The Seventh Element

As awkward as the remainder of Argent’s first evening in Equestria was the train ride to Canterlot the next morning was even more so.  The seven ponies rode in near complete silence.  Fluttershy purposefully averted her gaze from Argent as much as possible and even Pinkie Pie wasn’t too keen on trying to keep anyone’s spirits up.  The sole male unicorn had to do something to mend the rifts he had opened, though.  During the last leg of the trip, he spoke up,

“Look, girls, I suppose an apology on behalf of the entire human race is in order.  I’m sorry that our consumption of animals offends you and that our treatment of ponies makes them so subservient to us.  You have to understand, though.  Where I come from is completely different than this land, and you’re judging me like I’ve been a pony doing all these things my entire life.  Humans and the human world parallel this one in many ways, but where we’re different, we’re really different.”

Argent waited for a response and received none.  He sighed and spoke again.

“It would take me forever to explain absolutely everything, but the extremely short version is that not all humans do what I described to you.  Plenty of us think that eating animals is disgusting and wrong and the same goes for the treatment of them.  Humans are good beings, I promise you.”

After a short silence, Rainbow Dash was the first to respond,

“Does the word ‘good’ mean the same thing there as it does here?  I still don’t like the idea.”

“Then don’t like the idea, but at least start by trusting me.  Consider me an ambassador.  Perhaps in the future humans and ponies can create a permanent link between our worlds and we can become allies.” Argent replied.

“I don’t know…” Twilight said skeptically.

“I’ll give y’all a chance,” Applejack nodded, prompting confused looks from her friends.  After seeing that response she elaborated, “Sure, what ya said about humans was shockin’, but I’m the Element of Honesty, and that don’t mean nothin’ if I can’t at least tell when somepony’s bein’ sincere.” The train began to slow, as did the angry thoughts of the six mares.

“Truce?” Applejack offered her hoof.  Argent shook it and smiled,

“Truce.  Thank you, Applejack.”

With that ordeal off everyone’s conscience for the time being, it was time to focus on a more pressing matter.  Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had requested an audience with Argent and the Elements of Harmony.  Somehow they had been alerted to his presence, and apparently it meant something.  The summoned ponies arrived in the throne room to both princesses awaiting them not far from the door.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student.  I’m so glad you could come,” Princess Celestia said.

Twilight bowed.

“I wouldn’t ignore a call from you, Princess.”

“We extend our greetings to you, as well, bearers of the Elements of Harmony,” Princess Luna addressed the others, to which they responded with a bow.

“And you,” Celestia turned her regal gaze to Argent, who also bowed without hesitation, “On behalf of us all, welcome to Equestria.”

“It’s a pleasure to be here,” Argent nodded, “But how did you know about me?”

“A few things told us,” Luna began, “First, we are always aware when Twilight Sparkle borrows from the Canterlot library, especially when what she checks out is from the highly restricted Starswirl the Bearded wing.” Twilight blushed.

“Secondly, alicorns like us are particularly in tune with high level magic, and can detect when such spells are utilized and what happens when they are used.”

That explains a lot. Argent thought.

“And most importantly…well, follow me,” Celestia beckoned.

The group made their way to the vault that held the actual Elements of Harmony.  Since the incident with Discord, the vault had been re-designed to require the horns of both Princesses to open, among other further security checks.  Celestia and Luna inserted their horns into their respective keyholes, causing the doors to react, glow, and open with a flourish.  An intense light emanated from inside, their source being the necklaces and crown the Elements manifested themselves in, on display upon a pedestal.

Interestingly, however, the Elements did not glow in the colors of their respective gems.  Instead, they all gave of a distinct silvery light.

“Oh, my,” Rarity gasped. “What’s happened to the Elements?”  Luna shook her head, a neutral look adorning her face,

“We are not entirely sure.  They began to react this way directly after Twilight used her dimensional spell.”

“So you suspect it has something to do with me?” Argent asked.

“We’re almost certain, now.  The glow was less intense yesterday when you were in Ponyville.  It must have something to do with your proximity to them.” Celestia said.

“So if they’ve been getting brighter and brighter as I get closer, what do you think would happen if I were to touch them?” Argent wondered out loud.

Pinkie Pie decided now of all times was the perfect opportunity to be a scientist.

“Well we’re not gonna find out if you’re just standing there!  In you go!”

The pink pony shoved Argent into the vault, crashing him into the display and causing the Elements to fall all over him.

Just as he recovered, the necklaces and crown began to float and snapped to the necks and head of the Mane 6.  His eyes—as well as the eyes of the Elements’ bearers—began to shine the same silver as the jewelry.  This trance had only been exhibited in Twilight before, a precursor to a huge blast that banished Nightmare Moon on one occasion and turned Discord to stone on another.  This time, though, with all the Elements alight, a silver beam shot out of each ornament at Argent, enveloping him in the same light.  After a few seconds the emanation subsided and the Elements returned to their original state, with one exception: there was an extra necklace around Argent’s neck.

“What just happened?” Argent asked to anyone who could answer.  He was left dazed and knocked back onto his flank.

“A new Element of Harmony.” Celestia said.  She and her sister were wide-eyed, a departure from the demure nature they both normally carried.

“Come again?” Twilight asked, flicking her ears to make sure they were working properly.

“Dearest subjects, we have only seen this once before, more than one thousand years ago.  It predates even our banishment to the moon.” Luna explained partially.

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy said.

Celestia spoke up, regaining her composure.

“The Elements of Harmony have had multiple incarnations over the eons.  Most recently is the jewelry you have on, and before that was the stones once held in the old castle in the Everfree forest.  When those appeared, so did the newest Element: the Element of Magic.  Luna and I quarreled over who would bear the sixth.  I possessed three, while Luna had two, so she argued that she deserved the new Element to balance us out.  Unfortunately, it was not our decision to make…” she trailed off.

“The Element of Magic chose Celestia, and thus the events transpired to transform us into Nightmare Moon.  You are aware of the rest.

“This time, however, it seems the Elements have evolved as we have.  They have chosen one host each, somehow learning not to attribute more than one to a pony to avoid the events of one millennium ago.  Now, a new one is here.”

“What is it?” Twilight questioned.  Argent looked down at his new accessory to examine it.  Like its counterparts, this new Element bore a gem inset a broad gold body.  The gem appeared to be a white diamond shaped in the form of a shield.

“A shield?  What Element could that possibly represent?” Twilight asked.

“What makes Rainbow Dash’s lighting bolt loyal, or Applejack’s apple honest?  The Elements seem to reflect your cutie marks, not necessarily the traits they embody.” Argent pointed out.

“An astute observation,” Luna concurred, “When the Elements belonged to my sister and I, they did not take a definite form.  They simply resided inside of us.”

“But Argent has no cutie mark,” Rarity said.

“He will soon,” Celestia spoke loudly.  Her declaration gained the attention of the ponies in her company, eliciting further explanation, “For the time I have known them, the Elements of Harmony have never done anything without a purpose.  If they are currently in an era where they must reflect the cutie mark of the pony they are aligned to, Argent will have his own in the near future.”

Before the conversation could continue, two royal guards burst into the room, one of them severely battered with the other supporting him with one hoof.

“They’re… they’re everywhere!” the injured guard breathed heavily.

“What is everywhere?  What’s going on?” Celestia demanded.

“I don’t know, milady.  He is part of the patrol unit scheduled to visit Ponyville today.  He flew into Canterlot’s port like a fruit bat out of Tartarus.  He just keeps saying ‘They’re everywhere’ over and over,” the other guard reported.  The mention of their home froze Twilight and her friends.  Luna’s horn glowed and a spell surrounded the shell-shocked guard.

“Let your mind be still as the night and cast your fears to the stars!”  Luna’s voice echoed.  The spell subsided and the guard looked up with much clearer eyes, though they were still filled with fear and worry.  “Now, what has transpired to send you here with such haste?”

“Ponyville is under attack by Diamond Dogs.  Thousands of them.”

“But we just left yesterday!” Twilight stammered.  Argent was afraid he would be blamed again, given that cataclysmic events did not usually happen independently of each other so closely in time without being related, but the Mane 6 weren’t shooting him any nasty glances.  In fact, they were about ready to bolt out of the castle and hop on the first train out had Celestia not stopped them.

“Wait, Twilight.” The sun princess magicked Twilight’s crown and the other Elements of Harmony, including Argent’s, off of their bodies and back into their casings.

“Diamond Dogs love shiny things, and your Elements are no exception.  We cannot risk losing them, or you, in all this chaos.”  The vault to the Elements closed with a series of clicks and locking sounds. “Get to Ponyville and assess the situation.  See if you can learn why the Diamond Dogs have attacked, and whether they plan on just stopping at just one town.  Luna and I will stay here and put Canterlot on alert.  Take an airship.  It’s faster than the train.”  Twilight Sparkle and her friends galloped out of the castle.  Only Argent stayed put.  A mixture of feelings including confusion and intense worry swam around inside his brain.  He was supposed to be in Equestria on vacation—albeit a very strange unplanned one.  Now over the course of two days he finds out he is the host of a seventh Element of Harmony and Ponyville has fallen under siege.  No part of that was relaxing.

“Did I do all this?” He asked to no one in particular.

“It’s not likely.” Celestia answered him. “I can’t help feeling that your arrival and the attack on Ponyville are connected to some effect, though.  It’s not your fault, but I could sense the tension between you and the others.”

That was for something completely different, Argent thought.

“Go with them.  Seven ponies are better than six, even if one of them isn’t entirely a pony.  You can help somehow.”

“Yes, Princess,” Argent nodded before he ran off to catch the airship, “Thank you, and pass that on to Luna, too!”

At the port, the last of the moorings had just been released on the ship the Mane 6 had boarded.  Argent leaped on as it began to float away.  He landed with a thud.

“I didn’t know I could jump that far,” he said, gasping for breath.

“Comes with the territory,” Applejack shook her hind leg, reminding Argent that his new body came with a host of physical abilities that humans did not have.

“So you’re coming, too?” Twilight asked.

“I have to be able to do something.  I hope you all don’t take this the wrong way, but I can’t help but feel responsible.” Argent replied.  Rainbow Dash flew up in his face,

“Yeah, well we’ll see if we have to beat you up, too, after we deal with the Diamond Dogs.”  Applejack pulled her back by the tail,

“Easy there, RD.  He’s a new Element of Harmony, now.  I’m thinkin’ the fiasco in Ponyville’s just some kinda coincidence, but if we’re gonna be fightin’, it’s good to know that he’s on our side.”

“Oh, those Diamond Dogs!  I shall never forget the time that group of them had the nerve to keep me captive as some sort of gem radar.  Those ruffians!” Rarity growled.

“I just hope everypony back home is safe,” Twilight said, peering over the edge of the airship’s gondola toward Ponyville, “I think we might have a war on our hooves.”