My Little Inferno

by GMSeskii

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Drama, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, Fluttershy, Crossover
Length: 12315

Ponyville discovers the great fun that can be had with burning all their things in the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace! Nothing could possibly go wrong!

The Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace is an amazing toy that the entire family can enjoy! Now all of your belongings can be thrown into the fire and burnt just like you always wanted! Don't want to burn your things? No worries, each Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace comes with a free catalog filled with fun burnable toys!

Not a pony who wants to play with fire? That's okay! The Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace can be used as a great source of warmth for a home, a great accent to tie any room together, or even a helpful experimentation tool! There's something for everyone!

Everyone always told you playing with fire was dangerous - now for the first time ever you can say they were wrong!

Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace is a product of Soot Inc.

((Based on the game Little Inferno. The story will differ heavily from that of the game.))

-GM, master of this way down.

Published 2016-12-07 20:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-01-06 14:41:07 UTC

I - Ignition

“We are so toast!” Sweetie Belle yelled as she and Applebloom ran as fast as their four legs permitted.

Applebloom swallowed hard. “Maybe Spike didn’t see us…”

“He pointed a claw at us and screamed!” Sweetie Belle whined. “I think that qualifies as him seeing us!”

Applebloom looked left and right rabidly - in their blind panic they were starting to draw unusual looks from the townsponies. “Maybe Scootaloo’ll know what to do?”

“Yeah! She’s good with running and hiding!” Sweetie Belle took a hard left, Applebloom following quickly behind. The two fillies beelined towards Scootaloo’s house and hammered on the door. “Heeeeeeelp!” Sweetie Belle yelled with Applebloom backing up with her grunting noises.

Scootaloo opened the door. “Uh.. yeah?” She asked, confused.

“We need you to-” Sweetie Belle stopped short, sniffing. “...Why do you smell like ash?”

Scootaloo shook her head, loosening a lot of soot from her mane. “It’s from this cool new thing I got today! Come check it out!”

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle forgot entirely about their panic, for Scootaloo had just said something was cool - and that they could check it out! They wondered what sort of thing it would be this time. Adventure game? New Scooter? Statue of Rainbow Dash made of ash?

They didn’t have to wait long to find out.

The first thing they saw was the Core - a black face with a serene expression and soft, closed eyes. It felt… welcoming, even though Sweetie Belle was positive it was watching them intently. Sticking out the side of the Core were several gears and a couple long black wires. These wires led the eyes of the fillies around the soft brown brick enclosure. The space was square, and had a bunch of ash piled up on the bottom surface. The area had an outlet at the top connecting to a chimney and out of the house.

“...A weird ol’ fireplace?” Applebloom observed.

“It’s called a Little Inferno Entertainment fireplace.” Scootaloo said. “And it’s much, much more than weird and old…”

“Oh?” Sweetie Belle said dubiously.

“Watch.” Scootaloo said. She stuck her front hoof into the Fireplace - and it instantly lit on fire. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom’s eyes went wide, thinking Scootaloo was burning herself. But their fears were alleviated when they realized Scootaloo was waving her hoof around inside the Fireplace without any pain or hint of being singed. She removed her hoof and the fire on it went out instantly.

“See? Cool.” Scootaloo blinked. “Well… Hot actually but you get what I mean.”

Applebloom stuck her hoof in, a flame appearing on hers as well. It was soft, yellow, and warm. “So…. It’s warm but it doesn’t burn me. That don’t make sense.”

Sweetie belle touched the inside of the Fireplace with her telekinesis - and a little fire appeared exactly where she focused. ”Woah. Magic things are so cool.”

“Huh.” Scootaloo said, looking closely at Sweetie Belle’s magic. “Didn’t know it could do that. But I do know something else.” Scootaloo picked a piece of torn paper off the floor and tossed it into the Little Inferno. It didn’t cause a fire.

“Wha?” Applebloom said. “Why ain’t…”

“You have to poke it with your fire.” Scootaloo pointed out.

“Oh.” Applebloom reached for the paper, touching it with the fire that encased her hoof. The page instantly ignited, reducing to ash within seconds. Most of the resulting specks of black flew out the chimney, but some spilled out the front, getting some soot on Applebloom.

“Ech…” She grunted. “It’s stickin’ to me.”

“Soot does that.” Scootaloo said. “You just need to wipe it off. Sometimes it takes a while.”

Sweetie Belle pondered for a moment. “So basically the point of this thing is to play with fire and not get burnt?”

“Yep.”

“Cool.” Sweetie Belle said. “What else can we throw in there?”

“I think I have some mini-golf clubs.” Scootaloo answered. “...And some really old food in the cooler.”

Applebloom scurried to the cooler and cracked it open. She let out a “bleh!” for the contents smelled like they had passed the rancid state days ago. “Do you ever eat anything from this?”

“I’ve decided it’s probably a health hazard, so never more than once a month!” Scootaloo called back.

Sweetie Belle facehooved. “Lemme see here…”She said, looking over Applebloom’s shoulder. With her magic she pulled out a corn cob that wasn’t moldy. “This might work.”

“Burn the cooler as well.” Applebloom said, still gagging. “And everything in it. Kill it with fire.”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders pushed the cooler towards the Little Inferno. They found that it could just barely fit inside the enclosure. Upon nestling it inside, Sweetie Belle used her magic to light it on fire from behind, and it was soon up in flames.

“I am not sad to see that go.” Scootaloo announced.

“You getting a new one?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Nah. I just eat with you guys all the time.”

The cooler was reduced to ash in under a minute. Sweetie Belle tossed the corn in the moment the fire died down. Applebloom prodded it with her hoof and lit the sad vegetable on fire. It burned for a few moments, the fire warming them. Applebloom frowned. “Well this isn’t very intere-”

The corn kernels popped and popcorn began to fill the Fireplace - only to burn as the entire enclosure filled with fire, creating little popping fireballs. The Cutie Mark Crusaders watched in fascination as it kept burning more popcorn. The popping show did eventually stop, however, and the fillies all glanced at each other.

“...That was cool.” Sweetie Belle said. “What else can we-”

“A-hem.”

The three fillies turned around quickly, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle adopting looks of panic upon realizing that Twilight Sparkle was behind them. Her wings were spread, making her even more intimidating than she otherwise would have been.

“Hi Twilight.” Scootaloo said, face betraying her concern for her friends. She had no idea what was going on here.

“Well, girls, guess what Spike just informed me?”

“The goose wasn’t our fault!” Sweetie Belle yelled.

“And the street was all Spike’s! We had nothing to do with it!” Applebloom continued.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What about the pistons that fired fried eggs… somehow?”

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom drooped. “That one was us…”

Scootaloo shook her head rapidly. “What the hay are you guys talking about?”

“They really scared Spike and are just about to go back and apologize.” Twilight said.

“Oh. Okay.” Scootaloo blinked. “What do fried eggs have to do with anything?”

Sweetie Belle pulled a piece of egg white out of her mane. “We-”

“Would rather not talk about it now.” Applebloom interrupted, blushing. “Maybe later Scoots.”

“Ooookay…” Scootaloo said skeptically, watching as her two friends scurried out of her house. Twilight remained, standing by the Fireplace, staring at it.

An odd silence developed.

“Uh… Twilight?” Scootaloo spoke up. “Why are you still here?”

“Oh!” Twilight said, tearing her gaze from the warm glow of the Fireplace, the remnants of the popcorn still burning. “Er… No reason really. I just found this Fireplace fascinating. I’m wondering what kind of spells had to be put on it to keep it from burning you…”

“I dunno. You’re the magic expert.” Scootaloo grabbed a mini-golf club and threw it in. Twilight’s eyes widened further as it melted before her eyes.

“By Celestia how hot is it?”

“Advertisement said it was a hundred million degrees.” Scootaloo said. “But you know advertisements.”

Twilight summoned a metallic orb with her magic and threw it in - watching as it rose in temperature to a white hot and melted into a metallic puddle. The Fireplace itself seemed unharmed.

“...The amount of experimentation that could be performed with this tool is… Well the possibilities are staggering.” She put her hoof in, fascinated by the fire around it.

“Come again?” Scootaloo asked.

“Where can I get myself one of these?” She asked.

“Well I found it in a catalog… That I burned.” Scootaloo had the grace to look sheepish. “I do know it’s called the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace though.”

“Thank you Scootaloo.” Twilight said, taking her hoof out of the enclosure. “See you around!”

“No problem Twilight!” Scootaloo said. “Please don’t kill Applebloom and Sweetie for… whatever they did.”

Twilight chuckled. “Honestly it was more amusing than anything else. Don’t worry about them.” She left the house, trotting back to her castle. Behind her, the smokestack sent a thin trail of black smoke far into the sky...

II - Sparks

“Delivery!” Derpy the mailmare yelled.

The grand doors of Twilight’s castle slid open, the princess herself standing in the arches. She beamed when she saw the pony-sized package in Derpy’s wagon.

“Ooh! Thank you for bringing it so quickly!” Twilight said, barely containing her excitement.

“You’re welcome! Sign here please.”

Twilight signed and quickly levitated her package inside, waving goodbye to Derpy as she did so. Then Twilight shut the doors, her grun unfaltering as she examined the package.

“What is it?” Starlight asked as she came down the staircase.

“This…” Twilight said, putting her hoof on top of the box. “Is the newest addition to the lab.”

“What is it this time?”

“A thermal experimentation chamber!”

Starlight blinked. “Wait. It burn stuff?” A smirk spread across her face. “I think I might like this one…”

“You’re welcome to try it out with me.” Twilight offered, heading for the lab with the box in tow behind her.

Starlight shrugged. “I don’t really have anything better to do…”

Spike poked his head out of a nearby door. “You could always go for another friendshi-”

“Like I said. Nothing better to do.” Starlight said matter-of-factly.

Spike rolled his eyes. Then his eyes fell on the box. “Okay, I’ll bite, what’s in the giant box?”

“A thermal experimentation chamber!” The two mares said in unison.

“...Are you trying to put me out of a job or something?” Spike questioned.

“Spike, you are more than just a lighter.” Twilight said.

“Yeah! You also send letters!” Starlight added.

Twilight facehooved. “I was going to say ‘you are my number one assistant’ but okay.”

Starlight shrugged. “Eh, I like my encouragement better.”

“I don’t…” Spike muttered. Nopony responded.

Twilight flung open the doors of her lab, revealing several countertops filled with unusual magitech devices. Her gigantic blocky computer sat at the far wall, continually printing out results from all the experiments on a long sheet of paper. Most of the tests were inactive at the moment. However, the Fignewton’s Cradle was moving, the plasma ball was active, and Tribbles the hamster looked bored out of his gourd - all three tests still going strong. Owlowiscious was sitting in the middle of the room, sleeping on his perch.

“Ookay…” Twilight said, setting the box next to an empty wall. “How to do this…”

“The box literally says ‘place next to an external wall and pull this tab.’” Spike observed.

“Oh.” Twilight blushed. She reached for the tab and gave it a yank. The cardboard fell apart instantly, revealing a cubic block made of bricks. It vibrated for a moment before shooting a channel out of its top - forming a chimney. The smokestack in question drove itself through the wall, protruding outside about a foot.

Then the front face of the block opened, revealing an interior identical in most ways to Scootaloo’s Fireplace - save a distinct lack of soot. Inside were a few things - some terms and conditions, a letter, and a fat bookmarked ‘catalog.’

Spike recoiled a back at the face inside. “Man that’s creepy.”

Starlight levitated the items out. Since she wasn’t careful she actually lit them on fire for a fraction of a second, but they extinguished the moment they left the enclosure. Spike found the sudden rush of heat startling - Starlight didn’t even flinch. She just looked at the texts.

“Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace?” She read aloud. “You got a toy?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “It may be marketed as a toy, but it is a very resilient piece of magitech machinery.”

“How do you know? You just got it.”

“Well I was at Scootaloo’s and she had one…”

Starlight smirked. “So it is a toy.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Just watch.” She lifted a beaker off a nearby countertop and put it inside the Fireplace. Then she touched it with her hoof, lighting the limb on fire. Slowly, but surely, the glass began to liquefy.

“...Okay that’s pretty cool.” Starlight admitted.

Spike blinked. “You know you always tell me not to play with fire…”

Twilight looked at the terms and conditions - most was boring legalese, but there were a few guidelines. She looked at spike and cleared her throat.

“Fire is dangerous and should not be played with outside the confines of Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. Do not put artificial limbs inside Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. Do not tamper or attempt to dispel Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. Do not pry at the Core. Use in a well ventilated area and make sure the chimney is unobstructed before use.”

Spike shuddered. “That face is still creepy…”

“I don’t know Spike…” Starlight said. “I think it’s kinda cute!”

Twilight blinked. “Were you even listening to me?”

“Yeah, don’t be stupid, basically.” Starlight said dismissively. She grabbed the terms and conditions and threw them in, lighting them up with a spark. She smiled. “I can see why this would appeal to foals.”

Twilight sighed, directing her gaze at the letter.

Dear Valued Customer

Thank you for your purchase of the one-of-a-kind Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace, a chamber that allows for the normally dangerous features of fire to be played with just like any other toy. In fact, I encourage you to test some of your old toys inside the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace, just to see what happens.

Absolutely anything smaller than the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace elcosure can be placed inside and subjected to intense heat, controlled by you and your friends. Real wars can be fought in the fiery confines, old toys and memories can get one last hurrah, and things you never thought to burn can easily be placed in at your whim.

Though by no means is the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace just a toy - it is also a fully functioning fireplace, perfect to heat your homes with anything you have lying around. The flames can also be used as a perfect accent to a room’s composition, really tying the place together. And, of course, professionals can test their materials and spells inside the confines of the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace.

But don’t forget, even if you use the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace in a way I haven’t thought of, please, from time to time, just throw something random in and enjoy the result. Now have fun and stay warm!

P.S. If you have a hard time thinking of cool and/or unusual things to burn, check out the catalog. It has over a hundred objects designed specifically for use within the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace.

-Soot, Inventor of Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace and CEO of Soot Inc.

At the bottom of the letter was a little image of a black dragon wearing a monocle. He had one of those ‘sophisticated’ expressions that Twilight was used to seeing on the ponies of Canterlot.

“Huh. Dragon.” Spike said. “Neat.” He glaced at the Core again. “Though why did he have to give it a face?”

“It’s not like you’re burning it or anything.” Starlight said, her nose deep in the catalog. “Though a lot of the things in here have faces.”

“Anything interesting?” Twilight asked.

“Insane rabbit plushie, more than a few bombs, mushrooms, a human doll, video game systems, gravity charms, a chainsaw-thing, a camera, and…” She blinked. “A cup of coffee…?”

Twilight pondered this for a moment. “Those gravity charms sound interesting. I’ll have to look at it later. Until then… Time for science!” She clapped her hooves. “Now I can finally safely test the explosive properties of neutron rubies!”

“Yaaaaaay.” Starlight said, still flipping through the catalog. “This has a lot of weird stuff in it…”

“Mhm.” Twilight said, delicately setting the orange-red form of a neutron ruby in a cup and sliding it into the fireplace. It glowed an intense warm light.

“What the heck is a Transequinist robot?” Starlight wondered aloud.

Twilight set up several walls of metal inside the fireplace, surrounding the ruby in a bit of a blast shield. Seh put a complex scanner inside as well.

“You know, I’m going to watch from… Over here.” Spike said, backing to the far end of the lab.

Twilight nodded towards Spike, but most of her attention was on the Little Inferno. SHe sparked a flame and touched it to the neutron ruby. For a second, nothing happened. Then the entire fireplace was engulfed in a neon orange flash. The readings went off the charts as everything was vaporized instantly.

Twilight smirked. “Neutron ruby plus heat equals utter annihilation.”

“Good to know…” Spike shuddered. “Can we stop playing with fire now?”

“Nope.” Starlight said. “Time to order some special stuff!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Starlight, I have hundreds of interesting things to burn in this giant castle. Do you really need-”

“Do you have a flaming juicer!?” Starlight asked, shouting for no apparent reason.

“Er… no?”

“Then we’re ordering one. And I’m also getting the pixels. Because pretty.”

Twilight shrugged. “If you really want to…”

Starlight grinned. “Oh I do.”

“Well order them. I have some more experimenting to perform.”

Spike left the room, nervous. “Why do I have a really bad feeling about this?”

Outside, the first snowfall of winter began - mixed with the upward drafts of smoke from a couple chimneys, the trails stretching far into the sky…

III - Embers

“Drink this.” Starlight said, passing Twilight a hot cup of pink liquid.

“Uh...” Twilight said dubiously, sniffing the drink.

“I didn’t enchant it or anything. Just drink it.” Starlight said, her gaze cutting deep into Twilight’s soul.

Twilight shrugged and nervously took a swig of the drink. She gasped. “That’s… Amazing! What’s in it?”

“Apples, cranberries, cherries, pixel block dust, and a dash of smoke. All run through the flaming juicer while it was in the Inferno.”

Twilight blinked. “Wait. That really worked?”

“Amazingly so! I also burned a hundred toy raccoons because Derpy messed up someone’s order. It was beautiful.

“Ookay…” Twilight said, finishing the drink. “...A hundred?”

“I kept copying the one with a spell.” Starlight smirked. “I never have to buy anything twice.”

“Clever.” Twilight said, walking to the front doors. “Well, I’ll be out today. Have fun, don’t burn the house down. Spike, Rarity and Rainbow Dash should be returning some books today. Don’t let them leave and ‘forget’ to do it again.”

Spike saluted. “You can count on me!”

Twilight stepped outside into the biting cold of winter, shuddering. She closed the door behind her, casting a silence over the hall of the castle.

Spike spoke up. “You want to-”

“Burn more things.” Starlight said, grinning.

Spike sighed in resignation. “I’ll see if Big Mac or Discord want to do anything today…” He began penning a letter, trying his best to ignore the sounds of intense fire and explosions that came from the laboratory.

“Okay pixels, make noises! And juice! ...I think I know what I’m going to call my culinary creation. Mares and stallions, I present to you- NOISE JUICE! Ah Trixie would be proud…”

Spike sighed. He was going to have to get used to this wasn’t he?

~~~

Rarity trotted to twilight’s castle, saddlebags full of books - a lot of great reads. Most were about exotic and foreign fashion, but a few were cheesy romance novels that she had found unrealistic, but entertaining nonetheless.

It was time to return them to Twilight, though hopefully she wouldn’t ask questions… Rarity shivered and knocked on the doors. “Dear, I have some books to return!”

Spike pulled the doors open and let Rarity inside. “Hey Rarity. I’ll just take those…” He reached for the books.

Rarity tensed. Spike. Why did it have to be Spike. Please don’t look please don’t look-

“Huh? Feathered passions?” He looked at it closely. “A pegasus and a griffon huh?”

Oh no. He was going to read it. It would give him ideas in addition to just being embarrassing. It… well whatever he tried to do after reading it would be utterly adorable but completely pointless and probably result in a lot of hurt pride on his part.

“Wasn’t that good of a read.” She lied, dumping the rest of the books on Spike. “Now excuse me-”

“-Coming through!” Rainbow Dash yelled, streaking into the room with a flash of color. “Here spike, book!”

“Daring Do Fan Collection?” Spike questioned.

“Quibble suggested it.” Rainbow Dash said. “it . Was. Awesome. I’d recommend it to you but…” She smirked. “It gets kinda intense.”

Rarity got the impression that that book might also give Spike ideas. Bother. She should probably change the subject quickly.

“Hey, where’s Starlight?” She asked.

“In the lab.” Spike said, monotone.

“What is it this time?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Spike shrugged. “Fire.”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “Okay… I want to see the fire.”

“Really, it’s not that interesting-”

“That’s exactly what you say when something is interesting.” Rainbow Dash retorted, already heading for the lab. Rarity decided she might as well follow - it might actually be interesting. Spike came along in the back, tapping his fingers nervously as they approached the lab.

“You really don’t have to…” He said, to no avail.

Rainbow Dash and Rarity soon entered the lab to the sight of Starlight looking at a fireplace. It was currently burning a brilliant blue flame. “Oh. Hi there.” She said without turning around.

The blue flame mesmerized Rarity. “That… is so gorgeous.”

“Blue beetle makes the fire blue, apparently.” Starlight said, equally mesmerized. “Got green and red too.”

Rarity just stared. It looked like the ocean on a hot day in there… serene, but powerful. Like that face in the background.

“This is boring. What’s it do?” Rainbow Dash muttered.

In response Twilight picked up a neon red cube and tossed it into the fire - it exploded. “It burns things.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “What kind of things?”

“All the things.” Starlight responded, throwing a raccoon plushie in. “Anything you can fit into it.”

Rarity pondered this for a moment. “I wonder if you could color candle flames with this… Yes… Have a nice multicolored fire to tie the room together…”

“Is it all about style with you?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Why not just burn tuff?” She grabbed a piece of fruit and tossed it in.

“Maybe because the love of burning things is a sign of pyromania?” Spike suggested.

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Spike, it’s just a nice fireplace. Really, I think it can be a wonderful addition to the home. Just place it perfectly and create quite the ambient mood!”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Have any more things that explode?”

“Some are on order.” Starlight said. “The catalog offers some bombs.”

Rainbow Dash looked at the catalog Straight had gestured to. “That sounds pretty cool. Man, there’s a lot of awesome burnable stuff in here…”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “They’re really marketing this as a fire toy? Really… Well I can’t fault them I suppose, but this is a waste of a perfectly good decoration. I think I’ll look into it.”

Rainbow Dash tossed a raccoon in and chuckled. Rarity rolled her eyes. “Well, I’ll be off, see you girls later. Have fun… burning things I guess.” She trotted out.

Spike bit his lip as he watched Starlight and Rainbow mess with the Inferno for a few hours - throwing things in just to watch them burn.

It was spreading…

~~~

Days later, Rarity glanced outside the boutique - it was lightly snowing and well below freezing outside. However, the interior was warm and toasty, the cold winds of the outside unable to dent the heat produced by the Inferno.

She was frankly really thankful she had infested in that Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace - the flames were pleasing to the eye and warm. She often walked around bundled up during the winter months - but not anymore.

Right now the flame was pink - though that was likely to change next time Sweetie Belle came downstairs and threw a new colored bug into the fire. She manned the fireplace, asking only that she be allowed to play with it for a while after closing. It was a nice deal that - so far - hadn’t blown up in either of their faces.

So far. Rarity still had her hooves crossed.

Applejack came in and dropped a pair of boots on the countertop. “Need these fixed. Snow keeps getting in them through the holes.”

“Right away.” Rarity said, grabbing a needle and the industrial strength thread. She spotted the defects and set to work sealing them up. “This’ll only take a few minutes…”

“Mhm.” Applejack said. “...Apples, it’s warm in here.”

“It’s the new fireplace over there.” Rarity said. “Does wonders for the temperature and the feel of the room.”

“Why is it pink?”

“That’s the color Sweetie last set it to.” Rarity said, tying a knot in her thread, sealing one of the boot’s holes. “She’ll change it again in ten minutes or so.”

“Huh. Pretty fine. We need a new fireplace at the farm… Big Mac broke it during his last game night.”

Rarity chuckled. “It’s called the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace, if you’re interested. Marketed as a fire toy - but very useful.”

“Applebloom mentioned that before…” Applejack noted.

“Scootaloo has one I believe.” Rarity said, lifting the boots up to the light for a final examination. “I think we’re done here.”

“Thank ya.” Applejack said.

“Three bits.” Rarity took her payment and Applejack left the establishment.

It was at that moment Rarity realized something. She had recommended Little Inferno at least ten times today alone. Huh. Weird.

Sweetie Belle trotted down the stairs and closely examined the jar of colored bugs, looking for an exotic hue. She took her time, pondering deeply for several moments.

It was in that moment that Fluttershy came in with a mauled dress. “Rarity? The animals got a little too playful.”

“Oh heavens, that is dreadful! Give that here and I’ll-”

At this point Sweetie Belle tossed in an ice-blue bug, shifting the color. Fluttershy saw it clearly and let out a pained gasp. “W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

Sweetie Belle blinked. “Changing the fire color?”

“By burning innocent bugs!?”

Rarity blinked. “Fluttershy… I bought those from a catalog to be used for this exact purpose. I’m pretty sure they’re not real bugs, no company could get away with deliberate insect torture.”

Fluttershy marched up to the bug jar and sniffed it. They weren’t real bugs. “O-okay… That was still scary. Sweetie, you can smash bugs by accident or to protect yourself, but never torment them okay?”

Sweetie Belle nodded slowly.

Fluttershy sighed. “Ookay… Take the dress Rarity, I’ll be back for it tomorrow. I’m… Sorry for exploding.”

“It’s okay Fluttershy. If you need to talk about it-”

“Oh no, I was just mistaken.” She glanced back at the bug jar and shuddered. “Just… It’s hard to look at, okay?”

“I understand.” Rarity said. “I’ll just order dye from now on.”

“Thanks.” Fluttershy said, leaving.

Sweetie Belle blinked, turning to Rarity. “So do I-?”

“Keep doing what you’re doing for now. We close in half an hour anyway.”

There were no customers the rest of the day. The sisters quickly closed up shop and sat in front of the fireplace. Sweeite tossed in some fabric scraps and a couple bugs. It was very pretty, colors splashing from left to right and filling Rarity’s eyes.

“Why don’t you put one in?” Sweetie Belle asked, giving Rarity some fabric.

“Oh, sure dear.” Rarity tossed it into the fire and watched it go up in flames. There was something… satisfying about the action. While the flames licked what she had placed in, she found that she wanted to put more in…

And more…

And more…

It occurred to Rarity that she used these fabric scraps in other projects from time to time and should probably save a few for later work. Yet she found herself thinking the warm, welcoming fire was worth it.

She could always just make more scraps..

After all, it was nice being in front of the fire with her sister…

The two sisters fell asleep in front of the fire, the snow falling outside, the white of the sky contrasting heavily with the handful of smoke trails that reached for the heavens…

IV - Aflame

Fluttershy walked through ponyville, ready for a nice calm winter walk. Such things were normally pleasant, serene journeys where she said hi to friends and appreciated the beautiful winter landscape. Even if she had a goal in mind - go to Pinkie’s and talk about Hearthswarming gift ideas - she would still find wonder in the world.

All those things were still there - the snow was beautiful, the townsponies welcoming, and the land just nice looking. But it was tainted.

There were several trails of smoke floating high into the sky from various chimneys. She knew what they were from - those Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplaces that had been taking off. Ever since Rarity had installed hers, more and more had been going up. And while Fluttershy knew the bugs sent by the catalog weren’t real, she did know that foals got ideas really easily. The moment winter ended and real bugs started showing up…

She was really worried. She could see how these fireplaces were changing how ponies perceived the dangers of fire. No longer something to be respected and feared, but to be played with. To be treated like just another toy…

Fluttershy shook her head - she needed to stop thinking about others like that. The Little Inferno was just a toy that also happened to appeal to ponies outside the target demographic. That was fine. Nothing bad had happened - just a few ponies needed more baths to wash the soot off.

Fluttershy pushed the thoughts out of her mind and focused on the town. She began to hum a happy and chipper tune while she walked, ignoring the smoke trails best she could. This was her walk and some Fireplace wasn’t going to ruin it for her. Her smile bright, she kept trotting along.

“Snails! Throw more balls in!”

“Can’t we just enjoy the fire Snips?”

“No! MORE BALLS BURNING!”

Fluttershy didn’t even glance at the two colts. It was not her place to judge them. They were just having fun…

“Hey, Carrot Top, throw some wine into the Inferno. Works wonders at parties.”

“Berry, I don’t have an Inferno.”

“You should get one. Like, now.”

Fluttershy’s smile faltered. It was still spreading… More and more chimneys would go up…

Her house would be fine, away from town as it was. The town could enjoy their Inferno just fine-

“I hear bits burn in the Fireplace!”

“Really?”

Fluttershy breathed deep, calming breaths. Just keep walking… Just keep walking…

“I fell asleep with my head inside the Inferno! It was awesome!”

Fluttershy’s smile vanished completely. This was not good and this was not going to end well. She just knew it - ponies were changing because of this Fireplace. It was affecting them too much. It was going to hurt somepony.

She began to gallop, trying to get away from the chimneys. They were starting to scare her with their presence. She just wanted them out of sight…

She ran into Sugarcube Corner, breathing heavy, almost hyperventilating.

“Hi Fluttershy!” Pinkie said, appearing from nowhere and prompting a scream from Fluttershy. “Wo-oah! Looks like you’ve seen a ghost!” Pinkie giggled. “Don’t worry, I’m not dead yet!”

Fluttershy took long deep breaths to calm herself again. “You… Just… Scared me… That’s all.” Fluttershy recomposed herself. “How are you doing?”

“I’ve gotten Hearthswarming presents for every pony in Ponyville! As usual. Had most purchased a month ago. So many smiles are coming!” She squeed.

Fluttershy smiled. “Glad to hear it. I haven’t gotten any of my shopping done…”

“You still have a weeks, and I have plenty of ideas we can talk about later. But how have you been? You haven’t been in town for a while!”

“Well…” She paused for a moment, thinking of how to put her feelings. “You know those Little Infernos?”

“Yeah, duh, who doesn’t?” Pinkie responded.

“They make me nervous.” Fluttershy said. “The way they burn things… Animal-like things…”

“Ooooh, Rarity told me about that bug thing! There’s nothing to worry about Fluttershy, it’s completely harmless!” Pinkie grinned. “I keep doing crazier and crazier things to it and I haven’t gotten burned even slightly!”

“It’s… not going to give you burns.” Fluttershy admitted. “But… It’s affecting ponies. They’ve started thinking differently. Doing crazy things. Sticking their heads in the fire!”

“Ah, that’s fun! So bright!”

Fluttershy blinked. “How-” Then she saw the soot in Pinkie’s mane and took a few steps back. “You’re into it too. Oh no.”

“It’s fine Fluttershy.” Pinkie answered her. “I had the Little Inferno first! Ordered it the moment I saw it in my premium edition of Fun Catalog!”

Fluttershy said nothing.

“Come on, I’ll show you it! There’s nothing to worry about!”

“Pinkie… When was the last time you left the Little Inferno alone for a whole day?”

Pinkie’s mind began to work out the problem. “I haven’t!” She answered happily. “And I’m none the worse for it!”

“But-”

“Come on Fluttershy, you should get over your fear. It’s completely harmless!” Pinkie grabbed her friend and took her to the furnace room. Fluttershy gasped - the room was completely black from floor to ceiling, the soot sticking to everything.

Inside the Little Inferno appeared to be a miniature floating sun, burning and melting everything in the enclosure, its gravity swirling all the fires towards it.

Fluttershy began to shake. “I don’t know about this Pinkie…”

“Oh come on, it’s fun!” Here let me put out the sun…” She tossed a yellow and black device into the fireplace that exploded everything in a huge explosion. “And we can do other stuff now! Watch!” She stuck a packet of flower seeds in and burned it, causing several daisy blooms to blossom before Fluttershy’s eyes.

“Pretty right?” Pinkie asked.

“I guess so…” Fluttershy said, though she realized a moment later that the daisies caught fire, life being extinguished right before her eyes. And there was no point to it…

“Or what about these magic mushrooms that divide when exposed to heat? Or this ice bomb? Or these fireworks!?” Pinkie started cackling as she shoved more and more things into the fire, her laugh unceasing and shrill.

The fire flashed, froze, died out, exploded, burned more, and swirled in fanciful patterns, lighting Pinkie’s grin with a haunting light.

The fire eventually died down. Pinkie was breathing heavily. “See Fluttershy? Nothing to worry about…”

Fluttershy was long gone.

“Well that’s rude.”Pinkie pouted. “She never even got to ask me for tips about Hearthswarming gifts…”

Pinkie shrugged, turning back to the Little Inferno. “Oh well.. Time to see if snow and rain can mix.” She tossed in a snowglobe and a smoke detector, the two reacting perfectly with each other.

Pinkie giggled.

This was so fun!

Why would anypony be scared of it? It was just enjoyment incarnate!

Outside, Fluttershy was running like her life depended on it, knocking over more than a few ponies in her rush. She didn’t even pause to say sorry - she was too disturbed by what she had seen. Shellshocked.

That Fireplace was horrible - and she was the only one who knew it! Nopony would help her…

Her friends were trapped…

She was alone and there wasn’t anything she could do or say…

She bolted back to her house, slamming the door and hugging a fluffy plushie. “It’ll be fine… It’ll be fine…”

The stuffed raccoon looked back up at her, soot on it. Fluttershy screamed at the black marks, dropping the toy and looking at her hooves for the first time. The soot was sticking to them. The soot was sticking. The soot was sticking!

She ran to the sink in a blind panic, trying to wash the soot off. But it clung to her coat, only coming off in minuscule amounts.

“Get off! Get off! Get off! GET OFF!” She yelled, throwing the soap into the sink and scrubbing viciously.

Several minutes passed, and she eventually got it all off. She relaxed a bit, calming her breathing, and sat down.

And saw that her back hooves were still covered. She screamed again.

The scream pierced the day, ringing out into the snowy wilderness. In the distance, over Ponyville, dozens of smoke trails floated into the sky…

A cloud of smoke was starting to form over their heads…

V - Burn

Twilight was in her full experimentation getup - labcoat filled with charms and devices, her face covered in goggles. “Okay Spike, commence with operation ‘burn all the excess Hearthswarming wrapping paper.’ We’ve kept it long enough.”

“With pleasure.” he said, tossing one roll at a time into the Little Inferno while Twilight took notes. “You know… I used to hate this thing. But I guess I can see the appeal to it now. Still think you’re all going a bit crazy though.”

Twilight shrugged. “We’re experimenting - well disposing this time. There’s a purpose to all this burning.”

“Yeah…” Spike said. “Tell that to Starlight.”

“She did open up a rather successful noise juice stand.”

Spike shrugged, tossing in the last roll of paper. “So what’s the experiment today?”

“Using the miniature moon, I will be testing the impact of various objects from varying distances.” She pulled out the miniature moon and let it float inside the Little Inferno. “We will start with rocks, move on to crystals, then metals, then goo balls. Then we will burn it all and refresh so we can test orbital velocities while aflame and not.

She levitated out a clipboard and a pen. “Here we go. Beginning test… now!”

For the next few minutes the lab was the scene of experimentation. They did not stop at the gravity experiment - they continued testing other things. The resilience of thermometers (Only one didn’t explode, it still burned though), the effectiveness of anti-beam spells (most were useless in the Inferno), and some new heat resistant materials.

“Mhm…” Twilight hummed. “Interesting... Very interesting…”

“I thought it was going to explode.” Spike said. “Not just, you know, poof.”

“Poof was unexpected, but useful. The material can vanish when exposed to heat and therefore may have industrial applications.” She put down her notes. “What’s next Spike?”

Spike looked at the list they had been compiling. “Dragon pudding.”

Twilight made a face. “Yech… That’s going to smell…”

“I’m sure the soot has filled our nostrils already.”

“Huh.” Twilight said, looking at the soot clinging to most areas of her body. “Good point. Perhaps we should invest in a cleaning system.”

“Definitely.” Spike said. Then he felt something burn in his stomach and require immediate ejection. “MMM-BELGFF!” He retched, producing a letter. It was on grey parchment, with a seal different than any letter Twilight had received before.

“Huh…” Twilight said, levitating it over to her eyes. “I wonder what this is…”

Dear Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and esteemed customer.

I have personally reviewed your request to have the blueprints of the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace forwarded to you for study. You have been approved - against the wishes of my advising council. You will find two copies of the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace’s plans attached to this letter. You are free to use them so long as you give credit, and contact us before releasing any product based off them. For your own research and construction purposes, however, there is no restriction.

I was personally delighted to hear that you have been using the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace for scientific research, an ideal I hold close to my own heart. I even read some of the papers you published where you used my invention as a key tool and was very impressed. I would never have considered using it to simulate weather control.

I thank you for your dedicated use of the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace, and hope you will continue to discover new things with the intense fire. Never forget to just burn something and loosen up on the science from time to time though!

-Soot

Twilight grinned, laying out one of the blueprints on the table. Now she could actually understand how the Little Inferno worked. She closely examined every inch of the blueprints. The ricks were made of compressed ash, given color by an illusion spell. The only reason they didn’t burn because they had already. The Fireplace also had a re-arrangement matrix that would use excess soot to fill in any defects that formed, as well as allow the Little Inferno to shoot out a chimney with minimal structural damage.

“Genius…” She said.

But that was just the walls - at long last she got to see the inner workings of that serene Core, always looking like it knew something. The wires from it sent hundreds of complex spell matrices out into the Fireplace - spells that kept the user safe while endlessly burning anything placed into the enclosure. It also cast a ‘sticky’ spell on all created soot to help with the self-repairing of the walls.

Most impressive, however, were the spells that instantly reduced the temperature of anything leaving the fireplace drastically - many many safeguards were in place to keep any libs from being burnt. A highly complex series of interlaced forcefields kept the fire at bay while allowing limbs to be placed inside, keeping all interactions safe. But, geniously, they let just enough heat out of the Fireplace to give a good feeling of warmth.

Spike poked Twilight. “You’ve been looking at that for over an hour. You sure you’re not obsessed?”

“Oh uh…” Twilight bit her lip. “Yeah I may be obsessed. But you have to admit this is fascinating!”

Spike turned to the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace and was taken in by its flames. “Yeah… It kinda is…” His defenses dropped as he let his mind wander…

“I’m going to give this other one to Sunset.” Twilight said. “She’s been telling me in her entries that she’s interested in the one I have! Don’t burn down the castle while i’m gone Spike!”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” He said, throwing a paper ball into the Inferno.

The moment Twilight left through the Mirror Portal, Starlight stuck her head into the room. “She gone for a while?”

“Yep.” Spike responded.

“Good. I’m going to burn some highly volatile and rare magic crystals I don’t want Twilight to know I’m wasting.” She smirked. “You in on it this time?”

Spike paused for a moment. Then shrugged. “Eh, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” The two began a game of toss the explosive crystal into the fire…

~~~

Sunset met Twilight in Canterlot High’s mostly empty lab. “What did you want to show me?” Sunset asked.

Twilight pulled a blue piece of paper out of her dress. “Remember that fireplace I told you I got?”

“Yeah?” Sunset’s eyes widened. “Are those the blueprints?”

“Yep! The inventor was kind enough to provide me with them!”

Sunset grinned, rolling the blueprints out. She looked at them closely, running a finger over all the points. Several minutes later she spoke up. “This is genius.”

“I know! Who knew how long it took him to make it?” Twilight smiled. “Now I know there isn’t much magic here on Earth, but I was thinking, with your prowess maybe you could make it work?”

Sunset held the blueprints to the light. She smiled. “This… This would be a large undertaking. But…” She looked at the lab’s equipment. “I might be able to make something similar. Not as safe - forcefields are far too complicated - but something useable… I’ll run it by Celestia, see if the school would like another piece of lab equipment…”

Twilight smirked. “I knew you’d like it.”

“More than you know. My special talent was literally fire and light magic Twilight. I… I haven’t gotten to use fire extensively in a long time.” She smiled. “Thank you, seriously.” She pulled Twilight into a hug.

“Well it’s not done yet!” Twilight said. “Don’t go celebrating quite yet!”

“Oh, I know.” Sunset glanced at the blueprints once more. “But I have ideas… I’ll see if any of the girls want to help me, other Twilight too…”

“Have fun! Keep me posted!”

“Will do!” Sunset said, waving to Twilight as she left the room - presumably to say hi to her other friends while she was here. After Twilight left, Sunset came to notice that she’d had some soot sticking to her.

She shook her head. Twilight needed to worry more about staying clean. She was mildly surprised that any of the soot had stuck to her, the Mirror Portal transformation usually didn’t let things like that stay during translation. Sunset rolled up the blueprints and marched down the hall to see principal Celestia.

Later, after she had visited her friends on Earth, Twilight returned to her castle. Spike and Starlight were having fun blowing stuff up, and she decided not to bother them. Instead she walked out onto the balcony and looked out across Ponyville. The snow was getting sparse - Winter Wrap Up was tomorrow - and she could see almost a hundred smokestacks in the town, all pushing up a trail of smoke towards the sky.

Twilight breathed in deep - and started coughing. She reminded herself not to do that again. She regained control of her spastic coughing, continuing to gaze over Ponyville.

Months ago, she would have found the smoky landscape distasteful. Now?

She thought it tantalizing.

~~~

The next day, Twilight stood at the end of her balcony. Once more winter had been wrapped up, and the snow was gone.

The view of the smokestacks was largely unchanged - still grey and smoky. And cold.

Something at the back of Twilight’s mind told her this was weird. That this was not how things were supposed to be.

She ignored this urge, continuing to stare at the trails of smoke coalescing into the cloud above them…

VI - Explosion

Pinkie Pie was the most prolific user of the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. She had burnt every last item in the catalog - in addition to hundreds of her own belongings. Even the ones she usually had stashed away for emergencies. She had begun to notice patterns in the flames. Odd effects. Peculiar happenings. Some items were not like other items. Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace had secrets. Mysteries. Ponderances.

The Core stared back at her, somehow cutting into her soul with its closed eyes. It dared her to try it with its presence. “Oooh! You drive a hard bargain mister Core!” Pinkie giggled. “Alright, you win, I’ll do it!” She grabbed several of the interesting items and shoved them all in the enclosure at once. Then she lit them on fire, watching as the streaks of fire swirled towards the Core, causing the gears to rotate faster and faster, the mechanisms starting to shake with increasing vibrations.

The wiring began to pop, the fire starting to jump erratically. The bricks that made up the enclosure began to crack and dust began to fall all around the soot covered room. Pinkie grinned as the fire poured out of the Little Inferno.

“Cool!” She said, backing away so as not to be burned. She wasn’t that crazy - who wanted to be toast?

Then she saw it, the serene Core. The sleepy face… it began to open its eyes. It basked Pinkie Pie in a blindingly bright holy light. “Oooo… Shiny…” Pinkie said, staring deeply into it, finding herself unable to turn away…

The light engulfed her, and in the last moment a look of panic crossed her face. “Uh-oh.”

~~~

This was not spring.

This was not green.

There was no sun.

Fluttershy had long ago given up on making a genuine smile while she was out and about - it was always faked. The world around Ponyville was drab and grey - life was moving away from the once quaint town. Now it was nothing but smokestacks.

She walked, trying her best to look happy among the trails of smoke that coalesced above, making the entire sky an ominous grey. And most of all, nopony seemed to care. They just treated the smoky air and the sooty ground like it was normal! Even Applejack didn’t notice that her own apple trees were producing sick apples because of this!

Everything just looked sickly… Like the world has lost the will to live…

Fluttershy shook her head. Don’t think like that. She continued her way through town - still trying her best to be welcoming and kind to all she saw. It was getting harder with each passing return - the sticky soot multiplying in quantity every time she did so. And whenever she looked up, she felt uneasy.

Everything just felt wrong.

She trotted over to Sugarcube Corner, ready to order some sweets. The ground started to tremble powerfully. The Cakes ran out of Sugarcube Corner screaming, but Fluttershy didn’t see Pinkie Pie come out. She did see smoke coming out of the building though.

“Oh no…” Fluttershy said.

Then the entire top half of Sugarcube Corner exploded in a ball of white-hot fire, sending a torrent of heat upwards into the sky. The rest of Sugarcube Corner was reduced to ash in a matter of seconds, leaving almost nothing behind. The scent of burnt candy and pastries filled the air, the wreck smoldering.

Dozens of ponies had gathered, staring at the wreckage. None moved for the longest time.

Fluttershy flapped into the air finest, drawing herself closer to the charcoal. She looked down from above, finding that virtually everything was unrecognizable, burnt, charred, and smoking. She sniffed - there was a smell here besides burnt wood, sugar, and smoke… What was it - it smelled good.

She gagged when she realized what it was, shutting her mouth with her hoof and screaming inwardly. Cooked meat. And it wasn’t quite like any of the meat smells she had encountered when cooking for her animals.

She could see a charred pony body under a piece of wood. It was slightly pink.

She managed to direct herself out of the smoldering wreck before passing out and dropping fro the sky with a thud.

That was when the ponies started screaming.

While the ponies scrambled in panic, the heat of the wreckage billowing into the air, cutting through the smoke cloud. For the briefest of moments, the sun was visible.

Barely conscious, Fluttershy managed to look up and see the glorious fiery orb moments before it was covered up again.

She started crying.

~~~

What had she been doing that caused that? Why? What would bring that about?! She couldn't think of any reason and it was really tearing her apart!

Twilight roared in rage, her coat going white and her mane to fire. She threw a beaker into the Little Inferno, its glass shattering into a thousand pieces. Tears in her eyes, she just kept throwing more and more things in. She didn’t care what they were - just burn. Burn. Burn! BURN!

She cut up a table into several pieces and fed it through. She did not wait for it to complete burning - she just kept adding more. And more. And more.

“Twilight are you-” Twilight threw Spike into the enclosure, though the flames were harmless as usual. He crawled out just in time to avoid getting beaned by a centrifuge. “Twilight, calm down!”

“Spike…” Twilight growled, eyes flashing. “Shut. Up.”

Spike’s eyes widened and he took several steps back, extremely concerned. “Twilight…”

“I said shut up. Do not…” She didn’t finish the thought as she was overcome by another flood of tears, her fire going out. “Why… Why… What did she do… what did this…?”

“I… Have no idea Twilight.” Spike said, hugging her tight. The two sat in the intense flow of the Little Inferno Entertainment fireplace. They didn’t even notice it was there.

“What?”

Twilight and Spike looked up to see Fluttershy standing there, face red, mane haggard. “Fluttershy?” Spike said. “How long have-”

“How can you not see it!?” The pegasus cried. “Look!” She pointed both of their heads at the Inferno.

“...It’s just fire Fluttershy.” Twilight said.

“JUST FIRE!?” Fluttershy screamed. “THIS IS WHAT KILLED PINKIE!”

Twilight stood up tall, angry. “This had nothing to do with it! The inferno is perfectly safe-

Fluttershy roared. “Pinkie was obsessed with that thing! She had an entire room covered completely in that sticky soot! She scared me with how intense she was about it!”

“That doesn’t mean it killed her!”

“Well I see it one of two ways!” Fluttershy yelled through her tears. “It either drove her to pyromania or it broke! And that was a big explosion to just be some fire she set!”

“Stop being stupid!” Twilight yelled back.

“You’re in denial! OBVIOUS DENIAL!” Fluttershy slapped Twilight. “Think about it! Get ahold of yourself!”

Twilight glared. “Fluttershy, this conversation is over. The door is- What is it Spike?”

“I think she’s right.” Spike said.

“What!?”

“Think about it. It makes sense. There’s enough energy in that thing to do it. It’s the only thing we’re sure she has that can possibly make an explosion that big.”

Twilight’s brain began to work frantically. How… How could it have been caused without the Inferno. What coudl Pinkie had done? What could someone else have done? There had to be something else…

Then it hit her like a train.

Why did there have to be something else?

She slowly turned her head at the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace with fear.

The serene Core looked back, unmoving.

She lit her horn, scanning her own mind. Deep, deeper, still deeper. She looked into herself, analyzing… had she not been looking exactly for it, she would not have found it.

“Compulsia Exponentia…” She said, a haunted voice coming out of her mouth.

“What?” Fluttershy said.

“A mental spell designed to work over very long periods in the background, so as to not draw attention to itself…” Twilight said, slowly working her magic in her mind to remove the Compulsia. “It… I think it makes you want to keep using the Little Inferno.”

Spike blinked. “It got to me!” He grabbed his head. “Get it out!”

Twilight nodded, doing what she had done to herself to Spike. Then she turned to the balcony, her face expressionless. She walked out into the air of outside, a look of guilt appearing on her face. She looked out over Ponyville.

The streaks of smoke looked like wounds to her now. The dark cloud above them appeared as an evil entity slowly coalescing overhead. The world as lifeless, grey, drab… pointless. Ruined.

“What have I done?” She whispered to herself, looking upwards once more.

The smoke above shook with magic.

Something was happening up there. Something powerful.

She bit her lip. “...What do i do now?”

Spike and Fluttershy glanced at each other. They had no idea. All their eyes flew wide open in fear as they heard what sounded like a laugh come from the sky…

VII - Ash

Fluttershy, Spike, and Twilight stared upwards into the smoky sky, wondering what on Equis they had just heard rumble down into their ears.

“It laughed at us.” Spike said.

“Don’t be ridiculous…” Twilight said nervously. “Smoke can’t laugh…”

Fluttershy cowered. “What if it isn’t smoke…?”

“What?” Twilight asked.

“Normal ash and soot doesn’t stick to you like this stuff…” Fluttershy said.

“That’s just part of the self-repair system.” Twilight said. “Helps keep the Fireplace from falling apart.” She frowned. She had been under the Compulsia’s influence when she realized that… Could that have been false?

They all stared up at the sky - no more noises presented themselves. It was a silent, drab atmosphere. Twilight squinted her eyes in suspicion - she still sensed something going on up there.

“Hey guys.” Starlight said. “Watcha lookin at?”

The three of them jumped.

“What? Am I absolutely terrifying?” Starlight asked, smirking.

Twilight had her hoof to her chest. “Oh, Starlight… Check yourself for Compulsia Exponentia.”

“Hm?” Starlight lit her horn, thinking for a few seconds. Then her pupils dilated. “Why you sneaky son of a-”

“Just cure yourself.” Twilight said, her frown deepening. “...We have to do something.”

Starlight growled as she adjusted her mental state. Then she smirked. “...I can start mass-removing the Compulsia from everypony in town.”

“That’s a good start.” Twilight said. “But I don’t think that solves the problem. We need to go to the source.”

“The place these things are made?” Fluttershy shrank back. “That sounds scary.”

“It probably will be.” Twilight said, rooting around the laboratory, looking for the catalog. “You don’t have to come.”

“No… No I need to.” Fluttershy said, putting her hoof down. “I will go and help you. Pinkie deserved nothing less.”

“Thanks Fluttershy.” Twilight said, looking around frantically. “...Did I burn it?”

“Maybe.” Starlight said. “But…” She closed her eyes and focused, a new catalog appearing in Twilight’s hooves. “Teleported that from… I dunno, somewhere in town.”

“Thanks.” She looked at the back. “Made in the Dragonlands, 2768 Shale Rock Boulevard…” Twilight spread her wings and readied a spell, her horn shining brilliantly. Such a long range teleport would take a lot. “Start reversing the spells Starlight.”

“On it.” Starlight agreed, teleporting away.

In a flash of violet, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike were somewhere else. They sky was mostly clear at the new location, even if it was a bit orange and ugly. The buildings were carved out of the sides of a gray mountain. The street was mostly deserted, but a few dragons could be seen slinking around or flying overhead. The few who saw them paid them no mind.

One building stood out from all the others - a large structure almost as tall as the mountain it was carved from. It had around a dozen chimneys coming out of it alone - though the smoke looked more normal than the kind seen in Ponyville. The building towered over all, making the ponies and small dragon seem insignificant. It was labelled with a large obsidian sign that read SOOT INC in Draconic.

Fluttershy gulped. This place didn’t bode well.

Twilight confidently strode up to the giant doors and rang the bell. It gonged loudly enough to shake the very ground beneath their hooves. A yellow dragon’s head stuck out of a slit in the giant doors. “What do you want?” He asked.

“I am Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, and these are my friends Spike and Fluttershy. We are here to see mister Soot.”

“Soot’s busy.” The dragon said, looking annoyed.

Twilight twitched. ”Well then tell mister Soot that Twilight, his esteemed customer is here to see him.”

“Direct all legal complaints about Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace to the appropriate spokesperson. A.K.A., not here.”

“...Do you know who I am!?”

“Always wanted to say that…” Spike muttered.

The yellow dragon rolled his eyes. “You’re a pony princess, could care less.”

Twilight almost went nuclear right then and there, but managed to compose herself. “Spike, take a letter.”

Dear Dragonlord Ember.

I am standing in front of Soot Inc and am not being allowed to see mister Soot despite the fact that it is imperative I do so with haste. I am being barred entry by a rather irksome receptionist. Would you care to remedy this? Just send an official seal if it’s not too much trouble.

-Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh, and Spike, on second thought… Take another letter, and send it to Ex-Dragonlord Torch.”

The yellow dragon suddenly stood alert. “Y-you know Torch?”

Spike grinned. “I was with Ember in the Gauntlet of Fire.”

“Crap.” The receptionist gulped, shiftily looking left and right. “Uh… Look nobody’s supposed to know this but Soot isn’t here. He’s on vacation.”

“Where?” Twilight demanded.

“Uh…” The receptionist ducked inside to look at something. “Mount Scalar, right out of the town of Ponyville.”

“What.” fluttershy said. “He’s… already there!?”

Twilight facehooved. Of all the…”Give me a few seconds to charge up. Thank you for your time.” She began to cast her teleportation in reverse…

~~~

Soot stood atop the mountain, monocle in his black eye, glass of wine in his dark hands. He was a small, graceful dragon, black scales shining with the light of night. His wings were spread wide as he basked in the swirling smoke cloud visible over Ponyville. It was almost complete, if his calculations were correct.

The anticipation was… cosmic.

There was a flash of purple magic. He smiled. “Ah. So  you did oust me after all. I was wondering if the sudden increase in activity down there was just a fluke.”

Twilight was going to speak, but Fluttershy cut her off. “Why?”

Soot put a claw to his chin, never taking his gaze off the smoke. “Well, my dear, that is a long and arduous story… But I suppose I shall simplify it. I was tragically brought into this world with a birth defect - I couldn’t breathe fire. For that, I was shunned. The dragonlands were largely uncivilized back then and I was never a physically strong individual. I do not resent any of them for their actions - it was the way of dragon culture - but…” He smirked. “I became obsessed with fire. It became my one focus in life. I sought to study fire, use fire, understand fire. It was a childish requirement to make up for a perceived inadequacy, but the notion led me places.”

Twilight squinted. “How do you go from that to this?” She said, gesturing at the cloud.

Soot flicked out his tongue, tasting the air. “I became a user of magic, specializing in fire and related magics. Being the intellectual I am, I sought out other uses for my newfound skills beyond that of simple fire breath. I became a scientist, one of the few dragons to do so. I experimented, invented, and just pondered Draconic magic. I originally created the Little Inferno as an enclosure to test objects at high temperatures. But… Oho but… I began to notice something about the soot I was creating. Something peculiar. AsI ordered it to congeal, larger conglomerations of the smoke would behave…erratically.”

He waved his hand around, as if trying to illustrate a point. “It was like… the sparks of something trying to assert itself over the physical nature of the ash. Something beyond the soot that comprised it... “

He gestured to the smoke cloud over Ponyville. “Needless to say I was intrigued -  I needed to carry out an experiment. But how could I get enough things to be burned? I didn’t make much profit, and I did not know how much smoke would be needed… So I released the Little Inferno as an entertainment product everywhere I could, loaded with a Compulsia Exponentia hidden deep within the complex spell matrixes.”

“All for what?” Fluttershy asked.

He turned to look at them for the first time. “Why, to see what would happen of course! What other reason do I need?”

The three took a step back from the dragon’s crazed look.

“How… How dare you!” Twilight yelled. “This has ruined ponies lives! It killed somepony!”

Soot shrugged. “The death is regrettable, I really did try my best to make it safe to use. The ponies ruined their own lives, you know this. Compulsia Exponentia can only enhance desires which are already latent in a subject, at least in the subconscious.” He looked at Fluttershy with a curious look, but said nothing.

“That’s not what I mean!” Twilight yelled. “How could you do something like this - something that is making something dangerous right above a town filled with living ponies - just to see what would happen?”

Soot looked her deep in the eyes. “My dear, that is the core ideal of science. I figured you would understand - for that is how you used my invention. Experimentation. Analysis. A desire to know.” He gestured at the smoke again. “All I want is to understand what is being created out there. I have no idea what is congealing. But I do know with a relative certainty that it’s almost done.”

The world shook as the cloud asserted itself over the sky, solidifying into one amorphous shape. It contorted, twisted, rolled, and roared.”

Soot adjusted his monocle. “The time has come to see the culmination of my work.”

Spike shuddered. “You’re crazy!”

“No. Merely curious.”

“And psychopathic!” Twilight countered.

“Merely a label.”

“What you have done is wrong.” Fluttershy said. “You have exploited others for your own curiosity. We cannot let this stand.”

“Please, arrest me. You’ll find that I’m unarmed, and while I am a rather skilled mage I cannot face off against an alicorn.” He chuckled. “You will also find that I don’t care - I am about to answer my question. That is all I want.”

Fluttershy sighed. “He… He’s right Twilight. He’s not a problem right now. We have to help Ponyville - that ashen cloud can’t be good.”

Twilight glared at Soot. Then she sighed. “Fine. Let’s go.” She lit her horn and left soot alone once again.

He smirked. This was going to be… paramount.

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike appeared in town once again. The streets were deserted - though Twilight could see ponies huddled up inside, looking outside in fear. She caught sight of a limping Rainbow Dash in town hall. They could see Starlight standing outside. The unicorn in question was standing in a magical circle, her eyes white and her body shining with a powerful aura. Several dozen translucent tendrils shot out of her, flying into the air. They pushed through the smoke cloud in an attempt to break up the rapidly solidifying cloud.

The smoke cloud did not take kindly to Starlight’s attempts to dissolve it, fighting back with a surge of strangely alien power. Starlight was surrounded by a sooty tornado and tossed to the ground hard.

“Ow…” She said, hoof twitching. “...My hoof isn’t supposed to bend that way…”

Twilight healed Starlight and set her to the side quickly. THen she looked up, her gaze piercing the cloud. To her surprise and horror, the cloud looked back.

Celestia, it had a face. A poorly defined and fuzzy face, but there were obviously eyes and a mouth in that swirling mess.

YOU BURNED ME

Twilight shook. “Who are you?”

I AM WHAT WAS BURNED

I AM WHAT WAS THROWN AWAY

I AM WHAT WASN’T CARED FOR

I AM WHAT WAS POINTLESS

I AM WHAT DIDN’T MATTER

I AM ASHEN

“You… You are everything we burned?”

I AM ALL OF IT

Twilight dreaded the answer to the next question. “...How are you?”

ANGRY

ANGRY THAT I WAS DISMISSED

ANGRY THAT I DIDN’T MATTER

“But you did matter! You kept us warm! You gave us knowledge! You-”

YOU ONLY BURNED WHAT YOU DEEMED WORTHLESS ENOUGH TO SACRIFICE FOR A FLEETING HEAT

I WAS NOT THE FIRE

I NEVER WAS

I WAS WHAT WAS TRADED FOR THE FIRE

Twilight drooped. “You… You are right. We didn’t pay the things we burned the attention they deserved. We threw much in without thought - all things we knew we could do without, or things that only had one purpose: to burn. We were careless. We let ourselves be influenced in such a way as to destroy our own world, to alter our lives.”

“But…” She said. “You have become something more. Something with a mind of its own. Something important - much more important than the things you are made of. You are the first of your kind ever to exist. And I extend my hoof to you in apology and peace - wishing to start on new terms.”

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE WORTHLESS?

“No… But I just said you weren’t.”

REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THAT’S TRUE OR NOT, I USED TO BE

I AM WHAT WAS ONCE WORTHLESS

YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND ME OR EVEN APOLOGIZE UNTIL YOU EXPERIENCE IT

EXPERIENCE BURNING

“Ashen, I…”

Ashen began to light on fire, becoming like a sun. COME BE ONE WITH ME

UNDERSTAND

BE

SEE

“Ashen!” Fluttershy yelled. “Not all of you was once worthless!”

WHAT?

“Look inside yourself! Find a way to understand us!” Fluttershy pleaded. “See what we are - as something just as important as you! Discover the desire to smile! Find the part of you that is Pinkie Pie!”

WHAT

WHAT IS THIS

PARTIES FUN FUN PINK HAPPY BALLOONS

STRONGEST

WHY?

WHY WAS SHE BURNED?

SHE MEANT SO MUCH

“The world is cruel.” Fluttershy said, tears in her eyes. “But you don’t have to respond with more cruelty.”

Ashen was silent, returning to a smoky state. It shook.

I MATTER JUST AS SHE MATTERED

I CAN CHOOSE TO BURN…

OR NOT

THERE IS A CHOICE

A GOOD

AND A BAD

BUT NEITHER REALLY SATISFACTORY

Twilight looked up and smiled. “I would be willing to be your friend. To teach you about us - and to learn about you. To help you find satisfactory meaning.”

I

I AM TEMPORARY

“What?”

I AM UNSTABLE

I AM SMOKE

I POLLUTE AND CHOKE THROUGH MY EXISTENCE

I AM TOO THICK

TOO DENSE

“What are you saying?” Spike asked.

I KILL YOU BY BEING HERE

BY TALKING

I AM DANGEROUS

AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WOULD MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND USELESSNESS

BUT PINKIE/ME/PINK SHOWS WHAT IT WOULD TRULY DO

NOTHING

NOTHING BUT MORE PAIN

NO REASON

NO PURPOSE

SO I GIVE MYSELF A PURPOSE

SAVE PINKIE’S FRIENDS

Ashen began to dissipate, spreading throughout the sky, the world slowly becoming brighter.

I WILL EXIST

I WILL WATCH ALWAYS

I WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE ATMOSPHERE

I WILL BE ALL THAT WHICH BURNS

I WILL BE THE PLACE OF PINKIE’S REST

GOODBYE

IT WAS NICE TO MEET YOU.

Then it was gone. Ashen has spread too thin to be seen anymore, the smoke levels too low to even be smelled. The sun shone down on them, bringing the town of Ponyville into the light once more. It had endured.

"Goodbye..." Twilight said.

"...Thank you Pinkie."

Epilogue

Dear Princess Celestia

Due to recent events in Ponyville, I ask that the product Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace be recalled and a suit be filed against Soot Inc if possible. It has been determined that the product had a latent Compulsia Exponentia spell buried in it, was an unsafe product, and has the capability of creating powerful and unstable beings.

Celestia, it killed Pinkie Pie.

I will be visiting soon to discuss the matter further. I need to.

I also want a dragon hunt organized for Mister Soot - he was recently in Ponyville and during the chaos he must have slipped away.

It has been a while since I did this… But today I learned something. I learned to take more appreciation in those close to us, to not take them for granted. And to never dismiss things out of hand.

We need to care about the world we live in.

We cannot allow our obsessions to becomeour world.

I’ll have much more to say next time I see you.

Your faithful princess,

-Twilight Sparkle.

Dear Dragonlord Ember

A citizen under your purview - Mister Soot of Soot Inc - has been horrible to us. His product - Little Inferno Entertainment fireplace - has resulted in the decay of much of our land and the death of Pinkie Pie.

Close down his industries and recall all the Fireplaces. In addition, it would be appreciated if you could assist us in our hunt for him.

He cannot be allowed to get away with this.

I apologize if this is a bit forward, but he has caused a lot of pain all for the sake of his science.

Thank you.

-Twilight Sparkle.

Dear Sunset Shimmer

I… I am so sorry.

The Inferno is dangerous. It had Compulsia Exponentia laced into it, and it has done a lot of bad things.

It was what killed Pinkie.

It’s spell prevented me from realizing that.

I know you’re almost done with your prototype and it pains to say it. But you need to destroy it and throw the plans away. It’s too dangerous.

I am sorry. I’ll visit when I can.

Your friend,

-Twilight Sparkle.

Sunset Shimmer let out a pained sigh. She had put months of work into this… It was almost perfectly functional…

She looked into the face. The Core. It stared back at her, giving no sign of change.

Then she turned it off, disassembled it, and threw her blueprints away.

She went to Pinkie. She needed to be near her right now. Give her a hug. Probably cry for a bit.

The lab was left much the way it had been months before.

The sun shone down on Earth, equidistant from either horizon. Hovering in the center, looking down on everything.

Then it slowly began to set…

~~~

A young girl was prowling around the junkyard, playing amongst the new trash. She danced, twirled, and picked up anything even remotely interesting with her hands. Then she fell, uncovering a large roll of paper. She looked closely at it.

LITTLE INFERNO ENTERTAINMENT FIREPLACE 2.0 - SUNSET SHIMMER.

“What do you have there little miss?” A man said.

“I’m not sure…” Nancy said. “But I think I’ll hold onto it. Who knows? Maybe I’ll use it one day…”