The train bellowed smoke as it pulled into Coltic Falls' station, and brought with it Flashpoint and Cold Facts, who came to find answers at Vast's facility. When they got out of the station, they were met with glares from the residents, which consisted of ponies, griffons, and the occasional minotaur. Flash had never been outside of Equestria and was quite out of his environment.

"Well, lead on..." Flashpoint nudged at Cold.

"What do you mean, lead?" Cold responded confused.

"Aren't you leading us to your father's facility?"

"Actually, we didn't get there by land..., Bright and I were brought and left there on chariots..."

"Great..." Flash walked up to one of the ponies at the station, "Uh..., Excuse me, do you know where we could get directions?" He was met with silence from the stallion, who walked off without a word. He tried again with a mare, but she did the same, as did everypony else he talked to. "What's wrong with everypony?" Flash stood baffled.

"Perhaps we should ask somepony in authority?" Cold suggested.

"Yeah...., good call."

The proceeded to find the mayor, and were met with more glares as they walked through the town.

"Why are they staring at us...?" Flash felt extremely uncomfortable.

"I would be suspicious of anyone if I lived nearby an insane asylum..." Cold muttered.

"Yeah..." Flash agreed, "Ah! That looks like the town hall." Flash pointed to a taller building that had an emblem of a waterfall on the top of the building.

"Obviously, lets go." The two stallions went inside and were met with even more glares, though one of them actually bother to approach them. "Are you the mayor of this town?" Cold asked him.

"Aye, I would be..." The stallion replied, "What business do you have with me?" Flash could tell how tired and annoyed the mayor was.

"We want directions to Vast's facility." As soon as Cold said that, the other citizens began to murmur and jeer at them.

"Come with me..." The mayor led them outside and they walked for a while til they reached a stone gateway, guarded by two large stallions with spears. "Here..., follow the road, and you will reach the ruins..."

"Ruins?" They both asked.

"Yes..., three months ago, the 'Iron Hell' burned down in a great flame.... I sent some stallions to check the debris, but they found no survivors..."

"None....?" Cold asked again.

"None...." The mayor repeated.

"Then why the guards?" Flash asked this time, "If there were no survivors, why all the security? And why is everypony staring at us?"

"It's none of your business...." The mayor muttered.

"Look, I'm Canterlot Firepony Chief Flashpoint, I'm here on orders from Princess Celestia of Equestia and I wish to know what's happening in this town, because I want to help you..." This caught both the mayor and Cold off guard, "I've noticed how fearful some of your citizens looked and I can see you're exhausted from something, so just tell me what's going on here."

The mayor sighed, "Very well.... You see, there have been several intrusions here the past week..."

"By who?"

"We don't know...., but he leaves the ponies that live in that house traumatized and crazed, raving about his 'eye'..., I'm at a loss on what to do!"

"When was his last break in?" Cold joined in the investigating finally; he seemed tense.

"Yesterday..." The mayor broke into tears, "He attacked my son and his family and left them broken!" Flash walked up to him and held his hoof.

"I'm sorry for what happened..." Flash whispered, "I'll help out in any way I can when we get back..." Flash then motioned to Cold and they went on their way down the path towards the 'Iron Hell'....

The mayor went back to the town hall and entered his office, "Odd...., I never closed the curtains..."

"I did that..." A voice spoke and startled the mayor. His chair turned around to reveal a hooded stallion sitting in it. A glowing purple dot where his right eye would've been was all that the mayor could see. The mayor tried to open the door and leave, but couldn't.

"I took the liberty of fixing the lock on that door, but it has this lousy malfunction of locking us in..." The intruder laughed.

"Who are you?" The mayor demanded.

"Why, didn't your son tell you?" The intruder removed his hood, causing the mayor to gasp, "I'm Psych-Optic..."

The mayor now knew what his son and the others meant about an 'eye', as that was where the purple light came from, a robotic eye!

"What do you want from me?!?" The mayor now terrified.

Psych-Optic chuckled as he got up from the chair and slowly walked towards the mayor, "Nothing from you, per-say, but I heard that there were two new arrivals heading over to 'Iron Hell', would these rumors be true?" He asked as he was about five inches away from the mayor's face, his synthetic eye whirring as it stared into his eye.

"If I say yes, what are you going to do to me?" The mayor huddled against the wall in absolute terror.

"I'll leave. Simple as that." Psych-Optic went to the window, "Oh! I almost forgot!" He stopped and turned around, "Tell me the names of the two arrivals..."

"I only know one, his name was Flashpoint, Firepony Chief of Canterlot, and he was sent by Pricess Celestia of Equestria!" The mayor covered his head to avoid the eye's constant gaze.

"Canterlot, eh? Hmm......, well, I must thank you for your service, but I'm afraid I can't let you roam about with such information..." Psych-Optic smiled.

"BUT YOU SAID-!!"

"I said I would leave, I never said I'd leave without having a little fun... Haha....Haha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"NO! NO! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Flashpoint and Cold Facts followed the path that eventually led them into a wood. They were silent for some time but then Cold spoke up, "Why so concerned about the problems in that village?"

"Why aren't you?" Flash asked back rather angrily, "A crazed stallion is going around turning others mad and you're not concerned?"

Cold was silent; he looked away from Flashpoint and then stopped, "I'm worried about my father..." Cold muttered.

Flash felt really dumb, "Right......, no survivors...." He walked back over to Cold, "I'm sorry...., but I thought you hated how Vast was?"

"I do..." Cold answered, "But I can remember when I loved him..." Cold closed his eyes, "I remember showing him my test scores...., and when I would sit outside in the snow every year, waiting for him to come home for Hearth's Warming..." Tears began to appear. "Now I'll never see him again.., and it's all because of her...."

Flashpoint sighed, "I know how you feel...., I lost someone I loved to Pyre's flame myself, my older brother, Fire Fight..." Flash told Cold about what happened to Fire Fight and of his own conflict with Pyre, of how he would've killed her with his bare hooves if not for Celestia's intervention.

"I would have never known..." Cold whispered, "You seem so.... cheery..."

Flash smirked, "Only when I can..., c'mon on, still more road to go..." The two continued there way through the quiet forest, the few sounds being the buzzing of bees and the rustling of leaves. They trekked for about an hour before they reached the end of the forest, and that's when the saw it, in the distance, a lone building scorched to a black, the grass around it burned away, and debris scattered around it, the place many refer to as...

"'Iron Hell'... This is the place... I guess..." Flashpoint turned to Cold, who was looking down. Cold then looked at Flash and nodded, and the two of them headed down to the ruined asylum....

Author's Note

And back with Pyre again, trying to get back into the swing of things. Tell me what you think and feel free to speculate.