//------------------------------// // Chapter 24 - The Elements // Story: A Journey Unthought Of: Revival of Chaos // by Hustlin Tom //------------------------------// Twilight woke up Spike and set him down to writing Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash a letter to summon each of them for an emergency meeting at the library. It was only a half hour before the three had made their way to there. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had also brought along their housemates with them, as there was always strength in numbers when venturing out nowadays. Fluttershy’s was Bon Bon, and Rainbow Dash’s was a mare named Lightning Bolt. After sitting down at a circular wooden table, which Twilight had hastily made from the central book stall, they ate a forgettable breakfast, and the discussion between the six ponies about what had happened in the past night and what to do about it began. “I’ll thank my lucky stars that nopony was harmed in either of these fires,” Rarity said with a sigh as she wiped away stray tears with a spare handkerchief Twilight had given her, “Sweetie and I will have to move back in with my parents while I..rebuild. I can salvage the few gems I had in the Boutique as a quick way to get some currency, but we’re penniless otherwise.” “While Sweet Apple Acres has suffered worse in the past,” Applejack declared, waving her hoof as she did, “what with the barn bein’ destroyed as many times as it has in the past two years alone, these guys violated our home, our basic sense’a security.” She then struck the table lightly to emphasize her next statement, “We gotta go after’um, an’ we stop these hooligans from doin’ any further damage to anypony else or their property.” Fluttershy coughed slightly to get the other’s attention, “Um, wouldn’t that make the Solar Empire ponies think we’re on their side, Applejack? If that happened, other Lunar Republic ponies might try attacking more of the town.” “Screw them!” Rainbow Dash yelled, slamming her hooves down onto the table, “Just ‘cause were being neutral in this craziness doesn’t mean we should act like pushovers! If we don’t make these guys pay for what they did, others may start trying to take advantage of us!” Twilight cupped her head in her hooves and sighed. Looking up, the only way to really describe the expression on her face was haunted, “It’s pretty clear that both groups are willing to commit the worst kinds of things on those around us to make us decide which group we should go with. My family is safe in Canterlot, but all yours and their safety are..undoubtedly less assured. We have to make a decision one way or another, before either of the groups escalates to doing something even more terrible.” All this time, Pinkie Pie had remained uncharacteristically silent throughout the entirety of the meeting. She was staring intently at the square foot of table in front of her, and her forehead wrinkled as she rubbed her chin contemplatively. She wasn’t the only one either; Bon Bon was staring out the nearest window of the library with a look of growing frustration brewing on her face. Lightning Bolt was distracting herself and Sweetie Belle by playing one of the few board game Twilights had lying around. After the silence had lingered a while, Pinkie Pie suddenly perked up and blurted out, “I’ve got it!” Startled, the others looked to her for an explanation for the sudden exclamation. Pinkie jerked her head back and forth as she looked at the others in turn, “Two fires on the same night, from two different groups, involving two of us!” The others in the room continued to blink as they tried to comprehend the mental trail Pinkie was trying to leave. Pinkie Pie groaned and yanked her eyelids down her face at her friend’s lack of understanding, “Ugh, okay! Here we go. How far is it from Sweet Apple Acres to Carousel Boutique?” “About twenty five minutes, as fast as a pegasus flies,” Applejack said as she looked at Pinkie curiously. “Great. How about a time? Did anyone catch the time when the fires happened?” “Well, it was around half past one when Ah heard the first noises before the fire started,” Applejack nodded to herself. “And it was around two in the morning when I woke up to the smell of smoke,” Rarity interjected. “Hang on,” Rainbow Dash waved her hoof back and forth, “Is this-? Is Pinkie Pie trying to make sense? And it's working?” Twilight grinned sheepishly, “After the MMM incident, I got her hooked on mystery novels.” “So!” Pinkie exclaimed as she got up from her sitting pillow near the table and began to walk in a circle around the table on only her hindlegs, “If we coincidently had two groups so mad at each other like we know the Solar Empiricists and the Lunar Republicans to be, in the same town and on the same night, wouldn’t it seem a little weird that they didn’t meet and fight each other?” Looking around the room, everypony was silently waiting for where Pinkie was going with her deductions. Batting her eyelashes momentarily, Pinkie continued, whilst producing a detective’s bonnet and bubbling pipe to complete her investigative attire, “What if, instead of two groups, it was one group who set the two fires, in the hopes that we would give into one of the two sides?” Twilight tilted her head as she thought through the argument for any inconsistencies, “It is possible, given the evidence we have. Still, it is a bit of a leap in logic. Which of the two groups would this one be, and why would they burn down Applejack’s or Rarity’s homes?” “Why indeed?” Pinkie Pie asked darkly, before blowing a few puffs of bubbles from her pipe. Rainbow Dash got out of her seat and began to fly around in circles close to the ceiling, and thought aloud for the others, “We know that there are at least two dozen homes and shops between Rarity’s and Applejack’s, each of which is nearly on opposite sides of the town. These mooks went out of their way to target two of Elements! Everypony knows that the Elements of Harmony only work altogether or not at all, so why would either side want to risk splitting us up?” “Exactly,” Pinkie Pie gestured to Rainbow, “Why would someone want to split us up? We’re like a banana split of friendship! The parts by themselves are good, but not nearly as amazing as the whole thing!” “Ms. Sparkle,” Nox strode into the library from his post outside with an orange pegasus in tow, “A filly named Scootaloo is here to see you. She says that it’s urgent.” “Twilight, Rainbow Dash,” she gasped as she tried to catch her breath with heaving gulps, “You gotta come quick!” Rainbow Dash landed right next to her little admirer, her tone fairly serious, “What’s happening, Scoots?” “Cheerilee sent me to find you all,” the child’s panic was growing as she finally began to breathe easier, “The schoolhouse is on fire! When I last saw her, she was trying to grab what she could, but she told me to find you.” Without another word, everypony rose up and made for the door. Rainbow Dash gestured to Scootaloo with her wing, “Here, climb on!” She would have normally been excited by such an offer, but Scootaloo was too worried about her Aunt Cheerilee to even think about what else was going on. Grasping her forelegs around her idol’s neck, she braced herself as Rainbow Dash bolted out of the library door, leaving the place solely under the guard of Umbra. It was only a five minutes’ run to the school from the library, but it was only a minute long flight for Rainbow Dash. Even so, it felt like forever for everypony involved.