Special Talents

by InkFathom

Igniting the Fire

Fifteen years earlier…

************

A cream colored mare with a light blue and pink mane and her amber filly with a fiery orange and yellow mane sat on a fluffy cloud in a large stadium as they watched a trio of pegasi dressed in blue and yellow suits and goggles zoom through an entrance far below.

“Introducing… THE WONDERBOLTS!” an announcer vigorously proclaimed.

The Wonderbolts twirled and zigzagged through the air, trailing thunderclouds and lightning behind them. They zoomed at breakneck speeds, spiraling, diving, and performing acrobatic stunts in unison. The audience oohed and ahhed with every feat.

One of the Wonderbolts raced past the filly’s seat. Her true blue eyes followed the pegasus with a look of strong admiration. “Mommy!” She shouted, trying to be heard above the roar of the crowd. “I want to be as fast as the Wonderbolts someday!”

The mother looked down at her filly. “You will be, sweetie. You’ll be the fastest of them all.” She smiled as her daughter’s tiny wings began to flutter. “But you have to practice. The Wonderbolts practice every week so that they can go so fast.”

“I’ll practice! I’ll practice every DAY!” Her wings buzzed and she lifted an inch off the cloud before falling back on her hooves.

The mother chuckled. “Careful, Flameheart. Watch the show.”

They both fell silent for the rest of the performance, aside from occasional shouts of amazement and awe.

************

After the show, Flameheart and her mother exited the stadium, meeting up with a lime green pegasus mare with a straight yellow mane and her moss colored filly with a dark green mane.

Flameheart’s mother started chatting with the mare. “Flameheart, Sprite and I are going to be here for a while,” she told her filly. “Why don’t you play with Emerald? She seems nice.”

Flameheart and Emerald exchanged glances and shrugged. Might as well, she thought.

“Weren’t the Wonderbolts amazing?” the green filly squealed. “I mean, they were flippin’ and flyin’ and divin’! And then there was that time when they went,” she motioned an action with her hoof. “WHOOSH!”

“Yeah!” Flameheart joined in her excitement. “I’m gonna be as fast as they are someday!” she boasted.

Emerald rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Nopony’s as fast as the Wonderbolts!”

Flameheart flapped her tiny wings, eager to prove the filly wrong. “Yes I am. Just watch me!” With that she trotted over to the edge of the cloud they were on.

“This I’ve got to see.” Emerald cantered over near her, the sparkle of excitement in her eyes.

Flameheart’s mother glanced casually over at her filly. Her eyes widened as she realized what her daughter was doing. She galloped over to where she left her. “No, Flameheart!” she shouted, panicking. “Don’t jump! You’re not old enough!”

Not listening to her mother’s warnings, Flameheart spread her tiny wings and leapt off the cloud, trying to fly.

As she fell, the amber pegasus realized that something was wrong. Her wings weren’t creating lift, and she wasn’t slowing down. She flipped over in midair and looked up at the cloud she had been on.

Over the rushing wind in her ears, Flameheart heard the faint screams of her mother.

The filly noticed that she was passing another layer of clouds. She fell through a small cloud on her way down. It dissipated, not being dense enough to carry her weight. After falling through several more clouds, she found that she was slowing down. They were acting as cushions for her body.

She looked at the ground and saw tall, barky things with green leaves protruding from the soil. These must be trees, she thought. She had never seen one in real life before, since she lived so high in the clouds, but she heard her mother talking about them every now and then.

Flameheart crashed through the branches of the tree. The branches scratched her as she fell and they bent under her weight. She finally dropped to the ground, covered in scratches, bruises, and leaves.

“Ugh…” Flameheart groaned. She hurt all over. Slowly standing up, the filly looked around. She had never seen the ground before, but she knew that she was even more lost hidden in a forest of trees. How could a search team find her in a forest? She had to call for help. “Mommy…” Her voice was scratchy. Clearing her throat, she shouted, “MOMMY!” Flameheart looked to the sky. Most of it was blocked by leaves and branches, but what little she could see was darkening into night. The sky was a blood-red color, bespeckled by stars that were just coming out.

The filly didn’t want to be lost in the dark. “MOMMY! MOMMY, CAN YOU HEAR ME? MOMMY!” She sat down and bowed her head. Tears began to flow down her face to the forest floor. “Mommy…”

She heard a twig snap behind her. Flameheart looked into the trees where the sound originated. “Mommy?” she called hopefully.

From behind the trees came three creatures made out of bark and branches in canine forms. They stalked in front of her and growled.

Flameheart’s eyes widened. Her breathing became ragged and she whispered, “You’re not my mommy…”

The wolf at the front howled. Flameheart turned and ran at top speed further into the forest. With the Timberwolves following close behind, the filly swerved between trees and leapt over stones and streams trying to lose the predators at her heels.

She crawled into a log after a while, catching her breath and hoping that the wolves would give up and go away. She curled up and waited for the sounds of growling to stop. There was a moment of silence. Had they given up? Slowly turning around, the pegasus looked out the other entrance to the log to see a single glowing eye. She screamed as a paw burst into the log, clawing at her and almost grabbing her leg. She sped out the other end, the wolves following her with renewed energy.

Her heart raced. Her lungs took in and expelled air faster than they ever had before. She pumped her tiny legs as fast as they could physically go. Adrenaline flowed through her blood as she galloped through the forest. She could hear the panting of the wolves grow fainter and fainter with every stride. She looked back at the wolves chasing her. I’m going to make it! she thought.

Suddenly, Flameheart tripped over a rock jutting from the ground. She spun head over hooves and crashed into the side of a cliff.

The amber pegasus quickly stood up, gasping as jarring pain shot up from her left front leg. When she tried to put pressure on it, she collapsed. Oh no! she thought. What do I do now?

After trying and failing to limp away several times, the pegasus looked up to see the wolves. Backing up best she could with her injury, she tried to find an escape route. There was a wolf in front of her, to her left, and to her right. She looked over her shoulder. Her heart sank as she saw the wall of the cliff blocking any other way to escape. She was trapped!

Horror crept over her features as she realized her hopeless situation. She crouched down, her hooves covering her head, as she awaited her demise. Flameheart regretted not listening to her mother, and was furious with herself for doing something so stupid.

Actually, when she thought about it, she was also angry at Emerald for coaxing her to be so bold. She was angry at the Wonderbolts for filling her mind with false pride. She was furious, she realized, at everything. At the rescue teams for not finding her earlier. At her mother for not watching her closely enough. At the wolves for hunting her. At the rock for tripping her. At the cliff for trapping her. Even at her predicament, as if it was something she could be angry at. No matter how idiotic, selfish, or unkind, she was angry. She didn’t know why she was so furious.

Nevertheless, this rage fueled her. A burning sensation filled her gut, moving through her blood and going straight to her brain. Unbeknownst to the pegasus, her eyes turned blood red. Her teeth sharpened, her flame like mane and tail ignited, flowing from hair to outright fire. Her legs elongated, and her wings expanded. She had changed from a defenseless foal to a dangerous mare in only seconds.

The wolves backed away, whimpering. This sudden change was unexpected and frightening.

With a scream of fury, Flameheart charged at the front wolf. She leaped onto the terrified creature and started to stomp on its back, creating splinters in the wooden pelt.

The flame that made up her mane and tail had found their way to the Timberwolf’s body. The wolf yelped and howled, the fire devouring its body. It writhed on the ground, whimpering and twitching, and soon lay still, charred and lifeless.

The other wolves stared at their dead companion and looked on with fear in their eyes at this monster before them. Flameheart roared at them, and they turned tail, fleeing into the forest.

The filly roared again, this time in victory, at the defeated predator before her. Calm washed over her at the fact the threat had gone, and the burning sensation that had caused this change began to cool. The fire of her mane and tail extinguished, leaving behind burnt hair, as her teeth dulled. Her legs shortened and her wings shrank back to normal size. She blinked, her eyes reverting back to blue.

She looked before her. Oh no… What have I done? She had killed a living creature. Granted, it was made of wood and tried to eat her, but living all the same!

Anguish and exhaustion overtook her body. She collapsed, not awake to see a group of rescue pegasi come down and return her to the clouds.

************

Flameheart awoke to the sound of rhythmic beeping. She blinked open her eyes and saw a mare looking down at her with worried eyes.

“Mommy…” the amber pegasus croaked. “Where am I?”

Flameheart’s mother began to tear up. “You’re in the hospital.”

A unicorn wearing a white coat explained further, speaking briskly. “The rescue team found you in the Everfree forest, unconscious and covered in scratches and burns. They reported that you were found near the body of a dead Timberwolf, which was also burned.” He picked up a clipboard and began magically scrawling something on a sheet of paper. “We suspect that you were being chased by the wolf when it was struck by a rogue lightning cloud.” He looked the filly in the eyes. “You are very lucky to be alive.”

Flameheart groaned. She was covered in bandages, and her left front hoof was in a cast. “W-wha…?” she stuttered, referring to the cast.

“Your leg was broken,” the doctor replied. “It will heal in a few weeks. Until then, you should stay off of it.”

“It’s a good thing that lightning cloud struck when it did,” Flameheart’s mother discerned. “That Timberwolf could’ve killed you!”

The amber filly took in these words. No, it couldn’t, she realized. Because I killed it.

Flameheart broke down and sobbed as the memories of that night’s events came back to her. She was falling. She was lost. She was running for her life. She was hiding. She was broken. She was angry. She was a monster…

The doctor and her mother took these tears as signs of fear and exhaustion. “Come,” the doctor directed the filly’s mother. “Let’s leave her to rest. She’s had a long night.”

They then exited the room, leaving the amber pegasus to her pain and guilt.