New Elements

by Barrobroadcaster

Showdown

The train ride over was surprisingly and thankfully uneventful. It was so late out that we were the only passengers and the trains were automated so there was no one there to see us. Twilight and her friends marveled at the spectacle of a train moving underground. I kept my own eyes on my Element, waiting for it to start glowing and make the train fly off the rails. But one of our elements reacted, there was no sign of Discord and within a few minutes, we were near central station. We disembarked and headed out for the park, our only lead as to where the last Element was. Leena walked beside me as we walked out of the station.

"So, only one Element left." she said, looking up at the night sky. "Yeah, one more and then we can finally things will get back to normal." Leena dropped her head low at my statement. I though for a moment. "Maybe we can visit Equestria sometime." I say, trying to cheer her up. She immediately perks up. "I think we can manage that. Teleportation spells are complicated but once I read up on them we should be able to use them at least once in a while!." Twilight says. "Really?! That would be awesome!" Sam says, doing a loop in midair. "We can show you all around Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie says. "And even Cloudsdale and Canterlot!" Rainbow Dash adds. "I'm sure everyone will want to learn about creatures from other planets." Fluttershy says. "That sounds wonderful!" Leena says, overjoyed. I smile, looking forward to it myself. We continued walking to the central park.

The park itself was a large open area of grass, trees, a few benches and sidewalks in the center of town. Only a line of green bushes on all four sides seperated the park from the street. In the center was an impressive foutain that all 4 corners of the sidewalk led to and then encircled. We crossed the street and entered the park . As we crossed the line of bushes, I noticed my Element reacting. "Look! This must mean it is in the park!". Leena's and Sam's Elements were glowing too, confirming that we were in the right place. "But where?" Leena asks.

"It's going to be pretty hard to find something as small as a necklace at night. Maybe we should split up." Sam says. "Good idea. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Sam should cover the air. Keep in sight of each other everypony." Twilight says to the group. Pinkie Pie immediately darts off, tumbling over the grass, and searching in trees and bushes. The rest of us spread out and turn over everything we can. Leena, Sara and I search the rim of the foutain, looking into the water. There were coins scattered about the foutain's pool but no necklace that we could see. Rainbow Dash, Sam and Fluttershy checked the trees, Applejack, Rarity and Twilight looked under tabeles and in trash bins. Dave and Monica started walking around the fountain in a slow circle, Dave had his eyes glued to the ground.

"So... you and me? We're okay?" I hear him ask. Monica sighs. "This really isn't the best time Dave." "I know it's just... I want to do good for you." "You will." she says, walking beside him. They both stop before a large sidewalk painting. Dave says nothing but spends a few long moments walking around the painting, examining it. Leena, Sara and I walk over to them. The painting itself was the view of a beach with a portion of the ocean, diveded in half across a square in the middle of the sidewalk. Sand and water spilled out the sides of the square making the painting seem like it was a hole in the concrete looking into another world.

"You must really like art." Leena says. "It's his passion." Monica says with slight smile. Dave said nothing and continued admiring the artwork. Sara walked over holding the green box. "So, is it a picture of the beach from the ocean's view or a the ocean from the beach's view?" Monica asked, turning her head as she looked at the painting. "Both." Dave said. "Huh?" "Come here." Dave carefully took Monica by the shoulders and positioned her to view the painting. "You see it now? If you look at it from here, it's like you're standing on the beach. And here..." they switched positions and looked at it again. "You're standing in the ocean." Dave says. "You're right! Dave, that's amazing!" "I know. You change your perspective and the reality changes. It's like, depending on where you stand, you're looking at a whole new world." Dave holds Monica close around the neck, her being a pony, she nuzzled into him and closed her eyes. "Hey guys! I think I see the Element up here!" Sam calls out, flying above the fountain.

Something crashes behind us. We turn to see Sara dropped the green box and it broke apart. Light shone from inside the piece of cloth the element was wrapped in. "Here we go again." Leena said. The light shot fourth and wrapped around Dave this time, hoisting him into the air and lighting up the entire park. Dave was a glowing ball for a moment that shone brightly in the night air above us illuminating the sky. The glow slowly faded and descended, the unicorn form of Dave opening his eyes.

"Hey Dave." Sam said flying over. Dave carefully stood on his newly aquired legs. "So... me too now." "Eeyup." Monica says, putting a foreleg around his neck. "Well, I definitely see the world in a new way now." Dave said with a smile. "Well how fortunate for you. Now you're all little pony friends together. How adorable." a familiar face says from behind. Discord appeared out of the shadows. He wasn't smiling; a look of sheer loathing across his face, his rage visible as he walked.

"There's just one problem. Those elements are mine." Discord scowled. "You know, I thought this park was missing something. A nice statue near the foutain for all the birds to perch on during the day, that would be nice." I say, mocking Discord. "Oh yes, that would definitely add to the artistic appeal." Dave joins in. "How about it Discord? Want to volounteer?" Sam says. Discord tilts his head back and laughs. "You think turning me to stone is the only power those trinkets have? You've only just begun to understand their power." Discord says with a malicious toothy grin.

"The Elements of Heroism belong to me." Discord says. "That's a laugh! Since when have you done anything heroic?" Rainbow Dash scoffs. "I was once the king of Equestria. Long ago, I wielded the Elements of Heroism to save our world from a threat of darkness. They were lost to me in the process and I was forever changed into this form you see before you." he said in a regretful tone. Discord teleported closer to us. "Look at this planet. It's so full of chaos. I know it's been cruel to all of you. Leave it behind, go to Equestria and be with your friends. This world is perfect for me and I will rule it in a state of chaotic bliss!" He called out, laughing again.

"This world may be cruel Discord but it's still our home. It gave me a chance to find Leena." I say, looking at my beloved. She smiled. "It's given me a chance to make a difference." she says. "It's given me a chance to help others." Sam said. "It's given me a chance to give back." Monica says. "It's given me a chance to express myself." Dave says. "It's... it's given me a chance to find peace." Sara declares. "This world may be chaotic and cruel at times but it's given us all a chance to be happy. And we're not giving up this world to the likes of you!" I shout at the fiend, not in rage, not in hatred, only in the determination to help my friends, my family. "It's twelve of us against you alone Discord. And we have five Elements to your none. You don't stand a chance." "We'll see about that." Discord replies. He snaps his fingers and disappears.

The grass rises high into the air creating walls of green around us seperating us from the foutain. The walls shift and the sidewalk splits, soon the park has become a maze. "We've played this game before. No wings, no magic." Discord's voice says. The pegasi's wings disappear, the unicorns horns vanish. None of us are shocked this time; we've seen this before. "Again with the mazes? Sheesh, you woulda thought he'd learned the first time." Pinkie says. "Oh but this time there's a catch. You see, this maze has no way out. Surrender to me my elements or you'll run like rats through my maze forever!!" Discord raged.

"Sam! You think you saw the Element in the fountain?" "Yeah, the top ring where the water cascades down. I saw a necklace, or something but it was stuck." Sam says. "We're going to have to play his game. But we've played it before and we can win! Stick together and head back to the fountain everypony!" Twilight rallies the group and we run down the green corridor. As we near the corner, the grass walls shake and our view rotates. We look above to sky moving above us. We turn around to see the fountain revealed right where we were standing. "Wait! There it is!" Sam says, charging for it. We dash towards the fountain before us but as we're running the walls shake again. A green wall slides between us and the fountain, seperating us again.

"Back the other way!" Twilight yells. A wall of grass appears before us, dividing the group in half. "The maze keeps changing!" Pinkie Pie yells. "How do we find our way back if the maze keeps flipping on us like this?" Applejack asks. I notice Dave right next to me is looking at the sidewalk painting from before. "Dave! This is no time to be admiring the floor art!" Monica says. "No... wait look." Dave says. "The painting hasn't changed, which means the sidewalk hasn't changed. The only thing that's moving is the walls!" "Then all we have to do is wait." I say, turning back towards where the fountain was.

Sure enough, the walls opened again for a split second. "Now!" I yelled. We jumped into the center of the park. Discord was yanking at something on the top rim of the fountain. I raise my element and focus, unleashing a blast at him. The blast hits is leg and he drops behind the fountain. We run over to the side where he fell and find no trace of him. "Where did he go?" Leena asks. "Let's grab the element before he comes back." I say. "How can we get up there? We don't have wings or magic. I don't think we can climb on top of each other." I hop onto the fountain's edge and reach into the top bowl. Just barely, I can feel the brace of the element with my right hoof. But I have nothing to grip it with. "I can feel it but I can't grab it!"

"Sara, you're the only one who can get it!" Leena says, knowing what must be done. "I... I'll try." Sara says timidly. She stands on the edge of the fountain and reaches in. Just then, Discord erupts from the fountain's pool and tackles Sara. They both tumble to the ground as we see something glow in Sara's right hand. Sara stops in midair only inches from the pavement. Light wraps around here, turning her into a glowing ball. The park is lit up once again by the light from the orb. Discord hits the pavement flat, his hands slowly turn to stone from the effect of Sara's element activating. The glow fades and Sara descends, now a pony herself.

"Am... am I a pony now?" "Yes. And a pegasus too! Lucky." Leena says in a slightly jealous tone. "Well, isn't this adorable. We're all little ponies now. Why don't you all just go to Equestria and let me have Earth?" Discord says, balancing himself. "Everypony! Raise the Elements and concentrate! Think of the moment that activated your Element! Focus!" I shout to the group, raising my hoof at Discord. Leena, Sam, Monica, Dave, Sara and I all point our elements at Discord. Blasts of light unleash from all of them and combine into a single beam. The beam strikes Discord and a coloumn of light envelopes him. The light blinds us all and then explodes outward, leaving us stunned in the middle of the park.

I open my eyes to see the statue of Discord next to the fountain, his posture forever frozen in an attempt to block the blast with his hands. The ground feels weird under my feet... my feet? I look down to see I'm human again! And in the same clothes I had on last night! I turn around to see Leena, Sam, Monica, Dave and Sara all are normal again! I'm so relieved I could almost do backflip! "Leena! Look! We're back to normal!" I say, running over to her. I pick her up and hug her with my arms, my human arms. "I... I'm happy Nathan." she says with a smile. I can tell she's going to miss being a pony. Hopefully, getting the chance to visit Equestria will fix that. I hold her close and give her a kiss. Dave and Monica do the same, Sara brushes herself off, Sam looks around for something. "That's right. I lost my cell phone when we were in the clouds." he says frowning. "It's all right Sam; we'll get you a new phone. And Monica a new car." I say. We all laugh at that, even Monica.

"Thank you so much Nathan." Twilight says walking over. She has her horn back, as does Rarity. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy test out their wings again, doing small loops. Applejack and Pinkie Pie slowly pick up the Elements at our feet and give them to Twilight. "The Elements of Heroism have been drained again, they were able to unbond from you." she explains. "We'll take them back to Equestria with us." "Do we have to take Discord too?" Rainbow Dash asks with a chuckle. "You know, the park could use a little more artistic appeal. I think it's okay if we leave him here." Dave says. We all agree with a laugh. Behind us, we here the sound of applause. A man approaches us, clapping.

"Congratulations young man!" a familiar voice says. "You've defeated Discord and saved Earth from a choatic fate. You truly do represent the Elements of Heroism." We turn to see one the park lamps illuminate the face of the shopkeeper I saw in the 'antique store' last night. He smiles at us. "Wait... no. I... I thought you were Discord." I say to the man in disbelief. "Wait a minute... aren't you the guy who was working at the jewelry store a couple weeks ago?" Leena asks. "Why yes! I could tell the moment I saw you that you were the one to bring out the Element of Honor. You've all done so well!" he says. "You knew this was going to happen to us?" I ask. "Yes. I couldn't bring out the power of the Elements myself so I was forced to look for others, people that embodied each Element to activate them. And you've done so well!"

The man slowly steps forward. "Who are you exactly?" I ask. "Who am I? Why, I'm whoever I want to be." The man's form slowly changes. A blade-like black horn appears on his forehead. His hair becomes green and stringy, his body becomes black and elongated. He drops down onto four long black legs and opens two large animated eyes. I'm in shock. The shopkeeper who I'd seen last night had now become... "CHANGLING!" Pinkie Pie shouts. "Queen Chrysalis my dear." she says. "You! What are you doing here?!" Twilight yells at the Queen. "Muahahahaha... well hello my almost sister-in-law. How's Shining Armor? I do miss love like that." "What the hay are you doing here? Didn't y'all learn yer lesson the first time?" Applejack demands.

"We were blasted here after you defeated us, you ingrate. The power of Shining Armor and Cadence's love blew us off the face of Equestria... and onto Earth." More people begin stepping out of the shadows. People from the circus who were 'hypnotized' by Discord, the security gaurds from the mall, the animal control specialists. They all stepped into the light and transformed into changlings, soon we were surrounded. "Once, long ago I ruled my people in a kingdom that embraced change... but not all of Equestria did. I fell in love with a unicorn, a strong stallion king. But our love was not accepted by the people. They looked at us as bizarre, shunned us. So I decided then that if no one accepted our love, than I would take all the world's love for my own!!" Chrsalis shouted into the night sky. Her horn glowed brightly and blue energy beams leapt out and blasted us, enveloping each of us in a force field. Twilight dropped the Elements of Heroism. The Queen walked right over to them and put a hoof down on top of them, stomping them into pieces. "Infernal jems! My love wielded those accursed items... against me. My own lover betrayed me, betrayed our love and left me to rot." Chrysalis recounted.

"But now, a new world full of life, full of love is ours for the taking!" She rose into the air with her changling horde. "And now you're all trapped here, no Elements and no way home. Once I'm done draining the love out of Earth, I may just go back to see Equestria!" she says, laughing maniacally and flying into the night sky. I look at the Elements, crushed into the pavement, their gems broken and braces smashed. I look to everyone around me, trapped in bubbles. A huge ball of light illuminates the sky above one of the buildings, some type of spell. The entire city is illuminated by the eerie light and dark figures flit around it. I punch the bubble's walls but it doesn't even move. What were we going to do now? I'd been played from the very beginning and now... Earth and Equestria would suffer for it. We were trapped, each one of us. We might as well have been turned into statues like... Discord?