• Published 12th Nov 2011
  • 13,497 Views, 320 Comments

Envy and Arrogance - Mindblower



The Elements are critical to world stability. Twilight and her friends find this out the hard way.

  • ...
11
 320
 13,497

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

*******

It was over. The Elements of Harmony had lost.

Each of them was locked in individual cells. The dungeon was moderately clean, nothing too sinister looking, but the real tragedy laid in the Elements’ expressions, along with their counterparts.

Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, had cried herself to sleep long ago. I thought we had saved her. She can’t be dead, not like that, she was so young, she had so much left... she had thought while weeping. She was heartbroken, and her will to fight had vanished with the young girl’s life. Apple Bloom can’t be gone, not like that. A hole formed in her heart so deep that it seemed irreparable.

Rarity, the Element of Generosity, had boiled over at the start, but now she just looked at her prison with the utmost of loathing. Apple Bloom couldn’t just be gone, she said to herself in disbelief. She’s too young to die. She’s... she will be avenged. Having no way to vent her rage, it cooled in her heart and encrusted her soul, and the more she stared at her cell, the more she wanted to tear everypony in Equestria apart.

Dash, the Element of Loyalty, had a similar reaction to Rarity. I can’t believe that a single pony took all of us down so quickly! she thought, staring at the wall in shock and fury. I’m going to make him pay! Dash had bruises up and down her legs from trying to bash the cell in, but her efforts had left little more than a dent.

Applejack, the Element of Honesty, was curled up in a fetal position, lying on her side, sniffling and clutching the bow Apple Bloom had worn ever since she received it. It’s all I have left of my sis; I’m not going to let it go! It’s... It’s a treasured memory. I’ll keep it for the rest of my life. Even wear it, if that’ll make Apple Bloom happy. Wherever she is.

Pinkie Pie, the Element of Humor, was staring blankly at the floor, her pelt a dull shade of pink, her hair straight. I feel... like I’m drifting away. Why, why did she have to go? Why did it have to end up like this? Oh, Apple Bloom, why?! Her sorrow and guilt gnawed at her soul like a teething parasprite. Her necklace had turned from gold to a rusty iron; the blue sapphire balloon in the center having turned to cracked glass.

Twilight Sparkle, the leader, the Element of Magic, was going over the situation again and again in her head, but nothing could possibly explain how they had gotten into this bad a situation. I feel like I’m in a nightmare and I can’t wake up! she screamed at herself, pounding on the floor in frustration. There’s no way out! How are we supposed to save Equestria now?

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shared a cell, but Scootaloo was too furious to talk, and Sweetie Belle was in a stunned silence anyway.

It’s just not true, Sweetie Belle thought. It can’t be true. We’re best friends; she can’t just be gone. There has to be some other explanation. She’s just being held captive somewhere else.

Scootaloo, though, was blisteringly angry, even hours later. I am not going to let this slide! Apple Bloom, I’m coming for you! Her heart was of molten magma; she was looking for a target, somepony to vent on.

Just then, another pony was dragged into the prison cell by none other than Envy herself.

“Hey! Quit it!”

Twilight looked up wearily. Envy was using telekinesis to hover a young unicorn stallion into the last cell in the room. He was a light brown color, with his mane a hazy red, like some reddish soil Twilight had once seen in a geography book. He wore goggles on his forehead. His cutie mark was a set of crosshairs. He was struggling for a hoofhold, but since he was in midair, his attempts did him little good.

“You’ve been quite the troublemaker,” Envy sneered, throwing the young stallion into the cell and locking the gate with telekinesis. She spit through the bars. “Rot in jail.”

The stallion banged on the bars, desperately trying to break free. “You’ll be sorry!”

Envy sneered and vanished.

He slumped to the floor. “Great. Just peachy.”

“Who’re you?” Dash asked. Her cell was across from the stallion’s; she could see him more clearly through the bars.

“Me?” The stallion asked. “Well, I’m Oliver Montgomery Fredrick Gregory Ninja. But you can call me Olly, if you like.”

“Seriously?” Dash giggled.

“Well, that’s the name they gave me,” Olly said.

Rainbow Dash smiled a bit at the new captive, slightly amused. What a weird name…

“Where are you from?” Pinkie asked.

Olly sighed. “Well, I’m just your average John Doe from crazytown.”

“Huh?” Rarity asked.

Olly tapped his forehead. “Means I have amnesia, can’t remember much. I was in some weird dream place when I was brought down here for absolutely no reason!” he shouted at the ceiling. “...And, well, here I am.”

“Envy said that you were causing trouble,” Twilight said.

“Well, that sounds like me, from what I know of me, at least,” Olly chuckled. He glanced at their necklaces and his eyes widened. “Wait, are you guys the Elements of Harmony? For real?!”

Dash looked away in shame, as did Twilight.

“What’s wrong, shouldn’t you be out of here?” Olly asked. “Or did you just stay here to rescue lil’ old me?”

“Enough with the charm!” Scootaloo snapped. “We’re here because we failed. End of story.”

Olly laughed. “Oh, so you’re just sitting on your laurels, then? Seems a might boring if you ask me. Though if you brought a crossword or something, then yes, I can understand why you’d want to stay.”

Rarity looked at him. “Olly, we’re as stuck as you are.”

Olly looked around at the broken members of the group and sighed. “What a sorry cast of characters… Come on, cheer up! If I can get out of who knows where, I can surely get you all out, too!”

Olly got a running start, and started kicking at the bars with as much force as he could muster.

“Stop it!” Sweetie Belle scolded. “You’ll only hurt yourself.”

Olly wiped his brow, but kept pounding. “Quiet, this is between me and the iron!”

Dash laughed. Olly glanced at her. “Look, you can still laugh, can’t you? You can’t be in that bad a situation.”

Pinkie looked up. The gold started to return to her necklace. “Th-That’s what I kept telling her. She doesn’t listen to me, though. It takes a stallion,” she smirked, adding emphasis to that last word.

Dash looked at her. “Um, yeah, you just keep telling yourself that.”

Twilight and Rarity looked at the scene unfolding, and couldn’t help but feel a little bit uplifted.

“So, are you going to help me outta here, or what?” Olly asked.

They looked around. There weren’t many options.

“Look, you’re the Elements of Harmony. You’ll find a way out of here, I’m sure,” Olly said confidently.

This pony is too cheerful for this kind of situation, Applejack thought. Seems too good to be true. “Look, Olly, right? We’re stuck. End a story.”

Olly blew the hair out of his eyes, miffed. “Look, if you talk like that, you’re never getting out of here. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, you know. I’m finding a way out of here, with or without you. But if you’d like to lend a hoof, that’d be swell...”

Twilight sighed as Olly once again tried pounding away at the bars. Only hours before, Dash had been doing the same thing. They’re a bit alike, she remarked.

Pinkie stared at the never-ending confidence of the stallion. He kept at it for what seemed like hours, even though it had only been fifteen minutes or so. Dash, however, had given up after five. Pinkie got up, and started pounding at the bars, as well. The blue glow returned to her necklace.

“Pinkie, what are ya doin’?” Applejack asked.

“Well, there’s no point in just sitting here!” Pinkie said in between tries. “We’re breaking out!”

“What’s the point?” Twilight asked. “Where would we go?”

“Don’t be such a pessimist!” Pinkie yelled at Twilight. She continued pounding. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again! I’m not giving up until I’ve saved... what matters!” Pinkie finished, earning a bruise to her knee and a lot more spirit with her last attack.

A warm glow was spreading from Pinkie. Fluttershy looked up, as did all of the others, including Olly. Pinkie’s necklace was pulsing with blue energy. At first, it resonated with her gradual bangs on the bars, but it steadily sped up, as did the intensity of her energy.

For the first time in what seemed like ages, Applejack smiled. I can’t just give up... not yet. Apple Bloom, I’m not letting you down!

Dash had once again started to pound on the bars, along with Olly, which created a large amount of ruckus, but both of them were grinning. Pinkie’s energy had spread throughout their bones and created a resolve in them neither had experienced before. I feel great! Dash laughed to herself. Who cares about prison? There’s got to be a way out!

Fluttershy and Rarity got up. My friends still need me, Fluttershy thought. I can’t let them down, and I’m not helping them out by crying. Each and every one of us is needed!

Twilight’s crown and horn glowed as she used her magic to try and bend the bars. Although they were magically sealed, it felt great to finally try and do something after so long being saddened and miserable. I can’t fail my friends; they need me. Equestria needs me; the future needs me! I have to protect what matters, I just have to! Losing isn’t an option anymore!

Pinkie’s pulsating energy sped up until her whole body glowed with a bright light. She stopped pounding, and opened her eyes. The light was almost blinding. Slowly, Pinkie’s hooves lifted about six inches off the ground. Her balloon-shaped Element spread across her chain; turning her entire necklace to a smooth sapphire.

But what was most shocking were her eyes. Her pupils disappeared, leaving only a blue iris behind to fill the gap. Her eyes were now a striking white-rimmed blue.

She had realized her Potential.

With the force of a small explosion, Pinkie’s energy rocketed through the castle and skyrocketed toward the stars. The light could be seen for hundreds of miles. It was beautiful, even from inside their prison.

Pinkie slowly lowered herself to the ground. She closed her eyes, but when she opened them again, the changes remained. She looked toward the awed group with a new outlook.

Everything matters,” Pinkie said, her voice overlapping with somepony else’s. “I am glad you have all realized this, but you still have so long to go. As long as you have hope, you will be able to protect Equestria.”

The glow faded. Pinkie sighed. “That felt just super.”

“Y-Your eyes,” Fluttershy stammered.

“Hehe,” Pinkie said. “I don’t think they’re going back to normal any time soon.”

*******

Just then, there was a dark flash of magic. But this dark magic was soft; like a lullaby, as opposed to Envy’s, which was sinister. A blue alicorn mare stepped out of the portal.

“P-Princess?!” Olly gasped, utterly dumbfounded. “Well, this has certainly been an eventful day…”

“There’s no time to explain!” Luna yelled, thrusting her head to the side. Her magic threw all of the iron bars to the wall. “We have to move!

Envy appeared to block the one exit. “You’re not getting away that easily!”

Luna swatted the smaller mare aside and blew past her, with the others not far behind. After a moment or two, Envy was back on their tail.

They emerged into a large, but ruined, courtyard.

It was Canterlot.

Twilight looked in awe at the ruined city. She didn’t have time to sight-see, though, and Dash quickly pulled her aside to follow the group.

Applejack spotted a blood-red figure in the sky, and dove out of the way just before it struck with lightning force. It was a Lyvia, her cutie mark the same, unreassuringly sharp blade.

“‘Bout time something happened around here; I was getting bored!” she laughed as she used the iron spikes on her hooves to cut Applejack’s neck open. Applejack yelled out in pain as blood spurted out of the open wound.

Luna and Twilight used combined telekinesis to try and plow Lyvia into the ground, but she dodged the wave and took another dive.

Dash swerved in midair and batted Lyvia away, then headbutted her in the gut. Blood spit out of her mouth, and she made a hasty retreat.

Luna swung the wounded Applejack onto her back, but it wasn’t long before she was held in a magical stance.

“You dare show your face in the courtyard of our queen?” Lorey said, his horn glowing. “Fool of a ruler.”

Lorey was slowly strangling Luna, preventing air from reaching her lungs. This allowed Envy to catch up and plow into Fluttershy, tossing the gentle mare to the side and breaking a few bones.

Scootaloo sprang into action and dove at Envy, biting at her hind leg and distracting her for a moment. Twilight, on the other hand, used a powerful burst of magic to stun Lorey, and then slashed at him with her horn.

Lorey examined the small, but bleeding, cut on his side. He smirked at Twilight. “You’re such a bookworm; I should have expected you to specialize in paper cuts,” he yelled harshly. He reared up for another attack. “Prepare to die!

Just then, Saphira bounded in. She took a few swipes at Twilight, going for her legs and neck, but Luna swatted the blue earth pony aside with her wing. “We don’t have time for this! Get Fluttershy and go!”

Rarity and Dash picked up Fluttershy, and continued to move with the rest of the group, but Lorey stopped them. “Are you senile? I’m still here, you know!” he shouted, using powerful dark magic to turn the ground beneath them into a bog. He dodged bolts of magic artfully, but didn’t directly attack.

He’s only stalling for time! Pinkie thought desperately.

With a powerful bolt of starry energy, Luna brought Lorey to his knees. Saphira recovered him and ran away as fast as her legs would carry her.

Envy shook off Scootaloo and kicked her aside. “Pest!” She shouted. She fired a bolt of negative energy at the orange pegasus, but it was redirected into Pinkie’s necklace.

“Not on my watch,” Pinkie grinned mischievously.

For the first time since the chase, Envy truly looked in Pinkie Pie’s eyes. When she saw her blue, yet pupil-less irises, her face contorted into true fear.

But just then, a white alicorn arrived.

Twilight looked up and gasped. “C-Celestia?”

“No!” Luna screamed. “It’s the Daymare!” She fired bolts of electricity into the alicorn’s path, but the villain simply dodged them.

“How dare you?!” the Daymare sneered. “I’m not through with you yet! Do you know who you’re dealing with?”

“An arrogant twit!” Luna shouted, forming a protective barrier around herself and her nearby allies.

The Daymare merely laughed, and slammed into the barrier. Luna cringed, the magic having a heavy toll on her overall health.

Scootaloo got back to her feet, and saw with horror that Luna was losing. She made up her mind. With all her strength, Scootaloo flew up and bit the Daymare on the rim of her wing. The white alicorn howled and shook the teen off.

“Scootaloo?!” Dash yelled.

“Leave without me!” Scootaloo shouted. “Now!”

Luna took this opportunity, despite the others’ protests. While Scootaloo was distracting the enraged Daymare, the blue princess charged up magical energy.

The Daymare plowed Scootaloo into the ground, but the battle was over.

“You lose…” Scootaloo laughed before losing consciousness.

The Daymare turned around and screamed. Luna and the others were gone.

=====================================================================

*******

Luna, the Elements of Harmony, Sweetie Belle, and Olly found themselves in a semicircular chamber. Bookshelves lined the walls, and a teakettle was sitting next to an open flame. Somepony sure left in a hurry, Olly observed. Ornate furniture and velvet rugs, most of them a shade of purple, adorned the room. The edge of the chamber was a giant window that looked out upon the city. The walls bore Luna’s own coat-of-arms.

Rarity looked out the large window and gaped. A large blue field of energy surrounded a city and its farmlands; an enormous one, at that, much larger than Ponyville. We’re in Fillydelphia!

Luna hurriedly got a potion and healed Applejack’s wounds, along with Fluttershy’s.

I’ve had a broken wing now how many times? Two, three? Fluttershy sighed to herself. When am I going to get back home? Back to what I knew before?

“Princess, are you alright?” Twilight asked worriedly. Luna didn’t look very well.

“Y-…Yes, We’re fine, thank you,” Luna panted, wiping the sweat off her brow. Her horn started to glow again, though she didn’t look like she was using magic. “Although you probably owe your lives to Pinkie Pie. Her realization was like a flare gun, and We have been looking for that kind of signal for three years.”

The others looked back at Pinkie Pie, appreciative.

“We?” Applejack asked.

“Sorry, I,” Luna corrected herself. “It’s a royal custom. Language has much changed since I was last present. I still slip up a little bit here and there.”

“That makes sense; you’ve been gone for one thousand years,” Rarity said.

“I still can’t get over those eyes.” Dash shook her head. “Sorry, Pinkie.”

“Oh, I guess it’ll be all right,” Pinkie shrugged, looking in a nearby mirror. “Heh, guess they do look a little funny.”

Luna’s immortality was slowly revitalizing her. “You will all need those types of eyes if you want to defeat Discord.”

“What is Discord, princess? I have so many questions to ask you,” Twilight begged.

“I would love to tell you, Twilight, but there is somepony else who can explain the situation in much greater detail than I,” Luna said. “Come this way, down to the ruins of the Garden.”

Luna led them to a stairwell. As they made their way downward, Luna told them in little detail why events had turned out the way they did.

“We are under a new threat, but it stems from an old foe,” Luna explained. “I hid you from the Daymare so that you could contact Obsidian, an ancient being who could help you realize your Potential and fight against Discord, but it appears that I cast the spell too fast. You appear to have lost a portion of your memory, as well as three years of your waking life.”

Twilight sighed. “That much we know, Princess. We figured that out based on what Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle told us.”

“Where is Scootaloo?” Dash asked worriedly. “Weren’t you able to teleport her, too?”

Luna shook her head sadly. “Not while she was fighting, no. Your friend is at the limited mercy of the Daymare now. I am sorry.”

Dash shook her head. I’m not giving up on Scootaloo yet.

Twilight was literally itching with all the questions she had, but Luna refused to answer any of them, and despite the fact that they had been in a death match only moments before, Luna showed a surprising amount of hustle as they made their way through the tight series of corridors.

They walked downstairs, underground. It was dimly lit, but the two unicorns and the alicorn present made for more than enough lighting. They made their way down a narrow, but ancient corridor.

“Here,” Luna said.

The hallway opened up into a clearing, where four torches burned around a glowing fountain. It was very majestic looking, and grass grew even though it was underground.

“Scary,” Fluttershy shivered.

“All this’s on the underbelly a Fillydelphia?” Applejack asked, shocked.

Luna nodded. “The Gateway is one of the only surviving relics from Ancient Times, back before the Elements of Harmony and Discord were first created. When Elements of Harmony drink from it, they can contact Obsidian and Verba. They should be able to tell you what you need to know.”

“Mind if I take a sip too?” Olly asked.

“It is only for the Elements of Harmony for a reason,” Luna said sternly. “Any normal pony that drinks from its waters will become Corrupted.”

“Corrupted, huh?” Olly said, staring into the waters. “Sounds interesting.”

The Elements of Harmony circled around the elegant-looking fountain. One by one, they started to sip from its waters, starting with Rarity and ending with Twilight.

Closing their eyes, they drifted off into a world unknown.

=====================================================================

[Note]: I do not own anything in this story that already belongs to someone else.
This entire storyline takes place BEFORE season two, but AFTER season one.
Olly’s name IS a reference. Can you guess to what?