The Element of Love

Season One

Chapter Six

Boast Busters

Today, you had breakfast at Dusk's house to make up for last time, and then went with him on a walk.

"So, Dusk," you say as you step over a puddle and then resume holding his hoof. "What do you think of co-"

You hastily step out of the way as two colts come running in your direction, and wince as they crash into a tree.

"Well," said Dusk, grimacing at the sight, "what's got you two in such a hurry?"

"The Greatest and Most Powerful Unicorn has come to Ponyville!" yells Snips excitedly.

"And who might this unicorn be?" you question, raising an eyebrow.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie!" answers Snails, handing you a leaflet, which you.read and show to Dusk.

"She's going to be performing in the town centre," you murmur as the foals run off.

"Well, let's go see what tricks she's got. "

"Come one! Come all! Witness the power of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" exclaims a blue unicorn mare who's wearing a cape and a magicians' hat.

Ponies begin to mutter excitedly among themselves, and as the mare begins to cast spells, launch fireworks into the air and awe the audience, she watches them, smirking.

"Trixie bets that there is no unicorn greater than her! She possesses more power than everyone! Why, there is no unicorn more powerful than her in the whole of Equestria!"

"What a show off," remarks Elusive.

"Ah have a strong dislike for ponies who boast all the time… Specifically ones who pretend they're better than everyone else. Ah mean, if she just did some tricks, Ah'd be plenty fine with that, but there ain't no need for her to show her magic off like a school filly with new red ribbons. "

"And there's no need for anyone to come and do that when we've already got me around being better than the rest of us, " says Blitz.

You roll your eyes at his egotism while the apple farmer grunts angrily, at which the blue pegasus casts a quick glance towards him and then points at the stage. "I mean, magic-shmagic! Boo! Boo!"

Seeing that Applejack is pleased, Rainbow wipes the sweat off his forehead, and you laugh quietly at the whole thing.

Just as you're about to joke about how much the athlete cares about what AJ says, Trixie glares at the audience. "Trixie hears some naysayers in the audience. Those ponies know nothing of Trixie's power. Once, an Ursa Major invaded the town of Hoofington, but before any harm could occur to its inhabitants, Trixie vanquished the beast, and all by herself."

As she says this, multiple fireworks shoot off into the sky, depicting the battle between her and the creature.

Snips and Snails run forward and sing praises about Trixie.

She must be very powerful to have vanquished an Ursa Major…

Dusk says exactly what you're thinking, and Applejack scoffs. "Either very powerful, or just a faker."

Elusive just nods, and Bubble, who's remained silent this whole time says, "Snips and Snails are completely under her spell… They believe everything she says… "

Rainbow smirks. "Well, there's only one way to find out if she's just boasting or not. And that is to bring an Ursa Major into town. "

"And if she can't vanquish it, are you gonna?" asks Applejack, with a threatening tone, which causes Blitz to gulp.

"I mean, I bet I totally could get rid of a Major all by myself just by showing it how cool and awesome I am- it'd get overwhelmed by my awesomeness and run away. But just in case it's blind or something, we should just be safe than sorry. "

"Trixie hears that the naysayers are still unconvinced of her might. Well, if they think that Trixie is not the most powerful, then why don't they directly challenge her? You," she points at Rainbow " should come first. "

…

…

…

Within the span of five minutes, Trixie has managed to defeat Applejack, Elusive and Rainbow Blitz, leaving you, Dusk, Bubble and Butterscotch.

While Elusive ran off due to his mane colour, style and length having been changed, Rainbow and Applejack stayed, giving words of encouragement to you and the lavender unicorn.

"Come on, it's just a few spells. You'll dazzle Trixie with your knowledge, and BAM! She'll go just like that," says Rainbow.

"(Y/N)..." pleads Applejack. "Come on. If Dusk won't do it, then you can."

Before anyone else can start pressuring Dusk, you decide to just do it. "I'm going on stage," you inform them, not waiting for their response as you teleport onto it.

"Well, well, well...What do we have here? An alicorn? This should be interesting…"

"For this first spell," you announce, walking into the centre of the stage, "I'll need a volunteer. However, keep in mind that it'll be, of course, some sort of love spell, but it won't be anything too serious."

Surprisingly, Butterscotch steps forward and you can see that even though he's not willing to actually challenge the mare, he wants to do something to stand up for his friends.

"Are you sure?" you ask him, taken aback.

His face is pale and he's trembling, but smiles at you. "I'm sure. And please don't hold back. You don't need to use a less powerful spell just because it's me."

"Okay…"

With that, you close your eyes and let your horn glow. "By this flame of white light, your desire will soar and flare. When I say your name, of your fire shall I be aware…"

You open your eyes, and whisper, "Butterscotch."

The magical glow fades, and his cheeks are red as he smiles at you, half hiding behind your mane.

"(Y/N)..." He says your name in a tone of longing and deep desire, and runs his tongue over his lips, stepping closer. "I don't know how to say it. But the longer I wait, the more I fear I shall be driven insane! The beautiful sound of your voice, waking me with the sunrise, is something I've only imagined! For far too long have I been keeping my feelings to myself. No, I must express them! "

He takes a few steps closer, until there's only a hoof step separating the two of you, and taps his hooves. Angel comes with a box and a bunch of flowers, and you understand what's going to happen next.

The pegasus relieves the bunny of the objects and holding the flowers in one hoof, goes down on his knees and holds the box in the other hoof. It opens, and he gazes into your eyes earnestly.

"From the moment I first saw you, I was captivated! When you laughed, it was music to my ears! When you felt happiness, so did I! I felt every one of your sorrows as if it had been my own. (Y/N), I've always wanted to say this, but never got the courage to! Will you marry me? "

You smile as you ponder it. You liked all six of your friends in that way, and even if after the spell wore off, Butterscotch would probably get flustered and take all his words back…

But this was something you always wanted to do. You liked Butterscotch, he liked you… there was no problem with this, right?

You nod, and he stands up, places the ring on your horn, and then…

Another flash occurs, and just like that, the spell has worn off.

Butterscotch looks around at the cheering ponies, then to the flowers he's holding and the ring that's on your horn, and turns red.

"I-I- I'm so sorry, (Y/N)!" he exclaims and then runs off before you can say anything.

You hear claps. "Trixie must say, she is awed by this spell of yours. Love magic is extremely difficult to master… What do you say to a rematch? This evening, " she tells you and then disappears in blue smoke.

You walk off the stage and see your friends coming towards you. "I-I'm gonna go check on Butterscotch…" you mutter and run off.

"Butterscotch?"

After a couple of knocks, Butterscotch opens the door but shuts it as soon as he sees you.

"Butterscotch… I'm not angry."

The door opens just a tiny bit.

"You like me in that way, right?"

" … Since I can't see you, you have to use your words… "

You hear a sigh and the door fully opens. You go in, and once the door is shut, he accompanies you to his living room.

He fidgets nervously, and nods.

"See. As long as we both like each other, there's no problem."

"Y-y-you l-like me a-as well?"

You nod, smiling. "Though, I certainly wasn't expecting a marriage proposal just like that."

"..."

"I mean, I think I want to put off marrying just a little longer. Though, I certainly wouldn't mind dating… "

"R-really? "

"Really."

As you and Butterscotch are walking to Sugarcube Corner to get something to eat, you hear screams of terror and see that all of Ponyville's citizens are running in every direction, panicked.

Snips and Snails are amongst them, and they run straight to Trixie's caravan, knocking on it urgently.

Just as you're about to ask what's wrong, you see a beast unlike any other…

"That's an Ursa Minor," Butterscotch informs you. Strangely, he doesn't seem frightened at all.

"An Ursa Minor? Are you sure…? "

"I've learnt about every type of creature… And a pony with decent magical power should be able to vanquish it."

"...I'll be honest, I never really learnt spells related to vanquishing beasts and stuff. "

The streets are now empty, and Trixie comes out of her caravan just as the Minor is at arm's reach.

"What is it? Did Trixie not tell you that she shan't be disturbed until morning?!"

Snips points behind him, while Snails says, "We got an Ursa Major over here! Oh Great and Powerful Trixie, show us your might and vanquish it!"

"What?! An Ursa Major?! Are you two out of your little pony minds?! "

"We wanted to see you vanquish it…" says Snips.

"I thought you said that you saved the ponies of Hoofington," you remind her.

"Well, of course Trixie did! And Trixie will prove to all of you naysayers that Trixie is more than capable of vanquishing an Ursa Major, all by herself! "

She huffs and walks past you, staring at the Ursa. Her eyes close in concentration and feeble wisps of blue magic surround the Ursa, but die out after a few seconds.

"Come on G and PT! Quit playing around and actually do something! Where are all of those fireworks and stuff?!" demands Snips.

" Yeah! " agrees Snails.

"I think she was just pretending," you whisper to Butterscotch , and he nods.

"Go get Dusk; I'll try and calm the Ursa."

"Okay… "

You run towards the Golden Oaks Library and rush in without even knocking.

"Dusk! Dusk! It's urgent!"

"Woah, slow down (Y/N). What happened? "

"There's an Ursa Minor in town!"

" An Ursa Minor? How can you tell? "

"Butterscotch identified it. And Trixie is just talk and no show. She can't do it, and since my talent is love magic and I only learnt about magic dealing with emotions apart from a few basic spells… "

"Isn't Elusive free? "

"You really think he wants to come out of his house after what happened?"

" … "

"Come on Dusk, we need you. You're more than powerful enough for the job and Butterscotch can't hold the Ursa off for much longer…"

"I'm sorry…"

" Why don't you want to come? "

"I already know I possess a lot of magical power. But if I go and show everyone how truly powerful I am, it'd look like I'm showing off. And I'll also have to be the centre of attention…"

"What, and you think it looked like I was showing off when I did that love spell? You think Elusive was showing off when he-"

"That's different."

" It's completely the same. "

"Didn't you see how everyone reacted to Trixie? I don't want to lose any of my friends, especially you…"

"Well, you're not going to go and dance and sing about your power, are you? "

"But…" He's still hesitant.

"Come on…" you plead, batting your eyelashes. "Do it for me?"

He sighs in defeat, unable to resist your pleading eyes. "Fine…"

The two of you teleport to the town square, and Butterscotch gives a visible sigh of relief.

"I almost thought you weren't coming," he said.

" I'd never leave you in such a dangerous position like that, " you say, winking.

"Step back, everyone!" Dusk urges as Trixie runs away and he takes her place.

His horn begins to light up and magic surrounds the Ursa, lifting it up despite its resistance and sending a lullaby through its ears.

A couple of minutes later, the town water supply tank is lifted over here, but filled with milk, and acts like a bottle for the Ursa, which Dusk levitates away just as he collapses.

Your mouth falls open. You knew Dusk was powerful, but not that powerful!

He begins to sweat as he realises everyone is watching him.

You and the other members of the mane seven approach him.

"I'm sorry… I-"

"What's there to be sorry for?" asks Bubble .

"You saved the town, dude! " says Rainbow Blitz. "You were so awe -"

" But wasn't I showing off by doing that? "

"Eenope," says Applejack. "Y'all saved everyone . You're not prancing about and telling everyone about how powerful you are. There's nothing to apologise for. "

You and Butterscotch nod.

"You saved everyone. I'm proud of you," you tell him.

He blushes.

"S-so, about what happened on the stage… What happens now? " he asks.

You look at Butterscotch who turns crimson and tries to hide behind you, shaking his head frantically.

"Well, I think that Butterscotch will tell everyone when he's ready," you reply, smiling at his cuteness.

"Well, make sure you let me know before you do anything serious! I need to know how many parties I need to plan! "

Butterscotch, who had been coming out of his hiding spot, turns even redder and retreats back into your shadow.

You also turn red. "Anything serious? Bubble…"

"What? I me -"

"It's been a long day for everyone. Let's all go to bed," says Dusk, coming to your and Butterscotch's rescue.

Once everyone, including Butterscotch has gone, you smile appreciatively at him. "Thanks for saving us."

"There's no need to thank me. At least, not when you can more than repay me… "

" Huh? "

He smiles and steps closer to you, wrapping a hoof around your body, and as your eyes meet, you can tell that his ones are hiding his desire…

Your heart beats faster as his lips meet yours.

"Mn…"

Author's Note

One dowm, five to go...

Comments would be appreciated.