Unquenchable Fire

The Curtain Rises

Medical Facility: Caring Hooves Hospital, Canterlot

Physician: Dr. Petrie

Patient Description: Patient is a male Earth Pony. Bears several wounds along right flank, possible claw marks. Also appears to be under severe psychological stress. Patient does not respond to questions, and demonstrates nervous eye twitch.

Treatment: Close wounds and treat for infection. Additionally, patient will be on bed rest for at least one week. Will conduct full psychological evaluation at the week’s end.

Notes: X-Ray scans show patient has unusual bone structure, most likely a birth defect. Skeleton seems lighter than normal Pony skeleton, and displays small nubs behind front shoulders, similar to Pegasus wing roots. No recommendation  for treatment. Mutations seem benign.

The door to the hospital room swung open and a white Unicorn with a medical coat walked out.

“How is he?” Nimbus asked the pony. He and Stormchaser had stuck around after dropping off the sole survivor of the expedition to the North, in the hope of questioning him.

“Well, it’s hard to say right now,” the doctor replied. “He’s definitely conscious, but mentally, he’s really messed up.”

“How so?” Nimbus asked.

“Well, he doesn’t even remember his own name, for starters. Add that to his constant nervous twitches, and you’ve got a mental basket case.”

“Will he be available for questioning?” Stormchaser asked.

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“Depends on if you’re willing to wait for a week,” the Unicorn replied. “So far, it doesn’t look like he’ll make a recovery for a while.”

“I see,” Nimbus said, turning to Stormchaser. “Should we call it in?”

“I’ll do it,” Stormchaser said, heading down the hall with his helmet and radioing his superiors.

“There’s something else…” the doctor said.

“What?” Nimbus asked.

“His bone structure is quite unusual for an Earth Pony. I think it’s just a birth defect, but it’s very odd…”

“Odd? How so?”

“Well, his skeleton is considerably thinner than normal. All of the bones seem lightweight, and behind his shoulders are two growths, which if I didn’t know better, would say were vestigial wings.”

“Well, I frankly wouldn’t be surprised,” Nimbus said, “judging by the other two ponies we found, I can’t imagine it would be too outlandish to assume this was part of some sort of sick experiment. Of the three ponies we found, one was nailed to a tree, and the other looked like he aged rapidly, and prematurely.”

“Hm, do you suppose spells were at work here?”

“That’s what my partner and I believe. This was more than likely caused by a group of rogue Unicorns.”

“What makes you say that?” the doctor asked.

“Well, Unicorns are the only species in the area that can use magic.”

“What about Changelings?”

Nimbus frowned. “They were defeated years ago. There’s been no sign of them for a while, now.”

“I suppose so,” the doctor said, “I’ll fill you in if anything new happens with the patient.”

“Thanks,” Nimbus said as Stormchaser walked up to him.

“Just got off the radio with command post,” he said, “they’ve decided that this isn’t an immediate threat to Equestria. We’re off alert now.”

Nimbus checked the time on a wall clock. It was now almost four in the afternoon. He still had two hours to set up for the cookout.

“Hey,” he said to Stormchaser, “wanna wrap up this day over some cider and Hayburgers?”

“Huh?”

“The Ponyville Cookout’s going on in about two hours. We can get there in fifteen minutes by air. You interested?”

Stormchaser shrugged. “Sure, I don’t see why not. Those burgers better be as good as you’ve been claiming this whole time.”

“Trust me,” Nimbus said, heading for the exit, “you will not be disappointed.”

…

(Town flyer, from the personal collection of Twilight Sparkle)

Attention Ponies!

Ponyville is holding a cookout in the town square this Friday! There will be food, there will be games, but most of all, there will be fun!

Prepare for:

Food by Mecha, Applejack, and Nimbus!

Music by DJ PON-3, aka Vinyl Scratch!

A Wonderbolts flyover!

Games and prizes!

The cookout will be held at 6:00 p.m.! Don’t miss out on one of the year’s most fun events!

Mecha placed another sizzling apple half on the grill, smelling the fruit’s sweet scent as it wafted towards his nose. He turned to Applejack, who was beside him, doing the same. “Grilled apples…” he said, “you know, I’m really surprised I never thought up something as crazy as this.”

“Well,” Applejack said, “ya may be one for experimentation, but when it comes ta apples, ah’m the one who does the experimentin’.”

“Yeah,” Mecha said, “I guess so.” He turned at the sound of approaching hoofsteps to face Twilight Sparkle, coming from the train station.

“Hey, Twilight,” Mecha said, “how was your meeting with Princess Celestia?”

“Oh, fine,” Twilight said, standing next to the grill. She decided not to mention her suspicions of other activities going on under her nose at the palace. “Princess Celestia and I decided on setting up a procession followed by a festival in Canterlot.”

“Pretty lofty goal there,” Applejack said, “can ya pull it off?”

“Well actually, that’s why I stopped here. We’ve got three days before Princess Cadance and Shining Armor arrive. It’s a lot of work, managing setup for this, and I was wondering if you two would like to help out. I’ll be asking the rest of my friends as well.”

Mecha thought it over. “So Celestia actually trusts me to do this? Eh, why not? I’ve got nothing going on tomorrow. I’ll help”

“Ya can always count me in,” Applejack added.

“Great,” Twilight said, “well good luck with the food. I can’t wait. I’m going to go find everypony else.”

“Later, Twilight!” Applejack said. When she turned back around, she was face-to-face with Nimbus and another Pegasus.

“Con-sarn it!” she swore, jumping into the air. Nimbus positively cracked up. Mecha simply remained calm as ever.

“You’re getting pretty good at that sneaking up bit, Nimbus,” he said, “and it looks like you’re right on time. Who’s your friend?”

“Stormchaser,” the blue Pegasus said before Nimbus could speak, walking forward and extending his hoof. Mecha shook it with his mechanical leg, and Stormcloud raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He’d never seen anything like it before, but he wasn’t about to be rude.

“We were out on a mission today,” Nimbus explained, “and I figured the best way to end the day was to invite my flight partner out here to experience some Ponyville hospitality.”

“Well, you picked the right time to do it.”

Nimbus turned around and saw Octavia approaching.

“Hey, Octavia!” he said, “I sent a letter to you back from Cloudsdale about today. Did you get it?”

“I did,” Octavia said, “and I understood. It’s not a bad idea to take a break from lessons every once in a while anyway. You’ve been working on that saxophone tirelessly for the past few days.”

“Yeah,” said Nimbus, “I guess I have. Is Vinyl Scratch ready for tonight?”

Octavia sighed. “Yes she is. She hasn’t failed to remind me. She’s practically destroyed the house with all of her bass-blasting.”

Mecha laughed. “Yeah, that figures. Did I tell any of you about the time when I was dating Vinyl? She really wasn’t happy when we split…”

Nimbus made his way out into the street with Octavia. “I have to get back to my house,” he said, “I left my ingredients for the Jalapeno Hayburgers there.”

“Mind if I tag along?” Octavia asked.

“Well sure,” Nimbus replied, “safety in numbers, I guess.”

“You plan on getting attacked on the way back?”

“Hardly,” Nimbus said, chuckling. Inside, however, it felt as if a lead ball had dropped in his stomach. Octavia’s words reminded him of his encounter earlier that day. Had it really just been a freak occurrence? Or would today’s encounter come back to haunt him?

“Nimbus, you okay?”

Nimbus shook himself from his daze. “Huh? Oh… yeah, I’m fine.”

Octavia looked worried. “You look like you could use some sleep,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Nimbus said, “I’ll be fine. Besides, how could I sleep through the cookout?!”

Octavia smiled at Nimbus, but from the moment she’d looked into his eyes, she knew something else was going on. She didn’t know what it was yet, but it had obviously been serious enough to shake Nimbus.

…

Medical Facility: Caring Hooves Hospital, Canterlot

Physician: Dr. Petrie

Discrepancy Report: During routine nightly check-in, patient was discovered to be missing. Hospital gown found on bed, and bed sheets found strewn about room, but otherwise no damage. Investigations proved that the patient left at approximately seven p.m. Though law enforcement is currently searching for the patient, no trace has been found. This event is more than likely due to the patient’s mental distress.

A light pink pony walked up to the new patient’s door and knocked softly.

“Sir,” she said, “routine check-in.”

She waited for the patient’s response, but none came. The pony smiled to herself. The patient was more than likely getting rest, and after what he’d been through, she couldn’t blame him in the least. Still, it was her duty to check up on him. She opened the door as silently as she could… and then froze.

No one was there.

The room was empty. Sheets were scattered on the floor, as if somepony had left in a hurry, and the patient’s hospital gown was lying on the bed.

“By Celestia-“ the pony whispered, then ran out the door. Somepony had to know what had happened, and quickly.

…

In Ponyville, the cookout was well underway. At the grill, Nimbus was showing Stormchaser some of the finer points of his Jalapeno Hayburgers. Mecha and Applejack, on the other hand, were working on adding a few new ingredients to the grilled apples.

Rainbow Dash was hanging around Vinyl Scratch’s DJ station, head-banging with the best, when she heard the telltale sound of a flight of Pegasi approaching. Immediately her ears perked up.

“Hey everypony!” she yelled, “it’s the Wonderbolts!”

The crowd turned their heads skyward, as the formation came into view. Slowly they drew closer, mesmerizing Rainbow Dash until they were almost right over Ponyville.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts!” the Mayor announced, “I give you- the Wonderbolts!”

The formation of Pegasi flew over at top speed, trailing black stormclouds. As they reached the cookout, they pulled up and broke into an amazing burst pattern.

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash whooped, “that’s what I’m talking about!”

“Hooah!” Nimbus and Stormchaser yelled, high-hoofing each other. Nimbus was unaware that he was holding a spatula with a Hayburger on it, and flung the morsel sky-high in the excitement. The burger arced gracefully over the crowd, landing squarely on Rainbow Dash.

“Oops,” Nimbus said, eyes wide.

Rainbow Dash growled, then licked the remnants of the burger off of her face.

“Say,” she said, “this isn’t too bad!” Positively beaming, Dash wandered over to Nimbus.

“Spare any of those burgers?”

“I believe I could,” Nimbus said, flipping a patty onto a bun and handing it to Rainbow Dash. “Eat up!”

Dash walked away contentedly with the burger towards the Wonderbolts, who had just landed. Evidently, they wanted to enjoy the cookout as well.

“Well,” Nimbus said to Mecha, stretching, “I guess that’s my first customer. Looks like it’s time to start serving!”

Mecha nodded and stepped up to a massive gong. “Dinner!” he yelled, smacking the gong as hard as possible. Nimbus winced at the noise- he imagined Ponies in Manehatten would have been able to hear Mecha’s dinner call.

Nimbus began dishing out plates left and right, serving his burgers as fast as he could, while Mecha and Applejack complimented his food with grilled apples. Nimbus was amazed at how smoothly everything was running so far.  Finally, when the line died down, Nimbus was left with only one more customer to go.

“Hey, Twilight,” he said to the purple Unicorn, “you want something?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Twilight replied, “you may recall what happened when I tried one of your burgers last year.”

“I do,” Nimbus said, laughing, “let me guess- this is the rematch?”

“It is,” Twilight said with a grim look of determination on her face, “Nimbus- serve the burger.”

With great aplomb, Nimbus constructed a perfect Hayburger for Twilight, which he then placed on his most flawless plate. He did not fail to notice that Mecha and Applejack were watching with interest.

“This is it!” Nimbus cried suddenly, “it’s Twilight Sparkle vs. the Nimbus Special! Who will win? The Nimbus Special is a returning contender from last time, having trounced Twilight early on in the playoffs, but Ms. Sparkle is back for revenge! Fillies and Gentlecolts, this will be a fight to remember!”

Twilight rolled her eyes and lifted the hayburger to her mouth slowly.

“Go on, Twilight,” Applejack said, “ya got this!”

Squinting her eyes shut, Twilight bit off a chunk of the hayburger and began to chew. Initially, nothing happened. It actually looked like Twilight might prove victorious. Then the jalapenos kicked in.

Twilight jumped high into the air, gasping. “Hot, hot, hot!” she yelled, diving for a glass of water which Spike was there to provide.

“Twilight,” Nimbus said, shaking his head as his friend downed her water, “spicy things really don’t agree with you, do they?”

“No,” Twilight said, panting, “they don’t. Not. At. All.”

Nimbus laughed. “Well get out there and enjoy yourself, and I congratulate you for going up against my Jalapeno Hayburger. Not many have the courage to try.”

“Thanks,” Twilight said, giving Nimbus a weak smile and mingling with the crowd. Nimbus smiled, but his smile was short-lived as he remembered once again the terrible discovery he and Stormchaser had made in the North earlier that day. Somepony had to know. Nimbus turned to Mecha.

“Mecha,” he said, “you wanna step away for a moment? There’s something Stormchaser and I need to tell you.”

“We do?” Stormchaser asked.

“Yes,” said Nimbus, “we do.”

“Well sure,” Mecha said, “ as long as I’m back here in five minutes. AJ can’t get all those apples done herself.”

“We won’t be long,” Nimbus said, “come on.”

The Pegasus walked over to a shady tree and sat down. Mecha and Stormchaser followed him and did the same.

“So what’s up?” Mecha asked.

Nimbus sighed. “This morning, as I mentioned before, Stormchaser and I were called out on a mission… to the Frozen North.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Stormchaser said, “that’s classified, isn’t it? This guy’s a civil-“

“Oh trust me,” Nimbus said, “Mecha’s got the clearance. And then some. The guy’s an ex-scout. He can be trusted with this information.”

“So you were saying?” Mecha said, “something about the Frozen North?”

“Yeah,” Nimbus said, “we were sent up there to check on an emergency radio call from an Archaeological team, but when we arrived, we found we were too late.”

“You say ‘too late’,” Mecha said, “why?”

“Because when we arrived at the camp, everything was a mess,” Stormchaser said.

“And on top of that,” Nimbus added, “there were casualties.”

“Casualties?” Mecha asked, “how many?’

“Two,” Nimbus said. “Only one of the expeditionary team survived, and he was in pretty bad shape. Do you know of anything up North that could have done something like this?”

“Describe the wounds,” Mecha said.

“Well, the first Pony we found was nailed to a tree,” Stormchaser said, “and the second one looked prematurely aged.”

“That’s definitely not an animal attack. Too intelligent.”

“That’s what we figured, too,” Nimbus said, “our guess was a rogue group of Unicorns. What do you think?”

Mecha considered this. “Well, it would explain the premature aging. That sounds like something that could have been caused by magic. Still, there are other magical creatures out there. Did you consider Changelings?”

“We did,” Nimbus said, “but they’ve been gone for a long time. We can pretty much rule out Alicorns, too. Celestia, Luna, and Cadance are the only ones I’ve seen.”

“Well, there are plenty of possibilities related to Unicorns,” Mecha said. “There are several small groups out there that would do something like this.”

“Such as?”

“Well, I could compile a list if you want,” Mecha said, “I’ve run into a few of them.”

“That would be great,” Stormchaser said. “Could you?”

“I’ll give the list to Nimbus tomorrow,” Mecha replied, “when we head off to Canterlot.”

“Thanks,” Nimbus said, “that’s going to help a lot. So far, we have no clue who did this.”

Mecha nodded and walked away, leaving Nimbus and Stormchaser staring at the setting sun. Neither knew what to expect in the coming days, but they hoped with Mecha’s help, the mystery of the Archaeological team would be solved.

…

The pink pony nurse sat down in the lobby, crying, as Doctor Petrie approached her.

“Come on, now,” the Unicorn said, sitting next to the distraught pony, “it’s not your fault. He escaped without any of us noticing.”

“B- but he was my responsibility!”

“You did nothing wrong. It could have happened to anypony.”

“Nurse Bubblegum,” a tan pony said, stepping into the lobby, “I have some- Dr. Petrie? What are you doing here?”

The Unicorn doctor looked up. “What are you talking about? I’ve been here all day?”

“Not according to the sign-out desk,” the pony said, “they claim they saw you leave the building about four hours ago.”

“Odd,” said the doctor. “Well, at any rate, I’m here.” He stood. “Nurse Bubblegum, I’ll be here if you need me, alright?”

The nurse nodded, but as Dr. Petrie walked away, she felt a shiver roll down her spine. According to the sign-out desk, Dr. Petrie had left the building four hours ago…

Which was exactly when her patient had allegedly disappeared.