Equestria’s Speedy Demon

“Uggh...”, Twilight groaned, as her and Fluttershy sat on a bench at the Ponyville Station, “I don’t understand...it’s not like it could’ve left town. Could it?” Fluttershy spotted something on the platform next to the tracks. “Twilight! Another scale!”, she exclaimed, picking it up and giving it to the purple alicorn.

Twilight analyzed the scale, noticing the green magic writhing inside. “Wait, where did Granny say Applejack was?”, Twilight asked. “She said that Applejack had some business out of town. You don’t think...” Twilight sighed, “I don’t know, but we need to find this thing. It could be dangerous.” She turned to the counter, “Two tickets to Canterlot!”

Meanwhile, Applejack and Rarity reached the entrance of the castle, just as the orange comet came spiraling back down and stopped in front of them. Sweetie jumped off of Nitro’s back, her mane all messed up from the velocity, “That was awesome! Thanks, Nitro!” She jumped up and hugged Nitro’s neck.

“You should really be more careful, Nitro! Someone might have seen you!”, Applejack scolded. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”, Nitro apologized. Rarity smirked while fixing Sweetie’s mane, “You’re pretty fast. How do you do that?” A scale fell of Nitro’s tail as she asked the question.

Nitro picked it up and showed it to them, “See the magic inside of it?” There was green and white magic swirling around in the scale, but the white disappeared as soon as they saw it. “The white magic gives me my speed, and the green magic helps to keep my insides intact at such a high velocity.”, he explained. Sweetie stood there slack jawed, “Cool! That’s so awesome!”

Nitro smiled and handed it to Sweetie, “Here, you can have this. Take good care of it, and don’t tell anyone where you got it. Alright?” “I promise! Thank you, Nitro!”, she beamed, hugging Nitro once more. Nitro replied, “No, thank you for showing me some stuff here in Canterlot.” He turned to Rarity, “And Rarity, thank you for everything you’ve done. You didn’t have to.”

Rarity grinned, also giving him a hug, “Oh, Nitro, it was nothing! Anything for you and Applejack.” “We should get going, I’ve got our tickets.”, Applejack reminded, smiling at the display they were putting on. Rarity and Sweetie stood on the platform waving as Applejack and Nitro boarded the train.

“Good luck on your trip! Take care!”, Sweetie shouted, as the train pulled out of the station. Nitro waved until the station was out of sight. “It must be nice to make friends now, huh?”, Applejack smiled. “Yeah. So where are we going now?”, he replied.

“The Crystal Empire, hopefully we can find a place to spend the night. Then we can finish the last leg of our trip tomorrow, then you’ll finally be home sweet home.”, Applejack answered, smiling as she watched Nitro look out the window. She unconsciously leaned on Nitro and closed her eyes. There was something about him that put her at ease, she couldn’t quite place it, but it made her heart flutter.

“Nitro?”, Applejack sighed, “What are you gonna do when you get to where you’re going?” Nitro chuckled, “I guess I go back to being alone. Make sure I stay out of sight, cause I won’t have you to bail me out.” Applejack hummed for a while, before she looked up at the orange dragon, “Aren’t you gonna be lonely?”

“Maybe, but I’ll remember what few friends I did have. I’ll probably be fine.”, Nitro replied, staring out the window. Crystals started becoming more prominent in the landscape. “We must almost be there. We’ll find a hotel and call it a night.”, the orange pony yawned. Nitro smirked, “Sounds like a plan to me.”

Twilight and Fluttershy arrived in Canterlot, looking around for any signs of the creature they were looking for. “I’ll be right back, Fluttershy. You might ask Rarity if she’s seen anything.”, Twilight said, before teleporting them to who knows where. Fluttershy found herself in front of Rarity’s boutique. She walked inside, seeing Rarity working on a dress, while Sweetie was in the corner reading.

“Oh! Fluttershy! What brings you here?”, Rarity asked, pausing on her dress. Fluttershy replied, “Actually, I’m here with Twilight. We’re....looking for Applejack. Have you seen her?” Rarity raised a brow, “Yes, she came to visit me, but she left a couple of hours ago.” Fluttershy inquired further, “Did she tell you where she was going?”

“No, dear. I’m afraid I don’t remember her telling me anything like that . I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.”, Rarity sighed. Twilight appeared in the middle of the room in a bright flash of light. “Hi, Rarity! Mind if I borrow your table?”, Twilight asked before running towards the biggest table. She pulled a scale out of her satchel.

“What are you doing, Twilight?”, Fluttershy asked. The green magic was still swirling around in it. “I found one of my old books that showed me how to reveal magic that can’t be seen by the pony eye! And if my theory is correct...”, the purple alicorn replied, surrounding the scale with her magic, until white magic started spiraling inside along with the green.

“Of course! This must be what makes it so fast! I knew it!”, Twilight excitedly shouted. Sweetie Belle looked up, “That’s one of Nitro’s scales!” “Sweetie!”, Rarity hissed. But it was too late, Twilight had heard everything.

“You saw it?!?”, she exclaimed. Fluttershy interjected, “Rarity told me that Applejack was here too. We don’t know where she is now though.” Twilight gasped, “So she is helping it to escape!” Rarity growled, “HE has a name you know! And what makes you think he’s so special that you have to chase him down across Equestria?”

Twilight smiled, “HE has magic at his disposal. Magic that not even Celestia knows about! We could learn so much from him if I got a hold of him! The knowledge would revolutionize magic as we know it!” “Twilight, I think I know where they’re going next! You said that the animal in question doesn’t fare well in cool temperatures right? What if Applejack is taking him out west? They might stop by the Crystal Empire on the way.”, Fluttershy said with realization.

Twilight gasped, before cackling, “Of course! How could I have been so dense?!? Fluttershy!” “Yes, Twilight?”, she answered. Twilight grinned, “Let’s find a place to spend the night, then tomorrow we head towards the Crystal Empire. I think I know how we can harness this magic so we can actually use it!”

As Fluttershy and Twilight left, Rarity and Sweetie looked at each other. “I messed up, didn’t I?”, Sweetie asked, her eyes watering. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll be alright. They had a head start. I just hope they get there before Twilight finds them.”, Rarity sighed.