Author's Notes:

This is the unedited version, edited version to come soon.

Sweetie’s nose twitched slightly as a burning sensation entered her nostrils. Her own loud sneeze woke her to a foul smelling air. She lazily lifted her head, bringing a sleepy hoof to her nose and opened her eyes. A intense light blinded her a moment, making her let out a small hiss. When her eyes adjusted they only widened in shock.

Fire.

Burning all of the trees around her, the once beautiful green trees, now only spires of charcoal, were lit ablaze. Some were beginning to crumble around the campsite, even a few tilting towards the tents. Sweetie was stunned few only a few seconds before she let out a loud shriek, startling her friends and their siblings awake.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash bolted out of their tents as Rarity slightly fussed inside of her’s, attempting to get out quickly, only to trip over several items inside. The groups’ eyes widened in horror as they saw the trees catching fire surprisingly quick, the flames jumping from tree to tree.

“Everyone, git over here!” Applejack shouted as she almost lunged after the three filles. It didn’t take a second calling for them to heed her words as they all ran for their lives away from the gathering flames. Rainbow Dash was attempting to put out as many fires as she could, pumping large gusts of wind against the smaller flames to extinguish them. Sadly, this only fueled the larger fires, causing one of her wings to get singed by some of the more violent fires.

A yelp escaped her a she dropped to the ground, several large embers searing their way into the joint of her wings. She quickly rolled on the ground, putting out the embers, but not quick enough as the flesh, fur, and feathers around the wounds were damaged. She attempted to flare her wings, only to hiss in agony as the charred skin refused to stretch without breaking.

Rarity was left agape by the scene before her, the trees all around their campsite were burning with such intensity that their tents were beginning to wilt and warp under the overbearing heat. A quick jab of a hoof brought her from her shock as Applejack was helping Rainbow up from the ground.

“Rarity! We gotta go now!” Applejack shouted over the roaring fires, a gigantic tree falling in front of them emphasizing her point. Rarity only nodded, doing her best to stay level headed as they turned and ran from the spreading flames, leaving everything behind to escape. Her horn lit up a moment as a small thin shield slowly formed around them, one that wouldn’t stop a falling tree, but it would definitely protect them from stray embers and fires.

They ran as fast as their hooves would carry them, even faster when the flames began to catch up with them. The pounding of their hoofs and the gasping for air drove them all the way to the exit of the forest, luckily not too far away from their campsite. Bursting from the foliage, they tumbled out onto the ground, a safe distance from the ever growing flame.

Awe and relief washed over them as they watched the forest before them crumble, turning into charcoal and ash. Several other campers stumbled out of the forest, coughing as they too watched the fires spread. Only a few minutes passed before one of the pegasi that had escaped went for help, flying as fast as his wings would carry him.

For the group, the next hour almost seemed to blur. The fillies were cowering away from the flames, flinching at every snap or crackle. The other campers began to question how the fire started. Even when the firefighters and medics came to put out most of the forest, none of them could come up with an answer. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie had arrived not much later to make sure they were alright. While Fluttershy was devastated by Rainbow’s burns, they were all mostly unharmed.

“Alright, Miss Dash. Your wings will not be able to function properly until they have healed, and while the burns are not severe, they are still worrisome.” The doctor stated as he looked over her wings. “If the pain doesn’t seem to lessen in the next few days, I would recommend seeing a doctor. But other than that, just keep from using them and you should be fine in a couple weeks.”

Rainbow nodded to the doctor as Fluttershy gave her a comforting nuzzle. After a few moments of comforting words to the little ones, Twilight trotted over to the group. “Are they going to be alright?” Twilight asked, tilting her head towards the three fillies who all had fallen asleep with Fluttershy and Rarity as they comforted them. Applejack sighed and shrugged.

“Ah honestly don’t know. That was a pretty big fire and we almost got stuck in there plenty of times while running. In fact, if Sweetie hadn’t woken up...” Applejack trailed off, nervously adjusting her hat. Twilight nodded at her words, looking towards the ashened landscape that once was the forest.

“Do you know what may have caused it?” She asked, getting a shake of the head in return.

“Not a clue. Our fire was too far from the trees to cause some that big. And ah ain’t no scientist, but I know darn well that fire doesn’t spread that fast unless it’s been roaring for a while.” Applejack said, looking towards the burnt forest herself. Twilight sighed in a frustrated manner. She had asked a few other campers about what happened, only receiving the same unknowing response from each.

“Well, I am going to find out what happened. Maybe the firefighters will know something. At the very least, they may know the direction that the fire started from.” Twilight stated as she walked off towards the group of firefighters.

They had given her all they knew about the immense fire, telling her it came from near the center of the forest. They knew very little other than the fire consumed half of the forest and almost claimed several lives. The troublesome news only made Twilight want to find out more. She gave her friends a quick goodbye, giving a few quick answers as to why she was leaving, before she took off into the sky.

Her wings carried her all over the barren wasteland of the burnt forest, her eyes scanning the area for any signs of foul play. It felt like hours as she flew, her wings beginning to tire as she hovered over the charred land. She nearly gave up as she scanned the area one last time, letting out a defeated sigh before a very loud and morbid pop snapped her eyes towards a circle of charred trees.

In the center of the circle, was a large pile of smoldering corpses. Twilight frowned, nausea building up inside of her. While this morbid scene was extremely unsettling, the sight alone making her want to vomit, this was the only clue she had found so far. The smell that hit her as she landed pushed her over the edge. After a minute of vomiting, she wiped her mouth and looked back at the carcasses that were crisp and charred, the fires having been put out.

She looked over the corpses, furrowing her brow as she noticed the series of large gashes and slices upon each corpse. While it wasn’t unheard of for jungle Spiders to attack ponies when they got near, it was rare for a pony to even encounter one, much less stumble into an entire hive. What worried her the most was how they were all piled up, as if the pony, or thing, never moved from the spot, only slashing and hacking them as the spiders attacked.

As she studied the pile a bit more, hoping for any more clues, she found a large burnt stick poking out of the side. Grimacing, her horn lit up and she lifted the stick from the corpses, bits of carapace and flesh seared onto the burnt stick. There was clearly a very thin layer of some kind of resin that seemingly doubled the burnt odor that was around her. It wasn’t much, but it did tell her it was no monster that did this and it certainly wasn’t a adolescent dragon, they would have no need for a torch.

She snapped off the area of the stick that held the resin, keeping it to test for any known substances later. Her eyes were drawn to the ground when she dropped the burnt stick, seeing massive oval imprints deep in the ashened muddy ground, veering off into the forest by their direction. Her eyes followed them, one set leading toward where it came and the other toward where it was going.

Twilight thought for a moment. There was a chance she could catch up with the creature if she followed the tracks, but if it was the same being that slaughtered the spiders, she didn’t want to risk becoming a casualty. However; if she followed the tracks towards where it came, she might find a clue as to what it is. Nodding at the latter, she turned on her hooves and began to gallop towards the way the creature came.

Her run was fairly quick as she came to an abrupt stop, her mouth falling open in shock, and her eyes widening. Before her laid a massive dome of stone with two massive stone doors. No design, crest, or symbol of ownership graced the stone. Ash and dust were heavy in the air as the ground all in front of the doors were covered. Taking cautious steps, she approached the doors, her breathing the only sound breaking the silence. Stopping just shy of the ash, she glanced down, her eyes scanning the grey ground before her.

A very visible imprint was left in the dirt, the shapes resembling armor, claws, and hands. All things that point towards something bipedal. But this was nearly impossible. There were no Minotaurs this deep in Equestria, especially hidden in somewhere so closed off. Dragons were out of the question as they had no reason to carry armor. Diamond Dogs were the only logical solution, if only they had five fingers and wore boots.

Everything about the situation was baffling, from the pile of corpses to the shapes in the ash. The dome was the hardest thing to suspect, the other things could have logical explanations if given time for thought, but how could have no one seen this structure before? Twilight’s mind was reeling as she thought, her head beginning to pound with frustration. Opting to give her mind a rest and go to the only beings she knew of that may have an answer, she spread her wings and took the sky. She was determined to get to the bottom of the mystery as she flew back to her friends, taking mental notes of landmarks so she may come back if necessary.

But before she could do anything, she had to get her friends back to Ponyville. Then she could get the answers she needed.