//------------------------------// // There is only one thing that can stop it // Story: The 6th Element // by WeAreBorg //------------------------------// The 6th Element Chapter 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ a My Little Pony fanfic crossover with The 5th Element by WeAreBorg ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rainbow Dash awoke with a start. The adrenaline from her nightmare pumped through her veins as she breathed heavily. A welcoming, starry sky and serene cloud tops clashed fiercely with the fading memories of her nightmare. Sitting up and glancing to her side, she stared at an over sized digital clock that floated in the night sky next to her: ‘12:59 PM.’ As the minute rolled over the projection began to pulse and bass heavy music began to play. Ripples appeared in sky as the illusion was broken and the stars and clouds vanished into the blank tiled walls of her sleeping enclosure. Her synthetic cloud, her only true luxury, lowered gently to let her out of her cramped sleeping space. She gave a wince as a pang in her wing informed her she had slept on it wrong, which she thought of as weird since she slept on water vapor, or well...something like it anyway. Rubbing her eyes vigorously against the blinding light, she stumbled out of her tiny bed space and into her small, low income apartment. She hated having the lights so bright, but it was the only way to stave off the claustrophobia that most pegasi would get staying in a cramped apartment like hers. Just as she was getting to her hooves and began to pop a few joints in a good stretch, a banging started on her door and her phone began to ring. “Gah! It’s too early in the afternoon for this! I’m awake! I’m awake! I’m off the cloud!” Tripping over some trash and clothes that littered the floor of her messy apartment, Rainbow managed to slam the console to answer the phone. The music dropped a few decibels as the speaker came on. “What?” said the perturbed pegasus shaking her jarred hoof. “Yo Dash, it’s Soarin.” Dash’s wings subconsciously rearranged themselves at recognition of the familiar voice. Ignoring the banging at her door, she replied, “What’s going on Big Blue?” On the other side of the line, Soarin smiled at the use of the call sign. “Well Dash I need you to bring in your runner for a six month overhaul.” Dash folded back her ears; that was not what she wanted to hear. Suddenly wanting to take her frustration out on something, she found that the constant knocking instantly got on her nerves. “Stop banging already!” Jabbing a second panel, again with more force than needed, Rainbow activated a small hatch at the bottom of her door, letting a none too sorry tortoise meander in. “Stop banging who, Dash?” A spark of amusement played in Soarin’s voice. “I see a lot of mares. I know you’re the jealous type but...” “Can it Soarin. I was talking to the reptile,” she said as she shook feeling back into her hoof, “You know I am not into colts.” “And here I thought I had a chance.” A chuckle filtered through the speaker. “You know you’re denying stallions doubly: once for not being available yourself and second for stealing another mare from our pickings. It’s not good for pony kind. I’m tellin’ you, you should even the odds, there’s a billion stallions out there. “ “Uhg,” Exasperated she bent down to retrieve some papers her tortoise, Tank, was crawling on, “I don’t want a billion stallions, I just want one MARE. A perfect one.” “I’ve been called perfect.” “In your dreams.” Dash rolled her eyes and glanced at one of the papers she had just recovered. “I just found a picture of you.” “How do I look?” A wide grin spread on Dash’s face. “It’s when Spitfire shaved your tail.” “Oh...” Setting the photo down, the pegasus grabbed the coffee pot Tank had sitting on his shell, and placed it into her brewer. Soarin pick up where he left off, “Look you need to bring in that bucket ASAP.” “It doesn’t need any work.” “Hah! Did you forget who sat next to you for a thousand missions?” “I’m a taxi driver now, not a fighter pilot.” Dash’s wings rose slightly as she got defensive. “You’re as wild behind a stick as you are on your own wings. I know how you fly both ways. Speaking of that and being wild...” he trailed off. “Not going back there Soarin,” she warned. The stallion chuckled, “You’re too easy, Dashie. But answer me this: how many points do ya got your license?” Rainbow paused, caught off guard, a now full coffee pot gripped in one hoof. “Rainbow Dash. How. Many. Points?” “At least 50.” “In your dreams. I’ll see you later.” A beep signaled the end of the call and the music turned back up automatically. Rainbow sighed and sat at her table and tapped a hoof to the dubtrot. The tortoise in front of her bumped a saucer with his shell causing it to clang. Brought from her reverie, she poured herself a cup of coffee. “I think it’s gonna be a long day.” She then filled the tortoise’s dish. “Tank, I swear you’re the only guy I think I can stand” She smiled at the tortoise. Responding with the kind of blank stare that only a reptile can deliver, Tank plunged his head into the black liquid and drank. *~~~~~~* Having a personal audience with the president was beginning to make Fluttershy shake nervously. Luckily she wouldn’t have to do any of the talking, but she still wanted to hide behind her mane anyway. She stepped forward and deposited a large tome onto the President’s desk then stepped aside to let Applejack take the lead. “We’all have 56 hours. That’s how long it needs ta grow an’ travel to Equestria.” The advisers in the room shuffled uncomfortably at the news of the time frame. President Mare pressed on, “Then what?” “An’ then it’ll be too dog gone late.” Applejack placed her forehooves on the desk. “This thing ain’t after no power or money. It only wants ta destroy light and ever’thing that lives, breathes or grows in it: the final settin’ of the Sun.” “So what you're telling me, is there’s no way to stop this thing.” “T’ere is only one thing.” Opening the book to a page displaying a landed ship she explained, “The Zebras have in their care the only weapon that can destroy Darkness. Five Elements of Harmony gathered around a 6th, the ultimate pony, the Element of Magic. Created to protect light an’ harmony. Together the elements form what the ancients called the Light a’ Creation. Its rainbow power could spread light to the furthest reaches of the universe, sowin’ life and growth. But if Darkness stands there,” she indicated the platform in the picture with the 6th element, “light turns ta dark, life ta death. Fooorrreeeevvverrrr.” The mare leaned in, stressing the last word while staring at the President hard with one eye. “So where are these Zebras now?” The griffon general among them touched a wing to her ear piece, “Madam President, a Zebra spacecraft has just requested permission to enter our territory, destination Equestria.” “Ma’am,” another of the advisers spoke up, a brown unicorn with three lightning bolts for a cutie mark, “I’m not entirely sure we should...” “What?” the earth pony turned to stare at the stallion. “We don’t have a lot of options. That moon just ate a starship like it was a piece of candy! Give them permission and offer them our warmest greetings.” Applejack let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and hope glittered in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said. *~~~~~~* “Alright, Tank, I’m out.” Rainbow Dash gathered her things as she spoke to the reptile who was watching a small screen embedded into a wall, “Don’t watch that thing all day, your face’ll get stuck like that.” She watched the unblinking, unmoving head of her tortoise and caught the start of a commercial: “Catch the winner the Equis Cupcake contest today, live at five with...” Seeing that is was already a moot point, Dash shook her head, “Yeah... have fun with that.” Dash checked the peephole screen and, seeing no one in the hall, turned to say goodbye to her pet as she opened the door. “Later big guy.” Turning back, she’d only taken half a step before having her mouth rudely filled with the barrel of a gun. “Give me the cash!” demanded a nervous high strung voice. The voices owner, a grey pegasus with a blonde mane and tail and bubble cutie mark, was sitting on her haunches hefting a heavy weapon that was violating Dash’s mouth. Crossing her eyes, Rainbow Dash traced the length of the weapon to its wall-eyed owner. She blinked a few times trying to straighten out the other mares eyes. “Come on, gimme the cash!” The other mare demanded again, her wings spread to appear more intimidating. Dash then noticed the funny hat the other mare was wearing. It was a cap on top of which was a large, level square of cardboard with a picture printed on it. A picture of the hallway as seen from Rainbow’s peephole. Rainbow gave the gun an experimental taste before responding, “Mmmphpm mmphm.” “Huh?” the grey mare gave Dash an even odder look, which was quite the feat. With a small realization, the armed pegasus pulled out her gun with a little pop. A bit of drool clung to its rim. Dash smirked at the crazy pegasus coming to the realization that this mare was obviously on something. “Been here long?” “Oh... um yeah,” she blinked twice which straightened her eyes and gave a little smile and nodded her head which made her picture hat rattle. “Well I asked if that was a TF350 sub-assault model with magnetic zero-grav double load and airless tri-chamber for rapid decompression. Tastes like it has zero degree anti frost coating too.” “Oh,” one of her eyes fell back down to look at the gun. “Yep, sure is!” she gave another toothy grin. “Yep, good thing for me it’s not in gravity mode.” “What?” the grey mare looked confused, both eyes now on the gun. Rainbow explained, “Well, its a space gun. It only works in space unless you turn on gravity mode. You gotta hit the little orange button on the side,” she vaguely pointed with a hoof, “to put it in gravity mode.” The blond maned pegasus blushed in embarrassment and chuckled a bit nervously. Eyeballing the gun, with her good eye, she struggled to rearrange her hold on the weapon to bring a hoof around and press the button. Rainbow made to help her, “Do you want me to...” The other mare quickly shoved her gun back into Rainbow’s mouth, which helped to steady it, then slowly brought a wing around to gingerly press the button with a feather. The gun gave a few little clicking noises and the wanna-be mugger withdrew the gun from Rainbow’s mouth and squee’d. The gun emitted a little grinding noise before its two clips fell and clattered to the floor. The derpy-eyed mare chuckled nervously. With lightning reflexes, Rainbow Dash used a wing and drew her own pistol that had been hidden beneath her feathers and aimed it at the other mare. “That’s a dangerous gun you got there, someone’s gonna think you're a bad pony.” She grabbed the TF350 with a hoof. “Maybe you should let me hold onto that.” Offering no resistance, the grey mare released the gun, following it mournfully with one eye while staring into Dash’s with the other. Dash backed up a ways into her apartment and opened a closet door with a hoof. “You don’t want anypony thinking you're a bad pony do you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. Suddenly thinking that was the worst thing in the world, the other pegasus shook her head and murmured a little, “No.” Dash hoofed the gun into the closet filled with similar weapons of harm. She looked back at the other mare and a smile once again spread across Rainbow’s muzzle. “That’s a nice hat.” The grey pegasus brightened back up, “Ooo do you like it?” *~~~~~~* Finally able to climb into her taxi cab and start her work day, Rainbow Dash was already tired and ready for a nap. The sturdy but grungy cab shifted a bit as she settled herself. A familiar female voice greeted Dash in her usual fashion “Please enter your license.” “Would it kill you to give me fifteen seconds?” Dash grumbled as she slid her multi-pass into the vehicle. “Welcome on board, Ms. Dash.” “How are this you afternoon?” she spoke absently to the electronic voice as she ran through the vehicle’s startup procedure. “Fuel level 85%. Auto ride height enabled.” “Did you sleep alright? I didn’t...” Rainbow stuck out her tongue a little as she reached behind her to rearrange her wings in her pegasus designed seat before strapping up her harness. “Undocking. Propulsion set to 3X4.” “I had the worst Celestia damned nightmare.” Rainbow squinted at the sunlight pouring through the garage door windows. “You have seven points left on your license.” “Yeah, thanks for reminding me.” Sighing, she opened the garage door to reveal the massive metropolis outside. Thousands of vehicles flew through the skies, weaving between the mammoth skyscrapers. “Have a nice day.” “Good thing it’s half over.” Easing the accelerator, Dash edged out of her garage and flipped on the cab’s service light. Another car changing vertical lanes cut Dash off as she continued to pull out. With a honk of her horn Dash sped after the offender, intent on showing them a thing or two. *~~~~~~* Near the edge of the Federated territories, the Zebra starship sped towards Equestria having only been granted permission a scant few minutes ago. The ceremonial starship designed for this journey was slow, and it strained under the pushing its crew was giving it. To the Zebras, using this ship held both symbolism and irony. The ships they made in this eon were masterpieces and beyond comparison to their current vehicle, but these chosen few used the transport of their forefathers. This ancient mission of their kind was the heart and soul of what it meant to be a Zebra: protectors of the universe. The Zebras called each 5000 years a Syklus, the constant battle of light and harmony against evil and darkness. Already it had been a hard Syklus. Evil worked against them at every turn. History told of Evil’s challenges each Chosen generation faced during the Darkness’s equinox, challenges such as this ship. It was not the plan to use it, but sabotage and disaster twisted the fate of their intended craft. The ship they used now was always held in reverence by their kind and always maintained and had been prepared for the journey regardless as a tradition. How lucky they had been to make their escape in it, but its age showed in its speed, and they were running out of time. The light speed engines had to cool and charge after coming to a stop at the Federation’s borders. They would have to wait nearly an hour before making another jump. But a new challenge was this young Equestria and its ponies. Already super powers in their corner of the galaxy, they were an unknown force in the struggle of light versus dark. No longer could these Equestrians be thought of as just spectators when their world was used as the ultimate battle ground. As the starship prepared to re-enter hyperspace, two smaller crafts revealed themselves from their hiding spot behind a small nearby planet that marked the outer region of the Federated Territories. The ship’s sensors registered the pair as they approached from behind. To the crew it looked like a Federation escort but they were soon proved wrong as the two ships opened fire on the Zebra starship. Panic reigned as shields reported a critical failure and round after round tore away at the haul. The two fighters, with their four swept wings flew sharp arcs about the ancient craft like hornets. Through planned strategy or terrible luck most of the weapon systems were hit first. Light speed engines went offline and a quick escape was cut off. The attackers came back for a second pass and unloaded across the sides of the ship. A few batteries returned fire but were quick to be taken out by the team of fighters. The helm stopped responding and the sub-light engines were locked on full output. Damage to the thrusters produced a drift and the ship’s course now fell in line with the nearby planet. Gases burned into space and the life support environment vented into the vacuum. The ship barreled on, and its crew no longer questioned their fate. Their history told of those who died honorably in the fight against Darkness during the equinox of the Syklus. In the end the speed of their ship and their haste mattered little. Time is of no importance, only Life and Harmony. A thin atmosphere danced in fire as it was ripped around the ship, which hurried to meet its doom on the lonely surface of the planet. As it fell, flames, now fueled by the planet’s oxygen, began to tear at the craft, causing pieces of the haul to break apart. It cratered hard into the rocky ground, and an ungodly inferno exploded upward to consume the wreckage. *~~~~~~* Applejack sank to her knees. “We are lost.” She felt like she’d been kicked in the gut. A dull throbbing ran through her head but no thoughts. Fluttershy rushed to her side. Already emotionally drained, the butter colored pegasus had no tears left herself and could only comfort the other mare. She laid down next to her and extended a wing over her back. Her bloodshot eyes stared at the floor and she quietly shook, afraid for everypony. Applejack turned to look at the mare beside her. They had been through so much together. Father Bright Aura had passed on so suddenly leaving her to fulfill the greatest destiny in pony history, and it was all for naught. The President’s griffon adviser held a claw to her earpiece briefly to hear a report. “Mrs. President?” President Mare tore her eyes away from the pair of defeated ponies before her. “Yes General Gilda?” “The attack was totally made by two unidentified fighters.” “300 hundred years of waiting... for nothing,” Applejack mumbled as she stared at her hooves. Her eyes glazed over, unfocused. *~~~~~~* The two fighters set a course for the crash site. The Diamond Dog commander was pleased with a job well done. His pack did well. “Get me a secure connection to Equestria,” he ordered to one of his two officers. One of them grunted in response and tapped out the commands on the console. “We are connected.” “Good. Now make the call.” The commander smiled knowing rewards would soon be had. Back on Equestria a pretty secretary answered her boss’s personal line, “Ms. Pie’s office...”