I had just left the cafe I was at, a small place not too far from where I lived. Nothing was really to far away from my small apartment, since the town wasn't very big. I went to the cafe a lot compared to the other assortment of diners, I think I just went there because they made some of the best cookies I've ever eaten.
As I walked I took notice that my mind seemed to drift off and everything seemed to go out of focus. I tried to clear my head but it didn't seem to help. Then I noticed something strange, there was a portal that seemed to open in front of me and before I knew it I was walking through drawn in by whatever was beyond its thresh hold. The next thing I knew I was falling and before I could look to see the ground it found me I landed right on my stomach making a loud grunting noise as I made contact with the grassy ground beneath me.
I slowly stood looking around me wondering where I was and what just happened. There were a lot of trees and the sky was hard to see the branches of the tree tops blocking most light from the green and lush ground around me. I looked down and noticed something strange, where my feet normally would have been there was a pair of light brown hooves. I took a step back away from them but noticed they followed and I also noticed the strange feeling I had as I walked like I wasn't walking like I normally would.
As I started to wonder what was happening to me I searched the rest of my body and what I saw made my eyes go wide. My body now consisted of a dark brown tail and light brown fur and it seemed to be like the body of a small horse. I looked around and I found a small lake, I ran over to it and looked into the water and saw my reflection. I was definitely a small horse or something like that but what seemed the strangest was I was still me I had my green eyes and brown hair and my fur was light brown matching my slight tan I had before I walked into that portal. I stared at myself taking in the features of my new face and body. This was strange, how was this even possible? Was this going to be what I looked like forever now? I had a lot of questions but I decided that I wasn't going to find out where I was or why I looked like this if I stood around so I turned from the lake and started walking not even knowing where to go.
As I walked I looked around at the forest and was able to make out a few animals like birds and squirrels there were a few rabbits and there were even a couple mice. It was strange to me because they seemed to be talking to one another in there assortment of squeaks and chirps and seemed to be having a heated debate over the pile of acorns and other nuts they all surrounded.
While I watched I kept walking not noticing the slight crack in the earth and as i walked over it t gave way and I fell through down into a dark hole. Once again I found myself lying on my stomach on the ground in pain and wondered if this was going to be the last time this happened today. I stood once again that day and looked around finding myself in a underground tunnel with a wall behind me and the hole I fell through to high up to climb out of I found the only path for me to take was straight forward. So with caution in my step I started walking in hopes of finding some way out of this hole to look for answers. As I walked I took notice of a faint light ahead of me it seemed welcoming and so with no other way to go I walked towards it.
After walking for a while I walked out of the tunnel into a dimly lit room. What lay before me was strange, in the middle of the room floating above the ground was a ball of light no more than two feet in width but not completely a sphere and being a mixture of many different colorful lights flowing through it. it seemed to react when i got close the lights moving faster and when I took another step closer all of the lights jumped to me and before i was able to even move they had surrounded me and each time one of the lights touched me it seemed to vanish inside of me as I felt a strange feeling like a energy growing inside me as I took in more and more of the lights and as the last of them entered me the room went dark and there was a silence that followed the darkness. A moment followed before all the light shot out of me forming a semi circle in front of me each time a light landed a shape emerged and more and more lights shot out filling in behind the first ones making a crowd of shapes that as the lights dimmed and a faint glow of energy surrounding me showed that the shapes were more small horses each one had their own eye hair and fur color but they all seemed to have almost the same body type as me. They all looked at me each one seeming to give me their own look as if sizing me up some smiling some frowning and some even giving me a look that made me think they were all to exited to see me. After a few seconds of them staring at me they all turned back into the different colored lights and then the lights all jumped at me going inside me like they had before. Silence and darkness followed once more and I sat down confused and wondering what just happened and if I was going to run out of questions to find answers to. I continued to sit and wonder for a little longer before I decided I needed to get out of this place and find some answers so I stood up and started walking finding another tunnel at the other side of the dark stone room and walked into it.
I walked for some time before I found the exit walking out into what seemed to be a more dense part of the jungle with the exit I walked out of dug into a hill side. After seeing where I came from I decided that my path was just going to be strait forward away from the exit and into the woods. Once again i found myself walking without a known destination and ended up a rather large lake. Sitting down next to the water i relaxed i took a drink and looked around seeing that there were trees all around the lake and no set paths anywhere I sighed. "So this is what being lost feels like" I say out loud to myself. There was a small flash of light from my chest and one of the lights from earlier landed next to me and formed the shape of a small horse like the lights had done earlier. This one had white fur and white hair with a streak of light pink running through it and light pink eyes. "Hello" they had spoke in a feminine voice and had a slightly slimmer body then my own letting me know they were female.
"Um hello who are you?" I said wondering if she would be the one to answer some of my questions.
"I am known as Love I am one of many elements and based on your expression your very curious to know what is going on aren't you?" she looked at me with a slight smirk but her eyes seemed to show some sympathy in them so I decided to just nod letting her know she was right. "Well let me inform you on where you are how you got here and turned into a pony, ill also tell you what happened back in the room you were just in but once I tell you must promise to do something for me" I looked at her to try and find any form of ill intent on her face or in her eyes but after finding none and having the option to have my questions answered I nodded once again. "Good now listen closely, me and the other elements the others that went inside you brought you here we used a spell to summon someone to aid us we needed someone to wield us for we sensed that there was danger coming to this land and the spell found you and brought you to us but because we didn't know where the spell would bring someone from we put another spell in that would turn them into a pony the primary species of this land as to not bring alarm to the inhabitants and the spell found you and brought you here, now as for what happened in the room well that is simple. Each one of us elements went inside of you and became a part of you we are now all intertwined with you. Although not every element is here as some belong to others you have almost all of us inside of you." I stared my mouth hanging open as she finished answering all my questions and more. I was in another world I was a pony and I had who knows how many of these elements inside of me and after sorting through all this information I just had one last question.
"Why me?" at this question she smirked looking at me as if it was obvious.
"We needed someone with a strong mind and will with a body that was at least in good enough condition as to not be worn out by our energy being present and the spell found you so you must have met all the criteria" she said seeming sure of herself. I looked down into the water at my reflection wondering if what she said was true but not knowing if I should believe her I mean I've never done anything that great before and now she and all these other elements want me to help them with something that seems really important I’m just not sure if I’m the right one for this. she spoke again breaking my train of thought. "now to the matter of what I want you to do for me I want you to find one of our fellow elements we can feel them but the energy they are putting off seems different then before and were worried" her face seemed to look desperate and sad at the same time and since I already agreed to help and having helped anyway if she had told me this I decided to try and cheer her up.
"I'm sure there fine but we should hurry I’ll help you and your fellow elements find them" after I said this her expression changed into one of happiness and without warning she jumped onto me tackling me to the ground.
"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" She said as she hugged me tight. All I could do was smile she seemed to be radiating happiness from her and it made me want to just spend the day by this lake with her and see what else I could learn about these elements but I knew we had to find this other element as soon as possible. After a little longer of her hugging me she stood releasing her embrace and I stood up to we stood there for a moment just smiling and enjoying each other’s company.
"Shall we go?" I said and after she nodded she led the way towards wherever this other element was.
It had been hours since me and the element of love set off to wherever this other element was. (I decided id just start calling her Love since the element of love was a bit of a mouth full.) She told me the element we were going to save was the element of fear and bravery. She said that it was a special element because most opposing elements were separate while this one was two in one, but there was a problem, long ago a event of great envy took place. To try and stop one of the two princesses from loosing her way the element of bravery was to be used to help her see her way. When the element had made contact with the princess it looked as though it might work but as quickly as bravery set in fear did the same and the princesses already growing envy became stronger. Her sister used six other element on the corrupted princess and banished her and the element of fear and bravery to the moon for a thousand years, but there was a night she returned and was going to cast the world into eternal darkness and was almost successful, but thanks to six mares finding the elements of harmony and using there power they pushed fear from the princess and in doing so cast the element of fear and bravery out as well. Since then the element has stayed in the castle of the princesses in the Everfree Forest to afraid to leave thanks to the element being filled with fear from those thousand years years of banishment with the princess that was only more angry and filled with envy than before.
I had walked with love as she told me this and i couldn't believe it. Being banished to the moon, eternal darkness, just where am i exactly? I had agreed to help because I really did want to help them, but I have so many questions about this place and I don't know how much help I can be. She said the spell chose me, well I hope it chose right.
We walked for about another hour and the sun had start to set. on are way here we walked past a town. Love told me we had come from the White Tail Woods near the base of the Smokey Mountain, and that the town we passed was called Ponyville.
The forest in front of me, the Everfree Forest from what Love told me, was dark and the trees were very close together, the only way to get through without to much effort was the path that seemed to cut deep into the forest. "The castle is about half an hours walk from the entrance, we can stop and rest here for the night or go in its up to you" she looked ancius and was shaking a little and i couldn't just take a break if she would worry all night.
"Nah i'm fine we can go now" I said and she visibly relaxed. "lets go" I said as I began walking into the forest.
As Love had said it took about half an hour and we had made it to the castle. The ruins were large and probably held a lot of ancient knowledge within. The dark walls and tall towers made it look as regal as any other caste would which makes me wonder what it looked like when it was still all in one piece.
We walked into the castle and Love led me up one of the stair cases that let to the top of of of its towers. She stopped in front of the door to the mane room of the tower and turned to me. "I cant help you, we have tried to talk to her and she will not listen to us. It is up to you now" she said then in a flash she went back inside of me where the rest of the elements were.
I took a step forward and pushed the door open revealing a dark room with pillars along the sides, a couple of the walls had holes in them but the room itself was still holding its own against the crumbling parts of the castle. What stood out though was the shadowy figure sitting on the floor facing away from me. She looked Like Love when it came to her body type but thats where it ended. Her body was a dark black, and her mane and tail seemed to be a blackish grey.
I stepped forward into the room my hooves clattering on the floor, at this the mare turned around her silver eyes full of fear and terror. She jumped up and turned to me backing away and fleeing from me. Looking at her once more I could see that she looked weak and frail. I felt like i needed to help her now more than ever, but how was I going to get her to calm down? Suddenly an idea hit me.
I walked to the middle of the room and i sat down, at this point the mare was up against he rear wall trying to look as small as possible. So I just sat, and i continued to sit, my plan was to make her get curious of why I was there and approach me on her own. So I waited and would wait as long as possible.
Hours had passed and the mare seemed to stop shaking, she now was looking at me trying to figure out why i wasn't attacking her most likely. It had become late into the night and the moons light was showing through the holes in the walls. I noticed
she looked like she was having a inner debate, most likely trying to decide to approach me or not, after all curiosity can make someone do something they normally wouldn't do.
A couple more minutes passed and the mare had seemed to become more confident. She slowly walked over to me where I lay on the ground. I smiled at her which made her stop for a second but then she started walking again until she was a few feet from me and she sat down. She paused for a moment looking at me and then she spoke. "H-hello" she said nervously "wh-who are you?"
"I'm someone who wants to help you, you have been here for a long time right?" she nodded and looked down "why?"
"I'm a-afraid..." she started to cry, it wasn't a cry of desperation but one of true sadness. She was alone here, she had no way of knowing what the world was like it had been a thousand years of nothing but fear, and now she was abandoned and left to fear the world that left her.
"Well if your afraid why not face your fear?" I asked
"H-how do I do that? I d-don't remember h-how..." She had forgotten a thousand years and she had forgotten who she truly was. All she new was fear and without bravery fear takes a hold of you.
"I know we just met, but can you let me help you? I want you to remember how, I want you to remember who you use to be, but to do that you must join me." I held out my hoove to her and she flinched but after she looked at it and then into my eyes. For a second she said nothing and seemed to have another debate with herself then she nodded and slowly reached out and grabbed my hoove with her own, a second later and she glowed and flashed inside of me just like love and the other element had, but this time I felt her there I felt all her pain and fear, and for a second I thought it was going to be to much for me, but then I felt something else. It was bravery it was a small feeling but I held onto it and I refused to let it go, and slowly the fear went away until it was the same as it always had been, that fear that shows you what is dangerous and what you should worry about, it was no longer the overwhelming fear. Bravery had also gone back to its normal self, it grew to the point where it showed you when to face your fears and when to fight. They had balanced each other out and the presence of the two elements subsided joining the other elements.
A few seconds passed and then there was a flash of light, then in front of me stood the element i had just saved she was smiling and was crying tears of happyness. "Thanks you! Thank you so much!" She said as she jumped onto me hugging me tight. for a second I wasn't sure what to do but then I smiled and returned the embrace. "You saved me, you brought back the bravery inside of my that I forgot I had! How could I ever thank you?" The element of fear and bravery said while she continued to hug me.
"you dont need to do anything i was happy to help" I said "but what do I call you? Your both fear and bravery." I was kind of confused on that part.
"Well when I was inside the princess she was called Nightmare Moon, so why not call me Nightmare?" She said
"Okay Nightmare it is then" I said smiling as she continued to hug me. It felt nice to have helped her but I still wasn't sure if I was the right one to help them, I really do hope that spell didn't mess up and pick me on accident. I guess i'll just have to try my best and see what happens. "So what now?" I asked.
"well there's something id like you to do for me" she said
"Sure what can I do to help?" I asked
"I want you to do what you did for me for these five, I want you to help them find there way for I have watched and felt there sadness, and they need someone like you" she flared her horn and five images floated in front of me, five that needed help and I was going to give them that help they needed.
