//------------------------------// // Episode 2-5 // Story: Domain of Friendship // by Cold Bolt //------------------------------// The rain had already begun to diminish as the door to the Golden Oak library creaked open, four sodden ponies and their two passengers filing their way inside. Spike hopped down from Twilight Sparkle’s back as she shook some of the water from her mane. “Wait here, everypony. There are some towels in the linen closet upstairs,” she offered, making her way to the staircase. As Applejack sat down, Apple Bloom gently slid from her back and came to rest on the floor beside her, sleeping peacefully. Rainbow Dash held her wings outstretched, the better to let them dry, and briefly looked over Apple Bloom. “Is she gonna be okay?” Applejack gave her sister a soft smile and a gentle pat with her hoof. “She’ll be fine now. Just needs some rest is all - poor thing’s exhausted from her ordeal.” Spike pointed a claw over Rainbow’s shoulder. “Okay… now what about him?” Tank Buster sat hunched over a few feet away, alternating between panting heavily and giggling to himself. “That’s a totally different bushel of apples,” Applejack admitted. “You alright over there, sugarcube?” “I’m… I’m fine, I promise!” Tank slowly turned on the spot, raising a hoof to his forehead as he fought back another wave of giggles. “Just coming down from the… from the adrenaline rush is all.” He punctuated this declaration with an attempt at a series of deep breaths. “Hoo boy…” “Tank…” Applejack’s soft smile returned. “There’s something I probably ought to say to you after everything that just happened.” Tank deflated a little, his gaze sinking to the floor. “I know. Look… I’m really sorry.” Applejack recoiled like he’d just sprouted claws and fangs. “What in the…? What’ve you got to apologize for?” “This whole thing could’ve been avoided if I’d been paying more attention,” Tank explained, gesturing with his forehooves as he spoke. “I knew about the sinkholes, and I’d been fighting off timberwolves for half the afternoon. I should’ve stuck around and waited for her, but I let myself get sidetracked at the last minute.” “What’s with everypony and blaming themselves today?” Twilight asked as she emerged from the stairway, already draped in a towel. Several more were held aloft in her magic, which she distributed to the other wet ponies and dragon in the room. “If that’s true, then it’s also my fault for distracting you when I asked you to stop by.” “And mine for letting her go all by herself,” Applejack added, gently tucking a towel around the sleeping Apple Bloom before rubbing her mane furiously with hers. “Instead of sitting around blaming ourselves, let’s just be thankful she’s safe now and agree to learn from our mistakes for next time. Besides, you ran straight into a thunderstorm to save her! I couldn’t possibly thank you enough.” Tank rubbed the back of his neck, looking less than convinced. “I mean… if you say so.” Rainbow Dash wrapped her towel around her tail and gave it a hearty wring. “So where’d you get your aster… abra… astro…” She shook her head. “So what’s up with you and storms, anyway?” Twilight frowned. “Rainbow, I don’t think we should be bringing that up…” “No, it’s alright. I figured someone would get curious enough to ask.” Tank held his towel tightly around himself. “I hope you’re up for a long story though, because it’s just about the longest one I’ve got.” Twilight’s smile returned. “If it’s a story you’re willing to tell, we would be happy to hear it.” Tank nodded and took a slow breath. “You can’t see it now, but… when I’m human, I’ve got this big, jagged scar running down my face right here,” he explained, pointing a hoof at his cheek. “It’s pretty different from the battle scars people in my line of work tend to get, so I end up having to dodge a lot of questions about it… especially because I got it from doing something really dumb.” “A scar…?” Twilight whispered, glancing at the bookshelves behind her. Applejack tilted her head. “Something on your mind?” Twilight hesitated for a moment before shaking her head in response. “I was just wondering about something, but it’s not important right now.” She turned back to Tank. “So… how did you get this scar, then?” Tank idly rubbed the cheek it once occupied. “Well, that’s the long part. See, I have a… a friend back home. His name is Riley, and he’s been… very sick for a long time now. When I was little, I heard an old legend about something that I thought might help, and that’s when I started training. I thought if I could just get my hands on it, he’d finally be okay.” Spike scratched his head. “What was it?” Tank hesitated, his gaze sinking to the floor once again. “A… sword. The legend said it was a magical golden sword that could grant a wish to anyone strong enough to wield it. You know, because that’s not patently ridiculous or anything.” He rolled his eyes as he said this. “But I was willing to believe it if it meant there was a chance Riley could get better. One night a few years ago, I snuck out of bed and ran off to the old temple outside of town where it was supposed to be hidden… and, well. The short version is, I found it. Or something that fit the description at least.” “Awesome!” Rainbow Dash grinned. “I mean, I guess so.” Tank shrugged. “The problem came when I went to leave the temple, only to find a thunderstorm had rolled in while I wasn’t looking. We don’t have weather control back home the way you do here, and I couldn’t just wait it out or I’d get caught; I had no choice but to book it through the storm… across a wide open field… carrying a heavy sword made of gold, and hope for the best.” He shook his head. “As I’m sure you can imagine, that’s not exactly what I got.” Twilight gasped, covering her mouth with her forehooves. “Oh no… you don’t mean…?” Rainbow Dash’s grin faded. “What? What does he mean?” Twilight lowered one hoof, leaving the other planted firmly on her muzzle. “Gold is an excellent conductor of electricity. Running across an open field with no shelter in the middle of a thunderstorm, carrying a golden sword…” She paused for a breath before continuing. “It would’ve made him a living lightning rod.” Tank nodded slowly. “All I remember is a blinding flash, followed by the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life.” He shuddered as the memories resurfaced. “It hurt so much I could barely breathe, let alone move. I have no idea how long I was stuck out there before my family realized I was missing and went looking for me. I must have passed out at some point, because the next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed.” The four exchanged nervous glances before turning back to Tank. “They said I had about a ten percent chance of surviving that bolt,” Tank explained. “I’m lucky to be alive.” Rainbow bit her lip. “So… what about the sword? Did it work?” “Take a wild guess.” Tank glared at the damp towel in his hooves for a moment before wadding it up and pitching it at a nearby wall. “There’s no such thing as wish-granting swords. It was never anything more than a useless fairy tale, and I should’ve known that from the beginning.” He heaved a frustrated sigh. “I almost got myself killed, and it was all for nothing.” Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike sat quietly, at a loss for words as Tank finished his story. “It wasn’t for nothing.” Twilight, however, slowly stood up. Tank stared incredulously at Twilight as though she’d just spoken a foreign language. “If you’re gonna say I got a sword out of the deal…” “No, no, that’s not what I meant.” Twilight turned to her diminutive assistant. “Spike, where are the necklaces the Princess gave us?” “Uh… over there!” Spike pointed a claw at a jewelry box sitting on a bookshelf by the stairs. Twilight quickly retrieved the box, opening it to reveal three empty necklaces, and removed one with a shield-shaped gem setting. Applejack quirked an eyebrow. “Are those what I think they are?” Twilight nodded. “If I’m right, they each represent one of the three lost Elements.” With that, she rushed over to Tank and placed the necklace over his collarbone. “Lost Elements…?” Rainbow echoed. Spike flailed his arms. “We’ll explain later! I think she’s onto something.” Tank spent a moment staring down at his necklace before looking back up at Twilight. Twilight beamed with pride at Tank. “As friends, we all do our best to look after one another in times of need… but today, you went above and beyond that. I’ve seen you put yourself in harm’s way for others before - not least of all against Nightmare Moon - but it takes a special kind of strength to stand up to your greatest fear for the sake of somepony else.” At this, she cleared her throat. “Tank Buster, you represent the Element of Courage!” The empty setting in Tank’s necklace immediately took on a blinding glow, prompting everyone to shield their eyes for a moment. As it faded, they all soon found themselves gazing at a brilliant green gemstone in its place, sparkling softly in the evening light. “Mes étoiles…” Tank whispered, staring at his brand new Element of Harmony. A smile slowly rose on his face as he turned back toward Twilight once again. “Twilight, look! It worked!” Twilight began hopping up and down excitedly in an almost Pinkie Pie-esque manner. “Yes! It worked, it worked! Woohoo!” “Well, I’ll be.” Applejack adjusted her hat with a proud smirk. “Congratulations, Tank. You earned it.” “I’ll say!” Rainbow agreed. “The way you were cowering under all those pillows before, I didn’t think you had it in you.” Tank’s eyes narrowed. “Ugh, don’t remind me.” In spite of this, his expression quickly softened. “But I guess that was kinda the point though, wasn’t it?” Twilight nodded. “We’ve seen you face more dangerous things than a thunderstorm before. Like when you helped us round up that ursa minor, or face down the dragon up on the mountain… but you weren’t as afraid of those, were you?” “Not really, no.” Tank shrugged. “I’m used to fighting things that are bigger and stronger than me; it’s kind of an occupational hazard… but I’ll be old and gray before I forget that night coming back from the temple.” He gave another nervous shudder as though to emphasize the point. Twilight put a reassuring foreleg over Tank’s shoulder. “It’s easy to do dangerous things if you’re not afraid. True courage is about standing up to your fears, no matter how hard it may be, if it means doing what’s right.” “Courage, huh…” Tank’s gaze returned to the Element on his necklace, his smile resurfacing. “I dunno what sort of mysterious extradimensional force decided I earned this, but it’s flattering either way. Shame I’ll have to hand it over though; didn’t you say the Princess wanted to hang onto these?” Twilight retracted her foreleg. “I did, and she does, but she’ll probably want to come to Ponyville herself to collect it… which means somepony’s going to have to look after it until then.” At this, she gave Tank a wink and a cheeky smirk. “I can’t think of anypony better to keep it safe. Besides, you’ll want to show it off to Scarlet and Waterwing, won’t you?” Tank’s soft smile broadened into an eager grin. Applejack gently nudged the still-sleeping Apple Bloom onto her back. “Well, this has been plenty exciting, but I think we’d better get along now that the rain’s stopped. Poor Big Mac and Granny Smith must be worried sick by now.” She paused for a moment and approached Tank. “I know I said it before, but I just can’t thank you enough for saving my little sister.” Tank’s cheeks flushed a little. “It’s no problem, Applejack. I’m just glad Apple Bloom is alright… I’ll have a word with the mayor tomorrow to see what we can do about those sinkholes so this doesn’t happen again.” Applejack beamed a moment longer before slowly marching her way out the door. “Spike, get my quill,” Twilight instructed. “We’ve got a report to write for the Princess about everything that happened today.” “Oh man, would you look at the time!” Rainbow Dash yawned loudly. “I’ve got a nap I gotta catch up on. I’ll see you guys later!” She was already out the door before anyone could react. Twilight, Tank, and Spike exchanged glances before sharing a collective giggle. “Alright, let’s get started.” Twilight cleared her throat once again as Spike held quill and scroll at the ready. “Dear Princess Celestia…”