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Chapter 1: The release 1,835 words
Chapter 2: You are Worthy4,754 words
Chapter 3: The Guardian appears4,910 words
Chapter 4: Rage unleashed6,373 words
Chapter 5: Death 3,595 words
Chapter 6: Faith4,634 words
Chapter 7: Judgement5,183 words
Chapter 8: The spark ignites5,381 words
Thoughts of the Elementals: 0.41,322 words
Chapter 9: Turmoil5,229 words
Chapter 10: The face of God (Part 1)2,005 words
Chapter 11: The face of God (part 2)3,963 words

Chapter 6: Faith

"It's true, anyone can live off of faith alone. But they won't live for long."

-TheStoryteller

Within the throne room in the Canterlot Castle, Celestia sat in her golden framed, red cushioned, chair with a book opened in front of her and a cup of tea with steam coming off the liquid surface as it sat in the small white plate.

The large wooden door's were burst open as a guard rushed in. He quickly kneeled and tried to speak but all he could muster was out of breath wheezes. Celestia waited for the guard to catch his breath, sitting in silence.

"...a thousand...pardons...your majesty..." The guard coughed. "...but...the Crystal...Empire...has been...captured..."

"WHAT?!" Celestia roared, her booming voice shook the castle walls.

Another guard entered the room, he too kneeled quickly and spoke out of breath, "great news...your highness...the invaders...at the Crystal...Empire...have been...defeated..."

Celestia did a double take before sitting back down. "Oh...that's good I guess." Celestia shook her head. "Nonetheless, send aid to the Empire at once."

The guards were through mid salute before their bodies were lifted into the air and chucked out the room, the large doors slammed shut behind them. Celestia stood in confusion before Discord appeared before her standing on his hind legs with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

Celestia knew what happened when the God of havoc entered a room and was in no mood for it. "Begone Discord, I have no time to play your games." She said.

Discord said nothing, instead he snapped his fingers and a small, perfectly shaped, box landed in his paw. Celestia's eyes widened at the sight of the box. Her eyes widened further when Discord began to open it.

"Wait-STOP!" She demanded, but Discord ignored her as he undid the latch and the box's lid flung open.

And nothing happened.

Celestia braced herself for a massive burst if magic to come shooting out of the box but nothing happened. Perplexed, she looked at Discord and saw that the box was empty. Her moment of relief was short lived as it was replaced with horror.

"The Elements!" She exclaimed. "They're-"

"Gone." Discord finished for Celestia, throwing the box behind his shoulder. "All of them. The Elements of the Spectrum, the Elements of Atlas, the Elements of Nature, The Element of Life, the Element of Death, and the Oddities. All of them were released, and nearly half of them have found hosts."

Celestia put two and two together and her horror increased. "The Crystal Empire!"

"Yes, it was attacked by an Elemental." Discord stroked the white hair on his chin. "The Element of Fear I believe. It chose a Griffon who stormed the Empire and took it in only five minutes."

"Five...minutes..." Celestia slumped in her throne, holding her head. "How is that possible? The Elements should be weak after all the time in the box, not stronger."

"It seems we were wrong." Discord stated. "The box did prevent the Elements from finding new hosts, but it didn't cut of their connection to magic. All that time spent in the box, they were building massive amounts of magical energy inside of them. So much, that these Elementals are twenty times stronger than the previous ones."

Celestia's mind couldn't begin to comprehend the spark of chaos that was about to ignite a roaring fire. But there were questions that needed to be answered, and Celestia had no time to stand around and do nothing. Now was the time for action. "Discord, I was informed that the attack on the Crystal Empire failed. How did this happen?" Celestia ordered.

"In the midst of the invasion, another Elemental fought against the Element of Fear and won." Discord answered.

"And who is this Elemental?" Celestia asked.

"His name is Flash Sentry." Discord answered. "He's a Pegasus and a royal guard in the empire."

"I'll have him brought here at once." Celestia declared before continuing. "But for now, I want the Royal Guard, Wonderbolts, troops, my entire army to strengthen Equestria's borders. We cannot allow the Elementals to threaten my citizens."

Forester felt...strange. Not the weird kind of strange, but...a different kind of strange. His body felt hot, but it was not a burning sensation, it felt more along the lines of a warm kind of glow that wrapped around his body like a fresh hot towel. He didn't know what was happening, but he felt has though he was hovering in open space. Free, no longer chained to the physical world, floating aimlessly like the wind. It felt wonderful, the amazing feeling was unlike anything Forester had ever felt before in his life, he felt complete. He felt peace.

So then why did it feel wrong?

Forester didn't notice it at first, but over time the feeling grew. A gnawing sensation at the back of his mind, that transformed from a silent whisper to a screaming roar. Forester couldn't ignore the sensation any longer, it was trying to tell him something, but what could it be?

'Forester.'

Forester searched frantically around the white void he was trapped in for the audible voice that he heard. When he couldn't find it he spoke, demanding answers,

"Where am I?" Was his first question. "What is this place?"

'There is no time for explanations Forester. You must awake. Awake for there is a life in danger.'

"Life...in danger..." Forester shook his head. "I don't understand, what are you talking about?"

'Awaken.'

Then the white void vanished, and the next thing Forester knew, was that he was falling.

Forester's eyes shot open and he bolted upright, his chest pumping and his breathing heavy. Forester took some time to calm himself before he realized where he was. He was in a bed, with woven sheets and guard rails along the bed side. He looked around and began to notice the similarities of the place. Forester was in the hospital, he knew of the rooms and all their works as he volunteered to help work for his Confirmation. Forester realized he was wearing a white robe around his entire body with a white checkered scarf around his neck.

Forester remembered how to remove the lock on the guard rails and lowered the rails. He shifted his body as the lower half hung over the side. Forester pushed himself off the bed and landed on all fours. His legs trembled and shook as they tried to support Forester's weight. Once they had adjusted, Forester made his way towards the door and exited.

He clung to the wall, using the solid object to support him as he made his way down the halls. Over time his legs no longer shook and he could support himself again. He walked around the building, searching for a nurse or doctor he could talk to. It wasn't until he came to a four-way path that he saw Deer, a family of them actually. A mother, father, and their younger son sitting on the dad's back.

They had left a room, shutting the door quietly to make sure they didn't make any form of loud noise. As Forester approached them, the young one asked,

"Is Fawn gonna be bedder daddy?" He asked, his mind not able to properly pronounce words.

Forester froze at the mention of Fawn. Was their something wrong with him? Did something happen?

The father couldn't speak, he could only hang his head low an aura of helplessness surrounded him. The mother tried to show her son a look of reassurance, but couldn't as she spoke while trying to hold back tears. "Fawn's gonna be just fine sweetie." She was lying, why was she lying?

Forester's curiosity got the better of him as he slowly turned the knob and opened the door. Inside was a small room with a bed in the center of the room, tables near them with vials of colored liquid and numerous ingredients, no doubt to be used for some type of healing potion. That's when Forester's eyes fell on the occupant of the singular bed.

It was Fawn, and he looked sick. Worse than sick.

Fawn's chest lifted high then dropped as it pushed out wheezes of air. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and entire body as it tried to cool it down. A thick tangle of black lines that stretched from his shoulder to his chest could be seen under his skin, and with the top half of her body lying on the bed was the female calf known as Hazel.

"Hazel." Forester's voice caused the female to look up from the bed and lay eyes on Forester. When she saw him she bolted towards Forester and buried her face in his chest, a slight dampness could be felt on Forester's chest.

She was crying, she still was. Tears of pain, sorrow, and remorse dripped onto Forester's chest. Why?

"F-F-Forester...F-Faw-wn is...is...he's..." The crying calf couldn't bring herself to speak as she choked on her own words.

Forester pulled Hazel closer, embracing her as he tried to give her some form of comfort. But Hazel didn't need to speak for Forester already knew what was happening. Hazel let Forester go and he walked over to the sick Fawn. Fawn looked at Forester with his cold, weak, painful eyes, mustering a smile with the strength he had.

"Hi...Forest...er...how...are you...doing?" Fawn found it very hard to speak, as he had to wheeze every time he spoke.

"I'm doing alright Fawn." Forester said, moving on to the question at hoof. "What happened to you?"

"I'm...glad...you're...okay." Fawn smiled weakly before continuing. "I...got...poisoned.....by a...snake...tried to...attack you...got...in its...way to...protect...you."

Fawn tried as hard as he could to speak, but with every breath he uttered it only brought him pain. Forester held Fawn's hoof and said,

"Don't worry Fawn, everything will be okay. Just you wait, by tomorrow you'll be up and playing with your friends like nothing had happened."

Fawn smiled as he closed his eyes, resting. Forester didn't want to interrupt his sleep, so he and Hazel exited the room. Giving Fawn a final glance before leaving

There was something off, but Gideon couldn't put his talon on it.

The Griffon Empire, while commanded by the Emperor, was actually run by two sets of power. The first was, of course, the Emperor who was in charge of the army, dealing with national things, and the minority of the rule. The second, was the council. A group comprised of thirty two Griffon's tasked with declaring war and dealing with the majority of the rule. Gideon, Vex, and Lexus stood in the council's room, which was a circular building with three rows of tables that stretched up and sat each member of the council. In the center of the room were four thrones that stood on a higher stand. Each throne was made for a certain royal. The Emperor, the Empress, the daughter, and the son.

Gideon stared at his throne, remembering how big it was compared to his size. It had only been three days, three days since he was forced to leave his home and everything that he held dear. His home, his honor, his title, his family, everything.

And now he was back. Back in the land he called home. Nostalgic memories flooded Gideon's mind, memories of his sister and him playing on the thrones as kids while their parents watched. Gideon remembered how all the adults used to tell him to enjoy being a kid while he could, Gideon instead couldn't wait to become an adult. Now Gideon wanted more than anything to be a kid again. To be young and absent minded to all the cruel horrors of the world. That would be the gift of a lifetime.

The doors opened, and everyone in the Council rose as Aurora entered the room.

"Be seated." She ordered and the Council sat. She made her way towards the three Griffon's and gave them a grin. "Hello dear brother." She said, opening her arms for a hug but Gideon only glared. "Try to be nice and this is what I get." She muttered before facing Lexus and extending her arm for a clawshake. "Hello uncle."

Lexus hesitantly extended his arm and shook Aurora's claw. "A pleasure to see you as well my niece."

Aurora then walked up to Vex and with a pleasant smile said, "hello Mistake."

Vex wanted to smack Aurora for what she said, but she knew her place and bowed. "A pleasant evening to you too, your grace."

Aurora smiled triumphantly as she turned her back to the three and approached her throne, where she sat. "Now then, onto the business at claw." She said. "In case you didn't know, there has been some rumors that you attacked the Crystal Empire and nearly succeeded in conquering it, but failed when you challenged a pony to a Duell der Schwerter and lost. Is this true?"

Gideon remained quiet, not speaking a word for a while before responding. "Yes." He answered.

There were multiple whispers and mutters amongst the Council until Aurora ordered them to be silent.

"Tell me, Gideon, just how did you defeat those ponies?" She asked. "Those who wield magic, while you do not?"

"Because..." Gideon hesitated, not confident he should share the answer. But in the end he answered. "It's because I...I have a new power."

More murmuring and whispers.

"Care to demonstrate this 'new power' of yours?" Aurora asked.

Gideon obliged as his body became engulfed in a yellow aura. The aura's shine decreased and everyone saw Gideon now dressed in his yellow suit. His eyes glowed yellow as well as his claws, he raised his claws and every council member lifted into the air by his magic and were quickly put down.

"I don't know how to explain it, but I can use magic now. And it's not normal magic, it's more powerful and different. It's unlike any magic I've ever seen."

More murmurs and talking amongst the Council until one of them stood up and said, "Gideon is to put under close watch until the Council can come to a conclusion on what actions are to be taken. You three are to leave, that is all."

Dreams, a time when the mind is allowed to wander freely. When we dream we dream of things that have happened, and sometimes things that have yet to happen. You may not notice it but their are times that you dream of the future, and like any other dream you forget it over time. It isn't until the moment you dreamed of comes to pass that you get that nostalgic feeling, like you've seen it somewhere before. And just like the dream, it too fades away.

Flash was experiencing a dream of his own, not one of the past, but one of something that has yet to pass.

In his dream he dreamt of eighteen colored gems, each with its own unique color, or multiple colors, to it. These gems, despite their unique appearances, seemed almost the same, like they were one gem. But something was wrong, they were all fighting each other. Fighting over the same think they were all fighting for. It was wrong, all of it. Fighting each other was pointless, it would only lead to death. Flash wanted them to stop, they shouldn't have been fighting each other when the real enemy was upon them.

It was too late.

A thick, black swarm of some kind was heading towards the gems with the intention to kill. Flash had to stop it, he had to stop the darkness that was charging towards them. He had to protect the gems.

All of a sudden, the blue and gold gem raced towards the darkness and created a shield to halt its advance. But the darkness broke through the shield and devoured the gem, destroying it. But its sacrifice was not in vain, the gems had stopped fighting each other and were now fighting the darkness!

It kicked and screamed in pain as it felt the full force of all the gems power, and it fell. The darkness had been defeated, and the gems victorious. All was right.

Flash awoke with a start, gaze facing the brown wooden ceiling. He lied on the cushion chair of the train car, still starring at the ceiling for a while before sitting up.

Today had been a very strange day, first the invasion, then the new power he had received. And it wasn't even noon yet.

Flash stared out the train window, watching the dark green landscape of the Empire turn into the bright green landscape of Equestria. Flash had been summoned to Canterlot for something that seemed very important. He wondered if it had anything to do about everything that happened.

Flash caught something in the corner of his eye for a second before directing his gaze directly at it. A pony, or at least someone with a pony's shape, who wore a cloak with the hood up. No matter how deep Flash looked, he could only see the black that covered the pony's face.

"Good morning." The pony greeted nonchalant.

"It's noon." Flash corrected.

"It's 11:24 am, therefore it's morning." The Pony stated.

Flash rolled his eyes, annoyed at being corrected. "Who are you?" He asked.

"I had a name once, a name that meant something in another time. But now I have a new name, a name that serves purpose in this time. My name is the Master, it's a pleasure to meet you Guardian." The Master said.

Flash narrowed his eyes, readying himself to attack. "How do you know that?" He asked.

"I know many things." The Master answered. "It just so happens the Elementals identity's are among them."

"Why are you here?" Flash asked.

"To meet you of course." The Master said. "I haven't seen you for a while, I just wanted to remember what you looked like."

Flash was taken aback by what the Master said. "Have we...met before?" He asked cautiously.

"No, I'm afraid we haven't. This is the first time you and have met." The Master stated. "Sorry to cut this short but I have things to do, goodbye."

Before Flash could protest, a bump jostled him from his sleep. Eyes staring at the wooden ceiling of the train. He stood upright to search for the pony he just saw but their was no one around. Flash rubbed his head, thinking that it was only a dream.

Forester didn't sleep that night, how could he when someone he cared for was suffering. When morning came, Forester walked to the lower part of his house and picked himself grapes, bananas, strawberries, and cantaloupe for his breakfast. He ate the fruit solemnly, still thinking about Fawn. His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as his front door burst open.

A stag with a furious look and tears welling in his eyes stomped into Forester's home. Forester knew the stag, he was Fawn's father, Thicket. He charged towards Forester and struck him across the cheek.

"You bastard!" Thicket roared, tears streaming down his cheeks. "He was just a kid, a child!"

Forester quickly got his hooves and locked antlers with Thicket, only to defend himself. Thicket was angry, there was doubt, but what was he angry about?

"Thicket!" Thicket's wife, Birch, called out her husband's name as she tried to make him stop. "Please stop, this has nothing to do with Forester."

"The hell it doesn't!" Thicket roared, any rational thought he had was thrown out the window as it was replaced by only rage. "It should've been you. It should've been you instead of my boy!"

That's when it clicked, they were talking about Fawn. Something happened to him, something terrible. Forester couldn't waste time dealing with Thicket, with all of his strength he pushed Thicket back and ran out the doorway.

"Don't you dare run away from me!" Thicket roared as he got back on his hooves and ran for the door. Only for his wife to block his path. "Move!" He growled.

"No!" She said firmly. "This has nothing to do with Forester Thicket, leave him alone."

Thicket watched as Forester was getting farther and farther away from him. He was gonna lose him if he didn't chase after him. He had to move the obstacle in his path, he raised his hoof ready to backhoof Birch.

Then stopped, frozen still like a statue.

He gazed over to his raised hoof, eyes wide at the thought he was gonna do with it. He was going to hit Birch, his wife, his beloved wife. How could he do such a thing? Let alone fathom the thought of hurting her. He vowed to never harm her, to never cause her pain or grief. That is what he vowed when they married. How could he break that vow, the vow he swore? Thicket collapsed onto the floor, sobbing while his wife gave him whatever comfort she could offer.

Forester didn't know how fast he was running, he didn't care, all that mattered was getting to Fawn. He burst through the Hospital doors and ran down the halls until he came to Fawn's room. He flung open the door and ran up to him, breathing heavily.

Forester was to late.

What was once a heathy, beautiful, image of life, was now a faded echo of what was once alive. Fawn's once brown fur had begun to fade, losing all of its color, his eyes were shut, his body still, and a smile on his face. What a beautiful smile Fawn had, he was always so happy and full of life.

But where was his warm glow? His bright shining aura of happiness and joy? Why was it gone? Why had he been stripped of the thing that made him alive?

Forester couldn't bear to see Fawn this way, he tried to think back to the times he had that warm glow that shining personality. But he couldn't, all he could see was the faded echo of what he once was. Forester's legs shook before collapsing. Forester reached to touch Fawn's foreleg, it was cold. Forester sobbed, how could he let this happen? How could Nature let this happen?

"Why him?!" Forester demanded, facing the ceiling he roared at the holy being he called 'God'. "Why did you take him?! He was young, pure, innocent! He was living his life, and you stripped it from him!" Forester yelled.

"What kind of God!" He cried out. "What kind of God would take the life of a child?! What kind of mother would let one of her children die?!"

Forester continued to sob, acting without any comprehension of the consequences his words would bring. But he didn't care, it didn't matter, none of it mattered. Nothing mattered anymore.

'You can bring him back.'

Forester's ears perked up, in his diluted state he would do anything, pay any price, if it meant bringing Fawn back.

"How?" Forester demanded.

'I cannot say. In bringing back the one you have lost is a sin on your faith.'

"How do I bring him back?!" Forester demanded once more.

'If that is what you wish, then it shall be done.'

Forester's eyes became completely white as he placed a hoof on Fawn's chest and he spoke,

"To the soul lost in the void
To those in times of strife
By my shining hoof of light
You will return to life"

Thicket couldn't forget, he would never forget this day. The day his son died, the day he attacked Forester, the day he almost hit his wife. Such horrible things happened, all in one day. In times like these, there was only one thing to do.

Pray.

What else was there to do? In times of darkness there was nothing more to do than pray. Thicket got on his knees and folded his forehooves.

"Nature...forgive me for I have sinned." Thicket began. "Forgive me for letting my son die...forgive me for lashing out at Forester...and forgive me for almost hurting my life."

Every prayer ended with "amen" but Thicket wasn't done, there was more that needed to be said.

"I know it isn't...my place to ask but..." Thicket choked, finding it very difficult to speak. "But could you...please bring him back...please bring back Fawn...he's a good boy, and has done everything for you...he didn't deserve to die...please...please bring him back..."

Silence.

Thicket lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry...it wasn't my place to ask...forgive me..." Thicket said as he left his room and walked down the stairs. There was chores to be done and things to do, there would be time to grief later.

"Dad!"

Thicket came to a dead stop, disbelief washing over him. He could've sworn he had just heard Fawn's voice. But disbelief didn't stop Thicket from turning around. As he did, something collided with him and embraced him in a tight hug. Thicket's gaze lowered to the small creature that was hugging him. Once more, disbelief washed over him at what he saw.

It was Fawn, his son, his creation of life. There he was, bright brown fur, warm comforting touch, and that amazing kind smile of his. But the disbelief in his head told him that it couldn't be Fawn, that it wasn't real. Just a figment of his imagination.

But no, this was Fawn. This was his son, his pride and joy. Thicket hugged his son tightly, so he would never lose him again, while burying his crying face in Fawn's head. This was real, he prayed and Nature answered. There was just one last thing Thicket had to say,

"Thank you, amen."

Author's Note:

(Sniff) so beautiful. I'd be lying if I didn't say I teared up while writing this. Both during the time Fawn died and the time he was brought back.

If you didn't cry then you have no soul.

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