Fire of the Flame Ponies

The Mane Six flipped through books and scrolls to find facts about Flame and Frost. Rainbow Dash found ONE simularity, at least-- But it turned out that it wasn't true.

''Shoot. I was hoping we'd find a certain book here, but...'' Twilight said.

''What was the book's name?'' Applejack asked her.

Twilight thought for a moment, then said, ''Flame and Frost's Simularities and Opposites. I have the same book at the library in Ponyville, but never read it.''

Pinkie Pie quickly scanned a random shelf.

''Flame and Frost's Simularities and Opposites?'' Pinkie tossed an orange and white leathery book from the ''F'' section.

''YES!'' Twilight shouted happily. A librarian came up and said, ''Shhh!''

''Heh, sorry,'' Twilight apologized sheepishly. The librarian shrugged and walked away.

''What's inside it, Twi?'' Applejack asked.

''I don't know,'' Twilight replied. ''Let's see.''

With her lavender unicorn magic, she flipped the pages to an orange glowing page. The glow from it nearly blinded the ponies.

''Twilight, what-- what is that?'' Fluttershy asked, covering her eyes with her hooves.

The glowing stopped. A shape of an oval with a small rectanglish shape at the bottom with a small hole in the center appeared. A... Key.

''Guys, it's a key!'' Twilight whispered softly.

''What do you reckon we use a key for?'' asked Applejack.

''Maybe the book can give us a hint,'' Twilight guessed. She flipped the pages to page 147, and read the words out loud:

Flame and Frost are similar because of pain they might have caused long ago. A young alicorn mare named Wrigglesworth sat down and said that Flame had caused pain to the subjects on the right side of Equestria, hence Frost caused pain to the left side.

A key, called the Key of Challenge, was used to defeat an Alicorn named Shredder Boom.

''Uh, that's it?'' Rainbow asked.

''Well, there's more, but it's useless,'' Twilight answered. ''We have answers to TWO of our questions...''

''So... Frost DID cause pain, and of course, FLAME did,'' Rainbow said. ''Flame is on the right side of equestria right now. So what they're saying is that Flame is causing trouble HERE, and some FROST are on the LEFT side. It makes SENSE now.''

''Exactly, Rainbow,'' Twilight said. ''So we have the answer to the first part of the riddle. 'Flame and Frost have no diff', it means they both cause pain. And that's a HUGE thing. The RIGHT side of Equestria needs snow, it's getting near Hearth's Warming Eve. But on the LEFT side, it's summer... And it doesn't NEED snow.''

''But what about the key?'' Fluttershy asked and pointed to the golden key.

''Well... I also read that there's a keyhole somewhere in the cliffs. And it opens up to an entrance.''

''So that's where we need to go!'' Applejack said. Twilight nodded and checked the book out.

As soon as the ponies got there, they didn't see any keyholes. Even Pinkie Pie, the best finder of the six, didn't find anything at all. Rainbow Dash found another keyhole, but the key didn't fit into it.

''How are we going to even UNLOCK the entrance if there's no keyhole to it?'' Rarity asked.

Twilight flipped through Flame and Frost's Simularities and Opposites, and read something aloud from the page:

The keyhole to the Key of Challenge does not appear when you get to Shredder's Cliff, but instead appears when you can persuade a Flame Pony to open it for you. A Flame Pony will use its magic with its horn to open the entrance and let you in on one condition; If you can do what it asks you to do, it will let you through.

''So we gotta find a Flame Pony out of nowhere and get it to open the entrance for us? And then we gotta do what it says to get past?'' Applejack asked.

''I guess so,'' Twilight answered before placing the book back into her saddlebag. ''But you can't always trust books; Unless the author has actually met one.''

Rainbow looked at the cover and said, ''Roserobin B. Hurricane.'' Rainbow looked at Twilight, ''THE Roserobin?'' Twilight's eyes were as big as dinner plates.

''Oh my!... I've been reading this book but didn't bother even looking at the author's name!'' she exclaimed.

Applejack sighed.

''Does it even MATTER right now?'' AJ said. ''Problem solved! Now we gotta find a Flame Pony and--'' A figure of a small Alicorn about the size of the other Flame Ponies flew past the six.

''And--'' Applejack stammered.

''What would you need me for?'' the Flame Pony asked.

''Yeah, yeah, now you're going to tell us your name,'' Rainbow Dash yawned.

''Good idea. I'm FireFlight.''

''Unlock the entrance for us,'' Rarity said. Fireflight chuckled.

''I'm afraid I can't do that until you run a quick quest for me.''

''What sort of quest?'' Twilight raised her eyebrow.

''You've always been a curious one, Twilight Sparkle,'' Fireflight said. ''Which for that I'll tell you.''

''Please don't give us another riddle,'' Fluttershy whimpered.

''Oh, no no no,'' Fireflight giggled. ''I promised Firefringe and Shadowflame not to give you another riddle unless you've figured out the previous one. Did you yet?''

''No, er-- Well, part of it,'' Twilight explained. ''JUST GIVE US THE STUPID QUEST NOW!''

''Fine, fine,'' Fireflight said. ''Find Shredder's Crystal in the Southern part of Equestria for me, BEFORE SUNSET.''

The words seemed to echo in Twilight's head, Find Shredder's Crystal BEFORE SUNSET. BEFORE SUNSET. BEFORE SUNSET...

''And where is the Southern Part of Equestria?'' was Twilight's only reply.

''Probably 5 miles east,'' said Fireflight. ''I'm not telling anypony anything else. Good luck.''

The six ponies ran 5 miles towards east, which for every .5 miles they had to rest. Twilight eventually had to break out dinner, since they hadn't eaten all day.

''I'm so glad Fireflight didn't give us another riddle,'' Rarity said. Twilight nodded.

''I have to agree'' Twilight said, ''that it feels good that we don't have two riddles to take care of. I mean, these riddles are important. They can save Equestria!''

''Exactly,'' Rainbow Dash agreed. ''And it feels good when we figure them out.''

''Well guys-- Lets eat!'' Twilight said and gave a toast.