Friendship is Magic

“How...?”

Applejack stared incredulously at the man before her.  Yes, he was big.  Yes, he was strong, but he had blocked her kick with one finger.  One. Freaking. Finger.

“How did you do that?  That kick should have ripped your finger off.  How did you block that with such ease?  It's not possible.  Who are you?”

The massive man chuckled. “You're certainly strong, but did you really think a girl like you, whose powers haven't even awoken yet, can defeat one like me, who knows all of the secrets this soul holds?”

“Ah ain't got no idea what you're talkin' about.”

“I'll put it to you simply.  You fighting me is like a tiny pony trying to defeat a fully-grown stallion in a race.”

“Ah don't care about ponies and stallions.  You ain't getting anywhere near mah sister!”

He snorted derisively.  “That's hardly your decision.  Anyways, I didn't come here to fight you.  All I wanted was some sort of positive response on your part, but you reject any intention to follow your destiny as a Bearer of Harmony.  This isn't at all what I expected and I'm curious as to what caused it.”

“You stay away from me!  If ya come any closer, Ah'll kick your ass.”

He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to her.  Above his palm hovered a small, oddly-shaped jewel.  Applejack felt her muscles seize up and she fell to the ground.

“This is called the 'Emerald of the Damned'.   I used it earlier to prevent the Element of Magic from interfering in your battle with the girl named Rainbow.  If I can completely paralyze the Element of Magic, just imagine what I can do to you.”

Applejack strained to look up at the man.  “What do you intend to do?”

“I intend to find the memories within you that left the strongest marks.  I intend to find out why you hate friendship.”

x----x

The battle raged on.  Pinkie was doing an excellent job of holding off Descent, giggling and flirting as if it was all some huge game.  Nightingale, however, was proving to be a bit more problematic.  What attacks she didn't dodge were blocked by her own magic.  She flung her own attacks, which we were barely able to block.

“Lorem Tempestatem!” I cried, throwing out a shower of golden stars.

“Materia Obscura!”  Nightingale sent a shower of pure darkness to meet mine.  Neither attack penetrated the other.  With her distracted, I nodded to Rarity.

“Incarcero!”  Rarity clapped her hands together.

The ground beneath Nightingale shifted.  She looked down to see a pair of hands, formed of earth and stone, raise up to grasp her.  She shot for the sky, flapping furiously, and slipped out moments before the trap snapped shut.

She laughed derisively. “You can't catch me.  I'm too fast.  Give up now and my Lady may let you live.”

She was really beginning to annoy me.

“You think your wings will save you?”  I pushed off of the ground, leaping into the air as my arm began to glow.

“Laminas industria!”  I cried as I swung my arm, slinging the deadly energy blade.

Nightingale dodged it easily, tumbling over my head.  She righted herself and delivered a powerful kick, sending me over the edge of the cliff.  I heard Rarity scream my name as I fell through the open air.

x----x

Pinkie giggled as she dodged Descent's attacks.  No matter how fast the bird-man charged, she seemed able to weave around him.  Finally, he collapsed from exhaustion.

Pinkie stuck her thumbs in her ears and wiggled her fingers as she blew a raspberry.  “Too fun, but, if those are your best moves, I don't think I'll partner with you for the party I'm planning when we find our final friend.”

Descent let out a growl, thoroughly pissed at this pest's antics.

“I guess I'll have to show you the best moves.”  She swung her hips, building her power.  Suddenly, three tendrils of water swung out.

Descent launched up a tree, dodging the magic water that seemed to actively seek him out.  He swung from tree branch to tree branch, too tired to fly.  Finally, her power dissipated, leaving him in one of the high branches.

“Sorry, baby.  I'm just too fast for you.  Besides, we have absolutely nothing in common.”

Pinkie blinked.  “What do you mean?  I'm a girl, you're a guy, we're compatible.”

Descent chuckled.  “What I mean is, while you like to see people smile...” He called a flicker of black fire into his palm. “I live to see them suffer.”

He cast the black fire, which enveloped the pink-haired pain.  Descent began to laugh, simply pleased that he had rid himself of the girl's antics.

As the magical fire began to die, he noticed something unusual.  The girl had managed to protect herself, enveloping herself in a bubble of water.  Her giggle was distorted as she blew a heart-shaped bubble and shot him a wink.

x----x

Nightingale's attack was unending and all Rarity could do to defend herself was encase herself in stone.  However, each blow chipped away at the only barrier between her and certain death.  Already, she could see daylight through the tiny cracks in the stone.

“Now, girl,” Nightingale said, “You're very powerful when you can keep your distance.  Unfortunately, you're useless in close-combat.”

Something landed atop her stone barrier and a golden glow erupted around her.

“How?”

Rarity lowered her barrier as the sounds of battle reached her ears.  She looked up to see Twilight flying over her head, engaging a very surprised Nightingale.  With her wings, Twilight was able to flit around Nightingale with ease.  She slammed a leg into Nightingale's back, sending the bird-woman into the ground.

Twilight's wings disappeared as she gracefully landed.

Rarity blinked.  “Wings,” she wheezed.  “You can fly?”

“I think of it more as jumping with style.  The wings increase the altitude I can achieve and allow me to glide a bit.  Celeste taught that spell to me last night, but this was the first time I was able to successfully perform it.  Once we're done here, I'll teach it to you.”

Rarity sighed and became starry-eyed. “Oh, can you imagine how I'd look with beautiful butterfly wings, with an outfit to match?”

“I'd rather we focus on the fight.”  Twilight dead-panned.

A glow caught her eye and Twilight turned to her pack.  “Rarity, Honesty is glowing.”

“Is the Bearer nearby?”

Twilight nodded. “Can you handle Nightingale on your own?”

“I don't think so, but I'll leave that decision to you.”

“Best to leave it for now.  If Nightingale finds out, she could hurt her before we have a chance to awaken her power.  I hope she's not in any trouble.”

x----x

Haze stared down at the blonde warrior whose memories had reduced her to a blubbering child.  She lay in the dirt, curled into the fetal position, and was rocking slightly.

“No more.”  The girl wept. “No more...please...Ah can't take anymore...Ah don't want to remember...Ah just want to live with mah family in peace.  Why can't Ah have that?”

He didn't expect this.  It seemed that Applejack was born to suffer for others.  The memories he had seen shocked even him.  How the girl had managed to avoid a total mental break, he would never know.

One thing he did know was that her hatred of friendship was legitimate.  It wasn't some lone-wolf act, but something that came from her very heart.  There was nothing more that he could do.  If the Element Bearers were to stand a chance against the Chaos, the Element of Magic would have to change her heart.

“Applejack, I see now that my presence here served no purpose.  I understand that you don't know them and don't wish to be their friends.  I can only hope that you will change your mind.”  He reached down and wrapped a massive hand around her shoulder and she froze at his touch. “As for your sister, fear not.  I have no interest in her.  However, the danger I mentioned is true.”

He spread his wings and lifted into the sky. “I am needed elsewhere.  I hope we meet again, Bearer of Honesty, but I doubt you'll remember me.”

Applejack remained on the ground, trembling as years of repressed memories assaulted her. “Ah don't want to have friends.” She sobbed. “Ah don't want to suffer anymore.”

x----x

Trotting through an open field, Rainbow remembered back to a time, four years before, when a friend gave her a piece of wisdom she would remember for the rest of her days.

“You're leaving tomorrow, right?”  Gilda asked.

Rainbow gave a dejected nod. “Yep.  If it wasn't for dad following his work, I'd stay here with you.  I don't want to go.”

“It's amazing that all of our years together will end.”  She turned to Rainbow. “Whatever happens, don't forget me.  You have to come back.  Promise me we'll see each other again.”  She pulled Rainbow into a tight hug. “You live your life in high-speed and I'm the only one who can keep up with you.  I'm your one true friend.”

Rainbow returned the embrace. “I promise.”

Rainbow sighed as she remembered the last day she had spent with Gilda, her first friend.  It had been years since she had last seen her friend.  She thought Fluttershy could fill the void that Gilda had left, but the timid girl had chosen to go with Rarity and those other girls.

“I see now that the only person I can rely on is me,” she growled, picking up her pace.  “I'm leaving Ponyville and Fluttershy behind and I'll never be back.”

“Rainbow!”

She turned to see Fluttershy descending like an angel from the sky.  She doubled over and panted hard as the wings disappeared.

“So it was true.  You do have wings,”  Rainbow breathed as she stared at the girl.

“Rainbow...please,”  Fluttershy panted. “Don't...leave...me.”