Secrets

Chapter 5: Unexpected Meeting

The Everfree Forest was going through a beautiful transformation. Red, yellow and orange leaves littered the ground, with many trees already bare. There was a chill in the air, "Strange, we just went through winter. Did we really travel that far or are the seasons that different here?" Wildfire had traded the heavy brown suit for a light outfit, blue and white. It also featured feathers at his tail, creating a flowing motion whenever he moved. He still donned his hat though.

Not sure, but assuming that we went east, not north or south, we should still be in spring. Maybe you could ask the purple one of this, she seems to be the brain of the group.

"Shh, deer. Twenty yards." Nodding, the white mass of fur lowered herself onto her haunches.

Your call. Slowly taking the bow into his hands, Wildfire put an arrow in. Taking a deep breath, he drew the bow. Sights on target, he steadied himself before letting go. The arrow flew with a high-pitched whistle, it missed the intended target by a few feet and lodged itself into a tree. Alerted by the sound, the buck lifted it's head and scrambled into the brush.

"Bloody hell, that was a good one too."

You're not the best at this, if I recall correctly.

"Yeah, that was Owl's thing. Poor Owl..."

Emerging from the forest, Wildfire was confronted by a large beautiful lake. It was so big that it disappeared past the horizon. The sight of the water brought chills to Wildfire's spine. Looking down, he noticed his brother sitting by the edge of the lake. Carefully manoeuvring himself around the puddles of water, he stopped a solid forty yards away from the water line. Clearing his throat, the creature turned it's frowning face, which quickly turned into a smile. "Hello, Wildfire." He spoke in a clear, loud voice.

"Greetings, my King." Wildfire responded with a wide grin.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" The frown on Owl's face returned.

Still smiling, "Exactly." Owl lifted himself up off the ground, and sat beside Wildfire. "You called for me, anything wrong Owl?"

"Yes, I'll need you to go arrange things in the south, seems like the orcs are getting rowdy again."

Wildfire was now frowning, "What's up with those green bastards anywho?"

Owl shrugged, "Not sure, they must be getting near mating season again. You can take your girlfriend with you." He teased with a sneer.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Wildfire shot back, punching his brother in the arm. At this moment, an Elite stepped up from the shadows, grabbing the hilt of his sword. Wildfire turned and gave him a look that could be weaponised.

"If I were you I'd bugger off before he shoves his foot up your ass." Owl chimed in, amused at the confrontation.

"But my liege, he hit you."

"I'll shove MY foot up your ass if you don't stop calling me that."

Chuckling, Wildfire got up and stretched. "Well, I'm going to get this done. See you later." Not waiting for a response, Wildfire snapped open his wings, with a few loud flaps he lifted off the ground. At least, that was when he could fly. Opening his wings, Wildfire contemplated the puny things. He could glide fine but any powered flight would be impossible for a few years at the very least. They were still bigger than the wings on the other fillies, he simply wasn't aided by magic when flying. Looking around, he lifted his nose into the air. Having dropped the illusion meant he had his full range of actions. Smelling the air, he picked up the distinct fragrance of deer, and there was some other smell. One he had smelled before a long time ago, dismissing the exotic scent, he focused on pinpointing the next deer. Left, about two hundred yards away. I can see it from here. Snow prowled off to the scent of food. Setting up again, Wildfire drew his bow and aimed at the heart of the furry beast. With another whistle, this arrow planted itself into the ground. The deer ran off. "Mother of-!"

Thunk.

Miss.

Twang.

Miss.

***********

But Wildfire, I'm still hungry! Snow was walking after him, a pleading look in her eyes, the dusk making her eyes reflect and oh-so adorable.

"Well you'll have to go find something yourself. I'm all outta arrows and patience, I'm gonna go get a drink." Stomping off angrily, Wildfire looked for the nearest tavern. Seeing a medium sized building with a sign featuring a foaming mug, he assumed that that was the bar. Entering the lively area, he manoeuvred himself among the tables and took a seat at the bar. The bartender looked at him, and did a double-take..

"Aren't you a little young to be in here?"

"Pshaw, I'm older than you!"

"We don't serve colts or fillies here, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

I can't get any friggin' break around here. "Well, I refuse. Alcohol. Here. Now."

"I'm warning you." The bartender leaned in on him, trying to intimidate Wildfire. Wildfire didn't budge an inch, a bored expression on his face. He instead flicked his left wrist. A long jagged blade deployed from the otherwise hollow limb. Pressing it up to the bartender's face, a smug grin now adorned Wildfire's face. "So what'll it be?" A nervous smile escaped from the barkeep.

"Much better."

***********

Wildfire was enjoying his drink, oblivious to the ponies around him. I wonder if they have a blacksmith around here? Maybe he could fashion me a crossbow. His train of thought was violently interrupted when he heard someone slump beside him. Looking to his left, he was surprised to see Rainbow Dash sitting beside him, head between her hooves.

"What'll it be Miss Dash?"

"Cider. Stat." The bartender produced a mug from underneath the counter, filling it up to the brim with the golden liquid. Pushing the mug to the lady, she gave him two brass coins in return. Realizing with a panic that he hadn't paid the barkeep. He attracted his attention.

"I almost forgot, how much for the bourbon?"

"Oh, the bourbon is four bits a drink."

"And bits are?"

"Money."

"And they're made out of?"

"Brass." Nodding, Wildfire took out 4 brass coins from his pocket. Handing over the currency to the barkeep, who eyed it, then Wildfire. "This ain't bits."

"It's made out of brass and its the same size, be happy I even gave you anything."

"Point taken."

Returning his attention to his drink, he had barely taken a sip when he noticed Rainbow staring at him with incredulous eyes.

"Hey."

"Greetings." The awkward silence resumed, only interrupted by quiet sipping. "So you're Rainbow Dash?"

"You betcha!" She turned to him again, a genuine smile on her face. "I gotta ask you something, how can you be drinking, yet you're a colt? You're handling that better than most adults."

Wildfire scoffed, "Trust me, I'm much older than I look. I simply look like this because of an unexpected side-effect of an old ritual." Rainbow Dash nodded absently, she felt like she was forgetting something.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Rarity wanted to see you for something."

"What?"

"I'm guessing something to do with fashion."

Wildfire let out a heavy sigh, "I'll go tommorow, now if you'll excuse me I am going to go find a tree to sleep in."

"Wait, do you have a place to stay at?"

"No, not really."

Rainbow Dash seemed uncomfortable, "I suppose you could spend the night with me and the Squirt. I know all too well what it's like to spend the night outside."

"Okay... Where do you live?"

**********

"Welcome to castle Dash!" Rainbow declared rather loudly. Wildfire stood there eyeing the cloud house.

"Pretty sure you can't walk on clouds."

"Of course! All pegasi can walk on clouds."

"Well I don't." Rainbow hovered for a second, a puzzled expression on her face.

"The clouds at my place are solid anyways, how else would my furniture stay up?" Rainbow Dash quickly flew over to the house, stopping to see if her guest was following her. The smile disappeared off her face as she saw Wildfire face hoof. Zipping back to him, "What's wrong?"

"Can't fly."

"You're kidding? Your wings are just as big as mine!"

"I don't use magic in flight, I still need a few years." Rainbow Dash sighed as she headed over to the colt. She picked up the slippery equine and zipped back to her house, careful not to let him fall. Arriving at the door step, (which resembled a landing strip) Rainbow Dash let go of her load. With a quiet thump, Wildfire's hooves hit the soft white material.

"Huh." Was all he commented, gingerly taking a step. Realizing that he wouldn't fall, he began trotting along with the cyan pegasus.

"Rainbow! You're back!"

Both Rainbow Dash and Wildfire turned to see a  cheerful gamboge pegasus running to Rainbow. She ran up to the cyan pegasus, happily bouncing around her. The bouncing stopped when it bumped into Wildfire.

"Who's that?" The jealousy in her voice was almost palpable, Well, that escalated quickly.

************

Wildfire awoke with a cold sweat, in a panic. Something was tugging at his mind, something he had thought to have been rid of. The voices were back, taunting him with desires of wealth and power. The voices who had once dominated his life had found him again, even though he knew the evil whispers resonated from within himself.

G-get out of my head!

Now what fun would that be?

It's not as if we want to be here, you imprisoned us here.

That's not true! Get out of my head or I'll-

Or you'll what? That last purification almost killed you. Another one in your state would only shorten the time it will take for you to join us.

"Wildfire, what's wrong?" Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo emerged from a doorway, Wildfire did not answer, he only ran out to the doorway and jumped. Opening his wings he started gliding towards the ground.

I need to get away from them.

Why? She hates me, it's not as if I would feel bad if I tought her to fear me. A wicked grin appeared on Wildfire's face, his sharp teeth had returned, and they craved the feeling of flesh and blood.

Ini mini miney moe, who will scream my name tonight? Shaking his head, the veil that was covering his mind dissapeared. No more games, I'm stronger than this. I just need to get to- A victim! Swooping down, he landed quietly in a dark alley. The insane look back onto his distorted face. Taking a look at his target, it was a white mare with a mane of various blue tones. He would enjoy wrenching her teeth out. Taking a step forward, his exhilaration was replaced with uncertainty,

This doesn't feel right. Wildfire's eyes widened with horror as he realized what he was going to do, edging further into the shadows, he made his way west.

************

What the buck was that for? Rainbow Dash had just witnessed Wildfire leaping out of her house. She was tempted to go after him, but the look he had given her had stopped her ice cold. She had seen that kind of look before, it was a look of sheer terror, mixed with a hint of something she didn't recognize. He had jumped through unclothed, his bags still remained on the fluffy floor.

************

What do I do now?! I almost killed someone just for the pleasure of it! This shouldn't be happening, it must be Snow playing a prank. Even after those thoughts crossed his head he knew there was no denying it. This was him. Not Snow nor anyone NEAR this place had the strength to corrupt his mind to that point. He had these problems in the past, but they were taken care of through a complex ritual. Sure he had a couple if relapses every now and then, but none were bad enough that he wanted to jump onto the nearest being and tear it apart.

*************

He's not budging.

Of course he's not! He's more stubborn than a hungry abomination!

And we would know, we ARE him.

He's much weaker than before, last time took us years, we almost had him within five minutes. A little more trauma and he should open up like a book.

Agreed, and I know just how to pull his strings.

No shit, Sherlock, we are the same being.

*************