Pyre's Reckoning

Flashpoint and Cold Facts stood in total silence from the recording, the only noises were the faint humming from the light, and the unison breathing of the two stallions. The silence was broken by the disc ejecting from the device. Flash looked over at Cold, his face for the first time broke down. Cold's lowered brow was gone and his eyes sparkled from the tears running down his face. Cold's glasses slipped off his face and hit the floor, but he didn't notice. His eyes were still focused on that last image of his father: laughing, that 'eye' looking into the camera with that purple glare....

"Cold....," Flash sighed and put his hoof on Cold's shoulder, "I'm sorry, but we should hurry and get the evidence together 'n leave..."

Cold said nothing; he closed his eyes, nodded, picked his glasses up, and went to putting the discs in his saddlebag.

Pyre was still shaking; she nearly gave herself away while the recording played. Just the sound of Vast's monotone, cruel voice was enough to make her shiver, even with the blanket of fire wrapped around her. But then she heard that he survived; she was in a panic.

"No......., n-no......," Pyre muttered to herself, "He's.....gone......, isn't he.....?" Vast' mad laughter at the end of the recording was still ringing in her ear, and the more she thought about, the more sure she was that Vast was still alive. "He'll imprison me, and poke and prod, and torture me, just like he used to!"

Then, the blanket of flame wrapped around Pyre began to flare, her eyes and horn glowed fiery orange, and the very air around her began to boil.

"NOT THIS TIME!!"

"What was that?" Flash barely got the question out before the wall where the door was blew apart, flares and debris scattering. When the smoke cleared, Flash saw the last pony he wanted to see; the mare who burned down the 'Iron Hell'...

"Pyre..." Flash muttered.

Her attention was more focused on Cold, who in the purple light, looked like his father Vast.

"You thought you could imprison me again, and prod me with your devices!" Pyre shouted, flames bursting behind her, "But I have you now, VAST," More flares launched around the burning mare, "This time I'll make sure you BURN!!"

Pyre launched a barrage of flares and fireballs at Cold who crouched as he prepared to meet his fate. Flash quickly pushed on the emblem of his uniform and jumped in the way of the scattershot.

"Heh...Heh... What?!?"

The smoke cleared to reveal Flashpoint in the armor that Celestia gave him. The very same armor that helped to defeat Pyre three months ago.

"You didn't think I'd come to this burn mark without insurance now, did'ya?" Flash smirked at the seething mare.

"You side with HIM?!?!" Pyre shouted and writhed in the air, floating on the searing flames. "That monster who tortured me for years here, took the rest of what little I had!!!" Flash notice Pyre's voice breaking off, as if somepony else was saying it. He heard Candelle, not Pyre, opening her pain to them...

"I.... I'm sorry, Pyre....," Flash stuttered, "But this pony is not the stallion that tortured you, he's-"

"LIES!!" Pyre screamed, large flares bursting around her. She raised her hooves and created more fireballs, and hurled them at the two, but is was in vain as they bounced off Flash's armor.

"GRRR-RAAAGAGGAHGAGGGHHHH!!!"

Pyre flailed and squirmed above the scorching fire, seething in rage. More flares shot from her hooves at the trapped stallions.

"Flashpoint!" Cold finally got himself together, "We need to get out of here!"

"I'm open to ideas!" Flash strained as he stood his ground, being pushed back by the constant hail of flares.

Cold thought for a second and then realized, "Those stairs looked like they'd been out since the fire! Vast must have had a secret exit!"

"Well, look!" Flash yelled, "I'm kinda busy at the moment!"

Cold looked around the purple-lit room, though the smoke made it difficult. Eventually, he noticed strange lines in the floor under the desk.

"Cover me!" Cold raced over to the desk.

"AARRAHHGHH!!!" Pyre shouted, now shooting flares and fireballs at Cold. Flash quickly jumped in to reflect the attacks away from Cold as he looked around the metal desk.

Cold reached his hoof under the desk, "There's got to be something.... AH!" A button click and the floor underneath the desk folded down to reveal Vast's emergency escape route.

Cold crawls underneath and starts going down the hole, "Hurry!" Cold grabs Flashpoint's leg and pulls him under and in the hole.

"NOOOOOOO-AAAHGHGGHHHHH!!" Pyre screamed. Flames erupted around her, everything in the room beginning to melt from the extreme heat. Vast's notes and schematics and devices are incinerated and the names of all of his victims of his sadistic practices are lost in the ash...

"He won't get away..... hehe....HAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!!" Pyre laughs as she creates a large cauldron on scorching fire.

"GAHAHAH!!" She launches it down the hole, fixed on the intention of roasting Vast into oblivion.

"Hurry up!"

The two stallions crawled through the chute as fast as they could, but it wasn't long before they began to hear rumbling coming from behind them.

Flashpoint looked back and saw a glow getting constantly brighter.

"Buck."

Flash grabbed Cold and braced for the flame. BOOM! Flashpoint's armor protected them from the massive flare, and they rocket through the chute until the two are launched from the other side of the escape route.

They flew through the air and crashed into the tops of the trees. The two were back in the forest outside the facility.

"Ugh... Ow..." Flash got up onto his hooves wobbling from the impact. "Cold? You...okay..?"

Cold Facts was hanging upside down from a branch, "No...."

Pyre was standing in the middle of the now scorched room, breathing heavily and shaking.

"He's not gone...." She mumbled, "They're still alive......" She started to cry, though this time, the tear were real, as they came from her very core...

"Pyre....."

The Flame appeared behind her and molded itself into the Fiery Alicorn.

"Why are you crying, my Pyre,,,?" The Flaming Being comforted her, though staying away from the tears dripping from his sparkling eyes.

"He's still alive Fire!" Pyre dropped to the Fire Alicorn's leg and cried into it, "Vast is still alive! He's going to lock me away again! And the one firepony is helping him!"

The Being's smoky mane shivered from the tears, but it didn't let Pyre notice it. "It's alright my little Pyre..., your flame grows stronger every moment, and soon...., Vast won't matter anymore...., once we're with your family again...."

The Fiery Alicorn shrank into a wisp of flame and then faded off as Pyre's mane began to burn fiercely, becoming fire, and her eyes and horn flared orange.

"I will be with my family again....., AND NOT EVEN VAST WILL STOP ME FROM BEING WITH THEM!!!!!!!"

The room sears with light as flames rocketed up through the stairway and burst through every room in the facility...

Flash and Cold were climbing down the tree when they saw the 'Iron Hell' explode in a geyser of fire, bursting into thousand of pieces of debris, soaring through the sky and crashing into the ground, until only a large burnt crater remained where 'Iron Hell' once was....

"We better get going..."

"I agree...."

The two stallions jumped out off the tree and ran off to Coltic Falls, to return to Canterlot and Celestia with the recordings of the sadistic doctor....