//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Soarin' Skies 
// by arcTangent 
//------------------------------//

Soarin's legs were starting to chafe from all the pedaling he had to do to get to the park on time. Why can't these things be motorized? he griped as he shifted the weight on his skateboard, leaning into the turn. He wasn't even halfway there, but he was so tired already he knew he wouldn't be able to make it the rest of the way without stopping for a break.

Then he remembered that he had wings. Why didn't he think of that sooner? He unfurled the pair of feathered appendages at his sides and gripped the board with all four hooves. The wind that had been built up by his momentum was quickly caught in his wings and propelled him forward, requiring little effort on his part.

Being a pegasus rocks, he though as he mentally relaxed and enjoyed the ride.

He landed in front of the plaza's central fountain, which Spitfire was leaning against. "I'm impressed," she said casually. "It's only 3:58. I said 4 PM sharp."

"Doesn't sharp mean 'two minutes early'?" Soarin's grinned, picking up his skateboard and holding it under his arm.

She looked at him once before turning away, indicating him to follow. "I should have gotten you a dictionary instead, because that word clearly does not mean what you think it means."

"So I didn't get a dictionary for my birthday?" he complained, feigning concern. "Man, I've been looking forward to that for ages!"

"I'll say. You sure could have used one on that last vocabulary test."

"I already told you, I was sick! I ate a bad case of hayseed casserole at lunch that day. It must have damaged my memory or something."

"You forgot how to spell 'cloud'."

Soarin' groaned, unable to believe that they were really having this discussion. "Never mind that; back to the matter at hoof. Where is this so-called 'surprise'?"

"You'll find out soon enough," she said as she passed by an old mare resting on a nearby bench, tossing hooffulls of seeds onto the ground for the birds to devour hungrily.

"But the suspense is killing me! Can you at least tell me where we're going?"

"I don't need to."

"And why not? I'm your best friend, and it's my birthday. I have a right to know what I'm getting for said birthday!"

"I mean I don't need to tell you because we're already here."

Soarin' looked up. He hadn't even noticed they'd stopped. They were standing in front of a small cavernous entrance, one that looked strangely familiar to him. He stared at it, racking his brain and trying to make it out when, out of the blue, it hit him.

He knew this place. He hadn't been inside this cave in a long time, not since before his parents died. He was barely four years old, at that age where young ones want to explore everything around them. This cave was no exception; running off from his grandparents, who were had taken him to the park that day in his parents' absence, he found the entrance to the cavern and decided to go spelunking.

It turns out that the cave was really a tunnel. It was very long to the little tyke, but he was too curious to notice its length. He crawled and crawled as far as his little legs could take him.

Finally he emerged in a strange-looking room, covered with ornate carvings. The walls were mostly gray, but there were patches of diamond-like crystal embedded in them. The ceiling was too high for him to even see, or perhaps there was no ceiling. Near the top of the walls, just above the heights of the carvings, the rock face simply stopped, becoming hidden behind the pool of light shining through the opening where the ceiling should be. Some of the light was bouncing of the crystals in the walls, but most of it was focused on the dais in the middle of the room.

As he stared around in shocked awe, he took a closer look at the carvings. There were hideous, gruesome creatures: monsters of all shapes and sizes, with huge fangs and multiple, writing appendages. It scared him out of his wits. He began to wail and cry as he tried to hide from the monsters, but to no avail.

Then he noticed the atmosphere gradually starting to change. Subtly, but somehow not too subtle for his small ears to notice it, he heard the faintest whisper of wind brushing past, like the faint touch of a mother cradling her child. It seemed relaxing to him and calmed him down. After a while he was totally pacified, blissful innocence evident on his face.

"Soarin'?" came a voice from the cave entrance. "What are you doing in here, kiddo?"

The colt turned to see his grandfather, doubled over in an effort to fit into the tiny tunnel. "Grandpa!" he cried with delight as he galloped over to his patriarch, all thoughts of carnivorous monsters forgotten. He scurried out of the tunnel after his grandpa, failing to notice the figure wrapped in soft, warm light that had emerged from nowhere, smiling as it watched over him from afar.

The voice of his friend returned him to the present. "You all right?" Spitfire asked with concern.

He blinked a few times and stared at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just..." He broke off for a moment before continuing. "...flashbacks. But it's all good now. No big deal."

With a shrug she accepted this explanation without further questioning. "Now before we go in here," Spitfire continued, gazing at the entrance to the cave, "I'm going to tell you in advance: Happy birthday, Soarin'."

He smiled. "Thanks so much, Spitfire. I really appreciate this...whatever it is you're about to give me."

"Don't mention it." She then stepped aside and pointed at the cave opening, saying, "Birthday boy goes first!"

"You just want to go after me because you need a big strong stallion like me to protect you," he snickered at his friend as he got on his knees and crawled inside the opening, unsure of what he would find but excited irregardless.

Yet for all of his eagerness, there was nothing, absolutely nothing in Equestria that could have prepared him for what was in store.

----

Soarin' didn't remember anything about the cave. He spent the first two minutes trying to recall details about his experiences so many years ago, but nothing came to mind. Instead he tried to wonder how his friend had found the cave and why she'd decided to put his gift in such an obscure location. He didn't even have the faintest idea what the item could be.

The sides of the tunnel were dimly illuminated from the outside, as if a flashlight was being aimed at them. They provided just enough light for him to see where he was going, but not enough to get a good look at his surroundings. There seemed to be some light coming from far at the end of the tunnel, but no matter how far along he crawled the light didn't seem to get any closer. He pressed on, determined to find out what the secret was.

Soon the light appeared to brighten. Excitedly, he quickened his speed and scrambled through the tunnel, his mind and heart both racing faster than the lead Wonderbolt had flown at their most recent competition. Anticipation and adrenaline fueling his legs, he crawled and crawled and crawled until he finally realized he'd reached the end of the tunnel.

Then he stopped, dragging his hooves into the hard stone floor to prevent his momentum from flinging him into the crystal wall. Turning around, he gazed up at the massive ceiling and took in his surroundings.

The cavern hadn't changed at all since he was last there; not even dust had accumulated in his absence. Still, the area seemed very unfamiliar to him, simply because the experience had been mostly forgotten by his young mind, but it was not at all unwelcoming. It had the same sense of protection that he'd come to associate with the memory, like there was nothing at all in the world that could possibly do him harm.

The pegasus trotted over to inspect the dais. It was very basic, appearing to be a simple block of stone carved into a tabletop shape. It had almost no decorations on it whatsoever. He imagined it would be fitting for someone who wanted a job to be done quickly, without worrying over minor details.

As he pondered what the pedestal and the rest of the room could be for, as well as where his gift was, he felt his mane being blown a little by a gentle breeze. That's odd, he thought as he looked around the room for a potential source of the breeze. How could there be wind in an underground cavern like this one? He shrugged, thinking it was just his imagination.

But the wind grew stronger and blew faster and became louder. In almost no time at all it had moved from a light breeze to a strong gust and then to a powerful gale. Soarin' had to brace himself to keep from being swept away.

Then, to his shock, the walls began to crumble. The crystal slowly broke apart as the light and wind intensified. Massive cracks appeared, and shards of rock and diamond flew off into the air. They swirled around in the gust, forming a tight circle that began to close in on itself. They emitted a powerful light that nearly blinded the young colt as he threw his arm over his eyes in an effort to shield them from the glowing whirlwind in front of him.

He didn't lower his arm until the gale subsided. There, standing on the previously unoccupied dais, was a glowing white alicorn. She (Soarin' assumed it was a she) radiated an aura of supreme power, but not the malevolent kind of power---the kind of power mothers have, authoritative but also gentle. Her body seemed to be made of the same crystalline material that made up the cave walls, which had already been blown apart by the whirlwind. But the strangest thing about her was that she wasn't moving, yet she appeared to be: her glowing skin was swirling with a spectrum of different colors, all in motion across her stagnant, unflinching figure.

Soarin' didn't know what to make of this at first. The only think he could think of was how in Equestria his friend managed to find this for a birthday gift.

Then the alicorn spoke, in the same voice that he'd heard earlier in his dream.


My brave hero.


Oddly, Soarin' felt compelled to bow at the sound of her voice in his head. Without thinking he got down on one knee and bowed his head in front of the being.

The alicorn continued.


I am afraid I do not have much time to explain. Dark forces are at work in Equestria, and they have begun to tamper with my power. It is all I can do to inform you of your hidden abilities, which you must utilize in your battle against these forces.


At this the little foal raised his head. "Hidden abilities?"

The alicorn cut him off with a gentle whisper of silence before going on.


There is no time. We must complete the ritual posthaste.


She stepped down off the dais, her hoofsteps barely touching the marble floor. She bowed her head until her long horn was level with Soarin's forehead. She leaned forward a bit more and gently prodded him with her horn.

The instant the glowing horn touched his skin, the room lit up as a burst of pure white light filled the air. The light shaped itself into a dark thundercloud, churning with the power of electricity, which hovered just over his head. Just as soon as it appeared, the cloud dissipated.


It is done.


Soarin' gazed up at the alicorn just as she began to fade from view. "What happened?" he asked frantically. "What did you do?"


My powers weaken. I must go!


The pegasus galloped over to the deity, who had almost completely vanished. "Wait! Don't leave!"

The alicorn gave one final smile of hope at the foal, her pupilless eyes filled with compassion and trust.


Goodbye, Windbreaker.


Soarin' grimaced. He wasn't about to let this moment slip away from him. He needed answers, and she had them. He quickly uncurled his wings and flapped them once with all his strength.

But it was too late. The alicorn was gone, and the room had gone dark again. Soarin' fell headfirst onto the floor, which hurt like crazy and knocked the wind out of him.

Slowly, rubbing his forehead, he sat up and looked around. The cave was back to the way it had been before he'd entered, the walls repaired and the dais unmoving. The only change was the light streaming from the ceiling, which was much darker and appeared to be coming through some sort of filter.

He groaned, the pain in his noggin from when he'd hit the floor almost too much for him. He cantered over to the dais so that he could rest on top of it when he noticed something that hadn't been there when he entered.

It was a green-and-blue striped scarf, one that looked handmade by someone's grandma. It had a note attached to it, about a half a page long and written in the sloppy red handwriting of someone Soarin' knew very well. Smiling, he picked up the note and read it.

"Dear Soarin',

We've known each other for a long time now, as long as I can remember, and I'm sure as long as you can remember too. (Though with your kind of attention span, your memory probably only goes back as far as last week.)
For as long as we've been friends, we've always had each others' backs. We'd stick our necks out for each other whenever we could. So, to recognize the pact we share, I've given you this as a reminder to keep your own neck safe in those times when I'm not around.
Plus, it's green. And green is an awesome color.

Your BFF,
Spitfire"

The letter was signed with what was known as Spitfire's signature: a golden lightning bolt with crimson flames sprouting from the top.

Soarin's smile grew bigger as he read the note. Then, wrapping the scarf around his neck, he crawled back through the tunnel, having completely forgotten about the bizarre encounter he'd just had. For the time being, all he could see was his best friend's warm, smiling face and flowing crimson mane.

----

"So, tell me the truth," a beaming Spitfire said the second her friend emerged from the tunnel. "Do you love it or do you love it?"

Soarin' stared at her blankly. It took a second for him to remember what she was talking about; he was only now beginning to remember what he'd just witnessed in that cave. "Huh? Oh, yeah, the scarf. Yeah, it's cool. Thanks."

Spitfire raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "You don't sound too sure. Everything okay?"

The colt only half-heard what his friend said. He was too busy thinking about the strange events that had just gone down.

Who was that strange alicorn? It was definitely the same being he'd met in that dream earlier. She had looked ancient, older than Celestia even. Was she even really a pony? She looked like the manifestation of some kind of old magic that hadn't been used in centuries. And what had she done with her horn? Was that giving some of her power to him? Or was it just opening up something inside him? She did say something about his hidden abilities. Maybe her horn was some kind of key, and now he could do crazy superhero stuff? If that was true, he sure as hay didn't know how to use it, so it was pretty useless.

At this moment he realized that his best friend was staring him directly in the face. "Well?" she demanded impatiently.

Soarin' blinked, regaining his focus. "Well, what?"

She threw her hooves up in the air in frustration. "Did you even listen to a word I said? Seriously, you never pay attention to anything. You've always got your head in the clouds!"

He sighed, his mind trying to come up with some way to do damage control. "First off, you sound like my teachers. Second, isn't having my head in the clouds a good thing? You know, since we're in the clouds?"

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. Come on, I'm trying to talk to you here and you just keep drifting away and staring out into space. Can you just focus for like three seconds?"

He nodded slowly, adjusting the new scarf around his neck. "Sorry. I just have a lot going on right now."

Spitfire blew a raspberry. "Pfft! What could you possibly have going on that's so important?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but something stopped him at the last moment. If he told her what had happened in that cave, she'd think he was insane or delusional or hallucinating--or all three. There was no good way to explain. Pulling the scarf over his mouth as an excuse to refrain from speaking, he walked briskly away towards the park's entrance.

"Hey!" the red-maned peasus called after him. "Where ya goin'? Come back!"

Soarin' didn't turn around. The sky had started to grow dark, and a gust of wind blew through the park as he trotted down the path leading out back into the city.

Spitfire was left standing next to the tunnel leading into the cave. Her lower lip curling into a slight pout, she looked down at the ground. A brown leaf blew past her hooves, nonchalantly gliding in the wind. She turned her head as it went, following it with her eyes until she couldn't see it anymore.

She remembered the strange visions she'd been having recently: a glowing alicorn, emerging from a ball of fire, prodding her forehead with its long horn, warning her of some impending doom, filling her with warmth as scarlet flames licked her ankles and her eyes burned with heat and power. She shuddered as she recalled the quiet whisper in her ear, somehow louder than the crackle of the flames enveloping her:


Firestarter.


The wind began to calm down. Or perhaps it just felt that way because her body was slightly warming up, like the embers of an internal flame were just starting to ignite within her chest.

She decided to go home, too.