The Elements of Virtue

by Rakoon1

The Elements of Virtue

Back in the Mirrored Library, the group was trying to process what they had just discovered at Ponhenge.

“So we just discovered that the Pony of Shadows was sealed away by Star Swirl and the other Pillars” Dusk said. “Can’t we do that again?”

“Not without the spell they used” Star replied.

“Well, that’s easy” Gunter said. “Star Swirl said that Mirror Coat helped him with the spell, right…”

“Good try, young griffon, but remember when I said that the information about that has been sealed?” Mirror Coat replied. “That also includes the spell. It’s a precaution for the possibility of vital information getting in the wrong hooves.”

“But also is something that is preventing us from finding a way to stop the Pony of Shadows” Blue said.

“Annoying, I know, but it can’t be helped” Mirror Coat said.

“But even without Mirror Coat’s knowledge, there is other ways to get what you want” Golden Paladin replied.

“How?” Jonagold asked. “With our only lead block’d ‘cause ov protocols, Ah don’t see any other path to take.”

“If there’s something I know about Star Swirl, and I got to know him quite well, is that he used to take notes about everything about magic that came to his head” Golden Paladin told.

Hearing that, Star was quick to realize what he was trying to say.

“The book…” Star said. “The book Star Swirl had… If it was the diary he was writing at the time he and the others sealed the Pony of Shadows…”

“Then that means he must have written the spell in it” Blue concluded. “That’s a very good thought, Star.”

“I couldn’t expect any less from my big brother” Dusk said.

“Now that we are talking about the book…” Moonlight said. “Do you remember what Star Swirl told to the other Pillars?”

“He told them to hide the objects they had with them” Gleaming Shield remembered. “To not let them fall on the wrong hooves. He called them Elements of Virtue.”

“Elements of Virtue?” Galena asked. “We already had the Elements of Harmony, then the Elements of Chaos… and now there are Elements of Virtue?”

“I have to agree with Galena” Gunter said. “I know, it’s shocking… But there’s a lot of holes in this story and we have no way to fill them.”

“Then allow me to do it” a voice said.

They turned around and saw the Lord of Order appear. Seeing him, Golden Paladin, Mirror Coar and Blue hasted to bow respectfully to him.

“The Lord of Order…” Star said.

Dusk, Jonagold, Gunter and Galena both got pretty surprised to see the Lord of Order, as it was the first time they met him personally.

“Oh my…” Galena said.

“That is…” Jonagold started.

“This just got really real” Gunter told.

“I’ve just sensed what happened to Twilight Sparkle and her friends” the Lord of Order said. “It was not very difficult to do it. I could sense the original light being suppressed.”

“But, if that’s true, I come you’re here, my lord?” Blue asked. “After all, the original light is the very anchor of your power in this reality.”

“The answer is quite simple” the Lord of Order replied. “Even if the original light cannot shine through the star seed where it resides, it can still do it, even if in a lesser extent, through the one that is going to inherit it someday.”

He turned to Star and told him:

“I’m talking about you, young prince.”

“Me?” Star asked.

“With your mother petrified, you’re the one who is responsible for her duties” the Lord of Order said. “You’re in charge of the Light Kingdom now.”

Star got caught by surprise with that information.

“Me? In charge of the Light Kingdom? But I don’t want that. At least like this.”

“Don’t worry” the Lord of Order told. “That’s for the moment… until your mother is restored. A job that I know you and your friends will be able to do it.”

The young group looked between each other and then the Lord of Order tapped with the end of his lance on the ground and he caused six bubbles to immerged in a circle in here, while circling. Each one contained the image of each of the objects the Pillars were using to stop the Pony of Shadows.

“The Elements of Virtue are basically the predecessors of the Elements of Harmony” the Lord of Order told. “They are elements that represented values that spread light and helped keep the darkness at check. Strength…” he pointed to Rockhoof’s shovel. “Bravery…” he pointed to Flash Magnus’ shield. “Healing…” he pointed to Mage Meadowbrook’s mask. “Beauty…” he pointed to Mistmane’s flower… “And Sorcery…” he pointed to Star Swirl’s book. “The objects are not the Elements per say, but they are charged by their magic thanks to their wielders who, just like Princess Twilight and her friends, are their representatives. After the battle with the Pony of Shadows, these Elements were lost and that forced me to create a new set of Elements that could be used to protect the Pony World by using a piece of each one of them.”

“So the Elements of Harmony are like a reflection of the Elements of Virtue” Gleaming Shield concluded.

The Lord of Order nodded with his head and then continued:

“In the same way the Element of Magic is connected to all the other Elements of Harmony, the Element of Sorcery is connected with the other Elements of Virtue. Through Strength, I made Honesty. Through Bravery, I got Loyalty. Healing made Kindness, while Beauty made Generosity. And for last, through Hope, I could only get Laughter.”

“Wait, if the Elements of Harmony come from the Elements of Virtue, that means they must have equal power, right?” Dusk asked. “Doesn’t that mean, if we can found the Elements of Virtue, we may possibly release mom and the others?”

“You’re right, Dusk…” Star said. “We can do just that… No, we can do much more. If we find the Elements of Virtue and use them to free the Elements of Harmony, then we can join their power together and defeat the Pony of Shadows once and for all.”

“You’re right, Star!” Moonlight exclaimed. “That’s exactly what we need to do.”

“That sounds like a plan tah me” Jonagold said.

“Except there’s one little problem in that plan” Gunter said. “We don’t know where the objects of the Pillars are, remember? They hid them.”

“Gunter is right” Galena said. “Yeah, I know, I’m also agreeing with him… But how can we use those elements, if we don’t have a clue of where to start looking?”

Star thought about that very carefully. It was then that he noticed something in the library that could be of great use to them: the Tree of Crisis.

“Mirror Coat, can I ask you something?” he asked the General of Knowledge. “If the Tree of Crisis can detect threats, can we also use it to detect the Pillar’s objects?”

“In theory, I think that can be done” he replied. “However, because it’s not exactly its purpose, and having in consideration its unpredictable nature, I can’t assure you the results will be precise.”

“It doesn’t matter” Star said. “Even if it can only give us clues, that’s more than enough.”

“Looks like you already have a plan” the Lord of Order said. “I shall leave and let you get into it. I wish you all the luck, as you’re going to need it.”

Having said that, the Lord of Order disappeared.

Star approached the Tree of Crisis and, concentrating on his desire to find the objects of the Pillars of the Pony World, the representations of the Elements of Virtue that were their only hope to release her mother and her friends, along with the Elements of Harmony, and defeat the Pony of Shadows, he charged his horn with magic and casted against it. After he did it, the tree started to glow with a golden aura and the same happened with two of its spheres: the one belonging to the Pony World and a dark grayish blue one.

“Looks like we’re limited to the Pony World and the Bermikun Triangle” Mirror Coat commented.

“Wait, the Bermikun Triangle?” Dusk asked. “Great, when I thought that place was behind my back…”

“Mirror Coat, see if you can specify the precise location of the objects” Golden Paladin told.

The General of Knowledge advanced towards the spheres and passed his hooves over them. The Observer was activated and, as soon that happened, a strange thing started to happen, as Star, Dusk, Jonagold, Gleaming and Moonlight’s Cutie Marks, along with Gunter’s talons, started to glow. An image of each Cutie Mark and of one of Gunter’s talons rose up in the air and headed towards the Observer, along with the bubbles with the image of each object of the Pillars.

The first location to appear was the North of Equestria, where a small island was centered. After that, the bubble with Rockhoof’s shovel and Jonagold’s Cutie Mark headed there.

“The first lead to Rockhoof’s shovel is in his home island” Mirror Coat said.

“That is so typical of him” Golden Paladin commented.

“An’ mah Cutie Mark up there means what Ah think it means?” Jonagold asked.

“If it means you have to be the one to retrieve it, I think you’re correct” Mirror Coat said.

The image on the Observer changed, with Rockhoof’s shovel and Jonagold’s Cutie Mark disappearing. The next to appear was the Dragon Lands, with Flash Magnus’ shield and Gunter’s talon approaching it.

“The Dragon Lands… Great!” Gunter said, sarcastically. “I’m the luckiest griffon in the world.”

After that, the image of the Golden Desert appeared, with Mage Meadowbrook’s mask and Gleaming Shield’s Cutie Mark approaching the location of the pony-panther’s oasis.

“The pony-panthers…” Gleaming Shield said. “At least I will start with familiar faces.”

The next image to appear was the Desolated Zone and Mistmane’s flower and Moonlight’s Cutie Mark approached the location of the Changeling Kingdom.

“Oh no…” Moonlight said. “Not them… Not the changelings…”

But there was no time for the others to process that as another image appeared. It was the Bermikun Triangle, more precisely Marituga, and Somnambula’s blindfold and Dusk’s Cutie Mark approached the lighthouse.

“Sure…” Dusk said. “Of course it’s me who has to go there… Who else?”

The image of Marituga disappeared only to be replaced by Canterlot, with Star Swirl’s book and Star’s Cutie Mark approaching the castle.

“Looks like we all know where we need to go” Star said.

“And I will help you all in the recovery of those objects” Blue said. “For what I can see, it will be a very hard task to recover them. It will be like the hunt for the Generals’ star seeds.”

Turning to Golden Paladin and Mirror Coat, he said:

“Sorry I said it like that.”

“Don’t mention it” Golden Paladin replied.

“Sorry, dad, but… I need you to stay in the Light Kingdom” Star said.

“What?”

“Without mom and me looking for the objects of the Pillars, we need all the means necessary to protect the kingdom” Star told. “And that means all the Generals must remain there.”

“But…” Blue started, trying to find words to counter his son’s. “I can’t just stay quiet, while you…”

“Now, now, Prince Blue Sword…” Golden Paladin said, putting a hoof over his shoulder. “You know Prince Star Knight is the acting leader of the Light Kingdom. That means we, Generals, must obey his orders… even if they come from our own son.”

Despite not liking the situation, Blue didn’t have any other option but to comply. He sighed and then replied:

“Very well…”

“However, I am worry about one thing” Star said, turning then to Moonlight. “Your objective is right in the den of the lion. Chrysalis and her changelings won’t like have you there, Moonlight. Especially after you deserted them and the other villains. Maybe I should go with you before…”

“No, you don’t have to do it” Moonlight replied him, approaching and passing her hoof over his face. “I can handle Chrysalis. But what we can’t handle is wasting precious time.”

Despite knowing Moonlight was only saying that so she wouldn’t be a burden and the fact he was worry about what Chrysalis could do to her, Star knew she was right.

“You don’t have to worry about her, Star” Galena said. “I will go with her. With me by her side, I bet those changelings won’t have a chance.”

“Are you sure, Galena?” Moonlight asked. “It’s going to be dangerous. I know Chrysalis and she is not a villain to underestimate.”

“Hey, don’t worry, you’re my best friend and I’m with you to the very end” Galena replied.

That caused Moonlight to make a tender smile and said:

“Thanks, Galena.”

Knowing that Galena would go with Moonlight made Star become much at ease as now she didn’t have go alone. So, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm himself from the weight of the responsibility that was starting to fell on him, the young alicorn prince said:

“Okay, guys, let’s do this. For our family, for our friends, for our world!”

“Yeah!” they all exclaimed.