Chapters The following morning, life progressed as per usual. The incident the night before was still fresh in the minds of everyone who helped fight the blaze, but their routine would not cease. The cause of the fire had not yet been determined, though there were rumors of the involvement of the loveable but accident prone Derpy Hooves. Zecora had been questioned about it, but she claimed to be just as clueless as everyone else as to what started it all. The normality of the town, however, would once again be broken as the angered screams of a troubled pony sounded from the Everfree Forest. Many rushed to help the pony in need, until they discovered the source of the commotion. Fuming out of the forest was a unicorn all too familiar to the denizens of Ponyville. Wearing a large muddied wizard's hat and a tattered cloak, the "Great and Powerful" Trixie stormed through the crowd with angry determination. As she passed, she was heard muttering to herself, though what it was about was anyone's guess.
"Mayor..." Trixie hissed dangerously, the closest of the crowd taking a step back. "Where...is the Mayor..." she continued, sweeping a deadly gaze over the group of ponies. It wasn't long until the Mayor of Ponyville was retrieved and brought forward. She looked a bit frightened, after seeing the state of the unicorn requesting her presence. Before the Mayor could speak, Trixie rounded on her, one eye twitching as she turned to face her.
"You wanted to see me-" the Mayor began with a nervous cough, trying to retain her formal appearance.
"LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO ME!" Trixie shrieked, shoving a torn piece of the cloak under the Mayor's nose, breathing heavily as she spoke. "They tore apart my brand new carriage! Do you KNOW how much that cost me after the last time?!"
"I...uh, what?" the Mayor responded, taking a step back away from the infuriated unicorn. The crowd around her did the same.
"Those...THINGS...in that disgusting swamp! They ambushed me and tore my brand new carriage apart! I could barely get out alive!" Trixie fumed, taking a few deep breathes before composing herself. "I demand compensation."
It took a moment for the mayor to work up enough courage to respond.
"Well...uh...Trixie...I'm afraid the city of Ponyville cannot be liable for damage to property in the Everfree Forest. It is quite the dangerous place, after all!" the older mare explained with a nervous laugh. Trixie was not amused, but she managed to curb her wrath...for now.
"That is unacceptable. I am not leaving until my carriage is replaced and I am compensated for the trauma I have endured," the stubborn mare declared, turning her nose up at the Mayor.
"You are welcome to stay at one of our fine inns until we can come to an agreement," the Mayor responded, hoping to defuse the situation before Trixie made an even larger scene out of it. The "Great and Powerful" unicorn scoffed loudly, but, much to the surprise of all parties involved, allowed herself to be led away from the crowd by the Mayor.
"I cannot believe the Great and Powerful Trixie must stay in this ratty little town," Trixie stated rather loudly as the two gradually made their way to one particular inn on the outskirts of town. The crowd that had formed over the commotion slowly dispersed, the various denizens of Ponyville getting back to their lives. A few nearby ponies glared at Trixie for her comment, though the egotistical unicorn did not seem to notice.
"I'm sure in time you'll be able to see the beauty in our quaint little town," Mayor Mare responded with a forced smile. She wondered, silently, how much of a mess Trixie would cause until they were finally rid of her. Perhaps it was better just to buy the crazed unicorn a new carriage, to spare the town from her presence.
"I highly doubt that," Trixie hissed, as if insulted by the very thought.
This was going to be a long day...
Sweet Apple Acres was a place of considerable peace, due to its location on the edge of town. Although the farm's owners, the Apple family, worked the farm whenever they could, it remained a much quieter place than the town itself. Big Macintosh was the oldest of the Apple family children, usually tending to the farm alongside his sister, Applejack. But now the duties of the farm were his and his alone; Applejack and her friends were given a mandatory vacation by none other than the ruler of Equestria herself, Princess Celestia.
Thankfully for Big Mac, the farm was off season, meaning it would be some time before the apples would need harvesting. The transition from winter to spring was one of the most peaceful times in Sweet Apple Acres, and although Big Mac loved working on the farm, this down time was one of his favorite times of the year. With Applejack gone, Applebloom being too young to assist in any major way, and Granny Smith being too old to do the same, apple harvest would be his responsibility. And that much work, for just one pony...he had seen it before; it did not end well.
His responsibilities were rather simple this time of year: make sure the animals were taken care of, make sure the various structures on the farm were clean, make sure Applebloom did not get into too much trouble. Big Mac was a quiet pony who wasn't much for social interaction, so his daily chores were done with plenty of time to spare. Everything was going smoothly for the Apple family, until the day of the fire.
The farm land itself was much too far to be threatened by the fire, at least not immediately. Big Mac and even Applebloom were some of the ponies who were rallied to help tame the fire once Zecora alerted the little town of the danger. It was the following day, however, that the true problems began.
Granny Smith woke Big Mac in the dead of night on the night following the fire. "Theres somethin' scurrin' around in the orchard!" she wailed, trying to push the sleepy stallion out of bed. "They're after tha seeds for the new harvest! I jus' know it!"
Such a thing wasn't too far fetched. Sometimes animals got a little too out of control in Ponyville, usually escaping from Fluttershy's property to cause problems on their own. But Granny Smith would not have awoken him if they were mere rabbits nibbling at their crops.
"Eeyup," was all the stallion said as he descended the stairs and exited the farm house, heading into the fields while Granny Smith ranted angrily behind him. It was dark, as it tends to be at midnight, and in his tired haze Big Mac had neglected to retrieve a lantern. This was not going to be easy.
Immediately, a soft noise reached his ears, barely audible over Granny Smith's angered words. Growling, and lots of it. Big Mac's first thought was of the Timber Wolves they had seen numerous times during Zap Apple season. But it was far too early in the year for them, as far as he knew anyway. Could a wild beast have snuck out of the Everfree Forest during the fire, and made its way to the farm? The stallion hoped not. They were equipped to deal with, at most, Timber Wolves, not something like a hydra or manticore.
With clear determination to protect his family's livelihood, the stallion pressed on into the darkness, his vision slowly adjusting to give him some sense of sight. A few pieces of vegetation came into view as he moved, torn from the ground and shredded, long before it was time to be harvested. And judging from the damage, it was done by something quite fierce. Big Mac frowned, irritated that whatever this was was destroying their hard-earned crops.
Suddenly, a loud hiss sounded to his left, and Granny Smith screamed in surprise as a flash of bone-white color zipped by him, trotting off into the darkness with a savage growl. It was not alone: growls, snarls, and hisses sounded in numerous locations all around him, as whatever was destroying their crops escaped into the dark of night. Big Mac and Granny Smith both decided it was best to wait until morning until they surveyed the damage, and when they did, it was not pretty.
The still silence of the night was shattered by the roaring blaze that threatened to consume the Everfree Forest entirely. Starlit sky was cast away by the brilliant flames, which spread in all directions. With Ponyville so close, if left unchecked, the fire would surely devastate those that lived in the town. What was a potential disaster to some, was a reality to Zecora. Living in the Everfree Forest itself, the zebra's entire existence was threatened. As she raced through the trees toward the roaring flames, Zecora barely noticed a shape in the darkened sky. It was a pegasus, soaring frantically away from the epicenter of the destruction. Anger flaring in her gaze, Zecora caught the pegasus' attention with a sharp whistle, watching as it slowly came into focus before her. It was a curious looking mare with a cross eyed stare, with a look of dread across her features.
"What is it you've done, guilty looking one?!" Zecora demanded with an angry stomp of her hoof. The pegasus seemed to recoil from the gesture.
"I...uh...there was a fire...the forest may have been...involved?" the gray mare responded with a nervous smile, the zebra giving her a deadly glare in return.
"You may have doomed us all, and yet you have the gall?!" Zecora snarled, looking as if she was about to strike the cowering pegasus. After a few tense moments, the zebra departed with a frustrated huff, racing in the direction of Ponyville. She could do little to stop the blaze without aid. She could only hope the destruction could be contained before it reached her home. With surprising speed, and a deep knowledge of the terrain, Zecora made it to Ponyville in no time at all. Soon the town was alight with activity, its citizens rallying together to protect their home. Pegasus ponies took to the skies, retrieving storm clouds from the upper atmosphere to drench the fire in rain water. Unicorns used their magic to contain the fire as best they could, blocking its path through the forest with brilliant walls of magic. Earth ponies attempted to herd the terrified wildlife toward safety. With time, effort, and cooperation, the fire was put out and most of the forest was spared, including Zecora's arboreal home.
