//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Elements of Equestria // by trooper7051 //------------------------------// The Elements of Equestria Part 1         Six mares sat on the floor of the Ponyville Library listening to a baby dragon read from a scroll, "Dear Twilight Sparkle, I am afraid I have yet to make your acquaintance, but rest assured I am a friend and we also share a mutual friend. Valiant has disappeared but we think we know where to find him. I am of the belief that we should meet in Ponyville as we have much to discuss, not the least of which is the location of our, aforementioned, friend. I am being accompanied by four stallions and one filly all of which, I believe, will end up taking up residency in Ponyville on a long-term basis. We will arrive in seven days and we wish to meet you and the other Elements of Harmony as soon as possible afterward. We look forward to meeting you in person. Sincerely yours, Trooper" "Who the heck is this Trooper guy?" Applejack asked, "Ah ain't never heard of him." "Neither have I, Applejack." Twilight added, "But he seems to know Valiant, so I think it would be wise to hear him out."         Rarity's lips pursed, thinking, "What I would like to know is how he knows we're the Elements of Harmony, darling. We don't precisely make that a well-known fact, now do we?"         Rainbow Dash took to the air, as she was apt to do, "Why is he bringing four stallions and a filly with him? And what did he mean 'on a long-term basis'? Does he mean they plan on living here or something?" "Ooh ooh ooh! Does that mean . . . " Pinkie Pie began.         Twilight turned her head quickly, "Not right now Pinkie. We love your parties, but this sounds serious."         The resident party pony didn't seem fazed in the slightest, "O.K. That just means I have more time to plan for it!"         A small voice spoke up in the midst of the commotion, "I wonder why Valiant ran away? What could have happened to make him do that?" Fluttershy asked.         Twilight rose to her hooves, "I don't know, Fluttershy, but we need to be ready to receive them. They'll need a place to stay and Ponyville doesn't have any hotels."         Rarity cleared her throat, "Ahem. I have enough floor-space inside my boutique for a couple of them at least." "We've got some room in our new house and the barn too." Applejack volunteered. "Thank you, girls. The boutique, the farm, and the Library here, should be enough room to house them until they get settled in . . . " Twilight was interrupted by Spike belching out another scroll.         The little assistant caught the scroll and unrolled it, "It's from Big Macintosh! Can I read it, Applejack?" Spike asked. "That's 'May I read it, Applejack'" Twilight corrected her assistant. "Sure thing Spike." Applejack replied.         Spike cleared his throat, "Dear Applejack, I'm on my way home with some friends. If Twilight hasn't already told you, we have a problem with Valiant and we need someplace for our new friends to sleep. I promise I'll explain when I get home. Something big has happened. I can't explain it to you except in person. See you soon sis, Macintosh. P.S. Tell Applebloom and Granny Smith hi for me."         Applejack's face contorted in confusion, "Now what the hay is that supposed to mean?" she asked nopony in particular.         Twilight turned and addressed the assembled mares, "I guess we'll have to wait and see. We have seven days to prepare so let's get t it." *******************************         Rainbow Dash flew down to where her friends were waiting in front of the Ponyville Library, "I see them! They've got Big Mac and Dr. Mend with them and they're pulling a huge cart full of stuff."         Twilight addressed her airborne friend, "How far away are they?"         Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her mouth and stuck out her tongue to the side, "I'd say ten minutes, twenty at most. Should I go introduce myself?"         Rarity spoke loudly to the cyan pegasus, "We don't want to overwhelm them, Rainbow Dash. Why don't we just let them come to us?" "Um, question." Dash said bluntly, "How are they supposed to know where to meet us, huh? Nopony bothered to make that arrangement."         Twilight blinked, Rainbow Dash had a point, "Let's go meet them together. That way there won't be any misunderstandings." Twilight looked around, "Has anypony seen Pinkie Pie?"         Applejack and Rarity looked at each other worriedly, "Uh oh." they said in unison. ********************************         Patch had been very sad to have to leave her friends in Canterlot. She rode on her father's back moping. Big Macintosh had offered to pull the cart holding Lemon Lime, Sea Blue, and Patch’s belongings. Trooper flew overhead carrying his meager possessions in his saddle-bags. Dr. Mend led the way in front with Lemon Lime right behind him. Sea Blue walked beside Big Mac so they could talk.         Patch had kept quiet, that is until a bright pink pony's head with a frizzy mane poked out from underneath the canopy of the cart Big Macintosh was pulling, "Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! Are you one of Valiant's friends?" she asked cheerfully.         Patch was so startled she nearly fell off her father's back, "I'm Patch. I don't know Valiant very well yet. Are you one of his friends?" "Who are you talking to sweetie?" Sea Blue asked turning his head.         He saw Pinkie's head sticking out of the covered cart and almost tripped himself, "Oh hello." "Pinkie Pie," Big Macintosh addressed without looking, "Why don't you come on out and say hi like a normal pony?"         Pinkie blew playful raspberries in the red stallion’s direction, "Because that's no fun! Normal is so booooooooring! And I'm all about having fun!" "You'll have to excuse Pinkie." Big Mac said to Sea Blue, "She's uh, a bit random." "I like her!" Patch said excitedly.         Pinkie took the statement as encouragement, "Ooh! Do you like parties? I love parties! I mean, there's nothing like a good party to make you smile! And you looked so sad when I first saw you. I wanted to throw a biiiiiiiiiiig party to welcome you to Ponyville but Twilight said I had to wait and I said that was fine because then I could plan for it more and more! Ooh you should see what I have in mind! It's going to be the biggest, most awesomest party ever! Normally I only throw a party for one pony, but now I get to throw a party for FOUR new ponies, and that means I need four times the cake and four times the decorations and four times the games! It's going to be the most epic party ever! Wow! I never thought I'd use that word! I've been meaning to for a while now but I never had the chance to! Haha! Epic, epic, epic, epic, epiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiic!" Pinkie had thrown her fore hooves up in the air for the last part and subsequently over balanced and fell out of the cart.         Not missing a beat she sprung back up onto her hooves giggling, "Hehehehehehehehehe! Oops! I do that sometimes!"         Sea Blue looked like he had no idea how to handle the pink ball of energy, Patch loved her, "You sound like Live Wire." she giggled.         Pinkie cocked her head to the side, "Live Wire? Which one is he?" Pinkie asked bouncing along with the small procession.         Patch pointed to Lemon Lime, "He's the unicorn with the yellow coat and green mane and tail talking to Dr. Mend."         Pinkie vanished right before Patch’s eye only to suddenly and impossibly appear out of a bush right next to Lemon Lime, "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" she greeted energetically.         Lemon Lime was stricken, fortunately Dr. Mend saved him by enveloping Pinkie in a big hug, "Pinkie Pie! I've missed you, you ball of fun!" he said uncharacteristically.         Pinkie was stunned, Dr. Mend never hugged anypony, "Um, are you feeling alright Dr. Mend?" she asked cautiously.         The black Earth pony smiled back at her, "I'm fine Pinkie Pie." Dr. Mend said turning to Lemon Lime, "This is Pinkie Pie, she's the Element of Laughter."         Trooper flew down to join the conversation, "She is one of the Elements of Harmony? Wahoo, talk about opposites!" he chuckled, "Wait, if she is the Element of Laughter then that means you are her . . . "         Dr. Mend made a zipping motion with his hoof across his mouth, "Let's wait until we're there first, then we can explain."         Pinkie Pie wriggled out of Dr. Mend's grip and bounced in place, "Is it a guessing game? I love guessing manes! You're my . . . friend? No I already know that. Are you my . . . agent? No that doesn't make any sense. Are you my . . . " she continued on making wild and unfounded guesses until the procession reached the northern entrance to Ponyville where five mares and one baby dragon waited for them. *************************************         Dr. Mend, Lemon Lime, Trooper, Big Macintosh, Patch, and Sea Blue came to a halt several paces from Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy with Pinkie Pie bouncing up and down between the two groups. Trooper had to time his landing so he and Pinkie wouldn't collide.         The royal blue pegasus performed an elegant, flourishing bow to the gathering of mares, "I am Trooper." he introduced, "Whom do I have the distinctive honor of addressing ladies?"         Fluttershy squeaked and huddled behind Applejack's tail. Applejack, on the other hoof, just rolled her eyes at the dramatic pegasus. Rainbow Dash stared in utter disbelief while Twilight blinked several times in rapid succession. Rarity, seeing the state of her friends decided to break the ice and stepped forward.         The fashion designer cleared her throat and held out a perfectly manicured hoof toward Trooper, "You may call me Rarity sir. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."         Trooper stepped up to the white unicorn and politely kissed her offered hoof, "The pleasure is all mine, I assure you."         Rarity blushed but couldn't help to overhear Rainbow Dash whisper, "Aw great, not another one!"         Trooper seemed to take notice of the comment, "Pardon me miss Rarity."         Trooper took to the air and faced Rainbow Dash face to face, somehow bowing in mid-air, "The famous Rainbow Dash I presume." "Don't even think about kissing me!" she said defensively.         Trooper looked offended but decided to repay tit-for-tat, "No indeed. I only plant these lips where they are wanted and the hoof of a lady is offered. Thus far, I have only been introduced to a single lady."         The minor insult was not lost on Rainbow Dash, "What the hay is that supposed to mean?"         Trooper smiled mischievously, "Beauty is as beauty does, nothing more."         Rainbow Dash bristled at the insinuation, "Are you calling me ugly?"         Trooper waved a hoof in her general direction while turning his head, "Not in the least! In point of fact, I find you to be the very epitome of lovely. I am merely insinuating that if you wish to be treated like a lady you should act like one and not like an over-amped track star with something to prove. It is never a poor thing to utilize manners when making a first impression, and might I add that your first impression was not so courteous nor particularly welcoming."         Rarity leaned over to Twilight and whispered, "I think I'm in love!"         Spike, upon hearing the comment addressed Trooper, "Hey! Why not come on down here and meet the rest of us?"         Twilight turned he head and whispered to her passenger, "Spike! That was rude!"         Trooper landed in front of Twilight, "You would be Twilight Sparkle, would you not?"         Twilight shook he head, "Uh, yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you Trooper. Now if you and your friends would care to join us, we'll take you to the Ponyville Library so we can all make proper introductions."         Trooper brightened at the idea instantly, "A capital notion! However I must consult my compatriots. I am not in any kind of position to make decisions for them."         Trooper turned to head back to the others but had to step out of the way as Big Macintosh casually walked past him, "Let's meet at the Library like Twilight said."         The others were already moving along behind the huge Earth pony.         Trooper shrugged and turned back to the waiting mares, "It seems as though the decision is unanimous. Lead the way miss Twilight!" ***************************         Lemon Lime was a shaking, stuttering mess. He had never been around so many pretty mares before, not to mention that one of them was a former crush of his. The twelve ponies and one baby dragon gathered on the floor of the Library.         Once everypony was seated, Twilight took charge, "Introductions first. We already know Dr. Mend, Big Macintosh. Trooper why don't you finish your introduction?"         Trooper rose to his hooves and inclined his head to Twilight, "A delightful idea. How about for each of us, somepony meet us in the middle so all can hear?"         Applejack rose to her hooves and trotted up to Trooper, "Mah name's Applejack. Pleased to meet ya Trooper. You wouldn't be offended if'n Ah just wanted to shake hooves instead of a kiss would ya?"         Trooper bowed his head, "Not at all. Even the prerogative of a gentlecolt to bend to the wishes of a pretty mare." he said shaking Applejack's hoof.         Pinkie Pie bounced up next as Applejack sat back down, "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" she said extending her hoof.         Trooper closed his eyes and bent down to kiss her hoof politely. Trooper's lips met something metallic. He opened his eyes just in time to see an electric buzzer in front of his muzzle. The gathered ponies shielded their eyes as Trooper's entire body lit up like a light pole. His legs and torso flew up into the air and his mane and tail frizzed out as his skeleton shone through his skin. Pinkie Pie withdrew he hoof and giggled. Trooper lay on the floor with smoke rising from his mane and tail. Rainbow Dash and Sea Blue laughed uproariously at the sight.         Pinkie bounced away with a simple comment thrown over her shoulder, "You shouldn’t always be so proper. Not everypony understands it. Lighten up and have some fun."         Trooper groaned and sat up slowly, 'Mark one point for Pinkie Pie. She was defending Rainbow Dash and that threat, while playful, was still pretty obvious. That filly could be dangerous if she put her mind to it. I need to make sure I stay on her good side.' he thought. In truth Pinkie meant no threat at all, threats were not her style, but Trooper had no way of knowing that.         Trooper rose to his hooves and looked around, waiting for one more mare to come forward. He looked around but only saw five mares. After a moment of silence a mass of pink mane and custard colored body slowly inched her way out from behind Applejack and shuffled her way forward. Trooper remembered Valiant saying that Fluttershy was very timid. He laid down on the floor and lowered his head a bit to seem less intimidating.         Fluttershy finally reached him and laid down next to him, "I'm Fluttershy." she said quietly.         Trooper raised his head slightly, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Fluttershy. My name is Trooper. I will let you rise first so I do not startle you."         Fluttershy rose and hid back behind Applejack. Trooper rose to his hooves and sat back down with the other stallions, nudging Sea Blue on the way. Sea Blue rose with Patch and trotted to the center of the room. Patch slid off her father's shoulders and landed on the floor.         Twilight approached the pair first, "My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm the Librarian here in Ponyville. This," she said indicating the purple and green baby dragon sitting glumly on the stairs, “Is Spike. Pleased to meet you Sea Blue.” she said extending her hoof.         Sea Blue shook her hoof, "I'm Sea Blue and this is my daughter Patch." he said shaking Twilight's hoof.         Little Patch looked up at Twilight, eyes wide, "Are you one of the Elements of Harmony?" she asked.         Twilight's eyebrows arched, "Yes I am. All of us are. I'm the Elements of Magic. How did you know that?" "My daddy and the other guys talk about the Elements of Harmony all the time." Patch said turning to her father, "Is she the one Daddy?"         Sea Blue smiled down at his daughter, "No, sorry sweetie."         Twilight's interest had been piqued, "Am I the one, what?"         Sea Blue smiled knowingly, "We'll explain it after the introductions are over. I promise."         Twilight was not to be denied, "There's something fishy going on here." she said suspiciously, "You already know the rest of our names and I don't think Fluttershy can take too many more introductions today. Why don't you just tell us about yourself?"         Sea Blue shrugged as Twilight sat back down, "I'm Sea Blue and this is my daughter Patch. We're from Canterlot. I'm a licensed psychologist, psychiatrist, and councilor." he turned to his daughter, "Would you like to add anything sweetie?"         Patch just waved at the gathered mares happily, "Hi!"         Patch received several waves back then the pair walked back to the line of stallions. Sea Blue nudged Lemon Lime to head on to the center of the room. The poor yellow unicorn was practically shaking with fear. He stood up and walked to the center of the floor with his head down.         Lemon Lime raised his head, pupils the size of pinpoints, and tried to speak, "H . . . h . . . hello. M . . . my . . . nam . . . name's . . . Lemon . . . Lime." he sputtered then bolted back to the other stallions.         Twilight felt like she knew him from somewhere, but other things were already pressing on her mind, "Now that the introductions are finished, would somepony please tell me what is going on? Specifically, why Patch asked you if I was 'the one'?"         Sea Blue smiled, he loved being elusive, "She was asking if you were the one I'm supposed to protect. The answer is 'no'."         Twilight was not pleased with the vague answer, "Protect?" she asked openly.         Dr. Mend sighed heavily and rose to his hooves. He strode to the middle of the room and planted himself squarely, "Each of us is supposed to safe-guard one of you, one of the Elements of Harmony. We have the responsibility to keep you safe from anything that might threaten your safety. We only recently became aware of this responsibility when we had to subdue and capture a rogue unicorn who was suffering from stage three 'Caster's Stroke'. We formulated a plan to engage her but she was . . . resistant. We managed to back her into a corner but she summoned a chimera and put it on the offensive against us . . . "         Twilight interrupted Dr. Mend, "A chimera!" she shouted, "She summoned a chimera? That's forbidden magic, how did she know the spell? I don't even know that spell!" "She learned it specifically to use against you, Twilight. I hadn't seen her before, because I was in my clinic for the 'Ursa Minor incident' but I saw the aftermath. Her name was Trixie. We managed to defeat the chimera and subdue her with a great deal of teamwork."         Twilight was dumbstruck, "How! How did you defeat a chimera!?" she nearly shrieked.         Dr. Mend turned and looked back to his friends, motioning for them to join him. Big Macintosh, Sea Blue, Lemon Lime, and Trooper joined Dr. Mend forming a line facing the Elements of Harmony.         Dr. Mend continued, "We are the Elements of Peace." he said simply.         Twilight was utterly confused, "Elements of Peace? What are you talking about?" "Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said taking to the air angrily, "What kind of prank is this? There's only one set of Elements and that's us! The Elements of Harmony!" "Big Macintosh, what kind of foolishness is this?" Applejack addressed her brother. "Tain't no foolishness, sis. We're the real deal." Big Mac said openly.         Lemon Lime didn't want to waste any more time hearing everypony arguing. He closed his eyes and focused his mind. He had never tried to voluntarily call his Element out before, 'Remember focus on memories of patience.' he thought. He felt the power slowly beginning to build inside himself as the argument around him became more and more heated. "We are telling you the truth!" Trooper bellowed. "I must say, I find this incredibly difficult to believe. How can there be two sets of Elements?" Rarity asked. "Princess Celestia made the Elements of Harmony and Princess Luna made the Elements of Peace." Sea Blue responded.         Twilight noticed Lemon Lime's posture, "What's he doing?"         The simple question stopped every argument in the room. All eyes turned to Lemon Lime. "He's glowing!" Rarity shouted. "He's trying to manifest his Element voluntarily." Sea Blue said.         Lemon Lime concentrated harder. A sweat broke out on his body, but he kept trying. The room fell completely silent. Everypony backed away from the little yellow unicorn. The glow around him intensified steadily as he poured on more and more concentration. In a bright flash of light, his armor formed itself around his body with a sound akin to wind chimes ringing.         Lemon Lime opened his eyes and surveyed the room, settling on Twilight, "I'm the Element of Patience, guardian of the Element of Magic. I’m at your service Twilight Sparkle" he said in a deep bow.         Lemon Lime was overjoyed that he hadn’t stuttered, ‘Maybe the armor gives me more confidence?’         Twilight couldn't believe her eyes. The yellow unicorn, who had previously been only the slightest bit taller than her and just as thin, now looked to be the very picture of a muscular warrior. Twilight approached him slowly, examining every inch of the armor. She circled him from front to back and completed the circuit. The very sight of him made her feel . . . comforted, safe. She figured she should feel afraid of him, but she felt the opposite.         The one pony in the room to finally break the silence was a surprising one, "There's only five of you." Fluttershy said quietly, "Valiant's the other one isn't he?"         Dr. Mend nodded, "And your guardian, Fluttershy. We have to find him." Author's note: Feel free to leave any comments you wish in the comments section and feel free to call me between the hours of 5:00 P.M. E.S.T. and 5:00 A.M. E.S.T (remember I work at night and I live in Virginia) My number is 757-779-0385 I have unlimited long distance and unlimited text messaging so bring it on please. I love getting to know every brony I can. Double Mallow and Mac have already called me so this is not a bluff. I hope to hear from you soon everypony.