Sparkle's Fire

A few days later...

Some time had passed, and Twilight was getting impatient. The fillies in her cell had been taken out, as well as the elder mare. She sat in the back of the cell with her deputies, and Minuette. Their impatience was growing day by day. Moon Dancer was getting more and more frustrated, while Lemon Hearts seemed to be losing hope entirely. Even Twinkleshine had lost that hopeful sparkle that was always in her eyes. Twilight kept her determined face, not ready to give up just yet. She never was; she refused to give in, no matter the cost. But, she had to admit, she was getting tired, and it showed.

Finally, their prayers were answered. Twilight's ears flicked as the sound of melting ice brought her back to reality. The other ponies in her circle looked up as well, hatred blazing in their eyes. The Freeze Force ponies outside said nothing, only motioning their hooves toward themselves, a signal for the ponies to leave. The group stood up, with Twilight leaving first. Minuette chose to stay behind, already weakened by the experiments. Twinkleshine, Moon Dancer, Rarity, and Lemon Hearts all fell in line behind Twilight. The door closed behind them, and they began walking down the hall.

Twilight swallowed hard, ready to put her plan into action. She lifted her wings on her back, the black boxes still stuck to her sides. It felt uncomfortable, but this was the signal she would provide. The unicorns around her noticed, nodding their heads and making small noises of affirmation. She let her wings fall against her sides again, knowing that the ponies around her were ready. She shut her eyes, and paused in her walking as she focused her energy.

From deep within her soul, she felt the flames igniting and coursing through her body. They burst from her hooves inside the boxes, and were quickly frozen. She screwed her eyes shut even tighter, pouring magic into her horn. Her wings moved, and they too began to heat up. Parts of her were being frozen bit by bit, but she refused to give in to the cold. Flames continued to burst where the ice formed, and she gritted her teeth as the cold began to hurt. Still, she pushed through the pain until every box on her body began to cry out in a frenzy of beeping. The Freeze Force ponies stopped before her, and the unicorns around her paused as the machines finally broke. They fell apart in halves around her, freeing her.

The Freeze Force ponies aimed their guns at her, but she was quick. She fired a blast of fire from her horn and spread her wings wide. The ponies were flung backwards, and she threw her head back to slice through the boxes that kept her friends hostage. Metal fell all around her, loud thudding echoing throughout the hallway as the devices broke apart. She heard the Freeze Force ponies getting back to their feet, and her friends used their magic to steal the guns they had been carrying.

"Go, now!" Twilight yelled to the unicorns around her. "Free the other Burnish, as many as you can, and stop every pony that gets in your way. Don't kill them! We'll head outside, get moving!"

"Yes ma'am!" The ponies shouted in unison as they ran back the direction they had came and began to free ponies, starting with the cell they had been kept in.

Twilight raced forward towards the Freeze Force ponies that had been their escorts. Flames burst at her feet as she launched herself over their heads, and surrounded them in flames. The ponies yelled out obscenities and demands for freedom, powerless to escape without their guns. Twilight ignored their cries and sped down the hallway. She heard the alarms going off, but she didn't have time to pause and take in the fact that the entire building was on lockdown. She had faith in her friends to escape with the others, and she had a mission to stop any pony that got in her way.

She turned a corner, and skidded to a stop in the hallway when she heard the sounds of wheels scraping against steel and metal. At the edge of the hallway, a Freeze Force vehicle was forcing itself through, though it could barely fit. Twilight hissed. Idiot! Whoever is driving that thing is horribly stupid! She thought furiously as she raced to face it head on. She lowered her head, channeling her strongest magic through her horn before she snapped her head upwards, creating a wall of black crystal in front of her. It did the job just fine, and she almost laughed hearing the car slam into the crystal and stop in its tracks. Smoke poured from around the wall from the collision, and the pony that had been driving was frantic to get out.

Twilight slipped past the car and continued her race down the hallway, dodging bullets the entire way and blasting through ponies that stopped in front of her. She heard the engine of the vehicle from before explode behind her. She wondered if any pony would get hurt because of it. She spotted a few cells in this hallway, and used her magic to press the buttons and melt the ice that made up the doors. The ponies inside peaked out, panic written all over their places.

"Everypony, this way!" Twilight yelled to the ponies as she ran down the hall. "We don't have much time, follow me to safety!"

Twilight hissed as a bullet hit her in the wing, encasing it entirely. She had no time to focus on freeing it because the hallway was becoming full of the Burnish she had freed, and the Freeze Force ponies racing to stop them.

"You're all stubborn," She hissed as her hooves and horn glowed bright with fire. "Get out of my way!"

She yelled and slammed her hooves into the ground. Flames burst through the lines that made up the panels of the floor, shattering the metal and breaking loose nuts and bolts. The Freeze Force ponies in the hall panicked to get out of the way of the flames, and many yelled out as they were burned and flung into the air. Some hit the ceiling and collapsed on the ground as the flames calmed down, but the hallway had still caught fire. Twilight slammed her wing against a wall, finally freeing it from its icy prison before she sped past the dazed ponies, the herd of Burnish following close behind her and leaving trails of torn bandages along the way.

Finally, they began to reach the end of their journey at the main entrance. If Twilight remembered correctly, there were a few helicopters outside; those would work perfectly to get them out of here. At the entrance, Freeze Force ponies lay unconscious everywhere. Twinkleshine, Moon Dancer, Rarity, Lemon Hearts, and Minuette were at the entrance waiting for her. When she began to approach with her crowd, the ponies channeled their magic together and burned a hole through the metal door. The hole continued to get bigger as the edges burned, and every pony pushed their way on through to the outside. Just as Twilight had thought, there were a few helicopters outside, but they came with Freeze Force soldiers as well.

"Knock them off!" Twilight ordered to the ponies around her. "Every pony get into a helicopter, fill them as full as possible, then get out of here! Don't wait for anypony, just go!"

Every pony yelled in unison in agreement with Twilight's plan. Few of the ponies in the crowd managed to channel enough energy to break free from their boxes. They worked on freeing the other ponies while they bucked and blasted Freeze Force soldiers into the ocean that surrounded the island they had been held on. Twilight herself put full focus on getting rid of as many Freeze Force soldiers as she could, and herding ponies into the helicopters. The platform came alive with the sounds of rotating blades, and the helicopters soared into the skies, unsure of where to go. When every helicopter on the platform was in the air, Twilight cloaked herself in the same jet black armor that she had used to fight with Burning Rescue.

She flapped her wings, and let flames ignite at her hooves. She acted as a beacon for the helicopters and propelled herself through the air. She heard the sounds of the blades close behind her, and knew that the ponies that were piloting them were following her. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew they couldn't stay here. Wherever they were going, it would be much safer than at this place...

The sun began to rise when they finally found a destination. Twilight stopped in the air, and the helicopters surrounded her. She used her magic to project her voice for the ponies inside to hear.

"We need to abandon the helicopters!" She shouted. "Pilots, find a place to drop the helicopters, they can be destroyed when they hit the ground. Every pony else, you need to jump! The unicorns and pegasi will help to carry the ponies that can't help themselves to safety, when we all land we can run and find somewhere to hide! Every pony, meet me at the waterfall once you're finished!"

She didn't wait for their answers before she descended, flying straight to the waterfall that was nearby. It was in an open area, just open enough that every pony would be able to regroup easily. Twilight was horribly tired from how little sleep she had gotten the last few days, but she couldn't rest now. Not yet, anyways. She sighed as she landed on a rock by the pond the waterfall was making. She let her armor disappear into the air, the energy flowing back into her hooves and horn so she could use it later. She sat down, staring at the rippling water while she waited for the other ponies. In the distance, she could hear the helicopters hitting the ground and exploding on contact. She desperately hoped no ponies were getting hurt.

She turned to the tree lines as ponies began emerging; she was ever so happy that they were all Burnish. She waited until ponies stopped filling the space around the waterfall before she projected her voice again.

"I don't know where we are, or where we're going," She confessed. "But I do know that we're far from the city. No pony will be able to find us out here for some time. I'd like to say that we cannot go back to the city right now. We all are at a huge risk of being caught again, with myself as a main priority. Freeze Force is going to be on our hooves for a while, and we may need to keep moving to keep them off our tracks. I have another location in mind, if and when we can move, but we need to find shelter for now. We need to search this forest for a safe location to hide."

"Is there a cave nearby?" A filly shouted up from the center of the crowd. She jumped on another pony's back so that Twilight could see her. "We can hide there!"

"That's a good idea," Twilight mused. "Let's look around, every pony. Let's try and get as far away from the helicopters as we can before we settle. The crash site is going to be a major point of exposure to any pony that comes across it, whether they're travelers or Freeze Force units, or even members of Burning Rescue. Let's get moving everypony!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Meanwhile, in Whinnyapolis...

"Rainbow Dash, wake up you log!" Pinkie shook the mare's shoulder forcefully, trying with all her might to wake her up. Rainbow Dash groaned and blinked her eyes open. Once again, she was waking up to the sounds of sirens.

"W-what's going on?" Rainbow got up, having to force her body to stretch. She flapped her wings and brought herself into the air while she grabbed her jacket and gear.

"It's the Tasty Treat," Pinkie said with a fearful whimper. "Apparently a fire broke out in the kitchen, but it's a Burnish fire."

"What?!" Rainbow yelled in surprise. "But how?! I thought all the Burnish were contained already, and the Sparkle's Fire leaders were all that was left!"

"I don't know what it is," Pinkie sighed, rubbing her temple with her hoof and pacing back and forth. "None of us know how the fire started, we just know that it's ongoing, and we need to get going so we can put it out! We don't need to take the truck this time, Applejack has ordered you, me, and Fluttershy to take my aircraft and head onto the scene. I've already loaded the back with extra ammo in case you need it, but we need to go quickly before we actually do need the truck!"

"Okay okay, I'm ready!" Rainbow hit her hooves together and flew out the door over Pinkie's head.

She flew into the garage of the station, and skidded to a halt outside of Pinkie's aircraft. She hopped inside, seeing Fluttershy already sitting inside, clearly waiting for her. The door to the back container shut when Rainbow was inside. She heard Pinkie's voice yelling a farewell to Applejack, and she felt dizzy as it lifted off the ground.

"Let me guess?" Fluttershy said as she looked at Rainbow, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh hush," Rainbow shot back, sticking out her tongue, but still breaking out in a smile. "This is serious business, my favourite restaurant is on fire right now!"

"I-I know," Fluttershy whimpered, petting her hair with her hooves. "A-apparently it's a Burnish fire. I'm worried..."

"Yeah, me too," Rainbow said with a sigh. "Why would somepony attack the Tasty Treat? It's not the biggest restaurant there is, and usually the Burnish attack bigger buildings, so why here?"

"I-I suppose it doesn't m-matter," Fluttershy said and got to her hooves as she felt the aircraft coming to a stop. "But we have a-a job to do, so let's focus on that f-first."

"Right." Rainbow nodded firmly and grabbed a gun from the wall.

She and Fluttershy ensured that their weapons were full before the aircraft opened. They ran outside, and ran inside the building. Thankfully, no pony was inside. Flames were blocking the door to the kitchen, and were pouring out from the order window. Rainbow lifted her gun, firing at the flames through the order window and watching them shatter when they had been contained. Fluttershy cleared the flames from the door and ran inside, while Rainbow dove in through the order window. Amongst the flames, she spotted a pony. Fluttershy seemed to notice too.

Right away, the yellow pegasus fired blocks of ice at the flames around the doorway that were keeping the pony trapped, and only then could they see the pony in question; Saffron Masala, the head chef. She was knocked out cold on the floor. Fluttershy forced herself underneath the pony and pulled her onto her back. The weight was a bit much for her to handle, but Rainbow knew she would force it if it meant saving a pony's life. Rainbow focused on taming the rest of the flames in the kitchen while Fluttershy headed outside, and set the unconscious mare on the ground. When the flames had calmed, the kitchen was covered from head to toe in ice. Rainbow sighed, sweat dripping down her face.

She walked out the door and headed outside, having to shield her eyes as the winds outside were much stronger than when she emerged earlier. She hissed as she soon found the source; Freeze Force was making another appearance. Why do they need us if Freeze Force is always around? She thought bitterly, waiting for the winds to calm down as the vehicles landed.

"Every pony!" Iron Will's voice shouted from within one of the vehicles. "Step away from that mare this instant!"

Rainbow quickly took notice of who they were talking about. Fluttershy was already backing away, and Saffron finally awoke. She got to her hooves, fear clearly pulsing through her body. She was shaking and her eyes were wild. She looked up at Iron Will, and backed up.

"W-wait, sir-!" She tried to beg, but she was quickly silenced as ice wrapped around her hooves and her neck, fired from the minotaur's own gun.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Rainbow shouted, flapping her wings and carrying herself into the air. "What has Saffron done wrong?!"

"Yeah!" The owner of the Tasty Treat, Coriander Cumin, emerged from the shop. "That's my daughter! What do you think you're doing detaining her!"

"She's a Burnish!" Iron Will announced, sending gasps of shock throughout the crowd. "Why else would there be a Burnish fire when Sparkle's Fire has been contained?"

"But she didn't do anything!" Coriander shouted, spreading his hooves on the sidewalk and standing his ground. "She's only been cooking meals for the ponies that come to our shop!"

"And did you know she was a Burnish?" Iron Will demanded to know the answer. Coriander fell silent, swallowing hard as sweat dripped down his face. It seemed that every pony knew the answer; he was well aware.

"Disgusting!" A stallion shouted from the crowd, gagging and backing away from the scene.

"How could you let a Burnish cook our food?!" A mare yelled at the front.

"Hey, she didn't do anything to you!" Rainbow shouted at the ponies that were speaking up. "Just because she's a Burnish doesn't mean she's not a good cook! I never knew that she was, and I still thought her food was incredible!"

"That's too bad," one of the Freeze Force soldiers said. They stepped forth, removing their helmet and revealing a velvety pony underneath, with a snapped horn displayed almost proudly on the top of their head. "I'd hate to close down such a restaurant, but it is the law."

"Both of these ponies must be detained!" Iron Will stomped his hoof. "In accordance with our new laws against the Burnish, and the Burnish Protection Crime Act! You know the rules ponies, and Iron Will knows it too! When you protect the fire, you expect to get burned!"

"That law is only in place for terroristic acts!" Pinkie shouted. "These ponies weren't doing anything terroristic! They were just cooking food!"

"It's alright, Pinkie," Saffron said sadly as she lay on the ground. "It was my fault that the kitchen caught fire. I-I'm sorry to have troubled you all, I just couldn't control the urge anymore... but it's okay, I'll be fine."

"Saffron..." Coriander said sadly.

"Tempest Shadow, take them away!" Iron Will ordered the pony with the broken horn.

"Fine," The mare said, stepping forth and using the little magic her horn could muster to equip the two ponies with the same black boxes that had been used to contain Sparkle's Fire. One went around their horns, and four around each of their hooves. The unicorn forced the ponies inside one of the Freeze Force vehicles, and climbed into the passenger seat. Iron Will climbed into the drivers seat, and the vehicles drove off down the road to who knows where.

"How could they just do that?!" Rainbow yelled, anger bubbling throughout her entire body and threatening to explode out of her ears. "Saffron didn't do anything wrong, and Coriander wasn't doing anything wrong by protecting her! Why do they have the right to treat them as if they were Sparkle's Fire members?!"

"It's not o-our business," Fluttershy sighed. "T-they know the law better than u-us. We can't say anything a-against them, Dash. I-I know it's hard, but i-it is the way it is..."

"But that's..!" Rainbow wanted to say something back, but her anger was at its highest. She grumbled, messing up her hair and flapping her wings much harder than usual. She spun around, and launched herself down the street. A rainbow trail followed behind her as she sped down the road.

"Rainbow Dash, come back!" Pinkie shouted, and Rainbow could only barely hear her voice fading into the distance as she went down the road. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she didn't want to be in the city right now. These glass buildings had begun to piss her off, and she needed to cool down. She flew over the road until the buildings began to fade into the distance behind her. She turned off the road, and disappeared into the forests outside the cities, hoping she could find somewhere to relax for a change...