MLP FIM Guardians of the Elements

by Savage Hyena

Rating: everyone
Tags: Main 6, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Nightmare Moon, Spike, Comedy, Adventure, Princess Celestia
Length: 10707

Two brothers realize their dreams of being heroes!

When it comes to being the heroes of Equestria, brothers Thunder Boom and Lightning Flash can't catch a break. That is until the Summer Sun celebration. Will they be heroes? Or will they simply croak? read and find out!

Published 2014-01-09 00:10:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-01-09 00:10:03 UTC

Chapter 1

Author's Note

Hi everybody! Hyena King here. Just have a few things to say before we get started. This is my first FIMfic, so be gentle with me(no pun intended) and I hope you enjoy my story. This is the first chapter of a pilot episode, basically the first episode of MLP FIM except it stars two OCs named Thunder and Lightning. So sit back, relax and Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Canterlot was under siege. Manticores, dragons, and other dark creatures roamed, terrorizing the pony populace. Even Princess Celestia was unable to stop them. All hope was lost. But a flash of light appeared on the horizon, lighting up the entire city. When the light cleared, who should appear? Two great pegasi warriors that's who!

One was Black as midnight, with neon-blue hair and bright yellow eyes with a single white cloud for a cutie mark. The other was white as snow, with golden spiked hair and eyes the same color as his brother and a lightning bolt as his cutie mark . With a great bellow they shouted to the sky.
"Never fear! Thunder and Lightning are here!".

The citizens of Canterlot cheered their coming.

The monsters were not impressed however. A great dragon flew over to the heroic duo, absolute confidence on his face.

"You ants seek to challenge us? Ill crush you under my claws and pick my teeth with your bones!" the beast roared, breathing fire into the sky. The black Pegasus looked up at the dragon."

"Why don't you just use dental floss? You wouldn't have to hurt anypony then." He said, his face a mask of heroicness.

"Enough talk, Thunder, let's fight!" the white one cried.

With no more hesitation, Lightning raised his hooves and shot forth lightning, instantly vaporizing the dragon. The rest of the monsters charged forth at the heroes, roaring their fury. Thunder flew forth and clopped his hooves together, sending a sonic boom right into the monsters, sending many of them flying.

Between the two of them, the heroes zapped and blasted the monsters until they were in a humiliating retreat. The ponies cheered for the brothers, glee upon their faces.
"You have saved Canterlot from certain demise and are the most attractive stallions I've ever seen. How can I repay you for your service?" asked Princess Celestia, who flew up to meet the two saviors.

"there is no charge for heroicness." Said Thunder. "Or attractiveness." Added Lightning. They were soon surrounded by the cheering crowd.

"Three cheers for Thunder and Lightning! Hip hip Brrinng! Hip hip Brrinng! Hip hip Brrriinnngggg!"

Thunder awoke with a start as his alarm clock blared at him. With a sigh of annoyance, he shut it off and struggled out of bed. In another room Lightning awoke much the same way, except he flew up and bashed his head against the ceiling in his shock. Rubbing his head and groaning, Lightning threw his alarm clock out the window and went towards the door. He opened it to find himself face to face with his twin brother.

"The dream again?" Thunder asked.

"Yeah, you too?" Lightning replied.

Thunder nodded, noticing the steadily growing bump on Lightning's head.

"You think it's weird we share the same dreams?" Lightning asked.

"Well, we're twins after all." replied Thunder.

And so began another day for Thunder and Lightning.

Chapter 2

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3

After doing their "business", Thunder and Lightning set out to get ready for the day, Spiking up manes, brushing their tails, polishing their cutie marks, etc. Then they ate their breakfast of pancakes and leftover hay fries (each ate about the approximate weight of six full grown stallions). They then made their way to the roof of their home, where they prepared to launch off of their take off platform.

Unlike the house (which was made of clouds, the same design as most homes in Clouddale) the platform was made of wood and hung a little ways off the edge of the roof, supported by wooden beams. It was a shoddy thing, having been hastily built, and was falling apart in some places. Frankly, it was a wonder that the thing still stood. Lightning quickly got on first, followed by Thunder, the platform creaking and groaning under the weight.

Once both were in the center of the platform, Lightning turned to his brother.

"Ready?" Lightning asked, excitement in his voice.

"Ready." Replied Thunder a smile of determination growing on his face.

Lightning grinned, then turned and jumped of the platform, spreading his wings as he dived into the sky then flew up. Thunder simply crouched down and jumped into the air, a crash of noise following after him. They both got to a reasonable altitude, then flew north towards Ponyville, their hometown.

"I wonder what we'll find in town today." Lightning mused. "Perhaps it's been overrun by Timberwolves, or is being threatened by a cockatrice, or maybe…" Lightning continued to rant, oblivious to his surroundings. Thunder just rolled his eyes and listened and only spoke once Lightning finished.

"We're going to have to cut this patrol short, we have to get ready for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Oh, right, I completely forgot about that."

"Of course you did."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Lightning, you're the most forgetful pony in Equestria, and I know Derpy Hooves."

"At least I don't-

"Help! Help!"

Thunder and Lightning skidded to a stop in midair, perking their ears to listen carefully.

"Help! Help!"

It was a pony in distress. With smiles on their faces, the brothers veered in the direction of the voice. They landed on the fringes of the Everfree Forest, standing before a filly who hadn't even gotten her cutie mark yet.

"Never fear! Thunder and Lightning are here!" they both shouted, rearing into the air and flaring out their wings. That done, they looked down expectantly at the filly.

"What seems to be the trouble?" asked Thunder, trying and failing to hide his excitement.

"Mrs. Truffles is in trouble. Could you help her?" responded the filly, who was on the verge of tears.

Lightning gasped. "A damsel in distress? This is great! Quickly, take us to her."

A few minutes later, the brothers were looking up in disbelief. The filly had taken them to the base of a large tree. Clinging on the uppermost branch was a small brown cat. It was scared out of its wits, but was fine, for now.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Exclaimed Lightning, shock turning to disappointment.

"Please help her! She's so scared!" the filly cried, sadness in her voice. Mrs. Truffles mewled in fright as if to empathize her point. Lightning groaned in disgust. Thunder , however, saw the distressed look on the filly's face and got a determined look on his face.

"Don't worry little girl. I'll get her down." said Thunder. He went to do just that, but Lightning step in front of him.

"No, no, no. I got this." Said Lightning as he went for the tree.

"Are you sure? I could just-

"No. I can handle this." The tone in Lightning's voice indicated that he was not happy with this turn of events. He went to the base of the tree and, with two lazy flaps of his wings, flew to the top. He hovered in close to Mrs. Truffles, his legs reaching out to grab her, growling "Here kitty kitty." As he drew closer, the cat began to hiss and the hair on her back stood on end.

"Be careful, she doesn't like strangers!" the filly shouted suddenly.

"She doesn't like wha-?"

The rest of what Lightning was about to say was lost as the cat suddenly jumped from his perch and onto his face. Lightning's face disappeared in a dust cloud as the cat proceeded to maul it. Lightning yelled and squealed (yes, squealed) and flew up, down, left, right, forwards and backwards flailing his legs about the whole while in an attempt to dislodge the crazed feline.

"Thunder, help!"

Thunder, who had been staring in disbelief at the spectacle, snapped out of it quickly.

"Hold on Lightning, I'm coming!"

Thunder flew up next to his brother and, avoiding the flailing limbs, pinned him in the air. Moving carefully, he wrapped a hoof around Mrs. Truffle's tail and removed her with a sharp ripping noise and a yelp from Lightning. Thunder then flew down and deposited the insane animal into the filly's waiting forelegs.

"Thank you! I don't know what I'd do without her!" cried the filly as she nuzzled the cat, who seemed to have regained her sanity.

"No problem." Responded Thunder as the filly ran off. Thunder smiled, the look on her face was priceless. He was then aware of someone beside him and turned to see Lightning. His face was now covered in scratches and his spiky hair had been ripped up. Thunder couldn't help but snicker.

"Don't you say a word." Growled Lightning clearly not amused.

The rest of the patrol was uneventful. They next helped Miss Cheerilee, whose lawn was being beset by ravenous leaves, as Lightning put it. During the job, Thunder decided to get it done quickly and to use one of his thunder blasts to blow away the leaves. All that did was get leaves everywhere and destroy half of Cheerilee's house, which afterwards the brothers offered to pay for damages.

After that, Amethyst Star needed assistance in getting rid of a pesky beehive. Instead of asking them to leave as Thunder would have done, Lightning simply grabbed the hive and threw it as hard as he could. The bees were not happy campers. And so the brothers trudged into town covered in scratches, leaves and bee stings, where the townsfolk were, thankfully, too busy with the Celebration to notice them.

"Well, I'm off to Sugar Cube Corner to get our special Caramel Swirl cupcakes." said Thunder, turning towards said establishment.

"Yeah, whatever." Replied Lightning, in a foul mood after today's disappointments.

Thunder turned to his brother and smiled.

"Hey, cheer up. So what that we didn't fight monsters or prevent any natural disasters and or anything of heroic performance for that matter. We helped ponies today. That's worth something."

"Yeah, and we managed to screw it up all the same."

Thunder shook his head and sighed.

"Well, I'm off. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Don't talk to me like that. I'm a full minute older then you."

"And yet I don't pout like a baby when my day doesn't go well."

"…Just get the dumb cupcakes."

Thunder smiled, glad that Lightning was better, somewhat. He turned and went into Sugar Cube Corner, leaving Lightning alone.

Lightning sighed, already bored, and began looking for something to occupy himself with. Then he saw her. The mare with the mane the color of the whole spectrum. The mare with the cyan fur. The mare with the cutie mark of a cloud spewing forth a rainbow lightning bolt. The mare with the rosy eyes and the "I can do it cause I'm awesome" attitude. The mare who was the fastest pegasus in Ponyville and the object of Lightning's affections since he was a colt.

Rainbow Dash

Chapter 4

Lightning's eyes turned to hearts as he beheld his longtime crush, who was currently stretching out as if in preparation to do something awesome, which she probably was. Lightning quickly checked his reflection in a window, straightening his mane, then ate a breath mint he procured out of nowhere and strode towards rainbow.

"Hey Rainbow!" Lightning said when he came up to her, trying to sound cool.

Rainbow looked up startled at first, then smiled as she recognized the pegasus in front of her. "Hey Lightning. Long time, no see.

"Same with you. What'cha doing?" Lightning watched as, unperturbed by Lightning's interruption, Rainbow continued to stretch out.

"I'm just practicing for the Wonderbolts. Man, when they see my moves, they'll have to let me join!" Rainbow got up and did a flip in the air as she said this, causing Lightning's heart to give an involuntary flutter.

"Oh yeah, they're great." was Lightning's only response.

In truth, he hated the Wonderbolts with a fiery passion, thinking them as pricks and showoffs. (Thunder thought Lightning hated them because they remind him of himself, which Lightning vehemently denies.) He wasn't about to tell Rainbow that though. A sudden thought came to him right then.

"Hey aren't you supposed to clear the skies today?"

Rainbow stopped in her tracks, clearly having forgotten about her special job, then shrugged.

"No problem. I'll just take care of it when I,m done."

An idea suddenly came to Lightning as she said all this.

"You know what how about I take care of the clouds today? Me and Thunder only have to patrol Ponyville 'till sundown and we're on break, so we can do it this afternoon."

Rainbow's eyes lit up and she smiled. "You would do that?"

"Sure, you know me, always helping ponies in need."

Rainbow suddenly grab him and squeezed him in a tight hug. "Thanks Lightning, your the best!"

Lightning nearly passed out, not from the hug but from love. Rainbow let go and turned around. "'Kay gotta go! bye!

Lightning, his back turned and having not heard her, continued on as confidence ran through him.

"You know speaking of the Wonderbolts, I got some tickets from a friend of mine to see them at their show tonight, I was thinking..." Lightning turned to see Rainbow had already left. Lightning's face fell, his ears pressed against his head. After a few moments of wallowing in self-pity, he heard chuckles behind him. He turned and saw Thunder barely holding back laughter.

"What are you laughing at!" Lightning finally asked after a few seconds.

"That was really smooth, Casanova. Rainbow's really into you now." then, unable to hold back any longer, Thunder burst out laughing, collapsing on the ground.

"Ha, ha, very funny comedian. Did you get those cupcakes?"

Thunder, trying to get over his laughing fit, handed the bag he had been holding to Lightning, who Immediately took two cupcakes out and began to eat them.

"Honestly Lightning, what do you see in her?"

"Isn't it obvious? She's beautiful, fierce, fast, and beautiful!" While he was talking he hadn't bothered to finish the food in his mouth and sprayed crumbs all over.

"You just said beautiful twice genius."

"Well, that's the best way to describe her! I swear Thunder, you won't understand until you meet your dream mare!

"Yeah, yeah, as if she's gonna walk right up to u..."

The brothers had begun to walk as their conversation continued. both were so engrossed in their talk they failed to notice the purple unicorn mare and her dragon companion 'till they crashed right into them.

Chapter 5

Thunder had turned his head as he was saying his sentence and ended up bashing heads with a Purple unicorn mare, knocking them both on their flanks. While Thunder was simply dazed, the mare was nearly knocked unconscious. Lightning was considerably luckier, as he collided with a much smaller subject, knocking him over. Lightning looked down and gasped, shocked at what he had done. He quickly scooped up the small dragon in his hooves, talking as he did.

"I'm so sorry, are you hurt little guy? Do you have a boo-boo? You want me to.." The rest degenerated to baby talk as he continued.

"Knock it off! I'm not a baby!" The dragon said at the indignity of Lightning's attentions.

Lightning looked the dragon up and down. "Could have fooled me." he finally said.

"Put me down!"

"OK."

With that, Lightning dropped the already peeved dragon unceremoniously onto the ground. Meanwhile, Thunder was helping the mare to her hooves.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you, I'm so sorry!" Thunder continued to apologize as the unicorn mare began to recover from the collision.

"It's OK, I'm fine. You can stop now." the mare said starting to get annoyed with Thunder's attentions.

"Oh, sorry." Thunder said, apologizing for the hundredth time.

Meanwhile, Lightning and the dragon were arguing fiercely.

"Why'd you drop me!?

"You said to put you down, so I put you down."

"I didn't ask you to drop me, you numbskull!"

"Who're you calling a numbskull, lizard-face!?

"I.m a dragon!"

"Again, could have fooled me."

"OK, that's it, let's go feather freak!"

"Bring it on pipsqueak!"

"Lightning, cut it out!" Thunder cried before the two could come to blows. "Spike, knock it off!" The mare said right after Thunder, defusing the situation. Both pegasus and dragon gave each other one last glare before going to stand next to their respective charges. A brief silence followed until Thunder cleared his throat.

"Pardon our manners. I am Thunder Boom. This is my brother Lightning Flash. Everypony just calls us Thunder and Lightning though." He gestured with his hoof both himself and Lightning as he spoke.

"Yo" Lightning said, still peeved at the dragon. After a quick glance at her companion, who waved his hands as if to encourage her to speak to them, the mare said

"Pleased to meet you Thunder and Lightning. I am Twilight Sparkle. this is my assistant Spike."

"Hey" Spike said, still peeved at Lightning.

"You're not from around here are you?" Lightning asked immediately. "Lightning, don't be rude!" Thunder said a little to loudly.

"Oh, it's alright." Twilight said. "As a matter of fact we're not from around here. we've come down from Canterlot to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. Speaking of which, we should probably get going." she started to walk by the brothers, Spike trailing behind her.

"Hey," Thunder said as he stepped in front of her. "Maybe we can escort you around town, give you the grand tour."

"No, that's okay." Twilight said as she sidestepped him.

"Are you sure? because we would be happy to-"

"No, that's okay." an edge of agitation was creeping into her voice as she spoke.

"Oh okay. well we'll be here if you change your mind."

"I'll remember that." Twilight said, then hurried onward toward her destination. before joining her, Spike walked up to Lightning.

"This isn't over." Spike whispered so that only he could hear.

"Not by a long-shot." Lightning agreed, snarling. With a final growl, Spike ran off to catch up to Twilight. Thunder watched them leave until Lightning tapped his shoulder.

"Come on, we have to finish our patrol before we go home." Lightning said then took to the sky.

"Yeah, right." Thunder agreed, then followed him, the whole experience leaving him with a feeling he couldn't identify.

Aside from helping to clean Daisy's chimney, the rest of the day went off without a hitch. The brothers were about to fly home when a pink blur came right up to them. Before they even had time to blink, the blur reached up, grabbed them by the tails and began pulling the struggling, screaming pegasi towards the library.

Chapter 6

Thunder and Lightning screamed as darkness suddenly overtook them. The strange being finally let go of them and put hooves to their mouths to silence them.

"Sssshhhhh. Be quite you guys, you don't want to ruin the surprise!"

The boys calmed down, taking a few seconds to recognize the mare's voice.
"Pinkie Pie?" asked Lightning, panic turning to surprise in a heartbeat. "What's going on?"

"I,m throwing a surprise party for the new pony in town. I saw you guys just hanging around outside and thought you might want to join in on it."

"And you couldn't have just told us about this because?" Thunder asked, placing emphasis on the last word and raising an eyebrow which couldn't be seen in the darkness.

"Because it wouldn't have been as fun as dragging you guys in here silly!" the pink party pony replied happily.

Before Thunder could respond, the sound of voices suddenly picked up out side. Pinkie Pie uttered an unusually loud gasp and stuck something inside Thunder and Lightning's mouths.

"Here she comes. When the lights come on blow on these as hard as you can." she said, revealing the objects as party blowers.

"Pinkie, you are so random." Lightning said, repeating the worn out line that best described the pink mare.

"Hush!" Pinkie said angrily, then no more was heard.

As they waited, the heroic pegasi became aware of the presence of other ponies around them. Sudden light lit up the room as the door was opened and disappeared just as fast as the door was closed. Now the voices could be heard clearly in the main room.

"Well, rude much?"

"Sorry spike. but I have to convince the princess that Night Mare Moon is coming and we're running out of time.I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time."

At the end of that last sentence, the lights suddenly came on, revealing Twilight Sparkle, Spike and the dozens of ponies that surrounded them.

"Surprise!" everypony in the room cried out.

On cue, Thunder and Lightning blew on their party blowers as hard as they could, sounding to all the world like a comical fanfare. Twilight looked around in surprise then groaned loudly, taking on a look of annoyance. Pinkie Pie appeared suddenly in front of the purple unicorn. eager to talk with her. She eagerly explained about her reasoning for the party, most of it being spoken too fast to be comprehended. After Pinkie played a prank on Twilight with hot sauce, the unicorn whisked away toward the stairs. Before she could go up them however, Thunder step in front of her blocking her path.

"Hey, it's me Thunder, we met earlier this afternoon."

"Oh yeah, right." Twilight's face took on a more irritated look as she talked, which Thunder ignored.

"I just wanted to apologize on behalf of pinkie pie. She just gets really excited for new visitors to town."

"Yeah, I can see that."

Thunder chuckled "Yeah that's our pinkie alright. So how'd your inspectio-" Thunder didn't get to finish as a purple aura engulfed him and moved him out of Twilight's path.

"Look I have something to do upstairs, so...bye." Twilight went up the stairs before Thunder could say anything.

"OK, well if you need anything, let me know!" Thunder shouted up the stairs. He turned and saw the face of his brother Lightning, who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Thunder asked, his face converting to anger.

"Nothing, Romeo." Lightning said with a smirk and went back to the party. Thunder uttered a few shocked grunts, then followed him, his ears flat against his head.

As the night wore on, the brothers preceded to talk with old acquaintances they had made over the years. The one Lightning was currently talking to at the moment was none other then Ponyville's very own Applejack.

"You had a family reunion! And you didn't invite me!?"

"I would have sent y'all an invitation, but everything got so hectic during the preparations that I forgot to." Applejack said apologetically. "I did manage to save these for you though."

with that, she procured two apple pies from seemingly nowhere, and handed them to Lightning. Lightning, with a big grin on his face, ate one of them in one bite and handed the other to Thunder, who was talking to everypony's favorite fashion diva Rarity.

"So how's the fashion world been treating you, milady?" Thunder asked as he ate his pie in one gulp.

"Quite kindly, thank you." Rarity responded. "Oh, I almost forgot to thank you for trying one some of the tuxedos I had designed last Tuesday. I,m going to corner the market with those suits!." she shook with excitement as she spoke the words.

"It was an honor and a privilege, madam." Thunder said, bowing low and speaking with an eloquence which was absent when he wasn't talking to Rarity.

When Rainbow Dash came over, Lightning began to sweat profusely. "Rainbow, I'm so sorry, somepony else cleared the skies before me..." the rest became jumbled and incoherent as he began to slip into a panic attack.

"Huh? Oh that." Rainbow said as she realized what Lightning was talking about. "Don't sweat it. I did it after all. You see, Twilight was saying I couldn't do it and whatever and I just happened to prove her wrong." she said the last words with a confident smirk.

"Oh, OK." Lightning said, calming down by a huge margin.

Meanwhile, Thunder struck up a conversation with the shy little yellow pegasus Fluttershy.

"Hey Fluttershy! How's Angel?"

He's fine. Um... about that." Fluttershy looked up a little shyly at Thunder. "Did you talk to Lightning about that. I mean it was nice of him to save Angel and all, but he didn't have to hit the fox so hard with the rake..."

"Don't worry about it. I've already spoken to him about it. He won't do it again. Promise." Thunder said, grimacing a little as he remembered that incident.

"Oh, that's a relief." Fluttershy said with a smile.

Pinkie Pie appeared suddenly in between the brothers. "So, what have you guy's been up to!?" she asked out of nowhere. Before Thunder could speak Lightning intervened.

"Well, since you asked, we were busy with saving a little filly from a vicious lion! Yes, it was huge too. With giant claws and teeth and-"

"Oh really, I heard you got mauled by a cat you were saving!" Pinkie Pie interrupted, a big grin on her face. "Yeah, you see, Thunder and Lightning were like 'Never fear, Thunder and Lightning are here!' and this filly was like-"

Before she could continue, Lightning covered her mouth with his hoof. "Oh, isn't Pinkie just a kidder? So who wants more punch?"

The party lasted until it was time to see the sunrise. Everypony was now gathered in town hall. The room was abuzz with excitement, Especially Thunder and Lightning. They had never before seen Princess Celestia in person and, Frankly, They wanted the whole thing to start already. Thunder looked over at Twilight, who had joined them from the library. She was looking worriedly at the moon for some reason.

Thunder was about to go over to see what was the matter, but Lightning grabbed him in anticipation.
"Here She comes." he said, barely controlling himself. Thunder nodded his agreement, turning his attention to the balcony. The mayor, who was giving a short speech, finally said.

"So, without further ado, please welcome Princess Celestia!" with that, the curtain upon the balcony, amid the fanfare of birdsong, pulled away to reveal...Empty space. Everypony gasped at this shocking revelation.

"Now calm down everypony. I'm sure there's an explanation for this." the Mayor said, trying to maintain control over the situation.

"She's gone!" Rarity said upon further inspection of the balcony.

"Oh no." Twilight said under her breath.

Thunder and Lightning, who had looks of disappointment, changed their expression's to one's of opened mouth wonder. for in the balcony, bluish mist was converging in the empty space meant for Princess Celestia. The mist converged into a solid being, a great black Alicorn with the look of pure malice in her eyes.

Chapter 7

The dark alicorn looked upon her "subjects" with an evil smile, her eyes glowing with menace.

"Oh my beloved subjects, It has been so long since have seen your precious looking, sun loving faces." she said this with a bit of a snarl in her voice. Meanwhile the ponies faces where anything but precious as they beheld her with terrified looks.

"What have you done with the princess?! demanded Rainbow Dash, preparing to launch herself at the alicorn. Before she could, however, Applejack grabbed her tail and pulled her back.

"whoa there filly" she said as she held Rainbow down.

The alicorn became, if it was possible, even angrier. "What, am I not royal enough for you? Does my crown not count now that I,ve been asleep for a thousand years? Don't you know who I am?"

"Oh, oh I know! Is it big angry meanie pants? or..." Pinkie Pie made a list of suggestions, none of them correct, until Applejack silenced her with a cupcake. The alicorn turned on Fluttershy.

"Don't you recall the legend?" she then turned to Rarity. "Didn't you see the signs?"

Suddenly Twilight approached the balcony, a determined look on her face. "I know who you are," she said. "You're the Mare in the moon. Night Mare Moon."

Night Mare Moon smiled genuinely for the first time. "so there's somepony who remembers me." "Yes" Twilight responded a little nervously. Night Mare Moon laughed evilly.

"Remember this day my little ponies, for it is your last. From this moment on the night will last forever!" at this the great alicorn laughed evilly, the dark, starry mist that was her mane turning to a swirling vortex in the air. The ponies all gave shocked looks and gasps. Except for two.

Throughout the princess of the night's introduction, Thunder and Lightning were simply staring in disbelief. As the exchange continued, their looks changed slowly into smiles.

"Are you thinking what I,m thinking?" Lightning asked his brother. "All the way." Thunder replied. As Nightmare Moon laughed, the brothers suddenly leaped into the air.

"Never fear! Thunder and Lightning are here!" they bellowed together, flying above Nightmare Moon's head.

Everything became silence as everypony looked up at the brothers. Nightmare Moon looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"And who are you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"We are Thunder and Lightning, the heroes of Ponyville." Thunder said, taking on the look of a determined warrior. "we will not stand by as you terrorize this town. So, will you surrender or will we have to stop you by force?" Lightning added, his voice and face suggesting that he hoped that she would go for the latter.

Nightmare Moon simply laughed. "Please, I'm not going to be intimidated by the numbskull brothers." At this, Lightning snorted in anger and charged her.

"Lightning!" Thunder cried following after him.

"Seize her! Only she knows where the princess is!" cried the mayor. The guards who where standing at attention quickly took off to obey. Nightmare moon snarled at the combined assault.

"Stand back you foals!" with that, she shot lightning bolts at the pegasi, sending them tumbling to the ground. With another laugh, Nightmare Moon turned to mist and slid out the door. Lightning, the first to recover, saw the mist retreating.

"Hey, come back here!" he said as he took off in hot pursuit. Thunder saw Lightning leaving and followed him.

Lightning was halfway out of town when Thunder caught up and grabbed him.

"Stop Lightning! We need to think of a plan!" at this Lightning calmed down a little.

"She's heading foe Everfree forest." Lightning said Thunder nodded.

"that must be where she's keeping princess Celestia."

"So what do we do?" Lightning asked impatiently.

"Now we get prepared." Thunder said simply.

A few minutes later, the brothers where leaving with packs of supplies on their backs. They were flying past the library when they heard voices inside. They quickly flew up to a window, listening in on the mares talking inside.

The mane six were gathered on the fringe of the forest, preparing to go in. "We're sticking to you like caramel on an apple." Applejack was saying when Thunder and Lightning appeared.

"Oh, what are you doing here?" Twilight asked with obvious annoyance.

"We overheard you talking about the elements of harmony and we've decided that this is too dangerous of a quest for you without a hero's escort." Thunder said in his gentleman's voice.

"Besides, we're coming with you whether you like it or not." Lightning added.

Twilight groaned. "Fine, but keep up." She said and walked into the forest along with the rest of the mane six. Thunder and Lightning giggled like school girls with excitement and followed.

Chapter 8

"So, what did you mean it was too dangerous for me to go on this quest?

"Nothing, honest!"

"Did you mean I couldn't handle it.?! Well let me tell you..."

"Hey, for the record, Thunder said it, not me."

Lightning and Rainbow where arguing, well, more like Rainbow was chewing Lightning out and he was trying feebly to defend himself. The ponies were currently on a cliff side inside the EverFree forest and, aside from the drama playing out behind them, nothing interesting had happened. Applejack was talking to Twilight during this time, and she finally turned towards the two pegasi and cleared her throat.

"Could you give it a rest back there? I can't hear myself think."

"Yes, you two fight like an old married couple." Rarity added.

"Really?" Lightning asked with a smile on his face. Rainbow didn't notice this, instead snorting angrily and stopped talking. Thunder, who was also near the back, simply rolled his eyes and continued on with the rest of the ponies.

"So, none of you have ever been here?" Twilight asked the rest of the ponies. "Oh, heavens no." Rarity said, looking around in fear. "I mean, look at it. It's dreadful!"

"And it ain't natural." Applejack chimed in. "Folks say it doesn't work like the rest of Equestria."

"All the more reason for us to be along to guard you." Thunder said, looking around warily.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Twilight.

"Nopony knows!" said Rainbow Dash, taking on the a scary face, scaring the rest of the ponies. Even Thunder backed up fearfully. Only Lightning appeared unaffected.

"Rainbow, cut it out." said Applejack, getting annoyed with Rainbow's antics. Unbeknownst to them all, a black mist appeared below them and seeped into the cliff.

"They say that anypony who ever went into the forest, has never come out!" Rainbow said, jumping up for effect. Suddenly the cliff gave way and crumbled underneath the ponies hooves. They all, with the exception of the pegasi, fell towards the ground screaming.

" Fluttershy, quick!" Rainbow cried, flying to catch one of the mane six. Fluttershy followed saying "Oh my goodness." the whole while.

Lightning gave a hoot of excitement. "Here's our chance Thunder!" he said, flying a little higher in his jubilation. "Never fear, Thunder and Lig-"

WHAM!

Lightning flew up too high and crashed headfirst into a cliff overhang. Knocked out cold, Lightning plummeted towards the ground. Thunder uttered a groan of frustration and followed after him. All the while, Twilight had fallen nearly over the cliff, but was caught by Applejack. However, they were both struggling to hold their respective positions.

"Applejack, what do I do?" Twilight asked, trying her best to hold on to Applejack.

Applejack took a peek upward, then said "Let go."

"Are you crazy?!" Twilight cried. "No I ain't I promise you'll be safe." Applejack responded.

"That's not true!"

"Now listen here. What I,m saying to you is the honest truth. Let go and you'll be safe."

After giving the earth pony a skeptical look, Twilight's eyes took a trusting look and let go. She fell screaming for a bit, but was grabbed by Thunder.

"Don't worry, you're safe milady." Thunder said reassuringly. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as she was let down to the ground.

"Sorry girls." said Fluttershy. "I,m only used to holding up a bunny or two." Twilight looked over at Applejack with new-found trust. The mist, foiled, retreated further into the forest to wreck more mischief.

"What'd I miss?" Lightning asked once he regained consciousness. Rainbow proceeded to tell Lightning how she, Fluttershy and Thunder saved the day.

"And then when you, Pinkie and Rarity were safely on the ground, Thunder swooped up and bam! Right in the nick of time.

"Yes, Rainbow, I was there and I,m very grateful." As she said this, Twilight flashed Thunder a smile, which he returned. Lightning looked downright depressed at missing this.

Twilight continued, But we got to-" she didn't get a chance to finish as a dark shape suddenly appeared before them. Twilight gasped.

"A manticore!" she cried. In response, the beast got up and roared viciously, ready to attack.

Chapter 10

Well, this was quite a pickle. The river that the ponies came upon after their laughing fit had subsided was roiling and impassable. And why was this? Because a sea serpent was throwing a tantrum because apparently a "Tacky" cloud of purple smoke had cut off half his mustache. While the rest of the ponies had been unsympathetic, Rarity was quite different in that regard. After a bit of talking on their part, Rarity finally pulled a scale from the sea serpent and cut of her tail,(Though her actions were suggesting a more violent action.) and attached it to the sea serpent's ruined mustache. The grateful sea serpent then helped the ponies across the river, ending that trial.

That done, twilight saw the ruins through a fog that appeared out of nowhere. Becoming excited, Twilight ran towards it, only to nearly fall over a cliff. There was a bridge, but it was rolled up on the other side.

"Now what do we do?" Twilight asked. Rainbow cleared her throat and pulled out her wings for emphasis.

"Oh, right." Twilight said almost embarrassed. As Rainbow prepared to take off, Lightning came up to her.

"Hey, I'll come with you. After all what kind of hero would I be if I didn't go to protect a-"

Rainbow whirled on him in anger. "That's it! Look, I don't need your help or your protection! I can take care of myself. so make like a goat and butt out!" with that, Rainbow flew over to the other side of the cliff.

"OK." Lightning said, his head hung low and his ears pressed to his head. The other ponies just sat in awkward silence. Thunder took Lightning by the shoulder and led him away from the others to a more secluded place.

"She hates me." Lightning said, sounding more depressed then Thunder ever saw him.

"She doesn't hate you." Thunder said reassuringly. "She's just like you. She has a lot of pride in herself, and that leads her to want to do things herself to show how she can do things herself. Your typically be a bonehead about it, but you do your hardest to prove yourself too. That's why I frankly think that you two are perfect for each other."

Lightning smiled at Thunder's words. "Thanks. Hey, Did you call me a bonehead?!"

Before Thunder could respond, They heard the other ponies cry out Rainbow's name. The pegasi quickly rejoined the mares, wondering what was going on.

"What happened?" Thunder asked Twilight.

"Their were some strange pegasi front of Rainbow. We tried to get her attention, but the fog got thicker. Now we don't know what's happening over there." Before they could say more, Lightning ran forward and flew into the fog where Rainbow was a few seconds ago.

"Lightning!" Thunder cried, but it was no use. Rainbow was in possible danger and Lightning flew forth to save his possible future girlfriend. Meanwhile, as the Shadowbolts were talking to Rainbow, their leader looked up to see the white pegasus flying toward them. With a snarl, she sent a shroud of purple smoke at Lightning. Lightning was almost there when the smoke surrounded him in a swirling vortex.

Inside the vortex, Lightning was beset by images of vicious beasts and other terrors, including his greatest foe of all. Owls. Lightning was scared out of his wits and was about to turn tail when he remembered what he was doing. He thought of Rainbow, the day when he first saw her race amongst the clouds, when they actually meet for the first time and other memories of her. He also thought of Thunder, his brother, and all the friends he had made since coming to Ponyville. And he thought of what would happen to them if Nightmare Moon had her way. He had to face her, face these horrors. He had to be brave, brave for Thunder, brave for Rainbow, brave for everypony.

So, with a determined snarl on his face, Lightning faced the beasts and raced forward, breaking out of the vortex and crashing onto the opposite cliff. He recovered to see Rainbow, safe and sound.

"Rainbow! I thought you were in danger."

"Naw," Rainbow responded, "Those guys were offering to give me a spot on their team and help me be the best flyer in Equestria. The catch was I had to leave you guys and go with them."

Lightning did the math. "But you chose us instead! Because your the most awesome pony in the world!"

Lightning stopped there, slightly embarrassed by his statement. Rainbow, on the other hand, was smiling at him, an action he returned. After a while Rainbow said,"We'd better get the bridge over to the other side. The guys are probably worried about us."

"Yeah" Lightning said in agreement. Together, the pegasi grabbed both ends of the bridge and flew over to the opposite cliff-side.

Author's Note

I decided to bypass the generosity trial as I saw it as inconsequential. If you hadn't already guessed, I was trying to show you that Lightning's trial was about being brave for your friends and loved ones, although I may have failed in that regard.

Chapter 11

After the episode with the bridge, Lightning wasted no time telling everypony about what occurred whilehe tried to save Rainbow Dash. Thunder rolled his eyes at Lightning's bragging, knowing that this was part joy at doing something heroic for once and part joy at being on good terms with Rainbow again. Lightning eventually shut up when the ponies walked into the castle ruins and beheld what was inside.

"Come on Twilight," said Applejack, "Isn't this what you were looking for?"

"The elements, we found them!" Twilight responded. The pegasi (Rainbow, Fluttershy, Thunder and Lightning.) flew forward and each grabbed a stone jewel from their altar, Twilight warning them to be careful the whole while.

"One two three four... there are only five." Pinkie said, having counted them as the elements were put on the ground.

"Where's the sixth?" asked Rainbow.

"The book said that when the five are brought together, a spark will cause the sixth element to appear." Twilight answered.

"what the hay is that supposed to mean?" both Applejack and Lightning asked at the same time.

"I don't know." Twilight admitted, "But I have an idea." She then crouched in front of them and looked at the elements with deep concentration. "Now stand back, I don't know what will happen." Closing her eyes, Twilight began to focus her magic through her horn into the elements.

"Come on y'all, let's let her concentrate." With that, the ponies began to file out of the room except for Thunder.

"Somepony has to stay and watch her, in case something happens to her." Thunder explained. Lightning went to hem and clopped him on the shoulder.

"Be good Thunder." Lightning said. "And don't do anything I wouldn't do." he added with a smirk and left. Thunder gave a growl and just stood waiting. Twilight was not giving him the time of day, focusing intently on her task.

Thunder watched her, looking at face as he did and noting her purple fur, her glittering horn as the magic flowed through it, the light purple highlights that ran through her dark mane like beautiful rivers of... Thunder gulped and looked away, a deep blush on his face. What was he thinking?! Was he just feeling under the weather or... was he developing a crush. When Rainbow raced against those colt jerks back when they were foals, was this what Lightning felt when he saw her for the first time? His heart slowing when he watched her, noting every detail of her look, bursting with joy when...

Thunder immediately pushed the thought out of his head. No. This was just a phase, that was all. He would get over it in time. Still...

Thunder was pulled back to reality when he heard Twilight's startled cry. Looking over, he saw the elements being sucked into a swirling purple vortex. "The elements!" Twilight cried and leapt forward into the vortex. "Twilight, wait!" Thunder cried and flew after her.

The other ponies heard Twilight's cry and raced towards the ruins. They entered the room just in time to see Thunder and Twilight disappear in a flash of light.

Chapter 12

The ponies were frantic. Where'd Thunder and twilight go?

"Twilight, where are you?" Applejack asked and looked around.

"Hold on, they're still around here." Lightning said, looking like he was concentrating on something.

"How do you know?" Applejack asked, turning to look at him.

"I can just sense it." Lightning replied.

"Look!" Rarity suddenly said. She was looking out the window upon a castle, where the inside was glowing with a bright light. Lightning didn't wait, flying straight at the place. "Come on!" Applejack said and with that the rest of the ponies headed towards the castle.

Meanwhile, Thunder and Twilight reappeared in a puff of smoke inside the castle, coughing as they recovered. They both gasped as they looked up and beheld Nightmare Moon, who was chuckling evilly and holding the elements in the hair with her magic, lightning striking next to her. Thunder immediately put himself between Twilight and the great alicorn of the night, his face thrown back in a snarl.

"Well, isn't it on of the numbskull brothers trying to protect his princess." Nightmare Moon said, laughing at her own joke.

Twilight went to stand next to Thunder. The two exchanged brief glances, Which Thunder ended with a nod. Thunder crouched down, while Twilight lowered her head and pawed the ground. Both looked ready to attack Nightmare Moon.

"You're kidding. You're kidding right?" Nightmare asked, wondering if they truly had the audacity to attack her. Twilight suddenly charged forward, her horn channeling magic as she did. Nightmare Moon went for to meet the charge, her own horn lowered. Before they collided, however, Twilight suddenly disappeared in a flash of purple light.

"What?" Nightmare said and turned to see Twilight reappear next to the elements she had abandoned. A sudden crash of noise drew her attention back forward, where Thunder collided with her face and held on with all his might. Nightmare shouted in anger and swung her head back and forth in an attempt to dislodge the pegasi. Twilight, on the other hand, recovered from her sudden spell and lowered her head towards the elements.

"Just one spark." she said "Come on, come on." She began to once again channel magic into the elements.

Nightmare gave a final shake, throwing Thunder into a wall. She then turned into a vortex and teleported right in front of Twilight. Before she could do anything however, the elements sparked, sending Twilight flying.

"No, no!" Nightmare said as the elements glowed brighter and brighter. Twilight smiled at this triumph. The elements glowed for several more seconds, then faded back into unimpressive stone.

"But where's the sixth element?" Twilight asked, shocked that it didn't work. Nightmare Moon laughed and, raising her hooves, smashed the elements in front of a stunned Twilight.

"You little foal, thinking you could defeat me!" Nightmare said in anger. "Now you will never see your princess, or your sun. The night will last forever!" With that, Nightmare laughed evilly, her mane turning into a swirling vortex.

"Wanna bet?" a voice suddenly said. Nightmare looked up to see Thunder flying towards her. The alicorn snarled, catching the pegasi in mid-air with her magic.

"And here I was thinking you were the smart one of the two." Nightmare said with a smile, "Can't you see it's hopeless? The elements are destroyed. You failed. Can't you accept that?"

Thunder closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again. "No. There's always hope. There's always a way. And as long as there is, I will keep fighting for the safety of Equestria!"

With that, Thunder began to struggle viciously against the alicorn's magic. Nightmare snarled once again and threw the pegasi into another wall. Twilight, who had been watching all this in shock, turned suddenly as she heard the other ponies crying out her's and Thunder's names. In that instant, Twilight had it all figured out.

"You think you can destroy the elements of harmony just like that?" She said as she turned to face Nightmare Moon, whose face was one that was confused. "Well, you're wrong." Twilight continued. "cause the spirits of the elements of harmony are right here!"

As she said this, the other ponies were assembled behind her(Except for Lightning as he was helping Thunder to his hooves.). The elements shattered remnants suddenly began to glow and float around Nightmare Moon, Much to the Alicorn's surprise.

Twilight continued to talk as this happened. "Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of Honesty! Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of Kindness! Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of Laughter! Rarity, who calmed the sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of Generosity! and Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her heart's desire, represents the spirit of Loyalty!"

As Twilight pointed out the ponies in question, The shards of the elements of harmony suddenly began to spin around the five mares. "Whoa." Thunder and Lightning said as they watched in stunned silence and awe.

"The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us." Twilight concluded.

"You still don't have the sixth element. The spark didn't work!" Nightmare Moon pointed out.

"But it did, a diffrent kind of spark." Twilight said. She then turned to the other ponies. "I felt it since the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared for you. The spark ignited inside me, when I realized that you all," She turned to face Nightmare Moon, a determined look on her face."Are my friends!"

"Yeah, we helped too, but feel free to forget about us." Lightning said with a scowl.

The sixth element appeared suddenly over Twilight's head, glowing radiantly in the room. "You see, when the, uh, the spark, is ignited in us all, it creates the sixth element. the element of Magic!"

With that, the elements suddenly transformed in to glowing crystals then, forming on the mare's necks, became necklaces with the symbol of everypony's cutie mark. Twilight was the sole exception, her's being a tiara. They then began to glow and a rainbow began to form.

"No! I'll will not be defeated!" Nightmare Moon suddenly cried.

With a shout of anger, She sent a burst of lightning to destroy the Mane six. Thunder and Lightning, who had been watching this whole thing with awe, suddenly gasped as the lightning went straight at the ponies. With brief nods to each other, the brothers put themselves between the ponies and the lightning, waiting to get incinerated. Then something strange happened. The pegasi began to glow as well. In between them, a bluish shield of energy formed deflecting the lightning into the nearby wall. The shield then disappeared, the brothers falling to the floor unconscious.

"What?" Nightmare Moon asked shocked. Then she looked up to see the rainbow the ponies had made coming towards her.

"No!" she cried as the rainbow enshrouded her in a vortex. It continued to spin around the shouting alicorn as the whole room was bathed in white light.

Author's Note

And there you have it. I know, you were probably expecting Thunder and Lightning to get their own elements of harmony, put I'll say this. This story's called "Guardians of the Elements" for a reason.

Chapter 13

The ponies awoke a little while later, groaning as they did so. "Everypony OK?" asked Applejack as she got up.

"ugh, what happened?" Lightning said as he rubbed his head to get read of the sudden migraine that assailed him. Thunder was suffering the same effect it seemed, groaning loudly.

"Oh thank heavens!" Rarity cried upon having discovered her tail was back to it's original length.

"Oh Rarity, it looks lovely." Fluttershy said, her eyes looking at Rarity with awe.

"I know! I'll never part with it again!" Rarity responded, nuzzling her tail.

"No, I mean your necklace," Fluttershy corrected, "it looks just like your cutie mark."

Rarity admired the necklace and did a quick comparison with her cutie mark. "So does yours" Rarity pointed out. Fluttershy gasped with wonder at her necklace.

"Look at mine, look at mine!" Pinkie Pie cried, showing off hers. The brothers, out of curiosity, checked to see if they had similar jewelry. Upon discovering they didn't, they sighed in obvious disappointment.

"Wow, Twilight." Applejack said, looking at her tiara. "I thought you were talking a lot of hooey, but I guess we do represent the Elements of Friendship!"

"Indeed you do." said an unknown voice.

All the ponies turned towards the voice. They watched as the sun rose, bringing a new dawn and, in a blast of light, the princess of the sun herself, princess Celestia, appeared. The ponies all bowed before her, save for three. Thunder and Lightning jaws sat agape in shock as they beheld the princess, While Twilight gasped in delight.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student." Princess Celestia responded, Nuzzling her student. "I knew you could do it"

"But, you told me it was just an old pony tale." Twilight said, obviously confused.

"I told you to make friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart."

Twilight turned and smiled at her friends as the Princess said this. "Now if only another will as well." The princess continued. "Princess Luna!" The now small and cute looking alicorn princess gasped as she heard her name spoken.

"It has been a long time since I've seen you like this." Princess Celestia said, walking over to Luna. "It is time to put our past differences aside. we were meant to rule together, sister."

"Sister?!" Everypony, including Thunder and Lightning said.

"Will you accept my friendship?" Princess Celestia asked Luna, pausing for her to answer. The rest of the ponies literally stood on the tips of their hooves and leaned forward in anticipation. Pinkie actually fell forward, earning a deadpan look from Thunder.

Princess Luna hesitated for a minute, then, crying the whole while, She ran forth and nuzzled Celestia. "I,m so sorry! I've missed you sister!." Luna cried.

"I've missed you too." Princess Celestia said, her own eyes tearing up.

The ponies watched with approval, then turned their attention to Pinkie, who was sobbing quite loudly.

"Hey, you know what this calls for?" she asked cheering up immediately.

"A party!"

Everypony was back in Ponyville and the festival was in full swing. The ponies had accepted Princess Luna back with open arms, and there were cheers when it was announced that Twilight was staying instead of going back to Canterlot. Only two pegasi were not in the crowd. Thunder and Lightning were on the fringe, watching the celebration. Lightning looked depressed, while Thunder was cheerful.

"What's up?" Thunder asked, noting Lightning's depressed look.

"This was our chance to prove once and for all that we were heroes," Lightning said. "And what do we get? The mares we were supposed to protect ended up saving the day, and we get no thanks for the help we did."

Thunder smiled at his brother. "Hey so we didn't exactly save the day, but Nightmare Moon's defeated and everything is all right. What more could you ask for?" Lightning was cheered up a little and managed to smile back at Thunder.

Then they felt a presence before them and beheld Princess Celestia. "The mares told me that you had joined them as their protectors." She said, looking down on them.

"That's correct princess." Thunder managed to stammer out.

Celestia smiled at them. "Could you do me a favor?" she asked. The brothers nodded, unable to say anything else. "I want you to continue to be their guardians. watch over them and make sure to help them in any way possible."

Thunder and Lightning nodded again, this time unsure of what to say. Celestia smiled at them again and went back to the celebration. The pegasi watched her leave then Pinkie Pie appeared.

"What are you guys doing here? the party's over here!" With that, Pinkie grabbed both of them and dragged them over to the rest of the mane six, who all converged in a group hug around Twilight. Thunder and Lightning smiled at each other, then joined in on the hug, laughing the whole while.

This was going to be an interesting adventure.

Author's Note

And there it is, the happy ending, the grand finale! Now there's a question I need your help to answer. Should I make more Thunder and Lightning stories? If it turns out you want more, what do you think I should write about next. More Mlp episodes that include Thunder and Lightning? Their own episodes? Tell me what you think! I might even give them their own musical number!

So if you want to see more, what are you waiting for? Review.

Chapter 9

The manticore roared at the ponies, clearly intent on attacking them.

"We have to get past it!" Twilight said, getting a determined look on her face. Before any of them could do anything, Thunder and Lightning stepped between the mane six and the Manticore.

"Get back! We'll protect you." Thunder said, facing the beast with bravery, as did Lightning.

"Hey, we don't need protection!" Rainbow said indignantly.

"Rainbow could you just let us do our jobs!" Lightning snapped.

As he said this, the manticore lurched forward to punch their lights out. With yelps of surprise, the brothers quickly got out of the way. Rarity suddenly jumped forward and kicked the beast in the face with her back legs.

"Take that you ruffian!" she said with a smile of triumph.

The manticore simply roared in her face, completely ruining her mane.

"My hair!" Rarity cried in dismay, then noticed the monster growling at her and bolted with it right behind her. While it was chasing Rarity, Applejack jump on it's back.

"Yee-haw! Get along little doggie!" she cried, acting like the cowpony she was. The manticore struggled and, after a few seconds, bucked the earth pony off.

"all yours partner." Applejack told Rainbow as she soared through the air.

"On it!" Rainbow said and dove towards the manticore. She began to fly around it and became so fast that she was a rainbow blur. This disoriented the monster until it lashed it's scorpion tail out, sending the pegasus flying to the ground.

"Rainbow!" cried Twilight as Rainbow hit the ground.

That did it for Lightning. With a snarl, he lurched forward and struck the manticore with a series of lightning-fast jabs. The manticore roared in pain from the blows, then struck Lightning, sending him to the ground next to Rainbow. Thunder then took his turn. Crouching down, he went flying with a crash of noise, striking the manticore like a cannonball. Doubling-over, the beast recovered and, grabbing Thunder by the tail, twirled and flung him to the ground in front of the rest of the ponies.

As everypony recovered, Twilight looked at the manticore. It snorted and made ready to charge. Twilight responded with a snort of her own and made ready to charge. As one the ponies all charged at the beast. This whole time Fluttershy had been saying "Wait" but she was to quiet to be heard by anypony else. Now she stood in front of them and, with a mighty shout, cried "Wait!". The ponies all stopped in their tracks, shocked by the sweet little pegasus's outburst.

Now that she had stopped them, Fluttershy went over to the manticore. The beast looked as if to attack her, causing Thunder and Lightning to tense up and the rest of the ponies to shield their eyes. Unfazed, Fluttershy continued onward.

"It's okay." she said, nuzzling the manticore on the paw and looking up at it sweetly. After a moment's hesitation, the manticore opened it's paw, revealing an overly large thorn stuck in it.

"Oh you poor little baby." Fluttershy said sweetly.

"Little?" Rainbow asked.

"My sentiments exactly." Lightning said.]

Ignoring them, Fluttershy reached forward.

"Now this will hurt only for a moment." she said, pulling the thorn out. the beast roared, causing everypony to go on high alert. But a second later, the manticore was holding Fluttershy in its paws and licking the giggling pegasus affectionately.

As the manticore continued it's affections, the ponies quickly slipped past it unnoticed. When Fluttershy rejoined them, Twilight asked

"How did you know about the thorn?"

"I didn't," replied Fluttershy "Sometimes you just need to show a little kindness.". After thinking on this for a moment, Twilight smiled and continued onward.

"We need to talk." Lightning said a little later. The ponies all looked at him, all ears about what he would say.

"We're supposed to be your guardians" Lightning said, indicating both him and Thunder. "And we can only do that if you let us be your guardians."

Twilight sighed and looked at the brothers. "Look, we appreciate your help and all, but we can handle ourselves just fine without you fussing over us."

"Still," Thunder said "We only have your safety in mind, so-"

"ugh" Rarity said, interrupting Thunder "My eyes could use a break from all this muck." Suddenly, everything went pitch black. "Not literally." Rarity said a little nervously. Soon everypony became lost, trying to catch their bearings.

"Ow! Lightning, you stepped on my tail!" Thunder cried.

"Sorry." replied Lightning.

"Oops. I think I stepped in something." Applejack said, a little grossed out. Fluttershy suddenly screamed

."It's just mud." said Applejack. But soon everypony was screaming as the trees took on the appearance of monsters. But to everypony's surprise, Pinkie Pie was laughing and even making faces at the monstrous faces. Thunder and Lightning, who had held onto each other in fright, quickly disengaged in total embarrassment.

"Pinkie, what are you doing? Run!" Twilight cried. Pinkie simply laughed.

"Oh guys, can't you see.?" Then she began to sing.

Pinkie Pie:

When I was a little filly and the sun was going down...

Thunder and Lightning: Huh?

Twilight Sparkle: Tell me she's not...

[Pinkie Pie]

The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown..

.Rarity: She is.

[Pinkie Pie]I'd hide under my pillow

From what I thought I saw

But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way

To deal with fears at all

Rainbow Dash: Then what is?

[Pinkie Pie]She said: "Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall

Learn to face your fears

You'll see that they can't hurt you

Just laugh to make them disappear."Ha! Ha! Ha!

Ponies: [gasp]

[Pinkie Pie]So, giggle at the ghostly

Guffaw at the grossly

Crack up at the creepy

Whoop it up with the weepy

Chortle at the kooky

Snortle at the spooky

And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna... hahahaha... heh...Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaauuugh!

During the whole course of this, the ponies were soon enthralled in and took turns laughing at each of the tree's grotesque faces. When the song concluded, the faces had all poofed away and light had returned to the forest. As for the ponies, they were all on the ground caught in a fit of laughter.

"Why are we laughing?" Lightning asked in between breaths. Thunder didn't answer, just kept on laughing.