Elements of Awesome: Volume I

“Faith, stop squirming,” Dawn said flatly. The spell required careful attention, and the yellow pegasus’s constant movement wasn’t helping.

“Stop stabbing me with lightning laced flowers.”

The three ponies stared at her in silence for a moment. Then Parteilich and Apple Tart burst out laughing. Dawn just smiled and nodded. She couldn’t risk making a mistake on this. Lazle said the pegasus had been knocked out after being bashed against a tree trunk. The minor abrasions were easy to mend, but the unicorn wanted to be sure her friend hadn’t suffered any permanent damage. Fortunately, Faith was only (“only”) concussed. She’d be fine.

“That sure ain’t somethin’ ya hear every day,” Tart giggled. The brown pony peered over Dawn’s shoulder, trying to see the invisible strands of magic that sewed Faith’s wounds.

“Dawn,” Party said amused, “Are you sure there aren’t any side effects from this spell of yours?”

Dawn sat back and admired her work. The pegasus was as good as new, minus some discoloration. “Well, brain damage,” Dawn grinned, “but with Faith, it’s hard to tell.”

“Hey!” Faith glared. The yellow pony attempted to come up with some witty retort. Failing that, she just shrugged her shoulders. The group burst into a fresh gigglefest.

The forest on the far side of Alfalfa pass was a mixed blessing. The six were free from whatever danger lay in the Everfree, though they’d been lucky to avoid most of the wildlife. Then again, if Faith’s experience told them anything, they were far from safe. And they had no real destination from this point. Dawn only knew to keep heading to the northeast.

The unicorn wrapped the second blanket around her friend. Faith gave her an annoyed glare, but snuggled against it. The pegasus fell asleep almost immediately, her cousins flanking her side protectively. Dawn smiled softly at the sight. Faith liked to act tough, but she relied on her family. Tart and Party were always there for her. As she grew older, the pegasus became more protective of her family. And her friends. Of them all, Faith probably held the deepest connection with each pony.

Dawn turned away from the group, gathering the supplies for a fire. She had learned her lesson. As much as it pained her to admit it, Lazle’s “slow” method of fire building was much better. The spark lacked the heat to inflame even the driest kindling.

She walked to the edge of the clearing where Lazuli and Thunder were pretending to gather firewood. Ha! They’d been sitting in the same place for the past few minutes, talking. Lazle was finally doing what Dawn had failed to even attempt. Their rivalry for Thunder’s affection was no small secret. Yet Dawn felt only the lightest touch of jealousy, which she quickly dismissed.

The truth was, Dawn could feel herself slipping away from the idea of romance. In the past couple days - had it really only been two days? - had shown her something that Ponyville could not. Her life was simple. Her life was easy. And she wanted something more. By the time her mother was Dawn’s age, Twilight had already shown a true mastery of magic. The older mare had discovered her role as an Element of Harmony. Dawn’s greatest achievement was passing Honors Calculus. The firey-maned unicorn realized that she was starting to obsess over superficial things. Being jealous because Lazle finally bucked up was beneath her. Once Dawn saved her mother, she planned to seriously study magic. She hadn’t earned her cutie mark for nothing. If magic was truly her gift, then she should learn some real magic.

The unicorn quickly gathered the wood for a fire from one of the dead trees and gathered what she could for food. The forest was slowly dying on this side of the mountains. The only living plants she could see were small bushes and the occasional tree. With any luck, the forest would either stop before much longer, or revive. Even if it didn’t, Dawn would continue to chase after her mom. She’d come to far already to think about retreating.

Within minutes, the fire flared to life. All six of the ponies crowded around the fire, though in slightly divided groups. Faith, half asleep, was squished between Tart and Party. Lazuli and Thunder sat across from them, making no attempts to hide their sudden infatuation. Dawn seated herself halfway between the two groups.

While they ate the small berries, Lazle, with muttered comments from Faith, told the others of her fight with the “Terrifying Arachnid Monsters.” Of course, the tale was highly dramatized, but that only added to the fun. After Faith was defeated by the gargantuan spider, the unicorn found a surge of bravery. She devised a cunning plan to lure the spider away. Well, she poked it with a sharp stick and ran away as fast as she could. But the plan worked. She bumped into Tart, and the two dragged the pegasus to safety.

“Not sure I can sleep knowing those things are still out there,” Lazle said quietly. The fire lit the clearing brilliantly, but the rest of the forest was shrouded in darkness. Celestia knows what could have been watching them. The six ponies subconsciously shifted closer to the fire.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.” Thunder grinned. Party gagged, earning him a glare from the grey pegasus. “And we can always toss them Party to snack on,” he continued.

“I’m far too pretty to eat,” the pink pony replied, holding his head in a dignified manner.

Dawn listened to the, er, ‘witty’ banter half-heartedly. Her eyelids were slowly becoming lead. Within moments, the world faded to darkness.

“Mom!” Dawn shouted, her voice echoing in the cave. The purple lump didn’t respond. Dawn lunged forward, trying to rush to her mother, but the unicorn couldn’t move. Some invisible force was holding her back.

Somepony laughed darkly. “Not so fast, my little pony.”

Dawn stopped running. She glanced around the dark cave, unable to locate the voice. “Who’s there?”

The darkness sighed. “No-one, I expect, you remember. Your mother got to know me quite well,  before, you know, she trapped me in stone again. You ponies are extraordinarily uncreative.”

Dawn glared at the darkness. She knew her mother’s stories well. “Discord.”

“The one and only. I like your generation much more than your mother’s. You ponies actually paid attention in history.”

Dawn’s horn glew with energy. She started toward her mother again. This time, the invisible leash let her go. Just before Dawn got to Twilight’s limp form, however, the older mare was enveloped in a cloud of darkness. The cloud took shape, forming a large pony, easily the size of Celestia. Her mane, infused with the colors of night, flowed mystically behind her.

“L-Luna?” Dawn asked, shocked to see the princess.

The dark pony laughed heartily. “No, my little pony, I am much stronger than her.”

“Nightmare Moon,” Dawn whispered. The unicorn channeled more energy into her horn, unsure of what she planned to do with it. She’d learned little beyond basic telekinesis, save for a basic firestarter. Dawn took an offensive stance, glaring at Nightmare Moon. Discord, wherever he was, would have to wait. “Step away from my mother.”

She unleashed a blast of fire, catching the alicorn by surprise. Nightmare Moon was consumed in flames for a moment. But the fires were quickly suppressed. The dark pony smirked. “Cute.”

Smokey tendrils shot from the pony’s mane, arcing their way to Dawn. She closed her eyes, attempting to hide behind her hooves.

Dawn was shaken awake. The sun was just beginning to rise; many of the night’s stars were still visible. The pink pony placed a hoof to his mouth, telling her to remain quiet. He motioned away from the dying campfire. Dawn followed him to the edge of the forest.

“You were talking in your sleep again,” Party stated. He tried to not sound concerned, but his eyes betrayed him. The earth pony was extremely worried.

Dawn blinked in surprise. “I - I’ve done it before?”

Party nodded.

Dawn sighed, glancing away from the colt. “Nightmares. You know the stories our parents tell us?”

Party grinned. “Oh, yes,” he said excitedly.

“Well, I’m afraid that,” Dawn blushed, feeling foolish to admit this out loud, “some of Mom’s villains have returned. Nightmare Moon, Discord, and that stupid griffon. I’m afraid of what they’d do if they got to her.”

“Dawn, stop worrying.”

“But -”

“No,” Party held out an hoof, “stop. Nightmare Moon was defeated. Luna is perfectly okay. Discord was trapped in stone and placed Celestia knows where.”

Dawn nodded. “But the griffon?”

Party laughed. “Twilight is the most talented unicorn in Equestria. I don’t think a crabby griffon is any threat. Besides, I don’t think your mom even spoke to Gilda.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Dawn sighed. “I’m just so worried about her.”

Party wrapped the unicorn in a hug. “Yeah, I know.”

--

Faith ignored the pain in her stomach. They hadn’t had anything to eat all day. The forest was dead. The few live trees near the base of the mountain were the last with any green. The dying forest eventually tapered off into dying plains. The grass rose above the pegasus’ shoulders, blocking her vision. No matter how much she begged, her friends kept her grounded. Fortunately, the weeds eventually became green. And they shrunk. Faith could actually see more than just her snout.

The six ponies stopped just before dusk. A city, easily the size of Canterlot, rested not too far away, no more than a couple hour walk. But the sunset captured their attention. They sat on a small hill, awed by the streaked sky. 50 shades of orange outlined the clouds, creating beautiful, silhouetted shapes.

Faith leaned on Dawn, her tail wrapped around the unicorn. Dawn twitched occasionally, but said nothing.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Faith whispered.

Dawn nodded.

“Hey Dawn,” Faith started. A Sudden surge of panic overtook her. Millions of butterflies suddenly took flight in her stomach. Faith was never good at rejection. Fear of losing her friends - for whatever reason - surged through her. The pegasus glanced away, moving off of her friend. “Are you hungry? I’m starving.”

The unicorn nodded. “Yeah, we should probably get going. We should get some food before Party eats us all.”

The pink pony’s ears perked up. “Hey! I don’t eat unicorn. Too much bone.”

The six laughed and started toward the town. Faith dropped back, annoyed at her own cowardice. Perhaps she was better off alone.

--

She awoke staring into the eyes of an extremely dark pony. His silver mane and tail seemed to glow in the dim room. His eyes were almost as dark as is onyx coat, giving him the illusion of lacking irises.

“Hello, Twilight,” he greeted, turning his head slightly. A small pink scar ran down his cheek. Twilight smirked. She’d given him that scar, and she was proud she had. The unicorn stood shakily, glancing over him. The unicorn had changed since she last saw him. His coat was once grey, almost as pale as Shining’s or Rarity’s. His mane used to be cropped close to his neck. Now it billowed out behind him, waving in the air, despite the lack of any breeze. Unlike his coat, it had brightened slightly.

Twilight stared at the pony, glaring directly into his eyes. “Hello, Midnight.”