Six ponies walked through the Everfree Forest, having just had a near-death experience. "Celestia that was a close one," Rarity thought as she recalled what had just transpired, "I can't believe that we didn't see that cliff coming, Twilight almost died because of it! Thank goodness Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy saved her. I just can't wait to leave this horrid forest."
Suddenly, there was a large thud and she was snapped out of her thoughts. She gasped in fear when she saw what stood before her.
"A manticore!" Twilight shouted, "We've have to get past it!"
The manticore swiped at Rarity, but she managed to move just in time and buck it in the side. "Take that you ruffian!" she shouted before it roared at her, frizzling her hair, "My hair!" She dashed away in fear of the beast. It attempted to chase her, but was cut short by Applejack wrangling it like a bull.
"Yeehaw, get along little doggie!" She shouted before being thrown off and telling Rainbow Dash it was her turn. She began flying around it in an attempt to confuse it, but was was knocked back to the group by the manticore's scorpion tale. At this, the five ponies charged at the manticore.
"Wa-a-a-ait!" Fluttershy yelled as she stopped the ponies from continuing their charge. She smiled and walked to the manticore, seemingly unfazed by it's stature, "It's okay," she said as it raised its right paw into the air. She gently rubbed its left paw with her nose, and it stopped, confused by this gesture. Fluttershy flipped the paw with her hoof to reveal a thorn in it's palm. "Oh, that looks painful, let me take care of that. This will only hurt for just a sec."
The manticore raised an eyebrow when she took the thorn into her mouth, not sure what she was doing. She quickly pulled out the thorn, causing the manticore to roar. It looked at its paw to see that it was bleeding. At the sight of its own blood, the manticore went into a frenzy. It reared back its paw and swiped at the yellow pegasus before she could react.
"No!" the five ponies yelled in unison.
As her body hit the ground, the manticore sprinted away into the dark forest. The group rushed to her side. They looked down at her in shock, hoping she was still alive. Twilight placed her hoof on Fluttershy’s neck to check her pulse. “She has a pulse!” Twilight yelled. Rainbow Dash was the first to rush over and bent down to get close to Fluttershy.
“Rainbow...Dash,” Fluttershy uttered weakly, “Don’t...don’t go after it…”
Rainbow Dash was shocked at the statement “What?”
“You need to *cough* stay with the others so you can find the elements. If you go after it to avenge me, you’ll only be giving Nightmare Moon her victory.”
Rainbow Dash began to tear up, “No, you can’t die, not yet!”
“Rainbow...be strong for me.” As she finished the sentence, her eyes glossed over and she ceased breathing. The group was stunned for a moment, unable to process what had just happened. Dash, being the first to fully take in what had occurred, suddenly began sobbing harder than she ever had before. The other four stared wide-eyed at the display. It was hard for them to take in, none of them had ever seen such another pony die in front of them. Pinkie and Rarity began to cry, Applejack took off her hat and lowered her head as a sign of respect, and Twilight stood as still as a statue, unable to cope with what just happened.
After what seemed like an eternity, Twilight snapped out of her trance and spoke up. “Girls, I know that we shouldn’t just forget about Fluttershy, but we need to get moving. If we stay here too long, Nightmare Moon will win and the night will reign eternal. Then all of this will be for nothing”
Rainbow Dash slowly raised her head, “Yeah, you’re right. I just need to make sure that she’s safe so that no predators will get her.” She took Fluttershy into her shaking arms and launched into the air. She looked around and found a nearby cloud. She flew over to it and laid Fluttershy in pillows of pure white clouds, hiding her body until she could come back to retrieve it later. She wiped her tears as she descended back to the ground.
“You gonna be alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, concerned for the mare.
Rainbow shook her head, “No, I’m not. When we’re done with this I’m going to go through the worst thing I can imagine: my best friend’s funeral”
For a few minutes the walk was silent. The most that was heard was the occasional hiccup from Rainbow Dash. Finally, Pinkie Pie walked to Rainbow's side to talk to her. "What was she like?"
Rainbow Dash turned her head to look at her. "Pinkie, she’s lived in Ponyville for years. You know what she was like."
"Not really. No matter how much I tried, she was usually too shy to talk to me. I only knew her name and that she was shy."
"Well, she loved to take care of animals. She loved the things, big and small. She seemed to put any animal around her in a better mood. Something as big as a bear was a lot harder to anger when she was simply in its presence. I just don't know why that...monster wasn't the same way."
"If you don't mind," Twilight spoke up, "I might be able to answer that. You see, when a manticore sees its own blood, a defense mechanism is triggered and they get a burst of adrenaline."
"Then why did it run away?" Rainbow asked.
"Same reason. When that mechanism is triggered, it tells them to get away from whatever harmed them. Despite being predators, they aren't ones to put their lives on the line. All that bulk is simply so they can hunt and protect themselves, so survival is top priority."
Rainbow Dash looked back at the ground and huffed, "He's lucky he ran away. Had he stayed I would have turned him into a rug."
"Rainbow," Pinkie said, "that would have only have gotten you killed. You know Fluttershy wouldn't have wanted that, and she wasn't one for revenge either."
"No, I could have done more. I could have stopped her from trying to aid a wild beast, or I could have beat it the first go around."
Pinkie halted in her tracks, and the rest of the ponies stopped in surprise, "Rainbow, just stop that already!" she said, "You did all that you could, you can't blame yourself for that."
"But-"
"No 'buts', Fluttershy would be proud of you. Instead of chasing that manticore, you stuck with us to do what she asked of you."
Rainbow looked at the ground for a few moments in utter silence. Pinkie suddenly felt bad about what she said, thinking that she may have hurt the pegasus. "Rainbow, I-"
“You’re right. If had gone after that manticore, I would have been betraying not only you guys, but Fluttershy too.” Rainbow said lightly. “I’m glad I didn’t go after it.
“That’s the spirit. Hey, if it’ll make you feel better, I know this song that my mom used to sing to me when I couldn’t get to sleep.”
Rainbow shook her head, “Nah, I don’t think I even want to feel any better right now.”
Pinkie frowned, “You don’t want to feel better? That’s just silly. Buuuut...I guess it won't REALLY make you feel better, but it’ll ease the pain.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “You really want to sing that song, don’t you? Okay, just make it quick. Also, we should keep walking”
The others nodded and Pinkie began to sing in an oddly soothing tone.
“Oh sweet child of mine
release your worries,
let go of your fears.
The day is over,
sweet dreams are here.
Soo sweet child of miiine,
don’t fret,
don’t cower,
don’t hide,
no pain will come
while I’m nearby.”
“So, did that help?” Pinkie asked.
“It’s not that much of a song, usually I would laugh at it, and I don’t feel much better, but that’s kinda what I needed. Thanks Pinkie.”
“No problem.”
The group continued their journey, never noticing that the trees had faces.
Eventually, they arrived at a stream with a terrible current. "How are we supposed to cross this thing?" Twilight shouted in frustration.
"Wait, look over there!" Pinkie pointed to where a sea serpent appeared to be crying. The group approached the beast cautiously, their last encounter with the creatures of this forest still fresh in their minds.
"Excuse me, sir, but what's wrong?" Twilight asked the serpent.
"Oh, it's just horrible!" the serpent answered, "This blue mist just came flying by and chopped off my beautiful mustache!"
"Oh that's just horrible!" Rarity shouted, "Such a beautiful look on you, ruined by a strange blue mist."
"Oh I know!" the serpent exclaimed.
"You know, I lost something pretty dear to me recently, too. It's awful and much too sudden."
"Oh I know!"
"I can't let this keep happening, I must fix this immediately!" Rarity walked up to the serpent and plucked a scale off of him.
"Hey, that hurt!" the serpent said angrily. He suddenly brought his head down to the ground and looked at her, "Now, that was uncalled for, and frankly I think I should devour you for it. However, I have better tastes than ponies, so I'll give you a chance to run for your life."
The others turned and were about to run when Rarity spoke up, "I'm sorry that I hurt you, but I said I would help you and I'm going to keep that promise." Suddenly, she used the scale to cut off her own tail and levitated it to the serpent. She attached it to the part where the mustache was cut off, fitting in perfectly.
"Oh my," the serpent exclaimed, "that looks fabulous!" He lifted himself back up and kept touching his new accessory, enjoying the feel of it. "I am so so so so very sorry for threatening you! I don't know what got into me, I'm generally so calm."
"It's fine, I'm just glad that the problem's been fixed." Rarity said with a smile.
"Hey look, the current has stopped, we can get through!" Twilight said as she tried to cross the stream. She was suddenly lifted into the air by a big purple bump.
"No no, allow me." the serpent said. The group proceeded to bounce over the stream, giggling the whole way.
(In the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters)
"Come on, just a spark!" Twilight said as she frantically tried to energize the five elements. She was suddenly flung across the room. She looked up to see Nightmare Moon staring wide-eyed at the elements.
"No! No!" she shouted as the energy flowed between them. The energy faded and Nightmare Moon laughed maniacally.
"No, where's the sixth element?!" Twilight exclaimed in confusion.
"Don't you see? You've failed! You will never see your precious sun again! Hahahaha!" Nightmare Moon stomped the ground, causing the elements to shatter.
"Twilight!" four ponies shouted in unison.
Twilight turned around to see the four ponies she'd grown attached to and realized the truth. "Did you really think you could defeat the elements that easily?" Twilight asked.
"What?" Nightmare Moon asked in confusion.
"You can't destroy the elements, because their spirits are right here!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Applejack, the way she convinced me to let go is the element of honesty!" Orange shards began circling Applejack.
"Pinkie, how she made Rainbow Dash cheer up, even when she was as sad as she could be, is the element of laughter!" Blue shards began circling Pinkie.
"Rarity, how she gave her tail to help that sea serpent in need, is the element of generosity!" Purple shards began circling Rarity.
"Rainbow Dash, how she didn't leave us when offered her dreams, is the element of loyalty!" Red Shards began circling Rainbow Dash.
"Ha, I believe you’re missing two!" Nightmare Moon shouted triumphantly, "One being courtesy of yours truly."
Rainbow Dash was about to jump at her when Twilight spoke up. "No, because we may not have her here, but her spirit has guided us. One of us alone isn't enough to hold her element, but two are!"
"Impossible!" Nightmare Moon shouted.
"Pinkie Pie, how she sung to Rainbow Dash simply to ease her pain and help her focus shows kindness in her, but not enough to hold the element. Rarity, how she was determined to help the sea serpent, no matter if he was threatening her, shows that kindness as well. Together, they can use the element in the name of Fluttershy!" Pink shards began circling both Pinkie Pie and Rarity. "And the final element, the element of magic!" A sphere appeared above Twilight's head. Suddenly all of the elements took the form of jewelry. There were four necklaces, two bracelets, and one crown. They simultaneously lit up and shot a rainbow at Nightmare Moon.
"Noooo!" she shouted as she was engulfed by the colors, defeating Nightmare Moon and leaving behind a fairly small alicorn.
(Later, somewhere over the Everfree forest)
The wind blew between the group as they were escorted back to Ponyville. They had defeated Nightmare Moon, got congratulated by Princess Celestia, and were being escorted back by a royal chariot. Rainbow chose not to ride with them. She instead chose to trail behind, pushing the cloud that harbored Fluttershy’s body. She had said that she wanted to stay with her for a little longer, even if it was in complete silence. The group told the escorts not to go too fast, as to give her more time.
“Hey Twilight” Pinkie said after some time.
“Yes Pinkie?” Twilight responded.
“So, I’ve been thinking, and I just can’t seem to figure it out. Why me and Rarity instead of all of us for the element of kindness? I mean, we’re all pretty nice in our own ways, and I don’t think that if we added the kindness of both of us together that it’d make a Fluttershy. Besides, neither of us were even that close to Fluttershy, so why us?”
Twilight shrugged, “I really don’t know, Pinkie. I can't really remember why I thought of you two specifically. It felt like something was telling me that it was you two. The elements are mysterious things, and they work in mysterious ways. It might just have been them talking instead of me.”
“Well I have to say,” Rarity chimed in, “is that I hope I prove to be a good bearer. Also, this is some really nice jewelry.” Rarity looked at her new accessories. She touched her necklace, which was gold with a blue gem that resembled her cutie mark at the center. She then looked at her bracelet. It was a primarily gold ring, like the necklace, but it had strange pink runes engraved on it. Pinkie and Rarity had compared them earlier, they were exactly the same. “I just wish we knew what those symbols mean. I’d hate to find out that I’m actually carrying the two halves of Fluttershy’s soul, that would be horrible!”
Twilight shook her head, “The elements would never do such a thing. Besides, no such magic even exists. Once you’re gone, you’re gone for good.”
“Phew,” Rarity exclaimed, “because this is really stylish. I’d actually like to keep wearing it.”
“Sorry, but you can’t. We can’t risk losing one of the elements because it slipped off your wrist. Once we get back, I’ll need to put them somewhere safe.”
“Aw.” Rarity said sadly, “Oh well, I guess it’s for the best.” Rarity looked at the bracelet for a few moments before thinking of something. “Oh, this might look better on my other leg.” She tried pulling it off a few times, but it wouldn’t move. “Uh, girls, a little help?”
Twilight grabbed the bracelet and attempted to pull it off, “Ugh, it won’t budge!”
“Please stop shaking the chariot, we don’t want anypony falling out” one of the escorts said.
Applejack rolled her eyes, “Will you two cut that out? Just let me do it.” Twilight stopped pulling and let Applejack try to pull it off. She pulled a few times before giving up, “Well shoot, it’s stuck on there real tight.”
“Why don’t we rub some butter on it?” Pinkie asked.
“Pinkie, we don’t have any butter.” Twilight said.
“Oops, you’re right.”
“Why don’t I activate the sweat glands in you legs so it lubricates the bracelet?” Twilight asked.
Rarity gulped, “That’s disgusting, but alright.”
Twilight’s horn lit up in an aura of magic, then suddenly stopped. “That’s weird,” she said, “I’m actually getting some strange magical readings off the bracelet. It seems that it’s emitting a magical field preventing you from taking it off.”
“What?!” Rarity yelled in shock.
Suddenly, Twilight turned to Pinkie, lowered her head, and lit up her horn once again. It stopped and she lifted her head. “Yeah, I’m getting the same thing from Pinkie. I’m sorry you two, but you’re stuck with those bracelets until they decide otherwise.”
Rarity’s eyes turned to saucers, “So I’m stuck with this on my hoof for the rest of my life?!”
Twilight shook her head, “No, probably not the rest of your-”
“Oh cheer up Rarity! I mean, at least it looks good. Would you prefer to be stuck with a tacky bronze bracelet?” Pinkie stated.
Rarity looked down. “Well, I guess not. Bronze would be a terrible thing to be stuck with forever.”
The two bearers of kindness looked at each other and giggled, which then turned into laughter, which then turned into them rolling on the floor of the carriage.
Twilight and Applejack looked at each other in confusion. "Uh, girls," Applejack said, deciding to speak up, "it wasn't that funny. You two alright?"
"J-j-ust fi-hi-hi-hi-ine" Pinkie said, managing to speak the fit of laughter.
"I-he-he don't e-he-he-heven kn-know-o-o why hi-I'm laugh-hi-ing!" Rarity said.
After a few minutes the two mares managed to calm down. "I'm...sorry about that, I shouldn't be laughing at a time like this, I just don't know what came over me..." Rarity said, blushing a little.
"Yeah, like AJ said, it wasn't even that funny" Pinkie said while rubbing the back of her neck.
"Don't you two worry 'bout it, we all need to feel better at time like these" Applejack stated, comforting the two mares.
Deciding to check how much longer the ride would be, Twilight looked out of the carriage to see that they were arriving in Ponyville. "Looks like we're home. I sure hope they don't hate me..."
Applejack looked at Twilight in surprise. "Now why in tarnation would they hate you? You stopped Nightmare Moon and prevented eternal night! You're a hero!"
Twilight shook her head, "I arrive in town and Nightmare Moon suddenly appears? I go into the Everfree Forest with five other ponies and only come out with four? Tell me that doesn't spell 'walking disaster'!"
Pinkie scoffed, "Twilight, without you they would be living in darkness for the rest of their lives! We all would and there's no denying it! The ponies will know Princess Celestia sent you here because of Nightmare Moon's return, and they already know that the Everfree is a dangerous place. Most of them probably would have expected none of us to come out. You'll be fortunate if they even give you a moment's peace for the next few days, what with all the praise they'll be giving you!"
Twilight managed a small smile at this, "That's nice of you to say Pinkie, but they'll be giving all of us praise, not just me. In fact, they'll probably be giving more to Fluttershy because she gave her life to save us."
The ponies suddenly felt a somber mood fall over the group at the mention of Fluttershy's name, but were jolted out of it by a loud 'THUMP' and a "we've arrived". The four ponies exited the carriage and looked around for Rainbow Dash, only to see that she was still far behind. Deciding to wait until she arrived, they silently stood in their spots, at least until a certain white alicorn came up to them.
"My little ponies, I know you want to wait for your friend, but I believe she needs some time to herself. Besides, the ponies of Ponyville are welcoming back my sister, Luna, and I wish for you to be there. You can visit her afterwords."
The four ponies looked up at their princess, then at each other, not sure what to say. Finally, Twilight was the first to speak up. "With all due respect Princess, we also wish to pay our respects to Fluttershy. Besides, I think we all need time to ourselves to think about what happened and get past it. We only saw the...incident a little while ago. It's still fresh in our minds and we wouldn't want to be around anypony like that." The other ponies nodded in agreement, confirming what the mare said was true.
A look of understanding appeared on Celestia's face, "I completely understand. I hope that you all feel better with due time. Oh, and do tell Rainbow Dash that I shall pay for every expense of Fluttershy's funeral. I would hate to have a brave mare like her get an improper burial." With that, the princess flew off, leaving the others to watch as their cyan friend slowly made her way back to Ponyville.