Equestria's Pyre

Far from Fillydelphia, the unicorn mare with the fiery mane was trotting towards Baltimare, laughing quietly to herself. She thought of the next blaze she would start there, and smiled sadistically when she thought of the charred remains and the valley of ash she would create...

She looked up at the sun and smiled to herself. "If only I could be there instead of here... hehehe...." she whispered to herself. The mare then continued to her next target, still laughing to herself with her eyes and head twitching...

Twilight, Flashpoint, Rarity, and Fluttershy all raced out of the Med. Tent to see the commotion. To their horror, they saw Rainbow Dash angrily attacking Applejack, with Pinkie trying to break it up, to no avail.

"Take it back! Take it back!" Rainbow shouted as she was pushing Applejack into the dirt. Before Rainbow got another punch on AJ, Twilight and Rarity used their magic to separate them.

"What the hay is going on here!?" Twilight demanded. The two fighting mares went off, nopony able to understand them.

"Quiet!" Twilight yelled, "One at a time. You first Rainbow Dash, and what happened to your eye?"

"She did!" Rainbow exclaimed, pointing at Applejack, "She went ballistic after Pinkie said she saw somepony and-"

"Pinkie didn't see anypony!" Applejack butted in, "She imagined it!"

"Then explain the hair Pinkie found!" Dash rebuttled.

"Hair? What hair?" Twilight inquired.

"It was orange, probably from somepony's mane," Dash explained.

"Likely from yer mane, Rainbow!" Applejack interrupted again.

"Stay out of this," Rainbow warned her, "but the weird thing was that it was warm."

"Warm?" Flashpoint surprised, "The hair was warm?"

"Yeah, and then Applejack took it and smash it into the dirt!" Rainbow yelled and pointed at Applejack.

"Why would you do something so horrid!?" Rarity spoke up, everypony now staring at Applejack, who only turned around and walked off.

"No you don't," Twilight teleported in front of Applejack. "Tell us now. Why are you acting like this AJ? Being mean to Pinkie, giving Rainbow a black eye? What's going on with you?" Applejack tried to walk around Twilight, but Twilight kept teleporting in front of her. "Now!" Twilight commanded. Applejack pouted and was looking down at her hooves. Twilight then stepped closer, "You can tell us, Applejack," she said caring, "I thought you knew that..."

Flashpoint was shuffling his hooves awkwardly. "I... probably have some other things... to do," he stammered, "soooo..., I'll let you girls sort this whole thing out. heh..." Flashpoint went back over to the Med. Tent, knowing that this was something that needed to be solved themselves.

"Alright...," Applejack gave in, "I'll tell y'all..." She said somberly. "But I 'ave to warn y'all, tain't a pleasant tale..." She began to tell them about her parents, something that she had never brought up before. The others had thought that she, Big Mac, and Applebloom were there to run Sweet Apple Acres and take care of Granny Smith, but they never considered that they were orphans! "Some months after Applebloom was born," Applejack continued, "this here massive fire appeared and engulfed the 'hole farm! Ma and Pa told Big Mac to get Applebloom an' me outta there, but I wouldn't leave..." Applejack then told them that one of the beams collapsed and was about to crush her, but then her parents both jumped in and pushed her out the way, the beam falling on them instead. Big Mac had then grabbed her trying not to cry as he carried his sisters out of the inferno.

Applejack stopped, tears welling up, and finally broke out into a torrent of sorrow. The others all came to her, and embraced her, feeling her sadness inside them as well. It became so quiet, that one could her a drop of water from all the way back in Ponyville.

"So much Fire, so little time..." The flame-maned mare chortled as she look on over Baltimare. She began to laugh again, "So much Fire, so little time...," she repeated as walked down to the unsuspecting city.

"So.... much.... Fire..."