The Hidden Element of Courage

by posponer

Power of Magic

Ash was walking along the path to the ever free forest to visit his friend Zecora and to see of the potion she's brewing but along the path he encountered a strange creature of Blue. He decided to go see what it was when he noticed it looked like a ball with wings.

'Hm. Weird looking creature isn't it? Some sort of bug? It is sort of cute in a way.' He though while looking at the creature "Hey little guy. Do you want something to eat?" It nodded "Well I only have this berry but I hope it will suffice" He held out the berry using his magic and the bug ate it in one bite. The berry was quite big if you look at the size of the bug and yet it was able to eat it in one swoop

"Quite the eater aren't you? Well then care to come with me?" It didn't follow him but only looked at him while he was going on his way "Hm. How about some music then? This makes me go to wherever every time I hear it." He then decided to take a leaf from a tree with his magic and put it to his mouth and blew a tune. He was singing using the leaf and he seemed to notice the bug swaying along the tune 'So it likes music. That sounds good. Heh.. sounds..' he laughed at his own pun and decided to continue with his music to make the creature follow him

*Scene Break*

Zecora was mixing the antidote for the poison when she heard a knock and as someone opened the door it was none other than Ash "Hey Zecora, How are you this fine morning?" He smiled. 'This smile of his is like some sort of different enchantments, some type of charm he implements.' She giggled at her thoughts and offered him a nod

"Oh yeah. Zecora you know what type of creature this is?" He showed her as it then flied straight to Zecora's nose She noticed what it was and spoke "Oh, Monster of so little size, Is this a parasprite before my eyes?"

"A para what?"

"Parasprite is a bug as you can see, it's purpose to bring destruction to harmony."

"Bring destruction to… how?"

"It's best for you not to see, Bring this bug away from me." She ordered. It seems she knew what it does and wanted it away from her as possible so Ash let go of the bug as it flew away

"Forget about that Ash. At least for now, I still need some ingredients somehow." She gestured

"Okay. You need some help in gathering them then?" She shook her head saying no and told him

"I don't need help as you can see, though I regret the potion needs at least a month or three." She hung her head low but Ash put his hoof in her head to comfort her but she shook it off a little angry

"What manner is this supposed to be? Are you trying to anger me?" She sounded a little annoyed as Ash shook his head and said "Of course not. I just don't want to see you sad. It's okay to take as long as you can. I can wait, I'm just glad you're helping me so sorry and thanks."

"I see. I understand, for now please leave, this is my demand."

"All right. I'll see you later I guess." He waved his hoof and was about to exit until he heard her say

"One of the ingredients I need is Lime, Bring some with you next time." She smiled at him and he smiled back and said "Okay" as he went and they did their own separate ways. Ash wanted to think about that parasprite thing more seriously but he remembered his magic training with Twilight and decided to forget about it and went towards the Library

*Scene Break*

"I don't really see the point in this Spike."

"Oh come on Ash. Help Twilight in this. She helps you in magic after all." Ash hesitantly nodded at the dragon's point as Spike said "Alright Twilight Let her rip!"

"Okay here goes." She concentrated her magic in front of my and Spike's faces and *Poof* a mustache appeared at both their face "You did it Twilight! Growing Magic. That's number twenty five! Twenty five different type of tricks… and counting" Spike counted

"So? How do I look fair princess?" Ash tried to sound suave as he talked to Twilight which made her blush a little but "It's good but it doesn't suit you Prince. Also as attractive and enticing as you look it's just for practice and it's got to go" and she removed the facial hair via magic and it soon vanished "You look better without it anyways" She added and soon noticed what she said and blushed Ash decided to make fun of her a little and asked

"So I look Attractive huh?" He asked her with 'That' Smile which made her blush even more and look away "I look enticing huh?" He added a sultry voice that just made her more blushed until she couldn't handle it anymore and yelled "Alright! Out! Out! Ouuuuut!" She used her magic to push Ash out the door and slam it behind him Ash only looked at the sky and said to himself "I Guess I overdid it huh? Oh well time to walk around and see if anything's out of the ordinary" He chuckled as he walked away

"Grr.. that stupid colt." Twilight muttered to herself and Spike noticed something and said "Twilight. You face looks kind of red." She glared at the dragon and said "Do you want out too?" Menacingly

"I mean… twenty five tricks can you believe that? You're amazing!" he held his hands up in the air as if saying 'I give up!'

*Scene Break*

"Now what to do no— Aagh!" He was suddenly tackled to the ground by two little ponies he knew "Snips! Snails! What's up with you two?!" He stood up after talking to them and gave them a little scolding of his own and they said

"Sorry Ash. But there's a new unicorn in town!" Snails said "They say she's got more magical powers than any other unicorn ever!" and Snips finished

"Really now. The only one I've seen with strong magic is Twilight. I'd love to see who this pony is. Where is she located?" He asked the fillies "Loca— what?" Ash face hoofed and corrected his sentence "Where can I see this pony?"

"Ohh… you should've said so! She's in the town square! Come on. Let's go!" They both tried to drag the pony to the square until he resisted and said. "You boys go on ahead. I'm going to bring some pony with me" they nodded and went on their way

Ash knocked at the library's door and called out "Twilight!" no answer "Twilight!" still no answer "Twilight Sparkle open this door or I'll force my way in!" not a noise… he sighed and said "I'm sorry for teasing you before now please open the door?" and as he finished the door opened to reveal a pouting pony in front of him and she then went back to the study Ash however talked to Spike "How bad was it?" Spike only shrugged and said "Nah. No worries, she's just a little annoyed that you got her good." And went on his way

"Twilight... ponies said that there was some event in the square… I don't really know the place yet so would you mind showing me where it is… Please" He gave an apologetic smile as he asked and Twilight looked at him for one… two… three… four… five seconds before she sighed and said "Let's go" and she moved to the door. Ash however said silently "Yes!" and followed

At the Square. There was some pony there showing off all her knowledge on magic calling herself 'The great and powerful Trixie' needless to say she got some good boos from some ponies in the crowd. Spike was going on about Twilight was the most powerful one but was stopped by Ash as he dragged him away from the others

"What was that for Ash?!" He questioned him "I wanted everyone to know that Twilight here is the most powerful in magic" Twilight hanged her head down and her ears drooped and Ash noticed this and said "Trixie there got an earful of Spiteful words for showing off… what would happen if Twilight said the same thing? I don't want her to be hated and I especially don't want her to hate herself you know. Now let's go back" He gave a reassuring smile to Twilight and she smiled back as they went back

The boos somehow continued and Rainbow Dash and Gilda even went as far as ridiculing her and asking what she did to be called 'The great and Powerful' and they laughed together until she told them to be quiet and told her story of how she saved the City of Puffington from certain doom from an Ursa Major and vanquished it and sent it back to its cave deep in the ever free forest

'Now that I think about it... I haven't really ventured that forest wholly. But I don't remember there was a cave back in the forest there. Weird?' Ash thought as he wanted to investigate more

"I hereby challenge you Ponyville-ians anything you can do… I can do better" this provoked a challenge to others that made things go like this. First was Applejack she used her lasso to catch and apple and ate it right in front of her. Trixie however used her magic to easily do the same except she also tied up Applejack with the other end and put the apple in her mouth thus showing the others her win

Rainbow Dash was next when she announced "There's no need to go struttin' around and showing off like that!" Gilda was beside her nodding and said "Besides That's her job!" She pointed at Rainbow Dash standing gallantly as she then flew towards the windmill to propel her towards the clouds and straight into the stops in the air with the sun behind her and swooped back down to the holes in the cloud she made back to the windmill and stops right in front of the crowd with a rainbow above her. "They don't call me Rainbow Dash for nothing." But was then soon put to her place when Trixie used her magic to control the rainbow and spun Dash around and around and once she was through she used her magic to zap her with a little lightning

"Okay that's it! No one does that to Rainbow Dash except me!" Gilda was getting ready for the offensive but felt a hoof in her side and saw it was none other than Ash "Stand down Gilda… Violence isn't the only answer" He said as he looked at her. She tried to protest but stopped knowing he won't have it any other way and said "Fine." She grumbled and went back to Dash's side.

"What we need is another unicorn to challenge her. Some pony with some magic of her own " Spike initiated as he got responses from Applejack and Dash "Yeah a unicorn to show this unicorn who's boss!" Rainbow Dash continued "A real unicorn to unicorn tussle!" and Applejack finished but Rarity got in the way and said "Enough. Enough all of you. I take your hint but Rarity is above such nonsense. Rainbow Dash and Applejack may behave like ruffians but, Rarity conducts herself with beauty and grace"

But an insult towards her hair got her riled up as she showed her power and transformed the curtain into a wonderful dress!

'That was amazing. Well she did used magic but the design would make my previous tailors green with envy' Ash chuckled to himself when he thought about that but what he didn't know was GREEN was right as Trixie then used her magic to change Rarity's hair into green

"Quick! I need a mirror! Get me a mirror! She did something to my hair I just know it!" she then looked at her friends for an answer

"N-Nothing!" Twilight cringed

"It's fine!" Dash looked to the side

"It's gorgeous!" Applejack avoided eye contact

"It's green…" Spike answered. Earning glares from the other three pony "What?" he asked oblivious to the fact he did something outrageous

"What! Get a mirror! I need to see this for my very own eyes!" Ash then stood next to her and used his aura to produce a mirror earning an interested glance from Trixie

'What peculiar magic. The great and powerful Trixie must know of this magic he uses after she shows these ponies who's boss.' She thought to herself when suddenly "No! Not green! No!" She cried at her where she stood Ash couldn't see her like this so he gave her a helping hoof when he said

"Hey Rarity look at me. Close your eyes and think of this as a nightmare. Tell yourself 'I'm waking up soon' three times and then you can open your eyes. Everything will be back to normal. I promise" He smiled somehow for the first time eliciting a blush to the distraught pony "Okay Ash. I'll believe you." She then closed her eyes and did what was instructed of her and Ash then concentrated his magic to his horn and his aura to strengthen the magic and when he finished Rarity opened her eyes and looked at the Aura mirror that Ash projected with his aura and saw her hair was back to normal

"Oh thank you thank you thank you!" She hugged him on reflex and gratitude as she continued "You don't know how much this means to me!" She cried and Ash shushed her and said "Of course I know… You love your dresses, tail and mane the most right? I'll always be here to help. Come on let's go back to the others." And led her back to Twilight and the others

Spike at this point was telling Twilight and Ash to show their stuff but Ash countered back "I'm still new at this magic thing Spike. Twilight is teaching me after all" He shrugged while still trying to make Rarity to stop crying. She loved her hair more than the colt thought.

Trixie however heard this and said "You both think you're better than the Great and Powerful Trixie? Even with the both of you combined I, The great and powerful Trixie shall prevail!" She boasted once more

'She boasts too much, I've seen a lot of people like her. Some day if she doesn't stop it might just be the end of her.' Ash remembered his journey of before he came to be a pony

Twilight however didn't feel like fighting her and made excuses as she ran to her home

"Once again the great and powerful Trixie has proven herself to be the most amazing pony all of Equestria! You!" She pointed to Ash "I wish you to join me on my travels. You have the potential to be a powerful Magician, not as powerful as Trixie but close. What say you?" she proposed but Ash said no as he said to her "I'm sorry but I have already found my place here and thus no need to find a place somewhere else."

"Suit yourself." She went on her way

*Scene Break*

"Snips! Snails!" Ash called out

"Hey Ash!"

"What do you have there? And where are you going?"

"Well you see the great and powerful Trixie wants a smoothie with extra hay." Ash wondered how that tasted like since he remembered the sandwich he ate before and noticed the small drool in his face and quickly removed it with his hoof and said

"Oh would you both mind if I give it to her? I planned to welcome her to Ponyville after all." The two were staring at him with eyes that says 'we don't believe you' but then he said "I'll also ask her some of her stories and tell you all about it!" the boys' eyes grew and glistened and gave him the drink and said "Please!" he took it and said goodbye

As he walked towards Trixie he called out "Hey Trixie!" she was brushing her hair when she noticed someone walking towards her "Oh if it isn't the colt from before. What brings you here? Perhaps you decided to go with the great Trixie after all? Luckily for you I am as forgiving as I am Powerful."

"Uhh.. no.. I just wanted to give you this for the great performance before" He gave the smoothie to her

"Oh? But were you not one of the neigh sayers?"

He shook his head and said "I didn't like your boastful character but a good show deserves it's praise." and he followed up "And these are to welcome you here in Ponyville, I've only been here for a few months and I must tell you it's a great place!" He handed her flowers and said "Well got to go." He was prepping up his wings to use the sonic boom technique he designed himself when

"Wait!" Trixie called out "You are most peculiar. Before in the show you have shown that you have magic and a horn. Yet now your horn is gone and in its place are wings. What kind of concealment magic are you using?"

'Crap. She noticed. I need to get out of here fast!' He was finished setting up the Sonic Boom but he felt something got a hold of him and looked to see that he was being held in place with her magic

'She may be boastful but her magic's strong.' He thought

"Now now. There is no use struggling, Answer me and I will let you go. No one can get away from the great and powerful Trixie's magic after all" She boasted once more

"You're too boastful. Want to make a bet?" He then used his aura to destroy whatever was binding him and sonic boomed away

'There it was again! Whatever magic he is using. I will know of it. Or My name isn't The Great and Powerful Trixie!' She thought out and took a sip of the smoothie "This is quite delicious"

Unbeknownst to them Spike, Snips and Snails had a talk about the great and powerful Trixie and how she vanquished an ursa major… thus giving the two filly a 'Major' Idea on how to prove she defeated an ursa major

At Twilight's home arguing were heard "NO! Spike, Ash. I told you I won't do it."

"But –" Spike was to argue back when he was held back by Ash and was told "Let her be. It's her decision to make" Spike then left and before Ash left as well he said "Even if you lost your friends I'll always be here to be your friend" He looked back and smiled and went on his way leaving the pony all alone by herself

"Thanks Ash. And sorry." She talked to himself with a sad smile garnished along her face

*Scene Break*

:"Aw Cheer up Spike. At the very least we know she's really powerful right?" Ash tried to lighten the dragon's feeling but to no avail nothing happened and he sighed until they saw Snips and Snails running as fast as they could as if their lives depended on it

"Run you two! This is a MAJOR problem!"

"Ursa Major to be exact!" Snips yelled out and continued to run they were wondering what the two were talking about when suddenly they heard a loud roar behind them and it revealed a large Bear known as the Ursa swiping at them

"Ash…."

"I know Spike…."

"RUN!" the two yelled as they decided what the best course of action was and as they were nearing the town when Ash stopped in his tracks "Ash! Are you crazy?! RUN!" Spike called out but Ash on the other hand or hoof said

"Go get Twilight! The Village is in trouble if this beast were to get nearer. I'll protect the village as long as I can hold out. Hurry!" Spike wanted to argue but saw there was no time and said "Be careful!" and left to get help

Ash and the Ursa were now standing with each other "Alright Beastie… let's dance!"

The colts ran to Trixie whilst Spike ran to Twilight

"Twilight! You've gotta come…QUICK!" Spike called her out

"I've already told you Spike. I don't want to show up Trixie!" She told him and then went on reading her book

"You don't understand! It's Ash!" Then a roar was heard from beyond that made her asked "Please don't tell me that had something to do with Ash…"

"Yes… and he's in a 'majorly' problematic situation right now!!" She got the message and then ran as fast as she can towards the sound

At the scene where Trixie, Snips and Snails were being backed away by the Ursa when Snips decided to speak up and told her the situation in which they brought the Ursa to her for her to vanquish it… all she did was made it more angrier though and they soon ran as fast as they could towards the town making the bear go after them but Ash was nowhere to be found

"Guh… That hurts! That beast uses its size to its advantage but it acts more like a child in a tantrum than a bear in a frenzy…" He said to himself but then soon saw the Ursa heading for town "OH NO!" He prepped up his Sonic Boom and flew straight towards the town

As soon as he got there he saw all the ponies worried and scared at what the sound was as they were outside looking for that sound itself and soon saw it destroying one of the houses and Ash yelled out "EVERY PONY RUN AWAY!" at the command every pony ran away from the beast as fast as they could except for five ponies. Snips and Snails whom were waiting for Trixie to defeat the beast, Twilight whom wants to stop the chaos, Trixie whom was scared at the sight in front of her and Ash whom was dragged along in all of this

"Twilight!" Ash called out as he saw her with Snips and Snails "Ash! What's going on?!"

"These two brought that Ursa here. I need to get it out." He was going towards the ursa when he was stopped by none other than Twilight

"Stop! You're hurt already aren't you?" She looked at him noticing him cover his front legs "I'm used to it" He shrugged the question off

"ASH!" but Twilight wanted clear answers not vague ones. Ash noticed her worry so he smiled at her and said "Yes. I'm hurt but don't worry… It's what I'm best at. My Cutie Mark" He showed his cutie mark to her and the two fillies looked at it too

"It's the sign of My Family. The Crest more exactly. This crest represents Leadership and Protection. But thinking about it All I've been doing in this world is protecting ponies… I'm not going to stop now." He stared at her and she wanted to argue but his dedication was unmoving and his voice never faltered but then they heard the roar and it was swiping at Trixie as she was too stunned to move away Ash decided to act and pushed her Aside and set up an aura shield but the beast's size and pure brawn was too much for the shield as it started to crack

"Ash!" He heard voices that he recognized from behind and saw it was his and Twilight's friends along with some of the pony villagers "What are you girls doing here?! Get away from the Ursa!" this ushered a verbal argument from the group and him "This isn't really the time! Oh boy… This is going to hurt!" He yelled out as he was too late to block the smash of the bear as he was put under the paw of beast

The ponies were all scared, horrified and astonished at what just happened and called out the colt's name but there was no answer. Fear and tears were in their faces until they heard "Get your gigantic Body off OF ME!" yelled Ash as he pushed it away from above him but it was evident that his left front leg was broken and had to be helped by the doctors in town

"I'm fine girls. Twilight! Do you know any Lullaby magic or something. Don't ask just do it!" He was preparing magic in his own horn too. Sounds were soon heard as the beast started getting woozy and sleepy.

Ash then took the water silo in the town and put it into the cow barn as he milked them and put the milk into the silo as a make shift Baby bottle "Now help me cradle this Ursa if you can Twilight!" they soon did what Ash planned and cradled the Ursa as if it was a baby and put the make shift bottle of milk into its mouth and carried it away back to where it belonged

The crowds were cheering at them both but Ash decided to speak up "Tell them" He nudged her and pointed towards the others. She told them of how they hated Trixie and her magic acts and didn't want her friends to hate her but they told her there was no way they'd hate her since it was part of who she was and how magic was never a part of it and also how Trixie was just a loud mouth

"See told you they wouldn't mind" He grinned at her and she smiled back "Yeah. I should have believed you huh?" the colt laughed and nodded at her and they all laughed together until Ash spoke up

"Though I'd hate to see the day that I'd have to fight an Ursa Major" the others wondered what he meant since he just did prior to this but Twilight knew otherwise. Spike decided to ask "Didn't you just fight one?" The colt shook his head saying no and say "That was but a child… An Ursa Minor"

Twilight then told them what she was up to in the library saying she was studying up on the topic 'Ursa Major' and told them the difference about the Major and the Minor Ursas. The other ponies then began to think that they really would hate to see the fact an Ursa Major would come here.

"Trixie." Ash called out. "Having power is not enough. You need it to protect and help those you cherish. You'll find a pony that you'll protect and cherish but until then you can never get stronger than you are now." He finished

But then Trixie decided to speak up and boasted once more before 'Trying' to disappear from sight using a smoke screen in which she failed miserably as she was seen running away from the town. Both Rainbow Dash and Gilda were ready to chase after her when they heard a flop sound beside them and saw the colt resting on the ground. They decided not to chase after her and worry about their friend instead

"How is he?" "Is he alright?" "His leg looks horrendous!" "we need some pony here!" and similar shout of the like were heard and the hustle and bustle of that night was soon forgotten after the colt was carried to a center where they were checking up and taking care of him. He soon then arose and saw that one of his leg was in a cast and that his wings and horn wasn't being hidden by his aura as the doctor soon came.

Ash was about to say something when the doctor laughed and said "Don't worry… This is confidential" and examined the colt once more and said "Amazingly enough you can do most…. MOST of the things you can do even after all that heavy beating you received last night. But I suggest you don't over exert yourself anymore. You'll worry the girls outside if you do." The doctor advised him as he left the room

"Girls outside?" He wondered when he was stormed by the friends he had mainly the six and Gilda

"Hey idiot. Didn't I already tell you that you shouldn't do heroic stuffs anymore?" Even though she and Gilda acted tough worry was one of the expression seen on her face and the others as well hating the fact that he had to make them see him like this once more he gave an apology and said

"I'll try to do it in moderation. Let's get out of this room. I don't like stuffy rooms like this." They decided to go to places and do stuff that all of them never really did when they were all together. Gilda still acted tough and bossy but she was starting to get used to the other ponies well… except for Pinkie… and her random antics… they walked to the park ate lunch (Courtesy of the only male's now thin wallet) and after some time has passed they decided to go on their separate ways. But it never left the girls' minds 'Where does he live in the town?'

The colt was levitating his wallet in front of his face and sighed "I'm truly sorry princess… the bits vanished so fast I never even expected it." He didn't like… no He didn't want to go back to the princess and ask for more money… that wasn't very princely of him and his pride would also not allow him to do such things. He sighed once more and said what he was thinking of. "I need a job." He sighed once more

"Well there is an opening at the school if you want to?" Ash didn't expect the sudden voice and jumped away accidentally stepping on the ground using his broken hoof "Gah!" He knelt in front of her holding his hoof showing his pain

"I'm very sorry I didn't expect you to do that. I'm Cheerilee. I teach at the ponyville schoolhouse if you don't mind it then we'd love to have you." She smiled

"Well that's great and all but I have not an inkling about anything to teach the fillies. I could just stand as an assistant teacher and learn the ropes from you?"

"that's a great idea. I'll tell it to the mayor and we'll be glad to have you at the school by tomorrow. But be careful. The fillies knows and sees you as a hero." She giggled and went away

'A hero huh? Well I guess to the kids I'm considered as one' he chuckled as he walked away

*Scene Break*

"Alright this time do that." Twilight and Ash were practicing their magic out openly now and that's when Ash decided to say

"I got a job." He grinned towards her and she blushed a little but then asked "as a what? And where?"

"As a teacher, Well Assistant teacher anyways. Also I'll be teaching the fillies and colts at the school." He told her

"Oh no."

"What's the matter?" The grief in her voice made it seem as she was against his newly found job

"Well… if you were to teach the fillies. Then I fear many fillies would be in the hospital because they were copying you" She fake shuddered as she told him and Ash then pouted at her and said "Really now. That was quite mean." His facial expression made her laugh and told him

"I was just joking Ash. That's a good… no A great News!" She was still laughing but she meant all that she said

"Anyways I told you. They would not hold it against you." She was going to ask what he was talking about but then suddenly remembered

"Yeah you're right. I should trust my friends more huh?" The colt nodded and laughed

"Even if they did hold it against you. I will always be beside you. I told you remember?" he looked at her eyes face to face only and inch was between their faces and Twilight blushed and walked away and said "Yeah. Thanks. Well lessons end here teacher. You'll need to get ready as a teacher. Come to the library later this day I'll give you some books about teaching." Ash nodded and smiled and made her blush once more before she then teleported away

Ash then laughed and used his magic to levitate a leaf towards his mouth and played a little melody using the leaf and said to himself "This world. With the beast and everything else is as dangerous as my previous ones. But unlike before. Here I have people… or ponies in this case.. to protect not because I'm obligated to… but because I want to." He then blew another melody as he closed his eyes playing the tune remembering how this dreamlike world was now HIS world. A world he loved and cherished.

Author's Note:

My Shortest chapter ever… Sorry ... I'll try better next time... Also... did I get Trixie's boastful character correctly?

also I tried to explain how every pony in town haven't notice his 'alicorn' state... it felt rushed but meh... I tried XD

Comments

[Zero of Nine]

at the end only one thing bugged me
A great news is just great news or a great thing to happen to you
but the rest is great
like and fav for you by good author
see ya next update

[Moongaze14]

Twilight should change her fur color to red just to save herself the embarrasment.

[posponer]

4302792 well... I don't really know what to say other than.... Thanks for giving it a try? Anyways different strokes for different folks and all that. Sorry if it wasn't your kind of juice or stuff I've had more destructive comments in life that the comment/review you gave me is more of a helpful thing for me so really.... Thanks for that.