The Few That Lived

Later that night...

Pyro, Shining and Cinnamon quietly slept in their large blue tent, The elements and Butterscotch had taken a larger tent for privacy, and because Shining didn’t want the two “Lovebirds” together. A completely empty tent sat in the middle of the two, it was for anypony who was sick or needed more privacy. Shining was stupid to put up something like that, he must have been completely blind.

Butterscotch silently slipped into the middle tent, holding her breath as she settled in, even though the tent she had come from had provided plenty of room, she wanted to be away from everypony, she still hadn’t shaken off the feeling of the nights before.

She closed her eyes and imagined a world without trotters, or thieves, or anything bad, she her home and sitting around the warm fire with her family, hearing the crackling of the fire.

She sat up swiftly, she had heard something... had it been the fire crackling in her dream or had it been something-

Crack!

This was definitely not her dream, this was a real world problem.

A shadow passed beside the fire outside of her tent, it stopped at the boys’ peered in, then went towards the elements of harmony’s tent, almost mimicking its movements before, it peered in, but this time it panted, as if hungry.

Finally, it arrived outside of her tent, only this time it did not peer in, it began to unzip the tent entrance... slowly... steadily...

Then it stepped in, his forest green eyes slowly met mine, a wide toothy grin appeared on his face as he saw me.

“Hello, my sweet candy.”

Master.

Butterscotch awoke violently from her nightmare, throwing Pyro off of her and into the side of the tent, she swung her hooves for somepony that wasn’t there, the stallion who had tortured her and caused her so much pain.

She spotted Pyro in the corner of the tent and realized it had only been a nightmare.

“Blue! I’m sorry!” She whispered loudly, the moon was still in the sky after all.

“It’s alright... It looks like you had the same idea as me.” Blue Flare said as he got back on his hooves,

“Yeah, I didn’t think you’d be in here, you seem so calm around those two.” She said,

“It’s not them, it’s me.” Blue Flare said, “I didn’t want them to get hurt.”

“Why would they get hurt?” She asked, scooting closer.

“Because... I’m not as I seem.”

“What do you mean by that?” She asked, laying him down on the pillow next to her, “You look the same to me.”

“That’s not what I meant, they don’t know my past.” Blue Flare said, “I’m actually supposed to be in exile.”

“Why would they send a pony like you to exile?” Butterscotch asked, laying down next to him and covering up.

“Not one pony, ponies.” Blue Flare said, “My whole bloodline.”

“What’s wrong with your family? You seem to be nice enough.” She said

“One pony’s action made a whole bloodline feared.” Blue Flare said, “That was the start of it.”

“Well, go on, tell me what happened” Butterscotch said, yawning and then giggling like a foal, “I’d like to snuggle.”

“This is no laughing matter, but snuggling on the other hoof...” Blue Flare joked, “Okay, serious time. It all starts with... huh, can’t remember his name. Whatever... What’s important is that I come from a family of people who can manipulate fire at will. We are known as Pyromancers.”

“Lot’s of unicorns can do that... what's wrong with your family using it more often?” Butterscotch asked, interrupting his story.

“But none could create fire, they could only move it from place to place.” Blue Flare said, “And the sheer force of the spells used are hard to even muster, without special training. We were amongst the most respected families in Equestria until... he started using our magic for bad reasons.”

“What did he do?” Butterscotch asked, interrupting him once again and scooting closer.

“His name was Justice Light, but he didn’t use the power for justice.” Blue Flare said, “He burned everything that moved, and what he didn’t burn he used for personal gain. He was one of the most feared ponies of this age of peace. Eventually, he was caught and judged by the court of Canterlot, who decided that exile was the best decision, but not just him, but all of the Pyromancers had to be exiled because we posed a threat to Equestria. We were rounded up

by the hundreds and thrown into boats and shipped to anywhere but here. I was found with my mother, father and sister hiding in a secret room in the back of a post office. We eventually found the safe haven known as today’s Germaneigh and thought we were safe. But as it turns out, there was a famine in Germaneigh and we couldn’t eat anything. All the Pyromancers blamed Justice Light and had him publicly executed.“

Butterscotch remained quiet as he continued.

“We started to starve. Pyromancers started to do the only thing they could think of. Eat. But when there was no food, they had to improvise. We started to eat each other. I was lead to believe that I was eating bad hay, but it was actually very, burned pony. The population decreased dramatically because of this, but that wasn’t the end. About a month ago, some pony started to act strange, then his family started to act strange, then close friends of that family started to act strange, and so on until my sister and mother started to act strange. This was the first outbreak of the contagion. My mother tried to bite my father, but we were already aware of their condition and had planned an escape. Me and my father had been making a boat with magic and were a few days away from completion, all we needed to do was add the second bench for my father, but alas, that wasn’t going to happen.

My father threw me onto the boat with supplies to keep me going for six months. He even included a survival guide for any situation. He fought all the “Pre-Trotters” off with his abilities, but even he was no match for a whole country of them. Once I was far away from the shore, I heard a loud explosion and saw a gigantic mushroom cloud from the general direction of the beach. That’s when I knew I was alone. I rode the boat to my unknown destination, reading the survival guide over and over until I memorized every word. Only then did I reach another shore, an Equestrian shore. Fortunately, nopony was near enough to see the fire as I lit the boat up to hide the evidence of me ever being here. I still don’t know the exact time I was at sea, but by how much food was gone, it was about four months.”

Butterscotch’s mouth hung open from the story, she was horrified.

“And you’ve been here ever since?” She asked,

“Yes, because for me, there’s nothing to go back to.” Blue Flare said, his eyes filled with determination, “For I am, Pyro, the last surviving Pyromancer... But that’s not the reason I didn’t sleep in the same tent as Shining and Cinnamon. The reason for that is because of the nightmares that accompany my sleep. The images of my mother and sister reaching out for my flesh. When that is what I see every night, it unconsciously activates my powers and sends flames to any nearby pony.”

“Oh, so you might burn the tent?” Butterscotch asked, she didn’t seem to be all that worried of her safety.

“Not only the tent, but the ponies themselves would be turned to ash.” Blue Flare said,

“Aw, what a shame, we would be down a tent.” Butterscotch said, lying back down and poking at it.

“And two mules.” Blue Flare added,

“Oh, but the tent...” Butterscotch said, she was up on her feet now, pacing back and forth.

“Don’t you get it? The tent is the least of the damage that would be done.” Blue Flare said a little louder than before,

“But the... the tent...” She stumbled over her words, and began to stagger where she stood,

“What? What is it about the tent that you’re worried about?” Pyro asked,

Butterscotch muttered something inaudible and fell to the ground, a silver tool stuck up from one of her haunches,

A Syringe.

Pyro took out the Syringe and studied the contents,

“Very strong Cough Medicine?” Pyro said, “Where’d this come from?”

“Right behind you” A voice said.

A large bowie knife wrapped around Pyro’s neck, a large tan pony held it in place,

“Didn’t your mother tell you not to play with fire?” Pyro asked the pony,

Without hesitation, the knife left his neck and slashed across his back, dropping him to the ground, Pyro noticed some other ponies outside, pushing his companions out of their tents and tying them up.

“What can I do with this one?” A quick voice asked, the pony who owned the voice was tugging at Butterscotch’s mane, “She’s a pretty one.”

“She should have, because you might get BURNT!” Pyro said as he got back to his feet.

Pyro let out a small fireball that made the whole tent catch ablaze. Pyro used this as a distraction to grab the pony holding Butterscotch and ripped her away from him. After he’d gotten her, he lit the pony’s tail on fire and watched him dance.

“Turbo! you quit that!” They tan one said, pushing him into the pond and dousing the flame.

“So... some stallions and mares get lost outside of town?” he asked, spinning the knife on his hoof.

“How can you get lost when you have a star guiding your path?” Pyro asked

Pyro didn’t hesitate to melt the knife into liquid metal.

The pony jumped at the sudden heat and flicked his hoof comically, then he just seemed to be annoyed by Pyro’s power, he pulled another from his boot and scooped up Pinkie Pie from the group, holding the knife to her neck

“How about now?” The pony asked, “Melt this one and it drips onto her neck”

“Pinkie! There’s a party going on and you’re missing it!” Pyro yelled at the top of his lungs,

Pinkie Pie’s eye found the ground, he body fell limp with shame and she tried to mutter something through the gag in her mouth.

“Nice try, fire boy” he said, eyeing Butterscotch, who was still in his arms, “That your marefriend?” he asked

“Hell yes, and the name’s Pyro.” Pyro said,

“Oooo!” The stallion cooed with sarcasm, “Can’t you see I’m just shaking in my very skin from your hostility!” He began to laugh.

“Put her down if you want to keep your foreleg.” Pyro said, “Or would you rather lose a friend?”

The stallion rolled his eyes at the small pony, “Kill him, I don’t care, all he cares about is sex.” he said, “And I have no problem with that...Just as long as its my own.” He planted a kiss on Pinkie’s nose and smiled at Pyro.

“Foreleg it is then,” Pyro said,

At once the pony’s foreleg that was holding the knife caught on fire and was almost destroyed completely, except for a skinny white bone.

Seven other ponies surrounded the camp, all of the thieves watched their leader moan and cry out in pain, some laughed.

“Science is a bitch.” Pyro said, smirking

Thats when the grey one dropped, it happened so fast, no pony knew what had happened before one of the others dropped to, loud noises were just now coming to mind when the third shot came, dropping yet another.

“What is thi-” A red pony tried to ask, but fell as a bullet traveled through his skull.

The now remaining four panicked, the small one was the next to go, he had barely gotten out of the water before his body was propelled back into it. Crimson now leaked into the clear water, like oil into a water system. Then it stopped for a few seconds.

“You’d better run along, little fillies, before you get hurt.” Pyro said, hoping that they wouldn’t see the sweat running down his face,

The sound of hoofsteps alerted the other three, but before either of them could react, a small knife hit a large blue one in the neck, dropping him to the ground, but not killing him.

The other two looked at each other and sprinted in opposite direction, a small flash appeared for a split second in the distance, putting both of the ponies in the dirt, each with a bullet in their heads. Leaving one pony convulsing on the ground, spitting and coughing out his own blood.

A small pony walked out of the darkness into the light of the campfire, its coat was a light grey, its mane resembled the color of dark ash. its body was almost completely covered with a black hoody, hiding its eyes.

“Thanks, whoever you are, I don’t know how we would have survived without you.” Pyro said, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding,

The pony walked towards the convulsing pony without saying a word, when it reached his side it stomped down on the knife without mercy, killing him.

“You’re welcome.” It muttered, the group was shocked to hear that the voice was feminine, the pony was a mare!

“The silent type ‘eh? Reminds me of a black and red animal.” Pyro said, walking over to Pinkie and untying her,

The mare didn’t speak, she helped undo the others in complete silence.

“Thanks” Cinnamon said, studying the pony, “What’s your name?”

The mare said nothing, she turned around and began to leave the camp.

“Don’t ask for it, wait until they tell you it.” Pyro said,

Cinnamon disregarded what Pyro said and hurried after the mare, “Wait!”

When he placed a hoof on her shoulder she froze.

“Idiot.” Pyro muttered, placing his hoof on his temple,

The mare made a clean spin and knocked Cinnamon off of his feet, jumping on top of him and putting a knife to his neck, glaring at him with calm, black eyes.

“Don’t touch me, this was a favor, I could have just as easily walked off and left your sorry asses to die.” She growled,

She stepped off of him and slid the knife into her hoody, looking up at the rest of the group, “You all have a nice night.” She said simply.

“Actually, that’s quite impossible. Trotters are moving towards this position because of the light and sound we made.” Pyro stated, “It’s best if we move, like right now.”

The mare rolled her eyes and walked back up to the campfire, showering it with dirt and putting it out completely, “You shouldn’t have been stupid enough to light a fire then,” she said, “And for the zombies...” The mare dug into a small backpack the group hadn’t seen until then, pulling out a small green spray can. “That’ll keep ‘em away.”

Pyro studied the can like he had studied the syringe, he then sniffed it and gagged,

“Dragon pee? How did you acquire such a thing?” Pyro said,

The mares face grew deathly serious, “You don’t want to know.” She said,

“That’s really nasty.” Cinnamon said, “You actually went under a dragon and-”

The mare laughed, “No, I got it from some lab in Manehattan, I wouldn’t have done something like that even if it was to keep them away.” she said, tossing it on the ground, “You guys can have this one, don’t spray too much, or it’ll attract them instead.”

“Well, considering your talent, it doesn’t look like you need it.” Pyro said, chuckling to the thought of somepony harvesting the liquid,

She shrugged, “It helps when there is too many for me to handle,” She pointed at one of the dead ponies, “I just got the jump on these idiots.”

“That explains something. We’ll see you when we see you.” Pyro said, trying not to keep her waiting,

The mare smiled then sighed, “I guess I’ll be off, then.” She said, turning around and starting to walk away but stopping short and turning around with a grin, “You won’t see me.”

“You never know.” Pyro said, shrugging, “Somepony might light up the area.”

“You guys are stupid.” Rainbow Dash said, following after the pony,

“No, we think ahead.” Pyro said, “She obviously doesn’t want to join.”

Rainbow Dash stopped the pony and began to talk to her, too quietly for the group to hear.

“Didn’t you hear that sigh?” Pinkie Pie asked, “That pony needs a friend!” She joined Dash and the mare,

“Her actions say otherwise.” Cinnamon said,

Applejack looked at the other elements and then the others, “‘Ah’m just gonna see if ‘ah can help” she said, trotting off towards them.

“I don’t know what to think right now, except is there anyway to speed up Butterscotch’s metabolism?” Pyro asked, turning back his marefriend, “She’ll wake up sooner.”

“Just let her sleep,” Shining said, “it’s night time anyways.”

Shining yawned and looked over to his tent, then snapped his head back to Pyro, “What were you two doing in the same tent?” He asked,

“Not what you’re thinking.” Pyro answered, “I went in for safety, and she went in for privacy.”

Shining narrowed his eyes, “You sure about that?” He asked, “I saw you two in the pond, what were you talking about?”

“She asked me a question, and I answered truthfully, that’s all.” Pyro said coolly, “She needed some comfort as well.”

Shining sighed, “Well, get her in bed, you can stay in there if you need to” He said, turning around and entering his tent, “But I better not wake up to any sounds.”

“Thanks, and you won’t.” Pyro said as he picked up Butterscotch,

Pyro carefully placed her in the slightly singed tent, then lay down beside her. His hooves were behind his head as a pillow. He ended up getting uncomfortable and snuggled up beside Butterscotch.

“I’ll wait for the girls” Cinnamon said, making a rude gesture when he saw Pyro and Butterscotch together.

“Butterscotch, you’re the only pony I’ve ever told about my past, and you’re the only pony I can trust right now.” Blue Flare whispered into Butterscotch’s unresponsive ear, “I hope I can always trust you, for better or for worse, because, like I said, we all need somepony.”