Secrets

Chapter 7: I Am No Hero

"That was awesome! How did you do that?" Every pony, Pinkie included, turned to glare at Rainbow.

"Are you okay? You have blood everywhere!"

"Apart from the eye, it's not mine. Though I have some horrible stains to get out." He said, grinning. He managed to get a faint chuckle out of everybody, and they started walking back to Ponyville. Just then a large mass of shadows passed over the field, and the eight ponies witnessed as a platoon of what Wildfire assumed were the soldiers of this kingdom. Their armor seemed light and supple, better designed for hit and run tactics than the usual slug fest. He was dimly aware of Snow joining them. This should be interesting.

You don't say?

Turning to Twilight, "If anyone asks, the guards saved Rarity." Pulling his hat down, Wildfire tried backing up. He felt a rush of air from behind him, looking up, he found himself staring into the magenta eyes of a large white mare.

"And why, may I ask, do you want to not take credit?" She spoke in a warm, yet stern tone.

"Being in the spotlight, it is rather dangerous for me." Arching an eyebrow, she obviously wanted more. "Because, over the years I've made quite a few enemies. Now, my turn, who in the bloody hell are you?" As he declared those last words, he heard gasps of shock from the surrounding ponies. "What?" The white mare, who had both a horn and wings, smiled.

"I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria."

"I figured I recognized this place."

"You're not from here, yes. We've met before."

"When I was still a drooling baby."

"If I recall correctly, your kingdom lost communication with ours years ago, care to explain?" Wildfire recoiled from the question as if it was a physical blow. Rubbing his shoulder, he hesitated.

"If you really want to know, the empire was exterminated, along with every Zarynthian. I'm pretty sure I'm the last Zarynthian left."

Celestia's eyes widened with surprise. "I just thought you forgot we were even here."

Shaking his head, "No, the Plague returned with four billion orcs and a new breed of species. They call themselves the Seekers. They caught us during a famine, and the surrounding kingdoms didn't even bat an eye. Obsidian died rather early on. And without an experienced leader everything went pear-shaped."

"I'm sorry to hear that, I rather enjoyed Obsidian's presence, he seemed nice."

Nodding, Wildfire perked up as a thought came to his head. "Oh, I almost forgot, is there any place where I can get a crossbow?"

"What's a crossbow?" Twilight asked.

"It's a mechanic bow, why do you need one?" Wildfire was surprised to see Celestia answering.

"I suck with regular bows and Snow has to eat something other than squirrels."

"I'm afraid we don't have any." Nodding, Wildfire began to trot towards Ponyville, followed by the group. Looks like you're going to be eating squirrels until I craft a crossbow.

Great.

His conversation was interrupted as Twilight appeared beside him.

"Where did you meet the Princess?"

"During a diplomatic mission, my Father was in the security detail that escorted King Obsidian. He bugged him until Obsidian agreed to take me along. I was very young at the time." Nodding, Twilight opened her mouth, only to be interrupted by Pinkie Pie.

"Now we have to have a Welcome-to-Ponyville party AND a thanks-for-saving-Rarity party? Woohoo!" Wildfire shuddered at the thought.

"Trust me, if you knew about half the things I've done. You'd be calling me a monster." Shaking his head, he sighed heavily. Wildfire perked up as Rainbow Dash hovered beside him.

"Where did you learn those moves? You kicked those dogs into next week!"

"If you think I'm good, you should've seen Sunset, she beat me with a spoon once. The rest were complete curb stomps. I was always the stomped one." Wildfire smiled as he remembered the lively girl. "If anyone is invincible, it would be her." Not saying another word, Wildfire shifted his attention to his bloody clothing. "Do you happen to have a dry cleaner somewhere?" Rarity nodded,

"I'll show you later." Wildfire heard a grumble from his stomach as it protested being ignored.

"When is that party?" He asked towards Pinkie.

"Right now silly! We're late for the party at Sugarcube Corner!"

**********

"Uh, Wildfire. That pie was for everybody."

"Mmphmpmm" Wildfire was quite litterally eyes deep in a blueberry pie. He cleaned the plate in under a minute. He sat back on his haunches, sighing in relief. He hadn't eaten anything in three days, and the recent extortion had drained his will to wait any longer. "Sorry, haven't eaten in days." He looked down at his clothing, still soaked in blood. Maybe I should take it off.

Putting his prized hat on the table, Wildfire took off a various array of belts and harnesses. Designed to hold over sixty-seven pieces of weaponry, there was hardly a time when Wildfire was carrying absolutely no weapons. Even his cape could be used as a weapon, for it became solid when magic is charged through it. Pulling off the silk garment, he quickly rubbed a  hoof over it. The silk had been the finest in Zarynthia, given to him as a birthday present by Her. He still wore it proudly after countless tears, burns, and scrapes had worn the thing down. Stripping off the blood-soaked clothes, the surrounding ponies got a first look at what Wildfire looked underneath. The warrior was of a light orange shade, resembling that of dusk. His hair was pitch black, with a short mane. His tail was rather long for a pony his size, either due to neglect or personal preference. He had glowing amber eyes, with an iris that seemed like it had been drawn by an artist. Inside those eyes a flurry of activity was present, ages of knowledge and experienced locked away in the jewels. His wings were rather large, almost twice the size of ordinary pegasi at his size. They harboured few feathers, though they were massive in size and no doubt substituted lots of small feathers perfectly. The feathers themselves overlapped, which would give Wildfire more lift. His body was covered in a multitude of scars, each of varying shapes and sizes. To finish it all off, rippling muscles flowed underneath his coat, hinting that he was much stronger than his small stature showed.

Wildfire had chosen his disguise perfectly.

"Good build, but what's wrong with your feathers?" Rainbow Dash commented.

"I could say the same about your feathers. It's the norm back home to have these feathers." Both winged creatures turned at the sound of Twilight's voice.

"I don't think even Celestia has feathers that size. Why are your feathers like that?"

Shrugging, Wildfire tried remembering what he was tought eons ago. "There were lots of high places back home, speed and agility were practically unheard of. Everyone preferred endurance and a good gliding ability. Due to the warmer ecosystem, there was almost always a good current that would allow you to spend minimal energy flying around. The elders had wings large enough to wrap them around your library, Twilight." Twilight imagined Rainbow Dash with wings of that caliber and had to hold back giggles. Spotting Pinkie Pie out of the corner of his eye, she was laughing histerically to the point no sound came out. Taking the chance he was presented, Wildfire slipped away from the group. Settling down in a corner, he took in the party in front of him. Snow was having a conversation with Fluttershy, who seemed to be much more comfortable. Pinkie Pie was going around, making sure every pony was happy. Twilight was talking to other ponies, while Rainbow recounted stories to a group of small fillies and colts.

Wildfire was worried, he shouldn't have broken a sweat when going against the dogs. I need to work on my stamina again. What bothered him most was that even when surrounded by all this happiness, he felt soul-crushingly lonely.