Here would you like one of my water bottles?” The stallion looked at the mare accepting her little offering , and went even further by giving her a wink causing her to swoon even more.The group were now inside the couples homes, as Cadence guided them towards the living room, each one of em took the chance to admire the lovely atmosphere of the humble abode that the couple temporarily lived in.
"Wow Cadence, your house is quite lovely" fluttershy complimented.
"Not to mention big" Dash pointed out.
"Hehe thanks guys" Cadence replied. " This was actually my aunts living quarters back during their college days, over the years before the Sombra attack last year they've allowed it to be rented to any students who've weren't able to acquire a dorm for the semester. There weren't any clients this year so they allowed me and Shiny to use it as a temporary living quarter while the Castle was under repair"
"Damn I knew Celestia and Luna lived a glamorous life" Dash said in amazement. "But the fact that they lived in a freaking mansion during their college days ?! Even me and Fluttershy's frat house wasn't this big, honestly I'd take this place over a castle any day" Cadence giggled a bit at the pegasus's response.
"Trust me Dash" Cadence replied. " Trying to hold royal meetings in whats essentially an old frat house, is like holding a presidential campaign in a donut shop"
"Not unless both candidates have a craving for donuts" Pinkie jumped in earning cries of laughter from the others, which boosted the element of laughter's spirits at the fact that she can still make others laugh after putting her former self on hiatus for a while. " So wheres the meeting to be Cadence?"
"In the dining room of course" Cadence said as she reached for the door leading to said area. " Me and Shiny figured that you guys would be hungry after the long train ride here, so we prepared a big lunch for you all after we got down to business" The others showed gratitude towards the princess of love, especially given the fact that they'll be greeted to a wondrous feast afterwords courtesy of the royal couple. "Oh and by the way, we kind of have a surprise guest as well"
The girls and Spike each raised an eyebrow, each of em not expecting another guest in the room during the meeting.
"Uh, who would that be ?" Dash asked as Cadence opened the dining room door, and the group soon got their answer as their jaws dropped at what they were seeing. There sitting on the large table stood non other than the royal sisters, Celestia and Luna, as well as Shining armor and of course Spearhead and Flash Sentry. But what caught the groups eyes was the familiar mixed mashed creature that sat at the center of the dining room table donning a fancy looking tuxedo along with a bowler hat.
"Hello ladies" He greeted with a wink.
"DISCORD?!" The group said in shocking unison, ever since Celestia decided to release Discord a few month ago in an attempt to reform him, the draconequus overjoyed in his new found freedom and spent these last few months trying his hardest to redeem himself ( while also playing the usual pranks and gags from time to time). He eventually proved to be a changed man , with the Sun goddess seeing him as more of a jokester than as a villain. The girls eventually forgave him too after sending them multiple apology letters and even throwing them a massive "I'm sorry party", but despite seeing him as a friend and ally now, the group still felt a bit uncomfortable being around him especially given their first encounter with him a while back.
"That's my name, don't wear it out" Discord replied with a sly smile.
"Uh not to sound rude Discord" Fluttershy said. " But why are you here?"
"What? Can't a draconequus come in and support his buddies?" He replied. " Plus I wanted to see the old frat house again after all these years, and boy after all these years, it's still in pretty damn good shape as the day we moved in here for the semester. Hehe hey Luna, remember when Celestia caught you and Sombra making out in the bathtub after that lil drinking game? And the keg was still in there too! "
"I thought we agreed never to speak of that again?" Luna said in annoyance and with a blush.
"Alright you too enough" Celestia interrupted. " We have more important manors than reminiscing about our fraternity days, please have a seat everyone" The others did as instructed and each took their respected seats , as everyone was now comfortable and fully seated , the sun goddess finally continued. “ So as you all know it’s been a year since ………the incident with Twilight” The group nodded their heads in saddened agreement. “ Even though we’ve lost the element of magic, you five have done a wondrous job in continuing on as the elements of harmony and stopping Sombra’s attempt at taking over the Crystal empire, and I couldn’t have been prouder of you all”
“However” Luna jumped in. “ There comes the matter of, it’s only you five now. While thou have done a good job aiding Equestria, minus the element of magic on your side. I’m afraid that the elements of Laughter, generosity, kindness, loyalty, and honesty aren't gonna be enough for the next threat that might come upon us at any day. I know you guys don’t want to hear this, but after a few months, thou thinks it’s about time that we find a suitable replacement for the element of magic. I know this hard to take in everyone, but all six elements are needed in order to better prepare for the next threat. While you all got lucky with King sombra, Celestia rest his soul, there’s no telling how powerful the next adversary will be”
“So we’ll need to find a worthy candidate for the position of the element of magic” Celestia replied, the group were silent for a moment as they took in the princesses words, while they didn’t like the idea of replacing Twilight, they knew that Celestia and Luna were right as theres no telling how strong the next villain they face will be, and that having six elements would give them an even greater advantage to protect equestria.
“We understand your majesties” Applejack said. “ In all honesty, we all knew this was to come eventually”
“Indeed” Rarity jumped in. “ While I don’t like the idea of replacing my friend, it might be for the best that we find a replacement for the good of equestria”
Everyone nodded in agreement for a moment before Luna broke the ice.
“So, does thou know of any pony or creature who might be worthy of the title?” Luna asked as the others pondered for a moment, trying to think of a worthy candidate.
“ What about that super strong pegasus friend of Thunderlane, Bulk biceps was it?” Pinkie asked. “ Having some extra muscle on the team would give us an advantage, plus when he’s not shouting, he can be a pretty nice stallion”
“There’s more to the group than just muscle darling” Rarity replied. “ Besides pegasus can’t use magic, and with my horn gone, it’s only fair that we have another magic user in the group”
“That’s a good point sugarcube” Applejack said as she scratched her chin. “ Hmmmmmm what about Lyra?”
“I highly doubt Lyra can fight AJ” Dash replied. “ Wait , doesn’t that old friend of Twilight, Moondancer was it still live in Canterlot? Why don’t we ask her?”
“After Twilight explained to us how their friendship ended” Spike jumped in. “ I highly doubt she’d want anything to do with the element of magic, or Twilight for that matter. A part of me wants to volunteer, but the only magic I know is my teleporting fire, and I doubt fires gonna be enough to take out the next adversary”
“That is true Spike” Fluttershy replied. “ Hmmmmm what about Trixie?”
“WHAT?!” Everyone shouted in shock.
“Just hear me out” Fluttershy continued. “ I know she’s done some bad stuff, but maybe we can have her on probation and try to reform her like we did with Discord?” Discord couldn’t help but smile at his Pegasus friends statement.
“No offense Shy, but that is a terrible idea” Applejack said in annoyance.
“Amen, after what that bitch did, there’s no way in hell I’ll trust her to wield the element of magic” Dash replied in agreement. “ Plus with how psycho she is, she’d probably betray us and use it to get revenge”
“Not to mention it was mostly her fault we lost Twilight in the first place” Pinkie Jumped in. “ She’s nothing but an egotistical Meany pants”
“Sorry shy, but Trixie can’t be trusted” Spike said.
Shy lowered her head, as she knew they were right about the boastful magician. “ You’re right……sorry, stupid idea”
“Wait Shining armor what about you?” Pinkie pointed out surprising the stallion. “ Your magic skills are just as impressive as Twilights, and that shield spell of yours will definitely come in handy for defensive measures, plus you are Twilights brother after all, so it’s only fair to continue on the legacy in her honor”
“Sorry Pinkie” Shining interjected. “ I appreciate that but, I’m needed here in the Crystal empire, plus I have both the responsibilities of a prince and as the captain of the Crystal guards, that would be too many tasks for me to handle. And with the distance between us I’m not gonna be able to join you guys in time, and even if I wanted to, wearing the element of magic would only remind me too much of Twilight”
Shining said no more and was on the verge of lowering his head as Cadence placed a comforting hoof on her husbands shoulder.
“We understand darling” Rarity reassured. “ Wait Zecora’s mage stuff is kind of like magic, plus she can brew so many potions , those might come in handy”
“That is an interesting choice Rarity” Applejack replied. “ But I don’t think Zecora’ mage and potion stuff would be enough “
“Hey that rhymes!” Pinkie jumped in earning raised eyebrows from the group.
“So…….”AJ jumped in. “ Does anyone else have anymore suitable unicorn candidates?”
“ Well, we could have one of our unicorn guards fill the position” Luna suggested.
“Luna, I don’t thinks thats a good idea either” Celestia interjected. “ Like Shining armor and Cadence, they already have responsibilities both here and in canterlot, we can’t honestly send one of them away to become the element of magics replacement” As the others continued to ponder on whom might be a worthy candidate to fill Twilights hooves, Discord was in his own thoughts of the matter, soon a proposal entered his mind.
“What about me?” He asked earning the groups attention.
“Discord we love ya’ll” Applejack said with slight annoyance. “ But now’s not the time for jokes”
“No I’m being completely serious” Discord replied. “ Why don’t I become the element of magic, I mean I’m usually hanging around Ponyville from time to time anyways since you guys released me”
“Discord…………..
“Just hear me out tia” He interrupted. “ Look I know I used to be quite a nuisance not to mention I almost turned you five against each other during our first meeting, but for the first time in my life, I actually felt accepted. Despite everything that I’ve done , you all still gave me a second chance in life and even welcomed me as a friend. Back them before I met you and Luna Tia, I had no one, hell not even my own parents wanted anything to do with me. You two were the first friends that I ever had, but after I discovered my powers many years ago, I ended up taking you two for granted and nearly turned all of Equestria into my own personal playground, honestly I didn’t blame you one bit for imprisoning me in stone”
“But when you released me a few months ago, I was shocked at first thinking that you were only releasing me just to have me executed. But no, you walked up to me and gave me another chance to redeem myself. At first i was nervous, but I now realized that there was no need to. You all eventually forgave me and even saw me as a new friend, and I tell ya, I couldn’t remember the first time in my life where I felt loved by anyone else besides Luna and Tia, I finally realized what true friendships is all about and what it means to bring a smile to everyone’s faces without the need for trickery and magic, heh guess a little of you rubbed off on me as well Pinkie” A big grin formed on the party ponies face after hearing that.
“I know I might not be Twilight, and I still have a lot to learn about the meaning of the word friendship, But I want the chance to finally discover my true calling and to make something of myself. So please tia, give me a chance to become the element of magic, I promise I’ll do a good job, and to make Twilight proud”
Everyone in the room was in a complete state of shock after hearing the hybrid creatures recommendation, non of em were ever expecting those types of words to come out of his mouth. This made them fully realize that Discord was now a changed creature and that he was serious about learning more about the meaning of the word friendship, but while his magic was just as powerful as the royal sisters and the royal couple, they also wondered if it would be enough to fill Twilights place. Suddenly a small giggle could be heard, belonging to non other than the sun goddess.
“Hehe, I’m not much of a swearer but Damn! I never expected to hear those words come out of your mouth discord, you truly have reformed”. Celestia said earning a smile of appreciation from the Draconequus. “ Normally the positions are usually filled by ponies or pony like creatures, but I guess there is room for some exceptions. If you truly are serious about auditioning for the position of the magic element, that I shall give you a chance old friend, however. Unlike Twilights trial, yours shall be different , so before I ultimately give you a chance, I must know old friend. Can……you……handle……it?”
Discord was taken aback at first at the sun goddesses proposal, but as he looked around the room full of his new friends, he found each of them giving the hybrid creature looks of encouragement and silently hinting a him to go for it nod to give it a chance. After a moment of pondering , a look of determination formed on the Draconequus’s face as he stared straight into the sun goddesses eyes.
“I’ll do my best Tia!” He responded in a determined tone. “ I’ll take any test ya give me and pass with flying colors” He then gave a thumbs up as the group let out small giggles.
“Very well then Discord” Celestia replied. “I shall accept your offer to become the element of magic, now let us discuss how your upcoming test/trial shall go down………………………
Meanwhile in Las Pegasus
Inside the local gym in the luxurious city of Las Pegasus, we find a stallion near the weights sweating up a storm as he continues to bench at an impressive level at about 400LB which earned him a lot of praise and attention from the many gym goers including some of the mares who swooned over his incredible strength. As he continued his set, various thoughts entered his mind during each grunt. Ever since the events that transpired in his Casino last year, ad revenues and business has been declining quite a bit with most of his performers and staff quitting, and a few of em even suing him for the damages that were brought on by not only them , but some of the occupants as well. The visions of the two unicorns whom humiliated him that day entered his thoughts as a large growl formed on his face the second he was nearing his 100 rep mark.
“Come on boss, just two more, ya got this!!!” One of his aids called out to him, which is what he did. And in about 5 seconds , the stallion finally reached his mark of 100 reps as a chorus of cheers erupted from the rest of the gym goers.
“Yeah nice job boss!!!!” Another of his aids cheered , the stallion then placed the large barbell back onto the rack as he sat up and wiped the sweat off of his face just as one of the mares in a yoga outfit walked up and handed him a bottle of water.
“That was amazing Mr Gladmane!” She said . “ You’re so strongHere would you like one of my water bottles?” The stallion looked at the mare accepting her little offering , and went even further by giving her a wink causing her to swoon even more.
“Thank you sweat cheeks” He said in a romantic like tone.
“Your welcome Gladmane hehe” The mare replied as she walked back over to her friends. “ OMG Gladmane winked at me!!!”
“Lucky!!!” One of the other mares said as the stallion took a long swig of his drink to re-hydrate himself.
“Damn Boss 400lb?!” His unicorn aid said. “That's a new record! If ya keep lifting heavier weights like this, ya’ll could practically lift up the entire building with just one hoof!” Gladmane however didn't respond to his aids compliment and instead responded with a small snarl. " Uh....what's wrong boss?"
Gladmane then shot a glare at the two aids sending small shivers down each of their spines. " Whats the matter? Whats the matter?! Oh I'll tell ya whats the matter fellahs, do you have any idea how business has been going these past few months after that stage incident last year? I lost at least half of my revenue and barely had any new consumers, and not only that, most of my performers and staff quit after what happened. Oh and you know what the best part is? I ended up getting blamed for what happened and got my ass sued for a whole month!!!! And it's all thanks to that damn magician and her little purple lackey!"
"Well if it makes you feel any better boss" The earthpony aid replied. " Trixie's currently in jail, and that twilight girl was killed back in Ponyville"
"That's not good enough!!!" Gladmane shot back. " I wanted to be the one to make them suffer, after what they did to my precious casino, they don't deserve to get off easy like that. I tell ya if I had the ability to time travel, I'd strangle the both of em with my bare..............................." But as the stallion was about to continue on with his rant, an idea was quick to pop up in his head as a sinister glare began to form on his face to which his two aids were quick to notice.
"Ohohoho!!!!" The unicorn made said with a hint of excitement. " I know that face anywhere!"
"Hell yeah!" The earthpony one replied just as excited. " So what's the plan boss?"
Gladmane was silent for a second, his sinister smirk still visible till he finally spoke. " If I can't get my hooves on Trixie or even Celestia's precious student, then I'll just settle on someone whom they especially that Twilight ,care about the most" Gladmane said nothing more as he began to chuckle evilly as his aids joined in excited to see what kind of sinister plot their long time boss had in store for them.