Trials of the Elements
Part 10
Sea Blue was relieved. Trooper had been wheeled away earlier and had returned in his bed asleep, 'Good grief!' he thought, 'I never thought any pony could be so dramatic.' He settled himself down against the pillow beneath his head and worked on formulating multiple possible plans for rescuing Patch. The very thought of his daughter nearly made him tear up. He gritted his teeth angrily, 'How can I lay here while she's out there? What kind of father am I?' without thinking about it, he automatically began his breathing exercises. Long hours of dealing with other the issues of other ponies had taught him to practice stress-relief on a subconscious level. He calmed himself and refocused his mind, 'There is always a solution. You just have to be able to determine what it is.'
Sea Blue's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the room's door, which was followed by Dr. Mend's face,
“I . . . need to talk to you Sea Blue.” he said quietly.
Sea Blue's mind automatically began picking out details about Mend, 'It isn't time for everypony to meet here, and the nurses were just here checking up on Trooper and I. He's here for something personal. He's been crying, his eyes are red. His posture is slightly slumped. He's nervous and unsure. He's preparing to do or say something he's uncomfortable with. He stuttered. That means it's something he's going to say. He's unsure about something, and it's something that has him doing something he's uncomfortable with, something that scares him. The intonation of his question indicates that he's going to ask me something that has to do with our sessions and he doesn't mind if Trooper overhears, yet he's uncomfortable with the question itself. It's either important or urgent.' Sea Blue's mind performed the observation in milliseconds.
“Sure, come on in, but keep it down. Trooper's asleep.” Sea Blue said.
Dr. Mend entered and closed the door behind himself, and took a deep breath,
“I need you to test me for mental illness.” he said bluntly.
“I'm not sure that we need to go quite that far yet. Have you tried what I said, about telling the voices to stop?” the counselor asked.
Dr. Mend nodded solemnly,
“Several dozen times throughout the past two days. It hasn't worked once. They only go away if I'm actively doing something that takes my full attention and even then they're like a buzzing in the back of my mind. I . . . think I may need some medication . . . like my mother had.”
Sea Blue could easily see the words were difficult for the stallion to admit,
“This isn't really the place. Trooper might end up hearing some of this.”
“I don't care.” Dr. Mend said flatly, “I can't risk doing what my mother did. I don't care who hears this, it needs to be done.” his voice wavered slightly.
Sea Blue nodded,
“As you wish. I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I need you to answer them as honestly as you can. If you aren't willing to answer honestly, the tests will be useless.”
Dr. Mend laid down on the floor of the room and took a deep, shuddering breath,
“I'm ready.”
********************************
Lemon Lime handed a sheet of paper to his supervisor,
“I'm sorry this is such short notice but I really do need this. It's really important and again I'm sorry this is such short notice, but you know I haven’t asked for this before. I've been a loyal employee for years and this shouldn't be too much of a problem, right? I mean . . . “
“Live Wire, slow down. Let me answer before you start explaining.” the older mare said. She was a deep, dark brown unicorn with an eggshell white mane and tail pulled back into a tight bun.
She read the piece of paper carefully several times, then set it down on the counter behind her,
“I'm surprised you didn't give me more notice, but I can deal with this easily. You've been my star therapist for years now. It's no problem. You don't have to explain yourself. Alright?”
Lemon Lime smiled hugely,
“Thanks, this means a lot to me. I have to go. See you around.” he said as he walked away toward the doors of the therapy center.
Lemon Lime left the therapy center and headed straight for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, 'First things first. I need a spell to cut off a unicorn from her magic, one for teleporting, one for marking and tracking, and I need to memorize them as fast as I can.' he thought even before he had taken a single step, 'I wonder what it's like living outside of Canterlot. I have more than enough money to move somewhere else, and now that I have friends I have a reason to move. The only problem is that Valiant, Big Macintosh and Dr. Mend all live in Ponyville. I can't abandon any ponies who need therapy, but I don't really have any friends here except Evening Star and I don't go to the library very often. I wonder if Dr. Mend's clinic needs a physical therapist. I need to stop before I begin going in circles. Maybe I'm spending too much time with my job. I make way more than enough money to provide for myself. Heck, I could provide for probably eight ponies even if I only worked for three days a week. Let's see, I generally spend 53 bits a month on food, 51 on utilities, 18 for Medical insurance, and 120 for rent. That's 242 bits per month to survive. The rate for physical therapy per hour is 25 bits, that's 10 for the use of the facility and 15 for the therapist. If I move away, I'll probably have to run the center out of my own home so I can lower the cost to 17 bits per hour, 15 for me but only 2 for the wear and tear on the equipment. That way more ponies can afford it, and I can work with limited incomes. So if I take the cost of living, 242 and divide it by 17 . . . that's 14.23529411764706 round that to 15 for a margin of error. That means I only have to work for fifteen hours per month. Wow! I can afford that easily.' he chuckled to himself, 'So then even if ponies only occasionally need therapy, I should be able to live there, but what about all the ponies who need therapy? I'd be abandoning them, I can't do that.' his heart ached for the names on his list and his mind ran in circles as he stepped off the curb in front of the therapy center.
Lemon Lime made his way to the Spell Conservatory of the School for Gifted Unicorns and began his search for suitable spells, making careful calculations along the way.
*************************
To say that Sea Blue, Trooper, and Lemon Lime were shocked at Valiant's revelation of what a Vagabond was, as well as his personal experience, would be a drastic understatement. The ponies met that evening and Valiant, true to his word, provided the explanation. Sea Blue was understanding and offered to council Valiant, nearly for free. Lemon Lime, being the sensitive type, burst into tears and hugged Valiant for nearly an hour. The younger unicorn had known about Arabesque's spirit having been with Valiant, but Valiant had left out the details of how she died as well as his personal feelings about her at the time. Trooper, by far, had the most animated response, even if he couldn't move any of his legs very well yet. Even so, the other stallions were willing to accept Valiant for who he was, sordid past or not. They had met him and gotten to know him before they knew about his history and had a sound basis to gauge his character.
Sea Blue and Trooper's room became the impromptu base of operations for the group. They met there the following night before going to check on little Patch.
The room was filled to capacity with ponies, Lemon Lime began,
“I've found the spell we need to keep the rogue from using her magic. It's pretty easy but the limits are on a one-to-one basis regarding sheer magical strength. I have to be the more powerful of us to pull it off. It would be best if we take her by surprise. I've taken time off until we have this problem solved, don't worry, I have a lot of vacation time saved up. So, what else do we have that's new?”
Dr. Mend looked at the clock on the wall,
“Excuse me.” he said heading out of the room.
“Where's he going?” Evening Star asked.
“I'll let him tell you if he wants. It's not my business to spread that around.” Valiant said, “On my end, Dr. Mend and I have the sleeping potion, in both forms.” he said proudly.
Sea Blue looked ecstatic,
“Wonderful! How did you manage that?”
“We needed some help. My boss's business is booming right now, since ponies discovered the healing potion, so we asked her to help. We managed to come up with a sleeping potion that's potent enough to knock me out but mild enough to be taken regularly without becoming habit-forming. I should have asked her in the first place. She already had something she developed for fillies and colts. All we had to do was amp it up a bit. We tested it on me this afternoon. It kept me down for four hours and my boss said there should be absolutely no risk for a unicorn mare. For the intravenous form, I'll let Mend explain that one. How about you Evening Star?” Valiant asked.
Evening Star had saddle-bags next to her on the floor,
“I solved the problem of you boys not being sneaky enough.” she said nosing open one of the bags, “I have a friend who is a seamstress. She made clothes that are black, form-fitting, and they cover you from head to hoof.” she said bringing out one such garment and laying it on the ground, “Try it on, Live Wire.” she encouraged.
The yellow unicorn slipped on the suit easily,
“Wow! It really is black! We'll be nearly invisible!” he said admiring himself.
“And that's not all.” Evening Star said nosing back around in her bag, “These,” she said laying a quartet of leggings on the floor, “Have rubber soles to keep you quiet and still provide traction. My friend designs the uniforms for the Wonderbolts. She just used the same design and added the socks.”
Big Macintosh walked around Lemon Lime, admiring the outfit,
“These must have cost you a fortune.” he ventured, “Ah woulda' been willin' to help you out ifn' you would have told me.”
The tan pegasus held up a hoof,
“They didn't cost me a thing. My friend owed me a favor. It's no problem, really. I have one for each of you. The material stretches so one size fits all, except you, Big Mac. I had her make one extra big for you.”
Sea Blue had news of his own,
“I have something to show you all.” he said rising from his bed, “I realized earlier this evening that I couldn't feel the wound in my chest so I took a peep. Live Wire, would you help me with this?” he asked.
Between them, the two unwrapped Sea Blue from his bandage, revealing the distinctive absence of any injury,
“It's completely healed. That potion of yours works wonders Valiant. Now I'm as fit as I ever was.”
Trooper smiled hugely,
“Did you happen to notice today when Dr. Avalon came in and wheeled me away? I was asleep when they brought me back in, remember?” he asked.
Sea Blue nodded, so Trooper continued,
“She removed the pins in my legs.” he lifted his legs out of the traction slings and rolled out of his bed, right onto the floor in a standing position, “Ta da! I am fit as a fiddle and frisky as a flea!” he snickered, “I simply wanted to wait for the opportune moment to show off. I still had to stay in bed for the day, but I am good to go now. Dr. Avalon gave me another dose and told me to wait for another day to be sure, but I'm sure right now.”
Dr. Mend re-entered the room and stopped mid-stride,
“Aww! I missed it! I wanted to see the looks on your faces.” he said with admittedly very little disappointment, “Valiant, your potion works even faster than even you thought. Now we have documented proof. Avalon is presenting the successful cases to the medical-board in the morning.”
Evening Star still had her one question in the back of her mind,
“Why did you leave the room a moment ago?”
Dr. Mend licked his lips and took a deep breath,
“Can everypony here promise not to judge me on what I'm about to say?” he asked.
He met a chorus of nods, so he plowed on,
“Sea Blue is my psychologist. I came to him because I've been hearing voices for most of my life. I tried to get rid of the voices but nothing worked, so I asked him to perform a battery of tests to see if I have any mental disorders. My mother had one so there was a good chance I would too. I took the tests earlier today and Sea Blue had another licensed psychologist confirm the findings.” Mend took another deep breath to steady himself and continued, “I have schizophrenia. The reason I left the room and the reason I've been carrying saddle-bags around today, is so I can keep my Lithium with me all the time. I saw what happened when my mother didn't take her medication and I don't want to make the same mistake. I left the room to take the pills. Don't worry, I'm stable. I . . . had to inform the medical board of my condition, but they said as long as I keep taking my medication, I can keep my license.”
“Would you like to tell them about how we came to . . . 'acquire' an intravenous sedative? Or do you want to keep that a secret?” Valiant asked his friend.
Dr. Mend stood up, straight and proud,
“I approached Avalon with our 'predicament' and asked if she would let us have a single bottle for apprehending the rogue unicorn. She presented the issue to the medical board, here in Canterlot, and we have a single bottle open for us to use. I have to keep it on me at all times and I also have to vouch for its uses, but we have it.”
“Splendid!” Trooper shouted, “It looks as if we have everything we need to take this menace of a unicorn down tonight!”
“Hold on there, Trooper.” Big Macintosh said, “We need a plan on how to get her out into the open first. We've been lucky she hasn't done anything today, but we can't just go off half-cocked.”
Trooper grinned hugely,
“Capital idea old thing! In fact, Sea Blue and I have been spending our time doing just that!” he said turning to the turquoise unicorn, “Would you like to do the honors, good sir? Most of it did come from your brain-box after all.”
Sea Blue nodded and began to explain,
“The rogue seems to only attack a single victim at a time. We can use that to bait her out into the open, while the rest of us hide nearby. It's really simple. All we need is for somepony to be willing to be the bait. Once we have her, I can use my tracking spell to find Patch. Quick and easy.”
“Ah don't know if Ah like the idea of usin' one of mah friends as bait for some crazy unicorn who’s already done nearly killed two ponies.” Big Macintosh said sternly.
Valiant laid a gentle hoof on his friend,
“It's the best plan we have, but does anypony else have a better idea?”
“I have something to add to that.” Lemon Lime ventured, “We need a way to monitor her movements, so we can engage her on our terms, not hers. We need every advantage and, more importantly, we need to be absolutely sure what everypony can do.”
Trooper volunteered,
“I am aerial reconnaissance, plain and simple.”
“I'll be the one holding the potion and syringe and I have to administer them. I need to stay out of the way until she's magically and physically subdued. I'd be no good in a regular fight.” Dr. Mend explained.
“Ah'm the one who’s got to get her down on the ground as fast as possible. Ah need to be nearby when the time comes.” Big Macintosh said.
“I have to cut her off from her magic and I have to be close to do that too.” Lemon Lime said.
“I can watch her movements and gauge her intentions by her facial expressions and body language. I don't have the simple strength to be a combatant, but I can guide your efforts. I would have ended up in better condition if I hadn't second-guessed myself the first time I encountered her.” Sea Blue explained.
Trooper patted the turquoise unicorn on the shoulder,
“Right on! Who better than a psychologist to perceive the enemy's intentions? The very guiding force behind our efforts! The general, if you will.”
Valiant's ears flattened against his lowered head,
“Drat. That means I'm the bait.” he mumbled.
Evening Star put her hoof over his shoulder comfortingly,
“I'll watch out for you. You carry the food and water, in case we don't succeed. Live Wire needs to be able to focus on the rogue. You can act like she caught you in the act of dropping it off.” inspiration suddenly struck her, “That's it! We can go tonight! Valiant, you can just walk right on in there and have her chase you out! Drop the food for Patch and get her to come out. Be loud so we know where to be. We get the drop on her, I'll talk to her to distract her while everypony else goes after her.”
“I say, hold hard there!” Trooper exclaimed, “That leaves me utterly useless!”
“No it don't.” Big Mac said placatingly, “You can help catch anypony she drops. You've already done caught a full-grown Earth pony all by yourself. Evenin' Star's not strong enough to catch most of us. Ifn she gets away from us you can watch her from the sky. We can even call you 'Sky-Stalker' if you want.”
Trooper immediately brightened at the idea, explosively expressing himself as always,
“Oh I say, capital idea there Big Mac-athingie! I shall be your eyes in the skies, the stallion of spying, the very embodiment of observation; swooping to the rescue of my brave comrades. No rogue unicorn will be free to perpetrate her misdeeds while the fearsome Sky-Stalker is about. We cannot all be warriors now can we? Very well, I acquiesce to your idea!”
“It's settled then, we go tonight. Let's get ready. Everypony put on your . . . uh outfits, I guess.” Valiant said.
*************************
The seven brave ponies left the clinic looking for all the world like ninjas, except Evening Star who hadn't bothered to get one for herself. She figured she wouldn't need it since she would either be airborne or trying to talk to the unicorn. In either case she wouldn't need to conceal herself.
They headed toward the cluster of derelict warehouses, each trying to calm their nerves and all failing utterly to do so. Big Macintosh was surprised at how quiet he was when wearing the outfit. He couldn't hear his hooves, no matter how much he tried and his friends were all but impossible to spot in the darkness. He had put on his steel shoes and had the lasso hanging off his saddle-bags.
Lemon Lime had been calculating and recalculating their chances of success since they had left. He figured they stood an eighty-seven percent chance of success, if everything went according to plan. He was having trouble not chattering the whole way but he was well aware of what was at stake. He went over the new spells again and again and again in his mind. He knew he couldn't afford any mistakes tonight. Almost everything rode on his shoulders. If he couldn't cut the unicorn off from her magic they stood no chance against her.
Sea Blue couldn't pull his thoughts from his daughter. He ground his teeth and shook his head, snorting in irritation. He would help his friends stop the unicorn, but his highest priority was Patch. He would rescue her tonight no matter what else happened. She was his whole world; he would die for her if he needed to, no question about it.
Dr. Mend felt uncomfortable with the mass of his mane and tail stuffed inside the outfit, but as he walked he had to admit he probably was effectively invisible. He smiled to himself at the thought and thanked his lucky stars the voices were absent. His mind was quiet and he was relishing it. He could think clearly for the first time in many years. The two sedatives rested comfortably in his saddle-bags, with wadded up old medical forms to keep them safe. In his other saddle-bag he carried the contents of his black bag in case it was needed.
Trooper was beginning to regret not waiting another day to heal up all the way, but he was there and time was of the essence, besides there was a little one waiting for her daddy to rescue her. He would never dream of holding back such a reunion. His legs hurt more with each step, but he kept up a stiff upper lip and plodded along, knowing he would soon be in the sky using his wings not his legs. He swore to himself that if he had to catch somepony he would hold on even if it killed him. His will was set, as was his jaw.
Valiant was thinking about all the things that could go wrong. He would have liked to wait a couple more days to prepare better, but he had to think about others. For each day they waited, more ponies would likely be injured or worse and he hated the thought of little Patch in the clutches of the mad unicorn. He sent a silent prayer to the two Princesses for good fortunes and a speedy resolution. It all came down to tonight.
The group stopped near the same place they had before and went over their plan one last time,
“Trooper and I will scout ahead and find you the darkest and most direct route. We'll guide you from the roof-tops. Follow Valiant's lead and remember the hoof-signals. Stay to the shadows and don't bunch up,” Evening Star held a hoof to her muzzle, stifling a giggle, “We remember how that turned out last time. If we have to chase her, watch for Trooper and I, we'll guide you. Once the fight begins, be vocal, talk to each other so we can coordinate our efforts. Everypony ready?” she asked.
Her question was met with silence and determined eyes,
“Let's go.” she said.
Evening Star and Trooper took to the air in a flutter of feathers. Sea Blue had to admit, Trooper really was essentially invisible from the ground. The five stallions waited patiently for several long minutes before Trooper landed quietly in front of their hiding spot. He landed so quietly and was so obscured in the darkness that it took the other stallions several seconds to register him.
Dr. Mend jumped,
“Geez!” he whispered, “Warn us next time.”
“I truly hope there will not need to be a next time for all of this.” Trooper said in a normal voice, “Evening Star and I just witnessed her walking into one of the doors of the warehouses. I'll take you straight there. Evening Star said she would watch the door and find us if the rogue came back out. Come on chaps, quick is the word and sharp is the action.”
The five stallions galloped, almost silently, following Trooper from the ground. They wound their way through the maze of corners, streets, alleys and walls until they came to a stop as Trooper landed in front of them once more.
The area ahead was practically made for an ambush. Trooper indicated a doorway with his hoof and the rest of the stallions began analyzing the surrounding area. The alley was covered in shadows, and piles of old debris littered the walls on either side of the alley. The doorway thrust out two paces into the allay leaving ample room for a pony to hide on either side. Directly above the doorway was a stone overhang that looked sturdy enough to support the weight of a full-grown pony.
Sea Blue took in the whole scene in a split second and spoke first,
“Live Wire, you could stand on that overhang and surprise her just like you wanted. Big Macintosh and Dr. Mend can hide on either side of the doorway and take care of business nice and quick. I'll be over on the side, hidden next to some debris while Trooper and Evening Star stay overhead. Sound good?”
The others nodded their approval and moved to take their positions, while Valiant spoke to Sea Blue,
“I'll come out that door and flatten myself against the far wall. Make sure everypony gets going quickly so she won't have a chance to literally flatten me into the wall.” he joked.
Sea Blue chuckled quietly,
“Will do. Be careful Valiant.”
Sea Blue and the others took their places and Valiant entered the doorway. The inside of the building was eerily quiet and almost completely black. Valiant slunk from shadow to shadow, an incorporeal wraith in the darkness. He could see another door way leading to another alley on the far side of the warehouse. He could just barely make out that he was in a long hallway lined with doorways. He kept to the right side of the hallway where the shadows were thickest. He had to stop a few paces in and wait for his eyes to adjust to the absence of illumination. The process was slow and his imagination worked overtime to conjure up images of terrifying specters that could come screaming out of every corner and unlit doorway. He took a deep breath and steadied his nerves.
A sudden shuffling sound nearby made the breath catch in Valiant's throat. He froze, willing his body to be still. He swiveled his ears in various directions trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. His nostrils flared, trying to catch the scent of decay he had associated with the unicorn rogue. He closed his eyes and focused on his other senses. He heard the sound again and pinpointed it, up ahead on the same side of the hallway he was traversing, inside a nearby doorway.
Valiant cracked open his eyes and had to stifle a yell. The rogue unicorn stood, not two paces from him, facing him directly. Valiant didn't dare to breathe. With his eyes adjusted to the darkness he finally got a good look at her. She was younger than he had gauged at first, maybe nineteen at best. She no longer wore her cloak. Her mane and tail were in terrible need of washing and her hooves were cracked and split. He could make out her ribs, sticking out against her skin; her belly was raggedly thin and seemed to almost meld with her spine. Her face was filthy and the bones in her muzzle protruded frighteningly. Valiant was reminded of himself when he had arrived in Ponyville. Her horn was thick and pointed, like she had sharpened it. Her neck looked frail enough to break in a stiff wind, and her eyes were sunken far more than when Valiant had seen her before. He guessed she hadn't eaten since he had encountered her. He was silently thankful they were going to take care of her, she would certainty die of malnutrition in a matter days, and he could only imagine what she had done to little Patch.
As if on cue, the little unicorn filly spoke out of the darkness, somewhere behind the unicorn,
“Can I please go home now?” she sounded like she was ready to cry.
The unicorn spoke to Patch without turning her head,
“NO! No little one. YOU'RE SAFE HERE! I have to keep you safe from ponies who would HURT YOU! I may have died, but I CAN STILL keep you safe.”
Patch fell silent and Valiant kept his eyes glued to the unicorn,
“Why are you here ghost? ARE YOU MY SHATTERED spirit come to haunt me? OR ARE YOU some specter I need to HAVE my champion KILL?” she asked.
Valiant felt as if he'd had his soul pierced, her voice was unstable but even so she sounded desperate. Like she was trying to be brave in the face of death. Her eyes began leaking, sorrow finding no purchase on her face, as stony as ever. Her breathing was shallow and her speech sounded slurred like she was dehydrated. She eyes him with a mixture of fear and anger. Valiant had to weigh his options quickly. She had obviously seen him, 'I should have known! She can see because of my outline against the light from the doorway I came through. What do I do?' he wondered.
Valiant finally settled on sticking to the original plan,
“I'm just here to leave some food and water for the filly.” he said reaching his head into his left saddle-bag.
The unicorn's eyes bulged,
“NO!” she screamed, “You stay away from her!” her horn began to glow.
Valiant turned and broke into an all out gallop back to the doorway. A bright light flared to life behind him and suddenly he felt the impact of incredible pressure against his flank. The force turned into sweltering heat as an explosion rocked the decrepit building. The sound was deafening. Valiant was flung into the air, spinning like a top, legs flying in every direction. He saw ceiling, wall, floor, wall, ceiling, wall, floor, wall, ceiling and then he hit the ceiling with a bone-jarring impact, striking his head solidly. Stars exploded into his vision and his ears rang. He felt weightlessness and his pegasus instincts kicked in. He twisted wildly in mid air and almost managed to land on his hooves. He landed hard on the floor and his hooves gave out beneath him. He felt the jab of something blunt striking his stomach. He didn't feel the mystery thing pierce his body and tried to get his bearings. He had been flash-blinded by the explosion and had hit his head soundly; in the darkness afterward his adjusted vision evaporated he couldn't see a thing. He rose to his hooves and began running with his right shoulder against the closest wall.
Valiant felt the bump of a door frame, took two steps and pressed his shoulder against the wall again. He had to repeat the motion several more times before he felt the wall vanish. He skidded to a halt and felt the light bump of a wall in front of him. He had done his part, now he just had to wait for the others. He cried out in pain as his body belatedly relayed to his addled brain that his backside had been scorched badly. His vision began returning and he looked around frantically for his friends. He began picking out the details of his surroundings and immediately realized he was in trouble. He couldn't see Big Mac or Dr. Mend on either side of the doorway, nor could he see Lemon Lime above the doorway. The alley looked wrong too. There was no debris here and the doorway he had come through was flush with the surrounding walls. He was in the wrong alley.
He looked back down the hallway he had come through and could see through to the other side where Lemon Lime was peeking down from above the other doorway. The rogue unicorn was walking steadily toward him, horn glowing menacingly and thankfully oblivious to the other ponies watching her from behind. She kept her pace slow and menacing. Valiant saw his friends suddenly vanish from the doorway, 'They're on their way. I have to stall her.' he thought.
Valiant stood up as straight as he could and faced the unicorn boldly,
“I'm not here to hurt you or the filly. I just want to help.” he yelled to her.
The unicorn's face cracked in a sneer,
“Help?” she laughed, “YOU CAN'T even help yourself. WHAT CAN YOU DO?”
“You're suffering from 'Caster's Stroke'. You don't know what you're doing, but I can help you. That unicorn filly's father is worried sick about her, you have to let her go.” Valiant said as calmly as he could.
Valiant kept his eyes glued to the unicorn but saw Trooper in his peripheral vision. Trooper set Lemon Lime down in the alleyway to Valiant's right, then hovered above the doorway, waiting. The unicorn was still several paces down the hallway and didn't notice several silent figures sneaking up behind her slowly.
Valiant kept buying time,
“Do you even know what you've done? You've nearly killed two other ponies. You've foalnapped a filly and you've been threatening ponies for their bits.”
“I need THE BITS FOR food! The filly's FATHER took her eye! I HAD TO survive!” the unicorn yelled, switching from one subject to another.
*************************
Sea Blue searched in the dark for his daughter, Evening Star was with him,
“Patch?” he called, “Patch? Are you here baby?”
A tiny form leapt up in the darkness and attached herself to her father's right fore leg,
“Daddy!” she cried holding onto him, “Daddy, I want to go home!”
Sea Blue shushed his daughter quietly,
“Shh, quiet sweetie. This nice pegasus is going to take you home. I'll be there as soon as I can. You be good for Ms. Evening Star, alright?”
“No!” Patch cried, “I want you to take me home!”
Sea Blue hated seeing his daughter like that,
“I know you do sweetie, but I'll be home as soon as I can.” he passed his daughter to Evening Star, “Take her home, she knows the way. Keep her quiet. We can't risk her being taken again.”
************************
Lemon Lime pressed himself up against a wall and began casting his spell, preparing for the unicorn to step into the light. Trooper looked terrified, but he held his position. Valiant was greatly relieved to see his friends. Big Macintosh and Dr. Mend were less than fifteen paces behind the unicorn and Sea Blue was moving quickly to catch up.
Valiant tried again to reason with the rogue,
“You must stop this!” he cried, “We just want to help you!”
The unicorn's horn began glowing more brightly,
“Always the SAME PRATTLE! NOPONY CAN help me!”
The unicorn cast her spell as she stepped out of the door. Valiant saw a pea-sized sphere of whiter light shoot out of her horn and come streaking towards him. His pupils shrank to pin points. He leapt to his left as quickly as he could. He was a bit too slow. The pea exploded into a ball of expanding kinetic force that threw him, rag-dolling, several dozen paces away and toward another wall, away from Lemon Lime. Valiant kept his head and made sure to keep his muscles limp to keep himself from fracturing anything. He hit the wall and once again struck his head on the wall.
Instead of falling onto the ground, Valiant felt strong hooves catch him gently,
“You need to stop hitting your head there, old boy. That noggin of yours may be tough but you should not push your luck. Even diamonds are not impervious.” Trooper whispered in his ear.
Lemon Lime saw the unicorn step out of the doorway and quickly finished casting his own spell. It settled around the rogue and the battle of wills began. The material world fell away and the two combatants found themselves fighting in an immaterial world conjured by their own imaginations. The unicorn rogue erected defensive stone walls that were as solid as they would be in the material world. Lemon Lime suddenly 'felt' the rules of combat. He had to reach her and touch her to win. They could form the world into anything they wished, limited only by their creativity.
Lemon Lime smiled, this was a game he could play. He turned himself into a Taurus Minor and charged the wall protecting the rogue. He shattered the wall and met a wall of fire raging high into the air. Lemon Lime shifted forms and became a salamander wading through the fire without being hurt by the flames. He could have turned into something to fly above the flames, but that would take time, instead he chose to go through in a simple all out attack. The rogue unicorn fought on the defensive, retreating a bit with each new defense. Lemon Lime kept her on the defensive always attacking, always trying to gain the advantage. She was agile and clever, her finesse was outstanding. Lemon Lime was better. He was weaker in sheer power but he was quick as greased lightning and could slither, sometimes literally, through the tiniest cracks in her defenses and find ways around them. The rogue began to grow weary and, in a panic, formed a stone maze. Lemon Lime smiled and transformed into a minotaur. He charged through the maze allowing the instincts of his new form guide him.
Lemon Lime knew the unicorn was beginning to tire from her exertion and he plowed on further and further. He knew he was close. He rounded a corner and found himself face-to-beak with a cockatrice. The creature stared him dead in the eye and Lemon Lime was powerless to look away. He had made fantastic headway but he had lost.
He opened his eyes and he was back in his body. The unicorn stood in her same place, horn still glowing, Valiant being lowered to the ground by Trooper. No time had passed.
Lemon Lime felt the spell still in place and grasped at it with his will. He felt magic surge through him, foreign and powerful. He gasped as he realized that in his panic, he had cast the spell wrong. He hadn't cut her off, he now had control of a portion of her magic. He grinned wickedly, 'I'll smash her to pieces with this power! She'll be no more than a bug under a strong hoof! Ah, feel the power! It's exhilarating, intoxicating; I can do anything now! I don't need the others, they'll just get in my way. I don't need anypony. I can do anything I want!'
Lemon Lime pulled the power into his body and felt it strengthen him, transforming him into an archon of power. He saw Big Macintosh come leaping out of the doorway and take down the unicorn in a rolling tackle. The sight of his friend snapped Lemon Lime out of his twisted mindset, 'I have her power AND her madness! It's tainted her magic! I have to let it go and find another way to bring her down.' Lemon Lime let the spell go before it could warp his thinking again. As the magic left him, he felt small, like he could crawl under a rock; he realized just how much he was over classed and swallowed hard, 'Do we really have ANY chance of pulling this off?' he wondered.
Big Macintosh held on grimly. The two of them were locked in a struggling heap on the ground. She was no match for the huge Earth pony's size and strength. She knew she had been physically drawn down to the ground. Images of her body being violated and used against her will flashed through her mind and she panicked. She felt her magic return to her in full force, even as Dr. Mend rushed toward her.
“Just calm down now, there little lady.” Big Macintosh said trying to sooth her, “We ain't goin' to hurt you none.”
She did calm down; she also willed another pea-sized ball of pure force into existence,
“Let me go!” she screamed, “You can't have me! I'll KILL US BOTH FIRST!”
Dr. Mend saw the ball of light and stopped more than a dozen paces back. Sea Blue came up behind and tried to go around, but Dr. Mend held out his hoof to stop the councilor. Sea Blue took in the scene at a glance. In his mind's eye he saw he launching the tiny sphere toward he and Dr. Mend and collapsing the building in the resulting explosion.
“She's going to detonate it!” he yelled.
Big Macintosh saw the tiny sphere coalesce into being in front of her horn. He pulled one hoof off the struggling unicorn beneath him and raised it into the air. At such a close proximity he had no idea how badly he or the rogue might be injured. He closed his eyes and curled his body around the unicorn rogue to protect her from the blast. He swatted the sphere out of the air. It flew a few paces away and detonated on the road. The force of the exploding sphere threw the huge Earth pony several paces into the air. The force was too great for him to keep his hold on the unicorn beneath him. Big Macintosh opened his eyes and saw the road rushing toward him at an alarming rate.
Big Macintosh braced himself for the impact; an impact that never came. He felt a gentle force cupping his body and looked up. Lemon Lime, horn glowing, had caught him. Lemon Lime set Big Macintosh down on the ground gently, just as Trooper flew past him down the alley. Big Macintosh looked around and failed to spot the rogue. Lemon Lime, Dr. Mend, and Sea Blue darted past him heading down the alley. Big Mac turned and saw the fleeing form of the unicorn heading away from her pursuers. He turned and broke into a gallop, bending his head down to pick up Valiant from the road in passing. His teeth bit down on the saddle-bags of his friend and Big Mac proceeded to carry Valiant as he ran.
Valiant regained his senses and shouted up to Big Mac,
“Thanks Big Mac! Put me down, I can run!”
Big Macintosh let go and Valiant stumbled for a few seconds while he regained his balance, then joined his friends in pursuit of the unicorn. Valiant and Big Mac caught up to Sea Blue, Dr. Mend, and Lemon Lime within a few seconds. Trooper had risen up above the surrounding buildings. The unicorn rogue was steadily pulling away from the group, unusually quick for a pony so malnourished.
Valiant caught up to Dr. Mend and grumbled to his friend,
“She tried to kill me! This wasn't like the other times she injured somepony!” Valiant yelled, forgetting about the incident with Sea Blue and Patch, “This was intentional! She burnt me! We're just trying to help!”
“You have to understand, Valiant!” Dr. Mend panted, “She doesn't know what she's doing! You can't hold that against her! No matter what injuries we suffer, we have to forgive her!”
Valiant considered his older friend for a moment as they ran,
“Since when did you become more forgiving than me?” he asked.
Dr. Mend smirked,
“Maybe it was when I realized that a lack of forgiveness was what was holding me back. I had to forgive my mother for belittling me all the time and for leaving me! I had to forgive my father for giving up on me and his life, but most of all I had to forgive myself! I had been blaming everything on myself weather it was my fault or not! I had been missing something for years but, I found it, on my grandparent's porch! You were right! Celestia, but you were so right! It's wonderful Valiant! I feel so free now! I know it sounds crazy, but it's true! I feel lighter!”
“Then pick up the pace! We're losing her!” Valiant said, noticing the growing gap between them and the rogue.
Sea Blue addressed his fellow unicorn as he ran,
“Live Wire, can you stop her so we can catch up?” he called out.
Lemon Lime was falling behind,
“I can't do anything that requires finesse while I'm running! I could trip her but I'm afraid at this speed she could break her neck! We have to wait for the right moment! We'll get an opening!”
The rogue's horn began glowing as she turned a corner. Sea Blue saw a ghost image in his mind's eye. He saw her disappearing from in front of them and reappearing in a nearby side-street, throwing them off of her trail and losing them, 'She's going to teleport!'
“She's going to teleport!” he called to his friends.
“How do you know?” asked Dr. Mend as they rounded the corner behind her.
Sure enough, in a flash of light she vanished. Sea Blue kept his momentum and took the corner at a dead run. His rubber-coated hooves skidded in the ground and he had to throw his shoulder into the left side of the alley wall, but he kept on with the chase. The other stallions followed him as quickly as they could. They were still too slow to catch up to her. She was headed straight toward a stone wall that had to be fifteen paces high. Sea Blue saw another ghost image: she would use her magic to teleport beyond the wall and lose them. He had no counter for that particular move.
“She's going to teleport beyond that wall, we'll lose her!” he shouted.
Sea Blue called it again. She teleported through the wall and vanished from sight.
“Grab onto my mane or tail!” Lemon Lime yelled.
Dr. Mend, Big Macintosh and Sea Blue chomped down on the smaller unicorn's indicated parts. Trooper swooped down from above and grabbed Valiant from behind. Trooper pumped his wings, legs aching terribly and lifted Valiant over the wall. Lemon Lime's horn began glowing brightly, as he and his friends charged the wall. Lemon Lime closed his eyes and concentrated, he knew if he failed it would end very badly. He drew in every ounce of magic he had available, straining himself to his absolute limits. The simple amount of power he called upon made his stomach lurch. His head pounded like a drum, every heartbeat echoing in his ears painfully. The three other stallions were having trouble keeping a grip while running.
The smaller yellow unicorn increased his pace, eyes cracking open to judge the distance, screaming as the wall came closer and closer,
“Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaoooooooooo!”
He felt his horn tip touch the wall. He let his spell go and all four of them teleported in a flash of brilliant light, to the other side of the wall. Lemon Lime felt dizzy. His vision swam furiously. A loud yelp of surprise behind him, caught his attention. It took his eyes a moment to decipher what he saw. Dr. Mend had been the one holding onto his tail. Apparently Lemon Lime hadn't calculated the distance quite right and Dr. Mend's tail tip had rematerialized inside the wall. The older stallion had kept running and pulled out several of the hairs in his tail.
Trooper set Valiant down and the five stallions took up the chase once more. The rogue unicorn was far ahead of them and still going. They had emerged onto a main road lined with shops. The road was much wider than the alleys, but it was also better lit. The pursuing stallions had no trouble spotting their target.
Lemon Lime looked around and recognized the area,
“Ha!” he laughed, panting hard, “This road . . . doesn't have any . . . side streets for her to . . . go down. It dead-ends . . . up ahead!” he yelled between breaths.
As the chase continued the stallions heard a whoop from up in the air, as Trooper dove down and addressed his friends,
“Our roguish unicorn friend is coming up to a dead end and she looks to be wearing out on the physical side and all that. I am under the impression she plans to duke it out in the middle of the street. I think we should be prepared for a fight.”
Trooper flew back up above the buildings, but stayed where the five ground-bound stallions could see him.
***********************
The rogue unicorn mare stopped and turned around facing the open street. She had come to a dead end and could go no further. She was physically exhausted and could not run any more if her life depended on it, which in her mind, it did. The street was a good forty paces wide. She stood, flank against the wall of a building, panting and sweating heavily. Her eyes were wide open in terror, fearing for her physical safety and her virtue. She feared what would happen to her at the hooves of so many stallions; how they would brutalize her if she didn't cooperate, how they would force themselves on her, hurt her, and use her body violently, perhaps even leave her to die. She squared her stance and focused her magic. Her adrenaline was pumping good and hard. It gave her an extra boost of magic, she would need it to use her most powerful spell.
Evening Star landed in the street twenty paces in front of the terrified, delusional unicorn. She had left little Patch with Dr. Avalon and flown back to help her friends. They had been easy to spot by the glow of Trooper's teleportation. She had flown ahead and found the unicorn in the street.
Evening Star knew she would be frightened out of her mind,
“Hey, it's alright.” she soothed in a quiet voice, “Nopony is going to hurt you.”
To the panicked unicorn, her voice sounded wicked and maniacal. The unicorn backed up against the wall behind her, tears streaming down her face in terror. Her mind spun in so many different directions, she rarely knew what was going on. She was confused and frightened. She had managed to get away once before but she knew it had been by sheer luck and nothing more. She had to make her stand and make it count.
She braced her legs and began channeling every ounce of magic she had at her disposal. Her horn began glowing, dimly at first; it built up to a brilliant light, cinders of excess magic sparked off the end of her horn and fell to the ground. The surrounding buildings and store fronts lit up like the sun had prematurely risen.
Evening Star backed up several steps and took to the air again. There was no reasoning with this unicorn. She saw Trooper leading the others on a direct intercept course with the rogue, 'It's all up to you now.' she thought.
***********************
The stallions all stopped and watched the unicorn mare at the far end of the street, already casting a spell. They knew they couldn't give her too much time or else she might run again.
“We should try to approach her quickly.” Sea Blue said, “She's already casting a spell. We have to be quick or she could kill herself if she uses too much magic. On the count of three, charge.” he turned his head forward again and they began walking down the alley in a line.
“One.” they quickened to a canter.
“Two.” they sped up to a trot.
“Three!” the five stallions broke into a charge, straight down the middle of the street.
The unicorn rogue was waiting for them. She had finished her spell. She cast it out into the open night air. The formidable magic began to take form. The massive amount of power filled the entire street. Her will formed the raw magical power into a great beast, one that very few, if any ponies could ever hope to vanquish with physical might. The creature's heads began to form, the left one like a goat, the right one like a great cat, and one like a snake. The snake-like head emerged from the creature's backside like a tail would have. Its body took up almost the whole street, its four powerful legs all ended in razor sharp claws, each paw easily large enough to flatten even Big Macintosh in a single blow. The great beast's body fully came into being, in a flash of a color which could only be described as an absence of light.
The stallions came to a screeching halt at the sight of the colossal beast. It stood nearly thirty paces tall and just as wide. It almost looked cramped in the confines of the street. The creature didn't move, its eyes were muddy purple; there was no life in the thing, it was borne of pure magic.
Lemon Lime's eyes threatened to fall out of their sockets; he recognized the beast instantly, and alerted his friends in a screeching yell,
“CHIMERA!”
“Defend ME!” the unicorn mare commended, “KILL THEM!”
The magical beast surged forward, instantly in a berserker rage. Five stallions dodged out of the way as it swiped one of its massive paws at them. Big Macintosh and Lemon Lime went left; Sea Blue and Valiant went right, while Dr. Mend scrambled backward.
Sea Blue hadn't been close enough to the rogue to see the summoning coming. His mind began observing the creature's every movement even as it swiped its enormous paw at them again. Lemon Lime caught sight of the unicorn rogue as he huddled against glass window, 'This spell is taking all of her magic to maintain! I don't need to cut her off now; she's gone and done it herself. If we can get to her she'll go down easy. The only question is how do we get to her?'
“It's a construct of pure magic!” Lemon Lime hollered, dodging out of the way as another paw came for the yellow unicorn, shattering the window behind him, “It's not alive! Fight it like you mean to kill it! You can't actually kill something that's not alive but you can destroy it!”
Sea Blue caught on to what the smaller unicorn was saying,
“If we destroy it, the magical backlash will leave her disoriented for a few moments! It's our only hope, fight it!”
Dr. Mend, seemingly the only one to realize a simple truth yelled back, from across the street,
“HOW? How do we fight THAT?!”
Dr. Mend had no idea how to fight anything, much less a colossal construct of pure magic conjured up from the demented mind of a delusional unicorn. He stood as far back away from the thing as he could and looked on in awe.
Valiant lowered his head and charged in, under the titan's swiping paw and whipped around, presenting, to it, his backside. He leaned forward and kicked out with his hind legs, bucking as hard as he could, aiming for the one leg not being used to attack.
The creature didn't even seem bothered by Valiant's attack, but it did take notice of him. The wingless pegasus sped away from the enormous jaws that came snapping after him. Big Macintosh, spurred on by Valiant's bravery, launched his whole body at the beast's head as its jaws closed, mere centimeters behind his friend's flank. He decided that his lasso would be utterly useless against such a beast, but his steel shoes might help. His legs were the strongest of the group by far. He skidded to a halt on the right side of the beast's jaw and lifted his right fore hoof. The big Earth pony lashed out with his limb and struck the thing squarely on its muzzle. The blow hardly broke skin.
Big Macintosh failed to see the goat head above him, begin descending to crush him with its flat head. The large Earth pony was suddenly knocked out of the way by a royal blue body connected to a light brown mane and tail. The goat head descended onto the road, its target long gone. Big Macintosh rolled on the ground twice and came up on his hooves. He quickly dodged out of the way of another head-butt from the goat head and turned, intending to thank Valiant for saving him. Instead of Valiant, his eyes met Trooper. The pegasus landed a blow, with his rear hooves, to the neck of the goat head then took off again into the sky.
Sea Blue took a trick from his previous encounter with the rogue. He charged, head down and speared his horn into the front right leg of the chimera. The impact vibrated his head making him dizzy. He stumbled back several paces, vision blurry. Sea Blue received a flying tackle from his left and rolled limply with the other pony, on the assumption that he was being rescued from some terrible fate.
Dr. Mend disentangled himself from the turquoise unicorn and ventured a glance at the injury Sea Blue had caused. It was small, but there it was. His horn had penetrated into the magical flesh of the chimera. The injury sluggishly leaked tiny amounts muddy purple liquid down the creature's leg and onto the ground. Dr. Mend's heart fell. Even with Sea Blue being able to injure it, the chimera would need only one single solid hit to kill one of his friends. Dr. Mend realized that no matter how long or hard they fought, they wouldn't be able to bring the thing down.
Lemon Lime was weary; the multi-pony teleport had drained him severely. He could feel his magic slowly returning, but it would never be enough to challenge a monster the size of the beast attacking his friends. He looked around. Valiant had already been injured by the rogue earlier; he looked tired and was limping heavily. Sea Blue had injured the thing, but the blow had rattled his brain. The poor councilor was still stumbling around, he couldn't even rise to his hooves. Dr. Mend had already admitted he had no idea how to fight the chimera and was trying to drag Sea Blue away from the thing. Trooper, even though he said he wouldn't engage in any fighting, was holding his own for the moment, but Lemon Lime knew the pegasus was flagging. He had been flying and lifting quite a bit. Big Macintosh seemed to be the only one able to stand up to the monster, but even the massive Earth pony seemed to be losing heart.
Lemon Lime shifted his weight away from the wall he had been leaning against and proceeded to back away from the fight. He would have attempted to run between the chimera's legs and take on the unicorn himself, but the creature's snake-tail would be biting at him the whole time. He had managed to get several paces away before a massive paw swatted at him. Too tired to dodge any more, the exhausted unicorn stallion simply allowed his legs to fold beneath him and fell to the ground. The paw swept over his body but connected with his head. Lemon Lime felt one of the huge claws connect with the back of his head, piercing his skin. The blow sent the helpless unicorn flying through the glass window of a nearby ice-cream parlor, leaving a trail of blood behind him, following him in the night air. He hit the floor inside and bounced limply like he was no more than a pile of wet, yellow, fuzzy, dough. Glass, blood, chairs, and small round tables went flying in every direction.
Valiant saw Lemon Lime take the hit and called out to the other stallions,
“Live Wire's been hurt!” he yelled, limping toward the smashed window as quickly as he could, “Big Mac, keep that thing away from the shop while I get him out!”
Big Macintosh heard Valiant and began attacking the chimera from a different angle, keeping its attention away from the ice cream parlor. The big Earth pony looked around sadly. Dr. Mend had dragged Sea Blue away from the beast and though they looked recovered enough, neither was really equipped for any type of battle nor physically capable of doing much damage. Valiant was trying to, first of all find, then tend to Lemon Lime, if the little unicorn was even still alive. Trooper was his only capable ally, but Big Macintosh knew with certainty, there was no way the two of them alone could possibly threaten, much less bring down such a powerful creature.
The situation was desperate to say the least. Big Macintosh's mind turned to an old truth 'desperate times, call for desperate measures'. He gritted his teeth and charged the chimers, pouring on the speed. He aimed for its lowered leone head, intending to knock the creature silly and give his friends a chance to recover through simple, strength and momentum. He gritted his teeth, this was sure to hurt, it might even kill him, but they didn't have any other clear option. He calmed his mind and accepted what would come. They had to succeed, there was no alternative, and he would do everything he could to make that happen. He thought of Applejack, Applebloom, and Granny Smith. Would he ever see them again? He had no idea. He could only try to make himself comfortable and accept what he had to do to ensure their success. He accepted the possible consequences of his actions and floated in a sea of peace. He had an epiphany, Peace! That was it!
He closed his eyes and focused his thoughts on every time he had accepted the world as it was. There were A LOT of examples. He felt dizzy, like he was falling, spinning, and twisting all at the same time. Time stopped as he came to an absolution with himself, 'If Ah am one of the Elements of Peace, Ah need it. Ah have to help mah friends. Ah accept the responsibility and the gift, if it's there for me to have.'
The three other stallions, outside the ice-cream shop, were nearly blinded by a bright flash of golden light emanating from just in front of Big Macintosh. The space in front of the large Earth pony seemed to rend, like it had been torn open. The light swept gently over his whole body, from head to hoof, almost as if the world moved in slow-motion. Each place the light touched, it left a glowing outline of something which shimmered as he moved. His form disappeared for a brief moment in a blinding flash as the light reached the tip of his tail, then he reappeared.
His black outfit had been replaced; he was clothed in regal, golden armor. His head was covered with a full helm which enclosed his entire head, save for his mouth and eyes. A broom-crest sat above his head like the Royal Guard had, except his seemed to be made of spun gold. He had an emblem of his cutie mark on a slightly raised dais in the center of his forehead and his mane flowed out of the back of the helm through a hole. His neck, both front and back, was covered in interlocking plates that shifted when he moved. His chest, shoulders, sides, legs, and flank were covered with more of the interlocking plates and his tail flared out behind him, poking through the armor through a hole in the backside, while his underbelly and the backs of his legs were open and uncovered. His hooves were shod with thick, golden shoes which clanged metallically against the road. The armor was inscribed with flowing vine-like etchings which glowed dimly with red eldritch power. Compared to him, the armor of the Royal Guard looked like a paltry, poorly fabricated knock off.
Big Macintosh's whole body bulged with thick muscles and sinews, which rippled beneath his skin, where it was visible. His legs looked more like tree-trunks than appendages made for mobility. His speed increased fivefold, muscles straining for even more velocity. Big Macintosh felt incredible power flowing through his veins. He snorted and charged on ahead. His mind echoed around him and suddenly he understood, 'Ah couldn't use it before 'cause Ah didn't accept it!' he realized. He lowered his head and turned to the side, throwing his shoulder into the monster's leone head.
The entire creature's body shook from the impact. The head Big Mac had hit, whipped back with a sharp crack. Just as he had intended, the creature fell to the ground, for a few moments at least.
A new revelation flashed into his mind, 'Two Earth ponies, two unicorns, and two pegasi! It's all of us! Fate must have brought us together! Ah have to call out each of them mahself in order for them to manifest!'
Big Macintosh focused his attention on Lemon Lime who was in the greatest need. The, now outlandishly well built, Earth pony considered his friend, 'What character traits does Live Wire have that fit?' he wondered. Big Macintosh thought on all of the times Lemon Lime had spoken of his patients, how he had to be willing to take it slow so they could recover. Everypony considered him impatient because he spoke so quickly but he was actually just excitable. Big Macintosh's mouth flew open as he realized which Element Lemon Lime represented.
He threw back his head and called out into the wind, hoping Lemon Lime could hear,
“Live Wire! You had to temper your excitable nature to help your patients recover! You're careful and calculating! You never act without thinking it through! You are the Element of Patience!”
Every stallion's attention was drawn to the ice cream shop. Valiant had just limped to the window when Big Macintosh had manifested. He had watched in awe as his friend became the Element of Acceptance. He turned his head back to the inside of the parlor. Its internal walls were illuminated by a bright glow. The stallions saw Lemon Lime's limp body lifted by some unseen force into the air. Lemon Lime was glowing like the sun. Lemon Lime floated back down to the floor in a standing position. The small unicorn's eyes were closed; Valiant couldn't tell if he was breathing or not.
In a flash of green light, golden armor appeared around the little yellow unicorn's body, his cutie-mark adorned the helmet just below his horn. The armor was different from Big Mac's. It looked thinner, more streamlined; the armor was form-fitting, it hugged tightly against his coat. Lemon Lime's armor was embedded with crystals in various shapes and sizes, the largest of these adorned his chest, just below his neck, each glowing a dim yellow. Lemon Lime's body, instead of the massive bulk that Big Mac carried, was covered in lean muscle, sleek and toned. His horn crackled with unspent magic, sparks slithering up and down its length. His hooves carried not shoes, but metallic boots that matched the rest of the armor. Lemon Lime still didn't move, 'Is the armor the only thing holding him up?' Valiant wondered.
Lemon Lime's eyes popped open and he drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Lemon Lime's eyes were narrowed and intense, his small body now slightly larger from the new layers of muscle underneath. Valiant had to admit, the little guy was kind of intimidating in his armor. A hail of splintered chair and table fragments suddenly exploded outward as Lemon Lime streaked past Valiant. The smaller unicorn's legs were a blur of motion, he moved almost at the speed of thought, which for him was significant. The size of his body no longer mattered, he had the muscles to run at any speed he wished and the stamina to keep it up for quite a while. Lemon Lime charged the chimera but before he reached it, he just stopped. He stopped and took a ready stance.
Lemon Lime addressed Big Macintosh without turning his head,
“I'll keep it distracted while you call out the others. I doubt I'm powerful enough to take it on by myself.”
Big Macintosh focused his mind on Sea Blue next, 'Which one could he be? He knows how to read ponies. He's perceptive and observant. He's a councilor so he has to be able to . . . ' Big Macintosh cut himself off. The answer was starring him right in the face.
The red Earth pony called out to the two stallions behind him,
“Sea Blue! You can tell what a pony's thinking by their body language alone. You are clever and perceptive! You can read ponies like a book! You are the Element of Discernment!”
Dr. Mend looked over to the unicorn stallion next to him and watched in awe as he transformed from a simple counselor into an Element of Peace. Sea Blue closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He reared back on his hind legs and threw back his head, hooves raking the air repeatedly. His front legs descended and struck the ground. A bright purple light sprung to life, at his hooves, like the first trickles of a new spring. The light slowly climbed up all four of his legs and washed up over him, bathing his entire body from the ground up. Sea Blue's armor was also different. Dizzying swirling patterns were carved up his legs, on his sides, and around his eyes, all glowing a dim purple. His horn was covered in a spiraling strip that looked to be made of a single piece of metal. His legs, chest, back, flank, and neck were completely enclosed by layered bands of golden metal. His hooves sported thick metal shoes which emitted a slight purple light from the bottoms. His cutie-mark was set into the plate across his head. His mane, tail, and eye color perfectly complimented the inscribed armor. The unicorn stallion's body had thickened, stretching out over his new muscle definition. The councilor's eyes smoldered, literally looked like they were burning under his helmet.
The chimera shuddered and rose to its paws, glaring around in fury. Lemon Lime took a fighting stance, as intense as his gaze. The chimera whipped its heads back and forth, roaring loudly and raised one of its massive paws to swipe at the little unicorn.
Lemon Lime broke into a run, zigzagging in front of the great beast in a flurry of motion. The chimera seemed to go mad. It slammed its paws down furiously, trying and failing, to flatten the impetuous stallion. Sea Blue shot forward and joined Lemon Lime in his game of keep away. The chimera brought its jaws into play and began to try to bite the two unicorns. The key word being 'try'. It couldn't touch them.
Big Macintosh turned his attention to the medical pony with the black coat and white mane and tail, 'Dr. Mend is a tougher one. There are only three Elements left: Hope, Perseverance, and Forgiveness. He heals ponies and cures illness. What was it he was sayin' earlier when Valiant was complainin' to him?' Big Mac's mouth curled up into a smile, the answer was simple, Dr. Mend had said it himself.
Big Macintosh roared loudly,
“MEND! You had to learn to let go of your bitterness! You had hated yourself needlessly and it was killing you! You found your forgiveness and that's your Element. You are the Element of Forgiveness!”
The simple word rang in Dr. Mend's ears: Forgiveness. It was a solid truth to him now. It was what he had been missing all his life. Now that he had it, he felt like it was his world. So much could be accomplished through forgiveness. Mend lowered his head and focused on the picture of his grandparents holding him on their porch. The memory was the happiest one he had. It had already warmed his heart and now it gave might to his limbs.
Mend's mane and tail lit up like the sun, bathing him in white light. His mane and tail elongated and snaked around his whole body, encircling him completely. The two elongated embodiments of light withdrew, leaving behind his armor. Mend's armor looked like the layered scales of a dragon. Scales covered his legs, chest, back, and flank. White light seemed to want to escape from between the scales, a dim glow came from behind each one. His neck was open in the front, while the back of his neck was covered with more of the shining scales. His head was enclosed by a plate helmet which sprouted his mane out of the top of his head in the back. His mane was pulled up into a tight knot which flowed down onto his shoulders. Mend felt, within himself, a strength and endurance the likes of which he had never imagined. He felt like he could cross the span of Equestria in one long run. He could see the edges of the helmet in the corners of his eyes; he knew his cutie mark was on his forehead.
Dr. Mend raised his head, a single tear ran down from his left eye, but he was smiling. The smile was a visual representation of what he felt inside. His world had changed. Valiant had brought him hope for the future, that there could be something better. Lemon Lime had shown him that time can heal wounds if you only had the strength of character to try. Sea Blue had seen past his cold exterior to the crying foal underneath, and had helped him see beyond his own perceived failings to the truth of the matter. Trooper had demonstrated how to never give up no matter how tough life can be, with enough determination you can do anything. Big Macintosh had shown him how to accept the love that was already there for him, provided by his family and friends. He owed them everything and he knew it.
“I owe you my new life.” he whispered, “None can take that away.”
Dr. Mend, sworn by oath to never offer harm to another pony, made his decision. He charged, bellowing a war cry, and launched himself bodily at the great beast arrayed against him and his friends. He galloped boldly into the fray. Sea Blue suffered an unfortunate blow to his side. The councilor's armor absorbed the hit and turned away the claws, but the laws of physics were unfeeling. Sea Blue flew, uncontrolled, straight toward a nearby white marble wall. Dr. Mend saw the blow land and altered his course. Dr. Mend knew he could never make the jump to catch Sea Blue so he decided to try something crazy. He changed his direction, pumping his legs harder, faster. He lowered his body closer to the ground and ran right up the wall. He took seven steps and launched himself off the wall aiming right at Sea Blue. The turquoise councilor looked up in awe. Mend caught Sea Blue's body against his undercarriage. Mend's momentum was overcome by Sea Blue's, throwing both stallions back toward the wall, but at a greatly reduced velocity. The two stallions hit the ground. Dr. Mend curled his body and rolled like a wheel, protecting the councilor. His armor seemed to conform to any movement he made. The energy propelling them died off and Dr. Mend came up in a crouch with Sea Blue right next to him. The two stallions wasted not a moment and charged back into the fray.
Big Macintosh continued; the words came unbidden to his lips,
“Trooper! You never gave up on finding your cutie-mark! You kept on, even when others would have quit trying! You were so determined you took up jobs at every place you could! You may never find your cutie-mark but you don't let that stop you! You don't allow yourself to give up! You are the Element of Perseverance!”
Above the other stallions, in the air, Trooper's wings flashed brightly, enveloped in cyan light. His feathers glowed as if seen from under water. The glow slowly seeped from his wing tips into the rest of his body, spreading like luminescent oil. It covered his wings then began spreading to his legs, back, chest, and flanks. His head was the last to take on the glow; the light slowly seeped up his neck and converged right between his eyes. In a blinding flash of cyan light, his armor formed over his body, it even covered the fronts of his wings in a layer of jointed plate. The front of his neck, his undercarriage, and the backs of his legs were set with lengths of tightly woven thin chains. The plates covering most of his body looked paper thin and light-weight, but supple and willowy; the perfect dichotomy of flexible and tough. The plates were shallowly etched with archaic hieroglyphs which continuously emitted a dim cyan glow. Instead of his cutie-mark, since he had none, a glowing infinity symbol adorned the forehead of his helmet. His hooves were shod with a quartet of dull spiked shoes. His body was thick with chorded muscle, the webs of flesh where his wings met his body were nearly as thick as his muzzle, and his neck was thick with sloping tendons and sinews.
Trooper whooped and dove down toward the chimera at incredible speed. He turned at the last moment and swept his hind legs down, keeping his momentum. He landed on the titan's goat head with an audible crunch and leapt back into the sky.
The chimera roared once again, drawing Big Mac's attention away from his last friend. The goat head reared back, drawing a deep breath. The head came down, quick as a striking snake, aimed at the only pony in its line of sight, upon which it could take out its wrath, Valiant.
Valiant had limped out to the middle of the street to gain a better view of the fight between his friends and the chimera. He had been keeping his weight shifted forward to take pressure off his injured hind legs. He had figured he was a safe distance away. He had figured wrong. He looked up just in time to see a gout of flame come spewing forth, out of the goat head's mouth, directly at him. Valiant acted as quickly as he could. He bolted toward the ice cream parlor, hoping to leap through the broken window and use the inside for cover. His injured back legs couldn't take the sudden strain and he tripped. He fell back, onto his injured flank and legs and had to try to drag himself to safety. He knew he could never make it in time. The other stallions were too far away to get to him.
Valiant closed his eyes and struggled to make his fore legs move faster. It was hopeless, he could never make it in time. Valiant felt a sudden, incredible impact on his flank, which was accompanied by a hefty grunt. Valiant's body surged forward into the air. He flew into the window of the ice cream parlor, safe. He turned his head just in time to see Evening Star. She was laying on the road, having fallen from where she shoved him. In half a second, their eyes locked. In the other half a second, she was engulfed by the flames.
Valiant watched as the flames died away, leaving behind melted rocks and the still, blackened form of what looked vaguely like a pony.
Valiant couldn't feel a thing, he was numb. He was only dimly aware that his friends had subsequently engaged the chimera in a battle that would have been worthy of legends. He didn't care. He drug himself out of the window, toward the body lying in the street. He didn't care that the still hot rocks were singing away the coat on his legs. It didn't matter to him. He drug himself over the roadway and up to the body in the middle of the street.
Valiant leaned down, nudging the still form with his muzzle,
“Evening Star, get up.” he urged, voice cracking, “You have to get up. You're not safe here. You have to go.” he realized he was crying only because he left wet spots on the still smoking body, “Come on, get up. You have to fly away. It's dangerous.” no matter what he said, she didn't get up.
Valiant's heart didn't break, breaking indicates being whole in the first place.
His heart didn't break.
It shattered into dust.
He let the tears come. He nuzzled the body underneath him in a way he had never dared to nuzzle any mare. He tilted his head and kissed her forehead tenderly, the singed hairs of her coat crumbling under his lips. He didn't want to leave her, should she awaken. His mind screamed at him to move, that he was in danger. He silenced the voice with extreme prejudice. He would have his one moment with her. He had missed any chance to be with Arabesque when she passed, he would be with Evening Star now, 'Nopony should ever die alone.' He sighed heavily, wanting to stay with her forever. He knew there was still a battle to be fought, still ponies to save. He would never give up hope, it was his life. He just wanted his one moment with his friend.
He nuzzled her body again,
“There's a friend waiting for you Evening Star. Go to her. Go and rest.” he whispered.
Valiant felt reason stir within himself, 'My friends still need me.' he thought stoically, 'There is
still hope for many more. I have to finish what I began.' Valiant saw a golden light behind himself. It cast his shadow onto the ground. He turned his head. There they were, just like Big Macintosh had said.
His wings were back. They were long and beautiful beyond words. Valiant stretched them out experimentally. They complied, opening to an impressive span; more than triple the length of his old wings. He flexed the muscles in his shoulders. The wings complied, flapping swiftly. A surge of hope flared within Valiant's chest, 'My legs might be useless, but my wings are more than capable of compensating.'
Valiant flapped his wings hard. He lifted off the ground easily. The wings were powerful, very powerful. He lifted into the air and turned to face the thing which threatened not only his friends, but innumerable ponies all over Canterlot. His eyes narrowed. He took off at the great beast in a flash of light, wings a blur behind him. Valiant flew like the wind, spurred on by Evening Star's sacrifice. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes, a hoarse battle cry shredding its way out of his throat.
The cry was in ancient Equestrian, a language he had learned in Haysburg,
“VICORO AUT MORTUS!” which, when translated, means 'victory or death'.
Big Macintosh turned and saw Valiant, wings and all, come charging toward the chimera,
“Valiant! You never gave up hope! You had hope that Dr. Mend would see what was right when you gave him the recipe for the potion! You had hope that you could rescue the fillies! You had hope, even after you were burnt and bleeding, that you could rescue Granny Smith! You had hope, even as you lay dying, that she could live! You never gave up hope, no matter what was arrayed against you! YOU VALIANT ARE THE ELEMENT OF HOPE!”
Valiant sailed past Big Macintosh on a direct course with the chimera. The chimera raised a paw to swat at the new threat. Valiant never changed direction. The two met with a resounding crack. The world stopped for the briefest of moments. The five Elements of Peace saw Valiant with his right wing extended over his head defensively, a mouth still opened bellowing in his cry, eyes narrowed dangerously. The chimera's paw, claws extended, was pressed down against the magical wing. Energy exploded outward, momentarily blinding the chimera in a nova of viridian light. The surrounding stallions watched as Valiant's armor formed itself around his body with an audible clang.
Valiant's armor was of tiny, tightly woven rings of the purest viridian (a mixture of light green and silver). The armor covered his chest, back, flanks, and neck; it clung onto his body tightly. Valiant's body had previously been athletically muscular, if a bit on the thin side, now it was like looking at a professional athlete. His chest and shoulders were thick with muscle definition, his flanks were chorded with sinews, and his back rippled with every movement. His wings were completely unadorned, they needed nothing. His legs were stilted in long, slender, jointed plates of viridian that left his hooves shod in prismatic shoes. His head was adorned with a streamlined helm, also viridian, made of hinged plates which left only his eyes visible. His cutie-mark crested the middle of his forehead, etched into the plates. None of his armor emitted any kind of a glow, instead it reflected the lights coming off his comrades.
Time returned to normal. Valiant turned in mid air, wings out flat and spun, delivering a sharp kick to the chimera's leone jaw. The blow landed with a small crunch of broken magical teeth.
The battle was joined.
The six Elements of Peace began attacking in a flurry of motion. Dr. Mend rushed in and turned, lashing out with his right hind leg. He slammed it into the titan's left paw, knocking out from under the great beast. Lemon Lime channeled magic into his horn and cast an illusory spell. Suddenly there were four Lemon Limes attacking the great beast, each acting independently. Each injury the chimera sustained from the illusion's hooves was small but numerous; more importantly, the injuries were real. The illusions seemed to be not so much illusions but simple extensions of Lemon Lime himself. It was a marvelous distraction and an effective tactic. Trooper flew up to the leone head and turned in mid air. Using his momentum to aid him, he placed his fore hooves on the leone head's muzzle and bucked out with both hind legs. This blow landed one hoof in each of its eyes. The chimera shrieked at the blow, throwing its head back. Valiant flew up into the air and dove down, fore hooves extended. As his fore hooves touched its muzzle he brought his hind legs up and compounded the blow, smashing the leone head into the road below with the terrible impact. Big Macintosh leapt onto the muzzle of the downed head and reared back on his hind legs. He brought down the full weight of his size and impressive muscle on his fore hooves. His hooves smashed into the top of the thing's skull sending out a small shockwave rippling through the surrounding road. The head cracked and muddy purple magic oozed from the cracks. The head didn't move again. Sea Blue lowered his horn and focused his magic. A lance of white-hot light appeared from the tip of his horn extending three feet. He gored the massive beast through its chest, nudging it back several paces. He pulled away, leaving a gaping hole in its chest which gushed out more muddy purple magic.
The chimera stumbled and fell onto its chest.
“One head is down! Focus on the goat head!” Sea Blue yelled.
Lemon Lime added to his statement,
“The goat head is tougher on its crown! Hit it from beneath and on the sides!”
Dr. Mend sprinted over to the goat head from the right and leapt into the air, somersaulted, and landed both his back hooves on the thing's jaw as his weight and muscle struck with a small thunderclap. His fore hooves made contact and he launched himself back onto the ground, landing, already at a gallop. Trooper flew in from the opposite side, angled down. He landed on his fore hooves and in the same movement launched himself back up, upside down. He hit the goat head's throat with a juicy crunch. Trooper pushed off and swooped out from underneath the head. Valiant came in right at the titan's muzzle and hovered in mid air. He lashed out with all four of his legs, raining down a long series of punishing blows on its muzzle tip. Liquid purple magic flew with each strike. Valiant retreated back as the goat head inhaled to breathe fire again. The breath took quite a bit longer than before, Trooper's hit had been sound. Lemon Lime saw the opening and dismissed the illusions, then focused on a new use for an old spell. The goat head opened its mouth and exhaled its fire. The fire struck an invisible barrier and curled back around, dousing the goat head in its own flame. It lowered its head to escape the fire and two ponies charged toward it at the same time from opposite directions.
Big Mac and Sea Blue darted in and bucked simultaneously from each side. The beast's lower jaw cracked loudly just as Trooper and Valiant crashed down onto the top of its head, driving it into the road with a sickening crunch. Lemon Lime released his former spell and closed his eyes, focusing his magic on a new spell, one he had just conceived. The little unicorn began to glow bright green. He opened his eyes and finished the spell. He appeared to the left of the goat head's muzzle tip and struck out with his left fore hoof, the impact sending the head to the right. Lemon Lime appeared on the right and lashed out with his right fore hoof, snapping the head back to the left. Lemon Lime appeared back in front of the thing's muzzle. Dr. Mend joined him in his final move. Together they bucked with both hind legs. The head jerked back into the air with a violent snap. The head seemed to go limp and fell forward slowly, ugly purple magic nearly spraying into the air.
“Get under the head! Buck when it gets close! Live Wire call it!” Sea Blue yelled.
The six Elements of Peace gathered in a group on the ground in front of the descending head,
“Wait for it!” Lemon Lime said.
The head descended slowly, picking up speed as it neared the ground,
“Wait for it!”
The head picked up speed, falling almost too fast to see, it was so close now,
“Now!” Lemon Lime called.
Six powerful stallions bucked as one. Twelve hooves struck the titanic head in one swift motion. The head jerked back with a sound similar to that of a whip cracking. The magical flesh on the underside of the neck split, spilling muddy magic all over the ground. The chimera shimmered and dissipated in the fading glow of the rogue's power. After a moment, it was gone.
The rogue screamed as if she had her mind ripped in two. She clasped both of her hooves to her head and collapsed onto the ground shaking and sobbing. She was still screaming, even as Big Macintosh held her and Dr. Mend injected the sedative into her thigh. The prick of the needle didn't seem to register with her, she just screamed. The rogue screamed for only seconds after the sedative was in her blood-stream. She quickly succumbed to the potent nature of the chemicals and lay unmoving on the road, breathing evenly.
As soon as the rogue was down, the stallions slowly plodded back over to where a blackened body lay in the middle of the street, Valiant in the lead. Valiant's wings vanished back into oblivion as did the rest of the stallions' armors. Nopony spoke a single word, they didn't have to. Dr. Mend, more out of habit than any necessity he felt, began taking Evening Star's vitals. The other five stallions watched silently and waited.
Dr. Mend reached for her inner thigh to take her pulse and his head snapped up,
“She's alive!” he yelled, “Not only that, her pulse is strong . . . really strong.” he checked her breathing, “She's breathing just fine!” he said shocked, “She should be dead. Her pulse should be low and her breathing shallow in any case.” he shook his head puzzled, “I don't get it. She just seems like she's sleeping.”
“If she were sleeping, she would have been awakened by the sounds of our fight.” Lemon Lime observed.
Valiant peered closely at the form in front of him, 'Something's different. Something's out of place.' he knew it was true but he just couldn't put his hoof on it.
Realization struck him like a freight train,
“Her mane and tail are starting to grow back!” he exclaimed.
The six stallions watched as her mane and tail did indeed regrow. They regenerated at an astounding rate, the stallions could actually see it happening. Inch by inch her mane and tail regrew, not in Evening Star's normal color, but is deep dark blue. The mane grew right up over her head obscuring it. Dr. Mend reached out a tentative hoof and brushed away her mane from her face. His hoof brushed away flakes of charred skin and coat, revealing a thick, lush, sable coat underneath, gleaming richly in the moonlight. On an impulse, Dr. Mend reached out again and cleared away her entire mane from her face and forehead. His hoof encountered something solid. Mend pushed back the mane and found himself starring at a long, black horn.
Lemon Lime's mind began piecing different things together; his eyes shot open,
“Get back now!” he yelled suddenly.
The other stallions scooted back several paces,
“Trooper, whip up a whirlwind around her, quickly!” Lemon Lime commanded.
Trooper took to the wing and flew in tight circles around Evening Star's body. He pulled up a small whirlwind in a few moments. Dust and ash flew in all directions, obscuring all sight of Evening Star. Trooper maintained his whirlwind for a few moments more then let it subside. He landed beside his friends as she whirlwind vanished into normal air. The six stallions looked on in awe, shock engrained into every face.
There, on the ground, lay Princess Luna.
Author’s Note:
I hope this chapter satisfies all your hopes. This took me the past solid week. Seriously, I did nothing else. This is not the last chapter. PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR COMMENTS! I NEED YOUR OPPINIONS! Let me know, did I do O.K. or did this ending suck? As always enjoy! (reads comments . . . or don’t, I guess.)