Making choices

As the trio of ponies returned to the rest of the group, now that it was clear, that Vortex had said all he would say for now, they were still oblivious to the fact, that their entire conversation had been heard by 6 more sets of ears than initially intended. Their privacy depended on the assumption, that the giant black dragon Formidon was sleeping inside his wooden wagon (since he could only hunt at night, the dragon had switched to a nocturnal regime and usually slept during the entire day).

However, for the 15 minutes this conversation lasted, the dragon was awake. His eyes with their golden irises were still resting under their lids, since the dragon couldn't see beyond the wooden wall anyway, but he was closely listening to what the three ponies conversed about. Eventually, the conversation ended and the hoofsteps of the three ponies sounded. Formidon's dragon hearing allowed him to hear them better than any pony, which in turn allowed him to determine how far somepony is just by their hoofsteps. When he got sure they were too far away to hear anything, he slowly shifted, so that he would be facing the fronter wall of the wooden wagon. If the wagon was lower, this would have been impossible to pull off. Luckily, even though the wagon's width was uncomfortably small for the dragon, each of whose claws was as big as a normal pony, the height allowed him to shift - only through performing a weird stunt, that included him grappling the ceiling with his hind legs' claws and then pushing himself with them, until he fell on his back, facing the other direction. This was very dangerous, should a pony stand next to the back wall of the wagon,as the dragon's enormous tail with its macelike apendage could smash a middle- sized rock. The dragon's current interlocutors, however, were immune to any physical harm whatsoever, and besides, they were on the other side of the wagon, which was as big as the throne hall of the Canterlot castle for them, or at least they assumed so, having never actually set hoof in this hall.

After the dragon flipped on his other side, his big eyes opened and the golden eyes stared at the pony, consisting of cinder. There he met an equally scary glare, emitted by yellow flame eyes of Blaze, with blue fire pupils in their centers. The 5 Sentinels were all present, and the glares of all but Cobalt, who unlike his brothers had normal eyes, could scare somepony, that hadn't seen them before, out of their skin. The reason why they were here was Blaze, who they had informally assigned for their leader. Unlike what most ponies were thinking, the 5 ponies of the elements could sence things just like anypony else. The only feeling they would never know was pain, since pain was a natural indicator for damage, and since the 5 of them were created to withstand and restrain the power of billions of Voidians, therefore able to withstand an enormous amount of damage, Vortex had simply excluded it from his spell.

So Blaze did fell when Luna's forehoof brushed his side. The otherwise lifeless cinders, that consisted the main element of his body ( in fact everything but the mane, tail, the feathers and the eyes, which consisted of pure fire), conducted this feeling to his scorching brain. As a result, the fire Sentinel's attention was brought to the lunar princess. He gathered his brothers in the back of the group and along with them entered the dragon's home unnoticed. There he asked the dragon to spy on the trio for them and transmit the conversation to the 5 pegasi.

15 minutes later the dragon finished talking and joined the rest of the Sentinels in wondering what their leader was up to. This conversation got the fire Sentinel thinking. Knowing that he shouldn't let the 4 ponies and the dragon wonder for too long, he didn't wait long before conveying his thoughts to his peers and the dragon:

" We stand here now, but if we think of it, the whole situation is very unlikely. Here stand 6 guardians of Equestria from before Celestia's reign and a dragon, that didn't exist until more than a millenium afterwards. Moreover, we are part of a group we never could have met, since it was separated from us by centuries for some and millenia for others. What makes this situation even more ludicrous is the fact, that we are in a world none of us shares even a minor connection to... "

" Aaaand the actual point iiiis? " Hydro interrupted. The fire sentinel stared with annoyance in his brother's whirlpool eyes and resumed:

" The point is, Hydro, that there is one reason for that. One pony, to be exact. "

The rest all nodded. They knew who Blaze ment.

" Let's think where we would be without him just for a moment. You, Formidon, " the fire lord swung his left forehoof at the black dragon.

" , would still be roaming the endless lifeless landscape of the Void, if it wasn't for Hase, still torn from the inside because of the pointless wish for revenge. "

The huge dragon frowned, since he knew the words of the tall stallion were true.

" We, my brothers, would still be stuck inside a medallion as little pebbles. Moreover, we would still be under the curse of Vortex's brother. That's what we would be like if it wasn't for Hase. "

The 4 other lords all knew he had a point. If it wasn't for Hase, they wouldn't have been released, or reformed, as a matter of fact.

" We all swore to aid him in all of his quests... and yet we don't. Hase has been having difficulties lately. Has anypony among us done something to help him? "

" Sort of. " Formidon replied. Even though the dragon hadn't really helped Hase all that much, he chose to believe, that the occasional conversations he had with his friend actually helped him. That was true; even though the conversations with the black dragon didn't help Hase directly, the dragon usually managed to inspire the black stallion with his speeches. He was the one, who got the Envoy out of his sttae of self- pittying in the day after his marefriend left him.

Blaze looked at the dragon with great confusion. Most of the time the inventor's newest friend had stayed inside the wagon, and the fact, that he had helped Hase from that wagon, while the fire sentinel had done nothing, vexed the tall pegasus. However, soon he recalled, that Formidon had also flown a several times and Hase had accompanied him most of the time. His confusion dispelled, now all the stallion demanded was an explanation.

" What do you mean, sort of? " he asked.

Formidon then told the 5 lords of the conversations he had led with his friend. All agreed, that even though those didn't actually help Hase, the black dragon had proven himself to be a supportive friend.

" Formidon, if not fully, has shown himself to be a real friend. Something the rest of us, except Cobalt, perhaps, " Blaze spoke, taking into consideration the fact, that the pegasus with a body of obsidian had stayed in the real world while they were locked in the medallion for the second time and therefore could have actually helped Hase - the cinder stallion couldn't know.

" , can't say for ourselves. Yet fate gives us a chance to prove it. Our savior has parted ways with the main group, driven by his desire to develop independently from his father. This confused me at first, since I doubt Vortex could have hidden secrets from him in a world he's never been in before, but after thinking about it for a few minutes, and since I don't doubt you thought about it too, we all probably know, that Hase didn't mean that kind of knowledge. No, he set out on an odyssey of self- exploration, hoping that separation from our creator and his friends would help him learn more about himself. This is our chance, brothers. We must help him complete this odyssey. This way we'll prove ourselves to be his real friends, and not just 5 ponies and 1 dragon, claiming to be such. We'll follow him and join him in his quest. Are you with me? "

" Yes. " the 4 pegasi and the dragon spoke at once. Knowing, that this had most certainly been heard by ponies outside of the wagon, Blaze wasted no time wondering. Once, back when he was cursed, he only had control over the fire. Now, when he was in his prime once more, he could also wield cinder, ash, lava and other fire related entities. It was the same with the rest: once restricted to the main part of their entity, now their power was greater.

However, sometimes all one needs is something simple.

Utilizing the most simple spell he knew, Blaze swung his right forehoof, sending a stream of fire through his cinder hoof, aimed at the roof of the wagon. It hit it and the roof caught fire. Small pieces of it slowly fell down. The dragon didn't hesitate to do his part. With one quick swing of his massive tail he shattered the roof, sending hot wooden pieces flying in all directions. It would have been quite dangerous for a normal pony, but the thick scales of the dragon and the elemental bodies of the sentinels prevented them from getting harmed.

The black dragon jumped in the air and spread his humongous wings. With great haste the 5 lords flew in the air behind him, rising above him and in the end all landing on his spacious back. The group bellow stared upward with great awe. The rest of the wagon bellow was now also catching fire from the burning pieces of the smashed roof. The wind was blowing the flames towards two nearby trees. Seeing, that their act would cause a forest fire, Tempest flew in the air and raised his forehooves at the sky. Not even 15 seconds after the tall pegasus did so, clouds soon appeared on the blue sky. They multiplied, shifting from innocent white to an ominous dark grey. The first thunder sounded as the clouds converged, now covering the whole sky. All knew what was about to happen.

The downpour surely was an effective away to put out a fire. What was left from the group stood under the rain and observed how the heavy rain put out the flames, blazing  the flaming wagon. They also observed how the five sentinels on Formidon's back flew away with him. None of them knew why this had happenned. All they had heard was a noise, coming from the wagon.

Also, none of them was aware it wasn't very good for the steam engine to have water coming down its chimney. The water drops increased the amount of steam produced from the coal. That steam filled the pipes to their limit, untill it eventually passed it. The steam cart, tied to the remnants of the wooden wagon, exploded, metal debris flying in every direction. Luckily for the group, Celestia's and Luna's reactions were quick enough. The two casted a magical shield around the group, shielding them from harm. A second later, when they let the shield down, Applejack had one spot- on remark ready:

" It nevah rains, ba it pours. "

Meanwhile, the wingbeats of the dragon had gotten the company of five pegasi and the dragon himself high in the air. When the dragon complained about the low altitude clouds obscuring his vision, Blaze glanced at Tempest and told him:

" We're all glad we have the full list of our powers back, but I think you've shown off enough already. "

The storm sentinel shrugged his shoulders and clapped with his forehooves. The clouds began dispersing and only two minutes after it had begun, the downpour ended and the dark grey clouds were replaced by the blue sky, that had reigned before them.

As the rest of his brothers, Tempest was very glad he had all of his powers back. When he was still an evil lord, he had spent multiple hours trying to gain control over the storms, but any attempts were futile. The only storm he could conjure was a miniature tornado. Now, when the clouds and lightnings once again bowed to his will, it could be expected he'd show off, and so he did. He just now began to imagine the infinite stunts he'd be able to pull off with his power back to its maximum.

The infinite years of boredom during his reign over his part of Aseamos had turned Tempest into an adrenaline junkie. If the Mane 6 knew him better, 5 of them would have agreed, that he reminds them of a certain cyan pegasus, while this cyan pegasus would have gained a devoted companion in her own stunts. Even though the storm lord wasn't as good with flying as Dash, he enjoyed the surge of adrenaline probably as much as she did. Back in the days, when he was an evil lord, when he got bored he'd often ride on winds with a hurricane speed, enjoying the feeling, while scaring the scraps out of the ponies in Zealous Flight's (that annoying bowmare) village. His wind spirits were initially created for his so- called "cloud races". Even though back then Tempest had no control over these clouds, he could still use the wind to guide them. The wind spirits weren't meant for his guards, but for his competitors in races with these clouds. In those races, the racers used wind to propel themselves and the winner was the first to finish the third lap of the mountain the storm sentinel's castle was on. Sadly, the spirits were too dumb, resulting in a lot more crashes than anticipated. Annoyed with them, Tempest had to unwillingly give up the cloud races and appoint the spirits for his guards, since that seemed to be the only thing they were able to do.

In fact, during the Equestrians' raid on his castle, he'd just gone through an unsuccesful stunt, which had made him sour. This had prevented the group from finding out his true nature. Now, as he quietly sat back on the dragon's back, a grin popped up on the cloud- made stallion's muzzle as he grinded his two forehooves at eachother, as he was comprehending the endless possibilities, that awaited him.

" How are we going to find out where Hase is? " Cobalt asked, as he neared Blaze.

" I'm on it, bro.  " the answer came from the opposite direction. The rock sentinel recognised the voice, so when he turned left, it was no surprise to him that he saw his brother Hydro, stretching like a cat, apparently preparing for something.

Before the pegasus with the aurichalcite mane could ask the rivers sentinel for an explanation, the water pegasus had already begun with the process, that required explaining. At first small bubbles popped out from the multicoloured water, that was Hydro's body. Those bubbles multiplied and began popping out faster, growing as time passed. It only took the rock and the fire sentinels seconds to realise their brother was boiling. They instinctively stepped back. About 20 seconds afterwards, the reason for this had evaporated entirely. Which left the duo without any possible explanation for this, excluding the option, that just like Tempest, he was showing off.

Apparently he came to that conclusion too, since only a few seconds afterwards a big puddle of water condensed on the cold scales on the dragon's back and a pony muzzle formed from it.

" Interesting and importrant, but yet constantly underestimated fact: the air we are all breathing usually contains 0.4% water vapors, about 1% if you're near the sea. What I'm about to do is use my tiny H2O spies to find out the exact location of our common pal Hase! "

After delivering this humorous explanation, the muzzle turned into a puddle again, which evaporated after a few moments. Blaze and Cobalt looked at eachother and found the other one raising an eyebrow as well. None of them had expected Hydro had such an unimaginable, yet plausible, plan.

Hydro was the prankster of the group, so the others often forgot he was actually the smartest amongst them. Even though he bore a resemblance to Pinkie Pie in his behaviour, it was only a slight one. Pinkie was much more energetic, and had a distinctive style anypony could recognise. The other 4 remembered he was much more like her before the curse. However, the endless years had managed to cool down Hydro, but in return they granted him a vast knowledge over almost every aspect of humour known to ponykind (or at least ponies in Aseamos). If somepony ever tried to compare the two, one very accurate metaphor would be stars. Pinkie would be a young yellow star, full with a lot of energy. Hydro would be a red giant - with a lot less energy, but still a force to be reckoned with.

In some cases Hydro would manage to cheer the ponies up better than Pinkie Pie, since his vast knowledge of humour spread from silly jokes a small foal would laugh at to elaborate and hard to catch satire, grotesque or sometimes even sarcasm, that only few could understand. For instance, Pinkie's energy would grant her the upper hoof somewhere where her style was valued, like Ponyville, but when put in a different atmosphere, her humour was often not received well. The perfect example was her at the Grand Galloping Gala, or when she pulled off the show in Appleoosa, hoping to bring ponies and buffaloes together. Hydro wouldn't have managed to pull off one of her wild Ponyville parties, but he still would have been able to pull off a good one. However, he would also have succeeded at the Gala and in Appleoosa, since he knew what types of humour appealed to different personalities.

Some types of humour required intelligence beyond Hydro's own, so during his years as the ruler of Ponceroy, at first in order to understand delicate satire, then for his own satisfaction, the water lord began enriching his mind. After a few centuries, while most of the others (in fact all but Cobalt) were trying to regain their full power, Hydro had developed his mind. Therefore now he had become more intelligent than his brothers. No longer satisfied by one kind of humour at a time, he employed jesters and illusionists to cater for his hunger for simple humour, while he set up theatres and made participation in plays mandatory once a year, in order to satisfy his thirst for its more sophisticated version.

Once again, he had shown his wit by coming up with a plan the other 4 wouldn't even dream of. Much to their surprise, it was effective, as only 2 minutes later, the muzzle of their brother materialised again.

" They are not very far. I thought they might have reached the village, while in fact they are still 2 miles away from it. Flying is a lot slower than I supposed. Would you be so kind as to alert our fire- breathing friend, that he should head towards that forked mountain over there, " one eye materialized as well.

" , if he wants to meet them. And tell him to be subtle. We don't want Hase to think Gummonodan the Bridge Chomper is coming for him. That play was hillarious... " the muzzle spoke, before it and the eye turned to vapor.

The sun had set about half an hour before they find who they were looking. The inventor's black coat prevented him from being spotted, the dark mountain slopes behind him blending with him. The group only noticed the white mare, that had accompanied him before. Silent as the mist, the black dragon tailed them, flying about 50 yards behind. The duo didn't notice them, even though Blaze was hard to miss in the evening dusk, his cinder body emitting weak light, but still, light. Luckily, they were directly behind the two other pegasi, so there was no chance for the sentinels to be noticed by the two Envoys- they were out of their peripheral vision. Hydro's muzzle quietly instructed them to maintain their course and speed, before it evaporated for one last time.

Hase's mind was empty of any thoughts. Until two minutes ago, he had been thinking of the events of the day, that was now coming to an end, wondering wheter all the pain he caused was justified. Eventually, he forgave himself, coming to the conclusion, that the shock was the reason for all that, the shock from what Rarity had shared with him. Also, if his apology wasn't enough, the black pegasus wouldn't be able to do anything about it, so he finally calmed down, telling himself he'd done all that could be done. Hoping his friends and his father would forgive him for the trick he pulled off, he cleansed his mind from these thoughts and instead focused on the soothing feeling of flight and the magnificent scenery.

Sadly, he wasn't able to enjoy those two things for long, since a small amorphous mass of water condensed in the air next to his head, moving with the same velocity as him. Before the scientist could ask himself what was happenning, a stallion muzzle formed from it and spoke:

" Hi there? How're ya going? "

For a moment Hase was falling, the shock causing him to lose control over his wings. Luckily, one foot bellow his past position he had already regained it. Dumbfounded, the black pegasus halted, hovering in mid- air, and flew up a little to be on the same height as his sister, who, just like him, had stopped to take a closer look at the muzzle. it didn't remain that way for a lot of time though. Only a second after the two pegasi had stopped, water drops condensed from the air and added to the muzzle, rapidly forming the body of a male pegasus with the height of Princess Celestia. Nothing could prepare Elly for his body of multicoloured water (brown, yellow, clear, even muddy yellow), the waterfall mane and tail and the whirlpool eyes. She flew back, taking the stallion for some monster.

Hase, on the contrary, flew forward. He put on a half- surprised, half- annoyed expression and asked:

" Hydro, what are you doing here? If you're here to bring me back, know that I am not going to. "

Before the rivers sentinel could answer, something big and black flew bellow the trio and as it passed them, it flew in an upward swivel, and when it exited by spreading its humongous black wings, it was clear that this was Formidon. Four figures could be seen on the dragon's back, near his shoulders, thanks to the leftover light from the sunset. The first of the figures on the left shoulder refracted light and let it through in a dark shade of blue. The second's skin reflected it in a weird way, making Elysia thing his coat was made of mirrors. The first on the right shoulder emitted light of his own, coming from his fiery skin. The last of the weird pegasi also occasionally emitted light from his figure entirely made out of clouds - miniature lightnings. The white pegasus was close enough to realize they all shared the first weird stallion's height and species.

Before his sister could react to his friends' appearance, which was probably about to result in a small battle, Hase took it upon himself to introduce them:

" Elly, I believe you have met Formidon, my newest friend. "

The big black dragon nodded. Elly nodded back in response. She had seen this dragon with her brother, and the fact, that he was his friend, allowed her to get rid of her tension. After all, even if those weird pegasi turned out to be hostile, a dragon with double the normal size would cause them to consider their plan very carefully.

" However, I doubt you have ever met those guys, which I guess are my friends as well. "

The five nodded as one, which looked odd.

" This is Hydro, Sentinel of Rivers. " Hase presented the stallion closest to him.

The pegasus smiled, which confused the white mare, since she didn't deem it possible for a being like him. Her certainty growing with the number of potential foes sinking, Elly smiled back, spread her forehoof shook with Hydro. It was weird touching water, which had taken some form and refused to return to its amorphous state. What was even weirder was that the Envoy of Light's hoof didn't get wet in the hoofshake. The black pegasus flew towards the dragon and prompted the lord and his sister to follow him. Once on Formidon's back, after they all gathered, he went on to introducing the rest.

" That is Neptune, Sentinel of the Seas. "

The white mare shook hooves with the second water pegasus. this one was different than Hydro. He was serious, which could be seen even in his hard to read expression, consisting of sea foam eyes and sea water. His entire body, unlike his brother's, consisted of a single colour - the dark blue- green shade of the sea in a normal day. His only word was " Ma'am. ", signifying his respect for the mare. What baffled Elly were the sea creatures inside his body - the jellyfish, the algae, the miniature tuna fishes. Fortunately, she had already broken the hoofshake when she spotted them, otherwise it would have been very embarassing situation for her brother.

" Those are Tempest, Sentinel of Storms, Cobalt, Sentinel of Rock, and Blaze, Sentinel of Fire. " Hase presented the rest at once.

The first to shake hooves with her was Tempest. It puzzled her, that he was actually able to do so, since his whole body consisted of clouds. She knew clouds were material for pegasi and alicorns, but Tempest didn't behave like a cloud - otherwise he would have been left behind, since Formidon, listening to Hase, had taken course to fly over the gorge between Westend and Eastend. Apparently his weight was big enough for him to be able to stand firmly. Deciding she couldn't parse anything more, Elly went over to shaking hooves with Cobalt. The rock pegasus smiled greetingly, giving him a generally more friendly appearance than his brothers. What also contributed to this was the fact his eyes were normal and the fact, that the insides of his mouth the white mare saw when he greeted her where also made of flesh, apparently. Nopony knew the actual reason why they had stayed this way after Cobalt turned back into himself in Aseamos (the other 4 remembered, that before the curse they were made of gems and rock).

Finally, she took the hoof of Blaze, and naturally burned herself, pulling her hoof back.

" Sorry. " the stallion apologised.

Since Tempest's hoof, even though made of clouds, was solid, and since Hydro's and Neptune's hooves weren't wet, of course Elly would expect Blaze's wouldn't burn. The fire sentinel himself had no idea why this was so either. It just was this way. He could lower the temperature of his hooves, turning them from cinders to coal for the second he shook Elly's hoof, but they didn't stay that way. If the pegasus wanted them to stay this way, he had to constantly think of it, which was the equivalent of a unicorn constantly using some spell - not impossible, but annoying and exhausting. Therefore, the stallioon only did so when he had to come in physical contact with somepony. This time though he had forgotten about it, thinking of how to say to Hase what they had come for.

" Hase. " he drew his attention after letting Elysia's hoof. After he made sure the black pegasus, twice lower than himself, was listening, he spoke again:

" We heard what you said before, and we want you to know we all think you're right. "

" Do you? " Hase was surprised. He had been left with the impression, that neither of his friends shared his opinion. When he looked around confused, he saw everypony nod. Formidon hummed affirmatively in reply, the sound causing the back under Hase's hooves to tremble.

" I know what it's like to have a part of yourself locked away, and so do they. " Blaze swayed with his hoof, showing the rest of the sentinels.

" Although I can't say we're friends from a long time, or that any of us but Cobalt has done anything to prove this friendship. Nevertheless, we share your opinion and are ready to accompany you in your search for the truth. "

The Envoy of Darkness smiled. Much or less, he had been somehow dissappointed from the fact, that he stopped his friends from coming before that. Even though Elly was with him, he had felt a void in his heart, now that his friends were away. A void his newest friends had filled in right in time.

" Alright then. " he chuckled.

" Welcome aboard. "