Secrets

Chapter 8: Trying to Integrate

Wildfire awoke to find himself in a beautifully decorated room. Looking to his right, Snow was beginning to stir. To his left, was a half-closed door. The smell of fresh pancakes wafted through, I don't even remember what pancakes taste like.

Eh-wha? An irritated wolf crossed his field of view, heading for the door. Following closely, Wildfire put on his hat and cape. Opening the door, the wanderer saw Sweetie Belle, in the kitchen cooking pancakes. Turning to him, the young unicorn frowned.

"Do you ever go anywhere without that hat or cape?"

"Not usually, I feel naked without them." Wildfire shot back. "Where's Rarity?"

"She was up all night working on something, she's in her room sleeping." Nodding, Wildfire approached the stove, where one half-cooked pancake lay.

"I'll just be out. Don't bother making pancakes for me or Snow." Nodding, the unicorn shifted her attention to the pastry.

I wanted a pancake you know.

"We'll you should've spoken up."

Wolves don't speak, dumbass.

"Wolves don't read minds either."

Proceeding past the door, Wildfire and his companion were greeted by the hectic activity that surrounded them. Finding their way to the town square, Wildfire looked around. The ponies seemed to be going in one direction. Curiosity taking hold of him, he followed some of the ponies to what seemed like a market.

"In the mood for some shopping?"

No. I want a damn pancake.

Rolling his eyes, Wildfire took the lead as he plunged into the marketplace. Confidently walking through droves of buzzing ponies, he looked at merchandise.

"Asparagus? Cherries? Lettuce? The hell are those?"

They seem to be veggies. These creatures ARE herbivorous after all.

Grunting in agreement, Wildfire and his companion traveled towards the Everfree.

I better find something to do.

Looking around, he spotted a small, flat clearing. Nudging Snow towards it, they both laid down in the sunlit area.

**********

"So, you were studying to be a musician before you were dragged into a war?"

"Yes, I've been running ever since."

Nodding, Twilight seemed deep in thought. "What about naming? Does it work like over here?"

Wildfire shook his head, "I don't think so. In Itia, we believe that each name should have some poetic beauty in it. Which is why you'd find names like Spectre, Moon, or Sunset. Most names were connected to something you find in nature or an emotion. I know I had a friend named Hope that patched me up quite a few times."

Twilight said nothing as she jotted down notes. "Tell me about the ecosystems."

"It was pretty hot throughout most of the land, but the north was frozen over most of the year. The dominant biome were prairies and coniferous forests."

"And the species living there?"

"Quite a few, there were plenty of sapient species, your usual zebra, elf, ent. The Zarynthians comprised of only fourteen percent of the population."

"What about languages?"

"Hmm, last time I checked, Itian is a dead language. Even though I speak it. And Anglican was the only official language."

"Anglican?"

"Whatever you call your language."

"Interesting, if our two kingdoms only had contact twice, how come we both have Equestrian as our main language?"

"I'm honestly not sure. Maybe ponies have a tendency to develop that language?"

"Possible. What was the main style of buildings?"

"Hmm, that depends. The larger cities were highly decorated buildings with multi-story living spaces. While the lowly villages were mostly wooden huts with practical applications."

"What about Cutie Marks?"

Wildfire raised an eyebrow, "Cutie whats?"

Twilight turned to him, a puzzled expression on her face. "You know, a Cutie Mark. It shows what your special talent is."

Wildfire shook his head, much to Twilight's dismay. "You mean you don't have Cutie Marks?! Impossible! Every pony gets a Cutie Mark!" Quickly closing her book, she urged Wildfire to his feet. Having nothing else to do, Wildfire followed, leaving Snow behind.

And I'm forgotten. Again. Shaking her head, the canine decided she would pay Fluttershy a visit.

**********

"I really don't see a reason to fuss over this. We didn't have Cutie Marks in Zarynthia."

"But that's the problem! Everypony gets one eventually! But don't worry, I know the best group to help you find yours."

**********

"Oh, hey Twilight! What brings you here?" Asked the cheery voice of Applebloom.

"Are you gonna make us read again?" Scootaloo cautiously inquired.

Twilight let out a small chuckle, "Not if you tell me the mass of the sun." The three fillies looked at each other, then back to Twilight. "Just kidding." Wildfire heard sighs of relief from the interesting group. Pushing his way past Twilight, the young ponies caught sight of him and their smiles dissapeared.

"Oh. H-hello W-wildfire." Applebloom took a step closer to her friends. Grabbing Twilight in his magical hold, he carried her outside. Ignoring her protests, he set her down at the bottom of the tree house.

"Okay. Explain to me why they're scared of me."

"They aren't afraid of you, they're just shy at being around someone new." The obviousness of the lie was practically dripping off those words.

"I've hurt enough to know fear when I see it. And they would be less afraid of a wyvern than they are of me."

Twilight groaned, "Alright you got me. After you escaped with Rarity, Sweetie and Applejack. Pinkie and Sweetie kinda told everyone about it. Didn't you notice?" Wildfire only grunted.

The ponies DID seen to form a path around me this morning. Sighing briskly, he turned around and walked back to the entrance. As silent as a feather falling, it was second nature of him to sneak around. Stopping by the doorway, Wildfire leaned in as much as he could. The traveler heard the three fillies in an excited conversation.

"Is she crazy? Why did Twilight bring HIM? He's insane for buck's sake!"

Oh boy. A fan club.

He heard a small voice he recognized as Sweetie Belle, "He's not insane, as far as I can tell. He's a colt of few words, sure, but he's nice." Wildfire felt touched at the unicorn's support. Scootaloo could be heard laughing,

"Ha! Nice, you're joking right? What kind of pony slaughters dogs and walks away as if nothing happened?"

Wildfire had heard enough, "The kind that lost everything." Now standing in the doorway, Wildfire glared at the trio of ponies. Applebloom contemplated her hooves while Scootaloo blushed a deep shade of red. Visible through her coat.

"Er, how long were you standing there?"

"Long enough. I'll have you know that I have feelings." Let's play with their heart strings eh? Wildfire wiped away a false tear, "All I've wanted was for somepony to appreciate me. But I can see that that's never going to happen." Feigning hurt, he drooped his head and walked out, tail dragging on the ground. He kept the appearance as he neared a concerned Twilight.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"Leave me be." Wildfire walked past the lavender unicorn, who trotted after him. Still moping, he headed towards Ponyville. As soon as they were out of sight, Wildfire's demeanour considerably brightened. A wide smile on his face, "I should've thanked Trinity for teaching me mind tricks."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you notice? There was no way I was going to be friends with Scootaloo or that yellow filly if they didn't feel they owed me something. And that entire 'loveable yet lonely' charade did exactly that. In other words, they just got mind raped."

Twilight flinched at the sudden language, "Mind what?"

"It's slang for reverse psychology." Looking up at the sun, Wildfire noted that it was almost noon. His usual spar with Snow would probably be extra-hard to compensate for lost time. Craning his neck, the orange pegasus peered into bushes and trees. Where his sparring buddy would most likely be hiding. Leaving Twilight behind, he walked around the town. Unconsciously, his hooves carried him back to Rarity's boutique. Seeing nothing else to do, he calmly entered the boutique. He couldn't help but grin at the cacophony of hooves originating from upstairs. He was greeted by a happy-looking Rarity,

"Oh, hello Wildfire. You're just in time! I have to show you something." Nodding, the caped illusionist followed the elegant unicorn upstairs. The upstairs room was much more spacious than he would've imagined. Among the chaos of fabrics and sewing equipment, three clothed mannequin was proudly standing. "Behold the latest craze in fashion! I call it Bad-"

"I told you that me staying at your house was fine. Your debt has been repayed."

"This isn't all for you, your performance in the caves gave me an idea for a new branch in clothing. It's supposed to give a 'Bad to the Bone' feeling."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, it's fine. The one in the middle I designed for you." Turning to the middle mannequin, Wildfire gave it a look over. The suit, which seemed to be made out of a type of nylon, was pitch black. It seemed layered, but upon further examination it was all one piece. The clothing was decorated with red lines going across the entire piece in elegant patterns. On its back, two long strips of cloth lay.

"You've known me for less than three weeks yet you already know how to make me drool."

"Hmph, I thought you would say that. Go ahead, it's yours if you want it." Eyes glowing in excitement, Wildfire slipped awkwardly into the clothing.

"It fits perfectly! How did you get the size right?"

Rarity looked away and blushed slightly.

"You didn't."

"I did."

"Creepy. Nevertheless, I've gotta go meet Snow for our daily spar."

"Ooh, sounds interesting."

"It's just a little duel."

"What for?"

"Eh, if I don't exercise regularly I'll crust over and become as flexible as a rock. The moving keeps scar tissue from building up."

"Is it dangerous?" She sounded worried.

"Not really, it's just an exhibition fight and we keep things toned down."

"Have fun then dear!"

Dear? Shrugging off the unusual name, Wildfire went into the guest room. Looking into the corner, he found the sheath that held his short sword, dubbed Scourge. Though he preferred a long sword, he was too small to use one now. The blade itself was thick, curving slightly in an 'S' form. The blade was a gleaming silver, covered in ornamental runes. Now how am I going to be able to use this to its full extent, yet still look like I'm holding it in hooves? His gaze drifted to his mebrythilium appendage, the engineers had managed to reconstruct a perfectly functioning hand. That's it. With a grin on his face. He adjusted his illusion spell once again. I know SOMEONE's going to be surprised. The spell hadn't even taken a toll on his stamina, as used as he was to it. He smiled as he remembered the first time he attempted a spell, he had tried to lift up a small rock. It had drained him of all his energy and didn't even lift it up. His mentor, Boulder, had laughed at the pitiful attempt. Even after the first failure, Wildfire was urged to continue his attempts. Boulder had told him, Magic is like a muscle, if you don't use it a lot, it will wither and weaken. Only through rigorous exercising can you achieve excellence. Boy was he right. Throughout the years of his life, he had accumulated a massive strength in magic. Not a match for an alicorn or dragon sure, but large nevertheless. Hitching on the sheath, Wildfire exited the boutique and looked for his opponent.

*********

A/N

Yeah, yeah, I'm going to catch a lot of flak about how OP Wildfire clearly is. Yes, he needs to be nerfed to the ground. /sarcasm.

In all seriousness it's not like he can vanquish eight Ursa Majors with his awesome or teabag Celestia, Luna, Chrysalis and Discord all at once while eating ice cream or anything. So haters bug off. Wildfire is not a Mary Sue, the test says so. Hell, apparently he has enough personality and traits for three OCs...