As I finished speaking, Ariston gestured for me to follow him onto the training grounds that appeared to be behind his residence. There are rumors that Ariston is the only one in Fallen who mastered the most advanced fire manipulation spells. Maybe it's because of his burning passion for learning, considering that it is too difficult to get past the beginner level. He's also a very smart Unicorn, as I remember the little fillies trying to get him into one of their groups with the intention of getting a perfect score in their tests. I can remember the days when we used to work together, we were considered the "pyros".
Arriving at the training grounds, Ariston turned to Flame Trail and after cleaning his throat, he said:
Ariston: Welcome to the training grounds where I do practice my fire controlling techniques and other kinds of spell!
He said that in an almost ludicrous way, showing me the training grounds where he usually practices his abilities. I didn't know whether he was trying to look great or to make himself lose the title of brilliant student.
Flame Trail: Quite… Impressive, I never saw anything like this before, since I kept studying and learning at my House Temple. I hadn't seen much of the outside since I decided to keep in there acquiring knowledge and learning about Equestria. It was not often when I would go out to do something; after all, I didn't have friends. The ponies around here are afraid of me.
Ariston: That's definitely sad, but you should come out more often, after all you're losing the opportunity to see an outstanding world before your eyes. Even if Celestia took our glory away, we still live in a beautiful forest.
"Celestia"… The name filled with tyranny and violence. Her reckless attitudes and course of action will be her downfall, and once she's down, Equestria will be a better place. The name of this arrogant ruler just doesn't stop of echoing into my mind.
Ariston: Uh, Flamie, are you alright?
Flame Trail: Oh, pardon me, I was… Wait, what did you just call me?
Ariston: I thought it was okay calling you Flamie.
Flame Trail: Just call me Flame instead of "Flamie". That's uncomfortable for me.
Ariston: Well, I apologize for that Flame, but regardless of how I call you, it seems that you are really determined about putting an end to Celestia.
Flame Trail: Of course, I've been studying on how I could do that, but unfortunately, my chances are slim. I couldn't win a battle against the sun princess alone, she's way much stronger than I and would banish me to the moon if I lost. So I wanted to investigate the Elder Altar for some sort of "instructions" on how I could improve my powers or increase them. I've read about a "gift" the Altar holds, so I wanted to search its insides and see if I could get anything from it. But before that, I needed training in order to face whatever lies beyond its structures and so, here I am.
Ariston: If you want, I could join you on your quest. I know a few things about the Princess that if I spoke them on her front; she would cut off my tongue.
Flame Trail: I appreciate your help. I needed someone to cover me while I'm fighting. And as far as I know, you're a great spell caster, so I think you'd be a good aid for me.
Ariston: Thank you for allowing me to be your sidekick. But, let's not waste anymore time, we need to do our training! Get ready, here comes my first move!
Ariston instantly teleported himself in the middle of the training field and sent out a quick fire ball towards Flame Trail's direction. With a quicker move, Flame manages to avoid the attack by jumping and dashing in the direction of the silver Unicorn.
Flame Trail: You should know that I'm not as slow as you think.
Ariston: I was just warming up. Things get harder from now on!
Knowing that there was more to come from Ariston, Flame Trail got into a defensive position and began to slowly walk around the Unicorn to prevent himself from getting hit by an unexpected attack. After completing his analysis, Flame then focused his sight and sent out a flaming arrow straight at the Unicorn. Ariston manages to successfully avoid the attack, however, in a fraction of a second, the arrow turned around and followed the Unicorn, leaving him surprised. Ariston again tried to avoid the arrow but unfortunately, his left hind leg got struck by it.
Ariston: Ugh… I didn't expect that kind of attack. I used be excellent at dodging homing arrows.
Flame Trail: You should also know that I always got an A+ at the archery classes.
Ariston: Eh, I know that. But you have yet to see my true speed!
Not wasting time, Ariston quickly spell-casted three fiery orbs and began rotating them around him until they were at high speed. Then, without hesitation, the Unicorn launched the three orbs at the Pegasus in an attempt to put his reflexes at their extreme. Flame Trail managed to avoid two of them, but when he tried to dodge the third, the orb suddenly became slower confusing the Pegasus and prompting him to get hit on his right wing. Nevertheless, Flame Trail didn't seem to be hurt.
Flame Trail: Whoa, this would have hurt if I were a common pony. You might not be as slow as I thought. But, if you think you are quicker than me, then keep dreaming.
After recovering his composure, Flame Trail began trotting towards Ariston. Once the Pegasus got nearby him, the Unicorn tried to catch him with a grasping spell and don't let the fiery colt just deliver another attack on him. Nonetheless, Flame jumped with perfect precision and sent a flying kick against Ariston's back. The silver Unicorn fell down while Flame Trail flawlessly landed on the ground.
Flame Trail: Is this your "true speed"? I thought I'd have been caught the moment I jumped on the air but, you seem to forget about timing your moves.
The Unicorn then used a healing spell to recover from the previous attack.
Ariston: Argh… I guess I'm not that fast. I just, wait… How couldn't my fiery orb hurt you?
Flame Trail: I should have told you that I can't be burned by flames. All I felt was a small tickle on my wing.
Ariston: But, if you can't get hurt by fire, then why can't you defeat the scorching sunlight of Celestia?
Flame Trail: Because it's light, and I can't control it. But let us keep focused, shall we?
Deeply concentrated, Flame Trail creates a flaming disk and sends towards the silvery pony's direction. Seeing the new movement, Ariston projected a shield which disintegrated along with the flaming disk when that came colliding with the Unicorn's defensive spell.
Flame Trail: Let's see if you can protect yourself against this one.
Flame Trail began to concentrate again and this time, he concentrated his energy on his tail, which seemed to be glowing. He took a few steps forward and swung his tail, making a slash of fire to come out of it and go in the Unicorn's direction. Ariston tried to defend himself again, but this time not only his protection spell would be gone, but he also would be pushed backwards with a huge pressure that would make him fall onto the ground once again. Flame Trail approached the fallen ex-colleague as he suggested something.
Flame Trail: I think this is enough training for me. I guess is time to test out the manipulation spell that your assistant gave to me.
Brushing the dust off of his coat, the Unicorn got up and said.
Ariston: Ugh, I think I'll have to improve my defensive skills. But regardless of that, please, don't try to use all of your power in that spell. We're not sure about what could happen. Despite the fact that my assistant's works are trustworthy, something bad still could happen, so be careful OK?
Flame Trail: Don't worry, I got this. Now get up, I need to finish you off!
Ariston: What? No! This way I'm going to be dead!
Flame Trail: I was just kidding… Anyways, do you have testing dummies?
Ariston: Of course! Let me pick them for you, stay here!
After that being spoken, Ariston went into a shed that was next to the back of his house to search for his testing dummies. Minutes afterwards, the Unicorn finally appeared with his dummies and trotting back to the training grounds where Flame Trail was patiently waiting for his return. Ariston was holding the "puppets" with his magical grasp.
Ariston: Here they are! Just let me put them on the center of the training field, so you can have a better sight to cast the spell.
While Ariston was putting the dummies on their places at the middle of the field, I began to read the spell book and see how I could use it. It contained lots of images and texts revolving around a fire manipulation spell that's called "Fire Vortex". It wasn't long when I found out that the book was in a strange language, but that didn't matter because I surprisingly could read it anyways. When I finished reading the main part of the book, Ariston told me that he was done with the dummies, which were in the perfect spot for testing this kind of spell. I also noticed that you have to say a strange word in order for the spell to work.
Flame Trail: I'm ready. Let's do this?
Ariston: Yeah! Just let me get out of your way!
Flame Trail: Alright, this book says that the spell requires the energy emanating from your deep to flow through your hooves. It also states that I have to stretch out my hooves in the direction of the desired place that I want the spell casted in. I got it, let's get this started!
I then began to concentrate energy on my hooves also pointing them out towards the testing dummies. I felt the energy moving inside of me, and I tried to focus even more to accumulate enough for the spell, after all, I didn't want anything bad to happen. When I had accumulated enough energy, I focused on where I wished the "Fire Vortex" to be projected: in the middle of the dummies. Afterwards, I took a deep breath and said: "fι гε Vא"! In a matter of seconds, the testing dummies were being sucked by what seemed like a "whirlpool of fire", making those dummies to turn into charcoal.
Ariston: Nicely done mate! Everything went good! I think you're now proud about the new skill that you've just mastered.
Flame Trail: Yeah, whatever, I don't take pride on what I accomplish… I just hope I'm ready to enter the Elder Altar now. Let us rest and then think about what we're going to do about it.
Ariston: Of course! That training almost killed me and I'm starting to get hungry. Come, follow me and I'll get us some food. You also seem exhausted.
Flame Trail: Sure, I didn't eat anything since morning, let's eat something then.
End of Chapter II
A/N: Whoa, I didn't expect to upload the second chapter in time, but YES! I did it! Also, I'll be using a fictional language for my story, so expect to see a lot of "weird" symbols. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please, leave some feedback so I can use it to improve my fan fiction. As I already said, criticism is always welcome, just keep it clean. That being said, I'll see you next time!