The Lost Elements Saga

by PrismShift

Abandonment Issues [Fixed w/ Bonus]

AN: Well for better or for worst I am finally getting this story down on paper. That's good. Those two dislikes hurt though, so I am hoping to recover from that with this here second chapter. As always please feel free to criticize all you wish; seriously, if I deserve it make me burn. Until then please enjoy.

In a quiet guest room of the palace Twilight Sparkle paced, her newly acquired wings fidgeting. Trotter was due to give his presentation in thirty minutes and Twilight was excited to attend it. However her wings were proving to be an issue. The feathery things tended to do that a lot in times of anxiety or excitement, much to the purple mare’s frustration. Yet again, for the hundredth time she convinced herself, she ran her hoof over the uneasy appendages in an attempt to smooth their feathers down. After several strokes she turned to a nearby mirror to make sure the rouge wings were flat.

They were, much to her joy, as she took a moment to admire the Element of Magic fitted over her head. It glistened in the mirror thanks to a heavy dose of polish. The gem crusted tiara was accented nicely by a simple, red toga; an idea of Rarity's. All the girls had one, so the six could match for tonight's little event. And show off her new archaic line, but what's a little free advertisement between friends? Quite pleased with her appearance, Twilight stepped away from the mirror, turning to leave her guest room. However she was startled to find her path blocked by a large, familiar draconequus decked in a dapper tux.

"Madame Sparkle," the chaotic creature said while twirling a thin mustache and speaking in a deep French accent. "I have been tasked by Madame Uptight to ask if you'd like these." From behind its back the being produced a quill and paper. "She said it's for you to take notes with."

“Thank you very much Discord," said Twilight smiling. "How are you enjoying life in the palace?"

Smirking, Discord snapped his fingers and his getup completely disappeared. "Honestly? I’m actually enjoying it. Celestia still has a bad habit of reining me in but this one time she helped me pull one over on Luna. Hahaha! Your mentor can be pretty mischievous when she wants."

It took Twilight a moment to form the mental picture of the Sun princess and spirit of chaos sharing in a prank; it was almost as if her brain couldn't accept story as fact. Still, she smiled at the draconequus and found the power to giggle. "Really? I never would have guessed."

"I know, right?! Who would think the uptight Celestia was really hiding the face of a devious mastermind?" Again he laughed, wiping away a shed tear of joy. "Oh well, I'd better report back. Short leash and all that. Also, your friends are waiting on you in the hall. Best hurry up." Discord then snapped two fingers and vanished, leaving the purple alicorn alone again. Levitating the paper and quill into a small saddle bag, she left the room to step out into an open hall. There her friends were ready to go, their Elements and togas on as well, while Spike stood dressed in a very dapper tux, eerily similar to the one Discord just had.
"Ready Twi?" asked Spike as he straightened his top hat.

"You bet." the young mare said as she took the lead to the presentation hall, where they would get to experience a whole new world.

A little too well they would come to find.

In the dark night of Canterlot, a flash of blue winked in then out of existence atop a palace tower, a blue unicorn dressed as a magician taking its place. She was exhausted, panting and struggling to stay on her feet as she looked around. She found herself lucky as no guards were patrolling the particular balcony she had jumped to; however she knew that might not be the case after long.

That's the longest teleport spell I have pulled off yet," she muttered to herself before looking towards the Cloud Hopper. Despite her winded state she smiled. "Now I just need to do it again and I can have access to all the little secrets Trotter has hidden aboard his ship. You'll be great again in no time Trixie!"

Scrunching her eyes up in concentration the mare focused and soon the tip of her horn lit up. More and more she focused as the tip became brighter and brighter. And then, in a flash, she wasn't on the balcony anymore. Targeting a part of the ship marked with pin point accuracy, she used her magic to slip into an almost pure state of magic. For a split second she existed as such, flying to her destination, before materializing on top of the Cloud Hopper. Unlike most ships, the Cloud Hopper thankfully had a flat top used as an open platform, letting the mare fall to her side as severe fatigue crashed into her. It took a whole twenty minutes for Trixie to recover from her last spell but she didn't care.

She was exactly where she wanted to be.

On shaky hooves, the unicorn pressed on slowly, wary for any possible guards. She crept towards the bow of the ship and luckily found some stairs climbing down to the observation deck. She trotted down them and felt her anticipation rise. Surely there would be something here to help her get back on track. Something new or just grand she could fit into her show. At the bottom was a door leading to the bridge. She readied her magic to turn the handle however somepony else on the other side beat her to it. It was as the door opened out towards her that she acted. Leaping quickly, she forced herself to stand on her rear legs as the now opened door pressed her against the side of the ship.

Snorting quietly she poked her head around the side to catch the tail end of a zebra with a music note or something for a cutie mark. He was trotting up the steps giving the blue pony the time she needed to slip in. With a skill to make a ninja happy she crawled in. It was dark; however she could make out the layout as moonlight washed in through the big observation window. The floor was a cold metal, as she could feel, that stood out as a shade of metallic blue. Different controls and tool panels fanned out in a rough horseshoe shape facing the window, and towards the back of the room was a slightly elevated arch leading deeper into the ship. Through this arch, much to Trixie's frustration, came another guard.
The unicorn acted swiftly by hiding under a control panel just in time to avoid a cream colored earth pony with a vase cutie mark from noticing her. Trixie wiped some sweat from her snout as she tried to work out a plan of action. However things got more complicated before she could finalize one as the zebra returned.

"~Rhyme," spoke the cream colored pony, the voice indicating a mare. "Looks like Captain left only me and you tonight." Her voice was soft yet each word was pronounced with stress.

The zebra grumbled something as he sat on his flank and played with his stomach. "So? What does that matter?" He had a gruff and lazy tone to his speech focusing more on his stomach than the mare in front of him.

"So," the mare said smiling, "wanna have sex?" There was only a slight pause before the zebra was focusing on the mare, eyes burning with rage, and an accusing hoof pointed pointing at her.

"NO!" he yelled. "What sort of an asinine question is that?! You know why that's not going to happen!"

Trixie winced a bit at his sudden outburst, not entirely able to believe this conversation was happening in front of her right now. The cream mare brought her hoof up to her face and started fake crying into it, though the acting was completely sub-par, as Trixie would later state.

"~Oh Rhyme, why must you be so cruel to me and wound my heart? Have you no empathy or compassion?"

The zebra was now bearing his teeth at the mare, which were oddly sharp, while pulling at a zipper on his chest with a hoof, confusing the hiding unicorn. "Don't be stupid Joan; you know why I won't do that."

With a sharp tug the zipper opened, the zebra's stomach opening along with it. Trixie felt her jaw drop at this alone but it completely fell off at what happened next. For something began to pull itself out the zebra who had gone limp. A large, dark colored limb emerged first, with five fleshy claws attached to the end of it. A white tattoo in the shape of a tribal band wrapped around the elbow.

"Oh Rhyme, you're going to get in trouble- Captain doesn't want us stretching with so many little horses around. Besides, if Donny finds out, he'll think you’re not a fan of his work." Trixie ignored the mares chastising as another limb identical to the first one emerged from the limp zebra.

"I have to for a bit," it said, a head of a bald creature with a flat, animate face rose out of the stomach. Trixie barely made the connection it was what had actually been speaking the entire time. Soon came a muscular torso, then legs, and finally paw looking things that were very similar to the claws from earlier. A thin blue vest and white, baggie shorts covered large parts of its body and tattooed to the left side of its face was a white ink Sun. She almost failed to see it but she managed to spot a single small wing with white feathers on the left half of its back. "I just don't have enough room in the suit for my wing to feel comfortable."

The mare just sighed. "Make it quick. We can't be seen as we really are. The Captain couldn't stress that enough."

Trixie shifted her gaze from the new biped, easily three times bigger that the zebra that it once was, to said zebra 'suit.' It looked like a rug, laying flat on the ground. Like a zebra skinned rug. A zebra skinned rug missing its eyes. And it was so lifelike to the scared mare. Trixie tried to stop her scream but it still came out as two sets of eyes fell on her as one.

"Twily!" shouted an ecstatic Shining Armor holding tight to his beloved little sister.

Twilight had just lead her friends in an orderly manner to the hall tonight's presentation would happen in, only for her affectionate older brother to catch her off guard in a tight hug. The surprise was unexpected but did cause the young alicorn to smile even brighter. "Hey there BBBFF! You managed to make it from the Crystal Empire?"

"We both did," came a voice recovering from a laughing spell. Approaching just behind the guard-captain was a pink alicorn. "We didn't want to miss out on all the fun and excitement tonight."

Applejack walked past Twilight, offering her hoof to the other princess. "Howdy Princess Cadance. How ya been?"

Cadance bumped hooves with the orange farmer. "In the Empire? Very good, though this distraction is just the mini-vacation Shining and I needed." The married couple smiled at each other as she leaned against her husband. "We've needed to take a breather for a while now."

"Absolutely," Shining agreed with a nod. "Come on, let’s hurry to our spots." Armor and Cadance then turned in unison towards the regal princesses Celestia and Luna, Regent of the Moon. They sat on a raised dais with eleven cushion seats: two for them, the other nine for the Element Bearers, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Spike, just in front of the two sisters.

The dais was set off to the right corner of a large room, a temporary stage set up with blue cloth hiding whatever was behind it. Opposite the stage, the large room was stationed with many seats; enough for a hundred or so ponies to sit comfortably. Filling many of them up were some of the brightest the city had to offer- scientists, cartographers, even weather experts -all assembled to hear firsthoof about the world beyond that had long been held as an enigma.

There was a brief flutter from behind the stage, a glimpse of Trotter poking his head out, and a brief moment for Celestia to acknowledge this all. Speaking out in a calm and strong voice she quieted the room. "Hush now everypony. I do believe Captain Trotter is ready to begin."

"Right you are my generous princess!" beamed the red colt as he stepped out onto the stage. A spell from a unicorn in the back brought a spotlight over him, and the curtain in the back parted to reveal a large white board. From the tip of Trotter's horn a red light glowed and soon a red aura crept over the board. Within a moment the entire map of the continent Traiquis filled the board, even highlighting the different nations of Equestria, Draconia, and the Luster Kingdom. On the edges of the map a massive, circular fall could be seen, showing the landmass's strange elevation. "As I am sure you are all aware, our continent has been surrounded by a drop, other-wise known as the Neighpon Falls, visible from the cities dock, for longer than recorded history. It falls over a hundred miles and the unique water formation causes terrible updrafts and weather; to this day no one is known to have pierced either of these obstacles." He smiled.

"At least until my crew and I gave it a shot. While seeking blessing from the wondrous Princess Celestia I began outfitting an expedition to breach the Fall and its hazards. I had assembled a crew by the time Celestia saw me. She had doubts and worries however I managed to convince her how important this was to me and those ponies I had gathered up. She funded the expedition and in two short years the Cloud Hopper was built, the sturdiest airship of her day. I had no doubt she'd get us through, and she did."

With a shimmer from his horn, Trotter used his magic to change the screen. Replacing the map of Traiquis was another map. Traquis was still on it, but held in the middle and up, making room for many smaller continents and island chains. "As you can see, there is much beyond the Fall. Immediately passing its borders you will encounter a huge sea, an ocean stretching the entire world. Great beasts and serpents lived in it but thankfully we could fly over many of them. We didn't encounter our first island for three whole weeks," he said, letting his voice fall low. Everypony, the Bearers in particular, leaned forward, eager to hear every little new bit of information that Trotter was about to throw at them.

"What we have found is," he took in a big breath of air, "not much is really that different."

A near collective sigh of disappointment ushered out.

For the next three hours, Trotter gave an account of his experiences. Everything of note his team did, he covered; from meeting cultures to discovering new fruits. And throughout it all it was boring. Why one might ask? Because according to him, nothing was different. Ponies, gryphons, and dragons still dominated the world. Pegasi still controlled the weather, unicorns used magic, and earth ponies grew crops. Heck, these outsider ponies even spoke the same language. In fact, when it came to these new ponies, the only thing that seemed different was that they had no knowledge of alicorns at all, making princesses unique to Traquis.

Even Twilight was disappointed, feeling so very let down. The only things interesting ever brought up was the matter of Sea Kings- powerful sea beasts with no two looking alike -and drop bears- animals that scared Fluttershy for being described as tiny bears that would hide in trees to fall on ponies and eat them. After this three hour speech, ponies were left to wander around and discuss the findings. Naturally the six Elements and Spike quickly found themselves a spot to discuss the revelation.

"That was such a letdown," Rainbow Dash sighed, head hung down in defeat. "Not one cool story on his part. Just more and more of 'we come in peace’ talks."

"Or talk of really cool parties," muttered Pinkie Pie.

"Or interesting animals," mumbled Fluttershy.

"Or my precious materials!" quietly sobbed a distraught Rarity.

It was Applejack, no less disappointed herself to learn most land out beyond was taken up, to be a voice of reason. "Now listen up everypony. Ah now tonight has come and done left many o' us upset. However we ain't in no place to be gettin' upset. Trotter couldn't help what was out there. He's just bringin' back the facts is all."

"Applejack is right," Twilight agreed. "We just need to accept Captain Trotter's report as the facts. Even if it was a little... disappointing."

"Thank you for being understanding." The ponies and dragon were caught off guard by a stranger's voice entering the discussion, yet one they were quickly becoming familiar with. They all turned to find Trotter behind them, a slight frown on his face. "I was so disappointed in what we found. I mean, I am happy to have had an adventure; one few will ever get to experience. However it was very..." he paused, searching for a word, "bland? That's it."

Twilight, feeling bad for bringing up the topic, reassured the stallion. "Hey now, don't act like what you found wasn't interesting. It just wasn't different. However, now we have many questions to answer that pose a whole new mystery. Why is there a worldwide language? How come alicorns are only found here, in Traquis? Why are we on such an elevated platform?" She smiled at him kindly as he started to return the gesture.

"She has a point," said Rainbow Dash. "And you said you had to tussle with a few of those 'Sea King' guys right? Now that's pretty awesome!" She held up her hoof, which the captain quickly responded to by bumping it.

"You know what? You mares are absolutely right! Thank you." At this point Trotter was sporting a huge grin, nodding to himself. "Tell you what. Come with me; I think the Element Bearers have earned themselves a captain-class tour."

An excited gasp spread over the ponies as Twilight gasped and Spike was stunned. "For real?" the purple dragon asked in disbelief.

Trotter just grinned at him. "Follow me."

"-and if you look to the left you will see an emergency supplies room, as well as the access area to the port gas exchange." Trotter had led the little group through most of the ship, showing off every nook and cranny. The mares and dragon soaked up every second of it, asking questions and commenting on every little thing they came across. Soon though only one place was left and the group was very excited to see it. The bridge, or as properly known on the Cloud Hopper, the observation deck.

Marching the seven up to an arch way, Trotter lead his group through it. "And the final chief piece- the ship's control room!" He waved his hoof around, pointing out a lot of the various instruments. "That is the air pressure index monitor. That over there is the humidity index gauge. That in the corner is Rhyme, an- wait, Rhyme?" asked Trotter confused as he marched over to the lanky zebra. "Why are you still here? I gave shore leave."

The zebra just muttered his response. "Not interested. Besides, we had an issue with someo-pony sneaking on board. A blue unicorn in a magician's outfit."

"Really?" asked Trotter before remembering his guests. "Of course, where are my manners- " he pointed a hoof to each individual he called out. "This is Rarity, Spike, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Princess Twilight Sparkle," he finished.

However Twilight objected to this. "Please, just call me Twilight Mr...."

"Rhyme," he said in a flat tone. "First mate of the Cloud Hopper. I keep everything ship-shape for the captain here, as well as report to him need to know information. And I take you know something about the unicorn that slipped aboard?"

"Yes, I just may. How did you know?"

"Your face twitched when I mentioned her- never play poker."

Twilight nodded. " I believe you ran across Trixie. A friend of mine, sorta. Due you know where she went after you caught her?"

"Actually, she's still here. She was pretty fun so we decided to tie her up." Despite his monotone, a lot of the ponies, Trotter included, laughed as he turned to face a door leading to an outside staircase going up. "She's on the Flat."

Trotter smiled. "Oh really? That's good; that's the last place I need to show you ponies anyway. Mr. Rhyme, if you'd please lead the way." Only taking a moment to nod, the zebra marched to the door, ushering the group along as Trotter followed behind them. On the stairs, conversation picked back up.

"Rhyme guy? You're a zebra right?" asked a Rainbow Dash, walking for once with her friends instead of flying ahead.

Rhyme just threw a glance at her. "Last I checked."
"It's just that, well, we have a friend back in Ponyville who is a zebra too. And you seem really different from her."

"Is that a fact?"

"Yeah it is. It’s just that she has a different accent than yours and she acts a little different-"

Pinkie butted in then. "Oh! And she rhymes even though her name is Zecora. You'd think you would be the one that rhymes every sentence Rhyme! Hahah!" Rhyme, to his credit, just looked back at Pinkie Pie with absolute confusion.

"...anyway, here's the top." Just ahead, it was Rhyme who cleared the stairs first and moved to the side followed by Rainbow Dash. Once all the girls were up they took a moment to enjoy the scenery. The top itself was barren, however it gave an unparalleled view of the stars. Furthermore several ponies sat in a circled position, a spot in the center filled. Curious, Twilight lead the group to the center form, shocked to find a captured Trixie. Her legs and mouth appeared to be bound by some sort of white material. Rushing to help with all her friends, Twilight managed to chip away the white stuff in portions, which turned out to be porcelain, around Trixie's muzzle. The showmare just took a deep breath.

"Fools!" She started off screaming to the Ponyville friends. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is just a Great and Effective trap!" However it was too late as a red shield sprang around the 7 ponies and single dragon. It only took Twilight a minute to find the culprit while the rest of her friends looked around confused.

"Trotter? Captain Trotter what are you doing this for?" Indeed, for it was Trotter with his horn lit up as he used the shield spell as a makeshift cage. "Answer me! Let us out!" Twilight's own horn began to flare as she tried to counter the current spell in place. However each attempt to either cancel the magic or shatter the shield was foiled, as either the stallion maintained it, or hairline fractures would appear, only to vanish seconds later.

"I am sorry you six," Trotter spoke with a frown. "However you and the other two cannot stay- not anymore." Holding the shield, he gestured to one of the ponies, a unicorn this time with a yellow coat. "Hatch, please just get on with the plan." Nodding, the unicorn in question sat still for a moment longer before a zipper appeared on his back and slid down. The ponies were stunned as a thing with a dark, flat face with only a mop of hair came out of the unicorn’s now open back. It pulled itself through with big hands tipped in much the way as Spike's and rose to a huge height on its two feet. The pony 'costume' sat at its feet.

"No problem captain. I can send them nice and far away!" the new thing laughed.

"Like we'll let you!" Yelled Applejack. "Twi, the Elements." She suggested as Twilight nodded. Twilight began to cast a spell not just through her, but through all her friends.

So through focus the six mares began to levitate as they glowed in the full spectrum of colors. Soon a twisting rainbow shot out for Trotter, bypassing the shield, as the Elements worked their magic. Trotter just braced himself, ripping his eye patch off at the last minute. An onyx glass eye sat in its place, which the rainbow shot into like it was being sucked up. This served as a huge shock to the girls, who were currently recovering from their combined spell. They could see that Trotter was still standing, wobbly on his hooves and exhausted, but his horn maintained the shield spell. His false eye was now illuminated, shining in a rainbow of flashing, dark colors.

Yet the biggest shock for the Elements came when they realized their actual Elements were gone, burnt away in the exchange. "How did you do that?!" screamed a very startled Twilight. She was ignored though as Trotter turned to the Hatch monster and nodded. The thing smiled more in response and lifted its massive arms. From its fingers came many lines, each tipped with an arrow, as they raced around the shield the ponies were in.

Around and around these arrows twisted, covering the barrier, which in turn started to spin with the counter-clockwise motions. Soon, the shield was spinning fast enough to generate large volumes of air that blew over the top of the ship. Hatch then made a stabbing motion up with its fingers and the ten arrows spinning around the shield shot up, blasting the red shield into the air fast. With the extra spin on it, it flew away fast, turning into a faint gleam on the horizon.

"Enjoy your flight!" Hatch barked in a merry laugh. "Now you okay boss?"

Behind shaded glasses a proud shipwright stared at his masterpiece. In a few short days he had made the handful of repairs the vessel before him needed and had even managed to incorporate a few new ideas that had came to him over the past two years. The whole process had left him feeling so happy.

"Heh, tomorrow Sunny. We'll be back on the sea with everyone. We'll get to back to carving a name for ourselves. And soon people will see for a rival to Tom's Oro Jackson," the shipwright said with a smile as he slammed his arms together. "It's going to be ~Super!~"

Still posing his eyes caught a flash of red across the night sky and the shipwright turned to watch a red ball crash somewhere not far away.

"The Hell was that?"