(Canterlot) Fire Meets Fire (Ended)

[Lux]

Fire Heart was intrigued by the "surprise" that Ingrid had planned in the special collections area. Granted seeing anything down there would be a surprise as she was never down there. Her mind swam with ideas as she followed the mare and the filly down the stairs. In her studies, Fire only touched upon the tip of the magical mountain. She learned about the history of some important magical items which made any her mouth water. In her spell practice, she had limited interaction to some spellbooks and some very minor artifacts. But none could compare to what she was anticipating seeing down in the archives.

Fire looked at the branching corridors in the basement area. The special collection room was intriguing, but the ornate door to the left was even more. Although Princess Celestia's School was very beautiful, she knew that the more ornate a door was, usually the more important of a room it was covering. The fact that a guard was posted only doubled the intrigue.

[colour=#FF0000]"I can't wait to see what's behind that door!"[/colour]

The red unicorn then heard the mentioning of it being cold, most likely to keep the books protected. Although Fire wouldn't be usually caught in the cold if she didn't have to, she resolved to take a little discomfort at the expense of seeing something new.

[colour=#FF0000]"Don't worry. I think I'll do ok with the cold. I can try to raise my body heat a little to be more comfortable." [/colour]

[Bellosh]

And so Ingrid Marie opened the double door and entered the Special Collections room. The medium-sized room may not have been freezing as the arctic wastelands of the north, but it was nonetheless quite chilly. Even now, the counselor witnessed a warmly-dressed unicorn staff member casting a climate control spell, the constant use of it which ensured the natural preservation of the materials housed in Special Collections. Housed within the particular bookshelves in the middle of the room were old tomes; many of which while beaten down by the ages, remained mostly intact and were totally clear of dust. Over on the opposite end, special cabinets of varying sizes housed what artifacts the School possessed; off to the left side, one could glimpse inside the Preservation Room thanks to an adjoining window.

Leading the group towards the Preservation Room (separated from the main room by a door), Ingrid addressed the two fillies;[colour=#008080] “So this is where we keep our most prized materials and also where we cast preservation spells for every single item in both our special and regular collections.”[/colour] Trotting by the Preservation Room, where she could see another staff member casting a preservation enchantment on a book, Ingrid next asked; [colour=#008080]“Do you two have any questions so far?”[/colour]

[RarityDash]

[colour=#FF0000]"Don't worry. I think I'll do ok with the cold. I can try to raise my body heat a little to be more comfortable." [/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Spirit nodded to the other filly. She was glad that Fire was willing to bear the cold. She would have hated for her to have to miss out, especially since what they were being shown was so wonderful. The purple unicorn gazed about in awe, rather taken with what she observed. Her eyes took particular notice of the tomes in the shelves in the center of the room. She approached them readily and looked them over. They all looked old, hoof bound... some were likely one of a kind. All of them looked like the sort of books that would be right at home on Mr. Gray's shelves, save they were preserved. At leas a couple of the books there Spirit was pretty sure Mr. Gray did in fact have a copy of and on others she recognized the author.[/colour]

​

[colour=#008080]“So this is where we keep our most prized materials and also where we cast preservation spells for every single item in both our special and regular collections.”[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Miss Marie's words brought Spirit back to attention and caused her to move from the shelved to the back of the room to look through the window. She peered into the preservation and watched the unicorn inside cast a preservation spell for a while. How fascinating. What a useful spell to be able to keep so many books looking so great.[/colour]

​

[colour=#008080]“Do you two have any questions so far?”[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Spirit considered her roaming thoughts a moment, and glancing back toward the unicorn one the other side of the window nodded. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"It's really incredible... how does a pony learn this kind of magic?"[/colour][colour=#cccccc] she asked, deeply curious.[/colour]

​

[Lux]

Fire Heart stepped into the room and immediately shivered from the cold. The fact that there was a unicorn dressed in a coat was not helping things. Yet she desperately wanted to see the collection, cold or no cold.

Even though she was accustonmed to magical books and items, Fire Heart was amazed at the collection. There were many old books just waiting to be read and several magical items. She scanned the books along with Spirit looking at the titles. Then she turned towards the cabinet where something caught her eye.

[colour=#FF0000]"What's that," [/colour]Fire said as she pointed to what looked like a crystal ball that pulsated with an inner light, changing colors frequently. The light show it displayed was mesmerizing to the unicorn.

[Bellosh]

[colour=#008080]“Well Miss Spirit,”[/colour] Ingrid Marie explained;[colour=#008080] “Such preservation spells are regularly taught to unicorns who seek out professional certifications or associate degrees in library staffing. Of course, those motivated enough to spend a good portion of their lives mastering preservation spells are able to cast stronger enchantments on books and other materials. As with any other type of magic, practice makes perfect.”[/colour] Ingrid hoped that answer would satisfy the filly’s curiosity.

Hearing Fire Heart inquire about a glowing crystal ball within a half-open cabinet, Counselor Marie was more than happy to show it off. [colour=#008080]“Ah, this thing?”[/colour] exclaimed the counselor as she levitated it out of the cabinet and into her hoof; [colour=#008080]“This is a 1,000 year-old seeing stone.”[/colour] Charging up her horn, Ingrid then sent a sustained red-colored blast of magic to power up the stone. Slowly but slowly, a top-down image of Celestia’s School started to emerge within the crystal ball for all to see.

[colour=#008080]“As you can see my little ponies,”[/colour] the counselor pointed out; [colour=#008080]“A seeing stone allows you to well, see from afar. This particular stone however is only a rudimentary one by today’s standards; you can only see what the sun or moon can see more or less. You can’t easily zoom in on smaller subjects, and even clouds can mess up what you see. The most advanced seeing stones one can craft today can piece through any sort of obstruction; cloud, earth, flesh; pretty much anything but somepony’s innermost thoughts more or less. Of course, it also takes exceptional skills to master the use of such a stone; very few ponies have the motivation and ability to see absolutely anything they wanted to with an advanced seeing stone. Even then, specialized objects exist for the sole purpose of fogging the vision of even the most sophisticated crystal balls. I hear that griffon scientists are especially crafty with those sorts of contraptions.”[/colour]

Finishing her lecture, Ingrid grinned and proceeded to ask the fillies; [colour=#008080]“Anyway, unless you have further questions, is there anywhere you’d like to see with the seeing stone… within reason?”[/colour] Due to a deficiency of experience operating a seeing stone, the counselor hoped that the fillies would at least try to keep their requests to places within Canterlot.

[RarityDash]

[colour=#008080]“Well Miss Spirit, [/colour][colour=#008080]Such preservation spells are regularly taught to unicorns who seek out professional certifications or associate degrees in library staffing. Of course, those motivated enough to spend a good portion of their lives mastering preservation spells are able to cast stronger enchantments on books and other materials. As with any other type of magic, practice makes perfect.”[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Spirit listened to Miss Marie with interest. It really didn't sound like the kind of magic she could ever do. She was only good at fire magic, destructive magic. Magic to preserve things was about as far from that as she could get. Perhaps that was why it fascinated her? She wasn't sure, but she didn't take her eyes off the preservation room for a while. She wondered if Mr. Gray knew any manner of preservations spells; after all, he had been around books all his life. Sure, his collection didn't look as pristine as this, but then again the books he found on his adventures usually were pretty beat up to start with. She'd have to ask him about it later.[/colour]

​

[colour=#008080]“Ah, this thing? [/colour][colour=#008080]This is a 1,000 year-old seeing stone.”[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]An inquiry by Fire resulted in Miss Marie retrieving a peculiar artifact from a cabinet. Intrigued, Spirt pulled herself from the window to go take a look. The seeing stone was so beautiful that Spirit couldn't help but gaze at it as Miss Marie explained in detail just what it was and how it worked and moreover how it had evolved with time. Mr. Gray often told her that magic and ponykind's understanding of it had only gotten weaker and more muddled since the proud long ago days of the storied wizards like Starswirl the Bearded, but in this case it sounded like the opposite was true and real advancement had been made. Perhaps it wasn't quite the same for everything? She wasn't really sure, but all the same she was fascinated by what she heard.[/colour]

​

[colour=#008080]“Anyway, unless you have further questions, is there anywhere you’d like to see with the seeing stone… within reason?”[/colour]

[colour=#ffffff][colour=#ffffff]"Perhaps you could have it show us Fillydelphia...?"[/colour] [colour=#cccccc]the filly started readily. She wasn't too homesick; Canterlot had been lots of fun so far. All the same, she was interested to see an aerial view of the place she knew best. Or, well, at least the place she knew best that didn't haunt her nightmares...[/colour][/colour]

​

[Lux]

Fire listened to Ingrid's exxplanation on how a pony could learn how to magically preserve books. Although she wasn't interested in it from a library point of view, there may come a time in the future that the unicorn might need to use it on a book or artifact to keep is safe.

The older filly and her friend were amazed at the Seeing Stone. She was amazed at how old it was and how despite its age it still appeared to function as well as it did upon its creation. Fire heard of objects to scry for ponies, things or locations, but to her knowledge the only item she knew of was a scrying mirror or a scrying bowl, both of which a pony can look into to see something. She did not personally use any of them as that was for more advanced classes. Yet it was interesting to see another object like what she learned about.

[colour=#FF0000]"I don't suppose you can use this stone to see into the Everfree Forest? I heard there's the Moon Palace there and it would be neat to see the entire thing."[/colour]

[Bellosh]

[colour=#008080]~Oh boy… let’s hope it doesn’t take me forever to figure this thing out~[/colour]

[colour=#008080]“Alright, I’ll try finding the Moon Palace first.”[/colour] Giving a soft sigh, Ingrid Marie tried her best to not look too unassured of herself as she attempted to magically move the ball’s field of vision towards the Moon Palace. [colour=#008080]“Let’s hope I don’t muck this up,”[/colour] whispered the counselor to herself under her breath. With Ingrid focusing on the crystal ball, it didn’t take long for the aerial view to start shifting away from Canterlot. For a few brief moments, all that anypony could see was a blurry countryside as the seeing stone’s gaze moved ever westward. All too soon, the image became clear again, showing a small town nestled between the Everfree Forest and the Whitetail Wood.

[colour=#008080]“Oopps, this is actually Ponyville,”[/colour] Counselor Marie apologized; [colour=#008080]“Didn’t go west enough yet.”[/colour] Once again, the seeing stone’s vision became hazy, this time transforming into a dark green blur as its line of sight traveled over the Everfree. Every so often, the image would clear up only to reveal visions of trees and more trees. Unfortunately, Ingrid had trouble trying to locate the actual palace; without the assistance of a map, finding the palace was just as hard as finding a needle in a haystack.

After a minute of this routine, the clearly-flustered counselor was all too ready to quit and move on towards Fillydelphia. Unbeknownst to the counselor however, the seeing stone’s current field of vision actually showed the Moon Palace in all its overgrown glory. It was just hard to see the ruins under all the vines and other undergrowth.

[RarityDash]

[colour=#FF0000]"I don't suppose you can use this stone to see into the Everfree Forest? I heard there's the Moon Palace there and it would be neat to see the entire thing."[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Spirit squirmed. Why did Fire want to see that place? Didn't she know how terrible it was? The area around the moon palace had to be the most dark, overgrown and thoroughly dangerous place in the entire forest. It was best to avoid that place entirely. Even looking at it couldn't be good for them, she was sure.[/colour]

​

[colour=#008080]“Alright, I’ll try finding the Moon Palace first."[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]What? Miss Marie was actually going to find it? Spirit gave a small cry and then ran to cower behind Fire, not wanting to see that terrible forest that so vividly clung to her memories. She kept herself low to the ground, as her body shivered in fear.[/colour]

​

[colour=#008080]“Oopps, this is actually Ponyville; d[/colour][colour=#008080]idn’t go west enough yet.”[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]These words caused the young pony to slowly raise herself and look up. She did not have good timing however, for just as her eyes met the glowing stone, the vibrance of Ponyville was replaced in it with the dark, murky nightmare scenery of the Everfree forest. Spirit stared at it, quivering behind her friend as she did. She was now unable to look away, staring at the seeing stone, finding the subtle outline of the moon palace's walls in the overgrowth with ease, her eyes still trained to recognize shapes in those woods. She gazed at it all deeply, but remained too frightened to speak.[/colour]

​

[Lux]

Fire watched as the mare tried to manipulated the Seeing Stone. She looked unsure of herself in being able to locate the destination or even use it for that matter. She noticed that Spirit was shocked that she requested such a location. This was confirmed slightly as Ingrid accidentally found Ponyville first. It was nice to see the little town as well, and seeing how nice it appeared made Fire excited to see it during Nightmare Night.

The image moved across the forest landscape until it centered on the ruins of the castle. The place was so massive that it was almost the same size as the castle in Canterlot. Fire wondered if there was once a long time ago a town built around the castle, just like the city of Canterlot grew around the castle. She also wondered what happened to the castle.

Her friend immediately dashed behind her as if something terrible would suddenly jump from the orb.

[colour=#FF0000]"Spirit? Are you ok? It's just an image. It's not going to hurt you."[/colour]

The older filly looked under her to find her friend staring at the image of the Moon Palace as if she was hypnotized. Fire could see that her friend was now paralyzed in fear.

[colour=#FF0000]"Spirit? Speak to me! Miss Marie, I think something's wrong with Spirit. You need to change the image or shut the stone down, anything to take her mind off the place. There's something about the palace she's terrified of."[/colour]

[Bellosh]

[colour=#008080]“Palace?”[/colour] questioned the impatient Ingrid Marie;[colour=#008080] “What palace? I still don’t see anything but trees and…”[/colour] Right then, Ingrid finally made out shapes indicating the presence of dilapidated ruins, much to her infinite relief. [colour=#008080]“Wait… I think it see it now! Hahahahahaha, I’ve actually found the stupid place! Take THAT, you dumb spherical rock…”[/colour]

The counselor cut her gloating short once she finally glimpsed the terror in Spirit’s eyes. At once, Ingrid complied with Fire Heart’s request and stopped powering the seeing stone. In a flash, the image of the Moon Palace vanished as the crystal ball’s inner light dimmed to a glimmer. Still clutching the lukewarm stone in her hoof, Ingrid wondered just what made Spirit freak out over the Moon Palace. As far as she knew, it wasn’t particularly known as a lair for monsters or an otherwise-cursed location. At least, the most recent accounts of the site didn’t indicate as such.

Curiosity getting the best of her, Counselor Marie asked the scared filly; [colour=#008080]“Pardon me for asking Miss Spirit, but why does seeing those old ruins scare you so much? I understand that the Everfree Forest isn’t exactly the most uhhh… civilized of places… hmmm, you didn’t happen to get lost in the forest one time, did you?”[/colour] Ingrid knew of the Everfree's infamy all too well, but even she had to admit that Spirit's reaction to seeing the palace was a bit more frantic than the average pony's response whenever anything connected to the untamed forest was mentioned.

[RarityDash]

[colour=#FF0000]"Spirit? Are you ok? It's just an image. It's not going to hurt you. [/colour][colour=#FF0000]Spirit? Speak to me! Miss Marie, I think something's wrong with Spirit. You need to change the image or shut the stone down, anything to take her mind off the place. There's something about the palace she's terrified of."[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Spirit could hear her young friend call out to her, but in that frightful moment it didn't reach her. Fire's words felt somehow distant even though she was right there in front of her. Spirit focus was locked on the images in the stone and even more so on the images in her mind. At that moment, it was all that she could see. It was all that she recognized.[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Everfree Forest was a dark place. It was no place for a young pony to grow. Without her gift for flame and without her manticore mother to protect her until such time as that gift had matured, it wouldn't have been possible for her. Even with that line of defense, the young filly's existence there had never been an easy one. There had been more than one close call. Physical wounds healed with time, but every dark moment lost in those treacherous woods clung deep and heavy to her memory. Mr. Gray had rescued her from that continual nightmare; she could look forward now and put it behind her. Still, she would always be haunted. Just the site of the heart of that nightmare was trigger enough.[/colour]

​

[colour=#008080]“Pardon me for asking Miss Spirit, but why does seeing those old ruins scare you so much? I understand that the Everfree Forest isn’t exactly the most uhhh… civilized of places… hmmm, you didn’t happen to get lost in the forest one time, did you?"[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Miss Marie made the images go away, which shook Spirit free of her trance. She continued to pant as the mare spoke to her, her dark purple coat losing some of its vibrance. Eventually she made sense of the mare's words and gave a trembling nod. She gulped and looked downward, not finding herself quite capable of speech.[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]After half a minute she collected herself and began to speak in a low voice, [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"L-lost..."[/colour][colour=#cccccc] she mouthed this singe word slowly and gave an even slower nod. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"Yes... I was lost... for so long..."[/colour][colour=#cccccc] she finished, her already weak voice nearly giving out as she stared ahead blankly.[/colour]

​

[Lux]

Thankfully Ingrid heeding Fire's words and seeing Spirit's distress immeditely stopped the Seeing Stone. The unicorn immediately went to her friend and tried to console her as best as she could. Fire wasn't a pony who was overflowing with warm fuzzy feelings, but she knew that she had to help calm her friend down. The poor pony looked like she saw the most fearsome creature in Equestria in the stone and she could barely utter a word.

[colour=#FF0000]"Spirit, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you like that. I was just interested in seeing the castle that's all. But I forgot how you lived there in that forest. Oh, please forgive me Spirit, and please don't be scared."[/colour]

[Bellosh]

Ingrid Marie’s mouth hung open, not believing what she was hearing right now. Miss Spirit… lived in the Everfree Fores once? How could that have happened? What would cause a filly to reside in that infamous woodland of chaos against her will? A million questions swirled through Ingrid’s mind as she tried to contemplate the misfortune previously suffered by Spirit.

A few moments of silence passed as Counselor Marie stood there shaking, more from remaining motionless in the chilled room than anything else. Ingrid herself was not much of a specialist on handling trauma; as a magic counselor, she only dealt with traumatic experiences if they affected the magic abilities of the School’s learners. Oftentimes in such scenarios, Ms. Marie deemed it necessary to refer severely-troubled students to dedicated therapists. Right now, Ingrid’s instincts told her to do just that.

[colour=#008080]“I….. I’m sorry to hear wha… what happened to you, Miss Spirit,”[/colour] Ingrid hesitantly comforted the filly; [colour=#008080]“I… I know it can be very hard for you to tell other ponies about your time in that forest. If you’d uhhh… like… mmkay, I can recommend someone who can help you with your pain. Her name’s Heart Healer, and she runs a clinic right here in Canterlot. I can give you her address if you want me to.”[/colour] With her empathic magic talents, Counselor Marie thought of Ms. Healer as among the most capable therapists in the city, and the one she recommended the most to students who needed that sort of help.

[RarityDash]

[colour=#FF0000]"Spirit, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you like that. I was just interested in seeing the castle that's all. But I forgot how you lived there in that forest. Oh, please forgive me Spirit, and please don't be scared."[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Spirit was still kind of dazed by her trip back into her nightmares, but Fire's voice caught her attention regardless. She glanced over at her, sensing the concern in her words and gave a nod.[/colour] [colour=#ffffff]"I-it's okay, Fire... I know you didn't... I shouldn't be so... especially when its just an image...." [/colour][colour=#cccccc]she said, her voice even more spaced out and elliptical than was typical. [/colour]

​

[colour=#008080]“I….. I’m sorry to hear wha… what happened to you, Miss Spirit, [/colour][colour=#008080]I… I know it can be very hard for you to tell other ponies about your time in that forest. If you’d uhhh… like… mmkay, I can recommend someone who can help you with your pain. Her name’s Heart Healer, and she runs a clinic right here in Canterlot. I can give you her address if you want me to.”[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Fire's words had held only concern, but Miss Marie's held shock and some disbelief. Concern was definitely there too, which caused a small smile to appear in the corner of her mouth. She nodded. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"I think I'll be okay,"[/colour] she said softly.

[colour=#ffffff]"I'm not very good at talking about it anyway... and I don't know if I'll be in Canterlot long..."[/colour] [colour=#cccccc]she added quietly.[/colour] [colour=#ffffff]"Thank you both for your concern though... it means a lot."[/colour]

​

[Lux]

Even with Spirit's reassurance, Fire still felt like a fool making her new friend scared. But she did seem to be getting better as the memory of the image of the Everfree Forest faded from her memories.

[colour=#FF0000]"I'm glad you're ok. So... how about we look around more Miss Marie. I'm dying to know what's behind that orante door we passed by earlier!"[/colour]

[Bellosh]

[colour=#008080]“I… I think that’s a good idea, Miss Heart,”[/colour] Ingrid Marie spluttered; [colour=#008080]“The next room is fortunately warmer than this place, hah hah.”[/colour] Maybe Spirit’s…. spirits would improve faster if she focused more on the cold than her memories of the Moon Palace. Levitating the seeing stone back into the cabinet, Ingrid signaled for the group to follow her out of Special Collections.

Once back outside, the counselor addressed the group once more; [colour=#008080]“So, we finally come to the surprise that I’ve mentioned earlier. Let’s just say that since both of you are talented in pyrokinesis, I bet you two will be… extra impressed.”[/colour] Grinning once more, Ingrid turned right at the intersection and walked towards the elaborate double-door with the dragon artwork. Unlike with the last room, the air grew warmer as the unicorn approached the portal and the uniformed watchpony who guarded it.

“Hello there, Counselor Marie,” greeted the chirpy security guard; “They got you on tour duty now?”

[colour=#008080]“Sorry Calhorn, I’m sure you’re very disappointed,”[/colour] Ingrid replied to the unicorn stallion’s wisecrack; [colour=#008080]“You don’t mind if I let these fillies through?”[/colour]

“Nope; they can go on through. Just make sure their hooves don’t touch anything, okay? I really don't wanna get fired, knowing what they keep in there.....” Tipping his cap towards the two fillies, the unicorn guard trotted over to the double-door and stuck his horn through the slot in the middle. Once the horn glowed with magic, the door itself followed suit as it prepared to open the way into the Incubation Room.....

[RarityDash]

[colour=#008080]“I… I think that’s a good idea, Miss Heart. [/colour][colour=#008080]The next room is fortunately warmer than this place, hah hah.”[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Miss Marie spoke in response to Fire's suggestion that they move along. Spirit gave a solemn nod at the prospect. She was more than ready to continue onward and put what had happened with the stone behind her. Shivering slightly from the cold, Spirit followed after the mare closely but quietly. She was quite curious to see what Miss Marie was to show them next, even if at that moment she mostly just wanted something new to focus in on that wasn't so frightening. [/colour]

​

[colour=#008080]“So, we finally come to the surprise that I’ve mentioned earlier. Let’s just say that since both of you are talented in pyrokinesis, I bet you two will be… extra impressed.”[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Spirit's curiosity grew and took hold at these words. Did that mean that what Miss Marie was about to show them had something to do with fire magic? Her anticipation multiplied quickly at that thought. She wanted to see. As Miss Marie exchanged words with the stallion guard, she listened closely. The guard's words seemed to emphasize that it would be bad for them to touch what was inside. This told the young filly that what they were here to see was either very dangerous or very priceless and fragile. She was eager to see which.[/colour]

[colour=#ffffff]"W-what is it?"[/colour] [colour=#cccccc]she asked in a low voice, her growing curiosity getting the better of her and forcing her tongue. [/colour]

​

[Lux]

Fire was a little disappointed that she had to leave the Special Collections room behind and its wonders within, but for the sake of her friend she felt it was best. Staying longer could awaken the memory of seeing the Everfree Forest and in turn make her friend stressed. At any rate she could always return by getting permission from Miss Marie or even another professor.

Fire stood before the ornate door listening to the conversation between the counselor and the guard pony. Whatever was in there was important and either dangerous or even fragile. She could barely contain her excitement as the guard magically unlocked the door with his horn. She stepped in and saw that the room was dark with only some shadowy outlines around of objects. There also wasn't any sound save for the three's hooves on the stony floor.

[colour=#FF0000]"I'm not sure what it is Spirit. What is this place Miss Marie?" [/colour]

[Bellosh]

[colour=#008080]“This room is just an antechamber to the Incubation Room up ahead,”[/colour] Ingrid Marie grumbled in response to Fire Heart’s question; [colour=#008080]“However, it seems the lighting crystal for this room needs a recharge.” [/colour]Looking at the guard behind her as she trotted into the room, the elder unicorn shouted;[colour=#008080] “Hey, would it kill you if you sent maintenance down here, Calhorn?”[/colour]

“Sorry ma’am; you know I can’t leave my post until my shift ends!” Calhorn replied.

[colour=#008080]“Great…”[/colour] the counselor softly sighed as the enchanted doors shut behind her, leaving the small but very warm antechamber in pitch blackness. [colour=#008080]“Don’t worry my little ponies,”[/colour] Ingrid reassured the fillies; [colour=#008080]“The other door should automatically open… now?”[/colour] Ingrid knew something was wrong; the magically-enchanted door ahead should have automatically opened once the other one closed.

[colour=#008080]~Outstanding... another thing for maintenance to fix~[/colour]

Complicating matters, using any sort of magic in this antechamber would trigger… peculiar defense mechanisms. The School spared no expense in protecting the contents of the Incubation Room, given the nasty political consequences of letting it getting broken into. Needless to say, the large objects housing the mechanisms themselves... grotesque dragon-statues to be precise, were rather frightening-looking if beheld in light.

Not bothering to tell the fillies about the enchanted security mechanisms, Ingrid stumbled her way over to the other door and started banging on it; [colour=#008080]“Hey HEY! Can somepony open the door!? The automatic door thingy seems to not work for some reason! Can’t these blasted ponies cast a door-opening enchantment that actually works right!!!?”[/colour] Fifteen seconds passed with no response.....

[RarityDash]

[colour=#008080]“This room is just an antechamber to the Incubation Room up ahead."[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Incubation room? What did that mean again... To incubate was to keep something at a suitable temperature so as it can develop and grow. What might they be incubating down here though? Some manner of rare creatures? That sounded most likely. Either way, it sounded exciting whatever it was. Spirit was eager to see just what was ahead.[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]It was just as she consider that that she realized she could no longer see much of anything. Miss Marie and the guard exchanged some words about doors and mechanisms. Something was apparently amiss with the antechamber and for it there were locked in the darkness. Now, Spirit was accustomed to darkness. Everfree was at its worst come nightfall, so that meant it was when she had had to be awake. Granted, the forest could never be called safe; there was no place of shelter in it that was consistently reliable. Night was the worst though, so to endure it, Spirit had lived most of her life surrounded by it.[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Though she did fear the dark to a degree for what she knew to lurk within it, it was also kind of comfortable to her as a result. She knew how to control it; she knew how to use her magic, which held the light and warmth the darkness lacked to beat the dark back and keep herself safe. It was one thing she had grown skillful at. On that note, she knew how to restore visibility to their failing lighting. Almost instinctively, her horn lit up and from it spread a bright white flame-like glow which engulfed her and filing the surrounding area with light and warmth. Her eyes readjusted quickly and once more she could see what was ahead. [/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]It was as soon as she did see again that it caught her eyes. Some manner of beast was right ahead and seemed to be reacting strangely. It looked kind of like a dragon, but also kind of unnatural. It was terrifying and it felt like danger. Spirit found herself immediately taken back to her time in Everfree, and without a moment's pause she leapt toward the creature, her horn shining brightly and sending a powerful blast of white flame directly at the "dragon".[/colour]

[colour=#ffffff]"I won't let you hurt them..."[/colour][colour=#cccccc] she said in a voice with some latent strength as she waited to see just how effective her blast had been.[/colour]

​

[Lux]

Fire waited patiently as Ingrid first tried to activate the light crystal with no luck. This meant that the three were now standing in total. Fire was accustomed to the dark as she took the night time to dance in the park and enjoy the starry sky that her friend Luna made. Also being a pony that could cast fire meant that the night was usually not a problem for her.

With a glow of her horn, she activated a flame on the tip of her horn like a match alight. She gazed at the massive door at the other end with the draconic like images. Spirit seemed to be staring at as well while Ingrid was looking for assistance in opening the door to the so-called Incubation Room. Suddenly her friend shot a white flame blast at the door which temporarily blinded Fire. Turning her head and raising a hoof to cover her face, she needed a moment to recover.

[Bellosh]

Too busy knocking on the enchanted double door, Ingrid Marie failed to notice Fire Heart summoning a flame on her horn. Almost immediately afterwards, a bright flash enveloped the room thanks to Spirit’s own magic. That, along with a faint rumble, caused the horrified counselor to finally look backwards… she failed to warn them of the antechamber’s anti-thief enchantments!

[colour=#008080]“NOO!! DON’T USE ANY MAGIC!!!!!”[/colour] Ingrid cried out, but it was too late. Spirit’s flame blast did absolutely nothing to the dragon statue; in fact, the magical ruby eyes of that statue and the others now glowed with a malicious crimson from that pyrokinetic outburst. Before Counselor Marie cold react, ethereal streams of blue flame spewed from the dragon statues' mouths and made an attempt to surround each pony in the room with a cage of fire.

Resigned to her inglorious fate, Ingrid made no attempt to dodge the magic flames as they enclosed around her. The bars of blue flame wouldn’t set the counselor on fire if she tried to touch them either physically or with magic, but they would give her a nasty jolt. [colour=#008080]“Well Miss Heart,”[/colour] Ingrid sarcastically stated; [colour=#008080]“I hope you’re impressed with how your tuition money is spent. Just be glad we don’t keep real dragons here.”[/colour] Nervously laughing, the elder unicorn realized she needed to amend her statement; [colour=#008080]“Well… adult ones anyway.”[/colour] Just about the only good news for Ingrid was that both sets of double-doors finally started to open.

[colour=#008080]~Mmmkay, I guess all the commotion finally woke up the ponies in the Incubation Room… it took them long enough~[/colour]

[RarityDash]

[colour=#008080]“NOO!! DON’T USE ANY MAGIC!!!!!”[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Miss Marie's plea came too late. Spirit had already it her horn and sent the flame blast out at what she perceived to be a threat. It was only when the light of her white flame hit the "creature" that she realized it was not actually alive; what she had attacked was just a statue. Moreover, her magic had proven ineffective. Whatever manner of enchantments had been cast upon this strange dragon statue were stronger than what her flames alone could get through. As the statue's eyes glowed brightly, a pang of fear swept over the young pony. Just because it was a statue didn't mean it couldn't hurt them. Was her choice here about to get her new friends hurt? Was she powerless to prevent it. That thought, more than any other, brought despair.[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]Fire shot from the statue's mouth and Spirit feared what it meant. Her body quaked as it came, but she found it did not bring any kind of fiery end. Instead, the flames, a peculiar but lovely blue in colour, surrounded and encircled them. They were kind of beautiful. Spirit had seen white, black and of course red fire before, but blue was new to her. She didn't feel much heat from the flames either. Entranced by them, she stuck out a hoof to touch the fire and see if she could guide it in anyway. She mostly created fires, but she did have some minor skill at guiding existing ones after all.[/colour]

[colour=#cccccc]She recoiled her hoof immediately as a sharp painful jolt overtook her. She backed up and steadied herself, then looked toward the others. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"How do we get through it...?"[/colour] [colour=#cccccc]she asked simply in a quiet voice, oblivious to the door ahead of them having opened.[/colour]

​

[Lux]

Fire braced herself for what was going to happen. She knew that whatever was behind the doors, it was important. A simple lock to be opened by a unicorn would not do. There had to be something else to prevent the room from being opened from any pony passing through. Usually it was an enchantment but not always.

The red unicorn then saw that it was a statue that was what Spirit attacked. The menacing stone dragon's eyes lit up and a blue flame leapt from its mouth and breathed a strange blue fire that encircled the ponies. Fire, being a pony with her ability to create and control flames, knew a thing or two about it. Red flames, the kind she was used to casting, were the coldest type, that is if it was any consolation to those around her about what degree flames were. Blue was the next hottest followed by white.

[colour=#FF0000]"Spirit, I don't think these are ordinary flames."[/colour]

Her friend tried manipulating them but received a shock for her efforts. The door to the room were open, but there was at the moment no way of getting through.

[colour=#FF0000]"There must be a way to turn off the flames." [/colour]