Chapter Two – The Elements of what?
A short run later, the Crystal Express pulls into Canterlot Station. The Royal Family, Princess Twilight and their three guests disembark and start their way to the palace.
“Amazing,” said Stonedust as he, his brother and their friend looked around in awe. “So Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi work together to keep this word in Harmony?”
“Correct,” said Twilight happily. “Sure, there’s been a few hiccups here and there, but thanks to the Tree of Harmony and the Elements it bears, things have been running fairly smoothly.”
Stormbreaker and Flashbang gave each other a confused look before he replied, “If you say so, Princess. It’s not that we doubt you, we just find it hard to believe that there’s a crystal tree whose fruit, for want of a term, carries an element that together form Harmony.”
“If I was in your position, I probably wouldn’t, either,” said Twilight as they neared the gates, “but my friends have all seen the tree and are the bearers of The Elements of Harmony.”
“Just what are these Elements, Princess?” asked Flashbang.
“It’s better if we wait a little bit,” said Twilight as they entered the palace grounds. “There are some stained-glass windows on the way to the throne room. I can use those for visual aid.”
A moment later, the group was inside and had stopped at the window Twilight needed.
“My friends and I are each connected to The Elements of Harmony, and there are three others, four for you stallions, that you haven’t met yet,” said Twilight as she entered lecture mode and highlighted each pony depicted on the window. “Rarity, a white unicorn, bears the Element of Generosity. Rainbow Dash, a blue pegasus, is connected to the Element of Loyalty. Applejack is the definition of her Element; Honesty. The Element of Kindness is connected to Fluttershy, a yellow pegasus, while Laughter is connected with Pinkie Pie.”
“The final Element, the one I bear, is Magic, for together, friendship is magic!” squealed Twilight happily.
Stonedust was comparing the image on the window with the pony in front of him. “Excuse me, princess, but the image on here doesn’t have wings, yet you do. Did you not always have wings?” he asked.
“Stonedust!” said Stormbreaker sternly. The young colt shifted back from his brother’s gaze, slightly abashed.
“It’s alright, and to answer the question, no I didn’t. I was originally a unicorn until I finished a spell created by Starswirl the Bearded over a thousand years ago,” she stated.
The three Mountain Ponies stared at each other for a moment before stating, “Magic is weird.”
Twilight opened her mouth to say something in defense, but thought back over the things she and others have done, and had to admit they had a point.
“Anyway, it’s time to move on. Aunts Celestia and Luna are waiting for us in the throne room,” said Cadence, and the group turned towards the nearby doors. The guards standing by quickly opened them to reveal the throne of… the most beautiful being Stormbreaker ever seen.
Stonedust looked from his brother to the ruler of Equestria and just shook his head. “He’s got it bad,” he said just loud enough for the rest of the group, minus his brother, to hear.
“Trust me, he’s not the first one,” said Cadence, “but judging from her looks at him, she’s interested in him, but only as a potential friend.”
“Ouch, friend-zoned off the bat,” said Flashbang. This sentence was what brought Stormbreaker out of his love-struck stare.
Stormbreaker had the grace to blush at his actions. “I do apologize for that, your highness,” he said.
“It’s alright. You’re not the first admirer I had,” replied Celestia. “Unfortunately, while I would wish it otherwise, Alicorns rarely fall in love. Cadence here being the exception.”
“What do you mean?” asked Twilight. She had never heard about this before.
“When one is chosen to become an alicorn, to gain horns, wings, or even both, something must be given up in exchange,” said Princess Luna, solemnly. “For us, we lose the ability to ever bear foals. Cadence’s price was already paid by her ancestor’s sacrifice, giving her life to see her daughter safe, but not before sealing the transformation for a thousand years. Amore’s sacrifice transferred the alicorn transformation through her line to Cadence here.”
“I.. I never knew,” said Cadence with tears in her eyes. In face, everyone had tears falling for the Princess’ Lament.
“To never have children of your own...” started Twilight. “That’s why you act as a mother to everyone.”
“Yes. I would adopt, but I really just don’t have the time to try and raise a colt or filly. My schedule is packed as is,” said Celestia with a wan smile. “Now, enough of this sadness. Let us meet these ponies from a long undiscovered tribe.”
They talked all through the morning and well through lunch, when Flashbang had a sobering thought.
“I just realized. How are we going to get home?” he asked. “Stonedust isn’t trained yet, and I don’t think you have any craft that could survive those winds.”
“He’s right, sister. There aren’t even any paths leading up to those ranges,” said Luna.
Twilight was deep in thought, trying to remember something she read.
“I think I have an idea, but I need to ask about something first,” she said before looking to Celestia. “Princess, how does Philomena flame travel?”
“I think I know where you’re going with this,” said Celestia with a gentle grin. “Philomena travels by homing in on the presence of one she has met before. I’m not sure she can match like to like, but it’s worth a try.”
“Like to like?” asked Stonedust, confused at what was being talked about.
“Philomena travels long distances by flame teleporting,” said Celestia. “So long as she’s met someone, she can travel to them.”
“I think I see,” said Stormbreaker. “You’re going to introduce her to me in hopes that she can home in on either of our parents. But what would be the use of that, as I doubt your phoenix can carry us home.”
“True, but she could carry a scroll that had a letter as well as a temporary portal spell,” said Twilight happily. “Once that one is active, one of us can go over and, with permission, make a more permanent one!”
“Very good, Twilight. Do you remember which book the portal spell is in?” asked Celestia.
Twilight came up short. “Yeah, it’s in the book you sent to me last month,” she said flatly. “Be right back.” With that, she teleported back to her castle.
“Polar extremes?” asked Stormbreaker with amusement in his voice.
“You have no idea,” said Shining Armor, hiding a grin as Twilight popped back in with the book tucked under her wing.
“Here we are, ‘Fun with Portals’ by Gladys Aperture,” said Twilight, reading the title for everyone. Opening the book, she quickly reached the correct chapter that was needed.
“Okay, the temporary portal is easy enough to put on the scroll, but the more permanent one is a bit tricky. One pony needs to cast the anchor point of the portal first while thinking of the other end. The spell will then send a signal to that location, where three ponies will need to create and stabilize the wormhole. Once that happens, the portal then become bi-directional.”
“So what we need now is a place to put the portal,” said Stonedust.
“I’d say at my castle, but we have that portal to the human world to consider. They might interfere with each other,” said Twilight.
“Human world?” asked Flashbang with a raised eyebrow.
“Long story. Let’s just say there’s a world where there are ape-descended versions of us,” said Twilight.
“We’ll say it again. Magic is weird,” said the Mountain Ponies.
“Celestia, I know you quite well,” said Luna. “When Canterlot was being built, you had to have a place to store things in.”
“Of course! I have a warehouse in the Old Town district!” exclaimed Celestia. “Thank you for reminding me of it, Luna. I’ve given orders to keep it in very good condition, but I haven’t had a need for it in years, as the last remodel was in the last century.”
“If there’s enough room, we can set it up so that ponies can enter one side of the portal to go to the High Mountains, and out the other side coming here, with the portal there in reverse,” said Twilight, already making plans in her mind.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself here, Twilight,” said Celestia somewhat sternly. “I still have to go and speak with...”
“Cyclone Racer, our father,” said Stormbreaker with pride in his voice.
“If you are ready, Luna, then let us compose our letter to Cyclone Racer and ease his worry for his sons,” said Celestia as Luna got a scroll and quill ready.
Cyclone Racer was worried. His sons and Flashbang have been gone for a combined total of five days now. The stress from all the worrying was starting to get to both him and his wife.
“I keep hoping that any minute the three of them will walk through that door,” said Windweaver quietly
“So do I, but we don’t know just how far those winds blew Stonedust,” said Cyclone Racer. Just then, a flash of flame appeared in the room, and a fiery-looking bird flew from it to land on the mantle of the fireplace with a letter in her claws.
“Whoa, where did you come from?” asked Cyclone Racer. The bird only held out her claw with the letter in it.
“I take it that’s for me?” asked the Mountain Pony leader. The bird nodded, and Cyclone Racer took the letter from her claws. The bird took off and flamed away as he opened it up, and read:
To Cyclone Racer, leader of the Mountain Pony tribe;
Greetings. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of the lands below your High Mountains that we call Equestria. Both of your sons and their friend are safe and sound, and have been well taken care of by the ponies they have come across.
I write this letter in hopes that not only can we establish relations between our two nations, we can also establish a way to bring those three home. To that, we have placed a spell on the scroll that will open a portal for I to come through so that we may talk face to face. If you are then agreeable, I can then start the establishment of a more permanent portal so that my ponies and yours can intermingle and learn from each other.
When you are ready, find a large open spot and say aloud “I accept.” The magic within the scroll will do the rest.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia of the Sun
Cyclone Racer read the letter over once more before handing it to Windweaver, who also gave it a couple of read-throughs.
“Who knew there were other ponies out there?” asked Windweaver with a confused look on her face.
“None of us did. We had no reason to explore before,” replied her husband. “But now that we know, do we just let our boys come home and block off the portal forever more, or do we go out and join this wider world now open to us?”
“The council of elders would most likely agree to take this opportunity to explore, as they’ve been wanting to breech the subject with you for a while,” said Windweaver with a smile on her face. “We’ve been all over the Wilds. It’s time we go out and met our neighbors in the rest of Equestria.”
“Didn’t take long for you to accept that name, I see,” said Cyclone with a grin of is own. “We’ve only called it The World for so long… but then again, it does sound nicer than that term.”
“I think the grand meeting hall would be the best place to summon her. It will give everypony a chance to see her and realize we’re no longer alone on this world,” said Windweaver.
Thirty minutes later found the vast tribe in the meeting hall, awaiting the arrival of their leader. As soon as the last pony had settled into place that Cyclone Racer flew out onto the stage.
“Mares and gentle-stallions, I’ve summoned you all together to inform you all of great news,” he started. “As you know, a few days ago, my youngest colt was blown down into the low lands, with my eldest and his friend followed to search for him when the storm had passed. We had no way of knowing if they were alive and safe or not… until now.”
“I had recently been sent a letter. A letter from the low lands.” This earned a gasp in response. “My sons and their friend have discovered that there are other tribes of ponies in the low lands.” This earned an even bigger gasp, one filled with excitement. “Their ruler, one Princess Celestia, was the one who sent the letter informing me of their safety and offered a way for them to return, which is why I have gathered you all here. Within the letter is a way to summon her here so that she may speak with us.”
“Summon her, Cyclone Racer. We wish to see the ruler of the low lands,” called one of the elders.
“If everyone is ready?” Cyclone asked, and received nods of agreement. He then took out the letter, held it up and said, “I accept.”
The letter started to glow a golden color. Cyclone quickly let go, and the scroll floated away from him before it flashed, and an opening in the air was made. A second later, a tall, white pony with a waving, rainbow colored mane and tail, one set of wings and of all things, a horn, stepped through before the portal closed.
“Greetings, Cyclone Racer. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria,” said the princess before looking around. “Oh, my. It’s a good thing your sons told me to expect something like this from your wife.” Lots of gems exchanged hands, mostly among the elders. Celestia just smiled at the action.
“Anyway, I have come to ask permission to set up a permanent two-way portal so that, one: your sons and their friend may return home safely, and two: to allow our people to meet and explore,” she said as she returned her attention to Cyclone Racer.
“Yes, a portal would be safer that trying to fly into those winds as they blow off the ridge, and my people are starting to stagnate here, having run out of thing to do and explore, though those same ones can be called upon as guides for your people,” said Cyclone. “Now where to put it?”
“What about that cavern we had rebuilt when one of the walls collapsed,” said Windweaver. “We made sure to shore up everything so it wouldn’t be a danger anymore, and it’s right next to the main square.”
“That sounds perfect!” exclaimed Cyclone as he hugged his wife. “Follow us, your highness. We shall show you the cavern we had in mind.”
“Of course, and please, call me Celestia,” she replied as the grand meting broke apart.
Back at Celestia’s warehouse in Canterlot, the group were waiting for the signal from Celestia.
“It’s shouldn’t be too long. It’s a grand meeting, not a grand forum,” said Stormbreaker. Suddenly a bright flash appeared in the center of the room, startling the three Mountain Ponies.
“It’s the signal! Alright, princesses, let’s do this,” said Twilight. Together as one, the three cast their magic at the point the flash appeared. Slowly but surely, the portal formed, growing in size until it was as tall as Flashbang standing on Stormbreaker’s back. Another bright flash, this one almost blinding, and the portal became a permanent fixture. A moment later, Celestia came through, followed by two Mountain Ponies that the three knew very well.
“MOM/MOTHER! DAD/FATHER!” shouted the sons of Cyclone and Windweaver, as they ran forward to give their parents a hug. Flashbang held back to give them a moment, but Windweaver was having none of it.
“Get over here, Flashbang. We’re not going to bite...” started Windweaver.
“And I’m stopping that sentence right there,” finished Cyclone, as Flashbang joined in the hug. The adults looked over at the rest of the group, seeing tears in the eyes of the adults and squeals of joy from the little foal. Suddenly, there was a flash, and the foal appeared on his head, snuggling into his mane. Flashbang started to laugh, remembering his first meeting with Flurryheart.
“Isn’t she a little young to have a grasp on her magic?” he asked.
“You should of seen her before the Crystaling,” said Shining Armor, shuddering at the memory.
“Explosive, would be a good word for that time,” said Twilight.
Celestia quickly made introductions, then said, “I would like to meet with you in a few days to formalize our relationship between our peoples. For now, I feel you should head home with your family.”
“Thank you, for everything you, your family, and subjects have done in caring and helping our boys and Flashbang,” said Cyclone, bowing before the Royal Family. “Today marks a new beginning, for I declare that the Mountain Ponies shall join with the other tribes as we should have so long ago, and learn the lessons of Harmony as you have.”
The Alicorn Princesses nodded in agreement. “We welcome you in friendship. Your tribe has survived as it is for a long time, and we will not interfere with it now. All we ask is for you to help if we call for aid, as we will help you should you call,” she said.
“An easy enough agreement. We can hash other things out when we meet later,” replied Cyclone.
“Twilight, I would like to hold the meeting at your castle. That way the other Elements of Harmony can attend and not be too far from their jobs,” said Celestia to the youngest princess.
“I shall have it ready for you,” said Twilight, before going into hyper preparation mode. “Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh MY GOSH! I need to start planning! I need to make a list of foods for Pinkie and the Cakes to make, Rarity need to help me with the decorations! I definitely need to schedule clear skies with Rainbow Dash!” Twilight finished that last sentence before starting to hyperventilate.
“Got that out of you system, Twily?” asked Shining Armor with a smile.
“Father, would it be alright if Stonedust and I come back the day after tomorrow to help with the prep work?” asked Stormbreaker.
“That’s a great idea,” said Cyclone. “Now though, I think it’s time for us to go, but first...” He knelt down so that Cadence could gently lift Flurryheart off his head, as the little alicorn foal had fallen asleep.
“Maybe we should consider making a stuffed toy version of a Mountain Pony. She seems to fall asleep rather easily with them,” said Shining Armor quietly.
“Might make things easier on everyone,” replied Cadence.
“Until our next meeting. Until then, farewell,” said Windweaver as the five Mountain Ponies returned through the portal.
Deep underground, far below the lowest cavers in the Mountain Ponies’ Home Caves, a dark being awakens from his slumber.
^yawn^ “Hmm, I see much time has passed since I first tried to destroy the Mountain Ponies. Let’s see what has been happening since then,” said the creature as he moved towards a shimmering crystal hanging on the wall. From within the crystal, many images played showing him the history that he slept through.
“My, how they’ve grown in number since our battle,” the creature murmured to himself, but then some of the more recent history caught his eye. “What?! NO! They were never supposed to meet the other ponies, especially the… WHAT?!?!?!?! There’s five of them now?! Sure, one’s a baby… I’ve been by myself for too long, and that just may be my answer. I think it’s time I called in a few… favors.” The creature stepped into the light, revealing his face to be that of a cyclops.
The next day dawned bright and sunny throughout the lands of Equestria. After breakfast, Twilight gathered her friends together to discuss what will be happening in a few days.
“Oh, boy! New pony friends! THIS CALLS FOR A PARTY!” screamed Pinkie Pie at the top of her lungs.
“I remember seeing the colt onstage for that speech of his. His mane and tail looked simply luxurious,” said Rarity.
“Too bad I was busy with the Wonderbolts,” said Rainbow Dash in a huff. “I would of loved to see how well he could fly with those double wings of his.”
“So long as it’s in their caverns, he’s fine,” said Twilight. “He was still being trained for outdoor flight. Now if it was his brother and their friend, from what Flash Century reported, they’re built more for endurance than speed.”
“That’s right, Scootaloo said much of the same things when I talked with her yesterday evening,” replied Rainbow Dash, rubbing the back of her head.
“Anyway, we need to make preparations for the meeting between Princess Celestia and Cyclone Racer,” said Twilight. “Pinkie, you and the Cakes are in charge of the break time refreshments and desserts. Don’t worry about the meals, Celestia said she’s bringing the chefs from Canterlot for that.” Pinkie nodded happily and said, “You got it, Twilight. As soon as we get the date, we’ll start baking.”
“Rarity, I’m going to need your help getting this place ready. I leave you to anything fabric, just don’t go overboard. I’m going to try and tap into the magic of the castle and see if I can brighten the interior walls a bit.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t tried to do that earlier, darling,” said Rarity in a posh voice.
“I’m still finding thing I need to learn about this castle,” said an exasperated Twilight. “It’s not like there’s an instruction manual or anything.” Just then the Cutie Map starts to emit swirls of magic, which combine together
in a flash of light into a thick book. Twilight picks up the book and reads the title. “’Castle of Friendship Magic Instruction Manual’. It’s official, fate hates me,” she said flatly.
“Now don’t be too hard on yourself, Twilight. You just didn’t realize you had that question to ask,” said Applejack. “Anyway what do you need the rest of us for?”
“Let’s see...” started Twilight, returning to her list. “Rainbow Dash, I need you to make sure we have clear skies for the meeting.”
“Let me check with Spitfire, she just set the training schedule for the next month, so I’ll get back to you if there’s any overlap,” said Rainbow Dash.
Twilight nodded and turned to Applejack, Fluttershy and Starlight. “I’m sure they’ll be bringing ponies who won’t be part of the meetings, like family members. Can I ask you three to be tour guides? Fluttershy can show them the local animals, Starlight can take the castle, and Applejack the town.” The three nodded as it made sense.
“What about me, Twilight?” asked Spike.
“You’re staying with me. Your writing is a lot faster and neater than mine,” replied Twilight with a smile.
“We got a lot to do, so we better get started,” said Starlight. The others shouted agreements and all headed out to get to work.