The Fire of Centopia- Mia and Me Fanfiction

Chapter 2

Mia still hadn't gotten used to falling out of the sky. So when she did it again after so long, you can probably guess that she did not ace her landing.

"GAH!" She tried to flap her wings to gain some control over where she landed, but no avail. Suddenly, she stopped falling. She looked down to see that she was still in the air.

"Onchao?" She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I've missed you!" She exclaimed.

Me too, he neighed. Mia looked around and realized that she hadn't seen Mario yet.

"GAH!!!" Mia heard a scream. She looked up to see an elf falling from the sky. She assumed it was Mario, since elves don't just fall from the sky every day. He landed on Onchao's back. Onchao's eyes widened. He tried to shake Mario off, but Mia stopped him.

"It's okay Onchao. He's with me." She pet his mane, and he calmed down.

"Mia?" Mario asked from behind her.

"Yeah, it's me." She turned around. Mario had retained his poufy blond hair and his brown eyes when he entered Centopia. He wore a blue shirt that had triangle designs on it and navy blue pants to match.

"Wow, Mia, you have wings!" Mia chuckled.

"So do you." He looked behind him and yelped when he saw his wings. He looked at them in wonder.

"I have wings!"

"Yes you do, Mario."

"I'm...I'm an elf!" Onchao neighed out a laugh.

Who's this joker?  He asked.

"He's a friend of mine from my world. His name's Mario."

Why is he here?

"He wanted to see Centopia for himself." Mario looked at Mia, confused.

"Are you talking to the horse?" Onchao neighed furiously.

"He's not a horse, Mario. He's a unicorn."

"Right. So you can talk to winged unicorns?" She nodded.

"So when you said that it wasn't your first time riding a horse, you weren't kidding, huh?" Mia laughed. Then she remembered that she had to tell Mo and Yuko the oracle. She looked down at her hand. Her friendship ring was still there. She tapped it two times. The butterfly detached itself from the ring. It flew in front of Mia's face. 

"Um...to Mo." She decided. The butterfly flew off in the direction of the castle.

"Follow it." She told Onchao. He neighed in response and obliged. As they flew, Mia turned back to Mario.

"After we tell my friends the Oracle, I'll teach you how to fly." His eyes sparkled in excitement.

"Really?"

"Sure. I don't want to have to drag you everywhere." She remembered that Yuko and Mo had to drag her everywhere since she couldn't fly when she first came to Centopia.

When they got to the garden in front of the castle, the butterfly stopped and hovered in front of Mia. She looked at it, confused.

"Boo!" Mia almost fell off of Onchao. She grabbed Mario before he could fall. Mia looked at Mo and pouted.

"Hey!" Mo chuckled.

"Mia! It's good to see you again." Yuko flew behind Mo.

"It's good to be back! I missed Centopia." Mia got off Onchao and twirled around in midair.

"We missed you, too!" Yuko said and hugged her. Mo joined in, too. Soon, they noticed Mario.

"Who's that?" Mo whispered to Mia.

"I'm still here, you know." Mario crossed his arms over his chest.

"He's a friend of mine from my world. Mo, Yuko-meet Mario. Mario, these are Mo and Yuko, the friends I told you about." Mario waved awkwardly.

"Hi."

"So, Mia," Yuko directed the conversation back to her. "do you have an oracle?" Mia took a deep breath.

"Another evil is stirring-so you must go

To the palace where lives Prince Mo.

Look for cave that the lovers share,

In it, a crystal you will find most rare.

The path to the Fire of Centopia is not clear,

But protect it to save all that you hold dear." Mo groaned.

"Another evil? What's the deal with Dark elves and taking over Centopia?" Mia shrugged.

"At least this one is more straightforward than the others. 'Go to the palace where lives Prince Mo'," She pointed at the palace doors. "Let's go." Mia helped Mario off Onchao, and they all walked into the palace. Mia was greeted with the sight of King Raynor and Queen Mayla sitting on their thrones.

"Mia! You're back!" Queen Mayla jumped off her throne and gave her a hug. Mia was shocked at first, but then she hugged back. When she pulled away, Mayla looked at Mario.

"And who is this?"

"My name is Mario. I'm a friend of Mia's." Queen Mayla smiled.

"Welcome to Centopia, Mario." King Raynor cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.

"While it is lovely to see you, Mia, we both know that you never come just to visit. What does the oracle say this time?" Mia sighed and repeated the oracle to King Raynor. He looked thoughtful.

"This does not sound good. Centopia is in danger once again." He sighed.

"I have not heard of the Fire of Centopia. However, I think Prince Mo may have an idea as to what the third and fourth lines are talking about." He winked at Mo.

"Good luck in retrieving the crystal!" Mayla said. "Now, shoo!" She made a dismissing gesture with her hands. When they left Mia turned to Mo.

"So, do you have any idea about what King Raynor was talking about?" Mo shook his head. However, Yuko's face suddenly lit up.

"Mo, the Crystal Cave!" Mo's face lit up in recognition as well. He facepalmed.

"How did I not think of that?" Mia and Mario looked confusedly at the exchange between the two of them.

"Forgive me for being oblivious, but what are you guys talking about?" Mia asked.

"When we were little, much of Centopia hadn't been discovered yet by the elves. We only knew about the Crater and a little bit of the area around it. The rest of the area was occupied by the Pans. Later, when we expanded into the Pans' territory, they went into hiding. Anyway, Mo and I used to go out past the elves's territory and explore the land. We discovered a group of caves near the Blackwood Forest.

"There was the Flower Cave, that was filled with a bunch of plants that we had never seen before. We brought some back to the Crater and planted them. Then there was the Icy Cave. It was freezing cold in there, and the walls were coated in ice. There was also the Glowworm Cave, which you've been to." Yuko blushed at the memory of that night. Mia put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"There was also the Crystal Cave. It's filled with the most beautiful crystals you've ever seen. It's not like the Cave of Reflection, though. The cave had trees in it that grew crystals. The cave floor was also made of crystal. There were crystals that hung from the ceiling like chandeliers. It's so beautiful, not even words can describe it!" Yuko gushed.

"Okay, then. Let's go there. But first," She turned to Mario, who was standing by Onchao awkwardly. "let's teach you how to fly."