Soul Fire

Amber walked into the combat courtyard of the Princess's palace. Instead of just one big open room with a large open skylight, this space was outside with four practice arenas and a small garden space in the middle with a small pool and benches for the trainees to rest between sparring matches. Amber saw no one around and decided to sit at the pool and relax her senses a bit. She hadn't relaxed and just breathed in a while, as trying to develop her powers while deflecting others emotions took it out of her. Just as she closed her eyes and sighed in relaxation, she was hit by a dark somber mood. Someone was here. She turned her head, to see somepony sitting alone in the shadows, looking up at the moon. Getting up, she walked over to see a dark blue, black haired earth pony wearing an exercise hoodie.

"Hello," Amber said in a gentle tone. The earth pony, startled that someone was there had immediately jumped up in a fighter's stance and gave her a glare. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I'm just a little early for my first day. I'm looking for the Captain. Captain Earthstrider."

The stallion groaned, as his mood changed from dark to pissed off with a tinge of annoyed and nervousness. She didn't know why though, she suspected it was because she bothered him in a private moment, which she could understand.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to bother you," she said as she turned to go wait just outside the small garden area.

He sighed, "Wait. I'm the Captain. I didn't expect you to arrive so early. At least you have quiet feet. That will aid you in stealth. Luna explained the responsibilities that you have been given. Tell me, do you really plan on doing this alone?" Amber was a little taken aback. She thought that the pony that saved her was a white pegasus from what she remembered of that night.

"Umm yes, I can't concentrate with another pony’s atmosphere blocking the faint ones of the spirits I have to find." she said. First, he was almost royally pissed; now he buried his energy and the only thing left was strong determination and slight nervousness, but why would he be nervous of her? He could take her out easy, and she wasn't a threat even if she did mean harm, which she didn't. Amber already knew that a lot of the time she would take on more than she could chew, always fighting even against odds that weren't even remotely in her favor. Sometimes she won just because people backed off from her attitude. Other times she would just keep fighting even if she was left beaten in the end. She always tried to maintain that she was a fighter first; she had to be to survive.

Then she saw it. He was a survivor like her. She knew it because she had been through the same emotional bullshit. There was something else behind it too. He'd given up something; something that he felt wasn't enough to ease his guilt. But what could he have done that was so bad? She opened herself and focused on him. He had a good soul, and a pained heart, but in the end she didn't pity him for any of it. He was strong, a defender, a fighter, and out of all of the ponies she had ever read, he had the most genuine and pure heart of them all. She immediately knew he had placed a heavy burden on his shoulders, a burden that would crush him if he kept beating himself up at the same time. If ever she felt sadness at this, it was because she knew the same pain. Thinking of it even slightly would bring everything back to her mind and torment her all over again. She felt selfish for thinking of herself in such a moment, when she should be thinking of others.

Amber guessed he could see the look on her face, because for those who were brave enough to look into her eyes could see through her, he immediately blocked his own emotions, but failed when she could sense his anger at the invasion. She cursed the fact that she was an open channel for both her and others emotions sometimes. There were times where it just happened, and other times where without even thinking, she would invade ponies emotions without even knowing that she was doing it.

"I know all about your sixth sense, and I would greatly appreciate if you stayed out of my head, okay?" he said with gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry. It just happens sometimes. It takes a lot of energy and effort to block ponies sometimes, and you caught me in a relaxed state," she said, surprised when she found herself actually feeling shy around him. It was the oddest thing. He intrigued her from the beginning.

"Whatever. Lets begin. Lets start with the basics." After making her run laps, do an agility test, and a strength test. The captain came to find that she was average for anyponies capability, but was below average for everything if she was to be considered for his recruits.

"Lets now look at your ability strengths," he said, bringing out three targets. Breathing heavily, Amber looked at the targets then closed her eyes, gathered her strength and breathed slowly looking inside herself. Everything slowed down and she began harnessing her soulfire. She opened her eyes, seeing the small blue flame. She looked to the target and commanded the flame to shoot straight to it.

"Is that little flame it?" the Captain exclaimed. Amber smiled at the comment, just before the flame shot straight at the bulls-eye and straight threw it. The Captain was amazed.

"If you condense and compress something wild then the energy of that object becomes more potent in a smaller area, and in my flames case that is just the thing, and the reason why it burns blue. Just because something is small, it does not mean it's helpless. It all depends on it's spirit and will to fight," she looked to him feeling proud of herself.

"Ok, Miss show off. It’s time for you to learn a new lesson. I will be your partner. It's time for you to learn to spar," he said with a smirk.

"Spar?! Shouldn't you at least teach me some drills?!" she exclaimed, knowing for a fact that just her basic instincts and tenacity wouldn't be enough against him.

"Ready?" he said as he moved into a fighter’s stance, the same one that he gave her earlier.

"Shit," Amber cursed as she collected herself. Focusing on him she studied his stance and copied it, realizing that she was placed in the perfect position to both defend and attack. Accept who was going first?

The Captain looked at her, "Very good. It seems that you learn best based on observation then on explanation." He smiled then charged in, faked a left, dodged right, and spun around in a collected gait to back kick at her. Amber, being on edge just decided to evade. Gathering herself into a tiptoe collected gait, she spun around and away to avoid the hit. Then she raised an eyebrow at him. Oooooh, he was in for it now. Her fiery attitude came through in this; win or lose she was still going to get him. Using her agility and speed to her advantage, Amber dodged in, keeping her head down tight to her neck to avoid injury to that vulnerable spot. Spinning away from all of his attacks, she attempted to rear and hit him on the shoulder. Wrong move, this was what he was waiting for. Dodging under her, the Captain spun low with a hind leg out and clipped her feet right from under her.

"Not bad. For a below average filly with no formal training," he said as she rolled over and breathed heavily, trying to regain the breath that was knocked out of her after the fall. "Come back tomorrow. Same time. Your best skill is your ability, and agility. We'll work on your weakness in strength, but only as a fitness element. You will never be as strong as a fully-grown stallion, but speed and agility can beat brute force so we need to build your current strengths up to their potential. Dismissed."

The training in the days thereafter were constant and grueling, but she did notice a change in herself. She was starting to improve but also feel... feel… She didn't know what it was. Every time she fought with him it felt more like a playful romp than anything else. After a while she felt that they had become closer, and she felt like he accepted her a bit more. After finishing a drink by the stream, Amber turned her head to see him in the same spot in the shadows. Only somepony was with him? She walked in, but no one else was there. He was livid, boiling on the inside, about what she didn't know. He had his eyes closed and body tense.

"Captain?"

His ear flickered. "You really don't want to be around me right now, Soul," He said. Others in the combat yard nicknamed her “Soul” a while ago, but he was the only one who ever used it really. She knew that he was serious, and she could feel the malicious killer energy emanating out of him. Ignoring the threat in his voice and the energy around him, Amber, took those last few steps toward him and gently placed her head against his shoulder. Opening herself to his energy, she became the channel to allow him to relax and expel his energy, but the only way to do that was to place her in risk of his energy harming her. She didn’t fear it, not simply because she didn’t know entirely what to fear at the time, but also because she felt protected by her own energy. His energy was simply rain that would make her cold for a moment at it’s touch, but that like rain would only wash over her skin. After about two seconds he relaxed and let out a great deep sigh as the energy leaked out of him like a calm river, and placed his head down atop hers. This was the part she enjoyed. When she could after the storm feel the calm peace that would give relief and warmth to her and to him.

"Why?" he asked.

She wasn't entirely sure why she had put herself in risk for him, so she told him a part of it she did know, "Because you’re my friend." The next day was different from the rest.

"Amber, step forward," he commanded. All of a sudden, he grabbed her chin and looked deep into her eyes. Their faces were so close, she thought he was going to kiss her. She melted at his touch. Her lips opened slightly and softened, but she did nothing and waited. The she realized that he was looking through her eyes and into her. She bucked up and held onto herself, focusing on his eyes, and what he saw in her.

"What do you see," She said softly, trying not to sound breathy even though she could feel warmth on her cheeks, which was undoubtedly a blush.

"You mean no harm. You’re kind and fiery. And you’re not going to let yourself be pushed over. That's who you are Soul," he said as he walked away then stopped and laughed a bit. "You’re blushing Soul."

Shocked at herself, Amber felt her cheeks redden more, then she breathed deep and said, "Umm. Yes. Ah… Are we going to start?" They did indeed. She found that today was a drill day. Running, jumping, fight stances and combos, but at the end, he placed great emphasis on abilities. Getting her to not just hit a target but also control the potency of her flame and the area that she hit. He also wanted to see if she could control the movement of the flame floating around. Lastly, he made her form the flame into the appearance of an object, first a simple vase, then a flower, and even a sword and dagger. She was exhausted, feeling as if she had used every drop of soulfire that she could. Meanwhile, the Captain hadn't used a single ounce of strength. Amber fell on her knees.

"Get up Amber," the captain said in a hard tone as he removed his hoodie and shoes.

Amber struggled to get up, breathing hard, "But I'm spent. I ca-"

"Yes, you can. Now you will fight me. Open yourself up, Amber. Don't even bother blocking the world’s emotions around you. Just look inside yourself and fight with all your soul," he said as he sent his energy forth and changed into his battle form. "Start!"

Amber didn't know why those memories came to her now as she frantically searched for the source of her premonition. She thought it was more of a mental review of her fighting skills should she require to use them as she flew under the moonlight.

"Help me!!!" screamed a young voice. Amber flew ahead faster, diving down under the canopy of the Everfree Forest. Weaving through the trees and vines, she came across a young grey Pegasus with a blond mane on a well-traveled path.

"No! No! Get away! AHHH!!!" the pony screamed in pain as a creature that looked like an obake bit into her flank. The smoke form was that of a fox. A very large fox, only this one had nine tails, and retained form rather than a foggy apparition.

"Get away from her!" Amber screamed as she charged in, calling upon her fire. The black light and blue flame traveled all over her, changing her form. She was in her battle form now. Amber recalled how the Captain had helped her find it.

Amber dodged the blade that came flying at her. She was amazed by his appearance; this is why she saw a white pegasus that night! She had never seen him properly in his battle form. Oh no, shit was going to get hardcore serious. He wasn't going to go easy on her. Stumbling with weak legs like a newborn foal, Amber dodged the attacks as best as she could, feeling the sting of the blade creating small cuts along her cheek, then her legs and flank, and then her chest. All of a sudden, the world freeze-framed as the Captains blade headed straight for her heart with no signs of stopping. Amber in that moment closed her eyes, and looked within herself, visually seeing in her mind’s eye the chains and walls that she placed upon her soul, upon herself. She had dampened her spirit so much in order to maintain control; control of herself, control of her ability, and control of her world. She realized in that moment how scared of everything she was. Scared of other ponies, scared of the unknown, scared of herself, her capabilities, of making mistakes, and of her own emotions. She realized in that moment that she could live, and not just survive, so long as she let go of her sense of control on herself, and truly opened up.

Those internal chains broke in that moment, in which Amber opened her eyes, creating a glowing blaze of black light that shone from them; encompassing the room and space around her. Dark blue flame sprung from the centre of her chest and covered her entire body. When the flames dissipated, Amber's coat changed to dark purple, her hair became infused with shifting colors of blue and purple, as if her mane was fire itself. The fire of her soul had condensed itself to create a hardened plate of chest armor and boots, and a horn that was covered in her blue flame. It was like as if her soul was too big for her body even in it's condensed state that it leaked out.

The blade that was aimed at her chest had stopped the moment she had changed. The Captain looked at her and said, "Congratulations. You are the second pony to ever achieve this form. You are also the youngest."