A Distant Light, A Close Calling

Questions & Answers

            “What? There’s a seventh Element!?” They all said in shock.

            “Yes, there is. Long ago, before Luna was banished, the seventh Element of Harmony was involved with the others. The Element has resided with the Stargazer family for generations, but the member of her family carrying the Element at the time was killed, they murdered her.” Starstride explained.

            “Okay, so what is my Element, and does something happen to the Element if my relative was killed back then?” Sunspeed asked, looking intently at Starstride.

            “It would be easier to explain if I read the description from this book I have.” Starstride blurted out.

            Starstride stood up, and walked over to her bookcase. Staring at it for quite some time, murmuring to herself about the books, and pointing a hoof here and there, her eyes widened as she exclaimed:

            “Aha! Found it! Okay…let’s see, here it is.”

            “Okay, because your bearer of the Element was killed a long time ago, your Element is not active. Here is the description of your Element.” Starstride paused.

            She cleared her throat, inhaled sharply, and continued to read.

            “The Element of Bravery is the seventh Element out of them all. Bravery is a sign of courage, you lead the group when all else fails. When hope fades, and no one can keep going on, you are there to ensure the success of the task. You aren’t a leader by default, you help others become their own leader. When the path is unlit, you are the burning spark of light that keeps it alight.”

            “Wow, cheesy description.” Twilight giggled.

            “Well it is an old book, it was made a long time ago, I cannot recall how long ago.” Starstride answered putting the book back on the shelf, then glancing back at Twilight.

            “So that is why I am involved with the Elements!” Sunspeed said, amazed.

            “Wow Sunspeed, Ah never thought ya’ were one o’ the Elements!” Applejack said, clearly surprised.

            Twilight stared down at the floor, rubbing one of her hoofs on her chin for a bit, and then made a “Hmmph” noise, as if she was contemplating about something. Twilight looked back up at the others, she opened her mouth, then clamped it shut, trying to find something to say.

            “So, what does Sunspeed do exactly when the Elements are used?” Twilight said briefly.

            “Well, the seventh Element is sort of an enhancer, it isn’t just a direct Element, but rather an extra to make the potency of the Elements even stronger, bonding them further, to the point where the Elements are so powerful, that they can stop any evil that blocks there path.” Starstride said in astonishment.

            “Whoa, that sounds cool!” Dash yelled out.

            “That is rather astounding, if I must say so myself.” Rarity said, her eyes lighting up.

            “Wait, earlier you mentioned something about my Element being “Not active.” What do you mean by that?”

            Turning to Sunspeed, Starstride said softly.

            “Well, basically it means that you still have the Element, but it isn’t activated, it is passive at the moment, so in order to re-activate it, you have to find the actual Element orb.”

            “Oh, you mean like the ones that we found in that Labyrinth?” Fluttershy said, stuttering a bit on her words.

            “Yes, like those orbs, yes.”

            “Oh, that’s not that bad Sunspeed.” Dash said brashly.

            “Yeah, it could be worse. Anyways, I think everypony should get to bed, it’s late.” Starstride interrupted.

            The eight all agreed, said goodnight to each other, and then climbed into bed, one by one. Twilight climbed into bed, sighed, and then closed her eyes. For the next hour, she lied there, tossing and turning, then finally she fell asleep.

“Twilight…give in to us, we will find you…Ponyville will be turned to dust and ash...” An ominous voice said in her head.

            Twilight opened her eyes in shock. She looked around; a frightened look on her face was clearly visible. She gazed around the room in horror. Suddenly, a picture of Ponyville flashed in her mind, everypony was minding their own business, and then the next moment, the town was in flames, screams and shrieks of horror lie around every corner. That image faded, and then she saw her parents, brought down with a scream, and with blood splattered across the interior of their once beautiful home.

            She saw herself, grieving before her parent’ bodies, crying deeply, as flame engulfed the cottage around her. That image too faded away, and then she saw an image of her friends, all standing before her in the middle of a street, surrounded by burning cottages, deceased beings, and others. The clouds overhead were dark and ominous; she fixed her eyes on her friends again, and then suddenly noticed that Fluttershy was lying on the ground, blood spewing out of her. That faded to black, and then she saw nothing.

NO…NO, WHY…is this-Happening to…..me? My family…my friends…Ponyville. Spike, Princess Celestia, my own…parents... She thought, completely overwhelmed by shock, and sadness.

            “NO!” Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs. She sat up quickly. Her chest was heaving, her body was shaking. Her heart was throbbing endlessly.

            “What is going on dear?” Rarity said sharply as she appeared in Twi’s room, accompanied by a sleepy Pinkie Pie and Frightened Fluttershy.

            Running up to Rarity, Twilight hugged her tight. As she sobbed, she managed to say:

            “I-had, ano-another vision. Oh, Rarity, it was awful!”

            Completely taken by surprise, Rarity’s face gave off a “Surprised” look and she comforted Twilight.

            “Shh, you’ll be okay darling, it’s okay.”

            “Oh-my, are you okay Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

            Twilight shook her head, and then buried her face in Rarity’s coat again.

            “I’m sorry to hear that Twilight, I would love to help but-“Pinkie yawned.

            “…I’m too tired.” She continued.

            “Pinkie! How inconsiderate of you!” Rarity snapped, narrowing her eyes on Pinkie, she turned again to Twilight.

            “Twilight, how about you sleep with me in my room, so you won’t be so scared in the night.” Rarity reassured, adding a smile.

            Twilight gave a half-nod, and then the two headed off to bed, leaving Fluttershy & Pinkie in the room. They both said nothing, and then went back to bed.

                                                                         *

            The conference room was lit by one light, a Chandelier hanging above, giving off the room’s only source of light. In the back of the room, was a banner with a symbol imprinted on it. The symbol was the Elements of Harmony, all in a circle, in the middle of it was the Crown, cracked in half, in the background, were flames, engulfing the Elements. Above the symbol, were the initials: “SDEH.” There were only two ponies present, one of them was sitting in a comfy chair, the other was standing. The one in the chair was hooded, and his face was shrouded from all others.

            “So, what do we have of news from our scouts?” The one in the chair asked quickly.

            “Nothing boss, we can’t seem to find them; our scouts have scoured a lot of places!” The other replied with a slight appearance of fear.

            “Dammit! We need to find them!” The other said, smacking his hoof on the table before him.

"What are we gonna do with Twilight, how are we going to destroy them?" The cohort questioned.

The hooded pony turned to him, and said, with a harsh tone in his voice: "You fool! First, we drive Twilight Sparkle insane, then get rid of her once and for all, then her little friends!" He said, laughing evilly afterwards.

"I have an errand I need seeing to." He added.

The cohort stood before him, and nodded. The hooded pony continued on.

"Tell our scouts that if they don't get me what I want, I'll destroy their homes!"

“Yes boss, I will let our scouts know that they need to look harder. What are you planning to do if we do find them?” The standing one said, trembling a bit in fear.

            The hooded pony got up from his seat, and walked towards a window that was on one side of the room, he put his hood down. He grinned evilly and said in a menacing tone.

            “I know exactly what I want to do.”