A/N: This story is set after the events of my last story, "Butterflies in her Stomach".
A Fallen Candle
In her hut in the depths of the Everfree Forest, Zecora dreamed of home.
Of Zebraia.
She dreamed of the dense jungles, so similar to the Everfree, the air always thick with the calls of birds or the buzzing of insects. She dreamed of the tightly packed marketplaces, so rich with the scent of spices and the sound of merchants from faraway tribes hawking their wares. But most of all, she dreamed of the plains. The golden, windswept plains that she loved so. In her dream, she ran through them, the wind in her hair and a smile on her face. She wasn’t alone, of course. Running alongside her was her dearest twin brother, Shakasa, laughing with her as they enjoyed the thrill of running through the tall grass.
Stars above, she missed her brother. She missed the plains.
As she dreamed, a warm smile grew on her face, and her long legs started to move as if she was running in those plains.
It wasn’t her fault. The mind was a silly thing when it dreamed.
With one errant brush of her hoof, the sleeping Zecora knocked over the lit candle on her bedside, which she had been using to read before falling asleep. The wax candle hit the floor and rolled slightly until the flickering flame licked against the wall.
And then, the fire did what all fire is wont to do.
It spread.
It was the middle of the night, and Rainbow Dash couldn’t sleep.
She didn’t like summer. She couldn’t practice her tricks without worrying about dehydration, she had to cover herself in sunscreen to take a nap, and she found it too difficult to sleep during the hot nights.
She heaved another sigh as she looked out the window. Maybe she could crawl into the fridge and sleep there.
Suddenly, Rainbow’s eyes widened as she scanned the horizon. There was a glow coming from deep inside the Everfree Forest. An orange glow that could only come from one thing.
“Oh no,” She uttered, all desire to sleep gone from her mind. “Oh, no no no.”
Then she saw the first hungry tongues of flame as they licked the treetops.
“Buck!” Rainbow screamed, throwing herself out the window and taking wing to Ponyville as fast as she could. One word tore from her throat as she flew over the sleeping town, repeated over and over.
“FIRE!”
For the first time since… well, February, when the Walrus Empire invaded (thankfully, the whole incident ended with both sides laughing happily, and Twilight learned a valuable lesson about falsifying documents and why you shouldn’t do it), the emergency alarm in Ponyville was blaring, and the citizens of the small town were doing what they had gotten very good at over the past few months.
Namely, running about and screaming like idiots.
“The horror! The horror!”
“It’s the end of the world! The end of the world!”
“S’mores!”
Twilight jumped back as another panicking pony plowed past precariously, presently pondering the plan she had plotted. The mass of the rioters had gathered in front of town hall, so that would be where she was going.
“Now, I know that you’re all scared… really, I understand, I mean, I’m terrified as well…” Mayor Mare addressed the screaming crowd. “But panicking does absolutely no good in this situation…”
“Don’t you have a plan?!”
“We’re all going to die!”
“I can’t find the graham crackers!”
The mob stopped shouting for a moment to look at Pinkie Pie in confusion.
“Not time for s’mores?”
“NO!”
“Aww.”
The screaming picked back up where it had left off, all of it directed at the increasingly nervous Mayor Mare as she
started to sweat.
Finally, she snapped.
“I can’t take it anymore!” She screamed suddenly. “I’m a legislator, not a firefighter!”
And then she broke down sobbing. By the time Twilight reached town hall, she was still going.
“Well, this doesn’t look good,” Spike pointed out from Twilight’s back. Twilight cast a glance at the horizon, towards the Everfree. The orange glow was growing steadily, and at this rate, it would reach Ponyville within half an hour. The summer sun had dried the town, so if the fire hit, Ponyville would go up like a bonfire.
And her plan was almost completely useless if everypony was panicking.
“Spike, cover your ears for a second,” Twilight said as she looked over the crowd. Spike did so, and Twilight cleared her throat.
“ALL OF YOU BE QUIET!” She screamed, the sound of her voice multiplied times a thousand. Spike, taken by surprise despite Twilight’s previous warning, fell off her back.
If there was one thing the Royal Canterlot Speaking Voice was good for, it was getting the attention of an angry mob and getting them to shut up for a minute. Thank goodness Luna had taught her how to use it.
The mob was silent, parting to let Twilight pass through as she made her way to Mayor Mare. “You should all be ashamed of yourselves,” She said. “Panicking has never solved a problem. As we speak, there is a fire in the Everfree Forest, and if it reaches Ponyville, everything is going to burn.”
Twilight hopped up onto the stage where the Mayor was curled up into a ball, all eyes on her. “At this rate, we have maybe half an hour until that fire reaches the edge of the forest and starts burning Ponyville, and even if we could evacuate the entire town by that time, the fire is not going to stop. It will burn down the entire Everfree Forest if it keeps going, and all the dangerous creatures inside it, the manticores, the cockatrices, the timberwolves, are going to be pushed out, and most likely very hungry.”
“Then what do we do?!” A lone voice called out.
“Simple,” Twilight answered. “We are going to stop it. I have a plan, but I am going to need everypony in town to help out. Any objections?”
A murmur went through the crowd, but no voices stood out.
“Good,” Twilight said. “Rainbow Dash!” She called out.
“Right here, Twi!” The pegasus called out from above.
“How long would it take for Cloudsdale to send us a heavy rain shower?”
“Hard to say,” Rainbow Dash answered. “I think… an hour?”
“Drat, that’s too long,” Twilight grunted. “Alright, plan B! Everypony listen up! Every unicorn that can cast a barrier spell, you are going to be at the edge of the fire, holding it back. Rarity, are you here?”
“Tired, terrified, but here,” Rarity called out.
“Great. You’ll be in charge of that group. Next, I want every earth pony digging a shallow trench just past the edge of the forest in case the fire gets past the unicorns. Applejack?”
“Y’ want me in charge of that?”
“If you don’t mind. Next, Pinkie Pie, I want you to get a group of volunteers together and help evacuate everypony too young or old to help out.”
“Okie-dokie-lokey!”
“Now, Fluttershy, I want you to make sure that all the animals in the area are safe.”
There was silence.
Twilight’s blood chilled.
“Oh no,” She gasped. “Has anypony seen Fluttershy?!”
The crowd murmured a consensus of ‘no’.
Twilight didn’t even have time to choose somepony to go find her before Big Macintosh wordlessly volunteered himself by barreling through the crowd full-tilt, terror etched into his face. On that day, many ponies learned that you do not get between a stallion built like Big Macintosh and his marefriend who might be in danger.
“…Okay, that resolved itself,” Twilight said as she watched Big Mac charge out of sight. “Spike, you’ll be in charge of the animals, then.”
“Got it!” The baby dragon responded, saluting.
“Next, Rainbow Dash, I need you to choose the best fliers in town, and have every other pegasus filling buckets with
water from the lake and dumping them on the fire. Start from the edges of the fire!”
“Gotcha, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash said. She started flitting through the crowd, pulling a few pegasi aside here and there.
“Good. All right, you all know your jobs! Everypony get moving! We don’t have much time!” Twilight ordered. With barely even a word spoken, the crowd split, its resolve focused like the point of a knife.
“Twilight! Twilight!” Apple Bloom shouted, running up to the unicorn mare with Applejack at her side. “What about Zecora?”
“Zecora? Oh no,” Twilight gasped, realizing she had forgotten about the zebra in the heat of the moment.
“Tarnation! Twi, Ah’ll head t’ Zecora’s hut t’ make sure she’s all right. Ah’ll grab somepony t’ take care o’ th’ trenches in my place,” Applejack volunteered.
“Good. Just head back as fast as you can,” Twilight said. Applejack nodded and ran off. “Apple Bloom, go with Pinkie Pie. And don’t argue with me on this,” She ordered the young filly. Apple Bloom just nodded and quickly made her way over to the bouncing pony.
“Twilight, I’ve got the best fliers in town here,” Rainbow announced, being flanked by five pegasus ponies. “What’s the plan?”
“Oh, I think you’re going to like it, Dash…”
By the time Big Macintosh was in sight of Fluttershy’s cottage, it was evident that the fire was moving much faster than Twilight had guessed. The cottage was already burning.
Mac’s heart thudded in his chest as he saw the flames enveloping the cottage. “Oh crabapples,” He cursed. “’SHY! ‘SHY!”
The only thought in Big Mac’s mind as he charged the door was that his marefriend, the sweet, harmless Fluttershy,
was in danger. His own safety took back seat as he threw himself shoulder-first at the door.
The reinforced door that he had suggested she buy after he had put another hole in her door.
Big Macintosh decided that he hated irony.
The door didn’t move as he threw his shoulder against it again. “Fluttershy! Fluttershy, can ya hear me?!” He shouted. “FLUTTERSHY!”
There was the sound of breaking glass from up above. Big Mac looked up just in time to see a curled up yellow form flying from the broken second-story window to crash to the ground. His breath caught in his throat.
“’SHY!” He bellowed, dashing over to the small form, not even noticing the broken glass as he crunched over it. He was at Fluttershy’s side in an instant. She had some cuts from where the glass had broken that were bleeding lightly, and she had some small burns, but she was alive. She was safe.
The pegasus shook her head to wave away the confusion from the impact. “Big… Mac?” She said as she noticed her coltfriend standing over her.
“Ah’m here, ‘Shy, Ah’m here,” Big Mac said reassuringly. “Yer safe, Ah’m here…”
Fluttershy uncurled herself, and at least six rodents jumped out of her arms, protected from the crash by Fluttershy’s body. “Go find somewhere safe,” She told them, standing up shakily with the help of Big Mac. The rodents scampered away.
“C’mon, ‘Shy, let’s head back t’ town,” Big Mac said.
“Big Mac, could you make sure there’s no chickens hiding in the coop? I’ll be right back,” Fluttershy said, completely ignoring Mac’s suggestion.
To the red stallion’s complete astonishment, Fluttershy took wing and flew back into the burning cottage without a second thought. A few seconds later, she flew back down, deposited some more critters on the ground, and then made another trip.
Big Mac closed his gaping mouth.
Fluttershy, the most timid mare he had ever met, was flying back into a building that was actively being consumed by flames so strong he was sweating from the heat even from where he was standing. To save a few animals. She didn’t even seem scared of the fire, or worrying about the fact that her home was burning down, simply concerned with the safety of the animals she cared for.
“…You know Ah love you, right?” Big Mac asked Fluttershy as she returned from her third trip into the cottage. Fluttershy just pointed a hoof at the chicken coop, as of yet untouched by the fire.
“Chickens!” She reminded him. “Um, please.”
“Crud, sorry! Ah’m goin’!”
By the time Zecora had woken up, it was already too late.
Her hut was almost completely on fire, and it had already started to spread. Zecora cursed her heavy sleeping habits for not waking her sooner as she dove out the window by her bed.
She moved away from her burning home quickly, still in shock as she watched her home burn.
She realized it was her own fault. She had noticed that her bedside was devoid of a candle, and could only draw one conclusion from it: her home was lost, and Ponyville was most likely in danger.
She had to warn them. The fire was spreading quickly through the thick undergrowth and interwoven trees. It was honestly a miracle that Zecora had not perished in her home.
There was only one path leading away from Zecora’s home, headed into Ponyville. And it was blocked by a fallen, burning tree.
Truth be told, the tree had been fallen for months at that point, but Zecora had never seen any reason to get rid of it. She would clear it in two easy jumps when she needed to get by, or walk around it through the undergrowth when her bags were filled with delicate items. But now, with the tree and the undergrowth on fire, there was no way to get past it. Zecora could only get over the downed tree by jumping on top of it first, then jumping down on the other side. This was basically impossible now that the tree was on fire.
Zecora hung her head when she realized she was trapped. “Spirits gazing from up high,” She called. “Is it my punishment for this fire that I must die?”
The spirits spoke not. They spoke only rarely, and answering the question of one Shaman who had endangered hundreds was not their problem.
“Then it is here that I shall wait. And I will accept my fate,” Zecora said, sitting down as the fire burned around her on the edges of the path.
For what felt like a long time, Zecora waited. The fire did not reach her, but she would be patient.
“Zecora! Zecora!” A familiar southern-accented voice called out from the other side of the tree. Zecora’s face brightened slightly.
“Applejack, my dear friend! How nice to see you before my end!” Zecora called out as if she wasn’t surrounded by burning undergrowth.
“Zecora, y’ alright?” Applejack shouted.
“My home and possessions are on fire, so I’ll admit, my state is dire,” Zecora said calmly. “This tree is blocking the path; there’s no way around, ‘tis simple math.”
“Ya sure seem calm ‘bout it!”
“I am calm, that is true. My fate is sealed, there’s no way through,” Zecora said.
“Ah think Ah can get this tree outta th’ way! Jus’ stand back!” Applejack said, retreating back down the path a bit.
“I find you mad, my farming friend. Our funeral many shall attend,” Zecora said darkly, taking a few steps back.
“Can it fer after Ah save ya!” Applejack shouted back, pawing the ground. She charged, running straight for the fallen tree between herself and Zecora, unfaltering. Just as she reached the tree, she turned herself around and introduced the burning wood to her good friends Buck McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee.
Darned fine workers, those two.
With a heavy crack, the burning tree left the ground from the force of Applejack’s kick. It moved back a full yard in such a way that Zecora would be able to get around it.
The zebra trotted around the tree, still almost painfully calm. “You have my thanks, my good mare. For my death, I had prepared.”
“Death's a sad thing t' have t' be prepared for,” Applejack said, stamping her back hooves to dispel the heat from kicking the burning wood.
“An urgent question, if I might. Is Ponyville safe from these flames tonight?” Zecora asked, trotting down the path to Ponyville alongside Applejack.
“When Ah left, yeah. Twilight’s got some plan t' stop th’ fire,” Applejack answered.
“Ah, I see; that is good. None shall die from this burning wood,” Zecora said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Since my life is not at stake, a sad confession I must make.”
“Go ahead,” Applejack responded.
“If you hate me for this, I’ll understand. I nearly brought death unto your land,” Zecora confessed.
“What’re ya talkin’ about?”
“The fire now moving without halt, in its creation I am at fault.”
“What? How?”
“I think that while I slept sound, I knocked a candle to the ground,” Zecora said, hanging her head.
“’Kay,” Applejack responded bluntly.
“…That is all you have to say? I caused the fire here today!”
“Th’ way Ah see it, th' fire's mostly under control, an’ Ah think you’ve lost more to it than most o’ th’ ponies in town. Nopony’s dead, an’ ya said it was an accident, so no harm, no foul,” Applejack said.
“Applejack, my friend, you are an odd mare. I think you merciful beyond compare,” Zecora said. “Tradition dictates I owe you my life, for you to command through peace and through strife.”
“Nah,” Applejack responded. “’T ain’t mah business t’ tell ya how t’ live.”
“Then I thank you, Applejack. But I shall still find some way to pay you back,” Zecora said. “Now let us hasten in our dash, lest Ponyville be turned to ash.”
The small pegasi-drawn wagon set down in a small clearing in the Everfree Forest, surrounded on all sides by burning trees. The six pegasi and one unicorn began to sweat from the sheer force of the heat.
“This’ll do!” Twilight shouted to the pegasi. “Rainbow, make sure that the flames don’t get to me while I’m preparing the spell!”
“No problem!” Rainbow Dash said, unhooking herself from the wagon and taking to the air alongside the five other pegasus ponies. They flew around the perimeter of the clearing in fast circles, forming a vortex around the purple unicorn.
With a turn of her head, Twilight sent the empty wagon flying out of the clearing. She made a mental note to repay the owner when all was said and done.
Now, she had work to do.
With another flash of her horn, a branch snapped off a nearby tree and floated over to Twilight. Twilight let out a deep breath, and began to draw lines in the dirt around her.
Within seconds, a series of perfect circles were scratched in the dirt at regular intervals, the unicorn mare situated in the exact center. Now that the backbone of the spell circle had been created, it was time to really get started. The branch, guided by Twilight’s magic, began to draw out a long series of lines, symbols, and numbers that would have only made sense to an incredibly gifted unicorn mage. Spell circles were incredibly advanced magic, and there were only half a dozen ponies alive in Equestria who could perform them. The circle that Twilight was drawing now was a (comparatively) simple one: amplification. A single weak spell casted in the circle would have its strength increased almost a hundred fold. Twilight was preparing to cast a spell that was, by itself, useless, but with the spell circle, it would stop the fire in its tracks.
After almost ten minutes of furious scratching, the circle was complete. Twilight lowered her horn to touch the nearest line, providing it with the raw magic the circle would need. A light purple glow spread out from where her horn touched, tracing itself along the lines in the dirt. When every line, curve, and symbol contained in the circle was glowing with magic, the light brightened to a blaze.
The force of the sheer magical power hit Twilight like a sudden gust of wind. She could feel it coursing through every vein in her body, every hair in her mane. It threatened to swallow her in its depth, but she fought against its pull and bent it to her will. Her eyes took on a bright glow.
It was time.
“All of you,” She ordered, her voice booming. The pegasus ponies flying around the clearing stopped flying at the suddenness of Twilight’s voice. Twilight spoke three words.
“Empty your lungs.”
The six pegasi instantly obeyed, letting out all the air in their lungs.
Twilight’s horn glowed brighter than the sun for a brief second, and the magic burst forth in a sudden wave.
And all the air for miles simply vanished.
The forest fire, starved of the air it needed to burn, disappeared.
A second later, there was a powerful gust of wind as air flooded back into the empty zone, nearly knocking the hovering pegasus ponies out of the air. Twilight drew in a deep breath.
“I… didn’t think… that would work,” She admitted.
“Twi, that was awesome! You just… you just extinguished the entire fire by yourself!” Rainbow Dash cheered, flying
above the burnt trees to confirm that, yes, there was no more fire.
“Great… very good. Now, somepony is going to have to carry me back to town because I think I’m going to be sleeping for… maybe a day. So… good night…” Twilight said. Her knees gave out from under her and she fell to the ground in a heap, snoring softly.
“…S’mores, anypony?” Derpy Hooves asked cautiously, holding out the branch laden with toasted marshmallows that she had been holding on to while flying.
“Not now, Derpy,” Rainbow Dash said, lifting Twilight onto her back. “We’d better head back to Ponyville. I think Twi needs a quick visit to Redheart.”
When Twilight’s group returned to Ponyville, they found it quiet. Pegasi who had suffered light burns while dumping water on the fire were being treated in the town square, as well as some unicorns being treated for magical exhaustion. But, most importantly, there had been no deaths.
Pinkie had wanted to throw a ‘We-Didn’t-All-Die-In-A-Fire’ party, but Rarity had quickly talked her out of it. Ponyville was too tired for one of Pinkie’s parties, she said.
Pinkie accepted that. Didn’t like it, but accepted it.
However, like it or not, Ponyville was tired. Most ponies had returned to their homes to go back to sleep after the fire had ended, but there was still an impressive number of ponies gathered in the town square alongside the injured. Zecora had volunteered to help the medics patch up burn victims, starting with Applejack’s lightly singed hooves.
“So, Zecora, what’re ya gonna do now that yer hut burned down?” Applejack asked Zecora as the zebra applied a cool salve to Applejack’s hooves.
“I have been thinking long and hard, that another hut in the forest I shall disregard. Now, I believe that I will make my home here, in Ponyville,” Zecora answered.
“Ah’ll bet Apple Bloom’s gonna be happy t’ hear that,” Applejack said. Zecora chuckled in response.
Nearby, Big Macintosh was putting the finishing touches on Fluttershy’s burns, spreading the salve onto them as gently as he could. He had insisted that he be the one to help her.
“Right sorry ‘bout yer cottage, ‘Shy,” Big Mac said.
“It’s alright,” Fluttershy answered, smiling softly. “The damage wasn’t that bad. I’m sure I can find somepony to fix it up. It’s no problem.”
“Yeah, ‘bout that,” Big Macintosh cleared his throat. “Ah was thinkin’, that, well, while yer tryin’ t’ find somepony t’ fix up yer house, maybe ya could, erm…”
“Hey, Fluttershy! Are you okay?” A brash voice suddenly piped up. Rainbow Dash, wearing her burns like badges of honor.
“Oh, yes. A little bit burned, but all my animal friends are okay, so I’ve never felt better,” Fluttershy answered.
“A ‘little bit’? Fluttershy, I’ve seen marshmallows less toasted than you are!” Rainbow quipped. “Anyway, I heard your cottage burned down?”
“Oh, no, it didn’t burn down. Most of the damage was superficial, so it can probably be repaired. I’m just going to be needing a place to stay until then,” Fluttershy said. Big Mac opened his mouth to speak, but was, again, interrupted.
“Well, I’ve got plenty of room at my pad, if you’re interested!” Rainbow volunteered.
“You’d do that? Really?” Fluttershy asked, her face brightening. Big Mac’s eye developed a healthy twitch.
‘AH was gonna ask her, ya darned interruptin’…’
“Hay yeah I would! My guest room’s been gathering dust for years!” Rainbow said. She paused. “Well, not literally. I mean, it’s pretty clean. Probably. I think.”
“I guess I’ll have to take you up on your offer. Thank you so much,” Fluttershy said, standing up and stretching her wings out. “I think it might be time for me to get some rest anyway.”
“I’ll meet you there later, then. I’ve gotta go check the forest to make sure there isn’t any fire left. Later!” Rainbow Dash said, taking off and flying towards the charred area of the forest.
“Well, good night,” Fluttershy said to Big Mac, slowly floating off the ground. “Oh, wait. Mac, what was it you were saying before Rainbow came?”
“Erm… Nothin’. Nothin’ important,” Big Mac lied, praying she wouldn’t call his bluff. “It’s… it’s been a long night. Ah’ll,
uh, Ah’ll see ya later. G’night,” He said.
“Good night,” Fluttershy said, flapping off. A few seconds later, she remembered something and flew back down to the grumbling Big Macintosh. She gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I love you too, by the way.”
Big Mac blushed. “Sweet dreams, hun.”
“Sweet dreams.”
And with that, Fluttershy flew away, not looking back this time.
Big Macintosh, with a small grin on his face, walked off towards home.
It had been a long night.
A/N Blargh, I'm bad at suspense.