Chapter 1
Thousands of years ago, there was another royal family in Canterlot. They were considered to be wise and just. Always doing what was right for the kingdom. The most respected of the family was King Shadowblood. He ruled over darkness and the night. He reminded ponies that drakness wasn't something to be feared. With his black fur and dark red and orange mane, he stood proud and tall at the head of the family. His cutie mark was that of a solar eclipse. His beloved wife, Queen Divine Justice, was considered the goddess of the truth, justice, and all things good and pure. Her pale yellow coat shimmered like the sun, and she had the beatiful pink and blue mane, not to mention eyes, of an elf-pony. Her cutie mark was of the constellation Libra. The couple had four daughters, none of which had recieved their cutie marks. Each was born during the season they ruled. You had the fashionable orange ruler of autumn, Autumn Blitz. Her red mane and yellow eyes was what inspired the color of leaves during her season. The next sister was as blue as the sky. Winter Dash helps bring forth the snow, using her magic to create the white snow and blue icicles. Her dark blue body easily stands out from her sisters, but her white mane with the single blue stripe makes her one of a kind. The next sister radiates the colors of a meadow. Her green coat and yellow and blue mane represent her perfect name, Spring Glow. The final sister has an almost blinding beauty. Summer Burst shines with her bright yellow mane, her mint green and purple mane, and her mother's green eyes.
The royal family was always busy. They had to overlook the seasons changing, the dangers of the Everfree Forest, search for the Elements next form, and stand as judges in the royal court. Today, they were deciding the fate of a mare named Shimmering Scarab. She had been caught selling illegal spells and vital information to Equestria's most wanted convicts. The unicorn stood before the family and Canterlot jury, not one bit nervous. Her mane was unwashed, and was an unsightly rust color. Her purple eyes stared right into the eyes of King Shadowblood, challenging him to send her away. The guards next to here each had a magical hold on an orange hoof. King Shadowblood stepped forward, and the room went into complete silence.
"We are all here today as witnesses to Shimmering Scarab's final punishment. She has been charged with treason, and the punishment is death. It is only by the will of you ponies that her sentance may be changed." Queen Divine Justice walked up next to him, making the contast between their coats stand put even more.
"Shimmering Scarab, how do you plead to the jury?" she inquired, her face a mask of calm. The mare looked the queen straight in the eye, making sure that she saw the evil glimmer in her eyes.
"I plead guilty. Let's see how your jury takes to that!" she replied, cackling manically. This set the jury ponies into a frenzy of whispering. It took them a few minutes, and then they sent out a pegasus stallion to speak for them. He seemed plain enough. Grey coat, purple mane, and red eyes. Nothing suspicious about him. Nothing at all. He looked at Shimmering Scarab, who nodded. He bowed before the royal family.
"We the ponies of Canterlot, have decided on our verdict. Shimmering Scarab should be exhiled to the Deserted Plains." This made everypony in the jury cry out in protest. That was no their verdict. Scarab grinned. Nopony could stop her plan now. As the guards took her away, her voice rang out.
"You think this can stop me? Not even your precious Elements could stop me, if you even knew what they were this time! Nopony will be shown mercy! Nopony!" Her voice echoed in the large halls of the castle, leaving an unbroken tension in the room. King Shadowblood easily calmed the crowd, and Queen Divine escorted them out to the castle. When they had all left, they called a family meeting. The princesses looked worried. The Elements were always the last form of defense, and the strongest. Their power is unmatched. But, if what Shimmering Scarab said is correct, then they were in big trouble.
"Worry not, my children. Your father and I have a plan. You are all to travel to a town called Ponyville. There, you wil hold four tournaments. Autumn Blitz, you will be in charge of the Air Tournament near the library. Winter Bolt, you will hold the Earth Tournament at Granny Smith's Apple Farm. Spring Glow, you'll set up the Water Tournament by the Western Lakes. Summer Burst, you'll go and set up the Fire Tournament. I've already made sure to place fliers everywhere. If you need any help, the Element of Magic, Star Swirl the Bearded will help you. Now go my children, fly to Ponyville amd find those Elements!" said Queen Divine Justice, waving her hoof in farewell. She deperately hopes that they will succeed. The fate of Equestria may depend on these little fillies.
Once arriving at the home of the Elements, the princesses got to work. As promised, Star Swirl the Bearded helped out as much as he could. Star Swirl had been the Element of Magic for two entire element cycles, so he knew his stuff. Since the tournaments were held smultaniously, a pony could only enter one contest. It was a genious plan, and it was time to put it to work.
At the Air Tournament, there were 10 pegasi competetors. To win the tournament, a pony had to weave through several hoops, find their way through a mirror maze, and finally, blow out 100 candles with a single breath. The first 4 only made it through the hoops, while the the next three were couldn't figure out the candle puzzle. Autumn called out to number eight, a grey stallion with a purple mane and familiar red eyes. His cutie mark showed a question mark with a brain. He stepped up to the starting place, ready to go.
"Name please?" asked Autumn Blitz, using her magic to write the entry of the last pony on a sheet of paper.
"Brainiac the Questionable." he replied, smirking at the Princess of Autumn. She quickly wrotr down his name, not bothering to look up and see the stallion in question.
"Okay Brainiac, you have a minute to complete the course. Your time starts now." she said, dropping a flag to the ground. He was off like a rocket, easily manovering through the hoops. When he reached the mirrors, he went through them without hesitation. Before he went to the candles, he held his breath and put the candles out with his wings. That was what the princess saw anyway. What she didn't see was the ear piece giving him exact instructions as to what to do. When he trotted back up, the pirincess congratulated him and announced that the tournamnet was over.
"Everypony, meet Brainiac, the Element of Air!" she said, motioning for the ponies to cheer. Spiraling Tornado did not take to it well. She was a hard working weather pegasus with a grey coat and an always braided bright blue mane. Her cutie mark depicted a tornado, which reflected both her speed and ability to anger quickly and calm just as quickly. The mare lept on Brainiac, yelling all kinds of obscinities. It took the Autumn's magic and two stallions to pry her off him. The Spiraling Tornado spotted the ear piece.
"He cheated! He's got somepony on the other end of that ear piece tellin' him what to do! Just look!" she shouted. And they did look. All they saw was the dust rising from his escape.
"Shimmer, I've been caught."
"Come back to base. I'm sure Truth won't fail, unlike you."
"Got it. Over and out."
Meanwhile, at the Fire Tournament, 10 ponies of all species were lined up and ready to go. Summer Burst was holding a megaphone, and brought everypony to attention with the horn.
"Okay everypony! Let's recap! The rules are simple. Manipulate your fire as best as you can. Show me your best tricks. I will pick the two best ponies, and then they will battle it out! Let the flames begin!" she said, using her magic to set off fireworks. It was pretty cool. The unicorns enchanted the fire with their magic, the pegasi flew through the fire, and the earth ponies did a combination of the two. There was everything from dragons to just jumping through a ring of fire. Two ponies really stood out, so Summer extinguished all the fire.
"Okay everypony, good job out there! Numbers four and ten, please stay. I'm sorry, but everypony else must leave." she announced, smiling broadly. Once everypony left, the ponies stood facing the princess, waiting for more commands. The final two was a unicorn stallion and an earth pony mare. The unicorn had a cyan coat, a red mane, and an evil eye for a cutie mark. His eyes were completely black, which was a little unsettling. The mare, on the other hoof, had brigh silver eyes. Her coat was a bright red, and her mane yellow with orange highlights. Her cutie mark was of a piece of wood burning with a blue fire.
"Names?" asked Princess Summer Burst.
"Hidden Truth."
"Flaming Pyre." And with that, the fight began. Flaming Pyre had mastered her fire whip, and was giving Hidden Truth a lashing to remember. Hidden, with his unicorn magic, had snaked a tiny ember, burning brighter than the sun, onto her back. She cried out, but the pain did not stop her. Her fire turned a brilliant blue, and she made a ring of fire surronding her opponent. She brought the fire close to his face, letting him feel the intense heat.
"Do you yield?" she asked, her eyes boring into the stallion. He nodded, and she stepped back.
"I yield." he replied, turning away and leaving. Shimmering Scarab is not going to be happy about that, but he had some honor left from his years as a royal guard.
During the Water Tournament, it was up to Spring Glow to find the best swimmer in Ponyville. All they had to do was swim from one edge of the lake to the other. Simple enough. Flying above the water, Spring managed to get the attention of each and every pony at the shore.
"Okay! All you ponies have to do to win is finish first!" she explained, smiling down at them. With the sound of cannon, they were off! One mare was definatly a better swimmer than the rest. She was like a fish! She could easily win. Her short cyan and green mane definately helped to prevent drag. The lake was large, so she would have to keep this up to win. Up ahead, there were several nets. Each net had a few pony sized holes to swim through. It made the thing a little harder to win. As the mare approached the first net at the half-way point, she lept out of the water, revealing her pale blue wings. Spring was confused. She hadn't seen a pegasus enter the competition. Only some earth ponies. By the time the princess had wrapped her head around it, the blue mare was seconds away from the finish. So, she flew down to the edge of the lake to greet the Element of Water. Once the mare surfaced, she introduced herself to the princess.
"Greetings, Princess Spring Glow. My name is Stream Splash." the mare replied, shaking hooves with the Princess of Spring.
"Congratulations, Stream Splash. Your prize for winning the race is simple. You have been named the Element of Water!" she replied, placing a wing on her back and leading her back towards Ponyville. The other ponies will be disappointed to find that they did not win, but Spring was more worried about getting Stream to Star Swirl's house on time. After all, the Elements should be good friends before finding their Element Stones.
During the Earth Tournament, Winter Bolt was having the time of her life. She had picked the best of the ponies who had completed a special obstacle course, and had decided to race the only one who had finished. Her name was Stone Quarry. She looked to be an zebra and pony hybrid, which were rare in these parts. The two were having a race. If she could beat the Princess of Winter, then she would have earned her title as Element of Earth. It was a very long race, all around Ponyville and back. While Winter was hoofing it as fast as she could, Stone was taking her sweet time, jogging at a constant pace. Winter, even with her alicorn stamina, Winter was tired when she reached the half way point in the race. Stone Quarry, on the other hoof, was quickly gaining in speed. She burst past the princess, and galloped all the way to the finish. The princess flew to the finish line, and congratulated the new element. The mainly black and dark blue zebra accepted her new position, and straightend her mint green and midnight blue mane. They walked back to the train station to meet up with everypony else, and then head straight for Canterlot.