Chapter 5: Meet the elements
Twilight Sparkle and Coocoodrill walked up to Pinkie Pie, who was still jumping around in joy around Paramail, who was starting to look freaked out. Twilight Sparkle was just about to speak, when Coocoodrill interrupted her.
"HIYA THERE! MY NAME IS COOCOODRILL!" The green unicorn shouted as he trotted up to the pink mare with an excited smile. Pinkie suddenly stopped and gasped as she noticed the green stallion in front of her. She then grinned wide as she vigorously shook his hand. He shook back just as hard.
"HI COOCOODRILL! I'M PINKIE PIE! I LIKE PARTIES AND CUPCAKES AND SINGING AND A TON OF OTHER STUFF!" The mare exclaimed to Coocoo.
"I LOVE TONS OF STUFF TOO!" Coocoodrill hollered with joy as he put his right hoof up. Pinkie put her left hoof up and they brohoofed. Paramail took this oppurtunity to move towards Twilight and out of Pinkie's line of vision.
"Glad I'm not the center of attention anymore." Paramail told the purple mare as he wiped the sweat off his brow. He could tolerate Pinkie most of the time, but sometimes, it was too much.
"What can I say? Pinkie's Pinkie." Twilight said to the teal pegasus with a weak smile as they both looked at Coocoodrill and Pinkie bouncing around one another still talking about what they liked. She then turned towards Paramail. "So what's your element?".
Paramail took a deep breath to add more tension to what he said, when on two legs and put his forehooves at his sides.
"It's Caring." The mailpony finally told the librarian full of pride. Twilight tried as hard as she could not to laugh at the failed attempt at machisimo.
Coocoodrill heard annd rushed over to Paramail. He then patted the mailpony hard on the back, making "Baldy" cringe in pain.
"Caring eh? That's pretty cool. Kinda sounds like Kindness, but a bit different." Coocoodrill began to then analyze the differences between caring and kindness in a "fancypants" manner. "You see, Kindness is about being nice to others and happy, happy, joy, joy. But Caring is about taking care of somepony's well being and such. Along with..." He was interrupted by Twilight shoving a hoof in his mouth.
"That's nice Coocoo. Really." Twilight told her new unicorn friend trying to hide her slight annoyance. She then took her hand out of his mouth. "But anyways Coocoo. What's you're element?" Twilight asked with a smirk, glad she stopped his rambling. Pinkie perked up as she heard of another Element of Harmony and leaped right over to the other three.
"You're an element too? What is it? What is it? Cause I'm laughter!" Pinkie Pie asked her newfound buddy still bouncing up and down.
"I ave-hay espect-ray! Isn't-ay hat-tay wesome-ahay?" Coocoodrill happily told Pinkamena as he went right up to her. Pinkie thought for a moment what he said, then replied in her usually bubbly mood.
"Ooray-hay! Ou-yay peak-pay in illy-say oo-tay!" Pinkie then put her hoof up and they once again brohoofed. She then wrapped a foreleg around Coocoo and gave him a playful Noogie.
As the two hyperactive ponies hopped off to play around and speaking in "illy-say", Paramail and Twilight just looked at one another confused.
"That's Pinkie and Coocoo for you." Twilight said to Paramail shrugging. She didn't at all mind their childish behavior, as long as one of her closest friends had someone to play her games with. She then noticed that Paramail was still stumped, probably about what the crazy unicorn's element was.
"Oh yeah! His Element of Harmony is Respect." Twilight reminded the mailpony she hardly even knew. In fact, she found out his name only because of Celestia told her. She felt awkward asking him the next question, but if she was going to work with him, she is going to have to get to know him.
"Sooooooo? Never really seen you around. New around here? Twilight asked Paramail with a slight sheepish smile. "Baldy" just groaned and looked down, shaking his head. He then lifted his head to talk.
"I was at your first party here." Paramail told the Element of Magic quite annoyed about being forgotten. But then he realized that he didn't see her the whole time there, making him cool down a bit.
"Where were you when Nightmare Moon appeared?" Twilight questioned the teal stallion once again in order to attempt to remember him. Paramail's eyes just shifted around and he slightly frowned.
"I waaaaaaas…a bit late." Paramail nervously chuckled. "I saw the Mare of the Moon for a second…" He then let out a sigh of embarrassment.
"Then what?" Twilight asked Paramail, still trying to pry out what happened. The pegasus just took a deep breath of shame and continued.
"When the pegasus guards got sent flying by Nightmare Moon, one of them crashed into me." Paramail then felt a shiver down his spine. "I was on crutches for three months."
"I am so sor-" The awestruck Twilight was interrupted by Paramail "shsing" her.
"No need to pity me. You've nothing wrong." The teal pony told the purple one in a benevolent tone. He then patted her shoulder. "Besides, that's way in the past." He then froze with a shock of horror in his face. "But I still have nightmares about it." He then started shivering again. Twilight began to move a bit away, a little weirded out.
Are all colts like this? Twilight then shook her head, knowing that wasn't true. She then heard a whoosh sound from the window, making Paramail yelped and jumped behind her, as if she was a shield. Twilight immediately recognized the pony as no one else but Rainbow Dash.
"Heya Twi!" RD greeted her close friend still hovering in the air. She then noticed Paramail was right next to her, along with a strange, green unicorn that was playing with balloons along with Pinkie Pie.
"Hey Baldy!" RD greeted her old friend as she gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Read the letter you left on my doorstep." She gave him another playful punch. "Why didn't you say anything sooner? You missed out on some crazy adventures."
"Just learned today actually." Paramail replied calming down from his last few chills. "I gave the rest your friends the letter too. Turns out it says that I'm the Element of Caring." He then shrugged. "Who knew?"
"Celestia did." Twilight told the stallion matter-of-factly. "She's never…" She was then interrupted by the cyan pegasus going in between her and Paramail.
"So Para! When you mean sending the letter to everypony, did you mean everypony?" Rainbow loudly teased her buddy getting a little into his face. Paramail knew what she was going to say. "Even Fluttershy?" RD jokingly questioned as she put on a mock cute face, with her eyes wide and sparkly and her forehooves at her heart.
The mailpony just looked away and blushed. "Yeah. Her too." Twilight couldn't help but giggle a bit. Rainbow just patted the stallion's relatively smooth head, giving him a face to let him know that she's just playing with him.
Pinkie Pie heard RD's voice and ran over extremely quickly. Coocoo followed close behind.
"HEY DASHIE!" Pinkie exclaimed in her usual overly happy manner.
"HEY DASHIE!" Coocoodrill hollered as well, sounding exactly like Pinkie. The curly maned pony just looked at her buddy in surprise.
"You can copy voices too?" Pinkie asked amused by the minor but entertaining talent. That can really help with her pranks.
Rainbow noticed the unicorn stallion next to her pink friend. She dropped to the ground and walked up to him to greet him.
"Hey there I'm Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty and the greatest flyer in all of Equestria." RD said to the Element of Respect as she opened her wings and did a quick pose. "But anyways, what's your name?"
"Name's Coocoodrill!" the unicorn told her while shaking her hand a little too hard. He then started to speak just like RD. "The Element of Respect and the greatest miner in Diamondale." He then did a small bow to her.
"Please do me a favor." RD said nicely. She then went stern. "Never copy my voice again." Coocoodrill smiled sheepishly and nodded.
All five of the ponies then turned around to see three more mares entering the bakery. They went over to greet them.
"What's up Applejack?"
"Good afternoon Rarity."
"Uh….Hey Fluttershy."
"HEYA RARITY! HI APPLEJACK! How's it going Fluttershy?"
"COOCOODRILL!"
The other nine ponies just turned around to the green unicorn. He just waved to them. Coocoo then heard his stomach rumble again.
"I'm hungry." Coocoodrill said using his inside voice as he licked his lips. He already looked at all of the pastries and knew what he wanted.
"Let the FEAST BEGIN!" Pinkie declared as she jumped seven feet into the air. The Elements just nodded in agreement.
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A couple of hours later, the group was at a big table, talking about their lives, hobbies and personal anecdotes as they ate various cookies, cupcakes, muffins, pies, and cakes. Coocoodrill was stuffing himself with everything in his corner of the table. Rarity looked in awe at how much a stallion could eat.
"You have quite the appetite." Rarity commented in awe. "How do you stay so thin?" If she even tried to eat half as much as he did, she'd be as fat as her cat. "What's your secret?" She then gave him her sparkly eyes look.
Coocoodrill thought for a second while taking a drink of milk to help him swallow the cupcake he just ate in one bite. He then licked his face and began to talk.
"I do have an answer for you Miss Rarity." He said in a scientific, upper class tone. "I believe that it is due to my fast-acting metabolism. At my level, I would need as many carbohydrates as possible to sustain my body or else I'll suffer from malnurishment." He then ate a blueberry scone and commented "Absolutely stupendous meal we have here don't you agree madam?"
Rarity was at a loss for words. He spoke just like a Canterlot stallion such as Fancypants. "That's great." Was the only thing she could say as she used to magic to take a sip of tea.
"THANKS!" Coocoodrill replied in his average, Fillydelphian accent as he shoved his face into a chocolate cake, eating like a slob.
Twilight Sparkle then tapped her hoof on the table, getting everybody's attention.
"I'm glad we got to know our two new friends." Twilight announced as she pointed at Coocoodrill and Paramail. Coocoodrill waved and Paramail nervously chuckled. Twilight then got serious. "But with good news comes bad news."
Pinkie Pie just gasped in horror. "Bad news? I hate bad news. It's bad."
"I know it is. But can you let me continue? As me, Coocoodrill and Rarity already know, Princess Celestia has a brother she has only told few ponies about. And no Pinkie, he's not getting a party."
Pinkie Pie just frowned.
"This prince once went by the name of Cosmus. He believed that due to having a foal first…"
Rarity made a coughing sound. Rainbow Dash heard her say "Blueblood".
"Thanks for that Rarity. But to the point, Cosmus thought that he should rule all of Equestria as king. Celestia and Luna disagreed and this led Cosmus to practice forbidden magic. He became a being of fear…"
"Nightcolt Space?" Pinkie innocently asked. Applejack just shushed her with a cupcake.
"No not "Nightcolt Space". He changed his name to Screameater. He made all of Equestria a living nightmare, getting stronger from their fear."
Paramail's jaw just dropped to the table.
"But Celestia and Luna used the nine Elements of Harmony to weaken him before sealing him off to the island of Phobos.
"Whoo Hoo." Fluttershy almost whispered in joy, hearing the princesses saving the day.
"Very nice Fluttershy. As I was saying, Screameater made Phobos as terrifying as possible for sailors and such. So nobody would take back the three elements he stole."
"And Paramail and Coocoodrill are the Elements of Caring and Respect." Applejack pointed out to Twilight. She then thought to herself and gasped. "That means there's one more!"
Twilight just sighed, getting annoyed by the interruptions. She then continued.
"I understand Applejack. The Element we are missing is Tolerance. But I know who he is."
"Then why didn't you bring him here?" Paramail questioned the purple mare confused.
"Because he works for Screameater. He's could be a danger to us." Twilight answered the teal pegasus getting tired of all the ponies calling out. Rarity then spoke up horrified.
"I know. I just heard of this "fishpony" in the paper. He's hideous. And I'm not just talking about his fashion sense."
"I also heard about that." Fluttershy peeped up concerned.
"Yeah me too." Paramail said while shivering. He prayed that he wouldn't have to fight him.
The Element of Magic just coughed and everyone went quiet.
"Sadly, I don't know why the "Fishpony" is in Manehattan. But must find a way to get him on our side. So the Elements of Harmony can be one again!" Twilight Sparkle tried to sound like an epic commander, but Rainbow Dash couldn't helped but snicker, getting an elbow from Applejack in return.
"I'm done." Twilight said slightly embarrassed.
There was an awkward silence for a while as the eight ponies finished eating. The silence was broken by Coocoodrill's loud burp, causing everyone to look at him awkwardly. The eccentric stallion chuckled sheepishly and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He then looked at the time.
"Well whad'ya know? It's already eight o'clock and I haven't done any unpacking!" Coocoodrill told the group as he put some bits on the table. Twilight looked confused.
"Wait a minute. You moved already? But you were with us the whole time." Twilight said to Coocoo stumped.
"I know! Celesty said in my mind that she got all my stuff moved already! Right next to your house in fact!" Coocoodrill excitedly reassured his fellow unicorn as he got up to get ready. He then looked at all of his new friends "But anyways. It's been nice meeting all of you. Back in Diamondale, nopony ever wanted to sit with me at mealtimes." He then drooped down a bit, but then immediately perked up.
"It's an absolute pleasure Coocoo." Applejack told Coocoodrill as she got up also. "But I need to get back also. Big Macintosh needs help with storing the apples and Applebloom's hopefully doing her homework. Thanks Pinkie." She then said goodbye and left.
Twilight then also got up. "It's been swell seeing all of you. But I've gotta show Coocoodrill how to get home from here." She smiled to the group as she and Coocoo went out the door.
The rest of them followed one by one, each of them thanking Pinkie and saying goodbye. In a short time, they were all gone. Pinkie just cleaned up after them with high spirits of what adventures they can have with having eight of them now. When she finished cleaning, she went up to her room, fed Gummy some left over cake, jumped into bed, then went to sleep.
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Twilight Sparkle and Coocoodrill reached the Library and Twilight was looking for a house around. She didn't see any.
"THERE'S MY HOUSE!" The Element of Respect shouted out in joy as he pointed to a mailbox. On closer inspection, Twilight saw that the house was underground, with a large, wooden door covering from the outside world.
"Awesome." Coocoodrill said almost squeeing in delight, he then opened the door, revealing a relatively messy house, with everything scattered about; just how Coocoo liked it. But the house was well barricaded from things such as worms and moles thanks to the stone walls and ceiling. Twilight was sort of disgusted and her friend's poor organization skills. But all Coocoodrill could say was "Double Awesome."
Coocoodrill then had an idea. "Hey Twilight!" Twilight turned towards him. "You want me to make a hole that leads to under your house?" He then started bouncing in the air like a child. "We could have sleepovers and stuff."
Twilight was sort of creeped out by his offer, but force a grin. "No thanks. I'm good. See you tomorrow!" But before Twilight can leave, she felt his forehooves wrap around her. He was hugging her.
"Thanks Twi." Coocoodrill said with his voice full of gratitude. "For everything. This place is great, the people are great, everything's great. The guys back in Diamondale were a little on the jerk side." He then let go of the embrace and elbowed the mare. "But you know those ponies. Specially Digz."
Twilight felt good for him. She made him so happy today. Sure he may be childish, out of it and even a little gross. But he was true friend material.
"See you tomorrow." Twilight repeated with much more meaning than before. Coocoodrill just waved goodbye with a wide smile and entered his house.
Twilight then entered her house. Spike was waiting for her this whole time, and he was quite ticked off about how long it took.
"Twi! What took you so long? Do you know how long I…?"
Twilight used her magic to take the ruby out of her back and put it in Spike's hand.
"I forgive you Twilight! You know these are my favorites." Spike then immediately gobbled up the jewel, forgetting his past conflict.
Twilight just nodded, went upstairs and lied on her bed. She then took out the book on Screameater and began to read. She wanted to know more about him. She had a feeling his servant was in Manehattan for a bigger reason than the sights and she wanted to know what he was up to.