Equestria Legends Online

by Shadowflame


July 5th (Embark)

9 Hours Earlier (July 5th: 1:15 AM)

It was late in the night. So late, that it was actually early in the morning. The players of Canterlot were either up late doing Celestia knows what, while the rest slept for the coming day. However, entering the city, one player galloped through the streets, hidden by a brown cloak as he made his way towards Canterlot Castle.

The lone player ran to the castle and hurried inside, before anyone had a chance to catch sight of him. Outside the castle, he only had to worry about a stray player seeing him. But once inside the castle, near his destination, there was sure to be a guard there.

He ran through the dark corridors of the castle, careful to only tread on the carpeted floors to avoid the sounds of his hoof falls echoing through the building. He had bought information from an information broker on the streets, which would lead him directly to the castle dungeon.

The player galloped to the door leading into the dungeons and galloped down the descending steps into darkness. The light of the moon didn’t reach into the dark corridor, and the player was tempted to light his horn to illuminate the darkness. However, the need for stealth was too great at the moment, so he put the temptation to rest.

Soon, he reached the bottom of the stairway, into a dirty, stone corridor, lit by burning torches. He turned the corner, cautiously peering around to find two guards standing at the prison’s doorway. The player could see they were both guard hires, players working for bits as the guards of the castle. They were no doubt part of the Knights of Harmony Guild.

The lone player stood up on his back legs and drew his katana, whose blade suddenly coated with frost as his ability kicked in. With his ice at the ready, the katana wielding player leaped out from behind the corner, flinging icicles at the guards with a swing of his blade.

Before the guards could react, the icicles struck them both and their bodies froze in blocks of ice. The cloaked figure rushed forward to the door and opened it up. As he did, he whispered a gruff, “Sorry”, knowing full well that the guards could still see him in their frozen state. They’d be fine, seeing as the castle was part of the safe zone, where health depletion wasn’t possible.

The player rushed into the main dungeon room, only to find himself surrounded by jail cells on all sides of him. The slam of the front door behind him was enough to draw attention to him from the jail’s occupants: The former members of the Haters’ Guild

On all sides of the figure, prisoners looked at him, a few growling in anger as they recognized him.

One prisoner slammed against the bars of his cell, trying to reach the figure in an effort to strangle him, “You traitor! How dare you come back, Cinnamon!”

Removing the hood of his cloak, Cinn glared at the player through the bars, “Shut up, Kujo (f***ing) Hater. I’ll be back to deal with you all later, but I have someone else to see first.”

Cinn walked through the dungeon, the Haters shouting vulgarity and rants at him as he passed them by without a glance. He hated them all just as much as they hated him, but he didn’t care about them for the moment. He was sneaking into the castle for only one person in particular.

Cinn continued down the corridors of jail cells, up until he reached a single cell, put away from the other prisoners. There was only one occupant in the cell, and upon seeing Cinn, they single pony smiled at him in the way that could have ran shivers up the devil’s skin.

“My, it appears I have a guest.” Chess Queen merely hummed as she lounged against the far wall of her cell. Her mane was in tangles, having been in jail for more than a month, and a magic-suppressing ring topped her horn. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, Cinn?”

Cinn glared coldly at the white mare, holding his katana’s blade towards her, “I’ve got you now, you worthless bit-“

“What?” Queen chuckled amusedly, as if she wasn’t even concerned that she was unarmed before Cinn. She asked in a nonchalant, sing-song manner, “Are you here to kill me? After all the time we led you along as a comrade, you’ve turned on us? I must say, I wasn’t very happy to hear you killed many of our members after your betrayal. May I ask why have you sided with the imbeciles who got us in this mess in the first place?”

“You know damn well why.” Cinn snapped back, “The last mission you sent me on, you sent me to kill an innocent team-“

“-which happened to be your brother’s?” Chess Queen guessed. Cinn flinched from it, which was enough to satisfy Queen’s hypothesis. “Yes, Cinn. I knew you at least had a loved one trapped in this game. After all, who would request to make sure a certain player was left untouched, unless they were family?” Her devilish smile faded slightly, “Though I must say, I am truly sorry for your brother’s death. His was another life needed to be sacrificed for our cause.”

“Your cause, which was all a pack of lies!” Cinn retorted as he slammed his hoof against the iron bars, causing the whole dungeon to echo with the sound, “The admins never were behind Discord’s escape, were they? That was only a lie to get more recruits to join your side, where the only cause for action was the sick pleasure of murder!”

Queen didn’t even flinch from Cinn’s outburst, and only tisked at him with a wagging hoof, “Tut tut tut, I see you are blinded by grief, Cinn. Your brother’s death must have certainly taken a toll on you for you to be this distraught.

“If you had thought this out, then you would realize that I never did this for the killing, while many of our guild members did. We were all working for a new kingdom, where there would be no conflictions and troubles as we played this game.” She flashed him a twisted grin, “After all, who was it who killed that sweetheart Sw33tCr0ss?”

Cinn’s chest skipped a beat at her name. He ground his teeth as he put the memory of her death out of his mind, “Leave. Her. Out of this! She only died because she believed your lies! Now answer me, did the admins really release Discord on purpose?!”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Queen hummed, closing her eyes, as if she could actually relax in her stone cell, “After all of this, it could turn out to be true, and my ‘lies’, as you called them, would’ve proven to be more than just a ruse.”

“Enough of this bull!” Cinn hissed, knowing that Queen was simply dancing around the question, “I’m going to drag you out of the city, and then I’m going to run you through the edge of my sword until you’re nothing but code for all the living hell you’ve put me through.”

Chess Queen didn’t seem fazed by the threat, seeming as if she got those plenty of times within her life. She only smirked at Cinn, “I don’t think a certain somebody will allow that.”

“Who?” Cinn growled.

“That would be me.”

Cinn recoiled back away from the cell as he heard this new voice enter the conversation. He hadn’t heard anyone sneak up behind him during his chat with Chess Queen, and he feared it was either a Hater, or one of the guards. He turned towards it, katana at the ready, only find it was neither.

There stood Jupiter, in the middle of the corridor, decked in his full, white armor. He gave Cinn a curious look, “Hello. I take it your name is Cinnamon.” He paused, glancing towards Chess Queen, “I assume this was the traitor of your guild you mentioned?” Chess Queen nodded slowly, which made Jupiter break a smile.

He glanced towards Cinn again, who still stood in battle stance, “Well, that’s good to hear. Like they always say, ‘an enemy of my enemy is a friend’.”

Cinn only narrowed his eyes at the Head Admin, “How long have you been listening?”

“For almost the whole conversation.” Jupiter replied, “I will admit, my stealth skill is at such a level that I think it’s almost unhealthy to level it up any more. I was able to follow you since you first entered the castle.” He chuckled, “Oh, and on a side note, I think freezing the guards was a nice touch on your part. The two of them were more than a couple of hotheads who needed a good dousing.”

Cinn raised an eyebrow at Jupiter. He had expected the Admin to be more… hostile, especially towards a (former) member of the Haters’ Guild. But Jupiter gave off a sense that he was more laid back than most players let on, so Cinn wasn’t quite sure what to think of him… Well, other than the fact that Jupiter was a brony, and in turn, a moronic pony lover in Cinn’s opinion.

Shaking himself out of his stupor of thought, Cinn asked, “What do you want?”

Jupiter paused, “Well, first I came down here to stop you from killing Chess Queen. She’s still a source of information we require. Besides, I think a better suited punishment will be waiting for her in the human world, rather than dying a brutal death in this game. And secondly, I have a proposition for you, Cinn.”

“A proposition?” Cinn gripped his sword tighter, “And why should I listen to you?”

All happiness fled from Jupiter’s face, turning it into a solemn look, full of remorse, “Because…” He sighed, casting a look upwards, as if in memory, “Heh, Raybony was right when he said you were the suspicious type. But then again, I guess everyone in this mad house is.”

Cinn’s expression immediately melted into a look of mild shock, grieved by his brother’s name, “You… You knew my brother?”

Jupiter nodded, “Yes. Why don’t we move somewhere more private to talk?” He gestured towards Chess Queen, “I doubt you’d want her to know more information to torment you with.”

______________________________________________________________

Within the space of a few minutes, Jupiter led Cinn out of the dungeons, past the (still-frozen) guards, and up into Jupiter’s office in the castle.

“Take a seat.” Jupiter pointed to the chair on the other side of his desk, as he himself sat in his own.

Cinn hesitantly complied, remaining silent. He took a quick look around the office, finding it was only lit by a single lantern, full of books and papers (most of which were strewn across Jupiter’s desk), and devoid of anyone else besides him and the Head Admin. Even though they were alone, past experience warned Cinn to keep on his toes. It seemed like he and Jupiter were alone, but anyone with a high enough stealth skill could be easily undetected by him.

Cinn turned towards Jupiter, speaking the only question on his mind, “How did you know my brother?”

Jupiter smiled, “Well, it’s not every day an ambitious player comes to Canterlot, asking for me directly.” He laughed, “Even though he was alone, he wanted to jump right into a search party for the elements.”

Cinn found himself grimacing, “That little- I always warned him not to bite off more than he could chew.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Jupiter replied, “It took some convincing, but I was able to get him to agree to travel to Fillydelphia and join a team there, one that was just training, rather than seeking the elements.” He chuckled, “Although, he did make a fair reputation during his time here, calling himself ‘The Bluedeath’.”

Cinn resisted the urge to facehoof, thinking it’d disrespect his brother’s death, “Yeah, that was my brother. Sounds like something he’d do.” He frowned, “But to get to the point, what is this proposition of yours?”

Jupiter shuffled through the papers on his desk fervently, “You are quite the interesting player, Cinn. Ever since I heard about your reputation from the Haters’ Guild, I’ve been compiling all the information I can get.” He picked up a piece of paper in his hoof, holding it in front of his face to read it, “It appears that you’re a hind-legged fighter, skilled with the katana without the use of magic to hold the weapon, and your ability allows you to manipulate ice to an unmatched level.”

He looked up from the paper, “I assume your ability is called, ‘Frost’, isn’t it?”

Cinn nodded slowly, “Yeah, but how’d you know? I never told it to anybody except Raybony, and I specifically told him to keep quiet about it.”

“As the Head Admin of ELO, I learned almost every inch of this game, from weapons and monsters, to treasures and abilities. Of course, I’m not an expert on this game, otherwise we wouldn’t be facing Discord like this.” Jupiter shook his head, “Nonetheless, let me get to the point. I’m interested in your abilities as a warrior, and more specifically, your Frost ability.”

Jupiter leaned in over his desk, “I have a job for you. And as far as I know, you’re the only one who can help me with this problem.”

______________________________________________________

Jupiter looked up from his desk, several hours after his meeting with Cinn. The sun had risen, and better yet, the Elements of Harmony had returned to Canterlot just the day before. He looked up at the two ponies standing before his desk, “Now, Shadow, Sky, I assume you’re wondering why I called you both here.”

I nodded, “Yeah. The airship was prepped and ready to leave the city this morning.”

“I’m guessing it’s important, seeing as you delayed us from leaving for the crystal empire.” Sky commented.

Jupiter nodded, “Yes, Sky. It is. I summoned you two specifically, for two reasons only.”

The Admin cleared his throat, “Firstly, Sky. Do you remember last evening, when you brought the Element of Willpower to the castle for safekeeping?”

“Yeah,” Sky replied, reflecting back to then, “How could I forget?”

Sky, Cross, and Jupiter stood in the vault of the Elements, the stone room remained untouched since the last element was added to the collection. At the moment, Cross was placing his Element of Laughter, though his face was devoid of any of said attribute. He was taking the death of Cloud harder than anyone else, and he hadn’t even cracked a smile since they had left the changeling hive.

Jupiter looked to Sky, “Now, time to add your element into the vault.”

Sky nodded and opened up his player menu, accessing his inventory. He scrolled through his items… but then he stopped, eyes wide. “Um, Jupiter?”

“What is it?”

“I think you might want to see this.” Sky tapped on an icon, and the Element of Willpower appeared in his hoof. He held up the golden necklace to Jupiter, whose eyes also went wide at the sight of it.

Jupiter took a quick glance towards the rest of the Elements in the vault, all of them completely identical to each other, golden necklaces, each with a white jewel in their center. But Sky’s element was different. In its center was embedded a navy blue jewel, carved into the shape of the pentagram on Sky’s flank.

Sky tapped a hoof on the Element of Willpower, bringing up its status:

Element of Willpower (Active)

“I can’t believe it.” Jupiter muttered, “It activated.”

Jupiter looked at both me and Sky with a hard look, “I spent most of yesterday thinking about the activation of Sky’s element. I was trying to figure out a reason why it activated, and how we could use it to activate the other elements. You probably guessed this, but the Elements of Harmony can’t be used against Discord until they have become activated.”

“And what did you come up with?” I asked.

Jupiter paused, “Sky?”

“Yeah?”

“Think back to when you first received your element, back to when you left the group and went solo for a month. During that entire time until you decided to return, did you feel a lack of willpower at all?”

Sky blinked in surprise, obviously having not thought about it, “Um… yeah, I guess. I mean, it took a lot of will for me to go chasing after the others when I heard about them heading to fight Chrysalis. I feared that the others would still look at me like a power hungry monster, but I had to ‘will’ myself to return. Does that have something to do with it?”

“Maybe.” Jupiter replied, “Are you sure the Element of Willpower wasn’t active before you went into that boss battle?”

Sky nodded, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure.”

“Then that means my theory was right, in a way.” Jupiter glanced between me and Sky, “Do either of you know how an Element of Harmony chooses their bearer before a boss battle?”

I shook my head, imitating Big Mac for the lols, “Nope.”

“Then let me explain.” Jupiter took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts, which was a sign that he was going to be talking about a lot for the next few minutes.

“As you can imagine, a Nervegear game in general can leave some psychological problems on its players, like if somebody spends more time within the game than they do living their own life in the real world. The problem is most commonly depression, where the player would rather stay in the game so much, to such an extent, that their lives become ruined, due to negligence.

“When we began developing ELO, there were only a handful of Nervegear games available to the public, none of which had any prevention to possible depression, other than restricted playtimes. ELO would have been in the same state as those games, had I not come across a certain psychological genius, who happened to be skilled in programing as well.

“I offered him a job on ELO, and he accepted, saying that it’d let him put a side project of his into play, which he called, ‘The Personality Files’. He joined our development team, and began programming.”

Sky frowned, “And what’s the Personality Files?”

Jupiter held up a hoof, “Hold on a second. I was getting to that.” He cleared his throat as he continued, “The Personality Files are an ingenious piece of work, though I vaguely know how it functions. It is complicated, after all. But to put it into simpler terms, it gathers data by monitoring a player’s every thought, action, and phrase, and after gathering that data, it compiles it into a file for each individual player. The programming behind it is so intricate that it can actually recreate an identical copy of a player’s mind if we wanted to, though without their previous memories outside the game, of course.”

I felt my jaw drop, as did Sky’s, “Wait, you’re kidding me. I didn’t think anything like that was even possible.”

“Neither did most people in the psychology field.” Jupiter chuckled, “The admin that programmed the personality files had been rejected several times for a grant to create a program like the files. But that’s why I accepted him into the dev. team, so he could both help program ELO and work on his project off to the side with our resources, which would allow his future career move forward.

“With the personality files working in the background of the servers, we tested the gameplay ourselves, and the files worked like a charm. We knew that we could monitor players who appeared to be depressed, and we as admins could aid them in every way possible. Of course, that was only one of the personality file’s functions.”

“Let me guess,” Sky interjected, “The elements?”

Jupiter nodded, “Yes. The Elements of Harmony were originally made to be items acquired through in-game events, with a boss protecting them, just like Discord has arranged for us so far. However, it was fitting that only players representing the elements could receive them. So, we put the personality files to work, so that when a group of players entered the boss room, the files could pick and choose a random player, so long as they could represent the elements of Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic (AKA, Friendship).

“The personality files were really a genius invention, one that we’d reveal to the world after a week or two of gameplay, once we’d gathered enough tests on the players in the game. Although, we all know how that worked out in the end.”

“Whoa…” Sky whistled, “A program that can basically copy somebody’s personality into a physical file. Only a genius could have created something like that.” He paused, “But who was the admin who created it?”

Jupiter stopped suddenly, letting his head droop somewhat. He glanced towards me, a somber look in his eyes, “Rex.”

I winced as I heard the name. Even after all this time, I was still haunted by his death… The first death I ever saw in person. I glared at nothing in particular as I felt anger run through my mind. Anger … no, hatred, towards Discord, who killed him in outright malice. And now, to know that Rex actually had been a certified genius who had his whole career before him, only for it to be brutally stripped away from him, just made me hate his killer even more.

“I mean no disrespect towards Rex’s memory, but he’s not what I want speak about.” Jupiter recomposed himself, “It seems to me that Discord has been making use of Rex’s personality files in the boss fights, though with one slight difference. In the original boss fights we programmed, the element of harmony a player received would instantly activate at its bearer’s touch. But up until now, the elements you’ve gathered have remained inactive… which leads up to my theory.”

He gave me a hard stare, “None of you are the real bearers of the elements of harmony.”

I blinked in surprise, “W-what? What do you mean? No offense, Jupiter, but just about everyone says I’m the most courageous one in our group. What do you mean, I’m not the Element of Courage? What about the others?”

“Whoa, settle down, Shadow.” Jupiter shook his head, “What I meant was that none of you are the true bearers of harmony… yet.” Both Sky and I stared blankly at him, making him chuckle, “You see, when Sky left the group, his element was inactive, possibly because he didn’t fully represent the Element of Willpower. After all, he didn’t have the will to stay with his friends, even after his secret was revealed. The personality files most likely deemed him as inadequate to use his element at that point.

“However, that changed when Sky mustered up his willpower to come back. Once he did, his personality file changed, and thus activated his own element. The game tested his representation of his element, which he passed and gained access to his element.”

“Um, Jupiter?” I asked, frowning in confusion. I mean, his explanation did make sense, but something was off about it, “I’m not sure that your theory is a sound as you think it is. During our whole time in this game, I’ve seen a lot of times when the others did things that represented their elements, but none of their elements are active yet.”

Jupiter nodded, “Yes, I know what you mean. That is true, but there are two problems, two of which I know how to remedy. Firstly, Sky’s element was in his inventory when it activated, which I’m guessing means that the element of harmony must be with its bearer in order to activate.

“Secondly, you and the other bearers will need to prove to the personality files that you are ‘worthy’ to use the elements.”

“Worthy?” I asked, an eyebrow raised. I wasn’t quite fond of being called ‘unworthy’ to use my element, but guessed it was just about as accurate of a description as any.

“Sky’s element didn’t activate until after he acted with willpower, remember?” Jupiter replied, “Until the other elements of harmony do something, with their elements on their person, to represent their elemental attribute, their elements will not activate.

“Which finally brings me to the reason I needed to speak with you both. I have a task for the two of you to complete during your time in the game, and I need you to complete it before the final battle between you and Discord. I want you and the other element bearers to take the Elements of Harmony with you to the Crystal Empire, and once there, I need you to help the other bearers, as well as yourself, Shadow, to activate their elements.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait. What?” I was shaking my head at this point, “You want us to risk the safety of the elements by bringing them to the next boss fight against King Sombra?”

“Yes, Shadow.” Jupiter replied bluntly, “I realize there is a risk of losing the elements if any of you die, but right now we don’t have a choice. There are only two more elements to collect, and there’s no telling what Discord will do once all ten of the elements are found. As soon as we have all of them, we need to be ready for when Discord comes knocking on our front door. The only way to do that is to activate the elements.”

Jupiter leafed through his desk papers idly, “Sky, Shadow, you and the other bearers will be taking the elements with you to the crystal empire. While you travel and such, I need you to find a way for the others to truly deem themselves as worthy to use their elements. Otherwise, we could all die to Discord’s wrath when the elements have all been gathered.”

Sky and I both nodded, “We will.”

“Good, I’m glad you agree. But on a side note, I think it’ll help you more to keep the rest of your group in the dark about your task. People hardly change if they know they are to do so deliberately.” Jupiter suddenly chuckled, standing up from his desk, “Now, I hate to be blunt and depressing like that, but it was necessary to show how important this task is. But with that aside, I have one other thing I wanted to talk to you about. He’s waiting outside.”

As Jupiter made his way to the door to his office, Sky quirked an eyebrow, “Who?”

Jupiter only smirked at us over his shoulder, “An unofficial new group member.”

_____________________________________________________

Jupiter led us down through the castle, and out of the city, until we were in a more secluded part of the wilderness, just outside the city wall.

As Jupiter led us forward, with Sky and I trailing behind, I was a bit confused.

“What exactly do you mean by ‘an unofficial new group member’?” I asked Jupiter.

He took a quick glance over his shoulder, “Well, as you know, Discord has restricted everyone from joining the teams of the Elements of Harmony, except for players that used to be part of their team prior the rule change. But he never did say anything about other players not being able to travel with you to your destinations.”

Jupiter looked forward, only to exclaim, “Ah, there he is.”

Sky and I glanced past Jupiter, to see a single player, out in the meadows. He was a brown unicorn stallion, with a black and red, spiked mane. His armor was light, more used for agility than protection, and he wore a head band around his brow. Above his head, his player ID read: Cinnamon. Cinn held a blue katana in his forehooves, while standing on his hind legs alone. He had been swinging his sword through the air in quick bouts, but he stopped when he spotted us approaching him, to which he leaned back against a fence to rest.

As Jupiter reached Cinn, he gave a small smile, “Glad to see you didn’t ditch Canterlot.”

“Hm, I thought about it, but I wasn’t sure how far I’d get before you came searching for me.” Cinn replied sarcastically.
Jupiter nodded in reply, and turned to me and Sky, “Shadow, Sky, this is Cinn. He will be accompanying your group through the north wastelands to the Crystal Empire.”

“Alright.” I glanced towards Cinn, smiling, “Nice to meet you.”

Cinn didn’t reply, other than just a flat look.

Yeesh, not the response I’d been expecting. Something tells me this guy is gonna be a handful. I thought, bemused. Hopefully he’s not like this the whole time.

Sky turned towards Jupiter, “Um, no offense to anyone, but why do we need anyone else to come with us through that blizzard up north? Shouldn’t our current group be enough to make it through?”

Jupiter only shook his head, “I’m not sure of that. The icy north was too harsh for our scouting teams, and they had to return back home before they reached the empire. Your team may be able to survive the conditions and monsters up there, but Cinn will accompany you just in case you need the extra hoof.”

Sky didn’t look convinced, “Then why not bring along other players as a precaution?”

Cinn snapped at that, “Why so concerned? You got something against me?”

Sky quickly glowered at him, gruffly, “That’s not what I meant. Sorry if it offended you.” Though not feeling very sorry, he shook his head, turning back to Jupiter, “Why not bring along some more players if you’re unsure?”

“I’m afraid more players in your group will only slow you down, thus making it harder for you to reach the empire.” Jupiter replied, “The levels of the scouting party were only a few notches below your own, and they didn’t even make it all the way through the blizzard. So, for everyone’s safety, Cinn will be the only one going with you.”

There was a long pause as Sky, Cinn, and I glanced at each other. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation, and I don’t think Sky was either, since neither of us knew Cinn at all. It definitely was going to be strange to have a new face on the airship, but we’d just have to deal with it. Whenever Jupiter makes a suggestion or a change, most of the time, he’s right to do so.
I turned to Cinn, “Okay, we’re leaving in an hour. Be ready to leave and meet us at the airship in the castle courtyard by then.”

Cinn nodded, not even looking towards me, “Got it.”

You know that feeling you get when you’re paired up for a project in school, and your partner doesn’t want anything to do with you? Yeah, I was sort of picking up that vibe from this guy.

Ignoring the cold reply, I looked back at Sky, “Now we just need to get the others and we all will pick up our elements from the vault.”

Sky nodded, and we both started heading back to the castle, leaving Jupiter and Cinn behind.

Little did we know, once we were gone, Jupiter turned back to Cinn, “Do you remember the deal we made?”

Cinn nodded, determined, “Just find the random guy you think is hiding up north, right?”

“Yes.” Jupiter answered, “Do you remember the description of him I gave you?”

“Cyan unicorn, with a blue and cyan mane?”

Jupiter nodded, “And do you remember what his ID is?”

Cinn groaned, “You’re paranoid about finding this guy, I’ll give you that. Don’t worry, all I have to do is find this Sharky, and I’m off the hook.”

____________________________________________________

As Sky and I walked back through the streets of Canterlot, I gave him a sidelong glance, “So, what do you think of Cinn?”

Sky sighed, “Right now, all I can say is he’s probably gonna be a stubborn pain in the neck if he gets on my bad side.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

“You saw how he snapped at me back there. If someone reacts like that to a question of precautions, then you know he’s quick to react.” He grumbled, “If first impressions are anything to go by, then I’m going to hate every second I have to work with that guy.”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” I rolled my eyes, “You don’t like him, that’s all you had to say.” I paused, “But what about this other task Jupiter gave us? How are we supposed to get the others to convince the Personality Files that they’re worthy of their elements?”

“That is assuming the elements don’t activate when they touch theirs.” Sky commented.

“True… But I know that’s not going to happen for a certain someone.”

“Who?”

“Cross.”

“Oh… yeah.” Sky looked slightly downcast, “He doesn’t really represent Laughter right now, does he?”

I sighed, shaking my head, “No, he doesn’t. He hasn’t cracked a smile once ever since we left the changeling hive. I can’t say I blame him though. I’d probably be in the same sorry state if one of my best friends died by taking their own life…”

“And Jupiter’s expecting us to find a way to knock Cross out of depression? Sorry, but I don’t think anti-depressants would convince the Personality Files that Cross is the Element of Laughter, even if we could get the pills. I mean, it’s either that, or we plop him down in front of a TV and put on an episode of MLP, which we can’t do either.”

I chuckled at that, “The show always was the best anti-depressant, wasn’t it?”

“Yup.” Sky joked, laughing as well.

I paused for a moment as I brought myself back to the task at hoof, “All I can say is that getting Cross back to his old self will be difficult. It was bad enough when Dylan was down in the dumps after you left, but I think it might be worse with Cross.” But then I remembered, “Oh, yeah. How’s Dylan doing? Despite being on the same ship for the past day, I haven’t seen much of him.”

Sky smirked, “He’s been spending more time with me. I’ve been telling him about my lone adventure away from the group, and I’ve been showing off my new skills I learned.” He chuckled, “His face was priceless when I told him I was basically a demon now.”

“Well, it did surprise me.” I laughed, “So, I take it Dylan’s back to normal now that you’re with us again?”

Sky nodded, “Hai. (Yeah)”

I paused for a moment, before giving Sky a sly grin, “But he’s not the only one who’s getting closer to you, right?”

Sky blinked in confusion, “What?”

I smiled innocently, “Oh, nothing. I’ve just seen you and Siren talking to each other more and more. Planning when your next date will be?”

To his credit, Sky remained unfazed, putting on a surprisingly good poker face, “Nah, we’re friends. Last I checked, you talk to your friends all the time.”

“That doesn’t include talking with a friend all the time.” I laughed, “Face it, dude. You like her, and she likes you.”

Sky only smirked, “Shut up.”

I rolled my eyes, “Sure thing, Casanova.”

_________________________________________________

Within an hour, Sky and I had returned to Westfalia, and once there with the rest of our group, we explained that we’d be taking the Elements of Harmony with us to the Crystal Empire. Their reactions were similar to our own when Jupiter told us, but we managed to calm them down by saying it was more for safekeeping. I knew that was the furthest from the truth, but Jupiter had said we should keep our task to activate the elements secret from everyone else.

So, the eight bearers of harmony trotted back to the castle, retrieved their elements from the underground vault. Unfortunately, none of the elements activated at anypony’s touch like I’d hoped. But after getting the elements, we returned back to the airship, ready to head out for the northern wastelands.

I stood on the deck of the ship, watching as the last of my group boarded as well. When we had returned, we had found Cinn waiting for us. I was glad he wasn’t late, otherwise I would have had to hunt him down through the city. But with him on board, that meant our whole group was gathered, and we were ready to ship out.

I took another once over on myself, just to make sure I had everything. I had my armor on, my cloak equipped, my sword and shield on my back, as well as something else hung around my neck: A small, golden necklace, adorned with a single white jewel in its center.

I looked down at the Element of Courage I wore, smiling a bit as I did. It had been about 5 months since I had even touched it.
Heck, I’d never worn it before, but it felt… good to actually have the thing I had worked so hard to get all those months ago. I couldn’t help but wonder if the other bearers felt the same way about their elements.

I glanced back up and looked around the ship. Most of our group members had already gone below deck, though a couple of us stayed on deck, mainly Swift at the helm, myself, and Cinn, who wore a look of uncertainty on his face. I assumed this was his first time flying on an airship.

I shouted up to Swift, “Alright, Let’s head ou-“

“Wait!”

Everyone on deck turned towards the voice on the ground below. I looked over the railing of the ship to see Frostlight on waving up to me. I smiled and flapped my wings to meet her down there.

As I lighted down in front of her, I could only chuckle, "Hey, looks like you got here just in time. I hope catching me at the last minute isn't gonna be a regular thing between us."

She smiled, though her expression said she had something more serious on her mind, "Well... I just wanted to see you off. You're going somewhere that I know is extremely dangerous. My team was part of the scouting party Jupiter sent up to the Northern Wastelands, after all.

"Oh, yeah." I nodded, "You told me about that last night."

Frostlight shifted in place, worry evident on her face, "Anyways, the wind currents up north are too strong in that blizzard for an airship to go through, so you'll have to travel on foot. The whole place is incredibly cold, and staying still for too long could freeze you solid in ice. No matter what, your team has to keep moving, no matter what. And don't lower your guard! The whole place is infested by ice golems and snow wolves, which are much tougher than any timber wolf you've fought! And-"

Tears were beginning to form at the edges of her eyes, and I promptly cut her off by pulling her into a tight hug. She was startled by the sudden action, but quickly returned the tight embrace.

I nuzzled the worried girl reassuringly, "Don't worry about it. I already know what we're up against up there, thanks to you and the other teams that scouted out the place."

Frostlight only latched onto me tighter, "I know. But..." She looked up, face to face with me, "The scouting party barely made it out of that place alive. We didn't even reach the Empire, but we all almost died. I-I know you're stronger than anyone else, but I can't help but worry that you'll die out there!" She sobbed as she pressed herself into my neck, "I... I don't want to lose you."

I held onto her, but my eyes stayed fixed on her head, buried into my shoulder. I knew exactly why she'd feel this way. I was going straight into a similar situation where she herself almost died. It was only natural that she'd be worried for anyone else going into the same place, one that she had labeled as a death trap.

But as I looked at Frostlight, sobbing in worry, I couldn't help feeling a pang of worry myself. I had risked my life many times before, but I didn't feel as worried as this. When I said goodbye to Frost when my group left for the changeling hive, I wasn't as worried as I was now....

What was different this time I was leaving her?

Was it because she was worried out of her mind for my sake? Was I feeling her same fear?

...

I wondered about it. What if I did die out there? What would happen then? I'd lose the Element of Courage, and everyone else would have to retrieve it again... But we've done that before... If I died out there, I'd never see my family or friends again... But I've already accepted that as a possible hazard... What was different about this time?...

Was it... because it'd prove Frostlight's worries to be true? If I died out in the blizzard, or even in the Crystal Empire, how would she react?

I looked down at her again, and she looked as if she were falling apart emotionally. If I died, she'd no doubt end up even worse... it'd leave her as an emotional wreck, and I couldn't do that to her.

Still, worrying couldn't be helped, but I could do something to help it. I gently pulled her off of me, to which she idly resisted. But once I did, I put a hoof under her chin, tipped her head up, and kissed her on the lips.

... I had never kissed a girl before, so I wasn't prepared for what I felt. Her lips were so soft, and when they connected with mine, I felt so warm inside. It was like pure ecstasy, to which Frostlight's eyes sprung open in surprise. But as quickly as they opened, they closed, and so did mine. We stayed there for a few seconds, though it felt like minutes, relishing each other's warmth.

But when we broke away, I smiled at her affectionately, "I promise, I'll be back. I'll be careful, so don't worry about me, alright?"

She stared at me for a moment, before a smile came to her lips, "Okay."

We released each other from our grasps, and I grinned at her, "I'll be back as soon as I can." I flared my wings and flew back up onto the deck of the ship, watching as Frostlight waved goodbye to us. I waved back one last time, before turning back to Swift at the helm, "Alright, let's head out. Take us up!"

As Swift worked the controls of the ship, Westfalia took to the skies, on its way northward.

Of course, before we got too far, Sky smirked at me, after having seen the 'heart-warming' scene between me and Frostlight, "Phht, smooth move, Casanova."

I rolled my eyes, chuckling weakly to myself, "Whatever."