Night Terror was observing the Main 6's dreams. Carefully inspecting them for any weaknesses he could exploit. Or any insecurities he could play upon. Waking my deadliest warriors shall take some time. They have been laying dormant for a long time. To send another squadron of minions would be useless considering how easily the first assault on Unityville was dispatched. Perhaps this change in tactics shall yield some form of victory. Night Terror spied Applejack's dreams, and found her fearing of letting everyone down.
In Applejack's dream, everyone mocked her for not being strong enough to get her work done. That she couldn't handle any of her tasks. And this gave Night Terror the weak point he'd been searching for. "Time to exploit this." Focusing on Applejack's insecurity, Night Terror cast a spell to increase its tendency to be triggered. "Now all she need do is wake up."
Unityville. Sweet Apple Acres. The next morning.
Applejack woke up with a start, and shook her head. "Whoa. Maybe I ought to lay off snacking before going to bed. That was one heck of a bad dream. Well, no sense lettin' it trouble me now." And with that, Applejack went to meet Big Mac in the orchard. He'd injured his side earlier in the week, and was out of commission. But the second he mentioned that the work might be too much for Applejack, something triggered within her. Night Terror's spell went into effect. "Ah think that Ah can handle this." Applejack said crossly. "Ah can do it all on mah own. You just worry about gettin' healed up." And with that, Applejack proceeded to harvest the apples in the gigantic orchard that greeted her. She'd gotten a good portion of her work done until a stampede of cows interrupted her! Fortunately, Applejack was a pro at wrangling them. The town was so thankful that the mayor had decided to honor Applejack with an award.
However, Applejack had underestimated how much energy she needed to pour into harvest the orchard. And the fact that Applejack's schedule was packed with events that week didn't help any. By the time it came for her to help Pinkie with some baking, Applejack was looking down right horrible. Coupled with the fact that she'd been experiencing the same dream of letting everyone down, she was also a bit on edge. As Burst and Inferno soon found out when they literally bumped into her on their patrol. "Ow!" Applejack soon picked herself up.
"Oh man. Sorry Aj!" Burst said as he tried to help her up. Only to get his hand slapped away! "Hey! What's up with you? I was just trying to be nice and help you up after bumping into you!"
Applejack frowned. "Ah'm fine Burst. Ah can handle myself!" She snapped! Applejack then turned her tired gaze to Inferno. "And just what're you lookin' at?!"
"I'm not looking at anything!" Inferno protested! As Applejack stomped off, Inferno scratched his head. "Geez! What made her wake up in a bad mood? This is almost as bad as the whole town going crazy over those gala tickets Twilight had last week!"
Burst nodded. "Yeah. That escalated quickly. But did you see how Applejack looked? It looks like she hasn't been sleeping all that well. Not to mention she's been so stubborn about clearing out the orchard she's working for her brother. She's not had a moment of rest since! I think we'd better let Twilight know about this." And as Burst and Inferno set off to inform Twilight, their prior scene had not gone noticed. A white-skinned Skyborn with wings that looked like they were made of ice had been silently observing the exchange.
I didn't get involved at the Summer Sun Celebration. But something tells me now would be a good time to step in. He thought to himself. Not wanting to overestimate the time he'd need to step in, he continued to observe Applejack's behavior in her exhausted state. However, he was not alone in tailing her. Twilight had been following Applejack's unintentional trail of disaster. Said trail ranged from botching a baking recipe to sending Rainbow Dash flying! By the time Twilight had caught up with her, Applejack collapsed on the ground from exhaustion! And within Applejack, Night Terror's spell faded as Applejack slipped into unconsciousness.
"Applejack!" Twilight rushed to her friends side. "Oh, I knew you were pushing yourself too hard! This is no place for you to be lying around." Twilight tried to lift up Applejack with all her might, but to no avail.
"Maybe I can lend a hand?" The Skyborn asked. Twilight nodded. "Alright then. On three. One...two...three!" With their combined strength, they were able to prop up Applejack and carry her home. "Hope you don't mind a stranger practicing random kindness."
Twilight giggled at hearing this. "Honestly? I think that's something people could stand to practice more. I'm Twilight Sparkle."
"I know who you are." The Skyborn replied. "You're one of the bunch that stood up to Nightmare Moon upon her return. My name's Arctic Ace. But call me Ace for short. It's an honor to meet you and your friend here." Ace then looked at Applejack. "So has she been like this all day?" Twilight nodded. "Then it looks like I picked a good time to stop observing and assist."
Twilight blinked. "Wait, you were tailing her too? Since when? The last two who saw her were Burst and Inferno."
"To answer your question, I've been tailing her since Unityville's official peacekeepers last spoke to her." Ace replied. "I've noticed those two during their patrols around town lately, and they really got my attention by fighting those monsters that popped up just the other day. I guess you could say I've been inspired them to do as much good as I can where I can. And right now, that's helping you and your friend out."
Twilight smiled. "Thank you. I guess those two really have an effect on people. Speaking of them, I'll call them up and see if they can help with the job Applejack was handling." The two soon arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, and set Applejack down on her bed. Twilight dialed up Burst and Inferno, and Ace went outside to start on harvesting the orchard.
Ace had just gotten started when Burst and Inferno showed up. "So. You're the guy who stepped in when Applejack collapsed, right?" Burst asked. Ace nodded, and Burst smiled. "That was pretty nice of you to do that. I wish Inferno and I had thought of tailing her."
"Coming from you two? That means a lot." Ace said with a chuckle. "One thing I always say to myself is that to help people when you have the potential to do good is the wisest thing a person can do." Suddenly, a mark started to glow on Ace's arm! Ace was startled while Burst and Inferno simply smiled. Ace pulled back his left sleeve, and found a sword and shield with a green dragon behind them! "What the-?! What is this?"
Inferno chuckled. "A sign. That you're like us." Both Inferno and Burst showed the marks on their left arms. They were similar to the mark Ace had! "You've awakened as an Element of Heroism. Same as me and Burst. Judging by how you displayed wisdom in aiding someone in need, you acted on your potential to do good. That makes you the Element of Wisdom. I represent potential, and Burst here represents power."
"Quite fitting for the both of you." Ace said with a smile. "So would you two care to lend me a hand? I'm no weakling, but I'm not as physically blessed as you two." The three set to work kicking the trees and collecting the falling apples in buckets. Fortunately, the work was further sped up by the arrival of the rest of the Main 6. In almost no time, the task was completed. Ace followed Twilight inside to check on Applejack, who was starting to recover from the huge strain she'd put herself under.
Applejack groaned as she awakened. "Nnngh! Hoo boy. Mah whole body feels like it's made of lead." She then looked to Twilight. "Ah'm sorry fer snappin' at ya Twilight. I guess I'm too stubborn for mah own good. An' the fact that Ah kept having the same nightmare each time I closed my eyes didn't help. Ah shouldn't have been afraid to ask you for help. Or any of mah friends fer that matter."
"Well, getting wise is all about realizing the mistakes you've made, learning from them, and becoming better as a result of those mistakes." Ace said with a smile. "And no one gets stronger alone. I'd say that you've learned that lesson pretty well. Especially since you've got good friends willing to cover your work while you recover. Name's Arctic Ace. I had the pleasure of helping Twilight carry you back here. If it's any consolation, you made it just as hard to carry you as it was for you to ask for help."
Applejack chuckled at hearing this. "Mighty kind of you to say sugarcube."
Ace blushed at receiving the compliment. "Gee, thanks."
"Hey, Ace." Burst called out. "Could we speak with you for a moment? It's pretty important." Ace headed outside, and met with Burst and Inferno near one of the windows. "Ace. We acknowledge the fact that you've awakened as an Element of Heroism. However, we can't ask you to join us in battle. You don't have any weapons to defend yourself, and you've not had any training when it comes to fighting. But that doesn't mean you can't join our team."
Ace nodded. "I understand. You don't want to put me at risk if I can't hold my own. That's the mark of a good leader Burst. But could I show the two of you something?" Ace reached under his shirt, and pulled out a necklace. On it was a gem that looked like a dragon's eye, a dragon's fang, and a dragon's claw. "Last week when you two were fighting those monsters, it started to react. The fang and claw started glowing. I think they were reacting to your Duelist Arms, but I can't be sure."
"So you want to test your theory by observing us, right?" Inferno asked. Ace nodded. "Sweet! That'll also give us a chance to hang out with our new friend!"
Ace blinked. "Really? Who might that be?"
"You! Duh!" Inferno replied. "You free tomorrow? Because I think we could use a little time to hang out together after all the craziness that's gone down these last few weeks."
Ace smiled. "Sounds like a good idea to me." Meanwhile, Twilight had questioned Applejack about the nightmare she'd been having. Coupled with the attack by the Nightmare Forces last week, Twilight decided it would be best to inform Princess Celestia of the current events.
Lair of the Nightmare Forces
"CURSE IT!" Night Terror screamed as he slammed his fist on the arm of his throne! "It appears my spell did not produce the eternal slumber I had intended for the bearer of honesty. No matter. I had only sent low-level minions to attack last time. But next time? Night Terror teleported off to a hall where armored beings stood with weapons ready. "The elements shall face many dark knights."