Author’s Note: Wrote this a while ago, thought I might upload here. Potential rewrite in the future.

Welcome.

This is Equestria, land of the ponies.

It isn’t the Equestria you know.

Everything is different.

Don’t worry, the characters you know so well are still here.

But this is an alternate universe.

Roles have been swapped or shifted around. A pony who did a certain job in one universe may not necessary have the same job here. Their personality may have slightly changed as well.

Things haven’t changed too much, so don’t worry about that.

But please make sure your disbelief is suspended for the duration of the story.

This is a weird one.

A really weird one.

Especially in later parts.

Everything is different, after all.

Prologue

Our story takes place in a far-away land called Equestria. It is home to many, many ponies, and is a technology-free utopia. It is an idealistically perfect place, in social, political and moral terms. The ponies are hardly ever unhappy, and when they are, the support of their kin quickly cheers them up. There is no violence, no destruction, or any negative occurrence.
It is a peaceful place.

Its origins, however, are a complete mystery. The ponies all seem to suffer some form of amnesia, as they cannot recall how Equestria came to be, or anything from a hundred years ago. They don’t dwell much on this, though. Most of them are too busy doing their daily chores to think about this. In fact, it’s almost like their brains are programmed not to.

There is a certain mountain in Equestria, named Mt. Oriander. It stands tall above the serene Everfree forest, and the quiet and peaceful Ponyville. Mt. Oriander is a rocky and somewhat dangerous mountain, but the layout is straightforward and it’s easy to navigate. The air up there is also fresher than ground level, leading some ponies to live up there.

In a particular corner of Mt. Oriander, a cliff overlooking the rest of the Everfree forest, there was a small log cabin. It had a small garden, a chicken coop and a chimney. Inside, at the second floor, a purple unicorn filly with a star-shaped cutie mark lay snoring underneath the white covers of her bed. An adventure novel was curled around one of her front forelegs. Chest moving up and down, the filly dreamed about the events in the novel, and imagined herself living with the characters inside. She smiled and turned in her sleep, rustling the covers.

Suddenly, there was a pounding sound at the bedroom door.

“Twilight! How long are you gonna sleep? It’s ten in the morning!” a loud and youthful voice shook the room, “Get up so we can play! C’mon!”

The owner of the voice stopped for a moment, waiting for Twilight’s response. It got none.

“C’mon, Twilight! Wake up already! The Ursa Minors are outside, and they’re brought their cubs with them! They’re really cute!” the voice giggled at the thought of them, and waited again.

Twilight Sparkle rolled over in her bed and continued to snore.

“Twilight…” the voice groaned, “Wake up already…don’t make me come in there….”

Still nothing.

“Twilight…please? Don’t sleep so much…you should use that time to play and stuff!”

Twilight opened her eyes and groaned into her pillow. Why can’t you let me sleep, Lyra? She thought irritably to herself, Of course, they ARE Ursa Minors…I can see why you’re so excited. Yawning loudly, she called out to her step-sister.

“I’m coming, sis.”

“Yay! Hurry up, then! Mom made you breakfast downstairs, so eat it then come outside, okay?”

There was the sound of fading footsteps as Twilight’s sister, apparently named Lyra, raced downstairs. Nearly falling out of bed, Twilight yawned again before proceeding to trudge down the stairs, her eyes half-closed. An older unicorn mare, with a white and light purple mane, was sitting at a big brown table near the front door.

“Good morning, mom.”

“Good morning, Miss-Sleepyhead Twilight Sparkle.” She said amusedly, “Did you sneak downstairs to read your books last night?”

Twilight was too tired to argue, and gave a nod of recognition. Her mother smiled in response.

“Well, I’ll forgive you this time. Here,” she said, sliding a plate stacked with bread and alfalfa towards Twilight, “You must be hungry. Eat up.”

“Thanks, mom.”

Twilight accepted the plate gratefully, and dug in right away. The alfalfa was freshly grown from the log cabin’s vegetable garden, and tasted delicious. The bread was warm and tasty from being fresh-baked. Sleeping and reading consumed a lot of energy, and Twilight’s belly had been rumbling when she trotted down the stairs. She finished her meal in less than five minutes.

“I’m finished!”

She felt more awake now, but was still rather sleepy. After placing the plate in the sink like she had been taught to, she made an attempt to leave the house and join her sister.

“Now Twilight, are you planning to play with your mane all messy like that?” Twilight’s mother gave her daughter a disapproving look, “Scoot upstairs and give it a nice comb.”

Twilight sighed inwardly. Of course her mother was going to say that. Why hadn’t she combed her mane while she was still upstairs? Her mother was a real stickler for neatness, although that wasn’t necessary a bad thing. Giving an obedient nod, she headed back upstairs and looked around for a comb.

In a flash, she used her magic to levitate the comb and brush her hair back into a neat shape. She was ready to go, albeit still not fully awake. Trotting downstairs a little slowly than intended, she walked out the door and was finally outdoors.
The elements of the scenery around her hit her in the face. Her first step was refreshing and nice, similar to the feeling after she took a long shower. The blue sky and the crisp, fresh air immediately woke her up.

Taking in a deep breath, she inhaled, exhaled and smiled to herself. Originally she had planned to sleep in late, then spend the rest of the morning finishing off that novel she had started last night, but maybe playing around under the bright sun wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“Oh, you’re up, sleepyhead.” A stallion with a dark blue coat and a cutie mark shaped like two backwards music notes smiled at her. His name was Blues, and he was Twilight’s uncle. “Well, today’s the day you head back home. I’m gonna miss you guys.” He affectionately ruffled Twilight’s name. Twilight half-forced a smile back. She didn’t really like it when ponies touched her mane, but she didn’t mind much now, because she would miss her uncle as well.

“Can I have a hug?” she asked. Blues looked surprised for a moment, but the two of them embraced tightly. Neither of them said anything for a moment, as they both wanted to remember the special moment, just the two of them. After a couple of minutes, Blues pulled away.

“Have you seen my sister?” Twilight said.

Blues pointed towards the east with his hoof. “You’re sister’s that-a-way.” He said, “She’s been playing with the Ursa Minors since the sun came up.” Twilight smiled back and set off; trotting briskly in the direction her uncle had pointed her in.
The area around the log cabin was slightly rocky. Most of it was covered in grass, but as it was placed on a mountain, there was bound to be a few hard areas. There were a few baobab trees perched on a high ledge, and some mountain cacti located around the rocky area. Twilight, when not reading her books, tried to study them. Her sister would always call an activity like that boring, and promptly drag her off to play elsewhere.

Twilight passed through some small cliffs and came to a small clearing. A mint-green unicorn filly with a lyre-shaped cutie mark was standing in front of a few large bears. Her name was Lyra, and she was Twilight’s more energetic and outgoing sister. The two of them weren’t related by blood. Lyra had been adopted at the age of one. Even though they weren’t directly related, Twilight and Lyra were extremely close, despite their almost opposite personalities.

When Twilight first caught sight of her sister, she was walking backwards. Twilight laughed inwardly; her sister did funny things sometimes. Then she noticed the Ursa Minors on the left. The Ursa Minors were a special species of bear that had fur matching the colors and the patterns of the night sky. They were also rather friendly, and were kind enough to play with ponies. They were also massive and could easy smash rocks with their bare paws.

There were three Ursa Minors in front of Lyra. Two of them were huge and fully grown, one somewhat darker than the other. This Ursa Minor was standing on its four legs, apparently waiting for something, while the other was lazily lying on the ground. The third Ursa Minor was a cub, and much smaller than its two parents. It was running around the lighter Ursa Minor excitedly. It was still larger than both of the pony sisters, though.

Looking back at her sister, Twilight noticed that Lyra was positioned near the ground, like a runner before a race started, right in front of the big, dark Ursa Minor. Both of their faces with dead serious.

Three things happened next.

Lowering her head slightly, Lyra smirked and ran straight at the Drago.

The Ursa Minor puffed its chest out, obviously not intending to go easy on the filly.

Eyes widening, Twilight put a hoof over her mouth in shock.

THUD

For a moment, everything was still. Then the Ursa Minor fell over on its side with an even louder THUD. Lyra giggled, and
Twilight sighed in realization.

Of course. She thought, They’re only play-fighting.

Lyra turned around as Twilight walked towards her. Her face instantly brightened up, and she waved hoof at her sister. “Hey, Twilight! You’re finally here!” she said, “Took you long enough!” She then huffed and gasped slowly, “I’ve been play-fighting with the Ursa Minors all morning! You should try it too.”

She moved aside so that Twilight and the large Ursa Minor were face to face. Twilight took one look at the gigantic bear and settled on a decision.

“Um, no thanks, Lyra.” She said politely, “I’m not that type of pony. I don’t think I could do it.”

Lyra rolled her eyes, “C’mon Twilight, try it! It’s fun! You gotta do it at least once in your life. Even if you fail, it’s still fun!”
“Does that make any sense?”

“I dunno, but you have to try it!”

Twilight was still hesitant. “Well…”

“Come on…” Lyra begged.

“I still don’t know…”

“But it’s fun! That’s why I told you to come out here, because it’s fun! You need to have fun, instead of reading all those books at home.”

“Alright, I’ll do it.” Twilight eventually relented. If it’ll get you to stop chattering in my ear…

“Yeah! Okay, try ramming into the Ursa Minor, like I did.” Lyra instructed, pointing to the Ursa Minor as if her sister couldn’t tell where it was.

“Wait up, Lyra!” a gruff voice called out, “Twilight doesn’t know how to ram into things yet!” Both fillies turned to see Blues walking towards them, with the tiniest hint of a smile forming on his lips. He stopped beside Twilight, “Twilight, ramming is really easy. Just try to get a lot of energy stored into your legs by crouching down, like this,” Blues demonstrated an accurate crouch, to which Twilight noted, “Then, just hold your position for a second and go go go! Doing this will let you dash into things.” He nodded, concluding his mini-lecture, “Try it out on this Ursa Minor here.”

At the mention of it, the Ursa Minor puffed its chest out slightly in pride.

Twilight grumbled under her breath, she really didn’t feel like ramming into something ten times her size. But her uncle wasn’t letting her go that easily.

“Twilight, you look kinda down. You’ll never succeed with such a sullen look on your face.” He ruffled his niece’s mane again, and smiled warmly, “That holds true for everything. Just try it!”

Twilight sighed to herself, seeing that there was no way out of this. Crouching down, she gathered energy’ in her four legs, then sprang forward to charge head-on at the Ursa Minor.

Twilight felt herself press against the Ursa Minor for a second, then bounce off the next. With the breath knocked out of her lungs, she watched, half-amused and half-surprised, as the large bear fell to its side, just like when Lyra had rammed into it. She felt kind of good, for doing something that required energy, courage and wasn’t related to reading books, albeit not much.

“That was great, Twilight!” Lyra cheered.

“See, you can do it.” Blues smiled, “I knew you could.”

Twilight smiled in appreciation, but before she could thank them with some kind words, they all heard a shrill voice.

“Move it! Outta the way! Make way for the great Mole Cricket!”

The three of them looked down, and they saw a brown bug jumping up and down on the grassy ground. The baby Ursa Minor suddenly ran behind its mother, growling and acting a bit scared. The father Ursa Minor gave off a low growl, warning the creature not to come closer. The bug, apparently called the Mole Cricket, merely turned to the three ponies standing in front of it.

“I can’t just sit by idly when someone’s playfighting. Get in my way and you’re in a world of pain!” it screeched before attacking Twilight and Lyra, who were caught off guard.

It wasn’t a hard fight.

Twilight and Lyra just stared at the Mole Cricket, wondering if the tiny bug was for real. The Mole Cricket took the opportunity to bite Twilight, who cried out more in shock than pain. Lyra gave the Mole Cricket a serious look and growled lightly. Nobody hurt her sister and got away with it. Stepping and flicking, she proceeded to kick the crap out of the small enemy. The Mole Cricket tried its hardest to fight back, but in vain.

The battle was over seconds after it started.

The Mole Cricket lay spear-eagled on the ground, stars swirling in its imagination. “I see you have more of a spine than I thought.” It stated as Twilight and Lyra brohoofed each other. “If you like, I could train you personally. Next time we meet, it’ll be at the great Mole Cricket Stadium. I look forward to seeing you there.”

Its tone of voice was rather nonchalant, as if it had forgotten the fact that it had been brutally defeated a few moments ago. It then scurried off. Twilight looked at Lyra questionally, who mumbled out a ‘I dunno’ in response.

Then they heard footsteps, and turned around.

Twilight’s mother was strolling towards them. She stopped in front of them and looked back worriedly, “I think I stepped on a mole cricket back there…I do hope it’s alright.” She mused with a frown, “Lunch is ready, everypony. I made your favourite: some vegetable stew!”

At the mention of vegetable stew, all three of the ponies lit up. “Ooh! Lunch! Lunch! Yeah!” Lyra cried excitedly. She and her sister were running towards the cabin faster than Blues or her mother could say ‘ponies’. The mother smiled, and turned to her brother. “You too, Blues.” She said as she made her way back to the cabin. Blues nodded.

Turning, he waved to the Ursa Minor family. The cub waved back. “Goodbye.” Blues said with a smile, “Thanks for playing with my nieces today. They had a wonderful time, especially Lyra.” The dark Ursa Minor father, who appeared to be smiling, nodded. Blues smiled back, before running in the direction everypony had went, shouting, “Hey, wait for me! You saved some stew for me, I hope?”

Back at Blues’s home, the quaint little pony family had just began eating lunch.

Twilight and Lyra’s mother made the best vegetable stew in the world. The recipe was simple: boil some cabbages, spinach, onions, carrots and potatoes in a pot for twenty minutes, add some spices, then serve with warm bread and sweets for dessert. The stew was a semi-famous recipe in Ponyville, and many ponies loved to taste it.

The ponies ate ravenously, especially the two fillies. They finished within minutes and waited for the older ponies to finish. Once they were done, the mother stood up and trotted over to the cupboard. She opened it, and took out a jar of sweets. Lyra and Twilight’s eyes lit up. The mother smiled at them and gave them two sweets each.

“Thanks mom!” Twilight and Lyra said, sucking on their lollies. Blues laughed and began washing up the dishes. Since he was an earth pony, he was forced to stand up on his hind legs. Not that he minded, really.

“Hey mom, what’s your favourite food?” Twilight asked the unicorn who had gotten out a piece of paper and a letter. She mumbled something in response, before using her magic to levitate the pencil and making it write out words.

“Oh, vegetable stew as well?” Twilight said, “Then your favourite is the same as ours! We make a good match!” she laughed. Her mother just smiled.

“After I’ve finished writing this, we need to get ready to go through the forest to get back, so we’ll have to leave early.”
Lyra frowned, “Early? Aw, c’mon mom, can’t we stay a little longer?” she begged.

“No, Lyra.” Her mother said firmly, “The forest gets dangerous at some times, and I want to make sure that you and your sister make through it safely.

Blues laughed, “Don’t be silly, sis. I bet the kids could get through the forest alone, it’s that safe.” He turned towards his youngest niece, “I bet even you could handle it, Twilight.” He grinned. The filly in question blushed lightly.

Twilight’s mother stood out of her seat and headed outside, reminding her children to hurry up and pack their belongings into their saddle bags.

Once outside, she began to proofread over her letter one last time.

Dear Orion,

Just like you said they would, our little ponies have been running around the mountains and fields tirelessly since the moment we arrived.

Lyra is as daring and full of energy as ever, while Twilight is still a bit coddled. But neither seems tired of playing at all.
My brother seems sad to say goodbye to his nieces after seeing them for the first time in so long, but we should be home by this evening.

I had forgotten how nice and refreshing the mountain air is. You're always covered in the smell of sheep back in Ponyville, so I really wish you could have been here to take in this air.

The next time we visit, let's ask one of the neighbors to tend to the sheep so we can all come up here as a family.
Lyra, Twilight, and I were always thinking about you. When we get home this evening, I'll start cooking some of your favorite vegetable stew right away.

With love,

Your Dearest Shimmer Sparkle.

She deemed it acceptable and attached it to the leg of a carrier pigeon, and watched as the bird flew into the distance. Closing her eyes, she stopped to think for a moment about her home, and the stallion who would be patiently waiting for her. Turning back to head inside, she suddenly heard a strange noise coming from overhead.

From the porch, she could see a large, round object flying swiftly through the sky, making its way towards the forest. She was too far away to discern what it was exactly made of, and it seemed to be emitting music that was strangely similar to Lyra’s lyre tunes. Puzzled, she decided that it was nothing more than a large bird. A very large bird that made noises; somehow that made sense. Putting it to the back of her mind, she re-entered the house and saw her children waiting for her, fully packed and ready to go.

Too bad Shimmer Sparkle didn’t bother to investigate what the object was.

That object marked the beginning.

The beginning of what, exactly?

Why, the beginning of Equestria’s transformation.

Welcome to the world of Ponybound 2.


Part 1-1: Fire

Nights in the Everfree Forest were quiet. The creatures settled in their burrows and dens to sleep, awaiting the dawn of the new day. Only owls and mice scampered and scurried around the trees, living out their simple lives. Nearby, the residents of Ponyville also slept, their minds falling into the blissful eternity of dreams. Everything was usually peaceful.

Not this time, though.

Violent explosions disrupted the quiet air. Within minutes, the Everfree forest was ablaze. Huge, billowing plumes of smoke rose from the pillars of red and orange heat. The fire was viciously cruel, burning down the trees at rapid speeds. All that could be heard was the ferocious roar of the flames and the terrified cries of the native animals as they desperately tried to escape the fiery prison.

Two strange ponies trotted through the parts of the forest that weren’t burning, their saddle bags full of odd, round devices. They lay the devices on the grassy ground, pressed down a certain part of it and scarpered as quickly as they could. Seconds later, the objects exploded, sending more flames roaring through the forest.

In a wood cabin nearby, a red earth colt stepped out. He had a green-apple shaped cutie mark and carried a load of lumber on his back. His name was Big Macintosh. He quickly whirled around, taking in the scene in front of him, and was extremely displeased.

“What in tarnation is going on here…?”

The behind him opened, and two fillies stepped out. One of them was rose colored with a large pink bow, and the second was older with a blonde mane and a cowboy hat. Their names were Apple Bloom and Applejack, respectively, and they were Big Macintosh’s younger sisters.

“Hey Big bro, what’s going on?” Apple Bloom asked fearfully, “Why is the forest so smoky?”

“Don’t tell me the forest is on fire!” Applejack said.

Without giving either of them an explanation, Big Macintosh turned around and stared worriedly at his two sisters, before slamming the door shut. Hearing the quiet, surprised gasps that both of them made, he just took a deep breath and galloped towards the south, wary of the flames that surrounded him on both sides. Running as fast as he could, he disappeared into the fiery orange wall of destruction.

Nearby in the village of Ponyville, things weren’t much better. The town was in utter shock that the forest was on fire. How could something like this happen? A few brave ponies had already raced there, wanting to check it out.

An unicorn with a brown coat and a doughnut-shaped cutie mark was sprinting through the cobbled streets as fast as his four legs could take him. His magic was activated, and it was blaring a loud noise similar to a siren. The other townsponies couldn’t help but follow suit, running around to spread the danger at the north.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Thought the pony as he ran past the frantic village and neared the ocean, I really hope he’s home, we need his help! Oh dear!

He scurried up a cozy-looking wooden house that overlooked the sea, complete with a sheep pen, and rapped on the wooden door as hard as he could.

A blue unicorn with a double crescent moon cutie mark was reading a book on astronomy by candlelight, and looked up in surprise at the sudden noise. “Orion! Orion! Orion! There’s a fire! A huge flamey, smoky fire! The Everfree forest is on fire!” the voice cried frantically from the outside, knocking harder with every second, “The forest is on fire! We need your help, Orion!”

Is that Pony Joe? Orion thought to himself, And what’s this about a fire in the forest? He quickly bookmarked the page he was at and stood up.

A nearby baby dragon yawned and sleepily opened its eyes from its small bed. His name was Spike, and he was Twilight and Lyra’s pet. The two fillies had found him in the forest at the age of five. “Is there a forest in the fire—I mean, a fire in the forest?” he asked, “Can I come too?”

“With you so sleepy like that?” Orion said, “No. You stay here and get some more rest.”

“Aw man…” But Spike didn’t complain further and he went straight back to bed. Within a few seconds he was fully asleep, snoring like the baby he was. Orion smiled a little and headed for the door.

Outside, Pony Joe had given up on knocking and was trying to open the door by force. “Geez!” he sighed as he tried the doorknob. It wouldn’t budge. “Who would lock their door in a peaceful village like ours?”

Pulling on the doorknob as hard as he could, he attempted to force it open. Like before, it didn’t work, but he did manage to accidentally pull off the doorknob in the process. His eyes widened as he realized that he had just committed property damage and Orion would most likely be mighty annoyed. “Ah! The doorknob!” he mused while holding it, staring at it thoughtfully, “Why did it have to come off at a time like this?”

He would have stared at it further, had it not been for Orion opening the door, looking directly at Pony Joe with an unamused expression. “Hello, Pony Joe.” He said.

This startled Pony Joe and he dropped the doorknob onto the grassy ground in his surprise. “Aah! Doorknob…I mean, Orion! This is no time to be dozing off! There’s a huge fire in the Everfree forest!” He pointed north with his fore-right hoof. “Bad times like this call for reckless guys like you! Please come, Orion! Please!”

Orion gave Pony Joe a reassuring nod. “Of course.” He said in his low, gruff voice, “Let’s go.”

Pony Joe gave a sigh of relief. “Okay, that’s good. Lead the way, Orion. I’ll follow behind you.”

Orion stared at him strangely, “Excuse me?”

“What?”

“Did you just say you were going to follow behind me?”

“Huh? What? What’s so wrong about that? Pony Joe complained, annoyed, “I just like following other ponies, alright?”

Orion shrugged and headed for the village with his frantic friend following behind. In the village, things had gotten tense. Most of the ponies had woken up and were outside in the main square, running around and not sure what to do. The town bell was ringing loudly, and a majority of the young fillies were half-scared and half-excited by the prospect of a bushfire.
Orion and Pony Joe didn’t stay long to chat, but they picked up bits and pieces of conversation on the way.

“The sky towards the north is pitch black!”

“A forest fire? Oh, the horror, the horror, the HORROR!”

“What’ll we do? There’s gotta be something we can do!”

None of this helped to make both of the stallions not feel nervous, and they both quickened their pace. However, an urgent voice stopped them from leaving.

“Hey, both of ya! Wait up!”

The two stallions stopped in their tracks, and turned around to see a colt with a green coat and a cutie mark in the shape of a compass striding towards them. He had a slightly bulging saddlebag tied to his right side. “Mapson.” Orion said with a neutral tone.

“Yeah, that’s me.” Mapson said, “Listen, do both of ya have a map with you?”

Both stallions checked themselves for a moment. “Um…no, I don’t think so.” Pony Joe said.

“Then take this!” Using his mouth, Mapson reached into his saddlebag and withdrew a scrap of brown paper. “This is a map of the Everfree forest. I started drawin’ it when I heard the boom-boom comin’ from the north. Thought some ponies might need it. I did in a rush, so it ain’t my best work. Hope it’s acceptable!”

Acceptable was a severe understatement when it came to anything drawn by the map-loving Mapson. The colt could somehow make the simplest of diagrams seem beautiful. His quick sketches were simply amazing, and his colored drawings were unmatched by any other pony in Ponyville. The map of the Everfree forest, which had been sketched in less than three minutes, was a real testament to his skills. The land shape was accurate and it also contained a full key, compass and accurate scale.

“Thanks, Mapson.” Pony Joe said, to which the colt replied. “No probs!”

The two stallions quickly placed the map on the ground and studied it. “There,” Pony Joe pointed to a particular section, “That’s where the fire is the worst! We need to make sure Big Macintosh and his two sisters are safe!”

Orion nodded with a grunt to signify that he had heard, and they both set out in a quick steady pace. They passed through a wooden gate and onto the crossroads. Ignoring the north and east paths, they turned and ran down the dusty west path, towards the direction of the old shrine.

Just before they were about pass by a sign pointing towards the forest, Pony Joe stopped in his tracks, skidding on the hard ground. Orion heard the noise and turned around.

“What is it?”

“I gotta ask Luna something!” Pony Joe said hurriedly. He ran onto a patch of grass and towards a tall wooden stand, where a mare was ringing a large brass bell by swinging on the cord with her teeth. “Hey Luna, did you see anything suspicious go into the forest? Did you?”

Luna was a very unique pony. She was an alicorn; a pony with both wings and a horn. What made her so special was that there weren’t any other alicorns in Ponyville, or in Equestria, for that matter. Nopony was aware of how old she was, either. Ever since they were born, Luna had been acting as the town’s bell ringer, ringing the brass beast whenever there was a special event or an emergency.

She also had another defining trait: she never spoke a word. Many ponies, most of which were colts, had tried various methods to get her to talk, but she took everything they had to offer with a stoic silence and a neutral expression.
As such, Luna gazed silently at Pony Joe, before continuing to ring the bell.

“Aw, she didn’t speak to me.” Pony Joe said, slightly disappointed, “That’s a shame.”

“She never speaks.” Orion said, watching Luna ring the bell.

“I know, but I hoped the forest fire would at least make her say a few words…”

Orion could understand his friend’s plight. Luna was an attractive-looking pony, and if it weren’t for her weird behaviour the young stallions of Ponyville would have asked her out. He remembered having a small crush on her at the age of ten.

“Maybe next time.” He said reassuringly, “But we have more important things to do. Let’s go.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

The two of them left Luna behind and headed towards the forest. As they neared the first batch of trees, their equestrian noses caught whiff of the acrid smell of smoke. It got worse as they entered the trees, and soon their vision was partly-obscured by the thick smoke. They could barely see what was in front of them.

Orion concentrated, and his horn glowed bright blue. Using his magic, he forced away the smoke, giving him a breathing space.

“Whew, thanks Orion.” Pony Joe said with relief, “Thought I was going to suffocate there. Hey, do you think you can keep that magic running? It’s clearing the smoke and letting us see the way as well.”

Orion nodded, and the two of them trotted on. Along the way, they noticed that some forest animals were attacking them. The bats, the snakes, and the yams…which weren’t actually animals, as far as both stallions knew, but somehow they had managed to come alive and fight. This was strange, because the animals were usually peaceful, like the rest of Equestria. Both Orion and Pony Joe agreed that the fire was agitating them, and they wanted to take their anger out on somepony.
“Hey Orion!” Pony Joe called out after the two of them had been running for a while, “I think there’s a hot spring nearby. You wanna go there and rest for a while?”

Orion had to stop and think about this. On one hoof, the forest was on fire and it was an emergency. On the other hoof though, it was proven that relaxing in a hot spring healed the wounds of a pony’s body. Add to that the burns and bite marks from the fire and the animals on his body, and the decision was quickly made.

“Very well.”

The two of them sidetracked off the path and relaxed in the hot water for a minute. Then they got out and continued their trek through the fiery woods.

A little further up the path, the flames were getting thicker and it was harder to get through. Quite a few times a burning branch fell from the tree, and nearly missed the two of them. They had just gotten past a series of small fires when they saw something unusual.

It was a pony in a pig costume, complete with an alarming mask. The ‘Pigmask’ glanced around for a moment, before setting down a metal box on the hot ground. He opened it, and suddenly strange bugs burst out of it and began to fly away, spreading towards all parts of the forest. Orion was curious and decided to confront the odd pony.

“Excuse me, but what are you doing?”

The Pigmask stared at Orion for a moment, before squealing in fright and dashing through a literal wall of flames to the left. Its costume (or was it a protective suit?) protected it from being heavily burned.

“What was that?” Pony Joe asked.

Orion shook his head to say he didn’t know. He debated on whether or not to follow it, but came to the conclusion that Big Macintosh and his sisters were higher on the priority list. He made his way north, to where Big Macintosh’s forest home should be.

Making their way up, they stumbled on a pony lying on the ground. Upon closer inspection, they realized with a nasty jolt that it was actually Big Macintosh himself. He was in a bad condition, with burns covering his body and a few bruises on the side. He even seemed to have a broken leg. Hurrying over, Pony Joe shook the bigger stallion nervously. “Big Mac! Hey, Big Mac, are you alright?” he tried.

Big Macintosh didn’t move. Pony Joe shook him harder. Knowing that it wouldn’t be enough to wake him up, Orion focused his magic and shot a beam of light on Big Macintosh, fading away some of the bruises. It was enough to wake the unconscious pony up.

He spluttered, and his eyes opened painfully. “O-orion? Oh, and Pony Joe too?” he coughed.

“Hey, you’re awake! Good!” Pony Joe said, “Um, what happened to you?”

Big Macintosh coughed again, “I saw the forest being lit on fire, and went out to investigate. But then these weird things started attacking me, and I tried to fight ‘em off, but they were too many of them. I couldn’t get past ‘em!”

“What are you talking about?” Orion said.

Big Macintosh weakly pointed towards an orange splatter on the ground, before he went into a full-on coughing fit. The splatter appeared to be the remnants of some sort of bug, and it didn’t seem like anything Orion and Pony Joe had seen in the Everfree forest.

Pony Joe looked at the splatter worriedly, “What IS that thing?” he asked, “A bug?”

Big Macintosh coughed some more and shook his head, “I dunno, but they’re darn dangerous. They attacked me in a swarm and they breathed fire all over me.”

Pony Joe and Orion looked at him incredulously, “Pardon?” Orion said.

“Did you just say that those bugs breathed fire at you?” Pony Joe said.

Big Macintosh nodded, “Yeah! I dunno how they did it, but they burned me with their fire. They’re goin’ around the forest, lighting it up. But nevermind that, my two sisters are still in my house!” he cried out the last part, obviously worried.
Pony Joe gasped, “What? Your sisters are still in your shack?”

Big Macintosh went into another coughing fit. “Yeah, I told them to stay behind while I went out to investigate.” He spoke, after he stopped spluttering, “It was stupid…I should never have left ‘em behind. Listen, I really don’t care what happens to me, as long as they’re safe. Just get ‘em out of my house, I beg you!”

“…okay, I’ll go and get them.” Orion said.

“Then I’ll get Big Mac out of here.” Pony Joe said, “Listen Orion, be careful, okay?”

Orion nodded, and he hurried off deeper into the burning forest, more worried than ever. However, he didn’t get far before he was attacked by the bugs Big Macintosh had fought earlier. They were giant fireflies, with bulging red eyes and beating wings. True to the red stallion’s word, they did breathe fire. Their tiny fireballs singed Orion’s coat and did some damage. However, he used a combination of magic and stomping to bring them down to the ground, and then crushed their tiny bodies.

Although it wasn’t a hard fight, he wasn’t in a very good shape after the battle was over. The damage from previous fights with wild animals had accumulated during his trek. Not only that, the giant fireflies had given their all, and sapped him of most of his energy. He quickly patched up his wounds with bandages, and hurried on.

Running through two flaming trees, he saw Big Macintosh’s shack in the distance. It was the pride and joy of the Apple family, and marked the beginning of the large apple orchard that took up at least a fifth of the forest’s area. Big Macintosh, Applejack and Apple Bloom’s parents had built it, and their children carried on their legacy after their deaths.
Now it was ablaze. Small flames had gathered on the roof and the walls, eating their wall through the wood. Cracks had formed, and the whole thing looked like it was about to collapse.

Orion stared at the burning house for a second, and briefly thought that it was such a shame for it to burn down like this. That thought was quickly replaced by urgency, as he looked up and saw Applejack pounding on the single window of the shack, her screams muffled by the hot glass and a look of absolute terror on her face. Behind her, flames burned and crackled.

Suddenly, a wooden beam fell from the ceiling, and struck her on the head. She toppled forwards, unconscious. Orion realized that he had to get in there right now. The longer he waited, the greater the chances of the two fillies heading towards a slow and painful death.

“Hold on you two,” he grunted determinately, “I’m coming." Using a powerful kick, he knocked down the wooden door and barged into the shack.

Upon entering the house, he was attacked by one of the strangest things he had ever seen in his entire life.
It was a giant blue mouse.

That was odd enough, but it had wings.

In other words, it was a flying mouse.

A frickin’ flying mouse.

Orion just stared at it, not quite believing his eyes. The fire was strange, yam monsters were weird, and the giant fireflies even more so, but this thing alone took the cake. Flying mice were like cupcakes raining from the sky—absolutely impossible. They shouldn’t exist. And yet there was one hovering in the air right in front of him.

The flying mouse looked seriously unnatural. It had deep blue fur, which never happened in nature, excluding ponies. Its wings wouldn’t have looked out of place on a dragonfly. Its eyes were blood red and reeked of bloodlust. It was if a mad god had taken parts out of different animals, stitched them together and brought it to life.

Orion didn’t have any more time to contemplate, because it lunged at him and struck him on the forehead. For a moment, he was so shocked that he didn’t know what to do. Then he gathered his focus, and fought back.

For its weird appearance, the flying mouse didn’t put up much of a fight. Orion used his hind legs to kick it across the room, and then blasted it with shots of magic. It went down in a few seconds. That was good, because Orion didn’t have any time to waste. Flinging it aside, he sprinted upstairs to the second floor.

“Applejack! Apple Bloom!”

The bedroom was in a horrible state. The fire had burned holes in the wooden floor, and there will some burning. Applejack and Apple Bloom were lying on the floor next to their beds. Both of them had inhaled too much smoke and were unconscious. They were on the other side of the room, and there was debris blocking his path. Crouching, Orion dashed and rammed into it, shattering it into shards of woods. He grabbed both Applejack and Apple Bloom with his magic and shoved them on back, ignoring the weight, then sprinted out of the shack as fast as his legs could carry him.

Moments after he exited the house, the fires inside burned all of the support beams, and it collapsed to the ground in a pile of wood. The loud noise woke Applejack and Apple Bloom up. Orion carefully put them down on the ground. All of them were covered in soot.

“Are you two alright?” Orion asked.

“Well, we’re kinda dirty, but fine as an apple.” Applejack said.

“Aaah! Our house! Our house!” Apple Bloom cried, “It burned down! What’re we going to do now?”

“Don’t worry sis.” Applejack said, “We can rebuild it later. We’re pitch black and covered in soot, but what matters is that we’re alive.”

“Oh yeah! Mister Orion saved us! Thank you, Mister Orion!” Apple Bloom said happily, enacting a smile from the stallion in response. “Oh wait, you’re pitch black like us, too! Thank you, Mr. Pitch-Black Orion. Thank you so so so much!”

“Hey Mister Orion, do you know where our big bro is?” Applejack asked.

“Pony Joe carried him back to the village.” Orion said, “He should be fine.” He looked around at the raging flames and the thick smoke around him. “We should probably head back now.”

“Yeah! I wanna meet our big bro!”

XXX

Even thought the two fillies had been rescued, they weren’t completely out of the woods yet, both literally and figuratively. The fire and the smoke were still around. The intense heat was still affecting the ponies. The animals were still riled up and attacked the trio on sight.

“Mister Orion, what is that?” Apple Bloom asked, pointing towards one of the yam monsters.

“Well, it’s a—” Orion began, and trailed off quickly, “…actually, I have no idea.” He finished before using his hind legs to send the yam monster flying into a tree.

Applejack tried to help, but as a filly, her kicks were weak. After a while she gave up and let Orion do all the work.
Five minutes after they set off from the cabin, they reached the end of the forest. The air was clearer here, and the two fillies took deep breaths of relief. They made their way past a forest sanctuary, and towards a stone table where Big Macintosh was being taken care of by lots of other ponies.

“Big brooo!” Applejack and Apple Bloom called, once they caught sight of their older brother. They ran over to his side. “Are you alright?”

Big Macintosh painfully turned his head on the table and looked at them. His body was strapped in white bandages all over and he reeked of burn cream. “That you Applejack? And you Apple Bloom?” he said weakly, “What the…what in the world happened to you two? Yer all pitch black and covered with soot!”

“Well, our house burned down, but forget about us!” Applejack said worriedly, “What about you? Didja break your leg?”
“Yeah…I guess I did.” Big Macintosh sighed, “Listen, both of ya…I’m sorry.”

“For what, big bro?” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah, for what?” Applejack added.

“For leavin’ the two of yer back in the house.” Big Macintosh said, his eyes full of regret, “I should never have left the two of you in there alone. It was too dangerous. If Orion hadn’t gotten there in time, you two might not be here at the moment.”
“Hey, it’s not yer fault. Don’t blame yer self.” Applejack tried to reassure him, “You couldn’t have known what was goin’ to happen next.”

Big Macintosh shook his head, “That’s no excuse. I shoulda been more careful. I’m sorry, Applejack and Apple Bloom, I really am.”

“I forgive you, big bro!” Apple Bloom said, “Mister Orion saved us, so it’s alright!”

“Yeah, don’t beat up yerself!” Applejack continued.

Pony Joe piped up, “Anyway, it sure was lucky that Orion came when he did.” The other ponies nodded, and Orion moved closer towards Big Macintosh.

Big Macintosh hesitated, before saying, “Thanks, Orion. You saved my sisters. I owe you one for that.” He ended solemnly.
A nearby pony almost gasped. “Wow, I think this is the first time Big Mac has said so much.”

“Yeah!” Another pony agreed, “Most of the time he’s like ‘Eeyup’ and doesn’t say a darn thing!”

A third pony laughed out loud, “Hahaha, I think you’re right! The only thing that could make this any stranger is if it started raining right now!”

As soon as he finished his sentence, a lightning flash blasted through the area, and the sound of thunder rumbled. The clouds rolled in, thick and dark. Heavy, heavy rain poured downwards, extinguishing the flames and putting an end to the crisis.

“Huh…now ain’t that a coincidence.” The third pony said.

“Woah…rain.” Pony Joe said, “And in the nick of time, too! The forest should be fine now.”

“We haven’t had rain in quite a while.” Yet another pony said. All of the ponies looked up at the sky, at the dark clouds that covered it, then back at each other. It was clear from the looks on their faces that they were all thinking the same thing.
How strange.

“Hey uh, could we get my big bro under some shelter?” Applejack asked, breaking the silence. “I don’t want him catching a cold, especially while he’s injured like that.”

“You heard the little filly,” A nearby Mapson grinned, “Move it, lads!”

In case you haven't got it...

Twilight is Lucas.

Lyra is Claus.

Shimmer Sparkle is Hinawa.

Orion is Flint.

Pony Joe is Thomas.

Luna is Leder.

Applejack and Applebloom play the role of Fuel.

Big Mac is Lighter.

Don't forget to comment. Also, if you have played the game, please refrain from posting spoilers below.