Chapter Ten – Twilight Sparkle

"Umm, apparently." Twilight said, shocked. She couldn't believe that Frostburn had broken out of the restraints they'd set up. The blue pegasus smiled innocently, enjoying control of the situation. He looked about as unprepared as Twilight felt, but he was attempting to come off as arrogant. Twilight was unsure of what to do. A potentially dangerous pony was now loose, and could probably overpower all six of them if things went bad.

"Why you little…" Rainbow Dash prepared to charge the pegasus. Coming to her senses, Twilight put a hoof in Dash's path to block her.

"We have to wait." Twilight reminded her. "We're listening to what he has to say, remember?"

Frostburn nodded. "That's right, Celestia's orders." He said, almost mockingly. Twilight was shocked again.

"Now how in tar nation did you know that?" Applejack exclaimed from her wheelchair. Her bandaged leg prevented her from walking or standing, so when she was well enough to be moved the doctor insisted on the rolling contraption. Twilight knew that Applejack hated it.

Aside from the leg, bandages decorated the better part of AJ's body, covering every burn, and making movement difficult, but staying still uncomfortable.

"Well you were talking pretty loud." Frostburn said. "Now, I assume you have questions."

"Well yeah," Twilight said. In fact she had hundreds. She just hadn't had the time to organize them into a list, so she wasn't sure were to start. Her friends were.

"Why did you burn down Sweet Apple Acres?" AJ started.

"What's with the freaky eyeball glowy thingy?" Pinkie followed up.

"Why did you attack us?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"And why did you invoke an onslaught on Ponyville?" Rarity finished.

Fluttershy looked like she wanted to add something, but was too shy to speak over her friends. Instead she just backed up, afraid of what Frostburn might do.

"And what about the fire?" Twilight managed. "Since when do pegasi have such control over fire?"

Frostburn waited, making sure there were no more questions. Then he spoke.

"It's a very long story." He said. The Mane Six leaned in, prepared to have all their questions answered. Twilight was anxious to learn everything.

"My father was late to my birth…"

Rainbow Dash groaned, unwilling to sit through Frostburn's entire life story which was apparently coming.

"…which was probably what started it all." Frostburn said, annoyed by Rainbow. "You see, my mother… had an affair. I wasn't born a pegasus like my mother or her husband. I was born a unicorn."

Scattered cries of disbelieve and shock rippled through the Mane Six.

"It's true." Frostburn said when they had calmed down. "My real father was a unicorn surgeon from the hospital I was born at. Since my mom's husband wasn't at the hospital when I was born, she and my biological father began to panic. They were probably worried about his temper, and uh… more violent tendencies. As a temporary solution, they did this…" To indicate what "this" was Frostburn moved the hair form his mane out of the way, revealing a stump that used to be a unicorn horn. It had been sliced off at an angle, but it was still there. Surprisingly it didn't look as if it had been cut off at birth, but Twilight figured the remnants of the horn grew despite being sliced up.

The eyes of everypony in the room widened. Before anypony could comment, Frostburn set his hair back and kept talking.

"Using his magic, my biological father sawed off my horn and converted it into a pair of wings, which he grafted on my back. It was a heinous process, and being a newborn, I almost didn't survive. Whenever my wings are open, you can see the scars it left." Twilight shivered at the thought of something like that happening.

"Can we see them?" Pinkie asked, mesmerized. It was an odd request, but it was Pinkie after all.

Frostburn shook his head. "That would be a horrible idea, and you'll see why in a minute." He continued where he left off. "When my mother's husband finally arrived, I looked like the pegasus son he expected to have. My mother kept up the charade for years and he never knew. Then one day when I was little, like six or seven, I found the sawed off horn on my head. He saw it, and confronted my mother. It was the loudest, most enraged argument I'd ever seen. My would-have-been father lost control, and attacked my mother. He… he just kept hitting her over and over." Everypony sat, transfixed by the story. No one interrupted.

"A divorce soon followed, and my mother got custody of me. I never saw that pegasus that should have been my father ever again. Then the freakiness began."

Dash interrupted. "It began?" She exclaimed. "This is already sounding pretty freaky."

Frostburn nodded solemnly, but continued. "When I started flying later that year, my mother began to notice some really odd things that happened with my wings. Every time I opened them, my natural unicorn magic used them as a channel instead of a horn."

Twilight's eyes widened. She had never heard of wings that conducted magic before.

"Whenever I opened my wings, magic just came flooding out of me. It wasn't in the usual fashion either. Sometimes I made the temperature rise, or created small fires. Other times I'd freeze water solid, or made it so cold my mother couldn't help but shiver. When I got older, it got worse. Once I burned down the house. Another time I made winter come early. It seemed my magic took the form of fire or ice, and would happen whenever I flew or even opened my wings."

"Ah remember!" AJ said. "The fire only started when your wings opened up."

"Is that why you asked for the book?" Twilight asked. "Curiosities and Oddities in Equestria History."

Frostburn nodded. "I was trying to see if there have been any other cases like mine. I just wanted answers. Maybe even a cure, or some way to stop it." Twilight nodded, sympathetic to a quest for knowledge.

"I can't control the magic, or what I do when it happens. It's like another part of me that has its own mind. When I finally calm down, I don't remember anything of what happened or what I'd done. That's why I went crazy and burned down your town."

Twilight forgave Frostburn then and there for what he'd done; only she didn't say anything out loud because he kept talking.

"I ran away when I was twelve, but I never could get control of the magic. Nearly every town I visited somepony got hurt. I was doing my best to live in isolation when I met Zecorah."

Twilight nodded, remembering her conversation with Zecorah the previous night. Dash and Pinkie clearly remembered judging by their facial expressions.

"Most of the time I was antisocial, because anypony who came near me wound up hurt. Zecorah was different though. She never fell for my fake introveresy act. After a while I began to open up to her, though I never told her what I was capable of. I didn't stay around her too long either because I was afraid I'd end up harming her.

"After a while, I started going back to civilization. That's when I really messed up. Two years ago in Vanhoover, Princess Celestia was visiting for the Summer Sun Celebration. Things went bad. Like, really bad. I ended up starting a fire in the city. And this time it was the worst yet. I've completely blanked on what happened. A faint memory of my wings opening and that's it. I do know that ponies died that time." He paused, a look of sheer grief on his face.

"I remember that!" Twilight said. "Security was increased because they were worried it was an assassination attempt."

"Right." Frostburn said. "My face ended up on wanted posters around Equestria. Ever since then, I've stuck to small towns, trying not to be noticed. Until yesterday." He said, looking at Pinkie. She smiled sheepishly.

"You all know the rest."

"So you've been on the run from soldiers for two years now?" Rarity asked. Frostburn nodded.

"And now that I've called Princess Celestia here…" Twilight started.

"I'm likely to be executed." Frostburn finished for her.

Each member of the Mane Six looked at each other. After hearing Frostburn's story, most of the bitterness they had felt for him had dissipated. Only AJ, stuck in a wheelchair, with a brother about to undergo surgery and a farm in ruins - all of which caused by Frostburn - still felt some resentment.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can convince the Princess that none of this was your fault." Twilight said. "We still have some time before she arrives, so…"

"Uhmm, Ms. Sparkle?" A doctor's voice called from the doorway. Everypony turned to face him. "Princess Celestia is outside waiting for you."

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