching this arsonist. This wasn't was on Blossomforth's mind though, the smell of burning wood, oak to be specific, filled the air. It was a bit unsettling actually, because she could only think of one place oak in Manehattan; the library.
"See you at the fire." Blossomforth's words couldn't have come out any faster as she flew off leaving a perplexed unicorn in her wake. Blossomforth had to get there first, she had to beat Twilight, she had to beat the fire department and she had to find out because if it was the library, then one of her friends might've already been in danger.
