Twilight and Hydra had lead their conversation towards Ponyville park. She told him about what she's done ever since she arrived in town.
“Well, it seems you've had quite the tussle here,” Hydra commented, amused by what he's heard.
“Yeah,” Twilight said, “It's a wonder I'm still in tact with how crazy things are.”
“And it does surprise me, that you and your friends defeated Nightmare Moon AND Discord. I don't even think my great grandfather could even do something like that.”
“Well, thankfully, learning the magic of friendship's always been there to back me up, one way or the other.”
“If only I could say the same for Bishop.”
That remark had caught Twilight's attention strongly. She turned to her uncle, who was looking a bit down.
“Uncle Hydra,” Twilight started, “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, kid.”
“Why did you and Bishop come to Ponyville to begin with?”
Hydra hesitated a bit. He felt his heart being tugged at again, but didn't let that distract him. He slowly closed his eyes, then looked over at his niece.
“We came here, because Celestia wanted Bishop to take a vacation,” he said.”
Twilight was a bit curious about why the princess would choose that, but then he continued on.
“You see, ever since that...dreadful day, eight years ago, Bishop has been always been determined to be the better solider than any of them have ever been. He felt weak when she saved him from that monster, and he didn't want to feel that way again. He's kept pushing himself to high levels, to where he's even critically injuring his own troops as well. Even when he was 15, he could still beat some high class down.”
Twilight couldn't help but feel sorry for Bishop. She may have felt bad about losing her aunt, but Bishop has it worse, since Beatrix was his mother AND she died in his arms. Her sadness, however, was interrupted when she suddenly realized something.
“I know what you're going to ask, so don't bother wasting your breath.” Hydra said, interrupting her thoughts, “It's because he had gone into battle with that culprit, and he had to pay a second heavy price.”
“What was it?” Twilight asked.
“...His horn.”
Twilight gasped in shock.
“Does...does that mean-”
“Yes...”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“Shoter! Shoter!”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders had spent a good hour, looking for their new member and friend. The three of them had checked every location she could have gone to, but still no luck.
“Oh, what's the use?” Sweetie Belle said, sitting down.
“Don't say that,” Applebloom exclaimed, “we can't just give up on her! Especially since she's our newest member!”
“Yeah, but what if she doesn't want to be friends with us anymore?” Scootaloo asked, “After all, she did have a scared look on her, when her brother hurt Rainbowdash.”
That only made the other two more desperate to find Shoter. They needed to know where she was, or else they would lose a Cutie Mark Crusader, who just joined up. As they kept looking, they saw the mayor passing by, carrying a bag of fruits and cakes. The three little fillies then ran up to her, getting in her path of travel.
"Miss Mayor, have you seen a filly, around our size, and wears green and has red glasses?" Sweetie Belle said exasperatedly.
“I think I might have...” she paused a bit, trying to picture their description, “….I think she was with an older mare, though," she replied.
"Where?!" all three of them exclaimed.
"I'm not sure, but I believe they were headed south on Main Street.”
“What did the older pony she was with look like?” Applebloom asked.
“I believe she had a really purple mane and a pair of belts cross cutie mark, but that's all I can remember," the Mayor said.
By the time she glanced back at the fillies, all she saw in front of her was a cloud of dust was left at where they were standing.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"This is the last house" Applebloom said, tiresome.
"Let's hope this is the one," Sweetie Belle replied.
"Same here," Scootaloo said.
They were standing in front of a large, two story house. It was completely made out of a hard substance, between rock and steel. Cautiously, Scootaloo knocked on the wooden door three times, slowly.
"I'll get it!" a feminine voice called, though it wasn't one that they recognized. As the door opened, it revealed a mare with dark purple hair, just like how she was described, and a deep blue coat with a bright red vest. She looked down at the three of them, giving a natural look.
"Excuse me, but do you happen to know a small filly, about our size, and wears green?" Applebloom asked.
"Oh, you must be Shoter's friends," she said, "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, right?”
The three of them nodded happily, with huge smiles on their faces.
“Please, come in,” she said, opening the door more for them, as they walked in, “My name's Nimi, and I'm glad to have you as guests in my humble home.”
“So how do you know Shoter,” Sweetie Belle asked.
“I was her babysitter when she was younger. I tell you, Shoter gave me heart attacks every hour I was there! I mean, she'd fly up bookshelves, lifting up furniture will I was trying to rest...Oh my Celestia…….." Her tone of voice made them crusaders relax, as if she was an old friend of theirs.
They followed Nimi as she led them through her home. It was a regular type of house, with carpets and faded wallpaper, but very realistic looking paintings and soft lights hinted otherwise. She took them upstairs, and took them into a room filled with books. Dusty shelves were full of them. There were so many books that they could all rival the many Twilight had, but not quite. The Crusaders noted none of this, for they spotted Shoter perched on a beanbag.
"Shoter!" the three of them yelled as they glomped her instantly.
“What are you doing here?” Shoter asked.
“We were looking for you,” Scootaloo said.
Those words brought Shoter into shock. She started to feel tears fighting up, but didn't let them show.
“But...I thought that you...” she was lost for words, at how happy she was that they still wanted to be friends with her.
As Shoter was trying to get the words out, Applebloom noticed a couple of the books that she was reading. They looked dusty and worn aged tan pages.
"Say Shoter, what's with the books here?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Oh..it's uh...just some research on the seventh Element of Harmony," she replied, nervously.
That statement alone, had the three of them wide-eyed and jawdropped, more so than what she told them just after school ended.
“A SEVENTH element?!” they exclaimed.
"Yes,” Nimi said, “there's a possibility that there IS a seventh. I tell you, ever since that slipped from her aunt, this young lady has been digging up as many books about the Elements of Harmony that should've been sent to a museum by now."
“Who IS her aunt anyway?” Scootaloo asked.
“Dr. Quorra Mythro,” Shoter answered, “She's the head of the Canterlot Laboratories and Research Hospitals.”
"So...she's what got you into thinking about the 7th element?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yep."
"Isn't it pushing the myth a bit much?” Scootaloo asked, “There was already one about a sixth, so why a seventh?"
"Who knows? There might even be more than that..." Nimi trailed off, staring at the rows of books that were in the room.
"Even I have gotten tangled into this sort of research myself. This is all that me and Shoter know of so far...
Many millenniums ago, the elements of harmony were the most powerful gems in existence. They still are today. The gems were used to balance harmony, because without it, there's chaos. Now, six of them are known symbolizing Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Kindness, and Magic. From my studies, all I can guess about the seventh is that it was the most important out of all of them. However, it had all changed, when it fell into the wrong hands of a demon...named “Crow”. Crow had stolen the element from Canterlot Castle, letting his dark heart seep into it, creating chaos upon the lands. However, in a last attempt, Princesses Luna and Celestia had combined their magic with the rest of the elements, banishing Crow to a fatal demise, but at a fatal price. The element that was taken, was too corrupted by Crow, that it could not be revived. Without that element, the others aren't as powerful as they were.
No one remembers or knows what the seventh one was, and the events that happened on that day, are never spoken of by either princess."
Nimi sighed, and the room suddenly became quiet as they let the whole story sink in.
"Wow," the crusaders said.
“Cool, huh?” Shoter said.
“I'll say,” Applebloom said, “I betcha Twilight's gonna be really surprised by this!”