//------------------------------// // Chapter 76: Giving Up The Elements // Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// Shining wasn't the only one having a pretty bad run of luck. His friends soon found that finding the Tree of Harmony was an almost impossible task, because no one had ever heard of it and therefore no one had any idea of where to look. "Uh, I hate to be that guy, but is anypony else starting to think this is a lost cause?" Soarin reluctantly spoke up. "We've gotten pretty far into this forest and we've found nothing." "You know, I had the same unfortunate feeling," Thunderlane admitted. "I mean, we're almost at the Castle of the Two Sisters and we've seen neither branch or bark of that tree. Do you think maybe that potion was a dead end and whatever Shining saw isn't real? I mean, what if there actually isn't a Tree of Harmony, what do we do then?" Big Macintosh couldn't help but frown, he'd been trying to stay strong this whole time but the concerns of the group were finally starting to get to him. "If Shining says he saw a Tree of Harmony, I'll believe his word. I'd know if he was lyin' to us. But that don't mean he couldn't still unintentionally be sendin' us on a wild goose chase. I don't want to think he could be mistaken though." "Well, it seems your fate has been rewarded, look!" Fancy Pants exclaimed, as he pointed a hoof towards a faint glow coming from a chasm near the Castle of the Two Sisters. "Well I'll be a donkey's uncle!" Braeburn happily cheered, as the five stallions rushed to investigate the source and sure enough they saw the faint outline of the very tree Shining had displayed to them. Sure, it didn't look as majestic as it had in the picture, and it was covered with those ugly black vines, but at least it existed. "Finally, somethin's goin' right for us!" Braeburn added. Soarin let out a gasp! "It does exist! But how can this be?! I'm pretty sure that tree wasn't there before!" "It doesn't matter if it there before or not, what matters is that we found it!" Fancy Pants commented. "Now the question is: How do we get to it?" Braeburn giggled and pointed a hoof. "Simple, we take the stairs." "Ah, how convenient. It's almost as if somepony left them there on purpose." Thunderlane observed, as he and the other stallions made their way down into the gorge where the tree was located. Upon reaching the tree, the five stallions were treated to a very frightening sight! The black vines were practically chocking the life out of the tree! "Oh no, I think it might be dying!" Thunderlane gasped! "Then we've got no time to lose, it's time to start savin' it!" Big Macintosh vowed, and immediately sprang into action! He grabbed a vine with his teeth and tried to yank it away, but it wouldn't budge! In fact, another vine quickly sprang up and knocked Big Macintosh away! "Uh, what's the plan?" Thunderlane asked. "Simple, we'll try from the air!" Soarin boasted! "Let's see those vines try to stop me!" But as if the vines had heard what Soarin had said, they somehow sprang up taller, grabbed Soarin, and threw him to the ground! Fortunately, he wasn't hurt. "Seriously, what's the plan? We need one if we're going to save the tree." Thunderlane asked his friends, hoping one of them would have something helpful. "We'll just have to wing it!" Braeburn suggested. "Thunderlane! Fancy Pants! With me, now! Three heads oughta be enough to teach them no good vines a thing or two!" Fancy Pants and Thunderlane quickly joined Braeburn in grabbing a vine by the teeth, and Thunderlane even tried to flap his wings for extra strength and support! But alas, much like Big Macintosh and Soarin's attempts, another vine quickly stopped them in their tracks and knocked them away! "Well, we get points for trying most valiantly, but alas that tree remains in jeopardy." Fancy Pants sighed, brushing the dirt off of his coat while he helped Thunderlane to stand up. "And I suppose you've got a better idea?" Big Macintosh asked, glaring ever so slightly at Fancy Pants. Fancy Pants said nothing. "That's what I thought." Big Macintosh said with a huff. But Thunderlane quickly defused the tension by sadly commenting. "If Shining were here, he wouldn't let us charge in headlong without a plan. He would probably know what to do, but we sent him away." That comment touched off massive feelings of guilt in all five stallions present, especially Soarin and Big Macintosh who were quick to butt heads! "This is exactly why we Wonderbolts abide by the creed 'Nopony gets left behind'!" Soarin angrily shouted. "If I was in charge Shining would've come along with us whether he liked it or not. So who cares if supposedly he's not the chosen one?! I thought he of all ponies didn't believe destiny was set in stone, especially after he freed us all from that cutie mark swap!" "We all agreed it was for the best, Soarin!" Big Macintosh retorted. "What would we have accomplished dragin' Shining along kickin' and screamin'? I've come to learn the hard way that when a pony's that stubborn and down on themselves, there anythin' you can do for 'em, they're stuck like a wagon with a missin' wheel!" Before Soarin could think of a response, Spike came tumbling down the stairs behind the stallions, all of whom rushed to the dragon's aide at once! Spike quickly stood up, he was out of breath and looked quite bruised and battered, but he didn't care! Panting heavily he shouted! "Shining's in trouble, you've got to save him before he becomes plant food!" "Where was he when you last saw him?!" Fancy Pants asked. "A ways over, I could only see you guys because of a really tall vine!" Spike explained, still panting. "Please, you're his only hope!" Shining found himself growing weak and disoriented, as the dust the vicious plants were spraying on him overwhelmed his senses. "Beaten by plants, not quite the way I thought I'd go out." He thought to himself, as he found it hard to keep his eyes open. But then, suddenly, Shining heard one of the plants give out a painful screech! In spite of his blurry vision, Shining was able to make out the faint trace of a lasso and realized who it belonged to. "Guys." He weakly cried out. "Alright you rabid rhododendrons! You listen and you listen good!" Big Macintosh said in a low but firm tone of voice. "'Round these here parts, if you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!" The five stallions quickly set to work on taking out the plants that had attacked Shining and had been planning to finish him off and consume him. Now freed from the painful dust clouds and their crippling effects, Shining's sense were quick to recover. "Thanks guys." He called, as he joined the fight. Using their wits (and in Shining and Fancy Pants cases' their horns) the six stallions effortlessly defeated the vicious plant crabs and tied them up, rendering them useless and ensuring they'd never again threaten anypony. Even Spike breathed a sigh of relief when the danger had passed. "I sure am glad you came back to look for us," Big Macintosh said to Shining, embracing him with open hooves. "We're glad to have you with us again." "Probably not as glad as I am that you found and rescued me when you did," Shining replied. "For a moment there, I thought for sure those plants were going to kill me!" "That would have been most unfortunate," Fancy Pants commented. "Because the truth of the matter is, we're simply lost without you, Shining Armor. Chosen one or not, we need your help to save the Tree of Harmony, it's about to die!" "Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's save it already!" Shining demanded. "Equestria may need its only alicorn prince, but it's clear you guys need your friend and trusted leader! So who cares what that the Tree of Harmony says?! Destiny will just have to accept that I'm the one wielding the Element of Magic!" And, now reunited, the six stallions and Spike, raced back to the Tree of Harmony! Hopefully, they would be in time! Shining attempted to inspect the Tree of Harmony and clear away the vines, but even his alicorn magic proved to be unable to stop them. If he managed to get one vine to release its grip ever so slightly, it was only for a second or two, then it would latch on tighter. It didn't help that some of the other vines tried to grab him like they had done to the others. Shining broke free pretty easily, but it was clear that brute force alone wouldn't get the vines to budge. It was then that Shining recalled what he had seen Princess Celestia state during the flashback that had revealed the Tree of Harmony as the source of the out of control Everfree Forest. "Even without these elements, the Tree of Harmony will still possess a powerful magic. And as long as that magic remains, it will continue to control and contain all that grows here." A reluctant realization came to Shining at that very moment, there was only one way to save the Tree of Harmony. "I know how we can save the tree, but you guys won't like it," He glumly told them, and pointed to his crown that bore the Element of Magic. "We have to give the Elements of Harmony back to their original resting place, the tree." Needless to say, this prompted shocked face and gasps from all of Shining's friends. "Are you crazy?!" Soarin asked Shining. "If we give up the elements, how are we supposed to protect Equestria the next time some evil force comes along?" "And what about Discord?" Fancy Pants added. "If he goes rouge how are we supposed to stop him if we don't have the elements to turn him back to stone? Our friendship with him is very shaky, all it may take to set him off is one incident." "I know they ain't what kept us together or even brought us together," Big Macintosh commented, looking at his necklace. "But are you sure givin' them back to the Tree of Harmony is absolutely necessary? It's a very big risk, and if it fails, Equestria's last line of defense will be gone." Shining tried to nod as firmly as he could. "It's what we must do, it's the only thing I can think of that will save the Tree of Harmony's life. Besides, our friendship is stronger and more important than any kind of magic in Equestria! My new role in Equestria may mean that I have to take on new responsibilities, and that our friendships may be tested, but they will never, ever be broken, no matter what! Now there's no time left to lose, that tree looks like it could die at any second! Is everypony ready?!" Reluctantly, the five stallions nodded. "Ready!" They replied, and they watched anxiously as Shining removed the gemstones that the Elements of Harmony had originally existed as from their necklaces. Shining then took the gemstone for the Element of Magic out of his crown, and let all six circle around him, forming a powerful ring of magical energy! But the vines weren't about to let Shining just give back the elements, they were determined to drain the last bit of life from the Tree of Harmony! So they reached out and grabbed Shining, stopping him in mid-flight! Everyone gasped! Shining groaned as his horn strained itself to the breaking point! "Come on, only got one shot at this! Please, let this work!" He mentally pleaded, as one by one he returned all of the elements to their designated place on the tree. When he placed the last one, the Element of Magic, in the very center of the tree, a powerful and blinding surge of magic immediately rushed past with a loud "Whoosh!" Completely obliterating the vines around Shining, and then going on to do the same for the rest of the vines, both surrounding the tree and all over Equestria. Even Discord became aware of the vines being destroyed, as he had been using one as a make-shift lawn chair to relax on, before the surge of elemental magic destroyed the vine and sent Discord crashing to the ground with a thud. "Oh, poo. Ain't that just the way? You finally get in the mood to relax and it all gets taken away." As it turned out, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had been held hostage by the vines the entire time. Two sets of vines resting on either side of the Tree of Harmony had served as their prisons. And with them destroyed, the two royal sisters were free once again, much to everypony's relief! Shining immediately rushed up to the two alicorns as soon as his hooves touched solid ground, words could not express how much he was glad to see them! "You're okay!" He happily exclaimed. "We know how difficult it must have been for you to give up the Elements, Shining. But know that it took great courage to relinquish them," Princess Celestia told the young alicorn prince. "And look, after all that doubt you carried, it would seem the Tree of Harmony has changed!" Shining looked up and gasped at what he saw! Where his sister's cutie mark had previously been displayed on the tree as a six point star, that star had now been encased inside a shield with three other stars surrounding it. "Why did it change? It wasn't there before." Shining pondered. "I suppose the tree sensed how much you had to overcome on a personal level in order to come here and save it, and it decided to reward the one who was chosen to wield the Element of Magic." Princess Luna observed. "That would make sense," Shining replied with a smile, and then as he looked at his friends he added. "Even if this means that we can never use the Elements of Harmony ever again, at least we saved the world one last time." However, just seconds after he had finished saying that, he was quite surprised to see a small six sided chest pop up from a small white flower at the base of the tree. Curiously, Shining ran over and inspected it, finding that each side of the chest contained a lock. "What's inside it? How am I supposed to open it?" He wondered out loud. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked over the chest as well and examined it carefully, but neither of them seemed to have any idea of what it was or where the keys to unlock it where. Princess Luna simply reiterated an obvious observation when she said. "Six locks, six keys." "I do not know where those keys might be or how you will obtain them. But I do know that the mystery of the chest is a mystery you will not be solving alone. I sense that you and your friends will find them in due time, and that what you will unlock will once again change your lives," Princess Celestia told Shining. "Now come, we must leave the forest at once."