The Adventures of the Elementals

by AutoKnight01

The Original Host

I only own my OC’s and the plot. MLP: FiM belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust. Enjoy!

The Adventures of the Elementals

Chapter 5: The Original Host

In the grand city of Canterlot, the more upper class ponies went about their daily lives doing their jobs and just doing their best to meet ends meet. But they were a little distracted for a second when they all saw six orbs fly overhead in the form of six elements of nature. And they were headed right for the castle.

The six orbs whirled around before they landed on the ground in front of the castle door. All twelve ponies took on their normal shapes again along with the small dragon still seated on Twilight’s back.

Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all groaned again while the other six ponies just stood up straight and looked at the castle.

“That’s gonna take some getting used to.” Rainbow remarked as she rubbed her stomach.

“Don’t worry. You’re doing really good.” Cryo assured her. “You’re doing a lot better than I did when I first learned to teleport.”

“Oh yeah? How did it go for you?” Rainbow asked wanting to know.

“The first ten times, I puked my guts out. But in time my body got used to it.” Cryo responded.

Rainbow nodded not very sure if she wanted to go through that queasy experience ten times. Terra stepped forward and marveled at the castle walls with bubbly eyes.

“So this is the castle up close.” Terra remarked. “It seems bigger than I thought it was.”

“Yeah. That’s what everyone says when they see it for the first time.” Twilight told her.

“I can’t wait to meet the princess.” Terra went on. “I’m such a huge fan of hers. She’s polite, powerful, kind, and most importantly, she is 100 percent in favor of gun control.”

Twilight was very confused by that as were her friends. It was true that the princess did support gun control to a very strict leash, but it confused them as to why that would be the trait Terra finds most interesting about her.

If that wasn’t enough to boggle their minds, what Terra did next certainly was. The yellow pony began to inhale air very rapidly through her nostrils and set them near the ground as if she was a dog picking up a scent.

“Really? You’re gonna do that HERE?” Agua scolded.

Terra paid him no mind at all. She just kept on doing her thing as if it was completely natural.

There was a single guard near the front door of the castle. In normal situations, castle guards would not move an inch for whatever reasons. But in this case, that one guard’s visions shifted over to Terra. And Rainbow Dash caught sight of that.

“What the hay? I can’t get them to move when I make a face at them. But all Terra does is sniff the ground like a dog and bam. They move. Who knew?”

Her thoughts were then put on hold as she saw Terra lean up against a pillar near the door. And that was it. Somepony just had to speak up.

“Terra, what in the world are you doing?” Rarity asked. “You’ll get your face all dirty and that will lead to pimples.”

“Rarity, if Terra was to ever get zits from getting dirt on her face, than that would have happened a long LONG time ago.” Cryo assured her.

Then Rarity looked at the oddly acting Terra quite surprised.

“You mean to tell me she has never had a single zit in her life?” Rarity asked the pony of ice.

“Well not as long as WE’VE known her.” Cryo replied. “She’s the element of Earth. She can breathe dirt itself and convert it to oxygen.”

That was enough for Rarity. She wasn’t even paying attention to the whole breathing dirt thing. All she knew was that Terra never got zits and she didn’t even do anything with her face to make such a thing happen. It fascinated her to no end.

“But that still doesn’t answer the question as to what she’s doin.” Applejack added.

“Just give it five more seconds.” Pyro said.

And after five seconds like he said, Terra stood up straight with a look of surprise.

“The walls….are a magical combination of granite and diamond. The hardest rock and mineral known to ponydom. Not bad. Definitely fitting a royal castle such as this.” The yellow pony said as she stood on all fours again.

Twilight was surprised. She herself read up on the castle and Terra was right. The walls themselves were forged by Princess Celestia herself and made from combining granite and diamond together into one very strong and sturdy rock capable of withstanding almost any assault. Not that there had ever been an attack on the castle in history, but it was good to know that it would still stand in case one did ever occur.

Twilight was about to ask Terra how she did that, but then she found the question to be a little bit unnecessary for she already figured it out. Terra was truly one with the earth she walked on. So it was no surprise that she would be an expert on all kinds of rocks and gemstones. The gemstone part is what Rarity found interesting.

“Shall we go inside?” Rarity asked.

“How?” Gem questioned. “It’s not like we can just knock on the door. This is the princess we’re talking about here.”

“It’s okay. I can get us in no problem.” Twilight answered her. “The Princess and I are very close. The guards will know who I am and let us in no problem.”

As they approached the door, the guard noticed them get closer. And then he stood in front of them blocking their path.

“Identify yourselves.” He demanded.

“Um…I’m Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia’s personal protégé.”

So then the Alamantians knew now how Twilight was close to the princess. She was her star student apparently.

“Sorry. But no one gets in without an appointment or a summons.” The guard stated.

The six Equestrian ponies were met with quite a shock upon hearing that.

“What? When was that rule put into effect?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I don’t make the rules, kid. I just follow them.” The guard said. “Now leave.”

That was a little rude. And Agua was NOT gonna take it.

“Alright look, mall cop. Just let us in already. This is urgent.”

“Mall….cop?”

The offended the guard to a level so high it was ridiculous. He began shaking out of anger and glaring into Agua’s eyes.

“Yeah you heard what I said.” Agua continued. “Listen, as much as I would love to sit around and discuss your gay haircut, we actually have a good reason to be here. So why don’t you just step aside and let us through.”

It wasn’t enough for Agua to insult the guards’ position apparently. Now he was going for the guy’s manecut and sexuality at the same time.

“I could take you down in a split second if I wanted to.” The guard growled.

Agua gave a small laugh.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart.”

That was it. The guard then raised his hoof and threw it at Agua’s face. But the pony of water was much faster and more trained than these guards. He caught the hoof with his own and got a good solid grip on it.

Instead of letting go, Agua wanted to show this stupid guard what a stupid mistake he made. Slowly, Agua began to twist his hoof increasing the amount of pain being put on the guard. When everyone saw the expression on the guard’s face, they knew he was in pain.

“Alright, Agua. Let him go.” Pyro said.

He didn’t. Agua’s grip didn’t loosen at all. If anything, it tightened. And it put more pain on the guard. The blue pony’s eyes got a little bit evil.

“You’re hurting him, Agua.” Fluttershy pointed out.

He already knew that, but he didn’t give a care. He just kept on twisting. The guard began to dimly shout in pain. Everypony was now starting to fear for the guard’s well being and the somewhat scary smile Agua had on his face.

Pyro’s face grew angry.

“Agua I said let him go!”

Despite his angry tone and the shouting of the guard, Agua didn’t let up. He was close to breaking that guard’s hoof.

“Not so tough now are you?” the blue pony muttered.

That was it. It was officially enough. Pyro glanced at Gem and the purple unicorn of plasma stepped forward horn glowing electric purple. Then out of her horn, she shot a small bolt of plasma at Agua’s hoof. The bolt made contact with his hoof and he immediately jerked it away from the guard pony to start rubbing it. The castle guard did the same with his own.

And then Agua glared over at Gem who began to look away from him and back up. Pyro stepped in front of her glaring right into Agua’s eyes.

“You went too far.” Pyro muttered.

“He started it.” Was all Agua came back with.

“I don’t give a damn.” Pyro growled at him. “Next time I tell you to stop, you better do it.”

Agua just growled back at Pyro and put his sore hoof back on the ground. And then another guard came out of the castle doors He first approached Twilight.

“Twilight Sparkle. A pleasure seeing you again.”

Twilight waved hello to the guard recognizing him.

“I really need to see the princess. Is she in?”

“Of course she’s in. And sorry if this guy here gave you any trouble. He’s new.” The guard said.

Twilight nodded one more time and then she led her friends in through the castle gate. The guard glared at Agua as he passed by and the blue stallion of water shot him the same look back before catching up. Shortly after the door closed, another pony approached them bearing a white coat and a multi colored mane and tail waving as if there were a breeze. Her cutie mark was a blazing golden sun.

It was Princess Celestia herself. Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all bowed down to her. But strangely Pyro and the others didn’t bow.

“Twilight Sparkle, my star pupil. How nice to see you and your friends again. And…”

Celestia then noticed that there were others amongst the friends she knew Twilight to already have.

“It seems you have made more. I’m impressed.”

“Um….well…I’m not sure if we’re friends yet, your highness.” Twilight answered.

“I don’t understand.” Celestia said.

Pyro, Agua, Terra, Cryo, Typhoon, and Gem all stood in front of Celestia and stood on their hind hooves. Then they brought their front hooves together and bowed their heads down to the Princess.

“It’s an honor to meet you in person, Princess Celestia.” Pyro spoke for his team.

Celestia’s eyes went a little bit wider than usual when she saw these six ponies bow like that. She had done a lot of traveling in her years being royalty and a politician. And there was only one place where she had been to where ponies greet each other like that.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Celestia followed their actions and bowed like that herself in a bipedal form.

“It’s a real honor to meet you as well.” Celestia said. “I must say I’ve never expected to see anypony from Alamante here in Equestria.”

The bows finished and the conversation resumed with everypony on all fours.

“If it were up to us, your majesty, we wouldn’t be here at all.” Agua truthfully said. “But unfortunately circumstances say otherwise.”

“Yes. I’m aware of the war.” Celestia said. “I’m really sorry you ponies had to experience it up close. But I’m not sure what Twilight meant. Are you friends of hers or not?”

“As of the moment, Princess, we’re more like….bodyguards.” Terra explained.

“Bodyguards? For Twilight and her friends? But why? Are they in danger?” Celestia asked.

Then Twilight stepped forward in front once more to speak.

“That’s the reason we’re all here, Princess. We need to talk to Princess Luna.”

That got Celestia thinking. Usually whenever Twilight came to the castle it was either to talk to Celestia directly about an urgent matter, or she just decided to pop in for a casual visit. But never before has she asked to see Princess Luna before.

She immediately began to think this had something to do with these six Alamantians standing before her. And it turns out she was in a way right.

“It’s very important we speak with her, your highness.” Rarity added. “This may be hard to believe, but Nightmare Moon is back.”

That indeed got Celestia’s undivided attention. And the look in her eyes clearly indicated such.

“How is that possible?” She asked. “The Elements of Harmony destroyed her.”

“Apparently not, your majesty.” Agua said. “We just saw her a couple hours ago. We fought her henchponies.”

“It’s true, princess.” Twilight sided with the Alamantians. “We don’t know how it’s possible, but Nightmare Moon is very much alive. And we think Princess Luna might know how it’s possible.”

Celestia nodded to that. If anypony would know anything on Nightmare Moon, it’s Luna. So she instructed them to follow her to Luna’s chamber. As they walked, they talked.

“So how long have you and your friends been here in Equestria? A few months perhaps?” Celestia asked.

“Actually, your highness, my brothers and sisters and I have been here for three years.” Pyro answered.

This surprised Celestia very much.

“Three YEARS?” she asked. “How? I’m able to sense any foreign pony from this castle to all over Equestria. How did you evade my tracking spells?”

“You have your magic tricks, and we have ours.” Terra replied.

“I see.” Then Celestia remembered something. “I’m so sorry. But I’ve forgotten to ask you your names.”

“I thought you knew our names, Princess! I’m Pinkie Pie! Don’t you remember me? I’m the pony who throws the best super duper parties in all of Equestria! How could you forget…OOMPH!”

Pinkie Pie was interrupted by Applejacks hoof getting jammed into her mouth.

“She means them, Pinkie.” Applejack said gesturing to the six Alamantians.

Celestia gave a gentle giggle and smiled at the pink party pony.

“I could never forget any of Twilight’s friends, Pinkie Pie.” she assured her before redirecting her voice to the elements of nature. “Now your names?”

Cryo went first.

“Of course, your highness. My name’s Cryo. My element is ice.”

Gem was a little shy in her introduction.

“Um….I’m Gem. I control plasma. It’s nothing special.”

But Typhoon put her hoof around her purple friend and smiled at her.

“You are plenty special, Gem.” She assured her. “Princess, my name ees Typhoon. My element ees wind.”

“The name’s Terrain. But I like to go by Terra for short. I’m Earth.”

“Agua’s my name. Water’s my element.”

“And my name is Pyro. As it would suggest, my element is fire.”

Celestia looked at Pyro once more. But this time very closely. She had seen him before. But not up close and in person. Where? Oh yes. She remembered. She saw him not in person. But in photographs from an old friend. She still had to be sure.

“Pyro, does the name, Hitashi Ma mean anything to you?”

“Wait a minute.” Pyro stopped in his tracks. “You know Master Ma?”

Celestia smiled upon hearing her confirmation.

“Almost everyone in Equestria knows your master. He and I especially. He’s one of my closest friends as he is to all in this country.” Then she looked directly at Pyro with her next words. “He often visited the castle. He spoke very highly of you. His star student in his martial arts class. And he also said you were the most advanced fire manipulator he ever saw.”

Then she used her magic to show Pyro and the others pictures. Old photographs that were taken by Master Ma himself. They were mostly pictures of the students the elderly pony taught in martial arts and power control. There also a few of Master Ma himself. He was a very elderly pony with a white mane and mustache to match. His coat was dark red. And his cutie mark was a black wheel that looked somewhat like a gear. This was the Alamantian symbol of wisdom.

And then there were many pictures of Master Ma working directly with a young version of Pyro himself. Teaching him how to properly fight, and there was a few other photos of the elder pony working with Pyro on how to control his pyrokinesis.

“I didn’t even know he had photos.” Pyro confessed softly.

“He’s a very resourceful pony.” Celestia said to him.

“I’ve met him a few times.” Typhoon said. “He travels all around ze world. He actually helped me with my own aerokinesis.”

“No way. He helped me too.” Cryo said.

It turns out all six of the present Alamantians had received lessons from Master Ma. But as nice as that was for them to know, there was a question one of them asked that demanded an answer.

“Umm….you….you wouldn’t happen to remember the last time you saw him. Would you?” Gem asked.

Celestia thought hard about that. But she did remember.

“If I remember correctly, the last time I saw Master Ma was…about three months ago. It was a much more serious visit than others. He warned me that something bad was going to happen soon. And if what you told me about Nightmare Moon is correct, then he may be right.”

“Three months ago?” Terra wondered. “That’s very strange.”

“How so?” Twilight asked her.

Cryo answered that one.

“See, one of the reasons we’re here is to find out what began the war in Alamante. And the other one is to find Master Ma. None of us have seen him for years and we’ve been covertly searching without a single clue found.”

“Until you showed us that book.” Pyro said to Twilight. “That history book belonged to my master. If we couldn’t find him, he made it that way. But he wanted YOU to find that book. And he wanted you to come find us. And I now think I might know why.”

“Then please tell us.” Twilight answered. “If this has anything to do with that prophecy, then please tell me what page it’s on in this book. I read it thoroughly and didn’t find a thing.”

Twilight used her magic and showed him the book one more time.

“Turn to page 57.”

Twilight sighed and went to the page Pyro spoke of. But there was nothing there that spoke about a prophecy.

“See? Nothing.” Twilight assured him.

But the Alamantians knew that book better than any of them did. Typhoon walked over and put her hoof on the page.

“Sometimes, you just have to look a leettle closer.”

And then she turned the page outward. As it turned out, page 57 was folded in to make it look normal sized. On the folded in pages, there were more words. Those were the words of the very prophecy Pyro and the others spoke of. Twilight and her five friends, along with Spike and the princess, all looked at the pages as Twilight read them out loud.

“It says….Darkness shall fall across the land and all will seem lost. An old evil long thought forever vanquished returns to spread evil once more. Harmony and nature shall then come together as one and a miracle will happen.”

That was the prophecy. And right below the text, there were small inked pictures of twelve symbols. Six of them being the six hieroglyphs that stood for the six elements of nature. And the other six caught Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie off guard. There were symbols that looked exactly like their own cutie marks. A pink star, a red apple, a blue balloon, a pink butterfly, a dark blue amethyst, and a red lightning bolt.

“Are those…” Rainbow couldn’t bring herself to finish.

“This prophecy says in simpler terms that the six elements of nature shall somehow work together with the Elements of Harmony to defeat a long lost evil.” Agua said.

“That’s why we were very interested when you told us who you were.” Terra said.

“We’re supposed to fight Nightmare Moon? Again?” Rarity asked. “Oh why? It hard enough beating her the first time!”

“I know it was stressful on you, Rarity.” Celestia said. “But I do now believe what Master Ma said about a returning evil seems to be exact.”

“Which is why we need to talk to Luna, princess.” Applejack said.

Celestia nodded. But along the way to her room, Celestia began to remember how Luna and Nightmare Moon were related. And the little incident between the two of them has never left Luna’s mind. So she might not want to talk about it.

And being very loving and protecting of her younger sister, she would definitely respect her wishes if it came to that.

A minute later, they came to a door in the castle bearing a large mark of a crescent moon. This was the door to Luna’s room. With a simple spell, Celestia opened it. And inside the room, the second princess was there reading a book.

Dark blue coat, with a darker blue mane and tail that waved in the exact fashion Celestia’s did. Her flank was emblazoned with a crescent moon on a patch of black. This was Princess Luna. As soon as the door opened up, she saw her sister along with twelve smaller ponies.

“Tia? What’s going on?” she asked.

“Luna, you remember Twilight Sparkle and her friends.” Celestia said.

Luna smiled at Twilight.

“But of course. She released the Elements of Harmony and returned me to normal. But who are the other six?”

Celestia introduced them next.

“This is Terra, Gem, Agua, Cryo, Pyro, and Typhoon. They’re from Alamante.”

The six Alamantians stood up and gave Luna the same bow they gave to Celestia.

“Alamante?” Luna had heard of Alamante before and the news of the war. That’s why she was interested in seeing six ponies from that country here in Equestria.

“The war is the reason we’re here, Princess.” Pyro said. “We were wondering what you know about a figure called Nightmare Moon.”

Luna froze right up. She was nowhere near comfortable talking about a subject. So she did something she wasn’t very proud of. She lied.

“I’m sorry. But I don’t know very much on her. I’m sorry I can’t be of any help.” Luna immediately turned her back on them and began to walk the other way.

Celestia would have to tell them herself out of respect for her sister.

“Well I guess that’s about it then.” Celestia said starting to leave Luna’s room.

“Wait.”

But Pyro held up a hoof and everyone froze in their tracks.

“Not quite yet.” He muttered.

And then he looked at the pink pony with the blond mane that was his best friend.

“Typhoon. You’re on.”

Typhoon nodded and then she took a few steps forward. Luna’s back was still turned so she had no idea everyone had not moved yet. The pegasus of wind narrowed her eyes and focused her mind on Luna. And in a split second, her mind was inside the dark blue princess’s.

“That was way too close. I can never tell them about the truth of Nightmare. What would they say? What would they DO?”

That was all Typhoon needed to hear. Turning off the telepathy, she looked at her friends both new and old.

After a strange facial expression, Typhoon spread her wings and flew over to Luna. Then she landed right in front of her blocking her walking path.

“Um…is there something else?” Luna asked.

“Why did you lie?” Typhoon asked right back.

Once again, Luna froze and tried her best not to show she was a bit freaked out. The pink pegasus was basically glaring at her.

“Lie? I would never do such a thing. I am a princess. I can’t lie.”

But Typhoon didn’t but it one bit.

“Oh is zat so?”

The pegasus’s eyes narrowed once more and then Luna’s head was filled with a voice.

“Do you zink that my friends and I are ‘ere for some casual visit? No way. You know something about Nightmare Moon. And you’re going to tell us.”

Luna began to back up scared of what was now happening. Where was that voice coming from? It was obviously Typhoon’s but her lips weren’t even moving.

“How are you doing that? Stop it this instant!” Luna shouted.

But even though it was a command given by a princess, Typhoon didn’t stop. She only began to walk forward and focus more.

“Just tell us what we came here to find out. Thees ees no game I’m playing.”

Luna was backed up against a corner now. Celestia tried to approach her, but she was shockingly blocked by Agua.

“Just give it a few more seconds.”

This was new. Somepony was actually telling Celestia, the PRINCESS, what to do. Needless to say, Twilight was horrified. Celestia however remained calm trusting the six Alamantians. But what was going on with the pink one and what was she doing to Luna? That’s the only thing Celestia couldn’t figure out.

“I am ordering you as Princess! Stop this at once!”

“So sorry, princess. But I’m Alamantian.”

Luna was now officially terrified. Not of Typhoon and what was happening in her head, but rather of her having to spill the beans about Nightmare and how she and her are known.

“TELL US NOW!”

“Okay! I’ll talk! Just please! Stop doing that!”

Typhoon finally stopped narrowing her eyes and her mind departed Luna’s. Then Luna took a seat trying to get rid of the massive headache she now had with deep breathing.

Typhoon’s friends all approached her and looked at Luna as well.

“Luna, what was going on?” Celestia asked.

“She…she was inside my head. Talking to me.” Luna answered.

“How? That’s impossible.” Celestia assumed.

“Not for her.” Pyro said as he walked to his best friend’s side. “See, Typhoon here is very gifted other than being able to control the wind. She’s also a very powerful telepath. Meaning she can read anypony’s mind without you even knowing and also communicate with them whenever she wants.”

This astounded both princesses very much. For the longest time they didn’t believe in any form of psychic abilities. They believed in magic but they considered those two things to be very different from each other. But Luna couldn’t deny it as she began to understand. Typhoon was inside her head using no magic at all.

“That also means that if you lie to us again, we’ll know right off the bat.” Agua added. “So start talking, Princess.”

On any other day, Twilight would have been terrified to see anypony talking that way to a princess. But on this particular day, she wasn’t really thinking about that. After being attacked by Shadowmares a couple times and nearly getting killed, she wanted to hear Princess Luna spill everything. And she was just about to until….

“That’s so cool that she can read minds!” Pinkie Pie began to ramble on. “It’s like your heads never really alone wherever you go, like having your own telepathy pal on the go wherever you go no matter where you might go, there they are right there in your brain talking to you.”

All the other ponies except for Celestia began to groan as Pinkie went on.

“Hey Pinkie.” Typhoon called. “You want to see something else I can do with my telepathy?”

Pinkie smiled hugely at her.

“Uh-huh!”

Then Typhoon looked at Pinkie and placed her right hoof on her own forehead.

“Go to sleep.” The telepath muttered.

“Okay.” Pinkie quickly said.

Pinkie then fell over on her side and began to snore in less than a second. And once again, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Applejack, Celestia, and Luna were amazed at Typhoon’s ability.

“Amazing.” Celestia muttered. “But, will she be alright?”

“Oh she’ll be fine.” Cryo told the princess. “As soon as we’re done, Typhoon will wake her back up.”

With all that said, Luna took a seat on her haunches and everyone else did too. Then Typhoon secretly began to read her mind once more on the hunt for any lie of any magnitude.

Princess Luna began to speak after delaying for a few more seconds.

“Just so you know, this is quite a long story.” She began. “But please don’t think badly of me when I tell you this. I’m too ashamed of it as it is.”

“What is it?” Pyro asked.

With a sigh, Luna confessed.

“The reason I know who Nightmare Moon is….is because for a time, I WAS Nightmare Moon.”

Yes. It did shock the six Alamantians to learn of this truth. But it required an explanation to which Luna gave.

“Many centuries ago, Celestia and I worked together to rule Equestria and raise the sun and moon every day and night. But at some point, I began to grow jealous of my sister because ponies always played in her daylight and ignored the night I brought to them.”

“Okay well I get that.” Cryo said. “I’m sorry I interrupted. Go on.”

“Thank you.” Luna said. “But my hidden jealousy and anger somehow made me a target for the entity that took me over. The entity….of Nightmare Moon. My mind and body was twisted and drunken with darkness.”

“I had no choice but to seal Luna away in the moon. And she stayed there for a thousand years.” Celestia added. “But when she escaped, Twilight and the others used the power of their friendship to unleash the power of the Elements of Harmony and defeat Nightmare and give me back the sister I missed so dearly.”

Luna and Celestia shared a smile as a loud snore from Pinkie Pie distracted the rest of them for a split second. But they soon came right back.

“But I thought we destroyed Nightmare Moon the first time the six of us used the Elements of Harmony.” Rainbow Dash said referring to her five friends.

“No.” Luna corrected. “You see, Nightmare Moon is not merely an identity that I created myself.”

Now that got everyone confused.

“What do you mean, Luna?” Even Celestia had no idea.

“You weren’t there, sister. But I know.” Luna answered. “Nightmare Moon is not like us. She is merely an evil spirit created from eons of pure hatred that come from certain ponies’ hearts. But although powerful, she does not have the power to take on her own shape in the form of a physical body. So in order for her to survive, she must bond with a living host. And then posses that host.”

It seemed clear but at the same time it didn’t. There was still more to be explained.

“So you see, when the six of you first used the Elements of Harmony on me, you didn’t destroy Nightmare Moon. You merely expelled her essence out of my body. If you saw her only a few hours ago, than that can only mean she has found a new host.” Luna went on. “The thing you must now find out for yourselves is…who is the new host?”

“Well….you were the original host. What are the requirements?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Luna thought hard and good about that very good question. It was a long time ago, but she did remember what emotions she had in her heart right before she became Nightmare Moon.

“Anger….rage…..jealousy….sadness….that’s what I felt in myself.” Luna answered. “And I regret ever feeling like that.”

There was nothing else that needed to be said after that.

“Princess Luna, this has really helped us a lot. Thank you very much.” Cryo said.

Luna nodded.

“Be safe, my little ponies. Nightmare Moon is not to be taken lightly.”

With that, the ponies began to leave. All of them but one that is.

“Um..Typhoon? Aren’t you forgetting something?” Twilight said to the element of wind.

“No. I don’t zink so.” Typhoon responded. “Why do you ask?”

Twilight pointed to the ground where Pinkie was still underneath the wind pony’s telepathic slumber.

“Oh. He he.” She giggled. “My bad.”

Then she placed her front hoof on her temple and began to concentrate.

“Alright, Pinkie. You can Wake up now.”

Pinkie’s eyes shot straight open and then Pinkie herself shot straight up to stand up tall. And then her chatterbox ways immediately activated.

“Oh that was so awesome, Typhoon! You gotta do that again when I go to sleep tonight! I was dreaming the most awesome dream that I could have EVER imagined!”

She went on and on all the way out of Luna’s chambers. But Pyro stayed behind one more second because he wanted to say something before he left.

“Is there something else on your mind, young one?” Luna asked.

“I just wanna say something.” Pyro said before going on. “You may have done some bad things in the past. But you can’t let that define who you are. If I didn’t believe that, I would not be the pony I am today.”

Luna frowned a bit but she was hearing what he was saying.

“It’s all in the past. It’s done. You can’t change that. Nopony can. But here’s what you can do. Stop beating yourself up about it. Are you really sorry for all the things you did as Nightmare Moon?”

“Of course I am. Not a day goes by when I’m not.” Luna answered.

Pyro grew a small smile on his face and a gentle look in his eyes.

“Then don’t worry about what anypony else thinks. If you’re truly sorry and regret all the bad you’ve done as Nightmare, than that’s all you need. Before you begin to seek other pony’s forgiveness, you must first forgive yourself.”

Although they were the words of a pony far younger than her, Luna heard Pyro to be very wise for his age. She actually grew a smile on her face.

“Thank you for that. And you’re right. I need to forgive myself first.” Luna said.

“Good day, Princess.”

With that, Pyro nodded one more time and left Luna’s room. As he did, Celestia smiled at him.

“I see Hitashi’s wisdom has rubbed off on you.” She said.

Pyro smiled as she referenced Master Ma again. But that little happy moment was cut short.

“So um….now what do we do?” Fluttershy asked.

“Now, Fluttershy…..I don’t know.” Twilight said. “Princess, what do you suggest?”

“Well if what you tell me is correct, then not only do you need to keep these other ponies safe, but we must find a way to keep the Elements of Harmony themselves safe.” Celestia said.

“But aren’t they safe enough in that vault?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I’m afraid they’re not. If Discord was able to get through that door to the elements, then it’s possible Nightmare can too.”

“Uhh…..” The shy Gem began to speak. “I think I might know a way”

Everypony looked at Gem now.

“Really? How?” Twilight asked.

“Well…there’s this spell. Alamantian. And if it gets pulled off correctly, the Elements of Harmony will be a lot safer than they are now.” Gem explained.

“That’s great.” Terra said. “With all the recent danger we’ve been encountering, we’ll need a simpler way to watch over them.”

“Big words coming from the hippie.” Agua muttered barely loud enough to hear.

Most of them did though. That was the point where Terra’s temper became lost. She didn’t care what company she was in right now. She glared at Agua and then approached him until she was right up in his face.

“I’d much rather be a hippie than a total jerk like you!” she raised her voice. “And how many times have I told you to not call me that?”

“Maybe once the smoke stops coming out of your room, we’ll talk about me stopping.” Agua responded. “But in the meantime, it seems to fit with you wanting to be…as you put it, one with the Earth you so tenderly love. Oh man that was a funny one.”

Terra just growled and her hooves began to glow with yellow energy.

“How about I REALLY be one with the Earth right now, take a chunk out of the wall, and then use it to cave in your skull?” Terra shouted.

“Oh just try it, dope fiend.” Agua dared her.

Things were about to get ugly. Before it happened, their faces were separated when a small wall of fire came in between them, startling everyone except Pyro who made the wall to begin with. With a wave of his hoof, it was gone.

“Have you two finished yet?” he scolded them. “Agua, none of us like you calling her that! And Terra, Agua’s a jerk! You know it. I know it. We ALL know it. Just move on and ignore him.”

The two earth ponies sighed and glared at each other one last time before looking away.

“Does that happen often?” Applejack muttered to Typhoon.

“Oh yeah.” The pegasus of wind murmured back.

“Alright.” Pyro said. “Now Gem. This spell. Do you have the book?”

“Yeah. I always have it. Here.” Gem replied.

Gem’s horn began to glow electric purple again. Then one second later, a book appeared in a small flash of light.

But the thing was so small Spike could eat it in one bite.

As she motioned it to Pyro, the red unicorn got it in his own magical grip and set it down on the floor face up. And of course, Twilight’s skepticism reached a high point.

“Really? THIS is a spell book?”

Pyro chuckled.

“Pocket edition.”

And then the orange glow in his horn came back and he cast another spell on the book. The book began to shift as if it were a piece of paper unfolding itself from many creases.

As the folds went on, Twilight and her friends remained speechless and Pyro was talking.

“This one book contains every spell that great Alamantian unicorns have ever come up with. Whether it be from simple lifting spells to the more advanced stuff, this is the one book that all Alamantian unicorns have ever used to learn magic. The six of us only have this one copy.”

As Pyro put the last fold out on the book, the length and width was about, one and a half feet by two and a half feet. It seemed pretty big, but it was very thin.

“Really? THIS tiny little thing has EVERY spell known in your country?” Twilight was still not bought over.

But then Pyro placed his hoof on the face of the book and raised it up. As his hoof elevated, the book got thicker and thicker. And then the whole book was about as thick as it was long, and for Twilight and the other Equestrians, that was just ridiculous.

“Every. Known. Spell.” Pyro repeated.

Twilight just stared at the book marveling at it’s size.

“So….many….pages.” she looked as if she was about to get hearts in her eyes for that book.

Rainbow just put her hoof on Twilight’s back trying to make her calm down.

“Easy there, Twilight. Don’t go nuts.” She muttered.

Pyro just chuckled.

“Yeah. After about a dozen centuries of creating spells, that thing has gotten a bit overweight.” Pyro said. “Now Gem, what page is this spell of yours on?”

“Um…….” Gem’s hoof rubbed her chin thinking. “I think…page 589.”

Pyro’s magic turned to the right page and everyone looked on the page and saw a depiction of a pony and some strange item caught in some magical force. But only Pyro and his fellow Alamantians could read it since it was still in the Alamantian language. Using a translation spell on a book that big would most likely give Twilight a massive headache.

“What kind of spell is this?” Rarity asked.

“You’ll see.” Terra told her. “But according to the clause, in order for this spell to work, we’re gonna need the Elements of Harmony themselves. Where are they?”

“Follow me.” The Princess gestured.

Celestia led them all once more through the corridors and hallways of the castle until they reached a very large door. And there looked to be a keyhole in the center of it. Celestia inserted her horn in the hole and it glowed a golden yellow. Then the door opened up and the twelve other ponies were momentarily blinded by the great blue light that shone out of the door.

And when the light died down, there was a chest floating in front of them thanks to Celestia’s magic. When she opened it up, five golden necklaces and a single gold tiara were revealed to be inside. The gemstones encrusted into those jewelry pieces were similar to Twilight’s and her friends cutie marks. Pyro and his friends were all amazed to see them.

“The Elements of Harmony themselves.” Pyro muttered. “When my master told me about them, I didn’t believe they existed. But then again, I was only six at the time.”

“I was five when my grand-mere told me ze story.” Typhoon added.

Applejack looked strangely at Typhoon.

“What in tarnation a grand-mere?” she asked.

“It’s French for grandmother, Applejack.” Rarity told her.

“Oui. Zat is correct.” But then Typhoon’s face went to a sad expression. “I do miss her.”

“Oh I’m sure you’ll see her soon. The war can’t last forever. Then you can go home.” Pinkie Pie said to her.

“Actually….she died right before I met Pyro.” Typhoon sadly corrected her.

“Oh.” Then Pinkie did something she rarely does. Frown. Everypony did. “I’m sorry.”

“Eet’s quite alright. She went peacefully.” Typhoon assured her. “Now let’s get to thees spell.”

“Quite right.” Pyro agreed. “Princess, would you please place the elements in a circle right here?”

Celestia nodded and levitated the elements out of the box and in a circle right next to them.

“Now before Gem starts this off, which element do…” Pyro started.

“Wait. What?” Gem interrupted him. “Pyro, I thought you were going to do it.”

“Nope.” Pyro corrected. “You’re doing it, Gem.”

“Bu…but Pyro….I’m not good enough. I’m not..”

“You are perfectly capable of pulling this off.” Pyro said to her. “Gem, I’ve seen you with these kinds of spells. You’re amazing. And I have faith in you.”

Gem had known Pyro for a few years now. And whenever she felt down about herself, he was always the one to get her motivated enough. She always felt good whenever she heard him talk in a good way about her.

“Okay.” She said with a smile.

With a nod, Gem turned around and looked at Twilight and her group.

“Okay. Which element do each of you represent?” she asked.

Each of the six told her which element they were. Twilight: Magic. Applejack: Honesty. Rainbow Dash: Loyalty. Pinkie Pie: Laughter. Rarity: Generosity. Fluttershy: Kindness.

Spike hopped off of Twilight anticipating something was gonna happen that involved him getting off. But without even thinking, he hopped onto the next pony’s back who was closest. And that just so happened to be Terra. She was more than surprised. Spike was immediately regretting not thinking about he was doing. But he got lucky.

“Eh. Whatever.” That’s what Terra said.

“So…I’m alright up here?” Spike asked to be on the safe side.

“Sure. You actually got rid of a knot I’ve had in my back for the longest time.” The pony of earth said.

Now comfortable, Spike relaxed. And then Gem led the six harmony elements over to the elements themselves and told them to stand in front of their designated one. But Gem still wouldn’t tell them what spell this was or what it was even going to do. She just told them in order for it to work, the six of them had to concentrate on their element alone and think about nothing else.

And they did just that. Although it was hard for Pinkie Pie to not think about cupcakes but she fought through it. And after checking with Typhoon to see if they were all focusing their minds, it was all ready to begin. Gem’s twisty horn began to glow a bright electric purple.

He mind was also being focused on all six elements. All six of them floated an inch off the ground and then they began to glow white. But then the color Gem’s horn glowed shifted from purple to white. That’s when a small beam shot out of each element at the pony that they belonged to. Then a big blinding flash over came them all. When their eyesight came back, all the ponies there opened their eyes and saw that the Elements of Harmony were gone. And everypony was looking at Gem.

“What in tarnation did you do with the elements?” Applejack shouted. “Where are they?”

“Did you steal them?” Rainbow demanded.

“No.” Typhoon answered. “We didn’t steal them.”

“Well then where are they?” Rarity asked.

Instead of using words, Pyro used his magic to levitate the Alamantian spellbook over to them so they could see for themselves. He used the exact same translation spell Twilight used on the history book. Only he used a smaller scale version of it for the page with the spell just used. Noe being able to read it clearly, Twilight deciphered it.

There was a pictograph of a strange looking object and a pony being surrounded by an aura of light. And then there was another one with the picture of the object over the outline of the pony.

“It says this is the merger spell. It combines the life force of a pony with the power of a magical object with a mystical force. Extreme concentration required.”

And boom. That was when they all figured out where the Elements were.

“You put the Elements of Harmony…inside our bodies?” Applejack asked.

“Yes I did.” Gem answered.

“With the Elements of Harmony manifested inside of you, they should be a lot safer now.” Pyro explained.

“Well the Elements might be safe. But what about US?” Rarity asked referring to herself and her five friends. “Now those horrible disgusting Shadowmares might just come for us.”

Pyro smiled to assure the young mare.

“I have thought of that too, Rarity. And Celestia agrees with me.”

Pyro and Celestia smiled at another sharing a nod. Then Pyro looked over at the five he considered to be his brothers and sisters. Then it was back to his new Equestrian friends.

“Since now you are potential targets for Nightmare Moon, the six of you have now been officially been placed under our watch.” Pyro said. “Myself and the others will gather our things and go with you all back to Ponyville.”

Now everyone was able to make sense of what Pyro was saying. Although they understood, none of them felt really comfortable with that. Pyro just said in simpler terms that the six Elements of Harmony just got new roommates.

“Hold on there, Pyro.” Applejack said. “Ah’m not so sure about that. Sure it’s one thing for you to watch over us but is it really needed for you to LIVE with us too? We’ve only known you for a matter of hours.”

Celestia stepped forward to give the answer to that one.

“If the situation was not as grave as it is, then we wouldn’t push this.” She started. “I understand your concern, Applejack. But Pyro has a point. Nightmare Moon isn’t done coming after you. It’s the best for everypony if you stay as close as you can to each other to ensure your safety.”

Some of them weren’t really up to that idea. But they didn’t dare argue considering that Princess Celestia was backing this plan. So they kept their mouths shut and just nodded.

And then Pyro looked at his icy brother.

“Cryo, accompany Pinkie Pie home. Protect her with your life.”

Cryo walked over to Pyro and looked at Pinkie Pie who had a big smile plastered on her face.

“Alright! Ice maker living in my house! Free air conditioning! And wait till Mr. and Mrs. Cake get a load of him!” Pinkie was of course ecstatic to become roommates with any of them.

But then Pyro said this last thing to Cryo.

“And I cannot stress this enough. I want you to strongly practice the art…of concealment.”

Cryo nodded and repeated it back in different words.

“No powers unless necessary. Got it.”

“Awwwwwww.” Now Pinkie wasn’t smiling so big, but it was still there.

And then the fire pony went on as Cryo stood next to Pinkie Pie.

“Terra, you will watch over Applejack.”

Terra nodded and walked over to Applejack stopping at her side. Applejack actually liked Terra. So she had no problem with it. Then Pyro went on.

“Typhoon,”

But he didn’t even have to say anything more.

“Fluttershy?”

Pyro chuckled. Her telepathy was just too awesome.

“Fluttershy.”

The pink wind maker nodded and then went over to Fluttershy who smiled at her. Rainbow Dash was kind of jealous because she kind of wanted to get paired with her. Fluttershy was a bit pleased to be paired with the pink pegasus. She seemed a little more on the calm side than the rest of them. Not more than Gem though.

“Twilight, I will watch over you myself.” Pyro said.

“Sounds alright to me.” Twilight answered.

Twilight actually liked that arrangement. Since Pyro was the leader and she was kind of the leader of her friends, they felt that they would get along nicely.

“Gem, I’m assigning you to..”

But Agua interrupted.

“Alright. You’re putting Gem with Rarity and I’m going with Rainbow. Done deal.”

But as soon as Agua took his first step away…

“No.”

Pyro uttered that one word and Agua froze right up.

“Gem’s going with Rainbow Dash.” Pyro said to Agua. “And you, Agua, are gonna be watching over Rarity.”

Rainbow Dash took a sigh of relief when she found out she wasn’t gonna be paired with Agua. She would have taken the strange Terra over him. But Gem would do fine. At least she thought that.

Agua just stood there glaring at his red leader.

“You’re joking right?” he muttered.

Pyro shook his head side to side signifying he was dead serious.

“Pyro, a word. NOW.”

As Agua began to walk away, Pyro just sighed and groaned.

“Oh great. A word.” Then he looked over at Typhoon. “Time this one.”

Typhoon nodded and then Pyro and Agua went behind a closed door.

“Um…what’s going on?” Twilight asked.

“Trust me. It’s better to not ask that question and leave them alone.” Cryo warned.

“Well I disagree.” Rarity said. “I think he’s talking about me considering the way Agua reacted when Pyro told him he was going to look after me. I want to know what they’re saying.”

“One step ahead of you.” Twilight readied her horn.

“Don’t say we didn’t warn you.” Terra muttered.

Twilight stepped forward and her horn began to glow. A spell shot at the door Pyro and Agua closed behind them and the two of them didn’t know it, but now everyone on the outside of that door they were behind could see them and hear everything they were saying. And with the both of them sporting angry looks in their eyes, their words sounded something like this.

“Out of all of them, you choose me to watch over HER? Do you hate me, Pyro?” Agua shouted at the red unicorn.

“What’s wrong with her?” Pyro asked back. “Rarity seems like a nice pony to me.”

“Oh please. I knew her from the second I saw her! I recognize her from one of Typhoon’s gayass magazines! She’s a fashion guru! I’ll bet you anything that she’s just spoiled uptight brat who cares only about herself and is too stupid to notice anything around her!”

“She’s the Element of Generosity! That little fact right there makes everything you said to be totally wrong! I paired you with her because call me crazy, I think you might be able to learn something from her.”

“And what is that supposed to teach me, Pyro? Teach me how annoying she can be? I mean come on! I’ve only known her for not even one day, and I already get the urge to wanna hang myself whenever she rambles on and on about her stupid little fashion career!”

Pyro was beginning to growl. On the other side of that door, everyone was beginning to regret listening in on this conversation. Especially Twilight who cast the spell in the first place. Celestia was just blown away on how two ponies who are so close in a sibling relationship could be at each other’s throats like this.

Then everypony noticed one more thing. A soft sob escaped Rarity’s throat. Her eyes were brimming with tears. It was kind of obvious now that she was hurt by what Agua had just said. Seeing her pain, Cryo walked over to her.

“Hey hey hey. Don’t cry. Trust me. Agua’s like this with just about everyone.” The pony of ice told her.

“But why?” Rainbow Dash asked as he walked over to Rarity as well. “Why is he so mean?”

“He doesn’t do it on purpose.” Gem said to her new partner. “The tribe he was raised with, the way they trained him, it just made him into what he is.”

Not wanting to talk any longer, they all went silent once more and looked at the two arguing ponies.

“How dare you speak that way of her!” Pyro shouted. “You know Cryo might be the pony of ice, but your heart is so icy it makes him look like a frickin furnace!”

“Oh cut the crap, Pyro! Those six ponies shouldn’t even be near us! We should be doing this ourselves! They’ll only get in the way and cause trouble for us!”

“You are some piece of work, you know that? They’re the Elements of Harmony for Alamante’s sake! They deserve nothing but our utmost respect! They were the ones who defeated Nightmare Moon the first time around!”

“Oh yeah? Well clearly they didn’t get the job done right! Because she’s still alive and trying to kill us all now, isn’t she?”

That made all six of the harmony ponies look down at the ground a bit ashamed. Agua’s words might have been extremely harsh, but they couldn’t shake the fact that he was in a way right. They didn’t do a good enough job when they faced Nightmare Moon the first time around. If they had done something more, there’s a chance none of this could have happened. Only problem is, they have no idea what else could have been done to Nightmare the first time.

“I’ve had enough of this!” Pyro’s voice went up to the max right there. “Agua, listen to me. I’m not asking you to like living with her because let’s face it. You hate everything. All I’m asking for is for you to give Rarity a chance. You only think you know her. But you don’t. Just give her a chance and you might be surprised at what you find. Now can you PLEASE pull some maturity out of your ass and do that? Can you?”

Agua just growled annoyed that he was listening to Pyro lecture him.

“And one more thing.” The unicorn of fire said. “Those six ponies out there are just as special as you and I. They might not have completely destroyed Nightmare Moon but they WERE able to defeat her. And that just indicates how strong they really are. They’re not weak, Agua. They’re the farthest thing from it. And I think it would be very wise of you to notice that. Because they’re going to be sticking with us for quite a while.”

Agua had nothing to say. Pyro’s argument was too much for him to counter. Sighing in defeat, he admitted it out loud.

“Alright. I’ll give it a chance. But I’m not going to like it.”

“I just said I’m not asking you to like it.” Pyro said. “Thank you, Agua.”

A few seconds later, Pyro and Agua exited the room and Twilight stopped using her magic to try and hide it. It was a success. Pyro and Agua were oblivious to the fact they were watched.

But as soon as Agua stood close to Rarity, the water pony took notice of her face. Rarity couldn’t even look at him. Her eyes were shut tight and slowly leaking with tears. And her bottom lip was trembling.

“What’s the matter with you?” Agua muttered.

Then Rarity’s severely hurt feelings took control of her next actions.

“YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A BIG JERK!”

As Agua popped his ears from the loudness, Rarity ran out of the castle sobbing heavily. She got further away and Agua only got more confused as to why that little outburst just happened.

Then he turned around to notice everyone looking at him quite crossly. Even Celestia wasn’t really thrilled about what just happened.

“Nice going, Agua.” Applejack sternly said. “You gone and hurt Rarity’s feelings.”

To most of their confusion, Agua then grew a stern face of his own.

“Screw that! How does she even know what I said?”

He caught on rather quickly. It wasn’t before long Pyro began to agree with him. They were behind a closed door. How could any of them hear the two behind the door? They were yelling sure but the walls were pretty thick. Unless….

“Typhoon?” Pyro looked over at the element of wind.

And she immediately shook her head defending herself and her telepathy.

“Hey eet wasn’t me! Eet was her!”

She raised a hoof and pointed at Twilight. Pyro and Agua were now looking at her a bit surprised and also a hint offended.

“Twilight?” Pyro said to her. “What did you do?”

“Well, Rarity wanted to know what you guys were talking about. So I cast a spell that let us all hear what you were saying on the other side of the wall.”

Pyro sighed upon hearing that.

“Okay. I understand why you did it. But just for future reference, whenever you see Agua and I going into a room together, it’s best just to stay clear for a while”

Twilight nodded understanding that.

“Well okay. But I think somepony needs to go and talk to Rarity.” Twilight added.

“I’ll go!” Spike jumped up and began to run in Rarity’s direction.

But he was caught two seconds later in the magical grip of Twilight’s magic.

“No. Not you, Spike. I was thinking more like Agua.”

Everyone did look at Agua who was now trying his best to glare at all of them at once.

“No effing way. I’m not going out there.”

“Agua, you hurt her. YOU be the one to fix her.” Pyro said.

“OKAY!” he shouted. “But just for the record, I’m caving early because I can’t stand to listen to another one of your lectures!”

The blue pony then stormed off in the direction Rarity went.

“He is such a….oh I can’t find a good word. Jerk’s been overused.” Rainbow said.

“Don’t worry. I’ll show you a list I have back at the rock.” Terra told her jokingly.

“Well I’m sure in time he’ll warm up to her just like he warmed up to the five of you. You are his friends aren’t you?”

Pyro, Typhoon, Terra, Gem, and Cryo all looked at Celestia with looks that clearly stated they were unsure about the answer to that question. And Celestia herself also sported a look like that upon seeing them not respond immediately.

“Well….uhhh…” Gem tried to think of something but nothing good or positive came to her.

But Terra thought of something. It wasn’t the best but it was all anyone had.

“He’s like the guy who’s an asshole but he’s our asshole.” The pony of earth said.

It wasn’t a lot to go by. However, everypony there, even Celestia had to agree, that pretty much described Agua. But Celestia had high hopes for Agua. She had faith that he could become a better pony. He had potential. He just needed to recognize it. At least that’s only what she herself thought. Everyone else had the alternate opinion about the pony of water. He’s just a heartless jerk who cares only about himself. Pyro thought that only halfway. The other half of him remembered Master Ma’s teachings to always find the good in anypony. But with Agua, Pyro had been searching a long time for that so called, “good.” So far his search right now was fruitless. But there were some moments when he proved himself to be more than just a jerk.

“That’s not entirely true.” Even Cryo knew that too. “Agua may be a hardhead sometimes, but deep down he’s good. He’s had some moments where he shows that he cares. I’ve seen them.”

“Name one time that jerk was ever nice.” Rainbow Dash was daring Cryo now.

“Just trust me.” Was all Cryo said back to her.

“By the way, thanks for sticking up for all of us.”

Twilight said that to Pyro. And she was referring to when Pyro was defending the Elements of Harmony in the argument with his watery comrade.

“Don’t mention it.” He responded.

Outside the castle, Rarity had her face buried in her hooves and she was crying a river. At first she thought being partnered with him wouldn’t be so bad. But after hearing all of that horrible stuff Agua said about her, she didn’t want to be anywhere near him. As she wiped away another tear that was loose on her cheek, she watched it fall. But then the tear itself stopped in midair and floated up so it was in front of her face.

“Did you know tears have water in them?”

That voice was the blue Earth pony’s. Agua was approaching her and he still kept the teardrop suspended in the air.

“What do you want?” Rarity snapped. “Come to tell me how annoying I am when you don’t even know me?”

“Look, it was wrong of me to say that about you or any of your friends for that matter.” Agua was having a difficult time getting this out. He hated sounding weak. “I always act before I think and it always gets me into scrapes I find hard to get out of. But I always seem to because I’m strong.”

“Good for you.” Rarity failed to see any point to what he was saying.

But that was because he hadn’t gotten to the point yet. Agua did his best to restrain himself from getting angry again.

“I’m sorry for what I said about you and your friends. It wasn’t fair for me to judge you without getting to know you first.”

Now Rarity was actually looking into his eyes. He wasn’t trying to look back into hers. It was difficult enough NOT looking at her.

“I’m not saying I’m gonna like living with you, but…will you please let me watch over and protect you?”

Watch over…and protect her? Rarity let those words playback in her head a few times before looking at Agua more closely. He didn’t look like the kind of guy who would be roommate material. Everypony who knew him knew that. But his facial expression clearly showed that he wanted to protect her from danger.

Agua just fiddled with Rarity’s floating tear by expanding it and manipulating it while he waited for her answer. But the things he did with that one tear distracted Rarity from giving her answer. She quickly regained her train of thought however.

“Well it’s not the most formal apology I’ve ever heard.” Rarity said. “But…I do accept it. And yes I will allow you to protect me.”

Agua nodded and then released his mind grip on that now large tear. It splashed on the ground and quickly evaporated into the sunlight. And then everyone else joined them.

“So are you two okay?” Pyro asked.

The both of them nodded at the red and orange unicorn.

“Good. Now there’s just a couple things we need to do.” Pyro went on. “Let’s head back to the rock, get our stuff, and then we’re moving in with our new friends.”

That meant it was time to say goodbye to the Princess.

“I can rely on you to protect these ponies, Pyro?” Celestia asked him.

“I will guard Twilight with my own life. And I trust my brothers and sisters to do the same for the rest.” Then Pyro stood on his hind hoofs and bowed at her like he did when he said hello. “Thank you for your time, Princess.”

Celestia stood on her hind hooves once more, put her front ones together, and bowed to him again. Twilight and the other five Elements of Harmony had no clue as to why the princess would bow to anyone.

“Take good care of Twilight and her friends. They are truly special to me.” The princess said before going back into the castle alone.

As the doors closed, that left the twelve ponies alone in the courtyard.

“Well….now what?” Rainbow asked.

“Now, Rainbow…it's like Pyro said. We go back to our rock, pack our stuff, and then move in with you guys.” Cryo explained.

“Cool. New roommate.” Spike was obviously on board with the arrangement.

That was all that needed to be said. And then the six Alamantians grabbed hold of their new partners, and teleported back to Whitetail Wood. Where the rock awaited them.

Comments

[Blue Streak]

Agua Isn't the stubborn heartless mule I though he was.
He's just stubborn

[Deathpony]

ughh gun control 100% against it

[dbanksischillin]

Nice. By the way so many pus i cant list them

[llw88]

Ok, Cryo is my fav 1. cuz he is nice and 2. cuz whenever he talks I imagin him to be all like Pinkie and stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Thethhron]

Mmm...re-covered some stuff here on accident I see. You already mentioned that they all came across this Master Ma. But this is getting better

EDIT: Where's the outrage from Celestia or any of the other Elements of Harmony about mental privacy when Typhoon reads Luna's mind? Also, Celestia or Twilight could easily have told your OCs that Luna was originally Nightmare moon. much less confrontational way to do that, there was.

[Enderstorm]

I don't think I can do this story, sorry.
Not if Celestia is just going to passively sit there while someone violates her sister's mind and makes her relive her trauma right in front of her, with no repercussions.