Mist crept through the narrow tunnel with her wings folded. She felt uneasy in underground places, mainly because monsters of all kinds could lurk there. After a considerable amount of time, she spotted a blue glow pulsating from a separate tunnel, even narrower than the last. Mist hesitated. She felt unsure about whether she should trust this Princess Celestia. The map could have been leading to a trap. Well, I have nothing to lose, she thought, plunging in.

After a while, during which Mist lost track of time, she came out into a large circular chamber completely made of white and blue rock. In the center, on a spur of jagged crystal, a transparent green rock pulsated with trails of blue magic. Mist was wary at first, but the rock attracted her slowly until she was walking toward it, the temptation too great to resist. She reached out—and pulled her hand back. Something about this didn’t feel right to her. The rock vibrated with power, and Mist could sense something trapped inside, yearning to be released by someone. I guess it's all for the greater good. Namely, all of the worlds, she thought. Just thinking about what was in store for her made her shudder. But she reached out, without hesitation this time, and touched the rock.

Instantly, she was bathed in a column of flame. Through her daze, she heard a deep, inhuman voice say, “So you have come. I sense that you want to defeat the darkness. Will you give anything to fight the monsters and win? Once you decide, there will be no going back.”

Mist answered, “I would.”

“Then prepare yourself. You must have the abilities required to fight.” A fiery dragon spirit revealed itself. “My power is all yours.” A stream of fire-like energy flew into Mist’s chest. The spirit abruptly vanished back into the stone.

Mist suddenly doubled over. The magic inside her was starting to fluctuate and spread to the rest of her. Then Mist blacked out. During the brief snatches of consciousness, she felt a searing heat all along her body, like it was shifting in lava.

She sat up suddenly, having woken up after the fiery ordeal. The first thing she noticed was that her wings were on fire. That made her wary, for she felt no pain. She set off to find a reflective surface.

Mist stared at her reflection in the underground cave spring. Her irises seemed to be fiery golden with slit dragon-like pupils, while her hair was more coppery and wavy. Her armor was modeled after flames and scales. But the biggest change of all was the fact that her wings were now a dragon’s with flaming golden scales. She felt more powerful, but out of sync with everything. Mist climbed out of the cave and flew off to find Princess Celestia.

Mist swooped in on her fiery wings and landed right in front of Celestia, who was on her balcony.

“So I see you went through with the whole ordeal. Are you feeling all right?” asked Celestia.

A low chuckle escaped Mist’s lips. “Just hours ago, I barely escaped death. Now I’m in an entirely different dimension and I’m out of sync with my body. No, I can’t say I’m 'all right', but I will have to make do,” Mist answered.

“Good. Can you describe the monster that you fought for me?”

Mist described it at full length, and when she was finished, Celestia was paler than she usually was. “Mist, I’m afraid that monster was one of the stronger ones, but nothing major. There are far worse things in store.”

Mist stood up. “Then we have to prepare.”

Author's Note

Mist’s previous form was steel armor modeled after lightning bolts, pale skin, green eyes, auburn hair, and white feathered wings.