//------------------------------//
// The First Journey 
// Story: Harmony:  Braves of the Six Elements 
// by TooShyShy 
//------------------------------//

	As the sun rose, two mares touched down on a dirt path.  Their forms seemed to glow slightly in the temperate orange of the dawn, their shadows spread out before them as if they were long dark pools.  The area around them was lined with trees, although the few of their kind were a bit scrawny.  
The first to land, a cyan pegasus, stretched her wings and legs.  The ground always seemed inadequate to her after a particularly lengthy and satisfying flight.  It always struck a cord of wrongness in her brain, as if she herself was a part of the sky and her betrayal was utter blasphemy.  Regardless, even she realized when she needed a little rest.  After the excitement of last night, she required a moment to sit and gather her thoughts.
Miss Rarity landed beside her.  Other than the barest hint of a pant, she didn't seem as affected as Rainbow Dash.  Perhaps this was due to her showing no physical signs of the flight, which in itself was miraculous.  When she become a Goddess and earned her wings, she had only utilized said new body parts as much as was needed, aside from learning to fly.  And being a princess, she seldom needed to use her hooves, let alone her wings.  
“Oh my,” she commented, looking around.  “Isn't this a beautiful place?”
Rainbow Dash grunted.  Trees, dirt, and grass weren't exactly rare.  One could forget these things existed if they lived in immense cities such as Canterlot or Manehattan, but this wasn't the case for her.  She wasn't exactly at liberty to be impressed by nature.
“I've never seen trees this big,” Rarity continued, her eyes sparkling.  “And the ground beneath my hooves…..  It isn't cobblestones, is it?  It's….natural.”
Apparently “natural” was anything that did not come with its own blueprints.  Rainbow suspected that the trees had been planted and grown overnight by magic, the path had been specially made, and the grass had been tinted a more vibrant green than was possible in nature by hardworking unicorns.  Despite thriving in cities, the elite of Canterlot were fond of having an impressive backdrop for their hunting trips.  Rainbow had nothing against this, but she honestly would have preferred something that had sprung up of its own accord rather than something created and nurtured by spells.  However, she bypassed mentioning this to Rarity.  She instead nodded vaguely in response to the alicorn's comment.
“Did they stop following us?”  she inquired, glancing behind her.
Rarity swept her long purple braid over her shoulder and across her back.  She was staring at the trees as if they were the most amazing things in existence, but she managed to answer Dash.
“Oh, don't worry about that, Ms. Dash,” she replied idly.  “They've most likely given up.”
Rainbow Dash agreed.  Miss Rarity might have left without having her audience with Prince Blueblood, but Rainbow thought it was for the best.  She smiled, imagining the look of outrage on the prince's naturally smug visage when he discovered that his precious wife had fled Canterlot without speaking to him and released a prisoner without his explicit permission.
“Let's keep going!”  Rainbow urged, filled with new excitement.  “We're not far from my hideout!”
The pair continued, this time following the path rather than flying.  Rainbow was surprised and impressed at how quickly Rarity could gallop when she wanted to.  There was no hesitation in her rapid hoofsteps, only resolution.  The scenery, she noticed as they moved, was also starting to alter.  It might have escaped Rarity's unaccustomed attention, but Rainbow noted that the grass was becoming less artificially green, the trees were getting smaller, and the ground beneath them even felt less polished.  They were entering a world that belonged to the animals, rather than to a group of uptight, cigar-smoking social-climbers.
Steadily, the scenery gave way to yet more trees.  These were taller, stronger-looking than the ones they'd passed before.  They towered over the passing mares, each bearing their own share of delicious fruit.  Apples, their crimson skins inviting, seemed to wink in the sunlight.  
Rarity slowed down, gazing in awe at the trees.  Accustomed to seeing merely the end result, rather than one of the first steps, Rarity was taken aback.
“First time in an orchard?”  Rainbow Dash surmised.
Rarity nodded, unable to say a word.  An actual, uncooked, unsliced, undisturbed apple, as vivid as the ones in her fillyhood storybooks.  She didn't think she'd ever seen one in its natural habitat.  Usually when she beheld fruit, it was cut into even pieces and served alongside rolls.  She turned back to the path and noticed two Earth ponies, a mare and a stallion.  The stallion of the pair was pulling a cart behind him.  Her eyes opened a bit wider when she noticed that said cart was filled with apples.  As her and Rainbow passed the couple, she reached out with her magic and seized one of the red fruits.
“Excuse me!”  she called to the startled ponies as they passed.  “I would like to sample some of your wares, if you don't mind!”
The mare opened her mouth, most likely to shout an obscenity, but Rarity silenced her by tossing a bit in her direction.  The mare caught it in her hoof, a puzzled expression on her face.  She glanced at the stallion pulling the cart, her eyes asking a question her mouth could not quite manage.  They both shrugged at one another, then returned to their work.
“Geez, Miss Rarity,” Rainbow complained, albeit with a grin.  “That's not really appropriate behavior for a princess, is it?”
Rarity took a dainty bite of the apple that was, admittedly, very fit for a princess.  The juices washed gingerly over her tongue, the flavor bursting within her mouth from that minuscule bite.  It was too sweet to be real, almost too sweet for her to comprehend.  Nopony had taken it and somehow managed to bake the soul out of it before it came to her plate. This was a real apple.
“You must excuse any bad manners,” Rarity responded serenely.  “I'm just so very excited!”
The next couple they passed had a cart full of carrots.  As expected, Rarity excitedly pilfered one as they passed and tossed a bit at the bemused couple.  She took a moment to figure out it was a carrot, as the carrots she normally ate were chopped up, seasoned, and placed to the side of the plate to be overshadowed by three slices of the finest bread in Canterlot.  This was the first time she'd seen one whole.  She ignored Rainbow Dash, who was silently laughing at the display. 
The pair stopped at a river, allowing Rarity to fill her canteen.  She had been courteous enough to bring two, one for her and one for Rainbow Dash.  Rarity used her magic to filter water into the canteens, placing them on the ground near the river and causing the water to spiral into them.  When she concluded this, she passed them to Rainbow Dash and turned her attention to the carrot.  With precision that must have taken at least a year to master, she tossed the carrot into the air and conjured up several blades in a cone-like formation.  The blades shot upward, each at a different side of the vegetable.  Each sliced through a layer of skin in passing.  The carrot dropped back into Rarity's hoof and she took a bite.
“You eat raw carrots?”  Rainbow observed, amused.
She was lying in the shade of a lone tree, her hooves behind her head.   
Utilizing a very simple piece of magic, Rarity sliced the carrot in two.  Holding the half she'd bitten in her magic, she tossed the other to Rainbow.  
“Usually I'd prefer more common fare,” she admitted.  “But it's nice to try something new once and a while, isn't it?”
Rainbow chuckled.  She was glad Rarity had come to rescue her from prison and they'd become something akin to friends in a short time.  All of their encounters, when placed next to one another for analysis, appeared to emphasize how different Rarity was compared to others of her status.  In many ways, she wasn't exactly the perfect image of a princess.  With this thought in her head, Rainbow sat up and turned to the carrot that had landed next to her on the grass.  
“I had no idea the Goddess of Blades was this powerful,” she commented, looking at the flawlessly peeled vegetable. 
She had heard stories about the last Goddess of Blades, but they had been too factually questionable for her to believe.  The Goddess of Blades was not as revered as some of the more powerful Goddesses.  Truthfully, Rainbow hadn't even known too much about what it was that earned the Goddess of Blades such a title.  Something to do with swordsponyship, she had once idly concluded to herself after some pondering.  
“You've never met a Goddess?”  Rarity inquired, raising her eyebrow.
Rainbow shifted her position slightly, crossing one leg over the other.  
“I have a friend whose a Goddess,” she answered.  “Her name is Fluttershy.  But she wasn't happy when she ascended.  She locked herself in her cottage for months afterward and I haven't seen her in a while. I've known a lot of ponies who would kill to have the power of an alicorn, though.”
“Even you, Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow Dash laughed at the common misconception.  She had certainly known ponies who would have sacrificed their loved ones to become Goddesses.  They would have slaved for weeks, months, years for the chance to ascend and earn the coveted wing-and-horn combination that marked them as an alicorn.  But she just rolled her eyes at such ponies, understanding their ambition only up to a point.   
“Why would the strongest mare in the world need the power of a Goddess?”  Rainbow demanded incredulously.
Rarity laughed as well.  She opened one of her saddlebags and put the half-eaten carrot inside, apparently having lost her appetite. 
“Well, I plan to make good use of my powers,” she replied cheerfully.  “For example...”
Rainbow had been about to close her eyes, preparing for a nap.  They might have only had a limited time to get to the temple, but naps were a non-adjustable portion of her life.  However, as her eyes began to close, she heard the sound of a blade cutting the air.  Her eyes jerked open in panic.  She turned her head to see three blades heading in her direction.  Yelping in surprise, Rainbow leapt to her hooves.  She ducked and one of the blades sailed over her head.  
“Let's see how well you can dodge!”  sang Rarity, a delighted grin on her visage.
Rainbow threw herself to the side, narrowly avoiding two more blades.  Her eyes followed them briefly as they shot past.  Satisfied they were not tracking her, her gaze slid forward again just in time to dodge three more blades arranged into a tight arrow.  She wove around them, hastily shifting her body parts out of danger as each blade flew past.   
“Stop it!”  she ordered shrilly.
Rarity's hoof shot to her mouth, her eyes wide.  The other blades she had summoned disintegrated in midair around her.  The alicorn looked almost on the verge of tears, which was perfectly fine with Rainbow.  Her entire body, including her mane, seemed to droop with regret.  Rarity deflated, bowing her head in quiet shame.  When she spoke, her voice was filled with sincere remorse.
“I'm sorry!”  she apologized quickly.  “I thought you'd enjoy a little training exercise!”
Rainbow approached the guilty alicorn, fighting her emotions.  She wanted to be livid, on the verge of explosion.  But the look on Rarity's face made any attempts at rage unsteady.  As far out of line as that little incident had been, she could not look at Rarity's visage and think she'd done it out of malice.  As much as she desired to be wrathful, she found her anger melting slightly.  But only slightly.  There was enough of it remaining for her to give the alicorn a disapproving glare.  With a frustrated groan, Rainbow turned and began galloping away.
Startled, Rarity gazed silently at the retreating pegasus for a moment.  It then occurred to her that she was being left behind.  Not liking this prospect, she broke into a gallop herself to catch up with the faster pony.  Her limbs might have been longer and more agile, her wings larger and her horn longer than any unicorn's, but she was still less athletic than Rainbow Dash.  Or at least this was true when they were both on the ground.  Once Rainbow had spread her wings and taken to the sky, Rarity, with her more capable wings, was able to catch up with her.  She came up beside Rainbow, a pleading look on her face.
“I know you're upset, darling,” she assured the other mare.  “I can't blame you.  But please don't hold a grudge!  I got a little excited and made a mistake!”
Rainbow didn't appreciate “mistakes” of that nature.  She was determined, for her dignity more than anything else, to remain angry.  Rather than say anything in response, she kept her mouth closed.  However, she did not try to put any distance between herself and Rarity.  In fact, she flew a bit faster to keep up with her as the alicorn picked up speed.
Eventually, after a silent flight, they reached Rainbow Dash's “hideout”.  It was actually more of a camp site than anything else, concealed by the surrounding trees and bushes.  It was the remains of a mostly destroyed cabin, the roof obliterated but the walls still partly intact.  Rainbow Dash started a fire as soon as they arrived, tossing a few twigs into the fire pit and setting them alight.  It felt as if it had been morning less than two minutes ago, but in reality the sun was starting to retreat.  Rainbow Dash lay down next to the fire, her head propped up by a log.  It wasn't very comfortable, but she didn't care. 
For about five minutes, the silence endured.  Neither mare said a word, just as they hadn't on the flight.  It at first seemed as if this quiet would be a running theme in their journey.  However, after these minutes had passed, Rarity spoke.
“There was a political dispute in Canterlot a few years ago,” she uttered quietly.
Rainbow, who took “political dispute” to mean “a small scale war between ponies who disagreed with the current regime”, didn't reply.  
“Prince Blueblood was almost stripped of his power,” Rarity continued.  “It was around the time we got married.  Even though he still has power, it's a lot less than most ponies would assume.  He's basically a puppet.”
Rainbow Dash wanted to keep up the silent treatment, but she had to ask a question.  The query had been burning a hole in her mind ever since she'd officially met Miss Rarity.
“How'd you end up marrying such a pompous flankhole?”
Rarity didn't seem to take offense to her husband being called a “flankhole”.  She instead chuckled at the term.  It helped that she herself had secretly referred to him as this and worse in the company of her servants.  The things she had called Prince Blueblood behind his back would have made Rainbow Dash blush.
“He chose me to be his bride,” she explained.  “My family is extremely wealthy and powerful, hence it was decided the two of us would be wed as soon as I came of age.  I never thought of refusing the arrangement because I didn't know what kind of stallion Blueblood truly was.  There are very few mares who wouldn't seize the chance to marry a prince, Ms. Dash.”
Rainbow Dash, who would have refused a marriage proposal from Prince Blueblood even if she didn't know his true nature, rolled her eyes.  Rarity might have been their generation's Goddess of Blades, but she wasn't exactly the Goddess of Logical Thinking.  Rainbow was grateful that she'd never had even a taste of wealth and power in her life.  She'd had to fight for what she wanted and she would have never taken the “easy way out” if it meant being married to Prince Blueblood.
I bet that lucky bastard loves being married to a bucking Goddess, Rainbow thought scathingly.  That'll look real nice in the obituary.
“Even before I married the prince, I never really had somepony I could speak to on equal terms,” Rarity continued sadly.  “I never had anypony who treated me as an equal.  I know you're treating me like this because I'm an Element, but that's more than enough.”
Rainbow Dash allowed a smile to creep across her mouth.  The incident with the blades was beginning to strike her as less worthy of an immature grudge.  She could understand Prince Blueblood's decision to take Rarity as his bride.  Other than her family and her physical appearance, Rarity had a definite attraction to her.  Being around her made one desire to forgive, forget, smile, and laugh, normally in that order.  Rainbow realized that Rarity had at least apologized, rather than brushing it off as if it was nothing.
“If things work out with the Demon King, I'll have even more reasons to treat you like an equal!”  she replied.
She knew they most likely wouldn't be around each other after King Sombra was defeated, but she let this reality drift away for a moment.  She wanted to believe, as foolish a belief as it was, that her and Rarity could have the type of friendship that would endure their contrasting social classes.   
“A night under a beautiful sky,” breathed Rarity, her eyes sparkling.  “If only I could wrap up this peaceful, gorgeous night and give it to the entire world….”
She sighed wistfully.  Nights like this were rare.  Nights in which the moon showed its face bravely, the stars winking like tiny fireflies in a cloudless ocean.    
Rainbow Dash tossed a spare sleeping bag in the alicorn's direction.  It wasn't a particularly clean sleeping bag, but in truth nothing in Rainbow Dash's hideout was clean.  She bit her lip as Rarity caught the bag, half-expecting the princess to object.  She mentally breathed a sigh of relief when this did not happen.  
“It'll keep you warm,” she told the other mare, smiling.
Rarity smiled back, albeit she wrinkled her nose at the filthy sleeping bag held in her magic.  She would have preferred something cleaner.  Or even better, a canopy bed, a nightstand, and a glass of wine.  She liked the idea of sleeping under the stars, but this did not mean she was thrilled about “roughing it”.  Nevertheless, she satisfied herself with some vigorous shaking of the sleeping bag prior to utilizing it.  
Rainbow Dash eyed the battered trunk.  She had already made a trip for Rarity's sake, but that had been out of courtesy.  She wasn't anxious to return, dig around in said trunk for several moments, and retrieve her own equally filthy sleeping bag.  The blue pegasus shrugged, smiling to herself.  She then closed her eyes and drifted into a peaceful slumber.




Their journey began anew the next morning.  Back on speaking terms, the two ponies were in far higher spirits than they had been previous.  The rising sun appeared to mirror their emotions, shining brightly as it crested the distant hills.  It was like an immense ball of fire, volatile yet beautiful in the blazing furnace that was the sky.  
Rarity awakened before Rainbow Dash.  The latter woke up to find the white alicorn's sleeping bag rolled up, rather than occupied.  Rubbing sleep from her eyes with a hoof, she turned blearily towards the “door” of the “cabin”.  It was merely the broken frame of said door, the remains barely coming up to one's head.  She saw Rarity standing in this “doorway”, her gaze turned in the direction of the sun.
“Morning, Rare!”  she greeted the princess.
Not the proper way to address either royalty or a Goddess, but formalities could be ignored when it was just the two of them.  Rainbow was pleased when Rarity did not snap at her for abruptly using a nickname.  Encouraged despite Rarity's lack of reply, she stood up.  The blue pegasus realized her back should be aching, but she had slept on worse and her body had become somewhat immune.  When one is forced to make a bed out of literal rocks in the heat of a storm, one can endure anything.  Rainbow Dash trotted to Rarity's side, her own eyes focused on the sun rather than the alicorn.
“Pretty, huh?”  Rainbow Dash commented lightly.
Rarity leaned her head against Rainbow's side, a content sigh drifting from between her lips.  She closed her eyes, the sunlight burning into the miniscule cracks between her eyelids.  The morning was cold, almost startlingly so after the high temperature of the previous night.  But she was happy about this.  She pressed herself into Rainbow's warmth, into her roguish scent.
“This is all new to me,” she breathed.  
Rainbow Dash, who was immensely enjoying feeling Rarity's weight against her own, chuckled. 
“What, sleeping outside?”  Rainbow uttered.  “Fighting off all the bugs who want in your sleeping bag?”
Rarity laughed, nuzzling Rainbow Dash's side affectionately.  Rainbow felt so strong, so unconquerable.  Almost like a stallion, yet soft like a mare.  And she smelled of the outdoors Rarity was beginning to love.
“Yes, all of those things,” she agreed.  “And also…….being around somepony like you, Rainbow Dash.”
The combination of the straightforward response and Rarity's intimate position caused Rainbow Dash to blush.  
After a short breakfast of cheese on sliced bread, the mares packed up their belongings, stuffing everything of value into the bulging saddlebags.  As well as the usual objects of importance, Rainbow Dash took with her another set of saddlebags, these quite larger than the average ones.  They held what she had been doing without for a rather unsettling amount of time in her opinion:  Her array of potions, tricks, and custom-made devices.  She had felt somewhat naked without her supplies.  It was unlikely she'd ever be able to fight, let alone defeat, the Demon King without them.  When all of this was taken care of, the two mares started out.  This time they chose to trot along the path, rather than fly.
“Have you ever heard of Spike the Dragon?”  inquired Rarity as they walked.
Rainbow Dash considered, going through the various names filed away in her memories. 
“Leader of the Emerald Knights of Equestria?”  she surmised at last.
Rainbow most certainly knew about the Emerald Knights.  They were the most feared band of warriors in all of the land.  The group, entirely comprised of dragons and griffons, had written entire chapters for themselves in the history books with their adventures.  Rainbow Dash did not believe half of what she heard about them and their leader, but the half she thought not fabricated more than made up for the stories that reeked of sycophancy.
“A while ago, he left Canterlot to find the Element-Killer,” Rarity explained.
Rainbow Dash scowled at this.  It wasn't that the title was unknown to her.  She had heard it tossed around in conversation among ponies.  However, she hadn't paid a lot of attention to how and why it was used. 
“The Element-Killer….?”  she echoed, bemused.
Rarity halted, her expression turning serious.   
“For the past month, somepony has been murdering potential Elements,” revealed the alicorn.  “They were trying to take out Elements before they could be chosen.  Spike left on a mission to find the Element-Killer, but I haven't gotten any response to my letters.”
Rainbow Dash thought for a minute.  Somepony killing potential Elements was certainly a unique bit of trouble.  She had never heard of such a thing and was quite positive it had never been recorded in the years since the Demon King had come into existence.  The idea worried her.  She turned to Rarity, ignoring her melancholy thoughts.
“The Element-Killer might have killed him,” she pointed out rationally.  “Didn't you think of that when he stopped answering your letters?”
Apparently not, for Rarity shook her head.  Her eyes filled with dread at the outcome that had simply never occurred to her.
“Spikey-wikey wouldn't die,” Rarity replied, assuring both herself and Rainbow.  “He's too loyal to me.  He knows better than to die unless I order him to!”
Rainbow snorted at her bizarre choice of words.  She wondered if the Goddess of Blades would ever realize what she had unintentionally implied with that sentence.  In addition, she was amused at Rarity's nickname.  Apparently, the strong, dangerous, fearless knight was known as “Spikey-Wikey”.  If she ever ran into him, she was going to have an entire month's worth of teasing prepared in advance.
“You think he can find the Element-Killer?”  Rainbow asked, grinning.
Rarity nodded, beginning to trot once again.  
“Spike won't give up!”  she answered confidently.  
However, her confidence waned slightly as she remembered something.  She hesitated, wondering if she dared say it out loud.  But after a moment of reluctance, she decided it was best to unburden her mind.  She had to tell somepony, and Rainbow Dash was the best candidate.  
“Princess Celestia has been missing for a month,” she revealed.
Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrows, caught off guard.  If there was one Goddess every filly and colt knew about from school-age, it was Princess Celestia.  Ponies claimed her immense power was only matched by the Goddess of the Crystal Heart herself.  And even then, some even doubted the Goddess of the Crystal Heart could defeat her in battle with ease.  Even the strongest mare in the world wouldn't have dared pick a fight with Princess Celestia.  
“The Goddess of the Sun?!”  she gasped, astonished.  “I heard that, when she was only a foal, she destroyed an entire castle with her power!”
Rarity nodded.  She had also heard that legend.  The story emphasized just how courageous Princess Celestia had been, how the enemy had taken down three sizable armies before they were tested by the power of the sun itself.  So came into being the expression “If you challenge the sun, you shall lose”.  
“She's older and more feeble now,” Rarity admitted.  “But her power is as strong as ever.  I doubt the Element-Killer would go after her, and if they did they'd be in for a surprise.  I'm not sure if I should report her disappearance to anypony…..”
Rainbow scowled, thinking of Princess Celestia and her extensive power.  She couldn't imagine even a feeble Goddess of the Sun losing a fight against the Element-Killer.  If this foolish pony had gone after her, there wouldn't be an Element-Killer at all.  Still, it was an odd coincidence.    
The two mares passed a solemn concession of ponies heading in the opposite direction.  The majority of them carried luggage of some kind.  A few of them were pulling large carts filled with vegetables and hay.  Others had confined themselves to bulging saddlebags.  Their expressions were much the same:  Mournful.  King Sombra's return and the appearance of many beasts across Equestria had demanded a large scale evacuation of all the villages nearest to Tartarus.  Rainbow almost laughed at the irony that her and Rarity, two ponies out of hundreds, were heading towards the most dangerous place in the land, whilst everypony else was fleeing.
“The beasts are gonna be coming soon!”  Rainbow uttered, sounding a bit too excited.  	Rarity cringed, more at her companion's enthusiasm than anything else.  
“You don't know that,” she replied sharply. 
Rainbow whirled to face the alicorn, a manic light in her eye.  She wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of fighting beasts, but she was ready.  
“One of the first things Spitfire taught me was that beasts aren't just animals!”  she countered loudly.  “They can think, they can plan, they can follow orders, they can ambush!  The beasts don't want us to get to the temple, do they?  Nope, they're gonna try to stop us from meeting up with the other Elements.  Get it, Rare?”
Rarity frowned, but she nodded.




The two mares crossed into another wooded area, the path framed by towering trees.  A peaceful, somewhat concealed trail, unluckily choked by foliage in some places.  A century's worth of use had quite worn down the path as well.  But Rarity and Rainbow Dash could still feel it underneath their hooves when they touched down.  The latter led the way, the former trailing behind and scowling at the remarkable untidiness of their surroundings.
“Um, Rainbow Dash, what is that peculiar smell?”  she inquired reluctantly.
She shouldn't have asked. 
“Animal feces?”  speculated Rainbow Dash calmly.  “Dead wildlife?  Rotting food?  Could be any of those things.”
Rarity looked as if she was either going to vomit or flee out of complete repulsion.  A quiver of disgust skittered across her body as she looked around, half-expecting to be greeted with the horrible sight of a pile of animal leavings or a deceased rabbit.  Her hoofsteps, once confident, became more wary as the threat of stepping in something disgusting rose to the top of her concens.  
Fortunately, the sound of hoofsteps distracted both ponies.  They looked up as one, startled as they turned toward the sound.  A mare, a stallion, and a filly had just rounded a corner and were galloping toward them.  The filly was sobbing, her mane unkempt and her entire body trembling with horror.  She stumbled as she ran, barely able to keep herself on her hooves.  The male pony scooped up the terrified filly and placed her on his back, whilst the mare trotted forward on her own unsteady hooves.  As Rainbow and Rarity approached, the mare collapsed in front of them.
“W-We tried to run!”  she stammered, her eyes alive with terror.  “The beasts….the beasts….!”
Rarity drew back with a gasp, her hoof over her mouth.  But Rainbow Dash continued forward and gazed into the sobbing face of the mare.
“Beasts?”  she echoed breathlessly.  
The stallion nodded, his own eyes filled with tears.  He helped his wife to her hooves, his own quivering as if he too might collapse.  
“We had to leave the others behind,” he explained.  “The re-rest of the village...”
He couldn't go on, unable to comprehend such a horrible fate.  However, he did not need to expand on the subject.  When he glanced at Rarity and Rainbow Dash, he saw they were already galloping down the path, toward the screams and loud sobbing in the distance.
Could be a trap, Rainbow Dash reasoned to herself.
Regardless, ignoring those in need wasn't an option.  Especially as, the closer they came to the source of the trouble, the worse the images in her head became.  It wasn't merely screams and crying, as one would expect.  To Rainbow Dash's horror, she could also hear, very faintly, the unmistakeable sounds of ponies being killed.  She increased her pace, mentally preparing herself for the trauma.
The scene was even worse than the images she'd conjured up.  Her imagination had given her pictures of slit throats, piles of detached limbs, and a lake of blood.  Whilst the last of these was thankfully inaccurate, this was only the smallest mercy the mares were given in terms of visuals.  Strewn across the ground were several equines, horrendously wounded.  Some appeared to be showing signs of life, their limbs twitching at random intervals and odd noises coming from their throats.  However, the majority of the ponies were not moving, either because they were dead or they were too injured to so much as shake a hoof.  The vast majority of the villagers were fleeing in terror as they were swarmed with beasts.  As Rainbow Dash and Rarity arrived, they saw a few of the villagers struck down by beasts as they attempted to flee.
Once you have described one beast, you're not even halfway to describing them all.  Their only common physical trait is their hulking frames, and even those vary significantly.  Some are as tall as buildings, whilst others are rodents in comparison.  The closest one can inclusively describe beasts as a whole is to compare them to dragons.  They certainly tend to be rather draconic in appearance, their bodies often covered with scales and their mouths very lizard-esque.  But as many descriptions as you might give to beasts as a species, you cannot truly give them one universal design.  
The cyan pegasus and the alicorn were not too concerned with painting a mental picture of the creatures.  They were more concerned with the alarming amount of unarmed villagers being attacked by them.  Rainbow Dash galloped forward with little fear, gazing at the beasts as if they were mere toys rather than dangerous monsters.  She looked over her shoulder at the stunned alicorn as she charged.
“I'll slow them down!”  Rainbow shouted commandingly.  “You finish them!”
She didn't wait for Rarity to confirm her understanding.  Adrenaline surging through her body, Rainbow Dash spread her wings and dove at the nearest beast.  Startled, the creature reared its head and swiped a claw at the pegasus.  Rainbow easily dodged the rather clumsy attack, pulling a tiny bag from her saddlebag as she did so.  She undid the bag with her teeth and threw its contents at the beast as she passed it, spraying the creature with a foul-smelling liquid.  The beast opened its mouth to growl, but its threatening growl morphed into a howl of pain as its entire body was engulfed in flames.  A blade materialized and shot upward, neatly slicing off its head.  Rainbow Dash turned and grinned at Rarity, who was pointing her horn as if it was a sword.  The abruptly dead monster fell forward, hitting the ground just as three more dashed towards Rainbow.  Laughing, Rainbow flew to meet the advancing beasts as if they were participating in a bizarre jousting match.  She flipped in midair, turning her back hooves toward the beast in the middle.  She hit the beast in the chest, pushing it backwards.  Before it could gain its bearings, Rainbow flipped over once again so her visage was facing the beast, opened her mouth, and sprayed a yellowish liquid into her opponent's face and the faces of the other beasts.  The beasts reeled, their eyes burning, only for them to be hastily decapitated by Rarity.  Rainbow Dash met the next four beasts without hesitation, immobilizing them with poison needles that bought Rarity enough time to kill them.  However, one the beasts charged directly towards Rarity, ignoring the pegasus completely.  Rarity aimed her horn at it, slightly quivering.  Thinking quickly, Rainbow reached into her saddlebag and withdrew a pan flute.  The sound it made when she blew into it was inaudible to the surrounding ponies, but the beast turned and began heading towards her.  Before it could reach the pegasus, a blade had sliced through its neck.  
In a few minutes, the dead and dying ponies lying on the ground were joined by the bodies of no less than seven beasts, each one missing its head.
“I think we handled that quite well, Ms. Dash,” Rarity commented, a slight smile on her lips.
Rainbow Dash, never one to hold back her cheerfulness, nodded in a buoyant manner.  She regretted that they could not have saved all of the villagers, but she was satisfied to have done all she could.  Nevertheless, she tried not to look at all the bodies.  The number of causalities wasn't immensely terrible, but it was significant.  As the grateful villagers began gathering their dead or wounded and repacking their fallen supplies, she turned to a stallion nearby.
“Was anypony else in the village?”  she asked. 
The stallion didn't look at her.  He concentrated on scooping spilled hay back into the cart he'd been pulling.  
“A mare stayed behind,” he answered quietly.  “I believe she's still in the village.”
Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrows, half-inclined to ask a question.  But this wasn't the time for queries.  She nodded at Rarity, as if they had some kind of silent communication, and spread her wings.  Apparently the fight wasn't over yet.  But she hadn't expected it to end so quickly.  She was about to take to the sky, but Rarity came up beside her.  Feeling a tug on her right wing, she turned in confusion to the alicorn.
Rarity looked as if she was holding back tears, but with great difficulty.  Her visage had gone an even paler white.  She wasn't trembling and she didn't stutter when she spoke.  Her voice was steady and accepting.  Yet it was tinged with guilt and misery, as if each word left a bruise on her insides.
“We can't do this,” she uttered in a soft, complacent voice.  “If we spend too long in one place, we won't make it to the temple.  I know you want to save that mare, Rainbow Dash.  But if we don't get to the temple, millions could die.  We have to keep going, even at the expense of one mare's life.”
Rainbow Dash squinted at the sky, her thoughts racing.  The truth in Rarity's words was undeniable.  Time was working against them in this instance.  Only a set duration to get to the temple, and an even smaller one to defeat King Sombra.  It was a choice she couldn't stand making:  One mare's life or the entire world.
“Yeah, you're right,” she agreed with a nod.
Rarity let go of Rainbow's wing, relieved.  For a second there, she'd thought her companion was going to do something ridiculous.  
However, as soon as the wing slipped from the alicorn's grasp, Rainbow Dash took to the sky.  The determination and that grin were back in all their glory.  It was indeed a choice nopony wants to make.  Therefore, Rainbow Dash decided not to make it at all.
“This is what it means to be the strongest mare in the world!”  she burst out as she flew.
Rarity opened her mouth to deliver an order, something she'd promised not to do after she departed Canterlot.  She felt inclined to go after the mare herself and force her to return to her senses.  But the words died before they even reached her throat.  This wasn't one of her servants or even Prince Blueblood.  This was Rainbow Dash.  
“Oh, what's the point?”  Rarity groaned to herself.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw three beasts emerging from the trees.  The universe was ensuring she wouldn't be going after Rainbow Dash any time soon.





The village, as expected, was in ruins.  The buildings had been destroyed beyond recognition, their roofs caved in and their doors torn from their hinges.  Splintered wood and shards of glass littered the ground, their owners impossible to trace.  A particularly large building, most likely the former town hall, seemed to have been haphazardly abused by claws.  In the center of the village, a lone ornate fountain stood like the remnants of a dynasty.  It had somehow escaped damage in the attack.  It stood there proudly, alone and untouched as Rainbow Dash touched down next to a ruined house.
Rainbow Dash gazed sadly at the destruction.  Beast attacks tended to leave entire villages nothing more than rubble.  She dreaded to imagine how long it would take the villagers—as they were all Earth ponies—to rebuild.  If time had permitted it, she would have wanted to help.  But if time was less than pleased with her decision to rescue a single mare, it would not look kindly on her helping rebuild a village.  Trying to pay little attention to the wreckage, she trotted around warily, her eyes searching the area.  However, as she passed a specific house, she was surprised to notice the body of a rather large beast.  She jumped at first, but closer inspection revealed that it was dead.  
Okay, that's weird, she thought.
Curious, Rainbow Dash trotted closer to inspect the body.  It wasn't significant in its physical characteristics, she noticed as she looked it over.  A standard beast, about the size of a small cottage.  She leaned in closer, wondering if it had been savaged by its peers for some unknown reason.  But a look at its head revealed the true cause of its demise:  A small round ball the color of tar imbedded deep in its skull.  The point of impact was surrounded by a circle of bloody, dented flesh that spread outwards like a flower.  Rainbow Dash eased the object out of the beast's skull.  She held it to her mouth and licked it, cringing at the bitter taste of blood.  But underneath this, her tongue detected something else.
Gunpower?  she thought.
But the wound was far too deep to have been caused by a mere gun.  Rainbow Dash had never used a gun before, but Spitfire had taught her about how they worked.  She was under the impression that guns could not be used on beasts.  The bullet had done more than strike the beast.  It had literally blown a hole in its skull, killing it instantly.  No gun in existence was strong enough to do that.  
A noise made Rainbow Dash jump.  She peered over the body of the beast, expecting to see another one of its kind approaching her.  But as she reached for the sword fastened to her side, she saw something she had not expected:  A mare, accompanied by a small brown dog.
The newcomer wore a high-collared cloak that partially obscured her visage from the side.  She wore a large, beautiful pink and blue flower in her mane.  The mane itself, tinted red and yellow, was cut short.  Strangely, she wore an eye patch on her right eye and a plain black headband across her forehead.  The dog following her obediently, she trotted to a larger dog tied to a tree near the center of the village.  She undid the leash with her magic, allowing the larger dog and the smaller one to meet.  She watched impassively as the two canines fled, disappearing from her sight without a glance in her direction.
Rainbow Dash stepped out from her hiding place behind the large beast.  She hadn't been able to move prior as she watched the scene, her mind frozen.  The sight of this mare had caught her off guard more than the dead beast.  She was such an odd-looking pony.  Rainbow, strangely fascinated, began to approach.
The mare turned toward the pegasus, blinking disinterestedly at her.  Casually held at her side by magic was a rifle.  Clearly she was the source of the bullet.   
“You...um……,” Rainbow stammered, unusually flustered.  “Um….you like dogs?”
It wasn't the best introduction line and not the best first impression.  Rainbow blushed as the words left her mouth, aware of how awkward she sounded.
“I like dogs,” confirmed the other mare calmly.  “It's ponies I dislike.”
Rainbow offered a smile, although it was difficult to smile at such a cold face. 
“I like dogs and ponies,” she replied, walking closer.  “In fact, there's….”
She stopped as the other mare raised her gun, pointing it directly at her.  Rainbow's smile, which had been morphing into a pure grin, dissolved into a frown.  This mare wasn't looking for friendly conversation.  She was threatening her.    
“Who are you?”  demanded the other mare coolly, but with a certain threat hanging in her tone.
Rainbow outstretched and then re-folded her wings, a traditional pegasus sign of non-aggression.  During times of war, pegasi would greet each other this way to assure each other they meant no harm.  Unicorns did something similar by bowing their heads to lower their horns.  With neither appendage to use, Earth ponies settled for merely raising a hoof toward the sky.  
“I'm Rainbow Dash, the strongest mare in the world!”  Rainbow announced.  “I'm one of the Braves of the Six Elements!”
Rainbow expected this to end any petty gun play, but to her surprise the other mare did not lower her gun.  In fact, she raised it a little higher, aiming with more care.  
“Are you here to kill me?”  she asked.
This conversation had gone in all the wrong directions and Rainbow Dash did not understand how.  Bemused, her eyes wandered from the gun to the mare's form.  She was taller than Rainbow Dash by an inch or so.  A single pouch, most likely filled with bullets, hung from her side.   To her surprise, Rainbow Dash noticed a pair of wings tucked at her sides through carefully placed holes in the cloak.  She was apparently a Goddess, which provided an explanation for the bullet having killed a beast.  Although it hadn't registered in Rainbow's mind prior, where her Cutie Mark should have been there was an image of a crystal heart.  
“I'm an Element, you idiot!”  Rainbow responded, a little frustrated.  
The other mare obviously was not reassured by this.  She narrowed her eyes, apparently distrustful.  
“My name is Sunset Shimmer,” she uttered serenely.  “I'm the Goddess of Gunpower.  If you happen to meet any of the Elements, please tell them who I am.  Also tell them that I will not accompany you.  I will got to Tartarus and defeat the Demon King myself.”
This announcement made Rainbow Dash laugh.  
“Are you for real?”  she demanded, rolling her eyes.  “You can't defeat King Sombra by yourself!”
She stepped forward, chuckling at the very idea.  She halted immediately as a bullet flew past her ear.  Crying out, she turned her head sharply as the projectile just avoided grazing her.  Rainbow Dash followed its path and saw it lodged in a wall behind her.  Her smile fading yet again, she returned her gaze to Sunset Shimmer.  That had unmistakably been a warning shot.





Rarity surveyed the mass of dead beasts, her face impassive.  She had managed to do it alone, without aid from Rainbow Dash.  This should be a cause for pride.  But the more she looked at the carnage around her, the less she felt like celebrating.  Especially as her eyes came to rest on the unmoving body of a stallion, yet another casualty in the fray.
The other villagers had left, fleeing hastily while Rarity distracted the monsters.  She was now completely alone, standing in the middle of the corpses.  Nopony had come back for the stallion.  He simply lay there on his side, a long gash running down his back and his eyes wide with terror.  The beasts had swarmed around him completely underneath Rarity's notice.  By the time she heard his screams, it was too late to do more than kill the monsters that had attacked him.  She could not even attempt a healing spell, as she herself was distracted a second proceeding as more beasts emerged.  Sighing, Rarity leaned over the stallion's form.  She sent a gentle wave of magic over his visage, closing his eyes.  As she straightened up, Rarity heard the sound of footsteps.  She turned as a figure, this time certainly not a beast, appeared from the trees.
The figure was taller than Rarity by at least three feet.  He was an imposing creature, his claws sharpened to points and his purple scales glimmering in the sun.  His winged helmet contained a long opening from front to back, exposing a small amount of large green spines.  As a weapon, albeit one was not necessarily required, he possessed a spear.  The spear was attached to the gauntlet on his arm by a chain.  The helmet itself made it clear he was a member of the Emerald Knights of Canterlot.  What it did not indicate was that this dragon was the official leader of the knights by way of inheritance.
“I, Spike the Dragon, have come to aid the fair Princess Rarity!”  the newcomer announced sternly.
Rarity appeared less than content with this announcement.
“I knew you'd be chosen if I was, Spikey-Wikey,” she sighed.
It wasn't unheard of for dragons to be chosen as Elements.  Any living creature that proved itself capable of defeating King Sombra was eligible, be it pony, griffin, zebra, or dragon.  The magic of the Goddess of the Crystal Heart couldn't have discriminated if it desired to.  It helped that dragons were considered the best warriors in the world, only matched by pegasi.  
Spike held out his arm to reveal the image of a crystal heart located just above his elbow.  Despite his scales providing more than the needed protection, he was attired in a generous amount of armor.  His chest, legs, and the arm not bearing the crystal heart were covered with thick plates of armor, reinforcing the natural toughness of his body.  
“I swear no harm shall befall you!”  Spike uttered firmly.
Rarity sat down on all four hooves, a look of annoyance on her features.  If only she had her tea to sip, eyebrow raised as she peered at Spike over the cup.  It would be just the right amount of theatrics to illustrate her point.  As this was unfortunately impossible, she settled for shaking her head and rearranging her features into an expression of stern disapproval.
“We're equals, Spike,” she reminded him, dropping the nickname.  “We protect each other or nopony protects anypony.”
Spike shook his head, denouncing such a ludicrous proposition.  His loyalty was, in its purest form, to the royal family.  This included Prince Blueblood and Miss Rarity.  However, the majority of his devotion actually went to Miss Rarity alone.  The other knights could worry about protecting the city of Canterlot, but he would always hold Miss Rarity above everypony else.  
“You are special, Miss Rarity,” he pointed out.  “You alone must not be allowed to perish in battle!”
Rarity sighed, unable to bring herself to argue.  Spike was just like Rainbow Dash in that regard.  Certain words would never penetrate his mind.  They would just bounce uselessly off the surface.  She could do little except have sympathy.
“If you've appeared before me like this, I assume you've captured the Element-Killer,” Rarity uttered, changing the topic.
Spike appeared somewhat ashamed of himself.  He dropped to his knees before the alicorn, his head bowed.  
“I have not captured her yet,” he admitted reluctantly.  “However, I have discovered some important clues.”
Rarity frowned, surprised at this confession.  She stood up, regarding the kneeling dragon.  Even on her hooves, she only barely came up to his head.  She sometimes forgot just how much larger he was than her.
“And what clues are those, if you don't mind me asking?”  
Spike lifted his head to gaze at her, although he continued to kneel.  
“I have discovered her name and her appearance, but not her exact whereabouts.”
He paused, allowing his words to sink in.  He wanted Rarity to be impressed by him, by his skills in the field of investigation.  She needn't know he'd coaxed the information out of a drunken bar patron as he himself attempted to drink away his sorrows at having absolutely no leads whatsoever.  Still, regardless of where the information had come from, he was suitably proud of it.  After a moment or two, he rushed to continue.
“The Element-Killer is a mare with a red and yellow mane and an eye patch.  She carries a gun with her.  Her name is Sunset Shimmer.”