11 The Elements of Harmony
The six had reached the top of the stairs.
“A dead end?” Trixie questioned, seeing as they could go no further, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Maybe there’s a secret passageway?” Flutters suggested unsurely.
“I guess. Princess Celestia did say that she is fond of secret passageways,” Trixie pointed out, “Everypony, look for any-”
Before Trixie could finish, the wall spun around, bringing the six into the castle. Maud was standing next to a candle that had been pulled out, “I found it.”
As they entered the room, they saw that there were no entrances into this room other than the secret passageway. That meant that this was a secret room entirely. Granted, there were three small windows on either side of the room to allow natural light in. But there were several mirrors in the room that reflected the light in a way that lit up the room even in moonlight. In the center of the room was a stand that held five large stones.
“We may have found what will beat our enemy,” Zecora said, “It seems to me that these are the Elements of Harmony.”
“Rocks?! That’s our goal?!” Thunderlane questioned, “What’s your problem, destiny? We come all the way out here for rocks?!”
“That’s very close to what Rarity said when she got her cutie mark,” Maud said, “Besides, what’s wrong with rocks?”
“Though stone is what they appear to be, activating them is the key,” Zecora said.
Trixie used her magic sight to see that there was magic in the stones. It was feint but evident that it was the same magic from the crystal tree they found. And like the crystal tree, the magic was pulsating in sync. There was something different about the pulsations, different from the tree’s pulsations, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.
“You six have impressed me yet again. I didn’t expect you to come this soon,” the six saw that Nightmare Moon appeared from a cloud of mist, “I also didn’t expect you to find this room on your own. I had intended to have my Shadowbolts teleport you here when you arrived.”
“Nightmare Moon!” the six exclaimed in unison.
“In the flesh,” Nightmare Moon said, “But I believe I sent my Shadowbolts to give you an offer. Have you thought about that offer and what you desire? I’ll even make answering simple. If you choose me, then all you need to do is come to me. If you don’t choose me, then take the Elements. Choose wisely.”
A teal glow suddenly lit within the eyes of the six as their desires came to the forefront of their minds.
Trixie is performing on stage. But not just any stage. She was performing in none other than the Lux Horse Hotel in Las Pegasus. Each magic trick was flawless, each illusion captivated the audience, and each story ended with thunderous applause from everypony in this sold-out venue. And Trixie knew that this would be the case for each and every magic show she performed.
Thunderlane was captain of the Wonderbolts, his skills being recognized as surpassing even that great Spitfire. He has performed perfect shows for audiences and has commanded battles with record-low numbers of casualties on both sides. He always leads the battles he commands, ensuring that if anyone wants to get to the Wonderbolts, they have to get through him first. And Thunderlane knew that this would be the case for every show and battle he commanded.
Maud Pie was in front of a class as their professor. She had learned all there is to know about rocks, she had earned every degree there is to earn about rocks, and now she’s teaching future generations all about rocks. And though she does have tenure, she doesn’t need it since she’s too valuable to let go. And Maud knew that this would be the case for every class she taught.
Zecora was a master shaman known through Equestria and Zebrica. Her apothecary has been known to have medicines for any ailment, her knowledge and wisdom are sought after from many races around the world, and she would accept them all. She could never turn down a customer in need, and that customer would leave happy. And Zecora knew that this would be the case for every customer who sought her services.
Flutters travels Equestria, spreading joy wherever she goes. Sometimes, it’s individuals, and sometimes, it’s entire cities at a time. But most of the time, it’s just for fun. And Flutters knew that this would be the case for anyone who needs a smile on their face.
DJ Pon-3 was DJing at her new twenty-four-hour nightclub. She was playing a new mix that was a hit with the crowd. Lights were flashing, music was booming, and dancers were dancing. And Vinyl knew that this would be the case for…
…An image of Octavia and Silver Spoon appeared in Vinyl’s mind.
THUNK…THUNK…THUNK…
Five of the six were distracted from their fantasies by the sound of Vinyl hitting her head against the wall.
“Why does… THUNK …she have… THUNK …to be… THUNK …so… THUNK …cool?” Vinyl said in between thunks. She then stopped her impersonation of a woodpecker and stood firm in her conviction, “I have a sister and a niece. And my deepest desire is for my niece to grow up in a world where she’s safe. And that desire can’t be fulfilled if I betray Equestria.”
A pulsating maroon light appeared on her neck.
An image of Rainbow appeared in Flutters’ mind.
“Rainbow has been by my side through thick and thin,” Flutters said, “And that didn’t change even when my personality did. I love seeing Ponies smile, and I love it when I’m the one to bring smiles to their faces. But in a world of Eternal Night, there would be no reason for Ponies to smile.”
A pulsating pink light appeared on her chest.
An image of Rainbow and Flutters appeared in Zecora’s mind.
“I love to give ponies the help they need. That is my desire, an honorable deed,” Zecora said, “But if I side with you, that wish can’t come true. So I turn down your offer, but let me say thank you.”
A pulsating aquamarine light appeared on her legs.
An image of Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and her sisters appeared in Maud’s mind.
“I cannot side with you,” Maud said simply, “To side with you, I’d become evil. And I can’t be evil without lying to myself.”
A pulsating green light appeared on her hooves.
An image of Rumble appeared in Thunderlane’s mind.
“I may desire to be the Captain of the Wonderbolts. But that desire is not for glory,” Thunderlane said, “My desire is to ensure that all of Equestria is safe. Being the Captain of the Wonderbolts is simply the best way to do that. It’s a means to an end, not the end itself. I fight battles so that others don’t have to get hurt. And preferably, I would like it if a peaceful solution is made. I want an Equestria that’s safe for my little brother to grow up in. And if I said with you, I side against the safety of Equestria.”
A pulsating golden light appeared on his wings. The five pulsating lights were in sync with each other.
An image of Ocellus appeared in Trixie’s mind. An image of her playing with her new friends. And an image of her dying in bed.
“I am the Grrreat and Powerful Trrrixie! So of course I’d dream of greatness!” the Great and Powerful Trixie said, “But no matter how great and powerful Trixie becomes, that greatness means nothing without her daughter there with her. And there is no way for my dream to come true if I side with you. Because the fear and hatred that you’re causing is what’s killing her. It may already be too late… But I can’t let that thought get me down now! Not when the Grrreat and Powerful Trrrixie is so close to saving her!”
A pulsating purple light appeared above Trixie’s head. The pulsating of the other five lights was feeding into the pulsating of Trixie’s light.
“If you think you can harness the power of the Elements of Harmony against me, then you’re sorely mistaken,” Nightmare Moon said. She then reared up on her hind legs before stomping down again, the shockwave shattering the Element Stones and causing the six lights to vanish, “I must admit, the six of you impressed me once again. But as you can see, I made sure to be prepared for this outcome. Now you will learn just how wrong of a choice you made!”
“You big meanie!” Flutters shouted before taking off like a bullet and tackling Nightmare Moon, surprising the others.
It wasn’t the shout that surprised them, however. It wasn’t Fluttershy attacking Nightmare Moon, either. It wasn’t even the fact that she seemingly successfully tackled Nightmare Moon. It was the laughter that came afterward.
“There’s no better way to get rid of a meanie than to make them stop being so mean,” Flutters said as she tickled Nightmare Moon the same way she did with the Manticore, “And there’s no better way to get somepony to stop being mean than to get them to laugh.”
“You- haha -you inso- hahaha -insolent foal! Hahahaha!” Nightmare Moon said in between laughs. She then summoned her magic to create a shockwave, the force causing Flutters to go flying into a wall.
Though little harm came to Flutters from the impact, it’s only because her prosthetic hind legs took most of the damage. They still seemed to function at least partially. But the movement was slow, and gears ground against each other, causing sparks to fly with each movement.
The pulsating pink light reappeared, summoning the shards of one of the Element Stones and reforming them into a necklace around her neck. The necklace had a pink crystal in the shape of Flutters’ cutie mark.
Zecora went over to check on Flutters. Despite the minor injuries to her, she did have a few cuts and scrapes here and there. They were minor enough, though.
“Your actions caused us all to balk,” Zecora said, “But I must ask if you’re okay. Can you walk?”
Zecora helped Flutters onto her hooves. She could walk, but slowly. But she winced in pain. There was a gash on her left flank where the skin met a slightly bent piece of metal from the prosthetics. Noticing this, Zecora took off her cloak and tore off strips, which she wrapped around Flutters’ hindquarters to act as a bandage, as well as several layers to protect from the bent piece of metal. So, the bent metal went from being problematic to helping by putting pressure on the wound.
Flutters, however, was saddened at seeing Zecora tear up her cloak, “Zecora, isn’t that your favorite cloak?” Flutters asked, “The one that you said you made from a blanket you had as a child?”
“I am, but don’t worry about how I feel. It has served me well. But your injury is real,” Zecora said, unable to keep a tear from escaping her eye.
The pulsating aquamarine light reappeared, summoning the shards of one of the Element Stones and reforming them into bangles around her legs. The bangles had aquamarine crystals in the shape of Zecora’s glyph mark.
“The results of your actions were not the best,” Zecora said, “But the Elements formed a necklace that’s on your chest.”
Flutters had felt a warm feeling earlier but didn’t think anything of it. But she looked down, and there it was. A necklace of gold with her cutie mark in crystal. She then noticed Zecora’s new pieces of jewelry as well.
“It looks like I’m not the only one who decided to accessorize,” Flutters said, pointing to Zecora’s golden bangles.
Zecora, like Flutters, had felt a warm feeling in her legs but thought nothing of it. But she realized now that the warm sensation was the magic of her Element of Harmony. For Flutters, it was focused on her heart. For Zecora, with her athletic prowess, the Element was focused on the muscles in her legs.
While Zecora was tending to Flutters, the rest of the group were dealing with Nightmare Moon.
“Is there any way we can reach a compromise?” Thunderlane asked, trying to negotiate with Nightmare Moon.
“You could join me, and I won’t punish you for your insolence,” Nightmare Moon said.
“That’s not a compromise,” Thunderlane said, “You’re not giving up anything other than a little satisfaction in that arrangement.”
“You are a warrior,” Nightmare Moon pointed out, “Compromise is not in your nature.”
“I may be part of the military. But I’m a pacifist at heart,” Thunderlane said as a warm sensation filled his wings. The pulsating golden light reappeared, summoning the shards of one of the Element Stones, “But as you said, I am, as you put it, a warrior. I gave you the chance to compromise so I won’t have to feel guilty for putting my military skills to use.”
Thunderlane then charged and Nightmare Moon, wings outstretched. Nightmare Moon did the same. As they swiped at each other, a red line appeared on Nightmare Moon’s cheek. Although it did sting, Nightmare Moon was more surprised than pained. That Pegasus had somehow cut her. She looked back to see that the Pegasus had donned new weapons from out of nowhere.
The Element Stones had reformed onto Thunderlane’s wings into wingblades. The wingblades had golden crystals in the shape of Thunderlane’s cutie mark.
“An Element of Harmony?!” Nightmare Moon questioned, “That’s impossible! I destroyed the Elements of Harmony!”
“You destroyed a bunch of rocks,” Maud replied, a warm sensation in her hooves, “There was nothing making those rocks special. They were just limestone with a bit of quartz.”
Nightmare Moon was infuriated at this claim. The Elements weren’t just rocks! In a quick motion, Nightmare Moon attacked the Earth Pony. She was satisfied when her hoof hit…nothing?
She turned her head when she felt a tapping on her back, “You missed me,” Maud said, now behind her. Nightmare Moon spun around to swipe at the Pony again, and once again, she wasn’t there, “You’re easy to predict,” Maud said, not standing on Nightmare Moon’s back. The pulsating green light reappeared, summoning the shards of one of the Element Stones.
Nightmare Moon, rather than attack directly, turned her body into an ethereal mist and trapped the Earth Pony without a way to escape. She didn’t know how the Earth Pony was doing what she was doing, but she was certain it was related to her Earth Pony magic. This mist form nullified all magic except her own.
Maud then punched Nightmare Moon out of her mist form. Nightmare Moon, now knocked back and in her solid form, had freed Maud. The shards reformed around Maud’s hooves, forming gauntlets. The gauntlets had green crystals in the shape of Maud’s cutie mark.
“Another Element?” Nightmare Moon asked, anger and surprise slightly succumbing to fear.
“Don’t you get it, Moon Butt?” Vinyl asked, feeling a warm sensation on her neck, “The rocks you broke were never the Elements in the first place. Do you really think things like feelings can take a physical form?”
“Well, technically…” Trixie began.
“You’re not helping, Trixie,” Vinyl said as the pulsating maroon light reappeared, “My point is, the Elements are like arrows. It doesn’t matter what bow you use to shoot them with. Any bow will do.”
“That’s not entirely-” Nightmare Moon began before getting back on track. She grabbed Vinyl by her neck using her magic, a venomous smile forming on her lips, “You know what I think? I think you talk too much. Let’s fix that.”
Nightmare Moon then tore off the choker that acted as Vinyl’s voice synthesizer, revealing an old burn scar on her neck. She then crushed it in her magic, making it unrecognizable as anything other than scrap metal. Vinyl then started to move her lips frantically, but no sound came out.
“What was that? I’m afraid I can’t hear you. Perhaps you should try to speak up,” Nightmare Moon taunted. Vinyl tried to speak again but only succeeded in a rasping sound, which ended up becoming more of a gurgling sound as Vinyl started coughing up blood. There was a hint of sympathy in Nightmare Moon’s expression, “Your vocal cords must’ve been damaged beyond even magical repair. Perhaps taking away your voice was a little too torturous for me to do.”
The pulsating maroon light summoned the shards from the last Element Stone and reformed around her neck in the form of a choker. The choker had a maroon crystal in the shape of Vinyl’s cutie mark.
As the Element appeared on Vinyl’s neck, Nightmare Moon dropped her in shock at the sight.
“No! Not you, too!” Nightmare Moon said.
“Well, duh,” Vinyl said, “Hey! I got my voice back! And it doesn’t even sound like it’s coming through an old-timey radio anymore.”
“Don’t forget about us,” Flutters said as she and Zecora returned to the group. Flutters kept herself airborne because of her injury and damage to her prosthetics.
“No, this is impossible!” Nightmare Moon exclaimed, her expression that of fear. Then she realized something that dispersed that fear, “There are only five of you. And the Elements are useless without the Element of Magic.”
“Are you really that dense?” Trixie spoke up, “First of all, you’ve got it backward. The truth explains why Magic is missing from the set. The other five Elements aren’t useless without the Element of Magic. The Element of Magic is useless without the other six. The Element of Magic is a combination of the other five.”
The five Elements of Harmony began pulsating with energy again. This time, however, if you were to see the magic, you’d see that the five Elements were sending pulses of magical energy to Trixie.
“As Maud said, the rocks you destroyed were just that. Rocks,” Trixie continued, “The magic I saw in them was just an echo. They had ceased to be the Elements even before we arrived. That’s why the energy I saw in them was different. It was just a few drops of water in an empty bucket. The magic of the Elements is all around us, acting as a creative force in this world. When I saw that crystal tree, the magic I saw was the tree taking in that Magic. The tree then acted as a sort of prism, splitting the magic into several different types. In the past, those different magics were transferred into what you recognize as the Elements of Harmony, those five stones. But I believe the Elements chose us to act as their conduit. And as for the Element of Magic, it’s the combination of the other forms of magic acting in harmony with each other. The Element of Magic isn’t an Element like the other five, but rather a lens that they use to combine once again into a harmonious state. The Elements are a reflection of Ponies. We work the best when we work together in harmony. What is harmony between Ponies? Friendship!”
The pulsating purple light reappeared. The magic coming from the other five Elements began to condense into a tiara on Trixie’s head. The Tiara had two versions of the magical trail that acted as the background to Trixie’s cutie mark, mirroring each other and converging in the center that held a magic wand with a purple six pointed star-shaped crystal at the top, the same from her cutie mark. Trixie grabbed the magic wand, detaching it from the tiara and holding it like a proper magic wand.
“Friendship is harmony. Harmony is magic. And that means FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!” The five Elements sent beams of magic into the wand, which the wand focused into a single beam. Trixie pointed the wand forward, striking Nightmare Moon with a rainbow beam that engulfed the dark Alicorn.
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This was an absolutely great chapter with wonderfully done dialogue, characterizations and epilogue/future adventure set-up. Definitely liked the show of the group's personal fantasies after they found the secret passage leading to the elements. Also loved Flutters tickling Nightmare and that touch of Trixie's element including a detachable wand.
REALLY looking forward to the epilogue ESPECIALLY Trixie seeing Ocellus making improvement in her condition and the others' reunions with THEIR families and friends.
All in all, this chapter is a really good way to ring in the new year.