Friendship Materia

I gave a happy little sigh as our train approached the Ponyville station. The sight out the window was heartwarming. About a dozen ponies were gathered to wait for our return, most happily waving to us as the train slowed. The Elements of Harmony and the Elements of Greatness; both groups of close friends who took the time away from their own busy lives to greet us at the first opportunity. Zecora was there too, making her a far better babysitter than Scootaloo’s by my estimate. Twilight hadn’t made it, which would disappoint me had I let myself think anything negative.

But I couldn’t, not with Nanaki’s arm wrapped around my waist. My own hand rested gently on his knee, just one more point of contact between us. It all felt so right. It wasn’t just the species thing, though I was sure that played a large role. I was a woman, it was only natural my body would react more readily to a man than a mare. But it was so much more.

He had the heart of a warrior, making him a kindred spirit, but also a keen mind, sharp wit, and attentive heart. Having him to myself for the few days of our trip had been incredible. Addictive. I put aside the apprehension that lurked at the edge of my consciousness for what would happen when we were back amongst the ponies. Back amongst the friends he hadn’t actually ever rejected the idea of herding with.

“Come on,” he said as the train came to a halt, that irresistible smile on his face. “Our friends are waiting for us.” He climbed to his feet, offering me a hand up before I could rise on my own. I took it, if only for that extra contact. Ever since being intimate with him, by body craved his touch even in more mundane ways. Thinking back, there had been some of that with Rainbow at the start, in both directions, but I didn’t think it was ever so strong.

We gathered our belongings and headed for the door, stepping out onto the platform. “Welcome back to Ponyville!” Pinkie shouted as she fired off her cannon, confetti drifting down onto us from the shot, while two sets of balloons flew out, drifting away from one another and unfurling a banner with the words she had spoken stretched between them.

The other ponies greeted us more mundanely, as we greeted them each back in return. I didn’t hear Fluttershy’s greeting over the noise so I made sure to greet her at the end and not leave her out. Spike greeted me with a proper handshake, something that was a rare bit of nostalgia for me in Equestria. It was still strange seeing him standing eye to eye like this.

“I’m right glad to have y’all back,” Applejack said once the initial pleasantries were concluded. “But we’re all gonna need ta have a proper meetin’ here soon. The monsters comin’ out of the Everfree are gettin’ completely out of hoof!”

“Yeah, I mean it’s great that I leveled up like ten times since you left for Canterlot, but it’s getting to where I can’t get a proper nap in at all, and it’s affecting my other job,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Leveled up?” Nanaki asked.

“The Sense materia I made is able to estimate someone’s combat ability in the form of a number, called a level,” I explained. “I was level 30 when we last checked, about a week ago.”

“Forty five! Oh yeah!” Rainbow declared, doing a little dance.

“How in tarnation? I’m only 39, and I’ve been fightin’ critters left ‘n’ right back at the farm,” Applejack said.

“Don’t complain, darling, I’m still in my twenties,” Rarity said. “I just hope Cloud doesn’t give me too much extra training trying to catch me up to you two overachievers.”

“I thought it was a scale from one to ten!” Applebloom exclaimed. “I was so excited about getting to level 5…”

“You should be,” I told the filly. “I’d had years of intense training and numerous life or death situations before I managed to get to level 5. To be level 5 at your age is quite an accomplishment.”

“I’m level 7,” Diamond Tiara proudly declared.

“Great job,” I said, “but don’t be rude about it.”

Diamond lowered her ears a moment, before I gave her a reassuring scratch. “We’ve been training hard together,” she said, “We’re all at least level 4 by now. I only got ahead because we live in the Everfree and I got a bit of extra experience guarding our home with Zecora while you were out.”

“I barely made 4,” Silver Spoon admitted, “Living in a mansion with private security doesn’t help much with leveling.”

“Remember, Diamond. Being a leader isn’t about being the best, it’s about drawing the best out of everyone you lead,” I said. “It’s good to be good, and you can certainly inspire people through your deeds, but make sure your words are encouraging and not demeaning to your friends.”

Diamond nodded, a determined look on her face. I smothered it in a hug for a bit, before returning my attention to the adults. “I don’t see Twilight. She couldn’t make it?”

“I reckon she’s back at the library. She said she had some research ta do,” Applejack said.

“Shall we meet there tonight? Four o’clock? That will give us time to unpack, and still have time before dinner,” I suggested. With everypony’s agreement, we parted ways for a time.

“So… how’d it go?” Diamond asked while we waited on the laundry.

I looked around nervously. The laundromat was a public place, but we were alone for the moment. Ponies didn’t really wear enough clothes to justify home laundry machines. It was a wonder they had even invented laundromats, or that they could stay in business.

“Romantically, it was a huge success,” I said. “Nanaki and I were great together. We’re a great match, and I think he thinks so too. He’s very thoughtful, and strong of both body and spirit…”

“But…?” my adopted daughter questioned.

I blushed and hesitated for a time. “Physically…”

“Physically?” the filly prodded.

“I’m going to need some… medical help,” I said.

“Did he… hurt you?” she asked, alarmed.

“No! Nothing like that. More like he couldn’t,” I said cryptically. “Look, it’s way too embarrassing. We had a good time, but… because of the Mako energy in my body, it didn’t all go quite right.”

“But… you tried then?” she inquired.

“I’m not going into details,” I said. “Just like I don’t need details about you and Spike. But yes.”

“You don’t have to be so embarrassed about it,” she said. “Anyways, I’m glad you found your stallion.”

“Now if I can just keep him,” I worried.

“I saw him in the window of the train. You don’t have to worry,” she reassured.

“And you know this because you’re so experienced with dating human men?” I questioned pointedly.

“Aren’t your words supposed to be encouraging?” she questioned back.

“Okay, okay,” I said. “Still, he definitely likes me. We have a lot in common. And I know I have his respect as much as he has mine. We’re off to a good start. And… it doesn’t hurt that I like men better than mares.”

“Is it much different than it was with Rainbow Dash then?” she inquired.

“Yes, much,” I said at first, before giving it much thought. But then I added more. “Rainbow got a lot better after we, well, officially weren’t together anymore. If Nanaki hadn’t come along… maybe I would give her another chance eventually. I think she had some maturing to do, and Diamond Dust wasn’t doing us any favors when we got started.”

“But, you won’t consider letting her join in?” Tiara asked as she opened the dryer and we began gathering and folding my clothing.

“I’d rather not,” I said. “I don’t think we need that kind of complication, and Rainbow deserves a special somepony of her own. If they both want it though… I won’t say ‘never’.”

“I suppose. But doesn’t she deserve something until she finds him? Or her,” she asked.

“Like you’ve got Spike?” I asked, earning a nod. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I expect you’ll leave him behind when you do find your special somepony. And that there won’t be any hard feelings between you because of it. Is that wrong?”

“No, that’s about right… It kind of has to be… if he lets himself claim me any more than he has, in his heart, he’ll double in size,” Diamond said with a shrug. “And, well… I can’t be too attached if I can’t be his.”

“I don’t think that would work that way for Rainbow Dash. She’s the Element of Loyalty, and that isn’t a coincidence. It’s her nature to attach herself to people with unshakable bonds. If we let her in, she’ll be in for good, or have a rough time breaking it off. She certainly won’t break things off easily when she finds somepony of her own,” I said. “I could be wrong, but I think she’d pass up a good thing just to stay loyal to us. So that’s not fair to her. If we let her in, it should be completely. She’d be your other mom, and have all of our love, as well as everything else that goes with it.”

Diamond nodded slowly. “Okay, I can see why you would hesitate then,” she confessed. “Still… she wouldn’t be the worst mom I’ve had.”

When we had taken care of the most pressing chores, I left Diamond to play with her friends while I joined the gathering in the Golden Oak Library. The other Elements of Harmony were all there, aside from Rainbow Dash who sprinted in a few minutes after I arrived. We exchanged pleasantries for a time before Twilight came to the fore and called the meeting to order.

“Ahem. Thank you all for coming this afternoon,” she began. “As you all know, the Tree of Harmony was killed during the fight with Discord and his Plunderseeds, shifting the balance of power in our area. Since then, Ponyville has been overrun by monsters.”

“You all seem to have been covering the problem well in my absence,” I said. “If anything, it sounds like the fights have gotten easier.”

“I noticed that too,” Applejack said. “And it’s not just us gettin’ stronger. We used to fight dragons, and hydras, and well… Plunderseeds. These days most of ‘em are overgrown varmints.”

Twilight nodded. “I believe the Tree of Harmony was using its influence to keep monsters in the Everfree, and out of Ponyville. Only the strongest monsters could overcome its influence and come out, even as far as Fluttershy’s cottage. With it gone, weak monsters are able to come out easily and threaten ponies.”

“We can beat them easily enough,” Rainbow said before yawning. “But it’s a lot of work and it doesn’t stop.”

“Princess Luna has sent reinforcements. A squad of thestrals to help guard the town at night so we can get our sleep,” Twilight said. “I’ve asked them to come to this meeting, and they agreed, but asked for a later start time. They should be here in about an hour. In the meantime, I have another matter to present to you. The results of my research into the Tree.”

“You’ve found something else?” I inquired.

“I have. Have you all heard of Starswirl the Bearded?” she asked. When nopony had, she continued. “He was one of the greatest wizards of all time. Really? Okay, well… there’s a wing at the Canterlot Royal Library dedicated to him, and I was able to have some of his writings sent over. Along with… a few personal comments from Princess Celestia confirming and clarifying some of the information.”

“Go on,” I prompted when she paused.

“The Tree of Harmony under the Castle of the Two Sisters wasn’t the first Tree of Harmony,” she said. Pinkie and Rarity gasped dramatically. “It was planted by the Princesses from their Elements of Harmony, which bore their cutie marks. The Element of Firmness and Element of Softness, was what she said they were called. Hers represents being kind and gentle, giving and permissive, which is obviously a key to harmony and social cohesion. While Luna’s represents the need for strictness and ‘tough love’, to balance it out and avoid enabling of destructive behaviors. After they used them to turn Discord to stone and deal with several other threats of their time, the Princesses planted them in that cave and they grew together into the new Tree of Harmony, replacing the one that had died in their time.”

“So… we need to plant our Elements like seeds ta grow a new tree?” Applejack asked.

“I think so, yes,” Twilight said. “I don’t think they need to be planted together, specifically. In fact, I’d recommend splitting them up. From what I’ve read, I think one of the most important things is that you need to spend a lot of time near the planted Element, so that you can empower it with its nature. For example, your Element of Honesty needs to be around, well, honesty. So you should plant it in Sweet Apple Acres, and continue being your honest self around it every day.”

Rarity looked a bit nervous around the thought, but everypony else looked confident, commenting in their own words about how they could do it.

“Should I be planting mine near me, or you?” I asked Twilight. “I’m the Element Bearer, but you’re a prolific magic user, and according to Celestia you were originally destined to use it yourself.”

“That’s a good question,” Twilight said. “Unfortunately, nothing in Starswirl’s notes even contemplated such a possibility. I’d say we plant it here, and you just come by regularly and do some of your training in magic use nearby. That way it can benefit from both of us. And it will be more evenly distributed.” She brought out a map of Ponyville with her horn’s glow, showing the relative proximity of my home to Fluttershy’s, while the library was off in a separate area from the other ponies’ homes.

“Anypony have any objections to this plan?” I asked.

Rarity raised a hoof. “Well, I do think I’ll miss what the Elements add to our outfits in terms of style and highlighting.”

“Can you make or commission replacement accessories to serve our aesthetic needs?” I asked. Rarity nodded and withdrew her objection. “Then it’s decided. It’s a bit late, now, but let’s plant them tomorrow.”

“We should actually allow a bit more time than that,” Twilight said. “Aside from Applejack’s, these new trees would be in or near public pathways and could disrupt their flow, especially once they grow. We should consult the mayor on exact placement.”

“Okay, point taken. Let’s not wait on Applejack’s, though. We’ll be able to see that much sooner if it successfully sprouts,” I suggested.

“On it, sugarcube,” the farmer agreed. “I’ve got just the spot in mind already.”

We discussed a few more details before we were interrupted by a knock on the door. Twilight opened it with her magic and a half dozen ponies trotted in. Their fur was in uncommonly dark shades compared to most ponies, their eyes slitted like those of a cat, and their backs bore folded leathery wings, reminiscent of those of a bat. They each had a pair of longer fangs that extended past their lower lips, yet still managed to look more cute than menacing, at least to me. All were clad in light leather, with the hilts of sheathed weapons visible in easy reach. These must have been the thestrals.

They walked with confidence, eyes scanning the room quickly as they moved in instinctive formation, though even their presence made Fluttershy shy away even more than usual, attempting to disappear behind a bookshelf. Rarity greeted them nervously, while Rainbow Dash and Pinkie eagerly approached them, welcoming them to the library.

“Greetings,” I offered. “I’m Cloud Strife, leader of the Elements of Harmony. Have you met the others already?”

“We have, briefly,” the lead pony, a deep blue furred mare, said. “I’m Sergeant Stormcloud, leader of this squad. Good to meet you, finally, Miss Strife. My second here is Corporal Moonshadow. I’ll let him make the rest of the introductions.”

“Right,” a black furred stallion began. “From left to right, we have Privates Bulwark, Chill Breeze, Echo, and Eclipse.”

I took the time to study each and shake their hooves. While both of the leaders were armed with retractable blades on their forehooves, the others had a variety of armaments.

Bulwark, a deep brown stallion with a wooden shield as his cutie mark had a matching pair of such shields strapped to his forelegs. I saw that they had retractable metal extensions that looked to have bladed edges, granting more offense and defense, at the expense of being more awkward to walk. He merely gave a quiet grunt as we shook, though he had a distinct force to his shake.

Chill Breeze was the lightest colored of them all, a lighter blue punctuated by a trio of snowflakes on each flank. She had a lighter touch, as well, barely touching my hand before she pulled back. Her armor covered less than the others, and was studded with sheathed knives, the quantity suggesting at least some were intended to be thrown.

Echo didn’t bother to approach, instead settling for a wave from against the far wall. The mare had a mottled coat, blacks and browns in a sort of natural camouflage pattern that was also dyed into her armor. I almost didn’t make out her cutie mark, a brown leaf. She bore a rifle similar to Fluttershy’s, though I was experienced enough to notice the rounds were in pouches too small for the long tipped darts our sniper used. I was fairly certain she fired for lethal effect preferentially.

Eclipse was a dark purple, like a deeper version of Twilight’s coat, and featured a black circle ringed by ragged light as his cutie mark. The stallion greeted me more cheerfully than the others, grinning as he eyed my sword, and I caught myself doing the same. The blade he bore on his back reminded me of my old Buster Sword, the one I had gotten from Zach. It definitely had both the heft and width to invite such comparisons, even if it was easy enough to tell them apart. “You and I should spar sometime,” he suggested.

“Sounds good to me. We’ll see if you can keep up,” I answered.

“Alright, Romaro,” Stormcloud cut in. “There’ll be time enough for that sort of thing later. First, I’d like to sync up on the state of the town.” She was all business from there, and quickly got all of us caught up in debriefing and planning.

Ponyville was not a defensible town by any stretch of the imagination. Canterlot could serve as a fortress, and had recently, but Ponyville had no outer walls of any kind. Rather, it was ringed by trees that let any form of enemy easily close to within a short sprint of the nearest buildings while protected from view.

Against an organized enemy, we would have already lost the town. But these were simply random monsters acting individually. As such they regularly got into position to threaten ponies, but were easily taken down by one or two skilled fighters. Rainbow had earned more than her share of kills during the day, while the thestrals had split up to cover the area at night.

“Twilight, if the project we discussed earlier takes a while to come into effect,” I asked. “Do you think we can get a palisade built around the town? I think most of the monsters could be deterred by a simple wooden wall, and we could leave guarded openings at intervals to allow ponies to come and go.”

Twilight considered it briefly. “That’d certainly be a question for the mayor,” she said. “Or perhaps even a public vote. Do you think it’s necessary?”

I shrugged. “If things get much worse, it may be needed, and harder to add after that point. If things stay as they are or get a bit better…” I looked at Rainbow Dash, noting how worn out she was. “We could still have some trouble keeping everypony safe. But there are other approaches we could use. Like training up more pegasi guards to distribute the load.”

“No way,” Rainbow said. “I got this. Besides, we can’t afford to take ‘em off of weather duty.”

I let it go for now. “A wall might not stop everything, anyways. Flying monsters, or things that climb well could simply go over, for example. No matter what, we need a plan for interior defense, and going as we have been isn’t enough. Think about it. Let’s meet like this again next week, and we can consider any options anypony brings up then. For now… I need to get home to my daughter.”

“You have a daughter?” Eclipse asked, looking a bit put off.

“I do. And a coltfriend,” I said. “That doesn’t have anything to do with sparring, does it?”

“N-no,” he answered, and Applejack’s sharp look confirmed my own suspicions. “We should still cross blades sometime.”