A silver light in the dark

The sun was finally setting on AJ's and Silver's long day of playing worker ants. Pick up barrel, move barrel to silo, repeat. Not mentally taxing work by any means but still, neither Applejack or Silver Light said much the entire time. Most ponies didn't have the pleasure of working with the Apple family so they wouldn't realize that being quiet didn't just start and end with Bic Mac. AJ was a very focused pony, Silver found this relaxing. His experiences with mares so far were limited to being accused of theft, being tackled, being gut punched and then being molested... So this was nice.

"Well partner, thanks to your help, I have time to run into town and buy ANOTHER pick-ax. I swear they make those things as cheap as they can." She says, beating her stetson against the side of the silo, trying to get the old grain dust out.

"Who is that sis?" Silver turned around in surprise at this new voice, it sounded strangely like a tiny Applejack.... He saw a tiny Applejack... No that wasn't quite right. She was yellow with a red mane and tail. Failed clone spell maybe? His arrant thoughts were interrupted by two other failed clones next to the first. They were all wearing cloaks not unlike the one he had the first day he came into town.

"Awww Applejack!, is that your coltfriend?!" The mini Rarity squeaked excitedly... Too excitedly for Silver's taste, something told him these tiny copies of his new friends were trouble with a capital T.

"No he ain't, this here's Silver Light. He is helpin' on the farm while your brother's in Appaloosa with cousin Braeburn." Applejack stomped her hoof, trying her best not to be too upset at the always bothersome Cutie Mark Crusaders. Silver bowed his head a little.

The tiny pegasus stepped up and spoke with authority. "AJ, we hereby commandeer the silo for the next 24 hours as to conduct Cutie Mark Crusader business."

"Uh-huh... And what's wrong with the tree house?" Aj asked, ignoring her tone and raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Weellll..." She continued. "We kinda wanted our Cutie Marks in taking care of sick animals, you know like Fluttershy?... Let's just say we won't be bringing any more skunks into the clubhouse anymore." Sweetie and Scootaloo both scrunched their noses in disgust and agreement. Apple Bloom on the other hoof, just glared at the other two.

"I'm tellin' you girls, there was no skunk!" Apple Bloom stomped her foot and snorted at her friends. "We had squirrels, rabbits, even a toad but no skunks."

"Well then, how to you explain the smell? I bet one went in there when we weren't looking or you don't know what a skunk looks like!" Sweetie Belle retorted with a squeaky comeback.

"Yep, Triple Trouble." Silver thought, not taking his eyes off the crusaders.

"How else would you explain that smell?" Scootaloo asked, with both eyebrows raised.

Applebloom hesitated, "I..I don't rightly know... All I know is, skunks smells like skunks, not... warm rotten eggs.

Applejack looked between the three arguing fillies and sighed. "You girls are lucky I'm in a good mood today. Go on, just say out of trouble."

The girls shouted a unanimous "yay!" and high-hoofed.

Silver and Applejack were left alone at the door of the silo. "Hon.. you okay?" Applejack leaned in to get a closer look at her partner. His face was downcast and his eyes seemed a million miles away. His usual soft gaze was hardened to a razors edge and to AJ, it was downright unsettling.

"Huh? What, I'm sorry Applejack. I was off in my own little world there for a moment." His face softened to its usual state and he gave her a weary smile.

"As long as you're sure shug." AJ said, not really convinced, but not willing to push the issue.

Silver and Applejack parted ways. She made her way to town while Silver washed the grime off his coat before heading to the house. Granny Smith had taken up her guard post on the porch rocking chair. He laughed at her snoring as he trotted up to the door.

"Shiney!"  Silver jumped so high his head hit the wooden ceiling of the aged porch. "Woo wee, ya'll work fast! You should consider marrying my grand daughter. It be a mighty nice thing to have you here all year round."

Pushing the imagine of a blushing Applejack in a white wedding dress out of his mind, he chose to ignore the question. "What do you need Granny?"

"Well Shimmy, I seemed to have misplaced my bourbon. Could you run to the store and get some more for me?"

He sighed at his grossly misspoken name and nodded. "Misplaced my flank ya old dirty drunk."

"Ohhh Applejackk." Applejack had been fuming over whether it was more cost effective to buy one expensive pick or two cheep picks when she heard the sing song voice of Rarity.

"Well hey Rares. Whatcha doin' out of the shop so early? Slow day?" AJ asks with a hug.

Rarity fumes for a second. "Unfortunately it was quite the opposite dear. I just had to get out of there today. This prissy mare from Canterlot came in wanting a brand new, all original dress done by this evening and I told her I just simply couldn't do it, not with the Gala coming up. She began to throw the most un-ladylike tantrum, I swear Applejack it was like I was talking to a foal... Enough about me, how's that handsome new stallion working out?" A mischievous smile forming on her lips.

Applejack rolled her eyes. "He's good Rares...Why?"

Her smile widens. "Ohh no reason... It IS just you and him, in the fields, all alone, with no Big Mac... getting sweaty..." She trails off, seeing if her friend was catching on. Judging by the bright red on her face, she got it.

"Rarity! Of all the... I would never.." Applejack starts to fume, but glances at her friend who was stifling a laugh. "Annnd you're kiddin'"

Rarity laughs out loud, barely able to stand up. She wipes a tear from her eye. "Oh dear, you are just too much sometimes." Rarity snorts, poking Applejack in the ribs. Aj chuckles at her friends antics. Applejack thinks to herself that Rarity must have had a rough day, she doesn't get this way unless shes had a couple of glasses of wine in her.

Rarity looks over Applejack's shoulder to see the Silver approaching, a paper bag clutched under his wing. "Hey, what's up girls?"

They both giggled. "Ohhh, nothing." Rarity says in her sing-song tone, putting back on her mischievous smile.

"Don't listen to her Silver." Applejack quickly jumps in. "She's crazy."

Rarity gives AJ an incredulous look. "Applejack, as the element of honesty, you shouldn't be lying to Mr. Silver like that."

Applejack smirks and raises and eyebrow and her friend. "I wasn't."

Silver suppresses a laugh at the blank look on Rarity's face. "Oh, HA, HA. Well played dear."

Aj tips her hat at the compliment and the three begin the walk back to Sweet Apple Acres.

The three saunter shoulder to shoulder back to Sweet Apple Acres, laughing and joking about the different ponies they have had to put up with over the years. Applejack had the Flim Flam Brothers, twice. Rarity had Suri Polomare, who stole her original fabric. Silver on the other hoof had Chief White Fang, of the southern saber cats. The old tiger was really, REALLY mad that his daughter had taken a shine to an outsider when Silver was searching for their "Tooth of the father". He swore he only saw the girl once but it didn't matter. Right before Silver had to explain how he is technically married to a saber cat, he caught a whiff of smoke on the air.

"Somepony is cooking something," He said, closing his eyes and taking a deep sniff.

"Yep, Smells kind of off though, don't it?"  Applejack's eyes turn toward the horizon, toward Sweet Apple Acres. A dark black cloud of smoke was rising over the trees. "I see it..."

Applejack's eyes went wide. Rarity saw the terror in her friend's face and knew what had occurred. The Crusaders.

"I'm going ahead." Without giving them a chance to reply, Silver dropped his parcel, spread his wings and took to the sky, leaving his two new friends holding on to their hats. Thankfully they weren't that far from the farm and after clearing the treetops he could clearly see their worst fears were true. The silo in which they had spent all morning moving barrels into, was engulfed in flames. Due to his pegasus eyesight he could make out a tiny figure falling from the single silo window, which was near the top of the three story structure. He snapped into a dive to catch the filly. She tumbled and fought to keep some wind under her wings but it was no use. Just before the ground met her, she was caught by the 'not Applejack's colt-friend'. Silver flew nearby and sat her down on the ground.  Upon closer inspection, he recognized the filly as the mini Rainbow Dash. She probably had a broken leg plus her wing tips and mane were a bit singed but nothing too serious, she was thankfully still breathing.

"Sweetie...Belle.... Apple...Bloom... inside. Not...A...Skunk." Was all she could muster between gasps, before vomiting and passing out. Probably from exhaustion and, he guessed, smoke inhalation.

Thousands of scenarios ran through his mind. He looked to the door of the silo. The old wood had buckled and splintered with the heat, there was no way he could buck it open without compromising the entire structure, plus a large amount of fresh oxygen would just further fuel the inferno. He looked to the window that mini Rainbow jumped out of, large beams crisscrossed the opening. There was the same issue there as with the front door. He knew what he had to do... he had to make his own hole, find the girls, then escape without being roasted alive.... too easy right. He took to the air just as Rarity and Applejack galloped up.

"Take care of her, the others are inside. Find somepony to put out this fire!" He shouts to the girls before climbing into the clouds above the grain silo.

Taking a deep breath he pitched into a dive once again, aiming for a spot opposite of the large window. Just before he made contact with the wooden roof, Silver crossed his wings together into a spear point trying to cover his face. With loud crash he broke through the roof and plummets into the fiery abyss.

The two girls watched in horror as Silver disappears into a pillar of fire. Silver was gone for almost a full two minutes, they could only assume the worst: he was dead and so were their sisters. They both stood there on the verge of tears, helpless to do anything but wait for this nightmare to be over. Applejack finally spoke up.

"Rarity, I can't wait anymore. I'm going in there. He's taking too long. What if they're stuck, or passed out?! Rarity, I can't lose her too!" The usually stalwart mare is frantic and tears were streaming down her face. Rarity knew what she meant. She remembered when Applejack lost her parents, if anything happened to little Applebloom or Sweetie Belle... She had to say something but was interrupted by the sound of wings. During their conversation, Twilight and Rainbow had seen the smoke and had flown over to investigate.

Twilight has to almost shout over the sound of the roaring fire. "Girls!, What's going on? Where is..."

The silo seethed, trying to hold on to life like a dying beast, but it was too late. It's aged walls bowed and splintered, sending flaming chunks of wood in every direction. The explosion was so loud, it could be heard all the way in Canterlot. A large piece flew right toward the gathered mares. Twilight had just enough time to put up a barrier around the group, shielding them from the debris, but unfortunately not the temperature. The four turned their bodies away from the surge of heat. Thankfully, it didn't do any permanent damage but even at this distance, it seared their coats and left the smell of burnt hair in the wind. The apple trees that were unlucky enough to have grown near the silo were ripped from the ground, leaving nothing but charred remains. Applejack didn't have words. She just stood there, eyes wide in shock. Her stetson had blown off, taken by the heated shock wave.

"No, no, no, NO!. APPLEBLOOM!" She sprinted toward the crater where her silo once stood.  Twilight reached out with her magic, picking her up and halting her advance.

"Applejack, it's way too dangerous!"

"Twilight! Let me go! Please! Please.. I can't... I can't, not again..." Applejack begged, fought, and struggled against the alicorn's magic before finally wrenching into broken sobs.

"There is nothing you can do now Applejack..." Twilight didn't want to say it out loud, not now, but there is no way any pony could have survived an explosion like that, especially not THAT kind of fire. Even if she had her shield up during the time of ignition, she wasn't sure if she would be walking away from this one. Even her brother, whose specialty was abjuration spells, would have been hurt.

Rarity witnessed all that occurred, same as Applejack, same as every pony... But this couldn't possibly be real. This was a play or a movie, or another one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders plans gone wrong again. Any moment now, the girls would come sulking out of the house covered in cake batter after trying their hooves at baking again. She would give them a mild tongue lashing, hug them and then would show them how to make a cake without making a mess of themselves and the kitchen. Her, almost, schizophrenic internal monologue was cut off by the sound of tiny sobs from behind her. The girls all turned in unison to see a small, burnt filly trying her best to stand up with only three good legs, her other was already swollen and bent awkwardly to the side. The girls didn't realize in all their yelling, that Scootaloo had seen everything.

The assembly of mares all stood together, watching the remainder of the smoldering wood flicker out in the dying light of the day. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, two tiny lives were snuffed out. Rarity sat on her haunches, running through all the things that her sister would never get to experience. Her first kiss, her first coltfriend, her first dance... her cutie mark that she tried desperately to get. She could almost hear her sweet, squeaky voice now. "Wait.."

"Sweetie belle?" Rarity asked in a soft questioning tone. Fearing if she spoke too loud, it would scare the voice away. She squinted and turned toward the near edge of the darkening apple orchard.

"Rarity?" A teeny, strained voice called back.

Stepping out of the shadows and on to the road, limped a black, singed, smokey, but ALIVE Sweetie Belle.  Rarity galloped toward her sister, sliding almost tackling her in the dirt.

"I thought I had lost you." Rarity whispered through tears. Sweetie smiled as big as she could and buried her face into her sisters coat, effectively covering it in soot. Her own tears exposing little trails of white under her eyes.

Applejack had a moment of bitter sweet happiness before she heard a familiar voice of her own. "I'm here too sis." Trotting out of the woods strode Applebloom. Her yellow coat seemed pretty clean, considering how dirty her friends was. Applejack didn't run toward her sister like Rarity did. She just collapsed in the road, covering her eyes with her hooves and sobbing.

"Aww, don't you be gettin' all mushy on me now big sis." Applebloom jokingly chided her older sister, before she was taken in an enormous bear hug from the strong earth pony. Applejack ignored her smaller sibling's pleas for air while twirling her around laughing and crying at the top of her lungs.

"But how... How did you..." Rainbow Dash half asked, looking between the two fillies, who had rejoined up with their hobbling, crying Scootaloo.

They both turned toward the treeline and pointed. As if on cue, Silver slowly emerged from the woods his head hung low. The adults gasped at what they saw. The usual goofy and awkward stallion was missing most of his already short mane. Most of the feathers of his left wing were burned down to the calamus and his right wing hung unmoving. The tips of the feathers etched the ground in meandering patterns as he walked. His breath came out in ragged gasps. His left eye was almost swollen shut and bruising could already be seen around the socket. Blood seemed to be either dried or burned around his nostrils and left ear. He was covered in various cuts and scrapes but that's not what held their attention. What had them shaken was his eyes; Narrowed and fixated on a point some thousands of miles away. They seemed to capture and hold the firelight. Unbeknownst to even themselves, all the girls felt the same thing. Those eyes were hiding something primal behind them, something ancient... Something terrifying. All but the Crusaders involuntarily took a step back.

Breaking out of her silence, Applejack spoke. "Sweet Celestia... Are...Are you okay sugar cube?"

Sensing something was wrong, Silver blinked away the steel from his face and gave them a crooked smile. "WHAT?!" The girls jumped at the sudden volume of his voice.

"I THINK I RUPTURED AN EARDRUM! YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO TALK LOUDER!" He finished, digging a hoof into his left ear, working his jaw and letting out a "Mawp"

They all blink in amazement at his sudden change and all but Twilight, begin to laugh out loud. "That's not possible." She whispers, under the laughter of her friends.

The three fillies help one another over to their savior. "Are you gonna be okay Mr. Silver? You weren't moving, we thought you were..." Applebloom coughed, eyeing his injuries. The unicorn and the earth pony, not knowing much about wings, don't have any clue as to how bad his wounds actually are. Scootaloo on the other hoof, almost throws up again at the sight and her eyes begin to fill with tears.

"What's wrong Scoots?" Sweetie wheezes out.

Given the stress of the day, it's no surprise that she couldn't keep her internal monolouge, internal. She looks to Rainbow Dash and whispers loud enough for every pony to hear. "He'll never fly again."

This new information doesn't take long to sink in to the fillies. Silver would never fly again and it was all their fault. He sees, just in time, the waterworks beginning up again and he quickly kneels down to their level and smiles.

"Hey, hey... Shhh, It's okay...None of that now. I knew what I was risking when I went into that building, and if losing a wing is the price I have to pay for keeping you three safe, then my only regret is only having one more wing to give." He figures this would stop the tears before they started falling, but the sweet words only helped them reach the point of bawling. All at once they rushed him, unfortunately opening up a few scabbed over wounds in the process but he didn't show it.

"It's okay, I promise. No matter what happens, I'm just glad you three are okay. Besides, I've been through worse. I'll be fine... I'll just be bald for awhile." The girls sniffle, giggle and pull away from him, satisfied with his answer.

"You aren't possible. You should be a pile of cinders."

All heads turn to the Princess of Friendship... and apparently princess of ruining touching moments.

"Geese Twi, what's your deal?" Rainbow shouts accusingly.  "Every pony is fine, why does it matter why? Just be thankful that they are all okay."

Twilight snorts and stomps her hoof into the ground. "Because Rainbow Dash, That wasn't normal fire. That was Dark fire... You know? Infernal fire?!"

"Uhh, should we know what that is Twi?" Rainbow asks, not really expecting she'd get an answer.

Twilight lets out an exasperated sigh. "I suppose not, but either way, I've got some research to do. I'll fly back to town and get the fire ponies to help put this out. We have to make sure this doesn't spread. I don't sense anymore infernal fire so we should be okay. Plus I guess he ISN'T a changling either..."

"Woah, woah... Twi? You thought Silver was a changling? Why the hey would you think that?" Rainbow shouts, trying not to laugh at Twilight's ridiculous assumption.

"Because... The no cloud thing... I guess." She says out loud, just realizing how ridiculous she actually sounded.

"Whatever Twi, I'm going to fly Scoots here to the hospital and get her checked out. Tomorrow, you and I are going to do some research together about that very subject." Every pony in earshot did a double take to Rainbow dash. Even Twilight looked at her like SHE was a changling.

Rainbow scoffs at the stares. "Look, being a pegasus is important to me alright? I just want to make sure our new friend has a chance to experience all it has to offer. No need to think me buddy." She smiles at Silver.

Twilight looks over to him. "You need to go too Silver and sorry, I just... I don't know why I would think that." Twilight said in an apologetic tone. He grunts and smiles in agreement. "I'll make my way there, just need to catch my breath. I'll go with the fire ponies when they get here and it's okay princess. It IS kind of strange, but I can promise you, I'm no changling. They only have the ability to mimic speech. So that would've been your first clue."

...She didn't know that... How did he know that? Twilight files that in her, better ask later, folder in her head and headed out for the fire ponies.

After Rainbow and Twilight left, Rarity finally let go of Sweetie Belle and the filly ran/limped off to Applejack and Applebloom who were still locked in a bear hug. Rarity walks up to the unattended pegasus, who seemed deep in thought and put her head on his shoulder, nuzzling his neck. "Thank you Mr. Light, for saving my sister. I don't know how I'll ever repay you..." She trails off.

Silver smiles. "Just tell her not to make a habit of getting caught in a fire then blown up and we can call it even."

Rarity muses at how he can be so cheery, given his state. "Do you have any idea on what Twilight was talking about with... Dark fire? Seems like she spends so much time in her books she can't recall fiction from non-fiction." Rarity begins to smile but it quickly fades when she sees that he isn't laughing. A bit of the look he had earlier had crept its way back into his face.

He nods his head slowly, looking at the crater. "I know what Dark Fire is. In my native tongue we call it. Kothar ixen or Demon Fire."

"Do you have any idea on what caused it?" Rarity asks hopefully.

Silver looks at her, then back to the wreckage. He pauses for a moment before shaking his head.

Rarity looks deep into his swollen face before narrowing her eyes at him.... "Liar"

Minutes earlier.

Silver plummets into the inferno of the silo. The pain was immediate. All of the arrant, un-preened feathers he had, burst into cinders. Due to the hole in the roof that he had just made, the smoke clears out enough for him to see, if only temporarily. The next thing he notices is the all too familiar smell of brimstone. It was the same rotten egg smell the crusader clones had been talking about earlier. He knew immediately that this fire wasn't an accident. Someone or rather someTHING had been stalking the Cutie Mark Crusaders and it had just made its move. He scans the room for the fillies, unfortunately they weren't in his immediate vision so he presses on. With little effort, he finds the girls holding one another but neither one of them is moving. Applebloom had thrown herself over top of Sweetie Belle in order to protect her friend from falling debris. Silver moves to scoop them up, but stops after he catches a pair of slitted eyes staring at him through a wall of flame.

"Jaseve rekisix, si tir ti tepoha tairais ihk nibelic!" He shouts over the sound of the roaring fire. (Leave creature, I do not have time for games.)

The entity smiles, exposing row after row of jagged fangs. It speaks in a low, screeching timbre. "These are mine." It says, pointing to the two unconscious fillies. "My food, My play things, MINE!" It lunges forward toward the defenseless Silver. The demon doesn't know what hits it. Silver's left wing shoots out, impacting the dog like creature in the side of its over-sized head, sending it tumbling across the fiery ground. Silver winced at the pain in his wing. Just touching the creature left him burned. The creature turns and charges again. This time Silver rolls backward, using his wings as a spring he places his back hooves in the middle of the thing's chest and bucks hard. He hears the satisfying crunch of its sternum and the creature's cry of pain. It turns again but Silver was running out of time. While the creature debated on whether or not it was going to risk attacking again, Silver scopes the two fillies in his forearms and glares at the demon.

"Noooo, they are miiineee." It hissed and readied for another charge.

Silver raised his wings above him and growled at the beast. "Confn kothar, erlelee dout sulta." (Come demon, embrace your end)

The creature was confused for a moment before it felt the small hairs on its charred skin rise up. Looking between Silver's wings, it sees bolts of electricity arch back and forth. By the time it decided it was going to run, it was too late. Silver wills a bolt of lightning across the silo. It impacts the demon square in the chest, disintegrating the abomination where it stood. In hind-sight, Silver wish he knew more about this particular demon, because had he know that upon death the corrupted arcane energies in its body cause it to explode, he would have been a little further away. Silver had just enough time to wrap the two small bodies in his wings and brace for impact.

Silver came to somewhere in a nearby part of the apple orchard. He stood and did his best to shake away the inevitable concussion. He unfurled his wings to find that the two fillies were missing. Panicked, he hobbles around looking for tracks. He sees two small sets of hoof prints and follows them toward the sounds of crying and laughing.

Silver painfully made his way to the voices, his mind running on over drive. Why was that thing here? What did it want with the fillies? What do I tell the girls? I guess it doesn't really matter... Those demons can do whatever they please, cause I'm going to destroy them all. Silver looks up to find that he had wandered all the way to the road where Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity had gathered with the three Crusaders. They seem terrified, what are they looking at?... He recoiled internally, they were terrified of him. He saw it in their faces. He was pretty sure they didn't catch on to what he actually was, but he knew they had seen something.

Present

The group stood in awe at the scattered remains of the burned out silo. The adrenalin had finally worn off and shock had finally sat in as to how lucky they had gotten. Rarity collapses on the ground, just short of fainting. The other girls gather around her and whisper sweet things to the stunned mare.

"Just what in the...Applejack! What happened to my silo?!" Granny Smith hobbles up to the group, her mouth practically dragging the ground.

Applebloom eyes her grandmare. "Granny, didn't you hear the explosion?! It was like BAARROOOMMM." She jumps into the air, trying to signal how large of an explosion it actually was.

"A what now? Honey child, when you git to be my age. The only thin' that wakes you up in the middle of the night is needin' to hit the outhouse."

The girls laugh as Silver limps up to Granny.

"Hey Granny I was wondering. Are sure you don't have any of that bourbon left? I'm going to need something a little stronger than cider tonight.