A charcoal grey unicorn filly with a bright orange mane and tail streaked with gold stepped up to the entrance of the cave and swallowed. She turned to look at her two friends. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

A dark blue Pegasus filly with a golden mane and tail smirked at her. “C’mon Bea, it’s just a cave,” she said.

A green earth pony colt with dark green mane and tail beside her nodded. “Besides, if we’re going to join the Royal Guard someday, we have to face our fears, right?”

Young Beacon Fire nodded, turning back to the cave entrance and steeling herself with a deep breath. “Did… either of you bring a lantern?”

Starshot Glitz snorted. “I did,” she said. “Why can’t you use your magic?”

“My parents said I shouldn’t use it in an enclosed space until I get better control of it,” Beacon sighed, blushing. “Might set something on fire.”

“Well, there’s nothing flammable in a cave,” Verdant Moss remarked. “But if you’re sure, we can use Star’s lantern.”

Beacon nodded. “So, uh, after you guys.” She gestured to the cave.

Starshot reached into her saddlebag and fished out her lantern. She used a self-striking match to light it and held it aloft as she stepped into the cave, followed by Verdant and then Beacon.

The light coming in from the entrance didn’t last as the three foals made their way deeper. Beacon gawked at the jagged stalagmites and stalactites—they reminded her of giant fangs, ready to clamp down at a moment’s notice.

Soon, they were navigating a winding tunnel that got so narrow in places they nearly had to crawl on the ground. Finally, the tunnel opened on a huge, cavernous room. Starshot’s lantern caught the glints of crystal shards and formations littering the floor and walls.

“Amazing,” Verdant breathed.

“Yeah,” Beacon said. “Now I know why the dragons used to pillage Equestria so much.”

“Quite a haul,” Starshot said. She set down her lantern to walk over to one of the formations. Three different crystals—one orange, one green, and one sky blue—had all grown into shard spires together. Star scraped a hoof at the crystals until she had dug up a small one of each and joined her two friends again.

“These’ll make for a nice souvenir,” she said, stowing them away in her saddlebags.

Verdant nodded. His attention was suddenly drawn to the ceiling and he jumped. “I thought I saw something move up there,” he hissed.

Beacon and Starshot’s heads snapped upward to look, the latter holding the lantern aloft. The flickering flame caused the shadows of the stalactites to dance across the ceiling. Dozens of pairs of small, red eyes opened one by one as the light splashed them, and soon dropped with hissing screeches.

“Bats!” Starshot cried, as she and her friends huddled on the floor, forelegs over their heads.

The lantern was discarded, and upon hitting the ground, the flame within snuffed out, leaving the three in the dark. Their screams were only overshadowed by the screeching of fleeing bats and the flaps of their many wings.

As the noise slowly subsided, the foals hesitantly opened their eyes—only to find their world completely bathed in inky blackness.

“Oh horseapples, my dad will kill me if I broke his lantern!” Starshot exclaimed.

“We have more pressing concerns now, Star!” Verdant exclaimed, his voice echoing around the chamber.

“Well we still need to find the lantern!”

Beacon’s breathing was heavy as her eyes strained in the dark. With a little focusing, she could barely make out the forms of her two friends as they felt around for the lantern. Her eyes slid up slowly to her horn and she swallowed.

“You have strong elemental magic, Beacon. That’s not a bad thing, but… it can be a little harder to control than most magic,” came her father’s voice. “It requires the utmost concentration to use. You must focus…”

"Focus,” Beacon muttered to herself, nodding.

She shut her eyes and focused on her magic, feeling sparks light up her horn. She heard Starshot and Verdant’s voices, but it was murmuring over the hum of her own magic in her head. She felt a pulse of warm magic light up her horn—and then stop.

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and found the entire cavern bathed in a warm, orange light. Verdant and Starshot were staring at her, mouths agape. She followed their gaze up her horn, and winced at the brightness.

An orb of fire, barely bigger than an apple, was floating just past the tip of her horn. As she cautiously got to her hooves, the fireball followed. “I did it,” she whispered. “I did it!”

“Wow,” Verdant said.

Starshot nodded in agreement, before her focus shifted to the cavern floor. She found and picked up the lantern and looked it over.

“Nothing serious, but I only brought one match with me,” she huffed, before looking around. “Which way did we come?”

“I can lead us out, I think,” Beacon said, looking up to the fireball. She noticed the flames that comprised it flicker towards the far wall, and turned the opposite direction. The light illuminated the way out, and lit their way as they made it through the winding tunnel.

Sweat dotted Beacon’s forehead, both from the proximity to her own fiery magic and the exertion of keeping it contained. Fortunately, their trek didn’t last long—they were soon close enough to the entrance for it to light the rest of their way. Beacon’s fireball snuffed out as she breathed a sigh of relief.

The three foals ran to the surface as fast as their hooves could carry them, cheering once they stood in the open sun again.

“You did it, Bea!” Verdant exclaimed, hugging her.

“Who says your magic’s hard to control,” Starshot agreed, hugging her from the other side.

Beacon chuckled. “Yeah…” she said.

A bright light from behind them caught the three friend’s attention. Verdant and Skyshot looked back as Beacon looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened when she realized it was her own flanks that were glowing.

As the glow subsided, the image of an ornate, burning torch adorned her flanks.

“Your cutie mark!” Starshot exclaimed.

“And you got it before we got ours. I’m jealous,” Verdant said with a playful nudge.

“Wow,” Beacon breathed, and her mind wandered as to what it could possibly mean.

Author's Note

Starshot Glitz: Female, Pegasus

About: Beacon Fire's fillyhood friend who shared her dream of joining the Royal Guard. Eventually, she would find her talents elsewhere and moved onto another career path. She and Beacon are still close friends.

Appearances: None so far.

Verdant Moss: Male, Earth Pony

About: Beacon Fire's fillyhood friend who shared her dream of joining the Royal Guard. He eventually discovered talents that would lead him down a different career path, but he and Beacon are still close friends.

Appearances: None so far.

Fun fact: Starshot and Verdant were made for this OC-tober challenge!