//------------------------------//
// Chapter 36: The Seventh Element 
// Story: The Seventh Element 
// by PaisleyPerson 
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Chapter 36
The Seventh Element


“Finally, our time has come,” Torchwood gleefully announced. I was crouched behind a tangle of vines, listening in. How was I going to talk to Torchwood? As soon as he saw me, he’d just have some of his followers bring me back to “safety.” I needed a diversion. One to keep his soldiers busy while I approached him.
“What are you waiting for?” a voice hissed behind me. I almost jumped out of my skin as Meteor crawled out of the shadows. 
“I can’t approach him now; his goons will just drag me back. I need a diversion to keep them busy,” I gasped, relaying my thoughts.
“Leave that to me,” he promised, leaving me again. I watched as he crossed the room, nodding respectfully yet casually to any thestral he passed. He was heading over to the corner where the other girls were tied. He bent over long enough to whisper something to Twilight. Then, a small peach tinted fire sparked from his hooves. It was just enough to ignite the vines, and within seconds, he had freed Twilight and her friends. Amazingly, nopony else had noticed. Not until Rainbow screeched out for them all to hear, anyway.
“Hey, Bozo! Come get me!” Instantly, fire, ponies and spells were flying every which way. 
“Don’t forget about me!”
“Yoo hoo! Over here!”
“Ya snooze ya lose, pal!”
“What? Who released the prisoners?” Torchwood bellowed. 
“Torchwood,” I appeared behind him. He jumped at the sound of my voice.
“Acrylic, Love, what are you doing out here? Go back before you’re caught in the crossfire!”
“I can’t let you do this. Taking over Equestria? That’s not you, Torch. The stallion I knew liked the quiet life. He just wanted a small place out in the country. Remember Ponyville, Torch? You loved it there.”
“Yet if I go back, I am faced with reminders of their crimes.”
“You think I wasn’t left with reminders? Look at my cutie mark. I have to walk around a blank flank. An adult blank flank for the rest of my life. You think that’s not going to attract attention? And these scars... I know I’m going to get some strange looks when I walk by from here on out. But I don’t care, Torch. I let it go. So can you.”
“It is too late for that.”
“It’s never too late! The Princesses were planning to offer a peace treaty. To bring thestrals back to Equestria! That’s what we wanted all along.”
“I will not share this land with them.”
“Why not?”
“Thestrals will reign supreme. This will be our home! Let the other pony types fend for themselves in the Everfree as we were left to do for a thousand years!”
“Can you not hear me?”
“Father, take Acrylic back. I will deal with this nuisance once and for all.” I looked to my right and realized that my friends had again been subdued. I pretended to walk with Meteor for a few paces, but he led me no further. I wasn’t going to leave my friends again. 
“You ponies have proven quite bothersome,” Torchwood went on, pacing from his platform of vines. “No more.” He charged up his fire, more powerful than I’d ever seen. It burned hot and intense, surging with power. What was he doing? He wouldn’t hurt them, would he? I hadn’t thought he’d take over Equestria, either, but here we were. Torchwood wasn’t a murderer. I could say that no longer by the look in his eyes. He was going to hurt them. Badly. Or worse, if I didn’t stop him.
An orb of magical fire was hurled. It was headed straight for Twilight. Vines held her down so she couldn’t move. Not even her magic could stop the thestral fire. It was getting closer and closer to her... so was I.
Before I knew what was going on, I charged at Twilight, hoping the collision would knock her over low enough to avoid being hit. I couldn’t tell which would hit her first; me or the fireball. I ran faster than I ever had before. I doubted wings could have sped me up much more. I just knew that I had to protect Twilight. And Torchwood. If he went down this road, it would be a long, hard journey back. I might not get him back, for that matter. I couldn’t lose him this way. I wouldn’t.
I felt like I’d run into a brick wall when my shoulder finally collided with Twilight’s otherwise unharmed frame. The fireball was so close it blinded me. The world seemed to move in slow motion. I saw that Twilight was safe; she was almost to the floor as it was. But then the realization hit me that I wasn’t, in the form of a fireball.
It knocked me square in the chest. While my momentum should have carried me to the left, the impact sent me sprawling clear back.
“NO!” Somepony screamed. A clamor of muffled and echo-ey voices met my ears as I dropped to the floor. It seemed to take an eternity; the world was frozen. Time didn’t return to its proper perception until I hit the dank and dirty ground. I skidded for a few feet, and then simply stopped. 
I had no energy left. I felt hooves curling around my neck as I was turned over, and my head was raised up. It was Rainbow supporting me. The residual effects of the fire must have been enough to free them. Either that or Meteor had ordered for their release. Torchwood was no longer in control. He had sagged to the floor, accompanied by his father. He had already been defeated. My view of them was blocked when the rest of my friends crowded around. 
“You’re gonna be okay,” Rainbow assured. She couldn’t even convince herself, let alone me. “You’ve gotta be okay.”
“You saved me,” was all the stunned Twilight could sniff.
“Couldn’t let Torchwood... go down... that road...” I gasped.
“Shh,” Rarity cried. “Be still.”
“Equestria’s safe now, right?” I went on, ignoring her orders.
“Yes,” Twilight nodded, tears running down her cheeks. “You saved us.”
“Good.” I let myself sag back into Rainbow’s arms.
“Don’t worry,” Pinkie piped up. “As soon as we get back to Ponyville, we’ll throw you the best Get Well Party Ponyville has ever seen! Right after the Welcome Back Party! Right, girls?” Even Pinkie knew that no such event would take place. 
“Right, Pinkie,” Rainbow humored her. 
“Fluttershy,” I whispered.
“Yes?” The yellow pegasus pushed in close.
“There’s a baby dragon out there somewhere. Blaze. I need you to make sure he’s alright for me, okay?”
“Okay,” she mournfully nodded. Normally she would never agree to scouring Equestria for a dragon of all creatures- not even for a baby. But she would honor my last request.
“Acrylic, ya know I didn’t mean any o’ what I said afore,” AJ sniffled, removing her stetson and clutching it to her chest. “I was just angry, and scared. I’m so, so sorry.”
“I know,” I touched my hoof to hers. “It’s okay.”
“It ain’t okay!” she insisted. “This is my fault! If I hadn’t said those things, maybe you’da stayed put. This all coulda been resolved ages ago.”
“It was all our faults, AJ,” Twilight wept. “We should have never tried to change you in the first place. We all drove you away. We’re all sorry.” Heads bobbed agreement all around us. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t know what we could have possibly been thinking. Changing you? That was no better than Discord trying to turn us against our elements. I’m unequivocally mortified of what we did,” Rarity let her head hang in shame, allowing those beloved curls of hers to drag into the grime of the dirt.
“We’re all soooooo sorry,” Rainbow snuffled again.
“Really super-duper sorry!” Pinkie emphasized. 
“I am too,” I wheezed. “I shouldn’t have left. If I’d just stayed here, none of this would’ve happened. Now I get that you were just trying to protect the rest of Equestria. I just wish you’d done it a little less… dramatically.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for! What we did was unjustifiable… downright unforgivable.”
“It’s okay,” I softly insisted, closing my eyes. I didn’t have the strength to keep them open. “I forgive you.” Then, I died.





Everypony knew it when Acrylic was gone. The gray mare was completely limp, and her previously labored breaths had stopped altogether. Pinkie’s mane deflated. Everypony was in tears; even the surrounding thestrals bowed their heads in honor of their fallen member. Rainbow still cradled the body, refusing to believe that their friend was gone.
“What’ve we done?” Twilight sobbed.
“You did nothing,” came a deep voice from behind. Torchwood finally stood. “This was my doing. I killed her.” He stumbled over, looking so weak and frail that not even Rainbow did anything to stop him. He lay at the mare’s side, and lay his head over hers, tears dripping into her long blue mane. “I’m sorry.”
A soft hissing interrupted his final farewell as a black snake bobbed up from inside the tangle of hair. “Get away,” Torchwood demanded of the creature.
“It’s okay,” Fluttershy sniffed. “That’s the snake that brought our message to her.” At this, Torchwood decided the reptile could stay.
“NO!” another, much younger voice screeched. The heavy wing beats suggested a thestral arriving, but when all eyes turned a second time, two young dragons landed instead. Spike recognized the older of the two. It was that bully from the dragon migration, Garble. He didn’t recognize the younger orange hatchling now running to the body. Spike was already emotional, and was getting ready to lay into Garble. What was he doing here? He didn’t care about ponies. Did he? Acrylic’s words came to mind. ‘He’s not as bad as he seems,’ she’d said. Spike stayed put, prepared to give him a chance. Rarity and Twilight, too, recognized the dragon, but said nothing in their sorrow.
Blaze passed those already gathered around and buried himself in the thick blue curls. “Please get up,” he begged.
“Are you Blaze?” Fluttershy timidly asked. The dragon barely nodded, drying his tears. Fluttershy outstretched her arms to receive the child. She’d made a pledge to make sure he was okay, and now it was time to make good on that promise. The baby dragon didn’t know this mare except from Acrylic’s paintings, but her loving, comforting stance reminded him of his foster mother. He practically leapt into her arms, allowing the mare to comfort him. Garble angrily marched up, eyes damp. He wasn’t so tough anymore.
“You LIED!” he shouted at the corpse. “You said you’d always be there for us! How am I supposed to take care of my brother now?” Even he was crying. The mane six looked at each other. Twilight finally shifted her gaze to the ground, another tear splashing in the dirt. 
“Acrylic may have forgiven us,” she began, “but I won’t ever be able to forgive myself.” Her coat began to turn a drab shade of gray. 
“Me neither,” Rainbow whimpered. One by one, the six friends all nodded, coats and manes fading. Torchwood’s pelt didn’t change colors, but he already looked broken.
A soft rattling disrupted the silence. Twilight finally opened her eyes and noticed that her friends’ elements were all glowing, even shaking in their golden sockets. The pink six-pointed star in her own crown was shining the brightest. 
“What’s goin’ on, Twilight?” Applejack worriedly called.
“I don’t know! I’m not doing anything!” Twilight answered. What was going on with the elements? She wasn’t harnessing their power. So what was? 
The familiar rainbow-tinted light began to unfurl, locking all the elements together. The black vines didn’t like this, and began shooting towards the girls in an attempt to stop them. Just when Twilight thought they were toast, the thestrals stepped in, keeping the rogue vines at bay with a technicolor array of fire. 
The elements had activated all on their own, but none of their wielders protested. Blaze shrank back to his brother, not sure what was going on. Garble looked to the hatchling Spike for guidance. While he didn’t like the little pest, he knew more about what was going on than they did. Spike didn’t seem very concerned, but stayed a good distance back. Garble led his brother away so they could do the same. Even Torchwood shied from the elements’ power. No doubt they were acting on him, to extinguish the villain once and for all. He shut his eyes, coming to terms with this fate, and prepared himself for whatever came next. 
An explosive booming commenced, but nothing hit Torchwood. He opened his eyes to a blinding light focused on where Acrylic’s body lay. All the spectators shielded their eyes from the light, giving the group an even wider girth. The light only intensified, becoming more and more concentrated. Then, it could condense no more. It exploded into a huge pulse of light that would soon envelope the entire Everfree. All of the invading weeds were disintegrated on the spot. The dragons in attendance were unaffected, and neither were the element wielders, but the impact slightly jarred the thestrals. Garble watched on in confused amazement as the thestrals’ coats lightened a shade or two. The blade-like eyes were done away with, replaced with standard round pupils. Some even shrunk down a few inches- Torchwood was among this number. They recovered almost instantly, barely fazed. 
Then, slowly and gradually, the light faded. Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony were set gently on the ground from where they were hovering in the air. The light was still receding around Acrylic’s body. Everypony and dragon leaned in close to see what the glowing orb concealed. A pair of dragon wings shot out of the light and into view.





Okay, so maybe I was a little melodramatic about the whole ‘dying thing.’ It felt like dying, anyway. Even the elements of harmony couldn’t bring back the dead; I must have passed out. Even so, I didn’t think I would wake up. But I did.
“Ugh...”
“ACRYLIC!” My head exploded into thunderous cheers and screams, causing my eyes to shoot open. Loud noises usually meant danger. Where? I couldn’t tell when a multitude of bodies pressed in and smothered me. 
“You’re alright!” I was, wasn’t I? Torchwood’s shot had hit me. So why wasn’t I dead? 
“Wha hapn?” I mumbled, slurring my words in the confusion. There wasn’t time for an answer before the ponies were broken up and a second wave washed up. Pointed claws dug into the back of my neck, and I felt warm, wet tears dripping down my coat. I was astonished to find Garble of all dragons in my arms.
“I thought I lost you,” he muttered. I held him close.
“Hey, hey,” I cooed, happy tears welling up. “You aren’t getting rid of me that easily.” He finally pried himself away, relieved to be laughing with me. Then he turned to look at the ponies and purple dragon giddily watching from behind. 
“Not one word, Rookie,” he ordered, pointing a claw at Spike. Spike finally seemed to understand what I meant when I said Garble wasn’t so bad, and waved it off good-naturedly. 
“That’s some improvement,” Rainbow beamed.
“What?” What did I miss? She pointed at my neck, where something golden glinted out of the corner of my eye. I froze. It was a golden necklace just like my friends’. It was just the same, right down to the white jewel in the center. It was gleaming white, curled in the shape of a tongue of fire. It looked almost what my cutie mark used to be, though the ends were even more curled, almost forming an uneven heart. Then my head snapped around to my back, where my breath was caught in my throat. I was looking for a cutie mark, but my view was blocked by two huge, leathery wings. 
“They’re back!” I happily cried. I temporarily moved them aside to check for a cutie mark to go with them, and was greeted with such a reward. It was all still there. The purple puddle and the flaming paintbrush. The fire on the brush had been changed just enough to match the amulet around my neck with the same heart theme. I’d never been so happy in my life. I wanted to perform a celebratory flight then and there. I’d only gotten as far as a giddy twirl before I was stopped.
Before I could take to the sky, my gaze shifted ever so slightly, and finally happened upon the familiar form of Torchwood. He wasn’t as tall as he had been when he attacked, but back to Luna’s height, and his coat was back to its usual bright chocolate hue. His ears were flat; eyes sad and apologetic. He didn’t know where to begin. My heart skipped a beat. This was my Torchwood.
He didn’t get a chance to say anything before I threw myself at him. He was too shocked to move for a moment, but soon drew me even closer. “How can you ever forgive what I’ve done?” he whispered, trembling with a hurricane of emotions.
“It wasn’t you,” I promised. “It was an ancient evil. But it’s gone now. You defeated it.”
“She is quite right,” a commanding yet loving voice sounded. I knew that voice. I stiffly turned into the face of Princess Celestia, accompanied by Luna. For a moment, I was almost afraid they’d try to take my wings away from me again, but their joyful expressions told me that no such transformation would take place.
“Princess!” Twilight happily squealed, sprinting to greet them. Both Princesses returned her hug, but everypony else dropped into a low, respectful bow. That included all thestrals in sight. Even Garble felt a little awkward being the only one standing upright, and subtly dipped his head. Torchwood practically crawled forward.
“Your Majesty,” he gulped, “I take full responsibility for my actions. I surrender myself, but please do not place the consequences of my wrongdoing on my kin.”
“No!” I bounded forward to his side. “Please, Princess! That wasn’t the real Torchwood that kidnapped you. You said yourself almost a year ago that an ancient evil exists in all thestrals, passed down through the generations. You tried to change me because you were afraid it would flare up. It just flared up in the wrong pony.”
“I am aware, Acrylic,” Celestia assured. 
“Huh?”
“I have no intention of punishing Torchwood, or anypony else.”
“But I led an attack on Equestria!” Torchwood whimpered. “And almost succeeded.”
“It was the same evil we faced a thousand years ago that controlled your actions,” Luna cut him off. “And now, it has been vanquished once and for all.”
“It has?”
“I saw all the thestrals turn a few shades lighter,” Garble offered.
“And a few shrunk,” Blaze put in. 
“The seventh Element of Harmony has removed the evil.”
“I represent an Element of Harmony?” I assumed as much, finding the band around my neck, but hearing it spoken finally caused the realization to sink in.
“But what element does she represent?” Rarity asked.
“I’ve never read about it in any of my books,” Twilight agreed. 
“That is because it did not exist until now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Acrylic, do you recall the fail safe mechanism I told you of a year ago?”
“You said that when thestrals tried to control the elements a thousand years ago, the fail safe mechanism backfired and turned them all evil.”
“That’s correct. I believe the fail safe was activated again.”
“But how? I thought the fail safe only existed because there was no pony to wield them at the time.”
“You must remember that the elements exist solely to maintain the harmony. This original evil was first created before there were proper wielders. Should the elements’ new wielders be unable to perform their duties, the elements must take matters on themselves to right the wrong they themselves created in the past.”
“Why wouldn’t we have been able to control the elements?”
“You said that you would never be able to forgive yourself just before your coats turned gray,” Torchwood realized, beginning to work things out on his own.
“Exactly.”
“And so the Elements of Harmony created a seventh element to fix the balance!” Twilight finished. “The Element of Forgiveness!”
“Element of Forgiveness?” I repeated, looking down at the gem glinting on my chest. I smiled. “I like it.”
“So what happens to all the thestrals now?” Pinkie wondered, looking around at the multitudes that had barely moved all this time. Celestia too noted the huge quantity of frightened faces around her, and reassuringly beamed.
“Thestrals belong with the rest of pony kind. They will all be welcomed back to Equestria!” The entire crowd broke into cheers. I jumped up and down, unable to contain my excitement. “And,” Celestia went on, “To formally welcome thestrals back to Equestria, I invite everypony to the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot!” Most ponies stomped their hooves in light of the invitation. I felt something soft being placed on my head, and the world went dark. I removed the adornment covering my eyes so I could get a good look at it. 
“My hat!” I exclaimed. It was the same purple plaid beret I threw away last year. 
“Rarity has been obsessing over that hat since you left!” Rainbow exclaimed. The white unicorn blushed. 
“I was just holding it for you, dear,” she stated. I wasn’t sure how she transported it all this way without me seeing, but didn’t concern myself with that minor detail.
I couldn’t contain myself any longer. My wings snapped open and shot me into the sky. Now I had room to properly celebrate. I seemed to have led the charge, because I was momentarily joined by Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Meteor Strike and even Garble carrying Blaze along with hundreds of thestrals I didn’t recognize. I twirled midair, giving me the chance to look back down at the ground. Rarity, AJ and Pinkie were the only Elements left on the ground, though the Princesses looked on as well. I noticed Torchwood still guiltily positioned on the ground, and waved for him to join us. Some prodding from Luna finally motivated him to get up.
He was soaring right for me, so I playfully twirled around him. Just getting up in the air seemed to lift his spirits, but realizing that nopony blamed him for what had happened did wonders for his self-esteem. In fact, his comrades welcomed him into the flight formation. I felt something smooth and cold drop onto my back, and felt Heckley winding himself around my neck. His tongue stuck out of his mouth, sticking out as the breeze hit his face as a dog might. I laughed at the sight. A heavier form was deposited on my back, which I soon found to be Blaze. Garble glided overtop of me. He was probably glad to be rid of the extra weight. I didn’t mind the additional passenger. I grinned up at the red adolescent, and though he tried to ignore me, I noticed that he couldn’t help but grin back.
We were finally joined by not only the Princesses flying point but by Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie as they were towed behind in levitation bubbles.
“Ooh, I do see how you find this enjoyable,” Rarity sighed, letting the breeze air dry her perfect curls. While the levitation bubble was carrying her, she moved her hooves so it looked like she was trotting on air.
“It is awful relaxin’, ain’t it?” AJ agreed, letting the levitation bubble do the work and reclining on her back.
“Awful FUN!” Pinkie gargled through a snorkel, abandoning both of their approaches and swimming through the air past us all. I wasn’t sure where she’d gotten a snorkel and pool flippers on such short notice, but I decided not to question it. Pinkie would always be Pinkie.