The Elements of Love

by UnweptSchlipps

Storm

The rain was pattering, the thunder was booming, the storm was picking up in its fervor. Night had long since fallen in Ponyville. But this time, a new kind of darkness was invading, the likes of which the citizens of the little village had never seen. And caught in the midst of it were five ponies frozen their tracks as the horde of shadows swarmed the town.

“Oh no...no no no,” Lucky uttered as shapes began to form in the darkness. Taking Cheerilee’s hoof, who in turn grabbed the heavy bag of loot on the ground, the unicorn galloped into the pattering rain, shouting, “We need to move!”

The duo raced through the raging storm, the huge raindrops blurring their vision. They struggled to keep their wet manes out of their eyes, visibility getting worse and worse as seconds went by. The two narrowly dodged the Shadowmares rising out of the ground, doing their best to navigate the slippery terrain. Finally, Lucky and Cheerilee met up with the other three, who were busy fending off the shadowy creatures.

As Lucky ran a Shadowmare through with his horn, he cried, “How did they know we were here?”

Braeburn, who had just bucked two of the eerie assailants into oblivion, cried angrily, “Gods, I don’t know. No time for ponderin’, let’s go!” With that, he swept up Scootaloo onto his back, took Redheart’s hoof, and ran down the rain-riddled street. Lucky followed pursuit, with Cheerilee holding on to him tightly.

By now, the rest of Ponyville had awoken from all the commotion. Horror overtook the small village as crowds of ponies began to flood the streets. Terrified screams filled the air; frantic yelps for help rang through the storm. Thick fog and heavy rain left many unable to tell who was an ally and who was an enemy. Soon, the streets were filled with mages, shadows, and Ponyville residents, running around in utter chaos. And amidst all the insanity, the Elements of Love were doing their best to not lose each other. A task easier said than done.

“Where’s Soarin?” Cheerilee shouted, swinging the bag of loot into the face of a mage.

Dodging incoming bolts of ice, Redheart cried fearfully, “I don’t know! Scootaloo said he flew off!”

“He…he flew off,” Scootaloo repeated, almost mindlessly. “Soarin…he…he left me.”

“Scootaloo, don’t think like that,” Redheart said as she ran beside the cowpony.

“H-he left me. He promised he’d always be there for me…just like my parents! And he left me. Just like them.”

“Scootaloo, please—,” was all Redheart could say, unsure of what else to say.

The five found themselves in the middle of a dirt road, with houses and buildings lining both sides. Lucky was sniping magic bolts into the crowd when he spied a narrow passageway between two buildings, blocked by a cluster of Shadowmares. An idea popped into his head, and he cried, “Cheerilee, open the bag!”

“I don’t think this is the time to count our loot, Lucky!”

“Just do it!” Lucky shouted. Cheerilee opened the bag of coins, and the unicorn levitated a good sized chunk up into the air. With a yell, Lucky sent a burst of energy into the chunk, turning each little piece of gold into a tiny high-speed projectile. The cloud of bullets sprayed into the clump of shadows, dispersing the crowd in one fell swoop. Seeing as though his improvised shower of bullets worked, the unicorn commanded, “Into the alleyways!”

However, amidst all the loud commotion, Braeburn, who was still carrying Scootaloo on his back, did not hear Lucky’s cry. By the time he realized what they were doing, the rest were inside the alley, calling his name. And standing between Braeburn and the alleyway were Frost Star Mages, shooting magic in all directions.

“You’ve got yer work cut out fer ya today, Braeburn,” he muttered to himself. Stamping the ground like a bull, the cowpony began his charge.

As he weaved, kicked, and leapt his way through the crowd, Braeburn could hear Scootaloo muttering something unintelligible. In fact, it almost sounded like she was weeping. “Are you okay Scootaloo?” Braeburn asked, looking back for a split-second.

And as it would turn out, a split-second was all it took for things to fall apart.

With his head turned, Braeburn didn’t see the huge fireball racing towards him. The flame struck the ground near his hooves, and the ensuing explosion sent the two ponies flying into the air. Braeburn was propelled straight forward, tumbling into the alleyway with a yelp of pain. Scootaloo was not as fortunate, the little pegasus being flung off to the side, thudding against one of the houses.

The filly slowly got to her hooves, the impact leaving her dazed and disoriented. Everything seemed to be a blur, and every sound seemed to be muffled. As everything slowly began to clear up, one noise began to stand out. The sound of a worried mare crying, “Scootaloo!”

Shaking her head, the filly looked up to see Redheart fighting off some mages at the mouth of the alleyway, calling her name from a couple of yards away. With the world still slightly blurred, Scootaloo began to slowly creep towards the sound. Her body was aching, and the filly struggled to keep from crying from the pain. But despite all this, the filly pushed on, her goal in sight.

But then, just as Scootaloo began to near the alleyway, one of the mages spied Redheart standing in the alley. With a wicked sneer, he launched an enormous fireball up at the building next to her, causing the entire side to crumble down. Rubble began to fall, and Redheart would have been crushed had it not been for Lucky pulling her out of the way.

The four ponies stared at the mountain of debris blocking off the alley in disbelief, while a scared little voice called from behind, “Redheart!”

Her eyes wide with horror, the nurse ran up to the pile, trying to find some way to dig through. The stones were much too heavy, however, and the pile was too thick for even Lucky to make a dent.

“Keep trying, Lucky!” the nurse said, pounding the stones with her bare hooves.

“I’m doing my best! But this stuff’s gotta weigh tons!” the unicorn replied, trying to levitate the demolished building.

The nurse was able to find a small hole near the side of the alleyway, only big enough for her to get a peek at the scene behind the filly. Shadowmares were beginning to converge on the alleyway, and Scootaloo was trying futilely to claw at the debris.

Knowing that time was running short, Redheart shouted fearfully, “Scoots...you need to fly over the rubble!”

“Fly? But-but I can’t!” the filly replied, looking up at the towering mountain of cement and stone.

“C’mon Scootaloo, you can do it! Fly, just for a little bit!” the nurse encouraged.

Seeing no other choice, the filly began to buzz her little wings, jumping up into the air. Her first attempt ended with her falling back down on her back, as did her second and third. “I know you can do it!” Redheart called.

Taking slow deep breaths, the tiny pegasus closed her eyes. She gave a short leap into the air, and then she began to flap her wings as hard as she could. She began to kick her hooves, exerting all she could into making herself get higher and higher. The filly was hovering now, her face scrunching together in sheer exhaustion. And sure enough, she was moving upwards, inch by inch. “I…I…” she began to utter, her tiny wings buzzing harder and faster than they had ever gone.

But then, despite having her eyes closed, she could still see Soarin's blackened eyes. That wicked scowl, right before he flew away to who-knows-where.

“I’ll always be right here, whenever you need me”

But now, when she needed him most…

The filly opened her eyes, seeing a streak of lightning brighten up the night. Her wings stopped flapping, and she fell flat on her belly. Her wet mane hung over her face, her tears blending in with the rain. Shaking her head slowly, she whispered, “I…can’t. I j-just can’t. I’m not strong enough.”

“Scootaloo?” Redheart uttered, watching the shadows get closer and closer.

But despite the impending horde, Scootaloo remained motionless on the wet ground, repeating over and over, “I’m not good enough.”

And that was when the Shadowmares fell onto her, swallowing the tiny figure up in darkness.

From behind the rubble, the nurse could only watch helplessly, howling, “SCOOTALOO!” She began to beat against the rocks, letting out a terrible wail.

Braeburn watched numbly as the despondent mare pounded against the debris, not even moving an inch of the stones. The shadows had already begun to creep through the rubble, and yet Redheart seemed to pay no heed. Realizing there was no time to grieve, the cowpony grabbed the nurse, saying, “We need to go Redhea-,”

“No, no! Let me go Braeburn. We need to help her!” Redheart replied incessantly, fighting to break free.

“Stop it, Red! She’s gone already…don’t you understand?” Braeburn commanded, looking up at the tendrils coming down upon them. Suddenly, pain shot through his body as Redheart clamped her teeth into the very same leg that had been burned. Braeburn impulsively shot backwards into Lucky, relinquishing his grip on the manic nurse. The tendrils of darkness began to wrap themselves around the mare, who was still trying to smash through the rubble. And she never ceased, not until the Shadow finally encased her in its unknown grasp.

“Oh no…no no no,” Braeburn whispered as he watched Redheart get swallowed up.

Lucky quickly helped him to his hooves, saying, “They’re closing in us, mate! We’ve gotta move!”

Cheerilee and Lucky began to trot ahead, with Braeburn slowly limping behind. The cowpony tried to move as fast as he could, but every step sent pain rocketing into his burnt leg. Lucky stopped, asking, “Are you okay, Brae?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Braeburn replied, ignoring the searing pain, clenching his teeth while trying not to scream.

“Are you sure, mate? You look-.”

“Lucky, we don’t have time fer this! Ah can walk! It’s nothing!” he yelped, waving the unicorn away. But to his surprise, Lucky ran up to support the injured pony, putting the injured front hoof over his back.

Braeburn stared at the unicorn with wide green eyes, as though some sort of miracle had just occurred. But Lucky just stared back with his eyebrow raised, saying, “Well don’t just stare at me, move!”

The duo began to slowly trudge forward with the Shadowmares beginning to reform behind them. Cheerilee was already at the end of the alleyway, beckoning them to hurry. Every now and then Braeburn would stumble, but every time Lucky would catch him and put him right back on his hooves.

Finally, the trio of ponies broke free of the narrow alleyway, seeing the looming tower of Town Hall before them. They had made it to Town Square, where countless of Ponyville’s residents were fleeing, and even more mages and shadows were attacking. With the entire area around Town Hall swarmed, Lucky shouted, “Come this way, mates. Along the side!”

While they snuck around the horde, Braeburn uttered tiredly, “Why don't you leave me, Lucky? I’m jus’ slowin you down.”

“Never even thought about it,” Lucky replied, zapping an incoming mage. “We’ve lost half our group already; I’m not going to let you go too. I always got my mates’ back, mate.” Giving a weary glance behind him, the unicorn finished, “I know you don’t trust me. But I assure you, that’s the truth.” And to this, Braeburn could only give a slow nod, unable to speak a single word.

Spying a stack of crates up ahead, the unicorn shouted, “We can climb up on the rooftops from there.” Cheerilee and Braeburn nodded in agreement, and the three raced towards the crates, fighting the horde along the way. The storm was its peak now, with thunder booming and lightning flashing high above the town. The trio was completely soaked, and yet they still pushed on, their wet fur and clothes starting to weigh them down.

Finally, they made their way to the pile of crates. Cheerilee went first, clambering up the unsteady pile onto the rooftop. Lucky told his injured companion, “I’ll get up there and pull you up, yeah?” Braeburn uttered his agreement, so the unicorn quickly climbed up the crates.

Leaning over the edge of the rooftop, Lucky extended his hoof, shouting, “Grab on, mate!” But to his shock, Braeburn simply shook his head. “What are you doing?”

“I’m only gonna slow y’all down. This leg is all but useless,” the cowpony answered calmly.

“What? Are you crazy?”

“You two gotta get outta here, alright? Get to Canterlot and tell the princesses! Don’t worry ‘bout me!” Braeburn yelled. “You’re just gonna hafta trust me, Lucky!”

The two stallions locked eyes with each other, their soaked manes hanging low over their faces. Sure, they might never have been the best of friends. But as chaos reigned around them, both knew what had to be done. Lucky gave a single nod, slowly backing away from his companion below. “And Lucky?” the farmer called. Giving a sly tip of the hat and a wide smirk, he said, “We’re cool, ya hear?”

And with that, Braeburn kicked the crates over, knocking them onto a few Shadowmares. He began to yell defiantly, kicking out with his hindlegs, paying no heed to the pain in his front. This was his last stand, and by Celestia, Braeburn was going to go down fighting!

And yet, Lucky didn't say to watch Braeburn’s valiant efforts. He took Cheerilee’s hoof and trotted across the rooftop, making sure his last glimpse of the cowpony was of him bucking a mage in the face with Señor Kickaroo.

With their numbers dwindled down to two, the Braeburn and the Cheerilee galloped over the buildings, with swarms of enemies below them. Fortunately, thanks to Braeburn’s sacrifice, the duo had much room to run.

Cheerilee found the rather noticeable gingerbread roof of Sugarcube Corner in the distance, high above the enemies on the ground. Tugging on her companion’s hoof, she stated, “We can run across there. It’s higher up.” Seeing as though they didn’t have any better plan than that, the two set their sights on the pastry house.

Lucky was the first to make it to the candy coated building, gingerly trotting over to make sure it was stable. Once he figured it was safe, he motioned for Cheerilee to come across. The teacher took a few steps on the moistened gingerbread rooftop, her outstretched hooves just a few feet away from Lucky’s. The train station was in sight now, and beyond that they could see the tracks leading away from this nightmare. From there, it would be a long march to Canterlot, clear of any Shadows or Mages. It seemed as though the two would finally be free.

Then, as if by the cruel hands of nature itself, lightning struck.

It found the tallest thing in the vicinity, which happened to be the Sugarcube Corner's pastry roof. The sudden bolt of electricity struck between the duo, forcing Lucky to fall backward. The unicorn’s senses were numbed, and a wicked headache pounded near the point where his horn met his skull. But Cheerilee, who had similarly been thrown backward, was in a far worse position. The lightning bolt had split the already weakened rooftop, and cracks began to creep through the bread like a spider web. By the time Cheerilee looked up, it was too late.

She only had time to scream, “Lucky!” before the roof caved in, bringing her with it.

The panicked scream jolted the unicorn back to his senses. He tried to quickly stand up, resulting in a massive migraine stabbing through his head, forcing him back down. Unable to stand straight, Lucky crawled towards the huge hole, through which he could see Cheerilee on her back. But, perhaps more importantly, he could see the Shadowmares seeping through the windows, having been alerted by the sudden crash.

“Lucky…” the teacher moaned feebly, stretching her hoof up to him.

Panting heavily, he muttered, “D-don’t worry, I’ll get you up here.”

With a groan, he concentrated his magic on the teacher below, his horn glowing his signature green hue. The same aura began to surround the injured schoolteacher just as Shadowmares were about to set upon her. Slowly but surely, she began to levitate up. Lucky’s eyes were shut tightly, and he bit into his lip until warm blood began to trickle out. The pain in his head seemed to multiply with every second Cheerilee remained in the air. But Lucky knew he couldn’t fail this time, not when his last companion hung in the balance. Especially her.

Come on, come on…don’t fail now…, Lucky thought as he concentrated harder, putting every ounce of magic into the simple levitation spell. But the harder he tried, the more his head pounded, the more the knife in his horn twisted and pushed. He could feel the strength being sapped out of him, the magic around his horn sputtering away. Just a few more inches…five…four…three…two…

But then, without warning, the green aura vanished with a whoosh. The stallion impulsively shot his hoof out towards the mare’s open hooves. He swung…only to catch thin air.

Cheerilee seemed to float in place, with Lucky letting out a surprised gasp. The two lovers locked eyes for a second. The mare’s harlequin eyes said everything. Fear, disbelief, sadness, disappointment. All in a single second. A single second that seemed to last an eternity. Then, with a short yelp, she began to fall. Time seemed to crawl for Lucky as the mare slowly descended back down. Until finally, she disappeared, lost to the sea of darkness below.

“Cheerilee!” he cried, the name echoing over and over in his head. He didn’t stop looking at the horde of shadows below him, not even when tendrils began to reach up, wrapping around his still-extended hoof. Her eyes…her harlequin eyes still lingered in his head, scolding him, taunting him, screaming at him. That look of pure shock and despair . That was all it took for him to break.

The unicorn fell limp on the rooftop, unable to move an inch. The Shadow began to consume him, and for some reason, he didn’t fight back.

Author's Note:

I sense an "End of Act 2" coming up...

Comments

[dragon191917]

Hmm, I have one thing to say to this.

(Said in Jack Sparrows voice)

Not good.

[sugarush13]

Wait, so, are they all just dead now, or are they going to, like, rise from the shadows and safe everyone. Or maybe soarin' is somehow going to fight, I dunno what's going on with him. By the way, if it was the first I said, then pretend I'm sticking my tongue out and making a fart sound, k.

Giraffe

[Chaotic Note]

Oh shit.