Chapter 31: A Good Thing
The difficulty of finding accurate records from before the first Royal Sisters period makes any sort of search for the origins of the Elements of Harmony a frustrating and ultimately fruitless endeavor. Due to the nature of Discord’s reign, even the memories of the Princesses are not reliable sources. At first I was tempted to rely on my own encounter with a vision of the Elements’ discovery, but even there I must admit that what I saw was filtered through my own thoughts and perceptions, and thus not entirely trustworthy.
As of this writing I have only found a hoofful of early accounts of the Elements out of a plethora that were clearly created well after the defeat of Discord, but claim to be older. Of these few, two mention the Tree of Harmony, while the rest only have the Elements as being carried by bearers. Several are origin stories, two of which were told to me by creatures who claimed to be the creators of the Elements. As I have stated previously, I find their accounts to be highly suspect. Of the two that mention the Tree, one is an origin story, and the other a traveller’s tale of a safe haven from the chaos, which might be what led the Princesses to the Elements in the first place.
The origin stories tend to share some traits in common. Generally, there are six ponies who are exemplars of their respective virtues. They are called on to fight some great evil, or their people suffer some great cataclysm, and afterward their spirits were transmuted or forged into gems. The details on exactly what made these six special tend to differ. One has these ponies becoming imbued with the power of a special rainbow. Another has them completing individual quests and becoming ‘blessed’ by some heavenly power. One particularly fanciful tale casts the ponies as warriors, and they become the Elements in order to seal away the remnants of a terrible dark spirit whose essence is bound eternally in the core of each Element.
There are outliers. One story has the Elements simply appearing one day. It goes on to say that four gods then fought over them, the fallout from their divine war becoming this story’s origin for Discord. Another says that the Elements predate the universe, and that they are actually responsible for creating it. To understand my response to that story, I suggest you read to the end of this book and then return to this part. I’m sure you will share my bemusement.
Regardless, none of these tales can be considered definitive, or even passingly accurate. I am, finally, left with only shreds of myth and speculation as my foundation for studying the Elements.
-From the first section of Harmony Theory by Twilight Sparkle
Chapter Thirty-One: A Good Thing
Calumn stared at the ceiling of his private hospital room, letting his mind wander as his eyes roved over the blank tiles. He ached, a dull but insistent pain that roamed through his head and torso in slow, crawling waves. It made him want to shift and squirm, to try and alleviate the sensation, but he couldn’t give in to the temptation. All the movement he allowed himself was in his eyes and the slow rise and fall of his breathing. He knew from experience that anything else resulted in the dull pain shifting immediately to incapacitating agony. There was a button at his side that was supposed to administer painkillers into his IV, but he’d long since discovered that someone had disconnected the mechanism. Likely one of his Changeling brothers making a point.
Charisma had done quite a bit of damage to him, far more than he had been expecting. He had figured if his mental-magic gambit failed she’d just kill him outright. A quick snap of the neck or a knife through the eye. It was her usual method of dispatching dangerous foes. Unlucky for him, she’d been in the mood for a bit of torture first.
He’d passed out before he saw the outcome of that battle, though from the attitudes of those who had debriefed him it hadn’t been a complete disaster. They’d refused to talk about whether he’d earned his way back into the RIA’s good graces, and Calumn supposed that it would depend on how much Straff still needed him. He was patient. He knew that they’d come for him eventually, and when they did he’d get to learn what his actions had earned him. So he held as still as he could and let the hours of boredom flow past him.
A low murmur of conversation outside his door caught his attention. There were a pair of his fellow Changelings standing in the hall outside. They were there as much to protect everyone else as they were to guard him. He was a Changeling who had abandoned his duty, and it wasn’t farfetched to imagine such a creature taking advantage of the people in the hospital, feeding off their emotions to empower himself.
He wasn’t doing that, of course. He had promised to be kind, had said his goodbye to Strongheart’s mother, and he wasn’t about to go back on all that now. It was only pain, something everyone had to experience at some point, and just physical pain at that. The mental anguish he’d experienced after Cash had broken him had been much, much worse.
When the door opened he was ready for several different possibilities. The most prominent in his mind was a squad of Changelings ready to take him to a hive, to be used as a sacrifice to quicken a new generation of his kind. A much more pleasant possibility would be Straff, coming to tell him he was free and clear, though that was less likely. There were gradients in-between, potential scenarios that he, having nothing better to do, had dwelt on at length. Seeing who actually entered, however, came as the most happy of surprises.
“Hey, buddy,” Blaze said, shutting the door behind him. “How are you doing?”
Calumn took a moment to steel himself before he spoke. “How do I look?” He kept the motion small, but the pain as his jaw moved still was a spike of agony that made his eyes water. He wouldn’t be making any speeches, but he decided it was manageable.
Blaze shrugged as he walked over to the bed. “Pretty bad. Like you were an egg, but not like a chicken egg. Like, a black egg with weird holes in you and stuff. Like that, and imagine someone was really hungry and found this egg and was all ‘I could eat this’ even though he’s got, like, no idea where the egg came from and I don’t really think you should be eating strange black eggs with holes in them and stuff because it could be poisonous or maybe a really bad attempt at an omelette like this one time I made breakfast in bed for my parents, but I was, like, six and they had no idea what I was doing so they were all panicking when the fire alarm went off and I think I passed out from smoke inhalation, but anyways, when I finally got around to serving breakfast it kinda looked like you do now.”
“... Wow.”
“Yeah, you probably want to avoid mirrors for the next week or two.”
“Got it,” Calumn said, clamping down hard on the urge to laugh. “How’d we do?”
“Well, we kinda-sorta won,” Blaze said. His eyes wandered to the IV and he started idly playing with some of the tubes and switches connecting the saline bags to the Changeling. Calumn didn’t think that was a wise idea, but also didn’t figure it would cause any more harm, so let it be. “Cash didn’t get what he was after, but he got away, and that’s made everybody kinda edgy. Oh, and another of Rainbow Dash’s friends showed up and blew up Senator Birchfield’s mansion.”
Calumn jerked up at that. “What?” he choked out, his voice rough with the pain his motion caused him.
“Yeah. I got no idea what happened there, but there was this big, huge light and now the mansion’s a crater.” Blaze paused for a moment, his eyes looking up and to his left, as if in intense thought. “And I think there was a party, too. Wasn’t invited to that one.”
“Wow,” Calumn said again.
“I know, right? I’m amazing at parties! Especially if they’re BYOB, bring your own balloons. I know this great place that sells these cheap knockoffs of licensed characters and politicians! At least five in every pack are guaranteed to pop with no warning at your event! Anyways, what I’m saying is that I’m not really in the loop here, I don’t know what’s going on, but I managed to convince the guys at the door that I was allowed to see you, so I thought I’d keep you company.” He absently twisted a tiny knob and suddenly blessed chemical relief flooded into Calumn’s body.
“Yeah,” Calumn said, letting out a shuddering breath. “I’d like that.”
Blaze sat at his bedside, talking about nothing and everything at once. He started with the events of the fight that Calumn had missed, a subject which naturally spawned a thousand rambling tangents. Calumn listened with half an ear, relaxing into the painkillers and letting his mind roam ahead. He wasn’t worried about his place. He knew he might still face punishment at the hooves of his species, but with Blaze there that didn’t seem like a real possibility, and he found he could ignore it without trouble. More, the friendship he shared with Blaze was a balm to his hurts, both metaphorically and literally. The energy he was gaining went into healing his injuries and the presence of his friend sparked a new direction and focus for his thoughts.
Slowly, ever so slowly, with a babble of patented Trail Blazer stream-of-consciousness forming a soothing white noise background, a plan began to take shape. It would be incredibly difficult and only good once, but with what he suspected of their enemies, it would take them entirely off-guard. He frowned as he looked at it from different angles, trying to decide if it was worth the risk. If it was even possible.
“What’s up, buddy?” Blaze asked, noticing the change in Calumn’s expression.
“Charisma,” Calumn said. “You attacked her, right?”
“Well, pushed her a bit,” Blaze said, his customary smile fading. “Spike did most of the ‘attacking’-attacking.”
“How much do you think that affected her feelings for you?”
“I’m not the kind of pony she holds grudges against.” Blaze tilted his head with an unspoken question.
“Do you trust me, Blaze?” Calumn asked, looking his friend in the eye. He could feel the answer before it was given.
“All the way,” Blaze replied with an honest grin. “Right to the end.”
Calumn shook his head. “I need to be clear on this. I need to know that if I asked you to put your life in my hooves, you would do it without a moment’s hesitation.”
Blaze’s smile fell away again, replaced with as close to a contemplative expression as Calumn had ever seen on him. “Are you?”
“Yeah… yeah I think I am.”
The grin returned, burning with joy. “I always trusted you, buddy. I’m glad you trust me enough to ask for something this big. Whatever you need me to do, I’m your stallion.”
Calumn smiled back and nodded. There was a serenity in him that was more than the painkillers, more than the steady flow of friendship he’d had for the past few hours. He felt strong, confident, buoyed by Trail Blazer’s rock-solid belief in him. “Thank you, Blaze. Thank you so much.”
“What’s a friend for?” Blaze said with a laugh. “So what do you need me to do?”
“It’s going to be hard, but I have an idea…”
***
Star Fall opened her eyes and made a small sound of distress, and Astrid was by her side instantly. “You back with us, Fall?” she asked, holding a cup of water up to the pegasus.
Star Fall realized that she was terribly thirsty, so she took the cup in her hooves and brought it to her lips. She barely stopped herself from guzzling it, a thought coming to her as if through a thick fog that it would be better to take it slow. So she forced herself to sip a few times before speaking. “What happened?”
“You collapsed just outside the Storm,” Astrid replied. Star Fall nodded, she had a vague memory of that happening. “I had Dash carry you back here and you’ve just been sleeping and eating like a zombie ever since.”
Across the room, Dash stood and gave a quick smile to Star Fall. “Remember this place, Star?”
Star Fall let her bleary gaze roam her surroundings. “The cabin,” she said. She had meant it to be an exclamation, but it had come out of her like a flat statement. “Where we brought you.” She was lying in the same bed Dash had occupied while she’d been recovering from the crash that had brought them together. It felt like a lifetime ago when they had last been here. So much had happened, she didn’t feel like the same pony who had rescued a strange mare just because she spoke a dead language.
“Yeah, looks like whoever owns this place still hasn’t been back,” Astrid said. She took the glass from Star Fall, who was surprised to find she had somehow drained it while she wasn’t paying attention. “Which suits me fine. I was worried that I’d have to get superpony here to cart you to Orion City and into a hospital.”
“I would have been recognized,” Star Fall said. Her mind was quickening, but she still felt a disconnect. It was like everything she thought and felt was coming from far away, and had very little to do with her. “They would have captured me.”
“But you’d be alive,” Astrid said. “And I could figure out how to rescue you later.”
Star Fall wanted to say something to that, but the desire wasn’t strong enough to outweigh the leaden apathy that hung around her like a yoke, so she just sadly shook her head. In fact, the only thing that she felt motivating her now was the empty pit that had replaced her stomach. “Do we have any food?”
“Knew you were going to ask, Fall,” Astrid said, pulling out a bouquet of wildflowers.
Star Fall grabbed the offered food and began munching down on them. A flash of surprise went through her at the explosive riot of taste and texture that burst across her tongue. She swallowed her mouthful of petals and felt the tingling sparks of energy that flashed from them on their way down her throat. “What the heck are these?” she asked, her voice rising above a monotone for the first time since she had awoken. “They’re amazing!”
“You can thank the orange wonder for that,” Astrid said.
“Yeah, when she heard you needed a lot of food after going through the Everstorm she started gathering some stuff for you,” Dash said, her wings wide with pride for her friend. “She said the local flowers were, uh, ‘sadder than a clown without a rodeo’. So she started doing the earth pony thing and farming them.”
“Farming?” Star Fall asked, frowning down at the bundle of flowers. “How long have I been here?”
“Just over a day,” Astrid said. “And it’s more like super-gardening. She set up a little plot of dirt and transplanted a bunch of flowers into it. Then she waters them and talks to them for a bit and somehow an hour later they’ve grown twice as big and–according to Dash here, and now you–taste like bacon-wrapped steak.”
“If this is what steak tastes like, I can see why you Griffins like it,” Star Fall said, taking another bite. The hunger after crossing the Everstorm had always been harsh, but she remembered how much worse it had been when they emerged this time. With every swallow that hunger receded, and as it went everything else seemed to come closer, the disconnect she was experiencing eroding quickly. In its place there was something else, something that was going to demand her attention, and soon.
“I hope it gets you moving, ‘cause we can’t afford to stay here a week like last time,” Astrid said. “We’ve gotta find Gamma, fast. Who knows how much she’s heard about what happened? About Umbra.”
And that was all it took. Umbra. The thought of the Nightmare Goddess inevitably led to another: Twinkle Shine. From there, all the protective distance was ripped away, and suddenly everything was so close it was crushing. Star Fall shuddered, putting the flowers down. “Dash, do you mind letting me and Astrid talk privately?”
A slight look of confusion crossed Dash’s face for an instant, but she smiled and nodded. “Sure, Star. I’ll be outside with Applejack if you need me.” She stepped in and gave Star Fall a quick nuzzle. “Glad to see you talking again. Eat up, it’s good stuff!” A moment later she was out the door and telling Applejack the good news of Star Fall’s recovery.
Astrid watched her go, then turned her raptor gaze on her charge. “You got something you want to say, Fall?” Star Fall responded with a choked sob. Astrid’s eyes went wide as her wings slumped. “Aw, shit. The Professor.” She sat down next to the bed and draped a wing across Star Fall’s shoulders. “I guess if it’s gotta hit you, now’s better than later.”
“Sh-she…” Star Fall began, hissing in a breath through clenched teeth. “I trusted her, Astrid! She was… I… I thought…” Tears burned in her eyes and she hunched over, letting them fall. Astrid didn’t move, just letting the weight of her wing bring what comfort it could. After a while, how long she couldn’t really say, Star Fall spoke again. “I have to get past this. I can’t be… When I saw her in the Storm I was so angry. I wanted to hurt her. I wanted to… She was talking to us, Astrid! How much could I have found out if I wasn’t trying to spite her?”
“I think you did pretty damn well,” Astrid said. “She got under your skin, but she’s always going to, Fall. She’s family.”
“No!” Star Fall spat out. “She doesn’t get to be family! Families care about each other!”
Astrid sighed. “Come on, Fall. Think about it. I won’t even try to guess how it works, but it looks like she’s got a say in what the Destroyer does. Umbra’s been treating you with kid gloves, and the Professor’s the reason for that. She still cares.”
“She doesn’t care!” Star Fall screamed, her hooves shaking. She wanted to lash out at Astrid, to scream in anger and pain, to take everything that was choking her from the inside and get it out. Magic sparked like electricity through the feathers of her wings, and Astrid jerked back at the sudden shock, yelping in surprise and pain.
Star Fall went still. It was like she had been plunged into icy water, all the building emotion purged in an instant at the sound of Astrid’s cry. She looked up at her guardian, horrified. Astrid stared back at her with wary shock. They held each other’s gaze for a long moment before Star Fall looked away. She slowly rubbed the tears from her eyes, feeling her heart pounding with adrenaline that had nowhere to go. She rearranged herself on the bed, sitting up straight, and took a long deep breath. She held it for a count of five then slowly let it out before drawing in another. She repeated the cycle over and over, minutes going by with her doing nothing but her slow, controlled breathing.
Finally, she let her rigid posture slump and looked over to Astrid again. “You’re right,” she said. “She does care. And so do I. And life would be so much easier if one of those things wasn’t true.”
“If she didn’t care, she’d have killed us off,” Astrid pointed out.
“Probably,” Star Fall agreed, nodding. “But I’d feel better about it.” She picked up the flowers and took another bite. She took her time chewing and swallowing, and Astrid didn’t say anything, giving her the space to think. “I’m not okay.”
“I get that,” Astrid said. She didn’t move to comfort Star Fall this time, but she did refill the forgotten glass with water and set it next to the bed. “Celestia’s honest truth? I’m not doing so hot myself.”
“Still want to see it all through to the end?”
“You’re damn right I do.”
Star Fall nodded silently. She took a few more bites before speaking again. “Is this what I’m going to be from now on? In control of myself one minute and a complete wreck the moment the Professor is brought up?”
Astrid shrugged. “I wish I could tell you, but I’m new to this whole grief thing too. I figure you’re just losing it now because it’s a pretty safe time to do it. We’re tough girls, Fall, we can take all the shit the world throws at us and more. So trust me, when you need to keep it together, you will.”
Star Fall absorbed this, finishing off the bouquet quietly. Her wings moved restlessly, opening and resettling as her thoughts roamed. Astrid sat calmly, watching her charge.
“We need a plan,” Star Fall said, her voice strong and certain. “We’ve got Umbra on one side playing some sort of game with the world, and we have no idea what the object of that game is. On the other side we’ve got Cash and whatever he’s gathering the Elements for, which, again, we have no clue about. That’s two fronts, but a Kingdom-Republics war can easily add a third. We can’t let that happen.”
“Hell no we can’t. It would screw our ability to get anything done about the first two,” Astrid said, snorting. “You’ve got an idea?”
“Maybe,” Star Fall replied. “The start of one, at least. Making it work will depend on a lot of factors that I don’t know yet.” She shook her head. “First thing is still first. We find Gamma. Then whether or not I can get the Republics to back off, we go after Cash. Things will get a whole lot easier if we can narrow the field down to just one opponent.”
“She’ll still be an immortal Goddess,” Astrid said.
“I didn’t say easy, just easier. Besides, we beat Cash and we’ll have the Elements of Harmony. With everything I’ve learned about them, even without the Element of Magic, I’m willing to bet we’ll be on a much more equal footing. Goddess or not.”
“You think we can make them work for us?”
“I think I really want to get my hooves on Harmony Theory,” Star Fall replied. “It’s the key to everything, I just kno–” She was cut off by a sudden shout from Dash outside, followed by the entire cabin shuddering as a gale-force blast of air hit it. Star Fall and Astrid shared a quick glance, their respective training already taking over and bringing them up to battle readiness. Star Fall dove out of the bed, grabbing a spell-sheet from her pack while Astrid flattened herself against the wall next to the window. Star Fall slid over to the other side of the window, staying low. A moment later she was drawing up combat spells, feeling out her barely-recovered magic to see how much she could safely accomplish. Then, with a quick nod to each other, they peered out the window, and saw what had happened.
“Well,” Astrid said, with the calm bemusement of a warrior born. “That’s it. We’re fucked.”
Star Fall watched the unfolding scene with a cold, stoic determination as her thoughts raced and her magic crackled to life within her. “The RIA’s here.”
***
Rainbow Dash left the cabin and walked over to the small garden Applejack had put together. It wasn’t much, certainly nothing compared to the carefully tended fields that had surrounded Ponyville in their time, but the flowers that grew there were larger, brighter and far more fragrant than anything else that was growing in the Everfree Verge. Applejack looked up from watering the plants as Dash approached, her hat pulled low to shade her eyes from the high sun.
“So, how’s she doin’?” Applejack asked.
“She’s awake,” Dash replied, coming to stand next to her friend. “Still really out of it, though. And it kinda looked like she was about to cry as I was leaving. Oh, hey! She liked the flowers.”
Applejack nodded in satisfaction. “It’s not a proper meal by a long sight, but it’ll get her back on her hooves.” She knelt down next to the garden, poking at the soil with a hoof. “I’ve been noticing somethin’ while I’ve been workin’. I wonder if you’ve seen the same thing up in the sky.”
“Noticing what?”
“Magic,” Applejack said. “After what y’all have told me about the Schism and magic goin’ away and everythin’, I expected all the plants to be, well, empty I suppose.” She touched a flower, leaning in to take a deep breath of its scent. “But they ain’t empty. They’ve got everythin’ inside them still. All I have to do is coax it out.”
Dash frowned, not sure of what to make of this information. “So what does this mean?”
Applejack shrugged. “Dunno. I’m just wonderin’ if there’s still magic in the clouds, too.”
“Well, duh,” Dash said. “They wouldn’t be clouds otherwise.” She paused, trying to imagine what Applejack was getting at. “I mean, there’s some magic in everything, right?”
Applejack nodded. “There was in our time, and I reckon it’s the same now. The question I’m askin’ is why? Star Fall said magic was drained from the world, right? So these flowers here ain’t been cared for proper in eight hundred years, and it shows, but they’ve still got as much in them as the flowers in our time did. Now, why is that?”
Dash gave her friend a helpless look. “Sorry, AJ. I’m the wrong pony to ask about that. Maybe you can talk to Star about it? She’d probably know.”
Applejack sighed. “I s’pose you’re right.” She went back to tending the plants, whispering encouragement to them and carefully patting the soil around their stalks.
Dash sat and watched her, letting her mind drift with the lazy boredom of a warm, sunny day and not much to do. She thought about what Applejack had said, but she still couldn’t figure out what the big deal was. She looked up at the clouds drifting by. They were still far too high and far too wispy, letting themselves be pushed around by the wind instead of waiting to be put somewhere useful. They still had magic in them, sure, but that didn’t make them suddenly start behaving like clouds were supposed to. She considered organizing them properly for a moment before deciding that it would draw attention that Star Fall and Astrid wouldn’t want.
“You just gonna sit there starin’ at the sky?” Applejack asked, pulling Dash out of her reverie.
“Nah, just thinking,” Dash said.
“Now there’s a sight,” Applejack said with a smile. “Care to give me a helpin’ hoof here? These little beauties are mighty thirsty, I’d appreciate it if you could draw some more water for them.”
“You got it,” Dash said with a mock salute. She grabbed the rusty bucket they had found and headed to the pump at the back of the cabin. It took a bit of effort to get the water flowing, but soon she was heading back to the garden with the handle of the full bucket between her teeth.
She didn’t know at first what it was that made her stop. It might have been a sound or something she caught out of the corner of her eye. Whatever it was, it made her freeze in place and set all her senses on high alert. Her ears twitched and swiveled as she listened to the wind sighing through the tall grass and trees that surrounded the cabin. A very soft noise came to her, a murmur of a voice that was not one of her companions. She turned her head slowly to look at the source of that voice. At first she only saw the swaying grass, but then, for just a moment, she spotted the bright iris of a pony’s eye looking back at her.
The bucket dropped from her grasp as her mouth opened wide to give a wordless shout of warning to Applejack. A puff of compressed air sent a small metal object hurtling at her from the grass. She reacted with the speed only a pegasus was capable of, twisting to the side and snapping a wing out to parry the missile. The impact stung her wing, the pain like stepping on a sharp rock, but was successful in deflecting the projectile away from her.
A dozen more hissing cracks gave her less than a second to respond as she was fired on from all directions. Time seemed to slow as she drew up her magic and called on her Talent for speed. To her accelerated perspective the missiles moved with the languid pace of a plump bumblebee, letting her get a clear look at them. The projectiles were darts that sported a very familiar barbed design. Her flank tingled with the memory of being hit by one of them. An experience that she did not wish to repeat.
In a blur of spinning blue and the flash of an ethereal spectrum, Rainbow Dash defended herself. A dozen darts streaked towards her, and a dozen darts were knocked away. Dash spun hard enough to create a cyclone that lifted the dirt around her into a funnel a hundred feet high, then slammed her hooves into the ground and the cyclone exploded outwards in all directions, flattening the tall grass all around the cabin and revealing two dozen people in strange camouflage gear that had made them nearly invisible.
“Dash?” Applejack called to her. She looked over to find her friend looking around in confusion, a silver dart sticking out of her neck. Dash didn’t know how long it would take the poison to affect the hardy farmer, but the fact that the dart had hit near a major artery didn’t bode well. “What in tarnation is goin’ on?”
“It’s an attack!” Dash said, crouching low. “Protect Astrid and Star!” With that she leapt into the air, a rainbow following in her wake as she arced over the stunned attackers and dropped onto the one who had first shot her.
He was an earth pony stallion–a fact she could only discern once she’d got in striking distance–and he reacted to her leap with calm professionalism, aiming his gun at her and biting down on the trigger. She rolled through the air, spiralling out of the dart’s path, and then she was on him. She slapped the weapon out of his mouth, striking hard enough that she took at least one tooth as well. He kicked out, but she dodged it with casual ease and responded with a backflip that sent both of her rear hooves cracking against his jaw. He was flipped over onto his back, where he lay moaning and insensate.
Dash didn’t glory in her victory, instead launching herself at the next closest attacker. This one took longer to shift his weapon towards her, and that was all the opening she needed. She punched at his gut, and he spit the dart gun out himself as he involuntarily emptied himself of everything he had eaten that day. By this time darts were coming at her, but she ducked behind her opponent. To their credit, his companions refused to fire on him.
Knowing that she would lose any sort of defensive fight against these numbers, she kicked her opponent’s legs out from under him. From her perspective he seemed to float in the air for a moment, surprise and pain warring for his features. She swept her wings forward and called up wind, focusing the blast of air tightly enough that it picked up her defeated enemy and flung him head over hooves into another attacker.
“Switch to live-fire!” someone called out. She didn’t understand the words, but the way all the attackers dropped their dart guns and threw the camouflage netting off the much more deadly weapons at their sides told her all she needed to know.
She took to the air in a prismatic streak, spiralling up before dropping back to the ground with sound-shattering speed. Her magic rippled around her at the edge of the supersonic threshold, sending needles of pain through her body as she dropped to skim barely a foot above the earth. Bullets came roaring her way, but she was going much too fast for them to lead her properly and all their shots fell far short.
She burst through a group of them, her rainbow trail describing a zigzag pattern as she bounced from opponent to opponent. She did little more than touch them, barely a shove as she changed direction to her next target, but each push came with a disproportionate share of the kinetic energy she’d built up. When she came out the other side of the group, she was flying at barely a hundred miles an hour. The attackers, however, found themselves flung helplessly through the air, falling back to earth with bone-breaking force.
Dash flapped her wings, pulling up for another run. As she ascended this time, however, a dozen pegasi detached themselves from their hiding spots in the trees and gave chase. She looked at them over her shoulder, gauging the skill of her new opponents. It was immediately apparent that none of them could come close to matching her speed or maneuverability. Like with Umbra’s ghouls, it would be their numbers and coordination that would be their advantage. Though as a bullet whizzed by dangerously close, Dash was reminded that their guns would also be a factor.
She looped through the air as they sought to corral her. She was a ribbon of light dancing between lines of tracer fire, sometimes avoiding death by a hairsbreadth. Every time that ribbon touched one of the circling black specks of the attackers, a pegasus fell to the ground.
She was careful not to hurt any of them so badly that they couldn’t slow their fall, but other than that Dash went to work with a brutal efficiency. She broke legs, tore guns from their mounts and pulled feathers, anything to disable an opponent. For all their training, for all their skill, the outcome was never in doubt. She was the whirlwind and they were but chaff before the storm.
When the last few broke off and began to fly away on their own, Dash paused to take a breather and see how the rest of the battle was going. Down on the ground, she spotted Applejack throwing a pony half again her size clear over the cabin. A moment later she was tackled by a pony and a Diamond Dog working together. She didn’t go down, but Dash could see the sluggish way she was reacting, the poison taking its toll.
Next to the cabin, Star Fall and Astrid were making a stand. A crimson bolt of lightning flashed out from the interior, catching an attacking pony and sending him convulsing to the ground. The attackers responded by throwing a grenade that spewed thick yellow smoke into the cabin. Then Astrid responded to that by chucking the grenade back out again with perfect aim, beaning it off the helmet of the one who had thrown it in the first place.
Dash chuckled at that, then scanned the surrounding area from her high vantage. She spotted the command area of their attackers immediately. A group of black trucks parked beyond the trees, where they wouldn’t have been seen or heard coming up. There were more people clustered around those trucks, but Dash figured she could handle them. What would be more difficult were the half dozen other trucks that were speeding their way from the mountains, kicking up a cloud of dirt and dust in their haste.
“Aw, man, not good,” Dash said, diving back towards the fight. She landed in front of the cabin window, sending a blast through to clear out the smoke that was still hanging inside. “Star! We’ve got a lot more incoming and AJ’s not doing so hot, what do we do?”
“I can hold out!” Applejack shouted as she wrestled with her pair of attackers. Dash looked over and spotted several more darts standing out clearly against her friend’s orange coat. Their attackers had clearly decided not to stop at one with her. “I’ve had colds worse than this!”
“How many more?” Star Fall asked from inside, keeping herself out of sight.
“Like, six trucks worth,” Dash replied.
“Celestia’s day!” Astrid squawked. “We can’t hold out against that, Fall.”
“Hey, I’m doing pretty good so far!” Dash said, ducking aside as a stream of bullets chewed up the side of the cabin where she’d been standing.
“Then you can get Fall out of here!” Astrid said. Star Fall made a noise of protest, and Astrid lowered her voice to talk to her charge, only Dash’s excellent senses allowing her to catch the words. “Look, if they’re sending this kind of force against us, they clearly know who you are. If I have a chance to keep you from getting captured, I have to take it.”
“I’m not leaving you or Applejack behind,” Star Fall said, quiet steel in her voice. “We do this together.”
“Fall…”
“No, Astrid. We do this together.”
“And how are you planning to make that happen?”
“I’ve got an idea, but you’re not going to like it–” A burst of gunfire cut off the rest of what Star Fall said, as well as Astrid’s response. Dash leapt towards the shooter, quickly disarming them and knocking them aside before returning to her place by the cabin. “Dash?” Star Fall called out from inside. “You still there?”
“Waiting for your plan, Star!” Dash replied.
“Alright, here we go!” Star Fall gave her plan in short bursts. Dash could easily see why it wasn’t something Astrid would like. She thought it sounded awesome, but it was a gamble, and it relied on Dash being careful and patient. “And remember: no etherealizing!”
“Got it, Star,” Dash said, then took off into the sky. She kept her speed down, though still fast enough to keep ahead of the few who decided to take shots at her as she ascended. Without her customary trail of rainbow light, she was soon lost amongst the blue of the sky, and the bullets stopped.
It took longer than she cared for to reach the first cloud, but once she was there she started to work immediately. As insubstantial as it was, the cloud still responded to her hooves as she touched it, firming and compressing to her gentle coaxing. She didn’t press the cloudstuff as tightly as she would have liked, still worried about leaving her friends on the ground for too long, and pushed the half-finished structure into a neighboring cloud. The two merged, her more substantial cloud falling to the center of the larger, looser cloud. Dash pushed herself into the stuff, her wings pumping as she forced both clouds down.
She descended with her burden and felt the clouds resist, the moisture in them trying to condense into rain as they fell. She kicked the larger cloud, a warning that she wouldn’t stand for that. It wisely chose to follow her directions.
As soon as she felt she was low enough she halted the descent of the clouds. She burrowed down to the first cloud, continuing her work at compressing it down to a useful size. Wisps of cloudstuff were trying to escape, draining away into the larger cloud like an over-full water balloon with a dozen pinpicks in it. Dash snarled in annoyance and plugged those holes, working furiously to mould the cloud to her will.
When she was done the cloud was a rough, dark oval twice her size, floating in a shaded void within the larger cloud. She hovered for a moment, catching her breath. The sounds of gunfire were gone, replaced by shouting voices. She wanted to peek out of her cloud and find out what was going on, but Star Fall’s plan had been explicit that she wasn’t supposed to show herself until called.
Instead she focused on the dark egg in front of her. “Alright,” she whispered to it, putting her hooves on the solid cloud and feeling the condensed potential within. “I know you’re not happy about getting squished down. Well, deal with it. My friends need help, and you’re going to give it to them. There won’t be much left of you when I’m done, but I promise you one thing:”
She took a deep breath, gathering her energy, then blew it out in a gentle stream into the cloud. Like blowing on the embers of a fire, the dark cloud lit up from within, arcs of electricity crawling across its surface as Dash aligned all of its potential towards one purpose: lightning.
She grinned as she felt the tingles of energy wash up her hooves, her face illuminated by the blue-white flashes of waiting power. “It’s going to be awesome.”
***
“You really think this is going to work?” Astrid asked.
“Better than the alternative,” Star Fall replied. She drew a few more curving lines on her spell-page before deciding it was done. She stamped a hoof on the page, throwing energy into the spell. There was a moment of painful feedback, the hallmark of a spell too hastily made, but it faded to be replaced by a burning feeling in her hoof, as if she had stepped in a fire. She grimaced at the sensation, but a few calming breaths and she had it wiped from her features. “Ready.”
“Alright, hope Dash is ready,” Astrid said, then hefted a makeshift white flag out the doorway–the door having long since been destroyed in the battle–and began waving it. The gunfire stopped in moments, changing to the shouting voices of the Republics Agents as they relayed news of the surrender.
They waited patiently, and a moment later a voice called out to them in passable Solar. “You will remove all weapons and exit the dwelling!”
“Here goes nothing,” Astrid said, before she stepped out of the cabin. “Celestia be merciful.”
Star Fall followed on her heels, her wings folded and her head held high. Outside, a half-dozen camouflaged members of an RIA strike team stood in a semi-circle, their weapons pointed squarely at Star Fall and Astrid. Off to the side, Applejack stood taking deep, panting breaths. It was a miracle she was still on her hooves with the number of tranquilizing darts she’d taken, but Star Fall had come to expect such miracles from her newest friends. She was more surprised to see that Applejack was otherwise uninjured. They’d apparently been avoiding shooting her with live ammo.
“You two okay?” Applejack asked. There was a tremor in her voice, like deep fatigue.
“We’re fine,” Star Fall replied in Old Equestrian. “There is a plan. Do what they tell you for now. Be ready to move when the time comes.” Applejack nodded and relaxed her posture, her head dipping and her eyes closing.
“Open your mouths and stick out your tongues!” The command came from a camouflaged unicorn, the same one who had told them to leave the cabin. They complied, showing the watching agents that they weren’t concealing any weapons. “Slowly drop to your knees. Slowly! Keep your wings closed and do not make any sudden movements!”
As soon as they had done as ordered, the agents swarmed over them. Cuffs were locked to their legs, hobbling them. Thick straps were looped over their wings, then winched to painful tightness that also made it hard to draw deep breaths. Applejack was similarly bound, though Star Fall doubted the thick metal restraints would pose any more impediment to the ancient pony than shackles made of tissue paper would.
The soldiers said nothing to them, and very little to each other, giving no clues as to what their orders were. Their professionalism was focused, however, and in ways that Star Fall expected. None of them were looking to where the real danger would come from. Star Fall couldn’t stop herself from glancing up at the sky, and was pleased to find that it took her a few moments of searching to spot the cloud that was hanging strangely low above their heads, resistant to the breeze that was pushing its fellows. Hopefully no one else would notice the incongruity.
A minute and a half after being shackled, she heard the sounds of engines and a quartet of heavy military trucks pulled into the field around the cabin. They pulled up a dozen feet from them, and more soldiers emerged, quickly going to their injured comrades. She watched those trucks carefully, trying to discern if there was anyone left in them.
One earth pony was not wearing camouflage or combat gear when he jumped from the cab of the lead truck. She recognized him from the frequent briefings she had attended on the RIA power structure.
“Director Broker,” she said, the words turned into a hiss by the tightness of the binding around her chest.
“Lady Fallen Star,” he replied, a triumphant smirk on his aquamarine features. “Or is it Princess, now? I heard you were supposed to be married a few days ago.”
Star Fall wondered for a moment how much information had managed to make it across the Storm already. Then she decided it didn’t matter. It would all come out sooner or later. “The wedding happened,” she said, returning his smirk with one of her own. “The reception left something to be desired, though.”
He nodded, though a small crease of a frown between his eyes betrayed some inner doubt or fear. She didn’t know enough yet to determine what it was he was thinking. “So, what is such august, if newly-minted, royalty doing this side of the Everstorm? Please tell me you’ve chosen my fair nation as a honeymoon spot! I’d be absolutely delighted to show you and your husband our world-class facilities.”
“Sadly, this trip is more professional and pressing in nature,” she said. “I don’t suppose anything I said would convince you to let us go, would it? Diplomatic privilege or anything like that?”
He shook his head. “Sorry, your highness, but you’re here illegally. Had you gone through the ports, with an official request to enter, well, I’d have no grounds to stop you. The fact that you chose to sneak in, with two top-level biological superweapons no less, tells me that whatever you’re here for, it’s not good for the Republics.”
“Biological superweapons?” Astrid wheezed, letting out a strained chuckle. “Dash is gonna love that one.”
“We’re still working out how to class them,” the Director said, stabbing a hoof at where Applejack lay. “I’m of the mind they should be outlawed by international treaty.”
“They’re heroes, Director, not weapons,” Star Fall said, narrowing her eyes at him. “Living pieces of Equestria’s united history.”
He snorted. “Of course they are. And I’m Luna’s favourite consort. I don’t know how you sun-heads engineered them, but save the ‘resurrected hero’ crap for your slaves.” Star Fall couldn’t suppress a laugh. His expression darkened immediately. “Something amusing to you?”
“It’s just… I can see why they gave you the Kingdom portfolio over Straff and Lilac,” she said, naming two other Directors that had been vying for the responsibility of spying on the Kingdom before Broker had gotten the job. “Competent enough to satisfy the doves, and just the right shades of willful ignorance and bigotry to make the war-hawks grin. The Senate must have really loved you.”
Another crease between his eyes, deeper this time. It took her a moment to remember the problems the RIA was having with the Senate and connect them with his sign of distress. Clearly Broker was worried about his job security. That might make her plan less likely to succeed, but she was committed now.
“Look, Director, you are laboring under a misapprehension.”
“Do tell, your highness.”
“You think you’ve captured us.” His eyes narrowed and she saw him tense up. Clearly competent enough to know that she wouldn’t use such bravado if she didn’t have an ace in the hole. “Undo these restraints, let us all go, and don’t follow. I swear, by Celestia’s light, we aren’t here to hurt the Republics. Far from it, what we’re going to do will help you just as much as it will us. Let us go, Director.”
“We missed something!” he called out to his soldiers in Lunar. “Find out where the fourth one went! You, you and you! Sweep the perimeter again! Do not trust anything! Shoot first, question later!” They jumped to obey, scattering all over the field as he turned back to Star Fall. “Counter offer. You tell me what you’ve got waiting right now, and I don’t shoot you in the head when whatever it is reveals itself.”
It was Star Fall’s turn for a triumphant smile. “You won’t shoot me, Director. I’m your prisoner, and my capture will make your career. If, on the other hoof, I end up dead while in your custody it’s going to cause an international incident the likes of which our two nations haven’t seen. And before the inevitable war breaks out, you are going to be thrown right in front of that train. If you’re lucky you’ll spend the rest of your days in a tiny, windowless cell where they throw people like you to forget about them. If you’re not lucky, well…” She gave a sidelong glance at Astrid. “I hear pony meat is delicious. Is that right, Astrid?”
Astrid gave a small shrug. “Eh, I prefer a good burger. Though, now that you mention it, I’ve never actually had it cooked before.” She eyed Broker with hungry eyes. “He looks like he’d make a nice spit-roast.”
Broker recoiled from Astrid, but regained his composure quickly. “Fine, I won’t shoot you.” He turned his gaze to the still form of Applejack. “I’ll shoot her.”
The smile fell from Star Fall’s face. “I’m done with this.” She stamped her burning hoof once, calling the spell she’d absorbed forth. She glared at one of the trucks and for a moment it was surrounded in a nimbus of crimson light, turning it into a beacon that would be easiest seen from above. The glow only lasted for a moment, though, as an instant later the day was shattered by a bolt of lightning as thick as a pony lancing down from on high to strike the marked truck.
Star Fall had been expecting it to catch fire, maybe have a tire or two pop, at best. What she saw in the glare of the strike was the tires literally exploding as the bolt of lightning burned through the vehicle and into the ground, acting more like some kind of laser than electricity. The truck was launched into the air, a melon-sized hole melted directly through its engine block, the multi-ton vehicle crashing into the truck next to it and knocking it onto its side. Thunder crashed against them, the sensation like being caught by a heavy wave, blowing manes and debris-studded camouflage netting into a whipping flurry as it passed. Star Fall’s ears ached as the sound faded, and she’d been ready for it.
The soldiers reacted by shouting in confusion and surprise, firing their guns uselessly up into the sky. Director Broker stood with his mouth hanging open before turning to stare at Star Fall. “What in Luna’s night was that?”
“The power of a hero,” Star Fall said. “That truck was empty, Director, but the six others on their way won’t be. How many lives are you willing to sacrifice before you understand that I was never going to be captured by you?”
The crease between his eyes again, transforming his expression of shock into one of confusion. “Six others?”
He doesn’t know, Star Fall realized, and that thought led to another: Who else would be coming for us?. The first answer that came into her head made her eyes go wide and her heart flutter with a cold dread. “Director, you have to let us out.” He just stared at her, and she could see the stubborn anger rising up behind his eyes. “Director!” she snapped, a frantic edge making her voice more shrill than she wanted. “You have to let us out, now!”
Astrid didn’t miss the change in her tone. “What’s wrong, Fall?”
“Those other trucks Dash saw, they could be from Cash.”
Astrid swore. More interesting was the reaction from Broker. His eyes widened and his breathing hesitated for just a moment as he heard Cash’s name. “How the hell could he know we’re here?” Astrid asked.
“Same way this guy did!” Star Fall jerked her head at Broker. “Director, those trucks will be here in moments, you have to let me go! If that’s Max Cash, everyone here is in danger!” He pursed his lips, and she could tell that while she was making him think, she wasn’t anywhere close to convincing him. She stamped her hoof and focused on the ground a dozen feet beyond the Director. Again, her target was painted red for a moment before the area was obliterated by fire from the heavens. Broker jumped, his ears finally going flat with fear. She called to him and once she had his attention again she locked eyes with him. “You are running out of time, Director, we all are.”
He held her gaze until one of his soldiers shouted from the edges of the field: “Contact! Six vehicles inbound!”
That got him moving. “Defensive positions! Help me unbind the prisoners!”
“Sir?” a close soldier asked.
“You heard me!” Broker snapped. He knelt down and began working at the straps holding down Star Fall’s wings as the soldier who’d spoken did the same for Astrid. “This had better not be a sunland trick.”
“Nothing I know about,” Star Fall replied. Her wings came free and she slowly flexed them to get the feeling back as he started unshackling her legs. Her rear legs were still bound by the time the new trucks pulled into the field. They had the same black color as the Director’s vehicles, stock-issue RIA transports. She didn’t trust those appearances.
She considered blowing a few of them up, but she knew that Dash would never forgive her for forcing her to kill. So instead she focused on the ground in the path of the lead truck, activating her spell with another hoof-stamp and letting another bolt of lightning split the world. The driver reacted predictably, jerking the vehicle to the side and slamming on the brakes. The other trucks followed suit, coming to a quick halt.
Even before they had stopped, though, there were soldiers pouring out of them. They wore dark body armor instead of the camouflage gear of Broker’s force, but it was, again, standard-issue RIA equipment. Star Fall wouldn’t put it beyond Cash to have access to this kind of personnel and gear, but she was beginning to wonder if there was something else going on here.
Broker was apparently thinking the same thing, frowning at the newcomers as he finished freeing Star Fall and rose to stand in front of her. A moment later a pony she recognized hopped down from one of the trucks. A pale off-white unicorn with a limp blond mane and intense blue eyes that reminded her of Gamma. “Straff?” he called out in confusion. “What by Luna’s starry mane are you doing here?”
“Preventing a disaster,” Straff replied. He said something to his forces, too low for Star Fall to catch, and they lowered their weapons. They didn’t put them away or let go of the triggers, leaving the implied threat plain to see, simply moved them so they weren’t actively pointing at anyone.
“Don’t you have your own problems, Straff?” Broker said, sneering. “Something about Senator Birchfield’s mansion becoming a warzone?”
“I think you’ll find that the Senator’s mansion has ceased to be a problem for anyone,” Straff said. His voice was dry, but Star Fall caught a whiff of irony from his words, and knew that he was laughing at some private joke that the rest of them weren’t privy to. He shifted his attention behind Broker, catching Star Fall’s gaze. “Apologies, your highness. I would have preferred to welcome you to the Republics under better circumstances, but Broker’s mission necessitated radio-silence, so I couldn’t warn him of your… special status.”
Star Fall couldn’t suppress a frown at that. She didn’t understand what was happening here, and that meant she had to be very careful. She and Astrid were free, but surrounded by RIA soldiers and facing a second, possibly hostile force of soldiers. Much more than they could handle or escape from. A quick glance at Applejack showed her still bound and lying down, eyes closed and breath slow and even. Star Fall couldn’t tell if the tranquilizer was working, but had to proceed assuming it was. While she still had Dash as a trump card, she couldn’t tell whether she should be using it or not. And so she chose to remain silent.
“You have no business being here,” Broker said. “Kingdom matters are my responsibility, Straff. Go back to chasing your white-collar criminals and tax evaders and I might forget to report this incident to the oversight committee.”
Straff gave his fellow Director a fleeting glance and a thin smile. “I’m afraid my duty to the Republics overrides my desire for a stable career, Broker.” He turned his attention back to Star Fall. “I assume the display earlier was the work of Rainbow Dash?” He didn’t wait for her reply, nodding to himself. “From the looks of things, you had to impress Director Broker here into giving you freedom.” He looked over to the broken and burning trucks. “I assure you, I will need no such convincing. I understand that you hold all the cards here, your highness. I will not attempt to detain you, but I believe it will be in your best interest to come with me willingly.”
“Why would I do that?” Star Fall asked. He sounded sincere, but that in no way made her trust him.
“I will guarantee your safety and freedom within the Republics,” Straff said. “As well as that of your companions. I will also ensure you have the tools to complete your mission.”
“What do you know about my mission?”
“I know Max Cash is a threat neither of our nations can afford to ignore any longer,” Straff said, then said something that sent her heart leaping into her throat: “Pinkie Pie has returned.”
“What!?” Applejack was on her hooves in an instant. The heavy manacles snapped as if they were twigs. “Pinkie’s back! But that means that no-good, rotten fruit-bat’s got Laughter, too!” Soldiers around her gaped at her casual display of strength, but she didn’t seem to notice, her eyes locked on Straff.
“The situation is… somewhat worse than that,” Straff said.
“What’s going on, Straff?” Broker asked, torn between anger and confusion. “Who is Pinkie Pie? What does this have to do with Max Cash? I haven’t heard anything of this in your reports!”
“That’s because I’ve been conducting a mole-hunt, Broker,” Straff said. “And, frankly, neither you nor anyone in your staff had a need to know. Suffice it to say that my investigation into Cash has discovered something that imperils the future of the Republics, if not the whole world. The incident at Senator Birchfield’s mansion was only a small part of what is going on, but it is indicative of the potential disaster awaiting us if we do not succeed. You are well out of your depth here. Step aside and I will allow you to take some of the credit when this all plays out.”
“I’ll have your job for this,” Broker snarled, but he sounded defeated.
“Only if I do not fail.” He shifted back to Star Fall again, dismissing Broker entirely. “You understand the importance of what I’ve said, Princess. Please come with me.”
“Why… why should I trust you?” Star Fall asked, her mind racing at the thought of Laughter’s capture by Cash.
“I was hoping to convince you myself,” he said. “But we are pressed for time, so I have brought along someone you might be more willing to listen to.” He turned to his soldiers. “Bring out Nemesis.”
Broker stiffened like someone had shot him, and Star Fall frowned. Her confusion lasted for only a moment, as Gamma emerged from the same truck Straff had ridden in. She swept her intense blue gaze over the gathered forces, pausing as she got to Star Fall and quirking her eyebrow quizzically. “While I am disappointed you were spotted entering the nightlands, Agent Fall,” she said, stepping towards them, “I am pleased with how you handled the situation once caught. I’m glad I chose you to take my place on the council. Though, while I have been without reliable news since I arrived here, I am still extremely worried at some of the reports I’ve been getting about the event of your nuptials.”
“Gamma.” Star Fall shook her head, trying to throw off her shock. “You’re working for the RIA?”
“Hardly,” Gamma said with a sniff. “However, the situation is such that co-operation is mandated. Come along, all of you.” She looked up into the sky. “That includes you, Agent Dash! There is much to discuss and not a lot of time to do it in.” She flashed a knowing smile towards Applejack. “And someone I’m sure that you will be anxious to see again.” She turned to step back into the truck. She paused just before she disappeared inside and looked back at them as Dash began to descend. “Well?”
“Yes ma’am!” Star Fall called, starting across the field to the trucks. Astrid and Applejack came up to join her and Broker’s forces did not make a move to stop them.
“You know you’re the boss of her now, right?” Astrid asked in a low voice as they walked. “You don’t have to jump when she says frog.”
Star Fall shrugged. “It’s nice to know that some things haven’t changed,” she said, letting a smile find its way onto her face. “And besides, why mess with a good thing?”
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Pity about the very useful plot house. Once is an accident, twice is coincidence, third time its a Max Cash Party.
I wonder how long it will take AJ to burn off the darts, especially if she gets some of the flowers, and if Dash can make up mini boom clouds?
Has Pinkie read the next couple chapters yet, or are you still waitng on her finishing writing them up?
Well, I can tell you three good things about this chapter.
1) More Calumn and Blaze.
2) More backstory on the Elements.
3) Gamma.
It's kind of nice to see a filler chapter that takes a break from a lot of the action. Another great chapter as always!
Excellent chapter, but it feels so short (which means it's a great read)
Weaponized weather, oh yeah!
For all of the action here, this feels like a welcome moment of respite after Cash's attack and Pinkie's return. Now, time to plunge onward!
Acting as an aerial weapons platform is pretty awesome, good thing they didn't ask her to demonstrate the Sonic Rainnuke.
surprisingly this chapter felt short.
Including the tree kinda messes with the concept of this story.
It provides and ANSWER to the elements. Their creation is unknown, but their source is the tree, and the tree is the will behind the elements of harmony.
Considering the actions it takes in the show, it is clear this force is a thinking being, of what kind is uncertain but thinking.
Pretty much its implausible that anyone could use the elements whos is not a bearer so long as the tree is around....... and there is not a force in existence that could destroy the tree of harmony. Even discord's plot took, over a millennia to work.
So if cash tried to use it, he would be judged by the eldritch tree god who held an entire eldritch forest at bay..... I highly doubt he would make it outta that in one piece.
This sentence is far more chilling than it has any right to be.
Good interlude chapter, but I'm already anxiously wanting more!
So Calumn has a plan for Charisma... I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to seeing more Charisma and Blaze interaction, or worried about seeing more Charisma and Blaze interaction. On the one hand, if anyone can get her away from Cash it'll be him, but on the other, they have a fairly messed up relationship as is and her loyalty to Cash has won over her feelings for him before, and Cash has a way of ruining any plans that try to oppose him anyway, so this could easily turn out badly for everyone involved...
Also, I do hope these two seperate plans for going after Cash don't get in the way of each other...
6402408
Made me laugh way more than it should have
6401613 It's funny because that would be a war crime on Earth.
6402864
Only if said weaponized weather were directed at inappropriate targets, such as civilians or humanitarian workers. Attacking military targets is not a war crime so long as the weapon in question is not outlawed (flame weapons, for example).
On the other hand, misuse of the flag of truce is a war crime, which Astrid did in this chapter at the command of her princess. (Not that this engagement is part of an ongoing war, so the point is moot.)
I can't wait for Pinkie to see Dash again (since they are so close), for Star to meet Pinkie, and for Pinkie to meet Blaze (since we all swear there is a connection there too).
"Star Fall said magic was drained from the world, right? So these flowers here ain’t been cared for proper in eight hundred years, and it shows, but they’ve still got as much in them as the flowers in our time did. Now, why is that?”"
All the magic wasn't drained from the world, it was drained from the ponies. Plausible?
6404109
That wouldn't explain why clouds are behaving so differently from how they did in the past. Recall that the clouds try to dissipate or diffuse after Dash tries to get them to behave as she wants them to.
It would not be unreasonable to assume that Applejack's flowers would try to do the same if she left them for a short period.
God, I check this story as often as my Email or my Facebook, it's just so damn good!
Absolutely wonderful chapter. Nice to finally see another director... Even if he's unable to think long term or see beyond his career.
Also somepony seems to be just a touch less controlled than I'm sure all the directors would hope for. Hell, Gamma still manages to come across as in charge... Straff must be ^piiiissed^ but as long as he continues to understand that it's needed to stop Cash I can't blame him.
Absolutely wonderful! I look forward to reading the next chapter! 10/10 mustaches
Geez, they all got together rather quickly. Who's house is that and how many times will they crash there in this story?
That poor cabin owner. He/she is in for a surprise when they get back. I get this funny mental image of a pony staring in stupefied disbelief, wondering why all these bullet holes and lightning craters are there.
At least there's a little garden with incredibly delicious flowers for them.
This story. Thank god straff is quick to respond to a situation like this. As well as not being stupid enough to fail to believe our heroes.
6404109
That seems the most likely answer.
Finally read up on this story (was one of the first in my RL list), and Bujeezus H. Tapdancing Christ. This is one of the best stories I've read, possibly #2 (which is also saying something, since my Favorites include Fo:E, Stardust, Project Sunflower, and that three part Twilight time loop story whose name has slipped from my mind).
Dear sir your story was the first fic I read on this site and my introduction to fanfiction in general. It is perhaps my absolute favorite story and it always brings a smile to my face rereading it. I thank you for that.
Calumn has a plan for dealing with Charisma? Well, someone needs to have one.
That would be the day, so many questions would finally be answerable.
Applejack, asking the right questions.
Oh man, the RIA is attacking, and it's not the smart branch of the RIA. A bunch of mooks versus Dash and AJ, I almost feel sorry for them.
Yeah, that first part of the fight with them versus Dash, I think I do feel sorry for them.
Hmn, could be good, could be bad. Given that I don't think we've seen Cash with a fresh resupply of disposable minions yet, I'm betting on the smart portion of the RIA.
The new plan involves Dash making a super lightning cloud? Should be fun.
Yep, fun.
Fun.
Straff? Excellent.
Heh. Gotta love that earth pony strength and resilience.
That was an oddly calm chapter. Like we're reloading for the next (and possibly final) climax.
Zero dangs given.
Wonderbolts 30th Aero Artillery Squadron. "In the air, shaking the ground."
Why did the soldiers not use live fire on Applejack? My best guess is because they were able to hit her with tranquilizers and she was playing around. She was intentionally acting slower and slower in her resistance since they were only stalling anyway, drawing the soldiers into continuing to try to tranquilize her instead of upping their game. She was also not showing off just how strong she could be.
If the opportunity arose she would have shrugged off the deception and acted at full strength much like she did when she heard about Pinkie.
After all, given she created an earthquake when she first started running so long ago and this isn't a crowded urban center, she could have probably safely locked down all ground-bound combatants by simply keeping them off their feet with repeated hoof-stomps while she charged around neutralizing them individually. Rainbow Dash could have then neutralized all airborne assailants and that'd be it.
I just want to say that you are my favorite author in this site. Your world building is amazing, and I can't wait for the next chapter of both Fallen World, and this one!
Why do you have to create this magnificent beast of a work, Sharaloth?
This is a good story.
If the ponies freak out over Pinkie stretching, Pinkie doing this:
i.imgur.com/ISrnXu0.gif
would end them.