> Humble Beginnings - The Elements and the Tree of Harmony > by EmilySkittles > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Beginning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- On a cool evening, Princess Twilight was in her throne, reading a book about early E "Oh, it's just that I'm curious about the Elements of Harmony, they've been mentioned alot in this chapter.", Twilight replied embarrassed. " Early Equestrian History, over here Twilight!", Pinkie Pie shouted and throwing the book to Twilight's face. http://www.fimfiction-static.net/images/interactive_pony/dash/cloud_sleep_right.gif "Never got used to that.", Rainbow mumbled to herself. "Me either.", agreed Fluttershy. Twilight immediately lifted the book with her magic and flipped the pages, both skimming and scanning. She closed the book and invited the girls to go out if they want to hear a little history and a trip to the Tree of Harmony and her friends accepted the invitation and followed Twilight. Twilight Sparkle ran to the Tree of Harmony with her friends following. And Rarity noticed a little purple shard. She picked it up with her magic and placed it in her bag. When they arrived, Twilight levitated the book with her magic and began reading to her and her friends. "It began on the day of Star Swirl the Bearded, during the time the Royal Sisters were only young foals...." There was an evil queen who ruled Equestria for a long amount of time. Nopony dares to ask for her real name. Her rule began after Equestria's finding. During her rule, the magic of friendship was an unknown source of energy in Equestria. "My hoofs are killing me", complained Princess Platinum. "Are we even in Everfree City yet?" "Don't worry, Princess, we're almost there." answered Clover the Clever, while rolling her eyes. ,"And nope, Princess, you just have to be patient." Five minutes passed, Platinum complains again, with Clover answering with the same response. Soon after, Clover and Platinum arrived in Everfree City, which is now known today as the Everfree Forest. The Everfree City was a simple village where everypony knows everypony. Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth Ponies no longer argued and are close and best friends. They looked after each other and were polite and were never selfish. Soon after meeting some ponies, Clover the Clever and Princess Platinum was standing before the Dark,Black castle of the Everfree City. They entered and saw a tall,slender, black-coated pony. She was an Alicorn and had a long horn and wings with a mane flowing with small white, six pointed stars surrounded with small white dots which were white stars. "Greetings, your majesty.", both Clover and Platinum said and bowed. "We have the treaty that my daddy wanted to give you." Platinum said rather, slowly. "I see, I've been waiting all day for this.", replied the Queen. "Hey, I know you, you're the queen who banished the real Queen with her two daughters! You are nothing but a fake queen! You do not deserve the throne!", Clover shouted.. "GUARDS! LOCK HER TO THE DUNGEON!", the Queen responded. In a flash, Clover was thrown to the dungeon and Princess Platinum just sadly walked away without saying anything. Clover dusted her rags and looked back and saw familiar faces. It was: "Chancellor Puddinghead! Commander Hurricane! Smart Cookie! Private Pansy!", screamed Clover! She was excited and depressed at the same time to see her friends. " You too? ", asked Commander Hurricane. "You got thrown in 'cause of the queen?", asked Pansy. "Yeah, I did, I was only defending the queen." replied Clover. "We all did cause of the same reason." said Smart Cookie while wrapping her hoof around Clover. The ponies embraced each other in tears, waiting for a plan to show up on their heads. Pansy was acting, odd. She was being silent, refuses to talk, as if she lost a dear friend, but she did not. Platinum was forced to be loyal to the queen because her royalty is in the hoofs of the Evil Queen. She acted like a slave to her. She was treated with respect from her friends. But here, she was being treated like a slave and unimportant person. She dearly missed her friends. The story was interrupted by who else? Rarity. " Hold on, darling.. Are you saying that I was supposed to be a slave after Equestria's finding?!",Rarity cried. " Now sugar cube, let's not act all crazy as Pinkie until the end of the story. replied Applejack while patting Rarity on the back. "Besides, you ain't really the princess of early Canterlot." "Ugh, fine, let's continue." Rarity mumbled. Platinum was in tears every time she the word "dungeon" was mentioned. Everypony was dull, and stressed, especially Clover. She seemed to do nothing but write in her scroll with her quill, Chancellor played with the rocks, Smart Cookie drew on the dirt, Pansy was panicking, Hurricane was slowly turning cranky and furious, and Platinum was crying in her bed, which was a stack of hay. Pansy seemed to notice Clover being sweaty and stressed. So she asked... > The Blue Stone/Element of Laughter was Born. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hey Clover, you look very stressed.. Are you sick?", Pansy questioned. "Oh yes, I'm fine, just thinking.. Do you have any idea how to get out of here?", responded and asked Clover. The four ponies couldn't do anything else but to shake their heads. Then they all sighed. Platinum was studying in her room about the Elements of Harmony, she thought that this might help to defeating the Queen. So she made a plan. Nopony knew what it was from this point. The Evil Queen was doing her everyday thing: Casting dark magic all around her kingdom. It was her specialty, it also helped all ponies to be more loyal to her. The dark magic was actually a spell that made ponies loyal to anypony who casted it. So everyday she casted it, and the ponies became more loyal than ever, but not the 6 ponies, including Platinum. She made a plan to cast the spell to every single kingdom in Equestria, even the kings and queens. And she will be the ONLY Ruler of all of Equestria! But first, she had to cast a spell to the special 5 ponies. Because she felt they had a special connection or magic to each other. And she will use the magic for the bad. Princess Platinum overheard her plot. But it was too risky to tell her friends for she might lose her royalty. Platinum really cared about royalty, she's really ambitious and wants to be well-known. She also kill all of her loved ones if she told anypony. So she chose to be silent. Soon enough, The Queen overheard her. "PLATINUM! YOU SHOULD BE IN YOUR ROOM STUDYING ABOUT HISTORY LESSONS!" "I REFUSE TO GO THERE, I HEARD EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU AND YOUR PLANS!", Platinum replied back "Then you leave me no choice." the queen said pointing her horn to Platinum. She casted the spell to Platinum. But Platinum's connection with her friends made it effect less. Meaning she had control of her mind and body, but she can't control it all the time. She pretended to be in some sort of trance. "I will go now my queen." Platinum said. Everypony looked dull in the dungeon, they all look like they lost the spark of their lives, everypony but Chancellor Puddinghead. (who else?!) Puddinghead was thinking of all fun stuff than rather thinking intensely. Her giggles echoed all over the dungeon. "Hey Puddinghead, do me a favor and be quiet.", Hurricane complained. "I'm sorry Hurricane. (giggles) I was thinking of a funny joke that I love tell all earth ponies! Giggled Puddinghead. "Can we hear it? We could use some laughter." asked Pansy and the other two ponies. Instead of a joke, Puddinghead ended up singing a laughter Song. No need to look so dull. Think of all the laughter stored. It's just hiding deep within you. You're just not looking deep enough. Think of all the things that make you giggle. Things that hit your tickle bone. Things that make you wanna go Ha-ha-ha! Put away all the bad thoughts! Replace them with the good ones! Think of the funny ones. Not the ugly ones. Ha-ha-ha! Soon after the song, all 5 ponies (Including the chancellor) were in the floor giggling the night out. Five seconds passed since the laughter was over, Chancellor Puddinghead was getting a light blue aura surrounding her. Then a blue stone in a gold necklace was in her neck. They did nothing but realised stand in shock. > The Element of Loyalty Flashes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Wha-What is it?", asked Smart Cookie while looking at Puddinghead's shiny necklace. "WOAH-WOAH!" Pinkie Pie interrupted the story. "THAT SOUNDS LIKE WHAT I WOULD DO!" (Squee) mentioned Pinkie Pie. "Okaay, go on Twi, continue yer story. replied Applejack. "I have no idea, but it will be a great report for my mentor!" responded Clover, while writing in her scroll to report to Star Swirl the Bearded " I think it's a colorful rock..", said Pansy rather shyly. "It looks like a magical gift from the Windigoes?" guessed Smart Cookie. Everypony shared their thoughts about what it is. " It looks an Element of Harmony", said a Mysterious Pony. "An element of what now?", replied Hurricane. The mysterious pony went out of the shadows and it was revealed to be Princess Platinum. "PRINCESS!", cried Clover. "I'm fine, Clover, and I said an Element of Harmony.", Making everypony shocked by Platinum's reply. "An Element of Harmony is a powerful magic stone that can make impossible magic even for the (Evil) Queen. There are 6 elements but I heard from my daddy that only 5 exists during the (Evil) Queen's rule." continued Platinum. Everypony just stood in shock of what they heard. Clover yelled, "Wait a second! If we find all 6-" "5" interrupted Hurricane. "5 elements or possibly the 6th one, we'll be able to stop the queen!" continued Clover. Everypony, but Platinum, agreed and nodded to Clover's plan. "By the way, I'm here for Hurricane, the Queen said she needed her and not Pansy. She said she wanted a strong pegasi to lead her troops, and she forgave your sin." explained Platinum. "WHAT?! really! I always wanted to get out of-" Hurricane looked back at her friends. "I'm sorry Platinum, but I refuse your offer. Sure I can get out of here (from this point Hurricane is glowing red.) but I do not, I repeat I DO NOT ABANDON MY FRIENDS! I REFUSE TO GIVE ANY OF MY LOYALTY THE QUEEN!" Hurricane shouted. Then Hurricane had a magic red aura surrounding her and a dull red stone was turning around her and beamed to a hot red color. The gem, like Puddinghead's, became a necklace. And the necklace rested on Hurricane's neck. From this point, Platinum left the dungeon and cried for she missed all 5 of her friends, but she had no choice, but also she noticed her plan was working in place. She had an idea who was next. Everypony was confused, why did the Elements of Harmony showed up "magically". "I got an idea!" snapped Clover. "Well, what are you waiting for Clover, spill it out!" urged Hurricane. "This Elements of Harmony shows up when a certain deed was showed by a certain pony. Maybe they glow and gain magic when somepony displays it's magic. Like how Puddinghead made us giggle and laugh, the blue gem appeared. And for Hurricane it showed up because you never abandoned your friends, and thats called loyalty!" shouted Clover, quite exhausted from the talking. "Hmm, what should we name this gems?" asked Smart Cookie. "We should name them after the magic it posses. The red one is Element of Loyalty, and the blue one, we could all agree we should call it Laughter!" exclaimed Clover. And the ponies rejoiced. They will find their way on how to fix this upside-down world! The Evil Queen heard of their plans, she felt like her plan needs to take action and fast. She read a book about the legendary gems and was still doubting they were real and has true magic. Platinum stalked the queen every night to find out any new changes to her plan. She was always able to escape from being caught. The 5 ponies were planning and thinking what are the last 3 or 4 elements magic. But it might be Smart Cookie's turn..... > The Element of Honesty > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Smart Cookie was getting awfully silent ever since the Element of Loyalty came. She refused to talk to anypony, except Clover. She was in deep thought for Platinum was acting not herself, she was like she never experienced friendship, and became was being skeptical. She thought she abandoned her friends and became loyal to the queen because she didn't want to be part of the losing side. She suddenly grew a dark hatred to Platinum and wanted her to die. Not long after, guards showed up for Smart Cookie, and was immediately accused for stealing a rare jar from the queen. "I didn't steal any jar y'all talking about!" "Yeah right, Princess Platinum told us all about it", the guards replied. The guards noticed the same jar inside the dungeon, and they were ready to take Smart Cookie to the queen for a punishment. "Look fellas, Ah'm gonna say this again, I never stole any jar nor anything in mah whole life!", yelled Smart Cookie, quite furiously. Princess Platinum came out of no where all of a sudden "Take her to the queen.." "Yes Princess Platinum." Then the guards took away Smart Cookie from the dungeon and away from her friends. "Dang it Platinum, Why?!" cried Hurricane. Instead of responding, Platinum trotted away from her friends and shed a tear for she can't take the pain. Cookie was placed before the queen and was asked many questions, but Cookie only replied with one answer: "Ah never stole anything y'all talking about." The queen had a feeling she was being honest, but still doubted her. "Look yer highness, Ah never stole anything in mah whole life. If y'all just listen to me, y'all know Ah'm telling the honest truth. Before the queen could say anything, an orange stone appeared and glowed a bright orange aura. Like Puddinghead and Hurricane, a golden necklace appeared and the stone became the center piece of the necklace. The queen immediately recognized what was happening, the rumored Elements of Harmony was coming true. She had to find a plan to destroy it and its magic. The guards stood back from Smart Cookie because she had something magical and legendary resting on her neck, so they immediately threw her back to the dungeon. When she returned, her friends ran and hugged her for they missed her even if it has only been 15 minutes. "What happened? Are you bruised or are you going to be punished?", panicked Pansy. "Nawh Pansy, Ah'm fine. By the way, I got this golden necklace like Puddinghead and Hurricane", mentioned Cookie. "I think we should call it the Element of Honesty? It's 'cause I got it while telling the truth" Cookie continued. Everypony agreed and the Element of Honesty was born. "But, who did steal the jar if it's not you?" asked Puddinghead. "Maybe it's .." PuddingHead said when pointing to somepony. "Puddinghead, it ain't any of us, but ah know it's the Platinum-brat who got me into this" responded Cookie. "YEAH! We should show what we got to Platinum after what she's done to us!" agreed Hurricane. "Now girls, we don't have to be brutal to Platinum, it's just a misunderstanding right?", Pansy explained. "You're right, Pansy." agreed Clover. At the Queen's room, she was plotting to find out about the legendary Elements of Harmony. "So, I see the legend of the elements are coming true" thought the queen. "But not for long.." as she said then did an evil laugh. The queen heard of the elements' coming, but she never thought it was true. Nearby, Platinum overheard that she canceled her old plan and made a new one. Like always, she was stalking the queen for answers, she was worried for her friends. At the dungeon, Pansy was in deep panic who will be the next one to get the elements. She doesn't know if she will be one of them, if so, what would she do? The next morning, there was a surprise company for the friends... > Kindness is the Key > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suddenly, the friends saw the entrance to the dungeon slowly being opened. It was just guards. From this point, the ponies were terrified. "What will they do?" "Are they gonna punish us?" are some questions inside their minds. Without saying a single word, the guards took everypony to special rooms depending on the pony's kind inside the castle. The ponies were confused, but not as much as Pansy and Hurricane. Hurricane always experienced life in a dungeon, but she never had this type of dungeon experience. The rooms had two hay beds and a bookshelf filled with books, nothing else. Clover was busy writing scrolls to her mentor, Star Swirl the Bearded. She was writing down letters to her recent experiences with her friends. Her letter read: Dear Star Swirl the Bearded, Today I have experienced magically things. But I need your help, my friends and I are stuck in the castle, the ones I met a few months ago. We were trapped in a dungeon ever since we left for the beautiful Everfree City. But, my wise mentor, I have weird feelings of strong magic every time I'm near with my friends. Also, Princess Platinum has been acting weird lately. Hope you respond. Your faithful student, Clover the Clever. Clover signed her name and sent it using her magic and sighed. Cookie and Puddinghead was still planning escape plans, just in case something goes wrong. Hurricane and Pansy were just looking at the corner of the room, curious. Pansy tapped Hurricane and asked, "Hey Hurricane, I got a question". "What's the question the question, Pansy?", Hurricane replied. "I was a little worried that we might not be able to find the rest of the harmony stones. I mean, I don't know if-" "Hey Pansy, don't you worry, we will find the Elements of Harmony," Hurricane interrupted. After so, the ponies smiled at each other and went back to being curious. The Queen was with Platinum, both were thinking what to do with the 5 ponies. The Queen sighed and looked outside, and noticed many dragons flying above. She realised it was the time of the Dragon Migration. "Excuse me, Platinum, I got somewhere to go." In a second, the Queen unfolded her wings and flew high enough to a dragon. She casted a spell to the dragon to follow her every will, then she went to the castle. Platinum was in shock with her new company. "Do you like your new pet, Platinum?", the Queen joked. Platinum just nodded with a shocked expression in her face. "GUARDS! BRING THE PRISONERS BACK TO THE DUNGEON!!!" the Queen yelled. In a flash, the ponies were in the dungeon, but it was different then the last time they were there. There was a dragon who's roar echoed all over the dungeon. The dragon was charmed to gobble up the ponies by the Queen. The ponies were dodging every bite it takes and was using force against the dragon. Despite the fact, Pansy had alot of experience of battle and using force, she just felt something inside of her that is saying that she needs to let it all out. She was resisting, but she just can't hold it, and she stopped resisting and letted it all out. She flew to the dragon and said: "Now, now, is that how you're suppose to act? I know you are big and scary dragon and all, but that is not an excuse to be mean to anypony!" Pansy corrected the dragon like a familiar yellow pony. The dragon snapped out of the charm and just looked shyly at Pansy and was embarrassed for his behaviour. "Now, don't cry, we all make mistakes you know." Pansy said and smiled Everypony just stood in shocked of what Pansy did, especially Clover. Out of nowhere, a pink gem levitates above Pansy with a bright pink aura. In a flash, the gem is now placed in a gold necklace. "Wooaahh..." everypony said in shock. "We're almost there everypony! We got 4 gems! But wait, what is my gem?" Clover exclaimed. "I guess we gotta wait" Hurricane said. The Queen realised her plan failed to remove the group. She was running out of ideas, but left all the good ones. She just did an evil grin while writing a letter to somepony that Platinum was familiar with.