A Slide, a Bubble, an Inferno
It was late at night, and Derpy Hooves had a very important job to do. She was determined to get it done correctly and efficiently. She flew as fast as she could and soon arrived at her destination - the meetup of the Weather Team pegasi - with a note in her mouth that fluttered in the breeze. Finding them high up in the clouds, she screeched to a halt, almost colliding into Clear Skies.
“Mm Mhm!” she mumbled through the paper. Derpy gently took the piece of paper out of her mouth. “I’m sorry!” she repeated apologetically.
“It’s okay,” Clear assured her. “Ah, and you brought our instructions for today? Cool! What’cha got for us?” she asked.
Derpy looked at the note and realized that the wet ink had smudged in flight and was now unreadable. But she knew exactly what it had said.
“Alright, you guys gotta make a big windstorm, one that’ll last all night!” she announced.
Clear nodded. “Okay, sure! Which direction are we flying tonight?”
Derpy thought hard, trying to remember which direction the paper had said.
“Uh...west! That’s the way you need to go.” She wasn’t completely sure, but if she got it wrong, well, what harm could a little wind do?
“You got it!” Clear flapped over to the rest of the weather team. “Alright, ponies! Let’s kick up a westward windstorm!”
The weather team cheered. They loved making storms since it was a lot cooler than the average, every-day weather. Flapping their wings excitedly, they rose high into the night sky. Getting into position, they began to beat the air with their wings, doing their job with pride and exhilaration. Soon, strong waves of wind pushed westward, shaking trees and sending leaves flying into the air.
Derpy watched with excitement, wishing that she could be doing it too. But alas, she was just a mailmare. Not that she didn’t like her job - Derpy loved delivering letters to ponies everyday - it was just cool watching what the weather team could do! She smiled and couldn’t help but open her mouth in happiness.
Instantly, the wind whipped the note away. “Oops!” She quickly went to fly after it. It was unreadable, and she’d already delivered the message, but she didn’t want to litter. It would be rude! She did her best to focus on the little bit of paper, but her eyes decided to not line up right, so she saw two papers in different directions.
Swiping her hooves towards it, she missed several times - it was just out of reach. Derpy beat her wings faster, catching up with it, and tried again. After a few wide swipes, she gave up and closed her eyes, biting at it. To her surprise, she immediately tasted wet ink. She’d caught it!
Opening her eyes, she slowed herself down and let herself gently drop to the ground. She did a little happy dance, oblivious to the fact that she’d just landed in the Everfree Forest.
Meanwhile, Slide Fortissimo, a pegasus and the conductor of the Ponyville Jazz Ensemble as well as the principal trombonist of the Royal Canterlot Orchestra, was flying to Canterlot from Ponyville, carrying his saddlebags. He had missed the train and decided to fly home instead. Halfway there, he was tired and exhausted, looking forward to enjoying a nice mug of hot chocolate and a delicious daisy sandwich at home.
My goodness! Who started this windstorm? I can’t tell what direction this wind is blowing! I must get home quickly.
Slide fought the wind, flapping his wings faster than ever, staying streamlined as possible. The wind roared loudly, blowing at Slide. Fighting for control, he was soon near Canterlot.
I’ve made it! he thought.
Suddenly, the wind gave a mighty roar and blew Slide off course. Completely surprised, he tried to fight the wind. Unfortunately, he couldn’t control his flight pattern. Folding up his wings, Slide prepared for a rough landing, bracing for impact. With a mighty thud, he landed hard onto the ground, sliding a few yards. Crashing into a tree, he finally stopped.
Slide opened his eyes. Looking around, he noticed that there was nopony in sight. While getting back up onto all four hooves, he winced in pain and noticed that his right wing was broken. Swearing under his breath, Slide knew that he had to seek medical treatment immediately.
Perfect! Just perfect! The wind blew me off course and now I have a broken wing. What else could possibly go wrong?
Then Slide realized something else and gasped. He was now lost in the Everfree Forest!
“Help me! Anypony please! I need medical treatment!” he screamed as he winced in pain again.
Derpy looked up suddenly as she heard the sounds of a crash landing, followed by a cry mixed with pain that she just couldn’t make out. She looked around for the source, which was a bit hard with her eyes not quite showing the same thing. At least she could cover a little more ground. She galloped off in the direction she thought she’d heard the crash.
Soon, Derpy began to hear ragged breathing, very faint, but nearby. She hopped up, catching the air with her wings, pushing herself a little higher to get a better look around. Luckily, the wind was much fainter here, the tall trees taking the brunt of it, so she had no trouble. Scanning the ground as carefully as she could, she saw a red shape on the otherwise green forest floor.
Derpy extended her wings, gliding down to land beside the figure. The cherry-colored pegasus before her had a wing angled in a funny direction. She winced, remembering the time she’d gotten her wings broken. She knew how bad it hurt, and how frustrating it was to not fly. It was almost as bad as breaking a leg.
“Are you okay?” she asked him.
“I’m okay,” replied Slide. He was glad to see that somepony had arrived to help him. “Just a broken right wing.” He looked at the pegasus and gasped. “Are you Derpy? Derpy Hooves?” Slide asked.
Derpy blinked, surprised. “Um, yes! But, how do you know me? I don’t think I’ve seen you on my mail route before…” She cocked her head to the side, studying the stallion, trying to remember.
“Oh! I’m sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Slide, Slide Fortissimo. Principal trombonist of the Royal Canterlot Orchestra and the conductor of the Ponyville Jazz Ensemble. I was just heading back from a rehearsal when this strange westward wind blew me off course. But I’ve seen you deliver the mail. You seem to be the best mailmare in Equestria in my book,” he exclaimed with pride.
She ducked her head, a slight blush lending heat to her cheeks. “Oh, well, I’m not sure where you came up with that.” She smiled, extending a hoof. “It’s very nice to meet you though!”
Slide smiled. “The thing is that whenever I send a letter to my twin brother Green Screen, who lives in Ponyville, you deliver the replying letter to my mailbox every morning.”
“Oh, of course! You must be that special trip to Canterlot I make every morning, then, huh? Normally, I just deliver around Ponyville, but since you’re such a frequent customer, the post office put you in my regular route!” Derpy smiled, she loved seeing Canterlot early in the morning, just as the city woke for the new day. “I guess you must be practicing inside whenever I come by.”
“Yes, of course. I do live in Canterlot and when I see you depart to deliver more mail to other places, it brings a smile to my face.” He sighed as he sat down next to the tree. “But, I need to get out of here. I can’t fly out of here and I’m too exhausted to run. Can you help me find a way out of this forest?”
For the first time, Derpy looked at her surroundings. Nothing but trees in every direction.
“Um, I’m not sure where we are exactly…” She thought for a moment. “I think the wind is too strong to fly up above the trees and see where we are. But…” She leapt up, flapping to take her high enough to feel which way the wind was blowing, but low enough that the wind wouldn’t catch her. She hovered there for a moment, then returned to the ground. “Okay! I know which way we need to go.”
“Alright then, but I don’t know my way through this forest. I’ll follow behind you,” Slide replied nervously.
The two pegasi began to make their way through the forest. Slide followed behind Derpy, his broken right wing completely broken and limp. Both of Slide’s wings were folded up so that he wouldn’t be able to fly.
“Are you sure you know where we’re going Derpy?” Slide questioned. “I’m starting to get a little bit worried.”
“Don’t worry, Slide, I know this forest like the back of my hooves,” she replied, smiling. “We’ll be out of here in no time.”
Out of curiosity, she stopped for a second, taking a look at the back of a hoof. “Huh, that’s new,” she commented, before putting her hoof back down and continuing to trot happily through the forest.
* * * * * * *
“Hm,” Derpy said, a little confused. “I think we may have gone the wrong way.”
Considering that instead of Ponyville, they had arrived at the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters, Slide agreed.
“...Well, at least now we know to go the other way!” Derpy turned around and gave Slide an apologetic smile. He sighed as they began to trot away from the ruins.
As she was talking, her eye had gone sideways. She’d paid it no attention then, but now she saw something off to the side, something that she could recognize anywhere. “Duck!” she yelped. Panicking, she tackled Slide to the forest floor. He groaned in pain when she hit his broken wing, but the green-black beams of magic that singed off a few of Derpy’s tail hairs would have hurt him a lot more.
“What was that?!” Slide was disoriented; he had his broken wing pinned between him and the ground, and it hurt like the dickens. “What’s going on?”
Derpy looked around, her ears pressed flat against the back of her head. “I think we might be in the middle of a Changeling attack.” She counted four dozen of them, but something seemed off about them. She gently whopped the side of her head, and her eye slid back into place. Now there were about twenty.
The Changelings crept towards the two pegasi, their eyes filled with malicious intent. Sickly green magic radiated from their horns as they gathered energy for another volley. The air reverberated, the hum growing in pitch towards a crescendo.
A sudden barrage of heat and light blinded the pair for a few seconds. When they could finally see again, half of the Changelings were gone. In their place were small mounds of ash.
“Derpy!” called a voice from above. “We’ve got a legion of them here! I don’t know where they came from, but get your friend into the castle! Keep yourselves safe, I’ll hold them back!”
“I can still run, but I may be a bit slow,” Slide exclaimed as he broke into a run. He galloped as fast as he could and entered into the castle, trying to find an empty room.
However, not too far into the castle, they encountered a troop of Changelings. Derpy accidentally ran into Slide when she backed up involuntarily. “Spirit!” she called. “Um, Could you help us? Like, anytime now would be ni-”
A golden beam of light shot above their heads, which the Changelings tried to block with a shield. Purple markings glowed along their sides as they kept the spell going without much visible strain.
“The heck?” Derpy had a look of confusion on her face. “Spirit, please don’t mess around…”
“Spirit? Is that w-w-who y-y-you are?” Slide asked the stranger. He was hiding behind a vase stand, shaking nervously.
The newcomer stepped forward, eyes smoldering with power, wings flared, and horn blazing with golden light. His wings were traced in red, and they were like none Slide had ever seen before. “Yes, that’s me…” he struggled to keep up the beam of magic. “These seem to be some new spawn of the Dark Creator… Stronger than usual Changelings.” He glanced at Derpy. “I’d take Flowerpot over there and back up if I were you.”
Derpy nodded. “Um, Slide? I think you should come over here. About now would be good.” She turned back the way they’d came, trotting quickly to get out of range.
“Of course,” Slide agreed, as he trotted over to Derpy, waiting to find out what would happen next.
Unfortunately, Slide didn’t quite see exactly what had happened to the changelings, per se. Two second later, the whole end of the hall erupted in fire, barely contained by a force field that stopped it a few feet from the pegasi. It blazed for a few moments before shutting off as quickly as it’d come.
Spirit staggered out, head hanging and out of breath. “Geez… those Changelings had a powerful barrier, I had to cook them by heating up the whole hall…” Panting, he looked around, ensuring nopony else was coming to kill them. “I think we’re safe for now.” He glanced backwards at the glowing stone of the hall. “Oh. Um, I don’t think you guys can go down this way anymore. It’s kind of at… well… almost two and a half thousand degrees Fahrenheit.”
Slide eyes widened and his mouth hung open. “Are you sure...there are no more scary things in this castle?” he stuttered. “I’ve never been to the Everfree Forest or this castle in my entire life.”
“Not sure…” Spirit looked around, shuddering. “I can feel a dark presence in the air…” He looked troubled, then shook his head. “Maybe it’s all the Changelings.”
Derpy suddenly looked at Slide. “Oh, raisins, I forgot! You’re hurt!” She dashed down towards the entrance of the hall, unfortunately confined to her hooves due to the low ceiling. Finding an old tapestry hanging on the wall, she grabbed it with her teeth and yanked it off, rushing back to Slide and Spirit as fast as she could. “Spirit, can you use your magic to make a sling until we can get Slide to a hospital?”
Spirit shook his head. “I need to wait for my power to recover, I expended a lot of energy.” He looked at Slide. “I’m sorry, but you’re gonna have to wrap it yourself.”
Slide took the tapestry fabric and wrapped up his broken wing into a sling. “Thank you Derpy.”
She smiled. “I’m glad I could help! I wish I could do more, though…” She trailed off, thinking of what else could be done. However, her train of thought was violently derailed when another troop of the strange Changelings started marching towards them, seemingly coming from nowhere.
Spirit swore. “Of course.” He tried to shoot a golden beam at the Changelings, but it quickly flickered and died. There was a silver flash around him, and when it faded, his wings had vanished. “And there goes my Soul Forme. Stupid Changelings.” He mumbled under his breath.
Derpy glared at the Changelings. “Leave us alone!” she shouted at them, and she kicked off the ground, flying very low, very carefully in the narrow hall, building up speed in preparation for impact.
Spirit gasped. “Derpy, no! Don’t-”
His words were cut off when several beams of green magic knocked her out of the air, sending her tumbling to the floor. She whimpered in pain, and the sound snapped something in Spirit.
“That’s it.”
With a cry of fury, Spirit literally exploded with anger, shooting like a fiery comet towards the troop of Changelings. He moved faster than seemingly possible, flickering in and out of sight like he was moving faster than even Time could keep up with. White-hot blades of fire crisscrossed in the air as he dashed through the foul creatures' ranks, decimating Changelings with every swipe of his hooves. The temperature rose sharply with every vanquished foe, Spirit's fury burning as bright and hot as the very flames he himself commanded.
It was mere seconds before the dozens of foes that had come for them were naught but dust, and that was soon swept away by a might gust summoned by his anger-driven magic. Dispatching the last one, Spirit seemed to solidify, his form no longer flickering as he fell back in sync with the flow of Time. Having no enemy to face, he found that he no longer had the strength to keep himself standing, and he promptly collapsed. His eyes closed, and he grew still.
Derpy struggled to her feet. “Spirit!” she cried, limping to his side. She put her head on his chest, listening for a heartbeat. To her relief, she heard it immediately. She looked down the hall, luckily nothing was coming. She pursed her lips, she knew what she had to do, but it was going to be difficult.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, flapping her wings to push her a little further as she tried to drag Spirit towards the opposite end of the hall, where he’d superheated the stone. It took a lot of effort, and she was feeling really weak, but she eventually began to make some progress. It helped to do it in short hops. She would flap her wings hard for support as she hopped forward a few feet with him, recover for a few seconds, and then make another hop.
The closer she got, the warmer the air grew, and Spirit began to show signs of recovery. Finally, she got to the edge, where Spirit had contained the inferno with a force field. With a final push, she rolled him onto the red-hot stone. She groaned, backed up several steps, and slumped against the wall, resting a few moments. Fire. She needed fire.
She glanced over at Slide, who was lying on his side, out cold. Spirit must have accidentally knocked into him. She frowned. I was hoping he could do it, but I guess I’ll have to. She limped down the cool end of the hall, searching for another tapestry, or anything else flammable. After walking a while, she found another one. It was a scene of a pegasus in flight, and it was beautiful. She hated to use the probably priceless art, but she had no other option.
Dragging it back with her, she limped back to Spirit, stopping just outside the glowing stone. She prepared herself, then swung the tapestry over and threw it onto Spirit. As soon as the edges of the tapestry made contact with the superheated stone, they caught fire, burning brightly as the flames spread across the old wool. As she watched, the flames began to stream like liquid into Spirit’s open mouth, flowing into him until there was no trace of the tapestry ever being there. When the last drop of the fire had entered him, he closed his mouth, then grimaced.
Spirit opened his eyes, groaning as a sudden headache assaulted him. “Ow… Derpy?” He looked up at the worn-out mare before him. “You’re okay?” He struggled, picking himself up and making his way to stand beside her. He nuzzled her hair. “I’m glad you’re safe,” he said.
A sudden thwack! made him stagger back. “What were you thinking?!” Derpy scolded. “You went and got yourself knocked out, you scared me!”
“Ow,” Spirit said, rubbing his jaw where Derpy hit him. “That hurt.”
She sniffled. “I hope it hurt,” she said, not really meaning it. She leaned against the tall stallion, resting her head against him. “Do not do anything like that again.”
He smiled, putting his head atop hers. “I was protecting the best mare in the world, can you blame me?”
Derpy giggled, trying to keep her face straight. “Uh-huh, I sure can.” A sudden realization hit her. “Oh, raisins. Spirit, you must’ve hit Slide earlier by accident. He’s unconscious over there, you’d better go help him out.”
The two turned, but, to their surprise, Slide was awake, and was slowly getting up off the floor.
“Gah! What the heck was that? I feel like I was put between a rock and a hard place!” Slide complained as he got back up onto all four hooves. He looked around and noticed that there wasn’t a Changeling in sight. “Hey, what happened to all of the Changelings? And where’s my saddlebags? Wait...where’s my trombone?!” he asked, worried.
Derpy frowned. “Oh, um, I’m not sure about your saddlebags or trombone, but Spirit’s the reason that all the Changelings are gone.” She nudged him in the side. “Nearly killed himself doing it.”
“Hold on… I think I may have melted your trombone,” Spirit said, giving an uneasy look at a suspicious-looking puddle of molten metal in the hot end of the hallway. “I think I might be able to fix it…” He picked up the puddle with his magic, racking his brain for the proper spell. when he thought he’d remembered it, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Slide watched nervously as his trombone was molded back into it’s original shape.
“Yeah, I think I took it out of the case, but I think somepony opened the case and assembled it. I don’t know.” Slide replied.
Spirit thought about that. “A... Changeling, maybe?” He chuckled. “Though, I have no idea why they’d do that. Speaking of assembled, you might want to check it and make sure everything works. It’s been awhile since I’ve used that spell, and I’ve never done it one something with connecting parts…”
“May I have my trombone please?” Slide asked politely. “And I’m glad that both of you are alright.”
Spirit nodded and levitated it over to Slide. “Well, thanks, but I was the one who knocked you over. Sorry about that.” He smiled at the blonde mare beside him. “She’s the reason I’m upright, she set something on fire and I drank it, which revitalized me.” Seeing a perplexed expression on the cherry-colored stallion, he laughed. “I can drink fire, since it’s my spirit element. It’s kind of like coffee to me.”
Slide held the trombone and smiled. Hugging the instrument, a tear dripped from his right eye. “Thank you for repairing my instrument and risking your life to save both me and Derpy. Actually, I have a surprise for the both of you.” He began to warm up, playing a few musical patterns and making sure that each note was in tune. “Alright then, ‘Blue Bells of Trotland’, I hope you enjoy.”
Slide relaxed and took a slow, deep breath. As he began to perform the solo, he hit very low notes and very high notes that an amatuer trombonist wouldn’t be able to reach. Smiling, he began to play the main melody.
Oh where, tell me where, does your Highland laddie dwell?
Oh where, tell me where, does your Highland laddie dwell?
He dwelt in bonnie Trotland, where blooms the sweet blue bell.
And it's oh, in my heart I love my laddie well.
Entranced by the music, Derpy smiled and rested her head against Spirit’s. She’d never heard much trombone before, but it had a nice sound, and she enjoyed it. She could feel the energy and skill Slide poured into it, making it as amazing to watch as it was to hear. Soon, after a very low note, Slide finished the solo, smiling as Derpy and Spirit applauded with glee.
“My goodness! I think...I need a glass...of water please,” Slide panted, exhausted from performing the trombone solo.
Spirit smiled. “Of course.” He looked down the hall. “Let’s go find some water and get things figured out.”
And so the trio trotted away, their spirits lifted by the brief distraction from the dire situation, heading off into the maze-like corridors of the ancient castle with no idea what could possibly await them.
