Elements

by herpyderpy

Chapter 1: Hero

Elements

Chapter 1: Hero

By herpyderpy

In the pitch black of night, six wings beat against the still wind, marking the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres as their final destination.

The light from a nearby lantern reflected off large flight goggles and shiny sky-blue latex suits as the trio touched down near the farmhouse. Two of the three were stallions, one of whom had a small pair of saddlebags strapped over his suit.

Anypony who didn’t dwell under a rock would instantly recognize that the uniform belonged to none other than the elite pegasus performance squad: The Wonderbolts.

"Hey, look. There are haystacks over here." The female of the ensemble pointed towards the neat stacks on the side of the road. "Looks quite dry."

"Yeah, so?" The stallion carrying the saddlebags nudged one of the stacks with a hoof. "You want to bring some home for supper?"

"Wait, what? No! We can use it to speed up the process," the mare said. With a unrestrained viciousness, the ropes that bound the hay into nice rectangular cubes fell apart as she tore at the bindings with her teeth. "Rapidfire, help me spread this hay around the orchard. Soarin', you're on lookout duty."

The other stallion gave her a nod and took to the air, hovering a few meters above ground as he scanned the surrounding area.

The stallion with the saddlebags, Rapidfire, gave the mare a confused look. "Why do you want to throw away this perfectly good hay, Fleetfoot?" He took a bite out of the unbound stack. "Hey, it's pretty good!"

Soarin' started shaking his head slowly while Fleetfoot put both her forehooves over her face.

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Fleetfoot asked with a tone of exasperation. "You do know why we’re here, right?"

"Um... to burn down this orchard?" Rapidfire answered while chewing a mouthful of hay.

"Yes...?" Fleetfoot gestured at one of the stacks.

Rapidfire stared at the hay and stopped his chewing for a moment; then the realization hit him like an epiphany from the heavens.

"Oh!"

“And he’s back.” Soarin' chuckled, looking back at the pair with amusement.

Fleetfoot groaned with disdain. "Now, stop eating and come help me. Hurry up. I hate these backwater towns."

"You said that already." Soarin' pointed out.

"Just... shut up and keep your eyes open, smart ass," Fleetfoot barked before flying off with as much hay as she could carry.

Soarin' laughed and turned towards the town of Ponyville. Even though he had passed by more times than he could count, the stallion had never actually landed in this agricultural hub between Equinetropolis and Canterlot. He took in a deep breath. I wish the air at home was this fresh....

The farm was as silent as the dead, not a sound could be heard except for the rustling of hay when his fellow Wonderbolts came back to collect more from the pile. Feeling bored, he looked up to admire the night sky. It was beautiful – there was not a single cloud obstructing the stars and the crescent moon watching over Equestria with its soft, gentle glow.

His mind started to wander as he marveled at the spectacle. I’ve never seen stars like this in Equinetropolis. Hay, you'd be lucky to even see the moon through all that pollution. A little sadness started to creep in. He didn't need to be a genius to figure out why GemTech wanted this orchard burned down.

They are going to ruin this little town. The reactor is going to fill this place with smog and haze.... Ponyville will end up just like Equinetropolis, Canterlot and all those other big cities. There must be a fortune’s worth of gemstones down there too; it’s a shame these country ponies have no idea how valuable their land is.

He turned to the field of apple trees on his right. Farmland is abundant with life. It's one of the best places for gems to form. A gemstone expert at the company had told him that over lunch one day.

Wait... what's that smell? Soarin' turned around, his eyes trailing across the orchard to see fire, but not where he had expected.

The farmhouse was ablaze: the flames surrounded the entire building like a pack of hungry wolves, eager for their long overdue meal. Rapidfire – floating above – loosened his saddlebags and let it slide onto the burning building below.

"What the buck are you doing?" Fleetfoot yelled, making no attempt to keep her voice down.

Rapidfire slowly hovered towards the angry mare. "Doing our job... right?”

Fleetfoot grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him violently. "You idiot! We were supposed to light the fire at the orchards, not to mention wake the ponies inside!"

"Um, but that wasn’t what big sis said... she told me to get rid of the family," Rapidfire replied, scratching his head.

Fleetfoot stopped her shaking and looked at him dumbfounded. "What...? Why the hay didn't she tell us?"

Rapidfire pushed her hooves out of the way. "I dunno! She said something about a ‘Mr. Bleeding Heart’ or something, I have no idea what she was talking about! Now c'mon, let's go!" he said before taking off in the direction of Equinetropolis.

Throughout that conversation, Soarin' just floated, mouth slightly agape as he looked on with horror. It wasn't until Fleetfoot put a hoof on his shoulder that he snapped back to reality. "Soarin'... we gotta go!"

Soarin’ stared into her eyes for a few seconds before finally managing a nod. His partner reassured him with a gentle pat on the shoulder before the two of them rushed to catch up with Rapidfire.

Soarin' would not be the last to admit that he had – under extreme circumstances – been forced to commit the sin of killing in the past, but he had never done anything like this before. Killing innocent ponies for no good reason was a line that even he was not willing to cross. What the buck did we just do? This is cold-blooded murder! He suddenly looped and sped back towards the farm.

"Soarin'!" Fleetfoot shouted, but she was too late. Her colleague was already too far to hear her. You emotional sap.... She stopped for a second and watched him disappear from her sights. You were never cut out for this job.

By the time Soarin' had made his way back, the orchard was already in a sea of flames. The fire had spread quickly thanks to the conveniently placed accelerant, and thick smoke was now rising above the roof of the house.

He tried to think, but his mind just drew a blank. The thumping in his chest and the sweat slowly dripping down his snout were the only things that commanded his attention. He would have continued to hover there and stare blankly at the scene if it wasn’t for the voice that called out sharply behind him.

“Hey! You, up there!"

The Wonderbolt turned to see a yellow earth pony mare with a curly orange mane looking at him from below. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off before he could begin.

"Pl... please, you have to save them!" she pleaded.

Soarin’ looked around frantically, his mind refusing to cooperate. “I... uh... how do I get in?”

“The windows!”

What the buck am I doing? Why didn't I think of that? Soarin' crashed through the first window he saw, a few pieces of broken glass cut through the suit and into his flesh. He winced at the sharp pain in his foreleg, but that was the least of his concerns right now. The goggles were coming in handy: he would have had trouble keeping his eyes open in the smoke without them. A cursory scan of his surroundings told him that the interior of the room wasn't on fire yet, but he could see the flames just outside the door, eager to make their way in.

He rushed towards the bed to see an orange mare passed out under the covers. The training from his days at the academy kicked in: one of the first things he had learned was the proper way to carry an unconscious pony. He pulled her by the tail until she was half-way off the bed before crouching down under her stomach. With the mare now slumped over his back, he spread his wings and took flight, carefully kicking a couple of shards of glass out of the way before exiting through the window he had entered from.

He made his way back to the mare outside, who was pacing back and forth on the dirt road, far away from the raging flames. He landed next to her and gently rolled the unconscious pony onto the ground.

"Oh, thank you so much!” she said, seeing to the rescued pony.

“How many more are inside?”

“Three! They should all be on the second floor.”

Soarin’ nodded. “You stay here and make sure they’re OK. I’ll bring them to you,” he said quickly before flying to the next window and kicking through the glass.

The smoke instantly filled his lungs, causing him to cough and instinctively cover his face with a leg. The flickering lights all around him were now impeding his vision as much as the black smoke that constantly billowed through the door leading to the hallway. He saw a bed to his left and quickly trotted over, but fell hard onto the floor as he tripped over something soft that squeaked as he stepped on it. He didn’t know what it was, nor did he care as he scrambled back onto his hooves, his gaze meeting with the occupant of the bed as he did so.

The sight paralyzed him. He stood there staring as images started flashing before him. The way his niece slept every night, curled up in a ball and clutching her mother’s plush pony to her chest. And that peaceful smile plastered over her face: a smile that reminded him of why he did what he did, a smile that gave his life a whole new meaning, a smile that allowed him to sleep at night... it was his everything.

A sudden loud crash broke his reverie. All his senses came back at once. The acrid smell of smoke, the intense heat, and the roaring of the flames all reminded him that this was no time to be standing around. He blinked a few times as his vision cleared, the memories fading to reveal what was really a yellow filly sleeping in a way that was disturbingly similar to how his niece did.

He picked her up with his forelegs, causing the doll in her hooves to fall to the floor. The movement of the doll caught the corner of his eye as he turned to leave, making him stop for just a second. Something in the back of his mind kicked him into an action that made little sense to him at that moment, and before he knew what was happening, he was already flying back to the awaiting pony outside – with the filly in his forelegs and the ragged doll in his teeth.

Soarin’ dropped the doll and handed the filly over before immediately twisting in mid-air, sweeping to the other side of the house and peering through a window before making his way in.

The door to the hallway was completely engulfed, and the flames were quickly spreading to the rest of the room. The heat was really starting to take its toll on the Wonderbolt, and his suit made it just that much worse, chafing against his skin uncomfortably. He took off his goggles – the sweat building up inside had finally made them more of a hindrance than aid. But as he did so, a few drops of blood fell from the cut on his leg, hitting him in the cheek. He reached up again to wipe it away out of instinct, but instead, smeared it across his face where it mixed with his sweat to further blur his vision. He could barely see past his own hooves as he started to move slowly, with his head held low in a futile attempt to avoid the fumes.

He found his way to a bed after stumbling around for a while; on top of it was the figure of a sprawled out stallion. He started tugging at his tail – slowly pulling him off the bed and struggling to get him onto his back – when a loud snapping sound made him flinch. He recomposed himself quickly, kneeling down and getting into position to take flight when another snap echoed across the room, followed by the shaking of the floor. He spread his wings as a third snap – much louder than the two before – sent a large chunk of the floorboards beneath him crashing down along with the bed.

He desperately pumped his wings as hard as he could, barely managing to keep himself and the pony on his back airborne. Between the suffocating smoke and the considerable weight of the stallion, he knew that he couldn’t keep flight much longer. With the last ounce of his energy, he made a break for the window, scraping past the broken glass before collapsing. The forward momentum sent the two stallions just clear of the flames surrounding the building as they landed on the grass with a thud.

“Oh... no no no! Oh my goodness... are... are you OK?” the yellow mare exclaimed, galloping towards them. “You... you’re bleeding!”

Soarin' coughed uncontrollably as he rolled over. He sat there for a while, wheezing and gasping for air before finally finding his voice. “I... I’m fine.... Don’t worry about me.”

"You're very brave... they all would have died if it wasn't for you," she said softly, putting her ear on the red stallion's chest. "He's breathing. So are the girls."

Another loud crash came from inside the house, reminding Soarin' that his job wasn't complete. “You... you have to get him away from the fire. Get him to the road,” he said, standing up slowly. He inhaled deeply as he took to the air, making his way back towards the burning building.

"Please be careful!" the mare shouted, watching Soarin’ for a while longer before biting down on the unconscious stallion's tail. She pulled with all her might, and started slowly dragging him towards his siblings.

Soarin’ hovered in front of the building. He had found the window to the final room, but he was exhausted. His lungs still burned from all the smoke he had inhaled, and every beat of his wings was slowly sapping him of what little energy he had left. C’mon, Soarin’... you can’t give up now! He closed his eyes and busted headfirst through the glass.

A single sensation overwhelmed all others as he entered. All he could feel was the scorching flames all around him, ready to consume everything in its path. He floated backwards, back out through the window before opening his eyes again. There was no way he could stay in there any longer than he could hold his breath.

He watched the surging mass of smoke pouring out for a moment as he steadied himself and took a deep, long breath before re-entering the building. Much to his relief, the bed was almost right next to the window. He pulled the pony lying there onto his back with little difficulty; but as he turned to leave, the familiar snapping sound came once again – this time from above.

His head jerked automatically, snapping up like the sound that had called him. He tried his best and squinted hard, but his eyes just couldn’t open wide enough to to break through the burning smog that impeded all vision for more than a meter in front of his snout. Just as he was about to lower his head, a bright glow – like the lights of an approaching train – blew through the fog as a smoldering beam came crashing down right on top of him.

Most ponies would have met their demise right there and then, but Soarin’s quick reflexes and his years of training allowed him to narrowly escape by mere inches as he darted backwards. The beam smashed straight through the floorboards, leaving a pit which belched forth even more smoke and fire. He panicked – there wasn’t much time before the whole roof would come crashing down. And just as he was thinking about the dire situation he was in, a deafening crack came from above, realizing his worst fear. His instincts took over as he took flight, rushing in the general direction of where he remembered the window to be. He continued flying blind as the cracking and snapping all merged into a single thunderous blast.

Suddenly, he started to feel a light breeze under his wings. He opened his eyes and looked back. The roof of the building had collapsed, but he was already a few meters clear of the burning rubble. A smile appeared across Soarin’s face as he started to chuckle softly, a chuckle that soon grew into an almost maniacal laugh. He continued to float there with the pony still on his back, the relief of narrowly escaping death overwhelming all other thoughts and emotions.

The laughter eventually turned into snorts and hacks as Soarin’ finally lost his breath. He allowed himself to get some much needed air before flying back towards the road, where the yellow mare was hopping around, shouting something he couldn’t quite make out. He lowered the elderly pony to the ground before breaking down, the rush of adrenaline now replaced by fatigue and pain as he fell on his back. His wings ached terribly, and the sting on his foreleg made him look up to assess the damage. He couldn’t quite make out how deep the cuts were through his suit, but it looked like it wasn’t bleeding too badly – at least not anymore.

From out of nowhere, a yellow blur appeared, diving straight at him with a hug. “You did it! That was amazing! You’re a Wonderbolt right? What’s your name?”

“I... uh, Soarin’.”

“Oh, thank goodness you’re OK, Mr. Soarin’! I... I was starting to think....” She trailed off and stopped for a moment before standing up and composing herself. “I... I’m Carrot Top. Thank you so much for saving them.”

A violent fit of coughing interrupted Soarin’ as he was about to reply. He turned to see the orange mare he had saved was now sitting up.

"Wha... what the buck?" she shouted, looking around frantically.

Carrot Top trotted over. "AJ, you're alright! Your farm... I'm so sorry," she said softly, noticing the dread in Applejack’s eyes.

"It... can't be." The Apple family home was now crumbling as the support beams gave out one after another. "No!"

Then something snapped at the back of Applejack's mind. "Applebloom! Mac! Granny!" She scrambled to her hooves and started galloping straight towards what remained of her home.

Carrot Top quickly jumped on the distraught mare's back. "They're back here, AJ!"

Applejack swung around with Carrot Top still on her back, who fell off and landed on her rump. The pair slowly made their way back to the ponies lying on the ground, where Applejack fell on her knees beside them.

"Are... are they...?" she asked in a whisper, not daring to finish the question.

"They were all breathing last I checked," Carrot Top said, trying her best to assure her neighbor.

Applejack felt as if a large weight had been lifted off her chest. “I... thank you kindly, Carrot.”

As the two mares had their exchange, Soarin' just sat on the ground and watched. He found himself dazed yet again, his senses dulled by the thoughts and emotions rushing through him – the scene played out like a silent movie in slow motion.

It was another hoof on his shoulder that released him from his stupor.

"You should be thanking Soarin' here. He was the one that pulled your whole family out," Carrot Top explained, looking back at what now was nothing but a pile of burning rubble.

Applejack eyed the stallion for a few seconds before bowing down in front of him. “I... I don’t know what to say.... I’m mighty grateful. Thank you so much, Mr. Soarin’... thank you! My kin and I are forever in your debt.”

"I just did what anypony would have done," Soarin' said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, don't be so modest." Carrot Top smiled. "You're a real hero!"

Hero?

The word made him feel dirty. He had deceived them.

Soarin' was no hero and he knew it, and his conscience took full advantage in tormenting him with that fact. He needed to get out of here, away from these ponies, away from this whole place... it was starting to make him sick to his stomach.

He stood up with a pump of his wings. "I... I have to go."

"Please stay for a while, Mr. Soarin'," Applejack pleaded. "Let me thank you somehow.”

"That's very kind of you, but I really have to go," Soarin' said, now hovering just above the ground. "And I hope your family gets better soon."

He took off with impressive speed and style before Applejack could formulate a reply, leaving a signature trail of crackling smoke in his wake.

“So... he’s one of them Wonderbolts, huh?” Applejack mumbled as Soarin’ started to fade from view in the direction of the countless specks of light in the far off distance, which all combined to form a glowing ball that illuminated the night even more brightly than the moon itself. “Wonder where he’s off to in such a hurry....”

“Don’t you know?” Carrot Top stepped up next to her, nodding slightly towards the luminous city as they watched the hero return home.

“That’s Equinetropolis.”

-END OF CHAPTER 1-

Comments

[KitsuneRisu]

YAY! =D

COMMENT! =D

[Author-Man]

Oh, hello there. Dark, adventure, AU without the princesses, and a Discord that isn't just a less interesting Q? You have my attention.

[Distrance]

This is amazing, mate. Your grammar and wording is astounding as well as setting up for an interesting Alternate Universe type fic.

If you hadn't noticed yourself, you just made it into EQ:D
So watch the influx of a 100+ viewers come rolling in soon.

Please continue. It's hard to find something worthwhile to follow now-a-days for me.

[herpyderpy]

511216
Couldn't have done it without you. Much

552761
I'll try my best not to disappoint!

552845
Yay! Finally posted! Thanks for the kind words.

[Author-Man]

There's not quite enough here to form a solid opinion yet, but I will say this much; you've got me wanting to see what happens next, which is, I'd say, a very good sign. Your prose is excellent; I found myself having no trouble at all seeing what was happening in the story without ever feeling like it was being spelled out for me, which is another very good sign.

You've definitely gotten my attention and I look forward to seeing the next part.

[Chocolate Milk]

Congrats herpy!

[TwinkiePinkie]

Ooh! I'm excited to see where this goes and where all the other Mane 6 are. I'm assuming Rapidfire's "big sis" is Spitfire. Interesting. And I'm glad nobody died (yet).

[herpyderpy]

553489
Eeyup, fair assessment. And thank you for the watch!

553773
Hey Choco! Thanks for all your help.

[Pawn Heart]

I'm really enjoying this so far, keep up the good work!

[Borg]

You're not including Spitfire? But everybody loves Spitfire! She's the most popular Wonderbolt, and I know you know I'm not just making that up.