Elements of Awesome: Volume I

Tart did not appreciate being shook awake. Sleep was good. Sleep let the body rejuvenate itself. It allowed the muscles to relax, the mind to calm, and the something to whatever. Being woken up, however, was bad. Awake meant not asleep.

“G’way,” Tart muttered. She pushed at the prodding hoof.

“Come on, sleepy head,” Lazle said cheerfully. “Rise and shine.”

“Five more minutes.”

“Sorry, AT-AT,” a different voice - Party’s? Tart was too concerned with sleeping to notice - a different voice responded. “No can do.”

“G’way,” Tart repeated. The voices stopped. The prodding ceased. Tart smiled, shifting herself to a more comfortable position. For once, she won more sleep.

“Fire! Fire in the orchard!”

Suddenly, the world exploded into sound. Tart jumped to her feet in surprise, spinning around to find the source of the noise. She tripped on her own hooves and crashed Lazle, bringing the tent down on the pair.

“Up yet?” Party leaned in to ask.

She glared at him in response.

--

Apple Tart took a long drink of water. They’d been walking for almost five hours with no break. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Lazle did make a fuss when she realized that Dawn was leading the rest of the ponies further away from Ponyville. Though she decided to stay quiet and trot along, rather than make her way back alone. Grudgingly, that is. In any case, forcing their way through the forest’s lush undergrowth was not an easy task. Even Tart, toughened by hours of labor on the farm, was starting to feel the burn.

Fortunately, the forest was starting to thin out. Alfalfa Ridge, the miniature mountain range that ran through the back of Everfree, was starting to creep up on the group. The peaks were covered in a thick coat of snow. Tart hoped that they could find a way around. Or through. Either would be preferable to heading up.

The bay pushed herself away from the river. Her stomach gurgled in a gurgly fashion. She sighed, stalking over to Dawn’s saddle bags to search for food. Unfortunately, they were barren of anything of the sort.

“Anypony got anythin’ t’eat?” Tart glanced between the four ponies present. They all shook their heads. “Well, shoot. Ah’m starved.”

“We all are,” Lazle said dryly, glaring at Dawn. The latter unicorn shrugged sheepishly. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but was cut off immediately.

“Never fear! Faith is here.” The pink-and-black maned pegasus fluttered down, forelegs burdened with some kind of fruit. It was vaguely red, and similar to grapes in shape, but much larger.

Tart eyed them suspiciously, her mouth watering a little. She didn’t trust anything grown in the Everfree forest. Then again, food was food. “Y’all sure that’s okay to eat?”

“Of course. Mom and Dad are Ponyville’s experts on all things wild and lifey. They’ve taught me everything they know. Sure, I don’t have as good of an eye, but I’ve learned.” To prove her point, the pegasus bit into one of the kinda-grapes and chewed happily. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide. Faith spat out the fruit. She coughed several times before collapsing to the ground, wheezing.

“Faith!” Everypony yelled, rushing to the collapsed pegasus. Dawn’s horn surged with magic. She ran it over the pegasus, doing whatever magicky thing she was doing. After a moment, Faith sat up giggling.

“You’re too easy.” She grinned. Party and Thunder chuckled, embarrassed. The other ponies did not. Tart slapped the back of Faith’s head.

“Not funny,” she glared.

Faith rubbed her skull, still grinning. “Sure.”

--

After lunch, which mostly consisted of Faith convincing the others that they kinda-grapes weren’t really poisonous, and that she “is so very sorry” for tricking them like that. The forest soon gave out, revealing a field of brilliant blue flowers. They were probably the most beautiful flowers Tart had ever seen. They seemed to glow, intensifying their color. The six ponies couldn’t help but admire the field, awestruck by the beauty. As soon as they set forth to wade through the field, a voice called out, forcing them them to halt.

“No! Do not touch the plants of blue; they shall surely do not but hurt you.”

The turned to see a frantic black and white pony racing toward them. Tart’s heart stopped in her chest. Forget flowers, he was gorgeous. He short mane stood perfectly straight, following down his neck. It matched the pattern of his body. His cloak billowed out from behind him as he charged the six ponies. But nothing stood out like his eyes. They shone with the same intensity as the flowers, drawing all attention to his dark blue irises. He had a single gold loop above his left eye, and a faint scar below the right. Apple Tart, for the first time ever, was completely in love.

“Who are you? Dawn growled, lowering her head into a defensive stance. She channeled some magic into her horn, adding to the effect.

The zebra stared at her, bemused. “In my homeland, I was but a prince -” Tart’s heart fluttered. A prince - “though I doubt that gives you any hints. I am Zachariah, ruling son of -”

“What are you doing out here, Zachariah?” Dawn demanded.

“I am here on a mission to save my land, before it becomes burdened to beasts of sand.”

“Does he really have to end each line with a rhyme?” Party whispered.

“No, not quite,” Zachariah said, slightly confused, “but I thought it best to be polite.”

“Polite?” Dawn snorted. “Polite ponies don’t sneak up on others.”

The others stared at Dawn. “I’m sorry for causing such a fright,” the zebra said, assessing the unicorn’s stance. Dawn had ceased channelling magic, but she remained guarded. “I had not wished to start a fight.”

“Don’t mind her,” Tart replied, pushing the unicorn away. “Dawn’s jus’ crabby right now. Ah’m Apple Tart, but y’all can just call me Tart. If ya don’t mind me askin’, what are ya doin’ all the way out here?”

“Oh, I have wandered far and long, in search for one that has done my country wrong. I was... told that she would be in Ponyville, though I fear that I have far to go still. No matter, seeing you has rekindled my fire, and now, if I may inquire, I seek an answer to the same question that you asked me latter.”

The six ponies stared at him with blank expressions.

Zachariah sighed. “I wish to know why you are also so far out.”

“Oh!” Tart chuckled. “We actually just left Pon-”

“We’re camping,” Dawn cut in. “And if you don’t mind, we would best be off.”

“Very well, though if you wish to go around these hills of Joke, I would be happy to show you a cave through to the Dying Oak. But in exchange, if you will, I wish for directions to Ponyville.”

The six ponies exchanged a glance. They silently argued, conveying their thoughts mostly through strange looks. In the end, Tart won out.

“Well, Prince Zach, I’d be happy to oblige ya.”

“After,” Dawn added, “you take us to this tunnel.”

The prince nodded, and motioned for them to follow. Apple Tart happily followed, but she was pulled back by Lazle’s telekinesis. The blue unicorn waited for Thunder and Party to fall in line before letting go. She gave Tart a concerned glanced and joined the party.

Party instantly engaged the zebra in conversation, though not about anything of relevance. Tart quickly lost interest in the conversation, preferring to focus on a more interesting bit of the zebra. He was incredibly well-toned, though the cloak did a good job of hiding most of his body. He looked like he would certainly be a good... worker. On the farm! Tart blushed, and diverted her attention to the yellow pegasus nudging her.

“What?” The earth pony asked, annoyed.

“You have a crush on him,” Faith sang quietly. “You have. A crush. On him.”

“Ah do not! Though, he’s a might bit attractive.”

“Oh?” Faith raised her eyebrows. “I think you love him.” She made sure to stretch out the word love.

“Do not!” Tart said childishly. “Ah don’t spend all day thinkin’ about boys, unlike some ponies.” Tart stuck her nose in the air, trying to be dignified. It didn’t work.

“She likes him,” Faith told Dawn. The unicorn smiled at pair and shook her head.

“You’re really mature,” she said sarcastically.

Faith, either missing the sarcasm, or ignoring it, puffed her chest out with pride.

--

The zebra stopped outside the entrance of a dark cave. He picked up a small stick and struck it quickly against the wall. The tip instantly burst into flame, providing a little light. He nodded toward Thunder. The pegasus accepted the torch without comment.

“This, my friends, is where we part ways,” he grinned at the group. “I must warn you that the journey to the next town is little over two days. But if what... Party has told me is correct, mine won’t be as long I suspect.” He unslung the bag that had been mostly hidden by his cloak and emptied three small rolls from it. “My parting gift.”

Dawn levitated the rolls into her bag, not checking to see what they contained. She thanked the zebra and turned toward the cave. The others didn’t follow right away. Tart was, again, transfixed by the zebra’s gaze. His blue eyes were shining much brighter than they had when she first run into Zachariah. In fact, they were almost glowing. The zebra caught her gaze and smiled. His voice dropped an octave.

“And I’ll consider this yours.”

Her world faded to black.

--

Suddenly, Tart was in the middle of a desert. Other ponies - no, other zebras raced by her. Tart held her place, staring off at the approaching figure. It was massive, easily twice her size. The creature was vaguely cat-shaped, though it had a large, red ruff in a ring around its neck. Tart suddenly realized what the creature was; a sense of dread went through her. The giant cat was a lion. And it was charging right for her.

Her first instinct was to run. But her body didn’t move. Her heart-rate shot up. She could hear it pounding in her ears. Except... She couldn’t. She was panicked to be sure, but her body gave no sign of fear. Her ears flicked back with annoyance as the beast charged her. Every other pony - zebra - around her was fleeing, but her body still refused to move. The lion drew to a halt less than half a stride away from her. It roared, spittle flying from between its teeth. Tart just blinked and sighed, as if the creature bored her. It pulled its massive paw back to strike. Then, in a flash of green smoke, Tart was gone. She couldn’t follow her own actions fast enough. One moment she was standing, waiting to be struck down. The next, she stamped her hoof down and was suddenly on top of the lion. The creature was just as confused as she was. Tart didn’t give the creature time to react. She pulled back her other hoof, for the first time noticing the small spikes that protruded through the bottom. She slammed the spiked hoof into the creature’s skull.

Before Tart could process her actions, the world faded away again. She stood staring into the shining blue eyes of Zachariah. The zebra gave her a sad look, as if knowing what she just saw. He nodded to her and disappeared in a flash of green smoke.

Nopony said anything. They just stared after the fading fog, trying to understand what they just saw. A collective sense of dread filled them. A single thought raced through Tart’s mind, and, presumably, the minds’ of her friends.

Did we just send a monster to Ponyville?