Sparkle stared at the charred corpses of her attackers in horror. She shrank back in pure fear, her focus fell on the other stallion lying on the ground. This one wasn’t burnt to a crisp but he had serious wounds on his legs and face. His horn had a crack going up it and was oozing blood.
Sparkle wrapped her hooves around the stallion, pulling the body close, staining her fur with blood. She could feel him breathing against her chest, but barely. She used her strength, which wasn’t much, and carried him out the alley. Immediately Sparkle collapsed. Luckily a mare saw her and screamed bloody murder, and before Sparkle could blink the stallion was being cared of to an hospital and she was in a police station.
The station was a large room, loud hums filled the air as air conditioners buzzed away.
“Clean yourself off ma’am,” the guard said, tossing a damp white towel toward Sparkle. She took it graciously, dragging it down her bloodstained fur. If I didn’t know any better I’d say this was a red towel, she thought to herself. Sparkle placed the towel down, which was levitated away.
The guard left and a stallion walked in, Sparkle could see a gun and taser in his belt. “Is that necessary?”
The stallion looked at his belt, “sorry. My name is Shooting Rifle and you are.
“I’m Sparkle…” Sparkle said.
“As of now, you’re a murder suspect. I need you to tell me what happened.”
Sparkle bit her lip, “I was...was coming home from shopping.” It was a flat out lie but the fact that she was homeless was something she didn’t want others to know. “And I heard screaming, and a saw….a pony...who was...he was...getting attacked. I rushed over to save him, but they just pushed me down.”
Shooting Rifle was writing down word for word what Sparkle was saying, she hesitated before speaking again.
“Then, they...pulled out...a knife. One of them said, ‘you’re gonna regret stepping in,’ then they tried stabbing me, I closed my eyes really tight. I expected to be stabbed but I only heard screams and fire crackling. I opened my eyes and he was burning, I didn’t know what had happened but another stallion screamed, ‘witch! She’s a witch!’ I was so scared, and there was more...fire.”
Rifle looked up at from his notes, “are you sure, that’s what happened?”
“Yes. I’m not crazy! Do I look crazy,” Sparkle said.
“I’m sorry, I understand--”
“NO! You don’t understand, watching those men burn right before your eyes. The power that you feel, it felt like fire was in my blood, like my blood WAS fire.” Sparkle squeezed her eyes shut, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I killed ponies, they might not of been innocent, they might of killed others, could of been planning more murders. Or they could of been innocent people doing what they had to to survive in this God-awful city.”
“I’m sorry,” Rifle said again.
“Is that all you have to say? You should be afraid of me, I’m a killer!”
“No you’re not. You were just doing what you had to to protect yourself.”
“Yeah. Let’s go with that,” Sparkle said.
“What?”
“They were begging for me to stop but I didn’t. I let them feel all the fear they made me feel and then some,” Sparkle explained. The stallion actually looked frightened.
He pressed the small walkie talkie on his shirt, “I’m done with the interrogation. We need to move her to her cell, maybe giving her a number.”
“Who is this?”
“This is Shooting Rifle, send in guards” the stallion said.
“Sending guards.”
Then the door swung open, and Sparkle flinched. The guards looked like they were expecting a fight, some even wielding weapons, but quickly calmed down as they saw Sparkle just sitting there. Sparkle flinched before following behind him.
She stepped inside her cell, in there was a cot and a dresser. On the dresser were books that a foal would read. Sparkle turned around as the cell door was closed and locked. Two guards were standing sentry in front her cell.
Sparkle slumped to the ground, she pulled a book:
The ball is red.
The doll is orange.
Sparkle let the book drop, “hey when are you gonna let me out? I’m not a criminal!”
“Not yet,” the guard said.
“Trust me! I did nothing wrong,” Sparkle said.
“We’ll see,” said the other guard.
“What are you going to do with me,” Sparkle asked.
“We cannot tell you what we don’t know,” the first guard said.
“What’s your name?” Sparkle asked.
The guards pursed their lips, ignoring her question. Sparkle groaned and stepped away from the cell door. She looked around, already planning her escape, she saw a air vent that was screwed to the ceiling. If she could just it open. Sparkle dug around what she had in her dresser -a paper, arcade tokens, chewed gum-. Sparkle dropped to the floor, feeling under her bed and felt a paper. She pulled it out:
Expected something useful? HAHAHA!
Sparkle crumbled it into a ball, then tossed it at the back of one of the guards head. He flinched but didn’t retort. Sparkle climbed out her bed, she stared at the vent. The screws seemed to be loose enough, she could tell by the whirring sound coming from them as they spun around. She looked at the guards, they weren’t watching her, instead listening.
She slowly raised out of the bed, carefully not to have it creak under her. She touched the vent and a screw came loose, it dropped to the floor in a loud clank. Sparkle flinched, the guards didn’t seem to notice, she unscrewed the rest. And slowly lifted the vent off, She climbed into the vent.
“HEY!” The guard shouted.
Sparkle began to panic and furiously climbed inside the vent, she felt something tug on her tail but since she was moving so fast, the hoof slipped off. Sparkle began to climb through the air ducts, loud clanks and bangs rang in her ears painfully. Inside the vent it smelled like dust and sweat. Sparkle’s hooves began to tire quickly, and her shoulders burned.
She began to feel scared, as if she was going to die up there. Her salvation came from a vent she felt under her hooves. Sparkle pulled herself up to look through the vents.
“She escaped,” a mare said.
“I’m sorry.”
“No! She can use Fire Magic. She’s another one of those fire freaks, we haven’t seen another one in years, if she leave…”
“What?”
“I heard something,” the mare said and looked around. Sparkle began to crawl again, her hooves bucking against the metal.
“Damn rodents,” a pony said somewhere.
Sparkle continued to crawl until her hooves gave away and she began to pant. Sparkle groaned and pushed her hooves out from her sides, she grabbed the bottom of the air duct and pushed herself forward. She found a vent and slammed her hooves at it with all her strength, she pulled herself into the hole. Sparkle looked around, it seemed to be some storage room, she let her body fall, her hooves hitting the ground first.
Sparkle looked at the boxes, finding bullets, taser, and tools. She took a lockpick in her hoof and flew back into the vent. Sparkle began to feel happy that her escape plan was working so well.
The next room she stopped at was the laundry room. Piles of police uniforms and inmate uniforms were in baskets scattered across the room, shirts and pants liad she found a dry police uniform and put it on, tying her brown mane into a braid. She used the lockpick on the door and pushed it open, Sparkle began to feel nervous, Sparkle bit her lip to avoid looking suspicious. “Ey you’ve seen Miss Sparkle,” a guard asked.
“No, I haven’t seen Sparkle,” Sparkle lied.
“Keeping looking, Chief Magnum isn’t letting anypony leave until she is found,” the stallion added.
“I’m sorry. I have to go,” Sparkle said. “Looking for Sparkle I mean…” Sparkle dashed off, finding a fire exit. She looked around briefly before pushing the door open. To her dismay it was one with a security alarm on it. A loud ringing echoed through the hallway. Sparkle cursed as she saw a guard run toward her.
“I know that face,” Shooting Rifle shouted. Sparkle took off at speed she never knew before. Sparkle quickly leveled off, she had just killed five ponies, then broke out of jail. This would be a crazy week.
Click, ssssssss.
Sparkle opened a can of soda, taking a large gulp from it before stomping it under her hoof, a puddle of soda forming under it. It had been hours since her escape from the police station. Ponies stared at her, whispering amongst themselves, word spread like wildfire in this town, ironically enough.
Sparkle was hungry. The soda barely took the edge off of her hunger. Sparkle's poor stomach still growled for something to fill it. She checked her coin purse. Two shiny gold bits were inside. Barely enough for junk food and definitely not enough for real food. She barely had any to begin with. Sparkle thought back to that alley and the fire.
Was that even real? She could create fire for Celestia's sake! Just once, she had to do it one more time. If she did then she could prove if this was real or not. Sparkle crept around the corner of the bar she was in. The exit was in sight and nopony was out there. Sparkle raced toward the door. Once she was outside she took off, this time she didn’t go high into the sky.
Sparkle had walked through this place before, there was a candle vendor down the street. She was sure he could part with a few candles. Sparkle squeezed her eyes shut, picking up speed.
Sparkle landed on the damp cobblestone street. Sparkle trotted over to the candle vendor, as the vendor was serving another pony Sparkle grabbed a crimson candle in her mouth and fluttered into the sky. Sparkle held her breath until she was out of anyone's sight.
When she was sure nopony was looking, Sparkle landed in an alley. She placed the candle down and backed up. Sparkle closed her eyes, conjuring up a tiny flame, but when she opened them nothing was there. Shocked, Sparkle closed her eyes tighter...
Suddenly, Sparkle heard a loud whoosh and an intense wave of heat slammed into her. Sparkle opened her eyes, the fire was a lot larger than she wanted. The candle had already melted, fueling the ever growing fire. Sparkle screamed, the fire reaching everything in reach, licking garbage bags, and swallowing boxes whole, eventually catching the buildings on either side of it. Cracks and pops sounded. Hot embers flew to the ground, creating fires of their own.
Sparkle retreated from the alley, screaming for help, the buildings were now on fire. Terrified ponies ran out the buildings, the smell of thick smoke was unbearable. Sparkle rushed inside one of the buildings, trying to save anypony she could. Metal bars were twisted and mangled, tables were overturned. It was a mess, Sparkle’s eye burned, tears stinging her eyes.
“Everypony run, get out!”
She could she a unicorn mare huddled in corner, she must of passed out. Sparkle felt sorry for her, determination filled her heart, she just had to save her. If she could prevent one causality then she would. Sparkle jumped back to avoid a wooden plank from falling on top of her. Sparkle leaped over the fire, the fire parting to let her pass, when she recovered she took off. The mare looked over at Sparkle slowly, her cheeks stained in tears and mascara Sparkle grabbed the mare’s hoof and rushed toward the exit.
Seconds after they left, and invisible force pushed them to the ground, her back growing warm. Sparkle turned around, all she could see was fire. The building exploded. Firetrucks whizzed across the street. Firefighters leapt off the truck with great speed. They worked tirelessly to put out the fire. Sparkle felt guilty, it was her fault, she killed those stallions and now she killed innocent ponies. Who knows how many died in that fire? How many more would die before she could control whatever power she had?
Why am I so stupid!? Sparkle thought, she got to her hooves. She got off scot free but the mare was a mess. Patches of fur were scorched and burned, some even missing. Her exposed fur shown serious second-degree burns, Sparkle turned to face the building, which had stopped burning thanks to the help of the firefighters, tendrils of smoke rose from the wreckage, the mare touched Sparkle’s hoof.
“Y-You saved me,” the mare said, tears in her eyes. Sparkle touched the mare’s hoof, the mare’s wound began to shimmer in the bright light. Sparkle hid her bewilderment, however the mare was astonished. The mare opened her mouth to speak, but police and ambulance sirens cut her off.
Sirens rang through the streets, red and blue lights flashed across the sky. Sparkle bit her lip, grabbed the mare, and bolted into the sky.
“AHHHHhhhhhhhh,” the mare screamed. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!”
“Hush,” Sparkle ordered. She hid inside a large cloud, getting drenched in water by the tiny water droplets. After a few minutes Sparkle emerged from the clouds.
“Who are you,” the mare said.
“I’m Sparkle. You don’t have to fear me, in fact, I’ll put you down.” Sparkle gently flapped her wings, lowering herself to the ground. She let go of the mare.
“Y-You healed me,” the mar looking over her hooves.
Sparkle watched in dismay as fear filled the mare's face and her ears flicked back.
“Y-You’re a WITCH,” the mare screamed.
“So? What’s bad about being a witch.”
“W-Witches are evil! They put spells on you...a-and curse you.”
Hazy looked down the block then her ears and tail lowered. “I want to come,” Hazy stated.
Sparkle faked a look of shock, “I can’t let you do that.”
“Look, we both know that...whatever you’re doing. You need my help,” Hazy said.
Sparkle laughed, “I can control fire. I think I got it.” Sparkle turned and left, Hazy galloped over to her.
“Okay, okay. My life is so boring, I just want to have some adventure.” Hazy admitted.
“Fine. You can help,” Sparkle said, she thought for a moment. “I need a place to stay.”
“You can stay at my house, it’s not too far from here.” Hazy said immediately. Sparkle smiled, this was going too well.
Hazy levitated her key over to the door, the door opened with a satisfying click. Inside the apartment was small. The living room was cluttered with boxes, the kitchen had plates piled on the counters, flies hovered around the dirty plates of food, and the single bedroom was also filled with knick knacks. Sparkle thought about leaving, but at she was in no position to be picky.
Hazy cleared the couch of boxes, she then dusted each cushions carefully. Sparkle thanked her and laid on the couch, Hazy had a TV, which was very expensive in this part of the city. Sparkle turned on the TV, which was on the News channel.
Twenty Five Dead In Fire. Police Rule Out Gasoline Spill.
Sparkle’s heart sank, thirty, she was responsible for the death of thirty ponies. Five of them were justifiable, but still they were dead.
Sparkle Volcano wanted for murder. Sparkleeye’s shot to Hazy, who had just entered the living room.
“M-Must be somepony else,” Sparkle gave a weak, unconvincing smile. Hazy looked at the TV which was displaying Sparkle’s face and cutie mark.
Hazy paused to take everything she saw and heard in, “your gonna kill me? That’s why you're here, I help you out and then BOOM! You attack.”
“No! No, not at all! It was self-defense and I-I couldn’t control it.”
“Control what,” Hazy snapped, backing up.
“My Fire Magic! Or whatever is making me make fire,” Sparkle replied.
Hazy sighed, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Hazy turned and left.
Sparkle leaned against the armrest of the couch, she propped herself up by a pillow. She changed the channel to some show calledManehattan Idol. After watching it for a about an hour, she drifted to sleep. Before she did, she thought about all that happened and what would be her next step. She need information...or at the very best a reasonable answer.
