Same Ember, Different Flame - A Story About a Pony & a Phoenix

The time was midnight at Ponyville, and everypony was asleep... almost everypony. Burnice was in her bed eyes closed, she tried imagining sheep for her to fall asleep... but she didn’t felt sleepy once. It wasn’t because of the nightmares she had since she was a filly, but for some reason she didn’t felt... like sleeping. Tired of trying to sleep, Burnice got out of bed and quietly left her room. Peaking out her door, she sees complete darkness but remembers the layout of the library. Heading toward the kitchen, she looks around to find a midnight snack, and finds some leftovers from Sugarcube Corner. Eating a bran muffin she bought yesterday, she planned eating it in the morning... but being awake now Burnice decides to eat it now then later. After finishing her bran muffin she takes a drink of water and goes to the main room, where all the books are kept. Sitting on one of the chairs Burnice loosens her body and slides onto the comfy seat. Looking around in the darkness, Burnice lights up the room but enough for her to see, but not too bright for anypony to notice. The room is easier for her to see now, and she can see the various books lined on the shelves. However one thing that caught her attention was the same book that Twilight talked about the evening earlier. Staring at the book, the first thought that risen from her mind was the phoenix Twilight talked about. Picking up the book with her magic, Burnice reads what’s inside the book.

“I wonder who wrote this book?” thought Burnice. Looking at the cover of the book, the title and name of the author are blurred out on the cover, looking through the pages of the book, most of them are nearly blurred out from age or ripped from the book itself. Reaching the end of the book Burnice finds a few references but all are either blurred or scribbled by somepony... but two initials are shown at the end of the very book, M. D.

“Who’s M. D.?” said Burnice, making sure to be quiet.

Closing the book, a slip of paper falls off the book. Picking it up, she opens the slip of paper, and finds a letter or note of some kind. Reading it the note states, "The mystical phoenix is a creature that could be the key to immortality and possibly to the power of rebirth. Many do not know this but, the phoenix I am researching is no ordinary phoenix but is actually the incarnation of a deity. The deity’s name is unknown but is praised by an ancient civilization that go by the name of...” Reading the rest of the paper, a large piece of it is ripped out. “Wait, what happened to the rest? And how did Twilight not notice this here?” said Burnice.

Deciding to keep the piece of paper, Burnice decides to show this to Twilight in the morning. Heading back to bed, something strange happens to Burnice. She can suddenly hear a voice in her head, as well as feeling a wave of magical energy. “Stupid Aa... Why I’m going to... Where am I?... This is actually pretty... BRING IT ON, YOU... CRU...”. Unsure what or where the voices are coming from, they all suddenly stopped. Not sure what was that she just felt, Burnice returns to bed.

That morning, Burnice is awakened by a familiar voice. “Burnice get up quick!” Raising her sleepy head, Burnice wearily looks around, but after noticing a familiar tug on her hoof she looks to the side of her bed. Beside her was Spike, he was a baby dragon and Twilight’s assistant since she was a filly. Knowing Spike for a while, he wouldn’t rush into somepony’s room without knocking, Burnice knew immediately something was wrong. “What’s wrong Spike? Did something happen,” asked Burnice.

“Big time,” said Spike. “Quick follow me!”

After Burnice followed Spike, she noticed ponies also going to where Spike was leading her to. They were going to Sweet Apple Acres, and the more they got closer and closer there, more and more ponies began to pile up until there was a sea of ponies. Burnice can hear a few ponies saying what was or could have happened. “I heard somepony gotten trapped under a tree that fell over.” “Well I heard that a plague happened to the apple trees and all of them are rotten.” “No that’s not what happened. One of the Apples went missing during the night is what I heard.” Over and over Burnice could hear rumors, some realistic whilst a few... not so much. Nearing the entrance Burnice could see three ponies at the front, blocking anypony from flooding into the farm. “Oh Spike it’s you, where did you went?! I thought you left us there for a second,” said Applebloom.

“I went to get a friend, her name is Burnice,” said Spike. “She might help us with, ‘the problem’. Can she come in?”

“Sure she can, if she can help us with our problem. A friend of Spike’s is a friend of mine as well” said Applebloom.

After Spike and Burnice gotten through, Spike led Burnice until they spotted Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and two other ponies Burnice recognized but wasn’t fully introduced to. The first pony was a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail, the other pony wore a stetson, and was an earth pony and had a yellow mane and tail which she wore a red ribbon on her tail. Nearing the six ponies, Twilight immediately spotted the duo coming toward them. “Thank Celestia, Spike why did you went off like that!?” said Twilight, worried.

“I brought Burnice, I thought she could help us with what’s happening,” said Spike, explaining.

“Just what is happening anyway?” asked Burnice.

“It’s better if you look for yourself, the name’s Applejack by the way. It’s nice to meet you Burnice,” said Applejack.

Taking a look at what’s been happening, Burnice sees what everypony has been talking about... but it’s far more than she imagined it to be. Staring at the problem, all the trees or what remains of them are nothing but burnt bark, ash, and trees smashed and sliced into pieces. Nearly the whole farm is in disarray, luckily the farmhouse and most of the buildings are safe but, the apple-trees are all nearly destroyed with a few safe that are sparsely spread out. “What... what could of done this,” said Rarity.

“I hope nopony gotten hurt,” said Fluttershy.

“Some big fireworks show must of happen here. How come I wasn’t invited?” said Pinkie, picking up a burnt stick.

“I don’t think this was caused by fireworks, Pinkie,” said Twilight.

Everypony was worried and curious to what events may have occurred here. In the corner of Burnice’s eye, she can see the rainbow maned pegasus shaking, but not out of fear, but out of anger. “I SWEAR AJ, I’LL FIND OUT WHO’S THE PONY OR THING WHO DID THIS, AND BEAT THE EVER LOVING RAINBOW OUT OF THEM!” shouted Rainbow, throwing a hoof to the air. “I PROMISE!”

“Thanks Dash, but whatever done this left a long long time ago. What I don’t understand was how I didn’t notice this until now. I did hear some noises outside but, something hit me hard and I found myself on the ground unconscious, I couldn’t remember anything else last night... but whatever it was, we need to stop it before it causes any more trouble for everypony,” said Applejack. “So Burnice, Spike called you here for a reason. You might helping us out?”

“S-s-su-su-sure,” said Burnice, stuttering. “I love to help.”

Burnice stepped closer to the scene, the ground became more and more warmer. Burnice felt something in her hoof, using her magic it’s an apple, surprising it’s completely intact but... “This apple is bitten. The bite doesn’t look like a pony’s or any creature I know of,” thought Burnice. Continuing to examine the area, the ground suddenly changes temperature, into a near melting point. Realizing that the ground is littered with small embers of some kind, it was clear whatever done this had a clear knowledge in using fire, or something related to fire. Clearing the area of all the ash, Burnice can see splintered pieces of wood and burnt apples... nothing distinguishing that could help her. Returning to Twilight and the others on what she found, Burnice noticed something shiny on the ground. Picking it up, it’s a golden tube with a pointed end, a black-reddish powder is found inside it. Deciding to take the bitten apple and the strange golden tube, Burnice deduces about the scene.

“I found something!” shouted Burnice.

“What you found Burnice?” asked Twilight.

“A clue, about the pony who did this?” said Rainbow.

“Was it even a pony?” asked Applejack.

“What caused it?” asked Rarity, also curious.

“Did any animals get hurt?” asked Fluttershy.

“Did you find any roasted apples?” asked Pinkie, with a question that is completely unrelated to the subject.

“One question at a time girls,” said Spike. “Burnice came here to help, but that doesn’t mean she has all the answers.”

“Actually I might do,” said Burnice. Pulling out the apple and strange object, Twilight examines them both. After analyzing them both Twilight explains her theory.

“From the bitten apple, it definitely wasn’t a pony or anything I know of, and I don’t know what this golden object could be I might need to do further research on it later. All I can say is that... This was possibly a creature from the Everfree Forest,” said Twilight. “It’s possible that it might of wandered here last night, ate some apples but caused a fire somehow.”

“A creature from the Everfree? Why would anything from there leave and come here, nothing ever does?” said Applejack.

“It might of been ran out of it’s natural habitat by something. Nevertheless, whatever it was, if it can do something like this... it can be a danger to everypony. That’s why we’ll go on an expedition in the afternoon to find what done this,” said Twilight. “You with me girls!?”

“YEAH!” shouted everypony in unison.

Excited in finding an undiscovered creature, everypony prepares for a small search party to the Everfree Forest. Returning back to Golden Oaks Library, Burnice feels a strange tingling feeling, turning to face the burnt trees. Sensing an odd energy coming from the sight, the feeling seems… familiar to her. Similar to the feeling she got last night when she heard the voice, but… what connection does the voice and the demolished trees have?

A couple hours earlier that night. Unknown location.

“DAMN YOU AARON!” shouted Atlas. Those were the last words I had to say before I met face to face with my ultimate demise… is what I thought would happen to me. After what felt like falling for eternity, I crashed through some branches and leaves, until I landed onto a field of flowers. “...ow...”

Standing up from my crash, my head was hazy and what surprised me that I wasn’t flatten like a pancake. Looking around my surroundings, I was definitely in some sort of forest… but where and what forest was I in was the real question. Knowing that I ended up in another realm was clear… just what kind of realm did I ended up in. Now I haven’t ended in other worlds before, but I do know a couple of people who have… but their not your average folks that’s for sure. Staring at the ground, the flowers that blocked my fatal fall and saved me were a beautiful ray of colors especially with the moonlight shining down below. There were some red, yellow, blue, purple, green, orange, and some other colors that I couldn’t name. The first place I get to see first when arriving into another world was a field of beautiful flowers under the light of the moon… fabulous view I must say. Sadly I had no time for something like this because I was too mad at a CERTAIN SOMEBODY. “Stupid Aaron, your to blame for this. If I haven’t taken that job and seen your smug face I wouldn’t be in this mess!” said Atlas.

After I was done with my episodic moment, I decided that I needed to do three things in a situation like this. One, scout my surroundings, I need to know where I am and where to go if I want to find civilization… if there is civilization. Two, find food and water, I need to find supplies in order to survive out here, there’s got to be berries in this bloody forest. And finally three, get back home, I need a way to return to my realm, PRONTO! Now… let’s begin my journey of countless screw-ups that are just soon to come at me, because why not, let’s make my life worse by getting me attacked by some strange monster or something… it’s not like my day can get any worse now. “I need to know where I am. Well better get climbing shall we,” said Atlas.

I grabbed onto the branches of a tree and climbed on each branch one at a time. Surprisingly I thought I would had more problems climbing this tree, but I didn’t… the real issue was when I reached the top. Surveying what’s around me, I noticed a few distinct things, one was a mountain far away from me, two a castle also far away from me, and three more trees… just what I needed. “Well ain’t this just dandy,” said Atlas.

Now the mountain and castle wasn’t a possible option, and I can’t just wander in this forest forever. I was going to stay up here and wait things out… until I spotted a fourth object. This fourth thing was a building of some sort, it looked like a barn of some kind I think, nevertheless it was better to go there than sit on a tree. Climbing down the tree, I made sure to remember the direction of the building, and made my way there… what I didn’t know was… I was being followed.

Trudging pass bushes and more trees, I felt lost that I be stuck in this bloody forest forever. I would demolish everything… but I have limited ammunition and I need to save what supplies I have on me as long as possible. Expecting that I went the wrong way I realized something… the trees were changing. Now that sounds like I’m going high, but what I meant is… that the trees around me were different from the ones in the forest. That’s until I noticed, I was outside the forest, surrounding me was trees that were organized and separate. I could tell I wasn’t in a natural made part of the forest, that these trees were separate from the actual forest. “Where am I?” said Atlas. I was literally in the forest a few moments ago, I’m more surprised on how I got out more quickly than where I was, but I was happy to be out of that forest.

Now I was in some sort of farm possibly… but what did they grow. Well I found my answer more quickly than I expected because, I felt something hit the top of my head. Since I was in a foreign world I did the most understandable of reactions to my situation. “WHO THE HELL DID THAT!” I shouted, pulling out both Phoenix Pistols. To my stupidity… it was an apple.

“...Screw you apple,” said Atlas. I picked it up and took a closer observation of it. Nothing special about it at all, no matter what realm I was in, some things never change. Considering it was safe to eat by the looks of it, I took a bite of it… what I felt was completely different from how a regular apple tastes. The flavor and juices from just eating this single apple… WERE IMMEASURABLE! Seriously my mouth was watering for more of these damn apples! “This is actually pretty… I have no idea how to express the feelings I have for this apple.”

Still though, these were actually the best apples I have ever tasted. Deciding to take some with me, I gathered some and put it in a pouch I had on me. Since I was tall enough to reach the apples on the lower branches, I gathered enough apples to last me a few days. That’s when I heard something, at first it was some small footsteps… but it gotten louder and heavier. There was a strange odor in the air, and it really reeked! That’s when I heard the growling, and realized that I gotten myself in some really deep trouble now. “The heck… are you?” said Atlas.

I was staring at some sort of wooden wolf, except it was slightly bigger than an actual wolf. It had this strange liquid dripping from it’s mouth, that might have been it’s saliva. Not to mention the smell, this horrible smell came from it’s mouth. I heard more growling and realized I was surrounded, sensing that these ain’t any friendly wolves, I pulled out my weapons for anything these things would throw at me. “Oh you want a piece of me is that it? Well then… BRING IT ON, YOU WOODEN MONGRELS!” said Atlas, tauntingly.

Without a moment’s hesitation, all of these wooden wolves began rushing toward me… but I wouldn’t make it that easy for them. Pulling the trigger on both my weapons, I unleashed a wave of bullets filled with fire dust. Fire dust is a unique type of dust I make which causes any object it makes contact with light on fire, and since these wolves were made of wood… well you can imagine what happened next. “BURN BABY, BURN! GRAHAHAHAHAHA!” screamed Atlas. Shot after shot I sent bullets in to each of these wooden wolves that came toward me, I went a bit overboard and almost destroyed all the trees in the area, luckily there were a few remaining… a few. After I was done shooting one of them into ashes, all that remained around me were burnt wood and ashes… and a few roasted apples, yum. Now I knew whoever owned this apple orchard would get mad really quickly soon, and I was correct. “Who’s there!?”

“CRUD!” said Atlas. Quick think of something Atlas, I could run, or maybe I can try to convince them that it wasn’t my fault… yeah good idea Atlas. Try convincing someone while holding two weapons in your hands that’s a brilliant idea… not. I need to think of something before… “What in tarnation happened here?!” Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd, I’m dead, welp looks like I’m going to be stripped of all the money I own now. Goodbye my fortune.

“Look, this may look bad but I was attacked and...” said Atlas, stopping in mid-sentence. Now I know I was in another world and all… but you have got to be kidding me now. I expected anything, monsters, an angry farmer who owns this orchard, or worse… but this, THIS… this was too much for me. Before my own eyes… WAS A TALKING, BLOODY, PONY! “The bloody deities are you!?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” said the talking pony. “Just what have you done here!?”

“Well I was… uhm,” said Atlas. Before I could respond I noticed one of those wooden wolf-things behind the pony. Quickly reacting, I aimed my gun and shot a few shots at the thing. “DUCK!” The pony immediately went flat on the ground to take cover. I unleashed what rounds I had to the thing, and after it was wasted I checked the pony on the ground. “Hey you okay?”

At first the pony didn’t move, and I thought it was dead… but it was breathing still. Placing it flat on the ground, with it’s back facing the ground and it’s head facing the sky. It seemed the pony became unconscious somehow… but how. I looked where the pony took cover too, and found that the pony made head first to a stone protruding from the ground, luckily it wasn’t sharp or it would of caused a big gash on the pony’s forehead. The pony would definitely forget me and what happened here, but I couldn’t move it without waking up the pony, deciding it was best for me to leave instead. I was unsure where to go too… that’s when I remembered the castle in the forest. It looked deserted, and possibly would have some sort of food, maybe some stale bread or bushes with berries on it. It didn’t matter whether it was rotten or poisonous as long it was edible… I ate worse. Before I left, I decided to cover the pony in something so it didn’t get cold. Pulling from my pouch was some cloth I had on me, I would of used it as a temporary bandage or blanket, but instead I used it as a blanket for the pony. Leaving I wondered about something that didn’t make any sense since I came to get those apples? “Why in the world did those bloody wooden wolf-things attack me anyway? I doubt those trees belonged to them anyway,” thought Atlas. “Oh well… I wasn’t the kind of guy that any creature liked… I did had that kind of personality you know.”

I left that apple orchard, with me were my weapons, some remaining ammunition… well not enough, and some apples. I could see that the moon was lowering… which meant the sun would rise… however… Is it just me but, does it look like the moon… is being lowered by something… Meh, just my imagination.

Several hours after the incident at Sweet Apple Acres. Present time. Outside of the Everfree Forest.

After deciding to find what caused the mess in Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight and her friends with the help of a new friend, Burnice, go search the Everfree Forest for this mysterious creature. Waiting for their other friends, specifically Rarity and Fluttershy, Twilight closely examines the strange golden tube, while Applejack tries to keep her sister, Applebloom and friends from following them. Out of everypony in the group, the only pony who has a bad feeling about doing this is Burnice surprisingly, even though Fluttershy was afraid of going at first but decided to come after being convinced that this strange threat might harm the critters living in the area… Fluttershy went full on hyper drive once told that. It’s not that Burnice is afraid, or is busy… but it’s because of that strange voice she heard last night… not only that, but she heard the voice again. Sitting against a tree, the voice appeared suddenly, with it a wave of psychic energy. Looking around Burnice realized she was the only pony in the group who could hear the voice since everypony else looked like they heard nothing. Deciding to keep this to herself, Burnice listened to what the voice had to say. “These are the best… Ah, not you again!… Crud not now, not now… EAT… At least… I… don’t want to...” At first the voice was vibrant, alive… now… The voice was quiet, cold… as if… as if… A shiver came upon Burnice, the way the voice sounded was too familiar to her… it was exactly how… how her mother sounded, before she… … … Nevertheless, whoever voice this was, they were in danger and needed help, they needed Burnice’s help.

“I need to help this pony… I’m the only one who knows they’re in danger,” thought Burnice.

In mid-thought, Burnice feels a hoof on her shoulder, looking to see who it was it’s Twilight. “Are you okay Burnice, you seem worried?” said Twilight.

“I’m fine,” said Burnice, in response. “I was just…” Lost in thought, Burnice stares at the ground. Knowing that she can hear this voice, Burnice wants to ask the help of her friends… but she wasn’t sure if she should. Sighing Burnice finishes her sentence toward Twilight. “I was just thinking, that maybe we should go soon… it’s going to get dark soon.”

“Yeah, your right. Is Rarity here yet?” asked Twilight, speaking to one of her friends.

“As usual she’s not. I swear, she always does this just to do a fabulous late entrance,” said Applejack.

“Speaking of late...” said Rainbow, her hooves crossed.

Rarity arrived, fabulously in some traveling getup she made. With her was Fluttershy who was also… prepared to say the least. Everypony gotten ready and brought what they needed to bring, heading off to their first location was Zecora’s hut. Twilight would expect Zecora to have notice something last night, and it made sense to ask her since she’s the only resident in the Everfree. Trotting down the pathway, much of the Everfree hasn’t changed much… except… something felt different. “Uh… where are the Timberwolves?” said Rainbow.

“TIMBERWOLVES! WHERE!?” said Spike, spooked by the mention of them.

Timberwolves are probably the only native creatures that can be found in the Everfree Forest considering the forest itself is their birthplace. It wasn’t surprising to find one or two amongst the trees, and they won’t attack, especially in the group the girls were in. But the forest was empty and quiet… which was unsettling at the most. The timberwolves wouldn’t be missing in a time like this, if a creature powerful enough to torch a whole field of trees, it be a threat to them and their home… Which means either the timberwolves are hiding from this mysterious creature… or doing something about it. “Don’t worry Spike, the timberwolves and any other creatures won’t go beyond the pathway,” said Twilight, reassuring her assistant.

Reaching the place they were heading towards, they see Zecora outside gathering some herbs. Deciding to say hello, Zecora turns to face them with a hello toward them too. “Why hello, my dear friends. It is a pleasure to meet you, in a fine day like this,” said Zecora, smiling warmly. “How may I assist you?”

“Zecora, it’s good to see you. We were wondering, if you noticed anything outside recently last night, and now?” asked Twilight.

Taking in what Twilight has asked, Zecora has gone into deep thought. “The day before has been silent… but I sense the wildlife has been shaken by something. Recently before the night before, a loud explosion was heard, far beyond in the deepest part of the forest. I believe it originated within the ruins of the ancient castle of old,” said Zecora, rhyming as usual. “To what it may be… I have no clue.”

“Erhmmm, pardon but what did she say?” asked Burnice.

“Oh right, you haven’t met Zecora before. She speaks in rhymes, but don’t worry, when we first met her we couldn’t understand before either,” said Spike, remembering the experience. “It was a really confusing day.”

“Well, thanks for the help Zecora. So what we’re looking for is located in the castle of the two sisters,” said Twilight. “Onward girls!” As Twilight led everypony off to their next location, Zecora leaves them with a warning.

“Be wary my friends, for the path ahead will be full of danger. A threat you have not met before will be faced before you. For the path ahead… will lead to a blaze of eternal flame,” said Zecora, sounding more serious.

Taking in Zecora’s warning, the group continues to the ruins of the castle of two sisters. However, Burnice hears the mention of “eternal flame”, thinking immediately of the gigantic phoenix. Could Zecora’s warning match with the gigantic phoenix? Keeping this thought in her mind, Burnice wonders now that what if… the creature that caused the fire in Sweet Apple Acres… was the gigantic phoenix or something similar to it. While trotting down the path, everypony begins to talk to one another.

“So Burnice, how long have you been staying with Twilight?” asked Rainbow.

“No-no-no-not long… but I’ve been helping out in the library with Twilight and Spike,” said Burnice.

“That’s cool,” said Rainbow, staring at the ground.

“Anyway...” said Applejack, keeping things from going awkward. “I was wondering what your cutie mark means? It’s a matchstick that’s lit, so I was wondering if it relates to fire.”

“Well it does. I’m able to manipulate fire, and I’m really efficient in using fire-based magic,” said Burnice.

“Really! THAT-THAT’S… AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” shouted Rainbow, her eyes shining with excitement.

“It’s not really that impressive,” said Burnice, blushing lightly.

“Oh darling you look adorable when you get all embarrassed like that. Actually, you even given me an idea for a new clothing design,” said Rarity, inspiration brimming from her eyes.

Twilight and Fluttershy were sometimes afraid when Rarity gets into her “inspiration mode”. It was somewhat similar to how she looked when angry… except more scarier. Everypony gotten along with one another after meeting Burnice, it made Twilight happy to know she was doing fine when meeting her friends. Nearing the only path to reach their destination… Spike spots something, near impossible and strange. “Girls… I don’t want to be rude but… you might want to look at this,” said Spike, pointing with one claw.

Before the group was a sight both surprising… and terrifying. On the other side where the ruined castle, were scorched bodies of timberwolves, while the surrounding terrain was burnt to a crisp with fires and scattered pieces of wood, stone, and earth. It was if a battle of survival, no, a battle of destruction took place here. Whoever fought this many timberwolvews was indeed beyond the powers that the group knew of. Whatever caused the destruction back at Sweet Apple Acres was indeed related to what happened here. Luckily the bridge was intact, surprisingly, crossing over the group can see the sheer power that has happened here to the countless timberwolves destroyed here.

“What do you think done this?” asked Fluttershy, shaking from seeing the scenery around her.

“Well it definitely was able to handle timberwolves. Especially an army of them… but I wonder… Why would they try attacking something this powerful, unless they had no knowledge of how powerful this thing was,” said Applejack.

“We can worry about that later. Let’s find this thing and beat the living crap out of it!” screamed Rainbow.

“Calm down Rainbow. I know you want to avenge my farm being nearly destroyed, but we don’t know if it was intentional or not,” said Applejack.

“But I must say… to imagine what could of done all of this,” said Rarity, poking the head of a timberwolf. “It’s simply dreadful.”

“I wonder if the thing that done this is a great at parties?” said Pinkie, giggling.

“I’m not sure if it knows what a party is Pinkie, and why would it be in one in the first place?!” said Twilight, sighing from the silly question from Pinkie.

Laughing, Pinkie rubbed the back of her head. The group continued forward until reaching the doors of the castle. Entering, they find more pieces of destroyed timberwolves, surprisingly that the castle is still intact from such a ferocious battle. Since the castle layout is bigger with it holding hidden rooms and such, the group decides to leave in pairs, with Fluttershy with Rarity, Rainbow with Applejack, Pinkie with Spike, and Twilight with Burnice. Fluttershy and Rarity will check the upper floor and towers, with Rainbow and Applejack searching the lower floor, then Pinkie and Spike will check the outside parts of the ruins, leaving Twilight and Burnice to check the main floor, especially the castle library. Once splitting off, Twilight and Burnice examine every nook and cranny for any sign of the mysterious creature. Much of the castle is either destroyed or full of traps which were avoided if possible. Luckily nopony encountered one while searching. After checking every room in the main floor, the final room which Twilight saved for last was to be checked, the library. This room was save last because, Twilight wanted to see the ancient books and possible tomes left here, that and she wanted to get some to research on and read… but once entering inside, made Twilight go wide-eyed. “WHAT HAPPENED HERE!?” shouted Twilight.

The library was in disarray, with the roof torn apart, some of the book shelves were either torn apart or burnt to a crisp. In the center of the room was a giant timberwolf which was destroyed, full of tiny holes and scarred of scorch marks. If a giant timberwolf was involved in this fight… means whatever these timberwolves fought was a bigger threat than the group thought originally. Busy with trying to find any undamaged books, Twilight dives into a pile of seemingly destroyed books. “I’LL SAVE YOU! NO PIECE OF WRITTEN LITERATURE WILL BE LEFT BEHIND!” shouted Twilight, digging through the pile.

Busy with that, Burnice took a closer observation of the giant timberwolf, the life in it’s eyes… empty. Hollow, Burnice was certain the timberwolves around the castle were in a some what dead-like state, either to recuperate… or afraid of something. That’s when Burnice noticed something glimmering in the corner of her eye… heading toward it, it was a pile of the golden tube she found at Sweet Apple Acres. Noticing the same reddish-black powder on each one means they were the same with the one she found… except… these ones were fresh. Well not fresh-fresh, but were here an hour or three ago… noticing a trail of the same powder to a corridor in the library, Burnice follows the trail. As the trail starts to change color until changing to a red liquid substance. Stepping in a puddle of the liquid, Burnice feels the liquid on her hoof… deciding to taste what it is, the taste instantly causes Burnice to near puke. “Is this… blood!” thought Burnice, suppressing the puke.

Looking at a pile of books fallen from a nearby shelf, Burnice noticed a boot… no a leg? Approaching the leg, Burnice noticed the books and the floor around them was soaked in blood… but what really caused Burnice to notice… was the large long tooth of the giant timberwolf, lodged within something. Unsure where the blood could of come from since timberwolves don’t bleed, Burnice hears a small quiet moan coming from the pile of blood-soaked books. Moving one book at a time, what Burnice will see… will change her life entirely.

Hours earlier before the scene at Sweet Apple Acres was found. Midnight at the Everfree Forest, close to the Castle of the Two Sisters.

“Now, if I came that way… Which means that castle I saw is that way,” said Atas, taking a bite out of an apple. “These are the best apples I have ever tasted, ever!”

After the fight I had back at the apple orchard with those wooden wolves, I needed to find somewhere… how you may say, to recover. I had enough ingredients to make more supplies and such, and I could possibly find something in the surrounding area to make something. Nevertheless… THESE APPLES WERE DAMN NEAR DE-LI-CIOUS!...I need to get some more when I come by that place, speaking of which, I should check that pony if she was okay… wait, why did I think that pony was a she? Anyway, whilst walking through the forest, I spotted a bridge, and across the other side was the castle I spotted before. Now the bridge at first looked it fall apart any second… that however was not true. “You better not freaking break on me...” said Atlas, grumbling.

Carefully traversing the other side, I thought I fall any second… only to safely make it to the other side. I was happy to not have any bad luck befall me… I probably shouldn’t have been thinking like that, because the unexpected happened. From the other side of the bridge that I came from was a bunch of those wooden wolves. Taunting them, their size would probably cause the bridge to collapse, so I laughed and mocked them. “HAHAHAHAHAH! YOU CAN’T GET ME!” said Atlas, mockingly.

I blew a raspberry out of sheer delight of watching the creatures get stuck… only for them to begin crossing without trouble. My first thought was, “Well… I’m screwed,” and “Wait! Maybe I can destroy the bridge and then they won’t cross… wait, I’m not sure there’s another way out of this side of the cavern… which means… That this bridge is the only way out,” I was too focused with my own thoughts… that those wolf-things gotten to me. Luckily my reflexes were quick enough, in which I pulled out my trusty mace, Smasher, and demolished it’s head. Afterwords I quickly ran toward the castle, on the way there I shot down any of those things on the way inside. Making sure to close the doors and block them, I made my way to the highest point of the castle. “Where are the stairs!?” said Atlas, running.

Luckily I reached the roof of the castle, and I was above where the main entrance was. There I saw a long outstretching piece of land and the bridge… Where the whole area was full of those wolves. Whilst these things had the manpower… or is it packpower… I had the firepower. Pulling out my minigun, Hell Raiser, I unleashed a rain shower of bullets. Every single one of those things ended up being pumped full of my bullets, not a single one was not full of holes. After an endless amount of smoke, bullets, and laughter… I ran out of bullets. Though I shot everything in site, a few still remained… until IT showed up. Forming from the destroyed parts of all the wooden wolves… came a massive version of them. It stood tall… and angry, with a liquid substance drooling from it’s jaw. It unleashed a foul smell which nearly made me barf out my breakfast. I knew I couldn’t stand in the open like this, so I needed to find a room both spacious and providing a lot of cover… which I possibly might know where I could find such a room. This castle must have had a library somewhere, so I headed off to search for it. There were still some wolves remaining, but my weapons kept them at bay… especially my duel sawed-off shotguns, Chick Chang, my sniper, Bye Die X-Caliber, and my Hifle which was half a harpoon and a rifle. Blasting what I could shoot, I reached the library, and blocked the main door. I grabbed what I could find and made what cover I could get. Setting up my sniper, I carefully awaited them to come in… seconds passed… then minutes, the door began banging and then… it broke. They flooded the room, but I picked one at a time by shooting off their heads, once they got close enough I switched to my shotguns and unleashed load after load onto them. I don’t know why… but I felt… I felt… happy. Not happy as in, smiling or such but… entertained. I had never had this much fun or a challenge for so long, I longed for something challenging and this is what I needed! Round after round I wasted them without mercy or moment’s hesitation. I was… I was… I WAS… I WAS… I WAS I WAS I WAS I WAS I WAS I WAS I WAS I WAS… THIRSTY FOR BLOOD! “YES, YES YES YES! KEEP ON COMING! LET ME DESTROY EVER SINGLE PIECE OF BARK ON THAT BODY OF YOURS AND ROAST TO A FINE CHAR! THE SMOKE FROM THE BURNING CORPSES WILL BE PLEASURABLE!” screamed Atlas, laughing insanely.

I lost complete self control… this rarely happened. Usually I lose myself when I was enraged enough… but this was different. I felt as if… I was Locust, that I loved the smell of battle… the smell of blood. Usually only money would tempt me… this was different, I was different! I noticed I ran out of ammo in my sniper and switched to my hifle, firing into either the ones which still stood, or the ones I shot already. I was in the near brink of insanity… but after a few rounds that I sent into the skull of one of those creatures… I stopped. I don’t know what caused me to stop, either was because I was wasting ammo… or maybe I felt pity. Either way, these things attacked me first so it was their own fault. After taking focus on my situation, I only had a few rounds in my hifle, some bullets for my shotgun, one harpoon on my hifle since I forgot to get extras… and then there’s my mace. Then I met face to face with the real dilemma… the giant wooden wolf. Charging forward I blasted all I had into the damn thing, one it tried to swipe a claw at me, I countered by firing a powerful shot from one of my shotguns. I then blasted a harpoon into one of the thing’s eyes… that caused it to be in pain, but it then caused me to drop my weapon from my own hands. It also caused me to be sent flying to the sky, in which I was heading toward it’s mouth, where I stopped my fall by using my mace by lodging it within it’s mouth. Then… I really did business on it, I began unleashing all my ammunition into it’s throat. Round after round of endless gunfire, smoke began to bellow from the thing… thinking I defeated it stopped… but it was still alive, and mad. I was ready to fire some more… but that’s when I only heard a click. “Crud not now, not now not now not now not now not now not now!” said Atlas, repeating it over and over.

I couldn’t be empty now… I really must of used up a lot of my ammo. Where in return, the thing spat out my mace, and then glared angrily at me. In the single second… I felt immeasurable pain. I had one large tooth of the massive wooden wolf lodged in me, as it bit me more tighter. Blood spilled out of me, dripping into the beast’s throat and teeth. Since it had no internal organs and was just made of wood, I saw my own blood drop all over it’s body then to only make a puddle beneath it’s body on the floor. Watching, helplessly, I couldn’t do anything… I was… going to die. “Not now… not now...” thought Atlas.

Slowly watching the color fading… I thought it be all over… but I felt something. Pulling out the object from my pouch was the last apple I had on me. Staring at the red apple, I focused all my rage and wrath into that apple and with all my might I shouted with all my being. “EAT, APPLE! YOU WALKING LOG!” shouted Atlas. I slammed the apple through the wolf’s solid wooden teeth, shattering it, and lodging the apple into it’s mouth. It let go of me, and began choking… but that wasn’t only happening. The apple began glowing and pulsing… then suddenly… it exploded causing the giant wooden wolf to be in a blazing fire as pieces of it shot toward everywhere. I was safe from the shrapnel attack… but I was still in danger of death. A piece of that tooth was lodged deep into my body… and I was bleeding, profusely. With a chuckle I spoke, only to cough blood out. “At least… I had some fun… right?” said Atlas, laughing lightly.

A quick sudden pain appeared when I tried to speak or breath. I slowly began walking, then crawling, and then… to a stop. I ended up near some large windows the size of a tree, as I faced some shelves with some intact books left safe from the battle. Using one of the shelves as support to stand up… only to end up causing all the books to fall off the shelves and onto me… I began bleeding under the pile of books, soaking up my blood. My breathing at first was quick and in a tempo… but slowed down to a near minute per breathing. I don’t know how long I was there… hours… days… weeks? Time feels different when your dying. A thought risen as I tried to keep my mind focused from going blank. “I… don’t want to… to… to...” thought Atlas.

My thoughts were muddy, as if I was shrouded in fog. I felt heavy, my heart slowing down… I saw no light, no darkness… just gray. I still saw the shapes and figures around me, like the books that I was buried in, the windows above me, and the shelves I stared at… I couldn’t feel the air around me, or my own blood… I was… slowly becoming empty… hollow. With a quick smile, I knew this is where I die, where my journey would end… then I saw it, or should I say her. She wasn’t an angel to take me to heaven… or a demon to drag me to hell… more… more like a reaper. Except, instead of wearing a black cloak and with a scythe, she was in a reddish cloak, similar to fire and on her hoof was a ball of blazing fire. The warmth in her hoof was enough to make me feel alive… with one final breath I spoke toward her. “Are you… are you my reaper?” asked Atlas, weakly.

Then… everything began to fade… but… I felt… a warmth surrounding me… I was being saved. For a reaper… she sure was doing her job horribly. Yet… this… this felt right.