Of Beauty And Rage

"Seth, Twilight. Due to recent events we have to believe there is somepony threatening us. I would explain further, but I'm afraid we're running short on time. So I ask for the two of you to travel to Ponyville and await further instructions, understood?" Celestia said.

"yeah, but-..." Seth began, but was interrupted by Celestia.

"The train departs in fifteen minutes, you must hurry!" She said and signaled for them to leave.

Seth and Twilight was in such a hurry neither of them took anything with them,they just ran as fast as they could out off the castle and towards the train station.

They made their way through the crowded streets of Canterlot, getting many strange looks by the high-class ponies.

It took them ten minutes before they reached the train station, and they walked onboard the train. The conductor looked at Twilight and just walked past them, obviously having been told to let them ride for free.

"So, what do you think got Celestia so worked up?" Seth asked.

"I don't know, I've never seen her act like that before." Twilight said.

"Maybe it's because the changelings attacked a few days ago." Seth suggested.

"The changelings attacked Canterlot again?"

"Well, there were three of them harassing a townspony, but your brother and I took care of them." Seth explained.

"You know my brother?"

"Yeah, actually I do." Seth said,and they engaged in a conversation which lasted until they reached Ponyville station.

"Looks like we're here." Twilight said and stood up, quickly followed by Seth. They walked off the train and headed in towards town.

"Uhh, is there any inn or something around here where I can stay?" Seth asked.

"Yes, of course. Let's get you checked in somewhere after we get our instructions from the princess, alright?" Twilight said.

"Yeah, sound good." Seth said and nodded.

They walked through the town, Twilight greeting occasional ponies. They arrived at a large oak with a house hollowed into its trunk.

"This is Ponyville's library, and my home." Twilight said, and opened the door.

"Spike! I'm back." She shouted, and Seth could hear footsteps in the stairs.

"Hello, Twilight... Who's that?" The small dragon asked as he walked up to them.

"Spike, this is Seth. Seth, Spike." Twilight said and introduced them.

"Nice to meet you." Seth said.

"Cool," Spike said and looked at Seth who towered far above him.

Seth, Spike and Twilight sat down in her sofa with a cup of tea each that Spike had fixed for them.

"Ugh," Spike said,before burping up a letter.

"Finally," Twilight said and caught the letter with her magic. She brought it in front if her face and read quietly to herself.

"So, what does it say?" Seth asked. Twilight cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

Dear Twilight,

I want you and Seth to investigate a series of dramatic events in a village not far from Ponyville. This has nothing to do with the changelings, so please stop worrying about that. I expect this to take at least a week, and in the meantime I hope that Seth can stay in the library with you.

'Celestia

Twilight finished and looked at the letter.

"There's a map here as well, there's a village marked that only is only a few kilometers west from here. We should take care of this immediately." She said and looked at Seth, who nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I agree. We shouldn't waste any time. But, did she say what kind of 'dramatic event'?" Seth asked.

"No, she didn't."

"Hmm..."

Seth and Twilight stood outside the library, ready to head towards the village. They began to walk through the town,and Seth looked around at the many different ponies. But he couldn't quite relax. What exactly are we going to find there? He thought to himself.

"There's something strange about this. I have lived here for quite a long time now, yet I have never heard of this village. And Celestia couldn't even name it." Twilight said as they reached the edge of Ponyville.

"Yeah, something's definitely off." Seth agreed.

They walked across the grass plains for an entire hour before Twilight stopped.

"This isn't right. It's impossible we haven't reached it yet. It shouldn't take this long." She said and looked at the map.

"Maybe... Oh god..." Seth said before looking at Twilight with a shocked expression. His eyes flicked brightly blue and he turned his head back towards Ponyville.

"We have to go back!" He shouted and ran faster than he thought he ever could.

With Seth's extraordinary speed it only took fifteen minutes before he was back in Ponyville. Twilight wasn't far behind, but she had been forced to use teleportation spells to keep up with him.

"Oh god." Seth said as he saw the entire village had turned into a blazing inferno of hot flames.

"W-what happened?" Twilight said in disbelief. Seth's shock filled face turned into a angry frown and he ran straight into the town.

"Seth, wait!" Twilight yelled and ran after him.

The hot flames hurt his skin, but he couldn't care. He had to know who was responsible for this.

"Seth, wait up. This is dangerous!" He heard Twilight yell behind him.

"Go look for the ponies, I'll see if I can find whoever started this." Seth said. Twilight could barely hear him over the deafening roar of the fire, but she understood what he wanted. And even though it was reckless and stupid, she did as he said.

Seth wandered around in the burning town, all while having the feeling of being watched.

"H-help!" He heard a feminine voice beside him. He turned his head and saw a light brown pegasus with a dark brown mane who had a large wooden beam over her wing and a thin pole through her left front hoof. She stared as he saw the grotesque wounds on the pony, and he looked into its teary eyes. He hurried to her side and used all the strength he could muster as he tried to move the wooden beam, but he wasn't strong enough.

He sat down with his back against the beam and pushed as hard as he could, but it only moved an inch.

Seth moved away and looked into her teary eyes with his now equally teary eyes.

"No, no no no!" He said and tried to push the beam again, but it weighed way too much for him to move. He saw the house that stood on a few small wall fractions tremble, and the pony looked up at him.

"Thanks..." She said slowly,with a small smile on her face, before the building collapsed on top of her, killing her instantly and almost killing Seth as well, though he only got a thick wooden beam in the head and passed out.

The sun was about to set as Seth woke up again. He could still hear the raging fire around him and he felt a unbelievable pain in the head.

He laid on the warm dirt cluelessly for a few seconds, before his memories came back to him. He couldn't save that mare, because he was weak. A weak human, without the power to do anything.

He laid on the ground and blamed himself for her death, until he heard someone shout his name.

"Seth! Seth, were are you?" He heard, and he reckoned the voice to belong to Twilight.

He slowly got onto his feet and saw the mare on the other side if the collapsed building.

"Twilight, over here." He said,and she looked over at him.

"Seth, thank Celestia you are alive. What happened?" Twilight asked.

"Twilight, are the other ponies safe?" He asked,not planning to tell her about his experience.

"Yes, I think they're all out." Twilight said with a slightly relieved smile.

"Not all..."