Elements of Awesome: Volume I

Faith shuddered. She glanced around quickly, relieved to see proper Equestrian rocks and trees. The lion was gone. The sand was gone. And the spooky zebra was gone, a fading puff of green smoke in his place.

The yellow pegasus stared at her friends. Each looked just as confused and relieved as she felt. She caught Dawn’s eye. The unicorn smiled softly, but her eyes betrayed her. She was frightened. The unicorn glanced away, returning to a prideful stance.

“Alright everyone,” Dawn drew their attention away from the smoke, “We should go. I want to be on the other side of this mountain before dusk.”

Faith shook her head, clearing thoughts of him. She turned her attention to the cave. It wasn’t too dark, thanks to the two unicorns, but Faith loathed to think what lay beyond their bubble of light. Small, reddish spiders scuttled away the sextet, hiding in the shadows.

The cave was unnaturally smooth, as if it had been carved into the mountain. The reddish stone sparkled from the unicorns’ light. As they walked, the shiny-stone cave began to widen and look more natural. The smooth hall gave way to bumpy corridor. Eventually, the corridor split into three separate paths.

Dawn stopped, halting the rest of the group. To the left lay nothing but rubble. The other paths appeared to be clear.. The unicorn closed her eyes in concentration. A second layer of magic, a slighter darker red, enveloped her horn. After a moment, the glow died. Dawn trotted down the middle path.

“Uh, Dawn?” Faith stopped the unicorn.

“Yeah?”

“How do you know that’s the right path?” Lazle cut in.

“A spell.”

“A pathfinding spell?”

“Uh, kinda.”

Faith gave her friend a stern look that simply said, “Explain.”

Dawn sighed. She lit the light from her horn dim. “Alright. When I was little, after my dad died, my mother went through a small depression. He’d fallen ill and she felt responsible for his death. No matter what spell she tried, he couldn’t be cured. She did get better. Celestia helped her through it.

“Since then, my mother poured through other kinds of magic. She spent her life studying Friendship. But that was almost a fault. She neglected other forms of magic and felt the need to catch up. She never told me what spell she was searching for, but one day, she found it.

“I was asleep. Mom burst into my room and shook me awake. Her mane was a mess, but she was smiling warmly. A purple aura enveloped me. I... I can’t exactly describe what she did. But I could feel everything. I could feel my mother’s store of energy. I could feel her love. I - Stop staring at me like that!” Dawn blushed, looking away from the amused faces of her friends.

“Sorry, Dawnie,” Faith giggled. “It’s just so cheesy.”

Dawn glared.

“Sorry,” Faith lowered her head, “Go on.”

“Well, there’s not much more to say. I’ve always felt connected to my mom, but since then, our bond’s been strengthened. I can feel her whenever I want. I can always feel her magic and, with a little effort, I can find her.”

“Wait, so it tells you where she is? Couldn’t you just teleport to her?”

“No. It works like a compass, except it points due Mom.”

There was a small silence.

“That’s awesome,” Party said softly.

“At least we know you aren’t just wondering aimlessly,” Lazle muttered.

“But what does that spell have to do with your father?” Tart asked.

“Right. Well,” Dawn shrugged sheepishly, “I don’t really know. The next day, she left me with Spike. Mom said she was going to Canterlot to take care of some business with Celestia. But she didn’t. She went too far east. I don’t know where she went, but I think it had something to do with my father.” Dawn brightened her horn. The tiny horde of spiders that had been collecting at her feet vanished. She shivered and started progressing down the cave. “We should probably go before those things start to nest.”

Faith and the other ponies nodded. The yellow pegasus took her place behind their leader, lost in thought. She stared at Dawn’s sunrise mane, realizing for the first time how odd her - Dawn’s - life was. The unicorn was the daughter of Princess Celestia’s protege, the Element of Magic, and dorkish bookworm. She was the niece of Princess Cadance, and the only grandfoal of her family. Dawn was expected to be a legend. But to Faith, she’d never been anything more than just Dawn. Dawn the silly unicorn. Dawn the history whiz. Dawn the beautiful mare.

In comparison, Faith was nothing special. Yes, she was also the daughter of an Element. All of her close friends were. But there was no legend to her name. Nopony expected anything special of her. In that respect, she was all alone.

Her cousin, Tart, was expected to run Sweet Apple Acres along with her sister. Lazuli had a beautiful voice, and would probably follow in her Aunt’s hoofsteps. Thunder didn’t quite have his mother’s speed, but he inherited her love for tricks. Everypony knew that he would also become a Wonderbolt eventually. Even Party was special. He’d fallen sick as a yearling, but he struggled through. His brother, Faith had been told, did not. Since then, Party seemed immune to almost any disease, including sleep. When he wanted to, the pink pony could go for hours.

But Faith was nothing. Faith was just faith. The pegasus daughter of Fluttershy and Big McIntosh. That was all she held to her name.

Faith glanced over her shoulder. Lazle was glaring daggers at the pegasus. Faith raised an eyebrow at the unicorn, but Lazle just blushed slightly and admired the cave’s sparkly walls. The pegasus snorted and returned to her depressed mood.

--

“Finally!” Lazuli sang. “We’re free of that dirty old cave.” The unicorn stepped out of the dark, glancing around. They stood in a small clearing. Around them stood dead and dying trees. She sighed. “Ugh, and back into the forest. Fun.”

“Hear, hear,” Party said absentmindedly. He immediately sank down into a stretch. The last few yards of the cave had been slightly cramped for a pony of his size. He glanced up and, suddenly, his body went stiff. The others caught it too, eyes growing wide.

Lazuli stared at the five ponies. “What’s wrong? Why are you all star - Get your horn off of me!” She barked as Dawn poked at the bi-color maned unicorn. The spider that had been resting calmly between the mare’s ears fell. Lazle stared at the orange, three inch arachnid blankly. Suddenly, she reared and dashed away from the clearing. The others could hear her squealing nonsense.

Faith dashed after the unicorn, slightly amused. Leave it to Lazle to panic over something so small. When she wanted to, the unicorn could really run. Faith chased her into a dark section of the forest, tackling her to the ground. They rolled into a small ditch

“Hey. Hey!” Faith shook the mare. “Lazle, are you okay?”

“Yes. No. That thing was on me. On me!” The unicorn shuddered.

“Yeah, well, it’s dead now.”

“Oh Celestia, what if it bit me?”

“It didn’t. You would have felt it. And you’d be fine anyways. Bright colors means it isn’t poisonous.” Faith hoped she was right. She couldn’t quite remember what her mother said, but there was no point in worrying the unicorn further.

“Oh.” She gave a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

The two ponies sat in an awkward silence for a moment.

“Faith?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t mean to pry, but are you and -”

“Lazle.” Faith interrupted.

“Sorry, you’re right. Eavesdropping is wrong. And it’s your business -”

“Lazle!” Faith repeated. She motioned behind the blue pony. The unicorn turned and froze in panic.

Before them stood a giant, furry spider, easily twice the size of the pegasus. Faith gulped. Fluttershy had told her daughter that all animals deserve respect. The pink and black maned pony was pretty sure that her mother never met overgrown arachnids. The tree-branch legs bunched up and the spider launched itself at the pair. Faith grabbed Lazuli, rolling underneath the creature’s belly.

Faith popped up into a guarded stance, turning to face the furry creature. She could hear Lazle rising to her feet. The overgrown spider hissed at the pair. Faith hissed back. The spider slowly stepped toward them. The pair retreated, keeping distance between them and the monster, but they were quickly running out of space. Faith flared her wings, preparing to do something very stupid.

Lazle noticed. “Faith, don’t you dare even think about it.”

The pegasus launched herself at the spider. The creature paused and cocked its head, as if amused by the sudden bravery. Faith charged for the spider’s eyes, flaring her wings at the last second. She collided with spider, miraculously not impaling herself on its fangs. The two rolled over each other. The spider’s legs flailed. Faith felt one of the tree-branch legs hit her. She spiraled away from the monster, slamming into a tree. The world faded to black.

Faith jerked awake feeling something pierce her back. She was wrapped tightly in something, restricting her movement, but she trashed as best as she could. Suddenly, the pain stopped. She continued to trash, tearing the cocoon apart.

“Faith,” a warm voice called, “calm down.”

The pegasus stopped. She glanced around, noticing the five familiar faces. She was in a different clearing, in a much a brighter section the forest. The trees looked like real trees, not dying husks. She placed a hoof to her head gently.

“What happened?”

“You got knocked out while being stupid.” Lazuli glared for a moment, but her expression softened. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

“Y’all wanna tell us what happened?” Tart interrupted. “Ah don’t like draggin’ unconcious cousin outta dark holes.”

“Later,” Faith consented. “But I need to talk to Lazle a moment.”

The blue unicorn stepped forward. The others continued to surround the pegasus. She stared at them blankly.

“Alone.”

The others trotted away, clumping in the far end of the clearing.

“Yes?” The blue and white maned unicorn asked.

“So,” Faith grinned wickedly. “You were spyin’ on me.”

“What? I never!” She tossed her head in a haughty manner. Faith raised an eyebrow. The unicorn sighed. “I didn’t mean to. It just - I...” She blushed. “I’m happy for you and Thunder.”

The two sat in silence for a moment.

“What?”

“I said that -”

“No,” Faith cut Lazuli off again, “I heard. I’m just confused. Lazle, Thunder and I aren’t anything. I don’t know why you think we are.”

The unicorn’s ears perked up. “You aren’t?”

Faith giggled, her face reddening. “Lazle, I don’t like colts.”

The two stared at each other for a moment. The unicorn didn’t look as surprised as Faith expected. Faith rolled her eyes.

“You know, some reaction would be nice. You’re only the second pony I told.”

“Oh, sorry.” Lazle blushed a little. “It’s just - Well, you see...” The unicorn put a hoof to her chin, trying to come up with a delicate way to break the news. Failing that, she went for a more direct approach. “Uh, Faith, dear, most ponies already assume you are, um, more inclined toward mares.”

“Oh,” the pegasus said softly, frowning slightly. Lazle watched her awkwardly. Part of her just wanted to reach out and wrap the pony in a tight hug. But she resisted, unsure of how Faith would react. After a moment, the pegasus glanced up, beaming.

“So, Lazle, what do you think of Dawn?”