Pyre's Reckoning

It was utterly silent in the burned crater where Vast's 'Iron Hell' once stood, all except for a single burning flame that floated amongst the rubble, observing the debris, looking for something...

The Flame darted over to a fire-like color sticking out from the ash. The Flame made a disturbing noise which might be described as a laugh and it touched the flame shape, causing it to flicker to life. The fiery shape rose from the ashes like a great phoenix, covered in searing flares that swirled around the ashen-colored mare that rose with it; it was the mane of Pyre.

She was asleep; resting from the fiery explosion she had created in her rage and fury. An explosion so powerful that it incinerated the building and anything that was left of Vast's research there.

"Awaken.... my Pyre...."

Pyre's fiery eyes slowly opened to the sound of her Flame's voice.

"Fire...." Pyre weakly spoke as she opened her eyes. What she first saw did not comfort her; the smoking crater filled with ash and debris.

"It's gone...the Hell I lived in for so long..... ashes at last..." Pyre spoke sadly. Though she truly hated the 'Iron Hell' and all the torture and pain Vast had done and caused to her..... she felt no happiness in it's destruction....

"....Vast is still out there.... running like the coward he is...with the same stallion that had stopped me those three months ago..." Pyre began to climb out from the crater, thinking again on what had happened those three months ago...

"You... joined with me Fire... to destroy Canterlot and their princesses..." Pyre remembered every word, every movement, every breath that had happened during that battle...., but she remembered the aftermath as if it took place only moments ago..., it was that clear in her memory...

"I felt so... strange... so warm... not like....fire......." She felt to her heart, "Warm like.....before...."

Pyre stopped in her climb and thought back, back to when she felt the same 'warm'.....

"Candelle..., meet your new baby sister..., Chandelee...."

The newborn foal opened her new eyes, revealing luminous yellow eyes, like two little suns, shining brightly on her small pale yellow face. She had a tiny tuft of red hair for her short mane and she glowed with spirit. She looked at her new older sister and cooed as she smiles.

"Do you want to hold her Candelle?"

The pale orange filly nodded and opened her arms for her cooing sister. Her mother helped her hold the foal and she rocked her sister.

Little Candelle never felt so warm....

Three tears fell from the fiery mare's burnt orange eyes and splashed onto the scorched earth under her. She realized what the warm feeling was...

Her fiery mane began to flow as a Flame grew from the flares. It's scorching red eyes were focused on the spot where the tear fell. It scowled at them and the wet ash began to boil. The Flame then turned to his Pyre.

"You are sad, my Pyre...." It's voice lacked much of the care it had for her and was now like a burning fire.

"......................" Pyre said nothing, she kept her head down and away from her Fire.

The Flame grew large and fierce in anger, but then shrunk back to normal.

"My Pyre...." The Flame spoke softly, but still did not have the caring tone, "I only want what's best for you my Pyre..."

Pyre gave no response for some moments.

"Do you love me...?"

Her question wiped the area of all noise, even that of the Flame. It remained silent for a minute. Then it finally spoke, "What do you mean, my Pyre...?"

The Flame knew fully well already...

Pyre raised her head to the Fire, "....you don't make me feel...." She paused and puts a hoof to her chest, "....warm..."

The Fire floated silently for a moment and then began to grow, limbs forming and smoke billowing around it's head, until it becomes the Fire Alicorn. It stood tall over the ashen mare.

"My Pyre......, we are one..., I am a part of you... as you are a part of me...." The Fire Alicorn moved and pointed to her flame cutie mark, "Such is the whim of fate..."

Pyre's head sank to the charred ground.

"But you must remember...., I am your Fire..."

The Fire Alicorn then disappears into a swirl of flame and smoke, leaving Pyre alone among the debris and ash...... and feeling cold....

Thermal Vision yawned as he trotted to the Canterlot Firepony station. He enjoyed when Flashpoint went out of town, allowing him to sleep in. As usual, he was up late the night before. Thermal never gave a straight answer as to why he stays up so late, because he changes the excuse. Sometimes it would be bird-watching, at others, home improvement, and even once, being nabbed by sky pirates. Nopony believed any of these stories though, but Flash ignored all of them. He respected Thermal's diligence in his work was enough for him. Also that it's nopony's business what a stallion does at night.

Thermal walked into the station and waved, expecting to be greeted by somepony, but was greeted with only silence.

"Huh...? Where is everypony..?" Thermal wondered out-loud as he looked around, but still nopony around.

"This is just odd..." He trotted up to the locker room. "What the hay...?" The locker room was trashed. Their were suits and equipment all over the floor and the lockers were thrashed. He walked around and inspected the damage until he heard a moaning sound and went over to it.

"Ahhh!"

It was a Firepony, Flame Wheel. He lied on the floor huddled near the wall. His eyes were wide and bugged out, and his face was filled with absolute terror.

"Flame Wheel?! Are you okay?! What the hay?! Where are the others?!"

Flame Wheel answered all of Thermal's questions with a single, low moan, sending shivers down Thermal's spine.

"There... that wasn't so hard now was it...? A strange voice laughed from the other room.

Thermal went in and gasped loudly; all of the other Fireponies were on the floor in the same state as Flame Wheel, all except Hot Spot, who was standing in front of a light grey unicorn stallion with a purple mane. The stallion had dark patches on his coat and in his mane, suggesting he had been through a fire. Thermal paid no mind to that, as he was too focused on the intruder's robotic right eye.

"Hehehe..." The intruder chuckled, "You must be Thermal Vision..." The intruder put a hoof to Hot Spot's side and pushed him to the floor.

"Hot Spot!!" Thermal rushed over to his friend and checked him over; his face was the same as the others. "What did you do to him?!?"

The intruder chuckled again, "I broke his mind..." The intruder smiled, "He refused to tell me what I wanted to know..., so I broke him..."

Thermal embraced his fallen friend and held him close. He then stands up and turns to the intruder, his eyes fogged with tears.

"You MOTHER-BUCKER!!!!"

Thermal charged at the intruder in his emotion-driven anger. The intruder smiles at the stallion's anger and uses his horn to lock Thermal with magic.

"Hehehehe...., I am Psych-Optic..., a.... psychologist of sorts... hehehe..."

Thermal watched as Psych-Optic's robotic eye sparked as it looked at him in the eye.

"What do you want?!" Thermal demanded loudly.

"Hehe... I merely wish to know more about the chief here..., Flashpoint isn't it..?" He turned to the huddled ponies who all hid their heads from him, "They didn't tell me willingly..., so I shattered their wills....." Psych-Optic smiled again, "Are you willing to cooperate...?"

"Buck you!!!"

Psych-Optic's face beamed with sick delight.

"How wonderful..."

His robotic eye sparked wildly as it began to grow. It grew bigger... and bigger... and bigger. Thermal couldn't believe what he was seeing; the eye was now the size of Canterlot castle, somehow still in the same room. Electricity shot out everywhere as the massive metallic eye slowly looked down at the tiny stallion before it, who was shaking with fear.

Psychotic laughter echoed and screeched around terrified Thermal. It was Psych-Optic's voice, but distorted and constantly changed pitch and tone.

"sO LeTS sEe hOW yOu WoRK!!!!"

The giant artificial eye loomed over Thermal as it's purple lens glowed down on him. It seemed impossible how such a huge object could be in this room, which seemed unrealistically large room. The glowing lens shot out purple lightning down at Thermal, who barely grazed it and took off running. After what seemed like hours, Thermal spotted a door, an odd pink door, and he bolted to it. He went in, only to find himself in a warm, pink room.

"I know this place..." Thermal softly said to himself.

"Do you now...?"

Thermal turned around and found Psych-Optic standing behind him where the door once was. Thermal attempted to punch him, but the crazed stallion caught it with his own hoof, and began to crush it. Thermal cried in pain; he never thought such a stallion capable of such unreal strength.

"Don't even try to resist..." Psych-Optic proceeded to tear off Thermal's entire arm right off with his single hoof, and Thermal fell to the floor, screaming in pain. There was no blood or muscle, but a green ooze that spurted out of the empty socket.

"You cannot hide any of your secrets from me..." Psych-Optic smiled as he pinned the now three-legged stallion to the floor.

"Now lets see what you hide..." The mad stallion's horn then turns into a spinning metal drill and he smirks as he brings it closer to his captive's forehead.

Thermal screamed and writhed as the drill sinks deep into his head. He was dead though, he would've taken notice if not for the immense pain and agony he was going through at the moment.

Psych-Optic smiled throughout the entire drilling and after a whole minute of this torture, he yanks the drill out and it reverts t his normal horn.

Thermal was finally allowed a moment to breath from the intense pain. It was then that he realized that he wasn't dead, as one who'd been drilled in the head would be. He moved the front leg that was still attached up and felt where the drill had gone through. He feels a hole in his forehead and sees a yellow light coming out from it. He then screamed in pain again as something tries to push out of the hole. He opened his eyes and saw a pink hoof protruding out before closing them again and cried in pain. The pink hoof pressed harder through the hole and it painfully stretched to allow a second pink hoof to squeeze out.

Psych-Optic had a twisted grin on as Thermal squirmed in agony from the object trying to come out from the hole. He decide to speed things along and pulled the object out, causing Thermal another great surge of pain.

"Get up... she waits for you..."

Thermal looked and saw what had squeezed out from the hole in his head: a mare. No just any mare, she was his very special somepony. Her pink coat would have made her blend into the walls if not for her bright violet mane and her shimmering green eyes. Her cutie mark was a flower with a red heart for its blossom.

Thermal was again baffled at this; how did she come out of a small hole drilled into his head?! These thoughts were replaced however, when she started walking toward him.

"Hi Thermal..." She said softly. She was unaware of Thermal's missing limb, and of the shining yellow hole in his head.

"Uh...." Thermal was unable to form the right words, "Hi.. Heart Blossom...."

"Something wrong Thermy...?" She asked flirtatiously, still oblivious to his wounds, and to the mad stallion walking behind her.

"Well...?" Psych-Optic moved to her, "You love her don't you...? Or is it because of her profession.... that you're ashamed of your love for her...? Ashamed for your love of a prostitute...." He smiled, "Yes.... she's who you meet late each night..." He moves closer to her face, Thermal unable to move for some reason, "So you can embrace in your love.... your true love.... how.... sick......"

Suddenly the room turns a hellish red and Thermal finds himself strapped to the wall, Heart opposite him. She looked around as if she came out of a daydream and saw Thermal.

"Thermy!! You're leg!!" Heart screamed, now seeing him as he is, "What's going on?!?!"

"It's quite simple my little tart..."

Psych-Optic was now standing on a floating platform between the two, a sick pleasure smeared on his face.

"My profession...."

The floor far beneath them boiled and rolled into a searing acid rising slowly to them.

"And I do so enjoy it..."

Heart's straps disappear and she falls.

"THERMAL!!!"

"HEART!!!!!!"

Tears poured from Thermal's blank eyes. He was standing in front of Psych-Optic, in the Firepony station. Everything Thermal saw was in his mind. None of it was real. Nothing except Thermal's horrified sorrow...

"Another mind shattered....." Psych-Optic smiled, then pushed Thermal's unresponsive body to the floor next to Hot Spot, both having the same blank horror on their faces.

"Well, I've had my fun..."

Psych-Optic left his victims lying in their shattered minds and went into Flashpoint's office.

"You a quite the complicated pony..." He said as he looked around, "Yet we are not so different..." He picked up a picture frame from Flash's desk, "We both hate that wretch..."

The picture Psych-Optic held was one of Flashpoint's older brother Fire Fight, who perished trying to save Timberhill from the fiery Pyre.

He put the picture in a saddle bag he took from one of the lockers. Other than that, the only other thing in it was the small bag from the green stallion...

Psych-Optic smiled, "I can't wait to meet you...., Flash...."