Six Ways, Book 1: Unity

by the_bioXpony_guy

Chapter 14 Unity

"Where is it?!?!"

"Fluttershy, calm down!"

Teeth grinding together, the pegasus snapped, "You calm down!!"

Knowing she was fighting a losing battle, Twilight cut in, "Fluttershy, please—you're making a scene in front of the whole train department." She muttered each word carefully and concisely, making sure not to stir up any more drama. "We'll deal with this after we get our friends and give them the elements."

Through her teeth did Fluttershy breathe, sucking in her last word of fury. All that air she let out in a simple, "Fine." Her ear twitched as the word came out.

"Thank you," Twilight sighed, making sure the elements were still in the bag Celestia had given her. Good riddance, thought Twilight, huffing some hair out of her face. She’s better off without that thing, anyway. The thought in mind, she shook her head and carried on, beckoning Fluttershy to follow her. Fluttershy, ever the quiet pony, followed behind, her face screwed up in frustration all the while.

“Where are we going first?” asked Fluttershy.

“First to your house,” explained her unicorn friend. “I need to tell Spike to stop babysitting—”

“No!” insisted Fluttershy, her wings flapping and her pupils dilated. “We’re not going to my house! Who knows how long we’ll be in Marta Nui?”

“Mata Nui,” Twilight corrected. “And if you’re going to be like that—then fine! We won’t go to your house.” She paused and sighed again. “But while we’re still on the subject, could you go get—"

"HERE COMES PINKIE!" Like a speeding bullet, Pinkie Pie came plummeting toward Twilight, tackling her to the ground as she did so. Nose to nose with her friend, the pink pony looked right in Twilight's eyes and asked, "Whatcha doin'?"

Twilight, caught completely unaware, blinked—as if to ask, "Why are you on top of me?" Lying below her friend like a rat in a cage, the unicorn set an unamused look on her face and asked, "Pinkie Pie—what are you doing?"

"Well, I was—" Wait, what was I doing? The thought running through her head, Pinkie removed her hooves from Twilight's shoulders and pondered Twilight's words. A few seconds later, she smiled brightly and replied, "I have no idea! But who cares?" It was almost immediately after uttering those words when she noticed the elements spilling out of Twilight's bag. "Hey! Why carry those around?"

Twilight turned her head toward the elements and immediately realized what Pinkie was talking about. "Oh!" exclaimed Twilight, hoping she hadn't lost or—Celestia forbid—broken one of the elements. To her relief, everything remained intact.

But before Twilight could put all the elements away, her pink friend caught a glimpse of her sapphire balloon element of laughter. Such a sight made her bounce, nearly pinning Twilight to the ground once again in the process.

"Hey!" shouted Pinkie. "I just noticed something—actually two things! For one, part of my hair is actually cotton candy—and for two, I think we're gonna go on another adventure!"

Slightly baffled by Pinkie's spot-on prediction, Twilight wondered, "How did you know?"

"Because!" snorted Pinkie. "If you flip to the next chapter, the story talks about us going to Mata Nui!"

The next what? Twilight shook her head. "Well, at least you know where we're going—and you seem enthusiastic—so here, take your element." And with that, Twilight used her telekinesis to take the element of laughter off the ground and clip it around Pinkie's neck.

"Ohhhhh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" exclaimed Pinkie. "So what now? Are we gonna find our other friends?"

"Yes, Pinkie," replied Twilight. "But first, Fluttershy—"

The pegasus' ear twitched when she looked up at the unicorn and said, "Hm?"

"Here." With her magic, Twilight let the element of kindness hang from Fluttershy's neck. "O-oh!" Fluttershy began. "Um—thanks, Twilight."

At that, Twilight smiled warmly. Slipping the slap over her sack of elements, she said, "Now, come on you two. Let's get going to Rarity's house."

"Okey dokey lokey!"

Slightly amused by Pinkie's cheerful, optimistic attitude, Twilight stifled a chuckle and sighed. "Let's see now—Rarity's house should be—I think it's this way!" she said while pointing a hoof forward.

And with that, the three ponies made their way to Rarity's humble abode. Twilight and Fluttershy walked as Pinkie hopped. Their stylish friend's home was not a hard thing to find—and as a result, the three ponies found themselves at her front door in very little time. Once at the front, Pinkie Pie shouted, "Ding dong!"

Twilight, rolling her eyes, waited for Rarity to come out of the door, but saw Sweetie Belle answering. Surprised, Sweetie squeaked, "Oh, hi!"

"Hello, Sweetie Belle," Twilight said with a smile. "We're here to see Rarity."

"Okay," the filly replied. "I'll go and—"

Before Sweetie Belle could utter another word, Rarity poked her head through the doorframe and exclaimed, "Oh, Twilight! There you are. I was wondering if somepony could help me search for diamonds—and I thought you were the perfect somepony for the job." It was at that moment when she noticed Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy huddling around Twilight. "Oh—I'm sorry," she began, her voice calming down a bit. "I did not realize you had company."

Caught slightly off-guard Twilight blinked, then cleared her throat and explained, "Actually, Rarity—I want you to come with us."

"Come with you, you say?" the white unicorn asked, one ear raised over the other. "Come with you where?"

"Mata Nui!" Pinkie shouted, making a ring form in Twilight's ear. "It's a big island with a bunch of cool, different cities in it. You should come!"

"Wait a minute!" Rarity began. "You're telling me to simply drop everything just so I can go to a strange island I've never even heard of? No thanks! I still have my own responsibilities here in Ponyville. I couldn't just leave my own little sister here!"

Frustrated, Twilight resisted the urge to facehoof herself. Hoping to clarify Pinkie's words, the unicorn explained, "Rarity, Mata Nui isn't just some vacation spot. Princess Celestia is sending us there on an important mission—one that requires us all be there so we can use the elements of harmony."

Those words proved enough to make Rarity feel slightly guilty. "O-oh," she murmured, her pupils dilating . "I'm sorry. Let me just take care of some things." And without hesitation, Rarity pulled herself out of her friends' sight, leaving Sweetie Belle to stand on her own.

"Hey!" the filly shouted back at her sister. "What ever happened to all that, Oh no! I can't leave my sister here! stuff?"

"In a minute, Sweetie!"

At that, the young unicorn sighed heavily through her nose and took a seat.

Seeing that frown on Sweetie Belle's face made Pinkie's ears perk up. "Hey," the earth pony said, her voice stuffed with sympathetic filling. "Rarity is just being—well—Rarity!"

"And I think I have an idea," Twilight added, changing the subject slightly. "I think if we ask, Applejack's family will take care of you, Sweetie—at least until Rarity and the rest of us come back."

Already the frown stood at the starting-line of the race off her mouth. "That sounds kinda fun, actually." She giggled at the thought. "I'd spend a few days with Applebloom, maybe do some tough work; I think I'd really like that."

Just as those words flew off Sweetie Belle's tongue, Rarity came waltzing out of the door, Opalescence resting on her back.

Almost immediately, Sweetie Belle placed a disgusted look on her face. "You're bringing your cat with you?"

"But of course!" insisted Rarity. "I want you and Opal to take care of each other—which means you're going to have to get along."

Her ears stung with the sheer amount of cluelessness Rarity's words held. That statement doesn't even deserve a facehoof.

Twilight, feeling no less dumbfounded than Sweetie Belle, popped in and told her friend, "Actually, Rarity, I was thinking Sweetie and Opal could stay at the Apple family's house until we all came back."

"Oh!" Rarity exclaimed, jolting and nearly making Opalescence lose her balance. "That sounds like a marvelous idea—just as long as I don't come back seeing dirt all over my two darlings' faces!"

Sweetie Belle, rolling her eyes, whined, "Rarity!!" Looking up at her older sister, she explained. "I'll be fine; just look at how much better things turned out the last time I tried living with the Apples."

"Well," Rarity sighed. "I suppose that is true." After a moment of thought, the unicorn decided, "Well alright, then."

"Well then!" Twilight began with a smile. "Rarity, let me just give you your element, and then we can head on over to Applejack's house."

As Twilight started pulling the element out of her bag, she remembered, "Oh yes—and Fluttershy, could you please go up in the clouds and get Rainbow Dash is doing?"

Despite already having a hunch that Rainbow Dash was sleeping, Fluttershy nodded her head and replied, "Okay," before lifting herself off her hooves and levitating toward the clouds.

"Okay. Now, then—let's go get Applejack."

"Thanks again for letting my cat and sister stay at your place, Applejack."

"Aw, shucks!" the orange pony replied. "It was nothin'. I'm sure my sister is just as happy as yours is about this whole getup."

Now all we have to do is wait for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and then we'll be able to travel to the Hayseed Swamps. The thought made Twilight shiver in fear, despite being right outside Applejack's sweet, old time-y house. Please hurry; I just want to get the swamp bits done and over with!

As if they could read Twilight's mind, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy came floating down from the clouds. Dash had a rather large book—the likes of which looked way too big to be a Daring Doo book—in her mouth. The sight puzzled Twilight. What on Equestria is that book for? She wouldn't get her answer until both pegasi's hooves kissed the ground.

"I found her," said Fluttershy, her wings weary. "But she showed me this—well—this interesting book before leaving." At that, Rainbow Dash set the book on the ground.

"Here," Twilight began, pulling the element of loyalty out of her bag. "Trade me." Out went Dash's element and in went the bulky book; it was surprisingly heavier than all the elements of harmony combined. "I'll read this when we get there."

With all six elements together, Twilight recollected her thoughts and said, "Okay, then—the princess said to go to the Hayseed Swamps. From what I can understand, somepony went there and opened up a chamber of some kind. That chamber should have a portal—for some kind of means to get us to Mata Nui. I think Princess Celestia called it a Kinny." After a small pause, Twilight sighed, swallowed her pride and muttered, "Well, let's get going."