Elements Change the Dark Hearts

by Nightmare_0mega

I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine

It didn't take everyone in town too long to hear of the so called "heroics" that were preformed at Ponyville's town hall. They weren't too surprised that Twilight, of all mares, was behind the thinning of the pink herd. Nor were they surprised that the other four elements aided in the efforts. They were, however, surprised that the minotaur sized being known as Elvis was a key player in the event. Rumor has it that it was he that ultimately figured out the real from the fakes, and that made the decisive choice that brought everything back to the norm. With such strong developments and theories floating in the air, the citizens of Ponyville couldn't help but see the strange creature in an entirely new light.

If there was anything to say about it, it was that Elvis had some solid feelings on the whole thing. To be totally honest, he believed, within the deepest pit of his dark soul, that this bizarre situation made him feel... good. It was odd to be fawned over by thankful citizens, instead of being feared, but it was also somewhat refreshing. Every pair of eyes he expected to shake or avert away from his direction instead locked onto him with a sense of joy and appreciation. By comparison, back home, any other human would still see him as he truly was, despite any good he might have tried to do. That's how things were then, and he long since accepted that. The difference was figuratively and literally worlds apart, and it resulted in lifting his own spirits. He found that he had a little more pep in his step, took a little more time to enjoy his cigars, and even enjoyed the companies of the locals. Especially, a certain pink one.

"Hey, Elvis!" Pinkie greeted, bouncing down the road in her usual manner. Elvis, whom was picking through a few things at one of the market stalls, turned towards the approaching pink mare.

"'Ey, Rosa! Just picking some stuff up for Señor and Señora Cake," the large biped declared, dropping a handful of bits on the stall counter, and collecting the groceries. "Is there anything I can do for you, amiga?"

"Nopey nope! Just thought we could hang out for a little while," she beamed.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to be with your arco iris compañera, helping her practice for some sort of team thing?"

"Dashie? Oh, she wanted to reschedule her practice until tomorrow. The crash landing she had yesterday seems to be making things like flying no fun for her today."

"Mala sombra." Elvis uttered.

"What does Dashie's crash have to do with that meanie?" Pinkie asked, before gasping, "OH! You don't think Sombra came back again to take his vengeance upon us all using some super-duper secret surprise plan that could rain on everyone's party, do you? You don't think it'll involve a crystal ball, bits of string, and chicken feathers, right?! And he's not going to attack everyone while they're sleeping, or is he?!?" she gasps again, invested fully in her own tirade, before continuing. "That's the most heinous, despicable, nasty thing to do to a pony!"

"Eh, nevermind. I don't think anything like that is possible. I don't even know who that cabron is anyway."

"Oh, he was just some ex-king, shadow thing that enslaved a kingdom before he got all blown up with the power of love, and then later eaten by a giant white frog."

"HA!"

"I KNOW, right?" Pinkie giggled, realizing the absurdity of the situation, much like the absurdity of most of the heroics done by her and her friends.

The two unlikely duo kept walking through town, talking up a storm about the strangeness of their worlds, from parasprite infestations to giant mechanical spider fortresses. Each story being more absurd than the last. As Pinkie began recounting the day she and her friends played "superhero", Elvis thought back to that evening. It was moments after he just finished singling out the real Pinkie Pie, nearly a week ago...

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

Elvis sat in relative silence as the pink mare slowly left the smoking demon be. He watched the smoke in the air disperse, clearing away like curtains, showing the sky's beauty to him once again. He watched the oranges turn to reds, then violets, before the stars began to shine through. It was peaceful, and left Elvis a lot of room to think.

"Elvis?"

"Hmm?" Elvis grunted as he turned towards his latest audience. There, standing a few feet away from him was none other than Twilight. "What what do you want, cabrona?"

"You did a very wonderful thing, and I just wanted to thank you for it."

"Hmph! I didn't have much of a choice, remember? You made me do it. Hell, you even tied me down so I wouldn't run!"

"But you still helped her. You had many, MANY chances to have me dispel the wrong one, but you didn't take a single one of them."

"Because I didn't know which one was real." Elvis rebutted, taking another drag of his cigar.

"Maybe you say that you didn't, but I believe that's a load of horse apples. If you did, you wouldn't have actively participated during the latter half of the test. Sure, you were a little bit rude, but you pushed the right buttons to get the real Pinkie saved."

"It was a lucky guess!" Elvis barked, blowing smoke deliberately in Twilight's direction. The smoke washed over a thin barrier of magic, leaving the unicorn untouched. "'Ey, how did you do that?"

Ignoring Elvis' frivolous question, she addressed his outburst. "As a scholar, I don't really believe in a lucky guess. As a student of the magic of friendship, I know that the conversation between you and Pinkie during the test could not have been done without some sort of forged connection, no matter how minor."

Elvis turned back towards the now darkened horizon, watching the stars twinkle in the sky. He took another drag of his cigar, letting the smoke escape his lips gently. Twilight trotted closer to him. "You know, I was kinda like you are now, once upon a time."

The large being whipped around with a puzzled expression on his face. "Que?!"

"Well, maybe not EXACTLY," she corrected before continuing, "Not very long ago, I was just this introverted student under Celestia's wing, whom pushed the idea of friends as a waste of time and effort. Mostly it was because I wanted to focus on my own studies. I let myself get consumed by my own personal conquests and thoughts that the outside world was more of a subject to study."

"Oh yes, we are SO totally alike, puta" Elvis snarked.

"When I came here, things changed. I didn't notice it at first, BECAUSE I was so consumed by the subject to study. Eventually though, I realized I was missing out on a lot of things. But, do you wanna know what's strange about it all?"

"Cabrona, I don't care, but if you don't get to the point, I'm going to break a rule I have about hurting ladies."

Ignoring the obvious threat, Twilight pushed on, "Pinkie was the one to start it all off."

Elvis raised an eyebrow.

"In fact, she was the first one I met in Ponyville. The moment I came to the town, she was the first one I approached. Ok, sure, she ran off after an exaggerated gasp, but it was all just the beginning. I would later meet her again, having set up a party in my new home and gathered together the other four mares I met that day that I would call my friends from then on. Whether you like it or not, she will get to you too. You can fight it, like I tried to for a while, but sooner or later you'll understand two things. First, as eccentric as she may be, making friends is a specialty of hers. She's about as focused on it as I am usually focused on my studies. Or, as focused as you seem to be with those cigars Pinkie helped you get."

Elvis picked the cigar from out of his mouth, holding it between his thumb and finger, and examined it for a moment. Not for anything in particular, but more out of reaction in realizing they were a technical gift from the pink wonder.

"The second thing," Twilight continued, "is that having friends can make any day that much better. She knows this all too well, and follows to the point of devotion. You may not recognize her as a friend, but she does to you. She'll treat you as such, giving help when you need it, lifting your spirits, and will just generally be there for you. After all, didn't she just stop by to check on you not to long ago? I assume that she only left because you asked her too."

Elvis said nothing, eyes glued to the smoldering cigar, which he finally brought back to his lips. Twilight sighed, and turned around.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know about that." Twilight began heading back to town slowly, leaving Elvis upon the night enveloped hill. She paused for a moment, turning her head towards the demon. "You know," she started, "I could very will still be a long ways away from a break through with the portal to send you home. It's great that you've so far been an active member of the community, helping the Cakes when they need it, though time probably would go faster if you made an effort to be a friend to Pinkie. I'm sure she'd appreciate it."

Elvis gazed at the mare as she grinned in a way that a chess master would if they just won.

"Just food for thought," she added, before galloping back to the darkened town.

Elvis took another drag of his cigar, only to realize that it was finished, barely producing any more of that silky goodness for him to inhale. He gazed at the stub in thought. We could've been friends, that cabron said. Maybe... maybe I'll give it a shot this time...

After that, he made good on his conviction. The day after, he approached the pink mare. One apology, and some cupcakes later, the overly ecstatic party pony got what she wanted, and in record time too. To be fair, Elvis was rather nervous about the whole thing. He wasn't used to the idea of a bond between two individuals that didn't involve someone getting hurt or killed, but he could learn to. They talked, shared interests and stories, and shared laughs. Despite some of Elvis's darker moments in his life, the atmosphere around them was kept rather cheerful. It didn't take long, but soon they would be seen hanging out together more often. A visit with Fluttershy and her critter tenants, watching Applejack and Rainbow Dash compete, helping Rarity with gem hunting, or visit with Twilight at the library became commonplace in Elvis' day to day. While the rumors of his assistance in saving the town helped his image, his activity with Pinkie Pie more or less helped boost everyone's positivity towards him.

If there was one thing that Elvis could admit, it was that everything seemed to go faster while being with Pinkie Pie. Not to mention that being around her made him feel a little more at ease, now that he got to know her better. He'd still admit that she could get a bit grating, but she learned more or less to tone it down when around Elvis.

The world seemed to be proceeding quite nicely for him. He was getting used to a life as honest and kind as the one presented by his amigo. However...

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

Back in the present, still walking and talking with Pinkie Pie, Elvis shook the thoughts from his head, wanting to ignore the creeping suspicion. He didn't want to ruin what he had going. After all, he never felt this relaxed and joyous in all of his years. Before now, he'd only be set in a state of constant anger from foiled snack plans, dishonorable lower demons, and the lies humans and his own kind would tell. Just thinking about lying, disrespect, and hunger made him pent up and grind his teeth.

"You ok, Elvis?"

"Eh?" He looked towards his little pink companion, whom was staring at him quizzically. He gave a smile, "Oh, it's nothing Rosa." He chuckled slightly, before realizing that Pinkie wouldn't be satisfied with an answer. He decided to come clean. "Well, actually, I was just thinking about things. Mostly about how my life is now, and how much cabrons back home would piss me off." Coming clean helped, but he felt something was missing. He felt he wasn't done releasing his frustration. "'Ey, you don't know where I could go and flex my muscles and power? I need to let off a little steam. I need to break something solid."

"Wow, you must be all wound up." Pinkie commented, "Well, we could go to Rambling Rock Ridge. It's like my dad used to say, 'When in doubt, work with rocks!' Personally, I prefer parties, but I can't say he's wrong. And, since rocks are the most heavy, solidest thing around, they are the perfect stress reliever for you."

"Yeah. First, we'll drop off these groceries at the Cakes'. Priorities first, right amiga?"

"Yeppy yep! Then, we can stop by Twilight and have her remove that magic restraint on you so we can-"

The sound of food products and ingredients falling to the ground with an indignant thud rang in the air. Pinkie stopped dead in her tracks, and turned around towards Elvis. His fists were clenched, and his face was darkened. This was a bad sign.

"Rosa..." He started, in warning, "What did you just say?"

"That we could visit Twilight before we go?" Pinkie replied in an unsure tone.

"After that. What was that about removing a 'magic restraint'?" his breath became slow and heavy. If it weren't for the way the light wasn't reaching his face, she could swear fire ignited in his eyes.

"Uhm," Pinkie stalled, trying to think of something to get him out of his growing anger. However, she knew that mentioning the restraint to him, something he did not know about at all, would not be easily avoided. She had to come clean, no matter the cost. "... Twilight put a magic restraint on you the night you showed up, after we chased you down the streets. She said she didn't want to take any chances."

"So, you lied to me for two WEEKS, cabrona?!" Elvis barked.

"I-I didn't mean to! It just kinda slipped my mind. But I Pinkie Promise I never tried to keep the truth from you!"

"HOW CAN I TRUST THAT?! I've been on the leash of you puta caballos this whole time, under some sort of spell to keep me from being me! And how many other spells did that violeta bastardo put on me, eh?!"

"I-I..." Pinkie stuttered as she shrunk beneath the looming and growing anger inferno of Elvis.

Elvis, not waiting for a reply, turned, and quickly stomped through the town, obviously looking for Twilight's home. Pinkie stood, shocked and slightly frightened. She just started to bring him out of his shell, and one little thing set it all off like a collapsing card castle. She knew friendships and bonds are trust. I should have told him when he woke up! It was too late for should have's though. With worry deep set in her heart, she galloped after Elvis, hoping to catch him before he did something dangerous, and perhaps, fix what she broke.

Author's Note:

Elvis?

Comments

[Jack Kellar]

Oh man, hope he breaks Twilight's nose for that

[Nightmare_0mega]

3347648 Hey man, how come you deleted your two other posts?

[Jack Kellar]

3347708 Repeats. All of them, repeats.

[Nightmare_0mega]

3347731 Ah...

[Joey JoJo]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND Pinkie dun goofed...

[Nightmare_0mega]

3349829 and it's only gonna get worse...