Secrets

Chapter 2: Memories

How long has it been? 700 years? They say scars tell a story. And I have enough to write an entire history book. Like a bad memory, they never truly go away, all it takes is a glance or thought and the memories come screaming back. This long-lifespan isn't a gift at all, if only I could have saved them. Wildfire felt disgusted as images of carcasses rotting in the street filled his mind, the acrid smell all too familiar. Sick to his stomach, Wildfire tried to occupy himself. Turning his attention to Rarity, he tried to take notice of what her chirping was about, though he hated being fussed over; it felt nice to have someone genuinely care about him. Rarity seemed to have noticed the distant look in his eyes, and was patiently searching his face for signs of activity. After Wildfire turned to look at her, she resumed her talk with him.

"Anything wrong?" She was curious to hear what could cause him to space out for such a long time. Holding an assortment of fabrics in front of Wildfire, she listened.

"Memories, lots of bad ones." Was all he gave her. Dissapointed , Rarity was about to push further, but seeing him shuffle uncomfortably dettered her. Whatever it was, it was profoundly personal to him.

"Anywho, your outfit goes very well on you, I just wish you would take better care of your cloak and I won't cringe every time I look at you. Also, the colors near the head are all wrong, you simply must wear something other than brown to properly contrast with those gorgeous eyes of yours, they are really... Unique."

"Indeed. But I personally prefer wearing black and blue, these are simply my travel clothes." Wildfire was not an expert in fashion in any way, but discussing them was something he enjoyed.

"Travel? Surely you can fit more decorations and more colors in there." Wildfire arched his eyebrow,

"Have you been, where I've been? Trust me, I'd rather not waste resources making a richly decorated suit only to have it torn when I run into another wyvern. Which I always seem to run into."

Rarity's interest spiked, she had never heard of a wyvern, nor did she believe you couldn't make clothes that was durable and stylish. "Wyvern? What is that?" Wildfire gave her a smile and seemed to lighten up, his memories pushed to a distant corner of his mind.

"A wyvern is like a dragon, I'm sure you've heard of those?" Rarity nodded, still keenly listening to Wildfire. "Well a wyvern, is smaller, about 12 feet tall. It looks a lot like a dragon, with the same basic body shape; that's where the similarities end. They are much more brutish than dragons, they do not speak at all, they are much more wild than dragons; you can negotiate with a dragon. A wyvern would eat you up without a second thought. They also do not share dragons abilities in magickae or fire-breathing."

"Pardon my asking, but what is magickae? Magic?" Rarity was confused, what world did he come from? It seemed so strange to her.

"Magickae is what you did to me when you levitated me here, I'm guessing you call it magic here." Nodding her head, Rarity was quickly losing interest, this was something Fluttershy would enjoy more. Rarity tensed up and looked at the clock, she was going to be late for the spa! "Well, look at the time, I need to go meet some friends. Care to follow me? I know my friend Twilight would love to hear about wyverns."

Locking the door behind her, Rarity led the way towards Twilight's library. Even if she was at the spa, Spike would no doubt take Wildfire off of her hooves. Wildfire was a pleasant fellow, he didn't talk much, if at all, and was a great listener; Twilight would no doubt like him as well. As they arrived at the library, Rarity knocked at the door. Just as she had expected, Spike came running towards the door, opening it wide for her.

"Hiya Rarity! Twilight is at the spa, if you were wondering." Rarity calmly entered the library, and when he thought he was out of sight; Spike swooned at her. He did not notice Wildfire until he heard his barely contained laughter.

"Who's him?"

"Spike, I would be forever grateful if you could take Wildfire here off my hooves ." Spike thought about it, please Rarity and let him in or refuse?

"I guess he can stay for a while, if he helps me rearrange the books." Wildfire stepped in, nodding to Spike, he went and took a look at the large array of books in the hollow tree. Rarity thanked Spike and quickly went out to join her friends, closing the door behind her as she did so.

Looking out the window, Wildfire could see Snow at the edge of the forest, chasing a rabbit. Satisfied that she was fine, Wildfire turned to Spike. The baby dragon kept eyeing him suspiciously, something Wildfire was accustomed to, reaching out with his mind, he made contact with Spike consciousness. Pretending to wonder where to put a book. Just as he had expected the dragon was not able to notice him, as he looked for the information he was looking for he noticed that Spike knew someone that he had met before. With a better idea of where he was, Wildfire progressed farther into his mind. He easily reached the part of Spike's mind that housed his current thoughts. I don't like the looks of this guy, he hasn't said a word since he got here! Wildfire smiled, of course no one trusted him yet. He debated internally whether or not to trust Spike, sure he was of no physical threat to him, but if he mentioned his name to the wrong person he could be very dangerous. Putting the book he held in the right spot, Wildfire decided he should try to squeeze a conversation through. Turning around, his eyes turned to a pale blue once again, and he levitated the next book towards him.

An alarm flared into life, drowning out the pitter patter of the rain. Leaping out of his bed, he made his way to the balcony, where the soldiers were assembling. Grabbing his helmet and shield, he assembled the complex armor and sheathed his sword. As he made it outside, the gates slowly opened with a low-pitched groan; revealing a large mass of blood-hungry orcs running towards the now-open entrance. The sirens blared their monotous shriek, giving the order to attack. Wildfire found himself behind Her, who gave him a comforting smile. As they charged the enemy, Wildfire didn't feel as much fear as he always had before; he felt rather sad instead, as more of his friends would die that night. Wildfire was snapped back into reality as the door opened. The sun was lowering under the horizon, I ought a get Snow in. Looking at the door, he saw a lavender mare, as he learned to call them, enter the library. Talking to Spike a little bit, she then turned to Wildfire and walked over to where he was sitting; through her smile, Wildfire could see distrust and doubt in her eyes.

"You must be Wildfire, Rarity was talking about you at the spa." Wildfire nodded, looking to the window, he saw that Snow was chasing a different rabbit. As she whizzed by a bush, the yellow pegasus he saw earlier was running after the two of them.

"Oh bloody hell!" He exclaimed, the others visibly cringed at the foul language. Not caring right now, Wildfire charged through the door. Barely pausing to open it, he ran in the direction he last saw the trio.

Snow leapt over a thorn bush as she chased the rabbit, it would make a good meal. Focused on the hunt, she dismissed the screams from behind her as ambience. The smells of the forest streaming over her, her paws lightly thumping against the ground rhythmically. Her prey was fast, but she was faster. She would have it already if it weren't for her injured leg, slowing her down. Snow was aware that the rabbit was leading her deeper into the forest, but she was hungry and determined to catch it. As she was about to pounce on the rabbit, it took a hard left. Stumbling, Snow followed into the clearing, where the rabbit ran over a large mound of rocks. Which started moving.

Trampling down bushes, Wildfire was running through the heavily forested area, with Twilight and Spike trying to keep up. Looking to his right, he saw Applejack joining the group, nodding to each other; they took the lead. Head low to the ground, Wildfire followed the tracks that were distinctly Snow's. Arriving at a clearing, The group was shocked to a standstill.

Snow, the yellow mare and the rabbit were all cornered into a hollow tree by a large troll, easily 20 feet tall. It was grey and had what looked like rocks attached to its body in various places. The troll had the others cornered into a hollow tree, just out of the reach of its massive claws. Snow was snarling at the troll, trying to keep itself between the yellow mare and the troll. She, however, was talking to the troll, asking it to stop. Taking a quick look at the situation, Wildfire turned to the ponies that had followed him.

"Any suggestions?" Wildfire already knew what to do, but he was testing the others to see whether they could be dangerous to him. Twilight looked up at the sky, looking for something or someone, then frowned. Pinkie must not have found Rainbow yet.

"Okay, here's the plan, I'll try to levitate the monster high enough so that Fluttershy and the others can escape, Applejack, help them out and lead them to town. Wildfire, help Applejack, any questions?" Wildfire scoffed at the plan,

"I'm sorry, but what makes you think you can levitate a four thousand pound troll? It's hard enough to lift something that heavy, it's impossible to lift something that heavy that will be struggling."

Twilight seemed rather insulted by the comment, but she didn't frown or yell. "Do you have anything better?" Applejack asked.

"Why yes, I've seen this troll a few days ago, it's missing a few fingers, no doubt it will remember me. I'll try to bait it away from here while you quietly get the others out."

"How do you know it'll take the bait?" Twilight inquired.

"Because, I'm the reason it's missing some fingers. See those cuts on its back? That's me, I'm certain it will go for me." Seeing no point in delaying further, the two ponies nodded, Wildfire turned towards the troll; who was starting to get closer to the group in the hollow tree. Looking around, he spotted a large rock beside him. Grabbing the rock, he spun a few times and threw the rock. The rock flew through the air, spiralling as it did so, closing the distance between Wildfire and the troll; it hit square onto the neck of the troll. Roaring in pain, the troll turned around to see what was attacking him.

Inside the tree trunk, Fluttershy was in a state of panic, nothing she did to the monster helped at all, even the Stare was useless against it. She heard the sound of rock shattering and saw the monster turn his back, quickly, she, Angel, and the wolf looked out to see what was out there. Wildfire was standing alone in the clearing, motioning to the troll. It snarled it anger and swung at him, they were all surprised to see how easily he stepped over the outstretched arm. Taking advantage of the troll's position, Wildfire ran up his arm and kicked him in the lower jaw, causing it to bite its tongue. Fluttershy was distracted when she felt a hoof poke her in the rib cage, looking to the right, she saw Applejack motioning to them to follow her. She let Angel and the wolf get to safety first, but as she was heading towards the bush her hooves caught in a tangle of tripweed, the tripweed wrapped itself around her hooves tightly, causing her to land on her face. The troll turned around, looking for his meal, seeing Fluttershy tied up; he swung down to grab her. Only to have Wildfire dart between his legs and push her into the bush, the grab turned into a swing. Wildfire nimbly jumped up and over the reach of the first arm, but he saw the other arm heading straight for him. And midair he could not avoid it, with a sickening crack he was launched across the clearing. Limbs flailing from the momentum, sharp pain permeated his ribs as he bounced across the ground at high speed. He turned to see the tree. Then darkness.