Evoker

Light was streaming in through the windows as I opened my eyes.  ‘I must have slept for a while.  The sun is already up,’ I thought.  As I began to wake up I heard hushed voices nearby.  One of them was Fluttershy, but I couldn’t place the other one.  I couldn’t help but mentally kick myself as I thought, ‘Of course she would go get someone.  I am a creature she has never seen before.  If I was in her place I would probably do the same thing.

“I found him at the edge of the Everfree Forest last night.  He was hurt so I just had to bring him in and patch him up.  Even if I hadn’t seen anything like him before,” Fluttershy explained in a voice that seemed even quieter than usual, if that was even possible.

A second voice, only slightly louder than Fluttershy’s broke the silence.  “So you just brought it into your cottage and fixed it up?  It could have been violent.  It could have hurt you!”  This other pony obviously cared for Fluttershy.  Maybe it was a friend or family member.

Fluttershy spoke up again, this time louder.  “But he wasn’t violent.  He was actually pretty nice when I spoke with him.”

“Wait, this thing can talk?” the other voice asked incredulously.

I finally opened my eyes and decided to speak up, “Yes, this thing can talk, and it is also awake.”

I looked around and my eyes settled on a purple pony with a horn.  By now, this didn’t even surprise me.  She was staring at me with wide eyes filled with a mixture of fear and curiosity.  ‘Well, curiosity is a good thing.  That means I may actually get somewhere.  And I believe Fluttershy said the ones with horns can do magic.  Maybe she can help me,’ I thought.

I sat myself up on the couch and said, “I am called Evoker.  I am sure you have a lot of questions for me, but may I at least know your name first?”

She recovered quickly from the shock of seeing me talk and said, “My name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student to Princess Celestia.  Nice to meet you, but I have to ask, what are you and where are you from?”

I thought for a second and said, “I am a human, and I actually come from a different world, although I didn’t mean to come here.  The spell that sent me here had very open criteria for choosing a destination, and I ended up here.  It could have been worse.”

Twilight seemed to think over the information I had just given her before launching into several more questions, “Wait, you can do magic?  How do you work it without a horn?  And what do you mean by other world?  Why did you leave your world?”

I held up a hand to quiet her as I thought how best to answer her questions.  After a few minutes, I spoke up and said, “Yes I can use magic.  Most, if not all, of the population from my world can use magic in some way.  We focus it through thought, but it is aided by spirits that exist everywhere in the world.  Some people bond with spirits of fire, water, earth, air, or energy and that opens new avenues of magic.”  I stopped for a second to take a breath and had to hold up my hand to stop her from launching into a new line of questioning.  “By another world, I literally mean from another universe from this one.  My people have a way of observing and sending things to other worlds.  People can even travel to other worlds on purpose, although this isn’t usually done.  Navigation tends to be a problem.  And I didn’t want to leave my world, but I had no choice.”

“Why wouldn’t you have had a choice?”  Fluttershy spoke up this time, genuine curiosity in her voice.  She seemed excited to learn more about me.

I was silent for a moment.  How was I going to explain what was going on to them?  As far as the people of my world were concerned, I was a murderer and a monster.  How would these two react to knowing about the crimes that were pinned on me, even if I hadn’t actually committed them?  After all, all they would have to go on is my word.

Fluttershy must have seen noticed my discomfort and said, “You don’t have to tell us now, if you don’t want to, right Twilight?”  She shot a look at Twilight who nodded reluctantly.

I let out a relieved sigh and said, “Thank you.  It is difficult to talk about right now.  Maybe when I have time to come to terms with it myself it will be easier.  But right now I would just like to find a way to reclaim my spirits and find my way home.”

“We will help him, right Twilight?  There must be something we can do.”

“I don’t even know if I can help.  I don’t know anything about other worlds or anything like that.  I’ll try to find something that can help, but I am backed up enough already with this fire problem the princess sent me,” Twilight explained.

My curiosity was piqued when I heard ‘fire problem’.  ‘Could one of my spirits have made it this far?  Is it possible that I accidentally latched onto its energy trail when I took control of the banishment spell?’

“What fire problem, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Twilight turned to me, clearly debating whether or not to tell me.  Finally she said, “Somepony is setting magical fires in the woods near the base of Canterlot Mountain.  There is no sign of the culprit, the fires take several unicorns and pegasi working together just to keep them contained, and some ponies swear the fire has intentionally moved towards them.  Some claim they saw some sort of face in it as well.  Celestia warned me that the fires are spreading towards Ponyville, and if they spread across the plains and reach Whitetail Wood, Ponyville could be destroyed.”

I started piecing together what it might be in my head, but I couldn’t confirm it one hundred percent, so I asked, “Is there some sort of spell that could be causing all this?  Or a creature that could do this on its own?”

Twilight shook her head, “No and no.  I have been looking through all the books I have on fire magic and magical creatures.  Nothing like this has turned up in any of them.  And the strange part is, it started moving more quickly towards Ponyville last night.  I don’t know what to do other than get everypony together to fight the fire when it gets here, and that still may not be enough.”

The gears started turning in my head as the pieces started falling into place.  A worried look crossed my face and I said, “I think I may know what is causing those fires, and if I am right, I need to get to the fire as fast as possible.”

“How could you know what it is, and why would you need to deal with it?” Twilight asked, “We’ve handled dangerous situations before.”

I looked her straight in the eye and said, “I need to get to it because it is most likely my fault those fires are headed here.  It is most likely my fire spirit, Singed.  The spell that brought me here could have followed the energy trail from the spell that sent it here.”  My expression grew more concerned, and I continued, “It is most likely out of control.  Fire spirits usually are when they are separated from their masters.  It is also likely that it can sense me through the remnants of the bond.”

“Is that why the fire started heading towards Ponyville?”  Fluttershy asked.

“Most likely.  It probably doesn’t want to be held captive again, so it is coming to get rid of me and anything else that gets in its way.   I have to regain control over it.  Otherwise…”  I trailed off, not wanting to describe what could happen.

Rather than fear, a determined expression was set on Twilight’s face.  “We have to stop it then.  We can’t let it hurt anypony, so we need to get to Canterlot and help you regain control over it.”

“I don’t know if I can.  I may be recharged magically, but I am still injured and I only have one other spirit to counter it.”

“Those aren’t problems.  I know enough healing magic to deal with cuts like the one on your shoulder, and other unicorns in Canterlot can help hold it back.”

“You don’t understand.  Singed will most likely be in the center of the blaze.  We would need many skilled magic users to hold up a barrier.  I might be able to make it in alone though.  I have a few tricks and I don’t want anyone to get hurt by helping me.”

At this Fluttershy spoke up, “You can’t go alone though.  You could get hurt or worse.  At least let Twilight and I go with you.  Twilight can hold a barrier, and I could help if anyone gets injured.  I can make a few burn remedies.”

Twilight spoke up next, “Plus, there is no way you are getting there without our help.  I’m not so sure I want Fluttershy to go, but if she can help then I think we should let her.  Plus, if you work with just us we can make sure there is no panic over a strange alien creature suddenly appearing in Equestria.”

I considered all of their points.  The three of us could go together as a small task force.  Twilight could hold a barrier, Fluttershy can keep watch and give first aid if necessary, and I could use my magic to reassert my control over Singed when we get to it.  Plus, by keeping me out of the public eye we could reduce the chance of me causing a panic, and I could start searching the multiverse for my other spirits once this is dealt with.

I dared feel optimistic, and a small smile came to my lips.  “Okay, if we work together, we can get in, stop Singed, and get out without anything worse than a slight burn, if that.  Just one rule.  If something goes wrong and I tell you to run, you run.  I don’t want either of you to get hurt after helping me out.”  At this they both gave me a nod.  “Then let’s get ready and go.  We want get to Singed before it gets to us.”