//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: Virtues of Harmony // by SkylertKlaw //------------------------------// Chapter 13: A Reminder of Rainyville A day had passed since the group arrived into the mansion. True to Twilight's word, she did not bring up the incident that happened yesterday. Though she was worried for Luna, who had been through so much in the past two years. Who could blame her though? The younger of the princesses had went through so much trauma and distraught that it was amazing she had managed to retain some sanity of her mind. She had to go through three huge events that no doubt had an effect on not only her mind, but on her older sister's as well. The Nightmare Moon event two years ago, Discord's second return last year, and last year's Nightmare Night had put so much pressure on the Princess of the Night. The event from the night before though had Twilight even more worried. She remembered seeing Luna be turned good by the Elements of Harmony. Though there was a piece of her had always wondered if it completely erased Nightmare Moon . Last night's event had confirmed her suspicions though. Nightmare Moon wasn't gone completely, but she was not at full strength. The purple unicorn sighed as she placed a book back into the library shelves. It didn't do her any good to be thinking about such bad things when they were facing an even bigger threat. Storm Rider. It baffled her how such a legendary and strong hero could turn his back on the peaceful realm of Equestria. What made her even more baffled though was how close Princess Celestia once appeared to be with him. "Twilight," Applejack's voice rang out from the doorway, "I hate to break your concentration, but everypony was getting ready for lunch." "Oh!" Twilight blushed, she had forgotten that she had not eaten that much at breakfast, "Sorry, AJ, I've been reading all of these books during my free time." Applejack gave her a comforting smile. The work horse knew how dedicated she was to her studies, but she also served as the voice of reason for her when she got too caught up in studying. "You gotta learn not to get so caught up in reading, Twi." "Heheh, yeah, I know I get lost when I read too much." Twilight admitted, "But there's so much information here, AJ, I hope we can find something to aid us in this new battle." A frown grew on Applejack's usual cheerful face. "It's kinda strange, isn't it?" She asked, "To think that Equestria is at war...we've had peace for over a thousand years. Why would somepony want to start a new war now?" "I don't know...but if we're to have a chance to winning it, we'll need to be our best." Twilight sighed, grabbing another book, "But so far from all my readings, I haven't found one book that even mentions these 'Elements of Virtue' that Princess Celestia told us about. I'm not even sure if there even is one that exists!" "Easy Twi," Applejack said, placing a hoof on her shoulder, "You found the Elements of Harmony, you brought us back together when Discord made us the opposite of our elements, I'm certain that you'll find a book that talks about these Virtue Elements." A warm smile came to Twilight's face. If there was anypony in Ponyville that could make a pony believe in themselves, it was Applejack. It was possible that it mostly due to her element, Honesty. If Applejack saw something she knew was right, she would be honest with whoever it was. "I'll be down in the dining room in a bit." Twilight said. "I won't take too long." "All right Twi, just don't take too long, ok?" Applejack smiled, "Oh, have you seen Applebloom and her friends? I haven't been able to find them in awhile." "I can't say that I have." Twilight admitted, "Though I think they might be exploring the mansion." Little did Twilight know that she was spot on correct. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were indeed exploring the mansion. The one room they were exploring the most though was the recon room. In their minds, they were not focused on a war coming close to Equestria. They were interested in finding a place for the two of them to gain their cutie marks. "Wow, this place is huge!" Scootaloo said with a wide smile, "This place is PERFECT for our clubhouse!" "Don't you mean clubROOM?" Sweetie asked, quirking an eyebrow. "We should be a lil more careful here..." Applejack said, walking slowly around the room. "We can't really go and make it our room since the others are gonna use it to plan battles or something..." She turned to Scootaloo with a confused look. "What is a battle, anyway?" "Uh...I think it's like a big roundhouse session, only more...serious, I guess." Scootaloo shrugged. Applebloom quirked an eyebrow. "So...kinda like a rodeo?" Before Scootaloo could answer her though, Applebloom bumped her left hind leg into a self. One of the vases on the self began to wobble back and forth. The three fillies froze right on the spot as they watched the vase with locked eyes. Finally, the vase stopped wobbling back and forth. The Cutie Mark Crusaders let out a huge sigh of relief. "Careful now, there's a lot of stuff in here." Sweetie said. "I know I know..." Applebloom blushed in embarrassment. "Hey, Sweetie, what did those goblins try to do to you?" "I have no idea. All I know is that they tried to kidnap me. If the others hadn't showed up..." Applebloom smiled comfortingly as she placed a hoof on her friend's back. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure that if they had grabbed you at that moment, AJ would have shown up and kicked their butts. She's the best after all!" "Ha! Well, maybe not as awesome as Rainbow Dash, but she's a whiz with those kicks!" Scootaloo boasted. Her two friends just smirked at her. Applebloom leaning in close. "Oh? What about your lil hero crush hmmm?" She began to mimic Scootaloo's voice, "'Oh girls, this wonderful stallion saved me one time! He was so heroic!" Sweetie laughed alongside Applebloom's playful teasing. Scootaloo blushed slightly before shaking her head. It wasn't easy to make her feel a bit embarrassed. "Ah, well come on. Sky Fire's awesome too!" Now it was Sweetie's turn to smirk. Like Applebloom before her, she leaned in close to Scootaloo's face. "Well, which one's more awesome? Hmm?" Scootaloo was at a loss for words for once. She idolized Rainbow Dash, more than any mare in Ponyville. Though Sky Fire saved her life from the fire that had taken her parents. They were both awesome in their own rights. How could she ever choose between the two of them of who was more awesome? "Well...er..." Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin, "That's...actually a good question." "Why don't we go find out then?" Applebloom suggested, trotting to the training room, "I'll see you gals there!" "Oh no you don't!" Scootaloo called out, racing after her friend. "Hey, wait up!" Sweetie called, not really use to running fast. XxXxX Inside the training room the two pegasai were at their best during their training. Sky Fire and Rainbow Dash were practicing not only flight maneuvers, that they could do in a small place, but some combative moves as well. It was obvious to see that the two of them had a lot of training to do. Rainbow had to do so more due to the peaceful nature that Equestria had been in for years. Sky Fire however, had a slight advantage. His time in Rainyville made him more focused on combative training than he usually did before he left. "One, two, three!" Sky Fire said, dodging several buck kicks from Rainbow quite easily. Despite his injuries with his battle with Storm Rider a few days ago. "Come on, Dash, I told you not to hold back!" Rainbow smirked. "Who said I was?" Rainbow flapped her wings rapidly. A strong wind began to form as her wings flapped. Sky Fire narrowed his eyes as he dug his hoofs into the training mat's flow, trying desperately not to be blown back from the wind. Not an easy task. He would have never admitted it as a colt, but she was always faster than he was. As such, she was able to make strong winds form easily with the rapid flapping of her wings. His hind legs began to give in from the force of the wind. It was only a matter of time before he was thrown off the mat. Finally, after what seemed like two minutes of trying to resist her strong winds, he lost his grip on the mat. In the back of his mind, Sky Fire cursed as he found himself flying straight into one of the wall mats. Rainbow smirked as the her wings stopped flapping. In truth she was really holding back at how fast she was flapping her wings. She would never go all out on her best friend, especially since he was injured badly. "You okay there, hot shot?" She asked. Sky Fire chuckled a bit as he stood back up. Shaking his head a bit before opening his own wings. "I'm just getting started..." With that statement he flew right back at her, throwing fast kicks from his front and hind legs. The two pegasai had trained with each other before, so it was easy for them to know the other's attack style. Rainbow was all about speed and accuracy. Sky Fire was all about head on full strength attacks. Unaware to the two, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had snuck into the training room to watch them fight. The three fillies were in awe as the fight continued to play out. They knew that the two of them were not going at it for real, but the sight of seeing them train so hard was amazing. Rainbow was the first to notice the Cutie Mark Crusaders were watching. And, thanks to her ego, decided to show off a bit for them. She waited for the right moment to make her move. She knew Sky Fire all too well, so when she saw her chance, she would take it. Sure enough, Sky Fire pulled back both of his front legs and prepared to throw them in a fashion similar to a bipedal creature throwing a punch. This was her chance. Rainbow easily ducked from his attack, completely avoiding both of his front legs. Before Sky Fire had a chance to attack again, Rainbow countered back quickly. With a simple twist of her body, she delivered a quick, near perfect, roundhouse kick across his chest. Sky Fire was flew back away from her. The stallion was not to be outdone so easily, however, as he regained his balance quickly. Rainbow smiled as he gave her a smirk. It was so good to see him act like he once did as a colt. "WOO!" Scootaloo cheered from the side lines, "What'd I tell you, girls? Isn't this great?" "It certainly is fun to watch." Sweetie nodded, though she was always taught by Rarity not to enjoy such 'ruffian behavior.' "You kids ain't seen NOTHING yet!" Rainbow smirked, "I'm just getting started!" "Heh, is that so?" Sky Fire asked, landing on the mat below them. "Well then, let's see if you'll step up your game now!" The white pegasus stretched out his wings from his body. It was a position he had done before during their earlier scarps when they were just kids. Scootaloo's eyes grew wide with excitement as she watched. She remembered when she was just a little filly when he would show her his trick. Now he was going to do it again! Rainbow however was not filled with excitement. She knew that Sky Fire only used this attack when he was being serious. Even if it was training, she had to be careful not to get hit by him. The concerned look in her eyes did not go unnoticed by him though. "You remember this pose all too well, don't you Dashie girl?" Sky Fire asked, smirking. "What's he gonna do?" Applebloom asked. The moment she asked, Sky Fire's body began to be covered in a orange red light. He smirked a bit as he stared down Rainbow. It had been awhile since he used this attack on her during since their last training session. "Just like old times." He mused, closing his eyes. "...Aw, dang it!" Rainbow cursed. She began to spin in place quickly. The more speed she gained, the stronger the wind formed around her. Finally a wind barrier surrounded her as she watched her best friend drag one hoof across the mat. Scootaloo was bouncing up in down in joy at the sight. "Oh man, he's gonna do it!" She cried out. "Do what?" Her friends asked. "Just watch!" Sky Fire closed his eyes briefly. Then, just as soon as he closed them, reopened them up. Both of his eyes were now completely white. "Afterburner!" With a muffled, 'bang,' Sky Fire flapped his wings once. He lifted off the ground and flew straight towards Rainbow's barrier. The wind and heat clashed together as the two forces connected to one another. Rainbow was obviously on the defensive, as she kept spinning around to make the barrier stronger. Sky Fire however did not stop his assault, flapping his wings even harder, the attack began to push back her barrier. The Cutie Mark Crusaders continued to watch in amazement at the two forces. They knew neither of them were not trying to harm one another, but they couldn't help but watch the two put so much into their respected elements. Though it was clear to see that Sky Fire's attack was beginning to put pressure on Rainbow. Despite this, the blue pegasus put up a smirk. "Is that all you got? How about THIS?" Once again, she spun around at incredible speeds. This time however, it made the barrier into twister. The sudden change caught Sky Fire off guard, who was on the offensive for the longest time. The twister began to push him back, putting pressure onto his wings. Despite him losing the advantage in the training match, a smirk came to his face. "So you did get better..." He mused, flapping his wings once more to add more power to his dash. The two opposing forces began cause small sparks of electricity to form. It was getting to the point where it could have exploded at any given moment. While Sweetie and Applebloom looked fearful that there could have been an explosion, Scootaloo kept her smile. "Don't worry girls, just watch." She said calmly. In the middle of her twister, Rainbow Dash grinned. She was waiting for this one moment. If she could count the times she had faced Sky Fire's signature attack, she would have gone up to the thousands. When she had seen an attack so many times, she knew exactly how to counter it. "Let's see how well ya do without your precious heat! SPIN CYCLE!" With more speed than before, she began to spin faster and faster. The twister began to absorb the heat from Sky Fire's attack. The two forces began to dispersed as suddenly as they appeared, leaving Sky Fire wide open. Taking her chance, Rainbow rushed forward and pinned him to the floor mat. She smirked as stared at him with pride. "HA! Told you I could hit ya!" As the Cutie Mark Crusaders cheered in the background, Sky Fire couldn't help but smile at his old friend. In truth, he was strong enough to flip her over and pin her back. But he didn't do it. He knew that she was very prideful and enjoyed her spotlight. It was one of the things he really loved about her. Wait...did he really just think 'love?' Sure she was his best friend since they were just kids, but the thought of loving her was almost foreign in his mind. But like an annoying itch that wouldn't go away, the feeling did not leave him alone. A part of him began to wonder if he should tell her how he really felt. His rational side though did not let him. Not after what happened in Rainyville to another mare that he had come to care for... Besides, they had only just been hanging out for a month after his return. It would be so odd of him to even admit that he did how he felt for her. Hell, he didn't know how she would react if he did tell her. Rainbow was never one to be into the mushy romantic stuff. At least, that's what he thought he knew. "AHEM." A thick country accent said loudly. Both pegasai glanced towards where the sound came from. Applejack was standing behind the Cutie Mark Crusaders. A knowing smile was spread across her mouth. "I can understand you two have missed each other and all, but could ya'll keep it out of the children's view now?" The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked up at her in confusion. Immediately both Sky Fire and Rainbow Dash jumped up from their spots. Both of their faces the same color of a bright red tomato. "W-What the hay AJ?" Sky Fire stammered out. "I-I-It's not what you think! Honest!" Rainbow managed to say. She looked around the room wildly, looking for any excuse to get away. "So, uh, hey! Luna and Fluttershy have probably finished lunch by now. Race ya!" With that, Rainbow dashed out of the room before anyone could say a word. Sky Fire quickly followed, not wanting to be even more embarrassed like she was. Out of all the times for Applejack to come in and poke fun at them, it had to be at when they were training. XxXxX "Lunch is ready!" Fluttershy called out from the dining room. Luna brought out several trays of food to the table. The entire group had gathered for the meal. Even the embarrassed pegasai. Fluttershy brought in some more trays for the group as well, placing Rainbow's tray down first. The light blue pegasus smiled as she took a deep breath of the food's smell. "Hey, this smells great!" "Not only that, but it looks great too!" Sky Fire followed, taking a whiff of the of the food himself. "Oh, thank you very much." Fluttershy grinned, "I hope you all enjoy it. Luna gave me some excellent tips." "You two really outdid yourselves." Twilight said, taking a bite of some broccoli. "Mmm, just the way I like it. What do you think Spike?" Spike would have answered her, but he was way too busy chomping on gemstones that Rarity had ordered from the Diamond Dogs. The group has a good laugh at his gleefulness as they began eating as well. A few moments passed in silence as the group ate their lunch. After what seemed like months, it was so relaxing to just eat without a care in the world. "So," Sky Fire spoke out, "Did you find anything out in the library, Twilight?" "Not really..." Twilight said with a frown, "I haven't found a single page about the Elements of Virtue just yet, it's just kinda frustrating really..." "Don't worry, I'll help you look later on." Luna said, placing a wing on Twilight's back, "But for now, I want you to take it easy." Before Twilight could give her response to Luna, the lights began to flicker on and off. The group began to look around in confusion as the lights continued to flicker. "What is going on?" Rainbow asked. Sky Fire blinked a couple of times as he turned to her. His eyes grew in surprise as he noticed a pink see through pony walk behind her. It wasn't Pinkie Pie. He knew exactly who it was. "That...that can't be..." He began to stammer, not noticing that the rest of the group was staring at him. A low laugh began to ring out. Sky Fire stood up, glancing around the room to find where the laughter was coming from. "Uh, Sky Fire?" Twilight asked. "C-Can't you hear it?" He asked, "It's...it's laughter-" A newspaper suddenly flew into the room, slapping Rainbow right onto her face. "HEY! Who's the wise guy?" She quickly grabbed the paper and pulled it off her. Before she could throw it away though, she glanced right at the headline. "...'Rainyville Vampire Claims Sixth Victim'? What the hell?" That was the last straw for Sky Fire. Turning around quickly, he ran out of the room at full speed, eyes closed tightly. "Sky Fire!" Rarity shouts out, "Come back!" "Wait..." Twilight pulls the paper away from Dash and began to read the article. "I remember my dad hiding this paper a long time ago when he got it." "Hey, yeah." Rainbow said, "This paper came out like only five years ago!" "W-wait," Fluttershy meekly said, "Wasn't that around the time Sky left?" "H-Hey! You're right!" Rainbow gasped, "Sky Fire, wait!" Rainbow began to fly after him, but she came to a complete stop. Lighting flashed brightly, showing an image of what looked like Amducias holding a knife to a pony's throat. The vampire king grinned maliciously as the vision begins to vanished right before he slits the pony's throat. The Cutie Mark Crusaders screamed loudly. "...What the HELL?" Rainbow cried out. Applejack and Rarity immediately covered their younger sisters' eyes to prevent them from seeing the very graphic scene. Rarity was seething with anger. Twilight meanwhile was trembling, her front hoofs covering her mouth. "I-I-I..." She stammered, tears welling up in her eyes from sheer terror. Luna and Spike both hold onto her in comfort. "What sot of ruffian would do such a horrible thing?" Rarity shouts, appalled by the vision they all saw. "T-That poor pony she..." Pinkie began to cry. Rainbow just growled as she looked around the groom in anger. "AMDUCIAS! Where are you?" The only response she got was a loud sudden female scream. "AAH! NOO!" Fluttershy jumped in fright at the sound. Twilight covered her eyes, now openly crying. Rainbow's eyes narrowed as she turns back to her friends. "Princess, keep the others safe! I gotta find Sky!" Luna gave a slow nod. "Be careful." Rainbow didn't need to say anything as she flew off to find Sky Fire. If there was anypony in the mansion that could tell her what they had just saw, it was him. Though she wasn't certain if she wanted to hear it... To Be Continued...