Chapters Chapter One: Lost and Found
A little orange maned filly awoke at the edge of the everfree forest. She looked up at Canterlot Castle which was erected straight in front of her. She stood awkwardly and looked around; she was sitting on a blue blanket that she had owned since her birth. Where was her family? She looked back at where she had been laying and spotted a note. She read it to herself, it was a diary entry. Her mother, had abandoned her here? On the back of the page she read two little words.
“I’m sorry . . .” the filly read aloud.
She gaped at the note, she was still a young filly, yet her mother had left her alone on the edge of the woods. The little filly felt tears running down her scarred cheeks. She had been bitten and scratched up pretty bad by the animals and bugs in the woods. Where was everypony? She felt her head, how long had she been out? She picked up the blanket and sniffed, she was angry with her mother, angry for what she had done to her. She felt that same feeling she had felt a million times, her horn was heating up very slowly. In a sudden burst of energy her horn set out a fiery flame, burning both the note in her hooves and the trees next to her.
“Help!” she screeched, trying to run from the trees, she found herself tripping over the blanket from the panic filling every inch of her body.
Meanwhile, a white alicorn mare, by the name of Celestia flew over her castle, it was a lovely day, Twilight Sparkle would be going back to her library in Ponyville today, it felt incredible to have your own student go so far in such little time. She sighed happily, only to spot a fiery red flame in the distance. She soared down, if the fire reached the town ponies could be hurt, she would put it out easily. But, as she cast the water spell need to put out the flame she heard a loud cry from where the fire was, she immediately landed, before the water could so much as hit the flame, as it did, the fire flickered out.
“Hello? Is somepony hurt?” Celestia asked calmly.
The little filly crawled out from under the now dripping trees, the tip of her gnarled horn ashy and burnt. She wiped the tears from her eyes and rushed to the alicorn mare.
“My Momma left me here, and I don’t know where I am, and I accidentally set the tree on fire, and I’m so sorry, I was so scared. I promise I didn’t mean to, please don’t get mad, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” she sobbed.
Celestia was taken aback but stepped toward the little filly and put a hoof on her shoulder.
“It’s okay, nopony is going to hurt you,” Celestia said comfortingly. “What’s your name little filly?”
“I . . . I don’t have one . . .” she responded.
“Oh, dear, I’m assuming you need a home too?” Celestia asked, impressed by the little unicorn’s magic.
“Uh . . . uhhuh,” the filly whispered.
“Well, you come back with me to the castle, I think somepony there will be willing to take you under their wing.”
“Oh-okay . . .”
The little filly climbed up onto Celestia’s back, her dark velvet red fur shone brightly against Celestia’s white fur. She pushed back her orangey mane and looked thankfully down at her savior with her bright red eyes. They flew over the forest and to the castle. The little one went wide eyes at the gorgeous view. It was stunning. Nopony talked until they reached the castle.
Upon reaching the glorious castle, Celestia lead the little filly into the main hall. It was incredibly beautiful, the golden railings, and vastness of the room made the fiery young unicorn into a haze.
"Wow . . ." she gaped, her eyes widening at the sight.
Celestia smiled and lead the filly onwards talking as she walked. "So, you caused that fire?"
The filly stopped and nodded, shame filling her again. "I did . . ."
"I have never heard of such magic coming from a young filly since my very own Twilight Sparkle, would you mind demonstrating for me? It will only take a moment."
"Um . . . sure . . ." she replied, concentrating hard.
Her horn lit brightly, filling the room with a yellow glow, and in an almost blinding flash of light she burst a nearby plant into flames. She gasped, filling with dread, she hadn't meant to do that. She was on the verge of panic when Celestia flickered the flames away before she could even speak.
"Impressive, if you'll wait just a moment I will go call upon Twilight Sparkle, she may be interested in taking you in as a personal protégé," Celestia smiled, looking down at the little one.
"Miss- I mean Princess Celestia . . . what do you mean? Take me in?" she asked worriedly.
"I think its clear that your parents can't handle a small filly in their hooves, and with magical abilities like that I think you could . . . become something great," Celestia said kindly.
"Don't I need a name first? Before I could ever be anything good?" she asked.
"Ah yes, what do you wish to be called?" Celestia asked.
"Oh . . . I don't . . . I mean . . ."
"How about Fire Adara?" Celestia suggested.
"I like that! Its so pretty," she responded almost immediately.
"Then Fira Adara you shall be."
Just then Twilight Sparkle entered the room, her crown on her head and a worried look on her face.
"Is something wrong Princess? You sent for me?" she asked.
"I'd like you to meet somepony," Celestia said calmly, moving aside to show the little filly to Twilight.
Twilight tilted her head confusedly, she didn't understand why Celestia was showing her the foal, or why the foal have the misshapen horn or was covered in cuts.
"Her name is Fira Adara, and after seeing her magic, I was hoping you would take her under your wing as a protégé. Will you Twilight Sparkle?"
"Well . . . I . . ." Twilight thought for a moment and remembered how happy she had been when the Princess had taken her in. "Of course I will."
Fira Adara's eyes widened. "You mean I get to live with . . . a . . . Princess?!" she cried out, falling over and reopening the cuts on her flank.
"Oh my . . . here let me patch that up," Twilight said healing the small filly in an instant.
"Thank . . . you . . . Princess Twilight Sparkle . . ." Fira said shyly, as the pain left her aching sides.
"Twilight, you see, Fira was abandoned in the woods, I found her after she cast a remarkable fire spell."
"Interesting, does it have something to do with the . . . you know . . ." Twilight said, quieting as Fira strained to hear her.
"I believe so, that is what I want you to find out, not only does she need a home, but she needs help controlling her oddly powerful magic . . ." Celestia whispered.
"Is everything okay?" Fira blushed, looking up at the two older mares.
"Yes of course it is dear, I was just telling Twilight about you, she'd like to see your powers in action, but let us go outside first, if this is okay with you Fira?"
"Of course it is, I'd love to."
The three ponies walked outside the castle, Fira nerves racing through her waited for the two Princesses to call her out on her hideous horn.
"Here, Fira Adara, I think you could light this small bush on fire for us?" Celestia requested.
"Oh-okay . . ." she said concentrating all her anger and contempt into her horn, she felt heat, her eyes aglow, she sent out a burst of flame at the small bush, it shriveled in an instant, melting to the ground in a pile of ash. Fira gasped, wanting to apologize. But Twilight spoke before she could.
"Have you studied fire magic Fira? That was very impressive, how do you do it?" Twilight asked, curiosity growing inside her.
"I don't know, I used to lose control over it all the time, even when I was a baby, whenever I got angry, but I can sort of control when it happens now I just have to concentrate . . ."
Twilight's eyes grew wide. "You mean you never studied fire magic at all? That's incredible!"
"Thank . . . you?" Fira Adara was unsure what to make of this statement.
"Fira, you have a very special gift, you need to harness this power, it alone could make you more powerful with fire magic than any other pony I have ever met. You just need to master it. That is why, once you get used to life with Twilight, she can train you, much like I did for her," Celestia sighed, remembering when Twilight was a small filly too.
Fira Adara looked up at Celestia. "You really think I'm special? Me . . . but I thought I was a mistake," Fira gaped.
"You are a very talented pony and you are most certainly special," Celestia replied kindly.
Fira smiled back, maybe she wasn't such a horrible pony after all.
Chapter Two: Moving To Ponyville
A few weeks later, Fira stood at the door of Twilight Sparkle's library, she knocked at patiently waited for her new teacher to emerge and invite her inside. Twilight looked distracted as she flipped through pages and pages of books. Spike, a green and purple baby dragon, came to the door.
Fira jumbled back at the sight of the dragon. She fumbled with her hooves and stared up at him from her fallen position on the doorstep of the library. She quivered and held her hooves up, Twilight hadn't mentioned anything about a dragon
"Twilight! Its the filly you mentioned!" Spike called, not wanting to scare Fira further.
Fira Adara stood up and dusted herself off, wanting to make herself presentable for the Princess.
"Oh, hello Fira, sorry I was reading up on fire magic. Did Spike scare you?" Twilight Sparkle asked, opening the door wide for the filly to walk in.
"Is . . . he . . . the dragon?" Fira asked queasily.
"Yes, don't worry he wouldn't hurt a fly."
"I could if I wanted!" Spike protested from the back of the library.
Twilight laughed, leading the filly inside. "Sorry about him, he's just grumpy."
Fira laughed nervously and followed Twilight into the library.
"I know its not much but its-" Twilight Sparkle began.
"It's amazing! I've never seen so many books!" Fira Adara cried, aghast at the sheer quantity.
"Well thank you Fira, I think you'll be a great help around here."
Fira forced some laughter of her own, she was not yet sure about this dragon.
"Now, why dont you settle in, my friends are coming over in a bit to meet you, I hope you don't mind," Twilight said distractedly. "I set up a bed for you over here."
Twilight pointed torward a platform. A bed stood in the corner next to a huge stack of books dicussing the terms, types, and qualitys of fire magic. Fira's eyes widened, she rushed up to the bed and felt the covers, they were softer than anythg she had ever felt, her own blue blanket sat at the edge of he bed.
"No way! I get . . . A real bed?" she asked, her eyes filling with tears.
"Of course you do Fira. You have to sleep somewhere right?" Twilight smiled, wondering why the filly was so surprised.
"Well . . . I used to sleep on the floor, Momma was afraid I'd damage something."
"Well, don't you worry about that. I put a fire proofing spell on the entire library just in case."
"Wow, I wish I knew how to do magic like that . . ." Fira said quietly.
"You will soon enough, when we start your training."
"What am I going to be doing?" Fira asked with increasing curiosity.
"Well, first will just be practicing doing simple tasks like levitation and such, you can help me search the books and you'll read up on magic," Twilight grinned, excited to be teaching somepony with just as much potential as she had as a filly."After that we'll work on your fire capabilities and such, Spike can help a tad with that as well. Can't you Spike!?"
"Yeah. yeah . . ." Spike snorted from upstairs.
Twilight rolled her eyes, knowing Spike was jealous of her knew student and assistant. She would reassure him later, after she had gotten the little filly into the Ponyville School.
"Fira? Have you ever been to a school before? Because I'll be sending you to a lovely little school here in Ponyville,"
Twilight said, wanting to give the foal an education in basic Equestria history as well.
"N-no . . . I haven't been to . . . a real school . . . Momma said I couldn't . . . because I wasn't supposed to exist . . ." Fira said, in an emotionless lull.
"Well, I think you deserve to exist just as much as anypony else, and I bet you're going to love school, I know I did as a filly," Twilight said encouragingly.
"Th-thank you Princess Twilight . . ."
"You can call me Twilight," she responded.
"Okay . . . Twilight."
There was a knock at the door. Twilight looked back at Fira before walking over.
"That should be my friends," she said.
She trotted over to the door and swung it open, on the other side, stood Applejack with her little sister behind her.
"Applejack! Come in, oh and I see you brought little Apple Bloom too," Twilight said, letting the two in easily. "This is Fira Adara. She's my new student."
Fira smiled awkwardly and shook the overly enthusiastic Applejack's hoof. "Hi . . ."
Apple Bloom poked her head out from behind Applejack, she gasped and rushed out from behind her sister upon seeing the filly was mark-less as well.
"Hi, I'm Apple Bloom, ya must be new around here," she smiled.
"Hi . . . I'm Fira . . . Fira Adara . . ."
Applejack placed a hoof on her sister's head. "Sorry bout' that Fira, she's a little bit over enthusiastic . . ."
"Hey, wanna' meet my friends? Their names are Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle," Apple Bloom asked, ignoring her sister.
Fira looked back at Twilight who nodded easily. "Just come back to the library before it gets late."
Fira Adara smiled and followed Apple Bloom from the library. "So, what's it like here . . . in Ponyville . . . I mean," she asked.
"Oh, it's nice, but ya' gotta' watch out for Diamond Tiara an' Silver Spoon, they are real mean," Apple Bloom said, unconcerned about scaring the filly.
"Oh . . ." Fira whispered, wondering who these two were.
"Ah, there's my friends. Hey Scoots! Sweetie! C'mere an' meet my new buddy Fira!"
Buddy? Did she have a friend already? Fira gaped, her first friend? She smiled brightly, she had never had a friend before, maybe Ponyville wouldn't be so bad after all.
Chapter Three: Study Buddies
Scootaloo smiled and grabbed Fira's hoof.
"C'mon, we need to get you initiated in the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Then we can start looking for cutie marks!"
Fira was dragged up to the tree house, which reminded her somewhat of Twilight's library. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom pushing her up while Scootaloo fluttered her weak little wings pulling Fira Adara forward.
"Okay, okay . . . now what?" Fira asked softly.
"Well duh! We give you yer' cape and we start crusadin'," Apple Bloom cheered.
Sweetie raced ahead and went behind a box in the back of the tree house. She snatched the spare cape she had made months earlier in the hopes they would find new members. She rushed over to the front of the room, fastening the cape onto Fira instantly.
Fira fluffed the cape, it held up nicely. It was cute.
"Th-thank you . . . Sweetie Belle . . ." she said softly.
"Teehee. You don't need to thank me, The Cutie Mark Crusaders would never leave a fellow mark-less pony in the dust," she giggled.
"Oh . . . okay . . ." Fira Adara blushed, looking down at her flank. "Hey girls, how about we try . . . book sorting?"
"Uh . . . sure, I guess it could be anythin'," Apple Bloom said.
"That sounds booooooring!" Scootaloo whined.
"So? What if it is our talent?" Sweetie Belle said.
Fira Adara wanted ever so much to return to the library and start her studies. "Okay, come on, lets go to Twilight's house."
"Sure, why not?" Sweetie said.
"Cute Mark Crusaders! Book sorting . . ." the three fillies said hoof bumping together, waiting for Fira to awkwardly join them.
The four foals leapt from the tree house and darted to the library. They spotted Twilight leaving her house with her five friends, who evidently had arrived. Fire stopped short, nearly crashing into Rainbow Dash.
"Woah there kid," Dash said with a laugh.
"So-sorry . . ." Fira Adara said softly, Scootaloo coming up behind her.
"It's cool. Hey Scoots," Rainbow Dash said.
"Hi Rainbow Dash . . ." she responded.
"Oh, Fira, you're back, let me introduce you to my friends," Twilight smiled, noticing the crusaders had arrived.
"Hi . . ." Fira waved at the five ponies in front of her.
"Hey sugarcube, ya have fun with ma' sister?" Applejack asked.
Fira Adara nodded slowly and grinned at Apple Bloom who stood behind her.
"Welcome to Ponyville . . ." Fluttershy said softly. "I hope you'll like living here."
"I was just about to throw you a welcoming party!" Pinkie Pie cheered.
"Don't scare her dear . . . sorry about that Fira," Rarity smiled.
"Its okay, hey Twilight . . . can I go inside with my new friends and read up on magic?" Fira asked maturely.
"Of course you can! I'll read them with you!" Twilight said, her voice filled with excitement, flapping her newly found wings. "Isn't this exciting!?"
The three Cutie Mark Crusaders sighed and followed Fira into the library.
"See you girls later," Twilight said, skipping into the library in anticipation.
Fira leapt up the stairs to her bed, she immediately grabbed several books and nearly fell down the stairs as she trotted back to her friends. She tripped and fell down the remaining four steps, almost instantly leaping up and picking up the books scattered on the floor.
"Where do we start?" Fira asked quietly, a squeak of enthusiasm in her little voice.
"Um . . ah just remembered ah need to go . . . apple buckin' see ya' Fira," Apple Bloom blushed.
"We have to go too," Scootaloo said, hitting Sweetie with her hoof. "We'll see you at school tomorrow."
Sweetie Belle leapt up in surprise and followed the other two fillies.
Fira Adara smiled and waved to her three new friends as the left the library. Clearly the three fillies were not interested in spending their days reading books. She laughed at the three's squeamishness to learn. The filly lifted up the books with her magic and lined them up on the floor.
"Twilight? What do I do first?" Fira asked, her voice bright and squeaky.
"Well, first we just read this one," Twilight said, pulling out a book from the shelf, it's cover read 'The Concept Of Magic.'
Fira Adara gazed up at the book, wide eyed, taking the book from Twilight's hooves.
"Now, this book is the very first book I ever read about magic, so I hope you can take as much out of it as I did," Twilight said calmly.
Fira opened the book and gazed into its pages. She looked up a Twilight and grinned brightly.
"Now, lets look up fire magic specifically, lets see, aha, here we are," Twilight mumbled.
"What! What! What!" Fira asked, leaping into the air.
"Calm down," Twilight laughed. "Look here, it talks about fire magic and its rarity."
Fira gazed down at the page and read it over.
"Fire magic is a type of magic specific to unicorns, it is common at small levels of intensity. Some unicorns have an enhanced ability from a young age, which is rarer but still heard of-" Twilight read aloud.
"Wait. Rare? Fire powers are rare?" Fira interrupted.
"At higher intensities, yes, I suppose so," Twilight answered, engulfed in her reading.
"Hmm, hey, Twilight, it might be hard for us to research unless we have a good idea at what level my power is actually at. Right?" she asked.
"Of course, of course, this book has a guide on power levels and how to spot them," Twilight said as she levitated the book upward. "Let's go outside."
Fira clapped her hooves together. "Okay!" she cried out, dashing outside.
She leapt up and down outside the library waiting eagerly for her teacher to come outside so the two could start. Twilight emerged holding a stack of papers in her hooves, all blank, and levitating the guide book in front of her face.
"Its okay Fira, we'll test your magic in a minute, lets just go behind the house so we don't bother anypony."
"Yay! Yay! Yay!" Fira zoomed to the back of the house, messing up Twilight's mane on her way.
Fira waited patiently for Twilight to set out the papers. They floated above her head, twelve feet away from one another. Twilight looked at her and nodded.
"Okay, this is the most basic of tests, we can see how far your magic range can go. I want you to set each page on fire and if you can do it without moving forward or straining too much we'll go a little farther until you can't make the fire go far enough. Got it?"
Fira nodded and stared at the paper floating just above her head. She closed her eyes and concentrated on an image of her mother, her mother's cruelty, her father, everything, she felt the heat rising up into her horn. She concentrated harder on the images, falling backward as the sheer force of the fire power launched. She opened her eyes and looked at Twilight, who's mouth was wide open in surprise.
"You burnt all of them . . . in one go . . . " she whispered, giving Fira a hoof up. "We need to figure out a way to control your power."
"I did okay?" Fira Adara asked squeakily.
"You were stupendous, may I ask, how did you do it?" Twilight asked, wanting to understand the filly's power.
"I . . . I . . . I think about . . . my things that make me . . ."
"Happy?" Twilight suggested.
"No, angry . . ." Fira said quietly.
"Hmm," Twilight thought for a moment. "I must say that's a bit odd. But, I don't believe that its unheard of. We should read up on this. But, Fira, I need to look into different training set ups for your type of powers. Its getting late now anyway, perhaps you should go to bed, get yourself settled."
Fira sighed, she wanted to keep going. "Okay Twilight . . ."
"Aw, cheer up Fira. We can work on your skills tomorrow."
Fira smiled slightly, she was right, she would be in a better training mood when she was more awake. She trotted after Twilight to the library. She watched as her new teacher levitated book off the shelves and shelved more books in their place. She sighed and trotted upstairs, sitting down on her new bed and. She shut her eyes listening for the sound of pages turning. She instead heard hoof beats approaching her bed.
"Goodnight Fira," Twilight whispered, tucking her little filly student into bed.
Fira snuggled up against the blankets, she had rarely felt such kindness in her life, her horn emitted a soft yellow glow as she drifted off to sleep. Twilight smiled and patted the blankets, walking back down the stairs.
"Hmm, where to start?" Twilight thought aloud.
Twilight examined the books she had collected worriedly. She considered what types of magic were strengthened by emotion or hatred. She held up her 'Magical Creatures' book and examined it's pages for emotionally charged magic. She paused, dropping the book.
"Cadence! She can help me! She knows all about this! I will visit her tomorrow," Twilight said to herself. "Now, lets see what I can figure out myself."
She picked the book back up, examining it once more. "Hate . . . anger . . . Aha! No . . . no . . . those are spirits, Fira is a pony," Twilight said. "This isn't going to help!"
Twilight slammed her book shut and looked up at the top floor once again. She levitated another book off the shelf. "Calm down Twilight, emotion charged magic is perfectly normal. Now lets see about the entire study of fire magic, you shouldn't have looked fire magic over in your studies Twilight!" she flipped open the book angrily, scanning for something about fire magic.
Twilight Sparkle stood staring into the book for hours, so long that by morning she felt a small hoof poking her resting head. She had fallen asleep.
Chapter Four: Surpressing My Magic
Fira pushed her hoof towards her teacher.
"Twilight? Wake up . . ." she whispered.
Twilight Sparkle stirred, the book she was reading was turned to a page about changelings. Fira Adara turned her head at the image. What an odd thing this creature was, she had heard of these creatures from her mother, discussing news from Canterlot. She remembered the conversation well.
"I can't believe they had the nerve to go against Celestia! They have no respect for ponykind!" her mother said angrily.
"What is it Mommy?" Fira asked.
"None of your concern, theres just been an invasion in Canterlot . . ." she said.
"Is anypony hurt?" Fira questioned concernedly.
"Of course! Ponies everywhere were injured in the attack, some probably killed. They were changelings!"
"oh . . . " Fira whispered
"Now go to bed, I don't want you listining in to everything I say," her mother scowled.
Fira shook her head. She didn't want to remember her mother. Why was Twilight even looking at changelings anyway? Fira wondered. She remembered hearing about Twilight fighting changelings with her friends. Her mother had talked about how Twilight didn't deserve to be a princess just a few days before Fira had woken up in the woods.
"Uh wha . . ." Twilight opened her eyes, and blinked.
"Mornin' Twilight," Fira smiled, she backed away from Twilight so she could get up.
"How long have I been sleeping!? Sorry Fira, we need to get you the school. I need to go visit Celestia too!" Twilight leapt up to see the position of the sun. "Come on Fira! We can't have you missing school on the first day!"
Twilight beconed to Fira to follow and rushed to the door, throwing it open in a haze. Fira raced after her, the schoolhouse wasn't far.
"Here, we'll teleport, its close enough that I can make it," Twilight said, breathing in slowly as her horn lit. "Hold on to my hoof Fira."
There was a flash of light and Fira Adara opened her eyes, in front of her stood Ponyville schoolhouse.
"Good . . . Everypony is still outside, have fun Fira, just play with Apple Bloom after school, you know her right?" Twilight asked quickly.
"Yes Twilight, see you later?"
"I'll find you when I get back to Ponyville, I should be back before nightfall."
"Okay, bye Twilight!" Fira called as the Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted toward her,
"Bye!" Twilight said before vanishing into thin air, presumably back to her library.
Apple Bloom grabbed Fira's hoof. "Hi Fira! How ya' been?"
"Oh, fine . . ." Fira smiled as Apple Bloom pulled her into the playground.
"Don't worry, Sweetie and Scootaloo will be here too. We'll stick to ya' like rasberry jam!"
"Hey Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo shouted from across the playground.
Apple Bloom reached the two fillies, Fira grinning lightly beside her.
"Hi Fira, I guess its your first day of school?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yes . . . I guess so . . . I've never been to school before," Fira said shyly.
"Don't worry, we'll help ya'," Apple Bloom grinned.
Before Fira could give her thanks, the bell rung and Cheerilee stepped out from the school.
"Its time for school everypony!" she said brightly, waving all the little foals in.
The four crusaders held hooves and trotted over to her.
"Hello girls, oh, you must be the new student," Cheerilee said brightly.
"Yes . . . Thats me . . ."
"Welcome to the school. I'm Miss Cheerilee, your teacher," she explained, entering the school to join her class, the four fillies following closely behind.
All the fillies and colts sat in their respective seats, Fira grabbing one next to Apple Bloom. The class was noise filled and crowded. Cheerilee cleared her throut and looked down her nose at the foals.
"Hello everypony, today we have a new student! Her name is Fira Adara. Fira? Would you like to come up here and tell the class about yourself?"
"Oh . . . I . . . Sure," Fira smiled softly and stood from her seat.
Apple Bloom winked at her as Fira began to speak. She could hear two fillies giggling from the back of the class.
"My name is Fira Adara . . . and I-"
"Look at her horn," somepony snickered softly.
"Look at her wings," another pony snickered.
"I . . . Um, am Twilight Sparkle's student, I am training in magic . . ."
"I bet she can't cast any magic with THAT horn," the first voice chuckled again.
Cheerille stopped Fira for a moment. "Now Diamond Tiara, that isn't very nice, you apologize to Fira right now!" she said.
The filly who had spoken rolled her eyes. "Sorry."
"Ahem . . . I used to live in Manehatten but I was-" Fira thought for a moment, unwilling to say she was abandoned. "Was orphaned."
Apple Bloom's eyes widened, she felt an instant connection to her new friend.
"I was taken in by Princess Celestia and Twilight is teaching me now," Fira finished.
"Yeah right," Diamond Tiara whispered to Silver Spoon again.
Fira walked back to her seat, glaring at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, she felt a hatred stronger than she had felt in a while. She felt the anger rising to her horn, she panicked and tried to hold it in. She put her hooves of her horn and held her breath, trying to surpress her magic. She breathed in and out softly as the class stared at her figiting self. She must have been quite a sight holding her own horn with tears in her eyes trying to stop the burst of anger.
"Are you all right Fira?" Apple Bloom asked, concern flooding into her giant golden eyes.
"What is wrong with her!?" Silver Spoon asked loudly as Cheerilee walked over the Filly with the same concern.
"What a freak," Diamond said to her friend.
"Agh!" Fira Adara shreiked, realising her lack of controll.
She held on for as long as she could, sensing the fire spell was about the backlash against her. She felt herself falling onto the floor if the school house, the panicked crusaders and her new teacher standing over her as she blacked out.
Meanwhile, Twilight stood next to her hero, staring blankly at the stained glass windows, she started to speak once again, letting her fears pour out.
"Her powers have struck an intrest with me and I am concerned about her. You see Princess, her powers are charged by anger, and I don't know if she can controll them."
Celestia nodded. "I figured as much, such an odd thing, you can tell just by looking at her. Twilight, I believe her to be a born Alicorn, I have theorized that she was born an alicorn through some sort of genetic oddity. Her wings are clearly not usable, what means I am unsure, but I have reason to believe they were altered perpousfully. But as for her powers, that is why I asked you to train her. You know how to handle troublesome ponies and still be friendly to them. I beleive you can help her master her anger," Celestia said knowingly.
"But Princess, I don't know if I know how to help her," Twilight said.
"You will be perfectly suited for the job."
Twilight nodded. "Celestia, what do you suggest I do?"
"Teach her the magic of friendship, care for her like a daughter. It will help her realise that the world is not out to get her. She has been dealt a cruel set of cards Twilight, she needs to know ponies are there for her otherwise she will never be able to controll her own hatred. Your friends can help you as well, they may be able to offer her specific teachings," Celestia explained.
"Thank you Princess, I suppose I should go back to my library and research what her magic really is."
"Goodbye Twilight, if you need any help at all please just ask," Celestia said as Twilight rushed out of the castle and toward the train station.
Chapter Five: Twilight's Discovery
Twilight Sparkle stood outside her library, she wondered if Fira was home yet, or if she had gone out to play with her new friends, She lit her horn and opened the door, her attention was caught by a piece of paper falling to the ground.
"It must have been taped to the door . . ." Twilight said, examining the paper.
'Dear Princess Sparkle,
When Fira arrived at school today, something went wrong, I will explain everything to you once you read this. We are at Ponyville Hospital, I am with the girls, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Since your friends are related to them I figure as much they will want to know where their sisters are. Please come as soon as possible, Fira Is terribly ill. -Cheerilee'
Twilight dropped the note with a gasp, and rushed toward the hospital as fast as she could ever imagine running. The ground clicked at her heels, tripping her up as she went, she shook her head, remembering she had wings. She stretched them out like a dove and glided upward, flapping in between each panicked gasp.
Twilight's eyes shimmered in the bright sun overhead. She felt herself launch forward as the Ponyville Hospital seemed to move toward her shattered thoughts. She took a deep breath and muttered a silent prayer to Celestia, that Fira wasn't hurt too badly. She collapsed on the frame of the door, using her magic to open it, she trotted inside, and slammed it behind her. Oh her right was a waiting room, chairs filled with worried ponies, all of which had quivering lips and tangled manes.
"Hello?" Twilight asked, pulling toward the front desk. "Is a pony by the name of 'Fira Adara' in this wing?"
The mare at the desk stared for a moment, bowed her head to Twilight, and beckoned the young lavender mare to follow. The white washed floor reminded Twilight of the palace, so clean and white, it was intimidating. The clattering of the eight hooves on the ceramic tile filled the halls with echoes.
"It's right here, Princess," the nurse whispered, opening the door.
In the bed was lain a little red filly, her eyes shut tightly, and her horn charred. A dark pink mare and three young ponies stood staring worriedly at the occupant of the bed.
"Cheerilee, what happened to her?" Twilight asked, a flood of emotion hitting her like a ton of bricks.
"Well . . . I'm not sure really, she cast a spell, and it was too strong for her, she passed out," Cheerilee guessed.
"What! I . . . why?" Twilight sputtered out.
Scootaloo raised her hoof. "Diamond Tiara was being mean to her, that's why!"
Twilight stepped back. "I never should have sent her to school, I'm a terrible pony, I'm so sorry."
She buried her head in her hooves and cried, before she felt something touch her hoof.
"Twilight, I'm the one who's sorry, I should've been more careful," whispered, the little red filly.
Twilight leapt up, her eyes still streaming. She let out a sigh and looked over Fira for injuries. Fira stood shakily from her spot, and landed on the floor, coughing horribly as she did so.
"Fira, I don't think that's safe, get back in the-" Cheerilee began, but not before the three cutie mark crusaders had leapt by Fira's side. "Twilight Sparkle, the doctor said that you could take her home when you're ready, but she can't be exposed to stressful situations."
"Okay, thank you Cheerliee, you've been a great help, would you mind taking the girls home?"
"Oh, of course Princess, come on Apple Bloom, Sweetie, Scootaloo, you need to go home now."
"But we wanna' stay with Fira," Apple Bloom cried out.
"But Miss Cheerilee, she needs us," Sweetie protested.
Scootaloo stayed quiet for a moment, and glanced back at the little red filly.
"Girls," Cheerliee said firmly.
The three waved goodbye and followed, not wanting to get into trouble with their families. The quiet hoof beats of the four ponies faded into the distance as the door slammed shut. Twilight lifted Fira upwards with her horn, and placed her on her own back, spreading her wings to hold her weight.
"Fira, what happened? Could you please tell me?" Twilight asked, curiosity getting the best of her.
The little filly shook slightly as she told her story, she found herself crying off and on throughout, as Twilight became increasingly guilty for her idiocy. Before the two could even finish recounting today's events, they had reached the door of the little library, pulling it open with her spare hoof, Twilight trotted inside, immediately going up the stairs to her student's bed.
"Fira, I'm so sorry this happened to you, I will never let it happen again, and tomorrow, where going to figure this out, we are going to make you a more stable filly. Okay?"
"Yeah," Fira Adara coughed slightly, rubbing her horn with a free hoof, the burn was pretty bad, but was nothing that a little magic wouldn't fix after a few days or so. "And maybe you could heal my horn tomorrow."
"Of course, goodnight Fira."
Twilight smiled and walked back downstairs. "I can't believe they didn't tell her . . . that's a magical wound, not something I can fix. I need to do something about this . . . where is that dragon, he can help me research," she whispered to herself. "Spike!"
Spike was fast asleep in a corner, his arms crossed, a black covered book was at his feet, it's pages open to one about magical creatures.
"Wha-" Twilight began, looking over the pages, her eyes grew wider and wider as she read, lifting up the book and staring right at something she had completely ignored. "I don't believe it . . . this is the answer!"
Twilight tapped Spike on the shoulder excitedly, he had found something.
"What, what is it?" he mumbled softly.
"Spike! You did it!"
"Did what?"
"You found the missing link, the answer to Fira's magical abilities."
"Wait, what?" Spike groaned and stood up, peering at Twilight curiously.
"Ugh, Spike, you left this book open didn't you?"
"What? No, of course not."
Twilight tilted her head awkwardly and dropped the book back down at his feet. "Well, I'm still going to look into it . . . it's a new lead."
"What is?"
"I'll explain later Spike."
Dear Diary,
My name is Scarlet Pinpoint, I live in Manehatten. I have a terrible secret. You see, my husband, well, my former husband, was an earth pony, by the name of Ragweed.
I am a unicorn, and I was dissatisfied with him and his lack of interesting characteristics, he was a gardener. That was uninteresting, I craved adventure, secrecy, fear, so one day, I snuck out of Equestria to find somepony I had once known quite well, somepony I had met long ago. Surely, cheating on Ragweed, as I hoped it would, gave me a sense of adventure. But, a while after I had come back home, newly satisfied, I . . . I had a child.
Ragweed knew right away the child wasn’t his, she had . . . powers . . . fire powers, and whenever she was upset or angry they would grow. He questioned me soon after her birth, the little filly had a horrible misshapen horn and little nubs where wings should have been, well, she did have wings at first, but I got rid of them, for her protection. He was confused as there were no pegasi in our small family bloodlines. He was outraged and without a word to me or my daughter he walked out.
I was filled with shame and never told anypony about the filly. I never gave her a name. I couldn’t. I’m sorry I’m such a bad mother, I really am. I just couldn’t live in secrecy anymore. I left the filly at the edge of the forest near Canterlot Castle, nopony can ever know of my treachery. If they do I will be ruined. My only hope is that my little nameless filly will find a way to Canterlot Castle and make something of herself. If she ever finds me again, I hope she’ll forgive me, since her real father will never meet her, as he is banned from Equestria, I can only hope she will find somepony to care for her. I can’t bring myself to think of her anymore, just please, Celestia, oh please, keep her safe.
