//------------------------------//
// Episode 4: Overwhelmed 
// Story: Elements of Heroism: Season 1 
// by Bahamut0 
//------------------------------//

	Burst and Inferno were walking about Ponyville. "Man. Hard to believe all the craziness that happens in one town.", Inferno said as he and Burst walked. "First there was Nightmare Moon's return, and then there was the whole town chasing after Twilight yesterday!"

"Well, at least things don't stay boring.", Burst said with a smile. "Plus, it's got the right balance with some quiet moments."

"True enough. So do you think the other Elements of Heroism that are supposed to awaken will have Duelist Arms too?"

"I don't know. We were given our Duelist Arms. Whoever these other awakening elements are, they'll be chosen regardless of the fact whether or not they've got weapons like ours. I'm the Element of Power because I use even though I have great power, I'm responsible because I use it to protect those who don't. So, with great power comes great responsibility."

"Nice comic reference. Then I guess I'm the Element of Potential because I see the potential in everyone and I always do my best with all my life's passions.", Inferno said with a smile. "Makes you wonder what the other elements are."

"All good questions to consi-Oof!" Burst accidentally ran into someone! "Sorry about that. Second time in my time here. You alright?" The guy Burst had run into had white skin, teal eyes, purple hair styled like Leon Kennedy, and his outfit consisted of grey jeans, blue sneakers, a white jacket, a purple shirt with a snowflake on it, and a purple scarf. He was also a skyborn, but what stuck out were that his wings were like ice!

"Yeah. I'm fine. Hey...you're that alicorn that fought Nightmare Moon! Burst Stream right?"

Burst nodded. "That's me."

"And next to you is Inferno Flare! Former hottest rockstar in Equestria!", the guy continued.

"You know who we are, but who are you?", Inferno asked.

"Name's Arctic Ace! But call me Ace please.", Ace said with a smile.

"Your wings reflect your name.", Burst said with a nod. "So what kind of job do you have in town?"

"Well besides the weather team, I'm also good at making works of art out of ice!", Ace said with a smile. "Thanks to my pegasus magic, I can work with ice and snow."

"Sounds cool. No pun intended.", Burst said with a chuckle. "So where were you off to?"

Ace shrugged. "Truth be told, I was just roaming around. I've got no plans and no friends."

"How about we fix that?", Inferno suggested. "Burst and I were on our way to Sweet Apple Acres. How about ya come with? It'll give you something to do and we can get to know each other in the process."

Ace smiled. "Sure!" The group was about to move out when they felt the ground rumbling and looked towards the outskirts. A stampede was running rampant! "On second thought, maybe we'd better take to the air!" The three took to the air and saw Applejack driving the stampede away from town. "That girl is either brave, or crazy!"

Burst nodded. "Probably a bit of both. But you can't argue the fact that she's sure as heck dependable." Burst, Inferno, and Ace soon landed and congratulated Applejack after she got her medal from the mayor. "Hey Aj! Nice job out there!"

"Shucks, thanks Burst.", Applejack said with a smile. "So who's yer new friend?"

"This is Ace!", Inferno announced proudly. 

"Nice to meet you!", Ace said with a polite wave. "A real pleasure to meet one of the Elements of Harmony."

Applejack chuckled. "Mighty sweet of ya sugarcube. But, I'd best be headed back to Sweet Apple Acres. Care to come along?"

"Eh. Not like we had any plans.", Inferno said with a shrug. As the group neared the farm, Inferno noticed something. "Hey Applejack? Where's Big Mac at? Isn't he normally helping out?"

"Big Mac hurt his side a few days back.", Applejack answered. "So, it's up to me to buck all these apples off the trees this season."

"Sounds like a bid job to do all on your own.", Ace noted. "How about the three of us help out? We've got plenty of free time."

"Mighty kind of ya, but Ah won't be needin' help. Ah got things under control!", Applejack said with a smile.

Burst was wary of her words. "I don't know. A whole orchard? Applejack, you're just one person. And you've got a lot of ground to cover."

"Burst. Ah handled that stampede earlier today no problem.", Applejack said with a frown. "Ah'm sure Ah can handle this here orchard."

"Look Aj. All we're saying is you shouldn't be afraid to ask for help.", Inferno explained. "But if you're so adamant, we can respect that. Just TRY to not overwork yourself." The three left Applejack to her work, but Ace was troubled by her words.

"Hey guys? I think we should check up on her throughout today.", Ace suggested.

"I'd hate her to think we're spying on her, but she's got a full plate.", Burst noted. "Alright Ace. We'll each take shifts." And so, Burst, Inferno and Ace set to work monitoring Applejack. Apparently, she had a lot of events lined up for the week. There was baking with Pinkie A ceremony that was being held in honor of her being so dependable. Combine that with harvesting all the apples in the orchard, she'd not have a moment of breathing room! "Geez! I've known Applejack for about a year, and she's a pretty hard worker. But I don't think she can handle that many things all lined up like that!"

"Do you think we should step in?", Inferno asked.

Burst shook his head. "I know where this is going, but sometimes the best way is to have people learn a lesson the hard way. I might've helped Twilight with her ticket problem, but that was because the whole town was going crazy over one ticket! If things get really bad, that's when we'll step in."

"Wow. That's pretty big of you Burst.", Ace noted. "Well if Applejack does get overworked, my ice magic can help relax sore muscles. It's how I got another job at the Ponyville spa. I should be able to help her recover fairly quickly if she gets to her breaking point."

"Ace...that plan's awesome!", Burst said with a smile. "You keep an eye on Applejack until things escalate." And so, Ace went back to monitoring Applejack. As the day went on, he noticed that she looked more and more fatigued. When he tailed her to her award ceremony, her exhaustion was noticeable as she got preoccupied with her distorted reflection in the trophy. She was struggling to stay awake!

"This doesn't look good...", Ace noted as he continued to tail her. He followed her back to Sweet Apple Acres and noticed she was having difficulty trying to buck all the apples off the trees. Her kicks didn't have nearly as much strength as they would if she were well rested! She was still trying to stay on her feet and awake through the whole thing! Twilight showed up to offer her assistance, but Applejack refused. "Okay. That's REALLY bad." Ace noticed that Applejack was completely missing the trees with her kicks! Ace then followed Applejack as she went to help Rainbow Dash with her flying tricks. "Oh boy...this isn't gonna be pretty..." Ace cringed as he saw Applejack miss the level and fall on the ground! "Ouch. Well she's not caused harm to anyone else. But that could change..." Ace had no idea how right he was as Applejack's successful landing catapulted Rainbow Dash across the sky! "Sweet Celestia! At this rate she'll be a natural disaster!" Continuing to follow her, Ace noticed Applejack's condition getting worse and worse. She practically told Twilight to buzz-off and then went off to help Pinkie. "Oh no. This is NOT gonna end well." Ace followed Applejack from the sky and arrived just in time to see her adding in a bunch of wrong ingredients to the muffin mix Pinkie had going. "That's a recipe for disaster." It was then that Ace witnessed the aftermath of the baked bads. "Okay. I'd say this DEFINITELY counts as a need to step in." Ace walked over to Applejack and used his ice magic to relax her as he helped her walk home. "You worry about resting now Applejack." Ace set her down in front of one of the trees. "And you let the rest of us finish the job." Ace gathered Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6 and Burst and Inferno. The group immediately set to work harvesting the remaining apples. Byt the time they had finished, Applejack was starting to wake up.

"Ngggghh....", Applejack groaned as she started to wake up. "Where am Ah?"

"Glad to see you don't look like you're going to collapse.", Ace said with a smile.

"Ace? What'm Ah doin' in bed?"

"You were exhausted Applejack.", Twilight answered. "Burst, Inferno, and Ace set to work monitoring your condition because they were worried for you. That was a pretty wise idea."

Ace beamed. "Just looking out for my new friends. The others are outside helping with the harvest. You're the Element of Honesty Applejack, so be honest with yourself. You got in over your head. Fortunately, I used my ice magic to relax you enough into a state of sleep. Burst and Inferno set to work helping out with the other errands you promised to run."

Applejack was about to protest, but she crossed her arms and sighed. "You're right. Ah DID get in over mah head.  Ah guess Ah'm lucky to have friends who're there to help me when I need them. Ah guess Ah shouldn't be afraid ta ask for help when I need it. Ah'm sorry Ah let mah pride get the better of me. Ya'll saved mah hide by helpin' me harvest the whole orchard."

Ace smiled. "Well, sometimes you've gotta learn a lesson the hard way. As long as you walk away wiser for it."

"And I think that's a good thing to notify the princess of.", Burst said with a smile. "Hope you have Spike handy Twilight."

"Already on it!", Spike answered.

Burst fist-bumped Ace. "That was a pretty good plan you had Ace."

"Well, my parents always said I was the wise one out of my three brothers." Ace suddenly felt something awake inside him! An aura of light-blue energy appeared around him! "What's this feeling?"

Inferno smiled. "You've awakened your element Ace. From the attributes you've expressed, I'd say you're the Element of Wisdom. I represent Potential and Burst here represent Power."

"But...those aren't parts of the Elements of Harmony.", Ace noted. 

"No. But they are part of what makes a hero. Which we all have the potential to be.", Burst said with a smile. "And you proved that today Ace. I'm proud to call you my friend. Could you imagine if Applejack had continued to overwork herself? She might've scared the bunnies we helped Fluttershy round up!"

Inferno then bust a gut laughing! "I can see everyone freaking out right now! 'Oh no! A swarm of fluffy adorableness is about to flood us!' HA HAH HA HAHA HA!"

Ace chuckled. "We would face a wave of cuddly armageddon!" The group of friends shared a laugh