The Elements of Love

by UnweptSchlipps

Like Cornered Rats

It's been a while since the last update, yeah. But I've got a feeling this one's worth the wait...

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The tension was at its peak in the Seventh Street Cornerclub, with neither side daring to make a move. The miners were easily at an advantage, with their menacing weapons poised for a fight. As for the Elements, only one pony seemed to be ready for a fight, and she was a tiny filly who could barely fly.

Braeburn, making sure he was shielding Redheart and Cheerilee behind him, reasoned, “No need to do anything rash. Ah think you’ve got the wrong ponies, partner.”

The leader just scoffed, and levitating the broken bottles around menacingly, he answered, “Oh I’m sure we’ve got the right one. That one! Lucky! That’s the scumbag we’re looking for.” He pointed to the unicorn with his shattered bottle, and Lucky did his best to look innocent. But while the leader turned to his companions, the unicorn plotted his escape.

“What do you mean?” Cheerilee asked in disbelief.

“You mean you don’t know?” one of the thugs replied. “That piece of trash isn’t anything but a gambler and a thief!”

The leader began to explain, “A few years back, he swindled us out of a month’s worth of bits each! I’m ashamed that we even called that guy our friend. Every time we’d meet for a ‘friendly’ game of blackjack, his pegasus crony would sneak some of our money out of our pockets while he kept us busy with his cards. But you bit off more than you could chew, didn’t ya?”

Braeburn staggered back, stunned by this sudden revelation. The cowpony turned to the unicorn, and Lucky could see the anger flaring up in Brae’s eyes. Looking at the newly-revealed thief, Braeburn uttered distastefully, “You did what?

A rather skinny pegasus with a high-pitched voice chided, “Yeah! He thought he could pick the pockets of every single pony in Trottingham. But we caught you red handed, mate.” But then the pegasus whipped out a disproportionately large wooden club, shouting, “We let you escape last time. But this time, you ain’t gonna be so lucky, Lucky.”

“So why don’t you step aside and let us have our way?” the leader quipped. “You’re better off without him anyway.”

Cheerilee gave an insolent sneer, not even contemplating the notion of giving up her newfound ally. And although the others probably had different motives for protecting Lucky, they seemed to stand in agreement.

At least that’s what it seemed. But out of the blue, a callous voice announced, “Ah don’t see why not.”

The schoolteacher turned to the cowpony in surprise, chiding, “Braeburn! You’re not serious, are you?”

“Oh please, Cheerilee. The pony’s a thief, an’ Ah hardly think we’ve got room fer a thief in our group. So Ah say let ‘em handle this.” Then with uncaring chuckle, he added, “And if Lucky makes it out in one piece, then he’ll know where ta find us.”

It took Cheerilee all her willpower not to slap the cowpony across his face. The cause for this, however, was something she did not know. Yes, perhaps Lucky was a thief. But for some strange underlying reason, the schoolteacher felt the urge to protect this stallion. Yes, he was brash, pessimistic, and just a tad bit shifty. But somewhere under all that complexity, Cheerilee knew something was in there worth protecting. She had no idea what it was, and frankly, she didn’t need to know.

The schoolteacher stepped forward, stating, “I’m sorry Mr. ‘Mom’, but Lucky isn’t going anywhere.”

“Aww come on Cheerilee, don’t make this worse than it already is,” Braeburn said.

“You should listen to your friend, Cheerilee. Your boyfriend ain’t worth the trouble,” Mr. Mom added.

But the teacher defiantly stomped the ground and replied, “They why don’t you thugs get out of the way?”

“Cheerilee, if you ain’t gonna let em through, then Ah’ll do it mahself!”

Braeburn and Cheerilee were poised to add fuel to the already blazing fire, but then Scootaloo propped herself up on the table, grabbing the two’s attention. “There a problem with that, Braeburn,” she uttered, staring at the miners’ menacing weapons. “Lucky’s…not here.”

“What!?” Braeburn and the lead miner cried simultaneously. Sure enough, the two turned to find nopony behind them, and the back door swinging back and forth.

“That unicorn’s running for it!” one of the miners cried, peeking through one of the windows, his eyes following a small shadow galloping down the road.

“You two get after him!” Mr. Mom commanded, sending them out of the tavern. Then the riled stallion turned to the remaining Elements, giving them a fierce glare that could bore straight through the wall. “You…you helped him escape didn’ you?” he accused.

Soarin replied, “What? No, bro, we didn’t do anything!”

“You’re his mates, ain’t you? Of course you helped him!” He and his remaining crew drew their weapons, pointing them towards the five.

Soarin, whose face was staring down a pointed rusty pipe, began, “Whoa…we didn’t do anything to you guys. Let’s just chill out and…”

Suddenly, a yellow hoof lashed out at the stallion with the pipe, smashing into his cheek. The miner fell into one of the tables, knocking the wind out of his lungs. The owner of the bucking leg cried, “Who needs logic when you’ve got Senor Kickaroo, yeah?”

And with those wise words, everything in the Seventh Street Cornerclub became utter madness.

In one swift move, Soarin grabbed Scootaloo and shot up, trying to get as close to the ceiling and out of reach as he could. Redheart let out a scream before narrowly dodging a swipe of a club. Pushing the stallion away, the nurse quickly trotted in the direction of where Soarin was going: the front door.

The leader of the goons tried to swipe at Braeburn with his broken bottle, only managing to slice part of Braeburn’s Stetson. The cowpony retaliated with a swift kick to Mr. Mom’s lower leg, just enough to put him off-balance. Seeing this opening, Braeburn darted to the exit, his eyes burning with anger for both the goons and Lucky. Cheerilee followed along, ducking underneath a flying pickaxe, only pausing to deliver a kick the thugs’ leader’s chest.

“So long, sweetheart,” Cheerilee chimed before following the group outside. Seeing as though it were already nighttime, one would have thought the streets would be deserted. But as the sun went down over Trottingham and the posh went to their beds, the streets began to crawl with urchins and shady characters. Unfortunately for the Elements, this meant they had to run through the already volatile crowd.

The voice of Mr. Mom yelled, “After them!” from inside the tavern. Taking this as a cue to run, the Elements did just that, taking off down the hill with the miners tailing them. They began to weave and barge through the urchins that were unlucky enough to be in their path, hearing curses and shout spewing around them. But the insults flew right over their heads, mostly because the thugs were flying closer and closer.

“Where’s Lucky?” Cheerilee inquired, glancing back at their pursuers.

“Who the hay cares? We need to get outta this city!” Braeburn chided. Suddenly, the cowpony felt something rough impact against his leg, causing him to hop in pain. One miner had begun to toss lumps of coal and stone with impeccable accuracy, nailing Braeburn once again in the leg. This caused the yellow stallion to stumble into a random pedestrian, which gave two miners enough time to catch up.

Redheart and Cheerilee saw their friend stumble, and doubled back to fend off the attackers. Redheart, in sudden bout of bravery, swung her saddlebag into one of the miner’s snout whilst Cheerilee (who had left hers back at the inn) helped Braeburn off the pavement. One attacker let out a loud cry as he poised his pipe to bring it down on Cheerilee’s head. But as he was being helped up, Braeburn swept a leg underneath the assailant, sending him tumbling.

After the scramble, the trio took off down the hill, turning down a road that led to the outskirts of Trottingham. In the commotion, however, they seemed to have lost something. Or more precisely, someone.

“We’re missing Soarin!” Braeburn realized.

Redheart gave half-worried, half-annoyed look and said, “That pegasus must’ve taken Scootaloo with him. We need to find them!”

Meanwhile, two pegasi sneaked through the dark alleyways of the poor district, away from suspicious eyes. Soarin had lost the others in the chase, taking Scootaloo along for the ride. The orange filly’s hooves were wrapped tightly around his neck, her eyes checking behind them. The poor district was even creepier at night, and the lack of lanterns or torches left parts of the streets pitch-black. Soarin had to navigate the alley using only the moon’s light and his own instinct, and even his honed instincts couldn’t stop him from bumping straight into a wall multiple times.

Finally, after stubbing his nose for the fifth time, Soarin spied a sliver of moonlight showing the alleyway’s opening. Placing Scootaloo behind him, Soarin said, “Stay here, okay? I’ll make sure it’s safe.”

Scoots gave a silent nod, and Soarin began to edge his way towards the exit. The Wonderbolt peaked his head out, seeing a dirt road leading out of Trottingham, a few roguish ponies, and not a single miner in sight.

“I don’t think I see them Scoots,” the stallion whispered, turning back. “We should be safe.”

The pegasus was stopped in his tracks, however, and his mouth became agape with dread. Before him was Scootaloo floating in the air, not by her own accord, but by the unicorn stallion behind her. A broken bottle was held to her throat, and the foreleg holding it had the word ‘Mom’ inked onto it.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” the miner leader said, giving a cheeky smirk. Scootaloo struggled in the force field wrapped around her, futilely kicking as though it would break the spell. But she remained in place, and the miner couldn’t help but be slightly amused.

“Don’t you dare touch her,” Soarin uttered, inching closer to the two. The miner saw this and drew Scootaloo closer to the broken bottle, her face almost touching one of the shattered points. Scootaloo’s terrified squeal was enough to stop the Wonderbolt from advancing. The tiny filly gave Soarin a look of pure panic, almost on the verge of tears.

Soarin tried to keep his voice from trembling as he said, “You try anything, and…and I swear…”

“Swear you’ll what? I’m the one with the kid, remember?”

“Listen man, don’t hurt her, alright? Please…don’t kill her.”

The miner cackled at the pegasus, and replied, “Don’t worry, mate. I’m not going to kill her. I’m just gonna…cut her up a bit so she ain’t so cute!” At this, the miner flicked the bottle just the tiniest bit, cutting open Scootaloo’s cheek, causing her to howl in pain.

And quite frankly, this was the stupidest thing the miner could have done.

Seeing Scootaloo’s blood set something off in Soarin, a primal instinct that couldn’t be stopped. The desire to protect at all cost flooded his mind, soon travelling down to his powerful wings and legs. With complete disregard for injury, Soarin pushed off and flapped his wings, heading straight for the one who hurt his kid.

The pegasus smacked into the miner, sending the two into the dirt. Scootaloo was realized from her magical binding, and she crawled away from the brawling stallions. Soarin’s rage was unstoppable, unleashing a flurry of blows onto Mr. Mom’s body. The two rolled around some more, until Soarin was on top, holding his enemy down by the throat. “You’re messin’ with one of the fastest pegasi in the world bro,” the racer uttered, bringing his face in close. Then he raised his hoof, about to deliver a devastating right cross.

But suddenly, Soarin felt a jarring pain in his belly. The pegasus only had a second to glimpse down at the bottle piercing his stomach before he tumbled off the miner with a grunt. The pegasus’s headed lulled to the side, barely able to stay conscious.

“Soarin!” Scootaloo cried, trying to gallop towards her newest idol. However, a battered, bruised, and seriously angry miner stood in her path, gritting his teeth in rage. The miner still had his other bottle grasped in his teeth, and it seemed as though she would be its next target. Scootaloo could only watch helplessly at the brawny stallion as he crept towards her, poised to kill.

But just when it seemed she would be doomed too, the miner was suddenly thrown against the wall by an unknown force. He smashed his head and crumpled to the ground, knocked out cold.

Scootaloo peered down the alleyway, seeing a dark figure trotting out of the darkness. It was another unicorn…and he wore the ragged cap that the other miners wore.

“You…you better stay away from me,” the filly said. “I’m…I’m gonna scream! H-help-.”

But the stallion interrupted, “Oi, wait Scoots, it’s me! It’s me!” The unicorn tossed off his cap to reveal none other than Lucky, who had apparently dispatched the two sent after him.

There would be no time for reunion however, for Soarin still lay on the floor, his blood seeping out through the gash in his stomach. Scootaloo ran up to him, caressing his head while pleading, “Lucky, you have to help him. Please…”

Lucky didn’t need to examine to wound to know how serious it was. “We need to find Nurse Redheart,” the gambler decided. “Scootaloo…I’m sorry but I need you to let go so I can carry him.”

Although the filly was extremely reluctant to let go of her friend, she had no choice but to release him. Lucky carefully magicked the stallion onto his back, and realizing that Soarin was still partially conscious, he said, “Come on up, mate. Stay with me now, alright? We’re going to get you outta here.”

With the strong pegasus draped over his back, Lucky began to trot as fast as he could without tipping over. Scootaloo followed close behind, unable to take her eyes off her bleeding companion. Soarin’s face was already beginning to pale, and his mouth lulled open as his blood seeped onto Lucky’s vest.

He’s gonna be fine. He’s gotta be, Scootaloo thought as they headed to the outskirt of this blasted city. But no matter what she said, the filly couldn’t push that terrible possibility out of her mind. For the poor young mare had gone through this not once, but twice before.

Xxx

Cheerilee, Redheart, and Braeburn were ready to turn back into Trottingham when they spied two figures poking through the night. One was small, in the shape of a small pony. But the other was remarkably wide and big. As the figure got closer, the trio realized it was a pony carrying another on his back. And as they got even closer, they realized it was Scootaloo and Lucky, who was carrying…

“Soarin!” Cheerilee cried, running towards the other half of their group.

Braeburn and Redheart helped the wounded pegasus onto the ground, and an exhausted Lucky sat on his haunches, trying to regain his breath. Scootaloo threw herself around Cheerilee’s leg, weeping. The teacher tried her best to comfort the filly, nuzzling her head lovingly.

Meanwhile, Redheart immediately began her work on the wounded Wonderbolt. Soarin was barely conscious, and the nurse whispered, “Hold still Soarin, I can fix you.” With her trusty saddlebag at her side (thank Celestia she had brought it along), the skilled nurse began to stitch up the wound.

Shards of glass were still lodged in his side, so Redheart had to carefully pick them out. Once they were gone, the nurse was happy to see that the weapon hadn’t pierced any of Soarin’s vital organs. However, the amount of blood he had lost on his way here was substantial, so Redheart knew she needed to work fast. With the skill of an experienced doctor, she began to weave her needle and thread around the wound using only her teeth, which was a feat in itself. With Soarin’s blood staining her hooves, Redheart worked urgently to save her friend’s life.

Finally, the nurse tied off the final stitch, and the ruptured vessel was clamped shut. With Soarin’s wound healed, Redheart sat up and said, “There Soarin. That should be…enough?”

But something was still off about the wounded pegasus. His eyes were shut, and his pale head hung limply to his side. Realizing something was amiss, the nurse pressed her ear against Soarin’s chest, and her eyes widened in horror of what she found. Or rather, what she hadn't found.

Soarin’s chest was still. No heartbeat to be found.

Comments

[Pegasister1209]

NNNNOOOO!!!! Both Soarin AND Rainbow Dash (I assume) are both dead???!!!

[Chaotic Note]

You know what this calls for?